US20090032543A1

US20090032543A1 - Drinking cup cover

Info

Publication number: US20090032543A1
Application number: US11/888,448
Authority: US
Inventors: Steven Lee; Cheng-Ti Tu
Original assignee: President Packaging Industrial Corp
Current assignee: President Packaging Industrial Corp
Priority date: 2007-08-01
Filing date: 2007-08-01
Publication date: 2009-02-05

Abstract

A drinking cup cover includes a cover body and a closure member. The cover body has a cover wall with top and bottom surfaces, a peripheral portion, and a beverage hole formed through the top and bottom surfaces of the cover wall adjacent to the peripheral portion. The cover wall further has a hole-defining periphery that defines the beverage hole. The closure member includes a tab part, a depressible part, and an engaging part. The tab part is connected to the hole-defining periphery such that the closure member is movable relative to the cover body between a sipping position and a non-sipping position. The depressible part protrudes upwardly from the tab part and is operable to move the tab part downwardly from the non-sipping position to the sipping position. The engaging part is formed on one end of the depressible part opposite to tab part to engage the hole-defining periphery.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a drinking cup cover, more particularly to a drinking cup cover that permits sipping of a beverage therethrough.
2. Description of the Related Art
As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional drinking cup cover 1 includes a cover body 11 and a closure member 12. The cover body 11 has a beverage hole 111 to permit sipping of a beverage, and a recess 112 proximate to the beverage hole 111. The closure member 12 is disposed at the beverage hole 111, and has a tab part 121 and a depressible part 122. The tab part 121 is connected to a periphery of the beverage hole 111 such that the closure member 12 is movable relative to the cover body 11 between a sipping position (see FIG. 2), where the tab part 121 uncovers the beverage hole 111, and a non-sipping position (see FIG. 1), where the tab part 121 spans the beverage hole 111. The depressible part 122 protrudes upwardly from the tab part 121 and is operable to move the closure member 12 from the non-sipping position to the sipping position. The closure member 12 further has a tear line 123 that connects separably a periphery of the tab part 121 to the periphery of the beverage hole 111.
To move the closure member 12 from the non-sipping position to the sipping position, the depressible part 122 is operated to tear apart the tab part 121 from the periphery of the beverage hole 111, is subsequently operated to move the tab part 121 upwardly, and is forced into engagement with the recess 112 (see FIGS. 2 and 3). Once uncovered, the beverage hole 111 permits sipping of a beverage therethrough.
However, the lips of the user are likely to contact the periphery of the beverage hole 111 during beverage consumption. Because the tear line 123 was used to connect separably the tab part 121 to the periphery of the beverage hole 111, the periphery of the beverage hole 111 tends to be serrated when the tear line 123 is broken, thereby resulting in discomfort and possible injury when the user's lips come into contact with the periphery of the beverage hole 111 during beverage consumption.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a drinking cup cover that can reduce user discomfort and avoid possible injury during beverage consumption.
According to this invention, there is provided a drinking cup cover comprising a cover body and a closure member. The cover body has a cover wall with top and bottom surfaces, a peripheral portion, and a beverage hole formed through the top and bottom surfaces of the cover wall adjacent to the peripheral portion. The cover wall further has a hole-defining periphery that defines beverage hole. The closure member has a tab part, a depressible part and an engaging part. The tab part is connected to the hole-defining periphery such that the closure member is movable relative to the cover body between a sipping position, where the tab part uncovers the beverage hole, and a non-sipping position, where the tab part spans the beverage hole. The depressible part protrudes upwardly from the tab part, and is operable to move the tab part downwardly when moving the closure member from the non-sipping position to the sipping position. The engaging part is formed on one end of the depressible part opposite to tab part, and engages removably the hole-defining periphery when the closure member is moved to the sipping position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional drinking cup cover;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the conventional drinking cup cover to show a closure member thereof at a sipping position;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross sectional view of the conventional drinking cup cover to show the closure member at the sipping position;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the drinking cup cover according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the preferred embodiment to show a closure member thereof at a sipping position; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary cross sectional view of the preferred embodiment to show the closure member at the sipping position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 6, the preferred embodiment of a drinking cup cover 2 according to the present invention includes a cover body 21 and a closure member 22.
The cover body 21 has a cover wall 214 with a top surface 215, a bottom surface 216, and a peripheral portion 217. A beverage hole 212 is formed through the top and bottom surfaces 215, 216 of the cover wall 214 adjacent to the peripheral portion 217. The cover wall 214 further has a hole-defining periphery 211 that defines the beverage hole 212. In this embodiment, the cover wall 214 further has a recessed portion 213 adjacent to the peripheral portion 217 and indented from the top surface 215 of the cover wall 214. The beverage hole 212 is located in the recessed portion 213.
The closure member 22 has a tab part 221, a depressible part 222, and an engaging part 223. The tab part 221 is connected to the hole-defining periphery 211 such that the closure member 22 is movable relative to the cover body 21 between a sipping position (see FIG. 5), where the tab part 221 uncovers the beverage hole 212, and a non-sipping position, where the tab part 221 spans the beverage hole 212. The depressible part 222 protrudes upwardly from the tab part 221 and is operable to move the tab part 221 downwardly when moving the closure member 22 from the non-sipping position to the sipping position. The engaging part 223 is formed on one end of the depressible part 222 opposite to the tab part 221 to engage removably the hole-defining periphery 211 when the closure member 22 is moved to the sipping position.
In this embodiment, the tab part 221 of the closure member 22 has a rectangular periphery with a hinge section 226 (i.e., one of the long edges of the rectangular periphery) connected pivotally to the hole-defining periphery 211, and a tearable section 225 (i.e., the remaining edges of the rectangular periphery) connected separably to the hole-defining periphery 211. The closure member 22 further has a tear line 224 that connects separably the tearable section 225 of the periphery of the tab part 221 to the hole-defining periphery 211.
In this embodiment, the engaging part 223 of the closure member 22 is formed with a groove to engage removably the hole-defining periphery 211 when the closure member 22 is moved to the sipping position.
To move the closure member 22 from the non-sipping position to the sipping position, the depressible part 222 of the closure member 22 is operated to break the tear line 224 and move the tab part 221 downwardly until the engaging part 223 engages the hole-defining periphery 211 to retain the closure member 22 at the sipping position. The depressible part 222 straddles the beverage hole 212 at this time.
During beverage consumption, the user's lips contact the recessed portion 213 of the cover wall 214. The tab part 221 extends downwardly relative to the cover wall 214, and the depressible part 222 straddles the beverage hole 212 when the closure member 22 is at the sipping position such that the user's lips do not contact the periphery of the tab part 221 and the hole-defining periphery 211 of the beverage hole 212, thereby reducing user discomfort and avoiding possible injury during beverage consumption.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.

Claims

1. A drinking cup cover comprising:

a cover body having a cover wall with top and bottom surfaces, said cover wall having a peripheral portion and a beverage hole formed through said top and bottom surfaces of said cover wall adjacent to said peripheral portion, said cover wall further having a hole-defining periphery that defines said beverage hole; and

a closure member having

a tab part connected to said hole-defining periphery such that said closure member is movable relative to said cover body between a sipping position, where said tab part uncovers said beverage hole, and a non-sipping position, where said tab part spans said beverage hole,

a depressible part that protrudes upwardly from said tab part and that is operable to move said tab part downwardly when moving said closure member from the non-sipping position to the sipping position, and

an engaging part that is formed on one end of said depressible part opposite to said tab part to engage removably said hole-defining periphery when said closure member is moved to the sipping position.

2. The drinking cup cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein said tab part of said closure member has a periphery with a hinge section connected pivotally to said hole-defining periphery, and a tearable section connected separably to said hole-defining periphery.

3. The drinking cup cover as claimed in claim 2, wherein said closure member further has a tear line that connects separably said tearable section of said periphery of said tab part to said hole-defining periphery.

4. The drinking cup cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein said cover wall further has a recessed portion adjacent to said peripheral portion and indented from said top surface of said cover wall, said beverage hole being located in said recessed portion.

5. The drinking cup cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein said engaging part of said closure member is formed with a groove to engage removably said hole-defining periphery when said closure member is moved to the sipping position.