U.S. patent application number 10/266786 was filed with the patent office on 2004-04-15 for easily usable bottle cap.
Invention is credited to Chen, Sin-Hsiung.
Application Number | 20040069783 10/266786 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32068338 |
Filed Date | 2004-04-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040069783 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chen, Sin-Hsiung |
April 15, 2004 |
Easily usable bottle cap
Abstract
An easily usable bottle cap includes a cap base, an upper cap,
two press buttons, a flexible sucking tube and a straw. The cap
base has a lower connect member to engage with an upper end of a
bottle containing water or the like. A user only presses the two
press buttons inward to compress two coil springs for disengage
engage blocks from the upper cap so as to let the upper cap swung
up by resilience recovery of the flexible sucking tube. Then a user
can use the sucking tube to drink liquid contained in a bottle
threadably combined with the cap base through the straw connected
with the sucking tube. The upper cap can be kept closed on the cap
base by swinging down to engage the engage blocks with hooks of the
upper cap.
Inventors: |
Chen, Sin-Hsiung; (Yung-Kang
City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Sin-Hsiung Chen
P.O. Box 90
Tainan City
704
TW
|
Family ID: |
32068338 |
Appl. No.: |
10/266786 |
Filed: |
October 9, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
220/254.3 ;
215/388; 220/709; 220/714; 220/835; 220/847 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47G 19/2266
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/254.3 ;
215/388; 220/709; 220/714; 220/835; 220/847 |
International
Class: |
A47G 019/22 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An easily usable bottle cap comprising: a cap base having a
chamber in an upper portion and a connect member in a lower
portion, said chamber having a sucking tube base, said connect
member having a connect tube in an interior, said sucking tube base
provided with a water outlet, said chamber having a slot in a
bottom, said slot having a hole in its bottom, said chamber having
two vertical ridges formed on an front wall, said cap base having
two hollows formed in two opposite sides, said two hollows opening
to outer sides, said hollows respectively having a horizontal
projecting post on an inner wall, said hollows respectively having
a slide groove formed in an upper end and a notch formed in inner
walls of two opposite sides, said cap base having an opening in an
outer periphery defining said chamber, said opening having two side
walls provided respectively with a pivotal ear bored with a shaft
hole, a pivot provided to extend in said shaft hole, said connect
member having female threads formed in an inner wall, and an
anti-leak gasket provided to be fitted in said connected member; an
upper cap pivotally connected with said cap base and having a hook
respectively formed at two opposite inner side walls, said hooks
respectively having a sloped face on a lower edge, said upper cap
further having a press plate extending down from an inner wall and
a pivotal ear formed in a side, said pivotal ear having a shaft
hole; two press buttons positioned respectively in said two hollows
of said cap base and having a bar in an interior, a coil spring
provided to have one end fitted around said bar, said press buttons
further having respectively a stop formed respectively on two
opposite side walls and an engage block formed on top, said stops
having a sloped face on an upper edge; a flexible sucking tube
fitted on said sucking tube base in said chamber and made of a
flexible material; a straw connected with said connect tube of said
connect member; and, said connect member of said cap base made to
engage with an upper end of a bottle, said press buttons pressed
manually to move inward in case of drinking through said bottle
cap, said coil springs compressed to let said engage blocks
disengage from said hooks of said upper cap, said upper cap swung
up by resilience recovery of said flexible sucking tube, said
flexible sucking tube automatically becoming tilted straight for a
user to suck liquid contained in the bottle through said straw and
said sucking tube.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates to an easily usable bottle cap,
particularly to one having a press button respectively provided at
two sides of a cap base for engaging hooks of an upper cap and a
flexible sucking tube affixed bendable in a chamber of the cap base
by a press plate of the upper cap, which is pivotally connected and
closed or opened on the cap base so that the drink contained in a
bottle threadably combined with the bottle cap may be sucked out of
a sucking tube provided in the chamber and not leak out, with
convenience of carrying along the bottle with the bottle cap.
[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0004] A large number of bottles for storing liquid such as water
or drinks have to be tilted in drinking the stored water or drinks
in the bottles by directly sucking the mouth of the bottle with a
drinker's lips. So liquid may sometimes flow out too much, and a
straw is often used for drinking, Nevertheless, it may happen that
a straw may be too short and sometimes may drop totally in a deep
bottle, impossible to suck. In addition, the cap of a bottle has to
be separated from a bottle, easily dropping on the ground or
missing, or the liquid in the bottle may flow out if carelessly
held in a hand.
[0005] Therefore, a conventional bottle cap 1 with a straw has been
offered by makers as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, having a cap base 10,
a swingable upper cap 11, a sucking tube 12, and a coil spring 13
as main components combined together and threadably combined on an
upper end of a bottle 14.
[0006] The cap base 10 has a chamber 100 in its interior, a hook
102 formed in an upper surface, a pivotal ear 103 formed at a right
side of its upper periphery, and the chamber 100 is provided with a
hole 101 in its bottom.
[0007] The swingable upper cap 11 is pivotally connected with the
cap base 10, having a pivotal base 110 at one side for pivotally
connected with the pivotal ear 103 of the cap base 10 to enable the
upper cap swing up relative to the cap base 10. The upper cap 11
further has a lift projection 111 formed at an end opposite to the
pivotal base 110 for a finger to catch and swing up the upper cap
11, and an engage tip 112 formed on an inner edge of the lift
projection 111 to hook with the hook 102 of the cap base 10 to keep
the upper cap pivotally closed on the cap body 10, and a soft
gasket 113 fixed on an inner wall of the upper cap 11.
[0008] The sucking tube 12 is arranged in the chamber 100 of the
cap body 10, having a lower end connected with a straw 120, which
passes through the hole 101 of the chamber bottom and extends down
in the bottle 14 near its bottom.
[0009] The coil spring 13 is fitted around an upper portion of the
straw 120, having its upper end supporting the lower end of the
sucking tube 12 and the lower end resting on the bottom of the
chamber 100 to force elastically the sucking tube 12 always extend
upward.
[0010] When the bottle cap 1 is to be used, the cap base 10 is
engaged with and closed on an upper end of the bottle body 14, and
then a user holds manually and pushes up the lift projection 111,
letting the hook 102 disengage from the engage tip 112 and swinging
up the upper cap 11. Then the sucking tube 12 is elastically pushed
to extend upward, so a user can drink the content in the bottle 14
through the sucking tube 12.
[0011] However, the conventional bottle cap has its upper cap 11
secured swingably on the cap base 10 by means of the hook 102
hooking the engage tip 112, which is formed integral with the cap
base 10, and the engage tip 112 is formed integral with the upper
cap 11. Therefore, the hook 102 and the engage tip 112 may be
easily worn off, disfigure or rip off owing to frequent
disengagement of the upper cap 11 from the cap base 10 in using so
that the upper cap 11 may be impossible to close up on the cap body
10 stably after a period of use, resulting in a short service life
of the bottle cap.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] This invention has been devised to offer a bottle cap easily
usable and impossible to be lost and convenient to carry out.
[0013] The feature of the invention is a cap base, and an upper cap
pivotally connected with, the cap base by means of a pivot
extending through a shaft hole of a pivotal base of the upper cap
and a shaft hole of two pivotal ears of the cap base. The cap base
has a chamber in its interior, and a flexible sucking tube fitted
with a sucking tube base in the chamber and able to be bent in the
chamber by a press plate of the upper cap in case of the upper case
is closed on the cap base. The cap base has two hollows formed in
two opposite sides for two press buttons to be respectively fitted
movably by coil springs in the two hollows to move outward and
inward therein by manually pressing them. Then the two press
buttons are engaged with the upper cap by means of the hooks of the
upper cap and the engage blocks of the two press buttons so the
upper cap can be opened for drinking liquid contained in a bottle
combined threadably with the cap base through the sucking tube and
a straw connected with the sucking tube and extending in the
bottle. The upper cap is closed on the cap base in case of not
using the bottle cap by pushing it down on the cap base and kept
closed stably by means of the hooks and the engage blocks.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0014] This invention will be better understood by referring to the
accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0015] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional bottle
cap;
[0016] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the conventional bottle
cap;
[0017] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of an easily usable
bottle cap in the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the easily usable bottle cap
in the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 5 is a front cross-sectional view of the easily usable
bottle cap in the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 6 is a side cross-sectional view of the easily usable
bottle cap in the present invention;
[0021] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the easily usable bottle
cap in the present invention, showing two press buttons pressed;
and,
[0022] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the easily usable bottle cap
in the present invention, showing an upper cap swung up for
drinking.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0023] A preferred embodiment of an easily usable bottle cap in the
present invention, as shown in FIGS. 3, 4, 5 and 6, includes a cap
base 2, an upper cap 3, two press buttons 4, a flexible sucking
tube 5 and a straw 6 as main components combined together.
[0024] The cap base 2 has a chamber 20 formed in an upper portion,
a connect member 21 formed in a lower portion, a sucking tube base
22 provided in the chamber 20, a connect tube 210 provided to
extend upward in the connect member 21, and a water outlet 220
provided in the sucking tube base 22. The chamber 20 further has a
slot 23 formed in the bottom, a hole 230 in the slot 23, two
vertical ridges 24 formed in a front wall. The cap base 2 further
has two hollows 25 respectively formed in two opposite sides and
opening outward, a projecting post 250 formed respectively in an
inner wall of each hollow 25 and extending horizontally, a slide
groove 251 formed respectively in an upper side of each hollow 25,
a notch 252 respectively formed in two opposite side walls, an
opening 26 formed in an upper peripheral wall defining the chamber
20, an ear 260 with a shaft hole 261 formed respectively in two
sides of the opening 26, a pivot 27 extending in the shaft hole
261, female threads 211 formed in an inner wall of the connect
member 21, and an anti-leak gasket 28 fitted in the connect member
21.
[0025] The upper cap 3 is pivotally connected with the upper
portion of the cap base 2, having a hook 30 respectively in an
inner opposite sides, a press plate 32 formed to extend down from
an inner wall, a pivotal ear 33 with a shaft hole 34 formed at one
side. Each hook 30 has a sloped face 31 on an inner side.
[0026] The two press buttons 4 are to be positioned respectively in
the two hollows 25 of the cap base 25, respectively having a bar 40
in its interior, a coil spring 41 having one end fitted a round the
bar 40 and the other end resting on a vertical bottom wall of each
hollow 25, a plurality of anti-slipping small projections 42 formed
on an outer surface, a stop 43 formed respectively on two opposite
sides, an engage block 44 with a upper sloped face formed on
top.
[0027] The flexible sucking tube 5 is fixed on the sucking tube
base 22, made of a flexible material.
[0028] The straw 6 is connected with the connect tube 210 of the
connect member 21 and extending in a bottle 7.
[0029] In assembling, referring to FIGS. 3, 4, 5 and 6, at first,
fit one end of each coil spring 41 around the bar 40 of each press
button 4, with the two press buttons 4 respectively inserted in the
two hollows 25 of the cap base 2. Then the other end of each spring
41 is fixed around the projecting post 250 in each hollow 25. Next,
the stop 43 of each press button 4 is respectively inserted in the
notch 252 in the two sides of each hollow 25, with the engage block
44 of each press button 4 fitted in the slide groove 251 of each
hollow 25. Then each coil spring 41 elastically urges to push
outward each press button 4, with the stops 43 secured stably in
the front edges of the notches 252. After that, the pivot ear 33 of
the upper cap 3 is inserted in the opening 26 of cap base 2, with
the shaft hole 34 of the pivotal ear 33 aligned to the shaft hole
261 of the pivotal ear 260 and with the pivot 27 extending in the
shaft holes 261 and 34. Thus the upper cap 3 is pivotally connected
with the cap base 2, possible to be swung up to open the upper cap
3 for drinking or closed on the cap base. Next, the sucking tube 5
is fitted in the sucking tube base 22, and the straw 6 is connected
with the connect tube 210 in the connect member 21, with the
anti-leak gasket 28 placed in an upper end of the connect member
21, and with the press plate 32 of the upper cap 3 pressing the
sucking tube 5 to bend into the chamber 20, as shown in FIG. 6.
Then the upper cap 3 has its sloped faces 31 of the hooks 30
resting on the sloped faces 45 of the engage blocks 44 of the press
buttons 4, and the press buttons 4 are a little moved inward by the
downward pressure of the upper cap 3, with the coil springs 41
being in a compressed condition. Then the coil springs 41 recovers
their resilience to push the press buttons 4 outward to force the
engage blocks 44 engage the hooks 30 of the upper cap 3 so that the
upper cap 3 is kept closed on the cap base 2 stably, finishing
assemblage of the easily usable bottle cap.
[0030] In using, referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the easily usable
bottle cap is threadably combined on the upper end of the bottle 7
by engaging the connect member 21 of the cap base 2 with the
threads formed in the upper end of the bottle 7. In case that a
user wants to drink water or the like contained in the bottle 7,
the user presses the two press buttons 4 inward as shown in FIG. 7,
compressing the coil springs 41 to disengage the engage blocks 44
from the hooks 30 of the upper cap 3, with the upper cap 3 swung
open upward by resilience recovery of the coil springs 41 and with
the sucking tube 5 becoming tilted straight so the user can suck
the sucking tube 5 to drink the content in the bottle 7, very
convenient.
[0031] When a user drinks from the sucking tube 5, should some
drink overflow out of the sucking tube 5, it will flow down in the
chamber 20 and then through the hole 230 of the slot 23 in the
chamber 20 back into the bottle 7.
[0032] After drinking, the user may closes the upper cap on the cap
base 2, with the press plate 32 pressing the sucking tube 5 to bend
in the chamber 20 and fit in the slot 23 to close up the hole 230
so as to prevent liquid from flowing out of the hole 230.
[0033] In addition, the engagement of the two press buttons 4 with
the two hollows 25 can keep the upper cap 3 stably closed on the
cap base 2 by means of the engage blocks 44 able to move together
with the press buttons 4, without wearing off or disfiguring or
splitting, prolonging service life of the bottle cap.
[0034] While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been
described above, it will be recognized and understood that various
modifications may be made therein and the appended claims are
intended to cover all such modifications that may fall within the
spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *