Patent Application
20200205593
The present invention is directed to a beverage container and more particularly a container where a cup, straw, and lid are all integral and made of a single molded piece.
In America, over 500 million straws are used every day. In just the past twenty years, people have come to expect plastic straws in every drink. Straws are usually dropped in the garbage with little thought. Most of these straws end up in the ocean, polluting the water and killing marine life. Most plastic straws are too lightweight to make it through a mechanical recycling sorter. They drop through sorting screens and mix with other materials and are too small to separate. Once in the ocean straws break down into smaller pieces rather than biodegrading or dissolving, which poses a threat to marine life. Accordingly, a need exists in the art for a device that addresses these problems.
An objective of the present invention is to provide a one piece integral beverage container that eliminates the need for a straw.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a one piece integral beverage container that has a beneficial effect on the environment.
These and other objectives will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art based upon the following written description, drawings, and claims.
A one piece integral beverage container has a bottom wall, a side wall, and an open top that form a first or main chamber. Integrally formed to an inner surface of the sidewall is an inner wall that forms a second or sub chamber. The sub chamber has a first end and a second end.
Adjacent the bottom wall, at the first end of the sub chamber is an opening. Extending outwardly, at the second end of the sub chamber and from a top edge of the side wall is a drinking extension. The drinking extension is integrally formed with and in communication with the sub chamber.
A lid is integrally connected to the top edge of the side wall by a hinge. The lid has an opening, preferably with a breakaway portion, that aligns with and receives the drinking extension when in a closed position. The lid also has a groove on its outer periphery formed to receive the top edge of the side wall.
Referring to the figures, a beverage container 10 has a bottom wall 12, a side wall 14, and an open top 16 that form a chamber 18. The side wall 14 has an outer surface 20 and an inner surface 22. Integrally formed with the inner surface 22 of the side wall 14 is an inner wall 24 that forms a sub chamber 26. The sub chamber 26 is of any size, shape and structure and preferably has a cylindrical, straw-like shape.
Adjacent the bottom wall 12, the inner wall 24 has an opening 28 that permits fluid to flow between the chamber 18 and the sub chamber 26. Extending upwardly from a top edge 30 of the side wall 14 of the container 10, aligned with and integral to sub chamber 26, is a drinking extension 32. Preferably, the drinking extension 32 is resilient.
Integrally formed to the top edge 30, opposite the drinking extension 32, is a lid or cover 34. The lid or cover 34 has a hinge 36 that permits the lid 34 to be selectively moved to fit over the open top 16 of the container 10. The lid has an opening 38, preferably with a breakaway cover 40 that is positioned to align with and receive the drinking extension. Also, the outer periphery 42 of the lid 34 has a groove 44 formed to receive the top edge 30 of the container 10.
In operation, the container 10, which is of one piece molded construction, is filled with a liquid. The liquid flows from the chamber 18 through opening 28 and into sub chamber 26. The lid 34 is pivoted about hinge 36 toward the top edge 30 of the container. As the lid 34 is moved, the drinking extension 32 extends through the lid opening 38. If the opening 38 has a cover 40, the drinking extension 32 breaks the cover 40 away before extending through the opening. The lid 34 is pressed against the top edge 30 of the container so that the top edge 30 is received within the groove 44. Finally, by sucking on the drinking extension 32, fluid flows from sub chamber 26 and out of drinking extension 32.
From the above discussion and accompanying figures and claims it will be appreciated that the beverage container 10 offers many advantages over the prior art. It will be appreciated further by those skilled in the art that other various modification could be made to the device without parting from the spirit and scope of this invention. All such modifications and changes fall within the scope of the claims and are intended to be covered thereby. It should be understood that the examples and embodiments described herein are for illustrative purposes only and that various modifications or changes in light thereof will be suggested to persons skilled in the art and are to be included in the spirit and purview of this application.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/786,834 filed Dec. 31, 2018, the contents of this application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62786834 | Dec 2018 | US |
