Patent Grant
8215511
The present invention relates to container lids in general. More specifically to a liquid container lid with a vertical arched handle including a spring loaded latch for quick attachment to an article or structure.
Previously, many types of lids or covers have been used in endeavoring to provide an effective means to enclose a container in a removable manner.
The prior art listed below did not disclose patents that possess any of the novelty of the instant invention; however the following U.S. patents are considered related:
Sarver in U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,339 teaches a cylindrical drinking vessel having a pair of integrally formed circumferential grooves and a pair of vertically oriented parallel handle support braces on its outer surface. A carabiner, or rope connection latched oval or a D-shaped ring fits between the handle support braces in a position to straddle the circumferential grooves. A pair of flexible bands are releasably fastened though the carabiner and around the vessel to secure the carabiner as a handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,202,877 B1 issued to La Torre et al. provides a lip-openable lid for use in a container having a valve seat and an opening for egress of container contents. A container is also provided to employ the lid which has a gasket with an annular wall, a central portion radially inward of the wall and a peripheral flange engagable with the valve seat. The lid includes a rigid support that has liquid flow openings which supports the central portion of the gasket and positions the gasket against the valve seat.
Lin et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,662,978 B2 discloses a liquid storage vessel stopper having interchangeable plugs that utilizes stopper body with an inner shell affixed to an outer shell. The inner shell is configured to communicate with a liquid storage vessel interior and the outer shell is profiled to be threadably attached to the vessels outside surface. An interchangeable stopper plug is either a twist to pour plug or a push to pour plug type, the former has a main core smaller than the inner shell and incorporates a lid creating a dead air space forming an insulating barrier. When the main core is manually rotated at least a quarter of a turn the plug is unseated and a flow path is opened.
Goldberg in U.S. Pat. No. 6,913,159 B1 teaches a water bottle strap that provides a manual engagement for bottles. A handle is defined from a substrate defining holes through which fingers or other digits may pass. The handle is held in tension along the side of the bottle by a top loop engaging the neck of the bottle and a base loop engaging the base of the bottle. The top loop and base loop are connected to the handle by means of an upper and lower connecting segment. Each strap is made of flexible and stretchable material so as to snugly engage the bottle in tension.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,021,486 B1 issued to Hurlbut is for a drinking flask cap having a three-position push-pull lid. The top of the lid forms a drinking basis and the drinking basis can be sealed with a hygienic cap. The cap can be removed and placed on the bottom of the flask of storage and provides a stable base for the flask. A bottle portion of the flask is preferably made form a molded plastic material and can be provided with a finger hold such that the flask can be drunk from in a manner similar to a coffee cup.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,416,093 B2 in U.S. patent Lin et al. discloses a container having a controlled opening lid that includes a container body with an open end providing access to an interior space configured to receive user supplied contents and a lid member configured to cover the open end of the container body when in a first position and permit access to the interior space when in a second position. A hinge is configured to move the lid member from the first position to the second position, the hinge including at least one dampening mechanism for damping a biasing force provided by the hinge when the lid member moves from the first position to the second position.
For background purposes and as indicative of the art to which the invention is related reference may be made to the remaining cited design patents issued to Ward et al. in U.S. Pat. D509,408 S, D'Amato in U.S. Pat. D588,002 S and Pinelli et al. in U.S. Pat. D592,913 S.
There are enormous numbers of containers, bottles and beverage glasses used for containing liquids for transportation that require lids permitting drinking directly from the container and yet providing a stopper that seals the liquid inside.
While the vast majority of lids are provided for static usage such as a screw on lid that may removed when required but lacks the ability to be attached to an article conveniently. The prior art has attempted to include this attachable utility in many ways such as adding a horizontal loop or vertical tab on the top as well as some type of handle positioned on the top with and opening for attachment.
The need has been long felt to perfect this attachment ability, therefore it is a primary object of the invention to incorporate an integral arched vertical handle on the top of the lid with a snap-in spring loaded latch integrated with a quick release attachment mechanism. The vertical handle is positioned directly on the top of the lid permitting the container to hang straight down when attached to an object. Some containers on the market today have lids with a loop incorporated in the lid that are positioned on one side in an horizontal direction, as represented in plastic hydration bottles made by “CONTIGO MUGS”. While the prior art lids have purpose, the location of the loop leads something to be desired.
The present invention utilizes an arched handle that has a parabolic shape limiting the container, with the lid attached, from swinging too and fro which is a problem if the handle were semi-circular or even oval in shape. The parabolic shape positions the vertical centerline by gravity to a point nearly in the middle of the article thereby greatly diminishing the swinging problem.
By having the latch handle arched in the shape much like the half of a modern carabiner the user easily recognizes its use particularly when the interface is formed in a typical mushroom shape used on high grade apparatus. Since the latch snaps back in place when released under spring pressure the lid may be attached to a person's belt or belt loop even without looking and attachment becomes almost automatic with one hand when applied to a rigid object. The invention is made of a strong, sturdy, thermoplastic material making it durable and long lasting.
An important object of the invention permits the lid to be used with type of conventional bottle made of any material, and functions particularly well on stainless steel double wall insulated bottles popular in today's market.
Another object of the invention is that the container lid contains a dead air space integrally formed in the lid body which acts as a light weight insulation decelerating the thermal heat transfer for either hot or cold liquids stored within the container.
Still another object of the invention is that there are two parts of the lid, the drinking lip that attaches directly to the container, locking in one half turn onto the container and a lid body with the arched handle that attaches to the lip using threads that lock in a quarter turn. If the user loosely torques the lid parts together and rotates the lid body using the handle, the body is removed first with the quarter turn leaving the lip on the container as it requires further rotation for removal.
A further object of the invention is the attractive appearance of the lid since both components together create smooth contours and interface with no sharp edges or opening apparatus. Further the flared drinking lip is smooth and comfortable to use.
Yet another object of the invention is that the lid includes a covered lip bottom that prevents splashing and avoids being hit in the mouth with ice when drinking as the bottom has only a single opening large enough for liquid to flow freely and yet is small enough to retain the ice.
A final object of the invention is the ease of cleaning since the body is completely removed when drinking thereby eliminating any complex sealing openings requiring sliding members, levers, push buttons, hinges and the like which inadvertently create areas that are inaccessible and hard to clean.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the preferred embodiment and the appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The best mode for carrying out the invention is presented in terms of a preferred embodiment of a container lid with a latch handle 10. This preferred embodiment is shown in
A lip bottom portion 26 is incorporated in the lip 20 having both a liquid aperture 28 and a vent opening 30, with the vent opening 30 located at an opposed location from liquid the liquid aperture 28, as illustrated in
A lip sealing ring 32 is disposed onto the drinking lip 20 permitting a watertight to fit between the drinking lip 20 and the container. The lip sealing ring 32 is depicted in
A lid body 34 incorporates lid male threads 36 that are configured to interface with the drinking lip female threads 24. The lid body male threads 36 contiguously engage and seal against the drinking lip female threads 24 when the lid body 34 is rotated from 85 degrees to 95 degrees, approximately a quarter of a turn, and finally 170 degrees to 190 degrees. A bottom cover 38 is incorporated into the lid body 34 forming an insulated dead air space adding to the utility of the container lid 10. The bottom cover 38 is illustrated best in the cross section of
The novelty and uniqueness of the invention is the addition of an appendage in the form of an integral arched handle 40 positioned vertically on the top of the lid body 34 providing not only an operating handle for access to the container but a method of attaching the lid, along with the container, to an article of clothing or a fixed object such as a belt, belt loop, rigid structure and the like. The arched handle 40 preferably has a parabolic shape 40a with a thickness and width at distal ends larger than at its apex, The arched handle 40 having radial distal ends integrally merging smoothly into the lid body, and the parabolic shape 40a having a surface intersecting with the vertically flared brim 22 of the drinking lip 20 forming a continuation of the parabolic shape 40a as illustrated in
A snap-in hinged spring loaded latch 42 is provided for use as a quick release attachment of the lid 10 and container. The lid body vertical arched handle 40 consists of at least one third of the handle 40 containing the spring loaded latch 42, and the lid body 34 having an integral latch retainer base 44 with the latch 42 hinged to the latch retainer base 44 with a dowel pin 46, preferably made of stainless steel, shown in
A torsion spring 48 applies a compressive load to urge the latch 42 to snap into a closed position, with the spring 48 illustrated in
The arched handle 40 incorporates a tongue configuration 54 on a distal end and the lid latch 42 includes a mating grooved configuration 56, such that when snapped together they jointly retain a contour reproducing the shape of the remainder of the arched handle 40, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4-8. The tongue configuration 54 has a male mushroom shape 58, and the mating grooved configuration 56 has a female mushroom shape 60 with the female mushroom shape 60 including a web barrier 62, restricting the latch 42 from traveling past the arched handle 40 when snapped together therefore permitting the latch 42 to rest in alignment with the arched handle 40.
A lid sealing ring 64 is disposed on the lid body 34, as shown in
In use, a liquid is poured into the container and the container lid 10 is screwed onto the container with the lip sealing ring 32 creating a watertight seal therebetween. The lid 10 may be attached to an object or article of clothing using the arched handle 40 for the connection, with the latch 42 rotated inwardly to permit clearance of the object and the latch 42 snapped closed by the urging of the torsion spring 48. The user may rotate the drinking lip 20 from the lid body 34 one quarter of a turn and drink from the lip 20 and return the container in reverse to its original position. When finished with its use the latch 42 may be manually rotated inwardly disengaging the lid 10 from the object.
While the invention has been described in complete detail and pictorially shown in the accompanying drawings, it is not to be limited to such details, since many changes and modifications may be made to the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Hence, it is described to cover any and all modifications and forms which may come within the language and scope of the appended claims.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5390919 | Stubbs et al. | Feb 1995 | A |
| 5433339 | Sarver | Jul 1995 | A |
| 6202877 | La Torre et al. | Mar 2001 | B1 |
| 6662978 | Lin et al. | Dec 2003 | B2 |
| 6913159 | Goldberg | Jul 2005 | B1 |
| D509408 | Ward et al. | Sep 2005 | S |
| 7021486 | Hurlbut | Apr 2006 | B1 |
| 7416093 | Lin et al. | Aug 2008 | B2 |
| D588002 | D'Amato | Mar 2009 | S |
| D592913 | Pinelli et al. | May 2009 | S |
| 20040217139 | Roth et al. | Nov 2004 | A1 |
| 20100282703 | Yang | Nov 2010 | A1 |
