Flow control element and covered drinking cup

Abstract

A drinking cup has a cover which is formed with a drinking spout at one side and a vent at the other. Elements extend down from under the spout and the vent. A flow control element is provided and made of elastomeric material having a pair of spaced cavities on one side, each cavity having a floor at the bottom thereof. The cavities receive in frictional engagement respectively the lower ends of the elements. This engagement supports the flow control element with the floor of each cavity in sealed relation to its element. Each floor has a passage which is normally closed but opens on the occurrence of a pressure differential on opposite sides of the floor.

What I claim is:  
     
       1. A drinking cup comprising: 
       a cup-shaped container having a removable leakproof cover, the cover comprising a top wall having at one side an upwardly extending drinking spout and spaced therefrom a vent, the top wall being formed on its underside with a pair of spaced elements, one of the pair of spaced elements communicating with and extending downward from under the spout and the other of the pair of elements communicating with and extending downward from the vent; and  
       a flow control element comprising a flat piece of flexible elastomeric material having a pair of spaced cavities on one side, each of said pair of cavities having a floor at the bottom thereof, each of said pair of cavities receiving the lower ends of the elements in frictional engagement sufficient to support said flow control element with said floors in sealed relation to the respective elements, each of said floors having a passage therethrough which is normally closed by opens upon occurrence of a pressure differential on opposite sides of said floor.  
     
     
       2. The drinking cup according to claim  1 , wherein the elements are cylindrical. 
     
     
       3. The drinking cup according to claim  2 , wherein the elements are of different diameters. 
     
     
       4. The drinking cup according to claim  1 , wherein the element connected to the spout is of larger diameter than the element connected to the vent. 
     
     
       5. The drinking cup according to claim  2 , wherein each of said pair of cavities is also cylindrical and sized to mate with element. 
     
     
       6. The drinking cup according to claim  1 , wherein said floor associated with the element connected to the spout is formed with a plurality of openable passages. 
     
     
       7. The drinking cup according to claim  6 , wherein each of the plurality of passages comprises a plurality of slits extending radially out from a point so that during pressure differential adjacent slits define pie-slice flaps. 
     
     
       8. The drinking cup according to claim  1 , wherein each of said pair of cavities has side wall surfaces formed with inward ribs. 
     
     
       9. A flow control element removably positioned on a pair of spaced fluid-conducting elements, the flow control element comprising a flat elongate piece of material having a pair of spaced cavities in a first side thereof, each of said pair of cavities having a floor at the bottom thereof, each of said pair of cavities snugly receiving the ends of the fluid-conducting elements in frictional engagement sufficient to support said flow control element with said floors in sealed relation to the fluid-conducting elements, each of said floors having a passage therethrough that is normally closed, but opens upon occurrence of a pressure differential on opposite sides of said floor. 
     
     
       10. The flow control element according to claim  9 , wherein each of said pair of cavities has a different diameter. 
     
     
       11. The flow control element according to claim  9 , wherein each of said pair of cavities is cylindrical and sized in diameter to mate with the fluid-conducting elements. 
     
     
       12. The flow control element according to claim  9 , wherein said floor associated with the fluid-conducting element connected to the drinking spout is formed with a plurality of openable passages. 
     
     
       13. The flow control element according to claim  12 , wherein the plurality of openable passages each comprise a plurality of slits extending radially out from a point so that during pressure differential adjacent slits define pie-slice flaps. 
     
     
       14. The flow control element according to claim  9 , wherein each cavity has side wall surfaces formed with inward ribs. 
     
     
       15. The flow control element according to claim  9 , further comprising a pair of shoulders. 
     
     
       16. The flow control element according to claim  14 , wherein each of said pair of shoulders extends in a direction opposite the first side. 
     
     
       17. The flow control element according to claim  16 , wherein each of said pair of shoulders has a straight portion and a chamfered portion. 
     
     
       18. The flow control element according to claim  17 , wherein the chamfered portion forms an angle of about seventy-seven degrees. 
     
     
       19. The drinking cup comprising: 
       a cup-shaped container having a removable leakproof cover, the cover comprising a top wall having at one side an upwardly extending drinking spout and on the opposite side a vent, the top wall being formed unnaturally on its underside with spaced conduits extending downward from under the spout and the vent and communicating therewith and  
       a flat flow controller of resilient material having a pair of spaced cavities on one side, each of said pair of cavities having a diaphragm at the bottom thereof, each of said pair of cavities receiving the lower ends of the conduits in frictional engagement sufficient to support the flow controller with the diaphragms in sealed relation to the elements, each of the diaphragms having a passage therethrough which is normally closed, but opens upon occurrence of a pressure differential on opposite sides of the diaphragm.  
     
     
       20. The drinking cup according to claim  19 , wherein said flow controller further comprises a pair of shoulders. 
     
     
       21. A method of controlling flow of fluid in a liquid-containing closed vessel having a top wall formed with an outlet spout through which the liquid may be aspirated and a vent spaced from the spout, the spout and vent having parallel elements extending into the vessel, the method comprising the steps of: 
       (1) providing a flat element of flexible elastomeric material having a pair of spaced cavities on one side, each cavity having a floor at the bottom thereof; and  
       (2) installing the flat element with the cavities receiving and frictionally engaging the elements so that the elements are in sealing relation with the floors, the floors each having passages therein openable upon the occurrence of a pressure differential on opposite sides of the floor.  
     
     
       22. A drinking cup comprising: 
       
         a container having a removable cover, said cover having a drinking spout, a vent, and a pair of downwardly depending spaced elements, one of said pair of spaced elements communicating with said spout and the other of said pair of spaced elements communicating with said vent; and  
       
       
         a flow control element comprising a pair of spaced cavities, each of said pair of cavities having a wall and a flexible membrane in communication with said wall, said wall of each of said pair of cavities being frictionally engaged with one of said pair of spaced elements to support said flow control element and seal said cavities to said spaced elements so that said flexible membranes are positioned respectively between said drinking spout and vent of said cover and the interior of said container, each of said membranes having a passage therethrough that is normally closed but opens upon occurrence of a pressure differential on opposite sides of said membrane. 
       
     
     
       23. A flow control element suitable for use in a substantially leak- proof drinking cup that includes a lid, the lid having a spout, an air vent and a pair of downwardly depending elements, the first of the pair of elements depending from and being in liquid tight communication with the spout and the second of the pair of elements depending from and being in liquid tight communication with the vent, said flow control element comprising:    
       
         a first valve having an elastomeric diaphragm;  
       
       
         a second valve having an elastomeric diaphragm;  
       
       
         a first wall being in communication with said first elastomeric diaphragm and having a surface that is frictionally and sealingly engagable with the first depending element; and  
       
       
         a second wall being in communication with said second elastomeric diaphragm, and having a surface that is frictionally and sealingly engagable with the second depending element, said surfaces of said first and second walls relative to the first and second depending elements being suitable for frictionally securing said flow control element to the first and second depending elements of the lid so as to position said first and second elastomeric diaphragms respectively between the spout and air vent of the lid and the interior of the drinking cup,  
       
       
         wherein each of said first and second elastometric diaphragms includes at least one perforation therethrough such that said first and second elastometric diaphragms can temporarily open to permit fluid to pass through said diaphragms in response to a pressure differential. 
       
     
     
       24. A drinking cup comprising: 
       
         a container for holding a fluid; and  
       
       
         a sealing lid for sealing said container,  
       
       
         wherein said sealing lid has an air vent, a drinking spout and two downwardly extending elements, one of said two elements being an air vent element in communication with said air vent, and the other of said two elements being a drinking spout element in liquid tight engagement with said drinking spout,  
       
         wherein said drinking cup has an air vent valve and a drinking spout valve, each of said valves having a wall and a self - sealing elastomeric membrane in communication with said wall, wherein said wall and said membrane of each of said valves together define a cavity,    
       
         wherein said wall of said air vent valve is frictionally sealingly secured to said air vent element, and wherein said wall of said drinking spout valve is frictionally sealingly secured to said drinking spout element so as to position said elastomeric membranes of said valves respectively between said air vent and said drinking spout of said lid and the interior of said container, and  
       
       
         wherein at least one of said elastomeric membranes has at least one perforation therein. 
       
     
     
       25. The drinking cup of claim  24 , wherein said wall of said air vent valve is secured to said air vent element by friction. 
     
     
       26. The drinking cup of claim  24 , wherein said wall of said drinking spout valve is secured to said drinking spout element by friction. 
     
     
       27. The drinking cup of claim  24 , wherein said air vent valve and said drinking spout valve are located on a common substrate. 
     
     
       28. The drinking cup of claim  27 , wherein said common substrate is elastomeric. 
     
     
       29. The drinking cup of claim  28 , wherein said air vent valve, said drinking spout valve and said common substrate make up a single, integrally molded element. 
     
     
       30. The drinking cup of claim  24 , wherein said drinking cup includes a flow control element, said valves being part of said flow control element, and wherein said flow control element is secured to said lid only by said securement of said walls of said valves to said two downwardly extending elements. 
     
     
       31. The drinking cup of claim  24 , wherein said perforation includes a slit. 
     
     
       32. A method of controlling flow of fluid in a closed vessel having a top wall formed with an outlet spout through which the liquid may be aspirated and a vent spaced from the spout, the method comprising the steps of: 
       (   1   )  providing said top wall with a pair of downwardly depending spaced elements, one spaced element being in communication with said spout and the other spaced element being in communication with said vent; and    
       (   2   )  providing a flow control element with a pair of elastomeric valves, each valve being in communication with a wall that is sealingly engaged with one of said spaced elements so as to position said elastomeric valves respectively between the outlet spout and the vent of the top wall and the interior of the vessel, each of said pair of elastomeric valves having a passage therein that is normally closed and is openable upon the occurrence of a pressure differential on opposite sides of said elastomeric valve.   
     
     
       33. The method of claim  32 , wherein said passage is a slit. 
     
     
       34. The method of claim  32 , wherein both of said elastomeric valves are located on a single substrate. 
     
     
       35. The method of claim  34 , wherein said single substrate is elastomeric. 
     
     
       36. The method of claim  34 , wherein said pair of elastomeric valves and said single substrate make up a single integrally molded element. 
     
     
       37. The method of claim  32 , wherein at least one of said walls in communication with one of said pair of elastomeric valves is sealingly engaged with said one of said spaced elements by friction. 
     
     
       38. A drinking cup comprising: 
         a container having a removable cover, said cover having a drinking spout, a vent, and a pair of downwardly depending spaced fluid - conducting elements, one of said pair of spaced elements communicating with said spout and the other of said pair of spaced elements communicating with said vent; and    
       
         a flow control element comprising a pair of spaced walls, each of said pair of walls communicating with a separate diaphragm, wherein each of said pair of walls and said diaphragm in communication therewith define a cavity above said diaphragm, one of said pair of walls being engaged with one of said spaced elements, and the other of said pair of walls being engaged with the other of said pair of spaced elements, to mount said flow control element onto and seal said cavities relative to said spaced elements so that said diaphragms are positioned respectively between said drinking spout and vent of said cover and the interior of said container, each of said diaphragms having a passage therethrough that is normally closed but opens upon occurrence of a pressure differential on opposite sides of said diaphragm. 
       
     
     
       39. The drinking cup of claim  38 , wherein said flow control element is mounted to said spaced elements only by frictional engagement of said walls with said spaced elements. 
     
     
       40. The drinking cup of claim  38 , wherein each of said pair of walls extends in an upward direction relative to its respective said diaphragm. 
     
     
       41. The drinking cup of claim  38 , wherein the shape of said pair of walls complements the shape of said spaced elements. 
     
     
       42. The drinking cup of claim  41 , wherein said pair of walls and said spaced elements are tubular. 
     
     
       43. A drinking cup comprising: 
         a container having a removable cover, said cover having a drinking spout, a vent, and a pair of downwardly depending spaced fluid - conducting elements, one of said pair of spaced elements communicating with said spout and the other of said pair of spaced elements communicating with said vent; and    
       
         a flow control element comprising a pair of spaced walls, each of said pair of walls communicating with a diaphragm, wherein each of said pair of walls and said diaphragm in association therewith define a cavity on the same side of said diaphragm, one of said pair of walls having a surface that receives and engages one of said spaced elements, and the other of said pair of walls having a surface that receives and engages the other of said spaced elements, to mount said flow control element onto and seal said cavities relative to said spaced elements so that said diaphragms are positioned respectively between said drinking spout and vent of said cover and the interior of said container, each of said diaphragms having a passage therethrough that is normally closed but opens upon occurrence of a pressure differential on opposite sides of said diaphragm. 
       
     
     
       44. The flow control element of claim  43 , wherein said flow control element is mounted to said spaced elements only by frictional engagement of said pair of walls with said spaced elements. 
     
     
       45. The flow control element of claim  43 , wherein each of said diaphragms is elastomeric. 
     
     
       46. The flow control element of claim  43 , wherein said flow control element is elastomeric. 
     
     
       47. The drinking cup of claim  43 , wherein the shape of said pair of walls complements the shape of said spaced elements. 
     
     
       48. The drinking cup of claim  47 , wherein said pair of walls and said spaced elements are tubular.