Drinking Apparatus

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a drinking apparatus from which a person, and particularly an infant, toddler, or young child, may consume a beverage. More specifically, the present invention relates to a drinking apparatus that allows a person to drink from it for only a selectable amount of time, and then, at the end of that selectable amount of time, automatically prevents the user from drinking from it any further. Even more specifically, the present invention relates to an expandable device, wherein a portion of the expandable device protrudes from the remainder of the expandable device upon the dissolution of a composition by a solvent, and wherein the expandable device is capable of blocking a beverage from flowing from a drinking apparatus to a consumer upon such protrusion by the portion of the expandable device.

2. Description of the Prior Art

A concern shared by many parents is that their child may become sick as a result of consuming a spoiled beverage that has been left unrefrigerated in the child's bottle, “sippy cup” or similar container for an extended period of time. As any parent knows, young children typically do not consume an entire beverage in a single sitting. A child therefore may take a few sips from a beverage container and then set the beverage container in a discreet location, perhaps behind or under a sofa, on the floor of an automobile, or buried under a pile of toys in a toy chest, for example. In such situations, the child may drink from the container hours, or if it was lost, even days, later.

The consumption of a beverage that has been left unrefrigerated for an extended period of time, however, can present a grave health problem. Microbes, such as Escherichia coli and various Campylobacter, Listeria, Salmonella, Yersinia, and Brucella species, for example, can contaminate milk and milk-based beverages and cause them to become too spoiled to safely drink in just a few hours at room temperature, or in an even shorter amount of time in an especially warm environment, such as a baby's nursery or the interior of an automobile on a warm day, for example. The consumption of milk that has been contaminated by one or more of these microbes by infants and children can lead to diarrhea, stomach cramps, fever, headache, vomiting, exhaustion or, in the worst of cases, death.

Unfortunately, there is no existing drinking device that a parent can give to a child with the assurance that the child will not be able to drink a spoiled beverage from it. There is, however, one type of container, namely the insulated container, that is aimed at reducing the likelihood that a child will consume a contaminated beverage. Insulated containers are designed to keep cool beverages cool (and warm beverages warm) for prolonged amounts of time. Insulated containers are insufficient, however, because even though the length of time that they are able to keep a beverage cool is prolonged, it is still limited (i.e., no more than about 12-16 hours or so). Therefore, a child who finds an insulated container that was lost for a period of time that is less than even one day still may be at risk of consuming a highly contaminated, and therefore highly dangerous, beverage.

Insulated containers are further insufficient because some beverages are capable of spoiling in a matter of hours even when they are cool. It has been shown, for example, that Streptomyces griseus grows in, and therefore spoils, apple juice at temperatures that are well below room temperature. (See B. Siegmund et al., Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 55:6692-6699 (2007).) S. griseus has been shown to produce the toxin valinomycin (See M. A. Andersson et al., Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 64:4767-4773 (1998)), which may be hazardous to the nervous system, peripheral nervous system, central nervous system, and eye.

Insulated containers are even further insufficient because they cannot be used safely with warm beverages. Indeed, it is more dangerous to give to a child a warm beverage in an insulated container than it is to give to a child a warm beverage in an uninsulated container. This is true because warm beverages are generally given to children at a temperature which is about 37° C., and the optimal growth temperature of many microbes is near or within the range of about 30° C.-37° C. A warm beverage in an insulated container therefore would remain within this optimal growth range for an amount of time that is substantially longer than what an uninsulated container could keep the beverage within that range. Therefore, substantially more microbial growth would be expected in an insulated container having a warm beverage than in an uninsulated container having a warm beverage.

What is needed therefore is a drinking apparatus that allows its user to drink from it for a selectable amount of time, and then, at the end of that selectable amount of time, automatically prevents the user from drinking from it any further. The present invention includes a drinking apparatus and an expandable device that automatically blocks a beverage from flowing from the drinking apparatus by about the end of a selectable amount of time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a drinking apparatus that is specifically is arranged to allow a consumer, and in particular, a small child, a toddler or an infant, to drink a beverage from it for only a selectable period of time. The apparatus then automatically prevents the consumer from drinking from it any further. This and other objects are achieved with the present invention, which is a drinking apparatus.

In one specific embodiment, the apparatus includes a beverage vessel, a cap, an optional expandable device holding member, and an expandable device. The cap, which is removably connectable to the beverage vessel, includes a nipple member having a nipple, one or more drinking openings formed through the nipple, and a beverage flow-through mouth, which is opposite the drinking openings.

The expandable device includes among its other components a first member, a spring, a soluble composition, and an expandable portion. The expandable portion is positioned near the flow-through mouth. In this arrangement, any beverage that is in the beverage vessel is free to pass by the expandable portion and through the openings in the nipple to the consumer. Dissolution of the soluble composition by a solvent added to the expandable device effects gradual movement of the first member and the expandable portion (via the spring) toward the beverage flow-through mouth. By about the end of the selectable amount of time, the first member and the expandable portion will have protruded sufficiently enough from the expandable device to cause at least the expandable portion to block the flow-through mouth. Such blocking of the flow-through mouth prevents the beverage from flowing from within the vessel and through the flow-through mouth to the consumer.

An alternative embodiment of the drinking apparatus of the present invention is also described. In this alternative embodiment, the drinking apparatus includes a beverage vessel, a cap having a mouth portion which has one or more drinking openings and a flow-through mouth, and an expandable device. The expandable device is removably connectable to the cap and therefore, in this alternative embodiment, the drinking apparatus does not include the optional expandable device holding member. In this alternative embodiment, the expandable device is arranged and functions substantially like as described regarding the other embodiment of the present drinking apparatus to effect blocking of the flow-through mouth to prevent a beverage from flowing from within the vessel and through the flow-through mouth to the consumer at about the end of a selectable amount of time.

The details of one or more examples related to the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a first side view of a drinking apparatus of the present invention in a specific embodiment, wherein a cap is removably connected to a beverage vessel.

FIG. 2 is a second side view of the drinking apparatus of FIG. 1, wherein the cap and the beverage vessel are shown in phantom to further show an expandable device and an expandable device holding member of the drinking apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the beverage vessel of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the cap of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the expandable device holding member of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a first side view of the expandable device of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a second side view of the expandable device of FIG. 2, wherein a housing member of the expandable device is shown in phantom to allow visualization of an inner chamber of the expandable device.

FIG. 8 is a first side view of a first member of the expanding device of FIG. 2.

FIG. 9 is a second side view of the first member of FIG. 8, wherein a spring and a soluble composition of the invention are associated with the first member.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the beverage vessel and the expandable device holding member of FIG. 2, wherein the expandable device holding member is shown as being removably connected to the beverage vessel at a particular region.

FIG. 11 is a close-up, side view of the cap and a portion of the beverage vessel of FIGS. 1 and 2, wherein the cap, which is shown in phantom, is removably threaded onto the beverage vessel.

FIG. 12 is a third side view of the drinking apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 2, wherein the drinking apparatus contains a beverage that is capable of flowing from inside the beverage vessel through one or more drinking openings to a consumer.

FIG. 13 is a third side view of the expandable device of FIG. 2, wherein the housing member of the expandable device is shown in phantom to allow visualization of the inner chamber, the first member, the second member, the spring, and the soluble composition of the expandable device, and a solvent that is contained within the inner chamber.

FIG. 14 is a fourth side view of the expandable device of FIG. 2, wherein the housing member of the expandable device is shown in phantom to allow visualization of the inner chamber, the first member, the second member, the spring, the soluble composition, and an optional solvent port and sealant cap of the expandable device.

FIG. 15 is a fifth side view of the expandable device of FIG. 2, wherein the housing member of the expandable device is shown in phantom to allow visualization of the inner chamber, the first member, the second member, the spring, and the soluble composition of the expandable device.

FIG. 16 is a first side view of the cap and expandable device of FIG. 2, wherein the expandable device has expanded such that a portion of the expandable device is contained within a beverage flow-through mouth of the cap.

FIG. 17 is a second side view of the cap and expandable device of FIG. 2, wherein the expandable device has expanded such that a portion of the expandable device flushly contacts a lip of the beverage flow-through mouth of the cap.

FIG. 18 is a side view of a cap of the present invention in an alternative embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a bottom view of the cap of FIG. 18.

FIG. 20 is a side view of an expandable device of the present invention in an alternative embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a side view of the expandable device of FIG. 20 removably connected to the cap of FIG. 18, wherein the expandable device and the cap are arranged to allow a beverage to pass through the expandable device and the cap and to a consumer.

FIG. 22 is a close-up, side view of the expandable device of FIG. 20 removably connected to the cap of FIG. 18, wherein the expandable device is arranged to block a beverage from flowing through the expandable device and the cap and to a consumer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is a drinking apparatus from which a beverage may be consumed. The present drinking apparatus specifically is arranged to allow a consumer, and particularly a small child, a toddler or an infant, to drink a beverage from it for a selectable amount of time. The drinking apparatus then automatically prevents the consumer from drinking from it any further.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, in a specific embodiment, a drinking apparatus 10 of the present invention includes a beverage vessel 100, a cap 200, an expandable device holding member 300, and an expandable device 400.

Referring to FIG. 3, the beverage vessel 100 includes opening 110, inner, side surface 120, outer, side surface 130, inner, bottom surface 140, outer, bottom surface 150, and rim surface 160.

Referring to FIG. 4, the cap 200 includes a nipple member 210, which has a nipple 212, one or more drinking openings 214 formed through the nipple 212, and a beverage flow-through mouth 216, which is opposite the openings 214. The cap 200 further includes a connection member 220 for removably connecting the cap 200 to the beverage vessel 100. The nipple member 210 may be permanently connected to the connection member 220 (and therefore the nipple member 210 may be integral with the connection member 220), or the nipple member 210 may be removably connectable to the connection member 220. For example, when the nipple member 210 is removably connectable to the connection member 220, the connection member 220 may be in the form of a ring and the nipple member 210 may be removably insertable through the ring and held therein the connection member 220 by contact, such as shown in FIG. 4, for example. When the nipple member 210 is permanently or removably connected to the connection member 220, the beverage flow-through mouth 216 is located at inner surface 230 of the cap 200 and the nipple 212 protrudes away from outer, top surface 240 of the cap 200.

Referring to FIG. 5, the expandable device holding member 300 includes a plurality of beverage ports 310 of selectable size and position that are formed through the expandable device holding member 300. The expandable device holding member 300 also includes expandable device connecting region 320.

Referring to FIG. 6, the expandable device 400 includes a housing member 410 having an inner chamber 411 and an expandable portion 412. Referring to FIG. 7, included in the chamber 411 are a first member 420, a second member 430, a spring 440, and a soluble composition 450.

Referring to FIG. 8, the first member 420 includes a top region 422, which includes contact portion 423 for contacting the expandable portion 412, and a center region 424, which includes a spring-retaining portion 425, and a bottom region 426, which includes a soluble composition-retaining portion 427. Referring to FIG. 9, the spring 440 surrounds a portion of the center region 424 and the soluble composition 450 surrounds another portion of the center region 424, such that the spring 440 is more proximal to the top region 422 than is the composition 450, and the composition 450 is more proximal to the bottom region 426 than is the spring 440.

Referring again to FIG. 7, the second member 430, which is removably connectable to, or is permanently fixed to, the expandable device 400 within the chamber 411, includes a first member-retaining portion 432. When properly arranged, the first member-retaining portion 432 substantially separates the spring 440 from the composition 450.

The expandable device 400 is removably connectable to, or is optionally permanently fixed to, the expandable device holding member 300 at the expandable device connecting region 320. (Therefore, the expandable device 400 may be, but need not be, integral with the holding member 300.) The skilled artisan will recognize that when the expandable device 400 is removably connectable to the holding member 300, the expandable device 400 may be removably connectable to the holding member 300 in any one or more of a variety of ways. For example, the expandable device 400 may be snuggly fit within a portion of the holding member 300, and thereby removably connectable to the holding member 300 by tension. As another example, each one of the expandable device 400 and the holding member 300 may be threaded, and the expandable device 400 may be securably threaded to, and removed from, the holding member 300 as often as the user of the apparatus 10 desires.

The expandable device holding member 300 is removably connectable to, otherwise removably associable with, or permanently fixed to, the beverage vessel 100. (Therefore, the expandable device holding member 300 may be, but need not be, integral with the beverage vessel 100.) Whereas the expandable device holding member 300 may be positioned at or near the rim surface 160 of the beverage vessel 100, as shown in FIG. 10, it is contemplated that any expandable device holding member of the present invention may be arranged such that it is positioned anywhere along region 134 (which is substantially the height of the vessel 100) of the vessel 100. For example, a particular expandable device holding member may be arranged to fit within the vessel 100 and be removably connectable to, or permanently fixed to, the vessel 100 at inner, side surface 120.

The cap 200 is removably connectable to the beverage vessel 100. The skilled artisan will recognize that there a large variety of ways in which the cap 200 and the beverage vessel 100 may be arranged to allow the cap 200 to be removably connectable to the beverage vessel 100. In just one example, which is shown in FIG. 11, the cap 200 may be threaded on inner, side surface 250 and the beverage holding vessel 100 may be threaded on the outer, side surface 130 at or near region 132. (Note that for the purpose of clarity, neither the expandable device holding member 300 nor the expandable device 400 are shown in FIG. 11.) It is to be understood, however, that the cap 200 is not limited to being connectable to the vessel 200 by such threading. Regardless of how the cap 200 is connectable to the vessel 100, the beverage flow-through mouth 216 is arranged to face the inner, bottom surface 140 of the vessel 100.

Preparing the apparatus 10 for the purpose of allowing a consumer to drink a beverage from it for only a selectable amount of time involves not only connecting the various parts of the apparatus 10 together, but also involves the steps of: (1) adding a beverage to the beverage vessel 100; and (2) adding a solvent to the expandable device 400. (These two steps may be carried out in either order.) Referring to FIG. 12, the beverage vessel 100 is capable of containing a beverage 5. When the expandable device holding member 300 is removably connectable to the beverage vessel 100, the beverage 5 may be dispensed into the beverage vessel 100 before or after the expandable device holding member 300 is removably connected to the beverage vessel 100. (Any dispensation of the beverage 5 into the vessel 100 that occurs after the expandable device holding member 300 is connected to the vessel 100 may be achieved, for example, by passing the beverage 5 through the beverage ports 310.)

Referring to FIG. 13, the expandable device 400 is capable of containing a solvent 451 that is capable of dissolving the composition 450. The skilled artisan will recognize that the expandable device 400 may be arranged in a variety of ways to receive and contain the solvent 451. As just one example, a portion of the housing member 410 may be completely or partially removable from the remainder of the housing member 410. In this arrangement, the solvent 451 can be added into the housing member 410 when that portion is removed from the housing member 410, with subsequent reconnection of that portion to the remainder of the housing member 410 being sufficient to retain the solvent 451 therein the housing member 410. As another example, the housing member 410 may include a port, such as solvent port 460 of FIG. 14, for example, and may further include a device for sealing the port, such as solvent port sealing cap 462 of FIG. 14, for example. It is to be understood, however, that these are meant only to serve as exemplary means for allowing the solvent 451 to be added to, and retained within, the housing member 410, and therefore that the invention is not limited thereto these examples. Before or after the solvent 451 is added to the expanding device 400, the expanding device 400 is connected to the expandable device holding member 300, and the holding member 300 is connected to the vessel 100. (The nature of the solvent 451 and the effect that adding the solvent 451 to the expandable device 400 has on the expandable device 400 is described below.)

After the solvent 451 is added to the expandable device 400, the beverage 5 is added to the vessel 100, and the expanding device 400 and the holding member 300 are connected to the vessel 100, the cap 200 then is removably connected to the vessel 100. In this arrangement, which is shown in FIG. 12, the beverage 5 may flow freely from space 180 (i.e., the space contained between the inner, bottom surface 140 of the vessel 100 and the holding member 300) to space 190 (i.e., the space contained between the holding member 300 and the drinking openings 214), and from space 190 to space 180, by passing back and forth through the beverage ports 310. Therefore, at any given time, depending on the amount of the beverage 5 that is contained in the apparatus 10 and the orientation of the apparatus 10, all of the beverage 5 may be contained in space 180, all of the beverage 5 may be contained in space 190, or some of the beverage 5 may contained in space 180 and some of the beverage 5 may contained in space 190.

Prior to about the end of the selectable amount of time, the entire expandable device 400 is positioned away from the beverage flow-through mouth 216. (That is, no portion of the expandable device 400 blocks the mouth 216.) In this arrangement, the beverage 5 may be dispensed from inside the vessel 100, through the beverage flow-through mouth 216, and then through the drinking openings 214 of the nipple 212 and to a consumer, whenever the consumer sucks on the nipple 212. At about the end of the selectable amount of time, however, the expandable device 400 will have expanded sufficiently enough to block the beverage flow-through mouth 216. This blocking of the mouth 216 by the expandable device 400 effectively prevents the beverage 5 from flowing from the space 190 to the drinking openings 214. Therefore, this blocking of the mouth 216 by the expandable device 400 prevents the beverage 5 from being dispensed to the consumer. (It is recognized, however, that in some cases after the mouth 216 is blocked, a small amount of the beverage 5 may be dispensed to the consumer. For example, this may occur when there is some beverage 5 in the nipple 212 at the time of blocking.)

Specifically, the blocking of the mouth 216 by the expandable device 400 may be achieved as follows. As previously mentioned, at the beginning of the selectable amount of time, a user of the apparatus 10 adds the solvent 451 into the chamber 411 of the expandable device 400, which includes the soluble composition 450 (which is undissolved at this time), among its other parts. Preferably, but not essentially, the solvent 451 is added in sufficient quantity such as to substantially fill the chamber 411. During the selectable amount of time, the solvent 451 increasingly dissolves the composition 450. Referring to FIG. 15, as the composition 450 decreases in thickness (in the dimension from the first member-retaining portion 432 to the soluble composition retaining portion 427), tension is increasingly released in the spring 440 (i.e., the spring 440 expands). As the spring 440 expands, the spring 440 moves the contact portion 423 in the direction 470 and the contact portion 423 then moves the expandable portion 412 in the direction 470. When the thickness of the composition 450 has sufficiently decreased or the composition 450 has dissolved altogether, either of which will have occurred at about the end of the selectable amount of time, both the contact portion 423 and the expandable portion 412, or only the expandable portion 412, will be moved into such a position with respect to the flow-through mouth 216 such as to entirely or substantially block the beverage 5 from flowing from the space 190 and through the flow-through mouth 216 to the nipple 212. The consumer is prevented from drinking the beverage 5 from the apparatus 10 whenever the flow-through mouth 216 is substantially blocked.

Referring to FIG. 16, in one example, the blocking of the flow-through mouth 216 is achieved when both the contact portion 423 and the expandable portion 412 enter the flow-though mouth 216. This entry effectively blocks the beverage 5 from passing into the flow-through mouth 216 at region 217.

Referring to FIG. 17, in another example, the blocking of the flow-through mouth 216 is achieved when the expandable portion 412 substantially flushly contacts lip 218 of the flow-though mouth 216. This substantially flush contact effectively blocks the beverage 5 from passing into the flow-through mouth 216 at region 217.

As previously mentioned, the length of the selectable amount of time that the beverage 5 is available to the consumer is variable and approximate. For example, the length of the selectable amount of time may be as short as about 30 minutes or it may be as long as several hours. In one embodiment, the length of the selectable amount of time is about 30 minutes to about one hour. In another embodiment, the length of the selectable amount of time is about one hour to about two hours. In yet another embodiment, the length of the selectable amount of time is about one hour. In yet another embodiment, the length of the selectable amount of time is about 90 minutes. In yet another embodiment, the length of the selectable amount of time is about two hours. In yet another embodiment, the length of the selectable amount of time is about two hours to about three hours. In yet another embodiment, the length of the selectable amount of time is about 180 minutes. In yet another embodiment, the length of the selectable amount of time is about three hours. In yet another embodiment, the length of the selectable amount of time is about three hours to about four hours. In yet another embodiment, the length of the selectable amount of time is about two hours to about four hours. In yet another embodiment, the length of the selectable amount of time is more than about four hours. For example, the length of the selectable amount of time may be about five hours, about six hours, about seven hours, or about eight hours or more.

Further, the length of the selectable amount of time may be dependent upon one or more of a plurality of factors. These factors include, but are not limited to being, the chemical constitution and the conformation and size of the soluble composition 450, and the chemical constitution, the amount, and the temperature of the solvent 451. These factors also include the nature of the physical treatment, such as may be made during any optional curing treatment, for example, of the soluble composition 450 during the formation thereof.

Although the composition 450 and the solvent 451 are meant to remain within the housing member 410 of the expandable device 400 whenever the apparatus 10 is being used, it is recognized that in rare instances the expandable device 400 may fail in a way that causes the composition 450 and/or the solvent 451 to contaminate the beverage 5 and possibly become ingested by the consumer. Therefore, the constitution of each one of the composition 450 and the solvent 451 preferably is one that is harmless to humans. The skilled artisan will recognize that the composition 450 may include any one or more of a large variety of compounds. For example, the composition 450 may be formed partially, substantially or entirely from one or more sugars, such as, but not limited to, sucrose, fructose, corn syrup, or any combination thereof.

In one example, the composition 450 is a “hard candy” that is formed substantially by corn syrup. A piece of hardened corn syrup (about 98% corn syrup by weight) that is about 5 cm in length by about 2.5 cm in width and about 2 cm in height and that weighs about 12 grams will fully dissolve in tap water (pH of about 6.8) at room temperature (about 20° C.-25° C.) with occasional slight mixing in about two hours.

The solvent 451 may be, but is not limited to being, water, milk, fruit juice or any other substance that is capable of dissolving the composition 450. The only limitation of the solvent 451 is that it must be capable of dissolving the composition 450 sufficiently enough to allow the expandable device 400 to adequately block the beverage 5 from passing from the space 190 through the flow-through mouth 216 in the direction toward the nipple 212.

The skilled artisan further will recognize that the various portions of the apparatus 10 may be formed by a variety of materials. For example, the expandable portion 412 may be made from any one or more of a variety of materials, and therefore the expandable portion 412 is not limited to being made from any particular material or materials. For example, the expandable portion 412 may be made from natural and/or synthetic soft, stretchable rubber. A portion of the expandable portion 412 also may be formed by a hard substance, such as a metal or a rigid plastic, for example.

As another example, any portion of the expandable device but the soluble composition may be formed from a plastic and/or a metal. The spring is preferably formed from metal, such as copper, aluminum, stainless steel, for example. However, the spring is not limited to being formed from metal, and therefore the spring may be formed from plastic, for example.

As yet another example, the beverage vessel 100 may be formed from a plastic and/or a metal. For example, the beverage vessel 100 may be formed from aluminum and/or stainless steel and/or from polyethylene, polypropylene and/or polystyrene, for example.

As yet another example, the expandable device holding member 300 may be formed from a plastic and/or a metal. For example, the expandable device holding member 300 may be formed from aluminum and/or stainless steel and/or from polyethylene, polypropylene and/or polystyrene, for example.

Any one or more parts of the apparatus 10, except for the soluble composition 450, may be re-usable. That is, any one or more parts of the apparatus 10, except for the soluble composition 450, may be designed to be used more than one time. For example, the first member 420 with spring 440 and soluble composition 450 associated therewith may made and offered for sale by a particular manufacturer. In such a case, after the first member 420 with spring 440 and soluble composition 450 have been used once as part of the apparatus 10 (and therefore the soluble composition 450 has dissolved), the used first member 420 with spring 440 (but no composition 450) can be refitted with a second soluble composition 450, which may be made available by the manufacturer separately from the first member 420 and the spring 440, and again added to the expandable device 400 for subsequent use as part of the apparatus 10. When any particular part of the apparatus 10 is re-usable, that re-usable part preferably is constructed to withstand washing, such as with soap and water, for example, and either by hand or by machine, including by a mechanical dishwasher.

Further, any one or more parts of the apparatus 10 may be disposable. That is, any one or more parts of the apparatus 10 may be designed for single-use. After being used, any disposable part then may be replaced with an unused part in a subsequent use of the apparatus 10. For example, the first member 420 with spring 440 and soluble composition 450 associated therewith may made and offered for sale by a particular manufacturer. In such a case, after the first member 420 with spring 440 and soluble composition 450 have been used once (and therefore the soluble composition 450 has dissolved), the used first member 420 with spring 440 (but having no composition 450) can be thrown away by the purchaser of the apparatus 10 and replaced with another, unused first member 420 with spring 440 and soluble composition 450 obtained from the manufacturer. This practice of replacing the first member 420 with spring 440 and soluble composition 450 after every use of the apparatus 10 would be convenient to the purchaser/user of the apparatus 10 and would be financially profitable to the manufacturer of the disposable version of the first member 420 with spring 440 and soluble composition 450.

It is further contemplated that the apparatus 10 and its various components are not limited to the forms that have already been described. For example, the skilled artisan will recognize that the cap of the present invention may be in any one of a plurality of forms. The only limitations regarding the cap is that is must include a flow-through mouth that is capable of being blocked by an expanding device of the present invention and at least one drinking opening. In an alternative embodiment, the cap is cap 201 of FIGS. 18 and 19. Cap 201 includes, among its other parts, a mouthpiece 212′ having one or more drinking openings 214′, and a flow-through mouth 216′ that is capable of being blocked by an expandable device of the present invention. The cap 201 is removably connectable to the beverage vessel 100, or to any equivalent of the beverage vessel 100, as described before.

An exemplary expandable device that is compatible with the cap 201 is expandable device 401 of FIG. 20. Expandable device 401, which includes among its other components, first member 420′, second member 430′, the spring 440, the soluble composition 450, expandable portion 412′, expandable portion contact portion 423′, and beverage ports 310′, is similar to the expandable device 400. One difference, however, is that the expandable device 401 is directly and removably connectable to the cap 201, such as shown in FIG. 21, for example. The expandable device 401 therefore does not associate with the optional expandable device holding member 300 or to any embodiment thereof. In just one example, the removable connection between the cap 201 and the expandable device 401 may be achieved by threading each one of the cap 201 at inner, bottom portion 217′ of the mouthpiece 212′ and the expandable device 401 at the region where the expandable device 401 contacts the inner, bottom portion 217′ in such a way that the portion 217′ is capable of receiving and securably and removably holding the expandable device 401. It is to be understood, however, that the expandable device 401 is not limited to being connectable to the cap 201 by such threading. The skilled artisan will recognize that there are a number of ways for removably connecting the expandable device 401 to the cap 201.

When the expandable device 401 is removably connected to the cap 201, the cap 201 may be connected to a vessel 100 that includes the beverage 5 as described before, and the expandable device 401 may be filled with solvent 451 as described before. When the composition 450 in the expandable device 401 is not sufficiently dissolved, the beverage 5 may flow freely from the vessel 100, through the beverage ports 310′, through the mouth 216′, and then through the openings 214′ to a consumer. At about the end of the selectable period of time after filling the expandable device 401 with the solvent 451, however, the solvent 451 has partially or fully dissolved the composition 450 and the expandable portion 412′ and expandable portion contact portion 423′ has blocked the flow-through mouth 216′ as described before. For example, see FIG. 22, which shows the expandable portion 412′ and the expandable portion contact portion 423′ as blocking the flow-through mouth 216′ by being within the flow-through mouth 216′. In this arrangement, the beverage 5 cannot pass from inside the vessel 100 through the mouth 216′ (or even through the beverage ports 310′ because the expandable portion 412′ substantially blocks the beverage ports 310′ whenever the expandable portion 412′ blocks the mouth 216′) to the drinking openings 214′, and therefore the beverage 5 cannot be consumed by the consumer.

It is also contemplated that the present expandable device, in any embodiment shown, described or otherwise provided for herein, and/or the optional expandable device connection member, in any embodiment shown, described or otherwise provided for herein, may be used with existing baby or child drinking containers and drinking systems, such as, for example, the Kinder-Grip® Bottle, the VentAire® Standard Bottle, the First Sipster® Spill-Proof Cup, and the Insulator® Reusable Bottle, each one of which is commercially available from the Playtex® Products, Inc. of Allendale, N.J.; the NUK® Bottle, the Gerber® Reusable Bottle, such as the Clear View™ Nurser Bottle and the Fashion Tints™ Nurser Bottle, the Fun Grips® Soft Starter Spill-Proof Cup, the Fun Grips® Spill-Proof Cup, and the Sip & Smile™ Insulated Cup, each one of which is commercially available from the Gerber® Products Company of Freemont, Mich.; the FunSip™ Spill Proof Cup, the FunSip™ Spill Proof Trainer Cup, and the SipRite™ Spill-Proof Cup, each one of which is commercially available from the Evenflo® Company, Inc. of Piqua, Ohio; the Avent® Natural Feeding Bottle, the Avent® Tempo Natural Feeding Nurser Bottle, and the Magic™ Trainer Cup, each one of which is commercially available from the Philips Avent® Company, Inc. of Glemsford, Suffolk, England; the Foogo™ Sippy Cup, which is commercially available from Thermos® L.L.C. of Rolling Meadows, Ill.; the Tri-Flow® Wide Mouth Bottle, which is commercially available from Munchkin, Inc. of North Hills, Calif.; the Bonne Tender Kare Maxi & Mini Feeders and the Bonne Classic & Cute Feeder, each one of which is commercially available from Bonny Baby Care Pvt. Ltd. of Uttar Pradesh, India; the Futura 250 ml Wideneck Polycarbonate Feeding Bottle and the Futura Non Spill Plastic Sippy (Sipper) Cup, each one of which is commercially available from Mustang Mouldings Pvt Ltd. of Maharashtra, India; the BornFree™ Bisphenol-A Free Plastic Bottle and BornFree™ Bisphenol-A Free Plastic Training Cup, each one of which is commercially available from BornFree™ of Boca Raton, Fla.; the Linco® Standard Baby Feeding Bottle and the Linco® Non-Spill Safety Cup, each one of which is commercially available from Linco® Baby Merchandise Works Co., Ltd. of, Changhua Hsien, Taiwan; or any one of a large plurality of other commercially available drinking containers and drinking container systems.

While the present invention has been described with particular reference to certain embodiments, it is to be understood that the present invention includes all reasonable equivalents thereof as defined by the following appended claims.

Drinking Apparatus

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