Patent ID: 7779751

Claim:
A single serving drinking container assembly, comprising: a single serving drinking vessel; and an integrated beverage infuser and lid for use with the drinking vessel, comprising: a main body adapted for removable receipt on the drinking vessel, the main body having an upper portion defining a drinking aperture, a downwardly depending annular sidewall terminating in a circumferential lip and defining an axle bearing passing through the sidewall, wherein the main body sidewall, the main body upper portion, and circumferential lip together define a downwardly directed, open-ended cavity having an inner surface and an outer surface; a fluid-permeable brewing basket defining an enclosable receptacle for removable receipt of a brewing consumable product, the brewing basket having a portion forming a brewing basket fulcrum for engagement as the brewing basket is moved upward to move the brewing basket laterally inward; a transfer mechanism having a lever arm for moving the brewing basket between a stowed position wherein at least a portion of the brewing basket is disposed within the cavity, and a deployed position wherein the brewing basket is disposed below and outside of the cavity, for submersion in a liquid contained in the drinking vessel, the lever arm having a first end thereof pivotally connected to the brewing basket and a second end thereof connected to a transversely directed axle terminating in a free end journalled for rotation within the axle bearing and penetrating the main body sidewall such that the brewing basket is gravity biased toward the deployed position, wherein the brewing basket rotates about the brewing basket fulcrum when moving between the stowed position and the deployed position, and wherein the lever arm remains connected to both the brewing basket and the axle during movement of the brewing basket between the stowed position and the deployed position; and, an actuating lever connected to the axle's free end adjacent the cavity's outer surface for operating the transfer mechanism; wherein the main body, brewing basket, transfer mechanism, and actuating lever form an integrated assembly.