Easily usable bottle cap

An easily usable bottle cap includes a cap base, an upper cap, two press buttons, a flexible sucking tube and a straw. The cap base has a lower connect member to engage with an upper end of a bottle containing water or the like. A user only presses the two press buttons inward to compress two coil springs for disengage engage blocks from the upper cap so as to let the upper cap swung up by resilience recovery of the flexible sucking tube. Then a user can use the sucking tube to drink liquid contained in a bottle threadably combined with the cap base through the straw connected with the sucking tube. The upper cap can be kept closed on the cap base by swinging down to engage the engage blocks with hooks of the upper cap.

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Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] This invention relates to an easily usable bottle cap, particularly to one having a press button respectively provided at two sides of a cap base for engaging hooks of an upper cap and a flexible sucking tube affixed bendable in a chamber of the cap base by a press plate of the upper cap, which is pivotally connected and closed or opened on the cap base so that the drink contained in a bottle threadably combined with the bottle cap may be sucked out of a sucking tube provided in the chamber and not leak out, with convenience of carrying along the bottle with the bottle cap.

[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0004] A large number of bottles for storing liquid such as water or drinks have to be tilted in drinking the stored water or drinks in the bottles by directly sucking the mouth of the bottle with a drinker's lips. So liquid may sometimes flow out too much, and a straw is often used for drinking, Nevertheless, it may happen that a straw may be too short and sometimes may drop totally in a deep bottle, impossible to suck. In addition, the cap of a bottle has to be separated from a bottle, easily dropping on the ground or missing, or the liquid in the bottle may flow out if carelessly held in a hand.

[0005] Therefore, a conventional bottle cap 1 with a straw has been offered by makers as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, having a cap base 10, a swingable upper cap 11, a sucking tube 12, and a coil spring 13 as main components combined together and threadably combined on an upper end of a bottle 14.

[0006] The cap base 10 has a chamber 100 in its interior, a hook 102 formed in an upper surface, a pivotal ear 103 formed at a right side of its upper periphery, and the chamber 100 is provided with a hole 101 in its bottom.

[0007] The swingable upper cap 11 is pivotally connected with the cap base 10, having a pivotal base 110 at one side for pivotally connected with the pivotal ear 103 of the cap base 10 to enable the upper cap swing up relative to the cap base 10. The upper cap 11 further has a lift projection 111 formed at an end opposite to the pivotal base 110 for a finger to catch and swing up the upper cap 11, and an engage tip 112 formed on an inner edge of the lift projection 111 to hook with the hook 102 of the cap base 10 to keep the upper cap pivotally closed on the cap body 10, and a soft gasket 113 fixed on an inner wall of the upper cap 11.

[0008] The sucking tube 12 is arranged in the chamber 100 of the cap body 10, having a lower end connected with a straw 120, which passes through the hole 101 of the chamber bottom and extends down in the bottle 14 near its bottom.

[0009] The coil spring 13 is fitted around an upper portion of the straw 120, having its upper end supporting the lower end of the sucking tube 12 and the lower end resting on the bottom of the chamber 100 to force elastically the sucking tube 12 always extend upward.

[0010] When the bottle cap 1 is to be used, the cap base 10 is engaged with and closed on an upper end of the bottle body 14, and then a user holds manually and pushes up the lift projection 111, letting the hook 102 disengage from the engage tip 112 and swinging up the upper cap 11. Then the sucking tube 12 is elastically pushed to extend upward, so a user can drink the content in the bottle 14 through the sucking tube 12.

[0011] However, the conventional bottle cap has its upper cap 11 secured swingably on the cap base 10 by means of the hook 102 hooking the engage tip 112, which is formed integral with the cap base 10, and the engage tip 112 is formed integral with the upper cap 11. Therefore, the hook 102 and the engage tip 112 may be easily worn off, disfigure or rip off owing to frequent disengagement of the upper cap 11 from the cap base 10 in using so that the upper cap 11 may be impossible to close up on the cap body 10 stably after a period of use, resulting in a short service life of the bottle cap.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0012] This invention has been devised to offer a bottle cap easily usable and impossible to be lost and convenient to carry out.

[0013] The feature of the invention is a cap base, and an upper cap pivotally connected with, the cap base by means of a pivot extending through a shaft hole of a pivotal base of the upper cap and a shaft hole of two pivotal ears of the cap base. The cap base has a chamber in its interior, and a flexible sucking tube fitted with a sucking tube base in the chamber and able to be bent in the chamber by a press plate of the upper cap in case of the upper case is closed on the cap base. The cap base has two hollows formed in two opposite sides for two press buttons to be respectively fitted movably by coil springs in the two hollows to move outward and inward therein by manually pressing them. Then the two press buttons are engaged with the upper cap by means of the hooks of the upper cap and the engage blocks of the two press buttons so the upper cap can be opened for drinking liquid contained in a bottle combined threadably with the cap base through the sucking tube and a straw connected with the sucking tube and extending in the bottle. The upper cap is closed on the cap base in case of not using the bottle cap by pushing it down on the cap base and kept closed stably by means of the hooks and the engage blocks.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0014] This invention will be better understood by referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0015] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional bottle cap;

[0016] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the conventional bottle cap;

[0017] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of an easily usable bottle cap in the present invention;

[0018] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the easily usable bottle cap in the present invention;

[0019] FIG. 5 is a front cross-sectional view of the easily usable bottle cap in the present invention;

[0020] FIG. 6 is a side cross-sectional view of the easily usable bottle cap in the present invention;

[0021] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the easily usable bottle cap in the present invention, showing two press buttons pressed; and,

[0022] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the easily usable bottle cap in the present invention, showing an upper cap swung up for drinking.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0023] A preferred embodiment of an easily usable bottle cap in the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 3, 4, 5 and 6, includes a cap base 2, an upper cap 3, two press buttons 4, a flexible sucking tube 5 and a straw 6 as main components combined together.

[0024] The cap base 2 has a chamber 20 formed in an upper portion, a connect member 21 formed in a lower portion, a sucking tube base 22 provided in the chamber 20, a connect tube 210 provided to extend upward in the connect member 21, and a water outlet 220 provided in the sucking tube base 22. The chamber 20 further has a slot 23 formed in the bottom, a hole 230 in the slot 23, two vertical ridges 24 formed in a front wall. The cap base 2 further has two hollows 25 respectively formed in two opposite sides and opening outward, a projecting post 250 formed respectively in an inner wall of each hollow 25 and extending horizontally, a slide groove 251 formed respectively in an upper side of each hollow 25, a notch 252 respectively formed in two opposite side walls, an opening 26 formed in an upper peripheral wall defining the chamber 20, an ear 260 with a shaft hole 261 formed respectively in two sides of the opening 26, a pivot 27 extending in the shaft hole 261, female threads 211 formed in an inner wall of the connect member 21, and an anti-leak gasket 28 fitted in the connect member 21.

[0025] The upper cap 3 is pivotally connected with the upper portion of the cap base 2, having a hook 30 respectively in an inner opposite sides, a press plate 32 formed to extend down from an inner wall, a pivotal ear 33 with a shaft hole 34 formed at one side. Each hook 30 has a sloped face 31 on an inner side.

[0026] The two press buttons 4 are to be positioned respectively in the two hollows 25 of the cap base 25, respectively having a bar 40 in its interior, a coil spring 41 having one end fitted a round the bar 40 and the other end resting on a vertical bottom wall of each hollow 25, a plurality of anti-slipping small projections 42 formed on an outer surface, a stop 43 formed respectively on two opposite sides, an engage block 44 with a upper sloped face formed on top.

[0027] The flexible sucking tube 5 is fixed on the sucking tube base 22, made of a flexible material.

[0028] The straw 6 is connected with the connect tube 210 of the connect member 21 and extending in a bottle 7.

[0029] In assembling, referring to FIGS. 3, 4, 5 and 6, at first, fit one end of each coil spring 41 around the bar 40 of each press button 4, with the two press buttons 4 respectively inserted in the two hollows 25 of the cap base 2. Then the other end of each spring 41 is fixed around the projecting post 250 in each hollow 25. Next, the stop 43 of each press button 4 is respectively inserted in the notch 252 in the two sides of each hollow 25, with the engage block 44 of each press button 4 fitted in the slide groove 251 of each hollow 25. Then each coil spring 41 elastically urges to push outward each press button 4, with the stops 43 secured stably in the front edges of the notches 252. After that, the pivot ear 33 of the upper cap 3 is inserted in the opening 26 of cap base 2, with the shaft hole 34 of the pivotal ear 33 aligned to the shaft hole 261 of the pivotal ear 260 and with the pivot 27 extending in the shaft holes 261 and 34. Thus the upper cap 3 is pivotally connected with the cap base 2, possible to be swung up to open the upper cap 3 for drinking or closed on the cap base. Next, the sucking tube 5 is fitted in the sucking tube base 22, and the straw 6 is connected with the connect tube 210 in the connect member 21, with the anti-leak gasket 28 placed in an upper end of the connect member 21, and with the press plate 32 of the upper cap 3 pressing the sucking tube 5 to bend into the chamber 20, as shown in FIG. 6. Then the upper cap 3 has its sloped faces 31 of the hooks 30 resting on the sloped faces 45 of the engage blocks 44 of the press buttons 4, and the press buttons 4 are a little moved inward by the downward pressure of the upper cap 3, with the coil springs 41 being in a compressed condition. Then the coil springs 41 recovers their resilience to push the press buttons 4 outward to force the engage blocks 44 engage the hooks 30 of the upper cap 3 so that the upper cap 3 is kept closed on the cap base 2 stably, finishing assemblage of the easily usable bottle cap.

[0030] In using, referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the easily usable bottle cap is threadably combined on the upper end of the bottle 7 by engaging the connect member 21 of the cap base 2 with the threads formed in the upper end of the bottle 7. In case that a user wants to drink water or the like contained in the bottle 7, the user presses the two press buttons 4 inward as shown in FIG. 7, compressing the coil springs 41 to disengage the engage blocks 44 from the hooks 30 of the upper cap 3, with the upper cap 3 swung open upward by resilience recovery of the coil springs 41 and with the sucking tube 5 becoming tilted straight so the user can suck the sucking tube 5 to drink the content in the bottle 7, very convenient.

[0031] When a user drinks from the sucking tube 5, should some drink overflow out of the sucking tube 5, it will flow down in the chamber 20 and then through the hole 230 of the slot 23 in the chamber 20 back into the bottle 7.

[0032] After drinking, the user may closes the upper cap on the cap base 2, with the press plate 32 pressing the sucking tube 5 to bend in the chamber 20 and fit in the slot 23 to close up the hole 230 so as to prevent liquid from flowing out of the hole 230.

[0033] In addition, the engagement of the two press buttons 4 with the two hollows 25 can keep the upper cap 3 stably closed on the cap base 2 by means of the engage blocks 44 able to move together with the press buttons 4, without wearing off or disfiguring or splitting, prolonging service life of the bottle cap.

[0034] While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described above, it will be recognized and understood that various modifications may be made therein and the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications that may fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. An easily usable bottle cap comprising:

a cap base having a chamber in an upper portion and a connect member in a lower portion, said chamber having a sucking tube base, said connect member having a connect tube in an interior, said sucking tube base provided with a water outlet, said chamber having a slot in a bottom, said slot having a hole in its bottom, said chamber having two vertical ridges formed on an front wall, said cap base having two hollows formed in two opposite sides, said two hollows opening to outer sides, said hollows respectively having a horizontal projecting post on an inner wall, said hollows respectively having a slide groove formed in an upper end and a notch formed in inner walls of two opposite sides, said cap base having an opening in an outer periphery defining said chamber, said opening having two side walls provided respectively with a pivotal ear bored with a shaft hole, a pivot provided to extend in said shaft hole, said connect member having female threads formed in an inner wall, and an anti-leak gasket provided to be fitted in said connected member;
an upper cap pivotally connected with said cap base and having a hook respectively formed at two opposite inner side walls, said hooks respectively having a sloped face on a lower edge, said upper cap further having a press plate extending down from an inner wall and a pivotal ear formed in a side, said pivotal ear having a shaft hole;
two press buttons positioned respectively in said two hollows of said cap base and having a bar in an interior, a coil spring provided to have one end fitted around said bar, said press buttons further having respectively a stop formed respectively on two opposite side walls and an engage block formed on top, said stops having a sloped face on an upper edge;
a flexible sucking tube fitted on said sucking tube base in said chamber and made of a flexible material;
a straw connected with said connect tube of said connect member; and,
said connect member of said cap base made to engage with an upper end of a bottle, said press buttons pressed manually to move inward in case of drinking through said bottle cap, said coil springs compressed to let said engage blocks disengage from said hooks of said upper cap, said upper cap swung up by resilience recovery of said flexible sucking tube, said flexible sucking tube automatically becoming tilted straight for a user to suck liquid contained in the bottle through said straw and said sucking tube.
Patent History
Publication number: 20040069783
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 9, 2002
Publication Date: Apr 15, 2004
Inventor: Sin-Hsiung Chen (Yung-Kang City)
Application Number: 10266786