The present invention relates generally to the field of can lids and specifically to lids for use on aluminum or metal beverage cans.
The applicant knows of no prior art which teaches the unique structure of his invention. U.S. Pat. No. 2,753,051 discloses a hinge on a pintle for sealing a container. Otherwise none of the structure of the present invention is shown. U.S. Pat. No. 3,372,832 (Yeater) discloses a removable cover for containers. Essentially it is a plastic cover having a pop down lid which locks into place by the force of the user pushing on the cap so that the projections 23 on the bottom side of the cap are pushed past the constricted middle section 16. The structure of the present invention is not disclosed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,331,255 (Fournier) discloses a two-part lid hinge. The two sections of this lid are connected by a hinge 16 which just may be a piece of plastic. The two sections are oriented so that the second section can be hooked over and on to the first so that the peripheral channel of the second section engages over the peripheral channel of the first section to provide a shallow space between the two sections bounded by a peripheral seal. Small openings are provided in a first section leaving a relatively large continuous imperforate area in that section. A removal tab is provided for forming a drinking opening in the second section, the tab being positioned so that it is disposed opposite the imperforate area in the first section. Again the structure of the present invention is not specifically disclosed. U.S. Pat. No. 3,977,559 (Lombardi) discloses a lid for a food container. It is a plastic cover that snaps over the top of a food container having a section of that lid that has been cut out so that it may be folded back along a hinge 22. The hinge does not have or disclose the present invention's structure nor does the cap itself disclose the structure of the present invention. U.S. Pat. No. 3,994,411 (Elfelt) discloses a lid for drink cups that includes a drinking flap of limited circumferential extent that may be selectively pivotally opened and closed. Such a drinking flap may be initially defined by frangible, i.e. breakable, lateral edges in the lid and may be held in its open position by the pull tab on the flap being inserted in a slit for a straw orifice. Essentially all this patent discloses, that is pertinent to the structure of the present invention, is a cap with hinges. The Elfelt structure does not appear to be re-usable. U.S. Pat. No. 4,284,200 (Bush) discloses a child resistant dispensing closure. Again, the structure of this invention is much different from the structure of the present invention and all that is really pertinent with this reference is the fact that there is a cap with a hinge. U.S. Pat. 4,361,250 (Foster) discloses a plastic container closure. This cap may be re-usable and has a flap or portion of the cover that flips open, similar in function to the present invention, in that the flap of Foster seals well. However, the structure of Foster is different from the structure of present invention. The hinged flap of Foster has hinge strips with depending pins formed along the sides of the flap that are integrally connected with the flap by tearable webs. After the flap has first been closed, the pins are anchored to the top of the closure and prevent the flap from opening during shipment of the container. Initial opening of the flap is effected by swinging the flap upwardly with a substantial force to tear the webs and separate the webs from the strips and the anchor pins. The torn webs provide visual indication that the flap has been opened. Accordingly, this is apparently a one use device or cap since once the webs have been torn the re-useability of the device is questionable. It is designed to be tamper resistant and tamper evident packaging. The structure of the present invention is not disclosed. U.S. Pat. 4,494,679 (Cleevely) discloses a thermoplastic container closure for dispensing solids. Again, this is another structure showing a hinged flap or flip cap. However, this flip cap does not appear to have a pintle hinge-type structure. U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,326 (Morehead) merely discloses a protector for a drink can opening. Specifically it is a device designed to attach to the portion of the lid where the pop tab or the pull tab is located so that it can be swung over or incorporated into the structure of the pop can lid in order to have a grating in place over the drinking opening and prevent the ability of insects like bees to enter into the container. Other than the slits the structure is completely different from the present invention. U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,214 (Dart) discloses a non-spill drink through lid. Slits to drink through are disclosed. No other structure of present invention is disclosed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,372 (McFarland) discloses a cap for a hot beverage cup. The cap is a disposable, removable closure cap for beverage containers and includes a depression permitting the beverage to be drunk while the cap remains in place on the container. The cap includes perforations in a depending wall located closely adjacent an inner wall of the container in order to limit the flow of beverage into the depression defined in the upper surface of the cap. A slit in the cap permits the aroma of the beverage to be enjoyed while the beverage is being drunk from the depression. The cap may be formed from sheet plastic material. This structure is completely different from the structure of the present invention, although it does disclose slits. It does not disclose the lip protection feature of the present structure although the well 28 of the McFarland device is designed to produce a somewhat similar effect. However the structure is completely different. U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,088 (Durgin) discloses a beverage container lid which includes a foldable flap which may be opened to allow the user to drink from a beverage container which is covered by the lid. A recess in the beverage lid is provided to receive the opened flap and to firmly secure the flap in its open position. The recess includes a pair of detentes on either side and an overhang at one end which cooperate to hold the flap firmly within the recess. The flap of course is also hinged. The structure of this cap is different than the structure of the cap which is the present invention, although it appears that recess 40 allows the flap to be flipped back and locked in place so that it is out of the way when a person drinks from the container. U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,865 (Turner) discloses a container lid with an integral stop. Essentially the structure of Turner is quite different from the present invention's structure and the main similarity is the fact that it discloses a hinged flap on the lid. The hinge is molded unitarily to the upper margin of the central support in the cover. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,774 (Nabinger) also discloses a removable and re-sealable lid for a container but Nabinger's structure is much different from the present invention's structure.