Beverage drinking container

• US 4,212,408 A
• Filed: 11/03/1978
• Issued: 07/15/1980
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/1978
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Mr. Gasket, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Orion Industries Incorporated
• Inventors: Valenzona, Joseph F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shoap, Allan N.
• Application Number:
  US05/957,528
• Time in Patent Office: 620 Days
• Field of Search: 222/515, 222/518, 222/511, 220/90.4, 220/254, 220/264, 220/293
• US Class Current: 220/254.5
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 19/2272 from drinking glasses or cups comprising lids or covers
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 47/249 by means of a lever mechanism

Abstract

A drinking container is provided with a removable cap engageable with a cup in sealing arrangement. A drinking opening is provided in the cap and is normally sealed shut by a spring biased plug. A trigger on the exterior of the cap, when actuated, withdraws the plug from the drinking opening to allow the user to imbibe a beverage.

Claims

1. A sealable drinking container comprising:

a cup having a circular upper lip,

a cap having a confining upright side wall and a transverse confining top wall having an undersurface and releasably engageable with the upper lip of said cup in transverse arrangement thereacross in a liquid tight seal, and having a drinking opening near the perimeter of said top wall,

a plug moveably positionable in said drinking opening of said cap,

trigger actuating means including a transverse push bar having an arcuately curved outer surface located externally to said cap beyond said confining upright wall, and adjacent the undersurface of said top wall and concentric relative to a portion of said circular upper lip, a unitary laterally moveable plunger having a post extending through a portion of said confining side wall of said cap into engagement with said push bar, a U-shaped bifurcated shackle having separated, parallel legs extending inwardly from said post within said confining side wall of said cap, an elongated lever having opposite ends and of uniform thickness and with a flat surface facing said top wall and connected to said plug at one end and rotatably mounted between said legs of said shackle at the other end for rotational movement in a plane parallel to said legs of said shackle, and with a lever shoulder defined therein on a side opposite said flat surface, guide means including a cam surface on said cap against which said flat surface of said lever bears, and

unitary spring biasing means including a unitary wire spring having a pair of legs which terminate in feet releasably secured relative to said cap and which diverge outward from engagement with said lever shoulder and bear thereagainst to bias said lever linearly to force said push bar radially outwardly from said cap and which bias said lever in rotation to rotate said plug toward engagement with said drinking opening, whereby depression of said push bar toward said confining upright wall of said cap carries said shackle toward said drinking opening so that said end of said lever attached to said shackle moves toward said drinking opening forcing the flat surface thereof facing said top wall against said cam surface which rotates said lever and said plug inwardly from said cup out of engagement with said drinking opening when said trigger is actuated.

2. A drinking container according to claim 1 further characterized in that said wire spring is generally in the shape of a rhombus and has a pair of legs which diverge at an obtuse angle from engagement with said trigger actuating means at said lever shoulder and extend outwardly to form acute angles remote from said lever and to converge at their extremities and terminate at connections hooked to said cap.

3. A sealable drinking container according to claim 1 further comprising a twist lock for sealing said cap to said cup.