Patent Publication Number: US-6981962-B1

Title: Liquid dispensing device

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   Not applicable 
   INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC 
   Not applicable 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   This invention relates generally to devices for dispensing a beverage and a liquid medicant from a beverage containing bottle or cup, and more particularly to a liquid dispensing device which will simultaneously dispense a liquid beverage and a liquid medicine from a single spout formed as a unit with a lid sealably attachable to a cup or container. 
   2. Description of Related Art 
   The use of conventional upwardly opening cups for holding a quantity of a liquid beverage for consumption by a child will typically lead to spilled liquid beverage both on the child and on the floor. Sipping cups having a sealable lid with an upwardly opening spout provide a somewhat more controlled and less messy administration of a liquid beverage to a child and are well known. 
   Administering a liquid medicant or medicine to a young child may also be somewhat problematic, especially if the liquid medicine has a strong or offensive taste or smell. A number of prior art devices are known to simultaneously administer both a liquid beverage and a liquid medicant to the child through a rigid or flexible upper spout or nipple and are disclosed in the following U.S. Patents.
         U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,245 issued to Aagesen   U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,532 issued to Martin   U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,122 issued to Botts   U.S. Pat. No. 5,938,054 issued to Verbovszky   U.S. Pat. No. 5,824,012 issued to Burchett et al.   U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,922 issued to Petterson, et al.   U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,906 issued to Burchett et al.   U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,705 issued to Noble   U.S. Pat. No. 6,200,295 issued to Burchett et al.   U.S. Pat. No. 6,270,519 issued to Botts   U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,750 issued to Burchett et al.   U.S. Pat. No. 6,139,566 issued to Bennett   U.S. Pat. No. 3,302,644 issued to Kennedy et al.   U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,895 issued to Roskilly   U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,680 to Jones   U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,939 to Watson et al.       

   Of particular interest is the cup with cover invented by Aagesen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,245. This disclosure does teach a rigid molded cup having a cover sealably attached to an upper end thereof which includes an integrally formed spout having two passages formed therethrough. One of the passages is in fluid communication with the interior of the cup and is presumed to be for dispensing a liquid beverage. The other elongated passageway is in fluid communication with an elongated cylindrical cavity for receiving a syringe, including elongated needle attached thereto for the simultaneous dispensing the liquid beverage from the container and a liquid medicine from the syringe held within the elongated adapter (5). 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention is directed to a liquid dispensing device for the selective oral administration of a liquid medicine simultaneously with a liquid beverage. The device includes a liquid containing cup for holding a beverage and a lid sealably connectable onto the open upper end of the cup. The cup includes an elongated cylindrical medicine cavity having an open lower end thereof and a narrowing upper discharge tip in proximity to an upper end of the cup opening. The medicine cavity is positioned within an outer perimeter surface of the cup for concealment. A medicine plunger is sealingly engageable for longitudinal movement within the medicine cavity for discharging liquid medicine from the discharge tip responsive to movement of the medicine plunger. The lid has a tapered upwardly extending drinking spout with a first drinking port in fluid communication with the interior of the cup and a second port spaced adjacent to said first port in fluid communication with the medicine cavity whereby liquid beverage in the cup may be dispensed from the first port by gravity feed and liquid medicine in said medicine cavity may be independently selectively dispensed from the second port by movement of the medicine plunger. 
   It is therefor an object of this invention to provide a device for holding and selective simultaneous distribution of a liquid beverage and a liquid medicine orally to a young child. 
   Still another object of this invention is to provide a device which will dispense a liquid beverage through an upper sipping or sucking spout when inverted, a syringe plunger also selectively administering the liquid medicine from a separate molded syringe cavity formed into the side of the cup in concealed fashion. 
   Still another object of this invention is to provide a device for the oral dispensing of a liquid beverage to a child and the selective simultaneous dispensing of a liquid medicament, both of which are dispensed orally through a somewhat conically tapered drinking tip formed as a unit with a molded lid sealably attachable to the upper open end of the beverage containing cup. 
   In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparent hereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
       FIG. 1  is a side elevation section view of the invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a front elevation section view of the invention. 
       FIG. 3  is a top plan view of the invention. 
       FIG. 4  is a bottom plan view of the invention. 
       FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view of an alternate two-piece embodiment of the lid with spout. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Referring now to the drawings, the invention is there shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  generally at numeral  10  and includes a molded cup  12  formed as a unit of either transparent or opaque plastic material and a lid  14  also mold formed of transparent or opaque plastic material. The cup  12  has a truncated generally conical outer surface  16  and a lower flat bottom  30  and an upper molded outwardly extending bead or lip  20  forming the open upper end of the cup  12 . 
   The cup  12  generally defines a liquid beverage holding cavity  18  for holding any selected form of liquid beverage for consumption by a child. The cup  12  also includes a molded medicine cavity  40  having an inner cylindrical sidewall  28  which is open at a lower end  38  thereof. An upper end of the medicine cavity  40  is tapered into a nozzle type opening  44  formed centrally through an elongated tapered discharge tip  56 . An elongated medicine plunger  32  having a disc-shaped upper end  34  thereof is sealingly engageable, for example, by a flexible O-ring  36  or by thin wall interference fit (not shown) against the inner cylindrical surface  30  of the medicine cavity  40 . The elongated shape of the medicine plunger  32  facilitates its movement in the direction of arrow A to urge liquid medicine placed into the medicine cavity  40  prior to insertion of the medicine plunger  32  out through the opening  44 . 
   Note that an enlarged clearance cavity  42  which is formed into the side of the cup  12  and extends to a bottom  60  of the cup  12 , and is open at a bottom end thereof provides clearance and access to insert the medicine plunger  32  into the medicine cavity  40  after the appropriate liquid medicine has been poured into the medicine cavity  40  with the device  10  in an inverted position. Note that the lower distal end of the plunger  32 , by its design length and that of cavity  40 , is always above this bottom  60  so that the device  10  is always supportable in an upright position without interference from the plunger  32 . 
   The lid perimeter bead  20  snappingly engages into a recess  26  formed into a circular flange  24  extending orthogonally from the flat central portion  58  of the lid  14 . The recess  26  of flange  24  is molded so as to tightly snappingly engage onto the beaded rim  20  of the cup  12  to affect a liquid seal therebetween. 
   The lid  14  also includes an upwardly extending sipping spout  22  which, as shown, is configured to have a truncated conical-like in shape having a flat upper distal surface  51  and upwardly tapering side walls forming of an oval or elliptic shaped cone as shown. A raised lip  54  surrounds and forms a perimeter of the flat upper surface  51  into which is formed two beverage dispensing apertures  52  and a central liquid medicine dispensing aperture  50 . This raised lip  54  enhances mixing or co-mingling of beverage and medicine before touching the child&#39;s mouth. 
   Each beverage dispensing aperture  52 , as best seen in  FIG. 1 , is in fluid communication with liquid beverage held within the interior  18  of cup  12  whereby, when the device  10  with  14  secured in place as shown, is inverted, the liquid beverage will flow in the direction of arrows E for discharge from the beverage dispensing aperture  52  for oral consumption typically by a child. The tapered surfaces of spout  22 , in combination with the raised perimeter flange or bead  54 , appear to reduce spillage and increase beverage consumption efficiency by the child. 
   The central liquid medicine dispensing port  50  is in fluid communication with a connecting tube  46  which is formed with and downwardly extends from upper surface  51  and having a tapered inner surface  48  leading to port  50 . This tapered surface  48 , in combination with the selected length of the connecting tube  46 , sealingly engage onto the tapered outer surface  56  of the medicine cavity  40  such that, when liquid medicine is placed into the medicine cavity  40  with the medicine plunger  32  in position, movement of the medicine plunger  32  in the direction of arrow A will force the liquid medicine into the connecting tube  46  in the direction of arrow B for discharge in the direction of arrow C through port  50 . 
   Note that the liquid beverage within the interior  18  of the device  10  will flow by gravity or sucking action of the child through the beverage ports  52  while the flow of liquid medicine through port  50  is selectively controlled by the movement of the medicine plunger  32  which effects discharge of the liquid medicine from medicine port  50  in a mixed fashion once dispensed in the mouth of the young child such that unpleasant or medicinally tasting liquid medicine is disguised by the more delightful taste of the liquid beverage being consumed through ports  52 . The mixing or co-mingling of liquid beverage and medicine is enhanced by the close proximity of these ports and preferably further enhanced by having a beverage portion on either side of the medicine port  50 . 
   The preferred configuration of lid  14  is that of a molded plastic component formed as a unit with the flange  24 . However, as seen in  FIG. 5 , the lid assembly  62  may be in two parts with the flat disc-shaped central portion  76  molded as a unit with the tapered spout  74  being lockably engaged in place on the open upper end of the cup by locking ring  64 , the threadable interior surface  70  being lockably engageable onto the matingly configured upper end of the cup (not shown), the inwardly extending flange  68  locking the disc-shaped body  76  in sealing engagement onto the open upper end of the cup. 
   In this embodiment  62 , the spout  74  also includes spaced beverage dispensing ports  84  which are in fluid communication through interior volume  76  with the liquid beverage within the cup while the medicine dispensing port  80  extending through the elongated connecting tube  76  which engages onto the tapered upper connecting tube  56  of the medicine cavity  40  as previously described. 
   While the instant invention has been shown and described herein in what are conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention, which is therefore not to be limited to the details disclosed herein, but is to be afforded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent apparatus and articles.