U.S. patent application number 10/103096 was filed with the patent office on 2003-09-25 for beverage can cap with an ice compartment.
Invention is credited to Adams, Thomas F..
Application Number | 20030178433 10/103096 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 28040315 |
Filed Date | 2003-09-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030178433 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Adams, Thomas F. |
September 25, 2003 |
Beverage can cap with an ice compartment
Abstract
The invention is directed to a cap for a beverage can. The cap
is of a size to contain ice therein. The cap is in the shape of a
cylindrical container as a compartment or a reservoir. A bottom of
the compartment has several circular recesses or grooves therein
which have different diameters from each other so that different
grooves will snap-fit onto differently sized rims on top of
beverage cans. Each of the grooves is sealed to prevent leakage
between the rim of a can and the groove of the compartment. A
different embodiment of a cap may have a bottom wall just above the
grooves with an aperture therein so that narrow ice sticks may be
placed directly in the can through the ice compartment. This cap
may also be constructed of one or more parts. There is a lower part
having the grooves therein and there is an upper lid or cover
having a resealable drinking spout thereon.
Inventors: |
Adams, Thomas F.; (Ft.
Myers, FL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Thomas F. Adams
3961 East River Dr.
Ft. Myers
FL
39916
US
|
Family ID: |
28040315 |
Appl. No.: |
10/103096 |
Filed: |
March 21, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
220/703 ;
220/4.27; 220/521; 220/717; 220/906 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25D 2331/811 20130101;
F25D 2303/0844 20130101; B65D 47/0895 20130101; B65D 51/28
20130101; F25D 2331/803 20130101; F25D 3/08 20130101; B65D 47/127
20130101; B65D 2251/08 20130101; B65D 51/20 20130101; B65D 47/122
20130101; F25D 2303/081 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/703 ;
220/717; 220/906; 220/4.27; 220/521 |
International
Class: |
A47G 019/22 |
Claims
What I claim is:
1. A beverage can and top combination comprising said beverage can
having a top rim and said top being a cylindrical compartment,
means for snap-fitting said compartment onto said rim of said can,
exterior screw threads are located at an upper edge of said
compartment, a lid having interior screw threads mating said
exterior screw threads when said lid is screwed onto said
compartment, a spout is located at an upper surface of said lid and
a screw cap is fastened onto said spout to reseal a carbonated
beverage in said compartment, to keep it from spilling and to
prevent it from going flat.
2. The beverage can and top combination of claim 1, wherein said
cylindrical compartment has a flared bottom, said flared bottom
having three differently sized grooves therein to accommodate
differently sized rims of cans therein.
3. The beverage can and top combination of claim 2 wherein each of
said recesses has a sealing ring therein.
4. The beverage can and top combination of claim 2, wherein each of
said recesses has a rounded entrance into said recesses.
5. The beverage can and top combination of claim 2, wherein each of
said recesses has a lip at an entrance into each of said
recesses.
6. The beverage can and top combination of claim 1, wherein said
lid is snap-fitted onto said compartment.
7. The beverage can and top combination of claim 2, wherein said
snap-fit lid has a lift-off tap thereon.
8. The beverage can and top combination of claim 2, wherein there
is at least one opening in said lid and a snap fit cover for
closing said opening.
9. A beverage can and top combination comprising said beverage can
having a top rim and said top being a cylindrical compartment,
means for snap-fitting said compartment onto said rim of said can,
said compartment having exterior concentric ribs located at an
upper edge, a lid having interior concentric ribs located at an
interior of a depending edge, said exterior ribs and said interior
ribs mate with each other when said lid is snap-fitted onto said
compartment, a spout is located on an upper surface of said lid and
a screw cap is fastened onto said spout to seal or reseal the
beverage located within said can and top combination.
10. A beverage can and top combination comprising said beverage can
having a top rim and said top being a cylindrical compartment
having an opening at its top, means for snap-fitting said
compartment onto said rim of said can, a lid is placed on top of
said opening of said compartment, means for snap-fitting said lid
to said top opening of said compartment, said lid having at least
two openings on a top surface thereof, one of said openings having
an opening for passing a drinking straw there through, a hinged
cover in the form of a flap to cover said opening flush with said
lid to be able to invert said can and top combination to be able to
pre-cool said beverage therein.
11. A beverage can and top combination comprising said beverage can
having a top rim and said top being a cylindrical compartment and
being a single unit, means for snap-fitting said compartment onto
said rim of said can, said compartment having on a top surface
thereof a spout, a screw cap for closing said spout, said
compartment having an interior bottom ledge having an interior
bottom ledge, said bottom ledge having an opening therein for
passing ice pieces there through into an opening of said can.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] (none)
STATEMENT REGARDING FED SPONSORED R & D
[0002] (none)
REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX
[0003] (none)
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0004] This invention relates to a cap snap-on cover or cap for
beverage cans. Unlike most snap-on caps of the past, this cap
incorporates an ice containing compartment or an ice reservoir
therein. A resealable screw cap or a snap-off cap for temporarily
resealing the content is a requirement of this invention. It is the
intention of this invention to make it more enjoyable, more
convenient for millions of busy people on the go that want to drink
their favorite beverage directly from the original stay-on tab can.
Incidentally, over 130 billion cans are sold in the USA each year.
That is about 365 cans per year for each person in the USA. It is
estimated that the majority of these beverages are drunk directly
from the can. Of the attributes most lacking in the stay-on-tab can
is a resealability and a practical method for cooling the contents
outside of pre-cooling the cans in refrigerators and/or ice
chests.
[0005] Several ways that this invention makes drinking the soda
more enjoyable would include:
[0006] 1) resealing the container to keep the beverage from
spilling and going flat;
[0007] 2) cooling the beverage by having the drink flow over ice in
a reservoir as one tilts up and drinks from a can cap, and
[0008] 3) the ability for adding their favorite mixer or flavor to
the compartment to have a mixed drink in the original can and ice
cap.
[0009] This invention shows how conventional ice cubes or new ice
sticks can cool as one drinks. Most of the time when a soda can is
taken from the refrigerator or from a cooler box, the soda is not
being consumed all of it at one time. Thereby, the cold soda in the
can will rapidly warm up rendering the fluid less palatable. The
same applies to a can of soda that has not been cooled yet while it
is desirable to drink the fluid from the can in a cooled state. The
only current solution to alleviate the above noted problem would be
to pour the content of the can into a glass or a container having
ice cubes therein which then would cool the fluid in the
container.
[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 5,389,586 teaches the use of a beverage
dispensing mug which is capable of receiving a conventional can of
soda therein including ice cubes, whereby the contents of the can
may be maintained in a chilled condition and may be consumed
without having to empty the content into another container.
[0011] U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,832 shows a can cover which is designed
to maintain the hygiene of the top of the can intact.
[0012] U.S. Pat. No. 6,035,659 shows a large conical funnel type
cooler attachment affixed to a beverage can into which funnel a
cooling substance such as ice cubes are loosely heaped into the
funnel. It is called a "Sanitary Beverage Cooler" and it is
designed for portable situations. But since it has no cover or
drinking spout, it seems likely that spills may frequently occur
and because outside air impacts on the open fluid, it will be
subject to contamination that is: dirt, dust, germs, and etc. which
may enter into the fluid.
[0013] U.S. Des. Pat. No. 345,682 discloses a soft drink can
attachment that appears to consist of a lower half of a container
that apparently can be attached to a top of the container. The
upper half is hinged at one side which can be closed over the
lower. There appears to be a non-resealable drinking spout on top
of the upper half. It appears that a cooling medium can be placed
into the lower half prior to closing the top half to thereby drink
cooled beverage. This patent does not teach any sealing
arrangements so that the fluid cannot leak through various contact
points when one is drinking from the can or the top cover spout.
Nor does the spout have any resealing provisions for containing the
fluid's effervescence nor prevent any fluids from leaking or
spilling.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0014] An object of the invention is to construct a cap or a
compartment for a soda can that has 1) a one-piece compartment
thereon that may be filled with ice prior to being attached to a
top of a soda can, or 2) a two-piece compartment which is normally
filled after it has been attached to the top of the can, whereby
the beverage, when passing through any ice cubes may
instantaneously be cooled or chilled so that the consumers will
better enjoy a cooled and refreshing beverage. The ice cubes of
this invention may be the standard half moon ice cubes or they may
be the ice sticks as disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 091493,560 filed on Jan. 28, 2000. The
advantage of using these ice sticks is that they may be inserted
directly into a soda can top opening or through the cap's drinking
spout to pre-cool the beverage and wherein the beverage's overflow
will be contained by the reservoir or compartment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] FIG. 1 shows a can cap made of two parts with an ice
compartment or reservoir therein with a screw-on lid therein;
[0016] FIG. 1A shows a can cap made of two parts with an ice
compartment having a snap lid thereon.
[0017] FIG. 2 illustrates a can cap wherein the one-piece ice
compartment is made with a guide element therein to be in alignment
with a can opening so that ice sticks can easily go directly into
the opening of the can.
[0018] FIG. 3 illustrates various ways of connecting differently
sized rims of cans to a bottom of an upper compartment.
[0019] FIG. 4 shows a can cap ice compartment being attached to an
upper rim of a can. Several half moon ice cubes would be tucked
from the bottom, (and rest on a ledge) before snapping cap onto a
can
[0020] FIG. 5 illustrates an extra tall, extra capacity, ice
compartment having an upper lid thereon with recessed (flush
fitting) flap type closures which would allow the can an the cap
unit to be inverted and rest on the cap lid to pre-cool the
beverage.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0021] FIG. 1 illustrates the overall combination of a beverage can
C with a cylindrical ice compartment 2 attached to the top of can
C. The bottom of this ice compartment may be snapped to the rim of
can C as will be explained with reference to FIG. 3. The upper edge
of the compartment has a removable lid 4 attached thereon. The
means for removing or attaching the same is a screw thread 3 on the
upper edge of the compartment 2 and a screw thread 5 on the inner
on the inner edge of the lid 4. On the upper surface of lid 4 a
spout 6 has been provided which has screw threads 7 to receive a
screw cap 8 thereon. The interior of the compartment 2 is large
enough to receive a multiple of standard half moon shaped ice cubes
therein.
[0022] FIG. 1A illustrates a similar overall combination of the
beverage can C' with a cylindrical ice compartment 2' attached to
the top of the can C'. The bottom of this ice compartment 2' may be
snapped onto the rim R' of can C' as will be explained with
reference to FIG. 3. The upper edge of the compartment 2' has a
removable lid 4' attached thereto. The means for removing or
attaching the same is a snap-on rim 18' on the upper edge of the
compartment 2' and a rib 19' on the inner edge of the lid 4'. On
the upper surface of the lid 4' a spout 6' has been provided which
has screw threads 7' to receive a screw cap 8' thereon. The
interior of the compartment 2' is large enough to receive a
multiple of the standard half moon shaped ice pieces therein.
[0023] Turning now to FIG. 2, there is shown a one piece
compartment 2 which may be filled with the standard half moon ice
cubes from the bottom to rest on a ledge 2b before the cap unit is
snapped onto the rim R of the can C by way of the inner snap
recesses or receiving grooves 12 which are located inside the skirt
10 of the compartment 2. Inside the concentric ledge 2b in the
bottom of the compartment 2 is a large hole or aperture 2a to admit
a pre-filling of ice cubes and also to allow the fluid inside the
can C to flow into the compartment 2 to be cooled by the ice
therein. Depending from the ledge 2b is a guide element 11 which
depends downwardly to be able to align into the opened drinking
hole in the top of can C. The guide element 11 is designed and
placed in that particular location as an aid to guide long ice
sticks from the top spout 6 directly into the opening in the can C.
When long ice sticks are utilized, the beverage is pre-cooled while
the overflow is contained in the compartment 2. For resealing, the
spout 6 on the top surface of the of the compartment 2 may be
closed by screw threads 7 and interior and interior threads in cap
8.
[0024] Turning now to FIG. 3, there shown the various ways of snap
fitting the rim R on top of the can C to the interior grooves on
the inside of the skirt 10. To this end, FIG. 3A shows the use of
sealing rings 3a through 3c which are placed into the various
diameters of the various cans C that have varying top rim diameters
as are found on many different soda cans, beer cans and/or tea
cans. No matter what the diameter of the can at hand is, the
respective diameter can will always be accommodated by any one of
the snap-fit compartments.
[0025] FIG. 3B shows a different snap-fit without the use of
sealing rings. In this embodiment the outer edges of the grooves
14a through 14c are rounded to aid the rim R of the can C to be
guided into the respective grooves by sort of a camming
surface.
[0026] FIG. 3C illustrates the edges 15a through 15c as narrow
ledges which by their sizes of their dimensions will give under the
pressure of the can rim R trying to enter the respective
groove.
[0027] Experiments have shown that either one of the above
described embodiments will work well to hold the can rim within its
respective groove and hold it there in a leak proof manner.
[0028] FIG. 4 shows a single cylindrical compartment or container
16 that is snap fitted onto a rim R of a can C by way of grooves
inside the skirt 10 of the compartment 16 as was explained with
reference to FIG. 3. The can C shows the well known aperture or
opening A which was opened by displacing the tab (not shown) from
the top of the can C. for resealing the beverage within the can,
the upper surface of the compartment 16 again shows the spout 6
having screw threads 7 thereon for receiving the screw cap 8
thereon the spout of this embodiment is designed to be somewhat
larger to be able to receive the larger standard half moon shaped
ice pieces there through, Of course, any other known ice pieces can
be received there through also.
[0029] FIG. 5 illustrates still another embodiment of the inventive
concept. In this embodiment the extra large capacity cylindrical
compartment 17 is snap fitted to an upper rim R of can C. The
opening at the upper end of the compartment is closed by a lid 19
which is snap fitted to the upper snap fitted to the upper snap fit
edge 18 of the compartment 17. The lid 19 can be removed from the
compartment 17 by a pull-up tab 20. The lid 19 has a small snap fit
cover which when closed, hides and seals an opening 21 for the use
of a drinking straw. A similar snap cover 23 normally hides a
similar opening 6 as shown in FIG. 2 for the insertion of ice
sticks directly into the can. It should be noted that the snap
covers 22 and 23, when closed, fit flush with the top surface of
lid 19 so that when the compartment 17 is filled with ice, the can
and ice-filled compartment combination can be inverted to rest
up-side-down on the lid to pre-cool the beverage before drinking
This way a flat and stable surface is obtained.
* * * * *