SANITARY CUP LIDS

This application claims the benefit of priority from the following U.S. patent applications: U.S. Patent Application No. 61/124,958, which was filed on April 21, 2008 and entitled "Sanitary Anti-Spill Disposable Cup Lid;" U.S. Patent Application No. 61/125,574, which was filed on April 25, 2008 and entitled "Sanitary Spill Resistant Cup Lid;" and U.S. Patent Application No. 61/125,906, which was filed on April 29, 2008 and entitled "Sanitary Cup Lid." Each of the foregoing applications is incorporated by reference into the present application in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

It is common to dispense hot coffee and tea in a disposable paper or plastic styrofoam cup and to cover the cup with a plastic lid. A primary concern in designing cup lids is to prevent spillage of hot liquids from the cup, to prevent burn injuries. However, when handling disposable cups and lids it is important to keep the lids from becoming contaminated. When a coffee shop employee places a lid on a cup filled with a hot beverage, the cup lid is picked up by hand and placed on the cup. During this procedure, it is inevitable that the hand of the employee touches the cup lid. The area of the cup lid to be contacted with the lip of a coffee drinker can in this way become contaminated with germs transmitted by the hand of the coffee shop employee, which may be a serious public health problem.

SUMMARY

It is desirable for a disposable cup lid to have both sanitary and spill resistant functions. The present cup lids assist in preventing cup lid contamination by hand, avoid the spillage of cup contents, and are easy to manufacture.

DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a hand closing a cup with a cup lid.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present disposable cup lid in a closed mode.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the cup lid of Figure 2 in an open mode.

Figure 4 is the top plan view of the cup lid of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the cup lid of Figure 4 along line A-A.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present disposable cup lid with its aperture closed.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the cup lid of Figure 6 with its aperture opened after the moveable cover has been rotated away by thumb.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the base portion (main cup lid) of the cup lid of Figure 6.

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the cover portion of the cup lid of Figure 6.

Figure 10 is a top plan view of the main cup lid of Figure 8.

Figure 11 is a top plan view of the cover portion shown in Figure 9.

Figure 12 is a top plan view of another embodiment of a cover portion for the cup lid of Figure 6.

Figure 13 is a side view of the main cup lid of Figure 8.

Figure 14 is a side view of the cover portion of Figure 9.

Figure 15 is a cross-sectional view of the main cup lid shown in Figure 10 along line B-B.

Figure 16 is a cross-sectional view of the cover portion of Figure 11 along line C- C placed on top of the cross-section of the main cup lid as shown in Figure 15.

Figure 17 shows the thumb of a user of the present cup lid positioned to detach the cover from the main cup lid.

Figure 18 shows the cover detached from the main cup lid by a user's thumb.

Figure 19 shows the cover pressed by a thumb over the main cup lid to reattach the cover to the main cup lid.

Figure 20 is a perspective view of a hand capping a cup with a cup lid of the prior

art.

Figure 21 is a perspective elevated front view of another embodiment of the present cup lid.

Figure 22 is a perspective elevated side view of the cup lid of Figure 20.

Figure 23 is another embodiment of the present cup lid.

Figure 24 is a perspective view of the cup lid of Figure 21 with ornamentation.

Figure 25 is a perspective view of a hand closing the cup and cup lid of Figure 21 with the palm.

Figure 26 is a perspective view of a hand closing the cup and cup lid of Figure 21 with the fingers.

Figure 27 is a top view of the cup lid of Figure 21.

Figure 28 is a front view of the cup lid of Figure 21.

Figure 29 is a cross-sectional view of the cup lid of Figure 27 along line D-D.

Figure 30 is a top view of the cup lid with ornamentation of Figure 24.

Figure 31 is a cross-sectional view of the cup lid of Figure 30 along line E-E.

Figure 32 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present cup lid with a cover in place.

Figure 33 is a perspective view of the cup lid of Figure 32 with the cover lifted.

Figure 34 is a top view of the cup lid of Figure 32 without the cover.

Figure 35 is a top view of the cover of the cup lid of Figure 32.

Figure 36 is a cross-sectional view of the cup lid of Figure 34 at the line F-F.

Figure 37 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present cup lid with a closed gate.

Figure 38 is a perspective view of the cup lid of Figure 37 with the gate opened.

Figure 39 is a top view of the sanitary cup lid with a gate of Figure 37.

Figure 40 is a cross-sectional view of the cup lid of Figure 39 along line G-G.

DESCRIPTION

Sanitary Cup Lid

In a first embodiment, the present disposable cup lid comprises two separate components attached and fitted together, a main cup lid (base portion) 16 and a covering apron (cover portion) 15. The base portion 16 includes a generally horizontal surface 42 for covering the upper opening of a container 12 and a vertical wall 44 extending downward (when positioned on the container 12 in normal use) from the periphery of the horizontal surface42 to a point below the upper rim of the container 12, in order to contain a liquid or other flowable material within the container 12. The base portion 16 also includes a lower surface 43 for engaging the rim of a container 12 on which the present cup lid 14 can be placed. Preferably, the lower surface 43 engages the rim of the container 12 so as to form a friction fit with the container 12, although other means of securing the base portion 16 to the rim of a container 12 known to those of skill in the art can also be employed. The covering apron covers the area of the main cup lid where a user's lip generally touches when drinking a beverage. The two components can be made separately or in a single injection molding process.

Figure 1 shows how a disposable cup lid can be contaminated by a hand. When a cup 12 filled with a beverage is capped, a disposable cup lid of the prior art 13 is held by a hand 11 and placed on the rim of a cup 12. The disposable cup lid 13 is then pressed by the hand 13 to fit and seal it to the cup 12. It is inevitable for parts of the hand 13, usually the palm and fingers, to touch the upper surface of the disposable cup lid 13, and sometimes the area of the disposable cup lid 13 contacted by the hand 13 during this procedure involves the place where the lips of a user will touch the cup lid 13 when drinking a beverage. This can be a serious public health threat if the hands of the beverage handler harbor dangerous germs.

Figure 2 and Figure 3 illustrate one embodiment of a sanitary disposable cup lid 14 when it is covered and open, respectively. The cover portion 15 includes both an anterior moveable portion 25 and a posterior portion 21, which can be integrally formed, such as through injection molding.. The anterior moveable portion 25 of the cover

portion 15 is long and wide enough to cover the area where the lips of a beverage drinker touch when drinking from the lid 14. Preferably, the surface area of the vertically extending portion 36 of the anterior moveable portion 25 is between about 3 square centimeters (3 centimeters x 1 centimeter), appropriate for a child, and 8 square centimeters (4 centimeters x 2 centimeters) for an adult, in order to cover the mouth- touching area of the main cup lid 16.

In order to cover the area of the main cup lid 16 generally contacted by a user's mouth, the anterior moveable portion 25 comprises both a horizontally extending portion 26 and a vertically extending portion 36. The horizontally extending portion 26 is secured at a proximal end 27 to the posterior portion 21, and is connected to a proximal end of 37 of the vertically extending portion 36 at a distal end 28 of the horizontally extending portion 26. When the cover portion 15 is covering an aperture 19 of the main cup lid 16 through which a user drinks a liquid in the container 12, as shown in Figure 2, the horizontally extending portion 26 is positioned approximately parallel to the horizontal surface 42 (upper surface) of the main cup lid 16 and extends from the hinge 20 to a point at or just beyond the periphery of the horizontal surface 42. The horizontally extending portion 26 is sized so as to cover both the aperture 19 as well as a portion of the upper surface of the horizontal surface 42 around the periphery of the aperture 19. From this distal end 28 of the horizontally extending portion 26, the vertically extending portion 36 extends approximately parallel to the vertical wall 44 of the main cup lid, i.e. generally downwardly, to a point at or below the lower vertical extent of the vertical wall 44. The distal end 38 of the vertically extending portion 36 can include a projection or handle 22 which extends away from the side wall of the container 12, in order to facilitate moving the cover portion 15 so as to expose the aperture 19, i.e. to open the cover portion 15.

The aperture cover 17 preferably comprises a downwardly-disposed indentation or stopper in the main cup lid 16 and is sized to fit within the aperture 19. Preferably, the lower surface 35 of the aperture cover 17 contacts all or substantially all of the interior periphery of the aperture 19, and more preferably can form a friction fit with the interior periphery of the aperture 19, in order to close and seal the aperture 19.

The posterior portion 21 of the cover portion 15 is secured to the main cup lid 16,

such as by a friction fit between the lower surface 33 of the cover portion 15 and the upper surface 41 of the main cup lid 16, although these two components can also be physically attached or secured in other manners, such as with an adhesive. The posterior portion 21 is preferably semi-circular in shape and tightly fits onto the reciprocally shaped portion 23 of the main cup lid 16. In between and connecting the anterior moveable and posterior fixed portions of the cover portion 15 is a hinge 20 that allows the anterior moveable portion to move with respect to the posterior portion 16.

In use, a beverage drinker grasps the handle 22 of the cover portion 15 using the fingers, and then lifts it to expose the aperture 19 of the main cup lid 16. The cover portion 15 preferably includes an aperture cover 17 reciprocally molded to fit within the aperture 19. Once the cover portion 15 is lifted up, it can be rotated around the hinge and placed upside down, i.e. with the lower surface facing upward, and can be immobilized by buttoning the aperture cover 17 onto a protuberance 18 of the main cup lid 16.

Figure 4 is a top view of the cup lid 14. Figure 5 shows the two separate components. The main cup lid 16 that caps the cup, and the cover portion 15 that in turn covers the main cup lid by fitting its posterior fixed portion onto the reciprocally depressed portion 23 of the main cup lid. The two components can be manufactured by a single injection molding process, in which the posterior fixed portion of the cover portion 15 and its reciprocally depressed portion 23 of the main cup lid 16 become one body.

Rotatable Sanitary Cup Lid

Figure 6 illustrates another embodiment of the present sanitary spill-resistant cup lid in a closed position, with Figure 7 illustrating this cup lid in an open position. As shown in Figures 7-9, in this embodiment the cup lid consists of two parts, a main cup lid (base portion) 120 and a moveable cover 121. The main cup lid 120 includes a circumferential rim 124, an aperture 132 preferably located on the rim 124, a side wall 127 extending downwardly from the outer periphery of the rim 124, and a peripheral groove 128 to seal the cup. In addition, the main cup lid 120 has an upwardly projecting center post 122 protruding from the center of the rim 124. The center post 122 includes an upwardly projecting side wall or walls 118 and at least a base portion 119 of the side

wall 118 that has a cross section which is circular or approximately circular. A center post 122 which is not circular in cross section but which allow rotation of the moveable cover 121 can also be use, for example a center post 122 with a series of flat walls which together approximate a circle in shape.

In between the center post 122 and the rim 124 is an upper surface 115, which in the illustrated embodiment comprises a recess 125 that accommodates a disk 130 of the moveable cover 121. A ventilation hole 123 can be placed in the center top of the post 122.

The moveable cover 121 is placed over the main cup lid 120, and has three basic sub-components: the disk 130, a sanitary overlay 133 and the apron 134. The size of the disk 130 can be large enough to tightly fit the recess 125 of the main cup lid 120 as shown in the Figure 11. In this embodiment, the recess 125 of the moveable cover 121 includes upwardly extending walls 116 around the periphery 117 of the recess 125, and at least a portion of the periphery 138 of the disk engages the upwardly extending walls 116 around the periphery 117 of the recess 125 with a friction fit. Alternatively or in addition, the disk 130 can have a smaller center hole (central opening) 131 as shown in the embodiment of Figure 12. The smaller center hole 131 of the embodiment of Figure 12 will tightly fit the center post 122 of the main cup lid 120. If the disk 130 does not tightly fit and remain attached to the main cup lid 120, the moveable cover 121 can be displaced easily from the desirable location that protects the mouth-contacting area.

The overlay 133 is designed to cover the circular upper surface of the rim 124 of the main cup lid 120, and is wide enough to cover the mouth-contacting area. It preferably also has an aperture stopper 132 to fit and seal the aperture 126 in order to make the cup lid spill resistant, in the manner described above for the aperture cover 17. The overlay 133 comprises both a horizontally extending portion 141 and a vertically extending portion 145. The horizontally extending portion 141 is secured at a proximal end to the disk 130, and is connected to a proximal end of the vertically extending portion 145 at a distal end of the horizontally extending portion 131. The vertically extending portion 145 extends approximately parallel to the vertical wall of the main cup lid, i.e. generally downwardly, preferably to a point at or below the lower vertical extent of the vertical wall.

The apron 134 comprises a surface attached to the distal end of the vertically extending portion 145 of the overlay 133 and extends outwardly (i.e., away from the container when the lid is attached to a container) from the overlay 133 in order to further cover the mouth contacting area of the main cup lid 120, especially the area likely to contact a user's lower lip. At the distal end of the moveable cover 121 is a serrated edge or handle 136. By rotating the serrated handle 136 around the axis of the center post 122 by thumb as shown in Figure 7, the cup lid can be opened for drinking. When rotating the moveable cover 121, the position of the thumb does not need to be displaced much by pushing aside the serrated handle 136 repetitively. Once a tooth of the serrated handle 136 is pushed aside, another tooth will be ready to be pushed away as the moveable cover 121 rotates. Therefore, the cup lid can be open by using only one hand. In addition, as shown in the Figures 17-19, by using the thumb only, the apron 134 and the overlay 133 can be slightly lifted for easy rotation of the moveable cover 121, by extending an upward force against the lower surface or outer edge of the serrated handle 136, and can be pressed to seal the aperture 132.

Figures 10 and 11 are top views of the main cup lid 120 and the moveable cover 121 respectively. Figure 12 illustrates another embodiment of the moveable cover 121. In Figure 11, the diameter of the disk 130 is large enough to reach and fit the recess 125 of the main cup lid 120. By extending the outer edge of the disk 125 all the way to the inner side wall 137 (upwardly extending walls 116) of the rim 124 of the main cup lid 120, the disk 130 can be secured and prevented from easy displacement, particularly if the side wall 137 includes an indentation for receiving the outer edge (periphery 117) of the disk 130.

In Figure 12, the diameter of the disk 130 is not enough to reach the side wall 137. In this embodiment, however, the side of the center hole 131 of the disk 130 is small enough to tightly fit the post 122 of the main cup lid 120 to prevent easy displacement. In a similar manner, an indentation can be created on the side wall of the post 122 to retain the inner edge of the disk 130 and to thereby further reinforce the secure placement of the disk 130. When the disk size is small, another indentation on the side wall of the post 122 can be the only feature to secure the disk 130 to the main cup lid 120.

Figures 13 and 14 are side views of Figures 8 and 9 respectively. Figure 15 shows a cross-sectional view of the main cup lid 120 along line B-B of Figure 10. It is a cut view at the exact middle of the main cup lid 120 and illustrates the center post 122 with the ventilation hole 123, the rim 124, the recess 125, the indentation 137, the aperture 126, the side wall 127, the annular groove 129, and the peripheral groove 128. The unique features of this main cup lid 120 include the center post 123 around which the moveable cover 121 rotates to open and close the cup lid, and the indentation 137 which keeps the disk 130 from lifting. In a similar manner, the indentation 137 can be made in the bottom wall of the center post 122 to accommodate the periphery of the central opening of the disk 130 in order to reinforce the security of the disk 130. The another indentation can help the smaller sized disk 130 of Figure 12 from being displaced. Therefore, the spirit of the present invention should not be limited only in this preferred embodiment, but can be applied to other possible embodiments.

Figure 16 is the cross-sectional view of the moveable cover 121 at the line C-C of Figure 11 when placed on the main cup lid 120. It is colored in black. It illustrates how the components of the moveable cover 121 reciprocally engage to the counterparts of the main cup lid 120. The disk 130 is placed on top of the recess 125 with the peripheral edge of the disk extending all the way to the indentation 137. The center hole 131 surrounds and moves around the center post 122. The overlay 133 protects the mouth touching area of the rim 124 of the main cup lid 120. The aperture stopper reciprocally closes the aperture 126 when the overlay 133 is pressed on the rim 124. The fold 135 between the overlay 133 and the apron 134 fits into the annular groove 129 of the main cup lid 120 helping to secure the moveable cover 121. The outer edge of apron 134 can comprise a serrated handle 136 that is pushed aside repetitively by thumb to rotate the moveable cover 121.

Further Sanitary Cup Lids

Figure 20 shows a hand touching the lid of a prior art disposable cup 232. It is inevitable that an individual attaching such a lid to a cup will touch the aperture 231 and also the area nearby likely to be contacted by the mouth of a user. In another

embodiment of the present disposable cup lid, shown in Figures 21, 22, 25 and 26, the aperture 231 and the mouth piece 239 are recessed and thus protected from being directly touched by the hand of a user, so that the chance of a hand touching those areas is substantially reduced. The mouth piece 239 is located behind the arms 234 of the cup lid. When the cup lid is picked up, the hands will touch the outer surface of the arms 234 as shown in Figure 26. When the cup lid needs to be pressed onto the cup 232 to seal it to the cup 232, the user's palm will touch the horizontal upper surface 233 of the cup lid as shown in Figure 25. Therefore, the chance of contamination by hands is minimized.

Figure 23 shows an embodiment of the cup lid of Figures 21, 22, 25 and 26 having elevated arms 240 guarding the aperture 231 and the mouth piece 239. This can further protect the mouth piece 239 and aperture 231. By creating ornamental figures on the upper surface 233, as shown in Figure 24, drinking coffee or tea can be made more fun, i.e. through the addition of upward ornamental projections 241 (for eyes) and 242 (for a nose) and/or ornamental grooves 243 (Figure 30). The embodiments shown in Figures 21-26, the present lid comprises a horizontal upper surface 233, and an outer vertical side wall 235 extending downwardly from an outer periphery 251 of the horizontal upper surface 233. The side wall 235 has a first vertical side end 260 connected to (preferably directly connected to) a first vertical end wall 270 and a second vertical side end 266 connected to (preferably directly connected to) a second vertical end wall 280.

The first vertical end wall 270 has a proximal edge 271, a distal edge 272 adjacent the outer periphery of the lid, an upper edge 273, and a lower edge 274. The second vertical end wall 280 likewise a proximal edge 281, a distal edge 282 adjacent the outer periphery of the lid, an upper edge 283, and a lower edge 284. A lower wall 290 extends between and connects the lower edge 274 of the first vertical end wall 270 and the lower edge 284 of the second vertical end wall 280, thereby forming a recess for protecting the aperture from contamination. When the upper edges of each of the first and second vertical end walls are vertically higher than the horizontal upper surface 233, elevated arms 240 can be formed, as described above.

Horizontally between and/or behind this recess is the aperture 231, which is positioned below the upper surface 233. Preferably the aperture 231 is located between

the first vertical end wall 270 and the second vertical end wall 280, i.e. a line extending horizontally from the axial center of the lid radially outwardly that passes through the aperture will be between the first vertical end wall 270 and the second vertical end wall 280. The aperture 231 is also preferably located centrally of the distal edge of at least one of the first and second vertical end walls. The mouth piece 239 comprises an aperture surface 290 where the aperture 231 is located. The mouth piece 239 and aperture surface 290 are preferably positioned vertically higher than the lower wall 290.

Figures 32-36 show another embodiment of the present cup lid which combine the recessed aperture feature of the embodiments of Figures 21-26 and the cover portion of the embodiments of Figures 2-5. In this embodiment, a cover includes a base portion 247 and an apron portion 245 which protects the aperture 231 and the mouth piece 239. The cover can lifted as shown in Figure 33, preferably by actuating a handle 246 to rotate the cover around a hinge 248 attached to the upper surface of the lid. The cover can also be closed to recover the lid. Figure 33 further illustrates a downwardly-disposed indentation or stopper 244 located on the underside of the cover for sealing liquid in the container, in the manner described previously for indentation 17 in Figures 2-5. Figure 34 shows the top view of the lid portion only, and Figure 35 the cover portion only. Figure 36 illustrates the reciprocal relationship of the cover and the lid.

Figure 37 is another embodiment of the present cup lid having a gate 250 protecting the aperture 231 and the mouth piece 239. The gate portion 250 can be formed as a thin rectangular band by an injection molding process, after which it would need to be cut horizontally at the lower edge and vertically at the middle so as to allow the gate to open. This process can be done at the time the cup lid is manufactured. The gate 250 comprises a proximal edge connected to the distal edge of the first and/or the second vertical end wall and a sheet of material extending distally from the proximal edge.

As used herein, the term "comprise" and variations of the term, such as "comprising" and "comprises," are not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or steps. The terms "a," "an," and "the" and similar referents used herein are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural unless their usage in context indicates otherwise.

Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments, other embodiments are possible. The steps disclosed for the present methods, for example, are not intended to be limiting nor are they intended to indicate that each step is necessarily essential to the method, but instead are exemplary steps only. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of preferred embodiments contained in this disclosure. The drawings are also provided for illustration purposes only, and are not necessarily to scale. All references cited herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety.