Patent Application
20210059397
This invention relates to drinking straws. More particularly, it relates to cleaning systems for drinking straws.
A drinking straw or drinking tube is a small pipe that allows its user to more conveniently consume a beverage. A thin tube of paper, plastic (such as polypropylene and polystyrene), or other material is used by placing one end in the mouth and the other in the beverage. A combination of muscular action of the tongue and cheeks reduces air pressure in the mouth and above the liquid in the straw, whereupon atmospheric pressure forces the beverage through the straw. Drinking straws can be straight or have an angle-adjustable bellows segment. Several countries, regions and municipalities have banned plastic straws as part of a push to reduce plastic pollution. Some companies have voluntarily banned or reduced the number of plastic straws distributed from their premises.
Plastic drinking straw production contributes a small amount to petroleum consumption, and the used straws become a small part of global plastic pollution when discarded, most after a single use. One anti-straw advocacy group has estimated that about 500 million straws are used daily in the United States alone—an average 1.6 straws per capita per day. This statistic has been criticized as inaccurate, because it is a guess made by Milo Cress, who was 9 years old at the time, after some phone conversations with straw manufacturers. This FIGURE has been widely cited by major news organizations. In 2017 the market research firm Fredonia Group estimated the number to be 390 million.
Plastic straws account only for a tiny portion (0.022%) of plastic waste emitted in the oceans each year. Despite that, numerous campaigns in the 2010s have led to companies considering a switch to paper straws and countries imposing bans on plastic straws. However, 90% of all ocean plastic comes from just 10 rivers in Asia and Africa.
Microplastics pollution are a concern if plastic waste is improperly dumped. If plastic straws are improperly disposed of, they can be transported via water into soil ecosystems, and others, where they break down into smaller, more hazardous pieces than the original plastic straw.
Straws are typically made from polypropylene, mixed with colorants and plasticizers, and do not biodegrade in the environment, according to advocacy group For A Strawless Ocean. Since the material is strong it can however be reused or recycled into other products. Waste straws in Uganda are collected from beer and soft drink depots, cleaned, and woven into mats for picnics and prayers or joined to form bags.
In light of the problems discussed above and other problems, a system is needed to provide a clean, sanitary straw for reuse and to prevent the devastation of our environment.
The phrases “in one embodiment,” “in various embodiments,” “in some embodiments,” and the like are used repeatedly. Such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. The terms “comprising,” “having,” and “including” are synonymous, unless the context dictates otherwise. Such terms do not generally signify a closed list.
“Above,” “adhesive,” “affixing,” “any,” “around,” “both,” “bottom,” “by,” “comprising,” “consistent,” “customized,” “enclosing,” “friction,” “in,” “labeled,” “lower,” “magnetic,” “marked,” “new,” “nominal,” “not,” “of,” “other,” “outside,” “outwardly,” “particular,” “permanently,” “preventing,” “raised,” “respectively,” “reversibly,” “round,” “square,” “substantial,” “supporting,” “surrounded,” “surrounding,” “threaded,” “to,” “top,” “using,” “wherein,” “with,” or other such descriptors herein are used in their normal yes-or-no sense, not as terms of degree, unless context dictates otherwise.
Reference is now made in detail to the description of the embodiments as illustrated in the drawings. While embodiments are described in connection with the drawings and related descriptions, there is no intent to limit the scope to the embodiments disclosed herein. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents. In alternate embodiments, additional devices, or combinations of illustrated devices, may be added to, or combined, without limiting the scope to the embodiments disclosed herein.
Referring to
The straw cleaning system 100 is preferably a length of ten and one-half (10.50) inches, but other lengths are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, eight (8) inches, twelve (12) inches, etc. The straw cleaning system 100 is preferably a width of three-quarters (0.75) inches but other widths are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, one-half (0.5) inch, one (1) inch, etc.
The straw cleaning system 100 has a straw 200, a straw holder 300 and a straw brush 400. The straw 200 is preferably made of a hard acrylic material, but other types of material are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, plastic, rubber, poly-vinyl chloride (PVC), paper, etc. The straw 200 is preferably made of a hard acrylic material, but other types of material are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, plastic, rubber, poly-vinyl chloride (PVC), paper, etc. The straw holder 300 is preferably made of a hard acrylic material, but other types of material are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, plastic, rubber, poly-vinyl chloride (PVC), paper, etc.
The straw 200 is useful for neatly and sanitarily drinking liquid from a cup, a glass, a bottle or a can. The straw 200 is reusable. The straw 200 has a top 201, a bottom 202, a first end 203, a second end 204, a middle portion 205 and an interior section 207. The straw 200 is preferably made of a hard-acrylic material, but other types of material are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, plastic, rubber, poly-vinyl chloride (PVC), paper, etc. The straw 200 is preferably made of a hard acrylic material, but other types of material are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, plastic, rubber, poly-vinyl chloride (PVC), paper, etc.
The interior section 207 is situated between the top 201 of the straw 200 and the bottom of the straw 200. The top 201 of the straw 200 is an open area. The bottom 202 of the straw 200 is an open area. The tope 201 of the straw 200 and the bottom 202 of the straw 200 allow liquid to be in the interior section 207 of the straw.
Further the straw has an expandable area 208. The expandable area 208 is configured significantly near the first end 203 of the straw 200. The expandable area 208 of the straw 200 is preferably is an accordion style. The expandable area 203 of the straw 200 allows for the straw 200 to bent in different directions as well be extended. The expandable area 203 of the straw 200 is preferably one-eighth (⅛) inches in length, but other lengths are hereby contemplated including, one-sixteenth ( 1/16) inch, one-quarter (¼) inch, etc. The straw 200 preferably has a width of one-half (½) inch, but other widths are hereby contemplated including, but not in limited to, one-fourth (¼) inch, three-fourths (¾) inch, etc.
The complete length of the straw 200 is preferably nine and five-eighths (9⅝) inches, but other lengths are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, nine (9) inches, ten (10) inches, etc. The length of the straw 200 between the first end 203 of the straw 200 and the expandable area 203 of the straw is preferably three-fourths (¾) inch, but other lengths are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, one-half (½) inch, one (1) inch, etc. The length of the straw 200 between the second end 204 to the expandable area 203 of the straw 200 is preferably nine and five-eighths (9⅝) inches, but other lengths are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, nine (9) inches, ten (10) inches, etc.
The straw holder 300 of the straw cleaning system 100 has a top 301, a bottom 302, a first end 303, a second end 304 and an interior section 305. The interior section 305 is hollow. The top 301 of the straw holder 300 is preferably open such that it can receive the straw 200. The bottom 302 of the straw holder 300 has a hole 306, the hole 306 is useful for allowing any liquid in the straw 200 to be released from the straw holder 300 when the straw 200 is configured to be in the interior section 305 of the straw holder 300.
The length of the straw holder 300 from the first end 303 of the straw holder 300 to the second end 304 of the straw holder 300 is preferably nine and one-fourth (9¼) inches, but other lengths are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, nine (9) inches, nine and one-half (9½) inches, ten (10) inches, etc. The straw holder 300 preferably has a width of three-fourths (¾) inches, but other widths are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, one (1) inch, one-half (½) inch, etc.
The straw brush 400 of the straw cleaning system 100 has a cap 401, a shaft 402 and a brush 403. The total length of the straw brush 400 is preferably nine and three-fourths (9¾) inches, but other lengths are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, nine (9) inches, ten (10) inches, etc.
The cap 401 of the straw brush 400 is useful easily holding the straw brush 400 and to seal the straw brush 400 and straw 200 when configured to be in the straw holder 300. The cap 401 has a base 404, an open area 405, a top 406 and a bottom 407. The cap 401 is preferably a total length of one and three-fourths (1¾) inches, but other lengths are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, one one-half (1½) inches, two (2) inches, etc.
The base 404 is preferably solid. The base is preferably one-half (½) inch in length but other lengths are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, one-third (⅓) inch, five-eighths (⅝) inch, etc. The open area 402 of the cap 401 is a void area. The open area 402 of the cap 401 is preferably one and one-fourth (1¼) inches in length but other lengths are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, one and one-half (1½) inches, one (1) inch, etc. The top 406 of the cap 401 is preferably five-eighths (⅝) inch in width, but other widths are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, one-half (½) inch, three-fourths (¾) inch, etc. The bottom 407 of the cap 401 is preferably three-fourths (¾) inch in width, but other widths are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, one-half (½) inch, one (1) inch, etc.
The shaft 402 of the straw brush 400 is coupled to the base 404 of the cap 401. The shaft 402 is preferably made of a stainless-steel spring wire material, but other materials are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, plastic, metal, etc. The shaft 402 of the straw brush 400 is preferably eight and one-fourth (8¼) inches in length, but other lengths are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, eight (8) inches, nine (9) inches, etc. The shaft 402 of the straw brush 400 preferably has a width of one-thirty-seconds ( 1/32) inch, but other widths are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, one-sixty-fourths ( 1/64) inch, one-sixteenth ( 1/16) inch, etc.
The brush 403 of the straw brush 100 is preferably made of a soft nylon bristle material, but other bristle materials are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, hard bristle, medium bristle, etc. The brush 402 is coupled to significantly near a bottom end 408 of the shaft 402. The brush 402 is preferably two (2) inches in length, but other lengths are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, one (1) inch, three (3) inches, etc. The brush 403 preferably has a width of five-sixteenths ( 5/16) inch, but other widths are hereby contemplated including, but not limited to, one-fourth (¼) inch, three-eighths (⅜) inch, etc.
To use the straw cleaning system 100, the straw 200 is placed into the interior section 305 of the straw holder 300 using the top 301 of the straw holder 300. The bottom end 408 of the straw brush 400 is then entered into the top 201 of the straw 200 and is pushed thru the interior section 207 of the straw 200 until it coupled to the bottom 302 of the straw holder 300. The open area 405 of the cap 401 of the straw brush 400 is configured to fit around the straw holder 401 such that it is a securely coupled.
In the numbered clauses below, specific combinations of aspects and embodiments are articulated in a shorthand form such that (1) according to respective embodiments, for each instance in which a “component” or other such identifiers appear to be introduced (with “a” or “an,” e.g.) more than once in a given chain of clauses, such designations may either identify the same entity or distinct entities; and (2) what might be called “dependent” clauses below may or may not incorporate, in respective embodiments, the features of “independent” clauses to which they refer or other features described above.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the foregoing specific exemplary processes and/or devices and/or technologies are representative of more general processes and/or devices and/or technologies taught elsewhere herein, such as in the claims filed herewith and/or elsewhere in the present application.
The features described with respect to one embodiment may be applied to other embodiments or combined with or interchanged with the features of other embodiments, as appropriate, without departing from the scope of the present invention.
Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.
