Patent Publication Number: US-11033132-B2

Title: Cup with lid-engaging spill-proof seal

Description:
Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119, the benefit of priority from provisional application 62/166,828, with a filing date of May 27, 2015, is claimed for this non-provisional application. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates generally to travel cups and mugs, and more particularly to a cup having a lid-engaging sealing element that provides a spill-proof seal. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Travel cups or mugs filled with hot or cold liquids go from home to car, and then on to the office, gym, etc., and vice versa, every day. Regardless of their design, the lid of a travel mug has an opening through which a user drinks. When not being held, these mugs are set down on counters, dashboards, consoles, desks, etc. In general, the surfaces on which a travel cup/mug sits are areas of high activity and/or can be sloped or uneven. As a result, travel cups/mugs are often knocked over. When this occurs, liquid in the cup/mug flows through the lid&#39;s drink opening to create a spill. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cup/mug that will not spill its contents through a lid&#39;s drink hole when the cup/mug is knocked over. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a cup/mug that can seal a lid&#39;s drink hole when the cup/mug is upright and when it is knocked over, but is unsealed from the lid&#39;s drink hole automatically when one tips the cup/mug to drink therefrom. 
     Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious hereinafter in the specification and drawings. 
     In accordance with the present invention, a cup includes a liquid-holding container having an open top. A sleeve is disposed about an exterior surface of the container for movement relative to the container. A sealing element is disposed adjacent to the container&#39;s open top for movement relative to the container. A link assembly is coupled to the sleeve and to the sealing element for causing the movement of the sleeve and the movement of the sealing element to be in opposing directions. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reference to the following description of the preferred embodiments and to the drawings, wherein corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings and wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded cross-sectional view of cup having a lid-engaging spill-proof seal system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2A  is an isolated schematic view of a sleeve-to-seal coupling mechanism in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2B  is an isolated schematic view of a sleeve-to-seal coupling mechanism in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2C  is an isolated schematic view of a sleeve-to-seal coupling mechanism in accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a part schematic and part cross-sectional view of a portion of a cup and a conventional lid illustrating the cup&#39;s sealing element held in a sealing relationship with the lid&#39;s drink hole in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 4  is a part schematic and part cross-sectional view of a portion of a cup and a conventional lid illustrating the cup&#39;s sealing element when it has been moved to a position that permits drinking through the lid&#39;s drink hole. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to  FIG. 1 , a cup having a lid-engaging spill-proof seal system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown and is referenced generally by numeral  20 . In  FIG. 1 , cup  20  is shown with its sealing and spill-proof features positioned for engagement with the drink hole of a lid (not shown). These features will be shown cooperating with a lid&#39;s drink hole later below. 
     Cup  20  includes a liquid container  22  that can be made from a variety of materials without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, container  22  can be fabricated using materials that provide thermal insulation for the liquid placed therein. Container  22  can also be a variety of shapes and sizes. Container  22  has an open top  22 A and a closed bottom  22 B. Disposed about a portion of the exterior surface of container  22  is an annular sleeve  24  that is also coupled to container  22  in a way that allows a fixed amount of axial travel of sleeve  24  axially along container  22  as indicated by two-headed arrow  26 . End points of axial travel  26  can be defined by, for example, a lower stop  22 C and an upper stop  22 D provided on (or integral with) the exterior surface of container  22 . In addition or alternatively, a portion of the inside surface of sleeve  24  could be configured for an indexed relationship with a portion of the outside surface of container  22  (e.g., using tongue-and-groove principles). In terms of a tongue-and-groove indexing scheme, the axial or longitudinal ends of the groove (either in container  22  or sleeve  24 ) define the stops for axial travel  26  of sleeve  24  that will engage a tongue (that is formed on either container  22  or sleeve  24 ). 
     In general, sleeve  24  covers a portion of container  22  that is typically gripped by a user when picking up container  22 . When cup  20  rests on a surface  100  as shown, sleeve  24  is only acted upon by the force of gravity such that sleeve  24  is at its point of axial travel that is closest to container bottom  22 B. When a user grips sleeve  24  and lifts upward, sleeve  24  travels axially up along container  22  against the force of gravity until sleeve  24  reaches its upward end point of axial travel (e.g., at stop  22 D) that is closest to container top  22 A at which point cup  20  is raised off surface  100  by the user&#39;s continuing lift motion. 
     Mounted on or in container  22  near container top  22 A are one or more sealing element(s)  28 , e.g., within a sleeve(s)  22 E defined in the walls of container  22  as shown. For example, sealing element  28  can be a single annular sealing ring or tube slidingly fitted in sleeve  22 E near container top  22 A. Sealing element  28  can be made from a flexible sealing material such as silicone. In general, sleeve  22 E in container  22  supports sealing element  28  in a way that provides for a fixed amount of axial travel thereof along container  22  as indicated by two-headed arrow  30 . Axial travel of sealing element  28  is controlled by the axial travel of sleeve  24 . In general, axial travel  26  of sleeve  24  towards container top  22 A causes axial travel  30  of sealing element  28  towards container bottom  22 B. Conversely, axial travel  26  of sleeve  24  towards container bottom  22 B causes axial travel  30  of sealing element  28  towards container top  22 A. Further, when cup  20  is resting on surface  100 , sleeve  24  is acted on by the force of gravity such that sleeve  24  is at its closest point relative to container bottom  22 B to cause a portion of sealing element  28  to extend from sleeve  22 E and be above container top  22 A as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
     A sleeve-to-seal coupling mechanism  32  is provided within the side walls of container  22  for the purpose of coupling sleeve  24  to sealing element  28 . Coupling mechanism  32  converts the direction of the sleeve&#39;s axial travel  26  into an opposing direction of the sealing element&#39;s axial travel  30 . In this way, when sleeve  24  moves towards container top  22 A, sealing element  28  moves away from container top  22 A and fully into sleeve  22 E. Conversely, when sleeve  24  moves down towards container bottom  22 A, sealing element  28  moves towards container top  22 A and ultimately extends partially from sleeve  22 E when sleeve  24  is at its lowest point of axial travel  26 . 
     A variety of constructions for coupling mechanism  32  could be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. By way of example, three mechanical coupling mechanisms that support the above-described opposing directions of axial travel  26  and axial travel  30  are illustrated schematically in  FIGS. 2A-2C . In  FIG. 2A , coupling mechanism  32  includes three rods  321 ,  322  and  323  that are linked together via pivot joints or hinges  324  and  325 . More specifically, rod  321  is coupled to sleeve  24  and hingedly coupled to rod  322  at hinge  324 ; rod  323  is coupled to sealing element  28  and hingedly coupled to rod  322  at hinge  325 ; and rod  322  is supported via a pivot mount  326  that supports pivot movement as indicated by two-headed arrow  327 . 
     In  FIG. 2B , coupling mechanism  32  includes two rods  331  and  332 , and a rotatable joint  333 . More specifically, rod  331  is coupled to sleeve  24  and pivotally coupled to joint  333  at a pivot  334 ; rod  332  is coupled to sealing element  28  and pivotally coupled to joint  333  at a pivot  335 ; and rotatable joint  333  is supported via a pivot mount  336  that supports pivot movement as indicated by two-headed arrow  337 . 
     In  FIG. 2C , coupling mechanism  32  includes a single rod  341  that is pivotally coupled on one end thereof to sleeve  24  at a joint/pivot  342 , and pivotally coupled on the other end thereof to sealing element  28  at a joint/pivot  343 . Rod  341  is supported via a pivot mount  344  that supports pivot movement as indicated by two-headed arrow  345 . 
     The sealing and spill-proof features of the present invention provided by cup  20  are illustrated in  FIG. 3 , whereas the retraction of the sealing and spill-proof features is illustrated in  FIG. 4 . A conventional lid  40  having a drink hole  42  is coupled to container top  22 A. As is the case with most such lids, drink hole  42  is located near the periphery of lid  40 . For clarity of illustration, only the portion of sleeve  22 E and sealing element  28  aligned with drink hole  42  is shown. 
     In  FIG. 3 , it is assumed that sleeve  24  is not being gripped/lifted by a user such that sleeve  24  is being acted on only by the force of gravity. As a result, sleeve  24  abuts lower stop  22 C ( FIG. 1 ) and is at its lowest point of axial travel  26  causing sealing element  28  to be at its highest point of axial travel  30  where a portion of sealing element  28  is pushed up to engage the underside of lid  40  to seal against drink hole  42 . In this position, sealing element  28  effectively seals drink hole  42  when cup  20  is upright (as shown). In addition, if cup  20  is knocked over, sleeve  24  will not move axially by an appreciable amount towards container top  22 A so that sealing element  28  will still operate to seal drink hole  42 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , sleeve  24  is assumed to have been gripped by a user and lifted up to overcome the force of gravity such that sleeve  24  moves up to its highest point of axial travel  26  adjacent to stop  22 D. As a result, sealing element  28  is moved to its lowest point of axial travel  30  such that sealing element  28  retracts into sleeve  22 C. When this occurs, drink hole  42  is unsealed allowing a user to drink therefrom while holding cup  20  via sleeve  24 . 
     The advantages of the present invention are numerous. A drinking hole in a cup&#39;s lid is only exposed when a user purposefully lifts the cup and tips same to take a drink. At all other times to include when it is knocked over, the lid&#39;s drink hole is sealed by the cup&#39;s sealing element. 
     Although the invention has been described relative to a specific embodiment thereof, there are numerous variations and modifications that will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described.