Celebratory Glass Top and Method of Use

Abstract

A lid for a glass and method of use is disclosed. The lid comprises a circular body having a rim configured to engage the top edge of a glass, a circular wall extending upward from the rim, and a top surface. The top surface is substantially perpendicular to the circular wall. The top surface comprises one or more circular projections extending away from the top surface, one or more circular cavities, one or more vent holes configured to permit air flow through the top surface, and an outer lip being disposed along the outer perimeter of the top surface and extending above the top surface. The one or more circular cavities are defined by cylindrical cavity walls extending below the top surface. The lid further comprises one or more tiers and may further comprise a message on the surface of the lid and/or on the circular tier wall.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention pertains generally to cup lids and more particularly to a celebratory glass top and a method of use thereof.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Individuals often like to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, or other events. Often, to celebrate these events or milestones, individuals may hold a party or go out to eat at a restaurant. As part of this celebration deserts are eaten, such as cakes or cupcakes. If the celebration is for a birthday then the individual may have a cake with candles on top that the individual blows out. The presentation of cakes and cupcakes is limited though in that they are normally presented to an individual only on a plate or platter. What is needed is a unique manner to present a cake on top of a glass. In addition, some users do not eat cake because of health related issues or personal diet. These individuals though may still want to drink liquid, alcoholic or non-alcoholic. What is needed is a manner to present a drink to this individual with a candle, or multiple candles, on top of the drink.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosed innovation. This summary is not an extensive overview, and it is not intended to identify key/critical elements or to delineate the scope thereof. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

The invention is directed toward a lid for a glass. The lid comprises a circular body having a rim configured to engage the top edge of a glass, a circular wall extending upward from the rim, and a top surface, wherein the top surface is substantially perpendicular to the circular wall. The top surface comprises one or more circular projections extending away from the top surface, one or more circular cavities, one or more vent holes configured to permit air flow through the top surface, and an outer lip being disposed along the outer perimeter of the top surface and extending above the top surface. The one or more circular cavities are defined by cylindrical cavity walls extending below the top surface.

In another embodiment the lid further comprises one or more tiers. Each of the tiers is defined by a circular tier wall extending vertically and a horizontal tier surface connected to the circular tier wall and extending inward toward the center of the circle defined by the circular tier wall. In another embodiment the top surface of the lid may further comprise a message on the top surface of the lid. The message may be preformed into the lid or printed onto the top surface of the lid. In another embodiment lid further comprises a message on the circular tier wall. The message on the circular tier wall may be preformed into the lid or printed onto the circular tier wall of the lid. The message on the top surface and the message on the circular tier wall may be chosen from the group consisting essentially of “happy birthday,” “congratulations,” “well done,” “best wishes,” “blessings,” “cheers,” and “kudos.”

In another embodiment of the invention the lid has a bottom tier, a middle tier, and a top tier. The bottom tier has a plurality of receptors disposed in the top surface of said bottom tier. The middle tier has a plurality of receptors disposed in the top surface of said middle tier and a plurality of securing projections extending below the bottom rim of the circular tier wall of said middle tier. The top tier has a plurality of securing projections extending below the bottom rim of the circular tier wall of the top tier. The securing projections of the middle tier are configured to be inserted into the receptors of the bottom tier, removably securing the middle tier to the bottom tier. The securing projections of the top tier are configured to be inserted into the receptors of the middle tier, removably securing the top tier to the middle tier. The tiers may be configured in any manner so that the tiers can be removably secured together.

The invention is also directed toward a method for celebrating an event comprising pouring a beverage into a glass, placing a lid on top of the glass, placing one or more candles respectively in the one or more circular cavities of the lid, lighting the one or more candle, and presenting the glass to an individual.

In another embodiment the method for celebrating an event comprises pouring a beverage into a glass, placing a lid on top of the glass, placing a cupcake on top of the lid in a disposition such that the bottom surface of the cupcake is adjacent to the top surface of the lid, the outer circumference of the cupcake is disposed adjacent to the outer lip of the lid, and the one or more circular projections are inserted into the body of the cupcake, placing one or more candles in the top surface of the cupcake, lighting the one or more candles, and presenting the glass to an individual.

Still other embodiments of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in this art from the following description wherein there is shown and described the embodiments of this invention, simply by way of illustration of the best modes suited to carry out the invention. As it will be realized, the invention is capable of other different embodiments and its several details are capable of modifications in various obvious aspects all without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the drawing and descriptions will be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various exemplary embodiments of this invention will be described in detail, wherein like reference numerals refer to identical or similar components, with reference to the following figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the lid;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the lid;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the lid;

FIG. 4 is a view of a candle placed on the lid;

FIG. 5 is a view of a cupcake placed on the lid; and

FIG. 6. is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of lid.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The claimed subject matter is now described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the claimed subject matter. It may be evident, however, that the claimed subject matter may be practiced with or without any combination of these specific details, without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention and the claims.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, one embodiment of the lid 100 is displayed. The lid 100 is configured to fit on top of pint size glasses but alternatively may fit on top of any size glass. The lid 100 may have multiple tiers 110, 120, 130 formed by concentrically smaller circles stacked together. In the preferred embodiment the lid 100 has a first tier 110, a second tier 120, and a third tier 130. In other embodiments the lid 100 may have only one tier. In other embodiments the lid 100 may have any number of tiers. The lid 100 has a bottom rim 140 which engages the top rim of the glass. The rim 140 may simply engage the top rim of the glass. In other embodiments the rim 140 forms a tight fit on the rim of the glass so that the lid 100 is removably secured to the glass. The lid 100 also has a plurality of vent holes 150. The vent holes 150 may be on each tier or only one tier. The vent holes permit air to pass through from the inner cavity formed by the lid 100 to outside of the lid 100. The vent holes 150 permit carbonation from the beverage in the glass to vent through the vent holes 150. If the beverage in the glass is beer then the vent holes 150 encourage the formation of a head on the top of the beer. In some embodiments only a number of the circular portions are vent holes 150 and other circular portions may resemble vent holes but be either depressions or indentations of the material of the lid 100. In the center of the third tier 130 is a circular projection 160. In the middle of the circular projection 160 is a circular cavity 162. The circular projection 160 may be any shape and size. The circular projection 160 may be rounded or may be a thin straight circular projection. The circular cavity 162 is a cavity extending into the central inner cavity of the lid 100. The circular cavity 162 is configured to receive and hold a candle. The lid 100 may have one or more circular projections 160 and one or more circular cavities 162. Each circular projection 160 may have a circular cavity 162 or may not have a circular cavity 162. Each circular cavity 162 may have a circular projection 160 or may not have a circular projection 160.

On the outer circumference of third tier 130 is an outer lip 180. The outer lip 180 in conjunction with the circular projection 160 can be used to hold a cupcake onto the top of the lid 100. The lid 100 may have a top printed message 170. The top printed message 170 may be any message such as “Happy Birthday!!” or “Congratulations!” The top printed message 170 may be a message printed onto the lid 100 with ink or may be preformed into the third tier 130. In addition, the lid 100 may have a side printed message 190. The side printed message 190 may be any message such as “Happy Birthday!!” or “Congratulations!” In other embodiments the side printed message is a word advertisement, logo, slogan, or other advertising message. In other embodiments the side printed message may be any word, image, picture, or design printed on, embedded into, or preformed into the side of the tier. The side printed message 190 may be a message printed onto the outer circumference of any tier or preformed into the side of any tier.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the preferred embodiment of the invention the lid 100 has a circular body that is coextensive with the circular rim of a glass. In addition, in the preferred embodiment, the first tier 110, second tier 120, and third tier 130 are circular. However, in other embodiments the body and the tiers may be shaped differently. For instance the first tier 110, second tier 120, and third tier 130 may all be square in shape to fit a glass with a square shaped rim. In addition, the first tier 110, second tier 120, and third tier 130 may all present a triangular, rectangular, oval, hexagonal, heptagonal, or octogonal profile shape when viewed from the top. The profile shape of the lid 100 and the tiers may be any shape when viewed from the top, formed by any number of curved lines, straight lines, or combination thereof. In another embodiment the first tier 110 may have a different profile shape than the second tier 120, which in turn may have a different profile shape than the third tier 130.

Referring to FIG. 3, a cross sectional view of the lid 100 is displayed. The circular cavity 162 extends into the internal cavity defined by the body of the lid 100. The circular cavity 162 is defined by a cavity wall 164. The cavity wall 164 may be any size, shape, and dimension. The cavity wall 164 prevents a candle placed in the circular cavity 162 from falling through into the internal cavity defined by the body of the lid 100.

Referring to FIG. 4, the use of the lid 100 is illustrated. First a user fills a glass 200 with a desired beverage. The user then places the lid 100 on the top of the glass 200. A user places a candle 300 in the circular cavity 162 of the lid 100. The user then lights the candle 300 and presents it to an individual. The individual then can blow out the candle 300, remove the lid 100, and drink the beverage.

Referring to FIG. 5, another method of utilizing the lid 100 is illustrated. In this method, a user fills a glass 200 with a desired beverage. The user then places the lid 100 on top of the glass 200. The user then places a cupcake 400 on top of the lid 100. The cupcake 400 is removably secured to the lid 100 by inserting the circular protrusion 100 into the body of the cupcake 400. The bottom of the cupcake 400 is placed against the top surface of the lid 100. In addition, the outer lip 180 extends upward around the outer circumference of the cupcake 400 to prevent the cupcake 400 from sliding off of the lid 100. The user can then place a candle 300 into the top surface of the cupcake 400. The user then lights the candle 300. The user then presents the glass 200 with the lid 100 to an individual. The individual then can blow out the candle 300, remove the candle 300 from the cupcake 400, remove the cupcake 400 from the lid 100, eat the cupcake 400, remove the lid 100 from the glass 200, and drink the beverage.

Referring to FIG. 6, an alternative embodiment of the lid 100 is displayed. In this embodiment, each tier is a separate piece that snaps together with the neighboring tier. This permits each tier to be a different color and a user may mix and match the colors of the tiers as chosen. In this embodiment the first tier 110 is separate from the second tier 120, which in turn is separate from the third tier 130. The first tier 110 has a first tier central opening 112 in the top surface of the first tier 110. Surrounding the periphery of the first tier central opening 112 are a plurality of first tier receptors 114. The second tier 120 has a second tier central opening 122. Surrounding the second tier central opening 122 are a plurality of second tier receptors 124. Along the bottom edge of the second tier 120 are a plurality of second tier securing projections 126. The second tier securing projections 126 are disposed to enter into the first tier receptors 114. The first tier receptors 114 receive and secure the second tier securing projections 126, removably securing the second tier 120 to the first tier 110. The third tier 130 has a plurality of third tier securing projections 134 along the lower edge of the third tier 130. The third tier securing projections 134 are disposed to enter into the second tier receptors 124. The second tier receptors 124 receive and secure the third tier securing projections 134, removably securing the third tier 130 to the second tier 120. In some embodiments the first tier 110 and second tier 120 do not have a first tier central opening 112 and a second tier central opening 122 but instead have continuous flat surfaces. In the preferred embodiment, the securing projections and receptors are configured to snap together. In other embodiments, the first tier 110, the second tier 120, and the third tier 130 each can be removably secured to the other tiers. In the preferred embodiment the means for securing the tiers together are the securing projections and receptors. In other embodiments, any means can be used to removably secure the tiers together. In one embodiment the tiers may be held together using hook and loop tape, adhesive, tape, or any other structural components on the tiers which may be secured together with complementary structural components on the neighboring tiers.

The lid 100 may be made from any type of commercially available material. In the preferred embodiment the lid 100 is made of a formed thermoplastic such as polystyrene or polypropylene. Alternatively, the lid 100 may be made from sugar so that the lid 100 is edible. In other embodiments the lid 100 is constructed from paper.

What has been described above includes examples of the claimed subject matter. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the claimed subject matter, but one of ordinary skill in the art can recognize that many further combinations and permutations of such matter are possible. Accordingly, the claimed subject matter is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes” is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim.

The foregoing method descriptions and the process flow diagrams are provided merely as illustrative examples and are not intended to require or imply that the steps of the various embodiments must be performed in the order presented. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art the order of steps in the foregoing embodiments may be performed in any order. Words such as “thereafter,” “then,” “next,” etc. are not intended to limit the order of the steps; these words are simply used to guide the reader through the description of the methods. Further, any reference to claim elements in the singular, for example, using the articles “a,” “an” or “the” is not to be construed as limiting the element to the singular.

The preceding description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the following claims and the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A lid for a glass comprising

a circular body, said circular body comprising a rim configured to engage the top edge of a glass; a circular wall extending upward from said rim; a top surface, wherein said top surface is substantially perpendicular to said circular wall said top surface comprising one or more circular projections extending away from said top surface; said top surface comprising one or more circular cavities, wherein each of said one or more circular cavities are defined by cylindrical cavity walls extending below said top surface, wherein each of said one or more circular cavities are configured to hold a candle in a fixed upright position; said top surface comprising one or more vent holes configured to permit air flow through said top surface; said top surface comprising an outer lip being disposed along the outer perimeter of said top surface and extending above said top surface.

2. The lid as in claim 1 further comprising one or more tiers wherein each of said tiers is defined by a circular tier wall extending vertically and a horizontal tier surface connected to said circular tier wall and extending inward toward the center of the circle defined by said circular tier wall.

3. The lid as in claim 2 further comprising a bottom tier, a middle tier, and a top tier

wherein the bottom tier has a plurality of receptors disposed in the top surface of said bottom tier;

wherein the middle tier has a plurality of receptors disposed in the top surface of said middle tier and a plurality of securing projections extending below the bottom rim of said circular tier wall of said middle tier;

wherein said top tier has a plurality of securing projections extending below the bottom rim of said circular tier wall of said top tier;

wherein said securing projections of said middle tier are configured to be inserted into said receptors of said bottom tier, removably securing said middle tier to said bottom tier;

wherein said securing projections of said top tier are configured to be inserted into said receptors of said middle tier, removably securing said top tier to said middle tier.

4. The lid as in claim 1 further comprising a message on said top surface.

5. The lid as in claim 4 wherein said message on said top surface is preformed into the lid.

6. The lid as in claim 4 wherein said message on said top surface is printed onto the top surface of the lid.

7. The lid as in claim 1 further comprising a message on said circular tier wall.

8. The lid as in claim 7 wherein said message on said circular tier wall is preformed into the lid.

9. The lid as in claim 7 wherein said message on said circular tier wall is printed onto the circular tier wall of the lid.

10. The lid as in claim 2 further comprising a message on said top surface.

11. The lid as in claim 10 further comprising a message on said circular tier wall.

12. The lid as in claim 11 wherein said message on said top surface is preformed into the lid and wherein said message on said circular tier wall is preformed into the lid.

13. The lid as in claim 10 wherein said message on said top surface is printed onto the top surface of the lid and wherein said message on said circular tier wall is printed onto the circular tier wall of the lid.

14. The lid as in claim 12 wherein each of said message on said top surface and said message on said circular tier wall is chosen from the group consisting essentially of “happy birthday,” “congratulations,” “well done,” “best wishes,” “blessings,” “cheers,” and “kudos.”

15. The lid as in claim 14 further comprising a bottom tier, a middle tier, and a top tier

wherein the bottom tier has a plurality of receptors disposed in the top surface of said bottom tier;

wherein the middle tier has a plurality of receptors disposed in the top surface of said middle tier and a plurality of securing projections extending below the bottom rim of said circular tier wall of said middle tier;

wherein said top tier has a plurality of securing projections extending below the bottom rim of said circular tier wall of said top tier;

wherein said securing projections of said middle tier are configured to be inserted into said receptors of said bottom tier, removably securing said middle tier to said bottom tier;

wherein said securing projections of said top tier are configured to be inserted into said receptors of said middle tier, removably securing said top tier to said middle tier.

16. The lid as in claim 4 wherein said message is chosen from the group consisting essentially of “happy birthday,” “congratulations,” “well done,” “best wishes,” “blessings,” “cheers,” and “kudos.”

17. The lid as in claim 7 wherein said message is chosen from the group consisting essentially of “happy birthday,” “congratulations,” “well done,” “best wishes,” “blessings,” “cheers,” and “kudos.”

18. The lid as in claim 3 further comprising a means for removably securing each of said tiers to one or more other tiers.

19. A method for celebrating an event comprising

pouring a beverage into a glass;

placing a lid on top of said glass said lid comprising a circular body, said circular body comprising a rim configured to engage the top edge of a glass; a circular wall extending upward from said rim; a top surface, wherein said top surface is substantially perpendicular to said circular wall  said top surface comprising one or more circular projections extending away from said top surface;  said top surface comprising one or more circular cavities, wherein each of said one or more circular cavities are defined by cylindrical cavity walls extending below said top surface;  said top surface comprising one or more vent holes configured to permit air flow through said top surface;  said top surface comprising an outer lip being disposed along the outer perimeter of said top surface and extending above said top surface;

placing one or more candles respectively in said one or more circular cavities of said lid;

lighting said one or more candle;

presenting said glass to an individual.

20. A method for celebrating an event comprising

pouring a beverage into a glass;

placing a lid on top of said glass said lid comprising a circular body, said circular body comprising a rim configured to engage the top edge of a glass; a circular wall extending upward from said rim; a top surface, wherein said top surface is substantially perpendicular to said circular wall  said top surface comprising one or more circular projections extending away from said top surface;  said top surface comprising one or more circular cavities, wherein each of said one or more circular cavities are defined by cylindrical cavity walls extending below said top surface;  said top surface comprising one or more vent holes configured to permit air flow through said top surface;  said top surface comprising an outer lip being disposed along the outer perimeter of said top surface and extending above said top surface;

placing a cupcake on top of said lid in a disposition such that said bottom surface of said cupcake is adjacent to said top surface of said lid, said outer circumference of said cupcake is disposed adjacent to said outer lip of said lid, and said one or more circular projections are inserted into the body of said cupcake;

placing one or more candles in the top surface of said cupcake;

lighting said one or more candles;

presenting said glass to an individual.