The advent and growth of fast food restaurants and the increasing popularity of "take-out" food services has greatly increased the need for sealed disposable containers in which food and drink can be carried to the place where they are ultimately consumed. Quite frequently the food and drink are consumed in a moving vehicle or while the consumer is moving. Drinks, particularly hot drinks, can easily spill when they are being consumed under these circumstances and can cause burns and stain clothing or vehicle upholstery. Some types of beverages, such as whipped cream-topped cappuccino, freezes and the like, that are served by fast food or take-out food service establishments include or have added to them ingredients which result in the beverage extending above the upper edge of the cup. Such beverages are difficult to seal against spills. Consequently, lids for disposable drink containers that allow the consumer to drink the beverage inside while the lid remains on the cup have been proposed to solve some of these problems.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,569 to Clements, for example, discloses a lid for a drinking cup which is raised sufficiently above the top rim of the cup it is intended to close to permit the formation of a recess in the lid to accommodate the consumer's upper lip and form a spout at one annular edge of the lid. Although this lid will allow the consumer to drink from the cup while moving or in a moving vehicle, the semicircular shape of the spout does not always fit comfortably in the consumer's mouth, and excess liquid beyond that which can be swallowed easily tends to accumulate in the recess and can spill down the consumer's face. The lid disclosed in this patent does not extend the cup volume and therefore will not easily accommodate beverages that extend above the upper edge of the cup. In addition, the dimensional relationships between the top of the drinking spout and the center of the cup lid, which is only slightly recessed below the spout opening will result in the consumer's nose contacting the cup lid, especially while the last of the beverage is being consumed. This can be somewhat annoying and uncomfortable, particularly if the consumer is drinking and driving at the same time.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,583 to Montemarano discloses a cup lid with a removably covered spout which is raised above the surface of the cup. While this design may solve some of the spillage problems previously mentioned because the entire spout will fit inside the consumer's mouth, it will not expand the cup volume to effectively accommodate beverages topped with whipped cream or foaming beverages, such as ice cream sodas, that are higher than the top of the cup.
The domed container lid disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. Re. 29,989 and 3,952,910 should expand the cup volume to accommodate beverage toppings and foam. However, the drinking opening is awkwardly placed relative to the dome and both likely to be somewhat uncomfortable to use and lead to spills. The drinking cover disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,441,624 to Sokolowski, which will also expand cup volume to accommodate beverage toppings, suffers from additional disadvantages. Spillage from the surface level drinking opening may occur while the consumer is drinking, and there is no provision for drainage of excess liquid back into the cup.
The prior art, therefore, has failed to disclose or suggest a disposable container lid that extends the volume of the cup with an extended volume section above substantially the entire cup surface to accommodate beverage toppings or foamed beverages and a substantially spill-free integral drinking spout that is extended an additional distance beyond the cup surface, which allows the consumer to drink such beverages easily and neatly.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds