Mouthpiece implement and beverage container

Abstract

This beverage container (100) is provided with a container body (10) that accommodates a beverage, and a mouthpiece implement (30) that is attached to the container body (10). The mouthpiece implement (30) comprises an attachment portion (31) that is attached to the container body (10) of the beverage container (100) and a mouthpiece portion (40) that protrudes from the attachment portion (31) in a prescribed direction, that is inserted into a user's mouth, and that is capable of elastic deformation. The mouthpiece portion (40) has an outflow hole (41a) that is opened via elastic deformation of the mouthpiece portion (40) and that allows the beverage in the container body (10) to flow out, and a pair of protruding portions (43) that are formed protruding from a front surface on which the outflow hole (41a) is formed, that are provided apart from each other so as to sandwich the outflow hole (41a) therebetween, and that extend toward the tip side of the mouthpiece portion (40).

Description

Drinking implements and beverage containers

[0001] The present invention relates to a drinking implement and a beverage container.

[0002] JP2020-79099A discloses a beverage container with a slit in the flat portion of the spout that is opened by elastic deformation. When a user places the beverage container on their mouth, the flat portion elastically deforms, opening the slit. By tilting the beverage container in this state, the user can consume the beverage through the slit.

[0003] The beverage container disclosed in JP2020-79099A has the above-described configuration, which prevents unintentional leakage of beverage from the drinking spout even if the beverage container is tilted when not in use, such as when being carried. However, with the beverage container disclosed in JP2020-79099A, when drinking, the beverage that flows out through the slit sometimes flows sideways toward the mouth and leaks out, making it difficult for infants to drink the beverage.

[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide a drinking implement and a beverage container that make it easy to drink a beverage while preventing unintentional leakage of the beverage when not in use.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present invention, a drinking tool comprises an attachment part that is attached to the container body of a beverage container, and a drinking spout part that protrudes from the attachment part in a predetermined direction and is elastically deformable so as to be inserted into the user's mouth, the drinking spout part having an outlet hole that is opened by the elastic deformation of the drinking spout part to allow the beverage in the container body to flow out, and a pair of protrusions that protrude from the front surface of the drinking spout part and are spaced apart on either side of the outlet hole and extend toward the tip of the drinking spout part.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, a beverage container comprises a container body for containing a beverage and a drinking tool attached to the container body, the drinking tool comprising an attachment part attached to the container body and a drinking spout part that protrudes in a predetermined direction from the attachment part and is elastically deformable so as to be inserted into the user's mouth, the drinking spout part having an outlet hole that is opened by the elastic deformation of the drinking spout part to allow the beverage in the container body to flow out, and a pair of protrusions formed to protrude from the front surface of the drinking spout part, spaced apart on either side of the outlet hole and extending toward the tip of the drinking spout part.

[0007] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a beverage container according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a beverage container according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a drinking implement according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in Fig. 3.

[0008] Hereinafter, a beverage container 100 and a drinking implement 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0009] The beverage container 100 and the drinking spout 30 of this embodiment can be used as a drinking container for training infants and young children to drink beverages by themselves.

[0010] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the beverage container 100 comprises a container body 10 for containing a beverage, a lid portion 20 attached to the container body 10, and a drinking tool 30 for drinking the beverage in the container body 10.

[0011] As shown in Fig. 2, the container body 10 is a cylindrical container with a bottom and an opening 10a at the top, and contains a beverage in the internal space. The container body 10 is made of, for example, plastic (resin). A threaded portion 11 onto which the lid portion 20 is threaded is formed on the outer periphery of the upper portion of the container body 10, which is on the opening 10a side.

[0012] As shown in Fig. 1, a handle portion 15 to be gripped by a user is attached to the container body 10. The handle portion 15 has an annular ring portion 16 that engages with a stepped portion on the outer periphery of the container body 10, and a pair of arms 17 that are provided on the outer periphery of the ring portion 16 at positions facing each other across the center of the ring portion 16. The handle portion 15 is attached to the container body 10 by sandwiching the ring portion 16 between the container body 10 and the lid portion 20. The pair of arms 17 are formed in a generally L-shape so as to bend downward (toward the bottom surface of the container body 10) from the outer periphery of the ring portion 16.

[0013] 1 and 2, the lid portion 20 is attached to the container body 10 and closes the opening 10a of the container body 10. The lid portion 20 has an annular inner lid portion 21 that is attached to the container body 10 by threading onto the threaded portion 11 at the top of the container body 10, and an outer lid portion 25 that is rotatably attached to the inner lid portion 21.

[0014] The inner lid portion 21 is provided with a flange portion 22 having an attachment hole 22a for attaching a drinking tool 30 (described later) and an axial hole 21a into which a rotation shaft 23 for connecting to the outer lid portion 25 is inserted. The flange portion 22 is formed in an annular shape that protrudes radially inward from the inside of the inner lid portion 21.

[0015] The outer lid part 25 is formed in a dome shape (approximately hemispherical) that covers the inner lid part 21 and the drinking implement 30 attached to the inner lid part 21, and is rotatably attached to the inner lid part 21 via a rotation shaft 23. By rotating around the rotation shaft 23, the outer lid part 25 opens and closes between an open state (the state shown in Figure 1) in which the drinking implement 30 is exposed and a closed state (the state shown in Figure 2) in which the drinking implement 40 is covered by the outer lid part 25.

[0016] The lid 20 also has a connecting portion 26 that connects the outer lid 25 and inner lid 21 in the closed state. The connecting portion 26 has a button 27 that is rotatably attached to the inner lid 21 via a pin 28, and a torsion spring (not shown) that is a biasing member that biases the button 27 in one direction around the pin 28. The button 27 has a claw 27a that engages with a protrusion 25a provided on the outer lid 25 (see FIG. 2 ). The protrusion 25a of the outer lid 25 engages with the claw 27a of the button 27, thereby restricting the rotation of the outer lid 25 from the closed state to the open state. 2 against the biasing force of the torsion spring, the claw 27a of the button 27 is disengaged from the protrusion 25a of the outer lid 25, allowing the outer lid 25 to rotate from the closed state to the open state. In this way, the connecting portion 26 functions as a one-touch disengagement mechanism.

[0017] 2, the drinking tool 30 is formed in a hollow dome shape with a recess 30a, and an internal space 30b is defined inside (inside). The recess 30a opens on the end face of the drinking tool 30 on the container body 10 side.

[0018] The drinking tool 30 comprises an attachment part 31 that is attached to the lid part 20, and an elastically deformable hollow drinking spout part 40 that protrudes in a predetermined direction from the attachment part 31 and is inserted into the user's mouth. The drinking tool 30 is constructed such that the attachment part 31 and the drinking spout part 40 are integrally formed from a material (such as silicone rubber) that can be elastically deformed by an external force.

[0019] The mounting portion 31 has a substantially plate-shaped (flange-shaped) base 32, an annular engaging portion 33 spaced from the base 32 in the axial direction of the container body 10, and an annular groove 34 provided between the base 32 and the engaging portion 33. The cross-sectional shapes of the base 32, the engaging portion 33, and the groove 34 perpendicular to the axis of the container body 10 are formed to be substantially similar to the shapes of the mounting holes 22a of the inner lid portion 21. In the cross-section perpendicular to the axis of the container body 10, the base 32 and the engaging portion 33 are larger than the mounting hole 22a, and the groove 34 is slightly smaller than the mounting hole 22a. In other words, the base 32 and the engaging portion 33 are formed to be large enough that they cannot pass through the mounting hole 22a of the inner lid portion 21 along the axis of the container body 10 in a natural state where no external force is acting. By accommodating the flange 22 of the inner lid portion 21 in the groove 34, the engaging portion 33 and the base 32 engage with the flange 22 of the inner lid portion 21. In this manner, the drinking implement 30 is attached to the inner lid portion 21. In other words, the drinking implement 30 is attached to the container body 10 via the inner lid portion 21 (lid portion 20).

[0020] The drinking spout 40 protrudes from the mounting portion 31 in a direction perpendicular to the mounting portion 31, in other words, in the axial direction of the container body 10, toward the opposite side from the container body 10 (upward in Figure 2).

[0021] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 , the drinking spout 40 has a plate-like portion 41 formed in a substantially semicircular plate shape, and a side portion 46 connecting the plate-like portion 41 and the attachment portion 31 .

[0022] As shown in Figure 2, the plate-shaped portion 41 is formed to extend from the engaging portion 33 of the mounting portion 31 in a predetermined direction inclined with respect to the axis of the container body 10. The plate-shaped portion 41 has an outlet hole 42 for allowing the beverage in the container body 10 to flow out, a pair of protrusions 43 formed to protrude from the front surface of the plate-shaped portion 41, and a recessed portion 45 provided between the pair of protrusions 43 and having a recessed surface 45a recessed from the front surface. Note that the front surface of each component of the drinking spout portion 40 refers to the surface exposed to the outside of the container body 10 when the drinking implement 30 is attached to the container body 10 via the lid portion 20. The back surface of each component of the drinking spout portion 40, which will be described later, refers to the surface facing the inside of the container body 10 when the drinking implement 30 is attached to the container body 10 via the lid portion 20.

[0023] The outlet hole 42 penetrates the plate-shaped portion 41 in the thickness direction to connect the internal space 30b inside the spout portion 40 to the outside of the spout portion 40. The outlet hole 42 is formed as a linear slit extending from the base end of the spout portion 40 (plate-shaped portion 41) connected to the attachment portion 31 toward the tip end. The outlet hole 42 is closed in a natural state when no external force is applied. This prevents unintentional leakage of beverage to the outside through the outlet hole 42 even if the beverage container 100 is tilted when not in use. Furthermore, by forming the outlet hole 42 in a linear shape extending from the base end to the tip end of the spout portion 40, the direction of deformation is uniform, making it easy to open and close. The shape of the outlet hole 42 is not limited to a linear slit and can be other shapes such as a Y-shape or a cross shape. Furthermore, the outlet hole 42 is not limited to a single hole and may be composed of multiple holes.

[0024] The pair of protrusions 43 are ribs that protrude from the front surface of the plate-shaped portion 41 in a direction perpendicular to the plate-shaped portion 41. The pair of protrusions 43 are formed parallel to the outflow hole 42, which is a linear slit, and, like the outflow hole 42, are formed in a linear shape extending toward the tip side of the drinking spout portion 40. The pair of protrusions 43 are parallel to each other and spaced apart from each other so as to sandwich the outflow hole 42. Furthermore, the pair of protrusions 43 protrude to the same height from the front surface of the plate-shaped portion 41, and are each formed to a uniform protrusion height along the extension direction except for a portion near the tip.

[0025] Here, "extending toward the tip of the drinking spout portion 40" means extending toward the opposite side of the mounting portion 31 or the container body 10 in the axial direction of the container body 10, which is the direction in which the drinking spout portion 40 protrudes, and excludes a form in which it extends parallel to a perpendicular line to the axis of the container body 10.

[0026] 3 and 4, the recessed portion 45 has an arcuate (curved) concave surface 45a that extends parallel to the pair of protruding portions 43 and is recessed from the front surface of the plate-like portion 41. From another perspective, the recessed portion 45 is formed by a groove that has a substantially semi-elliptical cross section and extends toward the tip of the spout portion 40.

[0027] The back surface of the recessed portion 45 (the surface facing the internal space 30b) is formed as a raised surface 45b that is raised by an arcuate surface (curved surface) that corresponds to the shape of the concave surface 45a on the front surface side, as shown in Fig. 4. In this way, since the front surface side is formed as the concave surface 45a and the back surface side is formed as the raised surface 45b, the thickness of the recessed portion 45 does not become thin even when the front surface side is recessed.

[0028] The concave surface 45a of the recess 45 extends from the base end toward the tip end of the plate-like portion 41 connected to the attachment portion 31, and is provided so as to open at the boundary with the side portion 46 (see FIGS. 2 and 3). In other words, the tip end of the concave surface 45a of the recess 45 is not closed, but opens to the outside on the front surface of the drinking spout portion 40. This allows the beverage flowing out from the outlet hole 42 to be guided into the mouth through the opening of the recess 45 without accumulating in the recess 45.

[0029] The outflow holes 42 are formed in the recessed portion 45 so as to penetrate the recessed portion 45 in the thickness direction, and open to the concave surface 45a and the raised surface 45b of the recessed portion 45. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 4, the outflow holes 42 are formed in the recessed portion 45 at positions that open to the apex of the concave surface 45a and the raised surface 45b of the recessed portion 45, respectively.

[0030] 3, the plate-shaped portion 41 is provided with a guide portion 47 that serves as a guide for the user to place the drinking spout portion 40 in their mouth. The guide portion 47 is a step formed between the distal end and proximal end portions of the plate-shaped portion 41, and is formed in the shape of a gentle arc that is convex toward the proximal end when the plate-shaped portion 41 is viewed perpendicularly.

[0031] The side portion 46 is formed into a cylindrical surface shape centered on the axis of the container body 10 .

[0032] Next, the operation of the beverage container 100 will be described.

[0033] As described above, the outlet hole 42 is closed in a natural state when no external force is acting. Therefore, even if the beverage container 100 is tilted when not in use, unintentional leakage of beverage to the outside through the outlet hole 42 can be prevented. To drink beverage from the beverage container 100, a user first holds the spout portion 40 of the drinking implement 30 in their mouth and tilts the beverage container 100. Typically, the spout portion 40 is inserted into the user's mouth from the tip end, with the plate-shaped portion 41 on top and the side portion 46 on the bottom (tongue side). In this state, the spout portion 40 is elastically deformed by the lips or the palate, which is the inner wall of the mouth (hereinafter referred to as the "oral cavity portion M"), thereby opening the outlet hole 42 of the spout portion 40 and allowing the beverage in the container body 10 to flow out of the container body 10 through the outlet hole 42. This guides the beverage into the user's mouth, allowing the user to drink the beverage. Furthermore, the drinking spout 40 is formed in a hollow dome shape having the recess 30a, and the plate-like portion 41 is formed relatively thin, so that even infants can easily deform the plate-like portion 41 to open the outlet hole 42. The oral cavity M includes at least the teeth, gums, lips, and palate.

[0034] In this case, when the user places the drinking spout portion 40 in their mouth, the oral cavity M (specifically, the upper lips, palate, etc., see the two-dot chain line in Figure 4) comes into contact with the protruding portion 43 of the drinking spout portion 40, so the outlet hole 42 does not come into contact with or adhere to the oral cavity M inside the mouth, and a space (gap) 40a partitioned by the protruding portion 43 is formed between the oral cavity M inside the mouth and the outlet hole 42. As a result, the beverage flowing out of the outlet hole 42 is restricted from flowing laterally (see Figure 4) by the protruding portion 43 that comes into contact with the oral cavity M inside the mouth, and the space 40a between the oral cavity M and the outlet hole 42 serves as a flow path and is guided toward the back of the mouth. Therefore, the beverage container 100 prevents the beverage from leaking out the sides of the mouth, making it easy to drink.

[0035] Furthermore, because the outlet hole 42 is formed in a recess 45 provided between the pair of protrusions 43, contact between the outlet hole 42 and the oral cavity M in the mouth is further suppressed by the concave surface 45a of the recess 45. In other words, the space 40a between the oral cavity M in the mouth and the outlet hole 42 is made larger by the concave surface 45a of the recess 45. This makes it easier for the beverage flowing out from the outlet hole 42 to be guided toward the back of the mouth by the space 40a, further suppressing leakage of the beverage from the sides of the mouth, and making the beverage container 100 easier to drink.

[0036] Furthermore, the recessed portion 45 has a front side formed as a concave surface 45a recessed from the front surface and a back side formed as a raised surface 45b raised from the back surface. The outflow hole 42 is formed at the top of the recessed portion 45 so as to penetrate the recessed portion 45. As a result, the recessed portion 45 and the outflow hole 42 form a check valve structure (duckbill valve structure) that regulates the flow of beverage from the inside to the outside of the container body 10. The check valve structure prevents the outflow hole 42 from unintentionally opening due to a change in internal pressure within the container body 10, etc., and causing the beverage in the container body 10 to flow out through the outflow hole 42 to the outside.

[0037] The effects of this embodiment will be described below.

[0038] The beverage container 100 of this embodiment comprises a container body 10 that contains a beverage, and a drinking tool 30 that is attached to the container body 10. The drinking tool 30 comprises an attachment part 31 that is attached to the container body 10 of the beverage container 100, and an elastically deformable drinking spout part 40 that protrudes in a predetermined direction from the attachment part 31 and is inserted into the user's mouth. The drinking spout part 40 has an outlet hole 42 that is opened by the elastic deformation of the drinking spout part 40 to allow the beverage inside the container body 10 to flow out, and a pair of protrusions 43 that protrude from the front surface on which the outlet hole 42 is formed, and that are spaced apart on either side of the outlet hole 42 and extend toward the tip of the drinking spout part 40.

[0039] According to this embodiment, the drinking spout portion 40, which protrudes in a predetermined direction from the attachment portion 31, is inserted into the mouth and deformed, opening the outlet hole 42 and allowing the beverage to be consumed through the outlet hole 42. At this time, the oral cavity portion M inside the mouth comes into contact with the protruding portion 43 of the drinking spout portion 40, forming a space 40a between the oral cavity portion M inside the mouth and the outlet hole 42. The beverage flowing out of the outlet hole 42 is restricted from flowing out laterally by the protruding portion 43 in contact with the oral cavity portion M inside the mouth, and is instead guided toward the back of the mouth through the space 40a between the oral cavity portion M and the outlet hole 42. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the beverage is prevented from leaking out the sides of the mouth, making it easy to consume.

[0040] Furthermore, in the drinking tool 30 , the drinking spout portion 40 has a recessed portion 45 that is provided between a pair of protrusions 43 and recessed from the outer surface, and the outflow hole 42 is formed in the recessed portion 45 .

[0041] With this configuration, the recess 45 ensures a larger space 40a between the inner wall of the mouth and the outlet hole 42, so that the beverage flowing out of the outlet hole 42 is more reliably guided to the back of the mouth and the beverage is further prevented from leaking out the sides of the mouth, thereby further improving the ease of drinking from the beverage container.

[0042] Furthermore, in the drinking tool 30, the back surface of the recessed portion 45 is formed to be raised.

[0043] According to this configuration, a check valve structure is formed by the recess 45 and the outflow hole 42. This prevents the outflow hole 42 from being unintentionally opened due to a change in the internal pressure inside the container body 10, etc., and prevents the beverage inside the container body 10 from flowing out through the outflow hole 42 to the outside.

[0044] Next, modified examples of this embodiment will be described. The following modified examples are also within the scope of the present invention. It is also possible to combine the configuration shown in the modified example with the configuration described in the above embodiment, or to combine the configurations described in the different modified examples below.

[0045] In the above embodiment, the pair of protrusions 43 are parallel to each other, but they do not have to be parallel.

[0046] The protruding portion 43 is a rib that protrudes from the front surface of the plate-like portion 41, and the back surface of the protruding portion 43 is formed uniformly with the surrounding area. Alternatively, the back surface of the protruding portion 43 may be formed as a concave surface that is recessed from the surrounding area.

[0047] In the above embodiment, the spout portion 40 of the drinking implement 30 is formed in a hollow dome shape with a recess 30a, forming an internal space 30b. However, the shape of the spout portion 40 is not limited to the above embodiment. The spout portion 40 can have any shape as long as it is configured so that it deforms when held in the user's mouth, opening the outlet hole 42 and allowing the beverage in the container body 10 to flow out through the outlet hole 42. For example, the spout portion 40 may be solid, without the recess 30a (internal space 30b).

[0048] In the above embodiment, the back surface of the recessed portion 45 is formed to be raised. However, in cases where the thickness of the recessed portion 45 can be ensured, the back surface may not be raised but may be formed to be a uniform surface (flat surface) with the surrounding area.

[0049] In addition, although the above embodiment uses an infant as an example of a user, the user is not limited to an infant. For example, the present invention is also useful for people (such as the elderly) who have difficulty tilting a beverage container when drinking from it.

[0050] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the above embodiments merely illustrate some of the application examples of the present invention, and it is not intended that the technical scope of the present invention be limited to the specific configurations of the above embodiments.

Claims

1. A drinking tool for a beverage container comprising: an attachment part that is attached to a container body of the beverage container; and a drinking spout part that protrudes in a predetermined direction from the attachment part and is elastically deformable to be inserted into a user's mouth, wherein the drinking spout part has an outlet hole that is opened by the elastic deformation of the drinking spout part to allow the beverage inside the container body to flow out, and a pair of protrusions that protrude from an outer surface of the drinking spout part and are spaced apart from each other on either side of the outlet hole and extend toward the tip of the drinking spout part.

2. A drinking tool as claimed in claim 1, wherein the drinking spout has a recessed portion disposed between the pair of protrusions and recessed from the front surface, and the outlet hole is formed in the recessed portion.

3. A drinking tool as claimed in claim 2, wherein the back surface of the recessed portion is formed as a protrusion.

4. A beverage container comprising: a container body for containing a beverage; and a drinking tool attached to the container body, wherein the drinking tool comprises an attachment part attached to the container body; and a drinking spout part which protrudes in a predetermined direction from the attachment part and is elastically deformable for insertion into a user's mouth, wherein the drinking spout part has an outlet hole which is opened by the elastic deformation of the drinking spout part to allow the beverage in the container body to flow out, and a pair of protrusions which protrude from an outer surface of the drinking spout part and are spaced apart from each other on either side of the outlet hole and extend toward the tip of the drinking spout part.

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