Commuter mug and holder assembly

A commuter mug and holder assembly connectable onto the door of an automobile to supply a hot beverage to the driver or an occupant of the vehicle in the course of travel. The mug is formed by a container for the beverage and a removable lid therefor, the lid being divided into front and rear semi-circular sections each having an arcuate wall, below which is a flexible shutter disc hinged to the rear section thereof to normally seal the container whereby when the disc is deflected it then creates an outlet for the beverage in the front section whose arcuate wall is curved toward the outlet to define a drinking spoon. Pivoted on the wall of the rear section is actuator having lugs projecting therefrom to engage the disc whereby when the actuator is depressed by a user holding the mug, the disc is deflected so that the user may then drink from the drinking spoon the beverage flowing out of the outlet. The holder includes a socket to receive the mug and a flexible strap extending from the rear of the socket and terminating in a hook. The hook is insertable into the narrow space between the door window and the door panel whereby the strap accommodates the holder to this panel regardless of its thickness, and act to maintain the socketed mug upright.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
1. Field of Invention 
This invention relates generally to a commuter mug and holder assembly 
adapted to be hitched onto a door of an automobile to supply the driver or 
an occupant of the vehicle with a hot beverage in the course of travel, 
and more particularly to an improved assembly which when converted from a 
sealing mode to a drinking mode prevents the hot beverage from shooting 
out of the mug as a result of vapor-pressure build-up. 
2. Status of Prior Art 
A commuter is a person who travels regularly from one place to another, 
such as from a suburb to a city. During the week, a typical commuter 
drives daily to work in an automobile from his suburban home to an office 
or workplace in the city. 
Many commuters whose daily trip to work is long and tiring, take along a 
thermos filled with hot coffee or other stimulating hot beverage. The 
problem with a thermos bottle is that one cannot drink directly from this 
thermally-insulated container, but only from its screw-on cap which also 
functions as a cup. If, therefore, the driver of the vehicle, while 
holding the steering wheel with one hand, wishes to take a drink of coffee 
while driving, he cannot do so, for it takes both hands to pour coffee 
from a thermos into a cup. Moreover, it is difficult in a moving vehicle 
to drink coffee from an open cup without spilling it. 
To make it possible for a commuter to conveniently transport a hot beverage 
container so that it is securely held in place in the vehicle driven by 
the commuter, yet is available to him whenever he wishes to drink, there 
are now commercially available so-called commuter mug and holder 
assemblies. The mug is usually formed of a double-walled 
thermally-insulated container for maintaining the beverage in a heated 
state, the mug being socketed in a holder having a hook that is insertable 
into the space between the window of the door adjacent the driver's seat 
and the inner section of the door panel. In this way the mug is suspended 
from the door and can readily be removed from its holder whenever the 
driver wishes to drink. 
The standard mug for this purpose is provided with a removable lid having a 
circular wall and a small drinking outlet adjacent one side. The outlet is 
normally sealed by a flexible shutter mounted on the underside of the lid. 
The shutter is operated by a spring-biased push rod whose rear end 
projects through a hole in the wall opposite the outlet and terminates in 
a push button. 
This rod has a ramp-shaped front end so that when the push button is 
pressed in to advance the rod, its front end then deflects the shutter to 
open the outlet. Thus the driver, while holding the mug in one hand, can 
with a finger of this hand, press in the push rod to open the outlet, and 
with the same hand raise the mug to his lips and drink hot coffee from the 
open outlet. The advantage of this small mug outlet over an open cup is 
that in a moving vehicle the hot coffee is confined in the mug and pours 
out only through the small outlet into the mouth of the driver, thereby 
avoiding spillage. 
The user of a standard mug of this type is instructed to slowly depress the 
actuator button in order to relieve the vapor pressure before drinking. 
The reason for the warning is that the hot beverage in the sealed 
container gives off steam and the resultant vapor-pressure build-up is 
high. Hence if the small outlet were abruptly opened, the suddenly 
released pressure would cause the hot beverage to shoot out of the mug and 
possibly scald the holder of the mug and soil his clothing. By gradually 
opening the small outlet, the vapor pressure is progressively released and 
the beverage is not ejected thereby. 
Hence commuter mugs of the type heretofore known, though making it possible 
for commuter to conveniently drink a hot beverage while driving, are 
somewhat hazardous unless carefully manipulated. 
Another drawback of known types of commuter mug holder assemblies is that 
the holder which sockets the mug and is provided with a hook, does not 
accommodate the holder to the thickness of the inner section of the door 
panel onto which the assembly is hitched. When the inner section of the 
door panel is relatively thick and bulges out, as in some vehicles, the 
holder hooked thereon will cause the mug socketed in the holder to be 
angled with respect to the inner section of the door panel and make it 
difficult to remove the mug from the holder. 
SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
In view of the foregoing, the main object of this invention is to provide 
an improved commuter mug and holder assembly which is hitchable onto a 
door of a vehicle and makes the mug readily accessible to the driver of 
the vehicle. 
A significant advantage of the invention is that one is able to drink a hot 
beverage directly from the mug without running the risk of the beverage 
will shoot out of the mug outlet. 
More particularly, an object of this invention is to provide a commuter mug 
which in its drinking mode then has a relatively large outlet created by 
deflecting a flexible shutter disc whereby regardless of the degree of the 
vapor-pressure build-up in the mug during its storage mode in which the 
mug is sealed, when the outlet is opened, either slowly or quickly to 
convert the mug to its drinking mode, the vapor pressure will be 
immediately relieved, and not cause the beverage to shoot out. 
Also an object of this invention is to provide an assembly which when the 
holder for the mug is hitched onto an automobile door, it will cause the 
mug to assume an upright position regardless of the thickness of the inner 
section of the door panel. 
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a low cost assembly which 
is easy to handle and which may be quickly installed on an automobile 
door. 
Briefly stated, these objects are attained by a commuter mug and holder 
assembly hitchable onto the door of an automobile to supply a hot beverage 
to the driver or an occupant of the vehicle in the course of travel. The 
mug is formed by a container for the beverage and a removable lid 
therefor, the lid being divided into front and rear semi-circular sections 
each having an arcuate wall, below which is a flexible shutter disc hinged 
to the rear section thereof to normally seal the container whereby when 
the disc is deflected it then creates a large outlet for the beverage in 
the front section whose arcuate wall is curved toward the outlet to define 
a drinking spoon. 
Pivoted on the wall of the rear section is an actuator having lugs 
projecting therefrom to engage the disc whereby when the actuator is 
depressed by a user holding the mug, the disc is deflected so that the 
user may then drink from the drinking spoon the beverage flowing out of 
the outlet. The holder includes a socket-to receive the mug and a flexible 
strap extending from the rear of the socket and terminating in a hook. The 
hook is insertable into the narrow space between the door window and the 
door panel whereby the strap accommodates the holder to this panel 
regardless of its thickness and act to maintain the socketed mug upright.

DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION 
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a commuter mug and holder 
assembly in accordance with the invention whose main components are: a 
cylindrical mug 10, a removable lid 11 therefor, and a holder 12 for 
supporting the mug in an upright position on the door to which it is 
hitched. 
Holder 12 which is molded or otherwise fabricated of synthetic plastic 
material such as polypropylene, polyethylene or other high strength 
plastic, includes an upper collar which is dimensioned to receive and 
socket mug 10, and a lower step 15 on which the mug sits. Collar 13 and 
step 15 project laterally from a back plate 14 having a concave cross 
section to conform to the cylindrical mug inserted in the collar and 
resting on the step. (In FIG. 2, step 15 is omitted.) 
Extending from a bracket 16 behind collar 13 is a strap 17 formed by a 
series of parallel slats 18 interconnected by living hinges 19 and 
terminating in a right-angle hook 20 whose tongue is wedge-shaped. 
The assembly as shown in FIG. 3, is hitched onto the door 21 of a vehicle, 
such as the door adjacent the driver's seat. Door 21 is provided with a 
window 22 that is retractable into a slot 23 between the inner section 24 
of the door panel and its outer section. Hook 20 is inserted into the 
narrow space between window 22 and inner panel section 24. The thickness 
of inner panel section 24 depends on the door design which is not the same 
for all automobile models, the inner panel section being thicker in some 
models than in others. 
But strap 17 will always accommodate itself to the thickness of the inner 
section of the door panel, for if this section is relatively thick, more 
of the strap slats 18 will overlie the upper edge of the inner section 
than if the inner section were thin. But in either case, the remaining 
slats of the strap will lie against the vertical surface of the inner 
section of the door panel and the holder will maintain the mug 10 
supported thereby in an upright position so that it is available for use. 
Commuter mug 10 which is fabricated of synthetic plastic material such as 
polyethylene or other plastic suitable for containing a hot beverage, is 
provided as best seen in FIGS. 4 to 6 with a corrugated rim 27 which 
permits a user to get a good grip on the mug. Above rim 27 is an annular 
bayonet coupler 28 to receive a complementary coupler on the removable lid 
11 so that one is able with a twist motion to couple or decouple the lid. 
As shown in FIG. 6, mug 10 is of double-walled construction to provide 
thermal insulation. The mug is formed by concentric cylindrical walls 29 
and 30, the space therebetween being filled with an insulating sheet 26 or 
with a foam plastic or other thermal insulation core material. 
Lid 11, as best seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, is divided by a partition 31 into a 
semi-circular open front section having an arcuate wall 32, and a 
semi-circular rear section, having an arcuate wall 33. Underlying these 
sections, as best seen in FIG. 8, is a dome-shaped shutter disc 34 formed 
of flexible plastic material. Disc 34 is surrounded by a sealing ring R of 
elastomeric material. An arcuate flow control ledge L is formed on the 
upper surface of the disc in the portion thereof underlying the front 
section of the lid. Disc 34, at one end to the bottom wall 35 of the rear 
of the end section is attached thereto by rivets P so that it is hinged 
from the lid. Hence when disc 34 is downwardly deflected, it then creates 
a large outlet in the front section of the lid. 
Pivoted on the wall 32 of the rear section by means of pivot pins 36 
adjacent partition 31 is an actuator 37 (see FIGS. 6 and 8). Actuator 37 
has a half-moon shape and an arcuate side wall that conforms to the 
curvature of lid sidewall 33. The actuator has received to its underside a 
pair of projecting lugs 38 and 39 which engage the portion of the shutter 
disc 34 underlying the rear section of the lid. 
When, therefore, actuator 37 is pressed down by a user as shown in FIG. 9, 
the shutter disc 34 is then flexed downwardly by lugs 38 and 39 to create 
an outlet 40 at the front section of the lid. The arcuate wall 32 of this 
front section, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6 curves toward the disc underlying 
this section to define a drinking spoon for the beverage flowing out of 
the outlet created when the disc is deflected. 
When, as shown in FIG. 8, the shutter disc seals the container, the mug is 
then in its storage mode, and when the disc is deflected by the actuator 
to create an outlet, the mug, as shown in FIG. 9, is then in its drinking 
mode. 
Thus the driver when he wishes to drink, simply lifts the mug out of its 
holder with one hand while his other hand engages the steering wheel, and 
with a finger of the hand holding the mug, he presses actuator 37 down to 
create the outlet to put the mug in its drinking mode. The outlet so 
created is not a small hole but is a relatively large arcuate slot in the 
front section of the lid. If, therefore, during the storage mode there has 
been a vapor-pressure build-up in the mug containing the hot beverage, 
when the outlet is created, this acts to release the pressure over a 
relatively large area, rather than through a small hole, as in prior 
commuter mugs. Hence whether the outlet is slowly or quickly created, in 
either case, the released vapor pressure does not cause the beverage to 
shoot thereout. 
While there has been shown a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will 
be appreciated that modifications may be made therein without departing 
from the essential features of the invention.