Patent Publication Number: US-9884700-B2

Title: Dual-use lid and containing assembly comprising the same

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a container and, especially, to a containing assembly comprising a dual-use lid that can be combined easily and conveniently with different cups or bottles. 
     2. Description of the Prior Arts 
     When buying food and drink, a consumer needs to use two hands to hold the food and the drink separately. The consumer has to put down the drink on a place and to start having the food. The inconvenience of eating and drinking needs improvement. 
     A conventional container is disclosed in publication No. TW 201420445 with a folding structure and has a cup and a folding body. The cup has a circular wall and a containing groove. The folding body is formed on the cup. The folding body has an annular wall, multiple folding lines, and an engaging portion. The folding lines are formed on the annular wall, and the folding body can be folded along the folding lines. The engaging portion is combined with the circular wall of the cup. The conventional container can be used for having the drink and the food at the same time. The cup is combined with the folding body and is unable to be separated, so the transporting or storage of the conventional container is limited in amount due to the large volume of the cup and the folding body. 
     To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a dual-use lid and a containing assembly combined with the dual-use lid to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The main objective of the present invention is to provide a dual-use lid and a containing assembly combined with the dual-use lid to improve the convenience of transportation and storage. 
     The dual-use lid comprises a cover and an annulus. The cover has a protruding segment and an annular board. The protruding segment is formed on the cover. The annular board extends outward from a bottom edge of the protruding segment. The annulus is mounted on the annular board of the cover. 
     The containing assembly comprises an annulus and a container. The annulus is detachably combined with the circular body of the cover. The annulus has an annular body, at least one first combining portion, and at least one second combining portion. The at least one first combining portion is formed on a side of the annular body. The at least one second combining portion is formed on another side of the annular body and is connected to the at least one first combining portion. The container is detachably mounted in the cover and has a chamber and an upper rim. The chamber is formed in the container. The upper rim is formed around a top edge of the container. The upper rim is mounted in the protruding segment under the cover. 
     Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a dual-use lid in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the containing assembly in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional side view of the containing assembly in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a partially enlarged side view of the containing assembly in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a partially enlarged cross-sectional side view of a first embodiment of a circular body of the containing assembly in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a partially enlarged cross-sectional side view of a second embodiment of the circular body of the containing assembly in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a front side view of a first embodiment of an annulus of the containing assembly in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a front side view of a second embodiment of the annulus of the containing assembly in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the second embodiment of a dual-use lid in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 10  is an exploded perspective view of the containing assembly in  FIG. 9 ; 
         FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional side view of the container combined with a paper cup in  FIG. 9 ; 
         FIG. 12  is a cross-sectional side view of the container combined with a plastic cup in  FIG. 11 ; 
         FIG. 13  is a cross-sectional side view of the container combined with an aluminum can in  FIG. 11 ; 
         FIG. 14  is a cross-sectional side view of the container combined with a PET bottle in  FIG. 11 ; 
         FIG. 15  is an exploded perspective view of a third embodiment of a dual-use lid in accordance with the present invention connected to a cover and a lifting board; 
         FIG. 16  is a cross-sectional side view of the cover combined with the lifting board in  FIG. 15 ; 
         FIG. 17  is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of a dual-use lid in accordance with the present invention; and 
         FIG. 18  is a cross-sectional side view of the containing assembly in  FIG. 17 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1 to 3 , a first embodiment of a containing assembly combined with a dual-use lid in accordance with the present invention comprises a cover  10 . In addition, an annulus  20  and a container  30  are respectively connected to a top side and a bottom side of the cover  10 . 
     The cover  10  is made of a plastic material and has a protruding segment  11 , an annular board  12 , an annular wall  13 , and a circular body  14 . The protruding segment  11  is formed on a top surface of the cover  10 . With reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the protruding segment  11  of the cover  10  has a groove  111 , a circular inner wall  112 , a first circular groove  113 , a first circular fastener  114 , and an inserting hole  115 . The groove  111  is formed on a bottom side of the protruding segment  11 . The circular inner wall  112  extends downward from the protruding segment  11  to the groove  111 . The first circular groove  113  is formed between the circular inner wall  112  and an inside wall of the groove  111 . The first circular fastener  114  is formed on the inside wall of the groove  111 . The inserting hole  115  is formed through the protruding segment  11 . 
     The annular board  12  horizontally extends outward from a bottom edge of the protruding segment  11 . The annular wall  13  extends upward from an outer edge of the annular board  12 . With reference to  FIG. 5 , the circular body  14  is formed on a bottom edge of the annular wall  13 , and a bottom diameter of the annular wall  13  is smaller than a diameter of the circular body  14 . 
     The annulus  20  is detachably mounted on the annular board  12  of the cover  10 . The annulus  20  is a thin sheet and has an annular body  21 , at least one first combining portion  22 , and at least one second combining portion  23 . The annular body  21  is a thin sheet and has two sides. The at least one first combining portion  22  is formed on one of the sides of the annular body  21 , and the at least one second combining portion  23  is formed on the other side of the annular body  21 . The at least one first combining portion  22  is connected to the at least one second combining portion  23  to form a hollow cone. With reference to  FIGS. 3 to 5 , in a first embodiment of the circular body  14 , the circular body  14  has a circular convex portion  141 . The circular convex portion  141  is formed on a top edge of the circular body  14 . 
     The annulus  20  is sleeved around the annular wall  13  and is connected to the cover  10 . The annulus  20  is sustained by the circular convex portion  141  to avoid accidental falling. The annulus  20  is made of plastic or paper materials. The annulus  20  is slightly flexible, such that the annulus  20  can be deformed for mounting on the cover  10  by users. The annulus  20  is made of printable materials. Multiple annuluses  20  can be piled when the first combining portions  22  and the second combining portions  23  are unfolded. The storage space for the annuluses  20  could be reduced. 
     With reference to  FIG. 6 , in a second embodiment of the circular body  14   b  in accordance with the present invention, the circular body  14   b  has a circular portion  141   b . The circular portion  141   b  is L-shaped in cross section. The circular portion  141   b  has an inner circular sheet  1411   b , an outer circular sheet  1412   b , and a circular slot  1413   b . The inner circular sheet  1411   b  is formed on an inner side of the circular portion 141   b , and the outer circular sheet  1412   b  is formed on an outer side of the circular portion  141   b . A height of the inner circular sheet  1411   b  is larger than a height of the outer circular sheet  1412   b . The circular slot  1413   b  is formed between the inner circular sheet  1411   b  and the outer circular sheet  1412   b . A width of the circular slot  1413   b  is conformed to a width of the annulus  20 . The annulus  20  is sleeved around the inner circular sheet  1411   b  and is mounted in the circular slot  1413   b.    
     With reference to  FIG. 7 , in the first embodiment of the annulus  20 , each first combining portion  22  of the annulus  20  is an engaging member  221 ,and each second combining portion  23  is an engaging hole  231 . Each engaging member  221  is respectively connected to a corresponding engaging hole  231  to form the annulus  20 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 8 , in a second embodiment of the annulus  20   c , each first combining portion  22   c  of the annulus  20   c  is a laminating surface  221   c , and each second combining portion  23   c  is an adhesive surface  231   c . Double sided adhesive tapes or adhesive materials can be coated on each adhesive surface  231   c , so each adhesive surface  231   c  is attached to a corresponding laminating surface  221   c  to form the annulus  20   c.    
     With reference to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the container  30  is detachably connected to the cover  10  with the annulus  20  to form a containing assembly. The container  30  has a chamber  32  and an upper rim  31 . The chamber  32  is formed in the container  30 . The upper rim  31  is formed around a top edge of the container  30 . The upper rim  31  is mounted in the protruding segment  11  under the cover  10 . An external surface of the container  30  is made of printable materials. Users can hold the container  30  by one hand, and the food is put between the cover  10  and the annulus  20 . Preferably, the container  30  can be a paper cup  301 , a plastic cup  302 , an aluminum can  303 , or a PET bottle  304 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 4 , the container  30  is connected with the cover  10 . The first circular groove  113  is used to hold the container  30 . When the cover  10  is mounted on the container  30 , the upper rim  31  of the container  30  is mounted in the first circular groove  113 , and the upper rim  31  is positioned by the first circular fastener  114 . Then, the groove  111  of the protruding segment  11  is disposed around an upper part of the container  30 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 9 to 11 , a second embodiment of a dual-use lid in accordance with the present invention is combined with a paper cup  301  and comprises a cover  10   a . The cover  10   a  has a protruding segment  11  a, an annular board  12   a , an annular wall  13   a , and a circular body  14   a . The protruding segment  11  a is formed on a top surface of the cover  10   a  and has a groove  111   a , a first circular groove  112   a , a second circular groove  113   a , a third circular groove  114   a , a combining groove  115   a , and an inserting opening  116   a . The groove  111   a  is formed on a bottom side of the protruding segment  11   a . The first circular groove  112   a  is formed on an inner surface of the protruding segment  11   a  and has a first ring  1121   a . The first ring  1121   a  is formed on a bottom edge of the first circular groove  112   a . The paper cup  301  has a paper upper rim  3011 . The paper upper rim  3011  is mounted in the first circular groove  112   a  and is fastened with the first ring  1121   a . With reference to  FIG. 12 , the dual-use lid is combined with a plastic cup  302 . The second circular groove  113   a  is formed on the inner surface of the protruding segment  11   a  under the first circular groove  112   a  and has a second ring  1131   a . The second ring  1131   a  is formed on a bottom edge of the second circular groove  113   a . The plastic cup  302  has a plastic upper rim  3021 . The plastic upper rim  3021  is mounted in the second circular groove  113   a  and is fastened with the second ring  1131   a . In addition, a diameter of the second circular groove  113   a  is greater than a diameter of the first circular groove  112   a.    
     With reference to  FIG. 13 , the dual-use lid is combined with an aluminum can  303 . The third circular groove  114   a  is formed on an inner surface of the protruding segment  11   a  over the first circular groove  112   a . The third circular groove  114   a  has a third ring  1141  a formed on a bottom edge of the third circular groove  113   a . The aluminum can  303  has an aluminum upper rim  3031 . The aluminum upper rim  3031  is mounted in the third circular groove  114   a  and is fastened with the third ring  1141   a . In addition, a diameter of the third circular groove  114   a  is smaller than the diameter of the first circular groove  112   a.    
     With reference to  FIG. 14 , the dual-use lid is combined with a PET bottle  304 . The combining groove  115   a  is formed on the inner surface of the protruding segment  11   a  over the third circular groove  114   a . The combining groove  115   a  has a fourth ring  1151   a  formed on a bottom edge of the combining groove  115   a . The PET bottle  304  has a bottle opening. The bottle opening of the PET bottle  304  is disposed in the combining groove  115   a  and is fastened with the fourth ring  1151   a . In addition, a diameter of the combining groove  115   a  is smaller than the diameter of the third circular groove  114   a . The inserting opening  116   a  is formed through the protruding segment  11   a . The annular board  12   a  horizontally extends outward from a bottom edge of the protruding segment  11   a . The annular wall  13   a  extends upward from the outer edge of the annular board  12   a . The circular body  14   a  is formed on the bottom edge of the annular wall  13   a.    
     With reference to  FIGS. 15 to 16 , a third embodiment of a dual-use lid in accordance with the present invention comprises a cover  10   b  and a lifting board  40 . The cover  10   b  is connected to the annulus  20  and the container  30  and has a protruding segment  11   b . The protruding segment  11   b  is formed on a top surface of the cover  10   b  and has a fastening portion  111   b , an inserting opening  112   b , and multiple recesses  113   b . The fastening portion  111   b  centrally extends on a top surface of the protruding segment  11   b . The inserting opening  112   b  is formed through the fastening portion  111   b  of the protruding segment  11   b . The recesses  113   b  are formed on the top surface of the protruding segment  11   b  and around the fastening portion  111   b.    
     The lifting board  40  is mounted in the annulus  20 , is connected to the cover  10   b , and has an engaging part  41  and a flipping part  42 . The engaging part  41  has a through hole  411 , and the through hole  411  is formed through the engaging part  41  near a straight edge of the engaging part  41 . The through hole  411  is disposed securely around the fastening portion  111   b . The flipping part  42  is movably connected to the straight edge of the engaging part  41  and has a flipping sheet  421 . The flipping sheet  421  is formed on a curved edge of the flipping part  42 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 17 to 18 , a fourth embodiment of a dual-use lid in accordance with the present invention comprises a cover  10   d  and an annulus  20   d . The cover  10   d  has a protruding segment  11   d  and an annular board  12   d . The protruding segment  11   d  is formed on a top surface of the cover  10   d  and has an inserting opening  112   d  and multiple recesses  113   d . The inserting opening  112   d  is formed through the protruding segment  11   b . The recesses  113   d  are formed on the top surface of the protruding segment  11   d  and around the inserting opening  112   d . The annulus  20   d  is integrally formed on the annular board  12   d  of the cover  10   d . The container  30   d  is detachably mounted in the protruding segment  11   d  of the cover  10   d.    
     The present invention has the following advantages: 
     1. The annulus  20 ,  20   c  is detachably mounted on the cover  10 ,  10   b , and the container  30  is detachably combined with the cover  10 ,  10   b , as well. Thus users can directly remove the used annulus  20 ,  20   c  for replacement with a new annulus  20 ,  20   c , and this can prevent mixing of tastes of different foods. 
     2. The cover  10 ,  10   b , is used to combine with different types of containers  30  and the annulus  20 ,  20   c  is mounted on the cover  10 ,  10   b , to form a space. Therefore, the food could be put in the space between the annulus  20 ,  20   c  and the cover  10 ,  10   b , and users are able to have drink and food at the same time. Furthermore, the cover  10 ,  10   b , is removable so that the containing assembly can be transported and stored in larger amount than the conventional container. 
     3. The annuluses  20 ,  20   c  can be piled when the first combining portions  22  and the second combining portions  23  are unfolded. The storage space for the annuluses  20 ,  20   c  could be reduced. 
     Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and features of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in the details, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.