Drink container and leak proof plug lid for use therewith

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11312548-B2
Application number	US-201916418746-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 21, 2019
Priority date	May 21, 2019
Publication date	Apr 26, 2022
Grant date	Apr 26, 2022

Abstract

A drink container and three position plug lid for use therewith. The lid includes a tubular seal with a flexible perimeter seal wall attached between upper and lower seal carriers, a lifter member attached to the lower seal carrier and a cam member to control movement of the lower seal carrier relative to the upper seal carrier and thereby laterally flex and axially move the perimeter seal wall and move the lid between closed and opened positions where the lid is retained within the drink container against removal, and a removal position permitting removal of the lid for washing the lid and drink container.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A drink container, comprising:
a container body having a lower inner body portion for containing a drink and an upper inner body portion having an interior fluid passageway with an upper end opening and a circumferentially extending body ridge positioned within the fluid passageway; and
a lid sized to permit insertion into and removal from the fluid passageway through the upper end opening, the lid having:
an upper seal carrier sized to engage and be supported by the body ridge when the lid is inserted into the fluid passageway, the upper seal carrier having a drink dispensing aperture;
a lower seal carrier sized to pass by the body ridge as the lid is inserted into the fluid passageway and be positioned below the upper seal carrier;
a flexible tubular seal member with an upper end portion attached to the upper seal carrier and a lower end portion attached to the lower seal carrier;
a lifter member attached to the lower seal carrier; and
a cam member movably attached to the lifter member, the cam member having first and second cams, the cam member being movable to first, second and third operational positions, as the cam member is moved to the first operational position, the first cam engages the upper seal carrier and lifts the lifting member upward to move the lower seal carrier upward to a first position below the upper seal carrier and sufficiently flex the tubular seal member that the tubular seal member moves laterally outward and upward into fluid-tight sealing engagement with the body ridge to prevent drink in the lower inner body portion from being dispensed through the drink dispensing aperture when the container body is tilted, as the cam member is moved to the second operational position, the second cam engages the upper seal carrier and lifts the lifting member upward to move the lower seal carrier upward to a second position below the upper seal carrier and sufficiently flex the tubular seal member that the tubular seal member moves laterally outward in position for engagement with the body ridge to inhibit removal of the lid from the fluid passageway if moved upward toward the body ridge, but not sufficiently upward and laterally outward to place the tubular seal member in fluid-tight sealing engagement with the body ridge and allowing drink in the lower inner body portion to be dispensed through the drink dispensing aperture when the container body is tilted, the lower seal carrier being positioned farther below the upper seal carrier in the second position than in the first position, and as the cam member is moved to the third operational position, the lower seal carrier is lowered by the lifting member to a third position below the upper seal carrier whereat the tubular seal member is out of fluid-tight sealing engagement with the body ridge and not sufficiently flexed to prevent removal of the lid from the fluid passageway, the lower seal carrier being positioned farther below the upper seal carrier in the third position than in the second position.

2. The drink container of claim 1 , wherein the first cam is longer than the second cam.

3. The drink container of claim 1 , wherein the body has an upper end whereat the upper end opening is located, and the body ridge is located below the upper end of the body.

4. The drink container of claim 3 , wherein upper and lower seal carriers are sized to pass through the upper end opening and the body ridge is located sufficiently below the upper end of the body that when the upper seal carrier is supported by the body ridge the upper seal carrier is positioned entirely below the upper end of the body.

5. The drink container of claim 1 , wherein the body has an upper end whereat the upper end opening is located, and when the cam member is in the first operational position the lower end portion of the tubular seal member is in engagement with the body ridge and the upper end portion of the tubular seal member is positioned below the upper end of the body and out of engagement with the body ridge.

6. The drink container of claim 1 , wherein the body has an upper end whereat the upper end opening is located, and when the cam member is in the first, second and third operational positions the upper end portion of the tubular seal member is positioned below the upper end of the body and out of engagement with the body.

7. The drink container of claim 1 , wherein the upper seal carrier is positioned within the upper end portion of the tubular seal member and the lower seal carrier is positioned within the lower end portion of the tubular seal member.

8. The drink container of claim 1 , wherein the lower end portion of the tubular seal member is in fluid-tight sealing engagement with the lower seal carrier.

9. The drink container of claim 8 , wherein the upper end portion of the tubular seal member is in fluid-tight sealing engagement with the upper seal carrier.

10. The drink container of claim 1 , wherein the upper seal carrier has an upper seal carrier aperture, the lifter member has a lifter member upper end portion extending through the upper seal carrier aperture to above the upper seal carrier, and the cam member is movably attached to the lifter member upper end portion at a location above the upper seal carrier.

11. The drink container of claim 10 , wherein the upper seal carrier has an upper surface, and the first cam cammingly engages the upper surface of the upper seal carrier as the cam member is moved to the first operational position and the second cam cammingly engages the upper surface of the upper seal carrier as the cam member is moved to second operational position.

12. The drink container of claim 10 , wherein the cam member includes a handle portion positioned above the upper seal carrier and first and second cam portions attached to the handle portion for rotation therewith, the handle portion being movable by a user to move the cam member between the first, second and third operational positions, the lifter member upper end portion being positioned between the first and second cam portions, the first cam comprising a first pair of spaced apart cams and the second cam comprises a second pair of spaced cams, each of the first and second cam portions having one of the first pair of cams attached thereto and extending in a first direction, and each of the first and second cam portions having one of the second pair of cams attached thereto and extending in a second direction different than the first direction.

13. The drink container of claim 12 , wherein the first cams are longer than the second cams.

14. The drink container of claim 10 , wherein the cam member is rotatably attached to the lifter member upper end portion and rotatable relative to the lifter member upper end portion to move the cam member between the first, second and third operational positions.

15. The drink container of claim 1 , wherein the cam member includes a handle portion positioned above the upper seal carrier and at the upper end opening of the container body, the handle portion being movable by a user to move the cam member between the first, second and third operational positions.

16. The drink container of claim 15 , wherein the handle portion is rotatably attached to the lifter member upper end portion and rotatable relative to the lifter member upper end portion, the handle portion being rotatable in a first rotational direction to move the handle portion to a first rotational position whereat the cam member is in the first operational position and rotatable in a second rotational direction opposite the first rotational direction to mov

Assignees

• Pacific Market Int Llc

Inventors

• Silsby Jacob D
• Phan Ping The

Classifications

• B65D39/16 Primary

  with handles or other special means facilitating manual actuation · CPC title

• A45F3/18

  of rigid material · CPC title

• B65D43/022

  only on the inside, or a part turned to the inside, of the mouth of the container (B65D43/0216 takes precedence) · CPC title

• A47G19/2272

  from drinking glasses or cups comprising lids or covers · CPC title

• B65D81/3841

  formed with double walls, i.e. hollow · CPC title