Abstract:
A drink lid with a straw access opening is disclosed. The drink lid may define a top panel being larger than a top opening of a drinking cap (e.g., beverage container). Additionally, a side skirt may be formed about an outer periphery of the top panel to hold the drink lid on the drink container even in the presence of slight wind or breeze. Moreover, an upper surface of the top panel may have printed indicia for the purposes of displaying advertising, informational content, etc.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    Not Applicable 
       STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT  
       [0002]    Not Applicable 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    The present invention relates to a lid for a drink container having an access opening for a straw wherein exterior surfaces of the lid may have printed indicia (e.g., advertisements, informational content, etc). The lid may be used as a means by which patrons may indicate that they will be back shortly and to protect the content of the drink from contamination. 
         [0004]    In a bar, patrons enter and leave the establishment throughout the day. Patrons may sit at a stool or table to enjoy an alcoholic beverage and the company of other people. While the patron is enjoying the alcoholic beverage, the patron may briefly go out to smoke a cigarette or take a restroom break. During a busy period, the patron may leave his or her drink at the bar or table. To indicate that he or she will be back shortly and that the stool or table is still being used, the patron most indicate in some way that he or she will be hack shortly. Otherwise the patron will lose his/her scat or table. Moreover, when the drink is left unattended at due bar or table, strangers may place contaminants in the drink. 
         [0005]    Accordingly, there is a need in the art for addressing the issues discussed above. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY 
       [0006]    The various embodiments of the lid with access opening discussed herein address the needs discussed above, discussed below and those that are known in the art. 
         [0007]    The drink lid disclosed herein may have a top panel that covers the top opening of a drink container. A side skirt may be disposed about the outer periphery of the top panel and hold the top panel in place on the top opening of the drink container even if wind or a slight breeze blows on the lid. The upper surface of the top panel of the lid may have a writable surface and/or informational content printed thereon. The informational content may include but is not limited to advertising, instructions etc. The top panel may additionally have an access opening for a straw. The access opening may be a slit through which the straw may be inserted. Alternatively, the access opening may be a perforated hole which may be broken by pushing the distal end of the straw through the perforated hole. A further alternative of the access opening is an aperture with a punctureable membrane attached thereto. 
         [0008]    More particularly, a lid removeably attachable to a cup is disclosed. The lid may comprise a top panel sized and configured to cover an opening of a cup, a straw access formed in the top panel, and a skirt extending downward from the top panel and disposable outside of the cup so that the lid is retained on the cup. 
         [0009]    The straw access may be starburst shaped slits in the top panel, a perforated hole, or a hole formed in the top panel and a puncturable membrane attached to a bottom surface of the top panel. 
         [0010]    The straw access may be located off center on the top panel. The straw access may be located at a center of the top panel. 
         [0011]    The top panel may be circular. The top panel may be fabricated with at least a water resistant fabrication process. 
         [0012]    The skirt may be integral with an outer periphery of the top panel and extend downward. The skirt may be pleated. The skirt may have a conical configuration so that the lids may be stacked upon each other during storage, transport and when it is being dispensed to customers. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0013]    These and other features and advantages of the various embodiments disclosed herein will be better understood with respect to the following description and drawings, in which like numbers refer to like parts throughout, and in which: 
           [0014]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a lid with an access opening; 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is a top view of the first embodiment of the lid shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is a bottom view of the first embodiment of the lid shows in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the lid with the access opening; 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  is a top view of the second embodiment of the lid shown in  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 6  is a bottom view of the second embodiment of the lid shown in  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0020]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the lid with the access opening; 
           [0021]      FIG. 8  is a top view of the third embodiment of the lid shown in  FIG. 7 ; 
           [0022]      FIG. 9  is a bottom view of the third embodiment of the lid shown in  FIG. 7 ; 
           [0023]      FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the first embodiment shown in  FIG. 1  of the lid with the access opening at a different location; 
           [0024]      FIG. 11  is a perspective view of the second embodiment shown in  FIG. 4  of the lid with the access opening at a different location; and 
           [0025]      FIG. 12  is a perspective view of the third embodiment shown in  FIG. 7  of the lid with the access opening at a different location. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0026]    Referring now to the drawings, a lid  10  for covering a container  12  to protect its content is shown. The lid  10  may have a straw access  14  formed in a top panel  16  of the lid  10 . The lid  10  may have a side skirt  18  extending downwardly from an outer periphery  20  of the top panel  16 . Preferably, the lid  10  is placed over an opening of the container  12  with the side skirt  18  disposed around the outside of the upper portion of the opening of the container  12 . The side skirt  18  holds the lid  10  in place on the container  12  even if the container  12  is jostled or if a customer walks by lightly blowing wind on the lid  10 . Moreover, the straw access  14  may have a variety of configurations as discussed herein and placed at various locations (i.e., center or off-center) on the top panel  16 . 
         [0027]    Referring now to  FIG. 1 , the lid  10   a  is shown which has a pleated side skirt  18  and a straw access  14   a  formed off-center of the top panel  16 . The straw access  14   a  has a starburst configuration. More particularly, the starburst configuration is formed as bisecting slits  24  perpendicular to each other. Other starburst configurations are also contemplated such as multiple slits  24  intersecting each other. Other configurations of the straw access  14  are also contemplated. By way of example and not limitation, the straw access  14   b  may be a perforation  50  formed in the top panel  16  of the lid  10   b,  as shown in  FIGS. 4-6 . To access liquid within the container  12 , an end of a straw may be aligned to the perforation  50 . The user may push the end of the straw at the center of the perforation  50  to break the perforation  50  and access the liquid within the container  12 . 
         [0028]    Another embodiment of the straw access  14   c  is shown in  FIGS. 7-9 . In particular, the top panel  16  of the lid  10  may have an aperture  62  formed therethrough. A bottom surface  54  of the top panel  16  may have a punctureable membrane  56  attached (e.g., adhered) to the bottom surface  54  of the top panel  16 . When the lid  10  is placed on the container  12 , the lid  10  forms a general seal so that contaminants such as dust and dirt do not enter the container  12 . If desired, the user may access the liquid within the container  12  with the straw. In particular, the distal end of the straw may be aligned within the aperture  52  and rest on the punctureable membrane  56 . The user pushes the distal end of the straw through the aperture  52  thereby puncturing the punctureable membrane  52 . 
         [0029]    The starburst configured access opening  14   a,  perforated access opening  14   b  and the access opening  14   c  with punctureable membrane  56  are all shown as being offset from a center of the top panel  16 . However, it is also contemplated that the starburst access opening  14   a  may be disposed at a center of the top panel  16 , as shown in  FIG. 10 . It is also contemplated that the perforated access opening  14   b  may be disposed at the center of the top panel  16 , as shown in  FIG. 11 . Moreover, it is also contemplated that the access opening  14   c  with punctureable membrane  56  may be disposed at the center of the top panel  16 , as shown in  FIG. 12 . 
         [0030]    The lid  10  may be fabricated from a unitary material such as a fibrous material, wood pulp, plastic, an eco-friendly material or combinations thereof. Additionally, it is also contemplated that the lid  10  may be treated so as to be water resistant. The lid  10  may also have printed indicia on the upper surface  26  of the top panel  16  and/or the exterior surface of the side skirt  18 . The printed indicia may be advertising information, instructional information, or other types of information. It is also contemplated that a designated area on the upper surface  26  of the top panel  16  may be a writable surface in that the patron or user may utilize a ballpoint pen or a marker to write information (e.g., name, time of return, etc.) on the designated area while the other areas may not be writable due to one or more coatings or treatments for water resistance. 
         [0031]    The lid  10  may be utilized in a bar setting. In particular, a patron may order an alcoholic drink. Prior to finishing the drink, the patron may step away from the bar area for one or more reasons (e.g., retreat to a designated smoking area, restroom break, etc.). In the meantime, the patron may cover his or her drink with the lid  10  to indicate that the patron is not finished and will return shortly. Moreover, the lid  10  prevents contaminants from contaminating the liquid within the container  12 . Also, the lid  10  adds a layer of security by making it more difficult for others (e.g. strangers and acquaintances) to slip foreign substances in the drink. 
         [0032]    To manufacture the lid  10 , a roll of paper or a stack of paper sheets may be fed into a lid forming machine. In particular, the lid forming machine will diecut a circular disk and press form the pleated side skirt  18 . For the starburst access opening  14   a  and the perforated access opening  14   b,  the starburst access opening  14   a  and the perforation  50  of the perforated access opening  14   b  may be formed by the lid forming machine at the same time the roll of paper or the stack of paper sheets are diecut into the circular disk configuration and the pleated side skirt  18  is formed. If the lid  10  is fabricated with the punctureable access opening  14   c,  then the roll of paper or the stack of paper sheets may be diecut with an aperture  52  and the punctureable membrane  56  adhered to the surface of the roll of paper or stack of paper sheets that will eventually become the bottom surface  54  of the top panel  16  of the lid  10 . This process is done prior to feeding the roll of paper or the stack of paper sheets into the lid forming machine. 
         [0033]    If printed indicia is to be printed on the upper surface  26  of the top panel  16 , then the printed indicia may be printed on the surface of the roll of paper or stack of paper sheets to form the upper surface  26  of the top panel  16 . This printing process may be done prior to the fabrication of the access opening  14   a, b, c  but before the water resistant treatment process, if any. Alternatively, the roll of paper or the stack of paper sheets may be pretreated so as to be water resistant. Moreover, it is contemplated that only the bottom surface of the lid  10  may be water resistant. 
         [0034]    The printed indicia on the upper surface  26  of the top panel  16  may be formed by the offset printing, gravure printing, screen printing, ink jet printing, laser printing and other printing methods known in the art or developed in the future. The printed indicia may be formed on the upper surface  26  of the top panel  16  prior to die cutting and forming the lid  10 . Alternatively, it is also contemplated that printed indicia may be formed thereon after forming the side skirt  18 . 
         [0035]    The side skirt  18  shown in the drawings is shown as being pleated. It is contemplated the side skirt  18  may have circular creases thereabout so that the side skirt can be folded at the creases and fit over larger openings of a drink cup. In this manner, the side skirt  18  is expandable and fits a larger number of drink containers. 
         [0036]    The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation. Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devise variations that are within the scope and spirit of the invention disclosed herein, including various ways of forming the lid  10 . Further, the various features of the embodiments disclosed herein can be used alone, or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to be limited to the specific combination described herein. Thus, the scope of the claims is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments.