STRAW CUP

Abstract

A straw cup is provided. The straw cup includes a straw-like portion integrally formed on an inner surface of a cup and a slot disposed on an outer surface of the cup and aligned with the straw-like portion for convenient demoulding. A bottom of the straw-like portion is at a higher level than a bottom of the inner surface of the cup to form an inlet end. A first connection surface is formed on the slot while a second connection surface is arranged at a sealing cover and connected with the first connection surface for covering and sealing the slot. Thereby ergonomic design makes the straw cup more convenient to use and reusable design is environmental-friendly. The easy demoulding design makes production more convenient and ensures integrity of the cup. Thereby the straw cup is more competitive in the market and more convenient to use.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a straw cup, especially to a straw cup which is not only having ergonomic design for allowing users to drink beverages conveniently but also reusable for minimal impact on the environment. During manufacturing process, easy demoulding design makes production more convenient and ensures integrity of the straw cup.

Thus the straw cup which is visually pleasing is more competitive in the market and more convenient to use.

Description of Related Art

People usually use straws to drink various beverages in early days.

Along with raising environmental awareness, governments of different countries make their steps to reduce the use of plastic products and a plastic straw ban has been imposed. Thus people in related business have developed various cups connected with straws, which can be reused for environment protection.

Refer to Taiwanese Pat. No. 1722505 published on Mar. 21, 2021, easily moulded and demoulded cup together with a straw is revealed. The cup includes a cup body and a lid. The cup body consists of a cup wall, a bottom portion, and a space surrounded by the cup wall and the bottom portion. The space is defined with a central axial line at a center thereof. An inclined straw-like body is integrally formed on an outer surface of the cup wall. An opening is formed on a top of the straw-like body for allowing user's mouth to drink liquid in the cup while the other end of the straw-like body is extended to a bottom of the space and provided with a liquid port for withdrawing the liquid. A demoulding surface parallel to the central axial line of the space is formed on the liquid port. The lid is composed of a hot-drink hole arranged at one side of a top surface of the lid and a mounting portion formed on a periphery of a bottom surface of the lid and joined with a periphery on top of the cup body. An open end of the cup body is covered with the lid.

Although the design of the above easily demolded cup together with the straw makes the cup release from the mold easily, the overall appearance of the cup is affected due to the inclined straw protruding from an edge of the cup after the cup being molded together with the straw. The lower visual aesthetics of the cup reduces its competitiveness in the market.

Thus there is room for improvement and there is a need to provide a novel straw cup which overcomes shortcomings of cups available now and becomes more convenient to use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a straw cup which includes a straw-like portion integrally formed on an inner surface of a cup. The straw cup is reusable and environmentally friendly. During manufacturing process, easy-demoulding design not only makes production more convenient but also ensures integrity of the straw cup so that the straw cup is visually attractive. Thus the straw cup is more competitive in the market and more convenient to use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of an embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a top view of an embodiment in which a water stopping plug of a water stopping member is released from a suction port according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view of an embodiment in which a protruding block of a water stopping member is abutting against a lid upper surface according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic drawing showing an embodiment in use according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In order to learn technical content, purposes and functions of the present invention more clearly and completely, please refer to the following detailed descriptions with the figures and reference signs.

Refer to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 3, a straw cup according to the present invention mainly includes a cup 1, a lid 2, and a water stopping member 3.

The cup 1 consists of a straw-like portion 11 integrally formed on an inner surface of the cup 1, an opening 12, a slot 13 disposed on an outer surface of the cup 1 and aligned with the straw-like portion 11 for easy-demoulding, and a sealing cover 14 aligned with and fixed on the slot 13 for sealing the slot 13. A cross section of the straw-like portion 11 is a four-sided polygon with round corners. A bottom of the straw-like portion 11 is at a higher level than a bottom of the inner surface of the cup 1 to form an inlet end 111 while a top of the straw-like portion 11 is a bit higher than an upper edge of the opening 12 of the cup 1 to form a suction port 112. During manufacturing, the cup 1 can be released from a mold conveniently due to design of the slot 13. A first connection surface 131 is formed on an outer edge of the slot 13 while a second connection surface 141 is arranged at an inner edge of the sealing cover 14. The first connection surface 131 and the second connection surface 141 are connected and fixed to each other by ultrasonic bonding.

The opening 12 of the cup 1 is covered with the lid 2 which includes a lid upper surface 21, a peripheral wall 22, a straw slot 23, a pivot hole 24, and a convection hole 25. The peripheral wall 22 is integrally connected with a periphery of the lid upper surface 21 and extending downward along a central axis of the lid 2 while the lid upper surface 21 is concave downward from the periphery thereof (where the lid upper surface 21 and the peripheral wall 22 are connected) along the central axis of the lid 2 to form a depression whose central area is lower than surrounding area. The lid upper surface 21 is also concave in a radial direction of the lid 2 to form a notch on the peripheral wall 22 correspondingly and the straw slot 23 is further defined by the notch. The straw slot 23 is for allowing the suction port 112 on the top of the straw-like portion 11 of the cup 1 to be mounted therein and protrude therefrom. The pivot hole 24 and the convection hole 25 are both mounted on the lid upper surface 21. The convection hole 25 is located adjacent to the pivot hole 24 and penetrating the lid upper surface 21.

The water stopping member 3 is composed of a pivot pin 31 protruding from a bottom surface of the water stopping member 3 and corresponding to the pivot hole 24 of the lid 2, a protruding block 32 disposed on the bottom surface of the water stopping member 3, and a water stopping plug 33 protruding from the bottom surface of the water stopping member 3 along an axial direction of the cup 1. The pivot pin 31 is pivotally mounted into the pivot hole 24 for pivotally connecting the water stopping member 3 with the lid 2 and the water stopping member 3 can rotate around a central axis of the pivot hole 24 on the lid 2. The protruding block 32 is located adjacent to the pivot pin 31 and mounted into the convection hole 25 of the lid 2 correspondingly while the water stopping plug 33 is inserted into the suction port 112 on the top of the straw-like portion 11 of the cup 1. A leak-proof protrusion 331 is radially arranged at an outer surface of the water stopping plug 33. The disposition of the leak-proof protrusion 331 makes the water stopping plug 33 have closer connection with an inner surface of the suction port 112 on the top of the straw-like portion 11. The water stopping member 3 is further provided with a flip potion 34 and a shield portion 35. An edge at one end of the water stopping member 3 with the water stopping plug 33 is extended outward and tilted to form the flip portion 34 for allowing the user to release the water stopping plug 33 of the water stopping member 3 from the suction port 112 easier. The shield portion 35 is extended downward from a bottom surface of the flip portion 34 and attached to an outer surface of the straw-like portion 11 protruding from the straw slot 23.

When the cup 1 is covered with the lid 2, the peripheral wall 22 of the lid 2 is mounted into the cup 1 and in close contact with an inner surface of the cup 1. Now the suction port 112 on the top of the straw-like portion 11 of the cup 1 protrudes a bit from the straw slot 23 of the lid 2 while the protruding block 32 of the water stopping member 3 is mounted into the convection hole 25 of the lid 2. Thus content in the cup 1 will not flow out from the suction port 112 of the straw-like portion 11 or the convection hole 25 due to the water stopping plug 33 fit into the suction port 112 on the top of the straw-like portion 11 and the protruding block 32 mounted into the convection hole 25 in normal times. When users intend to drink the content in the cup 1, flip and rotate the water stopping member 3 an angle around the pivot hole 24, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. When the protruding block 32 is released from the convection hole 25 and moved to abut against an upper surface of the lid upper surface 21, the water stopping member 3 is lifted so that a gap is formed between the water stopping member 3 and the lid upper surface 21 to keep the convection hole 25 open. The water stopping plug 33 of the water stopping member 3 is also released from the suction port 112 on the top of the straw-like portion 11. Also refer to FIG. 6, the user can drink beverages in the cup 1 by the straw-like portion 11. The beverage flows from the cup 1 to the straw-like portion 11 through the inlet end 111 on the bottom of the straw-like portion 11 and then into the user's mouth through the suction port 112 on the top of the straw-like portion 11. During the suction process, the suction port 112 on the top of the straw-like portion 11 being a bit higher than an upper edge of the opening 12 of the cup 1 in combination with the lid upper surface 21 having central area lower than surrounding area provides ergonomic design which makes the user close the mouth around the straw-like portion 11 for drinking the beverage in the cup 1 more conveniently and easily. Moreover, the cross section of the straw-like portion 11 is a four-sided polygon with round corners so that the suction of the beverage through the straw-like portion 11 is more labor-saving and smooth. And the straw-like portion 11 is inclined to an axis of user's oral cavity naturally and an ergonomic angle of the beverage into the mouth is formed for providing buffering effect and preventing the beverage from flowing directly into the user's oral cavity and further choking the user. A taste of the beverage is even better. As to the convection hole 25 mounted on the lid upper surface 21, it's used for balancing pressure inside and outside the cup 1 while the user is sipping the beverage inside the cup 1 and thus the beverage is withdrawn more easily and smoothly. After drinking the beverage, the water stopping member 3 is pulled and rotated to make the water stopping plug 33 return into the suction port 112 on the top of the straw-like portion 11.

In a preferred embodiment, the convection hole 25 on the lid upper surface 21 is located within an area covered by movement of the water stopping member 3 rotated around the central axis of the pivot hole 24. That means the minimum distance H between a central axis of the pivot pin 31 and an edge of the water stopping member 3 is larger than a distance h between the central axis of the pivot hole 24 and the convection hole 25. Thereby the convection hole 25 is shielded and hidden by the water stopping member 3 no matter which angle the water stopping member 3 is rotated to.

In summary, the straw cup according to the present invention mainly includes the straw-like portion integrally formed on the inner surface of the cup. The arrangement of the opening of the cup lower than the top of the straw-like portion together with the ergonomic design of the lid having central area lower than the surrounding area makes the straw cup more convenient to use. The reusable straw cup reduces waste and protects the environment. During manufacturing process, easy demoulding design not only makes production more convenient but also ensures integrity of the straw cup produced so that the product has better visual aesthetics. Therefore, the straw cup is more competitive in the market and more convenient to use.

Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details, and representative devices shown and described herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalent.

Claims

1. A straw cup comprising a cup and a lid; wherein the cup includes a straw-like portion integrally formed on an inner surface of the cup, an opening, a slot disposed on an outer surface of the cup and aligned with the straw-like portion for easy-demoulding of the cup during manufacturing, and a sealing cover disposed on the slot; wherein a bottom of the straw-like portion is at a higher level than a bottom of the inner surface of the cup to form an inlet end while a top of the straw-like portion is a bit higher than an upper edge of the opening of the cup to form a suction port; wherein a first connection surface is formed on an outer edge of the slot while a second connection surface is arranged at an inner edge of the sealing cover; the sealing cover is fixed to the slot for sealing the slot by the first connection surface and the second connection surface connected and fixed to each other; wherein the lid is mounted on the opening of the cup.

2. The straw cup as claimed in claim 1, wherein a cross section of the straw-like portion is a four-sided polygon with round corners.

3. The straw cup as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first connection surface of the slot of the cup and the second connection surface of the sealing cover are connected and fixed to each other by ultrasonic bonding.

4. The straw cup as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lid includes a lid upper surface, and a peripheral wall integrally connected with a periphery of the lid upper surface and extending downward along a central axis of the lid; the lid upper surface is concave downward from the periphery thereof connected with the peripheral wall along the central axis of the lid to form a depression having central area lower than surrounding area.

5. The straw cup as claimed in claim 4, wherein a pivot hole and a convection hole are disposed on the lid upper surface; the convection hole is located adjacent to the pivot hole and penetrating the lid upper surface; wherein the straw cup further includes a water stopping member which is provided with a pivot pin and a protruding block; the pivot pin protrudes from a bottom surface of the water stopping member and corresponding to the pivot hole so that the water stopping member is pivotally arranged at the lid by the pivot pin pivotally mounted in the pivot hole; the protruding block is arranged at the bottom surface of the water stopping member, located adjacent to the pivot pin, and corresponding to the convection hole for being engaged with the convection hole.

6. The straw cup as claimed in claim 5, wherein the lid upper surface is concave in a radial direction of the lid to form a notch on the peripheral wall of the lid correspondingly and thus a straw slot is defined by the notch; wherein the straw slot allows the suction port to be mounted therein and protrude therefrom; wherein a water stopping plug protrudes from the bottom surface of the water stopping member along an axial direction of the cup and inserted into the suction port correspondingly.

7. The straw cup as claimed in claim 6, wherein a leak-proof protrusion is radially arranged at an outer surface of the water stopping plug.

8. The straw cup as claimed in claim 6, wherein an edge at one end of the water stopping member with the water stopping plug is extended outward and tilted to form a flip portion.

9. The straw cup as claimed in claim 8, wherein a shield portion is extended downward from a bottom surface of the flip portion and attached to an outer surface of the straw-like portion protruding from the straw slot.

10. The straw cup as claimed in claim 5, wherein the convection hole on the lid upper surface is located within an area covered by movement of the water stopping member rotated around a central axis of the pivot hole so that the convection hole is shielded by the water stopping member.