STRAWLESS DRINKING LID FOR A CONTAINER

1 . A strawless drinking lid for a container, comprising:

a mounting portion defining an outer perimeter;

a perimeter wall disposed inwardly from the mounting portion, the perimeter wall extending upwardly relative the mounting portion and having an outer surface facing the mounting portion and an inner surface opposite the outer surface;

a center portion extending inwardly from the inner surface of the perimeter wall; and

a recessed drinking portion extending from the center portion, the recessed drinking portion including an upper surface having a front section and a back section with a hinge therebetween, the front section having a front edge proximate a ledge extending from the inner surface of the perimeter wall;

the recessed drinking portion having a closed configuration with the upper surface having an undeformed concave shape relative to the center portion and the front edge adjacent the ledge extending from the inner surface of the perimeter wall, and the recessed drinking portion having an open configuration with the back section of the upper surface deformed upwardly to define an opening between the front edge and the ledge extending from the inner surface of the perimeter wall.

2 . The strawless drinking lid of claim 1 , wherein the recessed drinking portion is configured to be moved from the closed configuration toward the open configuration by an external opening force applied on the front section of the upper surface to deform the front section relative to the center portion.

3 . The strawless drinking lid of claim 1 , wherein the recessed drinking portion is configured to be moved from the open configuration toward the closed configuration by an external closing force applied on the back section of the upper surface to return the back section to the undeformed concave shape.

4 . The strawless drinking lid of claim 2 , wherein the front section is configured to conform to the hinge in the open configuration, and wherein the front section inverts upwardly as the front section conforms to the hinge.

5 . The strawless drinking lid of claim 1 , wherein the front edge is a curve defined along an interface between the upper surface of the recessed drinking portion and the ledge extending from the inner surface of the perimeter wall.

6 . The strawless drinking lid of claim 1 , wherein the hinge is a curve defined along an interface between the front section and the back section of the upper surface.

7 . The strawless drinking lid of claim 1 , wherein the front edge of the recessed drinking portion is defined by a cut, perforation or score.

8 . The strawless drinking lid of claim 1 , wherein the perimeter wall has a front wall segment and a back wall segment, wherein the front wall segment has a maximum height greater than a maximum height of the back wall segment.

9 . The strawless drinking lid of claim 9 , wherein the front wall segment tapers down from the maximum height of the front wall segment to the maximum height of the back wall segment.

10 . The strawless drinking lid of claim 9 , wherein the front wall segment has a maximum height of approximately 0.38 to 0.75 inch relative to a top of the mounting portion.

11 . The strawless drinking lid of claim 1 , wherein the mounting portion is configured to engage an upper rim of a container.

12 . The strawless drinking lid of claim 1 , wherein the mounting portion includes an inner shelf extending radially inward to the outer surface of the perimeter wall.

13 . The strawless drinking lid of claim 1 , wherein the outer perimeter defined by the mounting portion is circular in plan view.

14 . The strawless drinking lid of claim 1 , wherein the strawless drinking lid consists essentially of a single-piece thermoformed polymer article.

15 . The strawless drinking lid of claim 1 , wherein the back section of the upper surface is deformed past a point of maximum opening stress.

16 . The strawless drinking lid of claim 2 , wherein the front section of the upper surface is deformed past a point of maximum closing stress.

17 . A method of making a strawless drinking lid for a container, comprising:

providing a sheet of thermoformable polymeric material;

thermoforming the sheet to create a hollow body comprising:

a mounting portion defining an outer perimeter;

a perimeter wall disposed inwardly from the mounting portion, the perimeter wall extending upwardly relative the mounting portion and having an outer surface facing the mounting portion and an inner surface opposite the outer surface;

a center portion extending inwardly from the inner surface of the perimeter wall; and

a recessed drinking portion extending from the center portion, the recessed drinking portion including an upper surface having a front section and a back section with a hinge therebetween, the front section having a front edge proximate a ledge extending from the inner surface of the perimeter wall;

the recessed drinking portion having a closed configuration with the upper surface having an undeformed concave shape relative to the center portion and the front edge adjacent the ledge extending from the inner surface of the perimeter wall, and the recessed drinking portion having an open configuration with the back section of the upper surface deformed upwardly to define an opening between the front edge and the ledge extending from the inner surface of the perimeter wall.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the recessed drinking portion is configured to be moved from the closed configuration toward the open configuration by an external opening force applied on the front section of the upper surface to deform the front section relative to the center portion past a point of maximum closing stress.

19 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the back section of the upper surface is deformed past a point of maximum opening stress.

20 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the front section of the upper surface is deformed past a point of maximum closing stress.