US20170181556A1

US20170181556A1 - Snack and beverage container set

Info

Publication number: US20170181556A1
Application number: US14/757,479
Authority: US
Inventors: James Lai
Original assignee: Sara Rose International Inc
Current assignee: Sara Rose International Inc
Priority date: 2015-12-23
Filing date: 2015-12-23
Publication date: 2017-06-29

Abstract

A snack and beverage container set is revealed. The snack and beverage container set includes a first container for receiving beverage therein, a second container mounted in the first container and used for mounting snacks, a first cover covered over the first and second containers and a second cover rotatably disposed over the first cover. The first cover includes a circular shade and a wide opening penetrating the circular shade. The second cover includes a circular shell and a wide opening penetrating the circular shell. A straw is passed through a vertical slot of the first cover into the inner space of the first container for users to drink beverage. The second cover is also rotated to make the wide opening of the second cover align with or move away from the wide opening of the first cover for taking snacks or closing the second container.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a snack and beverage container set, especially to a snack and beverage container set that includes a first cover and a second cover covered over openings on an upper part thereof. The second cover is rotatable in relation to the first cover so that a wide opening of the second cover is aligned or not aligned with a wide opening of the first cover. Thus users can get snacks in the snack and beverage container set through the wide openings or close a snack container.
There are certain products of snack and beverage container sets available on the market for users to carry snacks and beverages, as revealed in US D608,147S, US D723,871S, etc. A snack and beverage container set includes a beverage container (first container), a snack container (second container) and a flip cover. The beverage container includes a deeper inner space for mounting beverages while the snack container has a smaller inner space for mounting snacks. The snack container is arranged over the beverage container. A vertical channel separated from the inner space of the snack container is arranged at an inner surface of an edge around an opening of the snack container and is communicated with the inner space of the beverage container. The flip cover is pivotally connected to a pivot shaft on the edge around the opening of the snack container and is pivotally rotated for opening or closing the snack container. While in use, a user inserts a straw through the vertical channel of the snack container into the inner space of the beverage container for drinking the beverage therein. At the same time, the flip cover is opened for the users to take snacks from the inner space of the snack container or closed to close the snack container.
However, the conventional snack and beverage container set mentioned above has the following shortcomings while in use. When the flip cover is pivotally rotated to open the inner space of the snack container, the flip cover is rotated from a horizontal closed position (0 degree) to an open position with the angle of no less than 90 degrees (such as 180 degrees shown in FIG. 1 of US D608,147S). The pivotally rotated flip cover is moved upward or outward and a certain space for operation is required. This causes users inconvenience. Moreover, after being rotated pivotally, the flip cover is stayed at that angle and is supported by the pivot shaft. Whether the flip cover is stable depends on the structural strength of the pivot shaft disposed between the flip cover and the snack container. Once the structural strength of the pivot shaft is insufficient, the flip cover is easy to get loose and become unstable after being used for a long time. The device is inconvenient in use. In order to increase the structural strength of the pivot shaft for satisfying users' requirements, the production and assembly costs of the flip cover and the snack container produced by plastic injection molding, are increased. This has negative effect on mass production and market competitiveness of the snack and beverage container set. Thus there is room for improvement and a need to provide a snack and beverage container set with novel design.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a snack and beverage container set that includes a first container for receiving beverage, a second container for mounting snacks, a first cover and a second cover. The first cover movably fitted on and stopped by an upper edge of the first container and an upper flange of the second container by a flange thereof so that the first container, the second container and first cover are connected to form one part. The first cover is disposed with a circular shade extended upward. A wide opening is arranged at the circular shade and a vertical slot is arranged at the surface of the circular shade. The wide opening is penetrating the circular shade and communicated with the inner space of the second container while the vertical slot is separated from the inner space of the second container and is aligned with the vertical channel of the second container to be communicated with the inner space of the first container. The second cover is rotatably fitted on the first cover by a bottom edge and is further including a circular shell extended upward therefrom. A penetrating wide opening is arranged at the surface of the circular shell, aligned and communicated with the wide opening of the first cover. A user passes a straw through the first cover into the inner space of the first container so as to drink the beverage while in use. At the same time, the second cover is rotated to make the wide opening of the second cover align with or not align with the wide opening of the first cover. Thus the user can get access to the snacks in the second container through the wide openings communicated with each other or close the second container. Therefore users can get access to the beverage and the snacks conveniently.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment in which a snack container is a closed state according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment in which a snack container is an open state according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the embodiment in FIG. 1 according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the embodiment in FIG. 2 according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an explosive view of the embodiment in FIG. 1 according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic drawing showing a first cover and a second cover of an embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is the embodiment in FIG. 6 viewed from another angle;

FIG. 8 is a schematic drawing showing a longitudinal section of an embodiment (without the second cover) according to the present invention; p FIG. 9 is a schematic drawing showing a longitudinal section of an embodiment (with the second cover) according to the present invention;

FIG. 10 is another embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a further embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a further embodiment according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Refer from FIG. 1 to FIG. 5, a snack and beverage container set 1 of the present invention of the present invention mainly includes a first container 10, a second container 20, a first cover 30 and a second cover 40, each of which is, but not limited to, formed integrally by plastic injection molding.
The first container 10 consists of a larger inner space for receiving beverage therein and an upper edge 12 around an opening on an upper part.
The second container 20 is composed of a smaller inner space 21 for mounting snacks, an upper flange 22 around an opening and a vertical channel 23 disposed on an inner side of the upper flange 22. The second container 20 is a snack container. The inner space 21 of the second container 20 is fitted on the upper edge 12 of the first container 10 and the upper flange 22 of the second container 20 is stopped by the upper edge 12 of the first container 10. Thus the inner space 21 is mounted into an upper part of the inner space 11 of the first container 10. The vertical channel 23 is separated from the inner space 21 and communicated with the inner space 11 of the first container 10. The vertical channel 23 is used for a straw 50 to pass through.
The first cover 30 is movably fitted on the upper edge 12 of the first container 10 and the upper flange 22 of the second container 20 by a flange 31 extended downward therefrom. Thus the first container 10, the second container 20 and first cover 30 are connected by the flange 31 of the first cover 30 to form one part. The first cover 30 further includes a circular shade 32 extended upward therefrom. The shape of the circular shade 32 can be a hemisphere (as shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 5), a cone (FIG. 10), a truncated cone (FIG. 11), or a peach shape (FIG. 12).
A wide opening 33 is arranged at the circular shade 32 and is penetrating the circular shade 32 to be communicated with the inner space 21 of the second container 20. Take the hemispherical circular shape 32 shown in FIGS. 1-5 as an example. The area of the wide opening 33 is a bit smaller than half of the area of the hemispherical circular shade 32. That's about a quarter of the area of the sphere. A vertical slot 34 is arranged at the surface of the circular shade 32 and is separated from the inner space of the circular shade 32. That means the vertical slot 34 is also separated from the inner space 21 of the second container 20. The vertical slot 34 is aligned with the vertical channel 23 of the second container 20 to be communicated with the inner space 11 of the first container 10.
The second cover 40 includes a bottom edge 41, a circular shell 42 extended upward, and a wide opening 43 penetrating the circular shell 42. The second cover 40 is rotatably disposed over the first cover 30 by the bottom edge 41. The shape of the circular shell 42 is, but not limited to, matched with the shape of the circular shade 32 of the first cover 30. The circular shell 42 of the second cover 40 is located outside the circular shade 32 of the first cover 30 and is rotatable in relation to the circular shade 32, as indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 1. The inner circular shade 32 and the outer circular shell 42 are rotatable in relation to each other. The wide opening 43 arranged at the surface of the circular shell 42 is aligned with and communicated with the wide opening 33 on the circular shade 32 of the first cover 30 for being further communicated with the inner space 21 of the second container 20. Moreover, the area ratio of the wide opening 43 to the second over 40 is preferred to be equal to the area ratio of the wide opening 33 to the first over 30. Take the hemispherical circular shape 32 shown in FIGS. 1-5 as an example. The area of the wide opening 33 is a bit smaller than half of the area of the hemispherical circular shade 32. That's about a quarter of the area of the sphere. As to the wide opening 43, it is also a bit smaller than half of the area of the hemispherical circular shell 42. Yet the circular shell 42 is located outside the circular shade 32 so that the area of the wide opening 43 of the circular shell 42 is a bit larger than the area of the wide opening 33 of the first cover 30. Except the wide opening 43, the rest part of the circular shell 42 of the second cover 40 can completely cover the wide opening 33 of the first cover 30 after being rotated.
Refer from FIG. 5 to FIG. 9, a user passes a straw 50 through the vertical slot 34 of the first cover 30 and the vertical channel 23 of the second container 20 to reach the inner space 11 of the first container 10 while in use. Thus the user can drink the beverage inside the inner space 11. Moreover, the second cover 40 can be operated and rotated in relation to the first cover 30 by the user to make the wide opening 43 of the outer second cover 40 align with or not align with the wide opening 33 of the inner first cover 30, as indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 1. When the wide opening 43 is rotated to be aligned with the wide opening 33, the user can access and take the snacks from the inner space 21 of the second container 20. When the wide opening 43 is rotated to be not aligned with the wide opening 33, the rest part of the circular shell 42 of the second cover 40 can completely cover the wide opening 33 of the first cover 30. The wide opening 33 of the first cover 30 is closed by the circular shell 42 the circular shell 42 so that the user can't get access to the snacks in the inner space 21 of the second container 20.
The circular shell 42 of the second cover 40 is located outside the circular shade 32 of the first cover 30 and is rotated horizontally in relation to the circular shade 32. Thus the movement of the circular shell 42 is relation to the circular shade 32 is horizontal rotation. As to the conventional beverage container, the lid is pivotally connected to the beverage container and is lifted by the user. Compared with the conventional beverage container, the horizontal rotation of the present invention is more stable. Moreover, the pivot shaft used for connecting the lid to the beverage container is easy to loosen or damage after being used for a long time. The design of the present invention is more durable.
Refer to FIG. 5, a plurality of locking pins 13 is disposed outside and under the upper edge 12 of the first container 10 with the same interval. As shown in FIG. 1, there are, but not limited to, three locking parts 13. Refer to FIG. 7, a plurality of protruding fasteners 36 is arranged at the inner surface of the flange 31 of the first cover 30 with the same interval. As shown in FIG. 3, there are three protruding fasteners 36 corresponding to the locking pins 13 of the first container 10 respectively. Thereby the protruding fasteners 36 of the first cover 30 can be stopped by and fastened on the locking pins 13 of the first container 10 tightly, as shown in FIG. 9. The first container 10 and the second container 20 are connected and integrated firmly by the flange 31 of the first cover 30, without separated from each other.
Furthermore, a plurality of indentations 24 is set on the upper flange 22 of the second container 20. Each protruding fastener 36 of the first cover 30 is firstly aligned with and passed through the indentation 24 of the second container 20 and then stopped by and locked with the locking pin 13 of the first container 10 tightly, as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 9.
Refer to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, a plurality of guide tracks 45 is disposed on an inner surface of the bottom edge 41 of the second cover 40 with the same interval. There are 3, but not limited to, guide tracks 45 shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. A circular guide groove 35 is arranged between the flange 31 and the circular shade 32. The circular guide groove 35 is corresponding to the three guide tracks 45 of the second cover 40. Thereby each guide track 45 of the second cover 40 is sliding stably in the guide groove 35 of the first cover 30 when the second cover 40 is rotatably fitted on the first cover 30 by the bottom edge 41. Thus the circular shell 42 of the second cover 40 located outside the circular shade 32 of the first cover 30 is rotated stably in relation to the circular shade 32, as indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 1. The rotation of the circular shell 42 in relation to the circular shade 32 is stable.
Refer from FIG. 1 to FIG. 5, a lug 44 extended outward is arranged beside the wide opening 43 of the second cover 40 for users to rotate the second cover 40 in relation to the first cover 30 more conveniently. The user can drive (push or pull) the lug 44 for rotating the second cover 40 to move along the direction as indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 1. Thus the wide opening 33 of the first cover 30 originally covered and closed by the wide opening 43 of the second cover 40 (as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3) is changed into an open state (shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4). Moreover, the lug 44 is stopped beside the vertical slot 34 of the first cover 30 (or the straw 50) when the wide opening 33 of the first cover 30 is in the closed state, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3.
Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details, and representative devices shown and described herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A snack and beverage container set comprising:

a first container having an upper edge around an opening and a larger inner space for receiving beverage therein;

a second container moveably fitted on the upper edge of the first container and having an inner space mounted into an upper part of the inner space of the first container, an upper flange around an opening, and a vertical channel disposed on an inner side of the upper flange; the vertical channel separated from the inner space of the second container and communicated with the inner space of the first container;

a first cover movably fitted on and stopped by the upper edge of the first container and the upper flange of the second container by a flange thereof so that the first container, the second container and first cover are connected; the first cover having a circular shade extended upward thereof, a wide opening arranged at the circular shade and penetrating the circular shade to be communicated with the inner space of the second container, and a vertical slot separated from the inner space of the second container and aligned with the vertical channel of the second container to be communicated with the inner space of the first container; and

a second cover that is rotatably disposed over the first cover by a bottom edge thereof and having a circular shell extended upward, and a wide opening that is arranged at a surface of the circular shell, penetrating the circular shell, and communicated with the wide opening of the circular shade of the first cover;

wherein a straw is passed through the vertical slot of the first cover, the vertical channel of the second container and reached the inner space of the first container; the second cover is also rotated so that the wide opening of the second cover is aligned or not aligned with the wide opening of the first cover;

wherein users get access to the snacks in the inner space of the second container through the wide opening of the second cover when the wide opening of the second cover is aligned with the wide opening of the first cover;

wherein the wide opening of the first cover and the inner space of the second container are closed when the wide opening of the second cover is not aligned with the wide opening of the first cover.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first container, the second container, the first cover and the second cover are formed integrally by plastic injection molding respectively.

3. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a shape of the circular shell of the second cover is matched with a shape of the circular shade of the first cover.

4. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a shape of the circular shade of the first cover is selected from the group consisting of a hemisphere, a cone, a truncated cone, or a peach shape.

5. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a plurality of locking pins is disposed outside and under the upper edge of the first container with the same interval; a plurality of protruding fasteners is arranged at an inner surface of the flange of the first cover with the same interval;

thereby the protruding fasteners of the first cover are stopped by and fastened on the locking pins of the first container tightly and correspondingly so that the first container, the second container and the first cover are connected and integrated firmly by the flange of the first cover when the first cover is movably fitted on the upper edge of the first container and the upper flange of the second container by the flange thereof.

6. The device as claimed in claim 5, wherein a plurality of indentations is set on the upper flange of the second container; each of the protruding fasteners of the first cover is firstly aligned with and passed through the indentation of the second container and then stopped by and firmly locked with the locking pin of the first container correspondingly.

7. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a plurality of guide tracks is disposed on an inner surface of the bottom edge of the second cover with the same interval; a circular guide groove is arranged between the flange and the circular shade of the first cover, and is corresponding to the guide tracks of the second cover; each of the guide track of the second cover is sliding in the guide groove of the first cover so that the circular shell of the second cover located outside the circular shade of the first cover is rotated in relation to the circular shade when the second cover is rotatably fitted on the first cover by the bottom edge thereof.

8. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a lug extended outward is arranged beside the wide opening of the second cover; the second cover is rotated when the lug is driven by the user.