Drinking-method practice beverage container

Abstract

To provide a drinking-method practice beverage container that enables smooth practice of sipping.SOLUTION: A drinking-method practice beverage container 1 according to the present invention comprises: a container main body 3 having an upper surface opened to contain a beverage; and a lid body 5 provided on an opening of the container main body 3. The lid body 5 is made of an elastic material and has, at a peripheral edge portion, a sipping-practice portion 6 used for practice of sipping a beverage. The sipping-practice portion 6 has a tongue piece portion 7 capable of holding a beverage and a slit 9 for supplying beverage inside the container main body 3 to the tongue piece portion 7. By pressing a peripheral portion of the slit 9, beverage flows out, and when the pressing is released, the slit 9 returns to its original shape to stop the outflow.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a drinking practice container for helping infants practice sipping and drinking from a cup. In this specification and claims, sipping refers to the action of putting a drink into the mouth by "sipping" before an infant is able to "drink" the drink. Drinking from a cup also means placing your mouth directly on the edge of the cup and gulping the drink down into your mouth. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a learning drinking cup as a training cup for babies to drink beverages such as milk directly from a cup. This educational drinking cup includes a container body that can contain liquid and has an opening; a drinking spout member that is detachably attached to the container body, has an opening that communicates with the container body, has an inclined surface that continues from the opening and gradually rises outward, has walls that rise integrally from opposing opening edge portions of the opening so as to surround the opening and the inclined surface, and has guide means that are open above the inclined surface in the area surrounded by the walls, The spout member is provided with a flow rate adjusting means for adjusting the flow rate of the liquid guided from the container body to the outside, The inclined surface of the guide means of the drinking spout member is formed with a recess, so that the liquid can be stored in an amount that can be accommodated in the recess" (see claim 1 of Patent Document 1).

[0003] The operation is described as follows: 『

[0024] In other words, during the mouth movements described above, infants learn information such as the presence and location of liquid food from the sensation of their upper lip at this time. The mother repeats the action of slightly tilting the container body 12 further so that the liquid food enters the baby's mouth successively in the above-mentioned stored volume, and the mother can learn information about the movement and flow rate of the liquid from the movement of the liquid surface at this time. This allows infants to take liquid food into their mouths little by little, and swallow the liquid in large gulps in coordination with their breathing. Moreover, the front end 14b of the guide means 14 is formed as a periphery with approximately the same curvature as the periphery of the drinking cup, allowing the infant to learn the feeling of putting the drinking cup to their mouth. Furthermore, the width W1 of the guide means 14 is set within the above-mentioned range, so it naturally responds to the movement of the infant's lips at this age, is inserted properly into the mouth, and does not leave any unnecessary gaps when the infant closes their lips. This allows the infant to drink liquid without spilling it.

[0025] Next, after completing the first stage described above and once the child is able to ingest sufficient liquid food through the spout member 11, the spout member 11 of the learning drinking cup 10 is removed, and the child moves on to the second stage in which the liquid food is fed directly from the container body 12. In this second stage of training, the mother places the rim of the cup-shaped opening 12a of the container body 12 over the baby's mouth, and the baby is trained to pinch the rim of the opening 12a between its upper and lower lips. From this position, the mother gradually tilts the container body 12, and the infant can sense the liquid food flowing through the sensation on its upper lip, and opens its mouth in accordance with the amount it wants to consume, leading to the liquid food being introduced into its mouth. At this time, since the infant has been trained to sense the flow rate of the liquid through the sensation on its upper lip, it can be trained to swallow a certain amount once it has entered its mouth, and to swallow continuously if the liquid food is introduced continuously. This allows for the second stage of training, in which the infant can consume liquid food from a container similar to a regular drinking cup. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 4632549 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] As can be seen from the above description, the technique of Patent Document 1 is for the mother or other parent to practice drinking from a cup after the child has finished sipping from a spoon. Therefore, in Patent Document 1, the front end 14b of the guide means 14 is formed as a peripheral portion having approximately the same curvature as the peripheral portion of the drinking cup, so that the infant can learn the feeling of putting the drinking cup to their mouth. The opening for supplying beverage to the guide means 14 is always open, allowing beverage to be supplied to the guide means 14 continuously.

[0006] In other words, as described above, the technique of Patent Document 1 is a method in which the mother or other person performs practice as a preliminary step to drinking from a cup after the child has finished sipping from a spoon. However, it is also possible to store a small amount of beverage in the guide means 14 to allow the user to practice sipping. However, when practicing sipping, etc., the child is often held in one's arms, and the child moves and puts out their hands, making it difficult to control the amount of beverage that flows out. If the opening is always open, the beverage may gush out and spill depending on the angle of the container body, or conversely, the beverage collected in the guiding means may return to the container body. As such, it must be said that the device of Patent Document 1 is not suitable for practicing sipping.

[0007] Furthermore, Patent Document 1 states that after the first stage in which the guide means 14 is used, the drinking spout member 11 is removed and the liquid food is fed directly from the container body 12 in a second stage. This second step involves drinking directly from the rim of the cup, just like with a regular cup. However, if the infant suddenly switches from practicing using the guide means 14 to drinking from a regular cup, the cup has an open rim all the way around, which means that the liquid will spill out the sides of the infant's mouth. Therefore, Patent Document 1 describes that in the second stage, the mother should practice by gradually tilting the container body 12, and the infant cannot learn how to tilt the container body 12 by holding it by itself.

[0008] The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and aims to provide a drinking container for drinking practice that allows smooth practice of the so-called sipping technique that has been performed using a spoon. Another object of the present invention is to provide a drinking container for drinking practice that allows a child to practice transitioning to drinking from a cup after they have become able to sip. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] (1) The beverage container for drinking practice according to the present invention comprises a container body having an open top for containing a beverage; a lid provided on the opening of the container body, the lid is made of an elastic material and has a sipping practice part provided on the periphery for practicing sipping; The sipping practice section has a tongue portion that can store beverages and a slit in the tongue portion for supplying the beverage from the container body, and is configured so that the beverage flows out when the periphery of the slit is pressed, and the slit returns to its original shape when pressure is released, thereby stopping the outflow.

[0010] (2) Furthermore, in the above (1), the lid body has a recess, which is made up of a peripheral wall portion and a bottom portion, the slit is formed in the bottom portion, and the thickness of the peripheral wall portion is thinner than that of other portions.

[0011] (3) In addition, in the device described in (1) or (2) above, the slit is formed in an arc shape that is convex toward the peripheral edge of the lid body.

[0012] (4) Furthermore, in any of the above (1) to (3), the container body is characterized in that the inclination of the side on which the sipping practice section is formed is gentler than the inclination of the other side.

[0013] (5) In addition, in the device described in any one of (1) to (4) above, a cup drinking practice section is provided on the periphery of the lid on the opposite side of the center of the lid from the sipping practice section, for practicing drinking from a cup. The cup drinking practice section is characterized by comprising an opening formed in the lid. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] In the present invention, the sipping practice section has a tongue portion that can store beverages and a slit in the tongue portion for supplying the beverage from the container body, and is configured so that the beverage flows out when pressure is applied around the slit, and the slit returns to its original shape when pressure is released, stopping the flow. This makes it easy to adjust the amount of beverage stored in the tongue portion, and once the beverage has been stored in the tongue portion, the slit closes, preventing the beverage from flowing out of or returning to the container body, allowing for smooth sipping practice. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a drinking practice beverage container according to an embodiment, seen from above; [Figure 2] 1 is a perspective view showing a lid body of a beverage container for drinking practice according to an embodiment separated from a container body. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the state shown in FIG. 2 as seen from below. [Figure 4] 1 is a side view of a beverage container for drinking practice according to an embodiment. [Figure 5]1 is a cross-sectional view (a cross-section in a direction dividing the tongue portion in half widthwise) of a lid of a beverage container for cup drinking practice according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] 6 is a cross-sectional view of the lid of the drinking container for cup drinking practice according to the embodiment (a cross-section taken along a direction dividing the recess in half in a direction perpendicular to the cross-sectional direction of FIG. 6). [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a state in which the lid body has been replaced from the state shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 8] 10A to 10C are explanatory diagrams illustrating the stages of practice using a drinking practice beverage container according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] The present embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this specification, the term "front" as a direction refers to the side that an infant will place their mouth on when using the drinking practice beverage container correctly, that is, the side closest to the infant. As shown in Figures 1 to 4, a beverage container 1 for drinking practice according to one embodiment of the present invention has a container body 3 with an open top surface for containing a beverage, and a lid body 5 that is removably attached to the opening of the container body 3. The lid body 5 is provided with a sipping practice section 6 for practicing sipping, and a cup drinking practice section 11 provided on the periphery on the opposite side of the center of the lid body 5 from the sipping practice section 6 and used for practicing drinking from a cup. Each component will be described in detail below.

[0017] <Container body> The container body 3 has a bottom 4 and a peripheral wall that curves gently upward from the bottom 4 so as to be convex outward, and has an open top surface. Handles 13 are provided on both sides of the peripheral wall. The handle 13 has its upper end attached to the top of the peripheral wall, protruding outward, then curving downward and forward, and extending to a position slightly above the bottom 4. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the handle 13 is provided so as to be inclined downward and obliquely forward.

[0018] The handle 13 is tilted forward so that when a drink is drunk, the angle of tilt can be made small when the container body 3 is tilted by grasping the handle 13 with both hands.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 4, the container body 3 has peripheral walls with different shapes on the front and rear sides. Specifically, the rear side is steeply inclined, whereas the front side is more gently inclined than the rear side. This is because, like the shape of the handle 13, when the container body 3 is tilted to drink a beverage, the angle of tilt is small.

[0020] The bottom 4 is provided with a protrusion 15 that protrudes forward, which increases the contact area and ensures stability when the container body 3 is placed.

[0021] <Lid> The lid 5 is detachably attached to the container body 3 so as to cover the opening of the container body 3. The lid 5 is made of an elastic material such as silicone or elastomer. As described above, the periphery of the lid 5 is provided with the sipping practice area 6 and the cup drinking practice area 11, each consisting of the tongue 7 and the slit 9.

[0022] 《Tongue part》 The tongue portion 7 is recessed like the pot of a spoon so as to be able to collect beverages (see FIGS. 4 to 6). Specifically, the lower end is connected to the peripheral edge of the lid body 5, the outer edge is curved and rises in a mountain shape, and the inner surface protrudes outward, creating a depression on the inside, allowing beverages to be stored in this depression.

[0023] The beverage collected in the tongue portion 7 can be sipped in the same way as with a spoon. Sipping refers to the action of putting a beverage into the mouth by "sipping" before an infant is able to "drink." Furthermore, if the tongue portion 7 is continuously supplied with a beverage, it can also be used to practice gulping down, which is one step before drinking from a cup, as in Patent Document 1.

[0024] As shown in Fig. 4, the tongue portion 7 has a curved shape with its upper portion directed toward the center of the container body 3. This allows the inclination angle of the container body 3 to be increased when beverage is stored in the tongue portion 7. In other words, since the container body 3 can be tilted significantly to store beverage in the tongue portion 7, the amount of beverage remaining in the container body 3 (amount left undrinked) can be reduced. In this regard, the guide means of Patent Document 1 is inclined so that the upper portion is away from the container body, and therefore the container body cannot be tilted significantly when the beverage is stored in the guide means.

[0025] "slit" The slit 9 is formed in the recessed bottom 19 of a circular recess 17 formed in the lid 5 near the tongue portion 7 . The recess 17 is composed of a circular peripheral wall 21 and a flat recessed bottom 19 . As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the peripheral wall portion 21 is thinner than other portions of the lid body 5, including the recessed bottom portion 19. The recessed bottom 19 is provided at its periphery with a thick circular rib 23 that protrudes downward. Furthermore, the slit forming portion of the recessed bottom 19 where the slit 9 is formed is thinner than the other portions of the recessed bottom 19 .

[0026] The reason why the recess 17 as described above is provided in the lid 5 and the slit 9 is formed in the recessed bottom 19 is as follows. The lid 5 is made of an elastic material and is slightly smaller than the opening edge of the container body 3. This is to ensure that the lid 5 is attached to the container body 3 with good airtightness. Therefore, the lid 5 is elastically deformed as if it is slightly stretched when attached to the container body 3. If the lid 5 is attached to the container body 3 without providing a recess 17 or the like and a slit 9 is formed on the top surface of the lid, the slit 9 will open. Therefore, by thinning the peripheral wall portion 21 and providing a circular rib 23 on the periphery of the recessed bottom portion 19, the peripheral wall portion 21 is made easy to stretch and the recessed bottom portion 19 is made difficult to stretch. As a result, even if the entire lid body 5 stretches somewhat when the lid body 5 is attached to the container body 3, the stretch is absorbed by the peripheral wall part 21, and the slit 9 formed in the recessed bottom part 19 can be kept closed.

[0027] The slit 9 is formed in a portion of the recess 17 close to the tongue portion 7 and has an arc shape that follows the circular shape of the recess 17. When the vicinity of the slit 9 in the concave bottom 19 is pressed with a finger, for example, the slit 9 opens and the beverage comes out. When the pressing finger is released, the slit 9 closes and the beverage does not come out. The reason why the slit forming portion is thin is to prevent the finger from getting caught in the thickness direction when the finger pressing down on the slit 9 is released and the slit 9 closes.

[0028] "Cup Drinking Practice Club" The cup drinking practice section 11 is used as the next step after the child has learned to sip, etc. In other words, it is used after the child has learned to sip and to gulp using the tongue section 7, but before the child can remove the lid 5 and drink from a regular cup.

[0029] The cup drinking practice portion 11 is provided on the peripheral edge of the lid body 5 on the opposite side of the tongue portion 7 with the center of the lid body 5 in between. The cup drinking practice part 11 has a notch 25 cut out from the periphery of the lid body 5 to the top surface, the notch 25 being close in size to the mouth of an infant, and small notches 27 provided around the notch 25 to serve as air holes. As shown in Figure 1, the cutout portion 25 is arc-shaped when viewed from above on the upper surface side of the lid body 5, and the small cutout portion 27 is provided in the center of the arc as a thin line toward the center of the lid body 5.

[0030] The size of the notch 25 of the cup drinking practice part 11 is close to the size of the baby's mouth, so that it is almost covered by the baby's mouth when in use, thereby preventing the drink from spilling as much as possible when the cup is tilted. Even if the notch 25 is covered by the mouth, the small notch 27 is not covered, and acts as an air hole so that the beverage can flow out continuously. Furthermore, the small cutout 27 is provided in the shape of a thin line toward the center of the lid 5 at the center of the arc of the cutout 25, so that when the container body 3 is tilted moderately, the beverage will not spill out of the small cutout 27, but will spill out if the container body is tilted too much. This allows infants to understand that tilting the container body 3 too much is not good, and helps them learn how much to tilt the container body 3.

[0031] The process of practice using the drinking practice beverage container 1 configured as above will be described with reference to FIG. First, when practicing sipping, tilt the container body 3 with the lid 5 attached so that the tongue portion 7 faces the front of the container body 3, as shown in FIG. 8(a). As shown in FIG. 8(a), when the container is tilted, the slit 9 is not open and no beverage comes out. In this state, when a caregiver such as a mother presses the concave bottom portion 19, the slit 9 opens and a small amount of the drink comes out and can be stored in the tongue portion 7.

[0032] At this time, the amount of beverage dispensed can be finely adjusted by the amount of pressure applied, making it much easier to adjust the amount of beverage dispensed compared to conventional examples in which the beverage dispenser is always open and the amount of beverage dispensed is adjusted by adjusting the tilt. In particular, when practicing sipping, etc., it is often done while holding the child, and the child moves and puts out their hands, making it difficult to adjust the amount of drink that flows out, but with this embodiment, this can be easily adjusted.

[0033] When practicing sipping, a predetermined amount of beverage is stored in the tongue portion 7 and the slit 9 is closed. In this state, the beverage will not come out even if the inclination of the container body 3 is changed, making it very easy to practice sipping. In this regard, if the beverage supply port is always open as in the conventional example, the beverage may return to the container body if the child moves or puts their hand out, changing the angle of the container body, but this does not happen in the present embodiment.

[0034] Furthermore, since the peripheral wall on the front side of the container body 3 is gently inclined, the angle at which the container body 3 needs to be tilted to allow the beverage to flow out is small, making operation easy. Furthermore, since the slit 9 is arc-shaped, the center of the arc-shaped slit 9 is relatively close to the peripheral wall of the container body 3, and the amount of beverage remaining in the container body 3 can be reduced.

[0035] Once the patient is able to take initial sips, the device can be used in the manner disclosed in US Pat. No. 5,649,999. In other words, with the container body 3 tilted, the caregiver presses the concave bottom 19 to keep the slit 9 open, allowing the beverage to flow continuously into the tongue piece 7, allowing the infant to drink continuously, gulping it down. In this way, the tongue portion 7 allows for two stages of practice: a stage similar to sipping with a spoon, and the stage shown in Patent Document 1.

[0036] Next, when practicing cup drinking, as shown in Figure 8(b), replace the lid body 5 so that the cup drinking practice section 11 faces forward, and tilt the container body 3 with the baby's mouth against the notch 25. The periphery of the lid 5 is also cut out, so that the baby's mouth can come into contact with the edge of the container body 3, allowing practice with the same sensation as when the lid 5 is removed. When practicing drinking from a cup, the liquid flows out continuously from the notch 25, allowing the baby to drink continuously by gulping it down. In this state, the drink flows continuously from the notch 25, but the notch 25 is closed by the baby's mouth, so the drink is prevented from spilling. Therefore, as the practice progresses, the baby can hold the container body 3 by himself and practice while adjusting the inclination of the container body 3.

[0037] Once the child has become able to drink continuously through practice in the cup drinking practice section 11, the lid 5 can be removed and the cup can be used as a normal cup, as shown in FIG. 8(c).

[0038] According to the present embodiment of the beverage container 1 for drinking practice, a child can go through four stages: the initial stage of sipping, a stage between sipping and drinking from a cup, a stage just before drinking from a cup, and normal drinking from a cup.

[0039] Although the above embodiment is equipped with a cup drinking practice section 11, the present invention is not limited to this and also includes an embodiment that only has a sipping practice section 6 and does not have a cup drinking practice section 11.

[0040] In addition, the cup drinking practice section 11 in the above embodiment has a notch 25 cut out from the peripheral edge of the lid body 5 to the top surface, which is approximately the size of an infant's mouth, and small notches 27 provided around the notch 25 to serve as air holes. However, the cup drinking practice section 11 of the present invention does not necessarily have the notch 25 or the air hole, and may instead have an opening formed in the lid 5 .

[0041] Furthermore, the air hole is not limited to the small cutout 27, but may be provided somewhere in the lid 5, and if the area around the slit 9 is soft, the slit 9 may open and become an air hole when the container body 3 is under negative pressure during cup drinking practice, so it may not be necessary to provide a separate air hole. [Explanation of symbols]

[0042] 1 Drinking container for drinking practice 3 Container body 5 Lid 6. Sipping Practice Club 7 Tongue part 9 Slit 11 Cup Drinking Practice Club 13 Handle 15 Protrusion 17 Recess 19 Concave bottom 21 Peripheral wall section 23 Circular Rib 25 Notch 27 Small notch

Claims

1. a container body having an open top for containing a beverage; a lid provided on the opening of the container body, the lid is made of an elastic material and has a sipping practice part provided on the periphery for practicing sipping; The sipping practice portion has a tongue portion that can store beverage and a slit in the tongue portion for supplying the beverage from the container body, and is configured so that the beverage flows out when the periphery of the slit is pressed, and the slit returns to its original shape when pressure is released, thereby stopping the outflow.

2. 2. A beverage container for drinking practice according to claim 1, wherein the lid has a recess, the recess consisting of a peripheral wall and a bottom, the slit is formed in the bottom, and the peripheral wall is thinner than other parts.

3. 3. The beverage container for drinking practice according to claim 1, wherein the slit is formed in an arc shape that is convex toward the peripheral edge of the lid.

4. 3. The beverage container for drinking practice according to claim 1, wherein the inclination of the container body on the side where the sipping practice section is formed is gentler than the inclination of the other side.

5. a cup drinking practice section for practicing drinking from a cup on the peripheral edge of the lid body on the opposite side of the sipping practice section across the center of the lid body; 3. The drinking container for drinking practice according to claim 1, wherein the cup drinking practice portion is an opening formed in the lid.

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