BEVERAGE CONTAINER AND FLAVORING BOX

Abstract

A beverage container and a flavoring box, comprising: a container main body for accommodating a beverage; a straw, which is mounted on a mouth and neck portion of the container main body for sucking out the accommodated beverage; and a hollow annular flavoring box, which is used for accommodating flavorings and supplying the flavorings to the straw, and which is provided with a central hole part through which the straw passes. By means of the flavoring box, a favorite flavoring may be mixed into the water accommodated in the container, so that when drinking water, a user has the feeling of drinking juice, thereby improving the desire of people to drink water.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the technical field of beverage containers, in particular to a beverage container and a flavoring box.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Water can rarely arouse our desire to drink because it is colorless and tasteless, but fruit juice is different. Most people enjoy drinking fruit juice and the sweet fruit juice provides a very attractive taste in the mouth, so we will not feel that it is painful to drink water at all when drinking fruit juice. Drinking too much fruit juice, however, is harmful for our health, which is also not suitable for those with diabetes.

Generally, the flavor of a beverage depends on its odor and taste, and the human tongue can taste five different flavors (sweet, bitter, sour, salty, and fresh), while the odor determines 80% of the taste. This also explains why we always cannot taste anything when we have a cold and a stuffy nose. To this end, it is necessary to design a beverage container that gives people the illusion of drinking juice while drinking water, thereby enhancing their desire to drink healthy boiled water.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

(I) Solved Technical Issues

In response to the shortcomings of prior art, the present invention provides a beverage container and a flavoring box to address the problem of people having a low desire to drink pure water, but facing the harm to the body from the long-term consumption of beverages.

(II) Technical Solution

To achieve the above objectives, the present invention is implemented through the following technical solutions:

The beverage container and a flavoring box, comprising:

a container main body for accommodating a beverage;

a straw, which is mounted on a mouth and neck portion of the container main body or sucking out the accommodated beverage;

and a hollow annular flavoring box, which is used for accommodating flavorings and supplying the flavorings to the straw, and which is provided with a central hole part through which the straw passes.

Preferably, the straw and flavoring box are installed at the opening part of the container main body, which are detachable and have an mounting portion with a rotating mechanism that can rotate the flavoring box.

The flavoring box comprises:

a flavoring box main body with a top opening;

a top cover, which blocks the top surface of the opening;

an inflow hole, which is disposed on the bottom surface of the flavoring box main body for external air to flow in;

at least one supply hole, which is disposed on the inner surface of the flavoring box main body to supply the contained flavoring to the straw;

the straw has a suction hole, which sucks in flavorings supplied from at least one supply hole, and the flavoring box can be rotated, and when the supply hole is connected to the suction hole, the flavorings at the inner end of the flavoring box are mixed with the beverage along with the air flowing from the inflow hole to the supply hole.

Preferably, the flavoring box main body has at least one middle partition, which has at least one through hole, and the flavoring box is divided into at least two layers by the middle partition.

Preferably, the flavoring box main body has: an outer flange, which is disposed on the inside outer surface, extends from the inside outer surface to the inside inner surface for a specified length, and maintains a specified interval in the circumferential direction;

an inner flange, which is disposed on the inside inner surface, extends from the inside inner surface to the inside outer surface at a specified length, and maintains a specified interval in the circumferential direction.

Preferably, the flavoring box is made of resin or plastic.

Preferably, the container main body is made of metal or plastic.

Preferably, the length of the outer flange does not exceed the inside inner surface, and the length of the inner flange does not exceed the inner outer surface.

(III) Beneficial Effects

The present invention provides a beverage container and a flavoring box with the following beneficial effects:

• • 1. The beverage container in the present invention can mix favorite flavoring with the beverage accommodated, providing easy enjoyment of various flavored beverages.
  • 2. The beverage container of the present invention can, before we drink water, absorb the fruit aroma of essence through the nose, “cheat” our sense of smell with the smells, and when drinking water, we even have the feeling of drinking juice, thereby improving the desire of people to drink water and safeguarding their physical health.
  • 3. In further, the device features convenient use, and can be used without any tedious steps and carried conveniently because of its compact structure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the (a) side schematic diagram of beverage container, (b) top view of Flavoring box, and (c) AA line cross-sectional view of Flavoring box according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a (a) side view and (b) side view with the lid removed of the beverage container, as described in embodiment 2 of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a exploded side view of the beverage container according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows the (a) bottom view, AA line cross-sectional view and BB line cross-sectional view, (b) side view, (c) top view, (d) split stereo view, and (e) side view of the Flavoring box of the beverage container according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 shows (a) an enlarged cross-sectional view of the neck portion and (b) a top view with the Flavoring box removed, of the beverage container according to embodiment 2 of the present invention;

FIG. 6 shows the (a) bottom view, (b) side view, (c) top view, (d) AA line cross-sectional view, (e) split stereoscopic view, and (f) sectional schematic diagram of Flavoring box of the beverage container according to the third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 shows the (a) bottom view, (b) AA line cross-sectional view, and (c) split perspective of Flavoring box of the beverage container according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, including 10. Beverage container; 11. Container main body; 11a. Mouth and neck portion; 12. Straw; 13. Flavoring box; 13a, Central hole part; 20. Beverage containers; 21. container main body; 21a. Mouth and neck portion; 22. Straw section; 22a. Straw; 22b. Suction nozzle; 22c. Straw base; 22d, Suction hole; 23. Flavoring box; 23a, Central hole part; 23b. Flavoring box main body; 23c. Top cover; 23d, Bottom surface; 23e. Inflow hole; 23f. Supply hole; 23g, Control part; 23h, Sponge; 23i. Protrusion; 24. Mounting portion; 24a, Concave portion; 24b. Air hole; 24c, Concave portion; 25. Cover; 26. Water; 27. Flavorings; 28. Air; 33. Flavoring box; 33a. Middle partition; 33b. Through hole; 33c, First floor; 33d, Second layer; 43. Flavoring box; 43a. Sponge; 43b. Outer flange; 43c, Inner flange; 43d, Inside inner surface; 43e. Inside outer surface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be described clearly and completely in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative work shall fall within the protection scope of the invention.

Embodiment 1

As shown in FIG. 1, the embodiment of the present invention provides a beverage container 10, comprising a container main body 11, a straw 12, and a flavoring box 13. The container main body 11 is used to accommodate the beverage, and the straw 12 is mounted at the neck portion 11a of the container main body 11 to suck out the beverage accommodated. The hollow annular flavoring box 13 is used to accommodate and supply the flavoring to the straw 12 which passes through the central hole part 13a of the flavoring box 13.

In the embodiment, the arrangement of a flavoring box makes it possible to mix favorite flavorings into the beverage accommodated, providing the easy enjoyment of various flavored beverage.

Embodiment 2

As shown in FIG. 2-5, the embodiment of the present invention provides a beverage container 20 which, from top to bottom, is composed of a cover 25, a flavoring box 23, a straw portion 22, an installation portion 24, and a container main body 21. The flavoring box 23 is mounted on the straw portion 22, and the straw portion 22 with the flavoring box 23 is mounted on the mounting portion 24. Then, the mounting portion 24 with the flavoring box 23 and straw portion 22 is mounted on the neck portion 21a of container main body 21 to block the opening of neck portion 21a;

To use the container, remove the cover 25 first, take off the mounting portion 24, and fill the container main body 21 of the beverage container 20 with water 26 from the opening of neck portion 21a. When drinking water 26, the user removes the cover 25 from the container main body 21, inhale from the suction nozzle 22b, and suck out the water 26 along the straw 22a, that is, the water 26 inside. The straw 22a is covered by a transparent straw cover, and the straw 22a, which passes through the straw cover on the straw base 22c, is installed on the straw base 22c.

The cover 25 serves as a lid. When not using the beverage container 20, the user installs the cover 25 on the container main body 21 to block the suction nozzle 22b of straw 22a which is very hygienic because it will not be exposed to the outside. In addition, the beverage container 20 placed in a bag can protect the straw 22a against damage caused by an rubbing against the lining of the bag and collision with internal objects, and the bag or internal objects will not be wet even if water 26 overflows.

The straw 22 is provided with a suction hole 22d, which is a hole disposed on the side of the straw 22a to receive, from the suction hole 22d, the flavorings 27 supplied by the feeding hole 23f on the flavoring box 23. The flavoring 27, along with air, is mixed as bubbles into the water 26 in the straw 22a. The beverage itself is water 26, but the users feel that they are drinking a beverage mixed with the flavoring 27, and most of human tastes come from the odor. After various fragrances are mixed in pure water 26, users may have the feeling of drinking a beverage with such tastes although the water 26 remains unchanged. This embodiment effectively utilizes the human illusion.

As shown in FIG. 3, when wanting to fill the container main body 21 with water 26, the user can remove the mounting portion 24 from the mouth neck portion 21a, and easily replenish water 26 from the opening of mouth neck portion 21a. After replenishing the water 26, the user re-installs the mounting portion 24 onto the mouth neck portion 21a to block its opening. The water 26 replenished to the container main body 21 is therefore sealed in the beverage container 20. In addition, the end on the opposite side of suction nozzle 22b of the straw 22a extends to the bottom of container main body 21. In further, the end on the opposite side of the suction nozzle 22b of straw 22a can also be bent at a specified position. By bending the front end of the straw 22a, the user can completely drink the filled water 26 by tilting the beverage container 20 slightly. The container main body 21 is made of, but not limited to, metal or plastic, and can also be made of resin or alloy. In this embodiment, the container main body 21 is made of stainless steel, and can also be a plastic bottle (such as PET bottle) or glass bottle of commercially available mineral water and cool beverage water. In this case, the user only need the accessories that can directly insert the flavoring box 23 into the drinking port of commercially available plastic or glass bottles, etc.; in further, without using any accessories, the flavoring box 23 can be made small and then directly mounted at the mouth of commercially available plastic or glass bottles.

As shown in FIG. 4-5, the flavoring box 23 is a circular (donut shaped) component as a whole. The cavity formed by the straw 22a passing through the center of the flavoring box 23, namely the central hole portion 23a, is only required to maintain a diameter that allows the straw 22a pass through, but the inner circumference of flavoring box 23 is closely attached to the straw 22a;

the flavoring box 23 includes a flavoring box main body 23b and a top cover 23c; the flavoring box main body 23b has a bottom surface 23d, an outer and inner wall vertically disposed from the outer and inner circumference of the bottom surface 23d; the flavoring box 23 is entirely surrounded by the bottom surface 23d, and the outer and inner walls, forming a circular groove which is open above the vertical direction, that is, the flavoring box main body 23b is a circular component with a top surface opening; when the top cover 23c is above the flavoring box main body 23b, the groove that opens upwards is blocked, and the interior of flavoring box 23 is sealed;

the interior of flavoring box 23, i.e. the groove portion, is provided with sponge 23h into which the flavoring 27 penetrates; the flavoring box 23, when being sealed, is internally filled with flavoring 27;

the bottom surface 23d of flavoring box body 23b has an inflow hole 23e for introducing external air into the interior. In addition, the supply hole 23f on the inner surface of flavoring box main body 23b penetrates into the sponge 23h, supplying the flavoring 27 accommodated in the flavoring box main body 23b to the outside of the flavoring box 23; the flavoring 27 flowing out from the supply hole 23f to the outside is supplied to the straw 22a;

a suction hole 22d is provided on the straw 22a corresponding to the supply hole 23f, and is closely connected to the supply hole 23f, therefore the flavoring 27, along with the air, is mixed into the water 26 sucked up by the straw 22a;

the user can rotate the flavoring box 23 by holding the two holding portions 23g on the outer side of the flavoring box 23, and although the example presents two holding portions 23g on the flavoring box 23, the number of holding portions 23g is not limited here;

in further, a protrusion 23i is provided on the outer side of flavoring box 23 to fix the position of flavoring box 23, that is, when the user rotates the flavoring box 23. the protrusion 23i is embedded in the concave portion 24a of mounting portion 24, the flavoring box 23 will stop rotation and is fixed in a specified position; when the protrusion 23i is embedded in the concave portion 24a, for example, the suction hole 22d of straw 22a is connected to the supply hole 23f of flavoring box 23, the flavoring 27, along with air, is mixed as bubbles into water 26; when the user applies a little force to rotate flavoring box 23, the protrusion 23i leaves the concave portion 24a, disconnecting the suction hole 22d from the supply hole 23f, and the water 26 that is not mixed with flavoring is provided to the user.

The flow of flavoring 27 and air 28 inside the flavoring box 23 will be then explained. The air 28 which flows from the inflow hole 23e on the bottom surface 23d of flavoring box 23 changes its flow direction from vertical upward flow to horizontal flow along with the bottom surface 23d. In this case, the air 28 which is divided into two directions flows in both directions for half a circle inside the flavoring box 23, changes its flow direction, goes towards the central hole portion 23a of the flavoring box 23, and finally reaches the straw 22a from the supply hole 23f;

the inflow hole 23e and supply hole 23f are disposed diagonally, that is, they are arranged in separate positions, so that the air 28 flowing into the flavoring box main body 23b can flow for the longest distance and for a long time inside the flavoring box 23, and maintain a long-time exposure to the flavoring 27, increasing the contact time. During the period before reaching the supply hole 23f, the air 28 can contain a large amount of flavorings 27;

in further, two supply holes 23f of different diameters are provided on the inner surface of flavoring box 23; changing and aligning different supply holes 23f with the suction holes 22d of straw 22a can change the amount of flavoring 27 mixed into the water 26; by rotating flavoring box 23, for example, the user can switch over the flavoring 27 mixing switch, and when the switch is opened, adjust the mixing amount at stage 2 based on the different mixing amount of flavoring 27. Additionally, the two supply holes 23f can be of the same size, and there can be one or more than three supply holes 23f.

When the flavoring box 23 is rotated, the protrusion 23i is embedded in the concave portion 24a, and the inflow hole 23e located at the upper part of concave portion 24c allows air 28 to flow in. The concave portion 24c, larger than the inflow hole 23e, is two symmetrical grooves on the top surface of the mounting portion 24. In addition, the concave portion 24c is provided with a groove facing the outer side of the radial direction of the mounting portion 24, through which air enters the concave portion 24c, then goes to the interior of flavoring box 23 from the inflow hole 23e. Two supply holes 23f are provided on the inside of flavoring box 23, and also on the concave portion 24c. By rotating flavoring box 23, the user can allow the air 28 in by aligning either of the two supply holes 23f with the suction hole 22d. In further, the flavoring box 23 is made of, but not limited to, resin or plastic, and can also be made of metal or alloy.

If, when the user sucks water 26 from the suction nozzle 22b, the neck portion 21a is blocked, negative pressure will form inside the container main body 21 and the user cannot suck water 26. The air hole 24b is therefore disposed at the top of the mounting portion 24 to supply air 28 to the interior of the container main body 21, the user can drink water 26 since air 28 is supplied from the air hole 24b.

By means of the implementation method in which preferred flavors are mixed into the beverage through a simple structure, the user can enjoy water with various flavors and actually have the feel of drinking the flavored beverage. Additionally, the users drinking water can enjoy various beverages, regardless of their illness, and also alleviate their state of illness.

Embodiment 3

As shown in FIG. 6, the flavoring box of the beverage container in this embodiment has different internal structure from that in embodiment 2, but other structures and actions are the same as those in embodiment 2. Therefore, the same reference numerals are marked for the same structures and actions, and detailed explanations are omitted here.

Flavoring box 33 has a middle partition 33a, which is disposed between the top cover 23c and bottom surface 23d of flavoring box 33. The interior of flavoring box 33 is divided into two layers, the first layer 33c and the second layer 33d. The air 28 from the inflow hole 23e flows through the first layer 33c in two directions for half a cycle, and then reaches the upper layer, i.e. the second layer 33d, through the through hole 33b on the middle partition 33a. After reaching the second layer 33d, like inside the first layer 33c, air 28 flows in two directions for half a cycle, and then is supplied to the straw 22a from the supply hole 23f on the inner side of flavoring box 33. In addition, a plurality of through holes 33b are provided on the middle partition 33a, or a plurality of middle partitions 33a can be provided inside the flavoring box 33 to form a multi-layer flavoring box 33.

By means of the implementation method, air flows through an additional layer inside the flavoring box, so a simple-structured flavoring box can even provide more flavorings to water.

Embodiment 4

As shown in FIG. 7, the embodiment of the present invention provides a beverage container and a flavoring box. Compared with the aforementioned embodiment 2 and 3, the flavoring box in this embodiment has different internal structure, but other structures and actions are the same as those in embodiment 2 and 3. Therefore, the same reference numerals are marked for the same structure and actions, and their detailed explanations are omitted here.

The present invention includes a flavoring box 43 having an outer flange 43b and an inner flange 43c. The outer flange 43b is disposed on the inner outer surface 43e of the flavoring box main body 23b, extending from the inner outer surface 43e to the inside inner surface 43d at a specified length and specified interval in the circumferential direction; the inner flange 43c also extends from the inside inner surface 43d of the flavoring box main body 23b to the inside outer surface 43e at a specified length and specified interval in the circumferential direction.

The length of outer flange 43b cannot exceed the inside inner surface 43d, and the length of inner flange 43c cannot exceed the inside outer surface 43e. Therefore, the passage for air 28 flow inside the flavoring box 43 will not be blocked.

The air 28 flowing inside flavoring box 43 stays away from the outer flange 43b and inner flange 43c while flowing, so the air 28 has a longer flow distance compared to the case without the outer flange 43b and inner flange 43c, that is, the curved flow path of air 28 makes the flow distance longer. Therefore, air 28 must flow for a long distance, and in the flow, maintains a longer contact time with the flavoring 27 that infiltrates sponge 43a, supplying more flavorings to the water 26.

By means of the implementation method, even a simple-structured flavoring box can extend the contact time between air and flavorings, thus providing more flavorings to the water.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been presented and described, it can be understood that the person of ordinary skill in the art can make multiple changes, modifications, substitutions, and variations to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention is limited by the accompanying claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A beverage container and a flavoring box, wherein the beverage container, comprising:

a container main body for accommodating a beverage;

a straw, which is mounted on a mouth and neck portion of the container main body or sucking out the accommodated beverage;

and a hollow annular flavoring box, which is used for accommodating flavorings and supplying the flavorings to the straw, and which is provided with a central hole part through which the straw passes.

2. The beverage container and flavoring box according to claim 1, wherein the straw and flavoring box are installed at the opening part of the container main body, which are detachable and have an mounting portion with a rotating mechanism that can rotate the flavoring box.

3. The beverage container and flavoring box according to claim 1, wherein the flavoring box comprises:

a flavoring box main body with a top opening;

a top cover, which blocks the top surface of the opening;

an inflow hole, which is disposed on the bottom surface of the flavoring box main body for external air to flow in;

at least one supply hole, which is disposed on the inner surface of the flavoring box main body to supply the contained flavoring to the straw;

the straw has a suction hole, which sucks in flavorings supplied from at least one supply hole, and the flavoring box can be rotated, and when the supply hole is connected to the suction hole, the flavorings at the inner end of the flavoring box are mixed with the beverage along with the air flowing from the inflow hole to the supply hole.

4. The beverage container and flavoring box according to claim 3, wherein the flavoring box main body has at least one middle partition, which has at least one through hole, and the flavoring box is divided into at least two layers by the middle partition.

5. The beverage container and flavoring box according to claim 3, wherein the flavoring box main body has: an outer flange, which is disposed on the inside outer surface, extends from the inside outer surface to the inside inner surface for a specified length, and maintains a specified interval in the circumferential direction; an inner flange, which is disposed on the inside inner surface, extends from the inside inner surface to the inside outer surface at a specified length, and maintains a specified interval in the circumferential direction.

6. The beverage container and flavoring box according to claim 1, wherein the flavoring box is made of resin or plastic.

7. The beverage container and flavoring box according to claim 1, wherein the container main body is made of metal or plastic.

8. The beverage container and flavoring box according to claim 5, wherein the length of the outer flange does not exceed the inside inner surface, and the length of the inner flange does not exceed the inner outer surface.