FIELD

The disclosure relates to a straw, and more particularly to a drinking straw adapted for beverage consumption .

BACKGROUND

In general, conventional drinking straws provided by beverage shops or restaurants are made of disposable plastic. Mass consumption of such drinking straws, which are not easily recyclable, has become a burden to our environment. Thus, a trend of replacing disposable straws with reusable straws has emerged in the market .

A conventional reusable straw is made of stainless steel or composites of sugarcane bagasse which are biodegradable. However, such reusable straws are opaque and thus it is difficult for users to tell if insides of the straws are properly cleaned. Another type of conventional reusable straw is made of glass so that the users can see through the straw to make sure it is properly cleaned. However, in this case, the fragile nature of glass may present a safety hazard to the users. Moreover, for both types of reusable straws, cleaning of the straws involves a specific kind of cleaning tool such as a brush with a thin and long handle, and such a cleaning tool needs to be carried along with the reusable straw for proper cleaning, which is inconvenient and troublesome for the users.

SUMMARY

Therefore, the object of the disclosure is to provide a drinking straw that can alleviate at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art .

A drinking straw according to the disclosure includes a plurality of elongated wall members . The wall members cooperatively form a straw structure that surrounds an axis and that defines a drinking passage extending along the axis . The wall members are angularly arranged and detachably connected together.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a first embodiment of a drinking straw according to the disclosure ;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary and exploded perspective view of the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an exploded top view of a second embodiment of the drinking straw according to the disclosure; FIG. 4 is an assembled top view of a variation of the second embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an assembled top view of another variation of the second embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an exploded top view of a third embodiment of the drinking straw according to the disclosure; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the drinking straw according to the disclosure .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before the present invention is described in greater detail, it should be noted that where considered appropriate, reference numerals or terminal portions of reference numerals have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements, which may optionally have similar characteristics .

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a first embodiment of a drinking straw according to the disclosure includes two elongated wall members 1. The wall members 1 are angularly arranged, are detachably connected together, and cooperatively form a straw structure that surrounds an axis 9 and that defines a drinking passage 8 extending along the axis 9.

Each of the wall members 1 has a main portion 11, a first connecting portion 12 and a second connecting portion 13. The main portion 11 is connected between the first and second connecting portions 12, 13. The first and second connecting portions 12, 13 are angularly opposite to each other and are parallel to the axis 9.

The first and second connecting portions 12, 13 of each of the wall members 1 are detachably and respectively connected to the second and first connecting portions 13, 12 of the other one of the wall members 1.

The first connecting portion 12 of each of the wall members 1 has a plurality of first protrusions 121 that protrude from the main portion 11 of the wall member 1, that are spaced apart and arranged in a direction of the axis 9, and that cooperate with the main portion 11 of the wall member 1 to define a plurality of first not che s 122.

The second connecting portion 13 of each of the wall members 1 has a plurality of second protrusions 131 that protrude from the main portion 11 of the wall member 1, that are spaced apart and arranged in the direction of the axis 9, and that cooperate with the main portion 11 of the wall member 1 to define a plurality of second notches 132.

The first protrusions 121 of the first connecting portion 12 of each of the wall members 1 are detachably and respectively engaged with the second notches 132 of the second connecting portion 13 of the other one of the wall members 1.

The second protrusions 131 of the second connecting portion 13 of each of the wall members 1 are detachably and respectively engaged with the first notches 122 of the first connecting portion 12 of the other one of the wall members 1.

Referring to FIG. 3, a second embodiment of the drinking straw is similar to the first embodiment, and the difference therebetween resides in configurations of the first and second connecting portions 12, 13 of each of the wall members 1.

In the second embodiment, the first and second connecting portion 12, 13 of each of the wall members 1 are respectively configured as an elongated groove and an elongated protrusion that are formed on the main portion 11, and that extend in the direction of the axis 9. The groove and protrusion (i.e. the first and second connecting portion 12, 13) of each of the wall members 1 are detachably and respectively connected to the protrusion and groove of the other one of the wall members 1.

It should be noted that, in other variations of the present embodiment, the configurations of the first and second connecting portions 12, 13 may vary as long as the first connecting portion 12 of each of the wall members 1 can engage with the second connecting portion 13 of the other one of the wall members 1. For example, the first and second connecting portion 12, 13 of one of the wall members 1 may be both configured as elongated grooves, and the first and second connecting portion 12, 13 of the other one of the wall members 1 may be both configured as elongated protrusions.

It should be further noted that, the number of the wall members 1 in the first and second embodiments is not limited to two. For example, referring to FIG. 4, a variation of the second embodiment may have three wall members 1 surrounding the axis 9. For each of the wall members 1, the first connecting portion 12 is detachably connected to the second connecting portion 13 of an adjacent one of the wall members 1, and the second connecting portion 13 is detachably connected to the first connecting portion 12 of another adjacent one of the wall members 1.

In addition, the shape of the cross section of the drinking straw is not limited to a circle. For example, referring to FIG. 5, in another variation of the second embodiment, the shape of the cross section of the drinking straw may be a rectangle.

Referring to FIG. 6, a third embodiment of the drinking straw is similar to the second embodiment. The difference between the two embodiments resides in the following. In this embodiment, the drinking straw further includes two linking members 3. The linking members 3 are made of a material different from that of the wall members 1, and are parallel to and angularly arranged around the axis 9. The linking members 3 and the wall members 1 are alternately arranged and detachably connected together.

In this embodiment, the linking members 3 have similar structures as that of the wall members 1. However, the linking members 3 are narrower than the wall members 1, and each of the linking members 3 has first and second connecting portions 32, 33 that are both configured as elongated protrusions extending in the direction of the axis 9. Each of the wall members 1 has first and second connecting portions 12, 13 that are both configured as elongated grooves extending in the direction of the axis 9.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the linking members 3 are made of silicone rubber and the wall members 1 are made of plastic. Since silicone rubber is generally more flexible than plastic, the wall members 1 and the linking members 3 may be connected more fittingly and seamlessly together.

Similar to the second embodiment, the configuration of the first and second connecting portions 32, 33 of the linking members 3 and the configuration of the first and second connecting portions 12, 13 of the wall members 1 may be interchanged in other variations of this embodiment. Referring to FIG. 7, a fourth embodiment of the drinking straw is similar to the first embodiment, and the difference therebetween resides in that the fourth embodiment further includes a binding ring 7.

The binding ring 7 is sleeved around the wall members 1 for strengthening the connection therebetween, and is made of elastic materials such as silicone rubbers. The binding ring 7 may also be used in other variations of any of the abovement ioned embodiments.

In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects, and that one or more features or specific details from one embodiment may be practiced together with one or more features or specific details from another embodiment, where appropriate, in the practice of the disclosure.

While the disclosure has been described in connection with what are considered the exemplary embodiments, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements .