Patent Application
20210113004
This invention relates to devices for covering a beverage container to retain heat of the beverage. This invention relates particularly to a tabletop device that provides one-handed opening and of the lid of the beverage container.
Hot beverages, such as coffee, tea, and hot chocolate, taste better when they are hot. But unless there's a lid on the beverage container, the beverage usually cools off before a person can drink it all. Consider a busy mom who may be drinking coffee while making breakfast for kids or who is busy putting on makeup in the morning. She needs both of her hands to complete those tasks and, to do so, sets her coffee mug on the counter between sips. Consequently, the coffee gets cold while she's busy. A similar sip-and-rest process occurs at the office. A person pours a hot cup of coffee from the breakroom coffee carafe and takes the mug back to his desk. He sets the mug on his desk while he types on a keyboard or does other tasks. Meanwhile, the coffee cools between sips. It's a lucky person who can relax with a hot beverage long enough to drink it all before it goes cold.
Of course, hot beverages can be kept warmer longer by using a lid on the beverage container. However, except for paper to-go cups or take-out cups, most hot-beverage cups do not have lids. Ceramic and glass mugs used in the home or office are open to the air and consequently the beverage loses heat very quickly. As the beverage cools, it loses flavor and aroma, too, diminishing the overall drinking experience. Even with to-go cups, both hands are needed to remove and replace the lid for easy drinking. While one can slurp hot liquid through the little hole in the top of the lid, it is noisy and sometimes dangerous because, since one cannot tell how hot the liquid is before slurping, a scalding sip often results.
It would be desirable to have a beverage container that preserves as much heat from the beverage as possible until the beverage is completely drunk. It would be desirable to have a lidded beverage container with a lid that did not require using both hands to remove and replace the lid.
The problems of the prior art are solved with a device for closing a beverage container to retain heat comprising a cap, a base, and an arm connecting the cap and the base. The arm is configured to enable the cap to slide away from the base to an open position and slide toward the base to a closed position over the open beverage container. In a preferred embodiment, a mug is configured in size and shape to be mated with the holder to limit heat loss and to increase stability.
The problems of the prior art are solved with a device for closing a beverage container to retain heat which can be operated with one hand and rests on a table or other horizontal surface when the beverage is not in the user's hand. The device comprises a holder 20 having a cap 21, a base 30, and an arm 29 connecting the cap and the base. The arm 29 is configured to enable the cap 21 to slide upwards away from the base 30 to an open position to permit the beverage container to be inserted in the holder 20 and to slide downwards toward the base 30 to a closed position, where the cap rests on the rim of the beverage container, like a lid. In a preferred embodiment, the beverage container is a mug 40 configured in size and shape to be mated with the holder 20 to limit heat loss and to increase stability.
Referring to
The cap 21 may be a single-layer substrate having two sides functioning as the top surface 23 and a rim surface 24. Preferably, however, the top surface 23 and the rim surface 24 are separated by a distance forming a cavity, which increases the insulation between the hot liquid and the ambient air. Because air is a relatively good insulator, typically the cap 21 is completely or substantially hollow, where substantially hollow means free of material inside except for structural support used in manufacturing the cap or providing durability. In other embodiments, the cap may be substantially or completely solid. In such case, the cap and the material inside the cap are preferably not conductors of heat. The cap may be flat or domed. The cap 21 may have a small hole (not shown) the top surface 23 to release a pressure that may build up due to the heating of the cap 21 or air in the cavity
A down arm 22 extends downwards from the cap 21 toward the base 30. Preferably the down arm 22 is integral with the cap 21, although it may be a separate piece attached to the cap. The down arm cooperates with an up arm 31 that extends upwards from the base 30 to the cap 21. Similarly, preferably the up arm 31 is integral with the base 30, although it may be a separate piece attached to the base. The down arm and up arm are mated to enable them to slide relative to each other from a closed position to an open position. In the preferred embodiment, the up arm 31 further comprises a finger 36 that is configured to slide within a hollow portion 26 of the down arm 22. Conversely, the finger may extend from the down arm and be configured to slide in the up arm. These configurations permits the arm 29 to have a smooth outside surface, which is visually appealing and eliminates external nook and crannies that may be clogged with residual beverage, fingerprints, or other dirt. Other mechanisms may be used to permit the cap and base to slide relative to each other, such as having the inner diameter of the down arm be larger than the outer diameter of the up arm so that the up arm slides inside the up arm, or vice-versa.
Preferably the cap 21 and base 30 slide freely relative to each other, with as little friction as possible. This makes using the device with one hand as easy as possible, as explained in more detail below. In some cases, however, cap 21 and base 30 may be configured to have intermediate stopping points, such as those created with frictional nubs (not shown) placed at one or more desired locations. A stop (not shown) may be disposed in the down arm 22 or up arm 31 to make the cap 21 inseparable from the base 30.
The arm 29 has a thickness t and a width w. See
The base 30 has a coaster surface 32 and a resting surface 34 opposite the coaster surface 32. When in operation, the beverage container rests on the coaster surface 32. In a preferred embodiment, coaster surface 32 has a base disk 33 which extends above the coaster surface 32 and is sized to fit inside the foot of the mug fit within the foot of the beverage container to hold it more securely. The coaster surface 32 may have a ring or disk indented into it to more securely hold the beverage container, alternatively or in combination with the base disk 33.
The base 30 may be a single-layer substrate having two sides functioning as the coaster surface 32 and a resting surface 34. Preferably, however, the coaster surface 32 and a resting surface 34 are separated by a distance forming a cavity, which increases the insulation between the hot liquid, the ambient air, and the horizontal surface the beverage container rests on. Because air is a relatively good insulator, typically the base is completely or substantially hollow, where substantially hollow means free of material inside except for structural support used in manufacturing the base or providing durability. In other embodiments, the cap may be substantially or completely solid. In such case, the cap and the material inside the cap are preferably not conductors of heat. In a preferred embodiment, the base has a non-skid surface on the bottom, such as that created by a rubber or silicone material adhered to the resting surface 34. Alternatively or in addition, preferably the base is substantially solid with a heavy material weight the base. These features help the base stay in place on the resting surface as the beverage container is inserted into the holder 20. Typically the cap 21 and base 30 are circular and have about the same diameter. In one embodiment the base comprises a number of vanes 37.
Although the holder 20 can be used with any beverage container that fits between the cap 21 and the base 30, in a preferred embodiment the beverage container is a mug 40 that is configured in size and shape to mate with the holder 20. In the preferred embodiment, the mug, cap and base are circular. See
To place the mug 40 in the holder 20, a user places the leading edge 47 of the mug under the outer edge of the cap 21 which, due to the near-frictionless arm motion, causes the cap 21 to slide upwards away from the base 30, thereby increasing the height h. See
The user continues to slide the mug 40 into the holder 20 until the mug is far enough into the holder that the bottom of the mug is over the coaster surface 32. The user sets the mug on the coaster surface and the cap 21 slides downward by gravity towards the base to cover the top of the mug. See
In one embodiment, the mug is ceramic, has a 12 oz. capacity, and is 4.5″ tall. The holder is ABS plastic. It has a domed cap, an overall height of 5.63″ and an overall width of 4″. The cap 21 is about 0.25″ thick and the base is about 0.5″ thick.
While there has been illustrated and described what is at present considered to be the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the true scope of the invention. Therefore, it is intended that this invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.
