Cup with an improved holder

An improved cup device including a cup unit having an improved holder. The cup device includes a one-piece holder structure with two parallel sides, a holding part, a supporting part having two parallel sides, and a fitting part positioned between the two parallel sides of the supporting part. The supporting part contacts the side of the cup unit. The holding part is located at the two parallel sides of the one-piece holder structure and positioned above the supporting part in a direction away from the side of the cup unit. An upper portion of the supporting part includes an extruded rib. The fitting part is positioned at a tail end of the one-piece holder structure and below the holding part. The fitting part rests against the side of the cup unit. The extruded rib is upwardly pushable to enable a front part of the supporting part to bend and form a tied pressing part that can be pressed and locked to the upper edge of the cup unit. The supporting part is deformable to permit the holding part to bend and form a storage space to provide for a user's fingers to pass therethrough.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 1. Field of the Invention
 The invention relates to disposable cups, more particularly, a disposable
 cup with an improved holder.
 2. Description of the Related Art
 Disposable cups have gained wide popularity because of they are convenient
 to use. However, such disposable cup devices contain certain defects. For
 instance, prior art cup devices are made of paper or plastic and therefore
 if such disposable cups are used to receive very hot drinks, since the
 thermal insulation properties are not adequate, the user of the cup may
 have extreme difficulty in holding such a cup filled with a hot liquid,
 resulting in injury to the user. One solution is to provide a holder for
 the disposable cup, which is typically made of a paper or plastic
 material. Such a fastening or holding device attached or clipped typically
 to the edge of the disposable cup enables a user to avoid direct thermal
 contact with the cup device filled with a hot liquid. Such a design can
 solve the problem of direct thermal contact with the contents of the cup,
 yet it is still inconvenient to use because the disposable cup and the
 attached holder are two separate elements. Providing for a cup and a
 separate holder that is later assembled together will add to the
 production cost, as well as the labor cost in assembling the cup with the
 separate holder.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 The primary objective of the present invention is to solve the problems
 associated with prior art disposable cup devices. The present invention
 utilizes a single unit incorporating a holder that will be formed into a
 disposable cup, thereby simplifying and reducing the costs of production
 of the device.
 Another objective of the present invention is to provide a disposable cup
 which is convenient to use, with good holding characteristics and provides
 adequate thermal protection from the hot contents of the cup for the user.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
 As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2-1 to 2-3, the present invention comprises a cup
 unit 1, having an upper edge 11, and a holder structure 2. The holder
 structure 2 comprises a piece unit 21 which after being properly cut, can
 define a holding part 22, a supporting part 23 and a fitting part 24. The
 holding part 22 is formed by making two parallel cutting lines 211, 211'
 in the piece unit 21, as shown in FIG. 2-3. The holding part 22 is defined
 at both sides of the piece unit 21. In addition, the scope of the area
 that is formed inside and between the two cutting lines 211, 211', and the
 supporting part 23 can also be defined. In addition, at a proper location
 on the supporting part 23, there is an even number of thermal protection
 slide prevention ribs 231 having concave dents as shown in FIGS. 1, 2-1,
 3-1 and 3-2. Further, the upper part of the supporting part 23 includes an
 extruded rib 232.
 The fitting part 24 is positioned at the tail end of the piece unit 21. On
 the fitting part 24, there are two additional parallel cutting lines 241,
 241', as shown in FIG. 2-3. The area between the cutting lines 241, 241'
 is defined by a holding area 242. Both sides of the fitting part 24
 include several even number of thermal protection slide prevention ribs
 243 having concave dents, as clearly shown in FIGS. 1, 2-1 and 2-3.
 As the extruded rib 232 is pushed upwards by an external force, the front
 part of the supporting part 23 fold to form a tied pressing part 233 that
 can be pressed and positioned on the edge 11 of the cup unit 1. In
 addition, since the length of the support part 23 would be shortened, this
 allows for the holding part 22 to bend and form a storing space 221, with
 the supporting part 23 and the holding part 22 to permit the fingers of
 the user to go into the storing space 221, as shown in FIGS. 2-1 and 3-2.
 Referring to FIGS. 3-1 and 3-2, prior to the use of the present invention,
 it is necessary to push and squeeze the extruded rib 232 upwards, making
 the front end of its supporting part 23 to form a tied pressing part 233,
 thereby allowing the thumb of the user to be able to press on the edge 11
 of the upper part of the cup unit 1, as the index finger of the user
 passes through the storage area 221 of the holding part 22. The formation
 of the holder of the cup defined by the slide prevention rib 231 of the
 supporting part 23 and the holding part 22 provides for adequate thermal
 protection for the user. The holding part 22 substantially supports the
 weight of the liquid in the cup unit, via lever laws, forces the fitting
 part 24 at the lower part of the holding part 22 to fit against the side
 edge of the cup unit 1, and permit the user's middle finger to fit
 therethrough. The holding area 242 formed below the fitting part 24, as
 shown in FIG. 3-2, can obtain the objective of heat segregation between
 the user and the cup unit 1. The overall structure of the present
 invention contributes towards the stability of the liquid contained in the
 cup unit 1 and provides for a distribution of the holding force to
 maintain an overall balance for the cup unit after liquid has been poured
 into the cup unit 1.
 By tying and pressing onto the upper edge 11 of the cup unit 1 via the tied
 pressing part 233, the overall device is stable when held by a user. In
 particular, when the cup unit 1 is tilted to permit the pulling of the
 liquid contained therein to be served to the user, this stability can
 still be maintained without deviation.
 The present invention is by no means restricted to the above-described
 preferred embodiment, but covers all variations that might be implemented
 by using equivalent functional elements or devices that would be apparent
 to a person skilled in the art, or modifications that fall within the
 spirit and scope of the appended claims.