Disposable cup lid having fold back retainer

Receptacles – Closures – Secondary closure within parameter of primary closure

Reexamination Certificate

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Details

C220S832000, C220S270000, C220S715000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06260727

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to disposable lids for placement on drinking cups; and more particularly the present invention is directed to a disposable cup lid which has a drink-through opening therein and which is such that when the foldback flap defining the drink-through opening is in its folded-back position, the tear tab which is used to initiate tearing of the cup lid so as to form the foldback flap and drink-through opening will be retained in an indentation formed in the cup lid below the plane of the central region thereof. Accordingly, lids which are in keeping with the present invention have the advantage that the tear tab is retained in place when the foldback flap is in its folded-back position, and therefore the tear tab does not interfere particularly with the nose of a person drinking from the cup on which the cup lid of the present invention has been placed.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Disposable cup lids having drink-through openings are very well known. The advantage of a drink-through opening is that the lid does not need to be removed from the cup in order to drink the beverage which is contained in the cup. This is particularly advantageous when the beverage is a hot beverage, such as coffee or tea.
It is becoming more popular, particularly in the take-out food and beverage industry, to provide specialty coffees and the like, which coffees may have some froth or foam at the top of the beverage when it is dispensed into a drinking cup, and therefore a dome or semi-dome lid is appropriate. That means to say, that at least a portion of the disposable cup lid which is placed on the drinking cup should extend above the rim of the cup. Semi-dome lids are also advantageous in other circumstances; for example in most hot beverages they permit accumulation of steam, they provide some volume for the beverage to splash around in without leaking past the cup rim, and in the case of cold beverages they provide a bit of additional volume for foam or for ice cubes floating in the beverage to occupy.
However, a disadvantage of any such dome or semi-dome lids, heretofor, particularly those which have foldback flaps that define drink-through openings, is that the tear tab which must first be manipulated to cause the tearing back of the material of the disposable cup lid, generally extends upwardly above the central region of the cup lid and therefore it interferes with the nose of a person consuming a beverage from a cup on which the cup lid has been placed.
The present invention overcomes that disadvantage by provided a structure wherein the tear tab is retained in an indentation formed in the cup lid so as to be in a position below the plane of the generally central region of the cup lid, and therefore so as to not interfere with the nose of the user.
The present invention is, of course, directed to disposable cup lids which are intended to have a plug fit on the rim of the drinking cup on which they are placed. That means that there is a recess formed on the underside of the disposable cup lid, at or very near the other periphery thereof, and the recess will accommodate the rim of the drinking cup at both its inside and outside extremities. Thus, the rim of the drinking cup will extend upwardly into the downwardly directed cup rim engaging recess so as to hold the rim of the drinking cup more securely in place.
Notwithstanding the prior art which is discussed hereafter, the inventor herein has unexpectedly discovered that disposable cup lids may be provided for placement onto a drinking cup where the disposable cup lids have a semi-dome configuration and yet they may be formed in such a manner that there is no unwanted interference of the nose of the user by the tear tab and foldback flap which define the drink-through opening of the cup lid. Moreover, such a cup lid that permits easy access and formation of the drink-through opening permitting resealing of the opening, in keeping with the present invention is capable of being manufactured using conventional machinery.
2. Description of the Prior Art
ELFELT el al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,994,411, issued Nov. 30, 1976 teaches a cup lid having a foldback drink opening in which the drink-through opening is defined at its edges by a series of perforations formed in the cup lid; and in which the grab tab is tucked or inserted into a slit formed in the cup lid in a position opposite the grab tab.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,459, issued May 13, 1980 to DePARLES et al. teaches a cup lid where slits are cut into the lid during fabrication to permit tearing back of the fold back flap where a portion of the peripheral rim-engaging segment is inserted into a cooperating slot. This, however, leaves the rim of the cup lid extending upwardly into the air where it may interfere with the nose of the user.
BAILEY U.S. Pat. No. 4,322,015, issued Mar. 30, 1982, teaches a cup lid where the fold back access strip may be releasedly retained by being placed between a pair of spaced protrusions formed in the cup lid.
RAMA et al. U.S. Pat No. 4,460,443 issued Jul. 17, 1984 teaches a drink lid or cover which is particularly intended for cups having hot beverages in them. The cup lid fits snugly to the cup and provides a openable flap through which ingredients such as cream and sugar may be added to the beverage, and through which the beverage may be consumed. The cup lid is substantially flat, and has an upper surface which extends downwardly into the cup so as to lie below the surface of the rim of the cup. A raised pull tab is provided to lift the flap so that it may be folded back, after which the pull tab is inserted into a matching wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,088 issued Dec. 16, 1986 to DURGIN teaches a beverage container having a foldable flap which is open to allow the user to drink through the beverage container. The container lid is essentially flat, with the major plane thereof lying in the same plane as the rim of the cup. The cup lid provides a pair of detents and an end overhang, which cooperate to hold the flap in place within a recess which is formed in the plane of the cup lid to accommodate the foldable flap.
A further United States patent to DePARLES, U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,373 issued April 1988 teaches a cover for a disposable drinking cup where the cover has a hinged tab defined by score lines. A recess is provided to accommodate the foldback flap, but once again, the tear tab remains exposed above the cup lid.
LANE et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,609 issued Feb. 13, 1996, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,699,927 issued Dec. 23, 1997 have essentially identical disclosures. Each patent teaches a beverage cup lid which is substantially flat where the major plane of the cup lid lies below the rim of the cup. In each case, the cup lid has a drink-through opening which is covered by a hinged closure member which may be locked in place by trapping an outer marginal edge of the closure between the cup rim and the periphery of the lid. The manufacturer of the LANE et al. cup lids, however, requires that the closure member must be manipulated during manufacture of the cup lid such as by being pulled so as to stretch the plastic in a radial direction.
VAN MELLE U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,961, issued May 12, 1992, teaches a substantially flat cup lid in which the foldback portion is formed simply as a consequence of the extrusion grain of the plastic material of the lid. The foldback portion is hinged about a U-shaped type hinge and is retained in place by the cooperation of a pair of protruding tabs with a co-operating protrusion. This, however, leaves the grasp tab of the lid exposed above the plane of the cup lid.
A further patent to VAN MELLE U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,619 issued Mar. 25, 1997 teaches an improved foldback cup lid wherein the foldback portion of the lid is, at least in part, receive in a recess formed in the lid.
Finally, VAN MELLE U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,601, issued Nov. 24, 1998, teaches a disposable dome lid for drinking cups. The dome lid is configured so as to have a plug fit onto the rim of the beverage cup, and provides a side surface of the dome wh

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