AU2011100072A4

AU2011100072A4 - Cap for a cup

Info

Publication number: AU2011100072A4
Application number: AU2011100072A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Chi-Jui Hung
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-04-02
Filing date: 2011-01-13
Publication date: 2011-02-17
Anticipated expiration: 2019-01-13
Also published as: TWM387078U; KR101233020B1; KR20110111224A

Description

Our Ref: 52351nno P/00/009 Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 INNOVATION SPECIFICATION FOR AN INVENTION ENTITLED Invention title: Cap for a cup Name of Applicant: Chi-Jui Hung Address for Service A.P.T. Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys PO Box 222 Mitcham, S.A. 5062 The invention is described in the following statement: CAP FOR A CUP BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to cap for a cup. 5 Description of the Prior Art A conventional manner to seal a cup is using a sealing machine to hot press a plastic film so that the plastic film becomes sticky and adheres to the cup. Thus the user can use a straw to pierce through the plastic film to drink the contents in the cup. If the contents are hot, the user may be scalded while using the straw to drink. In order to 0 drink the hot contents, the user has to peel off the plastic film manually so as to drink the contents with his/her mouth directly contacting the cup. Another manner to seal a cup is using a cap. Some of the cup cannot tightly seal the cup, so the plastic film can still be additionally disposed on the cup before the cup is capped. Again, the plastic film should be peeled off before the user drinks, which is not convenient for 5 the users. The present invention is, therefore, arisen to obviate or at least mitigate the above mentioned disadvantages. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The main object of the present invention is to provide a cap capable of cutting a film. 0 To achieve the above and other objects, a cap of the present invention is formed with an opening, which has a first side and a second side. A pressing plate is extended from the first side toward the second side. The pressing plate is swayable about the first side, and the pressing plate has a distal end, from which a cutting rim is extended downward. The cutting 2 rim is adapted to cut a film when the cap is in use and when the pressing plate is pressed downward. The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, which show, for purpose of illustrations 5 only, the preferred embodiment(s) in accordance with the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a perspective drawing showing a cap in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a perspective drawing showing a cap in accordance with a first preferred 0 embodiment of the present invention at another viewing angle; Fig. 3 is a profile showing a cap in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention and a cup; Fig. 4 is a front view showing a cutting rim of the present invention; Fig. 5 is a front view showing another cutting rim of the present invention; 5 Fig. 6 is a front view showing yet another cutting rim of the present invention; Fig. 7 is a profile showing a cap in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention and a cup, wherein the pressing plate is pressed downward; Fig. 8 is a perspective drawing showing a cap in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention; 0 Fig. 9 is a profile showing a cap in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 10 is a profile showing a cap in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention and a cup, wherein the pressing plate is pressed downward; 3 Fig. 11 is a perspective drawing showing a cap in accordance with a third preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 12 is a profile showing a cap in accordance with a third preferred embodiment of the present invention; 5 Fig. 13 is a profile showing a cap in accordance with a third preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein the pressing plate is pressed downward. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Please refer to Fig. I to Fig. 3. A cap of the present invention is adapted to be caped on a cup. The cap has an upper opening surrounded by an engaging lip 5. In the first embodiment 0 of the present invention, the cap is formed with an opening 10, which has a first side 11 and a second side 12. The cap further has an engaging rim 30 formed around its periphery to engage with the engaging lip 5 of the cup and a pressing plate 20. The pressing plate 20 is extended from the first side 11 toward the second side 12, and the pressing plate 20 is swayable about the first side 11. A cutting rim 21 is extended downward from the distal end of the pressing 5 plate 20. The cutting rim 21 is preferably integrally formed on the pressing plate 20, and the cutting rim 21 is adapted to cut a film. In the present embodiment, the cutting rim 21 is V-shaped, as shown in Fig. 4. The cutting rim 21 may also be saw-teeth-shaped as shown in Fig. 5, or it may be trapezoid and has a slanted bottom side 211 as shown in Fig. 6. More specifically, the opening 10 further has two lateral opening sides 13 connecting !0 between the first side 11 and the second side 12 respectively. In other words, the opening 10 is defined by the first side 11, the second side 12 and the two lateral opening sides 13. Two blocking plates 14 are extended from the two lateral opening sides 13 respectively. The pressing plate 20 has two lateral plate sides 22, in which the distance between the blocking 4 plates 14 is smaller than that between the lateral plate sides 22. Thereby, the pressing plate 20 is blocked by the blocking plates 14 when the pressing plate 20 is pressed downward to squeeze through the opening 10 and does not return back to the upper side of the opening, as shown in Fig. 7. For positioning and forming purposes, the lateral opening sides 13 partially 5 connect to the lateral plate sides respectively in a disconnectable manner. Specifically, a connecting section 15 is formed between the lateral plate side 22 and the lateral opening side 13. The connecting section 15 breaks when the pressing plate 20 is pressed downward. As such, the lateral plate sides 22 disconnect from the lateral opening sides 13. The first side 11 of the opening 10 is preferably close to a center of the cap, and the second side 12 of the 0 opening 10 is preferably close to the engaging rim 30. Of course, a straw may still be used to insert through the opening once the pressing plate 20 is pressed downward and blocked by the blocking plates 14. In the first embodiment of the present invention, the cutting rim 21 is used to pierce through the plastic film 6 disposed on the cup. In other words, the user can simply press the 5 pressing plate 20 to cut the film 6 open rather than peeling off the plastic film 6. Please refer to Fig. 8 to Fig. 10. In the second embodiment of the present invention, the cap is similar to that of the prior embodiment, expect the cap further includes a sealing film 40 disposed beneath the opening 10 to seal the opening 10. The sealing film 40 may be a aluminum foil, a plastic film or the like to provide the cap with better airtight property and to 0 prevent the contents in the cup from leaking via the opening. In the present embodiment, no plastic film is need to be further disposed on the cup since the cap has its own sealing film 40. The cutting rim 21 is stilled used to cut the sealing film 40 when the pressing plate 20 is pressed. 5 Please refer to Fig. 11 to Fig. 13 for the third embodiment of the present invention. The pressing plate 20 has at least one abutting rib 23 formed on a bottom surface thereof. The abutting rib 23 is perpendicular to the first side 11 and has an abutting surface 24 near the first side 11. The cap further has an abutting wall 50 extended downward from the first side 11. 5 Thereby, the pressing plate is stopped from further swaying downward after it is pressed downward to squeeze through the opening 10. That is to say, the pressing plate 20 is positioned by the abutting wall 50 and the blocking plates 14 simultaneously. Thus the pressing plate 20 can remain stationary while the user is drinking. 6

Claims

1. A cap for capping a cup, wherein the cap is formed with an opening (10), the opening (10) has a first side (11) and a second side (12), a pressing plate (20) is extended from the first side (11) toward the second side (12), the pressing plate (20) 5 is swayable about the first side (11), the pressing plate (20) has a distal end, a cutting rim (21) is extended downward from the distal end, the cutting rim (21) is adapted to cut a film when the cap is in use and when the pressing plate (20) is pressed downward.

2. The cap of claim 1, wherein the opening (10) further has two lateral opening sides 0 (13) connecting between the first side (11) and the second side (12) respectively, the pressing plate (20) has two lateral plate sides (22).

3. The cap of claim 2, wherein the cap has an engaging rim (30) formed around its periphery to engage with the cup, the first side (11) of the opening (10) is close to a center of the cap, the second side (12) of the opening (10) is close to the engaging 5 rim (30).

4. The cap of claim 2, wherein the lateral opening sides (13) partially connect to the lateral plate sides (22) respectively in a disconnectable manner, the lateral plate sides (22) disconnect from the lateral opening sides (13) when the pressing plate (20) is pressed downward. 0

5. The cap of claim 2, wherein two blocking plates (14) are extended from the two lateral opening sides (13) toward each other respectively, a distance between the blocking plates (14) is smaller than that between the lateral plate sides (22), the pressing plate (20) is blocked by the blocking plates (14) when the pressing plate 7 (20) is pressed downward to squeeze through the opening (10).

6. The cap of claim 1, wherein the cap further comprises a sealing film (40) sealing the opening (10), the cutting rim (21) cuts the sealing film (40) open when the pressing plate (20) is pressed downward. 5

7. The cap of claim 5, wherein the cap further comprises a sealing film (40) sealing the opening (10), the cutting rim (21) cuts the sealing film (40) open when the pressing plate (20) is pressed downward.

8. The cap of claim 5, wherein the pressing plate (20) has at least one abutting rib (23) formed on a bottom surface thereof, the abutting rib (23) is perpendicular to the 0 first side (11), the abutting rib (23) has an abutting surface (24) near the first side (11), the cap further has an abutting wall (50), the abutting wall (50) is extended downward from the first side (11), whereby the pressing plate (20) is stopped from further swaying downward after the pressing plate (20) is pressed downward to squeeze through the opening (10). 5

9. The cap of claim 1, wherein the cutting rim (21) is V-shaped.

10. The cap of claim 1, wherein the cutting rim (21) is saw-teeth-shaped.

11. The cap of claim 1, wherein the cutting rim (21) is trapezoid and has a slanted bottom side. 8