Patent Publication Number: US-6708738-B2

Title: Self funnelling drink additive product

Description:
This is a continuation in part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/681,059 filed Dec. 14, 2000, abandoned on Jan. 10, 2003. 
    
    
     The product for holding drink additive—which is substantially flat for storage, and has a narrow neck—when cut open at a predetermined optimal cut line, funnels drink additive into a narrow opening of a vessel. 
    
    
     FIG. 1 shows the product in use. 
     FIG. 2 is a view across line  2 — 2  in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 shows another form of the product. 
    
    
     The self funnel drink additive pack product is used with drink additive  61  and with a vessel  81  having a vessel opening  82 . The product comprises a first surface  11 ,  11 A having a perimeter  12 ,  12 A, a second surface  21  connected to the first surface along the perimeter  22 ,  22 A and a narrow neck  13 ,  13 A portion of the perimeter. 
     The narrow neck makes the product a funnel when the perimeter is cut open across the narrow neck as depicted in FIG.  1 . Drink additive  61  is funneled through the narrow neck  13 ,  13 A into the vessel opening  82  when the perimeter is opened at cut  41 ,  41 A at the narrow neck and the narrow neck is at the vessel opening. 
     The first surface and the second surface enclose a volume which contains the drink additive. The first surface and the second surface can be connected by a sealant  51 . The first surface and the second surface can be contiguous along one portion of the perimeter—from  15 A to  16 A in FIG. 3 for example—and sealed along the remainder of the perimeter. 
     The volume is substantially flat for storage. “Substantially flat” means that separation between the first surface and the second surface is caused only by the additive and not by any structural properties of the product. 
     The perimeter has negative curvature  14 ,  14 A proximal the narrow neck so that the narrow neck can fit in a smallest periphery of the vessel opening  82  with the product oriented tangent to a funneling triangle. The funneling triangle is defined by a first side  101  perpendicular to a central axis  104  centered on the smallest periphery of the vessel opening, a first vertex  105  within the vessel opening, a second side  102  connecting the first vertex to the first side, and a third side  103  connecting the first vertex to the first side. The funneling triangle is tangent to the perimeter at least at one first side point  31 , at least at one second side point  32 , and at least at one third side point  33 . 
     Slip-stick granule motion dynamics provide that granules will flow easily when the product is oriented this way. Also, since all of the drink additive can flow easily in this orientation, there is no need for the orientation to be changed. 
     Since the geometry and the dynamics provided by the narrow neck make it easy to funnel drink additive into vessels with narrow openings, these vessels will be reused to make flavored drinks by adding drink flavoring to water in the vessel instead of being discarded and replaced by a new vessel pre-filled with a flavored drink. A great reduction in discarded flavored drink vessel waste results. 
     Similar results obtain when the drink additive is liquid. The drink additive can be any thing which can be added to a drink, such as flavorings, nutrients, and medicines. 
     The location of the cut line which will allow the best flow of drink additive depends on specific geometric and physical properties such as the funneling triangle, the curvature, the narrow neck, the drink additive granule size, granule—granule interactions, and granule-surface interactions. For a given set of specific geometric and physical properties, a preferred cut line can be predetermined and a mark  41 ,  41 A can be provided on the product to show the location of this preferred cut line.