U.S. patent application number 10/113839 was filed with the patent office on 2002-11-28 for drinking glass with integral bottle opener.
Invention is credited to Tham-itthisak, Khetrat.
Application Number | 20020175169 10/113839 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 21617940 |
Filed Date | 2002-11-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020175169 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Tham-itthisak, Khetrat |
November 28, 2002 |
Drinking glass with integral bottle opener
Abstract
A drinking glass with integral bottle opener. The drinking glass
is of otherwise typical configuration having a generally open
cylindrically hollow contour with an open end for drinking from and
a closed end to retain a beverage. The outer surface of the closed
end includes a bottle opener formed therein. The bottle opener is
positioned in the drinking glass such that a bottle can be opened
with the drinking glass while the drinking glass contains liquid
without spilling the liquid in the glass or in the bottle.
Inventors: |
Tham-itthisak, Khetrat;
(Bangkok, TH) |
Correspondence
Address: |
KNOBBE MARTENS OLSON & BEAR LLP
2040 MAIN STREET
FOURTEENTH FLOOR
IRVINE
CA
92614
US
|
Family ID: |
21617940 |
Appl. No.: |
10/113839 |
Filed: |
March 28, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
220/600 ;
220/694 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47G 19/2205 20130101;
B67B 7/44 20130101; B67B 7/16 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/600 ;
220/694 |
International
Class: |
B65D 008/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 28, 2001 |
TH |
064636 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A drinking glass comprising: a hollow container, open on a first
end and closed on the opposite second end, the container defining
an outer surface; and a bottle opener fixed in the outer surface of
the closed end of the container.
2. The drinking glass of claim 1, wherein the container and the
bottle opener are formed integrally from the same material.
3. The drinking glass of claim 1, wherein the bottle opener is
formed of a first material and is secured in the outer surface of
the closed end of the container, the container being formed of a
second material.
4. The drinking glass of claim 3, wherein the bottle opener is
molded in the container.
5. A beverage container comprising: a base member having an upper
and a bottom surface wherein an opening is formed in the bottom
surface of the base member that is sized so as to receive the neck
of a bottle having a bottle cap positioned thereon wherein the neck
of the bottle defines a first axis with the bottle cap having a
planar surface that is substantially perpendicular to the first
axis and wherein the bottle cap has an inwardly crimped portion
that extends over the neck of the bottle that extends in a
direction that is substantially parallel to the first axis so as to
secure the bottle cap to the neck of the bottle; sidewalls that
extend upward from the upper surface to an open end so as to define
an interior volume adapted to receive a quantity of beverage; a lip
formed within the opening in the bottom surface of the base member
wherein the lip is sized and contoured so as to be positionable
adjacent the interface between the crimped portion of the bottle
cap and the neck of the bottle and wherein the opening is
dimensioned so that rotation of the beverage container transverse
to the first axis results in the lip exerting a force against the
crimped portion of the bottle cap to disengage the bottle cap from
the neck of the bottle.
6. The beverage container of claim 1, wherein the sidewalls of the
beverage container define a wedge shaped cross-section.
7. The beverage container of claim 1, wherein the lip is tapered at
its end so as to be interposable between the crimped portion of the
bottle and a protrusion formed on the neck of the bottle.
8. The beverage container of claim 1, wherein the opening in the
bottom surface of the base section of the beverage container
includes opening sidewalls that extend inward from the bottom
surface a first distance to an inner surface and wherein the lip
extends from the side wall a distance from the inner surface of the
opening so as to define a gap that is sized so as to receive the
bottle cap.
9. The beverage container of claim 4, wherein the lip is formed on
the opening sidewalls so as to be substantially co-planar with the
bottom surface of the base of the beverage container.
10. A method of consuming beverages provided in bottles having a
major axis and having a bottle cap secured thereto so as to seal
the beverage within the bottles, the method comprising: a)
positioning a first bottle within a cavity of a container such that
a lip of the container engages under the bottle cap; b) exerting a
rotation and lifting movement to the container transverse the major
axis of the bottle so as to deform and remove the bottle cap from
the bottle; c) pouring the beverage from the bottle into the
container; d) consuming the beverage from the container; e)
positioning at least a second bottle within the cavity of the
container such that the lip of the container engages under the
bottle cap; f) repeating steps b) and c).
11. The method of claim 10, wherein step e) is performed before the
beverage is completely consumed from the container.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of the Thai application
No. 064636 filed Mar. 28, 2001.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The invention relates to the field of household drinking
utensils and in particular to a drinking glass with an integral
bottle opener.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Many popular beverages are supplied in bottles. In many
cases, the beverages have a pleasing color, effervescence, and/or
aroma. As bottles typically have a relatively small opening, the
surface area of an open bottle available for diffusion of a
pleasant aroma of a beverage contained therein is limited. Bottles
are also often provided in a dark and/or opaque material to protect
the contents against degradation due to impinging light, however
they thus obscure the contents from true-color view. In addition,
in many cultures and/or social situations, it is considered in poor
taste to drink directly from a bottle. Therefore, many people will
pour the beverage from a bottle into a drinking glass for
consumption. These glasses are typically generally cylindrical and
hollow with a closed end and a relatively large open end and are
transparent to facilitate enjoyment of the pleasing aspects of the
beverage, such as color, aroma, effervescence etc.
[0006] The bottles are typically filled with the beverage at a
bottling plant and sealed with a removable cap. The caps are
typically configured to secure to the bottle with either a screw
type closure or a crimp closure. The screw type caps are generally
removed from the bottles by gripping the cap by hand and applying a
generally counterclockwise rotation. The crimp type caps typically
are formed of a deformable metal crimped over a lip at the opening
of the bottle and are removed by applying a tool, known as a bottle
cap remover or bottle opener, to deform the cap to facilitate
loosening of the cap and subsequent removal from the bottle. As
significant force is generally required to unscrew a screw type
cap, many people will use a bottle opener to open screw type caps
in the same manner as with a crimp cap. Bottle openers have the
utility of being useable with crimp or screw type caps.
[0007] In many applications, crimp type caps and corresponding
bottles are preferred over screw type bottles and caps. The crimp
type bottles and caps are of simpler design and are typically less
expensive to manufacture. The crimp type bottles have a smoother
outer contour at the lip where the cap attaches, whereas the screw
type bottles have threads molded into an outer surface of the
bottle. These threads are of smaller structure than the lip of a
crimp type bottles and are more susceptible to chipping and
breakage.
[0008] Bottle cap removers can be hand held tools or fixed to a
structure such as a bench or kitchen counter. A difficulty with
known bottle cap removers is that, in the case of a fixed bottle
cap remover, a user must locate themselves and the bottle to be
opened adjacent the remover. It can be appreciated that being
required to return to a fixed location whenever one wishes to open
a bottle can be an inconvenience to a user.
[0009] The hand-held bottle openers offer the increased convenience
of portability, however they also impose some drawbacks. Firstly,
portable bottle openers require that the user carry or transport
the opener from place to place that they may wish to open a bottle
at. This typically means that the user must carry a bottle opener
in a pocket or purse with other items such as keys, change, etc.
The additional mass and bulk of an opener can be burdensome to a
user. Secondly, a portable opener can also be misplaced or lost
thus depriving the user of the tool to open bottles with.
[0010] Ad hoc methods of opening a crimp type bottle without a
bottle opener, such as knocking the cap against a sharp ledge or
using another type of tool such as pliers, a knife, or screwdriver
to pry open the cap can readily lead to injury, breakage of the
bottle, and/or spillage of the beverage contained in the bottle due
to the abrupt motion often employed in ad hoc methods.
[0011] From the foregoing it can be appreciated that there is a
need for a device to enable a user to open a bottle and pour the
beverage contained therein into a glass for drinking without the
inconveniences mentioned of known bottle openers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] The aforementioned needs are satisfied by the invention
which is, in one aspect, is a drinking glass comprising a hollow
container, open on a first end and closed on the opposite second
end, the container defining an outer surface and a bottle opener
fixed in the outer surface of the closed end of the container. In
particular aspects, the container and the bottle opener are formed
integrally from the same material or the bottle opener is formed of
a first material and is secured in the outer surface of the closed
end of the container, the container being formed of a second
material. In certain aspects, the bottle opener is molded in the
container. These and other objects and advantages of the present
invention will be more apparent from the following description
taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a drinking glass with
integral bottle opener;
[0014] FIG. 2 is a side view of a drinking glass with integral
bottle opener;
[0015] FIG. 3 is a top view of a drinking glass with integral
bottle opener showing the interior of the glass;
[0016] FIG. 4 is a bottom view of a drinking glass with integral
bottle opener showing the exterior of the glass and the bottle
opener secured therein; and
[0017] FIG. 5 is a side section view of a drinking glass with
integral bottle opener in use.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0018] Reference will now be made to the drawings wherein like
numerals refer to like parts throughout. FIGS. 1 through 4 provide
various views of a drinking glass with integral bottle opener 100
referred to hereafter as "glass 100" for brevity and ease of
understanding. The glass 100 comprises a container 102 and a bottle
opener 104 secured thereto. The container 102 is adapted to hold a
liquid beverage for drinking. The container 102 in this embodiment
is generally cylindrical with a slight outward taper from a closed
end 106 towards an open end 110. The container 102 is hollow and
materially continuous so as to retain, without leaking, a liquid
beverage within the interior thereof. The container 102 is
preferably made of a transparent, strong material such as glass or
plastic. A transparent aspect of the container 102 will facilitate
enjoyment of beverages contained therein having pleasing coloring
and/or effervescence.
[0019] The open end 110 of the container is preferably formed with
a smooth contour to allow comfortable drinking therefrom as well as
a relatively large opening as compared to a bottle to facilitate
diffusion of pleasing aroma from beverages contained therein. The
taper or wedge from the closed end 106 to the open end 110, i.e.
from the bottom towards the top, of the container 102 of this
embodiment provides an increased security of grip to a holder of
the glass 100 by inducing a "wedging" effect as gravity draws the
glass 100 downwards in a holders hand.
[0020] The bottle opener 104 preferably comprises a rigid, tough
material such as plastic or steel. The bottle opener 104 defines a
broad "horseshoe" shaped opening 112 as best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5.
The opening 112 defines opening sidewalls 114 and a lip 116. The
opening 112 is adapted to receive and engage with a bottle cap as
secured to a bottle. The lip 116 preferably comprises a tapered end
120 to facilitate placement of the lip 116 and between a bottle cap
and a bottle having a protrusion formed on the neck of the
bottle.
[0021] A combined distancing and rotation movement 124 applied
transverse to the major bottle axis 126 between the bottle opener
104 and the bottle and bottle cap will deform the bottle cap and
the remove the bottle cap from the bottle in a well understood
manner.
[0022] In the embodiment of the glass 100 illustrated herein, the
bottle opener 104 is a separate member and is fixedly attached to
the closed end 106 of the container 102 such as by gluing. In
alternative embodiments, the bottle opener 104 is secured to the
container 102 by being formed within the container 102 such as by
molding. In yet other alternative embodiments, the bottle opener
104 and the container 102 together are a unitized assembly forming
the glass 100 and the bottle opener 104 and the container 102 are
comprised of the same material such as plastic.
[0023] In use, as shown in FIG. 5, a user grasps the glass 100 and
positions the glass 100 over a bottle such that the bottle cap
thereof is positioned within the opening 112 of the bottle opener
104. Specifically, the lip 116 is placed under the edge of the cap.
The user then applies the rotation and lifting movement 124
transverse to the major bottle axis 126 between the glass 100 and
the bottle so as to deform the bottle cap thereby removing the same
from the bottle. The user can then pour the contents of the bottle
into the container 102 of the glass 100. A particularly
advantageous aspect of the invention is that due to the placement
of the bottle opener 104 on the outside of the bottom, closed end
106 of the glass 100, the glass 100 can already contain liquid yet
still be used to remove a bottle cap in the previously described
manner.
[0024] Although the foregoing description of the preferred
embodiment of the present invention has shown, described, and
pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention, it
will be understood that various omissions, substitutions, and
changes in the form of the detail of the apparatus as illustrated,
as well as the uses thereof, may be made by those skilled in the
art without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
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