Abstract:
A rotative closure for beverage containers wherein a rotatable sealing plate sits atop the fixed top plate of a conventional beverage canister having a recess that corresponds with the recess of the fixed top plate in such a manner that when both recesses are aligned the user may pour out the contents contained therein. Rotating the sealing plate until the corresponding recesses are completely misaligned prevents the contents from escaping despite the orientation of the container. Furthermore, entry into the container is also refused.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to containers and, more specifically, to beverage containers. The present invention is a rotatable plate that is used for resealing the opening of the container created by the lifting of a tab and piercing the preformed seal of the plate. The rotatable plate is comprised of a planar element affixed to the beverage container by means of a fastener that also secures the penetrating tab. The rotatable plate has an aperture conforming substantially to the size and shape of the beverage container aperture that is formed after lifting the tab and breaking the preformed seal of the beverage container. The rotatable plate has a protrusion that extends upward away from the contents of the container. The fastener that secures the rotating plate and penetrating tab act as the pivot point when radial force is applied to the protrusion on the rotating plate. 
     Rotation of the rotatable plate until the rotating plate aperture aligns with the beverage container aperture provides access to the contents of the beverage container. Rotation of the rotatable plate. until the rotating plate aperture is completely misaligned with the beverage container aperture provides resealing of the beverage container. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     There are other container devices designed as beverage containers. While these beverage containers may be suitable for the purposes for which they where designed, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described. It is thus desirable to provide an improved method to preserve opened beverage container contents. 
     It is further desirable to protect the exposed beverage. container contents from outside contaminations using the rotative plate of the present invention. The prior art container has a tab that is fastened to the top plate of the container that is used primarily to pierce the preformed seal providing access to the contents of the container with no means to reseal the top plate opening. 
     SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     A primary object of the present invention is to provide means to reseal an opened beverage container. 
     Another object of the present invention is the preservation of the contents of an opened beverage container. 
     Yet another object of the present invention is to provide means in which to protect against accidental spilling of the contents of an open container. 
     Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide protection against the introduction of outside contaminations. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide interchange ability between sealing and accessing the contents of the previously opened beverage container. 
     Yet another object of the present invention is to provide self-contained means to reseal the contents of the previously opened beverage container. 
     Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide protection against insects of the previously opened beverage container. 
     Additional objects of the present invention will appear as the description proceeds. 
     The present invention overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art by providing a means to selectively reseal the opening of a previously opened beverage container. 
     The foregoing and other objects and advantages will appear from the description to follow. In the description reference is made to the accompanying drawing, which forms a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments will be described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In the accompanying drawing, like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views. 
     The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is best defined by the appended claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
     In order that the invention may be more fully understood, it will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which: 
     FIG. 1 is an illustrative view of the prior art in use. 
     FIG. 2 is an illustrative view of the present invention in use. 
     FIG. 3 is an illustrative view of the prior art in use. 
     FIG. 4 is an illustrative view of the prior art in an open position. 
     FIG. 5 is an illustrative view of the present invention in an open position. 
     FIG. 6 is an illustrative view of the present invention in a resealed position. 
     FIG. 7 is a top view of the existing art in the closed position. 
     FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view in reference to FIG. 6 of the existing art. 
     FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view in reference to FIG. 7 of the existing art in the open position. 
     FIG. 10 is a top view of the present invention in the closed position. 
     FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view in reference to FIG. 9 of the present invention. 
     FIG. 12 is a cross sectional view in reference to FIG. 10 of the existing art in the open position. 
     FIG. 13 is an exploded isometric view of the existing art. 
     FIG. 14 is an exploded isometric view of the present invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCED NUMERALS 
     Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar reference chracters denote similar elements throughout the several views, the FIGS. illustrate the high volume disposable aspirator of the present invention. With regard to the reference numerals used, the following numbering is used throughout the various drawing figures. 
       10  rotative closure for beverage containers 
       12  base container 
       14  fixed top plate of container 
       16  penetrating tab 
       18  etched section of  14   
       20  conventional beverage container 
       22  user 
       24  sealing plate 
       26  recess of  24   
       28  access recess of  14   
       30  access tab 
       32  finger handle 
       34  pivoting fastening element 
       36  channel of  14   
       38  lever mechanism 
       40  first end of  38   
       42  second end of  38   
       44  flange of  12   
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The following discussion describes in detail one embodiment of the invention. This discussion should not be construed, however, as limiting the invention to those particular embodiments, practitioners skilled in the art will recognize numerous other embodiments as well. For definition of the complete scope of the invention, the reader is directed to appended claims. 
     FIG. 1 is an illustrated view showing the user  22  spilling a conventional beverage container  20  that is prone to spills once the beverage container  20  is opened. The conventional beverage container  20  is also exposed to outside elements and contamination. 
     FIG. 2 is an illustrated view of the present invention  10  utilizing a rotatable self-contained sealing plate  24  to protect against exposure and outside contamination. The rotatable sealing plate  24  is turned to the closed position and the contents are shielded from outside contaminates and thus preserved. Access to the contents is gained by rotating the sealing plate  24  until the sealing plate recess  26  is aligned with the recess of fixed top plate  14 . The rotation from closed position to open position can be performed as many times as necessary. 
     FIG. 3 is an illustrative view of the prior art in use showing the user  22  spilling the contents of a conventional beverage container  20 . 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the prior art. When the penetrating tab  16  is lifted it pierces the etched section  18  of the fixed top plate  14  and provides access to the contents of the base container  12 . Once the access tab  30  is opened there is nothing to prevent spillage or contaminates from entering the base container  12 . 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the present invention  10  in the open position. To gain access to the contents of the base container  12 , the user aligns the sealing plate recess  26  over access plate recess  28 . The extruded finger handle  32  is used to rotate the sealing plate  24  into position. Lift the penetrating tab  16  to separate the access tab  30  from the fixed top plate  14 . 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the present invention  10  in the closed position. If the access tab  30  of the fixed top plate  14  is broken, the contents of the base container  12  can be preserved and protected from outside contaminates. To move the present invention  10  into the closed position, rotate the sealing plate  24  around the pivoting fastening element  34  using the extruded finger handle  32  until there is no portion of the sealing plate recess  26  aligned with the fixed top plate recess  28 . The sealing plate  24  can be rotated in either direction. To regain access to the base container contents, rotate the sealing plate  24  so that the sealing plate recess  26  is again aligned with the access plate recess  28 . 
     FIG. 7 is a top view of the prior art in the closed position. The fixed top plate  14  is sealed around the outer rim of the base container  12 . When the penetrating tab  16  is lifted it pierces the access tab  30  thereby separating it from the fixed top plate  14 . 
     FIG. 8 is a cross sectional side view of the prior art. The conventional beverage container  20  provides an interlocking seal between the base container  12  and the fixed top  14 . The etched access tab  30  is in the sealed position. 
     FIG. 9 is a cross sectional side view of the prior art in the open position. The conventional beverage container  20  allows access to the contents of the base container  12  by lifting upward on the penetrating tab  16  thereby separating most of the access tab  30  from the fixed top plate  14  and creating an access recess  28  to the contents therein. Once the penetrating tab  16  has been lifted and the access recess  28  in the fixed top plate  14  has been separated therefrom, there is no means to preserve or prevent contaminates from entering the base container  12 . 
     FIG. 10 is a top view of the present invention  10  in the closed position. The rotatable sealing plate  24  is positioned between the penetrating tab  16  and the fixed top plate  14  and are rotatably fastened together by the pivoting fastening element  34 . There is a recess  26  in the sealing plate  24  of the same shape and size of the etched section  18  defining the access tab  30 . When the penetrating tab.  16  is lifted though the sealing plate recess  24  it partially separates the access tab  30  from the fixed top plate  14 . 
     FIG. 11 is a cross sectional side view of the present invention  10  taken from FIG. 10 as indicated. Like the conventional container  20 , the present invention  10  provides an interlocking seal between the base container  12  and fixed top plate  14 . The fixed top plate  14  is sealed around a flange  44  on the outer rim of the base container  16 . In addition, the fixed top plate  14  includes a channel  36  around the outer rim to guide the flange  44  in the rotating closure. The sealing plate  24  is positioned between the penetrating tab  16  and the fixed top plate  14  and is secured by the pivoting fastening element  34 . In this state, the contents of the container are preserved and protected from contamination. 
     FIG. 12 is a cross sectional side view of the present invention  10  in the open position. Like the conventional container  20 , the invention assembly  10  allows access to the contents of the base container  12  by lifting upward on the first end  40  of the lever mechanism  38  so that the second end  42  thereof with it&#39;s penetrating tab  16  applies pressure against the sealed access tab  30 . Using the finger handle  32 , rotate sealing plate  24  and align the opening in the sealing plate over the etched section of the fixed top plate  14 . Upon lifting, the tab will pivot at the pivoting fastening element  34 . This will partially separate the access tab from the fixed top plate  14  as defined by the etched section  18  thereof thereby providing access to the contents contained therein. Once the access recess has been established the user rotates the sealing plate  24  into the misaligned position to prevent contaminates from entering the base container  12 . 
     FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of a typical beverage container  20  showing the base container, the fixed top plate  14  and the lever mechanism  38 . 
     FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of the present invention showing the base container  12  with flange  44 , the fixed top plate  14  with etched access tab  30  intact and the rotative sealing plate  24  with lever mechanism  38 . 
     It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the type described above. 
     While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claims, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention. 
     Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention.