Closure apparatus for a drinking container

p0001The invention relates to a closure device for a drinking container according to the preamble of claim 1.

p0002There are currently many nutritional compositions that are consumed, especially before or during sporting activities. These are intended primarily to improve the performance or the supply of important nutritional components. These nutritional compositions usually consist of an aqueous drinking solution and a solid or powdered nutritional supplement, which are mixed with each other and are taken in a drinking container. Particularly in the case of isotonic nutritional compositions, there are already isotonic finished drinks in which the pulverulent isotonic supplements have been added to an aqueous solution to the beverage dispenser and can be accepted as a finished drink from a drinking container provided therewith.

p0003Frequently, such finished drinks lose their flavor or effect when mixed, so that it is necessary to add one or more food supplements to the drinking solution only on the spot just before consumption. For this purpose, the food supplements are usually supplied in powder form or as a solid in soluble tablet form and are mixed manually with a drinking or mineral water. This is very cumbersome, particularly when it comes to sports or sports, and requires the separate carrying of a container with drinking water, a container containing the food supplements and a separate drinking container for mixing and drinking the prepared beverage.

p0004It is from the <patcit id="pcit0001" dnum="DE10341112A1"><text>DE 103 41 112 A1</text></patcit> A container with a separate storage chamber is already known, by means of which a pre-dosed quantity of a food supplements can be added to an aqueous solution shortly before consumption. For this purpose, a main container is provided for receiving a first substance, which consists of a standing surface and a lateral jacket surrounding it, which has a container opening at the top.

p0005A cover element with an integrated storage chamber, which is partially screwed onto the main container via an external thread of the bottle neck, is arranged in the container opening for airtight sealing. The storage chamber consists of fixed inserts which have a cylindrical casing and a closing lid and are closed at the bottom by a dense foil. Obviously solid, powder or gaseous food supplements can be accommodated as the second substance in this storage chamber. In the cover element, a pressure member is additionally inserted, which has a cutting section which cuts through a film from above the film and thus introduces the second substance into the first substance of the main container, which can then be mixed with the latter as a finished drink. Such receptacle or storage chambers, which are separated by foils, are basically only suitable for single-use use or can only be recompletely sealed again, so that this is contrary to repeated use. However, even in the case of a single use, film residues can get into the beverage so that it is useful to refill this mixture into a separate drinking container via a screening process.

p0006Other closure devices are off <patcit id="pcit0002" dnum="US20040007481A"><text>US 2004/0007481</text></patcit> and <patcit id="pcit0003" dnum="WO2006052827A"><text>WO 2006/052827</text></patcit> known.

p0007It is therefore the object of the invention to provide a closure device for a drinking container with which short-term food supplement constituents can be admixed to a beverage which is easy to handle and which can not get any impurities into the finished beverage.

p0008This object is achieved by the invention described in claim 1. Further developments and advantageous exemplary embodiments of the invention are given in the subclaims.

p0009The invention has the advantage that, by means of the closure device with an integrated receiving chamber for additional nutritional ingredients, unstable beverage mixtures can also be prepared in a simple manner at any time and at any location, shortly before consumption, and can be immediately taken out of the drinking container. This can be achieved in a simple manner by an easy-to-operate displacement process, without having to penetrate partitions or separating films with great force.

p0010Such a closure device also has the advantage that it consists only of a few simple parts which can be easily manufactured, which can also be produced in serial production as cost-effective plastic injection molded parts. For this purpose, only one container bottle and the closure device are necessary, whereby advantageously the cavity of the closure device at the same time forms the receiving chamber for the food supplements which automatically causes the emptying into the interior of the drinking container through an insertion opening in the lower part during the displacement process and thus initiates the mixing process.

p0011Advantageously, no separating substance can be damaged by the invention so that such a receiving chamber can be refilled at any time after use and can thus be reused by the user himself. Through the slide closure, the drinking container can also be quickly separated into its few components by completely unscrewing the closure device, which can then be easily cleaned for reuse.

p0012In a particular embodiment of the drinking container according to the invention, a closable mouthpiece is arranged at the upper closure element by means of which the drinking liquid can be drunk immediately after the mixing process without further measures and which can also be reused for new filling with a food supplement. Advantageously, these can be both powdery, liquid or soluble solid food supplements, which can be metered in virtually as desired.

p0013The invention is explained in more detail by means of an exemplary embodiment, which is illustrated in the drawing.

p0014The drawing shows a closure device for a drinking container. The closure device essentially consists of an upper closure element 1 and a lower axially displaceable covering element 2 and a receiving chamber 3 arranged therebetween, the lower covering element 2 being connected to an actuating device 4 by which the covering element 2 can be displaced axially from the outside via an actuating element 5 Is.

p0015The closure device is provided to close a drinking bottle in its bottle neck and at the same time to ensure the supply of a food supplement from the integrated receiving chamber 3. For this purpose, the closure device contains, between the upper closure element 1 and the lower covering element 2, the receiving chamber 3, which is essentially formed by an inner tube connection 6. This receiving chamber 3 is airtightly closed by the upper closure element 1 and the lower covering element 2.

p0016Coaxially around the inner pipe stub 6, an outer pipe stub 7 is arranged, which is connected to the inner pipe stub 6 by an upper 8 and a lower annular element 9. An annular cavity 10 is arranged between the two pipe connections 6, 7, in which the actuating device 4 is arranged for the axial displacement of the lower covering element 2.

p0017The actuating device 4 comprises a sliding ring 11 guided in the cavity 10, which is connected to the lower cover element 2 as connecting elements via preferably four connecting rods 12. A pressure spring 13 is arranged around at least one connecting rod 12 which presses the sliding ring 11 axially upwards in the non-actuated state so that the lower cover element 2 rests tightly on the lower ring element 9 and thus closes the receiving chamber 3. In this case, the lower cover element 2 is preferably designed as a flat round disk, which can also have a conical structure upwards. For better sealing, a sealing element 14 is also fastened on the supporting surface of the lower covering element 2. The sealing element 14 is preferably made from a non-nucleating sealing material which, for example, is a rubber sealing ring or a plastic sealing ring.

p0018An actuating element 5 is non-positively connected to the displacement ring 11 or at least one connecting rod 12, which is guided outwards via an axial slot in the outer pipe connection piece 7. The actuating element 5 is preferably designed as a radially bending, flat sliding handle, which serves for the manual axial displacement of the sliding ring 11 arranged in the cavity 10, through which the receiving chamber 3 can be released to the interior of the drinking container. The actuating device 4 can be designed as a plastic injection part, which is welded to one another during assembly or is assembled from individual parts. In this case, the actuating element 5 can also be designed as a lever arm, which can be supported on the displacement ring 11 via a gel part and can displace the latter axially. However, the actuating element 5 can also be designed as a radial pivoting lever, which is in engagement with the displacement ring 11 via an oblique slot element and thereby axially displaces the sliding ring 11, which is supported on a spring,

p0019The actuating element 5 is preferably slidably guided over one or two fixing ribs 15 which fix the actuating device 4 in one or more opening positions. For better assembly, the outer pipe connector 7 can also be designed in two parts, which is snapped together or screwed together after the assembly of the actuating device 4. All parts are preferably made of plastics which can be produced easily and cost-effectively as plastic injection parts.

p0020To connect the closure device to the drinking container, a connecting ring 16 is also fastened to the outer pipe connection piece 7, which preferably has an internal thread which can be screwed onto an external thread of a drinking bottle. The connecting ring 16 could, however, also be formed on the inside as a concave ring element, which can be snapped onto a convex round edge of a drinking container. However, at least in the lower region, an external thread could also be formed on the outer pipe connection piece 7, which can then be screwed into a drinking container with an internal thread.

p0021For closing the receiving chamber 3 at the upper region, the inner pipe socket 6 is led out at least 5 mm over the upper ring element 8 and is provided with an external thread 19 or an annular web or an annular groove. The upper closure element 1, which is formed with the internal thread or an annular groove or an annular web, can then be screwed or snapped onto the external thread 19 in order to seal the receiving chamber 3 airtight. The upper closure element 1 is designed in the form of a cover, preferably as a round cover, with a central outlet opening or mouthpiece 17. A closable mouthpiece 17 is preferably formed on the upper closure element 1 by means of which the contents of the drinking bottle can be directly consumed. For sealing, a molded-on closure cap is preferably provided which is snapped onto the mouthpiece 17 via a round edge.

p0022The lower cover element 2 rests tightly on the lower ring element 9 through at least one pressure spring 13 and thus closes the receiving chamber 3 to the drinking bottle interior, in which preferably an aqueous drinking fluid is filled, in which the provided food supplement is mixed from the receiving chamber 3 should. For this purpose, the food supplement can be filled into the receiving chamber 3 in advance via the opened upper closure element 1, and this can be closed again. If necessary, the actuating element 5 is then displaced downwards axially against the spring force of the pressure spring 13, so that the lower cover element 2 is displaced axially downwardly by the actuating device 4. As a result, the lower cover element 2 opens the receiving chamber 3 via an annular gap 18 as a feed opening through which the food supplement is metered into the drinking fluid and is miscible with it. When the annular gap 18 is opened, the mixed drinking liquid can then be drunk via the receiving chamber 3 and the open mouthpiece 17. However, it is also possible to produce an embodiment of the closure device, in which the thin tubular mouthpiece 17 is guided through the lower cover element 2 in a sealed manner into the interior of the drinking container. Then, a drinking operation is also possible with the mouthpiece 17 open and the receiving chamber 3 closed.