Patent Publication Number: US-9845177-B1

Title: Drinking cup

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/375,575 filed Aug. 16, 2016. The contents of that application are incorporated by reference herein. 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not applicable. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally applies to a drinking cup. 
     2. Background of the Related Art 
     The service industry typically relies on disposable or souvenir cups to serve to drinks. These cups generally have varied heights, diameters, and volume but all have a singular continuous rim encircling the top of the cup. This top edge provides a uniform surface in which the user may drink from any portion of the cup. 
     In certain settings, such as in an airplane or concession stand, the disposable or souvenir cup must be handled by a person other than the ultimate user. In these settings, space is often at a premium and there is a tendency to provide rushed service with little attention to sanitary handling of the cups. In particular, it is common for flight attendants and concession stand personnel to handle beverage cups by the rim, which is the same surface the ultimate user drinks from. In the airline setting, the desired cup is usually disposable, short, and wide. The characteristics of the cup are designed to remain upright in turbulent settings. Due to the size of the cup, the narrow confines of a plane, and the change in elevation of cup delivery (i.e. the flight attendant is standing and delivering the cup to a seated passenger), flight attendants typically hold the cup in a technique referred to as “The Claw.” The flight attendant grabs the cup by the top rim, with thumb at zero degrees and the three great fingers located at about 140, 180, and 220 degrees when referenced to the thumb. This grip is very stable, but it also places the fingers on the top rim of the cup. This results in an unsanitary practice as user&#39;s may drink from the cop in a place in which the flight attendant had previously placed their fingers. Considering airplanes are known to be germ laden, as it is difficult for a flight attendant to keep their hands clean while handling the numerous surfaces involved in their job, this practice results in an unsanitary environment. Similarly, concession stand workers and others in the service industry also often handle the cup by the top edge as it is sometimes easier and faster to serve ultimate users. Similarly, a user when carrying the cup back to their seat may often use a “claw” method to hold the cup. Similar to an airplane, these environments are generally unsanitary as individuals are handling money, handling other food items, and/or handling without having access to sanitizer or hand washing. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The drinking cup of the present invention is generally frusto-conical in shape with a generally circular closed bottom, a continuous sidewall extending from the bottom, and an open top opposite from the bottom. The diameter of the bottom is smaller than the diameter of the open top. This allows the cups to be stored in a nested fashion prior to use. 
     The open top is defined by the top edge of the sidewall. The sidewall extending from the bottom has two heights. Approximately 300 degrees of the sidewall, as viewed circularly, has a first height and the remaining 60 degrees has a second height which is shorter than the first height. The sidewall having the first height has a flap extending away from the interior cup and down from the top edge. In another embodiment the sidewall having the first height has a rolled rim in which the rim rolls away from the interior of the cup. The sidewall having the second height has a rolled rim rolling towards the interior of the cup. The sidewall having the first height is generally the gripping area and the sidewall with the second height is the drinking area. 
     The interior face of the bottom is concave in shape such that the bottom is thicker around the outside edge proximal to the sidewall. The increased thickness adds weight to the bottom proximal its circumference to add stability. 
     It is an aim of this invention to provide a sanitary cup that has both separate drinking surfaces and gripping surfaces. 
     It is a further aim to present such a sanitary cup that is both disposable and able to nest while being stored. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a top down view of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a cross section view along the line of  3 - 3  in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is a cross section view along the line of  4 - 4  in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1-4 , the drinking cup  1  is a hollow frusto-conical structure comprising a bottom  10 , a sidewall  20  and an open end  50 . The bottom  10  further comprises a generally circular bottom wall  11  having a generally flat exterior surface  12  and a generally concave interior surface  13 . The interior surface  13  of the bottom wall  11  tapers from its thickest portion  14  where the bottom wall  11  adjoins the sidewall  20  and to the thinnest portion  15  in the middle. 
     The sidewall  20  extends from the bottom wall  11  and is generally conical in shape as the diameter of the sidewall  20  is smallest at the bottom  10  and largest at the open end  50 . Sidewall  20  has a bottom portion  21  that connects to the bottom wall  11  and a top edge  22  that forms the open end  50 . The top edge  22  consists of a first edge  23 , a second edge  24 , and side edges  60  connecting the first edge  23  and second edge  24 . The height  25  of the sidewall between the bottom wall  11  and the first edge  23  is uniform. The height  26  of the sidewall  20  between the bottom wall  11  and the second edge  24  is equal where the second edge  24  joins the side edge  25 . The height  25  of the sidewall  20  between the bottom wall  11  and the first edge  23  is longer than the height  26  of the sidewall  20  between the bottom wall  11  and the second edge  24 . The second edge  24  is curved as the height  27  measured between the bottom wall  11  and the midpoint of the second edge  24  is less than the height  26  from the edges of the second edge  24  and the bottom wall  11 . In one embodiment, the first edge  23  accounts for approximately 300 to 270 degrees of the circumference of the open end  50  with the second edge  24  accounting for the remaining 60 to 90 degrees. 
     Extending from the first edge  23 , away from the interior surface  32  of the drinking cup  1 , is a flap  28 . Flap  28  extends at a downward angle from the open end  50  creating a gap  29  between the flap  28  and the exterior face  31  of the sidewall  20 . In one embodiment the flap  28  is approximately the length of the height difference between the first edge  23  and second edge  24 . In another embodiment, as seen in  FIG. 5 , the length of the flap  33  is short or is alternatively rolled back towards the exterior surface  31  of the sidewall  20 . As seen in  FIG. 4 , a rolled lip  30  extends from the second edge  24  towards the interior of the drinking cup  1  and abuts the interior surface  32  of the sidewall  20 . 
     In another embodiment, as seen in  FIG. 6 , a lip  35  extends from first edge  23  having a length that is approximately equal to the height difference between the first edge  23  and second edge  24 . The lip  35  is thicker than the thickness of the sidewall  20  resulting in a shoulder  36 . 
     The drinking cup  1  may be constructed of a conventional plastic such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), paper, or polystyrene foam. The frusto-conical shape of the sidewall  20  and bottom  10  permit the drinking cups  1  to be nested to provide for ease of shipping and saving of space. 
     The first edge  23  forms a gripping service whereas the second edge  24  forms a drinking surface. The height differential between first edge  23  and second edge  24  encourages a user to grasp the drinking cup by the first edge  23  and to avoid touching the second edge  24 . Furthermore, the flap  28 ,  33  and shoulder  36  provide a differentiated surface from the smooth sidewall  20  that create an ideal surface to grip whereas the smooth outside portion of the second edge  24  discourages gripping. The flap  28 ,  33  and shoulder  36  have a practical effect of digging into the user&#39;s fingers to aid in gripping. The second edge  24  encourages the ultimate end user to drink from the second edge  24  as it is shaped to accommodate the end user&#39;s lips. 
     The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, and is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention, the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that numerous variations will be possible to the disclosed embodiments without going outside the scope of the invention as disclosed in the claims.