TEA BAG CONFIGURED TO BE SUSPENDED IN A WATER BOTTLE
A tea bag is configured to be inserted within a water bottle. The tea bag includes a long, thin tea containment bag configured to be inserted within the water bottle and be removed from the water bottle after steeping without compressing with an opening of the water bottle tea leaves within the tea containment bag as the bag is removed from the bottle. The tea bag additionally includes a tea bag line useful to suspend the tea containment bag within the water bottle.
This disclosure claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/343,944 filed on Jun. 1, 2016 which is hereby incorporated by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELDThis disclosure is related to tea bags used to steep tea leaves in a water bottle, and, in particular, to tea bags configured for easy insertion into and removal from the water bottle.
BACKGROUNDThe statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure. Accordingly, such statements are not intended to constitute an admission of prior art.
Tea bags typically include a tea containing bag, tea leaves, and a string useful for suspending and manipulating the tea bag within water. Tea containing bags are known to be made from exemplary filter paper, silk, and food grade plastic materials.
Tea containing bags are known to be made in approximately a square shape. This square shape is useful for exposing as much surface area as possible in a tea cup to the tea contained within the tea containing bag. However, if such a tea bag is forced within a water bottle, as the tea absorbs water in the steeping process, the bag either becomes too large to remove from the bottle or forcably squeezing the bag out of the bottle becomes a messy process, with tea potentially squirting on the user or the tea containing bag ripping and dumping tea leaves into the tea product.
SUMMARYA tea bag is configured to be inserted within a water bottle. The tea bag includes a long, thin tea containment bag configured to be inserted within the water bottle and be removed from the water bottle after steeping without compressing with an opening of the water bottle tea leaves within the tea containment bag as the bag is removed from the bottle. The tea bag additionally includes a tea bag line useful to suspend the tea containment bag within the water bottle.
One or more embodiments will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
A tea bag is disclosed for use within a water bottle. The tea bag can be sold separately from the bottle or provided attached to an outside of the water bottle. The tea bag includes a long, thin tea containment bag configured to be inserted or placed within the water bottle through a narrow opening in a top of the bottle. The tea containment bag also includes is configured to permit tea leaves within the bag to expand without the bag becoming wider than the opening of the bottle, thereby permitting easy removal of the bag from the water after the tea is prepared and preventing the tea leaves from being compressed as the bag is removed from the bottle.
Referring now to the drawings, wherein the showings are for the purpose of illustrating certain exemplary embodiments only and not for the purpose of limiting the same,
Tea containment bag 20 can be constructed of any material known for use with tea containment bags. Mesh count for such tea bags is typically between 95 and 120 filaments per inch, although any range of mesh count can be used that effectively contains any particular type and size of tea leaves. In one exemplary embodiment, a biodegradable bag material can be used, such as polylactic acid (PLA) mesh. Other, more conventional, bag materials can be utilized, such as a nylon mesh, a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) mesh, or other non-woven fabric meshes known in the art.
As the tea leaves 22 absorb water within a water bottle, the leaves will swell up. Tea containment bag 20 is sized originally smaller than the opening of the water bottle such that as the tea leaves swell, the tea containment bag can increase in size with the tea leaves but still be narrow enough to fit through the opening. Tea bag line 50 is attached to the tea containment bag 20 and permits a user to manipulate the bag within a water bottle while it is steeping or to remove the bag from the bottle.
Tea containment bag 20 is a long narrow bag. A longitudinal axis can be defined along the long dimension of the bag or in a vertical direction as illustrated in
Paper tab 40 is similar to paper tabs known in the art, useful to provide the user with something to hold onto as the user manipulates the tea bag.
Close up view 21 of the surface of tea containment bag 20 is illustrated. The fine mesh of the tea containment bag 20 is visible, as are tea leaves 22. In some embodiments, larger sections 23 of tea leaves 22 may be visible through the mesh.
As tea leaves expand, tea containment bags of the present disclosure are configured to maintain a width of the tea containment bags small enough such that the bags can be easily pulled from the opening of a water bottle.
Various strategies can be employed to maintain tea containment bags as smaller or the same width as an intended bottle opening size. As a result, the tea containment bags consistent with the present disclosure can include various widths or various shapes.
Retention clip 30 is attached to tea bag line 50. In one embodiment, retention clip 30 can be configured as a food-grade quality plastic ring with a split 32, wherein the ring can be easily deformed. In a normal, resting state, retention clip 30 looks like a ring with split 32 just appearing like a crack in the material of the plastic. However, when deformed by force, the ring can collapse with the material on either side of split 32 displacing each other. In this way, in its resting state, clip 30 can be too wide to fit through an opening of a bottle. However, a user can easily apply a small amount of force to either clip 30 or to tea bag line 50, thereby causing clip 30 to deform and pass through the opening of the bottle. This deforming action of clip 30 enables a user to drink out of a bottle with a tea containment bag within the bottle, with clip 30 preventing the tea containment bag from being pulled through the opening into the mouth of the user.
Bags are disclosed herein describing tea leaves for use in making a tea drink. It will be appreciated that the bags disclosed herein can be used with any herbal drink making product requiring herbs to be steeped in water.
A volumetric capacity of a tea containment bag can be determined. Similarly, a dry volume and a wet or saturated volume of any particular type or composition of tea can be determined, tested, or estimated. According to the embodiment of
In one embodiment, a vertical leaf expansion portion is left at a top of a tea containment bag to account for expansion of the soaked tea leaves. In another embodiment, larger tea leaves or leaves that leave significant interstitial space or open volume between the tea leaves can be utilized. By accounting for expansion of the tea leaves when they are soaked by including interstitial volume between the tea leaves, a tea containment bag that initially appears full and, once soaked, is full or slightly compressed can be achieved. In another embodiment, tea or herbal powders are known in the art, wherein the dry volume and the soaked volume are very close to each other. With such an ingredient, the tea bag can be provided with a full or nearly full tea containment bag, and due to the small change in volume in the powder or similar substance, the bag remains full after being soaked.
Exemplary tea leaves 322 are provided as larger leaves that can be placed within tea containment bag 320 with significant interstitial space between the leaves. In this way, the bag 320 can appear to be filled when still dry, with leave expanding when soaked into the interstitial spaces between the leaves.
The disclosure has described certain preferred embodiments and modifications of those embodiments. Further modifications and alterations may occur to others upon reading and understanding the specification. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiment(s) disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this disclosure, but that the disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.
Claims
1. An apparatus comprising a tea bag configured to be inserted within a water bottle, comprising:
- a long, thin tea containment bag configured to be inserted within the water bottle and be removed from the water bottle after steeping without compressing with an opening of the water bottle tea leaves within the tea containment bag as the bag is removed from the bottle; and
- a tea bag line useful to suspend the tea containment bag within the water bottle.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the tea containment bag comprises a vertical leaf expansion portion permitting tea leaves to expand along a longitudinal axis of the bag.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the tea containment bag comprises straight side walls.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the tea containment bag comprises straight curved walls.
5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the tea containment bag further comprises a constriction band around a middle of the tea containment bag configured to prevent the middle from expanding outwardly away from a longitudinal axis of the bag.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the tea bag line is attached to a retention ring.
7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the retention ring includes a slot in the ring permitting the ring to flex and be placed within the water bottle.
8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the retention ring is attached to a terminal end of the tea bag line.
9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the retention ring is configured to placed around a neck of the water bottle.
10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the retention ring is formed unitarily with a cap configured to be sealingly attached to the water bottle.
11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the tea containment bag is constructed with a biodegradable mesh.
12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, after the tea containment bag is soaked in water, the tea containment bag is rigid and filled with soaked tea leaves.
13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the soaked tea leaves are under compression by the tea containment bag.
14. An apparatus comprising a tea bag configured to be inserted within a water bottle, comprising:
- a long, thin tea containment bag comprising a vertical leaf expansion portion permitting tea leaves to expand along a longitudinal axis of the bag, the tea containment bag configured to be inserted within the water bottle and be removed from the water bottle after steeping without compressing tea leaves within the tea containment bag as the bag is removed from the bottle; and
- a tea bag line useful to suspend the tea containment bag within the water bottle.
15. An apparatus comprising a tea bag configured to be inserted within a water bottle, comprising:
- the water bottle;
- a long, thin tea containment bag comprising a vertical leaf expansion portion permitting tea leaves to expand along a longitudinal axis of the bag, the tea containment bag configured to be inserted within the water bottle and be removed from the water bottle after steeping without compressing tea leaves within the tea containment bag as the bag is removed from the bottle;
- a tea bag line useful to suspend the tea containment bag within the water bottle; and
- a plastic wrap initially containing the tea containment bag and adhered to an outside of the water bottle.
16. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising a retention ring attached to the tea bag line.
17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the retention ring is initially formed unitarily with a cap of the water bottle.
18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the retention ring is initially within the plastic wrap.
Type: Application
Filed: May 17, 2017
Publication Date: Dec 7, 2017
Inventors: John Fraser (Playmouth, MI), Tom Fraser (South Lyon, MI)
Application Number: 15/598,215