Spout for a spill-proof beverage container

[0001] The present invention relates to a spout for a non-dripping beverage container and a lid having such a spout permanently attached or removable to the beverage container.

Background Art [0002] The need for non-dripping cups such as those used by infants and infants is well known. These are cups with a tight, and preferably also a hermetic lid, designed so that they do not leak when the cup is held by the child in an inclined or inverted position, or when it falls to the side or turns upside down. Preferably, the cup should also prevent leaks when shaking or waving it, which happens when children wear it carelessly. In addition, it would be desirable for an inverted or overturned cup to withstand internal pressure arising from the heating of a partially filled cup, for example in a hot car, or generally after some time has elapsed since it has been filled with a liquid at a temperature below ambient temperature. Ideally, the cup should be resistant to leakage, even filled with carbonated drinks and warm / hot liquids, when after turning the cup the internal pressure increases and the warm fluid heats the expansion space, which tends to expand after covering the mouth. Finally, the cup should be economical to produce, easy to clean and resistant to bite damage.

[0003] Various designs are known which in some way meet the above conditions. The known pattern requires certain purposeful actions to be taken to seal and / or open the cup. The obvious disadvantage of such cups is that you can't rely on your child to handle the closure.

[0004] Other known designs include a pressure valve that can open automatically in response to reduced pressure in the spout, and close again when suction stops. The general disadvantage of most such valves is that they cannot distinguish between high pressure inside the container and low pressure in the spout. Therefore, these valves are either not effective in blocking leaks or offer an undesirable level of suction resistance.

[0005] Another problem of cups with pneumatic valves is that they cannot be used for carbonated or hot drinks. In the latter case, when the cup is inverted, the liquid heats the air in the expansion space, and causes a pressure increase in the container, since the outlet is already covered with fluid, which is then discharged outside.

[0006] A non-dripping cup that avoids the above drawbacks disclosed in WO2008 / 125877 uses a valve known as a self-sealing dispensing valve. "Self-sealing" refers to the fact that the pressure inside the container acts to close the valve, not to open it. An important advantage of such a valve is that it can be designed so that the valve opens at a very low suction level. However, the dispense valve consists of several parts that must be matched to each other and which must be removed for cleaning.

[0007] Lids for non-dripping cups made of one flexible element exist, but they require a strong bite of the spout. Apart from the fact that a strong biting spout or nipple is not natural for a baby (fortunately for nursing mothers), it can damage the spout and reduce the life of the cup. Despite this serious problem, cups with a one-piece lid still fail to achieve some of the desirable features listed above. In particular, they leak when shaken, and when filled with hot or carbonated liquid.

Object of the invention [0008] The object of the present invention is to provide a spout for a non-dripping cup that has the desired features without having separate components in the valve.

Summary of the Invention [0009] According to the present invention, a spout is provided for a non-dripping beverage container according to claim 1 of the appended claims.

[0010] In the present specification, the terms "upper" and "lower", used to describe a cup or part thereof, will be taken to refer to a cup which rests on a horizontal surface, with a lid and a spout on the tip. [0011] In a vertical cross-section through the spout according to the invention, the lateral surfaces of the valve form a "V" downwards with a gap in the bottom of this "V". If the cup is inverted, the fluid pressure acts on the sides of both side surfaces to close the gap, and the greater the pressure, the greater the force holding the gap and the valve closed. If the expansion space is under pressure for any reason, for example, the air in it is heated or by the escape of gas from a carbonated drink, then this only serves to close the valve more firmly.

[0012] Examples known in the art for the present invention regarding what is considered closed are contained in WO03 / 101261, US 2006/0201902 and EP 0326743. These known spouts are based on one or more short slits that are perpendicular to the vertical walls of the spout to which the lips are applied. The user must bite the spout to apply force along the gaps to force the walls closer together, thereby forcing the edges of the gap to move apart. The direction of the applied force and the way the gap opens are well shown in Figs. 2d and 2e in WO03 / 101261. The level of opening is necessarily small and even this requires considerable effort to compress the horizontal surface that lies between the walls of the spout. In the case where, as in WO03 / 101261, US 2006/0201902, the gaps are formed in a horizontal surface extending between the vertical walls of the spout, the resulting distortion in the horizontal plane is such that the sections between the gaps stretch significantly. Therefore, bends and tears of the horizontal surface are very easy to form, and covers using such spouts have limited durability.

[0013] On the other hand, the configuration according to the present invention is such that even when biting, the spout material is only compressed and not distorted, making it less susceptible to damage.

[0014] An important feature that distinguishes the invention from those known in the art is the direction in which the spout must be squeezed to open the gap. While in the prior art the ends of the gap approach each other, thus forcing the sides of the gap to move apart to form arches, in the present invention the force is applied at appropriate angles along the edges of the gap. The force changes the mutual slope of the sides of the gap, thus creating an opening between them.

[0015] Although it is possible to shape the spout with an almost circular cross-section, it is preferred that it has a cross-section with a longer axis of at least 20% and more preferably 50% longer than the shorter axis. This adapts the spout to the shape of the mouth and makes it easier to close the mouth of the drinker around the spout. In a spout of this shape, by setting the gap so that the two sides meet and extend substantially parallel to the long axis, it can also be ensured that the drinker instinctively squeezes the spout in the right direction, which causes the valve to open.

[0016] The spout may be substantially elliptical (rounded in its entirety) or may have the shape of an eye, i.e. the shape of two outwardly arched arches meeting at two vertices.

[0017] The gap should preferably not extend all the way to the side wall of the spout and it is possible to use reinforced locks at the edges of the gap ends to prevent the gap from widening, which can over time weaken the side walls.

[0018] The sides forming the non-leaking valve are preferably spaced from the mouth of the spout such that the outlet includes a section between the valve and the mouth of the spout.

[0019] Several different forces act on the valve as the drinker sucks the spout. First, reducing the pressure in the outlet duct above the valve tends to raise its sides, bringing them closer together in an attempt to close the valve. This, however, is neutralized by two other forces.

[0020] First, the reduction of pressure in the outlet channel section above the valve deforms the sidewall, pulling opposing sides together, and bending them towards each other. Bending the side wall will push the sides of the valve down towards the valve opening. Secondly, the deformation of the side wall is additionally supported by the natural reflex of the drinker consisting in compressing the outer surface of the spout with his mouth while sucking, and even more when swallowing. The resulting deformation of the sides of the valve, which are connected to the walls of the spout, causes that the separation of the sides allows the suction applied to draw the drink from the inside of the cup. [0021] It is preferred to provide projections on the upper front surfaces of both sides that contact each other when the back of both sides, i.e. their sides connected to the side wall of the spout, are pressed against each other. The protrusions act as supports that cause the sides to fold down when directed toward each other. This separates the lower edges of the front surfaces of the mating sides to open the gap. The regions of the sides without projections limit the upper end of the channels through which the drink can flow.

[0022] It is possible for the bottom surfaces of the two sides to be flat surfaces that are in contact along a straight line. It is, however, preferable to shape the mating surfaces of the two sides so that they contain a straight part and a hollow spout that projects below the straight part. Such a spout arises when a downwardly projecting recess or trough is formed in the bottom surface of the sides. The downward spout may be an empty dome or pyramid that is sealed when the spout is in a relaxed state, but its two halves diverge like a bird's beak, when the walls of the beak are directed toward each other. This directs the upper corners of the spout (two points at which their "jaws" meet and which act as the abovementioned projections) towards each other in such a way that the sides will bend downwards.

Brief description of the drawings [0023] The invention will be described in more detail by way of example with reference to the attached drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a schematic of a non-dripping cup lid in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective cross-section of the spout of Fig. 1 cut along the line AA,

Fig. 3 is a schematic representation of the spout of Figs. 1 and 2 in a closed position,

Fig. 4 is a schematic representation of the spout of Figs. 1 and 2 in the open position,

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a lid for a non-dripping cup in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention,

Fig. 6 is a perspective cross-section of the spout of Fig. 5 cut along the line BB,

Fig. 7 is a schematic representation of the spout of Figs. 5 and 2 in a closed position,

Fig. 8 is a schematic representation of the spout of Figs. 5 and 2 in the open position,

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a lid for a non-dripping cup in accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention,

Fig. 10 is a perspective cross-sectional view of the spout according to the third embodiment cut along the CC line of Fig. 9, and Fig. 11 is a perspective cross-sectional view of the spout according to the fourth embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT (s) [0024] The lid 10 for the non-leaking container shown in Fig. 1 is formed as one piece of an elastomeric material such as latex. The lid 10 has a spout 12 and a one-way pressure valve 14 for venting the expansion space of the container. The vent hole maintains the expansion space of the container at atmospheric pressure when the beverage is sucked from the container through the spout 12. According to a common trend, the vent valve 14 is designed as a short-circuit valve that includes an inwardly semicircular dome that is cut along a large circle. The valve is operated automatically by pressure on its opposite sides. When the pressure in the container is below atmospheric pressure, the two half hemispheres diverge from each other allowing air to enter the expansion space. However, when the liquid presses on both halves, it directs them toward each other to seal the gap and prevent liquid from escaping. Other forms of venting valve may be used, e.g. duckbill valves.

[0025] The spout 12 has a non-circular cross section with a longer and a shorter axis. This makes it more convenient to use because it matches the shape of the lips and makes it easier to tighten the lips of the drinker around the spout when swallowing. The spout 12 includes a leak prevention valve 16 that is designed to allow the user to drink from the container, but prevents spillage in all other conditions.

[0026] The valve 16 includes two side surfaces 16a and 16b which protrude from the inner surface of the spout side wall 18. Only one of these side surfaces 16a is shown in the cut view of Fig. 2. The valve is usually symmetrical and its other half is a mirror image of Fig. 2. As shown schematically in Figs. 3 and 4, the two sides 16a and 16b are inclined down to form a "V" facing inside the container. Along their sides spaced from the side wall of the spout, the two side surfaces meet in the gap 30, which extends parallel to the long axis of the section of the spout 12.

[0027] In the production of the lid 10, the two side surfaces 16a and 16b are formed into one continuous network that extends across the channel delimited by the inner wall of the spout 12. The slot 30 is then cut with a sharp knife. The gap 30 is shorter than the long axis of the spout and ends just before the inner wall. The low locking reinforcement 22 at the ends of the gap 30 prevents it from stretching.

[0028] In the closed position of the valve shown in Fig. 3, sides 16a and 16b contact and seal the gap 30. Due to the slope of the sides 16a and 16b, the high pressure inside the container directs them more tightly and improves sealing. This design is sufficient so that no liquids can escape through the spout, even if the container is inverted and shaken.

The valve closure is not due to the narrowing effect of stiffness and small passage size, but due to the structure of the valve and the geometry of its components.

[0029] It should be noted that the use of a short-circuit valve, as is customary, only allows limited "self-closing" because under the right pressure the two halves of the hemisphere can turn back and open outwards. In the present invention, in particular, if the upper side surfaces form an angle of 90 ° or less between them, real self-closing is achievable, which should never be breakable. This makes the valve 16 of the present invention able to prevent leakage and leakage, even if the container is filled with hot liquid or a carbonated drink.

[0030] For drinking from the container, the spout is placed in the mouth with its longer axis parallel to the lips. The drinker sucks the spout at the mouth using light pressure to seal around the spout. Such action is completely instinctive for both infants and adults. The effect of lip pressure on the side wall of the spout is shown schematically in Fig. 4. The drinker's lips squeeze the side walls of the spout towards each other at the mouth of the spout, while its lower end, which is attached to the rest of the lid, remains generally stationary. Due to the fact that the opposite sides of the spout slope and the side surfaces 16a and 16b are relatively thick, they also deflect as shown in Fig. 4 to open the slit 18 and thus the free passage enabling suction of the drink.

[0031] When the lips are released, the spout automatically returns to its natural state due to its elasticity. Thus, the only situation where liquid can be released from the container is when the spout is squeezed between the lips of a drinker from the cup.

[0032] The sides 16a and 16b must be of considerable thickness if they are to move with the side wall of the spout. Cutting a thick layer of latex or similar elastomeric material presents difficulties in practice and for this reason, a small groove is formed on the side surfaces 16a and 16b so that the bottom of the groove has a reduced thickness, the bottom is cut after forming. This groove can be seen in Fig. 2, where it is marked with number 26.

[0033] The embodiment of Fig. 1 will work properly as long as the pressure of the lips is applied at a distance from the side surfaces 16a and 16b. If the spout is compressed at the height of the side surfaces 16a and 16b it will be directed towards each other instead of sliding apart by tilting the side wall of the spout. This problem can be overcome by moving the valve 16 deep into the spout 12 to an area that is difficult to access for the lips, but it will be less susceptible to the desired deformations. Therefore, the embodiment of Figures 5 to 8 provides a perfect solution to this problem. [0034] To avoid repetition, in all embodiments, identical components are described by reference numbers with identical last two digits, where the first one indicates, for example, embodiments. [0035] The difference between the embodiment of Fig. 5 and Fig. 1 is that the modified sides 116a and 116b have projections 140 on their upper surfaces. As shown in the drawing, each of the side surfaces 116a, 116b has a single central projection 140, but alternatively more than one projection on each side can be provided. The projections 140 must be arranged symmetrically on both sides, but they cannot extend across the entire width of the spout.

[0036] The operation of these projections 140 will be explained with reference to Figs. 7 and 8. In the relaxed state, the spout 112, two sides 116a and 116b are in contact with each other again to close the gap 130. However, when the sides of the spout 112 are directed towards the upper edges of the projections 140 are adjacent to each other and act as supports. Further squeezing the sides of the spout causes the two side surfaces 116a and 116b to bend around these supports as shown in Fig. 8, separating the lower edges of the side surfaces and opening the gap 130. If the projections 140 extend across the entire width of the spout, opening the slot 130 would be pointless because there will be no sealing between the projections

140 at points acting as supports. However, when they are not as wide as the spout 112, the remaining side surface areas 116a and 116b act as channels through which fluid can be sucked from the reservoir.

[0037] Thus, in the structure shown in Fig. 5, compression of the spout forms two triangular exit holes at the lateral edges of the projections 140 ending at a point at the reinforced locks 122.

[0038] A disadvantage of the embodiments of Figs. 5 to 8 is that the cross-section of the two triangular holes is relatively small, and the embodiment of Figs. 9 and 10 shows that the improvement that increases the surface of the gap plane to reduce the suction rate, which is needed for drinking.

[0039] The most preferred embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 9 and 10 differs from that of Figs. 5 to 8 by the addition of a hollow spout 250 at the bottom of the side surfaces 216a and 216b, which communicate with the pyramidal valley 252 formed in projection 240. The projection 240 now has two arms 240a and 240b that enclose the pyramidal valley 252 and they act as supports when the two sides of the spout 212 are squeezed together. The increased distance from the lowest point in the spout 250 to the supports means that the spout 250 opens wider than the gap 230 and the spout circumference 250 is much larger than its width, so that the area through which liquid can pass when the spout 250 is open is much larger than can be achieved in a simple gap.

[0040] When the spout of Fig. 9 is squeezed, in addition to the two triangular holes in the embodiment of Fig. 5, the spout will have a larger central hole that allows fluid to flow freely.

[0041] The embodiment of Figs. 9 and 10 also has the advantage that the application of pressure along the long axis of the spout only causes the side surfaces to bend and not to be forced to open in the shape of an eye. This is to prevent serious leaks, even if the spout is not being used as intended.

[0042] Another embodiment may be similar to that shown in Fig. 10, except that the projection 240 may extend over the entire upper surface of the sides, and may optionally include more than one spout 250.

[0043] Another embodiment of the invention is shown in Fig. 11.

Here, the side surfaces 316 are slightly thicker at the front and the depressions 352 are formed in the upper edges of the side surfaces. Again, the arms between the depressions press on each other and when the sides of the spout are directed toward each other, the lower edges of the side surfaces diverge to open the gap 330 and allow fluid to flow through the channel formed in the depressions 352.