Abstract:
A pre-fillable and disposable sippy cup includes a one piece main body and a dispensing spout that can be easily configured for use by either toddlers or older children.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to the general art of liquid containers and dispensers, and to the particular field of child and infant feeding cups. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The history of baby and toddler liquid feeding systems has remained essentially unimproved over a long period of time. The major improvement in baby bottles and toddler cups, formerly manufactured of glass, or other breakable materials, is the replacement of the breakable liquid housing, relatively recently, by plastic, or other non-breakable materials. 
         [0003]    In the prior art baby bottle systems, the liquid storage “bottle”, or liquid housing, is usually sealed with a flexible latex or silicone rubber nipple. The nipple is usually removably-attached to the bottle by means of a threaded collar, which is designed to squeeze the nipple flange against the rim of the bottle. As the baby sucks on the nipple, the liquid in the bottle is removed by the baby&#39;s sucking. As the milk, or other liquid, is removed from the bottle, air will enter the bottle through the nipple, thereby resulting in an equalization of the pressure both inside and outside of the bottle, to that of normal atmospheric pressure. 
         [0004]    One of the major problems inherent with the prior art liquid feeding system, is that the baby also ingests a very large amount of air during the difficult process of sucking the milk out of the bottle against the increasing pressures being developed in the bottle. This then results in a “bloating” of the baby&#39;s stomach, with the likelihood of concomitant vomiting of the mixture of ingested milk and large amounts of air. A partial “solution” to the ingestion of air during sucking, was arrived at by the use of bottles incorporating disposable, collapsible, polyethylene, or the like, baby bottle liners. However, this has proved to be an expensive alternative, having, as well, its own major problems. Aside from its greater costs, when a bottle utilizing a liner is held upside down, it drips or leaks profusely—the amount being essentially proportional to the size of the nipple liquid outlet. This major drawback, has led to the need for another, more suitable solution, to the vexing air-liquid ingestion problem. Another major problem inherent with the use of the conventional prior art baby bottles, capped by the conventional latex nipple, has been the often uncontrolled spilling or dripping, of large quantities of milk during its use. 
         [0005]    As the baby grows into a toddler, the need for a dripless liquid feeding/training sipping cup becomes quite obvious. The previously designed prior art toddler sipping cups, have been usually constructed of a non-breakable plastic, or the like, material, incorporating a tightly-fitting, removable cup sealing lid. The cup&#39;s sealing lid, may be either of the ‘snap-on/off’ or ‘screw-on/off’/version. Generally, the prior art&#39;s cup sealing lid, incorporates a ‘nipple’- or ‘spout-like’ liquid outlet protuberance, allowing a child to suck or sip out the liquid contents of the cup. 
         [0006]    Further, the cup&#39;s lid is usually vented, by means of air holes, in order to provide an adequate sucking or sipping liquid flow. The child then places the ‘nipple’ or ‘spout’ in his/her mouth, and then tilts the cup, and sucks or sips, in order to provide the desired liquid flow. However, this prior art design generally also has resulted in the dripping or ‘leaking’ of large volumes of liquid, when the liquid outlet is not located in the child&#39;s mouth. 
         [0007]    Drinking cups for young children often include a cap with an aperture spout and a valve to prevent fluid from being spilled. However, traditional valve youth drinking cups are difficult and/or time consuming to clean such that the valve can potentially become unsanitary and/or not fully functional. This problem is compounded by the fact that some mothers forget or are too busy to spend the time necessary to thoroughly clean the valve, or do not realize how important a thorough cleaning is. Another problem is that, in many existing cups having valves, it is difficult to tell if or when their valve(s) is properly cleaned, particularly when the valve is positioned inside of a concave region in their cap where it is difficult to see and reach. There are also numerous additional functional requirements that are difficult to achieve simultaneously. For example, the valve must be fast acting in order to prevent spillage, yet must allow fluid to flow easily out the spout to a young child using the drinking cup. Also, the drinking cup must reliably prevent leakage, yet must also operate equally well at multiple angles. Also, it is preferable that the valve allow fluid still in the spout to redrain back into the drinking cup so that small spills do not occur. In the cost competitive industry of products for young children, the drinking cup must be mechanically non-complex with a minimum number of pieces to minimize cost. Where the cap and valve can be disassembled, the loose pieces must be large enough to prevent them from being lost and to allow easy reassembly, yet must fit into and operate in the relatively small interior of a cup sized for a young user. Further, the reassembly procedure must be apparent from the parts themselves. 
         [0008]    Some known drinking cups have a cap that includes a first valve to control fluid flow out of the spout, and a second valve to control air flow into the drinking cup. However, this valving arrangement increases the number of pieces, doubles the sanitation and misfunction problems, and adds significant expense to the product. Another problem is that these known valving arrangements do not work properly if either of the valves becomes plugged or partially inoperative, which is more likely to occur with two valves than with a single valve. 
         [0009]    Therefore, there is a need for a cup that is versatile as well as easy to use. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    The above-discussed disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by a pre-fillable and disposable sippy cup which includes a one piece main body having thereon a dispensing spout that can be easily configured for use by either toddlers or older children. 
         [0011]    Using the sippy cup embodying the present invention will permit sale of a filled cup in a store and then disposal of the cup after use. This avoids the need for an adult to fill a cup before leaving on a trip, while trying to drive, or the like, and then for the adult to clean the cup after use. 
         [0012]    Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the invention will be, or will become, apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the following claims. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
         [0013]    The invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings and description. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. Moreover, in the figures, like referenced numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views. 
           [0014]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an infant or toddler sippy cup embodying the present invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is a detail of a top for the cup shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is a view taken along line A-A of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  shows a cover for the dispensing spout of the cup shown in  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0018]    Referring to the figures, it can be understood that the present invention is embodied in a disposable sippy cup  10  which can be sold in stores and which will contain liquid, such as juice, milk, or the like and which is to be discarded after use. Sippy cup  10  comprises a one-piece main body  12 . The one piece nature of the body makes is easy and convenient for a manufacturer to pre-load liquid into the cup and seal it for storage and shipping. The one piece nature of the cup will allow sealing in a manner that prevents bacteria or the like from entering the cup whereby the storage of the cup will be safe. Still further, the one piece nature of the cup will prevent, or at least minimize, leakage and spillage during use of the cup. In one form of the invention, body  12  is plastic. 
         [0019]    One piece body  12  includes a first end  14  which is a bottom end when the body is in use, with the use orientation being shown in  FIG. 1 . Body  12  further includes a second end  16  which is a top end when the body is in use. A cylindrical wall  20  connects first end  14  to second end  16 , and a longitudinal axis  24  extends between first end  14  and second end  16 . 
         [0020]    A cover  30  can be plastic and is one piece with cylindrical wall  20  and is located on second end  16 . Cover  30 , wall  20  and second end  14  define a closed chamber  32  in which liquid L is located when the body is in use. Cover  30  has a liquid exit port  40  defined therethrough. A dispensing spout unit  44  is one piece with cover  30  and is located adjacent to liquid exit port  40 . Dispensing spout unit  44  includes a body  46  which has a first end  48  which is one piece with cover  30  and which surrounds liquid exit port  40 . Body  46  further includes a second end  50  with liquid dispensing holes, such as liquid dispensing hole  52 , defined therethrough. 
         [0021]    A break line  56  is defined in body  46 . Body  46  includes a first portion  58  adjacent to first end  48  and a breakaway portion  60  located between break line  56  and second end  50  of the body. Breakaway portion  60  is one piece with first portion  58  and is removably attached to the first portion by the break line. Using the break line to break portion  60  off of portion  58  will remove the first portion from the second portion and leave a dispensing opening  62  in the spout unit through which liquid flows from chamber  32 . The dispensing opening is defined by a rim  64  which will be exposed when the breakaway portion is removed from the first portion. A fluid passage  66  fluidically connects first end  48  of body  46  to second end  50  of the body. Removing first portion  58  from second portion  60  removes the liquid dispensing holes so a flow path between chamber  32  and dispensing opening  62  and via opening  40  and fluid passage  66  to the child is formed. This will permit older children to use cup  10  as well as children who require dispensing holes. This makes the cup amendable for use by both infants who require the dispensing holes and older children who do not require those liquid dispensing holes. 
         [0022]    A one-piece cover  70  fits over plastic end cover  30  on the first end of body  12  and over spout unit  44  and is removably attached to cylindrical wall  20  of the body adjacent to second end  16  of the body. Cover  70  further ensures a sanitary cup during storage. Cover  70  has lip  72  thereon which is grasped to remove the cover from the body. 
         [0023]    A spout unit cover  80  is removably mounted on spout unit body  46  and includes a pull portion  82  thereon. Cover unit  80  can be used to close the spout unit after cover  70  has been removed. This will permit the cup to be closed when a child has used only a portion of the liquid stored in the cup. 
         [0024]    While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible within the scope of this invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents.