Patent Application
20240074605
This invention provides a lip-pucker avoiding drinking straw providing a tube body defining an elongated opening for the flow of liquid without requiring puckering or pursing of the lips.
The use of drinking straws can have the undesirable effect of promoting permanent creasing of the upper lip due to the tendency and the need for puckering or pursing of the lips.
Most drinking straws now are made of plastic and are disposable, and environmental pollution from those plastic straws has become a significant problem. But sturdier, reusable straws must be cleaned and must be carried around to be at hand for use. Disposable straws can be made from paper, and can be made from different lightweight degradable or biodegradable plastics or blends of plastics and other materials. But such disposable paper or lightweight degradable plastic straws are susceptible to collapse or failure in circumstances where too much suction is applied to a straw and where the design of the straw allows for concentrations and differences of suction or pressure to bear upon a small area.
What is needed is a lip-pucker avoiding drinking straw having a proximal end segment shaped and sized for accommodation by the lips, and having changes of sectional profile which promote the smoother flow of liquid, allowing for use of the straw without any need to pucker or purse the lips into a central rounded shape. The industry has attempted to solve this problem in a number of ways.
U.S. Design Pat. No. D772,632 for a “Bendable Straw,” issued on Nov. 29, 2016 to assignee SNACKTOPS, INC., discloses an ornamental design for a bendable straw of a flat configuration that can fit into a narrow slot of a beverage container.
US Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0181348 for a “Drinking Straw,” published on Jul. 19, 2012 by inventor Elizabeth A. Koehler, discloses a drinking straw that enables a user to drink a beverage without having to purse the user's lips around the straw. In one embodiment, a detachable drinking straw adapter is fitted to an upper end of the straw. In some embodiments, the opening at the upper, enlarged portion of the straw may have different configurations, including triangular and oval. The upper end portion of the straw has a triangular configuration. A conduit is formed between the straw main body portion and the upper end portion. The elongated outer periphery of the upper end portion enables a user to create a seal between the user's lips and the outer periphery of the upper end portion without pursing the user's lips. The conduit through the straw may have a constant cross-sectional area, or it may vary. The drinking straw adapter may have solid lateral portions.
US Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0079453 for a “KoffieStraw,” published on Mar. 23, 2017 by inventors Rita Diorio et al., discloses a drinking straw for transferring fluids with a body shaped as a cylindrical tube. The body includes a first end, a second end, and an outer surface. A cylindrically-shaped opening extends from the first end of the body to the second end of the body and the aperture defines an inner surface. The straw includes an angle point where the upper region of the straw is displaced at a fixed angle with respect to the lower region. Both the outer surface of the straw and the inner surface have the same non-circular shape.
German Patent Application Publication No. 202019106822 for a “Drinking Straw,” published on Dec. 19, 2019 by applicant MONOFLO PRODUKTIONS GMBH & CO KG, discloses a drinking straw comprising a tubular base body made of metallic material, which has a first cylindrical section at one free end and a second cylindrical section at the other free end, wherein between the first section and the second section, a third section designed as a corrugated tube is arranged, the first section, the second section and the third section being made of the same material and in one piece, and wherein the first section formed free end forms a drinking opening, the cross section of the drinking opening being smaller than the cross section of the base body.
US Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0068854 for a “Straw for Dispensing Fluids,” published on Mar. 21, 2013 by inventor Drawn Martha Miracle, discloses a straw for dispensing fluids that includes a first end, a second end opposite the first end, an outer surface, and at least one aperture extending from the first end to the second end defining an inner surface. The aperture has a non-circular cross-sectional shape from the first end to the second end, such as an oval, an ellipse, a tear drop, and the like.
Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2010-0010011 for “A Horizontal Wide Straw for Liquid Food,” published on Oct. 13, 2010 by inventor Jeongyeon Lee, discloses a straw characterized by a shape in which the suction port is widened left and right for when the user wants to sell and drink fluids such as porridge, rice wine, soup, etc. in the form of takeaway beverages. The intake of the straw is extended from side to side and horizontally, and by providing a straw with a wider intake area, hot and granular fluids can be easily consumed for meal replacement in the form of take-out beverages.
Australian Patent Application Publication No. 2009100923 for a “Drinking Mouthpiece,” published on Oct. 22, 2009 by applicant Smilestraw Pty Ltd, discloses a drinking attachment comprising an elongated resilient mouthpiece through which liquid flows, wherein the mouthpiece has a curved longitudinal top profile for lying against a substantial length of the hard palate of a mouth, and a forward end of the mouthpiece has an elongated cross sectional profile.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,223,933 for an “Artificial Imbibing Straw,” issued on Apr. 24, 1917 to inventor Paul H. Can, discloses a tubular-shaped straw the cross section of which is provided with a short diameter and a long diameter forming two longitudinal parallel substantially flat walls connected by longitudinally extending end walls, whereby a single opening is of substantially elliptical form.
This invention provides a lip-pucker avoiding drinking straw providing a tubular body defining an elongated central opening for the flow of liquid without requiring puckering or pursing of the lips. The tubular body has a main body part defining a distal end and a widened proximal part defining a widened proximate end, wherein the main body part has a circular cross section, and the proximal part has a flat oval cross section, and wherein the proximal part has a pre-determined length extending from the proximate end toward the main body part. The proximal part has a uniform cross-section along its length.
The sectional area of the elongated opening in the proximal part is greater than the sectional area at the distal part and through most of the tube body, providing an advantageous difference in liquid pressure at the connecting part. An optional bending segment can be provided to provide a bend in the tube body.
Reference will now be made to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals, and wherein:
Turning now to the drawings in more detail and with reference to
In the bent embodiment shown in
The proximal part 15 is widened in comparison to the cylindrical main body part 13 and is unitary connected to the main body part by angularly outwardly extending sidewalls 20, 22. In plan view, the sidewalls 20, 22 extend at approximately forty-five degrees angle in relation to a longitudinal axis of the main body part 13. The proximal part 15 has a pre-determined longitudinal dimension extending a distance from the proximal end 14. In some of the exemplary embodiments, the length of the proximal part 15 may be between 5% and 25% of the total length of the tubular body 11. Depending on the length of the overall straw 10, these proportions may be modified as necessary. However, the length of the proximal part 15 should be sufficient to comfortably fit between the user's lips, whether the user is a child or an adult. The proximal part 15 has a uniform flat oval cross-section along its entire length.
The proximal part 15 is a flat oval in cross-section, as can be seen in more detail in
In a horizontal direction, the proximal opening 32 is wider than the cylindrical opening 19 in the main body part 13. In one of the exemplary embodiments, the width of the proximal opening 32, between the arcuate wall segments 28, 30 is about twice the diameter of the cylindrical opening 19 in the main body part 13. The “vertical” dimension of the proximal opening 32, between the straight walls 24, 26 is substantially smaller than the diameter of the cylindrical opening 19. In some of the exemplary embodiments, the “height” of the proximal part opening 32 may be between 30% and 60% of the diameter of the cylindrical opening 19.
In the embodiment shown in
Despite the narrow outlet opening formed by the proximate part 15, the liquid is allowed to travel without turbulence from the distal inlet end 12 to the proximal outlet end 14 when a user sips the liquid from the straw 10.
The change of sectional profile of the tubular body 11, from cylindrical to flat oval, provides that a lesser amount of drawing force from the mouth and lips is needed for drawing liquid through the tubular body 11, lessening the tendency to pucker the lips. The proximal end part 15 of the tubular body 11 is shaped to be accommodated by the user's lips without requiring puckering or pursing of the lips. Regardless of whether a bent or an unbent embodiment of the lip-pucker avoiding drinking straw 10 is employed, in use the proximal part 15 will emerge from the relaxed lips to a certain distance, allowing the user to choose the depth at which the straw 10 is inserted into the mount due to the length of the proximal part 15. The length of the proximal part 15 is advantageously chosen to be comfortable for persons with thin or full lips.
When positioned during use the short dimension of the proximal part 15 partly vertically as a height, and the long dimension runs substantially horizontally as a width. The user's lips require only a slight parting to accommodate the proximal part 15. The greater part of the outer surface area of the proximal end is oriented horizontally along either the top or the bottom lip. The sides are rounded, so that any air gap at the sides can be closed with just the natural closure of the lips, without any need to pucker or purse the lips into a central rounded shape.
As an example, in one of the embodiments, the proximal part length is 18.5 mm. This proximal part length can be varied, but should be of sufficient length in order to provide both an outer surface of sufficient size to be efficiently sealed by the user's relaxed and un-pursed lips, and to provide an inner volume of sufficient size to create an advantageous pressure difference when drawing liquid from a liquid container through the straw 10.
In one of the using a sufficiently stiff material, with the material having a thickness of 0.625 mm, at the distal end 123 and through most of the main body part 13, the outer diameter of the round or circular profile is 5 mm, and the diameter of the cylindrical opening 19 is 3.75 mm with a corresponding round or circular profile.
In one of the embodiments, using a sufficiently stiff material, with the material having a thickness of 0.625 mm, the proximal part 15 as dimensions of 3 mm in a shorter or vertical height direction and 10 mm in a longer or horizontal width direction. In one of the embodiments, the proximal opening 32 is 1.75 mm high by 8.75 mm wide. Of course, these are exemplary dimensions, and other suitable dimensions will be apparent to persons skilled in the art.
In use, liquid passing through the central opening will effectively move from a cylindrical opening 19 of a certain diameter into a wider tube of the proximal part 15 with a resulting lowering of pressure. Because of this lowering of pressure, the drawing or suction force required to initiate and to sustain a flow can be applied over a longer amount of time and can therefore be done with less instantaneous strain on the lips. The drawing or suction force is applied to the volume of air or liquid at the proximal part 15 and will be effectively increased by the decrease of sectional area from the proximal-part 12 to the distal part 14.
The lip-pucker avoiding drinking straw 10 can be manufactured from a variety of materials suitable for use with food and beverages and having sufficient strength and stiffness to avoid collapsing or failing in use, when exposed to liquids and warm liquids, especially at the proximal end segment 4 and transition segment 5 where the drawing or suction force is increased. Different materials will likely require different thickness in order to achieve the needed strength and stiffness. Materials requiring a substantial thickness might not be appropriate because they would require either a reduction of the sectional area of the central opening or an increase of the outer area making the proximal part 15 too large to properly fit between the relaxed and un-puckered lips of the user.
The preferred and illustrated embodiments are intended to be made from stainless steel or aluminum, which are appropriate for a reusable straw which will need to be cleaned and will need to be kept at hand. Durable plastics, hard rubbers, or resins are also appropriate for a reusable straw which will also need to be cleaned and kept available. Paper having a fluid-resistant and stiffening coating is appropriate for a disposable straw if the material can be made sufficiently strong and stiff without excessive thickness. Although plastic straws as presently made are not favored because of environmental pollution and damage, a straw could be made of a lightweight degradable or biodegradable plastic or plastic blended with materials such as corn starch, if the material can be made sufficiently strong and stiff without excessive thickness.
Many other changes and modifications can be made in the system and method of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof. I therefore pray that my rights to the present invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.
This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending application Ser. No. 17/411,890, filed on Aug. 25, 2021, the full disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein and priority of which is hereby claimed.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 17411890 | Aug 2021 | US |
| Child | 18387711 | US |
