Lip-pucker avoiding drinking straw

Abstract

A lip-pucker avoiding drinking straw providing a tubular body defining an elongated central opening for the flow of liquid without requiring puckering or pursing of the user's lips. The tubular body and elongated opening have a substantially round sectional profile at a distal end meant to be placed into a container of liquid, and a substantially flat-oval sectional profile at a proximal end meant to be placed between the user's lips and to be accommodated by the user's lips without requiring puckering or pursing of the lips. The sectional profile of the elongated opening changes from a round profile at the distal end and through most of the tube body to a flat oval profile at the proximal end segment, with the change of profile occurring at a connecting segment downstream of the proximal end. The sectional area of the elongated opening in the proximal part is greater than the sectional area at the distal part and through most of the tube body, providing an advantageous difference in liquid pressure at the connecting part. An optional bending segment can be provided to provide a bend in the tubular body.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A drinking straw device, comprising a tubular body defining an elongated central opening therethrough and having a main body part defining a distal end and a widened proximal part defining a widened proximate end, wherein the main body part has a circular cross section, and the proximal part has a flat oval cross section, and wherein the proximal part has a pre-determined length extending from the proximate end toward the main body part, and wherein the proximal part has a uniform cross-section along its length. 
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the length of the proximal part is between 5% and 25% of the total length of the tubular body. 
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the proximal part is formed by a pair of opposing flat walls joined by arcuate wall segments. 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 3 , wherein a distance between the flat walls defines height of the proximate part, and wherein said height is smaller than diameter of the central opening in the main body part. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 4 , wherein the height of the proximal part is between 30% and 60% of the diameter of the central opening of the main body part. 
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the tubular body has a connecting part unitary connected to and positioned between the main body part and the proximal part, the connecting part comprising outwardly extending sidewalls. 
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 6 , wherein the tubular body comprises a bent part unitary connected to and positioned downstream of the proximal part. 
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 7 , wherein said bent part is positioned downstream of the connecting part. 
     
     
         9 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the proximal part has a pre-determined width, which is greater than the width of the main body part. 
     
     
         10 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the proximal part is configured to define a widened outlet periphery which allows a user to form a seal around the periphery, when drinking a liquid, without puckering the user's lips. 
     
     
         11 . A method for drinking a liquid, comprising the steps of:
 (i) providing a drinking straw comprising a tubular body defining an elongated central opening therethrough and having a main body part with a distal end and a widened proximal part with a proximate end, wherein the main body part has a circular cross section, and the proximal part has a flat oval cross section, and wherein the proximal part has a pre-determined length extending between the proximate end toward the main body part, wherein said proximal part has a uniform cross-section along its length;   (ii) placing the distal end of the tubular body in a container with liquid;   (iii) placing user's lips around the proximate end of the tubular body, thereby creating a seal about the periphery of the proximate end without pursing the user's lips; and   (iv) drawing the liquid through the tubular body.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the length of the proximate part is between 5% and 25% of the total length of the tubular body. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the proximal part is formed by a pair of opposing flat walls joined by arcuate wall segments. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein a distance between the flat walls defines height of the proximate part, and wherein said height is smaller than diameter of the central opening in the main body part. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the height of the proximal part is between 30% and 60% of the diameter of the central opening of the main body part. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the tubular body has a connecting part unitary connected to and positioned between the main body part and the proximal part, the connecting part comprising outwardly extending sidewalls. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the tubular body comprises a bent part unitary connected to and positioned downstream of the proximal part. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein said bent part is positioned downstream of the connecting part. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the proximal part has a pre-determined width, which is greater than the width of the main body part.