Patent Application
20050230403
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to liquid beverage containers, and more particularly to liquid beverage containers that are spill-resistant and capable of dispensing a liquid at a controlled rate.
2. Description of Related Art
Caps or lids are commonly placed over openings of cups containing liquid beverages to form closed containers, especially prior to transport. Spill-resistant caps are also known that prevent spilling of the liquid beverage while allowing the liquid beverage be consumed. Avoiding such spilling is especially important when the beverage is a hot liquid such as coffee or tea.
Re-usable cups with spill-proof caps intended for use by young children are typically called “training cups.” Many training cups have spouts and handles. It has been found that children drinking from training cups with spouts may develop deformed palettes that create speech problems. In addition, children using training cups with handles must learn to use handles, and often throw the training cups down when frustrated during this learning process.
Examples of spill-resistant caps include the following:
Dibrell et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,730,399, describes a non-spill cap that has two layers, an outer cover section that is secured to the cup, and an inner closure section that is attached to the outer cover section. The outer cover section has a plurality of apertures through its body, and the inner closure section flexes between a sealed configuration, in which the inner closure section seals the apertures of the outer cover section, and an open configuration, in which the inner closure section allows fluid flow through the apertures.
M. B. Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 3,360,161, describes a splash-proof drinking vessel that includes a two layer cap for regulating fluid flow. Each layer of the two layer cap includes apertures to enable fluid flow through the cap. In one embodiment, the two layers are separated, and fluid flow is always possible, although somewhat restricted by the two layers. In other embodiments, the two layers can be rotated with respect to each other, so that in an open position, the apertures are aligned and fluid flow is possible, and in other embodiments the apertures are not aligned, and fluid flow is not possible.
Milan, US 2002/0003145 A1, describes a removable beverage container lid for a beverage container. The lid has a substantially enclosed space defined between an exterior cover and an interior cover. At least one inlet opening is formed with the interior cover through which a hot beverage is to flow into the substantially enclosed space. Attached to the interior cover at the forward edge of the inlet opening is a partition or wall assembly with the height of the partition or wall assembly extending to be located substantially against the exterior cover. The length of the partition or wall assembly is at least equal to the length of the inlet opening. Between the partition or wall assembly and the peripheral edge of the exterior cover is located a gap area. Connected with the gap area is a dispensing opening formed within the exterior cover. Hot beverage is required to flow around the partition or wall assembly and into the gap area prior to flowing through the dispensing opening exteriorly of the beverage container. The wall assembly connects with raised areas on the exterior cover each of which has a groove to permit a small amount of the beverage to flow directly into the gap area.
McGushion, U.S. Pat. No. 6,523,712 B1, describes a spill-resistant lid that includes a mounting portion for gripping the upper rim of the container, a sidewall extending upwardly from the mounting portion, and a top wall having a fluid consumption aperture formed therethrough. A spout descends from the fluid consumption aperture towards the interior of the container to which the lid is mounted. The fluid contained within the container must travel through the spout before exiting the fluid consumption aperture. The geometry of the spout is generally either tubular or hollow frusta-conical. One or more steam venting apertures may be formed through the top wall.
Corey et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,130,215, describes a spill-resistant cup that includes at least two baffle members positioned within the cup wall. Each baffle is generally annular having a central opening and each baffle contains a plurality of passageways (holes or elongated slots) passing therethrough.
Fournier, U.S. Pat. No. 4,331,255, describes a spill-resistant container cover that includes of a pair of similarly dimensioned discoid sections connected with a flexible hinge. The two sections are oriented so that the second section can be flipped over onto the first so that a peripheral channel on the second section engages over a peripheral channel on the first section to provide a shallow space between the two sections bounded by peripheral seal. An array of small openings are provided in the first section leaving a relatively large contiguous imperforate area in that section. A removable tab is provided for forming a drinking opening in the second section, the tab being positioned so that it is disposed opposite the imperforate area in the first section.
Chu, U.S. Pat. No. 6,305,571 B1, describes a spill-resistant lid device for dispensing fluid contained in a drinking container. A mounting portion is configured to sealingly engage a lip portion of a container. A top cover is coupled to the mounting portion and extends substantially laterally across the container opening when the mounting portion is sealingly engaged with the container lip. The top cover includes a top wall and a bottom wall cooperating to define an interior cavity. The top wall has a drinking port in flow communication with the interior cavity. The bottom wall defines a baffle opening which extends into the interior cavity and is adapted to reduce splashing of fluid through the opening fluid dispensed from the container must pass through the baffle opening and into the interior cavity before passing through the drinking port.
Ruff, U.S. Pat. No. 3,938,695, describes a spill-resistant lid that includes a plurality of apertures to minimize accidental spilling of any liquid in the container, even if the container is jogged, shaken, or moved unevenly so as to cause spillage of its contents when a slosh wave overrides the rim of the container.
Lansky, U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,350, describes a guard for preventing splashing from a drinking container. The guard includes a lower disk having an outer circular rim for engaging the inner face of the sidewall of the drinking container, an upper disk having an outer rim spaced from the drinking container to provide an annular passage between the upper disk and the inner face of the sidewall of the drinking container with which the guard is used, a baffle interposed between the lower disk and the upper disk for functioning to baffle the beverage when the drinking container is in motion and to act as a support for supporting the upper disk from the lower disk, and a passageway is provided through the lower disk to allow passage of the beverage through the lower disk to a position above the lower disk. An upstanding handle is provided on the upper disk and a receptacle is provided on the lower disk to removably receive the handle and permit stacking of the guards.
It would be advantageous to have a cap that doesn't have a spout, is spill-resistant, and dispenses the liquid at a controlled rate.
The present invention teaches certain benefits in construction and use which give rise to the objectives described below.
The present invention provides a spill-resistant cap for a cup having a lip surrounding an opening. The spill-resistant cap includes an annular sidewall, a center portion, a plurality of spaced apart openings, and a plurality of baffles formed over the plurality of spaced apart openings. The annular sidewall has a lip engaging portion and a lower end. The center portion closes the lower end of the sidewall to cover the opening, such that the annular sidewall and the center portion together form an upper reservoir. The plurality of spaced apart openings extend through the upper reservoir. Each of the plurality of baffles is formed over one of the plurality of spaced apart openings.
A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a cap for a cup, the cap having advantages not taught by the prior art.
Another objective is to provide a spill-resistant cap that resistant to spills.
A further objective is to provide a cap that dispenses a fluid at a controlled rate, without splashing.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.
The accompanying drawings illustrate the present invention. In such drawings:
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
In alternative embodiments, the plurality of baffles 50 could also have other shapes and configurations. For example, the plurality of baffles 50 could each extend only from the center portion 30, or the annular sidewall 20. The plurality of baffles 50 could also integrally formed in the shape of each of the plurality of spaced apart openings 40. Such alternatives should be considered within the scope of the present invention, as claimed below.
In use, the drinking container 10 is useful for dispensing the liquid 15 at a controlled rate, without splashing, and is therefore particularly well suited to use by babies or small children, or by adults using drinks such as coffee that can be particularly damaging if spilled.
As shown in
When the user returns the drinking container 10 to an upright position, the liquid 15 flows back down the plurality of spaced apart openings 40 and into the cup 14. The slope of the center portion 30 facilitates the flow of the liquid 15 back into the cup 14.
If the drinking container 10 is turned upside down, so that all of the plurality of spaced apart openings 40 are covered, a vacuum is formed in the cup 14 that advantageously substantially prevents the liquid 15 from exiting the cup 14, preventing a spill. If the drinking container 10 containing a liquid 15 is jarred, the liquid 15 that escapes through the plurality of spaced apart openings 40 is deflected by the plurality of baffles 50 either into the cup 14 or into the upper reservoir 32, from which it drains back into the cup 14.
It is noted that the number and sizes of the plurality of spaced apart openings 40 in the cap 12 are largely determined by a desired flow rate of the liquid 15 from the cup 14 into the upper reservoir 32 when the drinking container 10 is tilted to one side, as shown in
The cap 12 may be made of a rigid material such as plastic, or any other suitable material. The cup 14 may also be made of a molded plastic, or in the alternative, out of paper/cardboard or any other material from which such cups are generally constructed. In the embodiment of
In an alternative embodiment, as shown in
As shown in
In this embodiment, both the cap 12 and the cup 14 are constructed of molded plastic using techniques known in the art. Those skilled in the art will recognize, however, that alternative materials could also be used, and the description of the current preferred embodiments should not be construed to limited the scope of the invention to any one particular material. Rather, the scope of the invention should be considered only in reference to the claims, and should include alternative structures, materials, and elements that would be known to one skilled in the art.
Furthermore, while the present invention has been described as applied to two specific uses, those skilled in the art will also recognize that the inventive concept could also be applied to a wide variety of alternative uses and embodiments, and such alternatives should be considered within the scope of the claimed invention.
While the invention has been described with reference to two preferred embodiments, it is to be clearly understood by those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited thereto. Rather, the scope of the invention is to be interpreted only in conjunction with the appended claims.
