Patent Application
20110127267
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reusable lid for beverage containers and more particularly to a flexible, reusable elastomer lid having flexible walls to seal against various beverage containers.
2. Background of the Invention
Typical reusable beverage containers termed “ceramic mugs” are available in various sizes within a specific range and a generally common cylindrical shape and rim thickness but do not include mating lids for transport. These specific beverage containers are typically used at their permanent locations and are enjoyed due to their low cost, aesthetic, flavorless, ease of use, and personable qualities.
Many other reusable beverage containers intended for transporting beverages are mated with a removable and reusable lid to contain the beverage. The lid typically has a generally fixed dimension and sealing mechanism and is intended solely for its mating container. These containers typically sacrifice aesthetic and personable qualities and often add a metallic flavor due to their stainless steel construction. Additionally, these containers are difficult to clean and heat the intended liquids in microwave ovens and are typically expensive.
Finally, many disposable cups with mating lids exist but are either currently not recyclable or capable recycling facilities are not readily available. Especially considering the transportable beverage consumption rate of the general public, this limitation is increasing waste and impacting the environment.
Accordingly, a need exists for a reusable lid for beverage containers with these aesthetic, flavorless, ease of use, low cost, and personable qualities. The lid should be sufficiently flexible to fit and seal against the majority of available beverage containers that are not mated with lids and to minimize the amount of sizes required to market the product effectively. In addition, the lid should be relatively inexpensive to manufacture relative to other beverage containers with lids, and easy to assemble, clean, and store. Finally the solution should be sustainable by promoting reduction in overall material and energy consumption and reuse. The present invention addresses such needs.
In one embodiment, a reusable, flexible beverage lid includes a cover portion having a generally circular periphery. The cover portion comprises a drink opening adjacent to the periphery and a general pooling feature to capture any exited fluids not drank by the user which allows drainage back into the beverage container. The cover portion also generally includes vent holes to allow steam to escape and drainage from the pool feature. A flexible outer sidewall is homogeneously integrated with the cover portion, wherein its profile enables easy assembly and sealing against varying dimensioned beverage containers. This profile is generally consistent circumferentially to form the sealing portion of the lid against the generally consistent outer rim surface of various sizes of beverage containers. The sidewall consists of a surface area sufficient to comfortably and confidently push the lid onto beverage containers. The cross sectional design of the profile translates the vertical force into horizontal deflection and tensile stress into a sealing radial force without excessively collapsing vertically before establishing a seal. The profile of the sidewall has at least one rib which is vertically offset from the underside of the lid allowing further flexibility as the offset increases. This rib's generally circular cross section allows for easy assembly and resistance to unseating of the lid during or after assembly due to tensile stress within the stretched profile of the lid. The sidewall has an outer profile which has a relief feature accommodating collapse of the outer wall which allows further flexibility of the inner sealing rib within acceptable assembly efforts and a guide feature enabling centering during assembly and an inherently obvious feature for the user to grasp during assembly. A rim seat exists between the sidewall and the inner wall where the lid sits onto the rim of the beverage container. The lid has an inner wall which provides circumferential and radial stiffness when the outer sidewall is being stretched during assembly which consists of an inner seating feature that enables centering during assembly and an additional sealing surface. Additionally the inner wall has an inner baffle that minimizes beverage splash against the sealing surfaces. This lid can be scaled radially to increase the versatility of the lid.
In another embodiment, the cover of the lid has a plurality of retention features for a circumferential band wrapping around the purely cylindrical portion of the cover.
In another embodiment, the cover of the lid has a sufficient depression on the top face of the cover to allow for flush assembly of a separate personalized flat piece.
The present invention relates to a reusable lid for beverage containers and more particularly to a flexible, reusable lid having flexible walls to seal against various beverage containers. The following description is presented to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention and is provided in the context of a patent application and its requirements. Various modifications to the preferred embodiment and the generic principles and features described herein will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiment shown but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein.
According to one embodiment, the reusable lid has a flexible sidewall that has a consistent cross section circumferentially around the lid. The lid can be grasped by the tapered guide feature and pulled outward by the user or simply pushed on the beverage container (typically a ceramic mug). During assembly to the beverage container, the outer sidewall of the lid flexes outwardly to surround the outside surface of the beverage container. During this assembly, the rib performs a seal on the outside of the beverage container with the tensional force within the sidewall created during assembly.
Due to the versatility of the present invention, the flexible lid can be assembled to various different beverage containers. The lid allows the user to transport their beverage containers with their desired qualities (aesthetics, flavorless, ease of use, personable) that do not normally include a lid.
Although the present invention has been described in accordance with the embodiments shown, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that there could be variations to the embodiments. For example, the sidewall 300 could include several ribs 305 or relief features 310. Additionally, the rib 305 or relief 310 profiles could be unsubstantially modified to attain similar performance. Additionally, the lid 100 could be designed without the guide 315 but with reduced centering and assembly capability. Those variations would be within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, many modifications may be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61265862 | Dec 2009 | US |
