Stackable cups with integral extendable straw

Abstract

Apparatus 10 discloses a disposable cup 12 incorporating an integral slidably extendable retractable straw 14 with a plurality of cups stackable through employment of a channel 24 extending the length of the cup for encompassing the internal straw. A tubular member 26 having an aperture 28 on its lower end is disposed on the interior wall 16 of the cup 12 for slidably receiving the straw 14 therein so that suction applied to the straw draws fluid from the cup.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to cups and, more specifically, to a disposable cup incorporating a slidably extendable retractable straw with a plurality of cups stackable through employment of a channel extending the length of the cup for encompassing the internal straw.

2. Description of the Prior Art

There are other cup device designed with straws. Typical of these is U.S. Pat. No. 2,194,011 issued to Davidson on Mar. 19, 1940.

Another patent was issued to Talbert on Mar. 16, 1965 as U.S. Pat. No. 3,173,566. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 4,109,817 was issued to Payne, et al. on Aug. 29, 1978 and still yet another was issued on Jun. 13, 1995 to Ferrer as U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,476.

Another patent was issued to Yang on Dec. 5, 2000 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,478. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 6,431,434 was issued to Haughton, et al. on Aug. 13, 2002. Another was issued to Kothari on Jul. 5, 2005 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,912,825 and still yet another was issued on Nov. 1, 1989 to Chuang-Sheng Lin as U.K. Patent No. GB2217677.

Another patent was issued to Ioku on Jul. 9, 2002 as Japanese Patent No. JP2002191511. Yet another Japanese Patent No. JP2002326655 was issued to Fujitani on Nov. 12, 2002. Another was issued to Maher on Nov. 25, 2004 as International Patent Application No. WO2004/101389.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,194,011

Inventor: Thomas M. Davidson

Issued: Mar. 19, 1940

A beverage container comprising a receptacle, a drinking straw assembly mounted through a wall of the receptacle, said assembly comprising a mounting including a stationary tube secured within the receptacle, a tubular element telescoped on and fixed to said stationary tube and to the wall of the receptacle, and a “straw” snugly slidable in said stationary tube.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,173,566

Inventor: Howard E. Talbert

Issued: Mar. 16, 1965

A drink rate regulatable non-spill straw assembly for use with a vessel comprising

(a) cover for the mouth of the vessel having an opening therethrough adapted to seal the mouth of the vessel against loss of the contents other than through the-opening while admitting vent air into the container to permit fluid withdrawal,

(b) a static tubing carried by said cover in registry with and in fluid-tight seal with the opening of said cover, said tubing extending into the vessel to proximate the bottom thereof, said static tubing having a plurality of circumferentially disposed tiers of openings through the wall thereof, and,

(c) an adjustable drinking straw telescopically ‘received within said tubing in snug frictional fluid sealing peripheral relationship with said static tube so that upon withdrawing the drinking straw the fluid draw rate of the drinker may be-regulated by placing the base of the drinking straw at the desired tier level of openings on said static tubing.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,109,817

Inventor: Larry E. Payne

Issued: Aug. 29, 1978

A straw assembly for a liquid container having a pull-tab closure over an opening in its top. Removal of the closure allows the straw which is collapsed within the container and has a float mounted on its bottom end, to rise through the opening where it is manually extended to its full length. One embodiment includes the straw being slidably journaled within a tube mounted on the inner wall of the container. Another embodiment includes a straw guide assembly which positions the straw within the container in registry with an opening centrally disposed through the container top.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,476

Inventor: Lilly Ferrer

Issued: Jun. 13, 1995

A drinking cup of impregnated paper or similar material in which the side wall element includes additional material at one vertical edge thereof which is folded upon itself to form a drinking straw extending from the bottom of the interior of the cup to a level above the upper rim of the cup. The straw is foldable within a slot in the cup when not in use to enable the cup to be closed by a lid. The lid is provided with an opening which permits the straw to be erected to operative condition and the contents of the cup consumed without removing the lid.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,478

Inventor: Bong Chul Yang

Issued: Dec. 5, 2000

A paper cup with a sipping straw integrally formed thereon is disclosed. The paper cup with a sipping straw integrally formed thereon is manufactured either by attaching a separate paper member (11), or by forming an expanded portion (21). The sipping straw (17) or (27) is provided with a slot (16) or (26), and folding lines. An upper portion (37) of the sipping straw is folded down to be attached onto a side of the paper cup during a non-use, and is straightened up during a use. Further, wrinkles are formed on the upper portion of the sipping straw, so that the sipping straw can be properly bent during a use for the sake of convenience.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,431,434

Inventor: Haughton, et al.

Issued: Aug. 13, 2002

A liquid container of plastic coated boxboard, laminated cardboard or the like having a straw therein is disclosed. The container includes a container body, a holder, a straw and a seal. The container has an interior volume and a plurality of exterior walls. The holder is mounted with a liquid and gas tight seal in an exterior wall. The holder has an aperture formed therein. A straw extends through the aperture in the holder with a snug fit. The straw has a stowed position and an in use position. The seal is for sealing the straw in the stowed position with a liquid and gas tight seal thereby sealing the liquid inside the container. A method of manufacturing the container with a straw therein in a continuous form, fill and sealing process is also disclosed.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,912,825

Inventor: Rahul A. Kothari

Issued: Jul. 5, 2005

A flexible stand-up liquid pouch is formed from a sheet of foil film laminate material whereby opposed side walls of the material are folded together with sealed circumferential edges to form an enclosed chamber. A liquid is provided in the chamber, and the side walls of the sheet material which form the container have raised portions which, when sealed together, cooperatively form an internal straw restraining passage inside the container. The straw restraining passage communicates with the liquid chamber and a straw is held loosely captive inside the straw restraining passage and is axially displaceable therein. The straw restraining passage defines a reduced cross-sectional area of the chamber, and the pouch is manufactured with a weakened portion on an upper portion of the pouch, whereby the weakened portion can be torn by a user, thus enabling the internal straw to emerge, due to the buoyancy of the straw, from the interior of the pouch. In providing a sealed bottom edge to the liquid pouch, a bottom rim is formed, wherein the pouch can stand in an upright position on a horizontal surface upon the bottom rim.

U.K. Patent Number GB2217677

Inventor: Chuang-Sheng Lin

Issued: Nov. 1, 1989

An easy open can is provided with a retractable straw sealedly received therein; the straw being provided with a bellow-like section 21 near its top end. The straw is fixed in place within the can body by way of mounting seat which comprises a flange 12 welded to the underside of the cap of the can and an open ended tube 10 which locates the bellow-like section of the straw and is aligned with an opening 2 in the can end. The suppressed straw is able to pop out when the pull ring 3, externally disposed on the end of the can, is pulled upward to remove the cove-ring of the opening 2. The bottom end of the tube includes an inwardly extending flangeto retain the lower end of the bellow-like section, and the flange 12 includes a small hole 13 to admit air during use of the straw.

Japanese Patent Number JP2002191511

Inventor: Ioku Hiroshi

Issued: Jul. 9, 2002

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid container with a straw and having heat retaining property by developing a constitution enabling the use of a double wall vacuum bottle made of stainless steel though there has been no liquid container with a straw and having heat retaining property before. SOLUTION: A cap unit 5 consisting of a cap body 7 and a cap cover 8 is screwed attachably and detachably to the inlet opening part 21 of the double wall vacuum bottle made of stainless steel. A cap unit holes the straw 6 retractable in the direction of inside/outside of a vacuum bottle 1. The outside of the unit 5 is covered with a lid unit 10 to be screwed attachably and detachably to/from a container body 4 based on the bottle 1. A straw cover 12 for covering the top of the straw 6 in the state of capable of freely opening and closing is provided at the unit 10.

U.S. Patent Number JP2002326655

Inventor: Fujitani Hiromi, et al.

Issued: Nov. 12, 2002

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cup which does not allow contents to spill out through a straw even if a container body is toppled. SOLUTION: The cup includes a bottle 1 formed to be a bottomed cylinder and a cap 2 for lidding an upper end opening of the bottle 1. The straw 4 made of a flexible material is made to protrude from an upper surface of the cap 2, and an opening at the tip of the straw 4 is closed by a closing wall 27. In addition, cuts 27a and 27b are formed on the wall 27. An over cap 3 which can slide along the upper surface of the cap 3 is mounted on the cap 2. When the over cap 3 is moved to one of sides, the straw 4 protrudes from the upper surface of the cap 2 to allow the contents to be sucked. When the over cap 3 is moved to the other side, the straw 4 is fallen by the over cap 3 and hidden below the over cap 3.

International Patent Application Number WO2004/101389

Inventor: Stephen Maher

Issued: Nov. 25, 2004

A device (10) for a drinks container (11), the device comprising a straw (16) and means for actuating the straw (16) between a retracted state, in which the straw (16) is housed, in use, substantially within the container (11), and an extended state, in which at least a portion of the straw (16) protrudes, in use, form the container (11). The actuating means may comprise a first casing (12) provided around a portion of the straw (16), the straw (16) and the casing (12) being rotatable with respect to one another about a longitudinal axis, the actuating means further comprising means for imparting generally linear movement to the straw (16) upon relative rotational movement of the casing and the straw portion.

While these receptacles may be suitable for the purposes for which they were designed, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention, as hereinafter described.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention discloses a disposable cup incorporating a slidably extendable retractable straw with a plurality of cups stackable through employment of a channel extending the length of the cup for encompassing the internal straw. A tubular member having an aperture on its lower end is disposed on the interior wall of the cup for slidably receiving the straw therein.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a cup having an integral straw.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cup having a tubular member fastened to the interior wall extending from the base of the cup to a point approximate the rim of said cup.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a cup wherein said tubular member has an aperture within its base forming means for the passage of fluid therein.

Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a cup wherein said tubular member forms a sleeve that frictionally engages anther tubular member forming a straw movable within said sleeve.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cup having a longitudinal channel formed in the exterior wall providing means for stacking one cup within another.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a cup wherein the extendable straw member resides below the rim of the cup in the retracted position.

Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a cup wherein the extendable straw member can be selectively extended beyond the rim of the cup whereupon suction applied to the extended end draws fluid contained within the cup through said straw-like extension.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cup wherein a lid can be fixed to the rim of the cup with the extendable retractable straw contained therein.

Additional objects of the present invention will appear as the description proceeds.

The present invention overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art by providing a disposable cup incorporating a slidably extendable retractable straw with a plurality of cups stackable through employment of a channel extending the length of the cup for encompassing the internal straw.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages will appear from the description to follow. In the description reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments will be described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In the accompanying drawings, like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views.

The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is best defined by the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the invention may be more fully understood, it will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an illustrative view of the present invention in use.

FIG. 2 is an illustrative view of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the present invention with straw in the tubular member.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the present invention with straw extended out of the tubular member.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the present invention with straw retracted within the tubular member.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the present invention with straw extended out of the tubular member.

FIG. 7 is a top view of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the present invention with straw retracted.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the present invention with straw extended beyond the cup's rim.

FIG. 10 is a perspective cutaway view of the present invention.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

With regard to reference numerals used, the following numbering is used throughout the drawings.

• • 10 present invention
  • 12 cup
  • 14 straw
  • 16 wall
  • 18 base
  • 20 rim
  • 22 user
  • 24 indentation
  • 26 tubular member
  • 28 aperture
  • 30 fluid

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The following discussion describes in detail one embodiment of the invention (and several variations of that embodiment). This discussion should not be construed, however, as limiting the invention to those particular embodiments since practitioners skilled in the art will recognize numerous other embodiments as well. For a definition of the complete scope of the invention, the reader is directed to the appended claims.

Turning to FIG. 1, shown therein is an illustrative view of the present invention 10 in use by a user 22. The present invention 10 is a cup 12 and integral extendable retractable straw 14 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “second tubular member”) comprising a first tubular member fixed to the cup interior wall 16 extending from the cup base 18 to a termination spaced away from the cup rim 20 with an aperture located approximate the base providing fluid entry and another second tubular member extendable through the first tubular member forms a sleeve and fluid source whereby suction at the extendable's open end of the second tubular member causes fluid flow from the cup which preferably, in order that a plurality is stackable, has a decreasing radii along a vertical plane with a channel or indentation 24 for stacking formed therein of appropriate depth so that when the extendable straw and cup integral sleeve are within the channel they are preferably enclosed within the common planar radii and alternately can by design exceed said radii to another preferred radii as desired.

Turning to FIG. 2, shown therein is an illustrative view of the present invention 10. The present invention 10 is a cup 12 having a tubular member fixed to the interior wall engaging the cup base with a straw 14 slidably positioned therein. The straw 14 is extendible past the rim of the cup 12 with the base engaging tubular member having an aperture approximate the base whereby the slidable member having suction applied thereto draws fluid from the cup. Also shown are the hand of a user 22 and indentation 24.

Turning to FIG. 3, shown therein is a sectional view of the present invention 10 with straw 14 in the tubular member 26 which forms a housing for the straw. Shown is a sectional view of the cup 12 of the present invention 10 having a tubular member 26 fixed to the interior wall 16 engaging the cup base 18 with a slidably positioned straw 14 and an indented channel 24 that allows the user to stack a plurality of cups. Also shown is an aperture 28 into tubular member 26.

Turning to FIG. 4, shown therein is a sectional view of the present invention 10 with straw 14 extended out of the tubular member 26. Shown is a sectional view of the cup 12 of the present invention 10 having a tubular member 26 fixed to the interior wall engaging the cup base with a slidably positioned straw 14 in an extended position beyond the rim of the cup with an indented channel 24 that allows the user to stack a plurality of cups. A flow aperture 28 is also shown.

Turning to FIG. 5, shown therein is a sectional view of the present invention 10 with straw 14 retracted within the tubular member 26. Shown is a sectional view of the cup 12 of the present invention 10 having a tubular member 26 with aperture 28 fixed to the interior wall engaging the cup base with a slidably positioned straw 14 in a retracted position. An indented channel 24 allows the user to stack a plurality of cups.

Turning to FIG. 6, shown therein is a sectional view of the present invention 10 with straw 14 extended out of the tubular member 26. Shown is a sectional view of the cup 12 of the present invention 10 having a tubular member 26 with aperture 28 fixed to the interior wall engaging the cup base with a slidably positioned straw 14 in an extended position beyond the rim of the cup with an indented channel 24 that allows the user to stack a plurality of cups.

Turning to FIG. 7, shown therein is a top view of the present invention 10. Shown is a top view of the present invention 10 disclosing a cup 12 having a tubular member 26 fixed to the interior wall engaging the cup base with a second tubular member (straw) 14 slidably positioned therein whereby the second tubular member is extendible past the rim of the cup; the base engaging tubular member 26 having an aperture (not shown but see FIG. 6) approximate the base whereby the slidable member having suction applied thereto draws fluid from the cup. An indentation channel 24 is also shown.

Turning to FIG. 8, shown therein is a perspective view of the present invention 10 with straw 14 retracted. Shown is a perspective view of the present invention 10 disclosing a cup 12 having a tubular member (not shown but see FIG. 6) fixed to the interior wall engaging the cup base with a second tubular member or straw 14 slidably positioned therein whereby the second tubular member is extendible past the rim of the cup; the base engaging tubular member having an aperture approximate the base whereby the slidable member 14 having suction applied thereto draws fluid from the cup. A channel 24 is provided to allow the user to stack a plurality of cups.

Turning to FIG. 9, shown therein is a perspective view of the present invention 10 with straw 14 extended beyond the cup's 12 rim. Shown is a perspective view of the present invention 10 disclosing a cup 12 having a tubular member (not shown but see FIG. 6) fixed to the interior wall engaging the cup base with a second tubular member 14 slidably positioned therein whereby the second tubular member is extendible past the rim of the cup; the base engaging tubular member having an aperture approximate the base whereby the slidable member 14 having suction applied thereto draws fluid from the cup. A channel 24 is provided to allow the user to stack a plurality of cups 12.

Turning to FIG. 10, shown therein is a perspective cutaway view of the present invention 10. Shown is a perspective cutaway view of the present invention 10 disclosing a cup 12 having a tubular member 26 fixed to the interior wall engaging the cup base with a second tubular member 14 slidably positioned therein whereby the second tubular member is extendible past the rim of the cup; the base engaging tubular member having an aperture 28 approximate the base whereby the slidable member having suction applied thereto draws fluid 30 from the cup. A channel 24 is provided to allow the user to stack a plurality of cups 12.

What is claimed to be new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1. Apparatus for a stackable cup having an integral extendable straw, comprising:

a) a cup having a rim, a base, and a wall, said wall having a decreasing radii along the vertical plane from said rim to said base;

b) a first tubular member extending along the vertical plane from said rim to said base having a first end disposed proximate to said base and a second end terminating spaced away from said rim, wherein said first end has an aperture therein;

c) an integral straw having first and second ends being slidably disposed in said first tubular member so that said first end is disposed toward said base of said cup, said straw frictionally engaging said first tubular member so that fluid can flow from said cup through said aperture into said first end of said straw when suction is applied to said second end of said straw; and,

d) an indentation being disposed in said wall of said cup extending along the vertical plane from said rim to said base complementary to said first tubular member so that a first cup can be stacked onto a second cup.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inside diameter of said first tubular member is complementarily sized as the outside diameter of said straw so that said straw is slidable in said first tubular member.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the inside diameter of said first tubular member is complementarily sized as the outside diameter of said straw so that suction applied to said second end of said straw will cause fluid to be drawn from said cup.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said second end of said first tubular member terminates at a point about two-thirds of the distance from said base to said rim of said cup.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein said first tubular member and said indention having a common radius.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the radius of said first tubular member is less than the radius of said indention.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein said second end of said straw extends to a point above said rim of said cup.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein said aperture and said first end of said straw are complementarily sized.