Patent Application
20220279948
The present invention relates to a lid that comprises a straw portion integrated into and rising up from the surface of the lid platform with no descending portion. The intention of the present invention is to combine a straw and lid (hereafter may be referred to as a straw-lid) to eliminate the need for a separate straw for drinking beverages from cups. The straw-lid is attached securely to a cup opening with the leak-proof feature comprising a contour crease and band seal below the rolled edge of the lid rim. The straw-lid is further secured for use by way of finger indentations located on the top side of the lid platform which encourage the user to hold the straw-lid in place while tipping the cup containing the beverage toward the mouth to drink with confidence. A pressure equalization valve integrated into the top of the straw-lid promotes air flow and continuous drinking while the opening in the straw tip of the mouthpiece is covered. The straw-lid is manufactured by method of thermoforming or injection molding in a manner which allows the height of the straw portion of the lid to be secure and stable.
Hollow tubes, known as straws, have been used for drinking beverages since ancient times, originally made from reeds or hollow grasses. As recent as 1888 when Marvin Stone patented an 8½″ long paper straw, straws have become a staple in consuming beverages. Since WWII, with the expanded use of petroleum products, plastic straws have gained in popularity and currently make up the bulk of straw usage. It is estimated that hundreds of millions of straws, mostly plastic, are used and discarded daily in the United States alone. Unfortunately, most straws are not recyclable and end up in waterways and landfills where they are mistaken for food by marine and wildlife. This tragedy has led to concerns from environmental groups and resulted in current legislation to eliminate straws altogether or to find creative alternatives to plastic straws.
While alternatives to plastic straws include returning to the original patented paper versions, other materials are being chosen for their compostable or biodegradable properties. Reusable versions are presented as well, such as metal or silicon, which are subject to harboring bacteria from inadequate cleaning. Still, regardless of the material, the straw shape basically remains the same and it still resembles a food source to marine and wildlife when discarded in their environments.
The straw is a long, hollow tube that generally extends to the bottom of a drinking cup and protrudes a length above the top of the cup. This placement results in resistance from the bottom of the cup while an individual is sipping from the upper opening, which may under certain conditions, such as driving a vehicle, walking, or any other movement, cause injury or discomfort should the top opening be pushed into the roof of the mouth, the lips or other areas of the face or neck. Thousands of straw-related injuries present in hospital emergency departments each year. Drinking straws are potential hazards particularly for young children or those who are unsteady.
Typical drinking straws cause the user to draw from the bottom of a drinking cup, which may result in having to reposition the straw throughout the course of drinking the beverage, may be prone to ice particle jams which make drinking through the straw nearly impossible, and in the case of thicker beverages, such as ice cream shakes, cause the user to exert unnecessary pressure through suction to draw the thick substance up the length of the straw from the bottom of the drinking cup or to wait until the beverage warms and becomes less solid, decreasing the desirability of the beverage.
Drinking cups that are disposable often come with accompanying lids, some with cut slits to accommodate a drinking straw, and others designed as drink-through lids typically used for hot drinks, such as coffee. Drink-through lids have been a source of interest and convenience since the 1930s, with the consumer often having to tear back a portion of the attached lid to drink the liquid within and discard the removed piece of lid. Later versions included a manual punch mechanism to push the loosened tab down into the cup or drink container, similar to the tabbed punched in drink-through portion on an aluminum can for soda.
More recently, drink-through lids that accompany disposable drinking cups have holes in the rims through which to drink the beverage without a straw, particularly a hot beverage. These holes usually are very small and not large enough to either hold a straw or act like a straw and often are flush with the surface of the lid rim, causing the user to press his or her nose into the central portion of the cup lid and to tip the head backward to encourage the beverage to flow through the hole. This is not only uncomfortable but can be a hazard by blocking the visual field of the user. Still others offer a larger opening in the lid for which to drink cold beverages, which are formed into a sloping rim and are prone to sloshing or spilling the contained beverage while drinking or moving about, and the risk of spillage is imminent.
In drink-through lids for hot drinks, a tiny hole is often added to allow steam to escape which can also help with the flow of the beverage. However, such drink-through lids for cold beverages presently do not contain additional holes for steam or pressure as the need for such steam release is not necessary and pressure equalization is not required in lids with straw slits, which allow air to flow around the straw itself.
Still other types of drinking cups with lids and straws are reusable, such as cups for small children or commemorative items. Some of the lids that accompany the cups have mouth pieces that are angular and raised, which makes for an uncomfortable fit. These mouthpieces do not have the shape of an actual drinking straw, are not cylindrical or conical, but rather angular or obtuse in most cases, which makes suction while drinking difficult. Often, as in the case with children's cup and lid designs, the mouthpiece opening is made in such a way that should the cup be tipped over, the beverage will not come out, which also makes drinking from the cup difficult.
The present invention comprises a lid, fitted to the top of a cup, either disposable or reusable, with an integrated straw mouthpiece which rises significantly above the surface of the lid platform and has no descending portion. The significant height is ideally and approximately 1″, which provides the appearance and experience of a straw, without the straw. In a disposable version, the preferred method of manufacture is thermoforming using polymeric material which also may be of recycled content and recyclable. Polyethylene, polyester, polystyrene and polypropylene are among types of polymers often used in thermoforming and may be used to manufacture the present invention. Made as a reusable version, the lid may be manufactured by injection molding using similar polymers, acrylic or other material.
The act of using the present invention is to manually tip the cup, and sip or suck from the straw mouthpiece of the lid. This method eliminates the need to tip the head backward to suck the beverage from a cup rim, as in modern day coffee cup or “strawless” lids. The height of the straw mouthpiece of the present invention accommodates the facial features that may hinder the tip and sip method of other drink-through lids. The distance between the tip of the straw mouthpiece where it enters the mouth and the lid platform itself is great enough to allow the user a normal visual field, while driving, walking or in a room of people.
The present invention, the straw-lid, is fittingly attached to a cup of equal circumference to the lid rim. The rim of the straw-lid comprises a rolled or rounded edge to accommodate a variety of cup styles and materials. Paper and plastic disposable cups ordinarily have a rolled top rim while Styrofoam disposable cups have a thicker rounded upper edge. Reusable glass cups have rounded open edges which are usually not defined otherwise from the rest of the cup design. The rolled rim of the straw-lid is generously shaped to accommodate the openings of a variety of cup styles and materials and is secured by a contour crease beneath the rolled rim. The crease devolves into a continuous band that is formed inward to secure itself to the upper edge of the cup on the outside, while the recessed lid platform secures the lid from the inside, forming a leak-proof seal. The bottom edge, or skirt, of the straw-lid is formed outward to accommodate removal for purposes of refilling or freshening a beverage or to discard or recycle after use.
Since the unique method of drinking from a cup with a straw-lid may bring about doubtful or insecure usage, at least until the user is confident in its effectiveness, users are encouraged to press a finger onto the top of the lid and are directed to do so by making use of the contoured finger indentations integrated in the lid design. When drinking thicker beverages, or even when the user may feel the lid may be insecure or loose, users may crook a finger up over the top of the lid to secure it in place, so the beverage doesn't seep out or spill through a loosened lid, or a loose lid won't pop off when the beverage or ice falls forward and hits the back of the lid from inside the cup, forcing the beverage out and onto the user. The unique addition of the finger indentations encourages the user to implement this method, although proper fit should be sufficient for use without manually holding the lid in place. As users grow comfortable with the security of the new concept of a straw-lid, this feature may not be necessary, but will serve a purpose through suggestion if it is needed or if the lid does not fit the cup exactly.
While drinking a beverage through an opening in a cup lid or container, a vacuum is formed within the cup or container while the opening is fully covered by the mouth and suction is applied. Such a vacuum will cause the liquid not to flow easily or adequately and the cup or container will slowly implode due to the pressure caused by the suction. At some point, to cause the liquid or beverage to flow once again, the user must remove the mouth from the opening to allow the air to enter and fill the cup or container, and the user repeats the process to drink the beverage. For this reason, the present invention also comprises a pressure equalization valve, which is a small opening usually positioned opposite the straw mouthpiece which allows air to circulate into the cup or container while the user is drinking from the straw mouthpiece and while the mouthpiece hole is completely covered. This feature ensures proper flow of the beverage while the user is drinking and does not require the user to remove the mouth from the straw mouthpiece to finish drinking the beverage. The pressure equalization valve of the present invention is raised on a surrounding platform to encourage air flow to go into the cup or container by means of an inward hole formation. Small holes, called pinholes, that are frequently punched in the lids of hot beverages are meant to release the heat from the drink within, rather than to equalize the pressure while consuming. This is determined by the fact that said holes do not appear in the tops of other common drink lids, such as standard slit top lids that accommodate straws, water bottle or soda drink caps, or in the lids that are currently called “strawless.”
The present invention not only will eliminate the need for a separate straw, but by doing so, will reduce the amount of plastic needed to produce a straw and lid separately by half. The stackable design will reduce the amount of shelf, counter or storage space needed to maintain a straw inventory and can easily replace present lids by fitting into current dispensers and receptacles for use. The present invention ideally would be made of recycled or recyclable material, therefore would be 100% recyclable, preventing adding unnecessary plastic to the waste stream.
Combining a straw and a lid in theory is a great concept, but in actuality is a difficult and unique process unknown to the industry for making drinking cup lids. Cup lids used as disposables in the food industry are either made by thermoforming or by injection molding. Thermoforming is the most cost-effective method of producing disposable lids. The plastics manufacturing industry describes the art of forming objects in terms of “male” which indicates the forming material being placed over the object to be formed, with emphasis on the inner molding, and “female” which involves the forming material being placed within the object to be formed, with emphasis on the outer molding. Thermoformed drink lids are typically formed with a “female” mold, meaning the mold is shaped to press inward. Any cuts or slits must be made against the hard machine surface during the formation process.
The significant height of the present invention, indicated by the approximately 1″ tall straw mouthpiece, poses a problem to the lid manufacturing industry particularly with thermoforming. The shape of the straw mouthpiece, being conical or cylindrical is designed to emulate an actual straw, which has a typical ¼″ hole opening at the end of a hollow tube. This tubular mouthpiece and hole size may vary to some degree, but the hollow length of the straw mouthpiece of the present invention made in the manner of thermoforming, in particular, leaves the mouthpiece vulnerable and weak if not manufactured in a particular way. Because of the shape of the present invention, the molds must be made “male” which actually involves using a “female” tool. In thermoforming, the first formed position is the strongest, which means the last formed is the weakest. Since thermoformed drink lids are traditionally and typically made “female” that would make the pinnacle of the straw mouthpiece the weakest point, even if it were possible with present day machinery. The holes are then cut, rather than tabbed as in common production, using a multi-level double punch from a “female” mold perspective, uncommon for use with thermoformed drink lids. The cut hole pieces are removed by vacuum assist.
The present invention with the preferred embodiments and unique method of manufacture has the potential to change the way the world drinks from a cup, one sip at a time.
The following figure references will characterize the advantages of the preferred embodiments of the present invention. The narrative of the drawings is as follows:
To accommodate the ease of flow when drinking from the straw mouthpiece 12 whereas the hole cut opening 14 will be sealed off by the mouth being placed over the entire opening,
A securely fitting lid 11 is a key factor in the method of drinking from a straw mouthpiece 12. Drinking cups come in all sizes, shapes and designs, but the openings of the drinking cups are customarily circular.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63141393 | Jan 2021 | US |
