GB2443053A

GB2443053A - Straw holder

Info

Publication number: GB2443053A
Application number: GB0718365A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David William Ross Buckley; Hayley Jayne Smith
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-09-20
Filing date: 2007-09-20
Publication date: 2008-04-23
Also published as: GB0618477D0; GB0718365D0

Abstract

A straw holder 1 holding a straw 2 within a beverage container 3 is of one piece construction and comprises an upper portion 40 with a straw receiving aperture 4, and first and second flexible resilient leg portions 5, 7 depending from either side of the upper portion 40. The straw 2 is positioned within the aperture 4 and inserted against the inner side of a beverage container wail. The straw holder 1 is maneuvered so that the upper portion 40 is disposed above said container 3 wall, and the straw 2 engages the edge of said upper portion 40 surrounding said aperture 4 so as to create a first stabilisation force, said first leg portion 5 engages the side of the straw 2 so as to create a second stabilisation force, and the second leg portion 7 engages an outer side of the container 3 wall so as to grip the straw 2 and container 3 wall therebetween with a third stabilisation force.

Description

STRAW HOLDER

Field of the invention

This invention relates to a device to hold a straw in a beverage container.

Background Art

When a person is using a straw to uptake fluids from a container, they often find the need to stabilise the straw using their hand prior to placing one end in their mouth. This is to prevent the straw from moving around the container while the person attempts to clamp the straw between their lips.

During drinking the person may need to use their hand to hold the straw at an **::* appropriate height within the container in order to prevent the hollow cross section of the straw being suctioned against the bottom of the container, which would stop the flow of fluid through the straw. Finally, when the fluid within the * container has reached a low level such that sucking through the straw causes S. the person to intake air, they would usually use one hand to tip the container r.. towards their body in order that the remaining fluid wells in a smaller area of the container. Using the other hand, the person would direct the straw end into the fluid in this area in order to consume the last of their beverage.

While this practice of using the hand to stabilise the straw may be acceptable to those persons who have the freedom and cognition to utilise their hand in this way, there are several groups of people for whom this is

unacceptable.

Young children may lack the cognition to stabilise the straw prior to attempting to place it in their mouth, with the result that they effectively chase the straw around the container with their mouth and head. This in turn may lead the child to make a lunge for the straw while it is positioned at the side of the container furthest from them, where they will have more chance of pinning the straw against the container wall, On several occasions this will result in the child knocking the container over, and thus spilling the contents.

Other groups who may find stabilising the straw with a hand unacceptable are disabled or injured persons. Included within the disabled group would be those who have limited hand/arm function due to a health condition or old age. All groups may experience the situation described for a child, but the consequence and significance for disabled or injured persons may be considered greater. Activities that highlight disabled or injured persons physical deficiencies may have a negative psychological impact on the person involved. The inability to carry out an activity such as stabilising a straw (in order to freely uptake fluid from a container) also increases dependence on carers. These groups are the most likely to be unable to manipulate the straw to change its depth within the container (and thus within the beverage) and to direct the straw whilst tipping the container in order to consume the entire beverage.

US-A-5,823,493 discloses a straw holder comprising a flexible strip ****, formed into a loop. The major part of the loop engages the outer wall of a container, and the straw is passed through an aperture in the strip and is * *.* thereby held against the container wall. The gripping of the straw depends on a . i close fit of the straw within the aperture.

US-A-5,671,863 discloses a flap on the edge of a paper cup, which has :.. an aperture to hold a straw that passes through the aperture. This is not a * secure means of holding the straw in place.

US-A-3,648,334 discloses a spring clip to hold a card against a radio antenna, the spring clip having two rectilinear and slotted legs, joined by an apertured loop. The slotted legs hold the card against the antenna, with the aperture loop serving to locate the antenna tip.

US-A-2,636,240 discloses a clip for holding a thermometer in a beaker, the clip comprising a strip having a slot extending along its length, and bent into an arcuate shape. The thermometer extends through the slot and engages against an end of the slot adjacent the end of the strip to hold the thermometer in place against the beaker wall.

Having regard to the issues noted above, a more secure means is required of securing a straw within a beverage container, than is disclosed in these documents.

Summary of Invention

The present invention proposes in a first aspect, a straw holder of one piece construction for holding a straw within a beverage container, the straw holder comprising an upper portion with a straw receiving aperture, and first and second flexible resilient leg portions depending from either side of said upper portion, and adapted so that in use, said upper portion is disposed above the container wall and said leg portions extend on either side of the wall, and a straw, placed against the inner side of a beverage container wall, extends through said straw receiving aperture and engages said upper portion surrounding said aperture, said first leg portion engages a side of the straw and the second leg portion engages an outer side of the container wall so as to grip the straw and container wall therebetween.

****** In a second aspect, the invention provides a method of holding a straw * S*.

within a beverage container, the method comprising: : * * 15 providing a straw holder of one piece construction comprising an upper portion with a straw receiving aperture, and first and second flexible resilient leg portions depending from either side of said upper portion; positioning a straw within said aperture and inserting the straw within a beverage container against the inner side of a beverage container wall; manoeuvring the straw holder,so that said upper portion is disposed above said container wall, and the straw engages said upper portion surrounding said aperture so as to create a first stabilisation force, said first leg portion engages the side of the straw so as to create a second stabilisation force, and the second leg portion engages an outer side of the container wall so as to grip the straw and container wall therebetween with a third stabilisation force.

For the purposes of the specification, the terms "upper" and "depending" refer to the orientation of the straw holder of the invention in use, where the upper portion of the straw holder is positioned above the beverage container wall, and the leg portions depend downwardly to grip the container wall and straw. However when the straw holder is not in use and not positioned on a beverage container, whilst the central portion and leg portions will retain their relative orientations, the straw holder may have any orientation relative to its surroundings.

In accordance with the invention, there is no need to use a hand to manually stabilise the straw or to manipulate it during use, since the straw is heid securely within the beverage container. Since the straw in use engages the edge of said aperture, which provides a force of stabilisatjon, the aperture can accept a wide range of straw diameters, and may for example have a diameter in the range of 6.1 to 6.5 millimetres for holding straws with a diameter in the range of 4 to 6.2 millimetres. The aperture may have a shape that is circular, oval, rectangular square, or cruciform. Additionally, a valve or membrane may be positioned within said aperture, for preventing the straw from sliding relative to the straw holder.

*I.:: The straw holder may be formed of plastic material such as food grade polypropylene, or some other flexible and resilient material such as spring steel.

The aperture may have a slit extending across the aperture and extending into the side legs, so that if the straw holder is accidentally swallowed, the slit may act as an airway. Holes may also be included in the leg portions for this purpose.

The straw holder may include a sign or name plate as a means of promoting brands or other information whilst in situ on the rim of a beverage container. The shape that the invention takes may be modified to accommodate different brand styles, whilst retaining the features essential to its means of operation.

In more general terms, the invention relates to the gripping of elongate finger-held objects other than straws, for example pens, medical devices, etc. against a wall, flat or curved.

In a third aspect, the invention provides a method of holding an elongate finger-held object against a wall, the method comprising: providing a holder of one piece construction comprising an upper portion with an object receiving aperture, and first and second flexible resilient leg portions depending from either side of said upper portion; positioning said object within said aperture and placing said object against the inner side of a beverage container wall; manoeuvring said holder, so that said upper portion is disposed above said container wall, and the object engages said upper portion surrounding said aperture so as to create a first stabilisation force, said first leg portion engages the side of the object so as to create a second stabilisation force, and the second leg portion engages an outer side of the wall so as to grip the object and container wall therebetween with a third stabilisation force.

In a further broad aspect, the invention provides a holder of one piece construction for holding an elongate finger-held object against a wall, the holder comprising an upper portion with an object receiving aperture, and first and second flexible resilient leg portions depending from either side of said upper portion and adapted so that in use, said upper portion is disposed above the s.. wall and said leg portions extend on either side of the wall, and said object, :.:: placed against one side of the wall, extends through said aperture and engages * S..

said upper portion surrounding said aperture, said first leg portion engages a 15 side of the object and the second leg portion engages a second side of the wall so as to grip the straw and wall therebetween. *. S.

: * . Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings where: Figure 1 shows a side view of a preferred embodiment of the invention with a straw placed in a straw holder, which is attached to the side of a container; Figure IA is a cross-sectional and enlarged view of the straw holder of Figure 1; Figure 2 is an enlarged side view of the straw holder in position gripping a straw, with a diagram of the forces exerted by the straw holder; Figure 3 shows plan views of modrfications of the straw holder, with alternative aperture designs; Figure 4 shows a cross sectional view of a further embodiment of the invention with an alternative aperture design which includes a valve; Figure 5 shows a side view of the embodiment of Figure 1, with the container tipped towards a user; Figure 6 shows side views of two alternatively shaped embodiments of the straw holder; Figure 7 shows a side view of an example of the straw holder of the invention with a sign plate to accommodate a brand or message; and Figure 8 shows side views, at right angles to the side views of Figure 6, of modifications of the straw holder of the invention, which feature apertures in side legs for a safety purpose.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment

Referring to Figures 1 and 1A, a straw holder 1 holds a straw 2 against * * the side wall 3 of a beverage container. The straw holder is of one-piece construction, of plastic such as food grade polypropylene, and has an upper portion 40 which includes an aperture 40, defined by edge walls 42 of the upper portion, which receives straw 2. Two flexible and resilient legs 5, 7 depend from opposing sides of the upper portion, and are bowed inwardly. Each leg terminates in a respective leg end portion or lip portion 6, 8, which are angled outwardly to form a flared lower end of the legs. As indicated in Figure 8, the legs, and upper portion 40, may be relatively wide in a direction at right angles to the view of Figure 1.

In use, straw 2 is positioned within aperture 4 and the straw holder 1 is manoeuvred so that legs 5, 7 are positioned on inner and outer sides of waIl 3, with inner leg 5 gripping straw 2 against the inner wall, and outer leg 7 engaging the outer side. Since the shape of the straw holder is symmetrical about its centre, the straw holder may work equally well with the positions of legs 5, 7 reversed.

Referring to the enlarged view of Figure 2, with the straw holder gripping the straw 2 in position, it will be noted the straw holder is tilted inwardly of the container, with leg end portion 8 positioned above leg end portion 6. In this position, straw 2 engages against edge wall 42 defining aperture 4. In practice, the dimensions of aperture 4 (e.g. between 6.1 and 6.5 mm) are such in relation to the straw (eg. between 4 and 6.2 mm) to permit such engagement.

As shown in Figure 1, the straw is held at a height (9) within the container dictated by the user, which would be limited only by the depth of the container and length of the straw. The straw holder does this by means of creating a situation where friction may occur between the straw outer, the inside of the container and parts (6) and (8) of the invention. This would be due to the clamping mechanism described.

Figure 2 shows how the invention works in terms of the forces applied on the invention, which are critical to the operation. Force (10) is the force that is applied between the inner wall edge (42) of the aperture that contacts the straw, and part of the outer wall of the straw. Force (11) is the force applied between the leg end portion (6) and part of the outer wall of the straw. Force (12) is the * ***. force applied between leg end portion (8) and part of the outer wall of the :.:: container. Forces (10) and (11) combine to oppose force (12), and thus the ***, sum of the applied forces (10) and (11) are equal and opposing to the force 15 (12). In this manner, the straw holder allows part of the straw to be held against the wall of the container. The embodiment of the invention in figure 2 shows the preferable distribution of the necessary forces, in that it is preferable to the * optimal operation of the invention if the force (11) is applied in a position lower than that of the force (12) relative to the container and straw, as in practice this may encourage the straw to remain stable during the drinking operation. It should be noted that the invention would continue to operate successfully up to the extreme instance where the force (11) was applied to a point above the rim on the container.

The material used to manufacture the straw holder may be semi flexible, to be suitably rigid to apply and oppose the necessary forces during operation, and critical to the successful operation, but suitably flexible to accommodate the differing thickness and curvature of beverage containers and differing diameter, wall thickness and cross section of straws.

Figure 3 shows alternative cross-sectional shapes of the aperture in the upper portion (40), namely a circular aperture 13 and a cruciform aperture 14. It will be that the aperture size may be larger than the diameter of the straw and does not rely on interference between two or more parts of the internal wall of the aperture and the straw. As such the straw needs only to touch part of the internal wall of the aperture closest to the inner wall (5) situated within the container. Consequently this allows the aperture shape to differ in cross section from that of the straw. The aperture design is such that it provides the necessary situation for sufficient friction to occur between the inner surface of the aperture and the straw outer to hold the straw at a selected depth within the container.

In a modification as shown in Figure 4, the upper portion (40) includes an additional component (15) within the aperture (4) such as a valve or breakable membrane which the straw can be pushed through.

In Figure 5 the straw holder (1) is shown placed on the rim of the * container (3) closest to the user so that when the container is tipped towards the user the straw end (16) can stay immersed in the remaining fluid (17) so that the user can consume the entire beverage.

r* Figure 6 shows examples of alternative shapes of legs (5, 7) of the straw holder. The legs maintain their function as described above, but in the alternative at the left of Figure 6, the legs depend straight vertically downwards, 0I : * * and end portions (6, 8) are at right angles. In the alternative to the right of Figure 6, the legs are straight, but angled inwardly. The end portions (6, 8) are camfered to provide flat inner gripping surfaces.

Figure 7 shows the straw holder (1) with an upstanding name plate (18) allowing an individualised message or brand to be attached to and displayed on the invention.

Figure 8 shows a safety design, which may be included within any of the aforementioned embodiments. This design features an aperture (19, to the left), or a number of apertures (20, to the right) situated in the legs (5, 7) which would allow the passage of air, should the occasion arise where the straw holder is swallowed and becomes lodged in a person's or animal's oesophagus.

These apertures may be of any appropriate size or shape, number or distribution such as to be accommodated by the straw holder without affecting its successful operation. p

Claims

1. A straw holder of one piece construction for holding a straw within a beverage container, the straw holder comprising an upper portion with a straw receiving aperture, and first and second flexible resilient leg portions depending from either side of said upper portion, and adapted so that in use, said upper portion is disposed above the container wall and said leg portions extend on either side of the wall, and a straw, placed against the inner side of a beverage container wall, extends through said straw receiving aperture and engages the part of said upper portion surrounding said aperture, said first leg portion engages a side of the straw and the second leg portion engages an outer side of the container wall so as to grip the straw and container wall therebetween. * *.

*::::*

2. A straw holder according to claim 1, wherein the straw holder is formed :.. of plastic material such as food grade polypropylene.

* 15

3. A straw holder according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said aperture has a * diameter in the range of 6.1 to 6.5 millimetres for holding straws with a diameter in the range of 4 to 6.2 millimetres..

4. A straw holder according to any preceding claim, wherein said leg portions are bowed outwardly.

5. A straw holder according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein said leg portions are angled towards one another.

6. A straw holder according to any preceding claim, wherein said leg portions have lip portions at their free ends.

7. A straw holder according to any preceding claim, wherein said aperture has a shape that is selected from a class including circular, oval, rectangular, square, cruciform.

8. A straw holder according to any preceding claim, said upper portion including, positioned within said aperture, a valve or membrane.

9. A straw holder according to any preceding claim, including a slit extending across said aperture,

10. A straw holder according to any preceding claim, including apertures within said leg portions.

11. Straw holders substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

12. A method of holding a straw within a beverage container, the method comprising: providing a straw holder of one piece construction comprising an upper portion with a straw receiving aperture, and first and second flexible resilient leg portions depending from either side of said upper portion; positioning a straw within said aperture and inserting the straw within a beverage container against the inner side of a beverage container wall; manoeuvring the straw holder, so that said upper portion is disposed * S. above said container wall, and the straw engages said upper portion *::::* surrounding said aperture So as to create a first stabilisation force, said first leg portion engages the side of the straw so as to create a second stabilisation * 15 force, and the second leg portion engages an outer side of the container wall so S..

as to grip the straw and container wall therebetween with a third stabilisation S. ** * S * * S

13. A method as claimed in claim 12, wherein said second leg portion engages an outer side of the container wall, above said first leg portion engaging the side of the straw 14. A method of holding an elongate finger-held object against a wall, the method comprising: providing a holder of one piece construction comprising an upper portion with an object receiving aperture, and first and second flexible resilient leg portions depending from either side of said upper portion; positioning said object within said aperture and placing said object against the inner side of a beverage container wall; manoeuvring said holder, so that said upper portion is disposed above said container wall, and the object engages said upper portion surrounding said aperture so as to create a first stabilisation force, said first leg portion engages the side of the object so as to create a second stabilisation force, and the -11 -second leg portion engages an outer side of the wall so as to grip the object and container wall therebetween with a third ctabilisation force.

14. A holder of one piece construction for holding an elongate finger-held object against a wall, the holder comprising an upper portion with an object receiving aperture, and first and second flexible resilient leg portions depending from either side of said upper portion and adapted so that in use, said upper portion is disposed above the wall and said leg portions extend on either side of the wall, and said object, placed against one side of the wall, extends through said aperture and engages said upper portion surrounding said aperture, said first leg portion engages a side of the object and the second leg portion engages a second side of the wall so as to grip the straw and wall therebetween. * . ** *. * * * * . *

S ** ** * * * * S