EP3689192A1 - Drinking lid for a drinking container, and drinking container having such a lid - Google Patents

Abstract

Drinking attachment (10) for drinking vessels (12) comprising a funnel-like circumferential drinking rim (14) which is open towards the drinking vessel (12), with a fastening section (16) for fastening the drinking attachment (10) to an opening (28) of a drinking vessel (12) surrounding edge area of the drinking vessel (12), and a bowl-shaped elastic sealing disc (20) which can be inserted into the drinking rim (14) for sealing the drinking rim (14), the sealing disc (20) in the area of the drinking attachment (10 ) on a drinking vessel (12) free end of the drinking rim (14) with the formation of an intermediate space (22) open to the drinking vessel (12) against the drinking rim (14) and is designed so that it is formed by a suction action of a user of the drinking attachment (10) can be partially lifted off the drinking rim (14) in order to release a passage to the intermediate space (22), the sealing disk (20) protruding outward in the area of its bottom has the circumferential flange (26) which is designed to come to rest on the edge surrounding the opening (28) of the drinking vessel (12), the drinking edge (14) having a clamping flange (32) projecting towards the sealing washer (20) is provided to clamp the flange (26) of the sealing disc (20) when the drinking attachment (10) is attached to a drinking vessel (12) against the edge of the opening (28) of the drinking vessel (12), the flange (26) of the Sealing disk (20) is provided with a number of openings to the space (22), the clamping flange (32) ending in front of the openings provided in the flange (26) of the sealing disk (20) and the drinking rim (14 ') consisting of at least two separate components (16 ', 18'), one of which forms the fastening section (16 ').

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a drinking attachment for a drinking vessel and a drinking vessel, such as in particular a drinking bottle or a drinking cup, with such an attachment, the drinking attachment allowing drinking from the drinking vessel without having to remove the drinking attachment from the vessel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Drinking attachments of the type in question here have long been known in various forms and regularly fulfill a double function: on the one hand, they enable a user to consume a liquid contained in a drinking vessel provided with such a drinking attachment, as a rule by gently sucking it in, and on the other hand to prevent it depending on the configuration, they leak or at least spill out of the liquid from the drinking vessel. For this purpose, they regularly have at least one outlet for a liquid in the drinking vessel, which at least impedes the unhindered running out of liquid from the drinking vessel, and a fastening section for fastening the drinking attachment to an edge region of the drinking vessel surrounding an opening of the drinking vessel, i.e., for example for screwing the drinking attachment onto or into a thread formed on the drinking vessel. Like the drinking attachment claimed here, they often also include a sealing element for sealing the outlet.

While such drinking attachments and drinking vessels provided with them were previously only used by certain groups of people or for certain purposes, e.g. by cyclists in the form of sports drinking bottles, in the hospital and care sector in the form of sippy cups and by parents for feeding babies and toddlers in the form of bottles with pacifier attachment, have also been reusable for environmental reasons in recent years Drinking vessels, especially in the form of thermos cups, are becoming increasingly popular, as more and more people do not want to do without cold or warm drinks during activities such as driving or shopping.

A special category among the drinking attachments, in which the drinking attachment according to the invention also falls, are the so-called 360 ° drinking attachments, sometimes referred to as "non-spill drinking device" in English, which do not require elements such as spouts, pacifiers and beaks, and one user make it possible to drink from a normal cup anywhere along a rotating drinking wheel (where the name 360 ° drinking attachment comes from). Such drinking attachments are, for example, from the WO 2015 057871 A1 and the EP 2 265 152 B1 known.

With such 360 ° drinking attachments, drinking vessels provided with them can be used practically like normal cups, i.e. when drinking, the user brings the drinking rim to his mouth like the edge of a cup and then holds the drinking vessel at an angle. Liquid from the drinking vessel gets into an intermediate space between the drinking rim and an elastic so-called sealing disk which is circumferentially abutting against the drinking rim in the area of its free end and which stands out from the drinking rim when the user gently sucks on it, so that the liquid from the drinking vessel which can reach the user's mouth.

Drinking vessels with 360 ° drinking attachments are often used to accustom children who have just left infancy to the use of normal cups, since the movements of bringing the drinking vessel towards the mouth and holding it at an angle to supply liquid are the same as for a normal cup without Drinking attachment are, but there is practically no risk of spillage.

The two publications mentioned EP 2 265 152 B1 and WO 2015 057871 A1 each teach different designs of drinking attachments, each having an essentially funnel-like circumferential drinking rim, which is at least partially open toward the drinking vessel, with a fastening section for attaching the drinking attachment to an opening surrounding a drinking vessel The edge area of the drinking vessel and a substantially elastic so-called sealing washer, which can be inserted into the drinking rim, comprise for sealing the drinking rim, wherein the sealing disk in the area of the free end of the drinking rim lies circumferentially against the drinking rim, forming an intermediate space open to the drinking vessel, and is designed such that it can be partially lifted from the drinking rim by a suction action by a user of the drinking attachment in order to open a passage to the intermediate space. At this point, it should be pointed out that the sealing washer is usually referred to as a washer, but in fact it is usually rather bowl-shaped in order to partially follow the shape of the funnel-like drinking rim, but at the same time has a bottom that is closed toward the drinking vessel.

In most of the embodiments shown by the two cited documents, the drinking rim has a bottom which partially closes the opening of the drinking vessel and is provided with a number of openings in its edge region in order to allow liquid to emerge from the drinking vessel in a throttled manner. The sealing disc is connected to the outside of the base facing away from the drinking vessel, typically by means of a central mushroom-shaped stamp on the base and an opening in the elastic sealing disc, which is dimensioned such that it is pulled by elastic deformation over a stamp head projecting from a cylindrical stamp stem can be and then fits closely to the stamp stem. Alternatively, the sealing washer can also be provided with a mushroom-shaped stamp which is inserted through a central opening in the base.

The edge of the sealing washer is from the EP 2 265 152 B1 and from the WO 2015 057871 A1 known drinking attachments designed so that its outermost part lies close to the drinking rim, but moves away from the drinking rim towards the openings in the bottom of the drinking rim, so that the space between which the liquid can enter can form.

However, it has been shown that children often play with the sealing washer and pull it off the floor, so that liquid can then escape from the drinking vessel largely unhindered. To partially solve this problem, the WO 2015 057871 A1 an embodiment in which the Sealing disc in the area of its bottom has an outwardly projecting circumferential flange which is designed to come to rest on the edge surrounding the opening of the drinking vessel in order to be clamped there by means of a clamping flange projecting from the drinking edge to the sealing disc. In order to further allow the passage of liquid to the intermediate space in this embodiment, both flanges have openings which have to be aligned with one another during assembly. It has been shown that the alignment of the openings of both flanges, which is necessary after each cleaning of the drinking attachment, is extremely cumbersome and is often not carried out with the necessary precision, so that the openings only partially overlap and liquid is throttled too much when drinking. Users therefore try to avoid dismantling the drinking attachment, although this would be desirable in order to achieve an optimal cleaning result.

A further problem is the supply of air into the drinking vessel when drinking. If liquid is removed, air must be able to flow into the drinking vessel in order to prevent the creation of a negative pressure in the drinking vessel which hinders the removal of liquid. For this purpose, the known drinking attachments generally have incisions, which are not optimal in various respects. For example, the making of incisions requires at least one additional processing step and the incisions only open above a certain negative pressure, so that a certain pulsation of the fluid flow can occur when the fluid is removed.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The invention is based on the object of specifying a 360 ° drinking attachment with improved properties, in which in particular the assembly after cleaning the drinking attachment is simplified.

The object is achieved by a drinking attachment with the features of claim 1. The independent claim 13 relates to a drinking vessel with such a drinking attachment.

Particularly when the opening of the drinking vessel to be provided with a drinking attachment according to the invention has a larger diameter, it is advantageous to assemble the drinking rim from two or more separate parts. This makes it possible to use different materials for the fastening section and a drinking section that comes into contact with a user's mouth when drinking, and in particular to select a stiffer material for the fastening section than for the drinking section, which can lead to a more pleasant drinking feeling. The invention advantageously allows the person skilled in the art to choose the configuration which is optimally adapted to the respective customer requirements.

The invention has the advantage, among other things, that when the sealing washer and the drinking rim are put together, no special alignment of the components with one another is necessary. In addition, the production is simplified since, according to the invention, the clamping flange does not have to be provided with openings, which also brings cost advantages.

In a preferred embodiment, the sealing washer is provided with a number of stiffening ribs provided between the openings, which has several advantages. For example, the stiffening ribs stiffen the sealing washer, which is typically made of a soft material such as silicone, in the region of the flange, so that after being clamped in between the upper edge of the opening of the drinking vessel and the clamping flange, it is stable and cannot be pulled out easily. Depending on the design of the stiffening ribs, they can also provide additional positive support for the sealing washer on the inside of the drinking vessel. For this purpose, the ribs are preferably arranged on the side of the sealing disk which faces the drinking vessel in the intended mounting state.

In order to prevent a negative pressure from developing in the drinking vessel during drinking, which hinders the leakage of further liquid, the drinking attachment can be provided with air-guaranteeing agents which automatically flow from a certain negative pressure, for example a slot seal formed in the base of the sealing disk. In particularly preferred embodiments, an air inlet passage is formed between the drinking rim and the sealing washer. This Air inlet passage can be formed, in particular, in the area of the sealing washer which bears against the free end of the drinking rim. If the fastening section has an internal thread for screwing onto a corresponding external thread of a drinking vessel, an air inlet passage can alternatively or additionally also be formed between the external thread and the internal thread.

The optional air inlet passages between the drinking rim and the sealing washer and / or between the external thread and the internal thread can e.g. can be provided as a circumferential thread groove or circumferential thread projection or as a so-called labyrinth or gap seal and are designed so that air can always pass through, but beverages such as water, tea, milk cannot. Labyrinth or thread turns extend the flow path and increase the flow resistance, so that although air can flow into the drinking vessel, compared to air, more viscous liquid cannot escape through the air inlet passages between the threads. It goes without saying, of course, that the passages referred to here as air inlet passages can advantageously also allow air to escape from the vessel in order to prevent e.g. After filling hot drinks or taking the filled container into the mountains, there is overpressure in the container.

Further details and advantages of the invention emerge from the following purely exemplary and non-limiting description of an exemplary embodiment in conjunction with the drawing comprising six drawing figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

Fig. 1

shows a sectional view through a drinking attachment in the mounted state on a drinking vessel.

Fig. 2

shows a plan view of the side of the sealing disk of the drinking attachment facing towards the drinking vessel in the intended installation state Fig. 1 .

Fig. 3

shows schematically the flow processes when using the drinking attachment according to Fig. 1 .

Fig. 4

shows a section similar Fig. 1 by an embodiment of a drinking attachment, in which the fastening section and the drinking rim are designed in two parts according to the invention.

Fig. 5

shows an embodiment of a sealing washer according to the invention in side view.

Fig. 6

shows the sealing washer according to Fig. 5 in a perspective view obliquely from below.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Fig. 1 shows a section through a drinking cap designated in its entirety with 10 and the upper section of a corresponding drinking vessel 12, here in the form of a drinking bottle, which is provided on its edge area surrounding the opening with an external thread onto which the drinking cap 10 is screwed in the state shown . For this purpose, the drinking attachment 10 has a drinking rim 14 with a fastening section 16 with an internal thread which is partially complementary to the external thread of the drinking bottle 12.

In the case of this drinking attachment, the fastening section 16 merges into a funnel-like drinking section 18 which is integrally formed and is open towards the drinking vessel.

An essentially bowl-shaped elastic sealing disk 20 is inserted into the drinking rim 14, which, with the formation of an intermediate space 22 that is open towards the drinking vessel 12, bears against the drinking rim 14, more precisely, the drinking section 18 in the region of its free end. The term “free end” is understood here to mean the end or the end region which, when mounted on a drinking vessel, faces the user.

The sealing disk 20 is designed in a manner known per se so that it can be partially lifted from the drinking rim 14 or the drinking section 18 by a suction action by a user of the drinking attachment, so that a passage to the intermediate space 22 is opened for the user. This lifting-off is promoted by a number of knobs 24, which in this drinking attachment are formed on the side of the sealing disk 20 facing the drinking section 18. It goes without saying that these knobs can also be formed on the drinking rim or drinking section. Instead of knobs, other suitable spacers can also be formed, e.g. short rib-like protrusions.

The sealing disk 20 also has a circumferential flange 26 which projects outwards in the region of its base and is designed to come to rest on the edge surrounding the opening of the drinking vessel 12. This flange 26 is provided with a number of openings 28 which connect the intermediate space 22 with the interior 30 of the drinking vessel 12.

The flange 26 interacts with a circumferential clamping flange 32 which projects from the drinking rim 14 to the sealing disk 20 in the transition region between the fastening section 16 and the drinking section 18. The clamping flange 32 can be integrally formed on the drinking section 18 or on the fastening section 16 or can be present as a component arranged between the fastening section 16 and the drinking section 18.

A special feature is that this clamping flange 32 ends in front of the openings 28 provided in the flange 26 of the sealing disk 20 and thus does not impede the passage of liquid from the drinking vessel 12 through the openings 28 into the intermediate space 22 and from there into the user's mouth when drinking . The sealing disk can also be inserted into the drinking rim 14 without having to pay attention to a special alignment of the openings 28 to any openings on the drinking-edge side. When screwing the drinking attachment 10 onto the drinking vessel 12, the sealing disk 20 is then reliably secured by means of the clamping flange 32.

In this drinking attachment, the sealing washer 20 also has a number of stiffening ribs 34, which are thus formed in the base region of the sealing washer 20, that they are between two openings 28 each. The stiffening ribs 34 advantageously have the effect that even if, for example, children play with the sealing disk 20 while drinking, the sealing disk 20 cannot simply be pulled out of the clamping between the clamping flange 32 and the upper edge of the opening of the drinking vessel 12.

The Fig. 2 shows a plan view of the side of the sealing disk 20 facing the interior of a drinking vessel in the intended assembly state. The spacers designed as knobs 24 and the openings 28 formed in the flange 26 as well as the stiffening ribs 34 formed on the sealing disk 20 are clearly visible, for reasons For the sake of clarity, only a few of the knobs, the openings and the stiffening ribs have been provided with reference symbols. Depending on the design of the drinking attachment, it is advisable to provide the central region 36 of the sealing washer 20 with a slot seal, that is to say to cut it in at an angle or in such a way that a slot is formed between two slot tabs, which is closed in the basic state, but by which if When drinking inside the vessel, a negative pressure arises from the fact that liquid is removed and air can flow in because the slit flaps open. In the exemplary embodiments shown here, however, the inflow of air into the interior of the vessel is ensured by an air inlet passage which acts in the manner of a labyrinth seal and is described below.

In the Fig. 3 are a drinking attachment 10 and part of a drinking vessel 12 according to Fig. 1 shown in a drinking situation. Not shown is a user who can easily peel it off from the drinking rim 14 by light suction in the area of the section 40 of the sealing disk 20, with liquid then being held at an appropriate angle through the openings 28 in the flange 26 of the sealing disk 20 into the intermediate space 22 as indicated by the arrow 42 indicated and can get into the mouth of a user from there. In order to prevent a negative pressure which prevents the liquid from escaping in the drinking vessel, the internal thread of the drinking rim 14 is designed in such a way that an air inlet passage acting like a labyrinth seal results between the internal thread and the external thread of the drinking vessel 12, through which, as indicated by arrow 44 indicated air can flow into the vessel without the risk that the compared to air higher viscous liquid could escape. The arrow is to be understood as a schematic explanation. In fact, the air can follow the thread between the external and internal threads, which are designed in such a way that their reciprocal flanks do not interlock perfectly.

In the Fig. 4 is an embodiment of a drinking attachment designated in its entirety with 10 'in a sectional view analogous to the representation of FIG Fig. 1 shown in a mounted on a drinking vessel 12. The sealing disk 20 corresponds to the sealing disk described above, so that a renewed description of the same can be dispensed with. Significant difference to that in Fig. 1 The drinking attachment shown is the two-part design of the drinking rim 14 ', in which the fastening section 16' and the drinking section 18 'are formed by two separate components which are locked together in this exemplary embodiment, for which purpose the drinking section 18' is a receptacle for the fastening section 16 ' integrally formed clamping flange 32 ', which encompasses the latter to such an extent that part of the drinking section 18' lies between the clamping flange 32 'and the flange 26 of the sealing disk 20 when the sealing disk 20 is inserted as intended into the drinking rim 14'. This embodiment advantageously makes it possible to choose a different material for the drinking section 18 ', in particular a softer material than for the fastening section 16', which can lead to a particularly pleasant drinking feeling.

In the Figures 5 and 6 A further exemplary embodiment of a sealing disk 20 'according to the invention is shown, which essentially corresponds to the sealing disk 20 already described above, so that a detailed repetition of the corresponding description can be dispensed with. This sealing washer also has a number of stiffening ribs 34 ', a flange 26' in which a number of openings 28 'is formed, and knobs 24' which allow the raised edge to be lifted off against the drinking rim in the region of its free end in the intended installation state favor adjacent sealing washer area.

A special feature of this exemplary embodiment is the thread 46 provided here in the region of the sealing washer, which, in the intended assembly state, lies circumferentially against the free end of the drinking rim, the one Forms air inlet passage and, by lengthening the flow path, enables air to flow into and out of the drinking vessel, but liquids cannot escape from the vessel through the passage thus formed. The thread 46 can be designed as a circumferential thread groove or as a circumferential thread projection. The area of the drinking rim against which the thread 46 abuts is, on the other hand, smooth. It goes without saying that instead of the thread 46 shown, gears in the manner of a labyrinth or other shaped gears can also be provided as long as they achieve the desired effect. An advantage of the air inlet passages formed in this way is that they can be produced directly during the manufacture of the sealing washers or, if an air inlet passage is provided between an external thread of a drinking vessel and an internal thread of a fastening section, without the vessel and / or fastening section being manufactured a separate processing or manufacturing step would be required.

Within the framework of the inventive concept, numerous modifications and further developments are possible, which are e.g. refer to the design of the clamping flange on the drinking rim and the flange on the sealing washer. Instead of the round openings shown, elongated slotted openings can also be provided in the flange of the sealing washer. Instead of the stiffening ribs shown, it is also possible to provide a circumferential bead and then to introduce openings in the same to the space between the sealing disk and the drinking section.

REFERENCE SIGN LIST

10, 10 '

Drinking attachment

12th

Drinking vessel

14, 14 '

Drinking rim

16, 16 '

Fastening section

18, 18 '

Drinking section

20, 20 '

Sealing washer

22

Space

24, 22 '

Pimple

26, 26 '

flange

28, 28 '

opening

30th

Vessel interior

32, 32 '

Clamping flange

34, 34 '

Stiffening rib

36

central area of the sealing washer

40

Section of the sealing washer

42

Flow arrow

44

Flow arrow

46

Thread (air inlet passage)

Claims (13)

Comprehensive drinking attachment (10) for drinking vessels (12) - A funnel-like peripheral drinking rim (14) which is open towards the drinking vessel (12), with a fastening section (16) for fastening the drinking attachment (10) to an edge region of the drinking vessel (12) surrounding an opening (28) of a drinking vessel (12) ), and a bowl-shaped elastic sealing disc (20) which can be inserted into the drinking rim (14) for sealing the drinking rim (14), - The sealing washer (20) in the region of the free end of the drinking rim (14) on a drinking vessel (12) in the intended assembly state of the drinking attachment (10), forming an intermediate space (22) open towards the drinking vessel (12) against the drinking rim (14 ) abuts circumferentially and is designed such that it can be partially lifted from the drinking rim (14) by a suction action by a user of the drinking attachment (10) in order to open a passage to the intermediate space (22), - The sealing disk (20) in the region of its base has an outwardly projecting circumferential flange (26) which is designed to rest on the edge surrounding the opening (28) of the drinking vessel (12), - The drinking rim (14) with a sealing flange (20) projecting clamping flange (32) is provided around the flange (26) of the sealing disk (20) when fastening the drinking attachment (10) on a drinking vessel (12) against the edge clamp the opening (28) of the drinking vessel (12), - The flange (26) of the sealing disc (20) is provided with a number of openings to the intermediate space (22), - The clamping flange (32) ends in front of the openings provided in the flange (26) of the sealing washer (20) and - The drinking rim (14 ') consists of at least two separate components (16', 18 '), one of which forms the fastening section (16'). Drinking attachment (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the sealing disc (20) is provided with stiffening ribs (34) provided between the openings. Drinking attachment (10) according to claim 2, characterized in that the stiffening ribs (34) are arranged on the side of the sealing disk (20) which faces the drinking vessel (12) in the intended installation state. Drinking attachment (10 ') according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the drinking rim (14') has a drinking section (18 ') made of silicone, TPE, TPU or PP. Drinking attachment (10 ') according to claim 4, characterized in that the fastening section (16') consists of a material with a higher rigidity than the drinking section (18 '). Drinking attachment (10) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the sealing disc (20) consists of silicone. Drinking attachment (10) according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that an air inlet passage (46) is formed between the drinking rim (14) and the sealing disc (20 '). Drinking attachment (10) according to claim 7, characterized in that the air inlet passage (46) between the drinking rim (14) and the sealing washer (20 ') is formed in the region of the sealing washer (20') which is against the free end of the drinking rim (14) all around. Drinking attachment (10) according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the fastening section (16) has an internal thread for screwing onto a corresponding external thread of a drinking vessel (12). Drinking attachment (10) according to claim 9, characterized in that the fastening section (16) is designed such that there is an air inlet passage (44) between the external thread and the internal thread. Drinking attachment (10) according to one of claims 7, 8 or 10, characterized in that the air inlet passage (46) between the drinking rim (14) and Sealing disc (20) and / or the air inlet passage (44) between the external thread and the internal thread is / are designed in the form of a circumferential thread or as a gap or labyrinth seal. Drinking attachment (10) according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the sealing disc (20) has a slot seal in the region of its bottom. Drinking vessel (12) with a drinking attachment (10) according to one of claims 1 to 12.

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