One-handed cam lid with removable sealing element for drinking vessel

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9873554-B2
Application number	US-201514951225-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 24, 2015
Priority date	Nov 24, 2015
Publication date	Jan 23, 2018
Grant date	Jan 23, 2018

Abstract

A lid and a removable sealing assembly are provided for use in an integrated configuration where the sealing assembly is secured to the lid. The sealing assembly may be separated from the lid in a cleaning configuration that facilitates thorough cleaning of the lid and the sealing assembly. The lid includes a trigger assembly selectively operable to engage with the sealing assembly to unseal a drinking aperture on the lid when the lid and sealing assembly are in the integrated configuration. The sealing assembly includes guide members that are configured to engage with respective guide tracks on the lid in the integrated configuration. A latching portion of the sealing assembly secures the sealing assembly to a support lip of the lid in the integrated configuration.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A lid assembly for a drinking vessel, comprising:
a lid main body having a lid upper portion provided with a drinking aperture, a first guide track and a second guide track extending in a downward direction away from the drinking aperture;
a trigger assembly provided with a trigger portion and an actuating portion, the trigger portion configured to move the actuating portion when the trigger portion is pressed; and
a removable sealing assembly provided with a sealing assembly body and a sealing element, the sealing assembly body having a first guide member and a second guide member, each extending along a first axis of the sealing assembly body, the sealing element having a drinking stopper on a first end, and the sealing element being slidably movable back and forth relative to the sealing assembly body along the first axis between (i) a first position where the drinking stopper is spaced apart at a farthest distance away from the sealing assembly body, and (ii) a second position where the drinking stopper is a closest distance to the sealing assembly body, the sealing assembly being removably secured to the lid main body when the lid assembly is in an integrated configuration and the sealing assembly being separated from the lid main body in a cleaning configuration, the integrated configuration being a configuration where the first guide member is retained by the first guide track, the second guide member is retained by the second guide track, and the actuating portion is positioned to move the sealing element between the first position where the drinking stopper seals the drink aperture and the second position where the drinking stopper is spaced apart from the drink aperture, the first guide member and the first guide track having complementary interlocking cross-sectional shapes and the second guide member and the second guide track having complementary interlocking cross-sectional shapes, the first guide member being slidably engageable with the first guide track and slidable therealong for guiding movement of the first guide member as the sealing assembly is moved to change the lid assembly between the integrated and cleaning configurations, and the second guide member being slidably engageable with second guide track and slidable therealong for guiding movement of the first guide member as the sealing assembly is moved to change the lid assembly between the integrated and cleaning configurations.

2. The lid assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first guide member of the sealing assembly is a different size than the second guide member of the sealing assembly, and the first guide track of lid main body is a different size than the second guide track of the lid main body, the first guide member being sized and shaped to match at least one of a size and a shape of the first guide track, and the second guide member being sized and shaped to match at least one of a size and a shape of the second guide track.

3. The lid assembly of claim 1 , wherein the sealing assembly body including a base portion from which at least one of the first guide member and the second guide member extend, the base portion abutting a lowermost end of at least one of the first guide track and the second guide track when the lid assembly is in the integrated configuration.

4. The lid assembly of claim 1 , further comprising:
a support lip disposed on the lid main body; and
a latching portion disposed on the sealing assembly body, the latching portion being configured to engage with the support lip to removably secure the sealing assembly to the lid main body in the integrated configuration.

5. The lid assembly of claim 4 , further comprising:
sidewalls extending away from the lid upper portion and defining an open ended cavity, the support lip being provided on a surface within the cavity.

6. The lid assembly of claim 4 , wherein the latching portion is a flexible member extending away from the sealing assembly body along the first axis.

7. The lid assembly of claim 6 , wherein the latching portion includes a gripping tab extending away from the flexible member, wherein the gripping tab is configured to flex the latching portion to facilitate insertion and removal of the sealing assembly from the lid main body.

8. The lid assembly of claim 4 , wherein the sealing assembly body includes a base portion from which at least one of the first guide member and the second guide member extends, and when the sealing assembly is removably secured to the lid main body in the integrated configuration, the base portion abuts a lowermost end of at least one of the first guide track and the second guide track, and the latching portion contacts the support lip.

9. The lid assembly of claim 4 , wherein the sealing assembly includes a gripping tab extending away from the sealing assembly body, the gripping tab configured to facilitate insertion and removal of the sealing assembly from the lid main body.

10. The lid assembly of claim 1 , wherein the sealing element further includes a crossbar portion having an angled surface, the angled surface facing the actuating portion of the trigger assembly when the first guide member is engaged with the first guide track and the second guide member is engaged with the second guide track.

11. The lid assembly of claim 10 , wherein the sealing assembly further comprises an elastic element adjacent to the crossbar portion to apply a biasing force on the crossbar portion to hold the drinking stopper in the first position sealing the drink aperture when the trigger portion is not pressed.

12. The lid assembly of claim 10 , wherein the actuating portion of the trigger assembly includes an angled surface that has a complementary angle to the angled surface of the crossbar portion, and when the trigger portion is pressed, the angled surface of the actuating portion moving the crossbar portion of the sealing assembly downward and moving the sealing element from the first position to the second position.

13. The lid assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first guide track is elongated and has a portion sized and shaped to slidably receive and retain the first guide member therein, and the second guide track is elongated and has a portion sized and to slidably receive and retain the second guide member therein as the sealing assembly is moved to change the lid assembly between the integrated and cleaning configurations.

14. The lid assembly of claim 1 , wherein
the first guide track is elongated with a first longitudinal end adjacent to the lid upper portion and a second longitudinal end spaced downwardly away from the first longitudinal end of the first guide track,
the second guide track is elongated with a first longitudinal end adjacent to the lid upper portion and a second longitudinal end spaced downwardly away from the first longitudinal end of the second guide track,
the first guide member is elongated with a first longitudinal end positioned adjacent to the first longitudinal end of the first guide track and a second longitudinal end positioned adjacent to the second longitudinal end of the first guide track when the first guide member is engaged with the first guide track and the lid assembly is in the integrated configuration, and
the second guide member is elongated with a first longitudinal end positioned adjacent to the first longitudinal end of the second guide track and a second longitudinal end positioned adjacent to the second longitudinal end of the second guide track when the second guide member is engaged with the second guide track and the lid assembly is in the integrated configuration.

15. A lid as

Assignees

• Pacific Market Int Llc

Inventors

• Choltco-Devlin Evan M

Classifications

• B65D47/249

  by means of a lever mechanism · CPC title

• B65D2251/009

  of the 51-type · CPC title

• A47G19/2272 Primary

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

• B65D2251/0028

  of the 51-type · CPC title

• B65D51/18

  Arrangements of closures with protective outer cap-like covers or of two or more co-operating closures {(B65D51/247 takes precedence)} · CPC title