TWI839070B - Beverage container cover assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

A beverage container system is described herein. The beverage container system includes a cover assembly that can selectively seal the beverage container. The cover assembly includes an upper cover and a lower cover. The upper cover is sealed against the drinking cover edge of the lower cover.

Description

Beverage container cover assembly

The present invention relates to a cover assembly for a beverage container.

Some beverage containers are known to use a lid with a closure feature or structure to prevent or reduce spillage or leakage of the fluid contained in the beverage container. Such conventional closure features may cause leakage or fail to provide an effective closure. Such conventional closure features may only have one drinking opening. Such conventional beverage containers may also fail to cover the drinking surface of the container or protect the drinking surface from contamination.

Some aspects of a lid assembly for a beverage container are shown and described herein. In one aspect, a lid assembly includes a lower lid and an upper lid. The lower lid can be joined to or connected to the upper portion or neck of the beverage container. The upper lid can be joined to or connected to the lower lid and abut against the lower lid in a sealed manner.

The lower cover includes one or more openings or fluid channels. The one or more openings or fluid channels can be used to form a fluid connection with the internal space of the beverage container. When the upper cover is joined to or connected to the lower cover, the upper cover is sealed against the drinking cover edge, top edge, mouth or other drinking surface of the lower cover, thereby forming a leak-proof cover assembly. When the upper cover is joined to or connected to the lower cover, the plug portion of the upper cover is positioned above the one or more openings or fluid channels. When the upper cover is removed from the lower cover, the lower cover can be used to dispense the beverage in the beverage container. The user may drink the beverage directly from the lower cover.

In other aspects, a cap assembly for a beverage container includes a lower cap. The lower cap can be connected to or joined to the outer periphery of the upper portion or neck of the beverage container. The lower cap has a central wall. The central wall has an opening for fluid to pass through. The cap assembly also includes an upper cap. The upper cap can be connected to or joined to the lower cap. The upper cap can be sealed against the inner surface of the beverage cap edge of the lower cap.

In other aspects, a lid assembly for a beverage container includes a lower lid. The lower lid can be connected to or joined to the beverage container. The lower lid has a central wall. The central wall has a smaller opening for fluid to pass through and a larger opening for fluid to pass through. The lid assembly also includes an upper lid. The upper lid can be connected to or joined to the lower lid. The upper lid can be affixed to the lower lid in a sealed manner.

In other embodiments, a cover assembly for a beverage container includes a first lower cover. The first lower cover can be used to connect to or join the beverage container. The first lower cover has a first central wall. The first central wall has a first opening through which fluid can pass. The cover assembly also includes an upper cover. The upper cover can be used to connect to or join the first lower cover and abut against the first lower cover in a sealed manner. The cover assembly also includes a second lower cover. The second lower cover can be used to connect to or join the beverage container to replace the first lower cover. The second lower cover has a second central wall. The second central wall has a second opening through which fluid can pass. The upper cover can also be used to connect to or join the second lower cover and abut against the second lower cover in a sealed manner. In some aspects, the first opening is a different size or shape than the second opening.

For the purpose of this application, all terms describing relative positions (such as "upper", "middle", "lower", "outer", "inner", "above", "below", "bottom", "top", etc.) are based on the illustrated aspects of the present invention, but these terms do not limit the usage orientation of these embodiments.

The beverage container system 10 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1-19. The beverage container system 10 includes a container 20 that can hold beverages, and a cap assembly 50 that can selectively close the beverage container 20. The cap assembly 50 can be coupled to the beverage container 20 to form the beverage container system 10. The cap assembly 50 can control the flow of beverage from the beverage container 20.

The cap assembly 50 includes a lower cap 100 and an upper cap 200. The lower cap 100 includes one or more openings 110 to facilitate the passage of fluid in the container 20. The upper cap 200 is connected to or joined to the lower cap 100 and abuts against the drinking cap edge 132 or drinking surface of the lower cap 100 in a sealed manner to substantially prevent or reduce leakage of fluid from the beverage container system 10. After the upper cap 200 is connected to or joined to the lower cap 100 on the beverage container 20, the fluid in the beverage container 20 is substantially sealed. When the upper cap 200 is fully connected to or joined to the lower cap 100, the beverage container system 10 is substantially leakproof.

The lower cover 100 may include a variety of different versions, configurations, or variations, depending on the user's drinking style or preference, and all different versions, configurations, or variations of the lower cover 100 may be used with the same upper cover 200 and the same beverage container 20. The lower cover 100 may include one or more openings 110 of different sizes, shapes, etc. If desired, the lower cover 100 may include vents, outflow openings, slow flow openings, free drinking openings, and/or openings that can accommodate straws.

In this aspect, the opening 110 includes a larger opening 110A and a smaller opening 110B. The larger opening 110A is suitable for drinking beverages in large gulps or drinking freely, while the smaller opening 110B is suitable for drinking beverages slowly, such as sipping. The larger opening 110A may be used for cold drinks, while the smaller opening 110B may be used for hot drinks. In this aspect, the larger opening 110A and the smaller opening 110B are approximately 180 degrees apart, that is, they are approximately located on opposite sides of the lower cover 100. The user can adjust the orientation of the beverage container system 10 or rotate the system to select the desired drinking opening 110. Of course, in other embodiments, the one or more openings 110 may have uniform size. In addition, in other embodiments, the one or more openings 110 may have a size that can accommodate a straw. The lower cover 100 may also have only a single opening 110.

The lower cover 100 and the upper cover 200 are connected or joined to each other in a removable manner, which will be further described below. In this aspect, the lower cover 100 is connected or joined to the beverage container 20 in a removable manner so as to hold the cover assembly 50 on the beverage container 20. To load the beverage into the container 20, the lower cover 100 may be removed from the beverage container 20 by twisting, as shown in FIG. 3, thereby removing the upper cover 200 from the beverage container 20 at the same time. The user may also first remove the upper cover 200 from the lower cover 100 and the beverage container 20, and then remove the lower cover 100 from the beverage container 20 by twisting. In other embodiments, the method of filling the beverage container 20 with water may include introducing the water into the opening of the lower cover 100.

The following will be described with respect to the upper cover 200. Figures 12-14 only show the upper cover 200. Please refer to Figure 5. In this embodiment, the upper cover 200 includes an inner wall 230 and an outer wall 235, and the inner and outer walls are connected by an upper wall 240. A space 245 is formed between the inner wall 230 and the outer wall 235. When the upper cover 200 is connected to the lower cover 100, the drinking lid edge 132 of the lower cover 100 can be placed in the space 245 and covered by the space 245 and the lower side of the upper wall 240 to prevent dust, pollutants, germs, etc. from contacting the drinking lid edge 132.

In this aspect, the upper cover 200 is removably coupled to the lower cover 100, as shown in FIG4 . In this aspect, the upper cover 200 forms a plug portion 210, and the plug portion 210 can be placed in the central area 115 of the lower cover 100 and covers the one or more openings 110 of the lower cover 100. The plug portion 210 can be inserted into the central area 115 of the lower cover 100. The plug portion 210 may be used to help insulate the contents of the container 20, such as including a compartment filled with air, foam, vacuum space, insulation block or other insulation configuration.

In this embodiment, the upper cover 200 includes a handle 220 extending from the upper wall 240 of the upper cover 200. In other embodiments, the handle 220 may be omitted. The outer surface of the outer wall 235 may include a surface with a texture to provide a friction grip structure for the user to rotate the upper cover 200.

In this embodiment, the inner side wall 230 of the upper cover 200 includes an outer thread 232. When the upper cover 200 is coupled to the lower cover 100, the outer thread 232 is coupled to the inner thread 133 of the lower cover 100 in a threaded manner.

In this embodiment, the upper cover 200 includes an inner cover edge 205 between the inner side wall 230 and the outer side wall 235, as shown in Figures 5 and 6. Referring to Figure 11, the inner cover edge 205 positions the gasket 208 on the substantially circular inner circumference 131 of the drinking cover edge 132, and makes the gasket 208 abut against the substantially circular inner circumference 131 to form a seal, thereby preventing or reducing leakage. When the upper cover 200 is fully tightened or fully joined to the lower cover 100, the gasket 208 is pressed and abuts against the upper portion of the substantially circular inner circumference 131 of the drinking cover edge 132. In other embodiments, the upper cover 200 may be attached to the upper portion or the exterior of the drinking cover edge 132 (or the lower cover 100) in a sealed manner. In other embodiments, the upper cover 200 is connected to or joined to the lower cover 100 and attached to the top edge, mouth or other drinking surface of the lower cover 100 in a sealed manner. The gasket 208 may include a seal, a compressible member or other elastic member that can substantially prevent or reduce leakage. The shape of the gasket 208 may be designed so that the gasket 208 includes a gasket body and a gasket flange, wherein the gasket flange is flexible and can be attached to the lower cover 100 or a portion of the lower cover 100 in a sealed manner.

One advantage of some aspects of the present invention is that the sealed connection between the upper cover 200 and the lower cover 100 is not formed directly at the drinking openings, so that there is room for flexible adjustment when designing the size and shape of the drinking openings. Because of this, the same upper cover 200 may be used in conjunction with multiple lower covers 100 of different shapes and drinking opening configurations.

Another advantage of certain aspects of the present invention is that the sealing connection of the upper cover 200 is not located at the top of the drinking lid rim 132, so there is no restriction on the size or shape of the drinking lid rim 132.

The following will be described with respect to the lower cover 100. Figures 15-17 only show the lower cover 100 alone. The lower cover 100 includes the one or more openings 110 through which fluid can pass. The upper cover 200 is removably joined or connected to the lower cover 100 so as to be located above the one or more openings 110. The lower cover 100 may include any number of openings 110 or other fluid passages.

In this embodiment, the lower cover 100 includes an inner wall 130 and an outer wall 140. In this embodiment, the inner wall 130 forms the substantially circular inner circumference 131, and the substantially circular inner circumference 131 has an inner thread 133 that can be threadedly engaged with the outer thread 232 of the upper cover 200. The inner thread 133 and the outer thread 232 may include a linear interlocking design, a spiral design, or other plug-in locking or twist-locking designs as shown.

The inner wall 130 also tapers into a drinking lid rim 132. The inner wall 130 of the lower lid 100 defines a central region 115. The central region 115 can be used to removably accommodate the plug portion 210 of the upper lid 200. The lower lid 100 forms a central wall 120 extending from the inner wall 130. The central wall 120 includes the one or more openings 110.

In this aspect, the lower cover 100 includes an inner wall 130 and an outer wall 140. A space 145 is formed between the inner wall 130 and the outer wall 140. When the lower cover 100 is coupled to or connected to the beverage container 20, the space 145 accommodates the upper portion or neck portion 24 of the container 20 therein.

The plug portion 210 of the upper cover 200 includes a lower surface 250, and when the upper cover 200 is coupled to the lower cover 100, the one or more openings 110 are covered by the lower surface 250. The lower surface 250 may include a generally flat surface to cover the generally flat upper surface 122 of the central wall 120 of the lower cover 100. In an alternative embodiment, the lower surface 250 and the central wall 120 may have other configurations, such as being diagonally disposed to each other, or having surfaces that are not parallel to each other. One advantage of this embodiment is that the lower surface 250 and the central wall 120 do not need to contact each other, so the orientations of the surfaces do not need to be parallel. The beverage container system 10 generally includes an opening configuration that can be used for drinking beverages and a storage configuration. In the open configuration, the upper cover 200 is usually separated from the lower cover 100. In the storage configuration, the upper cover 200 is connected to the lower cover 100, and the gasket 208 is pressed and abutted against the substantially circular inner circumference 131 of the drinking cover edge 132.

The inner side wall 130 of the lower cover 100 includes an outer thread 135, and the outer thread 135 is located on the substantially circular outer peripheral surface 137 of the lower cover 100. The outer thread 135 can be engaged with the inner thread 30 of the beverage container 20 in a threaded manner.

In this embodiment, the lower cover 100 is screwed to the beverage container 20. Referring to FIG. 2 , the wall 22 of the upper portion or neck 24 of the beverage container 20 includes an inner surface 25 having an inner thread 30. The inner thread 30 of the beverage container 20 can accommodate the outer thread 135 of the lower cover 100, thereby coupling the lower cover 100 to the beverage container 20. The wall 22 of the beverage container 20 defines an inner space 35 that can hold beverages. The wall 22 of the upper portion or neck 24 of the beverage container 20 includes an inner surface 25 having an inner thread 30.

The gasket 180 is joined to the bottom peripheral surface 185 of the lower cover 100. In this embodiment, the gasket 180 is retained in the outer groove 190 adjacent to the bottom peripheral surface 185. When the lower cover 100 is screwed to the beverage container 20, the gasket 180 is attached to the beverage container 20 in a sealed manner.

In other embodiments, the lower cover 100 may be coupled to the beverage container 20 in a manner other than screwing, such as snap-fit coupling, friction coupling, plug-and-screw coupling, or other coupling methods that can selectively attach the lower cover 100 to the beverage container 20.

In other embodiments, the upper cover 200 may be coupled to the lower cover 100 by means other than screwing, such as snap-fitting, frictional coupling, plug-and-screw coupling, or other coupling methods that can selectively attach the upper cover 200 to the lower cover 100.

In other embodiments, the relative positions of the inner thread 133 and the outer thread 135 of the lower cover 100 and the outer thread 232 of the upper cover 200 may be interchanged, so that the upper cover 200 is threadedly connected to the outer thread of the lower cover 100 using the inner thread.

In this embodiment, the container 20 has an insulating double-wall structure. In other embodiments, the container 20 may include a non-insulating single-layer or multi-layer structure or other insulating structure. The container 20 may be made of moldable food-grade plastic, thermoplastic plastic, stainless steel, other metals or metal alloys, other plastics, or any combination of the above items.

The second lower cover 101 shown in FIG. 18 includes four drinking openings 111 , which are equidistantly arranged along the circumference of the central wall 120 , so that the user can drink beverages from any side of the beverage container 20 .

The third lower cover 102 shown in FIG. 19 is used for hot drinks and includes a drink opening 112 and a vent hole 113 . The vent hole 113 facilitates the flow of the drink and reduces the probability of forming a vacuum in the drink container 20 .

The disclosure is not limited to the specific aspects described herein, and such aspects may be varied and modified in many ways without departing from the spirit or scope of the novel concepts defined in the appended claims. In addition, those skilled in the art can easily learn many other advantages of the applicant's disclosure from the above description and the appended claims.

[Knowledge] None [Invention] 10: Beverage container system 20: Beverage container 22: Wall 24: Neck 25: Inner surface 30: Inner thread 35: Inner space 50: Cover assembly 100: Lower cover 101: Second lower cover 102: Third lower cover 110: Drinking opening 110A: Larger opening 110B: Smaller opening 111: Drinking opening 112: Drinking opening 113: Ventilation hole 115: Central area 120: Central wall 122: Upper surface 130: Inner wall 131: Inner peripheral surface of approximately circular shape 132: drinking lid edge 133: inner thread 135: outer thread 137: roughly circular outer peripheral surface 140: outer side wall 145: space 180: gasket 185: bottom outer peripheral surface 190: outer groove 200: upper lid 205: inner lid edge 208: gasket 210: plug part 220: handle 230: inner side wall 232: outer thread 235: outer side wall 240: upper wall 245: space 250: lower surface

[Figure 1] is a three-dimensional diagram of the beverage container system of the present invention; [Figure 2] is a three-dimensional diagram of the upper part of the beverage container system; [Figure 3] is a three-dimensional exploded diagram of the cover assembly and the beverage container; [Figure 4] is a three-dimensional exploded diagram of the cover assembly and the beverage container; [Figure 5] is a cross-sectional diagram of the beverage container system; [Figure 6] is a cross-sectional diagram of the beverage container system after the upper cover is removed; [Figure 7] is a top three-dimensional diagram of the cover assembly; [Figure 8] is a bottom three-dimensional diagram of the cover assembly; [Figure 9] is a cross-sectional diagram of the cover assembly; [Figure 10] is a cross-sectional diagram of the cover assembly; [Figure 11] is a cross-sectional diagram after the upper cover and the lower cover are separated; [Figure 12] is a top view of the upper cover; [Figure 13] is a bottom view of the upper cover; [Figure 14] is a bottom view of the upper cover; [Figure 15] is a top view of the lower cover; [Figure 16] is a side view of the lower cover; [Figure 17] is a top view of the lower cover; [Figure 18] is a first alternative lower cover; and [Figure 19] is a second alternative lower cover with a vent.

22: Wall

24: Neck

30: Internal thread

35:Inner space

100: Bottom cover

110A: Larger opening

110B: Smaller opening

120: Central wall

131: Roughly circular inner surface

132: Drinking lid

135: External thread

200: Upper cover

205: Inner lid edge

208: Gasket

210: Plug part

220: Grip

230: medial wall

235: Outer wall

240: Upper wall

245: Space

250: Lower surface

Claims (18)

A lid assembly includes: a lower lid having a drinking lid edge, the lower lid can be connected to or joined to the outer periphery of an upper portion or a neck of a beverage container, the lower lid having a central wall having an opening for fluid to pass through; and an upper lid, the upper lid can be connected to or joined to the lower lid, wherein the upper lid includes an inner wall and an outer wall, a space is formed between the inner wall and the outer wall, and the space can be used to accommodate the drinking lid edge of the lower lid when the upper lid is joined to the lower lid, and the upper lid can be used to abut against an inner surface of the drinking lid edge of the lower lid in a sealed manner. A cover assembly as described in claim 1, wherein the lower cover includes an inner wall, and the central wall extends from the inner wall. A cover assembly as described in claim 2, wherein the central wall includes an additional opening through which fluid can pass, and the opening and the additional opening have different shapes or sizes. A cover assembly as described in claim 2, wherein the upper cover forms a plug portion, and the upper cover can be connected to or joined to the lower cover so that the plug portion covers the opening of the central wall. The cover assembly as described in claim 4, wherein the inner wall and the central wall define a central area, and the central area can be used to accommodate the plug portion of the upper cover. The cover assembly as described in claim 1 further includes a vent located in the central wall. The cover assembly as described in claim 1 further includes an additional opening located in the central wall. A lid assembly as described in claim 1, wherein a gasket is positioned between the inner wall and the outer wall, and the gasket is sealed against the drinking lid edge of the lower lid. A lid assembly as described in claim 8, wherein the gasket is positioned on an outer surface of the inner side wall, and the gasket is sealed against an inner surface of the drinking lid edge of the lower lid. A lid assembly as described in claim 1, wherein an inner lid rim is located between the inner side wall and the outer side wall, a gasket can be used to abut against a substantially circular inner circumference of the drinking lid rim in a sealed manner, and the inner lid rim positions the gasket. A cover assembly as described in claim 1, wherein an inner side wall of the upper cover includes an outer thread, and the outer thread can be used to engage with an inner thread of the lower cover in a threaded manner. A lid assembly as described in claim 1, wherein an inner side wall of the lower lid includes an outer thread, and the outer thread can be used to engage with an inner thread of a beverage container in a threaded manner. A beverage container system includes a cap assembly as described in claim 1, and further includes a beverage container, and the opening can be used to form a fluid connection with an internal space of the beverage container. A lid assembly includes: a lower lid having a drinking lid edge, the lower lid can be connected to or joined to a beverage container, the lower lid having a central wall, the central wall having a smaller opening for fluid to pass through and a larger opening for fluid to pass through; and an upper lid, the upper lid can be connected to or joined to the lower lid, wherein the upper lid includes an inner wall and an outer wall, a space is formed between the inner wall and the outer wall, and the space can be used to accommodate the drinking lid edge of the lower lid when the upper lid is joined to the lower lid, and the upper lid can be affixed to the lower lid in a sealed manner. A lid assembly as described in claim 14, wherein a user can choose to drink the contents of the beverage container from the smaller opening or the larger opening by adjusting the orientation of the lid assembly. A lid assembly as described in claim 14, wherein the upper lid can be used to abut against the drinking lid edge of the lower lid in a sealed manner. A lid assembly comprises: a first lower lid having a drinking lid edge, the first lower lid being used to be connected to or joined to a beverage container, the first lower lid having a first central wall having a first opening through which a fluid can pass; an upper lid being used to be connected to or joined to the first lower lid, wherein the upper lid comprises an inner wall and an outer wall, a space is formed between the inner wall and the outer wall, and the space can be used to accommodate the lower lid when the upper lid is joined to the lower lid. A drinking lid edge, the upper lid can be used to abut against the first lower lid in a sealed manner; and a second lower lid, which is provided with another drinking lid edge, the second lower lid can be used to connect or join to the beverage container to replace the first lower lid, the second lower lid has a second central wall, the second central wall has a second opening for fluid to pass through; and the upper lid can be used to connect or join to the second lower lid, and the other drinking lid edge is accommodated in the space, and the upper lid can be used to abut against the second lower lid in a sealed manner. The cover assembly of claim 17, wherein the size or shape of the first opening is different from that of the second opening.

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