Thermally insulating holder for disposable beverage cups
OwnerRichard Patrick Welleinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An insulating holder is provided for a conventional disposable beverage cup. The insulating holder includes an upward-facing flange that supports the beverage cup at its peripheral bead and without interfering with a disposable lid that may be fitted to the cup by snap fit over the peripheral bead. The insulating holder further includes a retaining mechanism that holds the disposable cup and lid in the holder without interfering with the ability of the user to drink from the cup. The insulating holder further includes means to facilitate insertion of the cup into the holder without requiring the user to hold the cup either by its bead or by the lid.
Claims17
An assembly for holding a beverage cup, the assembly comprising:
- a cup holder comprising a closed bottom, a generally cylindrical or frustoconical side wall, and an upper access opening configured to receive the beverage cup,
- wherein an outer surface of the side wall of the cup holder comprises at least one latch-engagement feature;
- and
- a lid comprising a skirt, first and second latches, and first and second hinges respectively movably coupling the first and second latches to the skirt,
- wherein the lid is couplable to the cup holder by engaging the first and second latches with the at least one latch-engagement feature and is removable from the cup holder by disengaging the first and second latches from the at least one latch-engagement feature.
A lid for use with a cup holder, the lid comprising:
- a skirt;
- first and second latches;
- and
- first and second hinges respectively movably coupling the first and second latches to the skirt,
- wherein the lid is couplable to the cup holder by engaging the first and second latches with at least one latch-engagement feature of the cup holder and is removable from the cup holder by disengaging the first and second latches from the at least one latch-engagement feature.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.