Patent Application
20170158424
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to a disposable beverage container. More particularly, it relates to an individual portion of a consumable retained by edible food packaging connected to an inner wall of the disposable beverage container.
2. Background Art
Currently, beverages such as coffee or tea are brewed fresh. For example, a user has to measure out the coffee beans, grind the coffee beans, place the coffee beans in a coffee maker, wait for the coffee to be brewed, add cream or sugar, and then a user has to clean the coffee maker, coffee pot, and coffee mug when finished. This process of brewing a fresh cup of coffee can be time consuming for busy individuals, often generates extra coffee which can be wasteful, and requires bulky brewing equipment that needs to be cleaned after use. It is more desirable to have a disposable cup prepackaged to retain the instant coffee granules or tea leaves and cream or sweeteners with only the step of a user adding hot water to the disposable cup to make a beverage.
Prior art commercially available prepackaged consumable beverage mixes such as teas, hot cocoa, or instant coffee granules may require a user to measure out a serving with a measuring device, which can be time consuming. Many individual servings of these powder beverages are retained by plastic or paper packaging such as tea bags, sachets, or packets which generates waste requiring disposal. Thus, there is a need for an individual serving of a consumable to be retained within a disposable cup that eliminates the need for additional waste generated from packaging the consumable.
However, in view of the prior art considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in the pertinent art how the identified needs could be fulfilled.
The long-standing but heretofore unfulfilled need for a disposable container having an opening configured to receive a liquid and having a consumable retained by an edible food package, the edible food package is connected to an inner wall of the disposable container. The edible food package is configured to dissolve when in contact with a liquid, thereby, releasing the consumable into the disposable cup forming a mixture.
The disposable container has a lid with a rotatable barrier member. The rotatable barrier member substantially covers the opening of the disposable container when the lid is connected to the disposable container. When the barrier member is rotated to position the opening of the barrier member in alignment with the opening of the lid, the lid is oriented in an open configuration, whereby, the mixture is capable of being released from the disposable container which also includes improvements that overcome the limitations of prior art drinking cup systems is now met by a new, useful, and non-obvious invention.
The novel disposable container has at least one opening configured to receive a liquid. It is within the scope of this invention for a liquid to include, but not be limited to, water, hot water, or a medicine. At least one consumable is retained by at least one edible food package. The edible food package is connected to an inner wall of the disposable container. It is within the scope of this invention for a disposable container to include, but not be limited to, a cup, a bowl, a can, or a bottle. A consumable includes, but is not limited to, a medicine, tea leaves, a tea drink, a beverage mix, instant coffee granules, soluble coffee, a sweetener such as sugar or honey, an artificial sweetener, cream, powdered milk, powdered creamer, natural flavoring, or artificial flavoring. For example, an individual serving of soluble coffee, cream, and sugar can be retained by a single edible food package or each consumable can be individually retained by a different edible food package. The edible food package is connected to an inner wall of the novel disposable container.
In a preferred embodiment, the edible food package is configured to dissolve in a liquid such as hot water. It is within the scope of this invention for the edible food packaging to be made of a thin, edible film. For example, when hot water is poured into the novel disposable cup the edible food package dissolves and disappears, thereby, releasing the at least one consumable into the novel disposable container to form a mixture.
In an alternate embodiment, the novel disposable container is connected to a lid.
The lid has at least one opening for a user to access the contents of the novel disposable container. The lid can have a sealing member configured to create a water tight seal between the novel disposable container and the lid. In an alternate embodiment, the lid can have a removable funnel member connected to at least one opening of the lid. It is within the scope of this invention for a funnel member to include, but not be limited to, a funnel or a conical mouth. For instance, the lid opening can receive hot water. The lid opening may be too narrow for the hot water to enter through the opening without spillage occurring. It would be more desirable for the lid opening be connected to a removable funnel, whereby, a user can fill the disposable container with hot water through the lid opening using the funnel member and then removing or tearing away the funnel member after the disposable container has been filled with hot water. The funnel member can have perforations bordering the opening of the lid. The perforations help a user to tear away the funnel member from the lid after filling with water.
It is within the scope of this invention for the lid to have a rotatable barrier member. The rotatable barrier member substantially covers the at least one opening of the disposable container when the lid is connected to the disposable container. The rotatable barrier member has at least one opening. The lid is oriented in a closed orientation when the at least one opening of the rotatable barrier member is not in alignment with at least one opening of the lid. The rotatable barrier member can have a tab protruding from the rotatable barrier member configured for a user to grasp the tab to rotate the rotatable barrier member. A closed orientation is favorable when a user is shaking the contents of the novel disposable container to retain the contents within the disposable container and to prevent the contents from spilling out of the disposable container when a user is shaking the mixture.
The barrier member can be rotated to align the opening of the barrier member with the opening of the lid to form an open orientation. An open orientation is favorable when a user is drinking from the novel disposable container. The mixture is capable of being released from the disposable container.
In another embodiment, the novel disposable container is connected to a barrier member. The barrier member substantially covers the at least one opening of the disposable container. The barrier member has at least one opening. The disposable container is connected a rotatable lid having at least one opening and a sealing member. The rotatable lid overlays the barrier member when the rotatable lid is connected to the disposable container. The rotatable lid can be oriented in a closed orientation when at least one opening of the barrier element is not in alignment with the at least one opening of the rotatable lid. A closed orientation prevents the consumable and water mixture from being released from the novel disposable container when the novel disposable container is being shaken by a user. It is desirable for a user to be able to shake the soluble coffee, cream, and water together within the novel disposable container to eliminate the need for using a stirrer or a spoon.
The rotatable lid can be oriented in an open configuration when at least one opening of the rotatable lid is aligned with at least one opening of the barrier element. The mixture is capable of being released from the disposable container. In an embodiment, the lid is rotated to position the opening of the lid over the opening of the barrier member to allow the consumable mixture to flow out from the disposable container, through the barrier member opening, and through the lid opening.
In another embodiment, the inner wall of the novel disposable container can have at least one recess retaining a portion of at least one consumable. A layer of edible food packaging covers at least one recess of the novel disposable container. For example, soluble coffee could be retained by a primary recess, artificial sweetener could be retained by a secondary recess, and cream could be retained by a tertiary recess. The primary recess, secondary recess, and tertiary recess are all covered by a layer of edible food packaging to prevent the soluble coffee, artificial sweetener, and cream from spilling out of their respective recess during transport or during storage. When in use, a user adds hot water to the novel disposable container and the edible food packaging is dissolves away leaving the contents of the recesses to be released into the novel disposable container. When the lid is sealed onto the novel disposable container, a user can position the barrier member to cover the lid opening and can then shake the novel disposable container to mix the consumables together with the water.
In an alternate embodiment, the inner wall of the disposable container has a second recess. The secondary recess retains a second consumable. It is within the scope of this invention for a second consumable to include, but not be limited to, a first consumable, a medicine, tea leaves, a tea drink, a beverage mix, instant coffee granules, soluble coffee, a sweetener such as sugar or honey, an artificial sweetener, cream, powdered milk, powdered creamer, natural flavoring, or artificial flavoring. A layer of a fluid impermeable material covers the secondary recess.
The secondary recess is collapsible. A portion of an outer wall surface of the disposable container located opposite the secondary recess is configured to be depressed by a user, thereby, forcing the second consumable to break through the layer of impermeable material and to be released into the disposable container. For example, if a user desires more sweetener in their coffee, the user can depress a collapsible secondary recess with their thumb to force the retained consumable out of the secondary recess. The force of a user's thumb applied to the collapsible recess creates a force which breaks the foil covering the secondary recess. This releases the sweetener retained by the secondary recess into the disposable container to make the beverage sweeter.
In another embodiment, the novel disposable container can have at least one opening configured to receive a liquid. At least one consumable is retained by at least one package. The at least one package is connected to an inner wall of the novel disposable container. It is within the scope of this invention for a package to include, but not be limited to, any fluid permeable material such as a filter, a mesh, or a tea bag, any fluid impermeable material such as foil or plastic, an edible food package, a dissolvable material, or a non-dissolvable material.
A lid is connected to the disposable container. The lid has at least one opening, a sealing member, and a rotatable barrier member. The rotatable barrier member substantially covers at least one opening of the disposable container when the lid is connected to the disposable container. The rotatable barrier member has at least one opening. The lid is oriented in a closed orientation when at least one opening of the rotatable barrier member is not in alignment with at least one opening of the lid. The lid is oriented in an open configuration when the rotatable barrier member is rotated to align at least one opening of the rotatable barrier member with at least one opening of the lid. The mixture is capable of being released from the novel disposable container. The inner wall of the disposable container can have at least one recess retaining a portion of at least one consumable, whereby, a layer of fluid permeable material covers the at least one recess of the disposable container.
In another embodiment, the novel disposable container has at least one opening configured to receive a liquid. At least one consumable is retained by at least one package. At least one package is connected to an inner wall of the novel disposable container. A barrier member having at least one opening substantially covers at least one opening of the novel disposable container. A rotatable lid is connected to the disposable container. The rotatable lid has at least one opening and a sealing member. The rotatable lid overlays the barrier member when the rotatable lid is connected to the novel disposable container. The rotatable lid is oriented in a closed orientation when at least one opening of the barrier member is not in alignment with at least one opening of the rotatable lid. The rotatable lid is oriented in an open configuration when at least one opening of the rotatable lid is aligned with at least one opening of the barrier member. The inner wall of the disposable container can have at least one recess retaining a portion of at least one consumable, whereby, a layer of fluid permeable material covers the at least one recess of the disposable container.
For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and within which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments by which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.
It will now be seen, referring to
It is within the scope of this invention for funnel member 21 to be made of a thermochromatic material including, but not limited to, any temperature reactive color changing material such as ink, pigment, or plastic. It is more desirable for the funnel member to change color when the funnel member is in contact with a liquid to prevent overfilling of the disposable container. A user can visually see the color change of the funnel member from a first color to a second color to identify that a liquid has contacted the funnel member and to signal to a user to stop adding liquid to the novel disposable cup.
Referring now to
As best illustrated in
For example,
The extra sugar 4C and the cream 4D will not be released into disposable container 1 because of the layer of foil 20A and 20B covering recesses 18C and 18D. If a user wants to add additional sugar 4C to their beverage mixture, they will depress outer wall surface 32C of recess 18C with their thumb or finger. The force of a user's thumb will push the sugar 4C retained within collapsible recess 18C through foil 20A and into disposable cup 1, comparable to a blister package. When the user orients the lid into a closed orientation the mixture can be shaken. When the lid is oriented into an open configuration, the mixture can be enjoyed by a user.
In another example,
When hot water is poured into novel disposable container 1, the water will pass through the layer of fluid permeable material 19A. The tea leaves 4B will be steeping in the hot water and tea will be released into disposable container 1. User 31 depresses collapsible recesses 18A and 18C to break the foil 20A and 20B covering collapsible recesses 18A and 18C to release sugar and extra sugar into the tea mixture. The honey 4D will not be used in the mixture if user 31 does not depress collapsible recess 18D.
In another example, a primary recess can retain soluble dark roast coffee. The primary recess is covered with a layer of fluid impermeable material such as foil. A secondary recess can retain soluble decaf coffee. The secondary recess is covered with a layer of fluid impermeable material such as foil. A tertiary recess can retain honey. The tertiary recess is covered with a layer of fluid impermeable material such as foil. A tertiary recess can retain cream. The tertiary recess is covered with a layer of fluid permeable material or edible food packaging that is dissolvable in a fluid. When hot water is poured into the novel disposable container, the water will pass through the layer of fluid permeable material releasing the cream into the disposable container. The cream will dissolve into the water of the disposable container.
In another example, a user can choose between two different types of coffee such as dark roast coffee or decaf coffee. A user depresses the outer wall surface of the desired collapsible recess retaining their selected coffee type. If the user desires honey, the user can depress the outer wall surface of the collapsible recess with their thumb or finger to break away the inner wall surface layer of foil to release honey into the disposable container.
It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, and those made apparent from the foregoing description, are efficiently attained. Since certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matters contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention that, as a matter of language, might be said to fall there between.
Now that the invention has been described,
