The present invention relates to removable lids for drinking vessels and more precisely to one-handed cam lids having a removable sealing element.
Some drinking vessel lids have removable sealing mechanisms for separate cleaning. However, some sealing mechanisms may be difficult to install. Some removable sealing element designs fail to adequately insulate a heated liquid, e.g. a beverage, in the drinking vessel. Some sealing elements provided with insulation may obstruct the flow of the heated liquid to the drinking aperture. Additionally, the lip of a drinking vessel near the drinking aperture may become contaminated if the drinking vessel falls on the floor, for example.
A drinking vessel lid assembly 10 is shown in
A subassembly main body 22 of the lid valve subassembly 20 has a sealing member 24 projecting from an upper surface 26 thereof, as shown in
In the present embodiment, the attachment collar 28 includes a handle 34 projecting downwardly from the collar perimeter wall 30 to facilitate a user rotating the collar perimeter wall 30, and hence the attachment collar 28, relative to the subassembly main body 22, at least through a limited range of rotating as described below in greater detail. In other embodiments, the collar perimeter wall 30 of the attachment collar 28 may be provided with a textured surface or indents to facilitate the user gripping the collar perimeter wall to rotate the attachment collar.
The sealing member 24 includes a pair of spaced-apart support members 36 projecting upwardly from the upper surface 26 of the subassembly main body 22. The support members 36 are laterally offset from each other on opposite sides of a retaining housing 38 therebetween for retaining an elastic element 46 described below. An upper transverse support portion 42 extends between and is supported by the upper ends of the support members 36 in a position above the upper surface 26 of the subassembly main body 22. A shaft 40 extends through a centrally-located aperture extending through the transverse support portion 42. A transverse crossbar portion 44 at an end of the shaft 40 has spaced-apart lateral portions 44A and/or 44B with upwardly facing sloped cam follower surfaces for vertical actuation of the shaft, as described below. The elastic element 46, such as a compression spring, is positioned in the retaining housing 38 between the support members 36 and has an upper end thereof in contact with a lower side of a disc-shaped wall portion 47 of the shaft 40 located below the transverse support portion 42. A lower end of the elastic element 46 is in contact with the upper surface 26 of the subassembly main body 22. The elastic element 46 biases the shaft 40 away from the upper surface 26 and holds a sealing element 48 in sealing engagement with the portion of the upper portion 14 of the lid main body 12 surrounding the drinking aperture 15 when the lid subassembly 20 is installed in the lid main body 12 and in a closed state, as shown in
The lid cavity 18 is sized and shaped to receive the sealing member 24 and at least a portion of the subassembly main body 22. In the present embodiment, the inner surface of the cavity wall 16 has a cylindrical shape (see
A pair of stop elements 51 project inwardly from the cavity wall 16 into the lid cavity 18 to limit upward movement of the subassembly main body 22 within the lid cavity 18 when the lid valve subassembly 20 is inserted in the lid cavity. The stop elements 51 abut the upper surface 26 of the subassembly main body 22 when the subassembly main body is installed in the lid cavity 18.
The lid valve subassembly 20 and the lid main body 12 may be provided with corresponding attachment portions to removably secure together the lid subassembly and the lid main body. When the sealing member 24 is aligned with the drinking aperture 15, with the guide element 50 between the first guide members 52, the lid cavity 18 may receive at least a portion of the subassembly main body 22 and the attachment collar 28 within the lid cavity 18 and in position to engage the attachment collar 28 with the cavity wall 16. One or more elongated second attachment elements 56 project inward from the cavity wall 16 at locations corresponding to the locations of the first attachment elements 32 of the collar perimeter wall 30 so as to be in position to be engaged by the first attachment elements upon rotation of the collar perimeter wall and thereby releasably and removably attach the lid valve subassembly 20 to the lid main body 12. Each of the second attachment elements 56 extends peripherally along the cavity wall 16. The second attachment elements 56 each include an elongated upwardly facing second attachment surface 58 configured to engage with a corresponding portion of the elongated downwardly facing first attachment surface 33 of one of the first attachment elements 32 when the attachment collar 28 is rotated into a locked rotational position. The second attachment surfaces 58 may slope upward along the periphery of the cavity wall 16 such that one end of each of the second attachment elements is closer to the upper portion 14 of the lid main body 12 than the other end. Insertion of the lid valve subassembly 20 into the lid main body 12 is commenced by aligning the guide element 50 between the first guide member 52, and rotating the attachment collar 28 such that the first attachment elements 32 are positioned offset from the second attachment elements 56. The lid valve subassembly 20 may then be moved into the lid cavity 18. Next the attachment collar 28 may be rotated in a clockwise direction when viewed from below relative to the subassembly main body 22 and the lid main body 12 to place the first attachment elements 32 over the second attachment elements 58 with the downwardly facing first attachment surface 33 in co-extensive engagement with the upwardly facing second attachment surface 58. When in this position a detent recess 60 on the downwardly facing first attachment surface 33 releasably engages a detent protrusion 65 on the upwardly facing second attachment surface 58 to releasably lock the attachment collar 28 in the locked rotational position relative to the lid main body 12. Further clockwise rotation of the attachment collar 28 relative to the lid main body 12 is prevented by a stop wall 72A on an inward side of the collar perimeter wall engaging a stop 74 on the subassembly main body 22. Another stop wall 72B on the inward side of the collar perimeter wall 30 is positioned to engage the stop 74 on the subassembly main body 22 to limit counterclockwise rotational movement of the attachment collar 28 relative to the subassembly main body 22. In other embodiments, alternative means may be used to releasably and removably attach the lid subassembly 20 to the lid main body 12.
In the event the first attachment elements 32 are not positioned adequately offset from the second attachment elements 56 when the lid valve subassembly 20 is inserted into the lid cavity 18, the first attachment elements 32 will engage a downwardly facing surface 62 of the second attachment elements 56 and full insertion will be prevented. To limit the clockwise rotation of the attachment collar 28 relative to the lid main body 12 in the situation, the second attachment elements 56 each include a downwardly projecting stop wall 64.
The attachment collar 28 is operable to slidably rotate relative to the subassembly main body 22. In particular, the attachment collar 28 rotates along cylindrical subassembly sidewall 70 extending downwardly from the subassembly main body 22 (see
An insulation cavity 82 may be provided in the subassembly main body 22. The insulation cavity 82 is located below the upper surface 26 of the subassembly main body 22, inward of the subassembly sidewall 70 which define a downwardly open recess which is closed by a subassembly cap (see
A process of attaching the lid valve subassembly 20 to the lid main body is described with reference to
In a third step, the attachment collar 28 is positioned in an initial rotational position P1 about the axis of rotation R1 at which each of the first attachment elements 32 is positioned between peripherally adjacent ones of the second attachment elements 56 (see
In a fourth step, the attachment collar 28 is moved upwardly to a position at which the first end 66 of the first attachment element 32 is above (i.e., closer to the upper portion 14) the first end 68 of the second attachment portion 56 (see
In a fifth step, the attachment collar 28 is rotated clockwise (when viewed from below) about the axis of rotation R1 using the handle 34 to an engagement position P2 at which each of the first attachment elements 32 of the attachment collar slidably engage and overlap with a corresponding one of the second attachment elements 56 of the lid main body 12 (see
In this position, the detent recess 60 of the attachment collar 28 engages with or interlocks with the detent protrusion 65 of the lid main body 12 to help secure the rotational position of the lid subassembly 20 when inserted in the lid cavity 18. The locations of the detent protrusion and the detent recess may be reversed in other embodiments.
The lid valve subassembly 20 may be easily detached from the lid main body 12 by rotating the collar perimeter wall 30, using the handle 34 to disengage the first attachment elements 32 from the second attachment elements 56, and the lid valve subassembly may be withdrawn from the lid cavity 18. The withdrawn lid valve subassembly 20 is then disconnected from the lid main body 12 and may be cleaned by hand or put in a dishwasher without the lid main body blocking cleaning solution from reaching any component parts of the lid valve subassembly needing cleaning.
When the lid valve subassembly 20 is attached to the lid main body 12, the subassembly main body 22 and the attachment collar 28 at least partially block the fluid, e.g., the beverage, in the beverage container from flowing through a central portion of the lid cavity 18. When the attachment collar 28 is positioned at the engagement position P2, one or more outer portions of the perimeter wall of the attachment collar 28 are spaced apart from a corresponding one or more inner portions of the cavity wall 16 to define one or more fluid paths 92 therebetween, as shown in
A sealing member actuation assembly 94 may actuate the sealing member 24 to selectively open and close the drinking aperture 15. A wedge-shaped actuation member 96 may engage with the crossbar portion 44 of the sealing member 24 to downwardly actuate the sealing element 48 relative to the drinking aperture 15 using a camming motion, thereby unsealing the drinking aperture and allowing fluid to flow therethrough. A button portion 98 exposed on an outwardly facing surface of the lid main body 12 is operably connected to the actuation member 96. The button portion 98 is operable to transversely move the actuation member 96 toward an adjacent portion of the cavity wall 16. A compressible elastic member 100 may bias the actuation member 96 and/or the button portion 98 outwardly and away from the sealing member 24 to maintain the sealing element 48 in a sealed position at the drinking aperture 15 when the user is not depressing the button portion.
The actuation member 96 has a pair of laterally spaced apart cam members 96A and 96B each with a downwardly facing sloped cam surfaces 96S, each oriented at an angle complementary to an angle of an upwardly facing sloped cam follower surfaces of one of the laterally spaced apart lateral portions 44A and 44B. Each of the lateral portions 44A and 4B has a laterally outward retaining wall 101 to limit lateral movement of the cam members 96A and 96B during their engagement with the lateral portions 44A and 4B, respectfully. Pressing the button portion 98 inward transversely moves the sloped surfaces 96S to push the crossbar portion 44 downward, thereby separating the sealing element 48 from the drinking aperture 15. The button portion 98 may transversely move the actuation member 96 using one or more connecting portions when the button portion is depressed by a user. In the present embodiment, a first connecting portion 102 of the button portion 98 extending inward from on an inward side of the button portion 96 engages with a second connecting portion 104 attached to the actuation member 96. The first connecting portion 102 and the second connecting portion 104 of the present embodiment are directly and securely attached together by complementary interlocking snap fit portions 106. At least one of the first connecting portion 102 and the second connecting portion 104 may extend through a main body aperture 110 between the lid cavity 18 and an outer surface of the lid main body 12. An annular sealing portion 108 mounted on the second connecting portion 104 moves in and out with the actuation member 96 and seals the main body aperture 110 to help prevent heat and fluid from leaking through the main body aperture when the button portion 98 is not depressed. The elastic member 46 moves the sealing member 24 to the closed state sealing the drinking aperture 15 when the button is not depressed.
Other structures may be used to operatively interconnect the button portion 98 and the actuation member 96. Other assemblies may be used to actuate the sealing member 24.
A cover member 112 may be rotatably attached to the upper portion 14 of the lid main body 12, as shown in
The first cover portion 114 may further extend over and thereby cover a drinking lip 118 adjacent to the drinking aperture 15 when in the first rotational position. The drinking lip 118 may have an outwardly curving shape and project upwardly to above the drinking aperture 15 along an outer peripheral rim 119 of the upper portion 14. A second cover portion 120 may project downwardly from the first cover portion 114 and cover an outer surface portion of the lip 118 when the cover member 112 is in the first rotational position. The second cover portion 120 may have a shape corresponding to the shape of the drinking lip 118 and/or outer peripheral rim 119 of the upper portion 14, as shown in
The cover member 112 may be rotated rearward from the first rotational position to a second rotational position (see
The outer peripheral rim 119 and/or the drinking lip 118 may extend upwardly and along with a transversely extending ridge 130 form a drinking well 132, as shown in
A U-shaped handle portion 134 extends rearwardly from the lid main body 12.
The lid main body 12 has a threaded attachment portion 136 that may threadably attach the lid assembly 10 to a drinking vessel 140, as shown in
It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Accordingly, the invention is not limited except as by the appended claims.