Abstract:
Beverage cups and beverage lids that visibly warn a consumer when the cup&#39;s lid is ajar. This invention is especially beneficial for the safe consumption of scalding hot drinks such as coffee, tea and hot chocolate where spillage can cause serious burns to the face and body.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field 
         [0002]    The field of the invention is for beverage cups. More particularly, the invention relates to beverage cups and beverage lids that visibly warn the consumer when the cup&#39;s lid is ajar. This invention is especially beneficial for the safe consumption of scalding hot drinks such as coffee, tea and hot chocolate where spillage can cause serious burns to the face and body. 
         [0003]    2. Background 
         [0004]    Many different cup and lid designs have been produced throughout the years to help prevent drink spillage. 
         [0005]    The most common spill-prevention lid, for hot beverage consumption, is a thin plastic cap with a small opening to drink from. This thin plastic cap is snapped over the rim of a paper cup and people sip their hot beverage through the small opening. This typical plastic cap is quite spill-proof, so long as the lid is securely snapped over the rim of the cup. However, many times these typical plastic lids appear properly snapped on the cup, when in fact they are not. 
         [0006]    Time and time again, you can witness customers taking a sip of their morning coffee, at the local coffee shop, only to have the unsecured lid leak beverage on their clothes, or worse yet, come off and scald them. 
         [0007]    Cold beverages don&#39;t pose a health hazard; just one of mess and spillage. However, who wants cola or a chocolate milk shake dripping all down the front of their work clothes? 
         [0008]    The lids for cold drinks are typically much flimsier than the lids for hot beverages and contain an opening for a straw. Again, if these soft drink lids are ajar, an overly full cup of soda or one held at a perpendicular angle, will drip out and spill on your clothes. 
         [0009]    Luckily, as previously stated, cold drinks pose no health hazard to the consumer, only mess. 
         [0010]    Many patents throughout the years have addressed the drink spillage issue. The following are all examples U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,549,044; 3,171,580; 3,730,399; 3,868,043; 3,938,695; 4,215,793; 4,428,498; 4,619,372; 4,767,019; 5,065,880; 7,100,790 and 7,168,589. 
         [0011]    However, none of these patents disclose a means to visually warn an unsuspecting consumer when the cup&#39;s lid is ajar. As previously stated, many times the lids appear securely snapped to the rim, when in fact they are not. 
         [0012]    The most extreme case, which made national news, concerned an elderly woman severely burned in her lap from the lid coming off her scalding coffee. The fast food chain, which provided the scalding coffee with the unsecured lid, had to pay out a substantial settlement to this woman because of her severe burns. 
         [0013]    Fast food restaurants and coffee shops now subsequently warn their customers to be extremely careful by providing “CAUTION” warnings on both their hot beverage cups and lids. Most even warn in 3 different languages, so the scalding hazard is clearly understood. 
         [0014]    Fast food restaurants and coffee shops, even go one step further, and currently serve their scalding beverages in an insulated sleeve to prevent the customer&#39;s hand from being burnt while holding the cup. 
         [0015]    However, not one of these precautionary measures address the most obvious hazard, which is a loose lid coming off and burning a person&#39;s unprotected face and flesh at scalding temperatures. 
         [0016]    Accordingly, a visual means to warn a consumer when the cup&#39;s lid is ajar would prevent the customer&#39;s skin from being jeopardized in the first place. 
         [0017]    Applicants have designed simple color-coded drink lids and cup rim combinations that visually warn an unsuspecting consumer before a scalding accident or mess occurs. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0018]    It is the primary object of the present invention to provide drinking cups with lids that visually warn the consumer when the cup&#39;s lid is ajar. 
         [0019]    This may be accomplished in several different ways. 
         [0020]    One way is by providing a drink cup with a bright green-colored rim, for example. 
         [0021]    The corresponding drink lid would contain the typical circular coupling channel which snaps over the cup&#39;s rim to secure it. However, in this case, the circular coupling channel in the drink lid would contain a translucent bright yellow hue throughout it. 
         [0022]    In operation, when the lid to the drink cup and the corresponding rim of the cup are securely snapped together, a bright green circle will be visible, on the top of the drink lid. However, if the lid is slightly ajar, the lid portion that is unsecured will be yellow in color instead of green because the surfaces are not in direct contact with each other. 
         [0023]    In other words, if the consumer sees any yellow in the circle on the drink lid, it is a “warning” that the lid is not completely attached and to secure it. If the consumer sees an fully green circle on the drink lid, this means it is safe to drink from the cup because the lid is securely attached. 
         [0024]    Another variation, for a visual warning to avoid drink spillage is by providing color only to the rim of the drinking cup, a bold red, for example. 
         [0025]    In this embodiment, the corresponding lid&#39;s coupling channel would be translucent. Accordingly, when the lid&#39;s circular coupling channel is securely snapped over the bold red rim of the cup, a red circle will be visible on the top of the drink lid. However, if the coupling channel is slightly ajar, the unsecured area will show as whitish or light pink because the opaqueness obscures the red rim unless it is in direct contact with it. 
         [0026]    Again, when the lid is securely attached, it will be visible to the consumer as a red circle on the top of the drink lid. 
         [0027]    Still another variation for a visual warning is a crosshatch band approximately 4 centimeters wide and located just under the rim of the beverage cup. This crosshatch band will be visible only when the lid is removed or ajar. Otherwise, the crosshatch pattern is completely covered by the lip of the beverage lid. 
         [0028]    Still other variations for the inventive instrument will be disclosed in the following application. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF TILE DRAWINGS 
         [0029]      FIG. 1  shows a preferred embodiment for a color-coded cup and lid design; 
           [0030]      FIG. 2  is a diagram showing a color-coded lid snapped over a color-coded beverage cup rim; 
           [0031]      FIG. 3  is a variation for a cup design using a color-coded rim and a translucent coupling channel; 
           [0032]      FIG. 4  shows the cup of  FIG. 3  with the lid slightly ajar; 
           [0033]      FIG. 5  is an alternate embodiment for a cup using a crosshatch warning band just under the rim of the cup; 
           [0034]      FIG. 6  shows the cup of  FIG. 5  with the lid slightly ajar; 
           [0035]      FIG. 7  shows another embodiment which visually warns a consumer from both the top and side of the cup when the lid is ajar; and 
           [0036]      FIG. 8  shows an alternate lid design which provides a narrow transparent band to view a colored cup rim through. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0037]    In greater detail  FIG. 1  shows a cup  10  and drink lid  12 . Cup  10  contains a rim  14  which may be color-coded a bright green, for example. 
         [0038]    The corresponding drink lid  12  contains a translucent coupling channel  16  which snaps over and secures drink lid  12  to cup rim  14 . Translucent coupling channel  16  contains a bright translucent yellow band or hue throughout it. 
         [0039]    In operation, when drink lid  12  and cup rim  14  are securely snapped together, a bright green circle will be visible, on the top of the drink lid  12  letting the consumer know it is alright to “go” ahead and enjoy the beverage. However, if the drink lid  12  is slightly ajar, the unsecured lid portion will be yellow in color instead of green because the two surfaces are not in direct contact with each other. In other words, the translucent yellow hue will only turn green if it is securely snapped over the green cup rim  14 . 
         [0040]    Accordingly, any yellow in the circle will “warn” the consumer to secure the drink lid before drinking from the cup. 
         [0041]    A small opening  17  is provided in drink lid  12  to sip a hot beverage through. 
         [0042]      FIG. 2  schematically shows the lid&#39;s coupling channel  16  and cup rim  14  securely snapped together to form the visible green circle  18  on the top of drink lid  12 . 
         [0043]      FIG. 3  shows a different variation for a visual means to warn the consumer prior to drink spillage. 
         [0044]    In greater detail, cup  20  contains a bold red rim  24 . 
         [0045]    Corresponding drink lid  26  contains a circular coupling channel  28  which is cloudy, yet translucent. This translucent property allows the bold red color to show through, at almost full strength, only when the two surfaces are properly mated together. 
         [0046]    Accordingly, when drink lid  26  is securely snapped over the bold red cup rim  24 , a bold red circle will be visible on the top of the drink lid  26 . However, if the drink lid  26  is slightly ajar, the unsecured area will show as whitish or a light pink color because the opaqueness obscures the red colored rim when the two surfaces are separated. 
         [0047]    Again, when the lid is securely attached, it will be visible to the consumer as a bold red circle on the top of the drink lid  26 . 
         [0048]      FIG. 4  is a top view showing drink lid  26  slightly ajar from cup rim  24 . 
         [0049]    Here area  30  is designated as light pink because it is not properly snapped to the bold red rim  24 . Cross-hatched area  32  designates the bold red color because this portion of drink lid  26  is properly snapped over cup rim  24 . 
         [0050]      FIG. 5  is still another variation for a visual warning to avoid drink spillage. 
         [0051]    In greater detail, cup  40  contains a rim  42  which has a crosshatch band  44  located just under the rim  42 . Crosshatch band  44  is approximately  4  centimeters wide so that crosshatch band  44  will be visible only when the cup lid  46  is removed or ajar. Otherwise the crosshatch band  44  is completely covered by the lip  47  of cup lid  46 . 
         [0052]      FIG. 6  shows the cup  40  of  FIG. 5  with cup lid  46  partially unsecured exposing crosshatch band  44 . Accordingly, the consumer is visually warned to attach the lid more securely. 
         [0053]      FIG. 7  shows a cup  50  which visually warns a consumer from both the top and side of the cup when the lid is ajar. 
         [0054]    In greater detail, cup  50  contains a bold-colored rim  54  and, additionally, a side warning band  55  directly under rim  54 . Side warning band  55  is approximately  4  centimeters wide so the only time it will be visible to the consumer is when the lid is removed or ajar. Otherwise, side warning band  55  is completely covered by the lip of drink lid  56 . Side warning band  55  may be any bold solid color or pattern or design. 
         [0055]    The corresponding drink lid  56  may be completely translucent and, once again, contains a circular coupling channel  58  which snaps over bold colored rim  54 . 
         [0056]    Accordingly, when drink lid  56  is securely snapped over the bold colored rim  54 , a bold circle will be visible on the top of the drink lid  56  and the side warning band  55  will not be visible. However, if drink lid  56  is slightly ajar, the unsecured area will show as a whitish color in circular coupling channel  58  and a portion of the side warning band  55  will be exposed. 
         [0057]    Accordingly, the consumer is visually warned from both the top and side to attach the lid more securely before enjoying the beverage. 
         [0058]      FIG. 8  shows an alternate lid design. 
         [0059]    In greater detail, drink lid  60 , once again, contains a circular coupling channel  62  which snaps over a colored rim  70  on a cup  72 . Drink lid  60  may be a solid color so that light cannot easily penetrate, white for example. 
         [0060]    The crest of circular coupling channel  62  contains a narrow transparent band  64  which completely encircles coupling channel  62 . Narrow transparent band  64  may be approximately 2 centimeters wide which doesn&#39;t allow any real visibility into it. Consequently, the only time a consumer will see colored rim  70  through transparent band  64  is when the circular coupling channel  62  is firmly snapped over and in direct contact with colored rim  70 . 
         [0061]    In operation, when a consumer sees a bold green colored circle, for example, on the top of the white drink lid  60 , they know it is safe to enjoy their beverage without spillage. 
         [0062]    Economically, this would be a very cost efficient invention to produce, but more importantly, it will prevent scalding accidents. 
         [0063]    Those skilled in the art will readily perceive other changes and modifications which may be made in the inventive cups and lids and perceive new and different uses for the inventive structures. 
         [0064]    For example, components of the disclosed cups and lids maybe interchanged with each other and substituted for each other without departing from this invention. Also, all colors, combinations of colors and hues, cup patterns, bands and designs could be changed and interchanged without departing from the scope of this invention. 
         [0065]    Therefore, the appended claims are to be construed broadly enough to cover all equivalent structures falling within the scope and spirit of this invention.