Patent Publication Number: US-5294014-A

Title: Container closure arrangement

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to closure covers for liquid containers. More particularly, the invention concerns a simple, inexpensively manufactured closure cover having an opening for dispensing the contents of the container, a vent opening spaced therefrom, and a rotatable disk for closing the respective openings and insuring that the container is properly sealed when said rotatable disk is in a closed position. 
     Liquid containers for drinking or pouring purposes, that are formed of plastic material, are well known. Commonly, as for example when such containers are intended for use in the retail dispensation of either hot or cold liquids, they are formed with thermally insulated bodies. The bodies may take the form of a double shell construction with the space between the shells containing a heat insulating medium, such as polyurethane foam. Typically, the container at its open, upper end is provided with a closure cover that helps maintain the temperature of the contents of the container as well as to protect against liquid spillage. For liquid dispensing purposes the closure cover is provided with a pair of openings, one of which is particularly suitable for drinking or for pouring the contained liquid. The other opening in the closure cover defines a vent opening for ensuring proper flow from the dispensing opening. A number of different configurations and devices are normally used to seal such openings. 
     The present invention is directed to the design and construction of a simple, inexpensive combination of a container closure cover with dispensing and venting openings and a disk that rotates to effectively seal the openings, especially when the container is rotated or falls onto its side or is inverted. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a closure cover for a container wherein an effective seal can be attained by the user simply rotating a lever with his or her thumb while holding the handle of the container. Thus, the closure cover can be operated by the same hand used to hold the container. 
     A further object is to provide a closure cover that, in combination with the container, creates a spill-proof air-tight enclosure, but which can be easily opened with minimal effort by the user. 
     Accordingly, the present invention provides for a closure device for sealing a container. The closure device comprises a body having an orifice for dispensing liquid or a pourable substance from the container and a rotating disk pivotally attached to the body. The rotating disk has a sealing means for sealing off the dispensing orifice when the closure cover is in the closed position. A pressing means, which is responsive to rotation of the disk, creates a downward force on the sealing means so that the sealing means effectively seals the dispensing orifice. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a closure cover of the present invention shown attached to a container. 
     FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the body portion of the closure cover of FIG. 1. 
     FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the disk member of the closure cover of FIG. 1. 
     FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the disk member shown in FIG. 3. 
     FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5--5 of FIG. 4. 
     FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the closure cover of FIG. 1 shown in the open 
     position and showing the closed position in dashed lines. 
     FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 7--7 of FIG. 6 illustrating the closure cover in the closed position. 
     FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 7--7 of FIG. 6 illustrating the closure cover in the open position. 
     FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 9--9 of FIG. 6 illustrating the closure cover in the open position. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
     In FIG. 1 of the drawings there is shown a liquid container, such as large capacity drinking cup 10, formed from plastic material and having heat insulating capabilities. The particular construction of the illustrated cup 10, although not particularly germane to the present invention, can be as shown and described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 3,684,123, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     The upper open end, or mouth, of container 10 is closed by a closure cover arrangement, indicated generally by reference numeral 14, constructed according to the present invention. Closure cover 14 is removably secured to container 10 by means of a flexible snap-on-type sealing connection as hereinafter more fully described. Closure cover 14 may also be secured to container 10 by any other suitable means, such as a screw-on-type arrangement. Closure cover 14 comprises a body portion 15 and a disk member 18, both of which may be formed from any suitable plastic, such as polypropylene copolymer, or any other suitable material. Disk member 18 is rotatably secured to body portion 16 for the selective exposure or closure of dispensing and venting orifices 20 and 22 with which the body portion is provided. 
     As best shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, body portion 16 comprises circular base 24, around the outer periphery of which upstanding lip 26 and downward lip 28 extend. Upstanding lip 26 is formed to provide a drinking surface for liquid flowing out of dispensing orifice 20. Upstanding lip 26 has a longitudinal aperture 32 through which operating lever 34 of disk member 18 is disposed. Longitudinal aperture 32 is basically rectangular in shape with enlarged portion 32a on one end to allow operating lever 34 to pass through longitudinal aperture 32 during the assembly of body portion 16 and disk member 18 and elongated portion 32b which allows actuation of operating lever 34. Also disposed on inner surface 26a of upstanding hip 26 is cam 36. Cam 36 is a protrusion located approximately in the center of inner surface 26a and above the portion of the periphery of base 24 that is closest to dispensing orifice 20. Cam 36 engages ramp protrusion 38 of disk member 18 during the closing operation to forcibly seal dispensing orifice 20 as will be more fully described hereafter. With reference to FIG. 7, downward lip is formed for securing closure cover 14 onto container 10. Inside surface 28a of downward lip 28 is tapered inward toward the center of base 24 and also forms annular recess 28b. Annular recess 28b is formed to mate with an annular bead (not shown) formed on container 10. The annular bead of container 10 is forced over the tapered surface of inside surface 28a to &#34;snap&#34; into a mating arrangement with annular recess 28b. Downward lip 28 may be provided with tab 30 to facilitate removal of closure cover 14, as shown in FIG. 1. The user of container can use tab 30 to snap off closure cover 14 by applying an upward force to tab 30. 
     Base 24 of body portion 16 is, as shown in FIG. 2, provided with three radially aligned through-openings, including dispensing orifice 20, vent orifice 22, and intermediately disposed third opening 40, termed the &#34;axle opening&#34;, for reception of a pivot axle on disk member 18, as hereafter explained. Dispensing orifice 20 is formed with a circular configuration. Base 24 has tapered surface 24a located on its top surface. Base 24 surrounds dispensing orifice 20 and provides a mating and aligning surface for tapered surface 42a of sealing flange 42 of disk member 118. 
     Vent orifice 22 is formed essentially by a small circular hole that extends through base 24. Axle opening 40 is disposed on the central axis of body portion 16 in radial alignment with the dispensing and vent orifices, 20 and 22 respectively. Opening 40 is adapted to receive axle lug 44 that operates to permit disk member 18 to rotatably move parallel to the plane of body portion 16. Surrounding opening 40 is an annular raised boss 46 that effectively spaces disk member 18 axially from the top surface of body portion base 24 to facilitate movement of the member with respect to the body portion. Annular channel 48 is formed on the bottom surface of base 24 and is concentric with axle opening 40, as shown in FIG. 7. 
     Base 24 also has on its top surface a circular depression 50 which serves as a rest for sealing flange 42 and gasket 52 of disk member 18. Circular depression 50 has bottom planar surface 50a, tapered surface 50b, and annular planar surface 50c. When the closure cover 14 is in its open position, tapered surface 42a of sealing flange 42 faces or mates with tapered surface 50b and bottom surface 52a of gasket 52 mates with annular planar surface 50c, as shown in FIG. 9. 
     Disk member 18, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, is provided with sealing flange 42, axle lug 44, and vent sealing protrusion 54 extending from bottom surface 18a of disk member 18. Arcuate cutout portion 56 is cut from the perimeter of disk member 18 and operating lever 34 extends from a portion of the perimeter of disk member 18. Annular rib 60 and ramp-shaped protrusion 38 extend from top surface 180b of disk member 18. 
     With further reference to FIG. 7, axle lug 44 is formed as a generally cup-shaped member whose exterior surface about the lower end has a slight annular enlargement or rib 44a. Because of this shape, lug 44 has sufficient flexibility to permit it to be radially compressed for insertion into axle opening 40 in the base member. Also, retention of lug 44 in opening 40 is assisted by the fact that opening 40 is formed with a downwardly converging, conical sidewall 40a, so that lug 44 can simply be snapped into the opening and disk member 18 securely connected to base portion 24 for rotational movement. 
     Sealing flange 42 is provided to securely seal dispensing orifice 20 and has tapered surface 42a, annular bottom surface 42b, circular recess 42c, and annular channel 42d, as shown in FIG. 7. Gasket 52 is received in annular channel 42d and can be formed of any suitable sealing material, such as rubber. Vent sealing protrusion 54 seals off vent orifice 22 and is circular in shape. 
     Arcuate cutout portion 56 allows access to dispensing orifice 20 when closure cover 14 is in its open position. Ramp protrusion 38 is located on the periphery of disk member 18 directly above the portion of the periphery of disk member 18 closest to sealing flange 42. Ramp protrusion 38 has slant surface 38a and planar surface 38b, as shown in FIG. 5. Ramp protrusion 38 engages cam 36 during the rotation of disk member 18 to effectively close dispensing orifice 20. 
     Operating lever 34 is actuated by a user of the cup to cause the rotation of disk member I 8. The user, while holding container 10 by handle I 1, can extend his or her thumb of the holding hand upward to move operating lever 34 between the open and closed positions. Thus, the holding of the container and the operating of the closure cover can be accomplished by one hand. 
     With reference to FIGS. 6, 7, 8, and 9 the operation of closure cover 14 is described below. 
     FIGS. 6, 8 and 9 show cover closure 14 in the open position. Dispensing orifice 20 is exposed through arcuate cutout portion 56 so that liquid in container 10 can flow through dispensing orifice 20. Additionally, venting orifice 22 will be open in this position and provide for consistent dispensing of the liquid in container 10. Referring to FIG. 9, the resting arrangement of sealing flange 42 in circular depression 50 is illustrated when the closure cover is in the open position. As illustrated, bottom surface 52a of gasket 52 is resting on annular planar surface 50c and tapered surface 42a of sealing flange 42 is facing or resting on tapered surface 50b. Furthermore, vent sealing protrusion 54 is not blocking venting orifice 22, but is disposed in a neutral position on the top surface of base 24. 
     As operating lever 34 is moved toward the closed position, disk member 18 is rotated and sealing flange 42 is forced out of its resting position in circular depression 50. In an intermediate stage in between the opened and closed positions, bottom annular surface 42b of sealing flange 42 slides across the top surface of the portion of base 24 in between circular depression 50 and dispensing orifice 20. As this occurs, disk member 18 is deformed upwardly along its perimeter. 
     With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, as operating lever 34 is rotated further towards the closed position, slant surface 38a of ramp protrusion 38 begins to engage cam 36 and sealing flange 42 approaches its seating position in dispensing orifice 20. As disk member 19 is rotated and slant surface 26a engages cam 36, a gradual downward force is applied to the portion of the perimeter of disk member 18 over sealing flange 42. As planar surface 38b of ramp protrusion 38 engages cam 36, sealing flange 42 is seated within dispensing orifice 20. Because of the contact between ramp protrusion 38 and cam 36, a downward force F is exerted along the portion of the perimeter of disk 18 that is above sealing flange 42. Thus, when closure cover 14 is in its closed position (as shown in dashed lines in FIG. 6), sealing flag, 42 and gasket 52 form a very effective seal of dispensing orifice 20. Having gasket 52 under compression insures that a leak-proof air-tight seal is obtained to prevent spills and, further, effectively insulates the container from outside air. Additionally, when closure cover 14 is in its closed position, vent sealing protrusion 54 is positioned directly above venting orifice 22 to effectively seal off orifice 22. Thus, the entire container is effectively sealed, even when it is rotated or falls onto side or when it is completely inverted. Thus, container 10 with closure cover 14 is particularly suited for situations where the container is likely to fall or be knocked over due to external forces, such as when one is driving a car. 
     In order to reopen the container, a user&#39;s thumb actuates the operating lever toward the open position, thus unseating sealing flange 47 from dispensing orifice 20 and moving it into its rest position in circular depression 30. 
     Thus, this invention allows for easy thumb actuated access to a leak-proof, insulated container. The downward pressure sealing arrangement of the present invention allows the preservation of the temperature inside the container and also makes the container virtually leak-proof even when inverted. 
     It will be understood that variations and changes in the details, materials, an arrangement of the parts, which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention, may be made by those skilled in the art within the principles and scope of the invention. What is sought to be protected herein is as recited in the appended claims.