Drinking container with sliding closure

Abstract

A drinking container comprising a vessel; a cap, atop said vessel; a flexible drinking straw extending from said cap, in flow communication with an interior of said vessel; a slidable, generally flat lid defining a cavity between said cap and said lid; wherein said lid is generally co-extensive with a top of said cap, and is slidably mounted to said cap to slide between an open position in which said flexible straw is extended for drinking, to a closed position in which said straw is flexed into said cavity.

Claims

1. A drinking container comprising a vessel having a top opening; a cap, seated within said top opening of said vessel; a flexible drinking straw extending from said cap, in flow communication with an interior of said vessel; a slidable lid defining a cavity between said cap and said lid; wherein said lid is slidably mounted to said cap to slide between an open position in which said flexible straw is extended for drinking and a portion of said lid overhangs beyond an outer edge of said cap, to a closed position in which said straw is flexed into said cavity and said lid is co-extensive with a top of said cap.

2. The drinking container of claim 1, wherein said cap further comprises an air inlet to allow air to enter said vessel as liquid is depleted therefrom, and wherein said lid in said closed position urges said flexible drinking straw into contact with said air inlet to obstruct said air inlet.

3. The drinking container of claim 1, wherein said cap comprises two opposing grooves, for slidably receiving said lid.

4. The drinking container of claim 3, wherein said lid comprises two ribs for engaging said two opposing grooves.

5. The drinking container of claim 4, wherein said straw is formed of flexible silicone.

6. The drinking container of claim 1, wherein said lid comprises two downwardly extending rails to guide said flexible straw as said straw is flexed into said cavity.

7. The drinking container of claim 6, wherein said downwardly extending rails at least partially define said cavity.

8. The drinking container of claim 6, wherein said lid comprises a downwardly extending wall, at least partially defining said cavity.

9. The drinking container of claim 8, wherein said vessel comprises an upwardly extending tab that abuts with said downwardly extending wall with said lid in said closed position.

10. The drinking container of claim 1, wherein: said vessel comprises a tab extending from a rear of said vessel above a top surface of said vessel; and said lid comprises a stop extending downwardly from said lid to engage with said tab to prevent said lid from being slid from said cap, when said cap is mounted atop said vessel; wherein said cap with said lid mounted thereto is removable from said vessel and said lid is removable from said cap when said cap is removed from said vessel by rearwardly sliding said lid from said cap without engaging said tab.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) In the figures which illustrate example embodiments,

(2) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a drinking container, exemplary of an embodiment;

(3) FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the drinking container of FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3A is a perspective of a drinking vessel of the container of FIG. 2;

(5) FIGS. 3B-3D are front side and rear views of the vessel of FIG. 3A;

(6) FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a cap of the drinking container of FIG. 1;

(7) FIG. 4B-4D are side, front and top views of the cap of FIG. 4A;

(8) FIG. 4E is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 4, along lines 4E-4E;

(9) FIG. 5A is a perspective view of a lid of the drinking container of FIG. 1;

(10) FIG. 5B-5E are side, front, rear and bottom views of the lid of FIG. 5A; and

(11) FIGS. 6A and 6B are cross-sectional views of the drinking container of FIG. 1 in use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(12) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a drinking container 10, exemplary of an embodiment. An exploded view of container 10 is depicted in FIG. 2. Container 10 is generally intended for transporting a quantity of potable liquid, for example in the form of juice, milk, water or the like for consumption on the go.

(13) To that end, and as illustrated, container 10 includes a generally concave vessel 14 for storing the liquid. A sub-assembly formed of a container cap 12, straw assembly 18 and lid 16 may be placed atop of a full vessel 14 for transport and dispensing of liquid.

(14) A straw 30 extends into vessel 14 and through its top opening. Straw 30 preferably extends to the bottom of vessel 14 to allow vessel 14 to be emptied there through. Straw 30 may be removable from vessel 14, and may be formed of plastic or silicone.

(15) Container cap 12 engages and closes the top opening of vessel 14. Cap 12 is shaped to conform to the upper opening of vessel 14.

(16) Drinking straw assembly 18 extends from container cap 24. Drinking straw assembly 18 includes a base 20 for interconnection with cap 12, and a flexible straw 22 in fluid communication with straw 30, and thereby the interior of vessel 14. Flexible straw 20 surrounds the tip of straw 30. These may be coaxial. Flexible straw 22 thereby allows liquid to be withdrawn from vessel 14 by via straw 30 and flexible straw 22. Base 20 may be formed of rubber, and may be friction fit into a complementary opening in cap 12. Flexible straw 22 extends generally upwardly, but may be bent forward or backward. Its natural tendency will be to resile into an upward orientation. Conveniently, flexible straw 22 may extend at a suitable angle from base 20, so that straw 30 when inserted therein rests against the front edge of base of vessel 14. Of course, the length of straw 30 may be dimensioned adequately to intersect with the front edge of the base of vessel 14.

(17) A seal 28 seals container cap 12 to vessel 14. Seal 28 conforms to the edge of the upper opening of vessel 14, and is interposed between cap 12 and vessel 14. Seal 28 may be formed of a flexible polymer, rubber or the like. Seal 28 may include one or more outwardly extending ribs 32 that further bind seal 28 to vessel 14.

(18) Lid 16 is slidably mounted to the top of cap 12 and seals flexible straw 22 to container 10, as detailed below.

(19) Vessel 14 is further depicted in FIGS. 3A-3D. As illustrated, vessel 14 is generally rectangular, and includes four upwardly extending walltwo opposing side walls 40a, 40b and a front and a rear wall 40d and 40c, extending from a generally flat bottom base 48. Front wall 40d includes an upwardly extending front tab 42, and an engagement notch/hole 56. Rear wall 50c similarly includes an upwardly extending aft tab 44. Front and aft tabs 42, 44 extend upwardly above a top edge of walls 40a and 40b. The interface between side walls 40a, 40b, and rear and front walls 40c, 40d may be bevelled, as illustrated. Other geometries are of course possible. For example, vessel 14 might be in the form of a cube; a circular or oval cylinder; or the like.

(20) Vessel 14 may be made of a hard or semi-hard plastic, and may be transparent, translucent or opaque. Vessel 14 may be formed using traditional moulding techniques, including blow or injection moulding.

(21) Cap 12 is depicted in FIGS. 4A-4E. As illustrated, cap 12 may be formed from a single materialsuch as a soft/medium soft polymer, and includes a flat top surface 50; a dispensing opening 52; and air inlet 54. Dispensing opening 22 is generally circular, centered about of the way between back and front of surface 50, along the length of cap 12. Dispensing opening 52 accommodates base 20 of drinking straw assembly 18, to allow it to be friction fit therein. Air inlet 54 is just beside dispensing opening 52. Air inlet 54 allows air to enter vessel 14 as liquid is depleted therefrom.

(22) Cap 12 includes upwardly extending rails 60a, 60b on either opposing sides of cap 12. Rails 60a, 60b each define lengthwise extending grooves 62a, 62b, respectively (best viewed in FIG. 4C). Grooves 62a, 62b terminate in stop ends 64a, 64b respectively, that are formed in cap 12.

(23) Indentations 56a and 56b are found at the front and aft ends of cap 12. Indentation 56a is complementary in size and geometry to tab 42 of vessel 14 (FIGS. 3A-3D). Indentation 56b is complementary in size and geometry to tab 44 of vessel 14. Cap 12 further include a slight square protrusion 58, complementary in size to hole 46.

(24) As illustrated in cross-section in FIG. 4D (taken along lines 4D-4D of FIG. 4C), drinking opening 52 may be contoured to aid in retaining base 20 of drinking straw assembly 18. Moreover, air inlet 54 may open into a void 59 formed beneath the top surface 50 of cap 12. A rubber valve 26 (FIG. 2) may be place atop the bottom open of inlet 54 within void 59.

(25) The overall height of cap 12 is about 25 mm. Cap 12 may also be formed using known molding techniques.

(26) Lid 16 is depicted in FIGS. 5A-5E. Lid 16, by contrast includes a generally flat top surface 70, and opposing side walls 72a, 72b extending downward therefrom. Lid 16 further includes a forward end wall 80, extending downward from surface 70. Side walls 72a, 72b include ribs 74a, 74b that are complementary to and engage grooves 62a, 62b of cap 12. Ribs 74a, 74b thus allow forward and rearward sliding of lid 16 on cap 12, within grooves 62a, 62b.

(27) As further illustrated in FIG. 5E, the underside of lid 16 includes spaced rails 76a, 76b. The depicted rails 76a, 76b are generally arcuate, with the convex side of the two rails opposing each other, partially forming a passageway 78 there between. The narrow most portion of passageway 78 corresponds to the trough of each of arcuate rails 76a, 76b, and is sized to be slightly larger than the outer diameter of flexible straw 22, to guide and engage straw 22 as lid 16 is slid along cap 12. The height of rails 76a, 76b is several millimetres, and allows for passage of lid 16 along the top of cap 12.

(28) Each of rails 76a, 76b includes a downward extending stop 82 formed as a downwardly extending end surface of rails 76a and 76b. Stop(s) 82 is/are spaced to engage tab 44 of vessel 14 and serves to prevent sliding of lid 16 backward beyond tab 44, as further discussed below.

(29) Lid 16 may also be formed of a polymer or other suitable material, using known molding techniques.

(30) Operation of drinking container 10 may best be appreciated with reference to FIGS. 2, 6A and 6B. Vessel 14 is typically filled with a liquid (not shown). Straw assembly 18 is placed into cap 12 and lid 16 is placed thereon to form a sub-assembly, with lid 16 the front and rear of lid 16 slid into alignment with cap 12. Seal 28 may also be placed around cap 12. Likewise valve 26 may be placed on cap 12.

(31) The sub-assembly of cap 12, lid 16, straw assembly 18 and seal 28 may then be placed within the top opening of vessel 14, until protrusion 58 mates with hole 46. Seal 28 seals cap 12, and protrusion 58 locks cap 12 in place.

(32) The assembled drinking vessel 10 is viewed in cross-section in FIG. 6A. As illustrated, lid 16 in its closed position, causes straw 22 to be flexed into the passageway 78 between the bottom surface of lid 16 defied by rails 76a, 76b, into. Straw 22 is further bent forward to cover air inlet 54. Moreover, in this closed position, straw 22 may be pinched by being bent forward, and shielded from dirt by lid 16 in abutment with tabs 42 and 44. Rails 76a, 76b along with the bottom surface of lid 16 and wall 80 thus form a cavity between the bottom of lid 16 and top surface 50 of cap 12 that receives and shields straw 22.

(33) As illustrated in FIG. 6B, lid 16 may be slid backwards. Once slid backwards, the natural flex/bias of straw 22 in base 20 causes straw 20 to extend upwardly for drinking. As well, air inlet 54 is now unobstructed. Further, sliding of lid 16 back and forth is limited through the interaction of stop tab(s) 82 in abutment with tabs 42 and 44, respectively. That is, in the open position of lid 16, the rear of stop(s) 82 is in abutment with tab 44, preventing further sliding of lid 16 rearwardly from cap 12. Likewise, in a closed position of lid 16, the front ends of rails 74a, 74b are respectively in abutment with rail stops 64a, 64b in grooves 62a, 62b, preventing further forward motion of lid 16.

(34) Conveniently then, lid 16 will only come dislodged from drinking container 10 when cap 12 is removed. Once removed, stop tabs 82 are no longer obstructed by tab 44, and lid 16 may be slid backwards from cap 12. Thus, once cap 12 is removed from vessel 14, lid 16 as well as straw assembly 18 may be removed for individual cleaning.

(35) Of course, the above described embodiments are intended to be illustrative only and in no way limiting. The described embodiments are susceptible to many modifications of form, arrangement of parts, details and order of operation. The invention is intended to encompass all such modification within its scope, as defined by the claims.