The present invention relates to beverage container lids.

Conventional lids for beverage containers, such as disposable take-away coffee cups, are often provided along with removeable lids. These are normally fitted to the upper rim of the cup after it has been filled and include a slot for allowing the drinker to sip/drink the beverage through the lid. In known lids of this sort, the drinking slot is formed on a flat surface that forms the upper surface of an upstanding circular rim. Such drinking slots are prone to leakage of the beverage into the rim whilst drinking, resulting in the risk of spillage. The shape of the rim also means that some drinkers consider them to be less comfortable than other types of conventional drinking vessels.

Embodiments of the present invention are intended to address at least some of the abovementioned problems.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a beverage container lid including:

a covering surface;

an arrangement for, in use, attaching the lid to a beverage container so that the covering surface at least partially covers an opening of the beverage container;

an upstanding portion upstanding from the covering surface, at least part of the upstanding portion having a curved upper surface, and

a drinking aperture at least partially formed on the curved upper surface.

The curved upper surface can be arc-shaped, with a peak of the arc shape raised above the covering surface. The curved upper surface may be parabolic in cross-section (e.g. when viewed in a circumferential direction of a circular said lid). At least a section of the upstanding portion may be curved in an arc shape. The lid may have a circular outline. The arc shape of the upstanding portion may correspond to an arc of the circular outline of the lid.

The drinking aperture may be completely formed on the curved upper surface.

The upstanding portion may include at least one wall extending between the cover surface and the curved upper surface.

The upstanding portion may comprise a rim that extends at least partially around the lid.

The arrangement for attaching the lid to the beverage container may comprise a downwardly-open rim. In some embodiments, this downwardly-open rim may be circular.

The upstanding portion may be located within a periphery of the downwardly-open rim.

The drinking aperture may be elongate. Opposed edges of the drinking aperture may be defined by two spaced-apart parallel lines. A curved edge of the drinking aperture may extend between corresponding ends of the two spaced-apart parallel lines. The two spaced-apart parallel lines may be straight or curved.

A height and/or thickness of the curved upper surface can vary around a circumference of the lid. A thickness of the curved upper surface may be at its greatest adjacent the drinking aperture. The thickness of the curved upper surface may gradually taper around to a region diametrically opposed to the aperture. A height of the curved upper surface may be is at its greatest adjacent the drinking aperture. The height of the curved upper surface may gradually reduce around to a region diametrically opposed to the drinking aperture.

Whilst the invention has been described above, it extends to any inventive combination of features set out above or in the following description. Although illustrative embodiments of the invention are described in detail herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these precise embodiments. As such, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. Furthermore, it is contemplated that a particular feature described either individually or as part of an embodiment can be combined with other individually described features, or parts of other embodiments, even if the other features and embodiments make no mention of the particular feature. Thus, the invention extends to such specific combinations not already described.

The invention may be performed in various ways, and, by way of example only, embodiments thereof will now be described, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of an example lid;

Figure 2 is a sectional view through line C - C of Figure 1 , and

Figure 3 is a side view of the lid and part of a beverage container to which it is fitted.

Referring to the Figures, an example lid 100 is shown. The example lid is circular in outline and includes a lower rim 102 that defines a downwardly-open channel 104 that is intended to fit over an upper rim of a beverage container (shown partially at 101 in Figure 3) in use. The beverage container may comprise a conventional beverage cup, e.g. a cup for a hot beverage such as coffee, tea, hot chocolate or the like. Such cups are typically sold at snack or coffee outlets and are suitable for use by adults as well as children. They are generally, along with the lid, intended to be recycled or disposed of after one use.

In the example, the lid 100 is formed of polystyrene (PS), although it will be understood that it can be formed of any suitable semi-rigid material(s), e.g. paper pulp. It may be formed of the same (or different) material(s) as the beverage container 101 . The dimensions of the lid can also vary. In the example, it has an overall diameter of around 92 mm and an overall height of around 20 mm.

The lower rim 102 and channel 104 may be of any suitable shapes and dimensions so as to at least partially seal an upper rim of the beverage container. Typically, the shapes will be circular so as fit conventional cups, but other shapes are also possible, e.g. for cups of unusual/irregular shapes. In the illustrated example, the lower rim includes a bulbous ring 105 for accommodating the ring-shaped upper rim of the cup, but it will be appreciated that this is optional. In alternative embodiments, the lower rim may not be continuous, but will generally have sufficient contact to allow the lid to hold onto the rim of the cup when it is empty at least. The lid is designed so that it can be easily push-fitted to (and removed from) the cup manually, without the need for any adhesive, etc.

The lower rim 102 forms the outer circumference of the lid 100. In the example lid there is a circular central region 106. Again, it will be appreciated that this region is exemplary only and variations to the design are possible, e.g. the central region need not be higher than the lower rim 102; it can be flat, convex or concave; it may include apertures and not fully cover the open face of the cup underneath, etc. Branding and/or other messages (e.g. health/safety warnings) may be printed or formed on the lid.

Between the central region 106 and the lower rim there is an upper rim 108, which is defined by a straight (e.g. angled by around 85° with respect to the vertical) outer wall 1 10 that extends upwardly from the inner circumference of the lower rim 104, and a curved upper surface 1 12 that extends from the top of the outer wall, up to a peak and then down to the outer circumference of the central region. In alternative embodiments, the rim may also include a straight inner wall that extends from the outer circumference of the central region/lid to the curved upper surface. Thus, when viewed form above, as in Figure 1 , the outer circumference of the curved upper surface is defined by a first circle 1 1 1A and its inner circumference by a second circle 1 1 1 B. When viewed in the circumferential direction of the lid, the cross-sectional shape of the curved upper surface is similar to an arc having a peak rising above the central region. In the illustrated example, this cross-sectional shape is parabolic, but it will be appreciated that the precise shape of the curve can vary, e.g. it need not be symmetrical about a notional central vertical line.

The height and/or thickness of the curved upper surface 1 12 varies around the circumference of the lid in the example, but it will be understood that this need not always be the case. In the example, thickness of the upper surface is at its greatest (e.g. around 10 mm) at, and adjacent, a drinking aperture 1 14 and then gradually tapers around to the point diametrically opposed to the aperture, where its width is around 2 mm. Thus, the outer 1 1 1 A and inner circles 1 1 1 B are not concentric. Similarly in the example, the height of the upper rim is at its greatest (e.g. upstanding by around 7 mm from the upper surface of the central region) at, and around, the drinking aperture and gradually reduces to around 2 mm at the diametrically opposed region.

The drinking aperture 1 14 in the example is elongate, having its longer edges defined by two straight, spaced apart parallel lines 1 16A, 1 16B, the left- hand ends of which are connected by a C-shape curve 1 18A and the right-hand ends of which are connected by a mirror image C-shape curve 1 18B. The length of the example aperture is around 1 1 mm and its width around 5 mm. The width of the aperture is less than the width of the curved upper surface in the example. However, it will be appreciated that the shape and dimensions of the drinking aperture can vary. For example, instead having edges defined by two straight parallel lines, its edges could follow the general curved/arc-shape of the upper rim/lid. Alternatively, more than one drinking aperture could be provided, e.g. a set of holes/slots in one or more row; in a straight or curved line, etc.

As can be seen, the drinking aperture 1 14 is formed on the curved upper surface 1 12. This results in advantages over conventional lids, where a drinking slot is formed on a flat surface. Due to the curved nature of the drinking aperture in the embodiment, when it is raised to the lips of the drinker, it better matches the "lip feel" of a traditionally shaped beverage container, such as a china cappuccino cup. It also provides a better "fit to lip", reducing leakage of the beverage into the rim of the lid, thereby reducing the risk of spillage.

Although the illustrated embodiment shows a drinking aperture 1 14 formed on an upper rim 108 with a curved upper surface 1 12, it will be appreciated that many variations are possible. First, the curved upper surface need not be part of a rim that extends all the way around the circular lid; for example, the curved upper surface could be (at least part of the upper surface of) a portion that upstands from the main central region and is not part of a circular rim. The curved surface and drinking aperture can also be positioned on locations of the central region 106 other than those shown in the Figures. Further, the plane of the drinking aperture need not be parallel to the main plane of the lid, but could be angled/offset from it, e.g. the drinking aperture may be located on a curved surface on a portion that extends at a non-perpendicular angle from a flat region of the lid.