IP Library Granted Patent US 12,195,243
Granted Patent B2
US 12,195,243 · App. 18/238,263 · Granted Jan 14, 2025

Bottle cap drip tray device

Inventors: Sarah J. Purdy (Columbus, OH); Steven A. Sauer (Columbus, OH)
Assignee: Sarah J. Purdy
B65D47/40B65D1/0207B65D1/0246B65D41/04B65D43/16B65D47/06B65D51/18B65D51/245B65D2203/00B65D2251/0021B65D2251/0046B65D2543/00092B65D2543/00351
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,195,243
App. No.
18/238,263
Granted
Jan 14, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

A bottle cap drip tray device is disclosed herein. The bottle cap drip tray device includes an upstanding inner wall portion; an upturned peripheral edge portion extending at least partially around an outer periphery of the bottle cap drip tray device; and a floor portion extending between the upstanding inner wall portion and the upturned peripheral edge portion. The bottle cap drip tray device is configured to prevent a substance being poured from a bottle from dripping down one or more sides of the bottle.

Claims (39)

1. A bottle cap and drip tray device, comprising:

an upstanding inner wall portion;

an upturned peripheral edge portion forming an outer peripheral boundary of the bottle cap and drip tray device, the upturned peripheral edge portion having a curved upper surface and a curved lower surface, the curved lower surface of the upturned peripheral edge portion being oppositely disposed relative to the curved upper surface, and the curved upper and lower surfaces of the upturned peripheral edge portion being curved in a plane that is parallel to a vertical axis of the bottle cap and drip tray device; and

a floor portion extending horizontally between the upstanding inner wall portion and the upturned peripheral edge portion, the floor portion having an upper surface and a lower surface, the lower surface of the floor portion being oppositely disposed relative to the upper surface, the upper surface of the floor portion being adjoined to the curved upper surface of the upturned peripheral edge portion, the lower surface of the floor portion being adjoined to the curved lower surface of the upturned peripheral edge portion, and the curved upper and lower surfaces of the upturned peripheral edge portion each having a varying slope from a first location where the curved upper and lower surfaces adjoin the upper and lower surfaces of the floor portion to a second location at the outer peripheral boundary of the bottle cap and drip tray device;

a bottle cap configured to engage with an opening of a bottle, the bottle cap including:

a cap base portion, the cap base portion formed by the upstanding inner wall portion and a top wall connected to the upstanding inner wall portion, and the cap base portion further including a dispensing aperture disposed through the top wall for pouring a substance from the bottle, the dispensing aperture being located substantially closer to one end of a diameter of the cap base portion than the other end of the diameter;

a lid portion pivotably coupled to the cap base portion, the lid portion being pivotable between a closed position where the dispensing aperture is covered and an open position where the dispensing aperture is accessible for the pouring of the substance; and

a hinge member pivotably coupling the lid portion to the cap base portion of the bottle cap, the hinge member defining a pivot axis about which the lid portion is rotatable relative to the cap base portion of the bottle cap, the pivot axis of the hinge member being disposed at an outer edge of, or being disposed below, the top wall of the cap base portion;

wherein the bottle cap and drip tray device is configured to prevent the substance being poured from the bottle from dripping down one or more sides of the bottle.

2. The bottle cap and drip tray device according to claim 1 , wherein the pivot axis of the hinge member is in a form of a substantially horizontal pivot axis about which the lid portion is rotatable relative to the cap base portion of the bottle cap.

3. The bottle cap and drip tray device according to claim 2 , wherein the hinge member is coupled to the cap base portion by a plurality of downwardly extending resilient prong members that engage with a single slot disposed in the cap base portion, the substantially horizontal pivot axis of the hinge member being disposed above the plurality of downwardly extending resilient prong members.

4. The bottle cap and drip tray device according to claim 2 , wherein the hinge member comprises a pair of downwardly extending tabs with respective hinge pins extending from the tabs, and the hinge member is coupled to the cap base portion by the hinge pins engaging with respective pin holes in the cap base portion.

5. The bottle cap and drip tray device according to claim 1 , wherein the cap base portion comprises an upstanding collar circumscribing the dispensing aperture, and the lid portion comprises a circular recess at a bottom of the lid portion for accommodating the upstanding collar of the cap base portion when the lid portion is in the closed position.

6. The bottle cap and drip tray device according to claim 1 , wherein an interior surface of the upstanding inner wall portion of the cap base portion comprises a plurality of internal threads that are configured to threadingly engage with a plurality of corresponding external threads disposed on a neck of the bottle.

7. The bottle cap and drip tray device according to claim 1 , wherein the upturned peripheral edge portion has a top rim and the lid portion of the bottle cap has a top surface, the top rim of the upturned peripheral edge portion being disposed beneath the top surface of the lid portion of the bottle cap.

8. The bottle cap and drip tray device according to claim 1 , wherein the bottle has an animal or human figurine shape, and the bottle cap and drip tray device is in a shape of a hat disposed on a head of the animal or human figurine.

9. The bottle cap and drip tray device according to claim 1 , wherein the upper surface of the floor portion and/or the curved upper surface of the upturned peripheral edge portion of the bottle cap and drip tray device includes a textured surface portion comprising a plurality of ribs that define recesses between the ribs for trapping the substance being poured from the bottle.

10. A bottle cap and drip tray system, comprising:

a bottle having an animal or human figurine shape, the bottle configured to hold a substance in an interior of the bottle;

a bottle cap and drip tray device configured to be attached to the bottle, the bottle cap and drip tray device being in a shape of a hat disposed on a head of the animal or human figurine, and the bottle cap and drip tray device including:

an upstanding inner wall portion;

an upturned peripheral edge portion forming an outer peripheral boundary of the bottle cap and drip tray device; and

a floor portion extending horizontally between the upstanding inner wall portion and the upturned peripheral edge portion, the upturned peripheral edge portion surrounding the floor portion;

a bottle cap configured to engage with an opening of the bottle, the bottle cap including:

a cap base portion, the cap base portion formed by the upstanding inner wall portion and a top wall connected to the upstanding inner wall portion, the top wall of the cap base portion being generally planar, and the cap base portion further including a dispensing aperture disposed through the top wall for pouring a substance from the bottle;

a lid portion pivotably coupled to the cap base portion, the lid portion being pivotable between a closed position where the dispensing aperture is covered and an open position where the dispensing aperture is accessible for the pouring of the substance; and

a hinge member pivotably coupling the lid portion to the cap base portion of the bottle cap, the hinge member defining a pivot axis about which the lid portion is rotatable relative to the cap base portion of the bottle cap, the pivot axis of the hinge member being disposed at an outer edge of, or being disposed below, the top wall of the cap base portion;

wherein the bottle cap and drip tray device is configured to prevent the substance from dripping down one or more sides of the bottle when the substance is being poured from the bottle.

11. The bottle cap and drip tray system according to claim 10 , wherein the substance that is configured to be poured from the bottle comprises a viscous liquid, and the bottle cap and drip tray device is configured to prevent the viscous liquid from dripping down one or more sides of the bottle when the viscous liquid is being poured from the bottle.

12. A bottle cap and drip tray device, comprising:

an upstanding inner wall portion;

an upturned peripheral edge portion forming an outer peripheral boundary of the bottle cap and drip tray device; and

a floor portion extending between the upstanding inner wall portion and the upturned peripheral edge portion;

a bottle cap configured to engage with an opening of a bottle, the bottle cap including:

a cap base portion, the cap base portion formed by the upstanding inner wall portion and a top wall connected to the upstanding inner wall portion, and the cap base portion further including a dispensing aperture disposed through the top wall for pouring a substance from the bottle, the dispensing aperture being located substantially closer to one end of a diameter of the cap base portion than the other end of the diameter;

a lid portion pivotably coupled to the cap base portion, the lid portion being pivotable between a closed position where the dispensing aperture is covered and an open position where the dispensing aperture is accessible for the pouring of the substance; and

a hinge member pivotably coupling the lid portion to the cap base portion of the bottle cap, the hinge member defining a pivot axis about which the lid portion is rotatable relative to the cap base portion of the bottle cap, the hinge member being coupled to the cap base portion by one or more downwardly extending resilient prong members that engage with a slot disposed in the cap base portion, the one or more downwardly extending resilient prong members extending below the top wall of the cap base portion, the pivot axis of the hinge member being disposed above the one or more downwardly extending resilient prong members, and the pivot axis of the hinge member being disposed at an outer edge of the top wall of the cap base portion;

wherein the bottle cap and drip tray device is configured to prevent the substance from dripping down one or more sides of the bottle when the substance is being poured from the bottle.

13. The bottle cap and drip tray device according to claim 12 , wherein the hinge member further comprises a hinge base portion, the one or more downwardly extending resilient prong members extending downwardly from a bottom surface of the hinge base portion, and the hinge base portion of the hinge member being configured to be received within a notch of the cap base portion.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 25, 2023
From: SAUER, STEVEN A.
To: PURDY, SARAH J.
Reel/Frame 064729/0318 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 63469017 · May 25, 2023
Related Publication 20240391660A1 · Nov 28, 2024
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