Drink cup lid

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9814334-B2
Application number	US-201514921540-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 23, 2015
Priority date	Oct 24, 2014
Publication date	Nov 14, 2017
Grant date	Nov 14, 2017

Abstract

A package includes a cup for storing liquids and a lid for mounting on a brim of the cup. The lid is formed to include a sipping feature so that a consumer can drink liquid from the cup while the lid is mounted on the brim.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A drink cup lid comprising
a ring-shaped brim mount adapted to mate with a brim of a drink cup,
a central closure surrounded by the brim mount and formed to include an upstanding drink spout having a top wall formed to include a top aperture and an adjacent liquid-discharge outlet and a front wall arranged to extend downwardly from the top wall toward an interior region surrounded by the ring-shaped brim mount, the interior region located radially inward relative to the top wall,
an outlet closure coupled to the top wall of the upstanding drink spout for movement about a horizontally extending pivot axis between a closed position closing the liquid-discharge outlet formed in the top wall of the upstanding drink spout and an opened position away from the liquid-discharge outlet, and
closure retainer means aligned with the top aperture and coupled to the top wall for retaining the outlet closure in a stationary position relative to the front wall upon movement of the outlet closure from the closed position to the opened position.

2. The drink cup lid of claim 1 , wherein the outlet closure includes an annular closure plate, an upstanding nose-shaped closure-anchor lug coupled to an inner edge of the annular closure plate, and a hinge coupled to the annular closure plate and to the drink spout and configured to establish the horizontal pivot axis.

3. The drink cup lid of claim 2 , wherein the hinge is coupled to a portion of the upstanding drink spout along a junction provided on the top wall between the liquid-discharge outlet and the top aperture.

4. The drink cup lid of claim 1 , wherein the outlet closure includes a nose-shaped closure anchor lug configured to extend downwardly through the top aperture formed in the top wall and to mate with the closure retainer means and remain in a stationary position relative to the central closure upon movement of the outlet closure to the opened position.

5. The drink cup lid of claim 4 , wherein the closure retainer means is formed to include an upwardly facing lug-receiving cavity aligned with the top aperture formed in the top wall and cavity side walls arranged to bound the lug-receiving cavity and configured to provide detent means for retaining a tip of the nose-shaped closure-anchor lug in the lug-receiving cavity upon movement of the outlet closure to the opened position.

6. The drink cup lid of claim 5 , wherein the closure retainer means includes a nearly vertical cavity rear wall, a nearly vertical cavity front wall, a pair of laterally spaced-apart cavity side walls arranged to extend from the cavity rear wall to the cavity front wall in a direction away from the liquid-discharge outlet to form the upwardly facing lug-receiving cavity therebetween, and a floor arranged to mate with the cavity front and rear walls and interconnect lower edges of the cavity side walls.

7. The drink cup lid of claim 1 , wherein the closure retainer is formed to include an upwardly facing lug-receiving cavity bounded by a cavity rear wall, a cavity front wall, a pair of laterally spaced-apart cavity side walls arranged to extend from the cavity rear wall away from the liquid-discharge outlet to the cavity front wall, and a floor arranged to mate with cavity rear wall and interconnect lower edges of the cavity side walls, and the outlet closure includes a nose-shaped closure-anchor lug arranged to extend downwardly through the top aperture formed in the top wall and into the upwardly facing lug-receiving cavity upon movement of the outlet closure to the opened position.

8. The drink cup lid of claim 1 , wherein-side walls of the upstanding drink spout includes the front wall appended to a front edge of the top wall and an upstanding rear wall appended to a rear edge of the top wall to locate the top wall between the rear and front walls, the liquid-discharge outlet and the top aperture are formed in the top wall to lie between the rear and front walls, and the rear and top walls cooperate to define sipper means for extending into the mouth of a consumer desiring to drink a liquid stored in a cup mated with the ring-shaped brim mount through the liquid-discharge outlet once the outlet closure has been moved to the opened position.

9. The drink cup lid of claim 8 , wherein the closure retainer means includes a cavity rear wall, a cavity front wall, a pair of laterally spaced-apart cavity side walls arranged to extend from the cavity rear wall to the cavity front wall in a direction away from the liquid-discharge outlet and the upstanding rear wall to form the upwardly facing lug-receiving cavity therebetween, and a floor arranged to mate with the cavity front and rear walls and interconnect lower edges of the cavity side walls.

10. The drink cup lid of claim 8 , wherein the rear wall has a convex shape and the front wall has a serpentine shape.

11. The drink cup lid of claim 1 , further comprising a rear wall appended to the top wall and arranged to extend downwardly toward a ring-shaped low-elevation liquid-retention channel.

Assignees

• Berry Plastics Corp

Inventors

• Eickhoff Jonathan
• French Jordan

Classifications

• B65D47/0833

  Hinges without elastic bias · CPC title

• B65D2251/1008

  Means for locking the closure in open position · CPC title

• A47G19/2272 Primary

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