Cup tether

a technology for drinking cups and tethers, which is applied in the field of tethers, can solve the problems of child's difficulty in regaining objects, contents may spill, and child's danger, and achieve the effect of limiting the distance from which the drink container can be thrown

Inactive Publication Date: 2006-12-28
KAPLAN JOEL
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0024] The cup tether is an elastic strap having a first end and a second end and a childproof fastener at one end forming the end into a loop and an elastic loop on the other end. The tether is designed so that one end is attached to an anchor such as a frame of a toddler's seat, a car seat, a stroller, a highchair, or other somewhat stationary object, and the elastic loop end is attached to a drinking container, e.g. a child's sippy cup, and baby bottle. One end is secured around the anchor by wrapping the end portion of the strap around the anchor and securing the strap in place with a fastener, preferably a childproof buckle. The container is secured using the elastic loop and the cup is slipped in or the loop is adjusted. The buckle with the fastener and a second buckle for the elastic loop side permit the size of the loop to be adjusted. The cup tether limits the distance the drink container can be thrown and permits easy retrieval of the container.
[0025] Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a cup tether that tethers a toddler's sippy cup or other drink container to a car seat, stroller, highchair, booster seat, or the like, in order to limit the distance the drink container can be thrown and to permit easy retrieval of the container when it is dropped or thrown by the toddler.
[0027] It is a further object of the invention to provide a cup tether that provides an elastic tether for a toddler's drink container so that a parent or caregiver may pull the drinking container out of the child's reach when refilling the container without unfastening the tether from the anchor.
[0028] It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.

Problems solved by technology

Children, whether in jest or in anger, or simply to get attention, are known to throw objects, such as a drinking containers, toys, etc., especially when they reach the “terrible two's.” Throwing objects is dangerous, but the danger increases when the object is thrown in a moving motor vehicle, as the driver may be distracted.
If a drinking cup is thrown or dropped, the contents may spill if the container forcefully hits the floor.
In either case, a child may find it hard to regain the object if they are strapped into a car seat, high chair or stroller.
The device is long and is not designed to anchor the child to an object nor anchor one object to another.
Again, the device is long and is not designed to anchor the child to an object nor anchor one object to another.
However, both ends use childproof buckles and pose a difficulty for the parent to disengage either the cup or the leash from the anchor.

Method used

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Examples

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Embodiment Construction

[0038] The present invention is a cup tether, designated generally as 100 in the drawings. The tether 100 is designed to tether a drink container 102, such as a toddler's sippy cup, baby bottle, sports bottle, or any other toddlers having a lid with a spout, or nipple, to an anchor 104, such as a child's car seat, stroller, highchair, booster seat, or any other child equipment. The tether 100 may be attached to a belt, post, leg divider, or other supporting part of the frame of the anchor 104 upon which the child is near or seated. In the context of a car seat, the tether 100 may be attached to a shoulder belt, a waist belt or an abdominal shield. The opposite end of the tether is designed to hold the container 102, preferably a cup. The cup can be made of plastic or other unbreakable material and has a lid to prevent spills. A conventional “sippy cup”, for example, includes a cup, a lid that snaps onto the cup, and a spout attached to the lid that the child uses to sip the drink. S...

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PUM

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Abstract

The cup tether is an elastic strap having a first end and a second end and a childproof fastener at one end forming the end into a loop and an elastic loop on the other end. The tether is designed so that one end is attached to an anchor such as a frame of a toddler's seat, a car seat, a stroller, a highchair, or other somewhat stationary object, and the elastic loop end is attached to a drinking container, e.g. a child's sippy cup, and baby bottle. One end is secured around the anchor by wrapping the end portion of the strap around the anchor and securing the strap in place with a fastener, preferably a childproof buckle. The container is secured using the elastic loop and the cup is slipped in or the loop is adjusted. The buckle with the fastener and a second buckle for the elastic loop side permit the size of the loop to be adjusted. The cup tether limits the distance the drink container can be thrown and permits easy retrieval of the container.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119 from U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 694,499, filed Jun. 27, 2005 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 699,768, filed Jul. 15, 2005. The entire disclosures of the provisional applications are hereby incorporated by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to tethers, more particularly to a tether for a drinking cup with a lid of the type commonly known as a “sippy cup” to a car seat, stroller, booster seat, so that the distance the cup can be thrown can be limited and the cup may be readily retrieved when dropped or thrown by a toddler. The cup tether may also be used with baby bottles, sports bottles, and other drink containers having a lid with a spout or nipple. [0004] 2. Description of the Related Art [0005] Children, whether in jest or in anger, or simply to get attention, are known to throw objects, such as a drinki...

Claims

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Application Information

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IPC IPC(8): A47K1/08
CPCA45F2003/148A61J9/06B62B2202/023B60N3/103B62B9/26B60N2/28
InventorKAPLAN, ALVINKAPLAN, JOEL
OwnerKAPLAN JOEL