Patent Application
20220127045
The invention relates generally to sanitary coverings and/or seals for beverage containers. There exists a need fora cover for containers of consumable beverages or other food products and the like which avoids the problem of contaminated drinking areas by providing a clean sanitary area around the opening of the container to avoid contamination of the contents of the container. It is to these ends that the present invention is directed.
Often times people will wipe down the part of the can where they drink out of to make sure it is clean and doesn't have any bacteria, dirt, residue, etc. that would otherwise be consumed. This seal would provide complete peace of mind for consumers because the part of the can where their mouth touches would never be exposed to areas where bacteria can build up. (IE: gas station cooler, vending machine, personal cooler filled with ice, etc.)
Pop-top aluminum cans are widely used as containers for beverages. Pop-top cans have a number of well-known advantages, included among which are their light weight, low cost, and ability to be recycled. They also have one significant disadvantage for the consumer of beverages and similar products. The top of the can gets dirty. When the can is opened, a portion of the pop-top closure projects into the can, and this may introduce contaminants into the beverage. Moreover, the structure of a pop-top can is such that contaminants from the outside of the can around the top are actually washed into the contents as the beverage is being consumed. Cleaning the top of the can, as by wiping it, before opening the can is often inconvenient, especially when the can comes from a vending machine, and is generally ineffective. At present, there is noway of preventing the top of the can from becoming dirty, and the only way to prevent contamination of the contents is to clean the top thoroughly before the can is opened. This problem is not limited to pop-top aluminum cans but is shared by other types of containers.
There exists a need for a cover for containers of consumable beverages or other food products and the like which avoids the foregoing problem by providing a clean sanitary area around the opening of the container to avoid contamination of the contents of the container. It is to these ends that the present invention is directed.
In U.S. Pat. No. 8,167,162, this invention relates to sanitary coverings for beverage lids, particularly those used on and applied to disposable cups and particularly for lids that are placed on cups containing hot beverages such as coffee, tea or hot chocolate. The sanitary barrier comprises a thin flexible strip of material that covers the entire area on which consumers place their mouths. Preferably, it is used to coverage a beverage lid with a pre-formed drinking aperture. The sanitary barrier has an extended pull tab that is not adhered to the lid and extends beyond the bottom wall of the lid and can be easily gripped to allow the strip to be pulled up and away from the lid for easy removal of the sanitary baffler. The present invention differs in that it is directed to beverage containers which have not been opened, i.e., does not have a per-formed aperture.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,270 a sanitary cover for a pop-top beverage container and the like is taught. The sanitary cover comprises an elastic membrane formed to extend over the top and axially along a portion of the sidewall of the container. The membrane has a line of weakness and a pull tab attached thereto so as to enable the membrane to be ruptured along the line of weakness. The elastic membrane, however, does not conform to the top of the can as taught by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,268 teaches a container comprising a discharging opening which is closed by a pull tab arranged on the outer surface of the front wall and at least partly detachable therefrom. The drinking area of the container is located under the foil and is uncovered when the pull tab 28 is removed. The present invention differs in that the adhesive seal is not part of the pull tab which opens the container.
In US Publication No. 2002/0043473 a hygienic beverage can is taught to incorporate a sanitary towelette and a sanitary can cover. The towelette can be used by itself or in combination with the can cover. The present invention differs in that a towelette is not used to provide a sanitary seal and is not part of the invention.
Thus, there is a considerable need for the present invention and one skilled in the art will continue to understand this need in the following summary and furthermore in the drawing and detailed description of the drawing.
The present invention is an adhesive seal that would be placed onto a drinking can for users to simply peel off of the can before consuming the beverage. The seal's primary purpose is to protect consumers from consuming any bacteria, dirt, residue, virus (Covid-19) enzymes that could make them sick. The seal would cover part of or the entire top of the can and surround parts of the wall of the can as well.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a hygienic and sanitary barrier and means for protecting the area on which a consumer places his or her mouth.
It is another object of the present invention to reduce or eliminate the potential spread of germs and other communicable diseases by giving consumers confidence that the beverage will not be contaminated.
It is a further object of the present invention to teach a new sanitary barrier for beverage container that allows a consumer to place his/her mouth on the drinking area knowing that the mouth portion of container has not been contaminated.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an easily disposable sanitary barrier which uses the least amount of material possible to accomplish the objective described herein.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a cost-effective manner in which beverage containers may be manufactured and be protected by the new sanitary barrier in a cost-effective manner that does not interfere with packaging, storing or shipping methods already in place.
Accordingly, a further object of the present invention is to provide a new sanitary barrier for beverage containers that are easy to manufacture and market to consumers.
It is an even further object of the present invention to provide a sanitary barrier that extends beyond the portion of the container that the user's top lip touches to the top surface and side of the container (in various forms and shapes) for the purpose of placing advertisements, promotions or other messages.
The present invention provides a hygienic and sanitary barrier over the surface on which a consumer places his or her mouth. None of the known prior art references discloses, suggests or teaches a novel sanitary barrier for covering a beverage top as described in the present invention, which is a simple and effective solution to preventing contamination of these types of surfaces prior to drinking the beverage.
Further aspects of the invention are evident from the Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment, and
While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawing and will herein be described in detail a preferred embodiment 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 embodiment illustrated.
The present invention teaches a new and novel sanitary covering and method of covering for beverages—that may be comprised of any suitable material including but not limited to flexible thin paper, foil, elastic material, plastic material, aluminum, rubber (natural or synthetic), LDPE (low density polyethylene), silicone, grease proof waterproof paper, or recyclable paper with a wax covering. The sanitary cover/adhesive seal would cover the portion of the surface and side and extend slightly beyond, on which the user would place his or her mouth. The application of this invention to a beverage container will dramatically reduce the potential spread of “germs” and will give the consumer confidence that the beverage has not been contaminated.
The present invention preferably consists of a flexible thin paper, foil or plastic material that, once applied, is conformed to a disposable beverage container and can be used for any style of beverage container and is sealed to such beverage container by way of a food grade or other light adhesive applied to the sanitary barrier.
Removal of the sanitary barrier of the present invention from the beverage container may be done by movement in one general direction. Proper removal of the sanitary barrier does not allow any dust, debris or other matter to fall back onto the mouth area of the beverage container.
The present invention may also have an extended pull tab, which may be of varying shapes, lengths and designs, that the consumer may grip in order to peel the sanitary covering from the beverage container prior to consumption. The extended pull tab may be placed on any suitable position on the seal.
One advantage of extending the sanitary barrier beyond the drinking aperture itself is that the sanitary barrier will provide a larger sanitary area, which is important in certain circumstances, such as if the consumer licks a drop of liquid off of the top or side of the container that might otherwise drip off.
Another advantage is to provide a higher quality product (the beverage) by assuring beverage consumers that they are receiving a clean product.
As shown in
While a specific embodiment has been illustrated and described, numerous modifications come to mind without markedly departing from the spirit of the invention. The scope of protection is thus only intended to be limited by the scope of the accompanying claims.
