U.S. patent application number 11/116907 was filed with the patent office on 2006-11-02 for asymmetric lid for use with an open-top container.
Invention is credited to Richard A. JR. Tedford.
Application Number | 20060243734 11/116907 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36645649 |
Filed Date | 2006-11-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060243734 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Tedford; Richard A. JR. |
November 2, 2006 |
Asymmetric lid for use with an open-top container
Abstract
A lid for use with an open-top container comprises an annular
top wall and a side wall extending from the top wall. The top wall
comprises an opening for passage of flowable substance. The side
wall includes a mounting portion for connecting the lid to the
container. The mounting portion includes an annular flange and an
upper surface. An extension section is defined between the upper
surface and the annular flange. The extension section is located in
proximity of the opening in the top wall. The extension section is
configured to inhibit passage of the flowable substance at a
contact location defined by overlapping of the upper portion of the
sideseam joint and the outwardly curled lip overlap with one
another.
Inventors: |
Tedford; Richard A. JR.;
(Loveland, OH) |
Correspondence
Address: |
INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY
6285 TRI-RIDGE BOULEVARD
LOVELAND
OH
45140
US
|
Family ID: |
36645649 |
Appl. No.: |
11/116907 |
Filed: |
April 28, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
220/780 ;
220/713; 229/404; 229/906.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 47/06 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/780 ;
220/713; 229/404; 229/906.1 |
International
Class: |
B65D 41/18 20060101
B65D041/18; A47G 19/22 20060101 A47G019/22; B65D 3/00 20060101
B65D003/00 |
Claims
1. A lid for use with an open-top container comprising: an annular
top wall having an opening for passage of flowable substance; and a
side wall extending from the top wall, the side wall including a
mounting portion for connecting the lid to the container, the
mounting portion having an annular flange and an upper surface, an
extension section being defined between the upper surface and the
annular flange wherein the extension section is located in
proximity to the opening in the top wall.
2. The lid of claim 1 wherein the open-top container is a paper cup
having a sideseam joint and an outwardly curled lip wherein the
outwardly curved lip is configured to fit snugly onto the mounting
portion.
3. The lid of claim 2 wherein the extension section is configured
to inhibit passage of the flowable substance at a contact location
defined by overlapping an upper portion of the sideseam joint and
the outwardly curled lip overlap with one another.
4. The lid of claim 1 wherein the extension section is extended
downwardly and radially with respect to at least 5% of surface area
of the mounting portion.
5. The lid of claim 1 wherein the top wall and the side wall are
integrally formed with one another.
6. A lid for use with a container having a sideseam joint and an
outwardly curled lip, the lid comprising: a top wall having an
opening for passage of flowable substance into and out of the
container; and a side wall extending downwardly from the top wall,
a lower portion of the side wall defining a mounting portion
configured to sealingly engage with the container wherein the lower
portion of the side wall comprises an extension section integrally
attached to a portion of the mounting portion located in proximity
of the opening to inhibit passage of the flowable substance at a
contact location defined by overlapping of the sideseam joint and
the outwardly curled lip with one another.
7. The lid of claim 6 wherein the top wall and the side wall are
integrally formed with one another.
8. The lid of claim 6 wherein the mounting portion comprises an
upper surface, an annular flange, and an outwardly flared skirt
wherein the extension section is integrally attached between the
upper surface and the annular flange.
9. The lid of claim 6 wherein the wherein the extension section is
extended downwardly and radially with respect to about 5% to about
70% of surface area of the mounting portion.
10. A container comprising: a cup having an open-top, an outwardly
curled lip and a sideseam joint; and a lid configured to detachably
enclose the open-top, the lid comprises of an annular top wall
having an opening for passage of flowable substance into and out of
the cup, a side wall depending from the top wall, a lower portion
of the side wall defining a mounting portion configured to
sealingly engage with the outwardly curled lip of the cup wherein
the lower portion of the side wall comprises an extension section
integrally attached to a portion of the mounting portion located in
proximity of the opening to inhibit passage of the flowable
substance at a contact location defined by overlapping of the
sideseam joint and the outwardly curled lip with one another.
11. The lid of claim 10 wherein the mounting portion includes an
upper surface, an annular flange, and an outwardly flared skirt
wherein the extension section is integrally attached between the
upper surface and the annular flange.
12. The lid of claim 10 wherein the extension section is extended
downwardly and radially with respect to 10 to 50% of surface area
of the mounting portion.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates generally to plastic container lids.
More particularly, this invention relates to a container lid having
an extension section integrally attached to a mounting portion of
the lid to inhibit passage of a flowable substance from a container
at a contact location defined by overlapping of the sideseam joint
and the outwardly curled lip of the container with one another.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Containers lids for beverages and other substances intended
for consumer products are well known. Such container lids are
formed from a fusible plastic sheet material, and are designed to
snap-fit over the top of the containers (i.e., cups) to keep the
liquid contents of such cups from spilling during transport.
[0003] Container lids generally comprise a circular panel
circumscribed by a side wall that terminates in an enhanced
diameter edge. The enhanced diameter edge is dimensioned so that it
is capable of snap-fitting over the annular brim that circumscribes
the open end of a drinking cup. To provide the enhanced diameter
edge with sufficient resiliency to achieve its purpose, a groove is
provided in the side wall that circumscribes the central, circular
panel of the lid. A frusto-conically shaped skirt is integrally
connected to the enhanced diameter edge. This skirt flares
outwardly and downwardly from the edge, and not only increases the
hoop strength of the enhanced diameter edge, but also
advantageously receives, guides, and wedgingly snaps the enhanced
edge of the lid over the annular brim of the drinking cup when it
is pressed downwardly over the open end of the cup.
[0004] Existing lid designs suffer from a number of problems
including spillage through the annular brim due to the lack of a
reliable means for sealing a space caused by the brim discontinuity
and the sideseam joint. For example, most often users inadvertently
position the lid on the open end of the cup such that the drinking
hole is aligned with the sideseam joint of the cup. When the user
is sipping from the drinking hole, the beverage is dripping from
the unwanted space formed by the sideseam joint and the annular
brim overlapping with one another. To address this problem, a
number of lid designs include a double grooves disposed in the lid.
However, most existing double grooves lids lack structural
integrity and as a result, do not effectively seal the crack. Also,
a number of other similar designs are suggested which are difficult
to operate due to their complex design.
[0005] What is needed therefore is a container lid adapted to be
used with a cup to inhibit passage of flowable substance when the
drinking opening is aligned with the sideseam joint of the cup.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The invention relates to an asymmetric lid for use with an
open-top container. The open-top container is preferably a paper
cup having a sideseam and an outwardly curled lip formed on the
upper portion of the paper cup. The lid is designed to inhibit
passage of beverage from the lip when a drinking opening of the lid
and the sideseam of the cup are aligned with one another.
[0007] Accordingly, the present invention relates to a lid for use
with an open-top container comprising an annular top wall and a
side wall extending from the top wall. The top wall comprises an
opening for passage of flowable substance. The side wall includes a
mounting portion for connecting the lid to the container. The
mounting portion comprises an annular flange and an upper surface.
An extension section is defined between the upper surface and the
annular flange. The extension section is located in proximity of
the opening in the top wall. The extension section is configured to
inhibit passage of the flowable substance at a contact location
defined by overlapping of the upper portion of the sideseam joint
and the outwardly curled lip overlap with one another.
[0008] In accordance with another aspect of the invention, an
asymmetric lid for use with a container comprises a sideseam joint
and an outwardly curled lip. The lid comprises a top wall having an
opening for passage of flowable substance into and out of the
container. A side wall is extending downwardly from the top wall. A
lower portion of the side wall defines a mounting portion
configured to sealingly engage with the container. The lower
portion of the side wall comprises an extension section integrally
attached to a portion of the mounting portion located in proximity
of the opening. The extension section inhibits passage of the
flowable substance at a contact location defined by overlapping of
the sideseam joint and the outwardly curled lip with one
another.
[0009] In accordance with one further aspect of the invention, a
container comprises a cup having an open-top, an outwardly curled
lip and a sideseam joint. A lid is detachably enclosing the
open-top of the container. The lid comprises of an annular top wall
having an opening for passage of flowable substance into and out of
the cup. A side wall is depending from the top wall. A lower
portion of the side wall defines a mounting portion configured to
sealingly engage with the outwardly curled lip of the cup. The
lower portion of the side wall comprises an extension section
integrally attached to a portion of the mounting portion located in
proximity of the opening. The extension section inhibits passage of
the flowable substance at a contact location defined by overlapping
of the sideseam joint and the outwardly curled lip with one
another.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] A full understanding of the invention can be gained from the
following description of the preferred embodiments when read in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
[0011] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a lid adapted to
be used with an open-top container in accordance with the preferred
embodiment of the present invention;
[0012] FIG. 2 is similar to FIG. 1 illustrating the lid enclosing
the open-top container;
[0013] FIG. 3 is a sectional elevation view of FIG. 2 taken along
section line 3-3;
[0014] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the lid having an extension
section located in proximity of an opening in a top wall of the
lid;
[0015] FIG. 5 is a top view of the FIG. 4;
[0016] FIG. 6 is a side cross sectional view of a mounting portion
of the lid in FIG. 4 illustrating a vertical length (DE) of
extension section as depicted in FIG. 4; and
[0017] FIG. 7 is a side cross sectional view of a portion of the
lid in FIG. 4 illustrating how changes in the vertical length (DE)
effects locus points of the radii R2 and R3.
DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0018] While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many
different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be
described in detail preferred embodiments of the invention with the
understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an
exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not
intended to limit the broad aspect of the invention to the
embodiments illustrated.
[0019] FIG. 1 illustrates a lid 10 adapted to enclose an open-top
container 12. For illustrative purposes, the open-top container 12
is generally a paper cup having a portion of a sideseam joint 14
and an outwardly curled lip 16 formed with one another. The paper
cup could be a beverage cup which the open-top is defined by the
rim of the cup. The lid 10 has an opening 18 for passage of
flowable substance such as coffee, tea and/or other cold beverages.
An aperture or a vent hole 20 is located opposite the drinking
opening 18. The vent hole 20 is adapted to ensure the continuous
flow of the cup contents through the drinking opening 19 while
venting the cup 12.
[0020] FIG. 2 shows the lid 10 enclosed the open-top container 12.
Often when a user is enclosing the open-top container 12 with the
lid 10, the drinking opening 18 and the sideseam joint 14 are
inadvertently aligned. The alignment of the sideseam joint 14 and
the drinking opening 18 causes a deformation of the lid 10 at the
sideseam joint area 22. This deformation exacerbates the dribble
issue because the lid 10 is generally pulled up the outwardly
curled lip 16 causing a decrease in interference in the sideseam
joint area 22. The sideseam joint area 22 is defined by a contact
location 23 (as shown in FIG. 1) that is a contact contour that can
be shaped differently to change the contact contour between the lid
10 and the cup 12. The contact contour can be a point, linear,
radial, vertical or at some desired angle. For example, some
manufactures of lid use an internal plug inside the cup rim to help
support clamping action of the flared skirt 25.
[0021] Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, and more particularly to
FIG. 4, which the lid 10 is including an extension section 24
located in proximity of the drinking opening 18. The extension
section 24 is integrally attached to the lid 10 to overcome the
dribbling issue as described in the previous paragraph. For
illustrative purposes, the extension section is defined by a
vertical length DE'. Up to 1/3 of the lid perimeter and preferably
1/4 of the lid perimeter can be used for attaching the extension
section 24 to the lid 10 without affecting the tight fitting of the
lid 10 to the cup or open-top container 12 when a user is drinking
from the opening 19. Loose fitting of the lid 10 to the cup 14 have
a tendency to misalign during assembly and thus easily popped off.
The extension section 24 produces the largest resisting pressure
against the deformation of the open-top container 12 and the lid 10
since the overlapping of the sideseam joint 14 and the outwardly
curled lip 16 causes a significant discontinuity as best depicted
in FIG. 3.
[0022] Still referring to FIG. 4, the lid 10 includes an annular
top wall 26 and a side wall 28 extending from peripheral edge 30 of
the top wall 26. Although the annular top wall 26 is shown as
having a generally flat surface, the surface can be curved or
angled. Similarly, the side wall 28 can be curved or generally
flat. The overall shape of the lid 10 is generally frustaconical,
however, the lid 10 can have a number of other configurations. It
should be noted that the top wall 26 and the side wall 28 are
integrally formed with one another. Similarly, the extension
section 24 is integrally attached to a portion of the mounting
portion 34. The mounting portion 34 is defined by a lower portion
32 of the side wall 28. The mounting portion 34 is configured to
sealingly engage with the outwardly curled lip 16 of the open-top
container 12. The mounting portion 34 includes an annular flange 36
and an upper surface 38. The extension section 24 is integrally
attached between the upper surface 38 and the annular flange 36.
The extension section 34 is extended downwardly and radially with
respect to at least 5% of surface area of the mounting portion 34.
The dimensions and configurations of the extended section 24 can
vary depending upon the configuration of the lid 10 and the degree
to which the extended section portion extends downwardly and
radially inward.
[0023] The lid 10 can be formed by a variety of manufacturing
processes, such as injection molding or a thermoforming operation,
preferably vacuum forming and/or pressure forming. The lid 10 is
preferably formed from plastic; however, other lightweight
materials can be used as well. After manufacturing process has been
completed, the drinking opening 18 may be formed in the top wall 26
with a punch and die. The vent hole 20 could also be formed with a
punch and die. As noted above, the vent hole 20 is adapted to
ensure the continuous flow of the cup contents through the drinking
opening 18 while venting the cup 12. For example, when a user
enclosing the cup with the lid 10, if the drinking opening 18 and
the sideseam joint 14 are inadvertently aligned, then the lid 10
having the extension section 24 completely seal the cup 12 and
therefore, prevent the dribbling of beverage from the sideseam
joint area 22.
[0024] FIG. 5 is the top view of FIG. 4 and FIGS. 6 and 7 are side
cross sectional views of the mounting portion 34 of the lid in FIG.
5. Particularly referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the annular flange 36
includes a curvature R2 having a locus and a magnitude. It should
be noted that the addition of the extension section 24 to the
mounting portion 34 causes a change in the locus of the curvature
defined by R3, but the magnitude of the curvature R2 remains the
same. The shift in distance of the locus of the curvature R2 is
equivalent to the magnitude vertical lengths (DE) and (DE'). The
vertical lengths (DE) and (DE') are resulted from the shape of the
extension section 24. The vertical lengths (DE) and (DE') are
defined as distances required for manufacturing purposes to
integrally attach the extension section 24 to the mounting portion
34 as depicted in FIG. 4. The extension section 24 is implemented
to inhibit dribbling of beverage from the contact location 23 when
a user inadvertently positioned the lid 10 on the container 12 such
that the opening 18 is aligned with the sideseam joint 14.
[0025] While the invention has been described with reference to a
preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the
art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be
substituted without departing from the scope of the invention. In
addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular
situation or material to the teachings of the invention without
departing from its scope. Therefore, it is intended that the
invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed,
but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within
the scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *