DRINKING LID FOR CUPS

COUVERCLE A BEC POUR GOBELETS

English Abstract

A drinking lid for single use hot and cold beverage
disposable cups according consisting in a top having an
annular peripheral depending skirt, the skirt being
constructed and arranged to fit over and make sealing
engagement with the rim of a cup, an internal flange
arranged to rest on the rim of the cup, a top arranged at
a height above the said internal flange such as to be
supported clear of the rim of the cup to an extent
permitting the accommodation of beverages having a layer
of froth projecting above the rim of the cup, the cover
having a central well shaped and constructed to receive
and locate the bottom of a cup to permit stacking of
lidded cups, the cover having, at one side of said well an
upwardly extending spout having a top aperture through
which the contents of the cup may be drunk, means being
provided on the opposite side to the spout to permit the
entry of air into the cup to replace liquid drawn from the
cup when drinking.

Claims

1. A drinking lid for single use hot and cold beverage
disposable cups according consisting in a top having an
annular peripheral depending skirt, the skirt being
constructed and arranged to fit over and make sealing
engagement with the rim of a cup, an internal flange
arranged to rest on the rim of the cup, a top arranged at
a height above the said internal flange such as to be
supported clear of the rim of the cup to an extent
permitting the accommodation of beverages having a layer
of froth projecting above the rim of the cup, the cover
having a central well shaped and constructed to receive
and locate the bottom of a cup to permit stacking of
lidded cups, the cover having, at one side of said well an
upwardly extending spout having a top aperture through
which the contents of the cup may be drunk, means being
provided on the opposite side to the spout to permit the
entry of air into the cup to replace liquid drawn from the
cup when drinking.
2. A drinking lid as claimed in claim 1 wherein the
spout is provided on an outer surface with a number of
parallel ridges and grooves whereby the spout is
strengthened and the contact act surface between the spout
and the lips of a drinker is reduced.

Description

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The present invention relates to a drinking lid for
cups and more particularly to a drinking lid for single
use hot and cold beverage disposable cups or containers.
Beverages both hot and cold are commonly sold in cups of a
variety of materials including expandable polystyrene for
hot beverages and proposals have been made to provide such
cups with removable lids to enable them to be carried away
without spillage. There have been also proposals to
provide such lids with drinking orifices.
The object of the present invention is to provide a
drinking lid having features which make it effective and
convenient for use in a variety of circumstances. One
such feature is the provision of a lid suitable for use on
cups containing "capuccino" coffee which, as is well
known, has a topping of foamed milk which often extends
above the rim of the cup or any other beverage with a
topping of foam or froth. The second feature relates to
meeting the requirement of vendors to stack a number of
cups one above the other to make them readily available
for sale during rush periods.
A drinking lid for single use hot and cold beverage
disposable cups according to the invention consists in a
top having an annular peripheral depending skirt, the
skirt being constructed and arranged to fit over and make
sealing engagement with the rim of a cup, an internal
flange arranged to rest on the rim of the cup, a top
arranged at a height above the said internal flange such
as to be supported clear of the rim of the cup to an
extent permitting the accommodation of beverages having a
layer of froth projecting above the rim of the cup, the
cover having a central well shaped and constructed to
receive and locate the bottom of a cup to permit stacking
of lidded cups, the cover having, at one side of said well
an upwardly extending spout having a top aperture through
which the contents of the cup may be drunk, means being
provided on the opposite side to the spout to permit the

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entry of air into the cup to replace liquid drawn from the
cup when drinking.
It is preferred that the spout is provided on an
outer surface with a number of parallel ridges and
grooves. These perform two functions: they strengthen the
spout and also reduce the contact surface between the
spout and the lips of a drinker and thus the heat
transmitted when a hot liquid is being drunk.
In order that the nature of the invention may be
better understood a preferred form thereof is hereinafter
described, by way of example, with reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:-
Figure 1 is an elevation of a lid according to theinvention;
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the lid shown in
Figure 1; and
Figure 3 is a plan view of the lid of Figure 1.
The lid shown in the drawings consists of a skirt 10
which is adapted to fit over and engage the rim of a
single use hot or cold beverage disposable cup. The lid
contains an internal flange 11 which is arranged to rest
on the rim of the cup. Above the rim is a top 12 which is
maintained by the wall 13 at a height above the level of
the flange 11, which is to say above the level of the rim
of a cup to which the lid is applied, that is sufficiently
high as to permit the lid to be applied to a cup
containing a beverage such as "capuccino" coffee or hot
chocolate or beer having a foam or froth extending above
the level of the rim of the cup.
In the top 12 is formed a well 14 the depth and
diameter of which is such to enable a cup similar to the
cup to which the lid is applied to be stacked on top of
the cup. It will be readily appreciated that a number of
cups may be stacked one above the other.
At one side of the well 14, positioned and shaped so
as not to interfere with stacking, is a drinking spout 15

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having an aperture 16 through which the contents of the
cup may be drunk. The aperture 16 also provides an entry
point through which a spatula may be inserted into the cup
to stir the contents. In the embodiment illustrated the
drinking spout 16 is reinforced by means of a series of
vertically extending grooves and ridges 17 and 18 which
have the effect described above.
A hole 19 is provided in the top 12 at a point
opposite the spout 15.
The lid may be made of any suitable material, for
example, high impact polystyrene.
It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art
that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made
to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments
without departing from the spirit or scope of the
invention as broadly claimed. The present embodiments
are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as
illustrative and not restrictive.

Representative Drawing