Abstract:
A protective cover is comprised of a flexible material, such as natural latex, and may be colored or may include a design. A hole may be included for inserting a straw or as a drinking spout, and the hole may be reinforced. The protective cover may be comprised of a central circular portion and a circumferential side portion and may be sized for fitting bar glasses. An edge on the side portion may be formed by folding the edge over itself and adhering the folded layers together, providing a resilient elastic band for retaining the protective cover on a glass.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The field relates to covers on cups and glasses. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Hard plastic caps and covers are known that protect beverages from spilling. Many of these are disposable, but adoption of hard plastic caps and covers in cocktail and bar settings has not proven popular or acceptable. 
         [0003]    There is a danger in leaving a drink with an open top on a counter, table or even when held that a foreign substance may be introduced into the drink, such as an intoxicant, date rape drug, illegal drug or a bug. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    A protective cover comprises a flexible material, such as natural latex, synthetic rubber or flexible plastic membrane. The protective cover may be formed in a cup-shape having an inner circular portion that may be substantially flat and a circumferential portion extending circumferentially around the circular portion. The edge of the circumferential portion may comprise an elastic band. The elastic band may be formed of a material different than the flexible material of the cover or may be comprised of the flexible material rolled a plurality of times to form an outer edge of the material integrally forming an elastic band. 
         [0005]    A hole may be provided in the flexible material to allow a straw to be inserted through the hole. For example, a diameter of the hole may be selected such that a seal is formed around the straw, such that tipping the glass or sloshing the liquid in a glass does not result in a spill, when the protective cover is placed on a glass filled with a beverage. The hole may be reinforced either by a framing element added around the hole or around a portion of the material defining the hole. In one example, the reinforcement is by a thickening of the material around the hole. In one example an additional hole, which may be the same size or a different size than the first hole, is added. This second hole may be for sipping from the cover, while the first hole may be provided for use with a straw. Each hole may have a sealable tab extending over the hole, which may be peeled away. The sealable tab may be made of the same material as the cover or a different material. For example, the sealable tab may comprise a transparent plastic material, such as polyethylene, a foil, such as an aluminum foil, a latex material, such as the same material from which the cover is made, and combinations of these. In one example, the sealable tab has a tacky substance on a portion of a surface in contact with the cover. The sealable tab may have no tacky substance on another portion of the tab. The tacky substance may be a tacky polymer material, such as the materials used for sticking credit cards to paper, which are referred to as pressure sensitive adhesives. A convenient way of applying pressure sensitive adhesives is using a substrate on which the dots are removably adhered, such as a silicone release liner with a fugitive adhesive or pressure sensitive adhesive releasable extruded onto the release liner. One portion of the tab, without any tacky substance added or with a masking material covering the tacky substance, may be provided as a lift tab portion to allow the sealable tab to be easily removed by a user of the cover. In this way, the cover may have a plurality of holes, sealed by sealable pull tabs, allowing the user to select one or more holes for use with a straw or for sipping. In one example, the degree of tackiness of the adhesive applied is varied, such that one portion of the sealable pull tab is bound tightly to the cover, while the remaining tacky material allows the sealable pull tab to be repeatedly repositioned over the hole, when the user of the cover is not sipping his or her drink. 
         [0006]    Three manufacturers and eight designs were tested. All of the initial designs failed to provide the desired qualities of sealing an ordinary glass bar glass while providing a through-hole for a straw. Unexpectedly, a preferred example seals a bar glass from spillage even when the drink is held upside down for a short period with a straw inserted into the drink. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  illustrates a top plan view of an example of a protective cover. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  illustrates a side plan view of the example illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  illustrates a detailed view of an example of a hole with a washer. 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  illustrates a detail of a pull tab, washer and a portion of a cover with a hole in an exploded view. 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  illustrates a portion of a cover with a plurality of pull tabs. 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  illustrates a detail of a washer. 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  illustrates a detail of a pull tab. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0014]    In  FIG. 1 , a flexible material having a thickness t is shown that has a substantially flat, circular portion  13  with a circular diameter D. A straw hole  11  is disposed off center in the circular portion  13  and has a hole diameter d. A rolled edge  14  is illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . In  FIG. 2 , the rolled edge  14  is the outer edge of circumferential side  12  extending from the circular portion  13  a height H, which side  12  extends cup-like from the circular portion  13  of the protective cover  10  between the circular portion  13  and the rolled edge  14 . The flexible material may be a latex or other flexible elastic material or rubber. The material may be colored in a variety of colors, as is known in the art, such as by adding colorants to the material used in forming the covers. In one example, the covers are packaged together in a variety of colors, allowing users to select there preferred color, which helps to identify a user&#39;s drink from others&#39; drinks. In another example, each cover is packaged in an individual protective package, and the color of the cover is reflected by the same color being shown on the protective package. In one example, the protective package is a foil, such as an aluminum foil or film, which may be combined with a layer of paper or plastic In one example, the edge  14  is a flat rim prepared by folding natural latex over itself three times and curing it to bind the layers of the rim together. 
         [0015]    In one example, the straw hole  11  diameter d was selected to be less than 0.1875 inches 0.48 centimeters, preferably 0.075 inches to 0.095 inches (1.9 mm to 2.4 mm), which fit the largest variety of straw sizes and provided a seal around the straw preventing leaking between the straw and the flexible material. In one example, the straw hole  11  is off-center, such that the hole is close enough to the edge to allow sipping of a drink from a bar glass. In one example, the hole diameter is 0.075 inches (1.9 mm). 
         [0016]    In one example, the diameter D of the circular portion  13  is selected to be in a range from 2 inches to 3.75 inches (5.1 cm to 9.5 cm), more preferably 2.45 inches to 2.55 inches (6.2 cm to 6.5 cm), which provides for a seal on most bar glasses that prevent leaking of liquid between the protective cover  10  and the lip of a bar glass over which the protective cover is stretched. In one example, the diameter is 2.75 inches (about 7 cm) and the hole is located 0.833 inches from the nearest edge of the circular portion  13 . 
         [0017]    In one example, the height H of the circumferential side portion  12  of the protective cover  10  is selected to be greater than 0.85 inches (2.2 cm), more preferably in a range from 0.9 inches to 1.5 inches (2.3 cm to 3.8 cm), most preferably 1 inch to 1.25 inches (2.5 cm to 3.2 cm), which provides a side height H that prevents the protective cover  10  from snapping and flying off of the most common sizes of bar glasses. In one example, the height is 4.25 inches (3.2 cm). 
         [0018]    In one example, the thickness t of the material of the protective cover  10  is substantially uniform and is selected in a range from 0.005 inches to 0.1 inches (0.13 mm to 2.5 mm), more preferably 0.005 inches to 0.01 inches (0.13 mm to 0.25 mm), most preferably 0.005 inches to 0.0074 inches (0.13 mm to 0.19 mm), which provides an optimal thickness of natural latex capable of being stretched over a larger selection of the most common bar glasses. In one example, the thickness is 0.01 inches (0.25 mm) and the material is natural latex. 
         [0019]    In one example, a washer  21  surrounds a hole  11  in the circular portion  13 . The washer maintained the shape of the hole and allowed a straw to be easily inserted. However, the washer failed to keep liquid from leaking between the straw and the washer.  FIGS. 4-6  illustrate an alternative embodiment of a cover  40  that includes a washer assembly  41 . In one example, the hole in a washer assembly  41  is made larger than the hole  42  in the material of the cover  40 . The washer assembly  41  may include the washer  21 , itself, which may be made of an elastic material, which may be the same material as the cover or a different material. The washer  21  is applied to the cover using a pressure sensitive adhesive layer  61  of the washer assembly  41 . In one example, the washer assembly  41  includes a sealable pull tab  43  resealably adhered to the washer  41  with a pressure sensitive adhesive ring  45 , such as a Glue Dots® pressure sensitive adhesive, having a low tackiness. A second pressure sensitive adhesive ring  61  with a higher degree of tackiness may be applied to the surface of the washer  21  that adheres to the cover  40 , for example. This allows the pull tab  43  to be peeled back from or pulled free from the washer  21  without the washer  21  being removed from the cover  40 . For example, the pull tab  43  includes a portion  44  that extends beyond the outer perimeter of the washer for use by the user of the cover in peeling back or removing the pull tab  43 , which may be adhesively engageable in an open position by application of pressure sensitive adhesive or may be removable or both. A pressure sensitive retainer  48  may be made of a pressure sensitive material with very low tackiness and may be disposed on a surface of the cover at a location convenient for retaining the pull tab  43  when peeled back but not disengaged from the washer  21 . 
         [0020]      FIGS. 6-7  illustrate another example of a pull tab  47 , which is directly adhered to a cover  40  without the need of an intervening washer  21 . In this example, the pull tab  47  includes an adhesive layer  75  and a masking layer  77  that covers a portion of the adhesive layer  75 , where the pull tab  47  covers a hole in the cover  40 . 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE I 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Examples 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 D 
                 t 
                 washer 
                 d 
                 hole 
                   
                   
                 H 
               
               
                 Ex. 
                 (cm) 
                 (mm) 
                 (cm) 
                 (mm) 
                 position 
                 material 
                 band 
                 (cm) 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 1 
                 7.6 
                 — 
                 1.5 
                 4.8 
                 center 
                 plastic 
                 0.64 
                 2.5 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 rubber 
               
               
                 2 
                 7.6 
                 0.18 
                 1.5 
                 4.8 
                 center 
                 natural latex 
                 5 x rolled 
                 1.3 
               
               
                 3 
                 6.4 
                 0.25 
                 — 
                 — 
                 — 
                 natural latex 
                 5 x rolled 
                 0 
               
               
                 4 
                 6.4 
                 0.23 
                 — 
                 — 
                 — 
                 natural latex 
                 5 x rolled 
                 0 
               
               
                 5 
                 6.4 
                 0.13 
                 — 
                 4.8 
                 center 
                 natural latex 
                 5 x rolled 
                 0.85 
               
               
                 6 
                 6.4 
                 0.13 
                 — 
                 2.4 
                 off-center 
                 natural latex 
                 5 x rolled 
                 2.5 
               
               
                 7 
                 6.4-7.6 
                 0.13-0.25 
                 — 
                 1.9-2.4 
                 off-center 
                 natural latex 
                 rolled 
                 2.5-3.8 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 5-6 x 
               
               
                 8 
                 7.0-9.5 
                 0.13-2.54 
                 — 
                 1.9-2.4 
                 off-center 
                 natural latex 
                 rolled 
                 2.5-4.5 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 5-6 x 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE II 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Example Results 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Ex. 
                 Results 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 1 
                 Failed—leakage between hole and straw; rubber band fixed to glass side but plastic ripped away 
               
               
                 2 
                 Failed—leakage between hole and straw; protective cover snapped away and flew from glass 
               
               
                 3 
                 Failed—excessive thickness to stretch over most glasses; snapped away and flew from glass 
               
               
                 4 
                 Failed—excessive thickness to stretch over most glasses; snapped away and flew from glass 
               
               
                 5 
                 Failed—hole size stretches during fitting on glass and leakage caused between hole and straw; 
               
               
                   
                 height of side wall portion too shallow; snapped away and flew from glass 
               
               
                 6 
                 SUCCESS 
               
               
                 7 
                 SUCCESS 
               
               
                 8 
                 SUCCESS