Beverage container

Abstract

An insulative beverage container includes an outer cup and an inner gap support. The outer cup includes a cup brim, a cup floor, and a cup body. The inner gap support is configured to fit within an interior space of the outer cup and includes a gap-support brim, a gap-support floor, and gap-support body.

1 . An insulative container comprising
 an outer cup including a cup brim, a cup floor, and a cup body that extends and interconnects the cup brim and the cup floor to locate the cup body between the cup floor and the cup brim, the cup body including at least one annular reinforcement rib, and   an inner gap support configured to fit within an interior space of the outer cup, the inner gap support including a gap-support brim, a gap-support floor, and gap-support body that extends between and interconnects the gap-support brim and the gap-support floor to locate the gap-support body between the gap-support floor and the gap-support brim,   wherein the inner gap-support is spaced apart from the outer cup to provide an insulative air-gap therebetween and the gap-support body includes a spacer section between the gap-support brim and the gap support floor and including a plurality of projections that provide outwardly-projecting peaks to maintain the insulative air-gap, a retainer section coupled to a lower end of the spacer section and including a plurality of retainer tabs configured to engage with the at least one reinforcement rib of the cup body to retain the inner gap support to the outer cup, and a stacking section coupled to the retainer section so that: (i) the beverage container may be stacked with similar beverage containers and (ii) the inner gap support may be stacked with similar inner gap supports separately from the outer cup.   
     
     
         2 . The insulative container of  claim 1 , wherein each of the projections is an annular spacer rib that extends circumferentially around a central axis of the inner gap support. 
     
     
         3 . The insulative container of  claim 2 , wherein each spacer rib extends includes a negatively-sloping upper segment and a positively-sloping lower segment relative to the central axis such that each negatively-sloping upper segment extends away from the central axis from an upper end to a lower end of each negatively-sloping upper segment and each positively-sloping lower segment extends toward the central axis from an upper end to a lower end of each positively-sloping lower segment. 
     
     
         4 . The insulative container of  claim 3 , wherein an air-gap depression is defined between two neighboring peaks to provide an annular air-gap pocket therebetween. 
     
     
         5 . The insulative container of  claim 3 , wherein each negatively-sloping upper segment has a first height relative to the central axis that is greater than a second height of each positively-sloping lower segment. 
     
     
         6 . The insulative container of  claim 3 , wherein each negatively-sloping upper segment has a steeper absolute slope than at least a portion of each positively-sloping lower segment. 
     
     
         7 . The insulative container of  claim 6 , wherein each positively-sloping lower segment includes a lower band coupled to the upper end of one negatively-sloping upper segment and an upper band coupled to the lower end of another negatively-sloping upper segment, and the lower band has a steeper absolute slope compared to the upper band. 
     
     
         8 . The insulative container of  claim 1 , wherein each retainer tab extends only partway around a central axis of the inner gap support and includes a pusher ramp forming a lower portion of each retainer tab, a retainer forming an upper portion of each retainer tab, and a peak formed at a junction between the pusher ramp and the retainer, and wherein the retainer is configured to engage the reinforcement rib to block removal of the inner gap support from the outer cup. 
     
     
         9 . The insulative container of  claim 8 , wherein a clearance gap is defined between the retainer and the reinforcement rib when the inner gap support is fully installed. 
     
     
         10 . The insulative container of  claim 1 , wherein a lower surface of the gap-support brim is formed to include a rim sealer that engages an upper surface of the cup brim when the insulative gap support is fully installed. 
     
     
         11 . The insulative container of  claim 1 , wherein the stack section includes a plurality of generally horizontally-extending bands and a plurality of generally vertically-extending bands that cooperate to provide a container stacking shoulder and a gap-support stacking shoulder. 
     
     
         12 . The insulative container of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of retainer tabs provide a gap-support stacking shoulder and the stack section includes at least one inwardly extending stacking tab that provides a container stacking shoulder. 
     
     
         13 . The insulative container of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of projections are a plurality of facets and each facet includes a pair of angled triangular-shaped panels that join one another to provide a horizontally oriented rib that extends only partway around a central axis of the inner gap support. 
     
     
         14 . An insulative beverage container comprising
 an outer cup including a cup brim, a cup floor, and a cup body that extends and interconnects the cup brim and the cup floor to locate the cup body between the cup floor and the cup brim, the cup body including at least one annular reinforcement rib, and   an inner gap support configured to fit within an interior space of the outer cup, the inner gap support including a gap-support brim, a gap-support floor, and gap-support body that extends between and interconnects the gap-support brim and the gap-support floor to locate the gap-support body between the gap-support floor and the gap-support brim,   wherein the inner gap-support is spaced apart from the outer cup to provide an insulative air-gap therebetween and the gap-support body includes at least one retainer tab configured to engage with the at least one reinforcement rib of the cup body to retain the inner gap support to the outer cup and a plurality of horizontal projections stacked vertically between the inner-liner brim and the at least one retainer tab.   
     
     
         15 . The insulative beverage container of  claim 14 , wherein each of the projections is an annular spacer rib that extends circumferentially around a central axis of the inner gap support, and wherein each spacer rib extends includes a negatively-sloping upper segment and a positively-sloping lower segment relative to the central axis such that each negatively-sloping upper segment extends away from the central axis from an upper end to a lower end of each negatively-sloping upper segment and each positively-sloping lower segment extends toward the central axis from an upper end to a lower end of each positively-sloping lower segment. 
     
     
         16 . The insulative beverage container of  claim 15 , wherein each negatively-sloping upper segment has a first height relative to the central axis that is greater than a second height of each positively-sloping lower segment, and wherein each negatively-sloping upper segment has a steeper absolute slope than at least a portion of each positively-sloping lower segment. 
     
     
         17 . An inner gap support configured to fit within an interior space of a drink cup, the inner gap support comprising
 a gap-support brim,   a gap-support floor, and   gap-support body that extends between and interconnects the gap-support brim and the gap-support floor to locate the gap-support body between the gap-support floor and the gap-support brim,   wherein the gap-support body includes a spacer section located between the gap-support brim and the gap support floor, the gap-support body including a plurality of projections that provide outwardly-projecting peaks to maintain an insulative air-gap between the inner gap support and the drink cup, and a retainer section coupled to a lower end of the spacer section and including at least one retainer tab to retain the inner gap support to the drink cup.   
     
     
         18 . The inner gap support of  claim 17 , wherein each of the projections is an annular spacer rib that extends circumferentially around a central axis of the inner gap support, and wherein each spacer rib extends includes a negatively-sloping upper segment and a positively-sloping lower segment relative to the central axis such that each negatively-sloping upper segment extends away from the central axis from an upper end to a lower end of each negatively-sloping upper segment and each positively-sloping lower segment extends toward the central axis from an upper end to a lower end of each positively-sloping lower segment. 
     
     
         19 . The inner gap support of  claim 18 , wherein each negatively-sloping upper segment has a first height relative to the central axis that is greater than a second height of each positively-sloping lower segment, and wherein each negatively-sloping upper segment has a steeper absolute slope than at least a portion of each positively-sloping lower segment. 
     
     
         20 . The inner gap support of  claim 17 , wherein the plurality of projections are a plurality of facets and each facet includes a pair of angled triangular-shaped panels that join one another to provide a horizontally oriented rib that extends only partway around a central axis of the inner gap support.