Tumbler lid with reservoir and repetitive measuring and disbursement mechanism
First Claim
1. A lid positionable at an open upper end portion of a beverage container having an interior cavity for holding a beverage, comprising:
- a refillable reservoir chamber having an upper end portion and a lower end portion, the reservoir chamber being sized to hold a drink additive;
a measurement chamber having an upper end portion and a lower end portion, at least a portion of the measurement chamber being positioned below the reservoir chamber with the lower end portion of the reservoir chamber in fluid communication with the upper end portion of the measurement chamber;
a plunger having an upper seal and a lower seal; and
an actuator operably connected to the plunger to move the plunger between first, second and third positions,(a) in the first position the upper seal being at least partially out of sealing contact with the reservoir chamber and the lower seal being in sealing contact with the measurement chamber to provide fluid communication between the reservoir chamber and the measurement chamber for permitting drink additive in the reservoir chamber to flow into the measurement chamber but not out the lower end portion of the measurement chamber,(b) in the second position the upper seal being in sealing contact with the measurement chamber and the lower seal being in sealing contact with the measurement chamber for sealing a first quantity of the drink additive between the upper seal and the lower seal, and(c) in the third position the upper seal being in sealing contact with the measurement chamber and the lower seal being at least partially out of sealing contact with the measurement chamber to provide fluid communication between the measurement chamber and the interior cavity of the beverage container for permitting the first quantity of drink additive to flow into the interior cavity of the beverage container.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
This container lid fits onto existing insulated cups. It has a refillable and sealable reservoir and in the preferred embodiment includes a top opening to receive substances and a bottom opening to release substances into a container. The release of substances into the beverage container is controlled and is measured before release. A preferred double piston and button combination interact with a narrow section of the reservoir to dispense only a portion of the contents from the reservoir into the container. The released portion is carefully metered within the narrow channel when the double piston alternately seals a first opening and a second opening of the narrow channel. The reservoir serves to store the unreleased substance until the next time the button is activated to release addition substance into the container.
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Citations
46 Claims
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1. A lid positionable at an open upper end portion of a beverage container having an interior cavity for holding a beverage, comprising:
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a refillable reservoir chamber having an upper end portion and a lower end portion, the reservoir chamber being sized to hold a drink additive; a measurement chamber having an upper end portion and a lower end portion, at least a portion of the measurement chamber being positioned below the reservoir chamber with the lower end portion of the reservoir chamber in fluid communication with the upper end portion of the measurement chamber; a plunger having an upper seal and a lower seal; and an actuator operably connected to the plunger to move the plunger between first, second and third positions, (a) in the first position the upper seal being at least partially out of sealing contact with the reservoir chamber and the lower seal being in sealing contact with the measurement chamber to provide fluid communication between the reservoir chamber and the measurement chamber for permitting drink additive in the reservoir chamber to flow into the measurement chamber but not out the lower end portion of the measurement chamber, (b) in the second position the upper seal being in sealing contact with the measurement chamber and the lower seal being in sealing contact with the measurement chamber for sealing a first quantity of the drink additive between the upper seal and the lower seal, and (c) in the third position the upper seal being in sealing contact with the measurement chamber and the lower seal being at least partially out of sealing contact with the measurement chamber to provide fluid communication between the measurement chamber and the interior cavity of the beverage container for permitting the first quantity of drink additive to flow into the interior cavity of the beverage container. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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26. A lid positionable at an open upper end portion of a beverage container having an interior cavity for holding a beverage, comprising:
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a reservoir chamber having an upper end portion and a lower end portion, the reservoir chamber being sized to hold a drink additive; a measurement chamber having an upper end portion and a lower end portion, the lower end portion of the reservoir chamber being in fluid communication with the upper end portion of the measurement chamber; an upper seal; a lower seal; and an actuator operably connected to the upper seal and the lower seal to move the upper seal and lower seal between first, second and third positions, (a) in the first position the upper seal being at least partially out of sealing contact with the reservoir chamber and the lower seal being in sealing contact with the measurement chamber to provide fluid communication between the reservoir chamber and the measurement chamber for permitting drink additive in the reservoir chamber to flow into the measurement chamber but not out the lower end portion of the measurement chamber, (b) in the second position the upper seal being in sealing contact with the measurement chamber and the lower seal being in sealing contact with the measurement chamber for sealing a first quantity of the drink additive between the upper seal and the lower seal, and (c) in the third position the upper seal being in sealing contact with the measurement chamber and the lower seal being at least partially out of sealing contact with the measurement chamber to provide fluid communication between the measurement chamber and the interior cavity of the beverage container for permitting the first quantity of drink additive to flow into the interior cavity of the beverage container. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
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30. A lid positionable at an open upper end portion of a beverage container having an interior cavity for holding a beverage, comprising:
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a reservoir chamber sized to hold a drink additive; a measurement chamber in fluid communication with the reservoir chamber, and when the lid is at least partially within the open upper end portion of the beverage container, the measurement chamber is in fluid communication with the interior cavity of the beverage container; at least one seal; and an actuator operably connected to the at least one seal to move the at least one seal between first, second and third positions, (a) in the first position the at least one seal configured to provide fluid communication between the reservoir chamber and the measurement chamber for permitting drink additive in the reservoir chamber to flow into the measurement chamber but not between the measurement chamber and the interior cavity of the beverage container, (b) in the second position the at least one seal configured to confine a first quantity of drink additive in the measurement chamber and maintain the first quantity of the drink additive separate from the remainder of the drink additive in the reservoir chamber, and (c) in the third position the at least one seal configured to permit the first quantity of drink additive to flow into the interior cavity of the beverage container while preventing additional drink additive in the reservoir chamber to flow into the interior cavity of the beverage container. - View Dependent Claims (31)
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32. A lid positionable at an open upper end portion of a beverage container having an interior cavity for holding a beverage, comprising:
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a reservoir chamber having an outflow opening and a reservoir wall portion therebetween, the reservoir chamber being sized to hold a drink additive; a measurement chamber having an inflow opening and an outflow opening with a measurement chamber wall therebetween, the outflow opening of the reservoir chamber being in fluid communication with the inflow opening of the measurement chamber; a first seal; a second seal; and an actuator operably connected to the first seal and the second seal to move the first seal and second seal between first, second and third positions, (a) in the first position the first seal being at least partially out of sealing contact with the reservoir chamber wall portion and the second seal being in sealing contact with the measurement chamber wall portion to provide fluid communication between outflow opening of the reservoir chamber and the inflow opening of the measurement chamber for permitting drink additive in the reservoir chamber to flow into the measurement chamber through the inflow opening of the measurement chamber but not out the outflow opening of the measurement chamber, (b) in the second position the first seal being in sealing contact with the measurement chamber wall portion and the second seal being in sealing contact with the measurement chamber wall portion for sealing a first quantity of the drink additive between the first seal and the second seal out of fluid communication with the outflow opening of the reservoir chamber and out of fluid communication with the inflow and outflow openings of the measurement chamber, and (c) in the third position the first seal being in sealing contact with the measurement chamber wall portion and the second seal being at least partially out of sealing contact with the measurement chamber wall portion to provide fluid communication between the measurement chamber and the interior cavity of the beverage container and permitting the first quantity of drink additive to flow into the interior cavity of the beverage container through the outflow opening of the measurement chamber.
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33. A method of dosing a drink additive from a lid positioned at an open upper end portion of a beverage container having an interior cavity, the lid using a refillable reservoir chamber having an upper end portion and a lower end portion and a measurement chamber having an upper end portion and a lower end portion, the lower end portion of the reservoir chamber being in fluid communication with the upper end portion of the measurement chamber, comprising:
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positioning the drink additive in the reservoir chamber; positioning an upper seal in the reservoir chamber out of sealing contact with the reservoir chamber and an lower seal in the measurement chamber in sealing contact with the measurement chamber to provide fluid communication between the reservoir chamber and the measurement chamber and permit at least a portion of the drink additive in the reservoir chamber to flow into the measurement chamber but not out the lower end portion of the measurement chamber, next positioning the upper seal in the measurement chamber in sealing contact with the measurement chamber while the lower seal remains in the measurement chamber in sealing contact with the measurement chamber to seal a first quantity of the drink additive sealed in the space between the upper seal and the lower seal; and next positioning the lower seal at least partially out of sealing contact with the measurement chamber while the upper seal remains in sealing contact with the measurement chamber to provide fluid communication between the measurement chamber and the interior cavity of the beverage container and permit the first quantity of drink additive to flow into the interior cavity of the beverage container while preventing additional drink additive in the reservoir chamber from entering the space between the upper seal and the lower seal.
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34. A method of dosing a drink additive from a lid positioned at an open upper end portion of a beverage container having an interior cavity, the lid using a refillable reservoir chamber sized to hold a drink additive and a measurement chamber in fluid communication with the reservoir chamber, the measurement chamber being in fluid communication with the interior cavity of the beverage container when the lid is at least partially within the open upper end portion of the beverage container, the lid further including at least one seal, comprising:
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positioning the drink additive in the reservoir chamber; first positioning the at least one seal to provide fluid communication between the reservoir chamber and the measurement chamber and permit drink additive in the reservoir chamber to flow into the measurement chamber while preventing drink additive in the reservoir chamber to flow into the interior cavity of the beverage container; second positioning the at least one seal to confine a first quantity of drink additive in the measurement chamber and maintain the first quantity of the drink additive separate from the remainder of the drink additive in the reservoir chamber while preventing the first quantity of drink additive in the measurement chamber and drink additive in the reservoir chamber to flow into the interior cavity of the beverage container; and third positioning the at least one seal to permit the first quantity of drink additive in the measurement chamber to flow into the interior cavity of the beverage container while preventing additional drink additive in the reservoir chamber to flow into the interior cavity of the beverage container.
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35. A method of dosing a drink additive from a lid positioned at an open upper end portion of a beverage container having an interior cavity, the lid using a refillable reservoir chamber having a first opening and a second opening with a reservoir wall portion therebetween and a measurement chamber having a first opening and a second opening with a measurement chamber wall therebetween, the second opening of the reservoir chamber being in fluid communication with the first opening of the measurement chamber, comprising:
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positioning the drink additive in the reservoir chamber; positioning a first seal in the reservoir chamber out of sealing contact with the reservoir chamber wall portion and a second seal in the measurement chamber in sealing contact with the measurement chamber wall portion to provide fluid communication between the second opening of the reservoir chamber and the first opening of the measurement chamber to permit at least a portion of the drink additive in the reservoir chamber to flow into the measurement chamber through the first opening of the measurement chamber but not out the second opening of the measurement chamber; next positioning the first seal in the measurement chamber in sealing contact with the measurement chamber wall portion while the second seal remains in the measurement chamber in sealing contact with the measurement chamber wall portion to seal a first quantity of the drink additive sealed in the space between the first seal and the second seal out of fluid communication with the first and second openings of the reservoir chamber and out of fluid communication with the first and second openings of the measurement chamber; and next positioning the second seal at least partially out of sealing contact with the measurement chamber wall portion while the first seal remains in sealing contact with the measurement chamber wall portion to provide fluid communication between the measurement chamber and the interior cavity of the beverage container and permit the first quantity of drink additive to flow into the interior cavity of the beverage container through the second opening of the measurement chamber, while preventing additional drink additive in the reservoir chamber from entering the space between the upper seal and the lower seal.
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36. A method of dosing a drink additive from a lid positioned at an open upper end portion of a beverage container having an interior cavity, the lid using a reservoir chamber having an outflow opening and a measurement chamber having an inflow opening and an outflow opening, the outflow opening of the reservoir chamber being in fluid communication with the inflow opening of the measurement chamber, comprising:
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providing fluid communication between the outflow opening of the reservoir chamber and the inflow opening of the measurement chamber to permit at least a portion of the drink additive in the reservoir chamber to flow into the measurement chamber through the inflow opening of the measurement chamber but not out the outflow opening of the measurement chamber; next sealing off a portion of the measurement chamber to confine a first quantity of the drink additive out of fluid communication with the outflow opening of the reservoir chamber and out of fluid communication with the inflow and outflow openings of the measurement chamber; and next providing fluid communication between the measurement chamber and the interior cavity of the beverage container to permit the first quantity of drink additive to flow into the interior cavity of the beverage container through the outflow opening of the measurement chamber, while preventing additional drink additive in the reservoir chamber from flowing to the interior cavity of the beverage container through the outflow opening of the measurement chamber.
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Specification