U.S. patent application number 15/029292 was filed with the patent office on 2016-08-25 for lid for drinking vessel.
The applicant listed for this patent is Michael Joseph ELIAS, Donna Marie SABGA. Invention is credited to Michael Joseph ELIAS, Donna Marie SABGA.
Application Number | 20160244214 15/029292 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49447353 |
Filed Date | 2016-08-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160244214 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
ELIAS; Michael Joseph ; et
al. |
August 25, 2016 |
Lid for Drinking Vessel
Abstract
Drink through lid attachable to a beverage cup by a drinking
lip, such that a topside of the drinking lip extends about and
abuts an outer surface of the cup and an underside of the drinking
lip extends about and abuts an inner surface of the cup.
Inventors: |
ELIAS; Michael Joseph;
(Dublin, IE) ; SABGA; Donna Marie; (Dublin,
IE) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
ELIAS; Michael Joseph
SABGA; Donna Marie |
Sandyford Dublin
Sandyford Dublin |
|
IE
IE |
|
|
Family ID: |
49447353 |
Appl. No.: |
15/029292 |
Filed: |
October 15, 2014 |
PCT Filed: |
October 15, 2014 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP2014/072161 |
371 Date: |
April 14, 2016 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 2543/00092
20130101; B65D 2543/00731 20130101; B65D 2543/00629 20130101; B65D
2543/00027 20130101; B65D 2543/00537 20130101; A47G 19/2272
20130101; B65D 2543/00685 20130101; B65D 2543/00296 20130101; B65D
2543/00796 20130101; B65D 2543/00509 20130101; B65D 2543/00555
20130101; B65D 43/0212 20130101; B65D 2543/00046 20130101 |
International
Class: |
B65D 43/02 20060101
B65D043/02; A47G 19/22 20060101 A47G019/22 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 15, 2013 |
EP |
13188752.3 |
Claims
1. A drink through lid attachable to a beverage cup by a drinking
lip, the drink through lid comprising the drinking lip having a
topside that extends about and abuts an outer surface of the cup
and an underside that extends about and abuts an inner surface of
the cup.
2. The drink through lid according to claim 1, further comprising
an annular recess defined therein between outer and inner annular
walls for engaging a rim of the cup, wherein the drinking lip is an
upstanding arcuate lip formed by a raised portion of the outer wall
and a raised portion of the inner wall which converge at a position
above the rim, the outer wall arranged to engage the outside of the
rim about an outer surface of the cup and the inner wall sealingly
engages an inner surface of the cup.
3. The drink through lid according to claim 1, wherein, in use, the
underside of the lip is flush with an inner surface of the cup such
that when a liquid is poured from the beverage cup over the topside
of the drinking lip, the liquid is prevented from entering a region
between the underside of the drinking lip and an inner surface of
the cup.
4. The drink through lid according to claim 2, wherein the annular
recess comprises a portion of increased depth for sealably mating
the outer wall of the drinking lip with the outer surface of the
cup and the inner wall of the drinking lip with the inner surface
of the cup.
5. The drink through lid according to claim 1, comprising: a drink
through aperture through which a beverage can exit the lid along
the drinking lip.
6. The drink through lid according to claim 5, further comprising a
recessed area in the topside of the lid.
7. The drink through lid according to claim 6, wherein the recessed
area comprises the drink through aperture.
8. The drink through lid according to claim 7, wherein an outer
edge of the recessed area is pliably connected to the lid such that
the recessed area is moveable between a holding position and a
drinking position.
9. The drink through lid according to claim 1, such that the
topside of the drinking lip is nestable within the underside of a
drinking lip of another lid.
10. A beverage cup assembly comprising a beverage cup fitted with a
lid according to claim 1.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to lids for drinking vessels
and in particular drinking vessels which have a cup and a
drink-through lid on the cup. Of particular interest are lids for
disposable cups. Disposable cups are often given out with beverage
sales for example from shops, on airlines, in public arenas such as
theatres, cinemas, stadiums etc. The beverage is often tea or
coffee. Typically the cup is designed as a take-away disposable
cup, the lid for preventing spillage of the liquid whilst being
carried.
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION
[0002] Many types of drinking vessel have existed. These include
vessels designed for various purposes including those having spouts
or nozzles on a lid and through which the liquid to be drank must
be sucked. Such arrangements are typically used on baby cups in
particular to avoid spillage.
[0003] Such arrangements often further require a user to squeeze
the vessel in order for a consistent flow of liquid to be obtained
from the vessel. It is further the case that small volumes of
liquid, for example the last millilitres of a drink, become trapped
in the vessel as the shape of the spout or nozzle is more suited to
the passage of larger volumes of liquid.
[0004] Typically with such lids, it is common for a user to spill a
beverage while drinking. It is thus desirable to provide a lid
which reduces the tendency of a user to spill a beverage while
drinking. Furthermore, it is desirable to provide a consistent flow
of a beverage through the lid while drinking, for large and small
volumes of liquid.
[0005] Such lids are typically circular in shape and comprise a
recess about their outer circumference in order that the lid can be
fitted to the drinking vessel. Typically, the upper rim of the
drinking vessel is fit within the outer recess of the lid.
Typically, the lid, the vessel or in some cases both, are
resiliently deformable such that the lid is secured to the top of
the vessel by being gripped between the surfaces of the outer
recess. The outer recess serves only to secure the lid to the
vessel.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The present invention provides a drink though lid attachable
to beverage cup by a drinking lip, such that a topside of the
drinking lip extends about and abuts an outer surface of the cup
and an underside of the drinking lip extends about and abuts an
inner surface of the cup.
[0007] This is advantageous as the need for an additional outer
recess for securing the lid to a beverage cup is obviated. Instead,
the lid is attachable to a beverage cup by the drinking lip of the
lid. This provides for a greatly simplified lid profile as a
separate outer recess for securing the lid to a cup is no longer
required. This leads to significant benefits in terms of ease of
manufacture as well as cost of manufacture.
[0008] The lid may comprise an annular recess defined therein
between outer and inner annular walls for engaging a rim of the
cup, characterised in that the drinking lip is an upstanding
arcuate lip formed by a raised portion of the outer wall and a
raised portion of the inner wall which converge at a position above
the rim, the outer wall arranged to engage the outside of the rim
about an outer surface of the cup and the inner wall sealingly
engages an inner surface of the cup.
[0009] In such a construction, the internal annular recess between
the raised portion of the outer wall and the raised portion of the
inner wall which converge to form the drinking lip does not fill
with beverage as the annular recess of the drinking lip is sealed
off about an inner surface of the cup. This in turn means that no
residual fluid becomes trapped as for example occurs in GB 2473042
or the inventors' earlier WO 2012/104385. In such prior art
arrangements, a separate rim is required to form the seal to
prevent liquid from leaking about a peripheral edge of the cup.
Such arrangements create a seal against the outside of a rim of the
cup. In contrast, the present invention creates a seal against an
inner wall of the cup typically at a position below the rim of the
cup.
[0010] This means that the inner annular wall forming the drinking
lip is flush with the inner wall of the cup. This means that no
liquid finds its way into the annular recess within the drinking
lip. This in turn means that the inner wall prevents any fluid
finding its way into the space between the inner wall and the cup,
and in particular the annular recess defined by the inner and outer
walls. There is then no trapped residual fluid such as occurs with
alternative arrangements.
[0011] Moreover it is a simple construction where the rim for
attachment to the cup also forms the drinking lip. This means that
there is no multiple rim arrangement so that on the underside of
the lid there is no area where liquid becomes trapped as a user
drinks through the lid. In prior art arrangements liquid was
trapped by various parts on the underside of the lid including the
annular recess formed for attachment to the cup rim, a bridging
portion attaching a drinking lip to a wall defining the annular
recess and the recess formed by the drinking lip itself. All such
liquid traps have been eliminated by the construction of the
present invention.
[0012] The underside of the lip may be flush with an inner surface
of the beverage cup such that when a liquid is poured from the
beverage cup over a topside of the drinking lip, the liquid is
prevented from entering a region between the underside of the
drinking lip and an inner surface of the beverage cup.
[0013] This provides the advantage of preventing pooling of liquid
between a bottom surface of the drinking lip and an inner side wall
of the cup. As the underside of the drinking lip is flush with the
inner surface of the cup, there is no gap or reservoir area between
the underside of the lip and the inner surface of the cup into
which liquid from the cup may enter. Such a gap or reservoir leads
to pooling of liquid in the cup whilst being tilted in a typical
manner by a user drinking a beverage from the cup. Such pooling
leads to inconsistency of flow of a liquid from the cup when a cup
is tilted by a user in order to drink through the lid. Furthermore,
when a low volume of liquid is in the cup, it prevents such low
volumes from becoming trapped between the bottom surface of the
drinking lip and the side walls of the cup. Thus, it allows for
both consistent flow of large volumes of liquid (i.e. from a
substantially full cup) and small volumes of liquid (i.e. from a
substantially empty cup). Thus, remnants of a beverage are further
prevented from remaining in the cup which would ordinarily remain
trapped between the bottom surface of the drinking lip and the side
walls of the cup.
[0014] The annular recess of the lid may have a portion of
increased depth for sealably mating the topside of the drinking lip
with the outer surface of the cup and the underside of the drinking
lip with the inner surface of the cup.
[0015] This is advantageous as it allows the drinking lip of the
lid to provide the dual purpose of allowing a beverage to be sipped
by a user via the lip whilst also allowing the lip structure to
seal the lid to a cup. Thus the need for an additional outer rim or
recess to seal the lid to a cup is overcome. Mating the topside of
the drinking lip with the outer surface of the cup and the
underside of the drinking lip with the inner surface of the cup
allows the edge of the cup to be "gripped" or "pinched" by the
surfaces of the drinking lip, thus providing a reliable water tight
seal. The portion of increased depth allows for the underside of
the drinking lip to extend down the side wall of the inner surface
of the cup. Extending the lip along the inner surface of the side
wall further provides a better seal and further provides stability
to the lid atop a beverage cup.
[0016] The lid may comprise a drink through aperture through which
a beverage can exit the lid along the drinking lip.
[0017] Positioning the aperture such that a beverage can exit the
lid along the drinking lip is advantageous as it allows the user to
see the liquid in the period from which it exits the aperture and
flows along the drinking lip towards the users lips. This allows
the user to see the volume of liquid which has exited the cup, thus
preventing the user from imbibing too much liquid in a single
drinking action. This further overcomes the need for a user to suck
on an aperture in order for a beverage to exit a cup. It also
provides a cooling effect for hot beverages as the beverage is
exposed to the air before being imbibed by the user. It further
provides a opportunity for the user to blow onto the beverage
before being imbibed without the need to remove the lid from the
cup.
[0018] The lid may further comprise a recessed area in the topside
of the lid. The recessed area may further comprise the drink
through aperture.
[0019] Providing the drink through aperture in a recessed area is
advantageous as it allows a user drinking from the cup to see the
flow of liquid as it exits the aperature and flows along the
drinking lip. This allows a user to visually judge the rate of flow
and helps to prevent spillage. Furthermore, providing the aperture
in a recessed area overcomes the needs to compress the cup or rely
on suction in order to cause liquid to exit through the
aperture.
[0020] An outer edge of the recessed area is pliably connected to
the lid such that the recessed area is moveable between a holding
position and a drinking position.
[0021] In the holding position, the recessed area may be angled
downward into a cup whereas in the drinking position, the recessed
area is substantially parallel to a base of a cup to which it is
fitted. Thus, in the holding position, the recessed area provides
the advantage of acting as a baffle to prevent the inadvertent
spilling of liquids, for example if a cup is shaken.
[0022] The topside of the lid may be nestable within the underside
of a further lid. The top surface of the drinking lip may be
nestable within the bottom surface of a drinking lip of a further
lid. This provides the advantage of greater storage efficiency as
multiple lids may be stacked atop each other in a minimum amount of
space. This is particular advantageous where storage space is at a
premium, for example in commercial vehicles.
[0023] The lid may be fitted to a beverage cup to form a beverage
cup assembly of the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0024] FIG. 1A shows a drink through lid of the prior art
[0025] FIG. 1B shows a detail of the lid of the present invention
about the sealing region with the beverage cup wall
[0026] FIG. 2A shows a drink through lid of the present invention
on a beverage cup
[0027] FIG. 2B shows a cross section of the drink through lid of
the present invention on a beverage cup along the section B-B
[0028] FIG. 3 shows a cross section of the drink through lid of the
present invention on a beverage cup along the section C-C
[0029] FIG. 4 shows a detail of the lid about the sealing region
with the beverage cup rim
[0030] FIG. 5 shows a detail of the lid about the sealing region
with the beverage cup wall
[0031] FIG. 6 shows a detail of a cross section of the lid about
the sealing region with the beverage cup wall
[0032] FIG. 7A shows a drink through lid of the present invention
stacked atop a further drink through lid of the present
invention
[0033] FIG. 7B shows a cross section of drink through lid of the
present invention stacked atop a further drink through lid of the
present invention along the section A-A
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0034] The present invention will now be described with reference
to the accompanying drawings.
[0035] FIG. 1A shows a drink through lid of the prior art. An
additional rim B, separate from the drinking lip A is required to
form a seal to prevent liquid from leaking about a peripheral edge
of the cup. In use, residual fluid becomes trapped in the area
labelled C as no seal is formed between the drinking lip and the
wall of a beverage cup. FIG. 1B shows a drink-through lid 1 for a
beverage cup of the present invention about an area equivalent to
the area circled in FIG. 1A. FIG. 1B shows the lid 1 about the
sealing region with the beverage cup wall. It can be seen from lid
1 that there is no outer rim equivalent to rim B in FIG. 1A.
Furthermore, the cup rim 19 is situated between the walls of the
drinking lip 10 in a manner providing a seal that will be further
described below.
[0036] FIGS. 2A and B show a drink-through lid 1 for a beverage cup
of the present invention. The lid 1 has a lid body 2. The lid body
2 is a single piece of plastic or other suitable material which has
been formed into the lid shape by a suitable forming process such
as a thermoforming process.
[0037] A drink-through aperture 5 (FIG. 3) is defined in the lid
body 2 through which a beverage can exit the lid 1 for drinking
when the lid is on a beverage cup 30.
[0038] The lid comprises a level surface 3 on the non-drinking side
of the lid, i.e. the side of the lid opposite to the side with the
drink through aperture. A breather hole is provided in the level
surface. A sloped surface 4 connects the level surface on the
non-drinking side to the drink through aperture.
[0039] The drink-through aperture 5 comprises an area 6 on the lid
in which there may be defined many apertures 7. Each of the
apertures 7 is large enough to allow a beverage to be drank through
the lid whilst obstructing passage of a filtrate material (which is
in the beverage and thus is removed from the beverage before the
beverage is drank). The filtrate material is typically solid
insoluble matter and often times is material which has been
subjected to infusion with hot water such as ground coffee or tea
leaves. Any suitable array of apertures may be employed and there
is no requirement for the array or apertures to have any particular
geometry. The apertures need not all be of the same size or
shape.
[0040] The lid 1 also has formed therein a drinking lip 10 (FIG.
5). The drinking lip 10 is raised relative to the lid body and
comprises opposing upstanding walls, namely a topside outer wall
11, an underside outer wall 12, a topside inner wall 13 and an
underside inner wall 14. The drinking lip 10 is formed where the
topside inner wall 13 meets the topside outer wall 11. As with all
other features of the lid, the drinking lip 10 is integrally formed
with the lid 1. The drinking lip has a width of about 0.6 mm, for
example it may have a width of 0.67 mm. In a further embodiment,
the drinking lip 10 has a width of about 1 mm, for example it may
have a width of 1.04 mm. The underside outer wall 12 and the
underside inner wall 14 of the lid are not visible when the lid is
placed on a beverage cup 30.
[0041] To drink a beverage through the lid 1 a user places their
lips on the lid so that their mouth is about the lip 10 and imbibes
liquid through the aperture 5. When the cup is held in a drinking
position, tilting the cup about a horizontal axis through the cup
will allow a beverage to pass through the drink-through aperture,
and along the topside inner wall 13 towards the lip 10 so that the
user can see the beverage after it has exited the aperture 5 and
before it reaches the lip 10. Such an arrangement is very desirable
because it dramatically reduces the tendency of a user to spill the
beverage. In particular, because the user can see the beverage and
in particular the beverage level, as it flows out of the lid 1,
they are less likely to spill it.
[0042] Desirably, and as shown in the embodiment, the beverage
aperture is formed in an area of the lid 1 that is at a lower
position relative to an outer rim 9 and the drinking lip 10 of the
lid. This increases the area available for forming the fluid bed
for the liquid and thus makes liquid flow visually more prominent
to a user. In an embodiment, the beverage aperture is about 35 mm
below the drinking lip 10, for example, it may be 35.03 mm below
the drinking lip.
[0043] The underside 15 of the lid, i.e. the side of the lid which
is not visible when placed atop a beverage cup comprises a recess
16 about the circumference of the lid. The recess 16 is shallow in
the portion furthest from the drinking lip and is of increased
depth in the portion bounded by the underside inner wall 14 of the
drinking lip 10 and the underside outer wall 12 of the drinking
lip. When placed on a beverage cup 30, the circumferential recess
16 acts to push fit to the top of the cup. The recess 16 is formed
in the shallow portion by two inner surfaces 17, 18 of the lid and
fits around a raised rim 19 on the top of the beverage cup 30 to
form a fit providing side support. An upper surface 20 provides
vertical support. This is the fit formed on the non-drinking side
of the lid i.e. the side of the lid opposite the drinking lip (FIG.
4). On the drinking side of the lid, i.e. the side with the
drinking lip 10 (FIG. 5), the recess 16 is of increased depth and
is formed between the underside inner wall 14 of the drinking lip
10 and the underside outer wall 12 of the drinking lip. The
underside inner wall 14 is dimensioned such that, when in place on
a cup, the underside wall extends along the inner surface 21 of the
beverage cup such that it mates with the surface 21 of the inner
side wall of the beverage cup. When placed on a beverage cup, a
push fit is formed when the rim 19 of the beverage cup is fitted
into the recess 16 between the underside inner wall 14 of the
drinking lip and the underside outer wall 12 of the drinking lip.
Unlike on the non-drinking side, there is no vertical support
around the cup rim afforded by the lid surfaces. Instead there is a
hollow region 29 above the cup rim 19 formed between the underside
inner wall 14 of the rim 10 and the underside outer wall 12 of the
rim 10. The separation of the underside wall 14 and the underside
wall 12 which from the recess is thus important as the separation
must be wide enough to allow the rim 19 of a beverage cup to fit
into the recess 16 but not be so wide as to prevent a push fit with
the beverage cup rim 19 from forming. Preferably, the wall 12 is
separated from the wall 14 by an angle of 6 degrees.
[0044] A notch 22 in the underside outer wall 12 fits to the
corresponding rim 19 on the top of the beverage cup. This provides
horizontal support to the lid 1 to retain it in place on a beverage
cup 30. The underside inner wall 14 extends along the inner surface
21 of the beverage cup and mates with the surface. In this manner,
a seal is formed such that there is no gap between the bottom
surface of the aperture 23 and the inner surface 21 of the beverage
cup. Furthermore, a seal is formed between the underside wall 14 of
the lip 10 and the inner side wall surface 21 of the beverage cup.
This seal extends for about half of the circumference of the lid.
The seal is broken by a dip 24 in underside wall (FIG. 6), which
causes a separation between the underside inner wall 14 of the rim
and the inner wall surface 21 of the cup. Breaking the seal at this
point, provides sufficient clearance between the underside inner
wall 14 of the lid and the inner wall surface 21 of the cup for the
push fit seal between the lid and cup to function.
[0045] FIGS. 7A and B show a drink through lid 1 of the present
invention stacked atop a further drink through lid 1 of the present
invention. It can be seen that the lids are capable of nesting
within each other. In the nesting arrangement with one drinking lid
atop another, the topside surface 25 of the lower drinking lid
occupies the recess on the underside surface 26 of the upper
drinking lid. In this arrangement, the lids can be packed very
closely together. In a preferred embodiment of the device, the
distance between the top surface 27 of the upper lid and the bottom
surface 28 of a lower lid in a nesting arrangement is 15.44 mm.
Such a nesting feature significantly reduces the storage space
required for multiple lids. It further provides for substantially
efficiency in the packing of multiple lids. Such efficiency of
storage and packing is of particular importance for commercial
vehicles, including aircraft, where storage space is extremely
limited.
[0046] In a further embodiment of the present invention, the
aperture area 5 of the lid may be pivotable, for example, along an
axis 29 (See FIG. 3) where the edge of the aperture area 5 meets
the sloped surface 4 of the drinking lid. The edge of the aperture
area is thus sufficiently pliable such that the aperture can be
made to bend from one position to another. For example, when fitted
to a cup, the aperture area 5 is thus capable of being in one
position, being substantially horizontal and parallel with the base
of the beverage cup to which it is fitted, and in another position
being angled downwards into the cup itself. This arrangement has
the effect of preventing liquid splashing out of the beverage cup
if the cup is shaken. When in the downward position or "holding
position", the aperture area 5 acts as a baffle to prevent liquid
escaping from the cup. The aperture area 5 is pivotable such that
when the cup is tilted by a user in order to drink from the lip 10
of the lid, the aperture 5 moves towards a level position or
"drinking position" and allows liquid to flow through the aperture
region in the manner described above.
[0047] The words "comprises/comprising" and the words
"having/including" when used herein with reference to the present
invention are used to specify the presence of stated features,
integers, steps or components but do not preclude the presence or
addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components
or groups thereof.
[0048] It is appreciated that certain features of the invention,
which are, for clarity, described in the context of separate
embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single
embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention which
are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment,
may also be provided separately or in any suitable
sub-combination.
* * * * *