The present invention refers to the technical field of containers for beverages in general and in particular it refers to a hygienic protection to prevent external contact contamination and similar.
By now the containers for cold or hot drinks are well known. These could include coffee' cups or glasses in general, and in particular the entire category of one-time disposable glasses or containers.
Specially in the public use, the hygiene is an is indispensable prerogative to avoid the contamination by virus and pathogen agents of various nature. It is indeed known by everyone how the use of contaminated glasses could potentially expose everyone at a high risk. Often these last ones result to be very disturbing and weakening and often cause long and expensive antibiotic cures.
All the beverage's containers in general are subject to this risk, and in a particular way all the category of disposable containers, as plastic glasses and similar, caused by the fact that are essentially aimed for a public and crowded use. These last ones are indeed used commonly not only in the bars, but also in the offices or in the different occasions of parties and meetings and can easily become a way of diffusion of viruses when are not adequately protected.
All the disposable glasses are exclusively for individual use and, before using them, are unpacked from their packages and placed stacked on top of the other at user's disposal. Often, when taking a glass, happens to take out of the stack more than one contemporarily. In this case the common reaction is to remove and replace on top of the stack the exceeding glasses and use only one of them. Unfortunately the handling operation of the glasses implies a contamination of all of their parts especially the ones that will be in contact with the lips of the user. It is clear how everything can be an easy mean of transmission of virus not only for third parties that will use the glasses that have been handled and replaced by the first user, but also for the same user.
Moreover it is clear how the sole and simple exposition to the external environment of all the glasses in general, regardless their being disposable or normal and simply stacked on top of the other or kept into apposite dispensers, can be a cause of contamination. Just thinking to all the glasses and containers in general exposed in a bar and subject to any kind of virus given by sneezes or cough of potential users.
Even the simple handling of the same, for example when the barman takes one in order to serve a drink, could represent a high risk of contamination if his hands are not completely sanitized.
Thus, it is cleat how this kind of contamination is difficult to prevent and almost unavoidable for all the containers in general, regret their being disposable or normal.
It is therefore the aim of the present invention to give a protection device that resolves all the above mentioned inconvenient for all kinds of containers for beverages.
In particular it is the aim of the present invention to give a protective device that eliminates the risks of infection during the use of containers and that is economical and easy to use.
These and other aims are reached through the present protection device for beverage's containers in general, particularly for plastic, paper, cardboard and similar disposable glasses and characterized by the fact that it comprises at least an annular collar comprising lateral walls and an upper junction base connected to them defining so an annular site. In this manner the annular collar is appropriate to bind, by means of said annular site and in a removable way, on the upper edge of the glass in such a manner to protect it from external contaminations.
The annular collar so realized can therefore be easily applied on the glass as a common lid. The grip will be guaranteed by the annular site that will receive the upper edge of the glass and a portion of the wall's height constituting the same glass.
Naturally the annular geometry of the collar, simply seen as a crown or annular configuration not exclusively circular but also with other shapes, allows exclusively the protection of the edge of the glass and of its wall's portion directed to the following contact with the lips during the use.
Advantageously the annular site of the above said collar comprises:
The annular collar, thus, is realized with the lateral external and internal wall that are complied with the shape of the wall. In this way it is obtained a constructive solution that is practically universal and adaptable, in each case, to each different geometry of the container.
Between the different possible constructive solutions, a first possible solution provides advantageously that the upper junction base comprises;
In this manner there is a receiving site that is opportunely shaped to contain the upper edge of the disposable plastic or similar glasses. The need of such shaping is found in the fact that, generally, this last one results typically curled or folded up to create a roundish supporting base for the lips that compensates the very thin thickness of the same glass. If indeed it was not complied this way, the upper edge would become dangerous and could cause painful cut of the lips.
Moreover, many times, the plastic glass presents kind of a collar close to its upper edge on the side of the internal wall. For this aim, then, the present device provides that the first annular portion is connected to the internal wall by means of a projection that gets extended in a radial way from the internal wall towards said first portion defining a step.
Advantageously a second possible configuration provides that the upper junction base comprises an annular cup of predetermined radius R3 and emerging from both the external and internal lateral walls defining a second new conformation of receiving site.
This solution is particularly advantageous when the upper edge of the glass is conformed according to a circular profile.
In the case of common glasses or cups where the upper edge does not have any particular shapes but is practically rectilinear, then it is preferred that the upper junction base comprises a junction with a profile that is almost rectilinear. In this manner, also in this case, the collar will fit perfectly on the edge of the glass.
Advantageously the annular collar applies on the upper edge of the glass allowing to the receiving site to contain completely in its inside the upper edge of the glass realizing a snap engage of the collar on said edge.
This solution is typical in the case the upper edges of the glass are particularly shaped as described above. In the case of rectilinear edge the collar will lean or realized with interference.
In order to remove the collar at the time of its use, are comprised opportune means of disjunction that comprise:
Advantageously the notches are placed in correspondence of both the sides of the tongue. Moreover the height of the notches can coincide to the entire height of the annular collar.
By simply pulling out the tongue, it is realized the tearing and the removal of the collar.
In all cases anyway it is possible to comprise the application of a protective film internally to the annular site of the collar and supplied with sterilizing substances.
In this way, when applying the protective device, there is already a sterilization of the same edge of the glass.
The present device can be produced separately or already integrated in the disposable glasses.
For this aim it is then possible to have a type of disposable glass in plastic, paper, cardboard and similar characterized by the fact that it comprises in correspondence of its upper edge a protection device as described.
Further features and advantages of this device, according to the invention, will be clearer with the description that of one of its pattern realization that follows, made to illustrate but not limit, with reference to the annexed drawings, in which:
The
In
In particular, an annular collar 1 is realized through a couple of lateral walls (3, 4) connected to each other by an upper junction base 5, in a way to realize an annular site 6. The annular site so obtained (look at
In particular,
The height of the two lateral walls 3 and 4, respectively external and internal, can vary at someone's taste without having to move apart from the present inventive concept. In this way the collar will keep a height of the glass's wall 7 that is more or less wide including, naturally, its upper edge 8.
The section of the collar can also comprise different shapes and geometries, according to the needs and specific applications and, hereinafter, are described few of the preferred ones. The numbering has been increased of a hundred for each preferred described configuration only for the aim of clarity of interpretation and thus in an absolute not limitative manner.
According to a first preferred configuration of the invention (look at
Naturally the receiving site 109 has been described by dividing it in the above mentioned portions (110, 111, 112) exclusively for geometry's clearness and thus not limited for the present invention. This first configuration results particularly advantageous in the case of disposable glasses which, often, present an upper edge 108 shaped as a curl. The disposable glasses are all considered one-time glasses in general and commonly realize in materials as plastic, paper, cardboard, polyester and similar.
The disposable glasses, in general, present a sort of step 113 (look at
A second preferred configuration of the invention (look at
A third preferred configuration of the invention (look at
Obviously any other geometry of the upper junction base can be found, without having to move apart from the present inventive concept.
In all the preferred configurations of the invention can be provided means of disjunction 17 (look for example
In all the described configuration is possible to apply a protective film inside the annular site of the collar and provided with sterilizing substances as bactericides or disinfectant in general. In this way, the protective film will get in contact to the edge of the glass as soon as the collar is applied, exercising consequently an action of sterilization of the same edge from any external bacterial that can eventually exist.
It is now described the functioning of the device that results common for all the constructive configurations. For this aim, in a non restrictive manner, it is been chosen to refer to some explicative figures.
As described in
With the aim to guarantee the holding of the collar (look at
In other cases where the upper edge of the glass is not shaped (look at
In all the other described cases, the removal of the collar is also a simple operation. Operating simply on the tongue 18 by pulling it, there will be a tearing along the entire predefined tear-off line 19 allowing the complete removal of the collar.
The realization of the present device can consist, for example, in a material moulding. Zn the case of realization of the annular collar already integrated in the disposable glasses, it is then necessary to have a new additional phase of realization of the glasses that comprises the production and the following application of the collar on the glass within the production run of the glass.
The materials for the realization of the present device can then be, in an absolutely not limitative manner, all the materials suitable to have such protective function.
It is at this point clear how all the aims of the present inventing have been reached. In particular it is clear how the collar resolves all the risks of infection and contamination from the contact of the lips to the edge of a container that is mostly contaminated.
Indeed, in the case of glasses or coffee cups in general, it is possible to replace on them the disposable protective collar once they have been washed, avoiding this way any possible contamination. In the case of disposable glasses is possible to protect the edge in the same manner before arranging them to the public.
The above description of a specific shape is able to show the invention from the conceptive point of view, in a way that others, by using the art, can modify and/or adapt in different applications this specific shape without any further research and without going apart from the inventive concept, and, therefore, it is intended that these adaptations and transformations will be considered as equivalent to this specific realization. The means and materials to make the many described functions can be of various nature without exiting the area of the invention. it is intended that the expressions or the terminology used have a simple descriptive aim and therefore not limiting.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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CT2007U000013 | Sep 2007 | IT | national |
PCT/IB2008/053576 | Sep 2008 | IB | international |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/IB08/53576 | 9/5/2008 | WO | 00 | 3/1/2010 |