Patent Publication Number: US-2011062154-A1

Title: Double structure cup

Description:
This application is a divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 11/966,825, filed Dec. 28, 2007 and claims priority to Korean patent application KR 10-2007-83081, filed Aug. 18, 2007, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a double structure cup, and in particular to a double structure cup in which an inner cup and an outer cup are engaged in a polygonal protrusion engagement structure. So, when a lid is opened or closed by rotating the lid, an inner cup does not rotate along with the lid while keeping an engaged state with the outer cup. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     Generally, a cup is used as a receptacle for storing beverage or liquid food or being used when drinking something. It has a certain thickness and an open upper side. 
     The above cup stores hot coffee, tea or milk or stores cold beverage. 
     The conventional cup has problems that a user may be damaged by hot heat as the heat of the stuff of the cup is transferred to the hands of a user. The user may drop a hot cup, thereby causing a burn. 
     In the conventional cup, an exclusive mold is made for forming various patterns or designs on an outer surface of the cup. A cutting process may be performed for forming a certain advertisement character. Once a certain pattern or design is formed on an outer surface of the cup, it is impossible to change the same. It costs too much for manufacturing a mold and forming a pattern and design. 
     In order to overcome the above problems, an adiabatic layer is formed between an inner cup and an outer cup by using air. Namely, a double structure cup is developed for blocking a heat transfer from the hot stuffs of the cup to the hands of a user. 
     In addition, the outer cup is transparent, and a decoration sheet or advertisement sheet (insertion sheet) with various patterns and designs is inserted between the inner and outer cups for manufacturing various types of products. In the above double structure cup, it is possible to change the insertion sheet. 
     In the conventional double structure cup, as the inner and outer cups rotate, the double structure cup is assembled or disassembled. An insertion sheet is inputted into a space between the inner cup and a transparent outer cup, and the upper side of the inner cup is opened and closed through a lid. 
     When opening or closing the conventional double structure cup by rotating the lid, the inner cup is not fixed to the outer cup, namely, it rotates idle, so that opening and closing the lid are not easy. In order to overcome the above problems, the inner and outer cups are assembled while being not well rotated. In this case, exchanging the insertion sheet is not easy, and assembling and disassembling works are not easy. 
     DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a double structure cup in which an inner cup and an outer cup are engaged in a polygonal protrusion engagement method, and when a lid thread-engaged to an inner cup is rotated to open or close, the inner cup does not rotate along with the lid while keeping engaged to the outer cup, so that it is easy to open and close the lid, and an advertisement insertion sheet may be inserted into a space between the inner and outer cups. 
     To achieve the above objects, in a double structure cup which includes an inner cup for storing a certain stuff with its upper side being open, an outer cup which is spaced apart from the inner cup while surrounding the same and being engaged thereto, and a lid thread-engaged to an upper side of the inner cup for opening and closing the same, there is provided a double structure cup characterized in that a plurality of polygonal male protrusions are protruded from a bottom surface of the inner cup in a downward direction, and a plurality of concave protrusions are formed and engaged with the male protrusions on a bottom surface of the outer cup in an upward direction, so that as the male protrusions are engaged with the concave protrusions, the inner cup does not rotate along with the lid when the lid is rotated for opening and closing. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will become better understood with reference to the accompanying drawings which are given only by way of illustration and thus are not limitative of the present invention, wherein; 
         FIG. 1  is an assembled cross sectional view of a double structure cup according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIGS. 2A and 2B  are front cross sectional and bottom views of an inner cup of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIGS. 3A and 3B  are front cross sectional and bottom views of an outer cup of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of a lid of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is an assembled cross sectional view of a double structure cup according to another embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the protrusion of  FIG. 5 . 
     
    
    
     MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 
     The construction and operation of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG. 1  is an assembled cross sectional view of a double structure cup according to an embodiment of the present invention,  FIGS. 2A and 2B  are front cross sectional and bottom views of an inner cup of  FIG. 1 ,  FIGS. 3A and 3B  are front cross sectional and bottom views of an outer cup of  FIG. 1 , and  FIG. 4  is a front view of a lid of  FIG. 1 . 
     As shown therein, the double structure cup according to the present invention comprises an inner cup  100 , an outer cup  200 , a lid  300  and an insertion sheet  400 . 
     The inner cup  100  is cylindrical and has a side surface  110  and a bottom surface  120  with an upper side of the same being open for storing a certain stuff. The side surface  110  is gradually narrowed in a downward direction. 
     The inner cup  100  stores a certain stuff such as hot coffee, tea, milk or something or stores a certain stuff such as cold beverage. 
     The side surface  110  of the inner cup is provided with a female thread part  111  formed along an inner circumferential surface and thread-engaged with the lid  300 , a step part  112  inwardly formed at the upper end of the same, and a bent part  113  formed on the upper side of the same and bent in an upside down cup shape in an outward direction. 
     A certain space  114  is formed between the side surface  110  of the inner cup and the bent part  113  with its lower end being open. The upper end of the side surface  210  of the outer cup is inserted into the space  114 . 
     A male protrusion  121  is protruded from a lower side in the bottom surface  120  of the inner cup in a polygonal shape. The male protrusion  121  is formed of an outer protrusion  121   a  and an inner protrusion  121   b , and a contraction prevention groove  122  is formed between the outer and inner protrusions  121   a  and  121   b  for preventing contraction during an ejection molding work. An engaging groove  123  is formed at the center of the inner protrusion  121   b , and the outer wall surface of the outer protrusion  121   a  is gradually narrowed in a downward direction. 
     The inner cup  100  is preferably made of a synthetic resin, stainless steel, china, glass, wooden or something. More preferably, a ceramic hollow ball capable of preventing a heat conduction is mixed with resin and is foam-molded. A material combined with the ceramic hollow balls and paint is coated on the surface of the inner cup for thereby obtaining an adiabatic effect. 
     The outer cup  200  includes a side surface  210  and a bottom surface  220  and is formed in a cylindrical shape with its upper side being open. The side surface  210  is gradually narrowed in a downward direction and surrounds the inner cup  100  while being spaced by a certain space  510  from the inner cup  100 . The upper side of the outer cup  200  is inserted into the space  114  formed by means of a bent part  113  of the inner cup  100 . 
     A step part  211  is outwardly formed on an upper side of the side surface  210  of the outer cup. When the upper side of the outer cup  200  is inserted into the space  114  formed between the side surface  110  of the inner cup and the bent part  113 , the step part  211  supports the end of the bent part  113 . 
     A polygonal concave protrusion  221  is formed on the upper side of the bottom surface  220  of the outer cup, and a male protrusion  121  is formed on the bottom surface  120  of the inner cup for thereby being engaged with the concave protrusion  221 . 
     The inner side surface of the concave protrusion  221  is gradually narrowed in a downward direction while corresponding to the outer surface of the outer protrusion  121   a  formed in the bottom surface  120  of the inner cup  100 . 
     In the drawings of the present invention, the male protrusion  121  and the concave protrusion  221  are formed in rectangular shapes. Any shape such as a triangle shape, a cross shape, a tooth shape or something is possible only when it is able to prevent the rotation of the inner cup  100  during the rotation of the lid  300  in a state that the inner and outer cups  100  and  200  are engaged. 
     The bottom surface  220  of the outer cup  200  is formed of an engaging groove  222  and an engaging hole  223  so that it is vertically matched with the engaging groove  123  of the inner surface  120  of the inner cup. 
     The bottom surface  220  of the outer cup  200  and the bottom surface  120  of the inner cup  100  are fixedly engaged with an engaging member  500 . Here, as the engaging member  500 , a bolt/nut, screws or something may be used. In case that they are engaged using a bolt/nut, the nut is positioned in the engaging groove  123  of the inner cup  100  and is engaged with a bolt which is externally inserted through the engaging hole  223 . Here, the head of the bolt is protruded from the engaging groove  123  through the engaging hole  223  in a state that it is positioned in the engaging groove  222  of the outer cup  200 . 
     When they are engaged using screws without using the nut, a female thread part (not shown) is formed on the inner circumferential surfaces of the bottom surfaces  220  and  120  in which the engaging hole  223  and the engaging groove  123  are formed. At this time, the head of the thread is positioned in the engaging groove  222  of the outer cup  220 . 
     In a state that the inner and outer cups  100  and  200  are engaged with each other, a hollow space  510  is formed between the inner cup  100  and the outer cup  200 . A heat conduction of the stuffs stored in the inner cup  100  is disconnected by means of the hollow space  510 , so that it is possible to keep beverage such as coffee hot for a long time. Since the heat is not transferred to the outer cup  200 , a user can easily hold the cup. 
     An insertion sheet (advertisement sheet or personal photo or image) is rolled and inserted into the hollow space  510  between the inner cup  100  and the outer cup  200 . When the outer cup  200  is made of a transparent synthetic resin or a glass material, since the stuffs of the insertion sheet  400  can be seen from the outside, it is possible to obtain an advertisement effect. 
     An engaging part  310  having a packing groove  311  is downwardly protruded in the lid  300  for engaging a packing  520  wherein the lid  300  is opened or closed by rotating the same on the upper side of the inner cup  100 . A male thread part  312  is formed along an outer circumferential side of the engaging part  310 , so that it is engaged with the female thread part  111  of the inner cup  100 . 
     The inner cup  100  is pushed into the upper side of the outer cup  200 , and the insertion sheet  400  with an advertisement or photo is rolled and inserted into the space between the inner cup  100  and the outer cup  200 . 
     The upper side of the outer cup  220  is inserted into the space  114  of the upper side of the inner cup, and a polygonal male protrusion  121  protruded on the bottom surface  120  of the inner cup is inserted into the interior of the polygonal concave protrusion  221  protruded upwardly, and the bottom surface  120  of the inner cup and the bottom surface  200  of the outer cup are engaged through the engaging hole  223  and the engaging grooves  222  and  123  by using the engaging member  500  such as bolt/nut or screws. So, even when the lid  300  is rotated, the inner cup  100  does not rotate along with the lid  300 . 
     The packing  520  is inserted into the engaging groove  222  of the outer cup  200  in which the engaging member  500  is inserted, and the space  114  of the inner cup  100  engaged with the upper side of the side surface  210  of the outer cup for thereby obtaining a waterproof effect. 
     The lid  300  is thread-engaged to the upper side of the side surface  110  of the inner cup  100  after the inner and outer cups  100  and  200  are engaged for thereby finishing an assembling work of the double structure cup. Here, the packing  520  is inserted between the packing groove  311  and the step part  112  corresponding to the engaging portion of the lid  300  for thereby obtaining a waterproof effect. 
     In the double structure cup according to the present invention, since the space  510  is formed between the inner and outer cups  100  and  200 , it is possible to prevent a heat conduction, and when the cup is opened or closed by rotating the lid  300 , the inner and outer cups  100  and  200  are engaged with the polygonal protrusions  121  and  221  and are further secured by means of the engaging member  500 , so that the inner cup  100  does not rotate idle, whereby it is possible to easily open and close the lid  300 . 
     The size of the concave protrusion  221  is equal to or smaller than the male protrusion  121 , so that the male protrusion  121  is tightly inserted into the concave protrusion  221  for thereby engaging the inner and outer cups  100  and  200 . If necessary, the engaging member  500  may be omitted. The same functions as the above described function may be obtained by allowing the male protrusion  121  and the concave protrusion  221  to be opposite to each other. 
       FIG. 5  is a partial assembled cross sectional view illustrating a double structure cup according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
     In case that the inner cup  100  is made of stainless steel, not a synthetic resin, since it is impossible to form the male protrusion  121  on the bottom surface  120 , a polygonal male protrusion  131  is formed for separately manufacturing a stainless steel plate  130  and inserting into the concave protrusion  221  of the outer cup  200 . The engaging groove  133  is formed at the center of the same, and the flange  132  is fixed at the bottom surface  120  of the inner cup  100  by means of a welding method. The polygonal male protrusion  131  is seen in  FIG. 6 . 
     The inner and outer cups  100  and  200  are engaged using the engaging member  500  such as bolt/nut or screws. 
     As described above, the present invention is directed to double structure cup which is able to effectively store a certain amount of beverage or liquid stuff, while substantially preventing a heat conduction, for thereby obtaining a heat and cold storing effect. 
     In addition, in the present invention, when the lid thread-engaged to the inner cup is rotated for opening or closing the cup, the inner cup does not rotate along with the lid while keeping being fixed to the outer cup, so that it is possible to easily open and close the lid. The inner and outer cups can be easily assembled or disassembled, and a certain insertion sheet can be inserted into a space between the inner and outer cups for an advertisement, and the inserted sheet can be easily exchanged with new one. 
     As the present invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described examples are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the meets and bounds of the claims, or equivalences of such meets and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.