Leak-proof travel mug

This invention

This invention is a reusable coffee travel mug whose lid seals fully shut with a single twist. A brimming cup can ride safely inside a bag or backpack without leaking, then twist back open for easy one-handed drinking. It lives in the world of beverage containers and drinkware — the everyday engineering of lids, gaskets, and sealing mechanisms that keep liquids contained while staying quick and convenient to access on the go.

Where it fits

Your idea sits squarely in Containers & Packaging (B65D) and the closely related Household Equipment (A47G) — the established home of travel-mug and beverage-lid design. This is a focused, well-developed corner. The result set runs about 74× the corpus baseline in Containers & Packaging and roughly 144× in Household Equipment, a sign of a real, actively pursued direction. Filings appear steadily from 2001 through 2024, with several groups active nearby — Helen of Troy Limited, Pacific Market International LLC, Ignite USA LLC, and Thermos LLC most prominently. The field also brushes against Kitchen Appliances (A47J) and Luggage & Bags (A45F), which these results touch less.

Closest related work

US-8967414-B2 — Beverage container system with latch to manage lid position (Thermos LLC · 20 citations · 4-member family)

This Thermos lid threads onto the mug and uses a gasket that seals the cup fully closed when twisted shut, then opens a drinking gap when partially unscrewed. Openings around the circumference let you sip from any angle. It shows how Thermos approached the exact twist-to-seal, twist-to-drink behavior at the heart of your idea, including how they manage the partially-open drinking state.

US-10660463-B2 — Lockable beverage container closure (Pacific Market International LLC · 8 citations · 17-member family)

This recent lid pairs a drink-opening stopper with a manually rotatable lock actuator. Twist it to the locking position and the stopper can't open, preventing leaks in transit. It shows how Pacific Market International combined a rotating lock with a sealing stopper — a useful study in implementing the "single twist to seal" concept mechanically.

US-8464895-B2 — Beverage container with one-handed operation (Pacific Market International LLC · 44 citations · 4-member family)

Highly cited in this set, this design focuses on one-handed use. A selectively openable stopper creates a fluid-tight seal when closed and opens via a side button. It tackles the same dual goal you describe — a complete seal plus easy single-hand access — and is worth reading to see how that balance was engineered.

US-9359114-B2 — Detachable sealable lid, container and sealing ring (King's Flair Development Ltd · 7 citations · 10-member family)

King's Flair Development Ltd has 1 patent in this result set. This lid seals and releases from the container by simply rotating a handle, and splits into two parts for easy cleaning. It's a good companion read on twist-to-seal mechanics paired with practical cleanability — a detail travel-mug users often care about.

What you can do next

• Explore & build on it. Browse the related work above — new, differentiated ideas often come from combining or improving on existing approaches, such as a particular gasket geometry, a specific twist-locking mechanism, a one-handed open detail, or a cleaning-friendly two-part lid others haven't pinned down.
• If you'd like to protect it. Filing a provisional application (usually with a patent attorney) is a common first step. Most inventions can be protected in some form — what matters is how broad and defensible that protection is, which is where a patent attorney adds value (a very narrow claim may be granted but protect very little).
• If you'd like to make or sell it. The patents above point to who holds rights in this space; if your product would use a protected approach, licensing is a path worth exploring.