APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SEALING A BEVERAGE CONTAINER LID

1 . A lid used with a container for manually sealing or unsealing the container, the lid comprising:

a body having a rim and a top, the rim being sealingly engageable with the container, the top having an opening therein adapted to be in fluid communication with the container, the top also having an elongated depression therein, the opening in the top being positioned along the elongated depression, the elongated depression having a maximum width at a widest location and terminating at its upper end in a pair of edges positioned closer to each other than the maximum width; and

a ball positioned within the elongated depression, the ball having an outside diameter less than the maximum width and greater than the distance between the edges of the elongated depression such that the ball cannot be easily removed from the body, the ball being movable and selectively positionable along a length of the elongated groove between at least first and second positions, the ball in the first position exposing at least a portion of the opening to allow the fluid communication, and the ball in the second position sealingly occluding the opening to prevent the fluid communication.

2 . The lid of claim 1 wherein the ball is perfectly spherical.

3 . The lid of claim 1 wherein the elongated depression is linear when viewed from directly above.

4 . The lid of claim 1 wherein the elongated groove has an arcuate cross section.

5 . The lid of claim 1 wherein the elongated groove has an arcuate cross section with a radius slightly larger than a radius of the ball.

6 . The lid of claim 1 wherein the ball has a resilient external surface.

7 . The lid of claim 1 wherein the ball comprises a resilient material.

8 . The lid of claim 1 wherein the ball is made entirely from a resilient material.

9 . A beverage receptacle comprising:

a container adapted to retain a fluid therein;

a lid in fluid communication with the container, the lid having a rim and a top, the rim being sealingly engaged with the container, the top having an opening therein adapted to be in fluid communication with the container, the top also having an elongated depression therein, the opening in the top being positioned along the elongated depression, the elongated depression having a maximum width at a widest location and terminating at its upper end in a pair of edges positioned closer to each other than the maximum width; and

a ball positioned within the elongated depression, the ball having an outside diameter less than the maximum width and greater than the distance between the edges of the elongated depression such that the ball cannot be easily removed from the lid, the ball being movable and selectively positionable along a length of the elongated groove between at least first and second positions, the ball in the first position exposing at least a portion of the opening to allow the fluid communication, and the ball in the second position sealingly occluding the opening to prevent the fluid communication.

10 . A method for alternatingly sealing and unsealing a lid of a drinking container, the method comprising:

rolling a ball along an elongated depression in the lid into a first position to obstruct an opening in the lid and prevent spillage from the container; and

rolling the ball along the elongated depression in the lid out of the first position to remove the obstruction from the opening in the lid and allow a fluid to be poured from the container.

11 . The method of claim 10 further wherein rolling the ball into the first position comprises rolling the ball in a first direction and rolling the ball out of the first position comprises rolling the ball in a second direction opposite the first direction.