Patent Application
20240407578
The present disclosure relates to a straw structure, and more particularly to a modified straw structure for a user to suck a drink from a cup.
With the recent pursuit of environmental protection and attempts at decreasing the use of disposable plastic containers, use of thermos bottles or tumblers for carrying water or beverages has become a trend in the modern society. In addition, in order to reduce the use of the plastic straws, people have turned to using reusable straws made of metal or glass to drink water or beverages.
However, since a conventional non-disposable straw usually has a bottom portion that has an angle of 90 degrees (more specifically, a corner of the bottom portion is usually 90 degrees,) the bottom portion of the conventional straw cannot easily puncture a sealing film of a drink cup, such that the use of the conventional straw is inconvenient. In order to overcome the above issue, the conventional straw may have a sharp end portion at the bottom portion thereof. However, since an angle formed by the sharp end portion is usually very small (i.e., an acute angle), and the conventional non-disposable straw is usually made of a hard material such as glass or metal, a puncturing end of the conventional straw is often as sharp as a needle or a knife and can easily puncture into the user's body or an accommodating pouch for carrying the conventional straw. Therefore, the conventional straw is inconvenient to use.
Based on the above reasons, the conventional straw has many inconveniences in use, and how to modify the structure of the conventional straw to overcome said inconveniences has become an important issue in the related art.
In response to the above-referenced technical inadequacies, the present disclosure provides a modified straw structure to improve upon the inconveniences of the conventional straw.
In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a straw structure including a straw body. The straw body has a cylindrical rod shape. The straw body defines a central axis and a horizontal axis perpendicular to the central axis, two ends of the straw body at the central axis are respectively defined as an upper end and a bottom end, and the straw body has a hollow passage penetrating a center of the straw body from the upper end to the bottom end. The bottom end of the straw body has a first beveled edge located at a side edge of the straw body at an opening of the bottom end and a second beveled edge connected to a rear side of the first beveled edge. An angle between the first beveled edge and the horizontal axis is defined as a first beveled angle, and an angle between the second beveled edge and the horizontal axis is defined a second beveled angle. The bottom end of the straw body has a puncturing end opening at a position where the first beveled edge and the side edge of the straw body connect to each other, the bottom end of the straw body has a beveled opening at the second beveled edge, an angle of the puncturing end opening between the first beveled edge and the side edge of the straw body is less than 90 degrees, and the first beveled angle is less than the second beveled angle.
Therefore, the bottom portion of the straw body of the present disclosure can be used to easily puncture a sealing film of a cup body. The puncturing end can be prevented from easily stabbing into a user or an accommodating pouch thereof, and the straw structure can be easily carried.
These and other aspects of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of the embodiment taken in conjunction with the following drawings and their captions, although variations and modifications therein may be affected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure.
The described embodiments may be better understood by reference to the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which:
The present disclosure is more particularly described in the following examples that are intended as illustrative only since numerous modifications and variations therein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Like numbers in the drawings indicate like components throughout the views. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, the meaning of “a”, “an”, and “the” includes plural reference, and the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on”. Titles or subtitles can be used herein for the convenience of a reader, which shall have no influence on the scope of the present disclosure.
The terms used herein generally have their ordinary meanings in the art. In the case of conflict, the present document, including any definitions given herein, will prevail. The same thing can be expressed in more than one way. Alternative language and synonyms can be used for any term(s) discussed herein, and no special significance is to be placed upon whether a term is elaborated or discussed herein. A recital of one or more synonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. The use of examples anywhere in this specification including examples of any terms is illustrative only, and in no way limits the scope and meaning of the present disclosure or of any exemplified term. Likewise, the present disclosure is not limited to various embodiments given herein. Numbering terms such as “first”, “second” or “third” can be used to describe various components, signals or the like, which are for distinguishing one component/signal from another one only, and are not intended to, nor should be construed to impose any substantive limitations on the components, signals or the like.
Referring to
The bottom end 102 of the straw body 10 has a first beveled edge 12 located at a side edge of the straw body 10 at an opening of the bottom end 102 and a second beveled edge 13 connected to a rear side of the first beveled edge 12. As shown in
A diameter of the straw body 10 is within a range from 6 millimeters to 15 millimeters, so that chewables having a large diameter can pass through the hollow passage 11 of the straw body 10. Therefore, the straw structure of the present disclosure can be suitable for being used to sip drinks containing chewables such as tapioca balls, konjac, or fruit pieces.
In addition, an angle between the first beveled edge 12 and the horizontal axis is a tilt angle within a range from 5 degrees to 30 degrees, the second beveled angle θ2 is a tilt angle within a range from 30 degrees to 60 degrees. Through the above configuration, a puncturing angle A1 of the puncturing end opening 14 between the first beveled edge 12 and the side edge of the straw body 10 is within a range from 60 degrees to 85 degrees. Preferably, the puncturing angle A1 of the puncturing end opening 14 is within a range from 70 degrees to 80 degrees. Accordingly, the puncturing angle A1 of the puncturing end opening 14 is an acute angle less than 90 degrees, and the puncturing angle A1 of the puncturing end opening 14 is able to puncture a sealing film of a drink cup while not being so sharp as to easily puncture the skin of a user. In addition, a position of the bottom end of the straw body 10 at the beveled opening 15 has a greater tilt angle, and when the straw body 10 is inserted into a drink container body 20, a gap between the second beveled edge 13 and a bottom portion of the drink container body 20 is great enough for chewables (e.g., tapioca balls, konjac, or fruit pieces) to be easily sucked into the straw body 10 from the beveled opening 15.
Specifically, an opening height H of the straw body 10 along a vertical direction V is within a range from 1 cm to 2 cm.
A suction angle A2 between the second beveled edge 13 and the side edge of the straw body 10 is within a range from 135 degrees to 165 degrees, such that chewables can be easily sucked into the straw body 10. Preferably, the suction angle A2 is within a range from 140 degrees to 160 degrees. In addition, the straw body 10 has a junction angle A3 between the first beveled edge 12 and the second beveled edge 13, and the junction angle A3 is within a range from 115 degrees to 145 degrees. Preferably, the junction angle A3 is within a range from 120 degrees to 130 degrees.
In addition, as shown in
The straw structure of the present disclosure is a non-disposable straw that can be reused. Therefore, the straw body 10 is one of a plastic straw body, a glass straw body, and a metal straw body. Accordingly, the straw body 10 has a great enough structural strength for being reused and is not easily damaged.
In a preferable embodiment of the present disclosure, the straw body 10 is a tube made of food grade or medical grade metal materials (e.g., stainless steel, or titanium), and in a further embodiment of the present disclosure, the straw body 10 is a titanium tube.
In addition, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, a surface of the straw body 10 can have an antibacterial and anti-sticking film. Preferably, the antibacterial and anti-sticking film is a titanium-based oxide layer or a titanium-based nitride (i.e., TiO2 or TiN) layer. Therefore, the straw body 10 can be easily cleaned, and bacterial contamination can be prevented.
Referring to
In conclusion, through the puncturing end opening and the beveled opening formed at the first beveled edge and the second beveled edge located at the bottom portion of the straw body, the straw structure of the present disclosure can easily puncture the sealing film of the drink container body and can provide easy passage for chewables such as tapioca balls, konjac, or fruit pieces. Therefore, the straw structure of the present disclosure is suitable for being used to sip beverages such as bubble tea.
Further, since the straw body of the present disclosure has the first beveled edge and the second beveled edge having two different slopes at the bottom portion, the puncturing end opening at the bottom portion of the straw body can be used to easily puncture the sealing film of the drink container body, and the puncturing end opening can be prevented from easily stabbing into a user or an accommodating pouch thereof. Therefore, the straw structure of the present disclosure can be easily used and can be safely carried.
The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure has been presented only for the purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching.
The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the disclosure and their practical application so as to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the disclosure and various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains without departing from its spirit and scope.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 110205326 | May 2021 | TW | national |
This application is a Continuation-In-Part of the U.S. application Ser. No. 17/539,102, filed on Nov. 30, 2021, and entitled “STRAW STRUCTURE,” now pending. The entire content of the above identified application is incorporated herein by reference. Some references, which may include patents, patent applications and various publications, may be cited and discussed in the description of this disclosure. The citation and/or discussion of such references is provided merely to clarify the description of the present disclosure and is not an admission that any such reference is “prior art” to the disclosure described herein. All references cited and discussed in this specification are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties and to the same extent as if each reference was individually incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 17539102 | Nov 2021 | US |
| Child | 18808056 | US |
