LOCKABLE BEVERAGE CONTAINER CLOSURE
A lid for use with a beverage container. The lid has a body with a drink opening, a drink opening stopper operable to transition between a closed position and an opened position, and a lock actuator manually rotatable between a locking position preventing the drink opening stopper from transitioning from the closed position to the opened position when the lock actuator is in the locking position and an unlocking position permitting the drink opening stopper to transition from the closed position to the opened position when the lock actuator is in the unlocking position.
The present invention is directed generally to lids for liquid storage vessels such as for beverage or food containers and more particularly to lids with movable components and that include a plurality of locking mechanisms.
Description of the Related ArtPrior art lids are typically of one of three types. The first type is a solid unitary lid that does not include openings or apertures through which the contents of a liquid storage vessel may exit the vessel. To drink from the vessel, a user must remove the lid. The second type, which may also be of a unitary construction, includes one or more unobstructed apertures in the lid through which the liquid may exit the vessel. In the second type, the apertures are always open. If the vessel is inadvertently tipped or dropped, the contents of the vessel may spill. The third type of lid includes one or more apertures in the lid through which the liquid may exit the vessel and a means for selectively opening and closing the apertures. When using the third type of lid, the user may selectively open the apertures to remove the contents from the vessel and selectively close the apertures to maintain the contents inside the vessel. Further, by closing the apertures, the lid may help insulate the contents from the environment outside the vessel.
Various embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings, in which:
In the following description, various embodiments will be described. For purposes of explanation, specific configurations and details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will also be apparent to one skilled in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without the specific details. Furthermore, well-known features may be omitted or simplified in order not to obscure the embodiment being described.
Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a lid or a closure for a beverage container that is adapted for closing an open end of the beverage container and isolating the contents of the beverage container from an outside environment. The lid is selectively couplable to the beverage container and is operable to permit the passage of fluid or another substance from the beverage container to an external environment (for example, to be drunk by a person).
A beverage container closure or lid, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, is generally indicated by reference numeral 10 in
As best seen in
Coupled to the upper portion 14 of the main body 12 of the lid 10 is a lid cover 16. The lid cover 16 is operable to transition between a closed position (as shown in
The lid cover 16 is coupled to the main body 12 using a hinge mechanism 13 that permits the rotation of the lid cover 16 about a transverse rotary axis of the hinge. To enable the hinge mechanism 13, the main body 12 is configured with a pair of spaced apart arms 78A, 78B, whereby each arm has a respective aperture 80A, 80B extending therethrough, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The lid 10 has a dual-locking mechanism comprising an actuated disk lock and a press-button lock. Passage of fluid or another substance through the drinking opening 64 may only be permitted if both locking mechanisms of the lid 10 are actuated to be in an unlocking position. If at least one of the locking mechanisms of the lid 10 is in the locking position, the lid 10 is configured such that the drinking opening plug 112 seals the drinking opening 64 and a fluid or another substance is prevented from passing through the drinking opening 64. Similarly, the vent hole plug 114 prevents fluid or another substance from passing through the vent hole 66. The dual-locking mechanism is advantageous in that if one locking mechanism is accidentally actuated, the second locking mechanism may serve as a safety and prevent the lid 10 from being placed in an open position.
A first locking mechanism includes, disposed on an exterior surface of the lid cover 16, a manually rotatable actuation disk 162 having a top grip surface 164. As shown in
As shown in
The top grip surface 164 of the actuation disk 162 has disposed thereon lock indicia 166, unlock indicia 168 and nubs 170. The nubs 170 are provided to facilitate manual gripping of the grip surface 164 and hence rotation of the actuation disk 162. The lock indicia 166 and unlock indicia 168 are provided to indicate to a user whether the first locking mechanism using the tab 186 enabled by the actuation disk 162 is in the locking position or in the unlocking position. An alignment mark 192 disposed on the lid 10 serves as a position reference to the lock indicia 166 and the unlock indicia 168.
A tab 172 shown in
The aperture 156 is further configured to provide for two resilient arms 204A, 204B formed in the lid cover 16. Each resilient arm 204A, 204B is operative to snap-lock the tab 172 in a respective recess 208A, 208B of the resilient arm. The application of increased rotational force on the actuation disk 162 is required to move the tab 172 into and out of each recess 208A, 2086. After freeing the tab 172 from a resilient arm 204A, 204B, the tab 172 may be moved more easily between the resilient arms 204A, 204B. The resilient arms 204A, 204B have the effect of retaining the actuation disk 162 in the locking or unlocking positions until the rotational force applied to the actuation disk 162 is strong enough to exceed a threshold. Accordingly, the resilient arms 204A, 204B may reduce the likelihood of accidental or unintentional rotation of the first locking mechanism and opening of the lid cover 16.
A second locking mechanism is used for releasably securing the cover 16 to the body 12 of the lid 10. As shown in
As described herein, the lid cover 16 can only be rotated to the open position upon actuation of the second locking mechanism if the actuation disk 162 of the first locking mechanism is rotated to the unlocking position. In other words, both the first and second locking mechanisms must be moved to its unlocking position for the lid 10 to be moved from the closed position to the open position. Although the button plate 212 of the second locking mechanism is described herein as being pivoted on the cover 16, it may be contemplated that the plate 212 is pivoted on the body 16 of the lid 10 for releasably securing the cover 16 of the lid 10 to the body 12 of the lid 10.
The foregoing described embodiments depict different components contained within, or connected with, different other components. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures are merely exemplary, and that in fact many other architectures can be implemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively “associated” such that the desired functionality is achieved. Likewise, any two components so associated can also be viewed as being “operably connected,” or “operably coupled,” to each other to achieve the desired functionality.
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention and its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as are within the true spirit and scope of this invention. Furthermore, it is to be understood that the invention is solely defined by the appended claims. It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.).
It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations).
Accordingly, the invention is not limited except as by the appended claims.
Claims
1. A lid for use with a drinking vessel containing a liquid, comprising:
- a body selectively couplable to the drinking vessel, the body having a drink opening configured to permit fluid passage therethrough when the lid is coupled to the drinking vessel;
- a drink opening stopper operable to transition between a closed position whereat the drink opening stopper is positioned at the drink opening to prevent the passage of fluid from within the drinking vessel through the drink opening, and an opened position whereat the drink opening stopper is positioned away from the drink opening to permit the passage of fluid from within the drinking vessel through the drink opening;
- a manually rotatable lock actuator rotatable in a first plane of rotation transverse to a longitudinal axis of the lid; and
- a locking member rotatable between a lock position and an unlock position, the lock actuator being engagable with the locking member to provide rotational drive to the locking member to move the locking member from the locked position to the unlock position, whereat the locking member permits the drink opening stopper to transition from the closed position to the opened position.
2. The lid of claim 1, wherein the locking member is rotatable between the lock position and the unlock position in a second plane of rotation transverse to the longitudinal axis of the lid.
3. The lid of claim 2, wherein the locking member is rotatable in the second plane of rotation about the longitudinal axis of the lid.
4. The lid of claim 3, wherein lock actuator is rotatable in the first plane of rotation about the longitudinal axis of the lid.
5. The lid of claim 2, wherein the second plane of rotation is below the first plane of rotation.
6. The lid of claim 1, wherein the locking member is positioned below the first plane of rotation.
7. The lid of claim 1, wherein the lid has an upper lid end portion and the lock actuator is located at the upper lid end portion.
8. The lid of claim 7, wherein the lock actuator has an outer perimeter portion extending about the upper lid end portion.
9. The lid of claim 1, wherein the lid has an upper lid end portion to which the lock actuator is rotatably attached.
10. The lid of claim 1, wherein the lock actuator is rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the lid.
11. The lid of claim 10, wherein the locking member is rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the lid.
12. The lid of claim 1, wherein the lock actuator has an outer perimeter portion with at least a portion thereof having a circular shape.
13. The lid of claim 1, wherein the lock actuator is an actuation disk.
14. The lid of claim 1, wherein the lock actuator is located above the drink opening.
15. The lid of claim 1, further including a button inwardly movable in response to an inwardly directed actuation force applied directly to the button when the lock member is rotated to the unlocked position, inward movement of the button permitting movement of the drink opening stopper from the closed position to the open position.
16. The lid of claim 1, wherein the lock actuator is engagable with the locking member to provide rotational drive to the locking member for rotational movement of the locking member about the longitudinal axis of the lid.
17. The lid of claim 1, wherein rotation of the lock actuator between a locking position and a unlocking position rotates the locking member with a circular movement between the lock position and the unlock position, respectively, when in the lock position the locking member retains the drink opening stopper in the closed position, and when in the unlock position the locking member permits the drink opening stopper to move to the opened position.
18. A lid for use with a drinking vessel containing a liquid, comprising:
- a body selectively couplable to the drinking vessel, the body having a drink opening configured to permit fluid passage therethrough when the lid is coupled to the drinking vessel;
- a drink opening stopper operable to transition between a closed position whereat the drink opening stopper is positioned at the drink opening to prevent the passage of fluid from within the drinking vessel through the drink opening, and an opened position whereat the drink opening stopper is positioned away from the drink opening to permit the passage of fluid from within the drinking vessel through the drink opening;
- a manually rotatable lock actuator selectively movable by a user in first and second rotational directions in a first plane of rotation transverse to a longitudinal axis of the lid; and
- a locking member rotatable between a lock position and an unlock position, the lock actuator being engagable with the locking member to provide rotational drive to the locking member, rotation of the lock actuator in the first rotational direction rotating the locking member to the lock position whereat the locking member prevents the drink opening stopper from transitioning from the closed position to the opened position, and rotation of the lock actuator in the second rotational direction rotating the locking member to the unlock position whereat the locking member permits the drink opening stopper to transition from the closed position to the opened position.
19. The lid of claim 18, wherein the locking member is rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the lid between the lock position and the unlock position in a second plane of rotation transverse to the longitudinal axis of the lid.
20. The lid of claim 18, wherein the locking member is positioned below the first plane of rotation.
21. The lid of claim 18, wherein the lid has an upper lid end portion and the lock actuator is located at the upper lid end portion.
22. The lid of claim 21, wherein the lock actuator has an outer perimeter portion extending about the upper lid end portion.
23. The lid of claim 18, wherein the lid has an upper lid end portion to which the lock actuator is rotatably attached.
24. The lid of claim 18, wherein the lock actuator is rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the lid.
25. The lid of claim 24, wherein the locking member is rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the lid.
26. The lid of claim 18, further including a button inwardly movable in response to an inwardly directed actuation force applied directly to the button when the locking member is rotated to the unlocked position, inward movement of the button permitting movement of the drink opening stopper from the closed position to the open position.
27. A lid for use with a drinking vessel containing a liquid, comprising:
- a body selectively couplable to the drinking vessel, the body having a drink opening configured to permit fluid passage therethrough when the lid is coupled to the drinking vessel;
- a drink opening stopper operable to transition between a closed position whereat the drink opening stopper is positioned at the drink opening to prevent the passage of fluid from within the drinking vessel through the drink opening, and an opened position whereat the drink opening stopper is positioned away from the drink opening to permit the passage of fluid from within the drinking vessel through the drink opening;
- a manually rotatable lock actuator selectively movable by a user in first and second rotational directions in a first plane of rotation transverse to a longitudinal axis of the lid; and
- a locking member movable between a lock position and an unlock position, the lock actuator being engagable with the locking member to move the locking member between the lock and unlock positions, rotation of the lock actuator in the first rotational direction moving the locking member to the lock position whereat the locking member prevents the drink opening stopper from transitioning from the closed position to the opened position, and rotation of the lock actuator in the second rotational direction moving the locking member to the unlock position whereat the locking member permits the drink opening stopper to transition from the closed position to the opened position.
28. The lid of claim 27, wherein the locking member is positioned below the first plane of rotation.
29. The lid of claim 27, wherein the lid has an upper lid end portion and the lock actuator is located at the upper lid end portion.
30. The lid of claim 29, wherein the lock actuator has an outer perimeter portion extending about the upper lid end portion.
31. The lid of claim 27, wherein the lid has an upper lid end portion to which the lock actuator is rotatably attached.
32. The lid of claim 27, wherein the lock actuator is rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the lid.
33. The lid of claim 27, further including a button inwardly movable in response to an inwardly directed actuation force applied directly to the button when the locking member is rotated to the unlocked position, inward movement of the button permitting movement of the drink opening stopper from the closed position to the open position.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 15, 2021
Publication Date: Oct 7, 2021
Inventor: Randy Sims (Franklin, TN)
Application Number: 17/348,479