Abstract:
The apparatus of the invention allows an identification of one&#39;s own disposable or non-disposable drinking cup, glass, bottle or can from that of another through the use of elastic identification bands all of substantially the same length, width and stretchability but with each having markedly different appearances one from another as to at least one of coloring, shading, patterning and design presentation.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    A Provisional Patent Application covering the invention described herein was filed on Jun. 10, 2014, and assigned Ser. No. 62/009,960. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Research and development of this invention and Application have not been federally sponsored, and no rights are given under any Federal program. 
       REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
       [0003]    NOT APPLICABLE 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0005]    This invention relates to drink identification apparatus, in general, and to a manner of distinguishing the drinking cup of one user from that of another through the inclusion of differently appearing elastic identification bands, in particular. 
         [0006]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0007]    As will be appreciated, confusion oftentimes arises among participants at parties or other large gatherings as to who&#39;s drinking cup, glass, bottle or can is who&#39;s after their placement on table tops or resting surfaces upon the individuals returning after moving about. Especially prevalent with younger children and with the elderly, several solutions have been previously proposed. One such proposal for cups envisions writing the individual&#39;s name on a label placed on the outside surface of the cup. Another proposes issuing pattern indicia labels made to the individual that matches like indicia on the cup he/she will be using When not integral with the cup as part of an initial manufacture, labels of these types are typically provided with adhesive backings to provide the bond thus formed by the label with the cup. 
         [0008]    Such identification methods, in order to be effective, however, obviously presupposes that one have an equal number of labels to service the cups being filled. Moreover, such operations can be more easily carried out where the individual cups, specifically, are to be reused, as contrasted with the situation where the cups are thereafter to be disposed of using paper or foam cups. The confusion follows in such instances when one cannot identify his/her cup from that of another&#39;s, may accidently drink from that cup previously used by another, partially still filled or otherwise, or abandons his/her cup for refill with another one that might otherwise be used later on by another. Obviously, the situation is similar where glasses, bottles and cans are being employed by the several participants concerned. 
       OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]    It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide an inexpensive, readily understandable solution for the identification of one&#39;s own disposable or non-disposable drinking cup, glass, bottle or can from that of another&#39;s in use. 
         [0010]    It is an object of the present invention, also, to provide inexpensive and disposable identification bands for releasable securement to the individual drinking cup, and for discarding them along with the disposable cup, glass, bottle or can after their use. 
         [0011]    It is another object of the invention to package the two together where desired, as where paper and foam cups are to be used, for retail shelf sale in quantities and sizes to meet the needs of the party or gathering occasion at hand. 
         [0012]    It is a further object of the invention to provide such a package for a variety of occasion celebrations where the discardable bands themselves may coordinate the occasion with the utilization of disposable cups (yet still differ them one from another for identification purposes) or within a class of occasions that do not coordinate with the presentation of the disposable cup, glass, bottle or can itself. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]    As will become clear from the following description, the disposable/discardable identification bands are of a fabrication to be elastically stretchable around the peripheral outside surface of the cup, glass, bottle or can to which it secures. As a class, the bands may be of different colors, shadings, patterns and/or decorative design presentations, one from another—and where employed with a disposable cup, of a composition for intentional discarding with the disposable cup after the cup has been used, and while still on it. In a for-sale retail shelf assembly or for on-line sales of disposable cups, a preferable arrangement is one wherein a single sales container includes a plurality of bands in a first packaging at least equal in number to the number of disposable cups included in a second packaging of the container—and preferably, of a number greater than the cups. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]    These and other features of the invention will be more clearly understood from a consideration of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying Drawings in which: 
           [0015]      FIG. 1  is a pictorial view of the identification bands for use with disposable individual drinking cups in accordance with the invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  is an illustration showing a packing of the identification bands with those individual drinking cups in a wrapper container enclosure; and 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  is an illustration of how the identification bands may be utilized for individual identification of cups, glasses, bottles or cans, whether disposable or not. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0018]    In  FIG. 1 , a disposable cup of a cylindrical or substantially cylindrical configuration of predetermined volume is shown at  12 . Typically fabricated of paper, foam or plastic—and of a size to hold anywhere from 6-24 oz. of liquid—the cup may be dressed or unadorned, colored or white. As is usually the case, the cup  12  includes an open top  14  of outer diameter greater than the diameter of an included closed bottom  16 . When sold in an enclosing wrapper or container, a preferred arrangement may include 10-50, or more, of these disposable cups nestably received together in one packaging, or stacked alongside one another in multiple packagings. An elastic stretchable, inexpensively composed band is illustrated at  26  according to the invention, available in a second or additional packaging of the container to be emplaced below the rim  22  of the cup  12 . In accordance with one enhanced embodiment of the invention, a plurality of streamers  28  hang downwardly along an outside peripheral surface of the cup at  24 , for purposes of decoration, for any given occasion. 
         [0019]    As will be appreciated, the bands  26  can take on their individual identifications by means of colors, shadings, patterns and/or decorative design presentations, one from another, the same as with the streamers  28 —all of which can be easily identified by fabricating the disposable cup  12  of a drab color (red, white, black, for example). When included in a wrapper container of disposable cups, a preferred construction would incorporate a plurality of bands, at least equal in number to the plurality of disposable cups, but preferably in excess thereof. To differentiate one band and/or streamer from another, they can each be of a different coloration or pattern, especially as consistent with a display occasion—such as for the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas, and for such party occasions as birthdays, bridal wedding parties, baby welcoming home parties and wedding anniversaries. But in so doing, whether packaged with the streamers or not, and whether packaged with the discardable cups separately or not, the identification bands will all be selected of an inexpensive, elastically stretchable material to be encircled about the peripheral wall surfaces of the cup, to be held there in place below the cup rim, and then to be discarded along with the disposable cup after use. The participant at the party or gathering will then be able to differentiate his/her disposable cup from that used by another when desirous of utilizing it once again for drinking purposes. 
         [0020]      FIG. 2  illustrates a manner of this packaging of 48 plastic cups for cold drinks of 16 oz. capacity, red in color for example, and although semi-reusable if treated with care, are more often disposed of, in such manners as at catering affairs, parties and special occasions. Shown at  50  is an illustration of a packaging of the identification bands for use with these cups in accordance with the invention, the wrapper enclosure container for the cups and the bands being shown at  52 . Similar configurations for disposable paper or foam cups for drinking hot liquids would take on a similar appearance—and regardless of the cup composition employed. Depending upon needs and uses, cup sizes of smaller 4, 8, 10, 12 and 16 oz. capacities could be utilized, with package arrangements being available anywhere from 10 to 25, 50, 100 or more cup inclusions. 
         [0021]      FIG. 3  similarly illustrates identification bands  54  stretched around the outside peripheral surfaces of glasses  60 ,  61  and  62 , a bottle  63 , and cans  64  and  65 —as well as around cups  66 ,  67 ,  68 ,  69  and  70 . 
         [0022]    In any event, when employed, the differentiating set of bands are thus helpful in enabling the users to locate and identify those cups, glasses, bottles and cans that they had been previously using. For a paper, plastic or foam cup, this enables everything to be disposed thereafter simply and inexpensively, by a discarding of the cups and bands together as a unit. Testing has indicated that a band  26  of some ⅝″ width works extremely well, whether colored, patterned, glittered or otherwise, as long as it can be elastically stretched around the outside wall surface of the cup, glass, bottle or can with which it is utilized. The diameter of the band then depends upon the diameter or size capacity of the cup, glass, bottle or can to be encircled. In its simplest terms, the present invention then describes a container of elastic bands, at least 8 in number, each of which is of an inexpensive composition to manufacture and then discard after use, each of which is stretchable to encircle a cup, glass, bottle or can to which it is emplaced, and each of which is uniquely distinguishable one from another by color, pattern or other manner of indicia. 
         [0023]    A simple, colorized rubber band, circular in cross-section as at  75  in  FIG. 2 , would satisfy these needs, as well as one of a wider flat surface affording adequate room for inclusion of additional information content where desired, as an anniversary couples name, or newborn baby&#39;s name, a Happy New Years greeting, whatever. In all thee respects, however, each of the elastic identification bands will be understood to be of substantially the same length and width, and have the same stretchability characteristics, of the same cross-sectional shape and thickness. When arranged for sale they can be packaged within a container, along with a second package where desired, including a plurality of nestably received drinking cups. There, each of the elastic bands would be of an unstretched length less than a cross-section of each of the nestably received drinking cups, and of a stretchability characteristic for enlarged placement about the drinking cups when one of the bands and one of the cups are both removed from the container. In such manner, the elastic identification bands can be combined together for sale as a container separate from that of the cups, or together with them in a unitary container of both. As will be appreciated, having them contained separately enables the elastic bands to be used in identifying not only drinking cups, but glasses, bottles and/or cans to which the bands are stretched around. And, as will be appreciated, where used with drinking cups, the bands can serve their identification purpose both for drinking cups that are intended for discarding after use, as well as with the more permanent type of non-disposable cups. 
         [0024]    While there have been described what are considered to be preferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the teachings herein. For at least such reason, therefore, resort should be had to the claims appended hereto for a true understanding of the invention.