Stackable metal cup

Abstract

A stackable metal cup (1) has a body portion (3) having a hollow shape with an upper opening, an upper end inner diameter (D) larger than a lower end outer diameter, and a shape inclined from an upper portion to a lower portion, and a bottom portion (7) having a ground portion (5) connected to a lower end of the body portion (3) via a curvature portion (R). The stackable metal cup (1) is characterized in that, when a height (H) from the ground portion (5) to the upper end is set to 100%, an upper portion region (A1) having a height of 70% to 100% includes at least one inflection point portion (α) that is a portion in which an inclination angle of the body portion (3) with respect to a vertical plane changes.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a stackable metal cup that can be stacked and stored. Background Technology

[0002] Historically, paper and plastic containers have been widely used for drinking and other beverage-related purposes. This is because containers made from these materials are lightweight, easy to mold, and therefore inexpensive, making them suitable for single-use applications. However, from an environmental perspective, particularly regarding resource depletion and waste issues, metal cups have gained attention in recent years. This is because, compared to paper and plastic cups, metal cups are stronger and more durable, suitable for repeated use, and can significantly reduce resource depletion and waste generation.

[0003] However, such metal cups are mostly used for drinking alcoholic beverages such as beer, and are about the size of a small to large glass. Furthermore, to allow for stacking, they are designed with the inner diameter of the opening at the top larger than the outer diameter of the bottom. For example, as shown in Patent Document 1, metal cups with this design have 2 to 3 steps formed in the middle of the main body. Additionally, as described in Patent Document 2, to make the inner diameter of the opening at the top larger than the outer diameter of the bottom, the main body can be formed as a tapered, sloping wall. In this case, for example, two or more steps are also formed on the main body wall (sloping wall). In any type of metal cup, when multiple cups are stacked, the main body walls are prevented from sticking together, allowing for smooth removal and insertion of the stacked cups.

[0004] That is, in the metal cups of comparative literature 1 and 2, a step is formed on the main body wall. Therefore, a gap is formed between the outer surface of the main body wall of the upper cup that is stacked and the inner surface of the main body wall of the lower cup that holds it. This greatly reduces the part of the two cups that are in close contact, making it not only easy to stack, but also easy to pull out the stacked cups.

[0005] Existing technical documents

[0006] Patent documents

[0007] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Publication No. 2015-506842

[0008] Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2021-155121 Summary of the Invention

[0009] The problem that the invention aims to solve

[0010] Furthermore, due to the development of metal processing technology in recent years, extremely thin-walled metal cans, exemplified by aluminum cans, have been achieved through deep drawing and thinning processes, resulting in thinner walls for metal cups and achieving lightweighting and resource conservation. However, while such thinning of the main body wall brings the advantages mentioned above, it also leads to reduced strength, causing the metal cups to easily deform and compromise stackability.

[0011] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a stackable metal cup that effectively prevents a reduction in stackability caused by deformation of the metal cup.

[0012] Technical solution

[0013] According to the present invention, a stackable metal cup is provided, comprising: a main body having a hollow shape with an upper opening, the upper inner diameter being larger than the lower outer diameter, and a shape sloping downwards from top to bottom; and a bottom having a grounding portion connected to the lower end of the main body via a curvature portion. The stackable metal cup is characterized in that...

[0014] The height H from the grounding part to the upper end is set to 100%, and the upper region A1 with a height of 70% to 100% includes at least one inflection point α, which is the part where the tilt angle of the main body relative to the vertical plane changes.

[0015] In the stackable metal cup of the present invention, the following scheme is preferred.

[0016] (1) At least one inflection point α is formed in the lower region A2 with a height of less than 40%, which is the part where the tilt angle of the main body changes.

[0017] (2) The tilt angle difference Δθ of the inflection point α is defined as less than 25 degrees.

[0018] (3) At least four inflection point portions α are formed in the intermediate region A3 between the upper region A1 and the lower region A2. The inflection point portions α are the parts where the tilt angle of the main body changes.

[0019] (4) The inflection point α is the intersection of a reference vertical wall with an inclination angle of less than 2 degrees relative to the vertical plane and an inclined wall with an inclination angle difference Δθ relative to the reference vertical wall.

[0020] (5) The tilt angle difference Δθ of the inflection point α formed in the intermediate region A3 is smaller than the tilt angle difference Δθ of the inflection point α existing in the upper region A1 and the lower region A2.

[0021] (6) The inclination angle difference Δθ of the inflection point portion α formed in the intermediate region A3 is defined to be less than 10 degrees.

[0022] (7) The height H from the grounding part to the upper end is in the range of 90mm to 150mm, and the inner diameter of the upper end of the opening is in the range of 65mm to 95mm.

[0023] Invention Effects

[0024] In the metal cup of the present invention, the upper inner diameter of the main body is generally set larger than the lower outer diameter to ensure stackability. However, a particularly important feature is that the inflection point α, generated by the change in the tilt angle of the main body wall (i.e., the tilt angle difference), enhances the resistance of the main body wall to circumferential pressure and suppresses shape deformation. Specifically, in the present invention, one or more such inflection point α are formed in the upper region A1 (a region with a height of 70% to 100%). Therefore, the upper end of the metal cup is less prone to deformation; for example, even if the lower part deforms, the shape of the upper part of the opening will not deform, thus not compromising stackability. This is the greatest advantage of the present invention.

[0025] Furthermore, in this invention, in the preferred metal cup, one or more inflection point portions α as described above are also formed in the lower region A2 (the region with a height of 40% or less). That is, the lower region A2 is also less prone to deformation, and deformation of the lower portion is also less likely to occur except for the upper portion of the opening. In short, since the upper and lower shapes, which are most important for ensuring stackability, are less prone to deformation, stackability is more stably ensured.

[0026] Furthermore, in this invention, the most preferred method is to form four or more inflection point portions α as described above in the intermediate region A3 between the upper region A1 and the lower region A2. Moreover, the angle difference Δθ between these inflection point portions α is defined to be smaller than the angle difference Δθ between the upper region A1 and the lower region A2, for example, a step that is slightly perceptible by touch. That is, the intermediate region A3 is the part where the metal cup is frequently gripped by hand. This region is the part where deformation occurs most frequently, so it is preferable to have multiple inflection point portions α. However, if the inflection point portions formed by the same angle difference Δθ as the upper region A1 and the lower region A2 are large enough to be clearly identified as steps, the smoothness of the main body wall will be impaired, for example, affecting printability and label adhesion. In addition, sometimes when stacking, the overlapping cups wobble, which can also impair the stability of the stack. Therefore, in the intermediate region A3, the inflection point α is formed by a tiny angle difference that is not easily identified as a step, thereby preventing the aforementioned adverse conditions while improving strength. Attached Figure Description

[0027] Figure 1 These are schematic side sectional views and partially enlarged sectional views of the main body of an example of the metal cup of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 2 This is a magnified photograph of the central region A3 of an example of the metal cup of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0029] exist Figure 1 The metal cup of the present invention, generally indicated by 1, includes a main body 3 and a bottom 7 having a grounding portion 5. A curled portion 9 is typically formed at the upper end of the main body 3 to prevent sharp ends from protruding outwards. Furthermore, the lower end of the main body 3 is connected to the grounding portion 5 via a curvature portion R.

[0030] The bottom 7 can be flat, but it usually has a central dome-shaped recess, the periphery of which becomes the grounding part 5. With this shape, the metal cup 1 has high resistance to pressure bending.

[0031] The main body 3 forms a hollow part 10 with an opening at the top, which is closed by the bottom 7 and is used to contain liquids such as beverages.

[0032] Regarding the aforementioned metal cup 1, in order to ensure stackability, the opening diameter at the upper end of the hollow portion 10 (i.e., the inner diameter at the upper end of the main body portion 3) is larger than the outer diameter d at the lower end and tilts downwards.

[0033] It should be noted that the metal used as the constituent material of the metal cup 1 can be various metals or even alloys, such as aluminum, copper, iron, or alloys of these metals, or surface-treated steel sheets such as tinplate or aluminum sheets that have undergone chemical conversion treatment. Generally speaking, steel, stainless steel, aluminum, or aluminum alloys are preferred, and aluminum or its alloys are preferred, especially from the viewpoints of lightweight and processability.

[0034] Furthermore, the inner surface of the metal cup 1 can also be coated with an organic resin. This organic resin coating originates from coatings such as acrylic, polyurethane, silicone, and fluorine-based paints, or thermoplastic resins such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and is designed for corrosion resistance and to suppress surface roughness during demanding molding processes. Of course, an organic resin coating can also be formed on the outer surface.

[0035] Such a metal cup 1 can be formed, for example, from a thin-walled metal blank (which may also have the aforementioned organic resin coating formed on the inner surface and the side that becomes the outer surface).

[0036] For example, when an organic resin coating is formed, punching, deep drawing, re-deep drawing-thinning processing is performed, and the bottom is raised approximately at the same time. Then, heat treatment of the finishing section (to prevent film peeling), finishing, curling process, re-deep drawing process with inclined sidewalls, heat treatment process (resin strain removal and wax removal), outer surface printing, heat treatment, etc.

[0037] In addition, without forming an organic coating resin, the process involves punching, deep drawing, re-deep drawing-thinning, roughly simultaneously raising the bottom, followed by finishing, cleaning and drying, curling, setting an inclined re-deep drawing process on the sidewalls, printing on the outer surface, and heat treatment.

[0038] In the metal cup 1 described above, the thickness of the central portion of the bottom 7 is equivalent to the thickness of the blank used to form the cup 1. This thickness varies depending on the application of the cup 1, but generally ranges from 0.10 mm to 0.50 mm. The thickness of the main body 3 and the height H of the cup 1 (from the grounding portion 5 to the upper end of the main body 3) vary depending on the degree of thinning. As the thinning rate gradually increases and the thinning process is performed in multiple stages, the main body 3 becomes thinner, and the height H increases. In particular, this thinning has become significant in recent years. To address this thinning, the metal cup 1 of the present invention has the following shape.

[0039] like Figure 1 As shown, on the main body 3, there are multiple locations where the tilt angle (angle relative to the vertical plane) changes, and inflection point α is generated due to the angle difference Δθ. When the angle difference Δθ is large, the inflection point α is clearly visually identified as a step. Such an inflection point α exhibits resistance to stress from the circumferential outer surface of the main body 3 of the metal cup 1, effectively suppressing deformation of the main body 3.

[0040] It should be noted that in the following explanation, when the angle of inclination is recorded, unless otherwise specified, it refers to the angle relative to the vertical plane.

[0041] For example, in Figure 1 In the example shown, a reference vertical wall 3a and an inclined wall 3b having an angular difference Δθ from the reference vertical wall 3a are alternately connected to form multiple inflection point portions α. The inflection angle of the reference vertical wall 3a relative to the vertical plane is less than 2 degrees, particularly less than 1 degree, and preferably less than 0.5 degrees (i.e., the inflection angle is approximately 0). In this case, the inflection angle of the reference vertical wall 3a is smaller than the angular difference Δθ. It should be noted that the aforementioned angular difference Δθ (i.e., the angular difference from the reference vertical wall 3a) is in the range of less than 25 degrees. The angular difference Δθ forming the multiple inflection point portions α can be the same for all of them, or different values ​​can be used depending on the inflection angle being less than 25 degrees.

[0042] In this invention, the tilt angle of the main body 3 relative to the vertical plane and the angle difference Δθ with the vertical wall 3a, as described above, are naturally set to satisfy the condition that the opening diameter D at the upper end of the hollow portion 10 is larger than the outer diameter d at the lower end. However, if these values ​​are set too large, the outer diameter d at the lower end becomes too small, or the number of inflection point portions α (steps) is limited, thereby impairing the flatness of the outer surface of the main body 3 and compromising printability and label adhesion. From this perspective, it is preferable that the tilt angle (angle relative to the vertical plane) of the main body 3 is 7 degrees or less and the angle difference Δθ is set to 5 degrees or less, particularly 1 degree or less, and most preferably 0.5 degrees or less. This allows for an appropriate increase in the number of inflection point portions α. For example, it is undesirable for inflection point portions to be formed by recesses in the horizontal direction.

[0043] In a metal cup 1 having a main body 3 with the inflection point portion α as described above, when the height H of the main body 3 is set to 100%, it can be divided into three regions: an upper region A1 with a height of 70% to 100%, a lower region A2 with a height of less than 40% of H, and an intermediate region A3 between these regions A1 and A2. In this invention, the inflection point portion α generated by the angle difference Δθ as described above is distributed in each of these regions.

[0044] First, in the upper region A1, at least one inflection point α, preferably two to four, is formed, resulting from the angle difference Δθ between the tilt angles of the main body 3. This increases the strength of the upper region A1, effectively suppresses deformation of the upper portion of the hollow opening 10, and ensures stackability.

[0045] Furthermore, in the lower region A2, ideally, at least one inflection point α, generated by the angle difference Δθ of the tilt angle of the main body 3, should be formed, preferably 3 to 5. This allows the lower region A2 to be strengthened along with the upper region A1, effectively suppressing deformation of the upper and lower portions of the hollow opening 10 and ensuring more reliable stacking. That is, during stacking, not only can the metal cup 1 be smoothly received, but the metal cup 1 can also be smoothly inserted.

[0046] It should be noted that, as mentioned above, the angle difference Δθ between the tilt angles in the upper region A1 and the lower region A2 is set to less than 25 degrees.

[0047] In addition, Figure 1In this configuration, a reference vertical wall 3a with a very small (or zero) inclination angle relative to the vertical plane is alternately connected to an inclined wall 3b with an angle difference Δθ relative to the reference vertical wall 3a. However, as long as the angle difference Δθ is less than 25 degrees, walls with different inclination angles (e.g., a conical wall with a larger inclination angle than the inclined wall 3b) can be further formed between the reference vertical wall 3a and the inclined wall 3b. In this case, inflection point α is also formed between the conical wall and the inclined wall 3b, and between the conical wall and the reference vertical wall 3a.

[0048] Furthermore, in this invention, it is most suitable to form at least four, preferably six to ten, inflection point portions α in the middle region A3, resulting from the angle difference Δθ of the tilt angle. That is, the metal cup 1 is most commonly used for drinking alcoholic beverages such as beer. Therefore, the middle region A3 becomes the part most easily deformed by strong gripping. Therefore, it is preferable to form the number of inflection point portions α as described above, while achieving reinforcement of this part. In addition, since the middle region A3 is a large area, if this part is planar, the area of ​​close contact between the overlapping upper and lower cups 1 becomes larger when stacking the metal cups 1, thus potentially reducing stackability. It is preferable to form more inflection point portions α while avoiding this reduction in stackability.

[0049] Furthermore, also refer to the area A3 in the middle region. Figure 2 The central region A3 is a large area located in the center of the metal cup 1. Therefore, printing or labeling is frequently performed in this area. Consequently, high smoothness is required in this region. From this perspective, ideally, the angle difference Δθ in the central region A3 is smaller than that in the upper region A1 and the lower region A2, with multiple angle differences Δθ all being less than 5 degrees, particularly preferably less than 1 degree, and most preferably less than 0.5 degrees. For example, from... Figure 2 As can be understood, the inflection point α formed by such a small angular difference shows a tiny step that can be recognized by touch, and is inferior to the inflection point α in the upper region A1 and the lower region A2 in terms of high intensity. However, even the inflection point α formed by such a small angular difference is sufficient to ensure stacking, and a certain degree of high intensity can be achieved by setting a larger number of inflection point α (reducing the spacing between adjacent inflection point α), so it is the preferred method.

[0050] As described above, since the metal cup 1 of the present invention is frequently used in place of a wine glass when drinking beer, it is most preferably characterized by a height H in the range of 90 mm to 150 mm and an upper inner diameter of the opening in the range of 65 mm to 95 mm, particularly in the range of 70 mm to 90 mm.

[0051] Furthermore, in the example described above, a curled portion 9 is formed at the upper end. However, a horizontal flange or similar material can be formed instead of the curled portion 9. After containing food items, a lid can be installed by heat sealing or similar methods. In this case, it is beneficial for the preservation of the cup when it is reused repeatedly.

[0052] In addition, it can also be used as a can after a beverage or the like has been filled into a metal cup 1 and a lid component is attached. As a lid component, it can be any lid component such as a metal stay-on tab lid, a sheet material composed of laminates, or a threaded lid.

[0053] When the cap component is set as a retaining pull-ring cap and rolled up to the upper end of the main body, it is sufficient as long as the upper end of the container's main body is in a state where the flanging process for forming a surface portion has been performed after the finishing process for rolling up the cap.

[0054] When the cover component is made of a sheet material composed of laminates and bonded to the upper end of the main body by heat or the like, the upper end of the container's main body can be shaped to have a planar portion in order to ensure the bonding area. As a sheet material composed of laminates, the heat-bonding layer can be a laminate material represented by known sealing films, which has layers composed of adhesives such as lacquer-type adhesives, easy-peel adhesives, and hot-melt adhesives.

[0055] When the cover component is a threaded cover that is threadedly fixed to the upper end of the main body, it can be configured to have a threaded strip at the upper end of the container's main body, or a cover component with a filling outlet and a separate threaded strip for threaded fixing of the threaded cover can be rolled up to the upper end of the container's main body. By coordinating with the assembly method of the cover component, regardless of which method the cover component is configured, the efficiency of storing and transporting the container can be improved.

[0056] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0057] 1: Metal cup;

[0058] 3: Main body;

[0059] R: Curvature part;

[0060] 5: Grounding part;

[0061] 7: Bottom;

[0062] 9: Curly part;

[0063] 10: Hollow space;

[0064] α: Inflection point.

Claims

1. A stackable metal cup having: a body portion having a hollow shape with an upper opening, an upper end inner diameter larger than a lower end outer diameter, and a shape inclined from an upper portion to a lower portion; and a bottom portion having a ground portion connected to the lower end of the body portion via a curvature portion, the stackable metal cup characterized in that, a height (H) from the ground portion to the upper end is set to 100%, an upper portion region (Al) having a height of 70% to 100% includes at least one inflection portion (a) which is a portion in which an inclination angle of the body portion with respect to a vertical plane changes, at least four inflection portions (a) which are portions in which the inclination angle of the body portion changes are formed in an intermediate region (A3) between the upper portion region (Al) and a lower portion region (A2) having a height of 40% or less, a difference (Δθ) in the inclination angle of the inflection portion (a) formed in the intermediate region (A3) is smaller than a difference (Δθ) in the inclination angle of the inflection portion (a) present in the upper portion region (Al) and the lower portion region (A2).

2. The stackable metal cup according to claim 1, wherein at least one inflection portion (a) which is a portion in which the inclination angle of the body portion changes is formed in the lower portion region (A2) having a height of 40% or less.

3. The stackable metal cup according to claim 1, wherein a difference (Δθ) in the inclination angle of the inflection portion (a) is 25 degrees or less.

4. The stackable metal cup according to claim 1, wherein the inflection portion (a) is an intersection portion of a reference vertical wall having an inclination angle of 2 degrees or less with respect to a vertical plane and an inclined wall having a difference (Δθ) in the inclination angle with respect to the reference vertical wall.

5. The stackable metal cup according to claim 1, wherein a difference (Δθ) in the inclination angle of the inflection portion (a) formed in the intermediate region (A3) is 10 degrees or less.

6. The stackable metal cup according to claim 1, wherein the height (H) from the ground portion to the upper end is in a range of 90 mm to 150 mm, and an upper end inner diameter of the opening is in a range of 65 mm to 95 mm. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

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