This invention relates to lids for drinking vessels and drinking vessels having lids.

The invention is concerned especially, though not exclusively, with lids suitable for covering the open tops of drinking vessels which are of the disposable-plastics or -cardboard kinds, and lidded drinking-vessels of such kind.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a lid for a drinking vessel, wherein the lid has a base with a peripheral rim for securing the lid to cover an open top of the drinking vessel, the base has inwardly of the rim a region flanking a boss that is upstanding from the base, a shell that defines a compartment between the shell and the flanking region is angularly displaceable about the boss, angular displacement of the shell progressively about the boss moving an aperture of the shell to successive locations of the compartment to give access through the aperture to those locations respectively, and wherein an aperture is defined in the boss for accessing content of the drinking vessel through the lid.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a lidded drinking-vessel wherein the lid has a base that has a peripheral rim securing the lid to the top of the drinking vessel, the base has inwardly of the rim a region flanking a boss that is upstanding from the base, a shell that defines a

compartment between the shell and the flanking region is

angularly displaceable about the boss, angular displacement of the shell progressively about the boss moving an aperture of the shell to successive locations of the compartment to give access through the aperture to those locations respectively, and wherein an aperture is defined in the boss for accessing content of the drinking vessel through the lid.

The compartment of the lid and lidded drinking-vessel of the invention of the invention may be used to accommodate food or snack items that are accessible one or more at a time through the aperture of the shell. In this regard, the flanking region of the base may be recessed at a plurality of spaced locations about the boss for accommodating respective items or groups of items of food or snack with an orderly distribution within the

compartment. Whether or not recesses are provided, there may be indexing of the angular displacement of the shell about the boss so as to facilitate withdrawal of the items of food or snack, or groups of such items, from chosen locations of the compartment, by selection of which of a multiplicity of discrete displacements of the shell is adopted.

The aperture defined in the upstanding boss may be defined by an actual opening through the boss, or may be by scoring or other demarcation of an elementary area of the boss for punching out or other removal to gain access to content of the drinking vessel through the lid. The aperture may be defined by a slot in an annular rim or lip of the boss, or may be defined by a hole for entry of a drinking straw through the lid into the drinking vessel.

The shell may be of dome- or inverted cup-form with a bottom rim and top opening. In these circumstances the shell may be fitted over the base with the boss projecting through the top opening of the shell, and the top opening of the shell may have an arcuate rim that is trapped resiliently in a groove encircling the boss to retain the shell attached to the base with rotational freedom about the boss. A drinking-vessel lid and a drinking vessel incorporating such a lid, in accordance with the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is illustrative of a lidded drinking vessel in

accordance with the present invention ;

Figure 2 is an exploded view of the drinking-vessel lid of the invention as incorporated in the lidded drinking-vessel of Figure 1, and showing in perspective a shell and a base of the lid with examples of food or snack items for accommodation within the lid;

Figures 3 and 4 are respectively a front view in perspective and a plan view of the assembled drinking-vessel lid of Figure 2, before being loaded with the food or snack items; and

Figure 5 and 6 are respectively a front view in perspective and a plan view of the base of the drinking-vessel lid of Figure 2 when loaded with food or snack items. Referring to Figure 1, the drinking-vessel lid 1 has a peripheral rim 2 that in this example is a secure, resilient push-fit onto the open top of a disposable-plastics or-cardboard drinks cup 3. The lid 1 provides a liquid-tight cover to the open top of the cup 3, and has a central boss 4 with a slot 5 through an annular rim 6 atop the boss 4. The liquid contents of the cup 3 can be drunk through the lid 1 by a user, simply by tipping the cup 3 while applying his/mouth mouth over the rim 6 at the slot 5.

As illustrated in Figure 2, the lid 1 comprises a vacuum- formed shell 7 of a transparent or semi-transparent plastics material that fits onto a vacuum-formed base 8 of opaque plastics

material. The rim 2 is peripheral to the base 8, and the base 8 inwardly of the rim 2 flares upwardly into the central boss 4 through a flanking region 9. Five recesses 10 (only two of which are visible in Figure 2) are provided in the flanking region 9 for accommodating respectively five food or snack items or groups of such items when the lid 1 is in use; five individual biscuits (or "cookies') B are shown in this respect in Figure 2 solely by way of example. An indexing-datum marker 11 is moulded into the rim 2 to identify the front of the base 8, and the series of five recesses are distributed evenly about the boss 4 with spacings of 60 degrees from the marker 11 and one another.

The shell 7, which is generally of a dome- or inverted cup-form with a bottom-rim 12 and top-opening 13, is fitted over the base 8 with the boss 4 projecting through the opening 13 and the bottom-rim 12 overlapping the rim 2, as illustrated by Figures 3 and 4. A front aperture 14 of the shell 7 breaks into the top- opening 13 leaving the opening 13 with an arcuate rim 15 which is trapped resiliently in a groove 16 that encircles the boss 4. The trapping of the rim 15 in the groove 16 retains the shell 7 attached to the base 8 with full rotational freedom about the boss 4.

The front location of the aperture 14 of the shell 7 is indicated by a marker 17 moulded on the rim 12. When the rotational position of the shell 7 relative to the base 8 aligns the marker

17 with the marker 11 on the rim 2, none of the recesses 10 is revealed within the aperture 14. Five additional moulded markers

18 (only two of which are visible in Figure 3) and the marker 17 are distributed evenly from one another about the rim 12 with spacings of 60 degrees from one another, so that the five recesses 10 are revealed in turn within the aperture 14 when the shell 7 is rotated to bring the five markers 18 in turn into alignment with the marker 11.

Before the lid 1 is brought into use, it is loaded with five food or snack items (or groups of such items) as represented, by way of example, by the biscuits B of Figure 2. The loading is into the compartment defined between the shell 7 and the flanking region 9 of the base 8, and is carried out by entering the biscuits B in turn through the aperture 14 into the respective recesses 10 as the shell 7 is rotated to align the markers 18 one by one with the datum-marker 11 of the base 8. When all recesses 10 are occupied, the shell 7 is turned to align the marker 17 with the marker 11 and thereby locate the aperture 14 to the front and retain the biscuits B covered by the shell 7 within their individual recesses 10.

It will be appreciated that instead of loading the lid 1 with the biscuits B after the shell 7 has been assembled with the base 8 as described above, the biscuits B may be placed in the recesses 10 as illustrated by Figures 5 and 6, before the shell 7 is fitted at the outset onto the base 8.

The six-position indexing of the rotation of the shell 7 on the base 8, and/or the recesses 10, may be omitted so that the compartment provided between the shell 7 and the flanking region 9 of the base 8 is available throughout its full extent round the boss 4 for the accommodation and ready-access as required of food or snack items .

A hole (not shown) for entry of a drinking straw through the lid 1 may be provided in addition to, or as an alternative to the slot 5, for accessing the content of the drinking vessel. In either case, the hole and/or slot need not be open but may each be defined by scoring or other demarcation of an elementary area of the boss 4 for punching out or removal as a prerequisite to drinking or drawing off content from the drinking vessel.