Travel Beverage Container

Abstract

A lid assembly for a beverage container having a lid housing, a seal assembly and a trigger member. The seal assembly has a drink seal to close the drink aperture. The seal assembly is rotatedly connected to the lid housing and movable between a use position and a cleaning position to allow the drink aperture to be open for cleaning. The trigger member is connected to the lid housing and is capable of engaging the seal assembly in the use position, but it cannot engage the seal assembly in the cleaning position. Additionally, a trigger lock is connected to the lid housing to prevent engagement of the seal assembly by the trigger member when the trigger lock is locked. The trigger lock may also contain a visual indicator to indicate that the lock is in the locked position.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A lid assembly for a beverage container comprising:
 a lid housing;   a seal assembly connected to the lid housing and having a drink seal to close a drink opening in the lid housing;   a lock connected to a top of the lid housing, the lock moveable to a locked position to prevent engagement of the seal assembly so that the drink seal remains engaged to close the drink opening.   
     
     
         2 . The lid assembly of  claim 1  wherein the lock contains a visual indicator to indicate that the lock is in a locked position. 
     
     
         3 . The lid assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the lock is connected adjacent a top surface of the lid housing. 
     
     
         4 . The lid assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising a trigger to engage the seal assembly to have the seal assembly selectively open and close the drink opening, wherein the lock engages the trigger to prevent the trigger from engaging the seal assembly. 
     
     
         5 . The lid assembly of  claim 4 , wherein the trigger moves radially inward in the lid housing and transverse to a longitudinal axis of the beverage container. 
     
     
         6 . The lid assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the seal assembly is pivotally connected to the lid housing and movable between a first or operable position, wherein the drink seal of the seal assembly engages the drink opening to close the drink opening, and a second or cleaning position, wherein the seal assembly is rotated away from a drink surface of the lid housing and wherein the drink opening is open for cleaning the lid assembly. 
     
     
         7 . A lid assembly for a drinking container comprising:
 a lid housing having a drink opening and a separate vent aperture;   a seal assembly pivotally connected to the lid housing and movable between a first or operable position, wherein a drink seal of the seal assembly engages a drink opening to close the drink opening, and a second or cleaning position, wherein the seal assembly is rotated away from a drink surface of the lid housing and wherein the drink opening is open for cleaning the lid assembly; and,   a trigger mechanism mechanically connected to the seal assembly during operation of the trigger mechanism to move the drink seal and a vent seal from a closed position to an open position, wherein the vent seal is opened during a first portion of the operation of the trigger mechanism and wherein the drink seal is opened during a second portion of the operation of the trigger mechanism so that the vent seal is opened before the drink seal.   
     
     
         8 . The lid assembly of  claim 7 , further comprising a lock connected to the lid housing, the lock moveable between a first or locked position and a second or unlocked position, to prevent engagement of the seal assembly by the trigger assembly when the lock is in the locked position and the seal assembly is in the operable position.