The disclosure generally relates to caps for bottles and canteens, and in particular, the disclosure is directed to a closure with a detachable flip straw.
Conventional containers may hold a variety of different types of liquids and fluids. For example, known containers can hold various drinks and beverages such as water, flavored waters, juices, energy drinks, protein-enhanced drinks, shakes, foodstuffs, and liquid meal replacements.
These types of known containers may be used in a wide variety of environments such as at a home, office, gym, or health club, and while traveling. Known beverage containers may also be used during or after activities such as exercising or riding in an automobile, bus, train, or airplane. Traditional beverage containers, such as a coffee mug, are generally unsuitable for drinking beverages while exercising or traveling because they can easily spill their contents, are often heavy, not readily portable, and are prone to breaking if dropped. Traditional beverage containers are also generally unsuitable for use outside of a limited area because they may be relatively inconvenient to carry or transport, and may allow the contents to spill.
Some known beverage containers may include a small cover over the drinking aperture to prevent the contents from spilling. The small cover is typically manually opened by the user's hand when the user desires to take a drink. For example, the user may slide the cover into an open position, rotate the cover or a spout between an open and closed position, or depress a button or lever. Many of these known containers include a watertight or airtight seal between the cover and the drinking aperture to prevent the beverage from spilling. These known containers often require substantial effort to open and close the cover because the watertight or airtight seal must be formed or broken each time the cover is opened or closed. Some of these containers, especially when the container is full, may undesirably allow some of the beverage to spill when the cover is opened. In addition, because the cover may be suddenly and abruptly opened, this may cause some of the contents to spill. Further, a user may not want to touch a rotating spout with his or her fingers if their hands are dirty or unwashed.
Additionally, conventional beverage containers may also be difficult to clean or reuse because of the shape, number of parts, and complex configuration of one or more components.
For the purpose of illustrating the invention, the drawings show aspects of one or more embodiments of the invention. However, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown in the drawings.
A closure with a detachable flip straw (hereinafter, the “closure”) according to embodiments of the present invention facilitates easy opening and closing of the closure when mounted on a canister or bottle, transport of the canister or bottle including the closure, and cleaning the closure. The closure as discussed herein allows for accessing the liquids within a canister or bottle without having to touch a portion of the closure that would enter the user's mouth thereby avoiding contamination and germs. A closure according to the present disclosure is separable into a straw portion and a cap portion when the straw portion is in the substantially open or “drink” position, but is not separable when in the substantially closed position. The closure is illustrated in
Cap portion 104 also includes a reception area 128 for receiving the straw portion 108. As shown in
The rod 148 is not perfectly circular. Rather, the rod 148 is generally oval in cross section with a major axis and a minor axis. The rod 148 has a greater length along the major axis than along the minor axis. In some embodiments, the rod 148 may be oval or circular in cross section but may also include squared off sides 149 running substantially parallel with the major axis. The squared off sides are positioned closer to the major axis than the ends of the minor axis if the rod were a complete oval in cross section. The oval features of the rod 148 facilitate the insertion of the rod 148 into the channel 136 and removal of the rod 148 from the channel 136 while also limiting unintended removal as described in greater detail later herein.
The sipper 164 is coupled to the ball coupling 160 and each has an aperture 168 that is fluidly connected to the aperture 144 of the cap portion 104 when straw portion 108 is in the open position. In the open position, the straw portion 108 is rotated such that the aperture 168 in the ball coupling 160 is aligned with the aperture 144 in the cap portion. The sipper 164 includes an internal region and the ball portion includes an internal region. The combination of apertures and internal regions allows fluid to flow from the bottle out of the sipper 164 when the straw portion 108 is in the open position. In some embodiments, the internal regions of the sipper 164 and the ball coupling 160 extend away from the center of the ball coupling 160 at different angles. This may facilitate placement of the sipper 164 relative to the cap portion 104 when the straw portion 108 is in different positions.
The straw portion 108 can also include a stop 172 (as shown in
As shown in at least
As shown in
In use, a user secures the closure 100 to a container, optionally coupling an internal removable straw to internal straw receiver 154 prior to securing the closure to the container. With the straw portion 108 in a closed position, no liquid should escape the container via closure 100. In the closed position, the stop 172 of the straw portion 108 seals the vent aperture 184 of the cap portion 104, and the ball coupling 160, in combination with the gasket 180, seals the aperture 144 of the cap portion 104. When the user is ready for a drink, the user presses handle 156 so as to rotate the handle from a substantially upright position (
When the user desires to clean the closure 100, the handle 156 is rotated as if the user wanted to take a drink as described above to an assembly position. In the assembly position, the handle is rotated such that the smaller width of the rod 148 (e.g., the width parallel with the minor axis of rod 148) is aligned with the upper opening 137 of the channel 136. Once handle 156 has rotated, for example, 60 percent, 50 percent, 40 percent, or a value there between of the way from the substantially downward position to the substantially upright position thus placing the straw portion 108 in the assembly position, the user can pull the handle and/or other portion of the straw portion 108 and thereby disconnect straw portion 108 from cap portion 104. In some embodiments, the fit between the rod 148 and the channel 136, including the upper opening 137, is an interference fit such that the user must exert a force to remove the straw portion 108 from the cap portion 104. The rod 148 exits the channel 136 as the smaller width of the rod 148 is aligned with the upper opening 137. It should be noted that straw portion 108 and cap portion 104 are not decoupleable at all times, as that may lead to inadvertent detachment. By not having straw portion 108 be removable from cap portion 104 when handle 156 is in a substantially upright position or other non-assembly position, the user does not have to be concerned about undesired detachment of the straw portion from cap portion 104. The straw portion 108 is not decoupleable from the cap portion in positions other than the assembly position as a result of the shape of the rod 148 and the size of the upper opening 137. In non-assembly positions (e.g., when the straw portion 108 is in the downward or upright positions) the wider portions of the rod 148 (e.g., the portions extending along the major axis) are aligned with the upper opening 137 and these portion os the rod 148 are larger than the upper opening 137. Thus, the rod 148 is prevented from exiting the channel 136.
In exemplary embodiments, handle 156 moves about 10 percent of the way or more from the substantially upright position to the substantially downward position before straw portion 108 can be decoupled from cap portion 104. The removal of straw portion 108 facilitates cleaning of both the straw portion and cap portion 104. Once the user has cleaned the straw portion 108, the user couples the straw portion 108 to the cap portion 104 by inserting the rod 148 into the channel 136 with the handle 156 partially between the upright position and downward position, e.g., in the assembly position. The smaller width portion of the rod 148 is aligned with the upper opening 137 of the channel 136 such that the rod 148 is insertable through the upper opening 137 and into the channel 136. The same assembly and disassembly procedures may be used in the manufacturing of or assembly of the closure 100.
Exemplary embodiments have been disclosed above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, omissions and additions may be made to that which is specifically disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/376,975, filed on Aug. 19, 2016, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62376975 | Aug 2016 | US |