대표
청구항
▼
The invention claimed is: 1. A liquid container comprising a cup including a brim, a floor, and a side wall extending from the brim toward the floor, the side wall including a radially inwardly facing first annular seal surface, the brim including a radially inwardly facing second annular seal surface, an axially upwardly facing third annular seal surface, and a radially outwardly facing fourth annular seal surface, and a downwardly opening channel between the second annular seal surface and the fourth annular seal surface, and a lid including a closure...
The invention claimed is: 1. A liquid container comprising a cup including a brim, a floor, and a side wall extending from the brim toward the floor, the side wall including a radially inwardly facing first annular seal surface, the brim including a radially inwardly facing second annular seal surface, an axially upwardly facing third annular seal surface, and a radially outwardly facing fourth annular seal surface, and a downwardly opening channel between the second annular seal surface and the fourth annular seal surface, and a lid including a closure and a fluted closure mount ring appended to the closure and coupled to the brim to retain the closure in a position closing a mouth opening into a liquid reservoir chamber formed in the cup, the fluted closure mount ring including a first seal ring arranged to engage the radially inwardly facing first annular seal surface to establish a first liquid flow barrier therebetween, a second seal ring arranged to engage the radially inwardly facing second annular seal surface to establish a second liquid flow barrier therebetween, a third seal ring arranged to engage the axially upwardly facing third annular seal surface to establish a third liquid flow barrier therebetween, and a fourth seal ring arranged to engage the radially outwardly facing fourth annular seal surface to establish a fourth liquid flow barrier therebetween, wherein the fluted closure mount ring further includes a lid-removal flange located below the fourth seal ring and arranged to extend downwardly in an inner direction toward the floor of the cup, a lid-removal blocker wall located between the fourth seal ring and the lid-removal flange and arranged to engage a terminal end of the brim during movement of the lid in an outer direction opposite to the inner direction, the lid-removal flange is formed to include a series of circumferentially spaced-apart, radially outwardly projecting protuberances arranged to underlie the lid-removal blocker wall, and each protuberance of the fluted closure mount ring is formed to include a radially inwardly opening groove facing toward the side wall of the cup. 2. The liquid container of claim 1, wherein the lid-removal flange includes, in series, a first annular segment coupled to the lid-removal blocker wall, a second annular segment, and a third annular segment, the first and second annular segments are formed to include the protuberances, and each protuberance includes an upper end mating with the lid-removal blocker wall and a lower end mating with the third annular segment. 3. The liquid container of claim 2, wherein the lid-removal blocker wall includes a U-shaped edge associated with the upper end of each protuberance and formed to define a top opening into the radially inwardly facing groove formed in said each protuberance. 4. The liquid container of claim 2, wherein the third annular segment includes a U-shaped edge associated with the lower end of each protuberance and formed to define a bottom opening into the radially inwardly facing groove formed in said each protuberance. 5. The liquid container of claim 4, wherein the lid-removal blocker wall includes a U-shaped edge associated with the upper end of each protuberance and formed to define a top opening into the radially inwardly facing groove formed in said each protuberance. 6. The liquid container of claim 1, wherein the lid-removal flange includes, in series, a first annular segment coupled to the lid-removal blocker wall, a second annular segment, and a third annular segment, the first annular segment includes a series of spaced-apart first arcuate elements arranged in a ring-shaped formation to define a first protuberance-receiving space between each pair of adjacent first arcuate elements, the second annular segment includes a series of spaced-apart second arcuate elements arranged in a ring-shaped formation to define a second protuberance-receiving space between each pair of adjacent second arcuate elements, and each protuberance is located in an aligned pair of companion first and second protuberance-receiving spaces and coupled to each of the first and second arcuate elements cooperating to define said aligned pair of companion first and second protuberance-receiving spaces. 7. The liquid container of claim 6, wherein each protuberance includes an upper end mating with the lid-removal blocker wall and a lower end mating with the third annular segment. 8. The liquid container of claim 6, wherein the first annular segment has a cylindrical shape, the second annular segment has a first frustoconical shape characterized by a steep slope, and the third annular segment has a second frustoconical shape characterized by a slope that is less steep than the steep slope of the first frustoconical shape of the second annular segment. 9. The liquid container of claim 8, wherein the lid-removal blocker wall has a third frustoconical shape and the lid-removal blocker wall includes a U-shaped edge associated with the upper end of each protuberance and formed to define a top opening into the radially inwardly facing groove formed in said each protuberance. 10. The liquid container of claim 8, wherein the third annular segment includes a U-shaped edge associated with the lower end of each protuberance and formed to define a bottom opening into the radially inwardly facing groove formed in said each protuberance. 11. The liquid container of claim 1, wherein each protuberance includes a concave, rounded inner surface that is configured to define the radially inwardly opening groove of said each protuberance. 12. The liquid container of claim 11, wherein the fourth seal ring is arranged to extend in a vertical direction when the fluted closure mount ring is coupled to the brim of the cup and at least a portion of the concave, rounded inner surface is inclined to slope in a downwardly and radially outwardly extending direction relative to the fourth seal ring. 13. The liquid container of claim 1, wherein each protuberance includes a concave, rounded outer surface that is configured to define the radially inwardly opening groove of said each protuberance. 14. The liquid container of claim 13, wherein the fourth seal ring is arranged to extend in a vertical direction when the fluted closure mount ring is coupled to the brim of the cup and at least a portion of the concave, rounded outer surface is inclined to slope in a downwardly and radially outwardly extending direction relative to the fourth seal ring. 15. The liquid container of claim 1, wherein the closure includes a round plate formed to include a liquid-dispenser zone and a peripheral portion having a V-shaped cross section and surrounding the round plate and mating with the first seal ring and wherein the peripheral portion includes an outer frustoconical wall coupled to the first seal ring and an inner frustoconical wall arranged to interconnect the outer frustoconical wall and the round plate and cooperate with the outer frustoconical wall to define a channel having a top opening facing away from the floor of the cup. 16. The liquid container of claim 15, wherein the outer frustoconical wall mates with the first seal ring at a circular edge lying in a first plane and the round plate lies in a second plane located between the first plane and the floor of the cup. 17. The liquid container of claim 16, wherein the outer frustoconical wall cooperates with the first plane to define an acute included angle therebetween of about 40��. 18. The liquid container of claim 16, wherein the inner frustoconical wall cooperates with the round plate to define an obtuse included angle therebetween of about 137��. 19. The liquid container of claim 18, wherein the outer frustoconical wall cooperates with the first plane to define an acute included angle therebetween of about 40��. 20. The liquid container of claim 1, wherein the brim includes an inner annular strip located above the side wall of the cup and a frustoconical lid retainer arranged to interconnect the inner annular strip and the side wall of the cup and to converge toward a reference point located in spaced-apart relation to the floor to position the frustoconical lid retainer therebetween to provide an undercut under the inner annular strip and the fluted closure mount ring includes another lid-removal blocker wall located between the first and second seal ring and arranged to engage the frustoconical lid retainer during movement of the lid in an outer direction away from the floor of the cup to block removal of the lid from the cup. 21. A liquid container comprising a cup including a brim, a floor, and a side wall extending from the brim toward the floor, the brim including a first lid retainer extending into a liquid reservoir chamber formed in the cup and a second lid retainer lying outside the liquid reservoir chamber formed in the cup, and a downwardly opening channel between the first lid retainer and the second lid retainer, and a lid including a closure and a closure mount appended to the closure and coupled to the brim to retain the closure in a position closing a mouth opening into the liquid reservoir chamber formed in the cup, the closure mount engaging at least one of the side wall and the brim to establish a liquid flow barrier therebetween, the closure mount including a first lid-removal blocker wall arranged to engage the first lid retainer of the brim during movement of the lid in an outer direction away from the floor of the cup to block removal of the lid from the cup, the closure mount also including a second lid-removal blocker wall arranged to engage the second lid retainer of the brim during movement of the lid in an outer direction away from the floor of the cup to block removal of the lid from the cup, and wherein the closure mount further includes a first seal ring arranged to mate with and underlie the first lid-removal blocker wall and engage the side wall of the cup to establish a first liquid flow barrier therebetween, the closure includes a round plate formed to include a liquid-dispenser zone and a peripheral portion having a V-shaped cross section and surrounding the round plate and mating with the first seal ring, and the peripheral portion includes an outer frustoconical wall coupled to the first seal ring and an inner frustoconical wall arranged to interconnect the outer frustoconical wall and the round plate to define a channel having a top opening facing away from the floor of the cup. 22. The liquid container of claim 21, wherein the outer frustoconical wall mates with the first seal ring at a circular edge lying in a first plane and the round plate lies in a second plane located between the first plane and the floor of the cup. 23. The liquid container of claim 22, wherein the outer frustoconical wall cooperates with the first plane to define an acute included angle therebetween of about 40��. 24. The liquid container of claim 22, wherein the inner frustoconical wall cooperates with the round plate to define an obtuse included angle therebetween of about 137��. 25. The liquid container of claim 24, wherein the outer frustoconical wall cooperates with the first plane to define an acute included angle therebetween of about 40��. 26. The liquid container of claim 21, wherein each of the first and second lid-removal blocker walls has a frustoconical shape, the first lid-removal blocker wall is configured to diverge in a direction toward the floor of the cup, the second lid-removal blocker wall is configured to converge in a direction toward the floor of the cup, and the first seal ring is arranged to interconnect the first lid-removal blocker wall and the outer frustoconical wall. 27. A liquid container comprising a cup including a brim, a floor, and a side wall extending from the brim toward the floor, the side wall including a radially inwardly facing first annular seal surface, the brim including a downwardly open annular channel, and a lid including a closure and a fluted closure mount ring appended to the closure and coupled to the brim to retain the closure in a position closing a mouth opening into a liquid reservoir chamber formed in the cup, the fluted closure mount ring including a first seal ring arranged to engage the radially inwardly facing first annular seal surface to establish a first liquid flow barrier therebetween, wherein the fluted closure mount ring further includes a lid-removal flange arranged to extend downwardly in an inner direction toward the floor of the cup, a lid-removal blocker wall coupled to the lid-removal flange and arranged to engage a terminal end of the brim during movement of the lid in an outer direction opposite to the inner direction, the lid-removal flange is formed to include a series of circumferentially spaced-apart, radially outwardly projecting protuberances arranged to underlie the lid-removal blocker wall, and each protuberance of the fluted closure mount ring is formed to include a radially inwardly opening groove facing toward the side wall of the cup, the lid-removal flange includes, in series, a first annular segment coupled to the lid-removal blocker wall, a second annular segment, and a third annular segment, the first and second annular segments are formed to include the protuberances, and each protuberance includes an upper end mating with the lid-removal blocker wall and a lower end mating with the third annular segment. 28. The liquid container of claim 27, wherein the lid-removal blocker wall includes a U-shaped edge associated with the upper end of each protuberance and formed to define a top opening into the radially inwardly facing groove formed in said each protuberance. 29. The liquid container of claim 27, wherein the third annular segment includes a U-shaped edge associated with the lower end of each protuberance and formed to define a bottom opening into the radially inwardly facing groove formed in said each protuberance. 30. The liquid container of claim 29, wherein the lid-removal blocker wall includes a U-shaped edge associated with the upper end of each protuberance and formed to define a top opening into the radially inwardly facing groove formed in said each protuberance. 31. The liquid container of claim 27, wherein the closure includes a round plate formed to include a liquid-dispenser zone and a peripheral portion having a V-shaped cross section and surrounding the round plate and mating with the first seal ring and wherein the peripheral portion includes an outer frustoconical wall coupled to the first seal ring and an inner frustoconical wall arranged to interconnect the outer frustoconical wall and the round plate and cooperate with the outer frustoconical wall to define a channel having a top opening facing away from the floor of the cup. 32. The liquid container of claim 31, wherein the outer frustoconical wall mates with the first seal ring at a circular edge lying in a first plane and the round plate lies in a second plane located between the first plane and the floor of the cup. 33. The liquid container of claim 32, wherein the outer frustoconical wall cooperates with the first plane to define an acute included angle therebetween of about 40��. 34. The liquid container of claim 32, wherein the inner frustoconical wall cooperates with the round plate to define an obtuse included angle therebetween of about 137��. 35. The liquid container of claim 34, wherein the outer frustoconical wall cooperates with the first plane to define an acute included angle therebetween of about 40��. 36. The liquid container of claim 27, wherein the brim includes an inner annular strip located above the side wall of the cup and a frustoconical lid retainer arranged to interconnect the inner annular strip and the side wall of the cup and to converge toward a reference point located in spaced-apart relation to the floor to position the frustoconical lid retainer therebetween to provide an undercut under the inner annular strip and the fluted closure mount ring includes another lid-removal blocker wall coupled to the first seal ring and arranged to engage the frustoconical lid retainer during movement of the lid in an outer direction away from the floor of the cup to block removal of the lid from the cup.