Patent Application
20160220051
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a drinking straw for use with a drinkable fluid wherein an inner core of the straw imparts a flavor to the fluid as it passes through the straw before the liquid is drawn into the consumer's mouth. Specifically, the invention relates to a drinking straw having a flavored inner core insert, in one embodiment made of hard packed sodium chloride, that is soluble in the liquid being drawn through the straw. The straw eliminates the need for placing flavoring compounds around the mouth of the drinking vessel and provides the ability to induce flavors into a drink immediately prior to the drink being consumed.
2. Background of the Invention
Flavored drinks are quite popular, including flavored juices, flavored water, and flavored alcoholic drinks It is not always possible or ideal, however, to place particular flavoring within the liquid of the drink itself. An example of such drink is a salted margarita. A margarita is a common cocktail containing various flavor components including alcohol. An optional flavor component is salt, which is typically placed on the rim of the glass in which the margarita liquid is to be consumed. This allows for a burst of saltiness when a consumer drinks from a salted portion of the rim of the glass when drinking the margarita. Simply mixing the salt into the liquid in advance would not provide the same drinking experience.
It may also be desirable for a consumer to meter the amount of flavoring being consumed along with any base liquid. With the example of the margarita served in a glass with a salted rim, the consumer must ingest salt around the rim before an unsalted drink can be encountered. Thereafter, the consumer can alternate between a salted drink and an unsalted drink of the liquid from the glass.
Novel ways to add flavoring to drinks are frequently popular with consumers as well. An ability to use different flavor delivery mediums for the same base liquid is frequently quite desirable and marketable.
Drinking straws, typically of a polymer or paper construction, have been used for many years for the purpose of drawing a liquid into the mouth of a consumer. Prior art straws, however, normally serve no functionality other than to transport the liquid from the container in which the straw is inserted into the mouth of the consumer. A product sold by Reach Companies of Minneapolis, MN called “Magic Straws” does impart a flavor into a liquid, typically milk, drawn into the straw. However, the Magic Straws design is nothing more than dissolvable flavor beads placed inside a modified, thick straw. The Magic Straws product is designed with a physical barrier at each end of the modified straw which keeps the flavor beads in the body of the straw while allowing fluid to flow through the straw. The Magic Straws design requires a specially designed straw for this purpose, and the product must be sold pre-packaged with the flavor beads trapped inside the specially designed straw. Further, the flavor beads start to dissolve as soon as the straw is placed into the fluid.
Specifically, the Magic Straws concept involves taking a heavy gauge plastic straw and crimping a bottom portion of the straw to create a partial physical blockage in the straw. The straw is then substantially filled with dissolvable flavor beads having diameters larger than any remaining opening through the partial physical blockage in the straw. Finally, the straw is crimped at a top portion of the straw above the fill level of the flavor beads to again provide a partial physical blockage against bead migration. This design allows a fluid to flow through the Magic Straw while physically constricting the flavor beads from migrating outside the straw until they have sufficiently dissolved. However, the Magic Straw concept requires a thicker or heavier gauge straw in order to maintain the physical crimping at a top and bottom portion, requires the crimping and filling operation, and results in the flavor beads dissolving in any fluid as soon as the straw is placed in a liquid. Consequently, the addition of flavoring is not metered by the use of the straw, but is just a function of residence time of the flavor beads in the liquid median.
A need exists, therefore, for a new and novel approach for mixing a flavoring, such as a salt or a sugar-based compound, with a liquid immediately upon consumption. Such innovation should be relatively inexpensive and provide a flexible platform across many different drinking applications.
In a preferred embodiment, the invention comprises a drinking straw having an insert consisting of consumable material that is hollow. The insert is located along only a portion of the length of the straw at the end of the straw through which the consumer will place his or her mouth. The straw insert should be located above the fluid level of the fluid to be consumed, such that fluid only contacts the insert when drawn upward through the straw by the consumer, thus allowing a metered application of flavoring to the fluid with every drink.
The insert can be co-manufactured with the straw or manufactured as a separate insert to be pressure-fit into the straw as a part of the manufacturing process or at a later date. The term “pressure fit” in this context means that the insert is mechanically forced into one end of a straw such that the physical contact between the exterior of the insert and the interior of the straw holds the insert in place.
The material used for the insert varies depending on the desired application, but is intended to slowly dissolve and mix with any liquid that passes through the insert without dissolving in the base liquid when the liquid is not being drawn through the straw. Examples of material that can be used in different embodiments of the invention include salt for use with margaritas and other drinks compatible with salt flavoring, a pepper and salt combination for bloody marys and similar drinks, sugar or artificial sweeter-based mixture, and other mixtures that create different flavoring and spice profiles with the consumption of the liquid.
In one embodiment, the insert protrudes slightly above the top rim of the straw when fitted into the straw. This feature allows for the consumer to experience the flavor provided by the insert simply by contacting the top of the straw with the consumer's tongue. Consumers can also meter the taste experience by alternating sips of the liquid through the straw with sips of the liquid through a straw not having an insert or the drink container itself
What is provided is a unique and novel invention that allows a consumer to meter the amount of flavoring being consumed along with any base liquid. One or more straws with such inserts can be used in tandem (two or more at a time) or serially (one after the other) depending on the desired flavor experience. The invention provides novel ways to add flavorings to drinks and an ability to use different flavored delivery medium to the same base liquid. Also provided is a new and novel approach for mixing a flavoring, such as salt or a sugar-based compounds, with liquid immediately upon consumption. The innovation provided is relatively inexpensive and provides a flexible platform across many different drinking applications.
The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Referring to
Also shown in
Returning to the hollow core insert 16, (hereinafter referred to as the “insert” 16), the insert 16 is illustrated as being within the straw 10 in contact with the circumference of the inner surface of straw 10 (not shown). The insert 16 is also illustrated in
The insert 16 can be co-manufactured with the straw 10, inserted into the straw 10 as a part of the manufacturing process, or can be a separate insert that is physically placed into the straw 10 prior to using the straw 10. The latter concept is illustrated in
When using a straw 10 that is relatively flexible, such as straws commonly made with polymer material, the amount of the insert 16 that can remain exposed above the top end 12 of the straw 10 can be adjusted by the amount of pressure used to push the insert 16 into the straw 10. For example, it may be desirable to leave a small portion, such as ¼ inch, of the insert 16 above the upper portion 12 of the straw 10. In the embodiment using salt as the main ingredient for the insert 16, this provides for a salted glass margarita-like experience when drinking through a straw having such arrangement.
In order to slow the solubility of the insert 16 when in use, it may be preferable to compress the material used in the insert 16 and/or include a food-grade binder with the material. Using the example of an insert 16 consisting of sodium chloride, such sodium chloride is compressed into a solid piece, thereby reducing its solubility. In another embodiment, food-grade binders, such as known in the art, are added to the sodium chloride in order to further reduce its solubility, such as is the case with salt licks commonly used for livestock.
In an alternative embodiment, the insert 16 can have other flavoring compounds and can be either savory or sweet. For example, the insert 16 can comprise sugar, spices, and other flavorings alone or in combination. It should further be understood that the invention can be used with any number of liquid combinations, including simple water and dairy products. Using the straw 10 with a flavored insert 16 can provide for an instant flavored drink, the flavor imparted depending upon the consumable material used in the insert 16. Consequently, it is contemplated that the instant invention can be used as an instrument for flavoring many drinkable platforms, including alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, fruit juices, sport drinks, and drinks that are either hot or cold when served.
In addition to the separate insert 16 illustrated in
The co-manufacturing of the straw 10 and the insert 16, in one embodiment, involves co-extrusion of the straw material along with the inner core insert 16. The extrusion process involves an outer, circular extrusion orifice through which a polymer material flows, an intermediate extrusion spray onto the interior of the formed polymer tube, and an air stream that is blown through the tube used to dry the core material and maintain the straw in a tube configuration until it is formed and cut, by methods known in the art.
Another embodiment of the insert 16 consists of a frozen material, such as frozen flavored water. Inserts 16 made for this embodiment can be constructed by the use of ice molds and other means known in the art.
Referring to
The mold 30 consists of a central hollow channel 32 in which a liquid is poured through a funneling opening 38 at or near the top portion 36 of the open tube 32. The tube 32 is closed at the bottom 34. It can be seen that the open tube 32 is wider at the top 36 than at the bottom 34. Thus, the open tube 32 tapers from the top 36 to the bottom 34.
Affixed to the bottom of the tube 34 is an internal spindle 40. This spindle is a solid piece that attaches to the bottom 34 of the tube 32 and extends above the funnel-shaped opening 38. When a fluid is poured into the funnel-shaped opening 38, it fills the hollow tube 32 and surrounds the spindle 40. It should also be noted that the spindle 40 is tapered in the opposite direction as the tube 32. Specifically, the spindle is wider at its base at the bottom of the tube 34 as opposed to its top as it protrudes above the funnel-shaped portion 38.
In a preferred embodiment, the mold shown in
The metal construction of a preferred embodiment of the tube 32 promotes the removal of the insert once it is frozen. As noted previously, the tube 32 is tapered from the bottom 34 being narrower to the top 36 being wider. The converse is the case for the spindle 40. This geometry provides that when a water-based liquid begins to freeze, as it transitions from a liquid to a solid, it expands and causes the forming insert to push upward in the mold. Further, without limitation on the functionality of the mold 30, it is believed that the metal construction also shrinks slightly in each dimension further assisting in the formed frozen insert rising to the top of the mold 30. Once the insert is completely frozen, warm water can be run on the exterior of the mold 30 and the frozen insert easily removed by finger and slid over the spindle 40.
The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles this invention, and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. It should be understood, for example, that the straw 10 and insert 16 described herein can be used in any number of applications and in any number of configurations consistent with the general principles of the invention. Various embodiments of the insert 16 contemplate a number of materials that can be used, including hard candy, compacted sodium chloride, ice, and various mixtures of food-grade salts, sugars, and flavoring compounds, such as, but not limited to, salts, sugars and sugar substitutes, salt and pepper, hard peppermint candy, hard lemon drop candy, soft caramel candy, soft chocolate candy, lemonade flavoring, orange flavoring, sour flavoring, jalapeno and other hot spice flavoring, cinnamon flavoring, nutmeg flavoring, vanilla flavoring, and strawberry flavoring.
While this invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The inventor expects skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventor intends the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.
