HK1178399A - Dispensing cap - Google Patents

Description

Dispensing cap

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of liquid containers suitable for transporting and dispensing liquids and other flowable materials whenever and wherever required. In particular, the invention relates to travel cups or mug's (mug) with a top or lid with a closable opening for dispensing beverages such as cappuccino, milk coffee, latte and macchiato, chocolate and other hot beverages including soup and liquid baby food.

Background

Travel cups or mug for drinking with dispensing lids are well known in the art. Typically, such covers have a lid extending over the mouth of the mug or cup with an opening to allow liquid to pass through when the user wishes to drink. The opening may be closed by a movable lid connected to the lid when the travel mug or mug is not being used for drinking.

Examples of lids with movable lids for dispensing liquids from containers are disclosed in US5,950,848, US5,551,607, US5,865,353, US5,495,015, US5,417,350, US5,348,201, US5,251,793, US4,911,337, US4,899,902, US4,887,747, US4,742,928, US4,703,873, US4,632,266, US4,625,898, US4,399,928, US4,124,151 and EP 0078322.

In particular, US5,551,607 discloses a container with a dispensing closure. The dispensing closure is pivotally mounted on a base attached to the container, the base having an outflow through-hole that can be opened and closed by the dispensing closure. The pivotal rotation of the dispensing closure is controlled by a trigger and regulated by guide wall members that are configured to hold the pivotable closure in an open position until a user manually moves the closure to a closed position.

US4,899,902 discloses a lid for a liquid container having a liquid spout with a closure adapted to fit over the spout in a friction fit relationship, removable and re-fittable with one hand. This patent mentions, inter alia, that the lid may also include small apertures or holes to release trapped air pressure.

It is known to facilitate the dispensing of liquid using such a small additional orifice for air entry while dispensing liquid via the spout. However, such air ingress involves the risk of unwanted liquid escaping through it, especially during drinking.

Accordingly, there remains a need to provide a reliable system that is simple to carry a beverage and convenient and reliable to drink.

Disclosure of Invention

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a top for a container for containing a flowable substance. The top may be a wall integral with the container or a generally removable cover. The container may be of any type, for example of the insulated type, generally of the thermos type. In a preferred embodiment, the container is a drinking mug or cup, typically with a bottom, a generally upright sidewall and a generally circular mouth that fits to be covered by such a top.

Typically, cups or mugs for drinking have a capacity in the range of 50ml to 1000ml, such as 150ml to 500ml, and an upper diameter in the range of 3cm to 15cm, in particular 5cm to 10cm, such as the mouth of the cup or mug.

The top portion has: a cap arranged to cover the container, the body having a peripheral portion with a through-hole for egress of the flowable substance from the container and with an air through-hole for ingress of air into the container; and a lid movable relative to the body between an open position for permitting such outflow and inflow and a closed position for preventing such outflow and inflow.

The cap has a first portion and a second portion for respectively blocking the outflow through hole and the inflow through hole in the closed position.

The flowable material may generally be a fluid, such as a beverage, in particular a hot or cold beverage, such as coffee, tea, hot chocolate, milk-based beverage, soft or alcoholic beverage, lemonade, soup, baby food, etc.

According to the present invention, the inflow through-hole and the outflow through-hole are positioned opposite to each other on the peripheral portion of the cover body, and the cover extends across the cover body from the vicinity of the inflow through-hole to the vicinity of the outflow through-hole.

The spaced relative positioning of the through holes on the top thus reduces the risk of the flowable material undesirably escaping via air flow into the through holes during dispensing of the flowable material. Furthermore, the combination of the closure seals on the same cover part allows for simultaneous opening and closing of the through-holes by the same cover part.

The lid may be pivotally mounted on the cover body, in particular in the vicinity of the inflow opening. Usually, the lid has a first extremity pivotally mounted on the lid body and a second extremity arranged to be secured against the lid body in the closed position, in particular having a protrusion or recess cooperating with a corresponding recess or protrusion of the lid body for securing the lid against the lid body in the closed position. Securing the lid in the closed position may be achieved, for example, via a clip, snap, hook, button, or other equivalent fastening mechanism.

In an advantageous embodiment, the lid in its open position is arranged to extend down a substantially upright wall of the container on which the lid body is located, the container wall being adjacent to the lid body. Thus, when the inflow and outflow through holes are opened, for example, for drinking, the user can hold the lid securely against the container with the same hand with which he is holding the container itself. Thus, in order to avoid that the opened lid is free to move and may annoy the user while drinking, no separate mechanism is needed to fix the lid in its open position, the opened lid and the container being held by the user simultaneously with one hand.

The cover typically has a base. The peripheral portion of the body may comprise one or more outward protrusions extending from the base, the outflow through holes being in particular located on the outward protrusions. The inflow through-hole may be located on the base. The outflow through hole may be configured to cooperate with a person's lips to facilitate drinking through the opening.

For example, the outflow through-hole is located on an annular outward protrusion. The annular outward projection may generally form a split ring on the cover with opposite ends. The lid may be pivotally mounted on the lid between the opposing ends and/or the inflow through-hole may be located on the base between the opposing ends. In this way, the pivotable connection of the lid may have an outer surface that is substantially flush with the annular protrusion to close the corresponding ring on the lid body. Thus, undesired hooking of the top to its environment is minimized by avoiding any parts that may protrude when the lid is in its closed position.

In its closed position, the lid extends generally radially across the lid from a peripheral portion on one side of the lid to an opposite side of the lid opposite the peripheral portion via a center of the lid.

The cap may have a rigid member and at least one elastically deformable closing member for closing the inflow and/or outflow through hole, optionally substantially coextensive with said rigid member. The cap can have a plug or a projection, in particular an elastically deformable plug or projection, for blocking the inflow or outflow through-hole. In particular, the cap may have a pair of such plugs or protrusions in order to block the through-hole. A part of the lid may form a cover for covering a tubular protruding outlet or inlet forming one of such through holes in the lid body. Various configurations are contemplated for shaping the through-hole in the cap body and the mating closure portion of the cap.

In a first embodiment of the invention, the top can be fixed in a removable manner on the corresponding container, in particular by means of a screw fit or press fit thereof. In a second embodiment of the invention, the top is integral with the container, which in particular has a removable bottom for its refilling. The outflow through-hole of the cap can also be used to refill the container.

A further aspect of the invention relates to a container, in particular a mug or cup, having a top as described above, having such a top for dispensing a beverage contained in the mug or cup.

Drawings

The invention will now be described with reference to the schematic drawings, in which:

figure 1 shows a cross-section of a container with a top according to the invention; and

figure 2 shows a perspective view of a portion of the container with the top shown in figure 1.

Detailed Description

In fig. 1 and 2, a removable top 1 with a lid 20 is shown fitted to a container 2 in the form of a mug for containing a flowable material such as coffee, tea, hot or cold chocolate or soft drinks. In fig. 1, the lid 20 is shown in its closed position on the top 1. In fig. 2, the lid 20 is in its open position.

The container 2 has an insulated wall formed by a generally upright outer side wall 3 extending from a base 5 and joined at an upper end 8 to an inner wall 4 of generally u-shaped cross-section. An insulating chamber 7 extends between the inner wall 5 and the side walls 3 and the bottom 5. The mouth 9 of the container 2 is substantially circular.

Furthermore, the container 2 has a generally frustoconical inner rim 6 in which the removable top 1 is press-fitted, as described in more detail below.

The removable top 1 has a lid 10 extending over substantially the entire mouth 9 of the container 2. Furthermore, the top 1 has an elongated lid 20 having a first end 20a pivotally mounted on the lid body 10. The lid 20 has a generally band-like shape contoured to match the shape of the lid body 10 when the lid 20 is in its closed position.

The lid body 10 has an outflow through hole 11 for flowing out the liquid from the container 2 and an inflow through hole 12 for flowing air into the container 2 to compensate for the flowing-out liquid. The outflow through-hole 11 is formed on an annular ring 13 projecting outward from the base 14. The ring 13 is open and has two opposite ends 15, one of which is shown in fig. 2. The inflow through-hole 12 is located on the base 14 between the ends 15 of the annular ring 13.

The cap 20 is rotatably movable about its distal end 20a between the ends 15 of the ring 13. The lid 20 is rotatable from an open position, as shown in fig. 2, allowing flow out through the opening 11 and flow in through the opening 12, to a closed position, as shown in fig. 1, preventing such flow out and flow in. For this purpose, the lid 20 has a plug 21 for closing the outflow through hole 11 and a protrusion 22 for closing the inflow through hole 12 when the lid 20 is in its closed position.

The inflow through-hole 12 and the outflow through-hole 11 are located opposite to each other on the peripheral portion of the lid body 10, and the lid 20 extends across the lid body 10 from the vicinity of the inflow through-hole 12 to the vicinity of the outflow through-hole 11 in the closed position.

The lid 20 has a second end 20b arranged to be secured against the lid body 10 in the closed position. The second end 20b has a projection 23 which cooperates with a corresponding recess 16 in the ring 13 of the cover 10 for securing the lid 20 against the cover 10 in the closed position. In its closed position, the cover 20 extends radially over the lid 10, i.e. from between the ends 15 of the ring 13, on the intermediate portion of the base 14 and the ring 13. The base 14 has a recess 14a for receiving the lid 20 in the closed position.

As shown in fig. 2, the lid 20 in its open position is arranged to extend generally downwardly along the upstanding wall 3 of the container 2. Thus, when the user holds the container 2, for example with one hand, for drinking, he can at the same time fix the movable lid 20 against the wall 3 by suitably gripping the container 2 with the lid 20.

The lid has a rigid member 25 and at least one elastically deformable closing part 26. The closing member 26 incorporates a plug 21 and a protrusion 22 for closing the inflow through hole 12 and the outflow through hole 11. The elastically deformable blocking part 26 is substantially coextensive with the rigid member 25.

The top 1 can be fixed in a removable manner to the container 2. To this end, the cap 10 has a circular peripheral upstanding wall 17 extending downwardly into the mouth 9 of the container 2. The wall 17 has an integral circumferential outwardly extending flange 18 for horizontal proper positioning of the top 1 against the inner rim 6 of the container 2. The base 14 of the cap 10 extends horizontally above the inner rim 6 for positioning the cap 10 generally over the mouth 9. A sealing ring 19, for example made of an elastic or elastomeric material, is located between the peripheral wall 17 and the inner rim 6 so as to provide an assembly impermeable to the flowable material held in the container 2. Typically, a sealing ring 19 is mounted on the peripheral wall 17 and is urged against the inner rim 6 when the top 1 is press-fitted onto the container 2.

In a variant, corresponding threads may of course be provided on the rim and on the top of the container, in order to be able to screw the top onto or into the container. Alternatively, a top portion integral with the container and means for filling and refilling the mug with flowable material, for example via an outflow through hole or via a separate dedicated inlet or via the bottom of the container which may be fitted with a detachable footing, may also be provided.

Claims (15)

1. A top for a cup or mug (2) for containing a flowable substance, the top having:

-a cover (10) arranged to cover the cup or mug, the cover having a peripheral portion (13) with through holes (11) for outflow of flowable substance from the cup or mug and through air holes (12) for inflow of air into the cup or mug; and

-a cover (20) movable with respect to the cover between an open position allowing the outflow and the inflow and a closed position blocking the outflow and the inflow, the cover having a first portion (21) and a second portion (22) for occluding the outflow through hole and the inflow through hole, respectively, in the closed position,

wherein the inflow through-hole and the outflow through-hole are located opposite each other on a peripheral portion of the cover body, the cover extending across the cover body from near the inflow through-hole to near the outflow through-hole in the closed position.

2. The top according to claim 1, characterized in that the lid (20) is pivotally mounted on the cover body (10), in particular in the vicinity of the inflow through hole (12).

3. The top according to claim 2, wherein the lid (20) has a first extremity (20a) pivotally mounted on the lid (10) and a second extremity (20b) arranged to be fixed against the lid (10) in the closed position, in particular having a protrusion (23) or recess cooperating with a corresponding recess (16) or protrusion of the lid, for fixing the lid against the lid in the closed position.

4. A top according to any preceding claim, wherein the lid (20) in its open position is arranged to extend down a substantially upright wall (3) of the cup or mug (2), the wall (3) being adjacent the lid (10) such that the cup or mug can be held and the lid secured by a single hand against the wall (3) during use for drinking.

5. The top according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cover (10) comprises a base (14) and its peripheral portion comprises one or more outward projections (13) extending from the base, the outflow through holes (11) being in particular located on the outward projections.

6. The top of claim 5, wherein the inflow through hole (12) is located on the base (14).

7. The top according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the outflow through-hole (11) is located on an annular outward protrusion (13).

8. The top of claim 7, wherein the annular outward projection substantially forms a split ring (13) on the cover with opposite ends (15).

9. The top of claim 8, wherein the lid (20) is pivotally mounted on the lid (10) between the opposite ends (15) and/or the inflow through-hole (12) is located on the base (14) between the opposite ends.

10. The top according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said lid (20) extends radially across said lid body (10) in said closed position.

11. The top according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the lid (20) has a rigid member (25) and at least one elastically deformable closing part (26) for closing the inflow through hole (12) and/or the outflow through hole (11), optionally substantially coextensive with the rigid member.

12. Top according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lid has a plug (21) or a protrusion (22), in particular an elastically deformable plug or protrusion, for blocking the inflow through-hole (12) or the outflow through-hole (11).

13. The top according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said top is removably fixable on said cup or mug (2), in particular by a screw or press fit thereof.

14. A cup or mug (2) incorporating a top (1) as claimed in any preceding claim.

15. The cup or mug according to claim 14, wherein the cup or mug is integral with the top portion, in particular having a removable bottom portion for filling and/or refilling thereof.