REUSABLE EXTENDED STRAW

Abstract

The disclosure concerns an extended straw that can be used at a distance from a user by persons that have difficulty in bending forward, or in certain venues where movement is difficult, such as movie theaters or stadiums. The extended straw comprises a hard cylindrical straw, a length of flexible tubing, a mouthpiece, and a clip.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit and priority of U.S. Patent Application No. 65/552,660 entitled “STADIUM STRAW, SUPER STRAW, SPEED STRAW, SAFETY STRAW,” filed Aug. 31, 2017, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure generally relates to an apparatus for consuming liquids, and more particularly relates to a straw having a long, flexible portion so as to be usable at a distance from the liquid to be consumed.

BACKGROUND

Drinking straws are well known in the art, and have been in use, in various forms, since no later than 1888. The most well-known variety of drinking straw comprises a long, straight, semi-rigid tube constructed of plastic or paper. Another type of straw is the bendable straw, or bendy straw, and includes a concertina-type hinge at approximately 60%-75% of its length to allow the user to more conveniently use the straw. Yet another type of straw is the crazy straw, which comprises hard plastic with a number of twists and turns at the top. Telescopic straws are known in the art as well; for example, many juice boxes include a hard plastic straw comprising a pair of cylinders, with one cylinder being disposed in another, thereby allowing the straw to be stored in a space no taller than the juice box while still being able to reach the bottom of the juice box while the user sips from it.

Prior art straws are typically made of semi-rigid plastic or rigid plastic, paper, or metal.

One issue that prior art drinking straws have a number of shortcomings. The most important of these is the limited span of a drinking straw. In particular, utilizing a hard cylinder limits the span that can be achieved. The small span of drinking straws limits the usefulness of drinking straws for people with physical limitations, such as back pain, as well as for various venues, such as stadiums, movie theaters, etc.

OBJECTS OF THE DISCLOSED SYSTEMS, METHODS, AND APPARATUS

Accordingly, it is an object of this disclosure to provide an extended straw with a long, flexible body.

Another object of this disclosure is to provide an extended straw that allows a user to consume a liquid beverage that is disposed a significant distance from the user's mouth.

Another object of this disclosure is to provide an extended straw that allows a user to consume a liquid beverage without bending forward.

Another object of this disclosure is to provide an extended straw that allows a user with a physical disability to consume a liquid beverage.

Other advantages of this disclosure will be clear to a person of ordinary skill in the art. It should be understood, however, that a system, an apparatus or a method could practice the disclosure while not achieving all of the enumerated advantages, and that the protected disclosure is defined by the claims.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

Generally speaking, pursuant to the various embodiments, the present disclosure provides an extended straw. The extended straw comprises a hard cylindrical straw. A length of flexible tubing is coupled to the hard cylindrical straw, with one end of the flexible tubing fitting over the hard cylindrical straw. Coupled to the other end of the flexible tubing is a mouthpiece. The mouthpiece includes a body portion that is coupled to and fits over an end of the flexible tubing. The mouthpiece also includes a tip from which a user can draw liquid.

In certain embodiments, the extended straw can also include a clip so that the tubing can be held in place against a user's clothing. In particular, the clip can be coupled to the tubing using a ring. In addition, the hard cylindrical straw can be constructed of, for example, polyvinyl chloride or metal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Although the characteristic features of this disclosure will be particularly pointed out in the claims, the invention itself, and the manner in which it may be made and used, may be better understood by referring to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an extended straw constructed in accordance with this disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a mouthpiece for use as a component of an extended straw constructed in accordance with this disclosure.

FIG. 2a is a perspective view focused on the tip of a mouthpiece for use as a component of an extended straw constructed in accordance with this disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of rigid cylindrical attachment for use as a component of an extended straw constructed in accordance with this disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a person seated in a chair while using an extended straw constructed in accordance with this disclosure to consume a beverage while seated.

A person of ordinary skills in the art will appreciate that elements of the figures above are illustrated for simplicity and clarity, and are not necessarily drawn to scale. The dimensions of some elements in the figures may have been exaggerated relative to other elements to help understanding of the present teachings. Furthermore, a particular order in which certain elements, parts, components, modules, steps, actions, events and/or processes are described or illustrated may not be actually required. A person of ordinary skills in the art will appreciate that, for the purpose of simplicity and clarity of illustration, some commonly known and well-understood elements that are useful and/or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment may not be depicted in order to provide a clear view of various embodiments in accordance with the present teachings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This disclosure concerns an extended straw that allows a user to consume beverages that are disposed at a distance from the user. The extended straw can be easily stored in a small amount of space as the majority of the straw is formed of a flexible, compactible material.

Turning to the Figures and to FIG. 1 in particular, a perspective view of an extended straw constructed in accordance with this disclosure is depicted. In particular, the extended straw 100 comprises a hard cylindrical straw 102. The hard cylindrical straw 102 can be made of, for example, metal, a hard plastic, or even a hardened paper. The straw 102 can be a hollow cylindrical tube and can have an exterior diameter of, for example, 6 mm and can have a length of, for example, 19 cm to 22 cm. The straw 102 preferably handles liquids with temperatures of between −60° F. to 180° F. The extended straw 100 also includes a flexible tubing 104. The flexible tubing 104 can comprise, for example, polyvinyl chloride, silicone elastomer, polyurethane, or another flexible, non-toxic material. Typically, the tubing can tolerate liquids passing within it having temperatures between −60° F. to 180° F. The interior diameter of the tubing can be, for example, 4.7 mm to 5.0 mm, while the exterior diameter for the tubing can be, for example, 7.9 mm to 8.2 mm. The tubing 104 can be, for example, between 80 cm and 92 cm. The tubing 104 is joined to the straw 102 by the interior of the tubing 104 fitting over and coupling to the straw 102.

The extended straw 100 also comprises a mouthpiece 106. The mouthpiece 106 can be, for example, a molded piece of non-toxic polyvinyl chloride. The mouthpiece 106 preferably can tolerate liquids passing within it having temperatures between −60° F. to 180° F. The mouthpiece 106 includes a body portion 114 and a tip 112. The tip 112 is formed to the body portion 114. The tip is adapted to comfortably couple with a user's mouth so that liquid can be drawn through it by the user applying suction to the tip 112 with her/his mouth (not shown). The body portion 114 of the mouthpiece 106 is adapted to fit over and couple with the tubing 104, so that the tubing 104 is firmly held in place within the body 114 of the mouthpiece 106.

The extended straw 100 also comprises a clip 110. The clip 110 can be, for example, a spring loaded clip. The clip will typically be coupled to the tubing 104 by, for example, a ring 108. The clip can be constructed of, for example, a hard plastic, and can be, for example, 5 cm long and 16 mm wide. The clip is adapted to be attached to a user's clothing, pocket, etc., so that the tubing 104 can be held in place.

Turning to FIGS. 2 and 2a, a closeup of the mouthpiece 106 is shown. As depicted, the mouthpiece 106 is formed of plastic, with the tip 112 being integrally formed to the body portion 106.

The tip 112 has a cross pattern 119 slit into it, so that when the slit 119 in the tip is closed it creates a change in pressure of the liquid. The change in pressure, along with the surface pressure of the liquid, holds the liquid in the straw and prevents the liquid from emptying back into the container that the straw is placed into. The slit 119 requires pressure (typically from the lips of the user) to remain open. If no pressure is applied to the tip 112 to keep the slit 119 open, then no liquid can be drawn from the tip 112.

FIG. 3 depicts a closeup of the straw 102, which is coupled within the tubing 104.

Turning to FIG. 4, a user is depicted sitting in a chair and using the extended straw 100 to consume a beverage. As is visible, the mouthpiece 106 is disposed in the user's mouth while the straw 102 is disposed in a beverage container. The clip 110 is shown coupled to the user's shirt, and holding the tubing 104 in place.

It is intended that the scope of the disclosure not be limited by the specification, but be defined by the claims set forth below. In addition, although narrow claims may be presented below, it should be recognized that the scope of this invention is much broader than presented by the claim(s). It is intended that broader claims will be submitted in one or more applications that claim the benefit of priority from this application. Insofar as the description above and the accompanying drawings disclose additional subject matter that is not within the scope of the claim or claims below, the additional inventions are not dedicated to the public and the right to file one or more applications to claim such additional inventions is reserved.

Claims

1. An extended straw comprising:

a hard cylindrical straw having a first end;

a length of flexible tubing having a first end and a second end, the first end of the flexible tubing coupled to and fitting over the first end of the hard cylindrical straw;

a mouthpiece having a tip and body portion, the body portion of the mouthpiece coupled to and fitting over the second end of the flexible tubing; and

wherein the tip of the mouthpiece is adapted to allow a user to draw liquid from.

2. The extended straw of claim 1 further comprising a clip, the clip coupled to the flexible tubing by a ring.

3. The extended straw of claim 1 wherein the hard cyclindrical straw is constructed of metal.

4. The extended straw of claim 1 wherein the mouthpiece is constructed of polyvinyl chloride.

5. The extended straw of claim 1 wherein the flexible tubing is constructed of polyurethane.