Patent ID: 8403173
Filing Date: 2013-03-26
Classification: B65D

Abstract:
1. A lid for use with a drinking vessel containing a liquid, comprising: a main body selectively couplable to the drinking vessel, the main body including a drinking well portion having a base having first and second openings therein configured to permit fluid passage therethrough when the lid is coupled to the drinking vessel, the drinking well portion further comprising a cylindrical sidewall and a circumferential lip configured for contact with a user's lips when the drinking vessel is tipped toward the user such that the user may drink therefrom from any direction, the first and second openings being disposed in a spaced apart opposing relationship such that when the drinking vessel is tipped toward the user one of the first and second openings acts as a drinking opening allow in the liquid to pass therethrough and the other of the first and second openings acts as a vent opening allowing air to pass therethrough to allow a smoother flow of the liquid through the opening acting as the drinking opening; a stopper coupled to the main body and configured for upward linear displacement along a central vertical axis passing through the center of a stopper seal of the stopper into a closed position wherein the stopper seal engages a bottom surface of the base of the drinking well portion and covers each of the first and second openings to prevent fluid passage therethrough, and downward linear displacement along the central vertical axis into an open position wherein the stopper seal is spaced apart from bottom surface of the of the base of the drinking well portion to allow fluid passage through the first and second openings; and a lever coupled to the stopper and the main body, wherein the lever is movable inward and outward along a horizontal axis and has a cam surface, and the stopper has a cam follower positioned on the central vertical axis that engages the cam surface of the lever, the cam surface moving the cam follower downward along the central vertical axis when the lever is moved inward along the horizontal axis by the user to pull the stopper downward along the central vertical axis into the open position, and allowing the cam follower to move upward along the central vertical axis when the lever is moved outward along the horizontal axis to allow the stopper to move upward along the central vertical axis into the closed position, the stopper being positioned above the cam follower so that the liquid between the stopper and the cam follower drains back into the drinking vessel when the stopper is moved into the closed position and the drinking vessel is moved into an upright position.