Disposable cup heat sleeve

Abstract

A disposable cup heat sleeve, adapted to fit around a cup, includes: an outer sleeve having an inner surface that faces the cup when the heat sleeve is fit around the cup; and an inner pouch attached to the inner surface of the outer sleeve and being activatable to causes an exothermic chemical reaction involving a reactant stored in the inner pouch, to thereby cause the inner pouch to generate heat to maintain heat of contents of the cup when the heat sleeve is fitted around the cup.

1 . A disposable cup heat sleeve adapted to fit around a disposable cup, the heat sleeve comprising: p
 an outer sleeve having an inner surface that faces the cup when the heat sleeve is fitted around the cup;   an inner pouch attached to the inner surface of the outer sleeve and containing a reactant that, when exposed to ambient air, reacts with oxygen in the ambient air in an exothermic reaction that produces heat to maintain heat of contents of the cup when the heat sleeve is fitted around the cup; and   a sealing enclosure sealing the reactant of the inner pouch from oxygen in the ambient air, the sealing enclosure comprising a sticker seal peelable to open the sealing enclosure to expose the reactant stored in the inner pouch to oxygen and thereby cause the exothermic reaction.   
     
     
         2 . The heat sleeve according to  claim 1 , wherein the sticker seal is a thin plastic member. 
     
     
         3 . The heat sleeve according to  claim 1 , wherein the sticker seal is located on an inward-facing side of the inner pouch that faces the cup when the heat sleeve is fitted around the cup. 
     
     
         4 . The heat sleeve according to  claim 3 , wherein
 the sealing enclosure has a length, along a circumference of the cup when the heat sleeve is fitted around the cup, spanning a substantially entire inner circumference of the outer sleeve, and   the sticker seal has a length spanning a substantially entire length of the sealing enclosure.   
     
     
         5 . The heat sleeve according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the sealing enclosure is attached to the inner surface of the outer sleeve,   the sealing enclosure encloses an entirety of the inner pouch,   the sealing enclosure has an opening covered by the sticker seal, and   the inner pouch is attached to the inner surface of the outer sleeve by being held inside the sealing enclosure.   
     
     
         6 . The heat sleeve according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the sticker seal covers a portion of an inward-facing side of the inner pouch that faces the cup when the heat sleeve is fitted around the cup, a portion of an outward-facing side of the inner pouch opposite to the inward-facing side, and a bottom edge of the inner pouch, and   the sticker seal, when fully peeled and detached, exposes the inward-facing side of the inner pouch, the outward-facing side of the inner pouch, and the bottom edge of the inner pouch to oxygen of the ambient air.   
     
     
         7 . The heat sleeve according to  claim 6 , wherein
 the outer sleeve contains a plurality of air holes by which air flows into the outward-facing side of the inner pouch when the sticker seal is peeled.   
     
     
         8 . The heat sleeve according to  claim 1 , wherein the reactant is iron powder. 
     
     
         9 . The heat sleeve according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the inner pouch is a microporous sack configured to seal moisture inside the inner pouch while permitting permeation of oxygen into the microporous sack when exposed to the ambient air, and   the inner pouch further contains water to serve as a medium in which the iron powder and oxygen react, salt to act as a catalyst of the exothermic reaction, and vermiculite.   
     
     
         10 . The heat sleeve according to  claim 9 , wherein the inner pouch is a porous polypropylene sack. 
     
     
         11 . The heat sleeve according to  claim 1 , wherein the heat sleeve is a folded article in which the outer sleeve is folded at two fold lines and the inner pouch is folded together with the outer sleeve. 
     
     
         12 . The heat sleeve according to  claim 11 , wherein the two folding regions of the inner pouch are each void regions at which the inner pouch is free of stored contents. 
     
     
         13 . The heat sleeve according to  claim 11 , wherein
 the outer sleeve has opposite ends attached to each other to form a closed loop, and   the inner pouch is disposed inside the closed loop formed by the outer sleeve.   
     
     
         14 . The heat sleeve according to  claim 1 , wherein the outer sleeve is made of paperboard. 
     
     
         15 . The heat sleeve according to  claim 1 , wherein the outer sleeve has a height in a range of about 2 inches to about 3 inches. 
     
     
         16 . The heat sleeve according to  claim 15 , wherein the sealing enclosure and the inner pouch each have a height less than the height of the outer sleeve. 
     
     
         17 . A disposable, single-use product comprising:
 a disposable cup heat sleeve adapted to fit around a disposable cup, the heat sleeve comprising:
 an outer sleeve having an inner surface that faces the cup when the heat sleeve is fitted around the cup; and 
 an inner pouch attached to the inner surface of the outer sleeve and containing a reactant that, when exposed to ambient air, reacts with oxygen in the ambient air in an exothermic reaction that produces heat to maintain heat of a content of the cup when the heat sleeve is fitted around the cup; and 
   a sealing enclosure sealing the outer sleeve, the inner pouch, and the reactant of the inner pouch from oxygen in the ambient air, the sealing enclosure being openable to expose the reactant stored in the inner pouch to oxygen and thereby cause the exothermic reaction.   
     
     
         18 . The product according to  claim 18 , wherein
 the outer sleeve has opposite ends attached to each other to form a closed loop,   the inner pouch is disposed inside the closed loop formed by the outer sleeve, and   inside the sealing enclosure, the outer sleeve is folded at two fold lines and the inner pouch is folded together with the outer sleeve.   
     
     
         19 . A disposable cup heat sleeve adapted to fit around a disposable cup, the heat sleeve comprising:
 an outer sleeve having an inner surface that faces the cup when the heat sleeve is fitted around the cup; and   an inner pouch attached to the inner surface of the outer sleeve and being activatable to causes an exothermic chemical reaction involving a reactant stored in the inner pouch, to thereby cause the inner pouch to generate heat to maintain heat of contents of the cup when the heat sleeve is fitted around the cup.   
     
     
         20 . The heat sleeve according to  claim 19 , wherein the exothermic chemical reaction is a reaction between the reactant stored in the inner pouch and another reactant, the another reactant being a second reactant stored in the inner pouch or oxygen in ambient air.