DRINKING STRAW
A drinking straw is set forth, comprising an elongate tubular body fabricated from a material that loses rigidity when wet, and at least one ring of perforations circumscribing the elongate tubular body forming at least one frangible segment that can be removed when the material loses rigidity.
The present invention is directed to drinking straws, and more particularly to a drinking straw having at least one frangible segment.
2. Description of the Related ArtA drinking straw is a utensil intended to convey a beverage from a vessel such as a cup, can or bottle, to a person's mouth. In its most basic form, a drinking straw comprises an elongate tubular body having an opening at a bottom end for insertion in the beverage, and an opening in a top end for insertion into a user's mouth. In operation, the beverage enters the opening at the bottom end and is carried through the tubular body by means of suction applied by the user at the opening in the top end.
Traditionally, drinking straws have been fabricated from plastics intended for single-use, such as thermoplastic polymers (e.g. polypropylene). However, environmental concerns have led to an increase in biodegradable straws made of paper and paperboard. Indeed, several jurisdictions have banned single-use plastic straws in an effort to reduce plastic pollution.
One disadvantage of paper and paperboard straws is that they tend not to be water-resistant, leading to a loss in rigidity at the top end when soaked as a result of contact with the user's mouth and the beverage passing through the top end,
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is an aspect of the present invention to address the above-noted disadvantage of paper and paperboard straws by providing a drinking straw that includes at least one frangible segment at the top end that can be removed when soaked, resulting in a new rigid top end of the straw.
The above aspects can be attained by a drinking straw, comprising an elongate tubular body fabricated from a material that loses rigidity when wet; and at least one ring of weakened material circumscribing the elongate tubular body forming at least one frangible segment that can be removed from the drinking straw when the material loses rigidity.
These together with other aspects and advantages which will be subsequently apparent, reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.
With reference to
The material forming the elongate tubular body 2 is thinned forming a ring 5 of weakened material that circumscribes the elongate tubular body 2, resulting in at least one frangible segment 6 that can be removed, as shown in
Whereas
In all embodiments, it is important for proper suctioning of the drinking straw 1 that the ring 5 of weakened material does not perforate the material so as to form a leak. Thus, in the exemplary embodiment of
Although the ring 5 in
The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the detailed specification and, thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention that fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.
Claims
1. A drinking straw, comprising:
- an elongate tubular body fabricated from a material that loses rigidity when wet; and
- at least one ring of weakened material circumscribing the elongate tubular body forming at least one frangible segment that can be removed from the drinking straw when the material loses rigidity.
2. The drinking straw of claim 1, comprising a plurality of rings of weakened material circumscribing the elongate tubular body forming a plurality of frangible segments.
3. The drinking straw of claim 1, wherein the material is paper or paperboard.
4. The drinking straw of claim 1, wherein the ring of weakened material extends from an outer wall of the elongate tubular body toward an inner wall thereof.
5. The drinking straw of claim 1, wherein the ring of weakened material is in the form of a solid line.
6. The drinking straw of claim 1, wherein the ring of weakened material is in the form of a dashed line.
7. The drinking straw of claim 1, wherein the ring of weakened material is in the form of a tooth-shaped line.
8. The drinking straw of claim 7, wherein pointed portions of the tooth-shaped line project from the frangible segment.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 30, 2022
Publication Date: Jan 4, 2024
Inventor: Nicholas Roderick John PERRY (Toronto)
Application Number: 17/854,103