Drinking Apparatus

Abstract

A drinking apparatus from which a beverage may be consumed and an expandable device for preventing the beverage from being dispensed from the drinking apparatus to a consumer after a selectable amount of time has elapsed or has substantially elapsed. The expandable device includes a soluble composition and an expandable portion. The expandable portion protrudes from the expandable device to substantially block the dispensation of the beverage from the drinking apparatus upon the partial or full dissolution of the soluble composition by a solvent. By making the beverage available to the consumer for only a limited amount of time, the drinking apparatus reduces the possibility that the consumer, and in particular, a young child, a toddler, or an infant, will drink a spoiled beverage.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]The present invention relates to a drinking apparatus from which a person, and particularly an infant, toddler, or young child, may consume a beverage. More specifically, the present invention relates to a drinking apparatus that allows a person to drink from it for only a selectable amount of time, and then, at the end of that selectable amount of time, automatically prevents the user from drinking from it any further. Even more specifically, the present invention relates to an expandable device, wherein a portion of the expandable device protrudes from the remainder of the expandable device upon the dissolution of a composition by a solvent, and wherein the expandable device is capable of blocking a beverage from flowing from a drinking apparatus to a consumer upon such protrusion by the portion of the expandable device.[0003]2. Description of the Prior Art[0004]A concern shared by many parents is that their child may...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention is a drinking apparatus that allows a consumer to drink a beverage for a selectable period of time, and then automatically prevents them from drinking any further. This is achieved by using an expandable device that is positioned near the flow-through mouth of the beverage vessel, and which includes a soluble composition that is dissolved by a solvent added to the expandable device, causing gradual movement of the expandable portion towards the flow-through mouth to block it and prevent the beverage from flowing through. The apparatus can be used with a small child, toddler, or infant, and provides a convenient and safe way to prevent accidental over-consumption of beverages."

Problems solved by technology

A concern shared by many parents is that their child may become sick as a result of consuming a spoiled beverage that has been left unrefrigerated in the child's bottle, “sippy cup” or similar container for an extended period of time.

The consumption of a beverage that has been left unrefrigerated for an extended period of time, however, can present a grave health problem.

Microbes, such as Escherichia coli and various Campylobacter, Listeria, Salmonella, Yersinia, and Brucella species, for example, can contaminate milk and milk-based beverages and cause them to become too spoiled to safely drink in just a few hours at room temperature, or in an even shorter amount of time in an especially warm environment, such as a baby's nursery or the interior of an automobile on a warm day, for example.

The consumption of milk that has been contaminated by one or more of these microbes by infants and children can lead to diarrhea, stomach cramps, fever, headache, vomiting, exhaustion or, in the worst of cases, death.

Unfortunately, there is no existing drinking device that a parent can give to a child with the assurance that the child will not be able to drink a spoiled beverage from it.

Insulated containers are insufficient, however, because even though the length of time that they are able to keep a beverage cool is prolonged, it is still limited (i.e., no more than about 12-16 hours or so).

Therefore, a child who finds an insulated container that was lost for a period of time that is less than even one day still may be at risk of consuming a highly contaminated, and therefore highly dangerous, beverage.

Insulated containers are further insufficient because some beverages are capable of spoiling in a matter of hours even when they are cool.

Insulated containers are even further insufficient because they cannot be used safely with warm beverages.

Indeed, it is more dangerous to give to a child a warm beverage in an insulated container than it is to give to a child a warm beverage in an uninsulated container.

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