Cup holder sleeve in pre-assembled flat-folded form

Abstract

A cup holder sleeve is formed in pre-assembled, flat-folded form by diecutting a flat, elongated band from blank stock material so as to have top and bottom arcuate edges concentric to and in parallel with each other, fold lines scored into the band at spaced apart positions tapering toward each other, and side edges at opposite ends of the band. The opposite ends are folded flat at the fold lines so that the side edges overlap each other and are glued together at their overlapping surfaces. The flat-folded form allows for compact storage. The pre-assembled sleeve can be readied for use simply by squeezing on the outside surfaces so as to bow out the flat-folded band into an annular tapered sleeve with opened top and bottom ends for inserting a cup therein. In a preferred embodiment, the sleeve is made of paperboard material and is printed with graphics and embossed with a pattern to provide an insulating layer as well as better gripping of the sides of the cup. The diecutting, folding, and glueing of the sleeve can be done in one production process for ease of fabrication and at a low cost.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.