Patent Abstract:
A removable beverage container lid wherein the lid has a substantially enclosed space defined between an exterior cover and an interior cover. At least one inlet opening is formed in the interior cover directing a hot beverage to flow into the substantially enclosed space. Attached to the interior cover at the forward edge of the inlet opening is a partition or wall assembly having a height extending to be located substantially against the exterior cover and a length at least equal to the length of the inlet opening. Between the partition or wall assembly and the peripheral edge of the exterior cover is located a gap area. Connected with the gap area is a dispensing opening formed in the exterior cover. Hot beverage is required to flow around the partition or wall assembly and into the gap area prior to flowing through the dispensing opening exteriorly of a beverage container.

Full Description:
REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/611,074, filed Jul. 6, 2000 by the same title and same inventor. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1) Field of the Invention 
     The subject matter of this invention is directed to a removable lid for a beverage container and more particularly to a lid that is designed to minimize the possibility of burning a user&#39;s mouth during consuming a hot beverage and also substantially prevent accidental spillage of the liquid beverage from the beverage container. 
     2) Description of the Prior Art 
     It is exceedingly common within the present day society to utilize beverage containers that are made of paper and plastic that are intended to be used once and then disposed. It is also exceedingly common for individuals to utilize these disposable beverage containers to contain hot beverages such as coffee, tea and hot chocolate. It is common that an individual is mobile while consuming of the beverage as the individual may be walking from one location to another, riding in a car or doing some other activity other than merely sitting. It is common to have a lid substantially enclose the open mouth of the beverage container. The primary function of the lid is to prevent leakage of the beverage which can easily occur when the consumer is moving from one location to another or riding in a car. The movement of the car or the movement of the consumer can cause the beverage to move within the beverage container and be squirted out through the dispensing opening formed within the lid. This spilling of the beverage can be deposited on the consumer&#39;s hands and clothing or on articles contained near the consumer, such as on a desk. 
     Another problem associated with lids of the past is that the hot liquid is dispensed directly from the beverage container, through the dispensing opening into the consumer&#39;s mouth. Frequently, the hot liquid is at such an elevated temperature that it can actually cause a burn to occur on the lips of the consumer and within the mouth of the consumer. In the past, there has not been made any effort to construct lids to substantially eliminate the possibility of the consumer being burned. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A first embodiment of beverage container lid which has an exterior cover and an interior cover, both of which are discoid shaped. The peripheral edge of the interior cover is permanently secured to the peripheral edge of the exterior cover. Located between the interior cover and the exterior cover is a substantially enclosed space. The peripheral edge of the exterior cover is to be removably mounted over the mouth of a beverage container with the liquid of the beverage container to be capable of being moved through an inlet opening formed within the interior cover to then be contained within the substantially enclosed space. The inlet opening is non-centrally located within the interior cover with the forward edge of the inlet opening being located substantially closer to the peripheral edge than the rearward edge of the inlet opening. A partition is attached to the interior cover and is located within the substantially enclosed space. The partition has a top edge which is to be located in contact with the interior surface of the exterior cover. The length of the partition is to be at least equal to the length of the inlet opening which requires that the beverage that passes through the inlet opening must pass around the partition to be located within a gap area defined as being part of the substantially enclosed space. A dispensing opening is formed within the exterior cover and is aligned with the gap area. The beverage from the gap area is to be dispensed exteriorly of the beverage container through this dispensing opening by tilting of the beverage container. 
     A second embodiment of beverage container lid which also has an exterior cover and an interior cover both of which are discoid. The peripheral edge of the interior cover is permanently secured to the peripheral edge of the exterior cover. Located between the interior cover and the exterior cover is a substantially enclosed space. The peripheral edge of the exterior cover is to be removably mounted over the mouth of the beverage container with the liquid of the beverage container to be capable of being moved through a pair of inlet openings formed within the interior cover to then be contained within the substantially enclosed space. The pair of inlet openings are non-centrally located within the interior cover with the forward edge of the inlet openings being located substantially closer to the peripheral edge than the rearward edge of the inlet openings. A wall assembly in the form of a pair of upstanding members is attached to the interior cover with the upstanding members being located between the pair of inlet openings. Each upstanding member has a top edge which is to be located in contact with the interior surface of the exterior cover. The length of the upstanding members is to be at least equal to the length of the inlet openings which requires that the vast majority of the beverage that passes through the inlet openings must pass around the upstanding members to be located within a gap area defined as being part of the substantially enclosed space. A dispensing opening is formed within the exterior cover and is aligned with the gap area. The beverage from the gap area is to be dispensed exteriorly of the beverage container through this dispensing opening by tilting of the beverage container. Each upstanding member abuts against a raised surface formed on the interior surface of the exterior cover. Each of these raised surfaces includes a groove which permits a small quantity of the beverage to be conducted directly from the substantially enclosed space to be deposited within gap area. These grooves provide an initial quantity of beverage into the gap area when the user is taking his or her first drink. The interior cover also includes a weep hole through which the liquid that is contained within the substantially enclosed space can flow back into the beverage container and thereby be reheated if a substantial length of time has occurred from the most recent consumption. Also formed within the interior cover and the exterior cover is a vent. 
     The primary objective of the present invention is to construct a beverage container lid which substantially eliminates the possibility of spillage of the beverage from the beverage container upon the beverage container encountering a sudden movement. 
     Another objective of the present invention is to construct a beverage container lid which substantially eliminates the possibility of a hot beverage burning of the consumer&#39;s lips or mouth during consuming of the hot beverage. 
     Another objective of the present invention is to construct a beverage container lid which can be constructed inexpensively and therefor sold to the ultimate consumer at a relatively inexpensive price. 
     Another objective of the present invention is to a beverage container lid which is simple in construction and therefore non-complex to manufacture. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is to be made to the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the precise arrangement shown in the drawings. 
     FIG. 1 is an exterior view of a typical beverage container on which has been installed the first embodiment of beverage container lid of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the first embodiment of beverage container lid of the present invention taken along line  2 — 2  of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view through the beverage container and the first embodiment of beverage container lid of this invention taken along line  3 — 3  of FIG. 2 showing the beverage container in a normal resting upright position; 
     FIG. 4 is a view partly in cross-section through the first embodiment of beverage container lid of the present invention taken along line  4 — 4  of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but showing the beverage container in the typical tilted position for consuming of the beverage contained within the beverage container; 
     FIG. 6 is a top plan view of a second embodiment of beverage container lid of the present invention; 
     FIG. 7 is a transverse cross-sectional view through the second embodiment of beverage container lid of the present invention taken along line  7 — 7  of FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 8 is a transverse cross-sectional view through the second embodiment of beverage container lid of the present invention taken along line  8 — 8  of FIG. 7 showing in more detail the flow of the beverage through the dispensing opening; and 
     FIG. 9 is a view partly in cross-section of the interior surface of the exterior cover of the second embodiment of beverage container lid of the present invention taken along line  9 — 9  of FIG.  8 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring particularly to the drawing, there is shown in FIG. 1 a beverage container  10  that has an internal chamber  12 . Within the internal chamber  12  there is to be located a quantity of a beverage  14 . The beverage container  10  has an open mouth  16 . A typical beverage could be a cold beverage or a hot beverage. However, the structure of the present invention is designed in particular to be used in conjunction with a hot beverage such as tea, coffee or hot chocolate. 
     The open mouth  16  is to be closeable by a first embodiment of lid  18 . The lid  18  is to be constructed of plastic or other similar type of sheet material such as a paper composition. The lid  18  has an exterior cover  20  and an interior cover  22 . Both the exterior cover  20  and the interior cover  22  are of a discoid shape and are both substantially planar. 
     However, it is to be within the scope of this invention that the covers  20  and  22  could be other than a discoid shape, such as for an example a square shape or another polygonal shape such as hexagonal or octagonal. Typically, the thickness of the covers  20  and  22  will generally by about one-eighth of an inch. 
     The interior cover  22  has a peripheral edge which is formed into an annular flange  24 . The upper edge of the annular flange  24  is glued or otherwise fixedly secured, as by heat sealing, to the inside surface of the exterior cover  20 . 
     Integrally connected to the peripheral edge of the exterior cover  20  is an annular depending flange  26 . In between the depending flange  26  and the annular flange  24  is located an annular groove  28 . The upper edge of the beverage container  10  located at the open mouth  16  is to be snugly located within the annular groove  28 . This will fixedly secure the lid  18  onto the beverage container  10 . However, the lid  18  can be manually disengaged from the beverage container  10  by merely pulling of the lid  18  away from the beverage container  10 . 
     The interior cover  22  includes an inlet opening  30 . The inlet opening  30  is generally no more than three quarters of an inch to one inch in length and about one quarter of an inch wide. The inlet opening  30  is located in an off center position within the interior cover  22 . The inlet opening  30  has a forward edge  32  and a rearward edge  34 . Upon tilting of the beverage container  10  to a tilted position, such as depicted within FIG. 5, a small quantity of the beverage  14  is to flow through the inlet opening  30  to within the substantially enclosed space  36  formed between the exterior cover  20  and the interior cover  22 . 
     Fixedly mounted onto the upper surface of the interior cover  22  at the forward edge  32  is a partition  38 . The partition  38  has a top edge that is to be in contact with the interior surface of the exterior cover  20 . The partition  38  comprises an arcuately shaped wall that is about three quarters to an inch long with it be important that the partition  38  be at least as long as the length of the inlet opening  30 . Actually, the partition  38  comprises the “punched out” material of interior cover  12  that forms inlet opening  30 . In between the partition  38  and the annular flange  24  is a gap area  40 . It is to be noted that the gap area  40  is generally no more than a quarter to a half inch wide. This means the partition  38  is located very near the annular flange  24  with there being a substantial amount of space from the rearward edge  34  to the annular flange  24 . The reason for this is so that when the beverage container  10  is tilted is that the beverage  14  will flow through the inlet opening  30 , depicted by arrows  42 , to against the partition  38  and then around the partition  38  is shown by arrows  44  to within the gap area  40 . 
     Connecting with the gap area  40  is a dispensing opening  46 , which is shown to be of a triangular configuration. The consumer is to locate his or her mouth about the dispensing opening  46  with the upper lip being located in the area of the point  48  and the bottom lip located close to but spaced from the base  50 . The point  48  prevents the beverage, if hot, from contacting to any great extent the upper lip of the consumer. This is so as to protect the upper lip against burning. Although the fact that the beverage has to travel some distance, that is from the inlet opening  30 , around the partition  38 , to within the gap area  40  prior to being dispensed through the dispensing opening  46 . This distance of travel should be sufficient enough to substantially cool the beverage and prevent burning of any portion of the consumer&#39;s mouth. Also, the vent holes  52  help to cool the beverage by letting “steam” escape into the ambient. 
     If the beverage container  10  is jostled or inadvertently tipped over, the fact that the beverage  14  must be conducted through the inlet opening  30  and then through the dispensing opening  46  substantially minimizes the possibility of any accidental dispensing of the beverage  14 . The vent holes  52  are so small that a minimal amount of beverage could flow through these holes  52  into the ambient if the beverage container  10  is tipped over. The purpose of this is to prevent contamination of the consumer&#39;s workplace as well as the consumer&#39;s clothes and contact with the consumer&#39;s person. 
     Although the partition  38  is shown to be of an arcuate configuration which is believed to help in directing the beverage  42  in the direction of arrows  42 , it is considered to be within the scope of this invention that the partition  38  could be of another configuration, such as a straight configuration or possibly even a convex configuration rather than concave shown in FIG.  4 . 
     Referring particularly to FIGS. 6-9 of the drawings, there is shown the second embodiment  54  of lid of this invention. The second embodiment  54  includes an exterior cover  56  and an interior cover  58 . Both the exterior cover  56  and interior cover  58  are discoid shape. However, it is considered to be within the scope of this invention that the covers  56  and  58  could be other than a discoid shape. Again, the thickness of the covers  56  and  58  will generally be about one-eighth of an inch. 
     The exterior cover  56  has an inner surface that defines an internal chamber  60 . Formed within the exterior cover  56  is a dispensing opening  62 . The dispensing opening  62  is positioned directly adjacent the peripheral edge  64  of the exterior cover  56 . Formed integral with the exterior cover  56  and located within the internal chamber  60  and positioned just on one side of the dispensing opening  62  is a raised surface  66  with a similar raised surface  68  being located on the opposite side of the dispensing opening  62 . The raised surface  66  includes a through groove  70  with a similar through groove  72  being formed within the raised surface  68 . The purposes of the through grooves  70  and  72  will be explained further on in the specification. The exterior cover  56  also includes a vent hole  74 . The vent hole  74  may directly connect with the substantially enclosed space  76  of the interior cover  58  or may connect directly with a hole  78  formed within a post  80  which is formed integral with the interior cover  58 . The post  80  is to cause the venting of steam to occur directly from the internal chamber  82  of the beverage container  84 . Hot liquids  86 , such as coffee or tea, are to be contained within the internal chamber  82 . 
     The exterior cover  56  includes a centrally located indentation  88 . This indentation  88  is for the purpose of giving strength to the overall construction of the exterior cover  56 . 
     The interior cover  58  also includes a partition in the form of a pair of spaced apart upstanding walls  90  and  92 . Outside of the upstanding wall  92  is located a hole  94 . Outside of the upstanding wall  90  is a hole  96 . In between the walls  90  and  92  is located a gap area  98 . When the interior cover is secured, as by adhesive or sonic welding to exterior cover  56 , the upper surface of the upstanding wall  90  is to rest against the raised surface  66  and the upper surface of the upstanding wall  92  is to rest against the raised surface  68 . 
     When the beverage container is first tilted and the first drink is to be consumed from the beverage container, there should be no beverage contained within the substantially enclosed space  76 . Also, if it had been some time since the last drink, the beverage  102  that would have been contained within the substantially enclosed space  76  would have leaked back through weep hole  100  into the internal chamber  82  to be intermixed with and reheated by hot beverage  86 . However, when the first drink is being consumed, there will normally be no liquid contained within the substantially enclosed space  76  as it will take some time (a few seconds) for the beverage to pass through the holes  94  and  96  to fill the substantially enclosed space  76  and then flow around the upstanding walls  90  and  92  to fill the gap area  98 . To avoid this few seconds of filling at the time the first drink is taken, the beverage is permitted to flow through the through grooves  70  and  72  directly into the gap area  98 . This initial direct flow of the beverage will then provide an immediate small quantity  104  of the beverage to the user to be consumed. This flowing through the through grooves  70  and  72  will cause a drop in temperature of the beverage so that the beverage is cooled somewhat so as to not be too hot when initially consumed. After the first drink has occurred, there will be contained a quantity  102  of the beverage within the substantially enclosed space  76 . When the user takes another drink, the quantity  102  will then merely flow around the upstanding walls  90  and  92  and fill the gap area  98  with a small quantity  104 . The time that it takes for the beverage to flow into the substantially enclosed space  76  and then around the upstanding walls  90  and  92  into the gap area  98  will result in the quantity  104  to be at a lesser temperature than the quantity  102  of the beverage or the beverage  86  so that the quantity  104  that is being directly consumed will not cause a burning of the consumer&#39;s mouth. 
     The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the essential attributes thereof. Reference should be made to the appending claims rather than the foregoing specification as indicating the scope of the invention.

Technology Classification (CPC): 0