The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional application Ser. No. 62/105,256 filed Jan. 20, 2015, and to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/986,701, filed Jan. 3, 2016, and to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/986,703, filed Jan. 3, 2016, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is also related to U.S. Pat. No. 8,596,491 entitled “CUP LID WITH INTEGRATED CONTAINER” issued on Dec. 3, 2013; U.S. Pat. No. 8,695,845 entitled “TOP MOUNTING CAN CONTAINER” issued on Apr. 15, 2014; U.S. Pat. No. 8,381,935 entitled “CUP LID WITH INTEGRATED CONTAINER” issued on Feb. 26, 2013; U.S. Pat. No. 8,714,393 entitled “CUP LID WITH INTEGRATED CONTAINER” issued on May 6, 2014; U.S. Pat. No. 8,590,730 entitled “TOP MOUNTING CAN CONTAINER” issued on Nov. 26, 2013; U.S. Pat. No. 8,708,181 entitled “LID WITH INTEGRATED CONTAINER” issued on Apr. 29, 2014; U.S. Pat. No. 8,701,914 entitled “TWO-PART RECYCLABLE CUP” issued on Apr. 22, 2014; U.S. application Ser. No. 13/412602 entitled “TOP MOUNTING BOTTLE CONTAINER” filed on Mar. 5, 2012; U.S. application Ser. No. 13/680011 entitled “CUP LID WITH INTEGRATED CONTAINER” filed on November 17, 2012; U.S. application Ser. No. 13/680049 entitled “CUP LID WITH INTEGRATED CONTAINER” filed on Nov. 17, 2012; U.S. application Ser. No. 13/733153 entitled “CUP LID WITH INTEGRATED CONTAINER” filed on Jan. 3, 2013; U.S. application Ser. No. 14/263993 entitled “LID WITH INTEGRATED CONTAINER” filed on Apr. 28, 2014; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/269016 entitled “A CONTAINER LID WITH ONE OR MORE CAVITIES” filed on May 2, 2014; U.S. application Ser. No. 14/274576 entitled “A CONTAINER LID WITH A FOOD COMPARTMENT AND A SIP-HOLE” filed on May 9, 2014; U.S. application Ser. No. 14/313907 entitled “A CONTAINER LID SYSTEM WITH A LID PORTION AND FOOD CONTAINER PORTION” filed on Jun. 24, 2014; U.S. application Ser. No. 62/005862 entitled “A CONTAINER LID SYSTEM WITH A LID PORTION AND FOOD CONTAINER PORTION” filed on May 30, 2014; U.S. application Ser. No. 62/038199 entitled “A CONTAINER LID SYSTEM WITH TAMPER INDICATOR” filed on Aug. 15, 2014; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 29/500266 entitled “BENDABLE DRINKING STRAW” filed on Aug. 22, 2014; and U.S. Pat. No. Application 62/105256 entitled “BENDABLE SAFETY STRAW AND LIDS WITH FOOD COMPARTMENT” filed on Jan. 20, 2015; all of which are by the same inventor of the present application. Each of these applications is incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to drinking straws.
BACKGROUND The increased popularity of fast-food establishments, coupled with the popularity of consumption of food and beverages on the go, have led to the need for more convenient and safer takeout packaging.
Currently, a consumer wishing to drink from a takeout beverage container has two standard options: sipping the beverage through a sip hole in the lid of the beverage container, as is common for hot drinks such as coffee; or sucking the beverage through a straw placed into the beverage container, as is common for drinks consumed cold, such as sodas. Sip holes, typically used for hot beverages, require the consumer to take small sips to avoid scalding. While many consumers would prefer a controlled or regulated delivery of their hot beverage, standard straws do not allow for the liquid to cool to a comfortable temperature before reaching the consumer's mouth and thus have the potential to cause burns. Both straws and sip holes can be hazardous when the consumer is engaged in an activity, such as driving or walking, that requires maintaining eyes forward to watch the path ahead, and which may involve sudden stops. The consumer may have to look down and away from the road while drinking from a straw or may have forward vision obstructed by the beverage container while tipping it back to drink via a sip hole. Straws are also potentially dangerous if the consumer's head decelerates quickly while drinking, for example when braking unexpectedly during a drive. In that case, the straw may stab the consumer in the roof of her or his mouth. While some straws incorporate a flexible portion to allow the consumer to keep eyes forward, they do not eliminate this risk of stabbing, and further must be sized particularly for each height of beverage container.
Existing takeout beverage and food containers are also inconvenient, requiring the consumer to set aside a sandwich to take a drink, for example; or, in the case of a beverage container with a lid that accepts a snap-on food container, the food container must be decoupled in order for the consumer to sip a hot drink through a sip hole.
Moreover, billions of disposable beverage cups are used every year. Often those cups are part of a larger meal, and current technology dictates placing a lid on the beverage cup, and packing the food in a separate and detached container. This may be satisfactory for a consumer seated at a table. However, when the consumer must eat on the go, use of the current technology is problematic. Consider, for example, a consumer who is drinking a beverage and would like to access a breakfast sandwich in a takeout bag. The consumer must set aside the beverage, and then use one hand to hold the bag and the other hand to access the sandwich, then set aside the bag and use both hands to open the sandwich packaging. As shown in this example, current technology does not allow for convenient on-the-go consumption. Standard cup lids are simple covers that do not include an integrated container. Rather, known lids cover the contents of a cup which forms a closed container in combination with the cup itself
To address some of these problems, yogurt manufacturers have placed a small food container on the lid of a yogurt cup. The food container (often holding nuts or granola) must be removed from the yogurt cup and then flipped over and opened, then the contents are poured into the yogurt cup. It is therefore not possible to simultaneously access the contents of the yogurt cup and the contents of the food container; rather, the food container must be completely disengaged from the cup to access either the contents of the yogurt cup or the contents of the food container. The food container that attaches to the yogurt cup in an upside-down position has a limited food-volume capacity because its walls taper as they proceed upward toward the bottom of the upside-down container. Without this tapering, the yogurt cup/food container complex would become top-heavy and cumbersome.
Other known devices having a container or shelf combined with a lid have limitations which makes these devices impractical to use. One category of devices includes a container combined with a cup, but utilizes a hole in the middle of the lid. This makes it impossible to store relatively circular items, i.e., non-ring or non-annular items having no central hole, in the container, such as hamburgers, cookies or muffins, for example. Another category of devices includes a container combined with a lid, but does not allow for simultaneous access to the contents of the cup and the container, nor for the container to be resealed or a drop-in container to be removed from the container. Other devices that include drop-in functionality require removal of the container before accessing the contents of the cup. Other devices have relatively small peel containers for pills such as mints and are not suitable for larger food items. Another category of devices utilizes dividers in the cup with access on each side of the cup. No known devices have a non-permanent or male/female bottom oriented coupling system for coupling a container with the lid.
Also known in the art is a flask-type container with a small compartment for a pill or pills. This design is unsuitable for storage of and simultaneous access to larger volumes of beverages and more substantial snacks/food items such as would be consumed by a take-out customer, and does not have a shape compatible with armrest cup-holders.
Thus simultaneous or intermittent access to the contents of known cups and the contents of an attached container is not possible. This makes for difficult consumption of coffee, soda, snacks, popcorn, etc., in malls, fast food restaurants, theaters, amusement parks, sports stadiums or in any other venue. For example, this makes it difficult to eat and drink food in a theater or stadium with one cup-holder per seat.
What is therefore needed is a straw and cup lids that overcome these drawbacks and fosters convenient on-the-go drinking.
SUMMARY The present invention provides an elegant solution to the needs described above and provides numerous additional benefits and advantages as will be apparent to persons of skill in the art.
One aspect provides a container lid that can be coupled to a food container, wherein the lid includes a continuous outer coupling trough for attachment to the open top of a beverage container and where the trough circumscribes a footprint of the container lid. A straw-hole planar surface is disposed within the footprint, the straw-hole planar surface is adjacent to the outer coupling trough and a hole for drinking a liquid in the container extends through the straw-hole planar surface. A riser wall extends away from the straw-hole planar surface and defines a first planar surface above the straw-hole planar surface. A sip hole extends through the first planar surface. A food container coupling wall connects to the first planar surface and extends from the first planar surface to a position lower than the first planar surface and a food container coupling bottom connected to the food container coupling wall.
In another aspect, a cup lid with an integrated container that can be coupled to a beverage cup has a continuous outer coupling ring which circumscribes a footprint of the lid, and a drink-hole planar surface above the coupling ring and within the lid footprint. An annular surface above the coupling ring, within and non-concentric with the lid footprint, is connected to the drink-hole planar surface. A food container has a container inner wall extending downward from the annular surface, and a bottom connected to the container inner wall and coplanar with or below the coupling ring to avoid spillage. A drink hole for drinking a liquid in the cup extends through the drink-hole surface at a position outside of the annular surface. The drink hole may be a straw hole or a sip hole. A cover is removably attached to the annular surface and encloses the food container. The cover may be a seal-on/peel-off membrane, and may be sealed on the lid in any rotational orientation due to the circular shape of the food container.
In one embodiment, the drink-hole planar surface is approximately co-planar with the coupling ring and connected to the annular surface by a container outer wall extending upward from the drink-hole planar surface to the annular surface. In another embodiment, the drink-hole planar surface is above the coupling ring and connected to the coupling ring by an exterior wall extending upward from the coupling ring to the drink-hole planar surface, and connected to the annular surface by a container outer wall extending upward from the drink-hole planar surface to the annular surface. In another embodiment, the drink-hole planar surface is above the coupling ring and connected to the coupling ring by an exterior wall extending upward from the coupling ring to the drink-hole planar surface. In this embodiment, the drink-hole planar surface is contiguous with the annular surface.
Also disclosed is a rack for holding the lids in a compact arrangement as for sale. For display on a rack, the drink-hole planar surface may be positioned at an optimal distance between the coupling ring and the annular ring that allows the lid to hang in a substantially vertical orientation when suspended via a horizontal post through the drink hole, when the container is filled with a food item.
The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not meant to be exhaustive. Other aspects, objects, and advantages of this invention will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention can be better understood with reference to the following figures. The components within the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed on clearly illustrating example aspects of the invention. In the figures, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views and/or embodiments. It will be understood that certain components and details may not appear in the figures to assist in more clearly describing the invention.
FIG. 1 illustrates a consumer using a novel straw, without diverting the consumer's gaze.
FIG. 2 illustrates a consumer using a conventional straw with the consumer's gaze diverted.
FIG. 3A shows the straw of FIG. 1 used with a short beverage container.
FIG. 3B shows the straw of FIG. 1 used with a beverage container that is taller than the beverage container of FIG. 3A.
FIG. 3C shows the straw of FIG. 1 used with a beverage container that is taller than the beverage container of FIG. 3B.
FIG. 4 is an isometric view of the straw of FIG. 1 used with a beverage container that has a food compartment on top.
FIG. 5 is a side view of the straw of FIG. 1 used with a beverage container that has a food compartment on top.
FIG. 6 is an embodiment of the straw with a large opening.
FIG. 7 is an embodiment of the straw with a narrow opening.
FIG. 8 is an isometric view of the straw of FIG. 1.
FIG. 9 is a side view of the straw of FIG. 1.
FIG. 10 illustrates the straw of FIG. 1 deforming into the beverage container.
FIG. 11 illustrates how a conventional straw can stab the inside of a consumer's mouth.
FIG. 12A depicts the general parameters for flow analysis of a novel straw.
FIG. 12B depicts the flow analysis of four straw configurations.
FIG. 12C is an isometric view of the straws of FIG. 12B.
FIG. 12D is a side illustration of any of the straws of FIG. 12B in bending.
FIG. 12E is a front illustration of any of the straws of FIG. 12B in bending.
FIG. 12F is an isometric illustration of any of the straws of FIG. 12B in bending.
FIG. 13A is an isometric view of a beverage container with a lid that has a food container snapped or coupled to the lid, with the straw of FIG. 1.
FIG. 13B is a side view of the beverage container/lid complex of FIG. 13A.
FIG. 13C is an isometric view of the beverage container/lid complex of FIG. 13A.
FIG. 13D is an isometric view of the beverage container/lid complex of FIG. 13A, with the food container detached from the lid of the beverage container.
FIG. 13E is an isometric view of the beverage container/lid complex of FIG. 13A, with the food container detached from the lid beverage container and rotated to show the mating surfaces.
FIG. 13F is an isometric view of the beverage container/lid complex of FIG. 13A, with the food container detached from the lid of the beverage container.
FIG. 13G is an isometric view of the beverage container lid of FIG. 13A, with the food container removed and without the beverage container and straw, showing detail of the straw hole.
FIG. 13H is a top view of the lid of FIG. 13G.
FIG. 13I is a side view of the lid of FIG. 13G.
FIG. 14A is an isometric view of a lid for a beverage cup, wherein the lid has a compartment that may hold food, and wherein the compartment is sealed by a seal-on/peel-off membrane, with a straw hole in a lower position.
FIG. 14B is an isometric view of a lid for a beverage cup, wherein the lid has a compartment that may hold food, and wherein the compartment is sealed by a seal-on/peel-off membrane, with a straw hole in a middle position.
FIG. 14C is an isometric view of a lid for a beverage cup, wherein the lid has a compartment that may hold food, and wherein the compartment is sealed by a seal-on/peel-off membrane, with a straw hole in an upper position.
FIG. 14D shows the lid of FIG. 14A with the seal-on/peel-off membrane removed.
FIG. 14E shows the lid of FIG. 14B with the seal-on/peel-off membrane removed.
FIG. 14F shows the lid of FIG. 14C with the seal-on/peel-off membrane removed.
FIG. 14G is a side view of the lid of FIG. 14A with a conventional straw.
FIG. 14H is a side view of the lid of FIG. 14B with a conventional straw.
FIG. 14I is a side view of the lid of FIG. 14C with a conventional straw.
FIG. 14J is a section view of the lid of FIG. 14A on a beverage cup and with a conventional straw.
FIG. 14K is a section view of the lid of FIG. 14B on a beverage cup and with a conventional straw.
FIG. 14L is a section view of the lid of FIG. 14C on a beverage cup and with a conventional straw.
FIG. 14M is an isometric view of the lid of FIG. 14A hanging from a rack.
FIG. 14N is an isometric view of the lid of FIG. 14B hanging from a rack.
FIG. 14O is an isometric view of a rack holding a plurality of FIG. 14A lids.
FIG. 14P is an exploded view of the lid of FIG. 14A with a tool for installing the seal-on/peel-off membrane.
FIG. 14Q is a side view of the tool of FIG. 14P with the lid fully seated.
FIG. 14R is a side view of the tool of FIG. 14P with the lid partially removed.
FIG. 15A is an isometric view of a lid for a beverage cup, wherein the lid has a compartment that may hold food and which may have one or more removable shelves, shown on a beverage cup and with a conventional straw.
FIG. 15B is a section view of the lid of FIG. 15A.
FIG. 15C is a side view of the lid of FIG. 15A with the food compartment detached from the lid.
FIG. 15D is an isometric view of the lid of FIG. 15A, with the food compartment detached from the lid and rotated to show the mating surfaces.
FIG. 15E is an isometric view of the lid of FIG. 15A with the food compartment open to reveal the top shelf.
FIG. 15F is an isometric view of the lid of FIG. 2A with the food compartment open and the shelves removed.
FIG. 16 illustrates a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention, coupled with a cup, a seal-on/peel-off cover and configured to allow access to the contents of the cup via a straw.
FIG. 17 illustrates a cross sectional view of FIG. 16.
FIG. 18 illustrates a top perspective view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 16.
FIG. 19 illustrates a top view of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 16.
FIG. 20A illustrates a side cross sectional view of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 16.
FIG. 20B illustrates a side cross sectional view of an embodiment of the invention, shown having two or more coupling elements configured to couple with cups of different sizes.
FIG. 20C illustrates different embodiments of coupling elements that may be utilized to attach the top container to the cup rim.
FIG. 21 illustrates an exploded view of an embodiment of the cup lid with integrated container, above a cup, along with a food item and a cover.
FIG. 22A illustrates a bottom view of an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 22B shows a side view of an embodiment of the invention, having a vertical dimension that extends to the plane of the cup opening.
FIG. 22C shows a side view of an embodiment of the invention, having a vertical dimension that extends down into the plane of the cup opening.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION Following is a non-limiting written description of example embodiments illustrating various aspects of the invention. These examples are provided to enable a person of ordinary skill in the art to practice the full scope of the invention without having to engage in an undue amount of experimentation. As will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, further modifications and adaptations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, which is limited only by the claims. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. Particular example embodiments of the present invention may be implemented without some or all of these features or specific details. In other instances, components well known to persons of skill in the art have not been described in detail in order not to obscure unnecessarily the present invention.
FIG. 1 illustrates the straw 10 used in a beverage container 20. The straw is similar to the one disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 29/500266 entitled “BENDABLE DRINKING STRAW” filed on Aug. 22, 2014, which is by the same inventor of the present application and is incorporated herein by reference. The straw 10 may optionally be pre-shaped with an arc shape, and is flexible as described in more detail with reference to FIG. 10. The straw 10 may also be semi-rigid such that it returns to its original shape when it is not under a bending force. The straw 10 may be made of a compliant material such as plastic or composite, to allow it to reversibly deflect as described in more detail with reference to FIG. 10. Because the straw 10 may be pre-formed with an arc shape, the consumer can drink from the straw from a natural horizontal position, keeping her or his gaze 30 forward. This is important when the consumer's gaze cannot be diverted, for example when the consumer is driving a vehicle and would like to take a sip through the straw without looking away from the road ahead. As shown in FIG. 2, with a conventional straw 40, the consumer's gaze 50 is diverted when drinking.
Previous straw designs addressed this problem with a short section of the straw that was bendable with an accordion-like structure. The portion of the straw on either end of the accordion-like structure was straight, and bending the accordion-like structure could create a 90-degree turn such that the user would access the end of the straw in the horizontal position. But as discussed below, when these accordion-like bendable straws are used with a top-mounted snap-on food container that may be larger than the beverage container lid, the straw must be sized in relation to the height of each particular type of beverage container, thereby reducing their utility.
FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C illustrate the same straw 10 placed into three beverage containers of different depths 20A, 20B, 20C. The straw 10 exits the beverage container with about the same amount of vertical clearance. This takes on more importance when the beverage container only has limited vertical clearance. For example, in FIG. 4, the beverage container 20D has a food container 60 placed on top it. Such a food container is disclosed in the applications listed at the beginning of this application, the disclosures of which are fully incorporated herein by reference. But as shown at position 70, the food container 60 restricts the amount of vertical clearance of a straw 10. A conventional accordion-like bendable straw would need to be specifically manufactured for the precise depth of the container 20D. If the food container 60 were placed on a shorter beverage container (for example container 20A of FIG. 3A), yet another straw would need to be manufactured that was shorter. Because of the bendable characteristics of the straw 10, which may optionally be arc-shaped, (shown in more detail in FIGS. 3A, 3B and 3C), a single straw can be used with various heights of beverage containers.
FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate two cross sectional shapes of the straw 10, with FIG. 6 having a larger opening 80 for thicker beverages such as milkshakes and FIG. 7 having a narrower opening 90 for hot beverages such as coffee. It would be apparent that other cross sectional shapes are possible.
FIG. 8 is an isometric view of the straw 10 intended to show the arc-shape. FIG. 9 is a side view showing the arc-shape. In the embodiments shown, the straw has more than a 20-degree arc and is approximately 12 inches long. It would be apparent that other arc angles and lengths are possible.
In addition to the safety feature of allowing a consumer to drink in a natural horizontal position without diverting her or his gaze, the straw also is compliant so as to minimize stabbing that is common with a conventional straw. FIG. 10 illustrates a consumer drinking from the straw 10 even when experiencing a force that propels the consumer's head forward in the direction of arrow 100. The straw 10 bendably deforms to position 110 from position 120. A convention straw 40, shown in in FIG. 11, would stab the consumer in the same situation. If, for example, a consumer was driving and held the beverage container in an orientation to maintain a forward gaze as in FIG. 11, and that consumer experienced a force such as hard braking that propelled the consumer's head forward in the direction of arrow 130, the straw 40 would not bend and would stab the inner portion of the consumer's mouth 140. Also, when the straw 40 bends, the cross-sectional area of the straw does not collapse or crimp. The straw 10 is constructed such that the amount of force necessary to bend the straw does not cause discomfort to the user's mouth. In one embodiment, the amount of bending force necessary is between 0.02 N and 0.2 N. The straw 10 may be made more rigid, but the bending force would then also increase, possibly causing discomfort to the user's mouth.
A further feature of the straw concerns its ability to regulate or cool hot liquids during use to prevent burns. FIGS. 12A-12F illustrate a straight and bendable straw 10 used in a beverage container. The bendable drinking straw is designed such that it can bend at least 180 degrees as shown in FIGS. 12D and 12F. The straw may also be optionally pre-formed in an arc-shape.
Currently, hot liquids are delivered from a beverage container to the consumer via a sip hole that allows a user to tip the container and sip the hot liquid. It is the sipping that allows the liquid to cool, preventing scalding. Because the bendable straw can be used for hot beverages, it is helpful that the length and internal surface area of the straw allows the liquid to cool when it travels from the beverage container to the consumer's mouth. Conventional circular straws (by circular, it is meant the cross section) do not allow for safely bending or deflecting off a top mounted food container, nor do they sufficiently regulate or cool a hot liquid. For this reason, consumers do not use a conventional circular straw for consuming hot beverages. Rather, the bendable straw disclosed herein may be used to have a properly sized cross-sectional area and length such that the amount of liquid entering the consumer's mouth is properly regulated or cooled, and therefore will not scald the user. This is especially helpful when the user is performing some other task while consuming the beverage. For example, a user who is driving would prefer to use a straw to consume the hot beverage such that his or her gaze is not diverted or obstructed by having to tilt the beverage container to access the liquid from the sip hole.
FIGS. 12A and 12B depict the flow analysis of four bendable straw configurations shown in FIG. 12C. The OH parameter (or the system rating number) is a qualitative measure of the amount of head caused by the straw and is calculated by the following equation:
OH=(Friction Factor×(L/Hydraulic Diameter))×((Velocitŷ2)/(2*Gravimetric Acceleration))
Each of these parameters is calculated and presented in FIG. 12B. The higher OH parameter (i.e., the head) the more the straw is able to dissipate heat so as to reduce the temperature of the beverage as it moves through the straw. Another factor shown in FIG. 12B is the cross-sectional area and the velocity, the product of which is the volume of liquid delivered to the user. System 1 has a low OH, meaning that the straw allows less heat to escape from the liquid and the volume of liquid delivered to the user is about 0.0473 in̂3/s. So while the straw allows less heat to escape from the liquid, the amount of liquid actually delivered is very small and reduces the possibility of scalding. A user may not prefer such low volume delivery. System 4 has a higher OH, meaning that the straw will allow more cooling, and the volume of liquid delivered to the user is much higher (10×) at about 0.537 in̂3/s. While the user would like the additional volume, the OH value suggests that the liquid delivered may be too hot. The combination of high volume and high temperature runs the risk of scaling. Systems 2 and 3 have OH values of 0.23 and 0.19 inches respectively, with a volume delivery of 0.297 in̂3/s. This combination of OH value and volume is the “sweet spot” where a user is delivered a pleasant amount of warm beverage, while reducing the possibility of scalding. The optimal straw design is therefore shown by system 2 and 3, with the dimensions provided in FIGS. 12A-12C. It would be apparent that the various parameters could be varied to reach an optimal volume/temperature profile for the straw without departing from the spirit of this invention. Those parameters may include but are not limited to the physical dimensions of the straw, the straw material, and the roughness of the straw. (A straw that has more internal roughness would increase the OH and reduce the temperature). Further, the dimensions may be chosen such that the straw can easily bend without causing the straw to collapse and thereby unreasonably restrict flow. The bending of the straws (systems 1-4) is shown in FIGS. 12D-12F.
FIGS. 13A-13I illustrate a lid 200 for a beverage container 215, than can be detachably connected to a food container 205. A bendable straw, as discussed with reference to FIGS. 12A-12F, may be inserted into a punch-out straw hole 225. A lid 200 has a continuous outer coupling trough 210 for attachment to the open top of the beverage container 215. The lid 200 also has a straw-hole planar surface 220 that is adjacent to the outer coupling trough 210. A hole 225 for drinking the liquid in the container extends through the straw-hole planar surface 220. Riser wall 230 extends away from the straw-hole planar surface 220 and defines a first planar surface 235 above the straw-hole planar surface 220. A sip hole 240 for drinking the liquid also extends through the first planar surface 235. To connect the lid 200 to the food container 205, the lid 200 may have a food container coupling wall 245 connected to the first planar surface 235 that extends down from the first planar surface 235 to a position lower than the first planar surface 235. The food container coupling wall 245 may also include a pressure structure 270 that places pressure against the food container 205 when a food container 205 is coupled to the lid 200. The pressure exerted by the pressure structure 270 is selected so as to allow the secure coupling of the food container 205 to the lid 200, and allow the decoupling of the food container 205 from the lid 200. The lid 200 may also have a vent hole 275 to relive pressure buildup caused by hot beverages.
A food container coupling bottom 250 is connected to the food container coupling wall. The straw hole planar surface 220 may also have a straw hole cover 255 and a hinge 260, wherein the straw hole cover rotates about the hinge and exposes the hole 225 when a straw is punched through the hole 225. To prevent the straw hole cover 255 from inadvertently opening, it may have a tick 265 that connects it to the straw hole planar surface 220. The straw hole 220 may have a substantially rectangular shape with rounded corners 280, which would accommodate the straw 10 disclosed above.
One benefit of having the straw hole cover 255 is that a user may prefer to use the sip hole 240. If the straw hole 225 does not have a cover 255, rather it is an open hole, the user may inadvertently spill the hot beverage while tilting the beverage cup during sipping from the sip hole 240. The straw hole cover 255 prevents this spillage. It further allows a retailer to use a single hot beverage lid for multiple users. Likewise as shown in FIG. 13B, when the food container 205 is coupled to the lid 200, the sip hole 240 is substantially covered by the food container 205, while the straw hole 225 is not covered by the food container 205. Thus if the user prefers to use a straw and consume the food from the food container 205, the beverage will not spill from the sip 240 when the food container 205 is coupled.
An embodiment of a cup lid with integrated container 1300b is shown in FIG. 16, coupled with a cup 1330, with a seal-on/peel-off membrane 1310b and configured to allow access to the contents of the cup via a straw 1301a. FIG. 17 illustrates a cross sectional view of FIG. 16. As shown, the cup may be a soda, lemonade, coffee, or beer cup, for example, and is not limited to cups with a rolled rim, which are shown herein in an exemplary manner. A first solid or liquid 1320 may include any combination of one or more cookies, chocolates, chips, crackers, nuts, popcorn, candies, ice cream, frozen yogurt, fruit pieces, burgers, French fries, sandwiches, milk, cream or any other item. A second liquid or solid in cup 1330 may include any combination of ice cream, milkshake, frozen ice, ice coffee, milk, lemonade, water, soda, coffee, beer, mixed alcoholic beverage, or any other item.
FIG. 18 illustrates a top perspective view of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 16. The planar, horizontal area on top of the embodiment shown includes a hole 1305a, which may be a straw hole or sip hole, to allow access to the second liquid or solid, i.e., the contents of the cup. Without removing the cup lid, a person may also access the contents of the container on top of the cup. FIG. 19 illustrates a top view of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 16. The peel-off tab is shown at the bottom of the figure and allows for the seal-on/peel-off membrane 1310b to be removed from the cup lid.
FIG. 20A illustrates a side cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 16. FIG. 20B illustrates a side cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the invention shown having two or more coupling elements configured to couple with cups of different sizes. In this figure, more than one coupling element, here 1307, having different diameters are employed so that embodiments of the invention may fit different sized cups. For example, the embodiment shown in FIG. 20B may be sized to couple with large or small coffee cups or large or small soda cups. In addition, three or more coupling elements 1307 may also be employed having three or more differing diameters, so that embodiments of the invention may couple with small, medium and large cups as one skilled in the art will appreciate. In this manner, only one size of cup lid, albeit with as many diameter coupling elements as desired, may be utilized to accommodate the different sized cups utilized. Although the embodiment shown has vertically offset coupling elements, other embodiments may utilize coupling elements that are horizontally offset without a vertical offset, as one skilled in the art will appreciate. FIG. 20C illustrates different embodiments of coupling elements that may be utilized with embodiments of the cup lid. The cross section of a coupling element 1307a is similar to the coupling element 1307, and may be easier to decouple from the cup lid based on the large angle at the bend 1377a. The cross section of a coupling element 1307b is a harder-to-remove version of the coupling element 1307 based on the smaller angle at the bend 1377b, which requires more force to remove from the rolled edge of a cup, for example. The cross section of a coupling element 1307c shows a semi-permanent or permanent coupling element based on the hook-like sharp angle at the bend 1377c. Depending on the stiffness of the material utilized in construction of the cup lid, the sharp angle at the bend 1377c may allow for the entire cup, even if full of liquid, to be lifted by the cup lid. This prevents spills by keeping the cup lid and cup attached even with large forces involved. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, multiple diameter coupling elements (as shown in FIG. 20B) on one cup lid may utilize any combination of the coupling elements 1307a, 1307b or 1307c in any embodiment of the invention. For example, in one embodiment, the smallest diameter coupling element on the top portion of FIG. 20B may utilize the coupling element 1307a or 1307b while the lower coupling element on the bottom portion of FIG. 20B may utilize the coupling element 1307b or 1307c, for example to allow for more strength for large cups that may weigh more. Any number of different diameters may be utilized with any embodiment of the coupling element and any other coupling element known in the art may be utilized if desired and based on the application, as one skilled in the art will appreciate.
FIG. 21 illustrates an exploded view of an embodiment of a cup lid 1300a with an integrated container or cavity 1301a shown above the cup 1330, along with any solid/liquid 1320 or food item such as a cookie, for example, that fits into the cavity 1301a, and a cover 1310a that covers the food item while the food item is in the container 1301a. The cup lid 1300a includes a coupling element 1307 that allows the cup lid to couple with the cup, and includes at least one wall 1302 that leads to a container bottom 1303, which may also be considered part of the wall 1302. As used herein, the term “wall” is not limited to a surface of any shape, but rather refers to the separation between the container 1301a and the contents of the cup 1330. Specifically, embodiments of the invention include at least one wall that defines the container 1301a that is configured to store a first solid or a liquid separate from a second solid or liquid stored in the cup 1330 wherein the cup 1330 generally includes an annular opening that lies in a plane on top of the cup. The cup as shown also includes a rolled rim 1331 that a coupling element 1307 is configured to couple with to hold the cup lid 1300a onto cup 1330. Specifically, the coupling element 1307 is configured to couple at least one wall to the annular opening on top of the cup, for example by stretching over the smaller diameter portion of the coupling element to allow the rolled edge of the cup to fit into the slightly larger diameter portion of the cup lid. The coupling element 1307 is an exemplary form of attachment and any form of attachment may be utilized to couple the cup lid 1300a to the cup 1330, as one skilled in the art will appreciate, including a coupling element that includes a more difficult type of coupling to remove or even a permanent coupling. The container cover 1310a is optionally configured to couple via a coupling element 1322 to a coupling element 1321 of the cup lid 1300a. An alternative is to extend the vertical sidewall of 1310a such that the coupling element 1322 is configured to couple to the coupling element 1307 of cup lid 1300a. The horizontal area 1304 includes a hole 1305a for a straw or sip hole and optional indented cut-outs 1306. At least one wall is configured to enable access of the first solid or liquid and the second solid or liquid without disengagement of the coupling element. For example, the contents of both the integrated container 1301a and the cup 1330 are accessible without removing the cup lid. The cover 1310a as shown is configured as an external wall friction press-on cover, but may also be configured as a seal-on/peel-off membrane, press-on friction dome, press-on friction dome with hole, internal and external wall friction press-on, internal wall friction press-on, hinge or rotational cover, so long as the cover is configured to at least partially enclose the container and retain the contents of the container when the cover is coupled with a corresponding version of the cup lid.
FIG. 21A illustrates a bottom view of an embodiment of the invention. At least one wall 1302 includes a vertical dimension that extends to, into, out of, or both into and out of the plane defined by the annular opening of the cup. FIG. 21B shows a side view of an embodiment of the invention having a vertical dimension that extends down to the plane of the cup opening. FIG. 21C shows a side view of an embodiment of the lid container with a cup shown in dashed lines, having a vertical dimension that extends into the plane of the cup opening; this vertical dimension may be of any size. Furthermore, at least one wall 1302 includes a horizontal dimension, for example across the diameter of the container, having a width less than, equal to, or greater than a width measured across the annular opening of the cup. The embodiment shown in FIG. 21C may itself hold popcorn and fit into a standard popcorn cup that is then utilized for soda, and/or may fit into a cup that has a narrower, or stepped configuration on the bottom half of the cup so as to fit into a standard stadium or movie theater seat cup holder for example. Any type of cup that allows for an embodiment of the invention to be utilized in conjunction with a cup holder for an automobile, or stadium seat, movie theater seat or any other type of cup holder is in keeping with the spirit of the invention.
FIGS. 14A-14P illustrate another embodiment of the invention in which the food container is circular and off-center. A lid 1100 for a beverage cup has a container portion 1110 that may hold food which is sealed by a seal/peel-off membrane 1104. This press-fit seal is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,596,491 entitled “CUP LID WITH INTEGRATED CONTAINER” issued on Dec. 3, 2013, by the same inventor of the present application. This patent is incorporated herein by reference.
FIG. 14A illustrates an embodiment of the cup lid with integrated container, where a straw hole 1106 passes through a horizontal area or straw-hole surface 1102a. The straw-hole surface is approximately co-planar with a coupling ring 1108 used to mate the lid 1100 with a beverage cup. The coupling ring 1108 circumscribes a footprint of the lid 1100. Although a circular straw hole is shown, the hole could be of another suitable shape, such as a rounded rectangular sip hole for drinking without a straw. The coupling ring 1108 may be a coupling element as discussed above with reference to U.S. application Ser. No. 13/680011.
FIG. 14B illustrates another embodiment where the straw hole 1106 is through a shelf 1102b between the plane defined by the coupling ring 1108 and the seal-on/peel-off membrane 1104. FIG. 14C illustrates an embodiment where the straw hole 1106 is through a shelf 1102c approximately co-planar with the seal-on/peel-off membrane 1104.
FIG. 14D shows the embodiment of the cup lid where the straw hole is in the lower position, with the seal-on/peel-off membrane 1104 removed. The seal-on/peel-off membrane 1104 attaches releasably to the annular surface 1118 which is connected to the straw-hole surface 1102a via an outer food container wall 1112. The cavity or food container 1111 is further defined by an inner container wall 1114 which descends from the annular surface 1118 to a substantially flat bottom 1116, which is at or below the level of the coupling ring 108 to avoid spillage of the contents of the container. The inner container wall 1114 defines a second footprint, which forms a nested circle within the footprint of the lid 1100. As shown in FIG. 14D, the second footprint defined by the inner container wall 1114 is non-concentric to the larger footprint of the lid 1100.
FIG. 14E shows the embodiment of the cup lid where the straw hole 1106 is in the middle position, and FIG. 14F shows the embodiment where the straw hole 1106 is in the upper position, with the seal-on/peel-off membrane 1104 lifted off. For both of these embodiments, an exterior wall 1117 extends from the coupling ring 1108 to the straw-hole plane 1102b, 1102c. The exact position of the straw hole in this last embodiment may be optimized as discussed below.
FIGS. 14D, 14E and 14F further show that the design of the lid 1100 is such that the seal-on/peel-off membrane 1104 can be sealed on the lid 1100 in any rotational orientation. As shown, the food container 1111 is circular, thus making the manufacture of the lid 1100 much easier because when food is placed in the container 1111 the seal-on/peel-off membrane 1104 need not be oriented in a certain direction prior to installation.
FIGS. 14G, 14H and 14I illustrate the lid 1100 with a typical straw 1107 inserted through the straw hole 1106 in the straw hole plane 1102a (lower position), 1102b (middle position), and 1102c (upper position). FIGS. 14J, 14K and 14L are cutaway views of these three lid embodiments with the straw and a cup 1120.
Further disclosed is a rack 1150 designed to be used with the lids 100. As shown in FIGS. 14M and 14N, the rack 1150, which may be made of metal, plastic or another suitable material, has a base 1152 so that the rack may stand upright on a countertop or other horizontal surface. Vertical supports 1154 rise from the base 1152 and are connected by horizontal supports 1156 from which extend posts 1158. The lids 1100 can be suspended from the posts 1158 in a compact display for sale, for example. In FIG. 1M, the first embodiment of the lid 1100 is shown which has the straw hole 1106 approximately co-planar with the coupling ring 1108 used to mate the lid 1100 with the beverage cup (FIG. 14A, 14D, 14G, 14J). The problem with this embodiment is that when the container 1111 is filled with food (for example, nuts or candy), gravity (shown by arrow 1160) will cause the lid 1100 to rotate about the straw hole 1106 in the direction of arrow 1165. Thus when the lids 1100 are displayed on the rack 1150, they will be tilted, unless a secondary support 1157 is added to the rack 1150 to prevent such rotation. In FIG. 14N, the straw hole 1106 is between the plane defined by the coupling ring 1108 and the seal-on/peel-off membrane 1104 (FIG. 14B, 14E, 14H, 14K). The exact position is selected such that the lid 1100, when filled with food, has a weight distribution which causes it to dangle on the rack 1150 in a substantially vertical orientation (arrow 1175), as may be seen also in FIG. 14O.
FIGS. 14P, 14Q and 14R illustrate tooling to allow the quick and easy installation of the seal-on/peel-off membrane. A support structure 1180 has a shape complementary to the container portion 1110, such that the container portion 1110 fits over the support structure 180 which reinforces the container portion 1110. This reinforcement allows the seal-on/peel-off membrane 1104 to be installed during manufacture by a press fit, without damaging the container portion 1110. As shown in FIG. 14P, the support structure 1180 has a base 1182 and a cavity 1189 defined by an inner wall 1184 connected by an annular upper surface 1188 to an outer wall 1186. As shown in FIGS. 14Q and 14R, when the container portion 1110 is placed over the support structure 1180, the coupling ring 1108 rests against the base 1182 and the annular surface 1118 is supported by the upper surface 1188, while the container inner wall 1114 and outer wall 1112 touch the tooling inner wall 1184 and outer wall 1186, respectively. This allows the seal-on/peel-off membrane 1104 to be sealed over the food container 1111 without risk of damage to the container portion 1110 when pressure is applied to create the seal.
FIGS. 15A-15F illustrate another lid for a beverage cup, wherein the container lid 2200 has a compartment 2211 that may hold food. As shown in FIG. 15A, the container lid 2200 attaches to a cup lid 2201 on a cup 2220, and a straw 2207 may be used to access a drink in the cup 2220 while the container lid 2200 is attached. The compartment 2211 may have one or more removable shelves 2202 as shown in FIG. 15B, to contain multiple food items. As shown in FIG. 15E, a cover 2250 pivots about a hinge 2255 to allow access to the compartment 2211, and the shelves 2202 may have a hole 2216 to allow the user to easily remove a shelf 2202 to access food contained on a lower shelf. The food compartment 2211 of the lid 2200 may have one or more ledges 2205, 2210 upon which the shelves 2202 rest (see FIG. 15F). As illustrated in FIGS. 15C and 15D, the container lid 2200 has a coupling element 2230 which attaches to a corresponding coupling element 2240 on the cup lid 2201.
The straw may be constructed out of plastics, composites or other suitable materials. The straw may also be semi-rigid such that it returns to its original shape when it is not under a bending force.
The invention has been described in connection with specific embodiments that illustrate examples of the invention but do not limit its scope. Various example systems have been shown and described having various aspects and elements. Unless indicated otherwise, any feature, aspect or element of any of these systems may be removed from, added to, combined with or modified by any other feature, aspect or element of any of the systems. As will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, modifications and adaptations to the above-described systems and methods can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, which is defined only by the following claims. Moreover, the applicant expressly does not intend the following claims “and the embodiments in the specification to be strictly coextensive.” Phillips v. AHW Corp., 415 F.3d 1303, 1323 (Fed. Cir. 2005) (en banc).
