FR2774073A1 - Drink container with mouthpiece for sucking drink - Google Patents

Abstract

The drink container comprises a lid (3) with a mouthpiece (4) in the periphery of its external surface and a flexible plate (6) on its internal surface. The plate forms a valve allowing or preventing flow from the container through the mouthpiece according to whether the mouthpiece is or is not the source of an air induction. An air inlet orifice (25) is provided in the lid opposite the mouthpiece.

Description

 The present invention relates to a container intended to contain a drink and comprising a spout for the suction of said drink. This container is especially intended for use by young children or babies.

 A container of this type is known from the PCI patent document WO-A-93/1971. This container comprises a beverage container and a lid for said container which is provided, on its internal face, with a flexible disc which is designed to seal the container, in the absence of suction on a spout of said lid.

This disc is secured in its center with the cover, and at its periphery by a sealing bulge pressing both on the container and the cover.

 Said disc has on its surface two circular bulges which are diametrically opposite and which are respectively provided with slots forming check valves facing said spout and with a vent, which flaps open when suction is applied to the spout .

 A major drawback of this container lies in the relatively complex structure of the non-return valves used, the manufacturing cost of which strikes the cost price of such a container.

The object of the present invention is to provide a container intended to contain a drink and comprising a spout for the aspiration of said drink, said container comprising a cover provided with said spout at the periphery of the external face of said cover and provided with a flexible plate on its internal face, said flexible plate forming a valve for authorizing or preventing the flow of said drink through said spout depending on whether said spout is or is not the seat of an air intake, an inlet orifice air being provided in said cover substantially opposite said spout, which is of a simple structure allowing it to be able to conveniently consume the drink by suction and to prevent accidental leakage of drink in the absence of suction
To this end, a container according to the invention is such that, when said spout is the seat of an air intake, said flexible plate is provided to be able to deform at its ends respectively opposite said spout and said orifice, so as to at least partially release the duct from said spout and said orifice during said air suction, said ends of said plate resuming their respective states or they seal said spout duct and said orifice by marrying by their edges and in a manner sealing the internal face of said container, when said spout is not the seat of an air suction.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, said end of said flexible plate opposite said spout is provided in order to be able to fold towards the outlet of said spout on an oblique wall of the latter, during said aspiration.

 Preferably, said oblique wall has an internal face of convexity turned towards said end of the plate opposite said spout.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, said end of said flexible plate opposite said orifice is provided in order to be able to fold back towards the interior of said container, during said aspiration.

 Advantageously, said flexible plate is provided on one of its faces with a rib intended to engage in a sealed manner in a groove formed opposite in said cover, said groove being formed from one end to another of the cover, between said spout and said orifice.

 Advantageously, said flexible plate is provided, on its face opposite to said rib, with a gripping tab intended to allow the separation of said plate from said cover.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, said flexible plate generally has the shape of a disc, and it is designed to follow, by its edge, the internal face of a flange falling from said cover, in order to seal said container.

The characteristics of the invention mentioned above, as well as others, will appear more clearly on reading the following description of an exemplary embodiment, said description being made in relation to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a container according to the invention containing a drink in a state of non-consumption, and
Fig. 2 is a sectional view of said container in the consumption state.

 A container according to the invention essentially consists of a container 1 for example in the form of glass which is intended to contain a drink 2, of a cover 3 with a suction nozzle 4 which is designed to be removably mounted on said container I so as to cover its opening face 5, and means 6 provided to prevent said drink 2 from flowing through said cover 3 when said container is tilted or overturned, and to authorize the flow of said drink 2 through said nozzle 4 when the latter is the seat of an air suction at its free open end 7.

 In this exemplary embodiment, the container 1 has a bottom 8 and a side wall 9 of circular section which widens in the direction of the opening face 5 of said container i. We see in Fig. 1 that the section of said wall begins by increasing from said bottom 8 to present a substantially constant value over a reduced height of the container 1, then increases again until said opening face 5.

 As an option only, this container can be provided with a system of feet 10 provided to ensure its stable positioning on a table, for example, when it is not used for consuming the drink 2 which it contains. In the example of FIG. I, this system of feet 10 is provided on the side wall 9 of the container 1, just below the cover 3.

 The cover 3 essentially consists of a cover part 1 1 comprising said spout 4 and intended to cover the opening face 5 of the container 1, and of a peripheral rim 12 intended to cooperate with the side wall 9 of said container 1 so as to secure said cover 3 to said container 1.

 The cover part It has a generally planar surface, said spout 4 excepted, and said flange 12 is substantially perpendicular to said planar surface.

 In this exemplary embodiment, the rim 12 defines a circular perimeter for the cover 3, like the opening face 5 of the container 1.

 In addition, the rim 12 has an elastic structure, so as to allow its attachment to the container I and its separation therefrom. Said rim 12 has a peripheral groove 13 on its internal face 14. The groove 13 is provided to immobilize on a peripheral rib 15 which has the side wall 9 of the container 1 on its external face, for example adjacent to the face opening 5 of said container 1.

 We see in Fig. 1 that the internal face 14 of the rim 12 is connected to said cover portion 11 by two peripheral overlays 16 and 17 perpendicular to each other. The first surface 16 which starts from said internal face 14 is planar and is provided for sealingly covering the peripheral apex 18 of the side wall 9 of the container 1. As for the second surface 17, it has a cylindrical geometry which substantially prolongs the internal face 19 of said side wall 9 to terminate in said cover portion 11.

 The spout 4 of the cover 3 is formed on said cover part 11 in the following manner.

 It preferably comprises, at its free end 7, an external suction opening 20 for example in the form of an oblong slot and, at its base, an internal opening 21 with a larger passage section which looks at the interior of the container 1.

Said opening 21 has for example a circular segment shape, the arc 21a of which is formed by a part of said second surface 17 and the cord 21b of which admits as plane of symmetry the median transverse plane of said suction opening 20.

 As can be seen in FIG. 1, an internal side of the opening 20 with respect to the cover 3 is connected to the rest of the covering part 1 1 by an oblique wall 22, the internal face 22a of which descends from said opening 20.

 Preferably, said internal face 22a of the oblique wall 22 has a convexity which is turned towards the inside of the spout 4.

 The other opposite side of said opening 20, external with respect to the cover 3, is for example formed by the free end 7 of the second surface 17, so that it is located substantially in the extension of the side wall 9 opposite container I.

 The cover part 11 of the cover 3 comprises, on its face it turned on the side opposite to the spout 4, a groove 23 which is preferably formed in the diametrical plane P of said cover 3 which is parallel to said rope 21 b. This groove 23 is provided for receiving in removable mounting said means 6 for authorizing or preventing the flow of the drink 2 through the spout 4, depending on whether this is the seat of an air intake or not, respectively.

 According to an essential characteristic of the invention, these means 6 consist of a thin flexible plate, preferably made of silicone, the perimeter of which is provided equal to that of said peripheral surface 17, and which has on one of its faces 6 has a preferably middle rib 24 provided for engaging in said groove 23 so as to ensure the tight mounting of said plate 6 under said face 11a and in contact with said surface 17.

 In this exemplary embodiment, the flexible plate 6 has a circular perimeter, like the peripheral surface 17.

 An orifice 25 is formed in the covering part 11 of the cover 3, opposite the spout 4 relative to said plane P and preferably in a diametrically opposite manner to said spout 4.

 The flexible plate 6 is thus provided for sealingly sealing, on the one hand, the internal opening 21 of the spout 4 and, on the other hand, the orifice 25 on its internal face.

 In addition, the flexible plate 6 is provided, on its other face 6b, with a gripping tab 26, preferably median, that is to say which is also intended to be located in said plane P during the mounting of said plate 6 under the cover 3.

 The assembly of a container according to the invention is carried out in the first place by mounting the flexible plate 6 under the cover 3, via the forced insertion of the middle rib 24 of said plate 6 into the corresponding groove 23. In secondly, the cover 3 provided with the plate 6 is mounted on the container 1, via the elastic blocking of said cover 3 on said peripheral rib 15.

In the position of non-consumption of the drink 2 which is illustrated in the
Fig. 1, it will be noted that the flexible plate 6 forms a seal for the cover 3, so that the drink 2 cannot leave said container, in the event of accidental tilting or overturning thereof.

 In the consumption position which is shown in FIG. 2, the consumer, for example a baby, begins by tilting the container so that a volume of drink 2 is displaced opposite the internal opening 21 of the spout 4.

Then he positions his lips around the external opening 20 of the spout 4, and he breathes air through the mouth so as to exert a suction force F in the duct of said spout 4 which is between the flexible plate 6 and said opening 20.

 From a given suction intensity, the duct of the nozzle 4 is the seat of a depression which is such that a deformation occurs in the direction of the nozzle 4 of the end part 6c of the plate 6 which is mounted opposite said spout 4. This results in an at least partial release of the internal opening 21 of the spout 4, so that the volume of beverage 2 located opposite said opening 21 flows through the conduit of the spout 4 and, therefore, is consumed by the user.

 In the example illustrated, this end part 6c is provided opposite said oblique wall 22, and the aforementioned deformation is for example such that the end part 6c comes to marry the internal face 22a of the wall 22. It will be noted that the aforementioned convexity of the internal face 22a on the side of the end part 6c promotes folding when said part 6c is drawn on said face 22a, and therefore the establishment of an optimal passage section in the duct spout 4.

 At the same time as the drink 2 flows through the spout 4 during the aforementioned suction, an air depression is created in the container, between the free surface 2a of the drink 2 during suction, the cover 3 and the side wall 9 opposite said container. This depressuring has the effect of deforming towards the inside of the container of another end part 6d of the flexible plate 6 which is precisely mounted opposite the orifice 25 of the cover 3.

 This results in an at least partial release of the opening of this orifice 25, which gives rise to an entry of outside air into the container (arrow G) through said orifice 25, due to the aforementioned depression.

 It will be understood that this entry of air at atmospheric pressure into the container allows the suction of its content 2.

 When the suction stops at the nozzle 4, the end parts 6c and 6d of the plate 6 return to their rest position in FIG. 1, where they close the respective openings of the spout 4 and the orifice 25 by marrying by their edges and in a sealed manner the internal face of the container, which is materialized by the internal face 17 of the rim 12 of the cover 3.

 Note that the plate 6 plays both the role of a seal for the cover 3 vis-à-vis the drink 2, and a valve allowing the flow of drink 2 through the spout 4 in relationship with the orifice 25, depending on whether a suction is not or is applied to said nozzle 4.

 It will also be noted that the rib 24 which is provided with the plate 6 and which is engaged in a sealed manner in the corresponding groove 23 of the cover 3 has the effect of preventing atmospheric air entering through the orifice 25 from interfering between the cover 3 and the plate 6 to communicate with the spout duct 4. This rib 24 thus plays the role of an airtight separation between the orifice 25 and the spout 4.

 With a view to cleaning the plate 6 following the consumption of the contents 2 of the container, we begin by removing the cover 3 and then separating the said plate 6 from the said cover by exerting traction on the gripping tab 26.

 It will be noted that this tab 26 makes it possible to reduce the risk of ingestion of the plate 6 in babies, due to the increased rigidity and volume which it gives to said plate 6.

Claims (7)

 1) container of the type intended to contain a drink (2) and comprising a spout (4) for the suction of said drink (2), said container comprising a cover (3) provided with said spout (4) at the periphery of the external face of said cover (3) and provided with a flexible plate (6) on its internal face, said flexible plate (6) forming a valve for authorizing or preventing the flow of said drink (2) through said spout (4) according to that said spout (4) is or is not the seat of an air intake, an air inlet orifice (25) being provided in said cover (3) substantially opposite to said spout (4 ), characterized in that, when said spout (4) is the seat of an air intake, said flexible plate (6) is provided to be able to deform at its ends (6c and 6d) respectively opposite said spout ( 4) and said orifice (25), so as to at least partially release the duct from said spout (4) and said orifice (25) during said air intake, said ends s (6c and 6d) of said plate (6) taking up their respective states where they close off said spout duct (4) and said orifice (25) by marrying by their edges and in a sealed manner the internal face (17) of said container, when said spout (4) is not the seat of an air intake.  2) A container according to claim 1, characterized in that said end (6c) of said flexible plate (6) opposite said spout (4) is provided so as to be able to fold back towards the outlet of said spout (4) on an oblique wall ( 22) of the latter, during said aspiration.  3) A container according to claim 2, characterized in that said oblique wall (22) has an internal face (22a) of convexity facing towards said end (6c) of plate (6) opposite said spout (4).  4) Container according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said end (6d) of said flexible plate (6) opposite said orifice (25) is provided to be able to fold back towards the inside of said container, during said suction.  5) Container according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said flexible plate (6) is provided on one of its faces (6a) with a rib (24) designed to engage in a sealed manner in a groove (23) formed opposite in said cover (3), said groove (23) extending from one end to another of said cover (3), between said spout (4) and said orifice (25).  6) Container according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said flexible plate (6) is provided, on its face (6b) opposite to said rib (24), with a gripping tab (26) provided to allow separation. of said plate (6) with said cover (3).  7) A container according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said flexible plate (6) generally has the shape of a disc, and in that it is designed to conform by its edge to the internal face (17) of a flange ( 12) falling from said cover (3), to ensure the tightness of said container.