U.S. patent application number 14/039530 was filed with the patent office on 2014-07-31 for tip-resistant cup with handle.
The applicant listed for this patent is Joseph Born, Lily Ann Born. Invention is credited to Joseph Born, Lily Ann Born.
Application Number | 20140209619 14/039530 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 51221814 |
Filed Date | 2014-07-31 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140209619 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Born; Lily Ann ; et
al. |
July 31, 2014 |
Tip-Resistant Cup with Handle
Abstract
A tip-resistant cup with handle having at least three external
extended legs that prevent tip-overs. The external legs extend down
to the surface the cup being placed on to provide support from
three different directions. In addition, any of the legs can be
used has a handle. Cups of the present invention can be stacked
like other cups by simply rotating the position of the legs. The
cup of the present invention can also have a curved lip to further
prevent spilling when the user is drinking.
Inventors: |
Born; Lily Ann; (Skokie,
IL) ; Born; Joseph; (Lincolnwood, IL) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Born; Lily Ann
Born; Joseph |
Skokie
Lincolnwood |
IL
IL |
US
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
51221814 |
Appl. No.: |
14/039530 |
Filed: |
September 27, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61706931 |
Sep 28, 2012 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
220/628 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 21/0215 20130101;
A47G 19/2261 20130101; A47G 19/23 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/628 |
International
Class: |
B65D 25/24 20060101
B65D025/24 |
Claims
1. A tip-proof coffee cup comprising: a cup body having a lower
part, an upper part and a bottom, the upper part being of greater
diameter than the lower part; a plurality of external legs
extending outward and downward from the upper part of said cup
body, the legs extending downward to a point below the bottom of
said cup body.
2. The tip-proof coffee cup of claim 1 wherein said coffee cup has
three legs.
3. The tip-proof coffee cup of claim 1 wherein each of the legs has
a cross-section that is curved concave outward away from said cup
body.
4. The tip-proof coffee cup of claim 1 wherein said cup body has a
drinking lip, and each of the legs curves downward away from the
upper part of said cup body such that the leg's distil end
encounters a resting surface at approximately right angles and its
proximal end into said cup body at an acute angle below said
drinking lip.
5. The tip-proof coffee cup of claim 4 wherein a region of said cup
body approaching said drinking lip curves inward so that the
drinking lip has a diameter smaller than the upper part of said cup
body.
6. The tip-proof coffee cup of claim 1 wherein the drinking lip has
a diameter larger then the lower part of said cup body.
7. The tip-proof coffee cup of claim 1 wherein said cup body has a
drinking lip and wherein a region of said cup body approaching the
drinking lip curves inward so that the drinking lip has a diameter
smaller than the upper part of said cup body.
8. The tip-proof coffee cup of claim 1 adapted so that a plurality
of similar tip-proof coffee cups can be stacked on top of
one-another with the lower part of each cup, except a lowest cup,
extending into the cup body of a cup below it.
9. The tip-proof coffee cup of claim 1 wherein each of said legs is
wider at its distal end than at its proximal end.
10. The tip-proof coffee cup of claim 1 wherein each of said legs
is adapted to be used as a handle.
11. A tip-proof coffee cup comprising: a cup body having a lower
part, an upper part and a bottom, the upper part being of greater
diameter than the lower part; three external legs extending outward
and downward from a region near the upper part of said cup body,
the legs extending downward to a point equal to or below the bottom
of the cup body; wherein said cup body has a drinking lip, and each
of the legs curves downward away from the upper part of said cup
body such that its distil end encounters a resting surface at
approximately right angles and its proximal end merges into said
cup body at an acute angle below said drinking lip; and wherein a
region of said cup body approaching said drinking lip curves inward
so that the drinking lip has a diameter smaller than the upper part
of said cup body yet larger than the lower part of said cup
body.
12. The tip-proof coffee cup of claim 11 wherein each of the legs
has a cross-section that is curved concave outward away from said
cup body.
13. The tip-proof coffee cup of claim 11 configured so that a
plurality of similar tip-proof coffee cups can be stacked on top of
one-another with the lower part of each cup, except a lowest cup,
extending into the cup body of a cup below it.
14. The tip-proof coffee cup of claim 11 wherein each of said legs
is wider at its distal end than at its proximal end.
15. A cup adapted to hold liquids comprising a cup body with at
least three equally-spaced legs protruding outward and downward
from said cup body to a point below said cup body, whereby said cup
body is resistant to tipping over.
16. The cup of claim 15 wherein said legs have a curved
cross-section.
17. The cup of claim 15 further comprising a drinking lip of
smaller diameter than said cup body's upper part, wherein said
drinking lip curves inward.
18. The cup of claim 15 wherein said legs curve downward from said
cup body to meet a resting surface at approximately a right angle.
Description
[0001] This application is related to and claims priority from U.S.
Provisional Patent Application No. 61/706,931 filed Sep. 28, 2012.
Application 61/706,931 is hereby incorporated in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates generally to the field of cups
and more particularly to a cup with handle that cannot easily be
tipped over.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM
[0003] A typical cup is very easy to knock over. Patients suffering
from Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and other disorders
especially find it very difficult to use a regular cup and many
times tip it over while trying to drink. A typical cup with handle
has a high center of gravity and is easily tipped.
[0004] Cups with wide bases and narrow tops are known in the art as
attempts to partially solve this problem. While these cups work
fairly well for healthy people, they are also easily tipped over by
people with Parkinson's disease. Also, they slosh and spill some
liquid if bumped or pushed. Other cups have been made with quite
heavy weights in their bottoms. While these are hard to tip over,
they are also heavy to lift and uncomfortable to drink from.
[0005] It would be very advantageous to have a cup that was almost
impossible to tip over by brushing, pushing, touching, placing down
on a bottom edge instead of the flat bottom and any other way a cup
may tip over. It would also be advantageous if the cup had a
modern, stylish look.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The present invention relates to a tip-resistant cup that
has three external extended legs that prevent tip-overs. While
three is the preferred number of legs, more that three can be used.
The external legs extend down to approximately the surface the cup
being placed on to provide support from three different directions.
In addition, any of the legs can be used has a handle. Cups of the
present invention can be stacked like other cups by simply rotating
the position of the legs. The cup of the present invention can also
have a curved lip to further prevent spilling when the user is
drinking.
DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0007] Several drawings illustrate features of the present
invention:
[0008] FIG. 1 shows a side view of an embodiment of the cup of the
present invention.
[0009] FIG. 2 shows a bottom view of the embodiment of FIG. 1.
[0010] FIG. 3 shows several cups of the present invention
stacked.
[0011] FIG. 4 shows a schematic sectional drawing of an embodiment
of the present invention.
[0012] FIG. 5 shows a schematic bottom view of an embodiment of the
present invention with the distance x' marked.
[0013] FIG. 6 shows a comparison of the curved lip of the present
invention with the straight lip of a normal cup.
[0014] Several drawings and illustrations have been presented to
aid in understanding the present invention. The scope of the
present invention is not limited to what is shown in the
figures.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0015] The present invention relates to a tip-proof and spill-proof
cup that is equipped with several legs to prevent tip-over and a
curved lip to further prevent spilling. The preferred embodiment
has three legs spaced evenly around the cup that extend downward to
beyond the level of the cup bottom, thereby lifting the cup bottom
from the resting surface. This is shown in FIG. 1. Alternatively,
the legs can extend downward to a point equal to the cup bottom.
The body has a base, a curved upper lip and three legs. The cup of
FIG. 1 can be made from porcelain or any other solid material.
Because of the support of the legs, it is extremely difficult to
cause the cup to tip over. Rather, if brushed or pushed, the cup
has a tendency to slide sideways. The curved lip prevents liquid
from splashing out of the cup in this case and when someone is
holding the cup at an angle rather than upright.
[0016] FIG. 2 shows a bottom view of the embodiment of FIG. 1
further showing the standard cup bottom in addition to the other
features.
[0017] FIG. 3 shows how cups according to the present invention can
be stacked simply by rotating the positions of the legs of each new
cup as it is added to the stack.
[0018] It should be noted that the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3
can be made from standard material used to make cups and can be as
attractive as any other cup. While coffee-cup porcelain is the
preferred material for cups holding hot beverages, any other solid
material such as plastic or metal may be used.
[0019] It should be appreciated that in some embodiments of the
cup, the preferred material will be plastic, thereby making the cup
more resistant to breaking from impact. Furthermore, when molded
from plastic, the cup can be manufactured with thinner wall
thickness and thus able to be stacked even more densely than if the
cup is made from porcelain. Furthermore, it would be desirable in
those cases that the cups can be stacked directly on top of one
another without requiring they be rotated relative to one another.
This becomes possible because of the thinner wall thickness.
[0020] It should also be noted that any one of the legs can be used
as a handle to hold the cup.
[0021] The legs function to provide a counter-torque to the moment
created by a tipping force. FIG. 4 shows the relative dimensions of
an embodiment of the invention. Here, it can be seen that the
distance between the bottom of the legs (2 times x') is a little
larger than the greatest diameter of the cup and is approximately
equal to the height of the cup (y'). The left drawing in FIG. 4
shows a coffee-type cup without any legs. The frictional force is
shown at the bottom of the cup, while the tipping force is shown at
the top of the cup opposite the frictional force. The tipping force
causes a moment (torque) that makes the cup pivot about the lower
edge of the base. When the center of gravity (shown in the middle
of the cup) moves past the lower edge, the cup tips over. The legs
of the cup of the present invention cause the pivot point to move
very far outward making it extremely difficult to move the center
of gravity far enough sideways to cause tipping. In fact, on most
surfaces, the cup will not tip at all, but rather slide as the
translation tipping force exceeds the static frictional force.
[0022] FIG. 5 shows a sketch of a bottom view of an embodiment of
the present invention clearly showing how the distance x' is
measured.
[0023] FIG. 6 shows the effect of the curved lip. Even if the cup
is tipped at a fairly severe angle (while drinking for example), or
if the cup is pushed or brushed causing sloshing of the liquid
contents, the curved lip prevents liquid from escaping.
[0024] As previously stated, the preferred number of legs is three;
however, the cup of the present invention may have more than three
legs. It should also be noted that while the bottom of the cup body
is shown as being of smaller diameter than the top of the cup body,
this is not necessary to the functioning of the invention. The
bottom of the cup body can have any diameter as long as it fits
within the legs.
[0025] It is advantageous in some embodiments that the legs of the
cup have a curved cross-section and base as shown in FIG. 1. Such
curvature serves two functions, first by using such a base, the
legs offer a more consistent support (x') for impacts from a
variety of angular orientations about the circumference of the cup.
In addition, such a curved shape matches the geometry of the
fingers grasping the cup, thus providing a comfortable surface to
hold the cup. It is desirable that the x' distance between the legs
never varies with the angular orientation more than around 40%, so
that minimum x' is no less than 0.6 of maximum x'.
[0026] In the preferred embodiment, the legs curve downward from
widest point on the cup body. In this embodiment, they intersect
the cup body at an acute angle and intersect the table or other
resting surface at approximately a right angle. While curved legs
are preferred to make them easy to hold, straight legs are within
the scope of the present invention.
[0027] Several descriptions and illustrations have been provided to
aid in understanding the present invention. One with skill in the
art will realize that numerous changes and variations may be made
without departing from the spirit of the invention. Each of these
changes and variations is within the scope of the present
invention.
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