NECKLACE STRAW, NAME STRAW, AND PHRASE STRAW
A novelty drinking straw formed of flexible transparent tubing has a central section formed in the shape of script spelling a name or short phrase. Two end sections extend from the ends of the central section and are joined by a knot to form a necklace. Two tube sections connect at the knot to the ends of the central section and can connect to a fluid container and the user's mouth. By sucking on the mouth section, fluid is drawn from the container, through the central section and then the mouthpiece.
This application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Application 61/764,752 filed Feb. 14, 2013, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to novelty drinking straws, and more particularly to straws that have sections configured to spell names or phrases.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONDrinking straws formed in convoluted patterns so that children using the straws can be entertained by watching liquid progress through the straws have been sold for a number of years.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to novelty items which in one embodiment comprise necklaces formed of plastic drinking straws having sections bent into names or short phrases, in script form, and configured in such a way as to allow a user to wear the straw as a necklace with the name or phrase section hanging across the user's chest while allowing the necklace to be used as the intermediate section of a novelty drinking straw. The liquid being drawn through the straw progresses from a liquid container through the entire necklace, including the name or phrase section, to a mouthpiece.
A preferred embodiment of the invention utilizes a unique knotted neckpiece to support the ends of the necklace and to connect them to a relatively long plastic tubing section which can be placed in a liquid container such as a bottle or cup and a relatively short plastic tubing mouthpiece.
Other objects, advantages, and applications of the present invention will be made apparent by the following detailed description. The description makes reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
A version of the necklace by itself is illustrated in
As illustrated in
The script used to form the name or short phrase out of the drinking straw tubing is unique in that the upper ends of the tubing sections which would otherwise require sharp bends in the tubing to form the required letters are bent laterally out of the plane of the script at less acute angles. This avoids sharp bends in the script tubing which would block or impede the flow of liquid through the tubing when used as a drinking straw but still provides the appearance of normal script when viewed from the side, as in
The method of forming the knot is detailed in
As shown in
The wearer may use the straw while wearing the necklace so that the liquid flows through the entire tubing structure or the necklace may be removed, the section 32 may be placed within a bottle or cup of liquid, and the liquid may be ingested through sucking on the mouthpiece 30.
A second, alternative embodiment of the invention is not formed as a necklace but uses the unique form of straw tubing script employed as a name straw. This may be used as a drinking straw with the script with the rounded nonplanar upper end terminations employed to avoid fluid restrictions in the tubing.
A third embodiment of the invention comprises a drinking straw formed of two or more sections of tubing each containing a short phrase or part of a name, formed using a plastic drinking straw bent into the name or phrase in the unique script described and illustrated above. The sections are joined coaxially, possibly with short, larger diameter connectors, into a single straw.
This configuration avoids the difficulty of producing, shipping, and storing unitary straws of the required length.
Claims
1. A novelty drinking straw formed of flexible plastic tubing comprising:
- a central section bent so as to spell out, in script, a short phrase with the ends of the tubing section terminating in a knotted section joining the two ends;
- a first tubing section connected through the knot to one of the ends of the central section and adapted to be inserted into a liquid container; and
- a second tubing section connected to the other end of the central section through the knot and adapted to be inserted into a user's mouth, whereby the central section will lie across the chest area of the user and the user may suck liquid from the liquid container, through the central section, and into the mouthpiece.
2. The novelty drinking straw of claim 1, wherein the short phrase constitutes a name.
3. The novelty drinking straw of claim 1, wherein the short phrase of the central section generally lies in a first plane with certain of the script elements, comprising relatively sharp transitions, extending out of said first plane to avoid restrictions in the straw which would impede the flow of liquid.
4. The novelty drinking straw of claim 1, wherein the knot has four terminating ends, two of which represent the ends of the central section and the other two represent said first and second tubing sections.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 12, 2014
Publication Date: Aug 28, 2014
Inventor: Erik Lipson (Philadelphia, PA)
Application Number: 14/178,917
International Classification: A47G 21/18 (20060101);