US20150190004A1

US20150190004A1 - Stainless steel beverage pipette

Info

Publication number: US20150190004A1
Application number: US14/147,892
Authority: US
Inventors: Fu-nan CHANG; Hsueh-Chieh Chu
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-01-06
Filing date: 2014-01-06
Publication date: 2015-07-09

Abstract

A stainless steel beverage pipette, exclusively used for having a drink, has a solid body made of stainless steel. The external diameter of said solid body is 5 mm-15 mm. A through-hole is formed within the solid body. A top opening and a bottom opening with flat notch are set at both ends of said solid body. The inner and outer edges of said top and bottom openings are fitted with filleted corners, such that the cross sections of said top and bottom openings are of a semi-circular shape. The stainless steel beverage pipette is free of plasticizers ingredients, and is characterized by reusability, excellent durability and simple structure, and can thoroughly resolve the problems of the conventional plastic pipette, and improve the hygiene and food security with better applicability.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED U.S. APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

NAMES OF PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

Not applicable.

REFERENCE TO AN APPENDIX SUBMITTED ON COMPACT DISC

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a straw, and more particularly to an innovative one which is designed into a stainless steel beverage pipette.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98
Many people prefer to drink using a pipette (or straw) after the purchase of packaged beverages or drinks. Hence, the pipette plays an active role in our daily life due to its high availability.
Yet, some safety and hygiene problems are hidden in the currently available pipette products made mostly of plastic materials. When people have a drink via the pipette, the plastic pipette may release toxic plasticizers ingredients in case of overheating of the drink. As for an acidic drink, the plastic pipette may also release its toxicity due to corrosion and dissolution, especially for vegetable and fruit stores where most beverages contain acid-rich ingredients. So, there is a higher probability of toxic dissolution in the utilization of plastic pipettes. Moreover, heavy metals endangering human health are often proved to be contained in pipettes having colorful patterns. While people often consume such plastic pipettes in their everyday life, toxic substances may also be absorbed unconsciously. In spite of tiny toxicity contained therein, frequent utilization of such pipette probably yields negative influence on and great harm against the human health. In addition, the disposable plastic pipette will generate a lot of waste, and in fact recycling is very difficult due to small size and residual dirt, etc, leading to environmental problems that shall raise great concern of the general public.
At present, the common pipette is generally made of plastic materials owing to the fact that the pipette is always deemed as a disposable and cheap product. So mass production is made possible like sanitary chopsticks and plastic spoons. Yet, with the improvement of the general public's environmental consciousness and continuous coverage of food security and hygiene cases, more and more people realize that it is necessary to rectify their wrong habits, so more restaurants change chopsticks and plastic spoons into metal ones, meanwhile many consumers intend to carry dinnerware. So, more efforts shall be made to realize breakthrough progress for pipette in response to the evitable trend in the future.
Thus, to overcome the aforementioned problems of the prior art, it would be an advancement if the art to provide an improved structure that can significantly improve the efficacy.
Therefore, the inventor has provided the present invention of practicability after deliberate design and evaluation based on years of experience in the production, development and design of related products.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Based on the unique structural pattern and technical characteristics of the present invention wherein the “stainless steel beverage pipette” mainly comprises: a solid body made of stainless steel, a through-hole, a top opening and a bottom opening with flat notch, and filleted corners set on the inner and outer edges of said top and bottom openings, the present invention could provide a stainless steel beverage pipette free of plasticizers ingredients, which is characterized by reusability, excellent durability and simple structure. The present invention can thoroughly resolve problems such as toxicity released by conventional plastic pipette, and poorer environmental-friendliness, etc. Besides, due to simple structure, smaller size and good rigidity, it can be carried conveniently by the users to improve the hygiene and food security with better applicability.
Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention wherein the stainless steel beverage pipette also comprises a flexible brush.

FIG. 4 is a plane view of the present invention wherein the flexible brush allows to flush the inner wall of the through-hole through the brushing portion

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention wherein the solid body is fitted with a bending portion.

FIG. 6 is a status view of the preferred embodiment cleaned by the flexible brush disclosed in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention wherein circumferential skip lines are set at circumferential sections of the solid body.

FIG. 8: shows an embodiment of the present invention wherein the flexible brush equipped with an anti-scratch head at one end of the brush.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 1-2 depict preferred embodiments of a stainless steel beverage pipette of the present invention, which, however, are provided for only explanatory objective for patent claims.
Said stainless steel beverage pipette A is exclusively used for having a drink and comprises a solid body 10 made of stainless steel. The external diameter of said solid body 10 is 5 mm-15 mm. A through-hole 11 is formed within the solid body 10. A top opening 12 and a bottom opening 13 with flat notch are set at both ends of said solid body 10. The inner and outer edges of said top and bottom openings 12, 13 are fitted with filleted corners 14, such that the cross sections of said top and bottom openings 12, 13 are of a semi-circular shape (shown in FIG. 2).
Referring to FIG. 3, said stainless steel beverage pipette A also comprises a flexible brush 20 comprising of a flexible long brush holder 21 and a brushing portion 22 mated at one end of said flexible long brush holder 21. Said flexible brush 20 is used to stretch into the through-hole 11 of the solid body 10, allowing to flush the inner wall of the through-hole 11 through the brushing portion 22 (shown in FIG. 4). As the stainless steel beverage pipette A of the present invention is intended for repeated utilization, it is very important to keep the through-hole 11 in a clean state, and the flexible brush 20 could easily resolve this problem.
Referring to FIG. 4, an end stopper 23 is formed at one end of the flexible long brush holder 21 of the flexible brush 20 far away from the brushing portion 22. The maximum external diameter of the end stopper 23 is bigger than the aperture of the through-hole 11. When said flexible brush 20 is in a retractable state, said end stopper 23 is used to block it onto the top opening 12 of the solid body 10, so as to prevent any dust entering into the solid body 10. Said end stopper 23 is also fitted with a portion allowing the users to easily hold and control the flexible brush 20, and also preventing the flexible long brush holder 21 fully entering into the through-hole 11.
Referring to FIG. 3, the flexible long brush holder 21 is made of metal materials (e.g.: twisted steel or iron wire), and covered by a waterproof adhesive layer 24 (e.g.: silicon), so as to avoid corrosion of the metal flexible long brush holder 21 due to direct contact with moisture. The advantage of the metal flexible long brush holder 21 is represented by excellent elasticity and durability complying with the requirement of the stainless steel beverage pipette for repeated use.
Referring to FIG. 8, a scratch-resistant end 30 is set at one end of the flexible long brush holder 21 with the brushing portion 22. Said scratch-resistant end 30 is made of food grade plastic or foamed materials, so as to prevent scratching of the inner wall of the through-hole 11 of the solid body 10 by the end of the flexible long brush holder 21.
Referring to FIG. 1, said solid body 10 is of a straight pattern.
Referring to FIG. 5, a bending portion 16 is set at a height of the solid body 10, such that the solid body 10 is divided into a straight portion 17 and an oblique portion 18. Also, the solid body 10 of the present invention permits to clean its interior using said flexible brush 20. Referring to FIG. 6, given the flexural feature of the flexible long brush holder 21 of the flexible brush 20, it could be adapted to the shape of the bending portion 16 when it is inserted into the through-hole 11 of the solid body 10.
Referring to FIGS. 1, 5 and 7, circumferential skip lines 19 are arranged at interval on the circumferential sections of the solid body 10. In this preferred embodiment, said circumferential skip lines 19 are mainly used for resisting skip at circumferential sections of the solid body 10, enabling the users to hold the solid body 10 firmly. Besides, said circumferential skip lines 19 could improve the aesthetical effect of the solid body 10.
Based on above-specified structural design, the stainless steel beverage pipette A of the present invention is used in the same manner with existing common pipette, i.e. it is directly inserted into the drink cup for having a drink. When the cup is sealed with adhesive film, the flat notch of the bottom opening 13 could be easily pierced due to excellent rigidity of the stainless steel solid body 10 of the stainless steel beverage pipette A. In the present invention, the top opening 12 and bottom opening 13 of the solid body 10 are designed into flat notch patterns to guarantee security against any hazard from chamfered openings of the stainless steel pipette. On the other hand, the inner and outer edges of the top and bottom openings are designed into filleted corners 14 based on the unique characteristics of the stainless steel solid body 10 of the present invention. After the stainless steel tube materials are cut, some burrs may exist on the openings, so with the help of the design of filleted corners 14 by trimming the inner and outer edges of top and bottom openings (shown in FIG. 2), the stainless steel beverage pipette A of the present invention could avoid any security and hygiene hazards in contact with the users' lips and beverage itself.

Claims

1. A stainless steel beverage pipette, exclusively used for having a drink, the stainless steel beverage pipette comprising: a solid body made of stainless steel; the external diameter of said solid body is 5 mm-5 mm; a through-hole formed within the solid body; a top opening and a bottom opening with flat notch, which are set at both ends of said solid body; and the inner and outer edges of said top and bottom openings are fitted with filleted corners, such that the cross sections of said top and bottom openings are of a semi-circular shape.

2. The structure defined in claim 1, wherein said stainless steel beverage pipette further comprises: a flexible brush comprising of a flexible long brush holder and a brushing portion mated at one end of said flexible long brush holder; said flexible brush is used to stretch into the through-hole of the solid body, allowing to flush the inner wall of the through-hole through the brushing portion.

3. The structure defined in claim 2, wherein an end stopper is formed at one end of the flexible long brush holder of the flexible brush far away from the brushing portion; the maximum external diameter of the end stopper is bigger than the aperture of the through-hole.

4. The structure defined in claim 3, wherein said flexible long brush holder is made of metal materials, and covered by a waterproof adhesive layer.

5. The structure defined in claim 4, wherein a scratch-resistant end is set at one end of the flexible long brush holder with the brushing portion.

6. The structure defined in claim 5, wherein said solid body is of a straight pattern.

7. The structure defined in claim 5, wherein a bending portion is set at a height of the solid body, such that the solid body is divided into a straight portion and an oblique portion.

8. The structure defined in claim 6, wherein circumferential skip lines are arranged at interval on the circumferential sections of the solid body.