U.S. patent application number 10/730993 was filed with the patent office on 2005-06-16 for container for aerated beverages.
This patent application is currently assigned to Siew Wai Vivian FOO. Invention is credited to Lau, Wing Shin Simon, Law, Man Lung.
Application Number | 20050127076 10/730993 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34652721 |
Filed Date | 2005-06-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050127076 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Law, Man Lung ; et
al. |
June 16, 2005 |
Container for aerated beverages
Abstract
A container including a cover and a body with a cavity for
containing an aerated beverage, the body and cover being releasably
engageable with each other in an air-tight manner, and when the
body and the cover are engaged with each other, a part of the cover
extends into the cavity of the body to increase the air pressure in
the cavity above atmospheric pressure.
Inventors: |
Law, Man Lung; (Kowloon,
HK) ; Lau, Wing Shin Simon; (Kowloon, HK) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BURNS DOANE SWECKER & MATHIS L L P
POST OFFICE BOX 1404
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22313-1404
US
|
Assignee: |
Siew Wai Vivian FOO
Wanchai
HK
|
Family ID: |
34652721 |
Appl. No.: |
10/730993 |
Filed: |
December 10, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
220/254.1 ;
220/293; 220/711; 220/713 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47G 19/2272
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/254.1 ;
220/293; 220/711; 220/713 |
International
Class: |
A47G 019/22; B65D
051/18 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A container including a cover member and a body member with a
cavity adapted to contain an aerated beverage, wherein said body
member and said cover member are releasably engageable with each
other in an air-tight manner, and wherein when said body member and
said cover member are engaged with each other, at least a part of
said cover member extends into said cavity of said body member to
increase the air pressure in said cavity above atmospheric
pressure.
2. A container according to claim 1 wherein the cover member
includes a sealing member for providing an air-tight effect when
said body member and said cover member are releasably engageable
with each other.
3. A container according to claim 1 wherein said cover member
includes at least two protruding members for engagement with
channel members of said body member for releasably engaging said
cover member with said body member.
4. A container according to claim 3 wherein at least one said
channel member has two portions which are generally perpendicular
to each other.
5. A container according to claim 1 wherein the cover member
includes an opening releasably closable by a closure member.
6. A container according to claim 5 wherein said closure member is
made of a resilient material.
7. A container according to claim 6 wherein said closure member is
swivellable about an axis substantially parallel to the
longitudinal axis of said cover member.
8. A container according to claim 5 wherein said opening is
adjacent a drinking spout of said cover member.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] There are in existence a number of containers for containing
aerated beverages, e.g. carbonated beverages, such as soft drinks
and aerated mineral waters, or beverages containing oxygen or
oxygen-producing contents, such as some alcohol-based beverages.
There are cups made of paper with a releasable lid for covering the
opening end of the cup. A drinking straw may be inserted through an
opening of the lid into the interior of the cup, thus allowing a
user to drink the content in the cup in the usual manner. A
shortcoming associated with this arrangement is that if the content
is an aerated beverage, the carbon dioxide or oxygen in or
generated by the aerated beverage will gradually escape into the
atmosphere, thus adversely affecting the taste and quality of the
beverage.
[0002] Other arrangements have been proposed for solving such a
problem, and particularly for allowing storage of aerated beverages
over a relatively long period of time while retaining the carbon
dioxide or oxygen in the beverages. Such include the use of cans
and bottles. However, such containers are not readily reusable, in
the sense that a user cannot pour an aerated beverage into an
opened can or bottle and still be able to maintain the carbon
dioxide or oxygen in the beverage.
[0003] It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a
container in which the aforesaid shortcomings are mitigated, or at
least to provide a useful alternative to the public.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] According to the present invention, there is provided a
container including a cover member and a body member with a cavity
adapted to contain an aerated beverage, wherein said body member
and said cover member are releasably engageable with each other in
an air-tight manner, and wherein when said body member and said
cover member are engaged with each other, at least a part of said
cover member extends into said cavity of said body member to
increase the air pressure in said cavity above atmospheric
pressure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be
described, by way of example only, with reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
[0006] FIG. 1 is an exploded side view of a beverage container
according to the present invention;
[0007] FIG. 2 is a further exploded view of the beverage container
shown in FIG. 1;
[0008] FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of a cover of the beverage
container shown in FIG. 1;
[0009] FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the cover shown in FIG. 3;
[0010] FIG. 5 is a side view of the cover shown in FIG. 3;
[0011] FIG. 6 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a body of
the beverage container shown in FIG. 1;
[0012] FIGS. 7A and 7B show engagement between the cover and the
body of the beverage container shown in FIG. 1; and
[0013] FIG. 8 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the
beverage container shown in FIG. 1, with the cover engaged with the
body.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0014] An exploded side view of a beverage container according to
the present invention is shown in FIG. 1, generally designated as
10. The container 10 is made up of two parts, namely a cover 12
made of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene terpolymer (ABS) and a body
14 made of polypropylene (PP) or ABS. The body 14 is in the general
shape of a top-open cup with an internal cavity for containing
aerated beverages, such as soft drinks and aerated mineral
waters.
[0015] As shown more clearly in FIG. 2, the cover 12 has a lower
circular recess 16 around which is tightly provided a silicon
O-ring 18. A pull-tab 20 made of a resilient synthetic rubber, e.g.
styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer (SBS), is secured to the
cover 12 by an ABS retainer 22, in a manner to be discussed further
below.
[0016] As can be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the pull-tab 20 is attached
at one end with the cover 12 via the retainer 22, which allows the
pull-tab 20 to rotate about the longitudinal axis of the retainer
22, which is also parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cover
12. At another end of the pull-tab 20 is provided a male part 24
snap-fittable with an opening 26 of the cover 12 in an air-tight
manner. Adjacent to the opening 26 is a spout 28. When the cover 12
is engaged with the body 14, the male part 24 may be engaged with
and thus close the opening 26 for keeping the cavity of the body 14
in an air-tight condition. In use, a user may insert his/her finger
into a hole 30 (see FIG. 2) to pull on the pull-tab 20 so as to
disengage the male part 24 from the opening 26. The content in the
body 14 may thus be poured out of the body 14 through the opening
26, and subsequently via the spout 28 for consumption.
[0017] As shown clearly in FIG. 5, along a peripheral wall 32 of
the cover 12 extend two diametrically disposed pins 34, which serve
the purpose of engaging the cover 12 with the body, in a manner to
be discussed below.
[0018] A longitudinal sectional view of the body 14 is shown in
FIG. 6. Two channels 40 (of which only one is shown in FIG. 6) are
provided at two diametrically opposed positions adjacent to the
upper periphery of the body 14. The channel 40 is wide enough to
allow one of the pins 34 to pass along. It can be seen that the
channel 40 extends downwardly from the upper periphery of the body
14, and turns 90.degree. in a generally horizontal direction. The
channel 40 thus has two portions which are joined with, and
perpendicular to, each other.
[0019] Turning now to FIGS. 7A and 7B, such show how the cover 12
and the body 14 may be releasably engageable with each other. As
shown in FIG. 7A, the cover 12 is moved towards the body 14 until
the pins 34 are received into the respective channel 40 in the body
14. The cover 12 is then swiveled relative to the body 14 so as to
move the pins 34 along the turned portion of the respective channel
40, to the position as shown in FIG. 7B. In this configuration, the
cover 12 cannot be detached from the body 14 unless the cover 12 is
swiveled in the opposite direction until the cover 12 and the body
14 are in the relative position as shown in FIG. 7A. Such an
arrangement is important in achieving the purpose now sought in the
present invention.
[0020] FIG. 8 shows the cover 12 and the body 14 of the container
10 engaged with each other and containing an aerated beverage 50.
In conventional containers, the carbon dioxide in the aerated
beverage 50 would escape into the space 52 between the cover 12 and
the body 14, even if the cover and the body of the conventional
container is fitted with each other in an air-tight manner. In the
container 10 according to the present invention, however, as a
lower portion of the cover 12 extends into the cavity of the body
14, and as the O-ring 18 performs a sealing function between the
cover 12 and the body 14, such prevents air or gas from escaping
from the cavity of the container 10 to the outside environment, the
air pressure in the space 52 will be raised above the atmospheric
pressure. Such an elevated pressure will hinder the escape of
carbon dioxide or oxygen from the aerated beverage 50 into the
space 52 in the container 10, thus assisting in keeping the taste
and quality of the aerated beverage.
[0021] When the cover 12 is pushed into the body 14 for engagement,
the cover 12 acts against the air pressure in the body 14. The
pin-and-channel engagement arrangement discussed above thus
prevents the cover 12 and the body 14 from accidental
disengagement, e.g. by action of the raised air pressure in the
cavity 52. As mentioned above, a user may consume the aerated
beverage 50 in the container 10 by disengaging the male part 24
from the opening 26.
[0022] It can be seen that such is a neat and tidy arrangement,
allowing the taste and quality of aerated beverages to be
maintained over a long period of time, and is both user friendly
and environmentally friendly.
[0023] It should be understood that the above only illustrates an
example whereby the present invention may be carried out, and that
various modifications and/or alterations may be made thereto
without departing from the spirit of the invention. It should also
be understood that various features of the invention which are, for
brevity, described here in the context of a single embodiment, may
be provided separately or in any appropriate sub-combinations.
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