Abstract:
The present invention discloses a cup lid assembly, which is to provide a liquid discharge opening on the cup lid, and the liquid discharge opening can be opened or closed through turning operation made on the cup lid. The cup lid assembly includes a cup receiving body that can receive and cover a cup brim of a cup, a covering lid to cover the cup receiving body, and a drive sheet that is located between the cup receiving body and covering lid for opening or closing the liquid discharge opening. The present invention features on simple structure, which means that all the relative cup-lid components can be assembled through locking or pivotal joining without employing any fastening member for fastening operation. Therefore, the present invention can be simple in structure and handy in assembling, and the liquid discharge opening can be easily opened or closed through simple turning operation.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to a cup lid assembly or a drinking-cup lid assembly and, more particularly, to a cup lid assembly that provides a liquid discharge opening to be opened or closed through turning operation made on the cup lid.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Fast food eating has been a common life style for many busy people around the world. People often find time to enjoy their fast food while they are walking or driving. However, one thing may bother them is that beverages in their cups may be splashed or spilt during walking or driving, which may smear their clothes or cars. Therefore, it is always an important issue to design a cup lid that can be easily opened for drinking as well as securely closed when not in use while the cup user is in motion.  
         [0003]     U.S. Pat. No. 6,010,029 entitled “Container Lid Assembly” will be discussed below as an example of the prior art. The technical contents of this patent are summed up as follows:  
         [0004]     The container lid assembly includes a rotary cap  10 , a lid body  20 , and a control device  40 , wherein a drive post  13  is provided extending from the bottom of the rotary cap  10 , whereas a control block  14  with a threaded bore  15  is provided extending from the bottom of the drive post  13 ;  
         [0005]     an inner thread  221  extending downward from the inner periphery of the lid body  20  is to be received by an enlarged lower portion  22  located at the top of a container body  68 ; besides, a liquid discharge slot  25  and a stub  26  are provided penetrating through the lid body  20 , and a lug  24  is provided downward from the middle of the discharge slot  25  and stub  26 ; also, an annular flange  27  is provided extending from the inner bottom of the lid body  20 , and a plurality of concave openings  271  is provided on the annular flange  27 ; and  
         [0006]     an upper strip  50  and a lower strip  60  are included in the control device  40  in a way that the upper strip  50  can be mounted on the top of lower strip  60  for overlapping; besides, a locking hole  52  is provided in the middle of the upper strip  50 , whereas a square locking hole  62  is correspondingly provided in the middle of the lower strip  60 ; also, a reduced neck  53  is provided at each of the two sides of the upper strip  50 , extending outwardly thereon to form a first end portion  55  and a second end portion  56 , wherein a positioning block  57  and a sealing plug  561  are further provided at the end of the first end portion  55  and the second end portion  56  respectively; in addition, a sealing gasket  58  is provided on the positioning block  57 , and a press block  541  is provided upwardly from the front side of the first end portion  55  and the second end portion  56  respectively.  
         [0007]     To operate, the rotary cap  10  can be received by and positioned on the top of the lid body  20 ; also, the control block  14  under the drive post  13  can firstly go into the passage  241  of the lug  24 , then go through a square hole  310  of a cushion  31 , afterwards go through the hole formed by the locking hole  52  and square locking hole  62  from a joining made by the upper strip  50  and lower strip  60 , and finally go into a recess  66  of a connector  65 , while a locking screw  67  will be put into the bore  650  on the connector  65  to fasten the control device  40 ; furthermore, the reduced neck  53  of the upper strip  50  is designed to be pushed against by the resilient force generated by the lower strip  60 , and the generated force enables the press block  541  of the upper strip  50  located closely adjacent to the concave openings  271  of annular flange  27  to make a sliding movement when the rotary cap  10  is turned by the user so as to achieve the purpose of opening or closing the liquid discharge slot  25  and stub  26 .  
         [0008]     To conclude, the aforementioned patent has mainly improved two drawbacks of its prior arts. One of them is to improve the fatigue that may be caused by the spring in the prior arts, and the other is to change the way of opening the liquid discharge slot  25  by simply turning the rotary cap  10  instead of continuously pressing the liquid discharge slot  25 . Nevertheless, three drawbacks remain to be unsolved in this prior invention, which will be listed as follows: 
        1) The members that construct the control device  40  of the patent are very complicated in structure; as a result, manufacturing procedures such as mold opening, producing, and assembling will become more troublesome, which in turn may increase the production cost and lower the efficiency of production.     2) The opening and closing mechanism of the liquid discharge slot  25  is operated by a resilient force generated by the lower strip  60  in a way of pushing against the upper strip  50  when both strips are joined together; therefore, the opening and closing mechanism of the liquid discharge slot  25  is operated by flexible-textured members instead of solid-textured members; as a result, the flexible-textured members may eventually result in fatigue and cause a failure in performing sealing function.     3) From the control device  40  of this patent, it can be judged that the upper and lower strips  50  and  60  and locking screw  67  are all made of metal. In fact, the lower strip  60  must be a sheet of metal spring to meet the requirement of good elastic strength for pushing the upper strip  50  to lean closely to the concave openings  271  for sliding movement so as to open or close the liquid discharge slot  25  and stub  26 . However, shaking motion or steaming phenomenon generated by the liquid inside a liquid container may cause the metal sheet to become rusted, which is not sanitary once if the liquid contacts the rusted portion.        
 
         [0012]     Therefore, the present invention is designed to solve the afore-mentioned problems, including high manufacturing cost, low production efficiency, the failure to entirely seal the liquid discharge slot, and the sanitary problem caused by the rusted metal sheet.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0013]     The main object of the present invention is to provide a cup lid assembly suitable for easy and fast assembling through locking and pivotal joining method, wherein a solid-textured member of the cup lid can generate a force pressing on the liquid discharge opening upon receiving a turning force made on the cup lid, allowing the liquid discharge opening to be entirely sealed.  
         [0014]     According to the present invention, the cup lid assembly includes a cup receiving body, a covering lid, and a driver sheet, wherein the cup receiving body is used to cover the cup brim of a cup body, and a liquid discharge opening and a vent are provided penetrating through the cup receiving body; besides, an elastic body is provided in the middle of the cup receiving body, while a push block and a halt block are separately provided, extending from the cup receiving body thereon, located at each side of an imaginary line drawing along the liquid discharge opening and the elastic body; also, the covering lid can be pivotally received by the rim of the cup receiving body and can be turned by turning operation when it is placed on the cup receiving body; besides, a drinking opening is provided penetrating through the covering lid and can be aligned with the liquid discharge opening when the cup receiving body is turned by turning operation; also, an axle is provided extending from a position corresponding to the elastic body and located at the bottom of the covering lid, and two guide portions are symmetrically provided from the axle; moreover, a releasing slot and a press-against section are provided on the guide portion, wherein the releasing slot is connected to one end of the press-against section and also forms an arch-shaped angle, whereas an actuating block is provided at the other end of the releasing block; on the other hand, a hinder block is provided at the other end of the press-against section; as to the drive sheet, an anti-liquid-flow portion and an anti-air-flow portion are provided extendedly from the drive sheet thereon, corresponding to the locations of the liquid discharge opening and the vent respectively; besides, a pivot-connecting portion is provided extending from the center of the drive sheet, to be pivotally connected to the axle as well as to be pushed by the elastic body for getting close to the covering lid.  
         [0015]     To operate, when the covering lid is turned clockwise, the turning force imposing on the solid-textured object of the press-against section may push the drive sheet to make a position-shift downwardly, which in turn may enable the anti-liquid-flow portion to be tightly plugged into the liquid discharge opening whereas the anti-air-flow portion to be tightly plugged into the vent; in contrast, when the covering lid is turned anticlockwise, the drive sheet will detach from the press-against section in a manner that the elastic body will press against the pivot-connecting portion of the drive sheet, allowing the drive sheet to be located on the releasing slot, which in turn may enable the anti-liquid-flow portion and the anti-air-flow portion to be detached from the liquid discharge opening and the vent respectively for liquid outflow.  
         [0016]     To sum up, the present invention is not only very simple in its structure but also very handy in assembling, which in turn can lower the production cost, entirely seal the liquid discharge opening, and assure a hygienic in-cup environment when the cup lid is in use because there is no metal can be touched by the liquid in the cup body of the present invention.  
         [0017]     The objects and technical contents of the present invention will be better understood through the description of the following embodiments with reference to the drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0018]      FIG. 1  is a schematic perspective diagram illustrating an exploded top view of the cup lid assembly according to the present invention.  
         [0019]      FIG. 2  is a schematic perspective diagram illustrating an exploded bottom view of the cup lid assembly according to the present invention.  
         [0020]      FIG. 3  is a schematic sectional view of the cup lid assembly according to the present invention.  
         [0021]      FIG. 4A  is a schematic diagram illustrating that the liquid discharge opening of the cup lid of the present invention is in an opening state.  
         [0022]      FIG. 4B  is a schematic diagram illustrating that the covering lid showed in  FIG. 4A  is in operation.  
         [0023]      FIG. 4C  is a schematic diagram illustrating that the covering lid showed in  FIG. 4B  is still in a continuous operation.  
         [0024]      FIG. 5A  is a schematic diagram illustrating that the covering lid showed in  FIG. 4C  is operated in a reverse direction.  
         [0025]      FIG. 5B  is a schematic diagram illustrating that the covering lid showed in  FIG. 5A  is still operating in a reverse direction.  
         [0026]      FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram illustrating another aspect of the elastic body of the cup lid assembly of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0027]      FIGS. 1, 2 , and  3  are schematic diagrams that illustrate an exploded top view, an exploded bottom view, and a side elevation view of the cup lid of the present invention respectively. Referring to  FIGS. 1, 2 , and  3 , the cup lid assembly includes a cup receiving body  3 , a covering lid  4 , and a drive sheet  5 . Besides, a cup-receiving portion  38  is located at the inner-wall of the bottom of cup receiving body  3 , corresponding to as well as being received by the cup brim  61  for joining to the cup body  6 . In addition, a liquid discharge opening  31  and a vent  32  are provided penetrating through the cup receiving body  3 , and a recess  311  is provided at the edge of the liquid discharge opening  31  whereas another recess  321  is provided at the edge of the vent  32 . Also, an elastic body  33  is provided in the middle of the cup receiving body  3 . A push block  34  and a halt block  35  are separately provided, extending from the cup receiving body  3  thereon, and located at each side of an imaginary line drawing along the liquid discharge opening  31  and elastic body  33 ; besides, an accommodation slot  37  is upwardly extended from the middle of the cup receiving body  3  for accommodating the elastic body  33 . Also, a cover receiving portion  36  is provided along the outer rim of the cup receiving body  3 , whereas at least one cover joining portion  45  is formed in a way that its center is a hole, extending along the periphery of the covering lid  4  and corresponding to the cover receiving portion  36  for pivotally joining to the cover receiving portion  36  at the rim of the cup receiving body  3 , so that the covering lid  4  can be turned when it is placed on the cup receiving body  3 . In addition, a drinking opening  41  is provided penetrating through the covering lid  4 ; when the cup receiving body  3  is turned by a user, the drinking opening  41  will be at a position corresponding to the liquid discharge opening  31 . Also, an axle  42  is provided extending from the bottom of the covering lid  4 , corresponding to the elastic body  33 . Taking the axle  42  as a dividing line, two guide portions  43  are symmetrically provided at the two sides of the line, and a releasing slot  431  and a press-against section  432  are located on each guide portion  43 . The releasing slot  431  is connected to the press-against section  432  and forms an arch-shaped angle  433 , and an actuating block  434  is provided at the other end of the releasing slot  431  whereas a hinder block  435  is provided at the other end of the press-against section  432 . On the other hand, an anti-liquid-flow portion  51  and an anti-air-flow portion  52  are provided extending from the drive sheet thereon, corresponding to the positions where the liquid discharge opening  31  and vent  32  are located respectively. Besides, a big plug  511  made of flexible material is sleeved on the anti-liquid-flow portion  51 , wherein a first protrusion  512  is provided on the big plug  511  to be corresponding to the first recess  311 , and through plugging-in made between the first protrusion  512  and the first recess  311 , the liquid discharge opening  31  can be entirely sealed. Likewise, a small plug  521  made of flexible material is sleeved on the anti-air-flow portion  52 , wherein a second protrusion  522  is provided on the small plug  521  to be corresponding to the second recess  321 , and through plugging-in made between the second protrusion  522  and the second recess  321 , the vent  32  can be entirely sealed. Also, a pivot-connecting portion  53  is provided extending from the middle of the drive sheet  5 , to be pivotally connected to the axle  42  as well as to be pushed by the elastic body  33  for leaning closely to the covering lid  4 .  
         [0028]     Next, referring to  FIG. 4A , which is a schematic diagram illustrating that the liquid discharge opening of the cup lid of the present invention is in an opening state, the cup lid assembly is shown by a side elevation view and a top view in order to obtain a best description result, in which the position of covering lid  4  is expressed by dash-dot lines in the top-viewed diagram. As shown in  FIG. 4A , when the drive sheet  5  is located in the releasing slot  431  and its pivot-connecting portion  33  is being pushed against by the elastic body  33 , the anti-liquid-flow portion  51  and the anti-air-flow portion  52  will be away from the liquid discharge opening  31  and vent  32  respectively, and the drinking opening  41  will be aligned with the liquid discharge opening  31 , ready for the liquid in the cup body  6  to flow out from the liquid discharge opening  31 .  
         [0029]     Also, referring to  FIG. 4B , which is a schematic diagram illustrating that the covering lid showed in  FIG. 4A  is in operation, the cup lid assembly is also shown by a side elevation view and a top view in order to obtain a best description result, in which the position of covering lid  4  is expressed by dash-dot lines in the top-viewed diagram. As shown in  FIG. 4B , when the liquid discharge opening  31  and vent  32  are to be closed for stopping liquid in the cup body (not shown) from flowing out, the covering lid  4  can be turned clockwise. As soon as this action is made, the drive sheet  5  located in the releasing slot  351  will be pushed against by the arch-shaped angle  433  and turned along with the covering lid  4  until the push block  34  reaches the side of the drive sheet  5  for pressing against it.  
         [0030]     As the turning operation continues, the cup lid assembly will move into another state, which is shown in  FIG. 4C , illustrating that the covering lid showed in  FIG. 4B  is still in a continuous operation. Similarly, the cup lid assembly is shown by a side elevation view and a top view in order to obtain a best description result, in which the position of covering lid  4  is expressed by dash-dot lines in the top-viewed diagram. As shown in  FIG. 4C , when the covering lid  4  is continuously being turned by turning operation, the push block  34  will push the side face of drive sheet  5  located in the releasing slot  431 , and because the turning force is larger than the press-against force from the arch-shaped angle  433 , the drive sheet  5  will then slide into the hinder block  435  located at the press-against section  432  of the guide portion  43  for positioning through guidance made by the arch-shaped angle  433 . Under such circumstances, the drive sheet  5  will be located at the press-against section  432  that has elevation difference from its prior location at releasing slot  431 . Because of the elevation difference, the drive sheet  5  will move downward and press against the elastic body  33  in a way that the liquid discharge opening  31  and vent  32  located at the cup receiving body  3  will be entirely blocked by the anti-liquid-flow portion  51  and anti-air-flow portion  52  respectively located at the drive sheet. By so doing, the liquid in the cup body  6  (not shown) can be stopped from flowing out, and the drinking opening  41  will withdraw from the position that corresponds to the liquid discharge opening  31 .  
         [0031]     Furthermore, referring to  FIG. 5A , which illustrates that the covering lid showed in  FIG. 4C  is operated in a reverse direction, the cup lid assembly is again shown by a side elevation view and a top view in order to obtain a best description result, in which the position of covering lid  4  is expressed by dash-dot lines in the top-viewed diagram. In addition to  FIG. 5A ,  FIG. 5B  further illustrates that the covering lid showed in  FIG. 5A  is still operating in a reverse direction. Also, similar to  FIG. 5A , the dash-dot lines are also used for illustrating the position of covering lid  4 . As shown in  FIGS. 5A and 5B , when a user&#39;s intension is to open the liquid discharge opening  31  and vent  32 , the covering lid  4  can be turned anticlockwise. Under such circumstances, the drive sheet  5  will not move along with the covering lid  4  because it is being pressed against by the resilience generated by the elastic body  33 . In fact, the drive sheet  5  will slide along the press-against section  432  of guide portion  43  and move into the releasing slot  351  when the covering lid  4  is turned by turning operation, so that the drive sheet can make a position shift upwardly, enabling the anti-liquid-flow portion  51  and anti-air-flow portion  52  to upwardly open the liquid discharge  31  and vent  32  (as shown in  FIG. 5A ) respectively. At this moment, if the covering lid  4  is being continuously turned, the actuation block  434  will push against the drive sheet  5 , and the resilient force generated by the elastic body  33  will impose on the drive sheet  5 , pushing it to the hinder block  35  for a stop, whereas the anti-liquid-flow portion  51  and anti-air-flow portion  52  on the drive sheet  5  will withdraw from the liquid discharge opening  31  and vent  32  on the cup receiving body  3  respectively. By doing so, the liquid discharge opening  31  can be aligned with the drinking opening  41  (as shown in  FIG. 5B ) for the liquid in the cup body  6  (not shown) to flow out. Therefore, the present invention is not only very simple in its structure but also very handy in assembling, which in turn can lower the production cost, entirely block the liquid discharge opening  31 , and assure a hygienic in-cup environment when the cup lid is in use because there is no metal can be touched by the liquid in the cup body.  
         [0032]     Finally,  FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram illustrating another aspect of the elastic body of the cup lid of the present invention. This aspect of elastic body is different from that of in the above-mentioned embodiment in the cup receiving body  3 ′ because there is an accommodation slot  37 ′ concavely provided in an upward direction in the middle of the cup receiving body  3 ′. The accommodation slot  37 ′ is used to accommodate the pivot-connecting portion  53 ′ instead of the elastic body  33 ′ when the drive sheet  5 ′ is having a downward motion. In addition, an elastic body  33 ′ such as a spring will be provided in the axle  42  extending from the bottom of the covering lid  4 , whereas a pivot-connecting portion  53 ′ extending from the middle of the drive sheet  5 ′ will be pivotally connected to the axle  42 . The bottom of the pivot-connecting portion  53 ′ is a closed end and is connected to the elastic body  33  by hook connection so that the drive sheet  5 ′ can be pulled by the elastic body  33 ′ to get close to the covering lid  4 . Therefore, the aforementioned functions shown in  FIG. 3  can be achieved as well.  
         [0033]     The embodiments above are only intended to illustrate the present invention; they do not, however, to limit the present invention to the specific embodiments. Accordingly, various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as described in the following claims.