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Heat dispersing beverage lid

Heat dispersing beverage lid description/claims

This application claims an invention which was disclosed in Provisional Application No. 60/904,859, filed Mar. 5, 2007, entitled “Heat Dispersing Beverage Lid”. The benefit under 35 USC 119(e) of the United States provisional application is hereby claimed, and the aforementioned application is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to beverage containers and devices which cool hot beverages for consumption. In its ideal embodiment it relates to disposable lids for hot beverage containers.

2. Description of Related Art

A common problem with the consumption of hot beverages is that when first served, the beverages are too hot to consume comfortably. This necessitates waiting for the beverage to cool, blowing on the beverage, and taking scalding test sips to learn whether the beverage is cool enough to drink.

I decided to invent a cheap and effective lid for such beverages that would cool drinks like coffee and hot chocolate to a comfortable level for drinking. The following are selected examples of prior art which are most similar to my invention.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,645,191 and 4,322,014 have a somewhat similar form, incorporating a protruding lip/spout. However, they both lack the cooling flanges and thus are unsuitable for cooling beverages.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,925,051, 4,986,437, and 5,845,807 have ramps or protruding lips/spouts. However, the spouts are not designed for a cooling function, they lack cooling flanges, and are of insufficient length to cool a consumed beverage.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,409,374 has a similar form incorporating both a protruding lip and radial ribs. However, the protrusion is of insufficient length to cool a beverage, and the ribs are too wide to serve a cooling function.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,571,973 is a disposable lid with a cooling function. However, it cools via separation of a beverage into an outer cooling compartment, not via direct transit of the beverage over a flanged protruding lip. This tilt and wait method slows consumption, requires customer knowledge of proper use, and has two parts which complicates manufacture and storage.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,161,720 is a cup with a cooling function and a small spout. However, the cooling is achieved via separation of the beverage into an outer cooling chamber. The spout is neither flanged nor long enough to serve a cooling purpose.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,035,659 is a disposable lid with a cooling function and a protruding lip. However, it lacks cooling flanges and instead cools via addition of a cooling substance (such as ice).

U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,131 is a lid with an integrated flexible straw protruding from the mug. This straw does not have a cooling function and requires sucking of a beverage rather than sipping. It also lacks cooling flanges.

The objective of my invention is to create a device that would allow immediate or near immediate consumption of hot beverages while still allowing for non-cooled consumption when the beverage is no longer hot. Ideally, my invention takes two forms, the disposable lid form serving as an alternative to the disposable plastic coffee covers currently in wide use by coffee stands and stores around the nation, and the alternative form being incorporated into a reusable mug lid.

The above object will be fulfilled through a plastic lid with a protruding lip incorporating one or more cooling flanges along the length of the lip. By tilting a beverage container equipped with this lid, a hot beverage would travel down the extended lip towards the mouth. In transit, the beverage will pass through cooling flanges which serve to split the beverage stream and increase the surface area exposed to the cooling exterior environment. Thus by the time the beverage reaches the mouth, it should be cooler.

The reusable version would likely be made of more durable plastics and could include metal cooling flanges for greater heat absorption during consumption.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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