Abstract:
A container for containing food and/or beverage ingredients is described. The container is of a type which may be supported in a support while the ingredients inside the container are processed, such as by a rotating blade or other mechanism. The container includes anti-rotation elements positionable in anti-rotational contact with a corresponding protruding portion in a container support in a manner which restricts rotational movement of the vessel relative to the container support.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present application is a continuation of and claims benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/265,397 filed on Nov. 5, 2008, which is hereby incorporated by reference in the entirety. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to the field of food and beverage containers and specifically to containers for holding foods and/or beverages during blending, whipping, stirring, etc. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0000]    
       
         Preparation of certain foods and beverages can involve blending, whipping, stirring, etc. the food or beverage using a rotary blade or mixer. 
       
     
         [0004]    Methods and systems for making frozen drinks are described in patent numbers U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,377, U.S. Pat. No. 5,962,060, U.S. Pat. No. 6,326,047, U.S. Pat. No. 6,465,034, U.S. Pat. No. 6,474,862, U.S. Pat. No. 6,527,207 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,144,150, which are commonly-owned with the present application and which are incorporated herein by reference. These patents describes an apparatus which allows milkshakes and other frozen drinks to be quickly made by breaking up pre-frozen blocks of ingredients into small frozen particles using a rotating blade, and blending them with an added liquid also using the rotating blade. The ingredients to be frozen into frozen blocks are pre-mixed in liquid form, placed into serving cups which are the same serving cups in which the finished milkshake or frozen drinks are to be served, and then frozen into blocks conforming to the insides of the serving cups and stored. 
         [0005]    According to the prior patents, when a milkshake or other frozen drink is to be made, a serving cup containing the frozen block is positioned in a cup holder which forms a part of the frozen drink machine. A rotating blade is lowered into the cup and bores through the frozen substance in the cup, grinding it into small frozen particles. Milk, water, or another liquid is added to the cup and is blended into the frozen substance by the rotating blade. The rotating blade also whips air into the frozen particle mixture in order to give the milkshake or frozen drink its proper volume, texture, and flavor delivery. 
         [0006]    In this and other contexts, it is desirable to provide a container for a frozen drink (or other food or beverage) which may be supported in a cup holder while the ingredients the container inside are processed, and which is restrained against rotation which would otherwise be caused by the action of the rotating blade or other processing tool. It is further desirable to provide a container having an anti-rotation feature and which container is further suitable for serving directly to customers after its removal from the cup holder. 
         [0007]    Various solutions are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.6041961 (691 patent), which is also commonly owned with the present application and incorporated herein by reference. In one of the illustrated embodiments, that patent shows a cup bottom having an anti-rotation pattern extending from its lower surface. The patent shows in  FIGS. 1 and 2  a pattern formed of six arcuate ridges radiating from a center portion of the cup bottom. The patent shows corresponding anti-rotation features, shown in  FIG. 5  as a pattern of six radiating ribs, on the support upon which the cup sits during processing of the beverage within the cup. Because of the six-ridge/six-rib patterns, the illustrated embodiment creates six areas of contact between the anti-rotation pattern on the cup bottom and the anti-rotation features of the support. Each ridge on the cup bottom includes a sloped side wall that acts as a self aligning mechanism, so that if a cup is placed onto the support and the sloped side wall contacts the corresponding rib before the cup is fully seated, the angled wall causes the cup to twist slightly so that the cup slides into a fully engaged position within the anti-rotation pattern in the cup holder. 
         [0008]    In a further modification put into commercial use, the number of anti-rotation elements on the cup support (not shown) was reduced to two members  48  or ribs spaced 180° as shown in  FIG. 1 , while the anti-rotation pattern  102  on the cup  100  remained at six ridges  104 . Obviously, given the 180° spacing between the ribs, the pair of the ridges that are engaged by the ribs are likewise spaced 180°, giving balanced, symmetrical, restriction against rotation while imparting evenly balanced loads to the cup&#39;s anti-rotation pattern. Distributing/balancing the loads prevents damage to the cup during use and allows thinner walls to be used in the anti-rotation features of the cup, thus minimizing resin costs in the manufacture of the cup. 
         [0009]    On occasion, the prior art cup of  FIG. 1  will seat against the members  48  in a manner that prevents the cup from advancing fully onto the cup support. This positions the cup higher on/in the cup support than is intended, causing the interior of the cup bottom to be damaged by the mixing element processing the contents of the cup. The risk that the cup will be improperly positioned in this way is greatest in situations where consumers place the cup in the cup holder for themselves in a self-serve setting. Because these consumers are not aware of the need to be sure the cup fully advances into the cups support, it is important that the possibility of the lack of such full advancement be eliminated. To this end, the applicant has developed a new anti-rotation arrangement that promotes more consistent seating of the cup within the cup support. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a bottom portion of a cup with a prior art anti-rotation feature. The cup is shown above a portion of a cup support having anti-rotation members engageable with the anti-rotation feature of the cup. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a cup showing a first embodiment of a new anti-rotation pattern. 
           [0012]      FIG. 3A  is a perspective view of the bottom of the cup of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 3B  is a perspective view of an alternative bottom for the cup of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the cup of  FIG. 2 , showing the cup interior. 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of an exemplary cup holder. 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing the interior of the cup holder of  FIG. 5 . 
           [0017]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the bracket and anti-rotation members of the cup holder of  FIG. 5 . 
           [0018]      FIG. 8  is similar to  FIG. 5  and shows the cup positioned in the cup holder. 
           [0019]      FIG. 9  is a bottom perspective view showing the cup in the cup holder. 
           [0020]      FIG. 10  is similar to  FIG. 9 , but shows only the bracket of the cup holder. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0021]      FIGS. 2-4  show perspective views of an embodiment of a container  10 . Container  10  (which will also be referred to as a cup) includes a cup wall  12  that defines an interior  14  ( FIG. 4 ), and a cup bottom  16 . During use, the container  10  contains food or beverage ingredients that are to be processed inside the cup using a rotating blade or other boring and/or blending device. Container  10  is provided with an anti-rotation mechanism designed to engage the container within a cup holder associated with the boring/blending device so as to prevent rotation of the cup during processing. 
         [0022]    Anti-rotation pattern  18  is formed in the cup bottom  16 . Pattern  18  includes outwardly protruding vanes  26  positioned to engage with a corresponding anti-rotation feature (described below) in a corresponding cup holder. In the  FIG. 3A  embodiment, three vanes are shown spaced 120° apart, however in other embodiments different numbers of vanes, including one or five vanes (see e.g. the 5-vane embodiment of  FIG. 3B ) might be used. Preferably, however, the vanes are arranged such that no two vanes are separated by 180°. 
         [0023]    Referring to  FIG. 3A , the cup bottom includes a circular center section  20  and a beveled circumferential section  22  extending between center section  20  and an outer rim  23 . The cup bottom  16  further includes a recessed center portion  24  (as viewed from the cup interior) centered in the circular center section  20 . 
         [0024]    Vanes  26  radiate from the recessed center portion  24  and extend downwardly from the bottom surface of center section  20 . Trailing edges  28  extend from each arcuate ridge  26  into the beveled circumferential section  22 . Each vane  26  preferably includes a substantially triangular cross-section, formed by first and second side walls  30 ,  32  which meet along ridge  33 . In the illustrated embodiment, the wall  30  is vertical or near vertical relative to center section  20 , and the surface wall  32  is angled or curved in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from the bottom of the cup as in  FIG. 3A . As is also visible in  FIG. 3A , the lower edge of each of the walls  30 ,  32  (i.e. along the center surface  20 ) curves slightly in a counterclockwise direction. In a preferred embodiment of the container, the walls  30 ,  32  are joined at an angle of approximately 45°. The portion of the vane  26  facing the cup interior  14  forms a hollow groove  34  as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0025]    The triangular configuration of the anti-rotation pattern enhances the rigidity of the cup during use by creating a triangular structural element and by allowing the cup&#39;s ingredients to freeze down into the groove  34  created by the angled/curved wall  32  to form a frozen, rigid backing for the anti-rotation pattern. The other side wall  30  is approximately straight up and down so that as it resists rotation by pressing against a corresponding cup holder member, there is no upward force created, as would be the case if it were angled like the other side. In fact, by bringing this face  30  past vertical, a downward force can be generated which helps to keep the cup seated on the cup holder as torque is applied. 
         [0026]    It should be noted that shapes other than a triangular cross-section, such as a rectangular cross-section, would also be quite effective in preventing rotation and (as with the triangular cross-section) would have the benefit of added strength due to their wide cross-section at the point where they meet the cup bottom. They would also posses the advantage of allowing the cup&#39;s ingredients to freeze down into the rectangular or other shaped groove created by the cross-section to form a frozen, rigid backing for the anti-rotation pattern. 
         [0027]      FIG. 5  illustrates one type of cup holder  40  that might be used to support the cup  10  when used in frozen drink machine of the type described in the above-referenced prior patents, or in the frozen drink blender available from f&#39;REAL! Foods, LLC, Orinda, Calif. As discussed in the prior patents, the frozen drink machine includes a rotatable blade on a shaft that is extendable into the cup  10 . During use, the rotatable blade is lowered into the cup  10 , where it grinds the frozen ingredients in the container and where it blends the ground frozen ingredients with an added liquid. 
         [0028]    The cup holder  40  has an interior  42  for receiving the container  10  and a connector  44  that couples the cup holder to the blender or other type of food/beverage processor. Referring to  FIG. 6 , disposed within the interior  42  is a bracket  46  having anti-rotation members such as fins  48 , each of which is laterally offset from the longitudinal axis of the holder  40  (and thus the cup  10 ). As best shown in  FIG. 7 , each fin  48  is provided with a wall  50  shaped to seat against wall  30  of one of the vanes  26  on the cup bottom. Wall  50  forms a ridge  52  at its intersection with a second, more curved, wall  54 . This embodiment uses a pair of fins positioned 180° apart from one another as shown. 
         [0029]    During use of container  10  with the cup holder  40  of a corresponding machine, the container is inserted into the interior of the cup holder as shown in  FIG. 8 . As the container  10  moves into the holder  40 , one of the fins  48  moves into contact with the wall  30  of one of the vanes sufficient to prevent rotation of the cup within the holder during processing (e.g. grinding and blending) using a rotating blade in the cup. Since the fins  48  are separated by 180°, but no two vanes are separated by 180°, anti-rotational contact (i.e. contact that will restrain the cup against rotation during processing of the cup contents using a grinding, boring and/or mixing element) occurs only between a single one of the vanes and a single one of the fins, giving asymmetrical anti-rotational contact between the cup and the cup holder. 
         [0030]    In an alternate embodiment of a holder  40 , the anti-rotation features within the holder  40  are modified to eliminate one of the fins  48  on the bracket  46 , leaving just a single fin (and thus a single anti-rotational contact) laterally offset from the center of the bracket  46 . This holder is suitable for use with a cup having any number of vanes (whether even or odd), including vanes that are spaced 180° apart. 
         [0031]    It should be recognized that a number of variations of the above-identified embodiments will be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the foregoing description. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited by those specific embodiments and methods of the present invention shown and described herein. Rather, the scope of the invention is to be defined by the following claims and their equivalents. 
         [0032]    Any and all patents and patent applications referred to herein, including for purposes of priority, are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.