Drink cup lid

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9452867-B2
Application number	US-201313869668-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 24, 2013
Priority date	Apr 24, 2012
Publication date	Sep 27, 2016
Grant date	Sep 27, 2016

Abstract

A lid is configured to mate with a brim of a cup to provide a container. The lid includes an outlet through which a consumer can sip a beverage stored in the cup while the lid is mounted on the brim of the cup.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A lid comprising
a central cover formed to include a liquid-discharge outlet and an upwardly opening plug receiver,
a brim mount arranged to surround the central cover and adapted to mate with a brim of a cup and cooperate with the central cover to close a mouth opening into an interior region formed in the cup and place the liquid-discharge outlet in fluid communication with the interior region of the cup, and
an outlet closure including a hinge coupled to the central cover, a closure plate appended to the hinge for movement relative to the central cover between a closed position closing the liquid-discharge outlet and an opened position opening the liquid-discharge outlet, and a plate-retainer plug coupled to the closure plate and arranged to extend upwardly away from a floor of the cup when the lid is mounted on the brim of the cup and the closure plate is in the closed position, wherein the plate-retainer plug is configured to provide retainer means for nesting snugly to establish an interference fit in the upwardly opening plug receiver formed in the central cover to retain the closure plate in the opened position at the option of a consumer so that the consumer can sip a liquid flowing outwardly from the interior region of the cup through the liquid-discharge outlet without allowing flapping motion of the closure plate relative to the central cover as the consumer drinks a liquid expelled from the cup,
wherein the central cover includes an inclined top wall formed to include the liquid-discharge outlet and the upwardly opening plug receiver and an endless side wall arranged to surround the inclined top wall, a top edge of the endless side wall is coupled to a perimeter edge of the inclined top wall, the endless side wall extends downwardly from the inclined top wall to mate with the brim mount surrounding the central cover, and wherein the inclined top wall is inclined to lie in a non-horizontal plane when the brim mount of the lid is mated with the brim of the cup and the endless side wall is arranged to surround the upwardly opening plug receiver and, when the plate-retainer plug is arranged to extend into the upwardly opening plug receiver to retain the closure plate in the opened position, to surround at least a tip of the plate-receiver plug located in the upwardly opening plug receiver.

2. The lid of claim 1 , wherein the inclined top wall is sloped downwardly from a high point formed to include the liquid-discharge outlet toward an opposite low point to locate the liquid-discharge outlet at an elevation that is relatively higher than that of the upwardly opening plug receiver.

3. The lid of claim 2 , wherein the endless side wall includes a bottom edge that is coupled to the brim mount and the bottom and top edges are arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to one another to define a height of the endless side wall and wherein the height of the endless side wall varies from a smallest dimension at the low point to a relatively greater largest dimension at the high point.

4. The lid of claim 1 , wherein the liquid-discharge outlet and the upwardly opening plug receiver are arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to one another to locate the hinge of the outlet closure therebetween.

5. The lid of claim 1 , wherein the endless side wall has a convex exterior surface.

6. The lid of claim 5 , wherein a portion of the convex exterior surface of the endless side wall and a neighboring portion of an exterior surface of the top wall at the high point cooperate to form drink spout means for mating with lower and upper lips of a consumer when the closure plate is retained in the opened position by nesting engagement of the plate-retainer plug in the upwardly facing plug receiver.

7. The lid of claim 1 , wherein the closure plate has an annular shape and is formed to include an inner edge and an outer edge surrounding the inner edge, the plate-retainer plug is coupled to the closure plate along the inner edge to lie in a fixed position on the closure plate for movement therewith relative to the central cover, and the hinge is coupled to the closure plate at the outer edge and wherein the closure plate has a substantially planar top surface that is arranged to lie in substantially coplanar relation to the inclined top wall included in the central cover upon movement of the closure plate to assume the closed position.

8. The lid of claim 6 , wherein the closure plate has a non-round shape and comprises, in series, a first elongated segment located between the plate-retainer plug and the hinge, a second elongated segment arranged to extend at about a right angle to the hinge, a third elongated segment arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to the first elongated segment to locate the plate-retainer plug therebetween, and a fourth elongated segment arranged to interconnect the first and third elongated segments and to lie in spaced-apart relation to the second elongated segment to locate the plate-retainer plug therebetween.

9. The lid of claim 1 , wherein the annular closure plate is a flange coupled to a lower edge of the plate-retainer plug and arranged to cooperate with a portion of the inclined top wall of the central cover to define an acute angle therebetween when the plate-retainer plug is moved to extend into the upwardly opening plug receiver formed in the inclined top wall of the central cover.

10. The lid of claim 1 , wherein the upwardly opening plug receiver is defined by a plug-receiving cavity bounded by four side walls and a floor arranged to mate with lower edges of the four side walls and at least two of the four side walls cooperate to provide detent means for retaining a tip of the plate-retainer plug in the plug-receiving cavity.

11. The lid of claim 1 , wherein the upwardly opening plug receiver includes a border ring coupled to the inclined top wall, a lower bowl arranged to lie below the border ring, and an intermediate ring arranged to interconnect the border ring and the lower bowl, the border ring is characterized by a first slope, the intermediate ring is characterized by a relatively steeper second slope, and the border ring is configured to provide lead-in ramp means for guiding the plate-retainer plug into a space bounded by the intermediate ring and into a lower elevation space bounded by the lower bowl during movement of the closure plate to the closed position.

12. The lid of claim 11 , wherein the hinge is extensible and made of an elastic material to stretch and retract as needed during movement of the plate-retainer plug into the spaces provided in the plug receiver and during movement of the closure plate from an opened position to the closed position.

13. The lid of claim 1 , wherein the inclined top wall is sloped downwardly from a high point formed to include the liquid-discharge outlet toward an opposite low point to locate the liquid-discharge outlet at an elevation that is relatively higher than that of the upwardly opening plug receiver, the inclined top wall includes a crescent-shaped upper level comprising the high point, the liquid-discharge outlet, and the plug receiver, and a central lower level comprising the low point.

14. The lid of claim 13 , wherein the upper level includes a center platform formed to include the high point, the liquid-discharge outlet, and the upwardly opening plug receiver and to position the liquid-discharge outlet between the upwardly opening plug receiver and sloped first and second curved ridges sweeping downwardly from the center platform in opposite directions along a perimeter edge of the inclined top wall to end in close proximity to one another t

Assignees

• Berry Plastics Corp

Inventors

• Koestring Darin C
• Tabor Kyle F
• Dewig Ryan

Classifications

• B65D43/02 Primary

  Removable lids or covers (with means for piercing, cutting, or tearing a frangible inner closure B65D51/22) · CPC title

• B65D47/0847 Primary

  located within a flat surface of the base element · CPC title

• B65D47/08

  having articulated or hinged closures {(B65D55/16 takes precedence)} · CPC title