The present invention generally relates to drinking straws, and more specifically relates to drinking straws having environmentally-friendly wrappers and integrated filtering elements.
Drinking straws are used for drawing liquids from containers, such as drinking glasses and bottles. In many instances, drinking straws have outer wrappers that are removed prior to using the straws for maintaining the sanitary condition of the straws. Unfortunately, after removing the outer wrapper, many individuals carelessly discard the wrapper so that it becomes litter. For example, if an individual at a beach removes the wrapper from a drinking straw and does not place the wrapper in a sealed container, the wrapper may blow away and become litter on the beach.
Another problem with conventional drinking straws is that obstructing elements, such as seeds or pits, may be drawn through an opening at the end of the drinking straw immersed in a liquid. This may cause the straw to become clogged or result in a user accidently ingesting a seed or pit.
There have been many attempts directed to providing filters for drinking straws. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0092919 to Campagna teaches a filtered drinking straw having a tube with a filtering apparatus affixed to either end of the tube. The filtering apparatus includes a laterally extending strap that extends across an opening at either end of the tube for preventing undesirable objects from entering the tube.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0182461 to Margetson discloses a drinking straw including an elongated metal tube provided with a plurality of perforations at one end which filter particles present in a liquid when the inserted lower end of the tube is pressed vertically on the bottom of a drinking container.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0027675 to Takeda discloses a perforated straw having a tubular body that is sealed at one end, with perforations in the body near the lower sealed end. The perforations allow for fluid to pass into the straw while preventing the passage of solids present in the beverage. The size and configuration of the perforations determines which, if any, solids pass through the straw and which remain within the beverage container.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0175248 to Raimondo et al. discloses a fluid filtering straw including a cylindrical elongated tube having a first end and an opposite second end, the first end being capable of being received within a consumer's mouth for suction and the second end leading to an expanded filtering section perpendicular to the cylindrical elongated tube to form an inverse T structure. The filtering section has at least two walls with a plurality of perforations formed therein to filter particles of a pre-determined size in the fluid through the plurality of perforations and allow the fluid to pass through an elongated tubular glass filtering structure for consumption.
In spite of the above advances, there remains a need for a drinking straw having an environmentally-friendly wrapper that remains permanently attached to the drinking straw after the wrapper has been opened. There also remains a need for a drinking straw having a filtering element that may be efficiently formed at a lower end of a straw without requiring an extra element to be attached to the lower end of the straw and without requiring expensive processing equipment for making a filtered drinking straw.
In one embodiment, a drinking straw preferably includes a tube, such as a paper, plastic, or polymer tube, having an upper end including a first opening, a lower end including a second opening, and an outer wall extending between the upper and lower ends of the tube. In one embodiment, the outer wall has a cylindrical shape. The straw desirably includes a wrapper, such as a paper, plastic or polymer wrapper, adapted to cover the tube, and a securing element, such as a mass of an adhesive or glue, used for permanently attaching the wrapper to the outer wall of the tube.
In one embodiment, the wrapper is preferably opened, such as by peeling or tearing the wrapper, for exposing the first and second openings of the tube for using the straw. As the wrapper is torn or peeled away for opening the straw, the securing element preferably maintains the permanent attachment of the wrapper to the outer wall of the tube.
In one embodiment, the outer wall of the tube preferably has an inner surface, whereby at least two opposing sections of the inner surface of the outer wall are joined together for forming a bifurcated opening adjacent an end of the tube. In one embodiment, the bifurcated opening is formed adjacent an end of the tube that is inserted into a liquid, such as a lower end of the tube. The bifurcated opening desirably has a first half opening and a second half opening. In one embodiment, the first and second half openings of the bifurcated opening preferably define a combined area that is smaller than the area of the first opening adjacent the upper end of the tube.
In one embodiment, a method of using a drinking straw having an environmentally-friendly wrapper includes providing a drinking straw having a tube with an upper end having a first opening, a lower end having a second opening, and an outer wall extending between the upper and lower ends of the tube. The method desirably includes covering the tube with a wrapper, and using a securing element for permanently attaching the wrapper to the outer wall of the tube.
In one embodiment, the method desirably includes opening the wrapper, such as by peeling or tearing the wrapper, for exposing the first and second openings of the tube, whereby the securing element desirably maintains the permanent attachment of the wrapper to the outer wall of the tube after the wrapper has been opened. In one embodiment, the securing element may be seated atop a rim of a liquid container so that one of the upper and lower ends of the tube is disposed inside the liquid container and the opened wrapper is located outside the liquid container. Thus, the securing element may be used for holding the straw in place within the liquid container and balancing and/or stabilizing the straw adjacent the rim of the liquid container.
In one embodiment, a drinking straw preferably includes a tube having an upper end including a first opening, a lower end including a second opening, and an outer wall extending between the upper and lower ends of the tube. The outer wall of the tube preferably has an inner surface with at least two opposing sections of the inner surface of the outer wall being joined together for forming a bifurcated opening adjacent the lower end of the tube. In one embodiment, three or more sections of the inner surface of the outer wall may be permanently joined together for forming a reduced diameter opening adjacent an end of the tube. The reduced diameter opening preferably filters obstructions present in a liquid, such as seeds and pits, as the liquid is drawn into the straw.
These and other preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below.
In use, the lower end 16 of the straw 10 is immersed in a liquid for drawing the liquid into the second opening 18, through the central conduit 22 and through the first opening 14. An individual may suck on the upper end 12 of the straw 10 for drawing the liquid into the second opening 18 and through the central conduit 22 toward the upper end 12 of the straw 10.
Often, conventional straws, such as the straw shown in
Referring to
In one embodiment, the drinking straw 100 desirably includes a securing element 130 that secures or attaches the wrapper 124 to the outer wall 120 of the drinking straw 100. In one embodiment, the securing element 130 desirably forms a permanent connection between the outer wall 120 of the drinking straw and the wrapper 124 so that when the wrapper is opened for using the drinking straw, the wrapper 124 remains attached to the drinking straw so that it will not become litter. In one embodiment, the securing element 130 is an adhesive material.
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The drinking straw 100 shown in
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In one embodiment, as the tubular element 200 moves in the direction X1, the first and second clamping elements 250A, 250B repeatedly open and close in a reciprocating manner for pinching the outer wall 220 of tubular element together. As a result, a plurality of pinched sections are formed along the length of the tubular element 200.
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While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, which is only limited by the scope of the claims that follow. For example, the present invention contemplates that any of the features shown in any of the embodiments described herein, or incorporated by reference herein, may be incorporated with any of the features shown in any of the other embodiments described herein, or incorporated by reference herein, and still fall within the scope of the present invention.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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2901357 | Epstein | Aug 1959 | A |
3957202 | Hornsby, Jr. | May 1976 | A |
5722219 | Dobransky | Mar 1998 | A |
5785171 | Howes | Jul 1998 | A |
7584900 | White et al. | Sep 2009 | B2 |
20020092919 | Campagna | Jul 2002 | A1 |
20040182461 | Margetson | Sep 2004 | A1 |
20040256015 | Margetson | Dec 2004 | A1 |
20060027675 | Takeda | Feb 2006 | A1 |
20060169791 | Taylor et al. | Aug 2006 | A1 |
20060175248 | Raimondo et al. | Aug 2006 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20120205463 A1 | Aug 2012 | US |