Easy Tear Straw Cover Technical Field

This invention relates to an easy tear straw cover that encloses, covers and protects a drinking straw against bacterial contamination. Background Art

The background art which, as far as is known to appli¬ cant, can be regarded as useful for the understanding, searching and examination of the invention are the follow- enumerated United States patents, to wit: 1,848,119; 2,150,439; 2,279,396; 2,280,405; 2,319,448; 2,479,581; 2,897,087; 3,189,171; 3,205,750; 3,445,033? 3,780,944; 4,053,J346; 4,604,852; and 4,881,644. Disclosure of Invention

A drinking straw is tubular and of elongated open cylin¬ drical configuration. Operationally, a human operator submerges the drinking straw's bottom end or distal end beneath the liquid level in a drinking glass or container, inserts the straw's top end or portion in his mouth, ap¬ propriately purses his lips sufficiently to seal around such proximal portion and commences sucking action to create negative mouth pressure to draw the liquid through the straw and into his mouth. At food and/or drink estab- lishments such as soda fountains, diners, restaurants, bars, etc., drinking straws are in dispensers or containers at central locations, counters, or at individual tables or booths. When a patron selects a drinking straw for his own use, he does not know whether the straw he selected has already been bacterially contaminated by a food and/or drink establishment employee as a result of such employee's handling the straws during "side work" in replenishing dispensers or containers with straws. And, if not thusly contaminated by such employee, prior patrons, in rummaging with their hands through the straws in the dispenser or container, may have bacterially contaminated the straws. Also, a counter employee, waiter or waitress, in using his or her hands to place a straw in a drinking glass, may bacterially contaminate the drinking glass that will be served to the patron. Hence, there is need for an easily

removable straw cover whose sterile interior encloses, covers and protects a sterile drinking straw against bac¬ terial contamination until such time that the cover is removed to allow the sterile drinking straw to be utilized for its intended purpose. Accordingly, the object of this invention is to contribute to the solution of the discussed problems of the art by providing an easy tear straw cover whose sterile interior encloses, covers and protects a sterile drinking straw against bacterial contamination. In the method of use, the straw cover can be easily and simply separated into two portions: one portion that covers the upper and proximal portion of the drinking straw and the other that covers the remaining and distal portion of the drinking straw. An employee, in serving a patron a soda or drink, need only manipulatively grasp the closed ends of the straw cover and longitudinally extend the cover to separate the cover into its two portions; remove the portion covering the remaining and distal portion of the exposed straw; submerge the straw's distal end beneath the liquid level of the drinking glass while hold¬ ing the straw cover's upper proximal portion protecting the straw's upper proximal portion; and then, optionally, either remove the straw cover's upper proximal portion or allow the patron himself to remove the straw cover's upper proximal portion. In an establishment where a patron himself selects a drinking straw from a dispenser or con¬ tainer, such patron, health-wise, will feel and be safe in selecting a sterile drinking straw protected by the straw cover of this invention. Brief Description of Drawings

The invention should be discerned and appreciated from the drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views, in which: Fig. 1 is a view of the straw cover preparatory to its manipulative separation for its removal to expose the drinking straw; Fig. 2 is a view of part of the straw cover covering the drinking straw; Fig. 3 shows the straw cover separated into its two portions along its weakened circumferential line of indentations; and Fig. 4 shows the exposed distal portion of the drinking straw submerged

beneath the liquid level in a drinking glass, and with the proximal portion of the drinking straw covered and protected by the proximal portion of the straw cover. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention In Fig. 1 of the drawings, reference numeral 1 generally refers to the invention of the straw cover. Cover 1 is made of paper or other suitable material and encloses a drinking straw 3 made of paper or other suitable materi¬ al. Straw cover 1 has a closed proximal end 5 and a closed distal end 7. The interior of straw cover 1 is sterile and drinking straw 3 is likewise sterile. Straw cover

I encloses, covers and protects drinking straw 3 against bacterial contamination. Straw cover 1 has a circumferen¬ tial jLine of indentations 9, weakened by a fine milled stamp with dull beveled joints or other suitable pressure sensitive application, such that, upon a human operator's manipulatively grasping appropriately the closed ends 5 and 7 of the straw cover 1, and longitudinally extending straw cover 1 sufficiently, the straw cover 1 will separate along the circumferential line of indentations 9 into two portions, to wit: an upper proximal portion 11 and a remaining distal portion 13. The upper proximal portion

II of straw cover 1 covers the upper proximal portion 15 and proximal end 17 of drinking straw 3, while the remaining distal portion 13 of straw cover 1 covers the remaining distal portion 19 and distal end 21 of drinking straw 3. Drinking straw 3 is tubular and of elongated cylindrical configuration. After straw cover 1 has been separated thusly along its circumferential line of indenta- tions 9, the remaining distal portion 13 of straw cover

I is removed, the distal end 21 of drinking straw 3 is submerged beneath the level of the liquid 23 in the drink¬ ing glass 25, and then the human operator can either remove the upper proximal portion 11 of straw cover 1 from the drinking straw 3 or wait until he is ready to sip liquid 23 from glass 25 before he removes upper proximal portion

II from straw cover 1.