cup lid
The cup lid addresses the issues of steam burns and spills by using a sloped platform, angled outlet, and internal spill path to redirect steam and droplets, enhancing safety and security during use.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2025540769
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2023-01-12
- Filing Date
- 2023-10-03
- Publication Date
- 2026-01-23
AI Technical Summary
Existing beverage cup lids fail to effectively prevent hot liquid spills, steam burns, and leakage, particularly during travel or movement, due to design flaws that allow steam to rise vertically and droplets to fall onto the rim and clothing.
A cup lid design with a sloped drinking platform, angled liquid outlet, and internal spill path with holes that redirects steam and droplets back into the cup, combined with a secure sealing mechanism to prevent leakage.
Reduces the risk of steam burns and liquid spills by directing steam and droplets away from the mouth and ensuring the lid remains securely attached, minimizing leakage onto clothing.
Smart Images
Figure 2026502536000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
[Technical Field]
[0001] The present invention relates to a lid that can be attached and detached from a beverage cup and that provides some protection against spillage of liquid from the cup while the cup is being carried, traveling with the cup, or while in a moving vehicle. The present invention also relates to a cup lid that prevents hot liquid from escaping or liquid vapor from causing burns to the mouth, and that holds the lid tightly to the rim of the cup to prevent leakage in the area between the rim and the lid.
[0002] There are many types of beverage cup lids, particularly those for hot beverage cups, especially those used during travel and on the move. The most well-known and widely used of these lids is described in U.S. Patent No. 4,589,569, which describes a lid for a cup with a drinking spout, where the drinking area of the lid is raised above the rim of the cup at a height that allows the lips to hold the liquid outlet area, and the liquid outlet is at the top of the raised rim, behind which there is a cavity that allows the upper lip to fit. A drawback of this type of lid is that hot steam from the hot beverage rising from the liquid / beverage outlet opening can cause burns to the mouth before the hot beverage reaches the mouth, and when the cup is tilted over the beverage, the hot liquid behind the beverage moves, causing the hot beverage to push out the hot steam before the beverage emerges from this only outlet, causing burns to the mouth. The present invention avoids this problem by creating a beverage outlet opening at an angle to the bottom of the cavity, between the bottom of the cavity and the raised area that is intended for drinking from. Additionally, the present invention has a small rim above the liquid outlet, which prevents the steam outlet from being directly perpendicular to the mouth or lips, and the liquid exits into a cavity, reducing the temperature of the liquid before it reaches the mouth, thereby reducing the risk of burns to the mouth caused by the steam or heat of the beverage. Furthermore, in the prior art described in the above-mentioned U.S. patent, droplets that fall from the beverage outlet during drinking fall onto the rim that holds the rim of the cup, and then flow onto the cup or the drinker's clothing. This problem is avoided in the present invention by the existence of a spill path between the fixed rim of the lid on the cup and the raised drinking area, and the spill path of the present invention has small openings that allow collected droplets to return to the cup. These openings also help to allow hot steam to escape from the cup and replace the liquid lost during drinking with air.
[0003] Prior art includes a spout described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,387,961, whose drinking spout is similar to the prior art spout described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,569, except that the liquid outlet of this technology has horizontal openings extending from the interior of the liquid outlet opening to just before the liquid outlet. These openings serve to return volatile droplets from the liquid back to the cup, and may also serve to return some volatile droplets. However, the presence of these openings in this position is useless if droplets spill onto the outer wall of the raised drinking area while drinking. This problem is avoided in the present invention by providing a circular spill path that surrounds the rim of the cup from the inside and immediately follows the raised drinking area. Therefore, liquid spilled from the drinker's mouth onto the raised drinking top is collected in the spill path, which includes holes that return the droplets to the cup. Also, while moving with the cup, volatile droplets from the liquid outlet will be collected in the liquid collection cavity, and the sloping bottom of this cavity will cause these droplets to return to the cup through the liquid outlet opening located at the contact angle between the low area of the bottom of the liquid collection cavity and the base of the drinking tip.
[0004] Among the prior art is that described in U.S. Patent No. 4,953,743, which does not have a raised drinking area but has a rim of a lid fastener that serves to secure the lid to the drinking spout of the cup so that a user can drink from it after cutting off a portion of the cup lid. However, this type of cup lid is undesirable for users because the force applied to the lid slit to open the drinking area expands the lid's fixed rim, especially the areas on the sides of the slit, which allows beverages to enter the slit while drinking and spill on the drinker's clothes. In addition, there is no position for the upper lip behind the drinking opening, and the upper lip is placed directly on the surface of the lid at the height of the cup rim, making it easy for liquid to leak from both sides of the lip and drip onto clothes.
[0005] Furthermore, this surface of the lid causes the lid to hit the tip of the drinker's nose, forcing the drinker to tilt the cup slightly to avoid the lid hitting the nose, which increases the likelihood of liquid leaking out the sides of the mouth and dripping onto clothing. The present invention solves these problems by raising the drinking area above the level of the cup's rim to an extent that allows the lower lip to be positioned between the rim and the drinking area. Behind this raised area is a cavity that allows the upper lip to enter, and the liquid outlet of the present invention is located in the area where the bottom of said cavity is connected from the inside to the raised rim, allowing liquid and steam rising from the liquid to flow away from the mouth before flowing into the mouth on the inner wall of the raised area, which is a slightly concave oval, with the narrow part of the concave oval near the top being the drinking area.
[0006] Prior art includes that described in U.S. Patent No. 9,321,569, which describes a sliding lid for a liquid outlet on a cup lid. The drawback of this lid is that the liquid outlet opening is located on the surface of the lid, at approximately the same height as the rim of the cup. Because the liquid outlet opening is slightly separated from the rim of the cup, liquid leaks from the liquid outlet opening, which almost inevitably causes droplets to fall on the drinker's clothes. This, in turn, can cause burns to the drinker's mouth as hot steam rises vertically from the liquid outlet hole during drinking. Furthermore, due to the slightly raised area for the liquid outlet and the path behind it along which the sliding lid slides, droplets from spilled liquid collect in this path while the lid is moving with the cup in an open state or during drinking. If the beverage is sweetened with sugar, the sugar will act like an adhesive when the liquid dries in the path, preventing the lid from sliding along the sliding path. In the present invention, the drinking rim protrudes above the rim of the cup to an extent that allows the lower lip to rest on this raised side of the cup lid, and has a cavity behind this raised area that allows the upper lip to fit behind this rim, and this rear cavity has an oval recess with a narrow end toward the drinking rim, and liquid exits from an opening at the position where the bottom of the cavity connects to the drinking rim, allowing the liquid and its vapor to escape away from the mouth and then collecting the liquid within the cavity, and then the concave oval area with its wide base above the liquid outlet opening functions to collect the liquid towards the narrow end of the concave oval near the drinking area, reducing the chance of liquid spilling over the drinker.
[0007] Prior art includes that described in U.S. Patent No. 10,201,241, which describes a cup lid with a liquid outlet opening located at the top. The drinking area where the outlet opening is located is at the top, but behind the drinking area is a flat area for stabilizing the lid to close the drinking opening, so that the drinker's upper lip is either higher than the position where the open lid is attached or far enough away to fit into the cavity behind it. In either case, leakage occurs during drinking, but this problem does not occur with the present invention, as already mentioned above in clarifying the differences between the present invention and the prior art. This technology is characterized by the presence of a spillage path in which droplets spilled during drinking are collected.
[0008] Nevertheless, droplets collected in the channel will remain in the channel and, when the cup is tilted and an attempt is made to drink from the cup, these droplets will run down the spill channel onto the drinker's clothes. This problem is avoided in the present invention by the presence of holes in the bottom of the spill channel which serve to direct spilled liquid back into the cup, so that when the cup is tilted, the liquid will remain in the channel and not spill onto the drinker's clothes.
[0009] The state of the art closest to the present invention is described in U.S. Patent No. 10,264,902, which describes a raised drinking surface of a lid having a surface that slopes backward away from the beverage outlet opening toward the end opposite the beverage outlet opening, with a cavity at the upper end of the slope of the raised lid surface. This cavity is oval in shape, with the beverage outlet opening at the bottom of the cavity. This cavity functions to limit the release of the beverage and its spillage in the event of sudden movement of the cup. The wall surrounding the beverage outlet opening at the bottom of the cavity functions to prevent droplets of the beverage from splashing in the event of sudden movement of the cup. However, this opening at the bottom of the cavity allows steam to rise vertically from the cup directly to the drinker's mouth. Furthermore, with the opening at the bottom of the cavity and away from the side wall of the cup, the depth of the cavity means that some of the beverage remains in the cup and is inaccessible unless the lid is opened, which can result in droplets of the beverage spilling on the drinker's clothes. In this respect, the present invention differs in that the beverage outlet opening is located at the corner between the bottom of the cavity and the bottom of the drinking rim, and has an upper rim that directs liquid and steam horizontally into the cavity, away from the mouth of the drinker. The cavity, together with the side openings for liquid exit and the upper rim of the beverage outlet opening, also functions to reduce splashing of beverage droplets in the present invention, and the inclined cavity bottom towards the liquid outlet opening in the present invention functions to return collected droplets to the cup.
[0010] The prior art fixing rim is distinguished by its continuous curved outer surface, which firmly grips the fixing rim and helps rotate the fixing rim to securely attach the lid to the cup. This design of the fixing rim can create gaps around the fixing rim due to the continuous curvature, which can cause liquid to leak from the cup into the space between the cup's lid and the drinking spout. In the present invention, to seal the area where the cup's rim is joined to the lid, the fixing rim extends from the inside of the cup to the bottom, with a slightly protruding annular appendage toward the cup's inner wall, creating pressure on the cup's inner wall to prevent leakage. The outside of the cup's rim has another protrusion from within the cavity of the lid's fixing path, which presses against the cup's wall from the outside, further enhancing the seal and preventing leakage. The above-mentioned prior art (U.S. Pat. No. 10,264,902) has an opening for a stirring rod. Although the opening is inclined in the opposite direction to the drinking direction from the cup to prevent the beverage from spilling from the cup while drinking, the presence of the opening on the surface of the lid may cause droplets of liquid to come out in the event of a sudden movement of the cup, which may drip onto the clothes of the person drinking from the cup.
[0011] This problem is avoided in the present invention by having no openings other than the liquid outlet opening recessed within the liquid collection cavity, the straw entry opening in the present invention being closed and opening when a drinking straw is inserted into it. Summary of the Invention
[0012] This cup lid can be attached and detached from a cup. The lid has an annular fixed rim for securing it to the cup's drinking spout. The fixed rim surrounds the cup's drinking spout from the inside and outside of the cup and covers the upper rim of the cup's drinking spout. The fixed rim has an inward protrusion that presses against the cup's rim from the outside of the cup and another protrusion from the inside that presses against the cup's rim from the inside of the cup to strengthen the fixation and seal. The fixed rim has a short downward extension from the inside of the cup, which has a protrusion that presses against the cup's rim from the inside. The fixed rim on the inside of the lid is connected to a spill path, which is a path with holes that return spilled liquid to the inside of the cup and function to prevent liquid from dripping onto the drinker's clothes. The spill path holes also function to replace consumed liquid with air to make the cup easier to drink from. The drinking platform follows the spill path and is elevated above the height of the cup's lip, with a raised end and an opposite lower end. The surface of the drinking platform slopes gradually from the raised end to the lower end. The raised end is the drinking rim. The outer vertical surface of the drinking rim curves slightly toward the inside of the drinking platform, allowing the drinker's lower lip to rest within this curve while drinking through the lid. The sloped drinking platform has two cavities in its surface. The first cavity is a liquid collection cavity located directly behind the drinking rim. This cavity has a bottom that slopes downward as it approaches the bottom of the drinking rim and terminates in a liquid outlet opening from the cup into the liquid collection cavity. The liquid outlet opening is located where the base of the drinking rim joins the sloped bottom of the liquid collection cavity, and is located above a small rim that prevents liquid from exiting directly through the opening in the drinking top and directs liquid toward the liquid collection cavity before it slides down onto the inner surface of the drinking rim. This rim above the liquid outlet opening has a recess on it that appears to have a cavity on one side of the drinking top. The recess has an end that points upward toward the drinking rim and a wider end above the rim above the liquid outlet opening. This recess collects liquid during drinking and directs it toward the mouth to limit spillage from both sides of the mouth when drinking. Note that the bottom of this sloping cavity is located just above or at the level of the rim of the cup. The second cavity, a drinking straw cavity, is connected to the first cavity. It is located in the lower area of the inclined surface of the drinking platform, is shallower than the liquid collection cavity, and has a sloped bottom toward the first cavity (liquid collection cavity). Therefore, droplets at the bottom of the inclined drinking straw cavity slide down toward the bottom of the first cavity (liquid collection cavity), which has a sloped bottom toward the beverage or liquid outlet opening, and return to the interior of the cup through the liquid outlet opening. The sloped bottom of the second cavity contains an inlet for the drinking straw. The straw inlet is completely closed and can only be opened by inserting the straw. The raised area of the inclined bottom of the straw cavity contains a small vent opening to replace consumed liquid with air and allow liquid to flow during drinking.
[0013] The rims surrounding the two sloping bottoms of the two cavities each have a concave path that directs droplets spilling at the bottom of both the straw cavity and the liquid collection cavity towards the liquid outlet opening and returns liquid spilled into the two cavities back into the cup.
[0014] In a preferred aspect of the invention, the cup lid may be provided with a small plug that can be opened and closed to cover the liquid outlet, the plug being attached to the bottom of the liquid collection cavity immediately in front of the liquid outlet opening, the plug having an attachment that, when open, secures the plug in a designated opening for the attachment to enter, and that is used to secure the open plug to the bottom of the liquid collection cavity.
[0015] In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the lid is provided with a complete plug that covers the entire two cavities, the complete plug having an upper appendage for holding the plug and pulling it completely out of position, and a lower appendage that is inserted into a small slit in the bottom of the liquid collection cavity to hold the plug in place when it is placed on the lid.
[0016] In a third preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cup lid comprises two of the above-mentioned plugs, so that the entire plug covering the two cavities can be removed, while a smaller plug that remains attached to the bottom of the liquid cavity can be used to open and close the liquid outlet. [Brief explanation of the drawings]
[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of the cup lid as seen from the drinking side. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a top view of the cup lid. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a side view of the cup lid. [Figure 4] An overhead view of the straw entrance. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a top view showing the structure of the liquid outlet opening. [Figure 6] 10A-10C are longitudinal cross-sectional views showing different configurations of the cup lid. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a liquid outlet opening and a liquid collection area. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the fixed rim of the lid on the cup and its components. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a rear view of the cup lid. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 is an overhead view of the straw entry area. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a bottom side perspective view showing the complete plug substructure. [Figure 12] FIG. 1 is a top perspective view showing the complete plug superstructure. [Figure 13] 10A-10C are longitudinal cross-sectional views showing how the complete plug is placed on the cup lid. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a top view showing a liquid outlet plug structure. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the state in which the liquid outlet plug is attached. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a top view showing the complete plug on the cup lid together with the liquid outlet plug. [Figure 17] FIG. 10 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the complete plug and the liquid outlet plug attached together to the cup lid. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0018] 1 and 2 show a top view of the cup lid (100), showing the characteristic structure of the lid (100), in which the fixed rim (2) is the outer frame of the lid (100) that holds the cup's drinking spout tightly and prevents liquid from spilling from the cup while drinking, followed by the spill path (3) on the inside, which collects droplets of beverage that run off while drinking and prevents them from spilling from the cup through the lid (100) onto the drinker's clothes, and the spill path (3) includes a small opening (4) which is the spill path opening (4). These small openings (4) perform two functions: firstly, to return spilled droplets of liquid collected in the spill path (3) back to the inside of the cup, and secondly, to be ventilation openings that allow the hot steam of the hot beverage to escape from the cup, which is based on replacing the sipped liquid or beverage with air, thus ensuring a smooth outflow of the liquid from the liquid outlet opening (14).
[0019] The drinking platform (10) is connected to the spill path (3) from the inside and is raised above the level of both the spill path (3) and the fixed rim (2). The drinking platform (10) has a sloped surface (23) so that its raised front end is the drinking rim (1) located above the liquid outlet opening (14), and the drinking surface (23) slopes low and backward in the opposite direction to the drinking rim (1). This slope helps to keep the surface (23) of the drinking platform (10) away from the drinker's nose; the shape of the slope of the drinking surface is evident in Figure 9, where the distance between the drinking rim (1) and the spill path (3) is the longest at the drinking platform (10); in this position, there is a recess (21) between the drinking rim (1) and the spill path (3), which is the position of the drinker's lower lip, as shown in Figure 7.
[0020] The drinking surface 10 includes several distinctive features in the cup lid 100. First, a dedicated inlet for the drinking straw 6 is located within the straw cavity 22. The straw cavity 22 has a sloped bottom 7 so that when the straw is inserted into the straw inlet 6, the position of the straw is tilted, eliminating the need for the drinker to tilt the cup to drink from the straw. The straw inlet 6 can also be used to insert a stirrer to stir the liquid in the cup without opening the lid. The structure of the straw cavity area 22 is evident from Figure 10. The bottom 7 of the straw cavity 22 is slightly sloped toward the front of the lid 100, specifically toward the liquid outlet 14, so that the liquid flows into another cavity, namely, the drinking liquid collection cavity 8, described below. The straw cavity 22 includes the straw inlet 6. The straw inlet (6) is supported by a geometric protrusion (17) to support the straw entry area when pressure is applied to the straw inlet (6) to insert the straw. The straw cavity (7) also has a vent hole (5) at the bottom, which allows air to enter to replace the beverage that exits the cup during drinking. The vent opening (5) is located in a raised area on the straw cavity bottom (7). The straw cavity bottom (7) is surrounded by a slightly concave downward channel (16), which helps any liquid spilled on the straw cavity bottom (7) to flow quickly toward the drinking liquid collection cavity (8).
[0021] The details of the straw cavity (22) are better shown in Figure 4, where the bottom (7) is sloped toward the front of the lid (100), specifically toward the liquid outlet (14), so that the liquid flows into the liquid collection cavity (8). This structure is better shown in Figures 6 and 7, where the bottom height (9) within the liquid collection cavity (8) is lower than the bottom height (7) within the straw cavity (22), so that any liquid spilled on the sloped straw cavity bottom (7) flows into the liquid collection cavity (8). The liquid collection cavity (8) has a bottom (9) that slopes toward the liquid outlet opening (14), so that this sloped bottom (9) within the liquid collection cavity (8) serves to return any spilled liquid back into the cup via the liquid outlet opening (14). The details of the liquid collection cavity (8) are better illustrated in Figures 5-7, where the bottom (9) of the liquid collection cavity is surrounded by a concave cavity (18) that serves to accelerate the collection of spilled liquids and direct them towards the liquid outlet opening (14), the two ends of which terminate in the two ends of the liquid outlet opening (14). The bottom (9) of the liquid collection cavity contains a lid fastening cavity (19) that is used to attach a complete plug (200) (Figure 13), which will be described below.
[0022] 5 and 7, when drinking from the cup through the lid (100), especially with a hot beverage, the hot liquid exits the liquid outlet opening (14) and into the sloped base (9) of the liquid collection cavity (8). Because the hot liquid does not come into contact with the lips of the person drinking from the cup, and because the upper rim (13) is positioned above the liquid outlet opening (14), the hot liquid will not burn the lips. Before drinking, the hot vapors of the beverage will exit at an angle toward the liquid collection cavity (8) away from the drinker's mouth, rather than directly reaching the drinker's lips. The liquid will also exit the liquid outlet (14) and into the sloped base (9) of the liquid collection cavity (8) away from the drinker's mouth. By tilting the cup to drink, the liquid flows through the drinking spout (15), which is concave and has a narrow end close to the drinking rim (1) and a wider end above the upper rim (13) at the liquid outlet (14). The liquid reaches the drinker's mouth through the drinking spout (15) in a manner that collects the liquid while reducing the chance of spillage. As the liquid exits the liquid outlet opening (14) and reaches the drinking rim (1) and is collected in the liquid collection cavity (8) until it reaches the drinker's mouth, hot vapor is allowed to rise away from the drinker's mouth, allowing time for the drink to cool if hot, before it reaches the drinker's mouth. Looking at the configuration between the drinking rim (1) and the spill path (3), it can be seen that there is a recess (21) that coincides with the position of the drinker's lower lip.
[0023] Figure 8 shows the unique structure of the fixed rim (2), which largely prevents liquid from leaking from the fixed rim area (2) and contacting the cup. The fixed rim cavity (11) is the cavity into which the cup spout ring fits, and the fixed edge (2) firmly presses the cup spout into the cavity (11) due to the presence of a circumferential protrusion (12) that presses from the outside of the fixed rim (2) toward the cup spout on the cavity (11). This protrusion (12) corresponds to a longitudinal appendage (20) that extends from the lid (100) to the bottom inside the cup, so that the cup spout is located between the protrusion (12) on the outside of the cup and the longitudinal appendage (20). The longitudinal appendage (20) has a protrusion (25) that presses against the rim of the cup, so that protrusion (25) and the opposing protrusion (12) act to exert pressure on the rim of the cup to grip the opening of the cup tightly and prevent leakage. The length of the appendage (20) on the inside of the cup and its protrusion (25) also exerts more pressure to seal against the inside wall of the cup.
[0024] The cup lid (100) can be manufactured, sold, and used without a lid for the liquid outlet opening, for example, a lid with both the straw inlet (6) and the liquid outlet (14), or a lid with only the liquid outlet (14).
[0025] In a second preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in Figures 11-13, the straw inlet (6) and the liquid outlet (14) can both have a complete plug (200). When the plug body (200) comprises a straw cavity lid (50) connected to a liquid collection cavity lid (51), and both lids are sized to completely cover the cavity, the liquid collection cavity lid (51) is fitted with a lid (52) over the liquid outlet opening, covering the upper rim (13) above the liquid outlet, and the underside of a complete plug (200) at the bottom of the straw cavity lid (50). There is a cavity (53) above the straw inlet (6) for covering the straw inlet (6) and a protruding structure for supporting the straw entry area (17), and on the top surface of the complete plug (200) and above the liquid collection cavity lid (51) a pull-out arm (55) protrudes perpendicularly to the liquid collection cavity lid (51) in the complete plug (200). The upper end of the arm (51) may terminate in an advertising attachment (56) on which the logo of the cafe, restaurant, etc. may be placed, words of welcome or encouragement may also be placed thereon, or it may simply be an aesthetic feature that runs from the bottom of the complete plug (200) to the bottom of the liquid collection cavity lid (51). The lid has a mounting fixture (54) which fits into a slotted lid mounting cavity (19) located in the sloped bottom (9) of the liquid collection cavity (8) when the complete plug (200) is in place on the lid (100).
[0026] In a third preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in Figures 14 and 15, a cup lid (100) can be provided with a liquid outlet plug (60) coupled to the sloped bottom (9) of the liquid collection cavity (8), such that the contact point of the liquid outlet plug (60) is the contact point with the sloped bottom (9). The liquid outlet plug (60) has an upper appendage (61) at the liquid outlet (14) that can be opened and closed by moving it with a finger. The plug (60) has a sealing appendage (64) that seals the liquid outlet (14) when the plug (60) is closed to prevent liquid from leaking from the cup. On the opposite side of the sealing attachment (64) is a fixing attachment (62), and by inserting the fixing attachment (62) into the fixing opening (63), the plug (60) is fixed to the inclined bottom (9) of the liquid collection cavity (8) via the fixing opening (63) in the inclined bottom (9).
[0027] The presence of the liquid outlet plug 60 in the cup lid design 100 does not preclude the use of a complete plug 200 with the liquid outlet plug 60. As shown in Figures 16 and 17, the plug 200 can be installed on the cup lid 100 above both the straw inlet cavity 22 and the liquid collection cavity 8, in this case a complete plug 200 with the lid 52 over the liquid outlet opening removed due to the presence of the plug 60 to block the liquid outlet opening 14.
[0028] It is worth mentioning that the cup lid 100, attached plug 60, and complete plug 200 may be made of materials suitable for single use or for repeated use. They may also be made in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors suitable for use with a variety of cup sizes, whether for disposable or permanent use cups.
[0029] The materials from which the cup lid (100), accessory plug (60), and full plug (200) are made may be made from synthetic materials approved for food-grade use.
Claims
1. A cup lid that can be attached to and detached from a cup, a fixing rim for fixing the lid to the drinking spout of the cup; a drinking platform; The fixed rim a cup holder for enclosing the cup opening from the inside and outside of the cup and covering the upper rim of the cup opening; The fixed rim an inward protrusion that presses the cup opening from the outside of the cup; Another protrusion from the inside of the cup that presses the cup opening from the inside of the cup; a short extension portion extending downward from the inside of the cup, the extension portion having a protrusion that presses against the cup opening from the inside; The fixed rim a spill path, which is a path having holes, connected to the inside of the lid; The drinking platform comprises: following the spill path; The cup lid occupies the remaining portion of the cup, Higher than the height of the cup's drinking spout, having a raised end and an opposite lower end; the surface of the drinking platform gradually slopes from the raised end to the lower end, the raised end being a drinking rim from which liquid flows during drinking; the inclined surface of the drinking platform has two cavities; In the two cavities, a first cavity is a recessed liquid collection cavity located immediately behind the drinking rim in the raised area of the drinking platform; the second cavity is a drinking straw cavity that is shallower than the first cavity; both cavities have a bottom that slopes toward the base of the drinking rim, the sloped bottom of the second cavity being continuous with the sloped bottom of the first cavity, the bottom of the first cavity being at a lower height than the bottom of the second cavity; the bottom of the second cavity, i.e., the straw cavity, has a drinking straw inlet, and a raised area at the bottom of the second cavity has a vent hole; the bottom of the first cavity, i.e., the liquid collection cavity, terminates in an opening through which the liquid can exit the cup, the opening being located at an angle where a lower portion of the bottom of the first cavity meets the base of the raised drinking rim; The cup lid has an upper rim above the liquid outlet opening that is connected to the drinking rim.
2. 2. The cup lid of claim 1, wherein the raised outer side of the drinking rim curves inward a distance between the spill path and the top of the drinking rim such that the top of the drinking rim protrudes above the fixed path.
3. 3. The cup lid of claim 2, wherein the inside of the raised drinking rim is inwardly concave, with the wider end of the concavity above the rim above the liquid outlet opening and the narrower end of the concavity at the top of the drinking rim.
4. 2. The cup lid of claim 1, wherein the bottoms of both the first cavity (liquid collection cavity) and the second cavity (straw cavity) are surrounded by a concave path on all three sides, except for the downstream side from the second bottom to the first floor, and except for the side where the first floor is connected to the liquid outlet opening.
5. The cup lid of claim 1 , wherein the height of a lower area on the bottom of the first cavity (the liquid collection cavity) near the liquid outlet opening is the height of the fixed rim of the lid on the cup.
6. 2. The cup lid of claim 1, wherein the straw inlet area is surrounded by a protrusion that supports the strength of the straw inlet when the straw inlet is closed by a drinking straw.
7. A cup lid as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein there is a lid for the liquid outlet, the lid is attached to the end of the liquid outlet, completely covers the area of the liquid outlet, and is closed so that the free end of the lid is above the upper rim of the liquid outlet, and the lid has a horizontal appendage that is above the connection with the bottom of the liquid collection cavity when the lid is opened, and the horizontal appendage fits into a size-compatible slot in the bottom of the liquid collection cavity.
8. A cup lid as described in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein there is a lid that covers both the liquid collection cavity and the straw cavity, the lid has a lower appendage that corresponds to a cavity that is the same size as the lower appendage, the cavity is on the bottom of the liquid collection cavity for attaching the lid in a fixed position, and the surface of the upper lid has a vertical appendage on it for lifting the lid back from its position.
9. A cup lid as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein there is a lid that covers both the liquid collection cavity and the straw cavity, the lid has a lower appendage that corresponds to a cavity that is the same size as the lower appendage, the cavity is within the bottom of the liquid collection cavity for attaching the lid in a fixed position, and the surface of the upper lid has a vertical appendage on it for lifting the lid back from its position.