Cap for drinking container
A container cap is adapted for use with a drinking container. The container cap has a container portion having an interior that holds a material for mixing with the liquid in the drinking container, a first connector fluidly communicating with the interior of the container portion and removably coupled to the open mouth of the drinking container, a second connector fluidly communicating with the interior of the container portion, a cap removably coupled to the second connector, and a commercial message provided on the container portion
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of beverages, and more specifically, to beverages contained in bottles with removal caps. The present invention provides a container cap that can be retrofittedly placed upon the bottle after removing its original cap, in a manner that dispenses materials into the bottle. Commercial or other written indicia are carried on the external surfaces of the container cap.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The beverage world today is largely possessed by bottled water contained in plastic bottles having virtually identical removable caps. Such caps are removed by twistable action, leaving a band or collar behind as the cap is removed, while simultaneously providing access for drinking to the top of the bottle. Beverages also comprise pre-mixed drinks with a plurality of different designs, requiring, among other things, refrigeration, dates of expiration and other indicators related to the shelf-life of the beverage.
Also well known in the art are water-soluble drink mixes that are sold in solid form. The consumer measures quantities of the dry material, adds the quantities in the proper ratio to water, and creates a flavored beverage. In these embodiments, the consumer is required to modulate the quantities, and mistakes result in under- or over-flavored mixtures.
In addition, it is important to maintain freshness of fluid-based products. This is particularly important when the material to be dispensed is vitamin-based, since it is known that water-miscible vitamins can lose their potency over time when in a fluid environment, through changes in temperature, pressure, and light. In addition, fluid-based products can interact with plastic bottles, causing an unpleasant taste and compromising the health of the user. Glass bottles are thereby required for some applications, which are more expensive and much heavier.
To address these concerns, efforts have been made to provide a universal cap design that contains dry or concentrated materials (e.g., vitamins, drink mixes and other flavors), such that the cap can be used with any number of fluid containers without the need for modifying the existing, standard, plastic bottle design. In other words, once the pre-existing cap for the bottle is removed, the new cap, containing the materials, can be retrofittedly installed on the top of the bottle, dispensing the materials into the fluid. The bottle can be shaken and the completed beverage created moments before consumption.
Many of these cap designs are embodied in the form of a simple container that holds the material to be dispensed. The contents of the container cap are often not identified, and the user often has no way of knowing if the materials contained in the particular container cap are intended for his/her consumption, or for someone else's consumption.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a universal, single-use cap containing materials for attachment to pre-existing fluid containers to permit dispensation of materials thereby maintaining the freshness of the beverage.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a universal single-use cap that provides a commercial message or indicia on, or associated with, the cap.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONTo accomplish the above objectives, the present invention provides a container cap that is adapted for use with a drinking container, the container cap having a container portion having an interior that holds a material for mixing with the liquid in the drinking container, a first connector fluidly communicating with the interior of the container portion and removably coupled to the open mouth of the drinking container, a second connector fluidly communicating with the interior of the container portion, a cap removably coupled to the second connector, and a commercial message provided on the container portion.
The following detailed description is of the best presently contemplated modes of carrying out the invention. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating general principles of embodiments of the invention. The scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.
It is also possible to provide a conventional filter or water purifiying element inside the container portion 22. The filter can function to filter the water from the water bottle 34, and the purifying element can function to purify the water from the water bottle 34. This allows the water bottle 34 to be re-used with different sources of water, even water (e.g., tap water) that may need to be purified and/or filtered before being drinkable. A container cap 20 that contains such a filter and/or purifying element can even be useful for soldiers who often need to refill their drinking containers with non-filtered and non-purified water. A soldier can then carry such a container cap 20 for use in purifying and filtering any water that the soldier might find in a battle environment.
In use, the user can remove the conventional cap of a water bottle 34 that contains clear water or other beverage, then remove the seal 42, and empty the material 44 (see
The present invention provides a commercial message 50 on the outer surfaces of the container portion 22. The commercial message 50 can be a representation or description of the material contained in the container cap 20, or it can be an advertisement message for another product or service or entity.
In addition to a commercial message 50, other identification codes 52 (e.g., bar codes, SKUs), or even the name 54 of the user can also be provided on the outer surfaces of the container portion 22. For example, a blank space 56 can be provided on part of the commercial message 50 where a user can write or otherwise inscribe his/her name, or write or inscribe an identification of the material 44 contained therein (e.g., “vitamins”, “fish oil”, “diabetes medication”). In this regard, the container cap 20 can be a re-useable container cap 20 which the user can use to hold vitamins, medication, flavoring, etc. In addition, the message 50 can be provided on a removable sheet 86 (see
The commercial message 50 does not need to be placed directly on the outer surface of the container portion 22. For example, in
As another example,
As a further example,
Although
The configuration of the container cap 20 can be varied as well. For example,
Referring to
By providing the container cap 20 in different configurations, it is also possible to provide the container cap 20 in the form of a toy or amusement item. For example,
Extending this concept further,
The toy or amusement item can be separate from the container cap 20 and be removable therefrom. For example,
The separate sheet 86 from
Electronic features can even be incorporated into the container cap 20.
The container cap 20 of the present invention is not limited to use with conventional water bottles. As shown in
Similarly, as shown in
It should be noted that the concepts shown in any of the drawings in this disclosure can be applied to any of the embodiments shown and described herein. For example,
In addition, there are many ways to dissolve, mix or otherwise release the material 44 inside the container cap 20 to the liquid in the water bottle 34, beer can 170, or beer bottle 160. The present invention describes the use of a seal 42 that can be removed to release the material 44, but other techniques can be used with the present invention as well. For example, the material 44 can be retained inside the container portion 22 intermixed with the liquid as the liquid passes from the water bottle 34 through the container portion 22. As another example, mechanisms can be provided inside the container cap 20 that break a seal to release the material 44 directly into the water bottle 34 when the user screws or otherwise engages the container cap 20 to the neck 32 of the water bottle 34. Examples of these techniques and mechanisms are shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,562,782 (Yorita), U.S. Pat. No. 6,527,109 (Schoo et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 7,614,497 (Dvorak et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 7,279,187 (Daniels et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 7,055,684 (Anderson), U.S. Pat. No. 3,156,369 (Bowes et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 7,172,095 (Marshall), U.S. Pat. No. 7,537,112 (Balazik) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,962,254 (Spector), among others, whose disclosures are incorporated by this reference as though set forth fully herein.
While the description above refers to particular embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof. The accompanying claims are intended to cover such modifications as would fall within the true scope and spirit of the present invention.
Claims
1. An assembly, comprising:
- a drinking container having an open mouth, the drinking container holding a liquid; and
- a container cap that is separable from the drinking container, comprising: a container portion having an interior that holds a material for mixing with the liquid; a first connector fluidly communicating with the interior of the container portion in a manner which defines an unimpeded fluid path between the container portion and the drinking container when the first connector connects the container cap to the drinking container, the first connector being removably connecting the container portion to the open mouth of the drinking container; a second connector fluidly communicating with the interior of the container portion;
- a cap removably coupled to the second connector; and
- a commercial message provided on the container portion.
2. (canceled)
3. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the commercial message is removably affixed to the container portion.
4. The assembly of claim 1, further including a support that is wider than, and extends outwardly of, the container portion, wherein the commercial message is provided on the support, and wherein the support is removably coupled to the container portion.
5. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the container portion is a solid plastic container.
6-13. (canceled)
14. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the drinking container is a water bottle.
15. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the drinking container is a beer bottle.
16-18. (canceled)
19. An assembly, comprising:
- a drinking container having an open mouth, the drinking container holding a liquid; and
- a container cap that is separable from the drinking container, comprising: a container portion having an interior that holds a material for mixing with the liquid; a first connector fluidly communicating with the interior of the container portion and removably connecting the container portion to the open mouth of the drinking container; a second connector fluidly communicating with the interior of the container portion;
- a cap removably coupled to the second connector;
- a support that is wider than, and extends outwardly of, the container portion; and
- a commercial message that is provided on the support, and wherein the support is removably coupled to the container portion.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 15, 2010
Publication Date: Dec 15, 2011
Inventor: Yu Zheng (Walnut, CA)
Application Number: 12/802,886
International Classification: B65D 51/28 (20060101); B65D 85/00 (20060101);