U.S. patent application number 10/713387 was filed with the patent office on 2005-05-19 for beverage container with detachable reusable heat transfer cartridge.
Invention is credited to Brown, Kent S..
Application Number | 20050103739 10/713387 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34573704 |
Filed Date | 2005-05-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050103739 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Brown, Kent S. |
May 19, 2005 |
Beverage container with detachable reusable heat transfer
cartridge
Abstract
A beverage container that has a removable cap at the top end and
a cavity in the bottom end into which is removably inserted a shell
containing a freezable substance to cool or heat the contents of
the container. The insert is releasably lockable in the container
cavity and preferably tapers for a snug fit in the cavity.
Inventors: |
Brown, Kent S.;
(Jeffersonville, IN) |
Correspondence
Address: |
David W. Carrithers
CARRITHERS LAW OFFICE, PLLC
One Paragon Centre
6060 Dutchman's Lane, Suite 140
Louisville
KY
40205
US
|
Family ID: |
34573704 |
Appl. No.: |
10/713387 |
Filed: |
November 14, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
215/6 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25D 2303/0841 20130101;
F25D 2303/0845 20130101; F25D 3/08 20130101; F25D 2331/805
20130101; F25D 2303/0822 20130101; A47J 36/2444 20130101; A47J
36/28 20130101; F25D 2500/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
215/006 |
International
Class: |
B65D 001/04 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A beverage container comprising a cylindrical body having
opposite respective top and bottom ends, said top end being open,
screw threads on said cylindrical body and surrounding said open
top end, a cap member having means thereon threadingly engagable
with the screw threads on said body, a cylindrical cavity in said
bottom end, said cavity being disposed generally centrally of said
cylindrical body and having a first initial entry portion of
selected diameter and a second continuing elongate portion that
projects a selected distance into the interior of said container,
said first initial entry portion being of greater diameter than
said second continuing elongate portion and a heat transfer unit
removably insertable into said cavity for use in heat transfer
contents contained in said beverage container, said heat transfer
unit comprising a shell, of suitable material, confining therein a
freezable or heatable material, said heat transfer unit having
first and second contiguous cylindrical portions so dimensioned as
to inter-nest in said cavity it said container.
2. The beverage container and insert therefor as defined in claim 1
including means on said insert and means co-operating therewith on
said container to retain said insert in said cavity.
3. The beverage container and insert therefor as defined in claim
1, wherein at least said elongate portion of said cavity is tapered
decreasing a selected amount in diameter in a direction away from
the bottom end of said container.
4. The beverage container and insert therefor as defined in claim
1, wherein each of said insert and cavity have cylindrical outer
surfaces and wherein they taper decreasing a selected amount in a
direction away from said bottom end of the container.
5. The beverage container and insert therefor as defined in claim 4
wherein said cavity and insert have corresponding mating tapers
with the surfaces engaging one another when the insert is in it's
in use position in the cavity.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates to a sports beverage container and
reusable heat transfer cartridge therefore removably insertable
into a cavity in the bottom of the container for heating or cooling
same.
[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0004] Beverage containers that incorporate means to cool the
contents of the container are known and by way of example reference
maybe had to the following United States Patents known to the
applicant and considered the most pertinent to the present
invention: U.S. Pat. No. 5,943,875 Granted Aug. 31, 1999 to J
Hymes; U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,309 Granted Mar. 11, 1997 to D. E. Green
et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,555,741 Granted Sep. 7, 1996 to K. G.
Oakley; U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,238 Granted Jul. 14, 1992 to J. A.
Schwartz et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,083 Granted Apr. 23, 1991
to F. Spinos et al.
[0005] The cooling means is either a freezable substance enclosed
within a sealed container, as is the case with the foregoing
patents '039; '238; and '083, or caused by expansion of a gaseous
substance as is the case with the foregoing patents '875 and '741.
In the '039 patent the cooling material is merely inserted into the
cavity of the beverage container and is free to move around
therein. In the '238 and '083 the cooling insert is detachably
attached to the cap of the beverage container and depends
downwardly into the container. It is thereby fixed in position but
places the center of gravity of the mass relatively high whereby
the empty container can readily tip over. In the '741 patent the
expandible gaseous substance is confined within a cavity in the
bottom of the container and as an improvement thereto the ,875
patent discloses confining the gaseous substance in a separate
container that is insertable into a cavity in the bottom of the
beverage container. The insert is retained only by friction fit and
thus could through use over time become loose and subject to
possibly dropping out.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The freezable and heatable heat transfer cartridge of the
present invention is reusable and therefore preferred to the
expandible gas cooling means which much be replaced after each
use.
[0007] The beverage container that has a removable cap at the top
end and a cavity in the bottom end into which is removably inserted
a shell containing a freezable substance to cool the contents of
the container or heatable substance to heat the contents of the
container. The insert is releasably lockable in the container
cavity and preferably tapers for a snug fit in the cavity.
[0008] More particularly, the beverage container comprises a
cylindrical body having opposite respective top and bottom ends.
The top end is open and includes screw threads on the cylindrical
body surrounding the open top end. A cap member having means
thereon threadingly engagable with the screw threads on the body. A
cylindrical cavity is disposed in the bottom end. The cavity is
disposed generally centrally of the cylindrical body and having a
first initial entry portion of selected diameter and a second
continuing elongate portion that projects a selected distance into
the interior of the container and is of smaller diameter than that
of the first initial entry portion. A heat transfer unit is
removably insertable into the cavity for use in cooling or heating
contents contained within the beverage container. The heat transfer
unit comprises a shell of suitable material confining therein a
freezable or heatable material. The heat transfer unit has a first
and a second contiguous cylindrical portion so dimensioned as to
inter-nest in the cavity in the container.
[0009] Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention
will be apparent with the following detailed description taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings showing a preferred
embodiment of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] A better understanding of the present invention will be had
upon reference to the following description in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings in which like numerals refer to like parts
throughout the several views and wherein:
[0011] FIG. 1 is an isometric of the beverage container of the
present invention:
[0012] FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the container of FIG.
1 but with the screw-on cap removed;
[0013] FIG. 3 is an isometric in broken line of the, container of
FIG. 1 illustrating, in solid line, an insert for the cavity in the
bottom wall of the container ; and
[0014] FIG. 4 is an isometric of the insert showing the bottom face
thereof.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0015] The aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,238 and the U.S.
patents listed therein U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,183,226; 4,338,795;
4,383,422; 4,932,225; and 4,741,176 disclose the use of a freezable
substance and the disclosures of all of the same are incorporated
herein in their entirety by reference thereto.
[0016] Shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a beverage container 10 having an
open top 11 surrounded by external threads 12 on which is threaded
a removable cap 13. The container side wall is cylindrical and
strengthened by ribbed sections designated 14, 15 and 16. The
container has a bottom wall 17 in which there is an elongate
cylindrical cavity 18 with an entry portion 19 that is larger in
diameter than that of the cavity. Moreover, the cap embodiment
shown is of a tamper proof whereby the design of the cavity
prevents contamination if used properly.
[0017] In FIGS. 3 and 4 there is illustrated a freezable/heatable
insert 20 that is removably insertable into the cavity 18 in the
beverage container. The insert is a shell 21 made of a suitable
plastics material and shaped for a snug or close fit relation
within the cavity 18 including the entry portion 19. The insert 20
may be disposable or reuseable. The shell encloses any one of a
number of known freezable or heatable substances 22 used for
cooling or heating food and/or beverages.
[0018] For instance the insertable substance 22 may comprise a
freezable substance which can be selected from a cold source such
as ice from water frozen via a deepfreeze providing instantaneous
cooling of the beverage; another insertable substance may be an
instant freeze chemical composition whereby intermixing of two
chemicals separated from one another cause them to instantly
freeze, thereby forming a portable quick freeze substance 22; the
insertable substance 22 maybe formed of an instant heat promoting
chemical composition whereby intermixing of two chemicals separated
from one another cause them to instantly react exothermally
releasing heat and thereby forming a portable quick heating
substance; the insertable substance 22 may be a material which is
readily heated by use of a microwave and retains heat in order to
be insertable into the cavity 18 in the beverage container; or the
insertable substance may simply be a hot liquid heated from any
conventional source and used to heat the liquid.
[0019] As shown in the figures, the lower end of the insert has a
relatively short cylindrical wall 23 terminating in a bottom face
24 that has a number of finger grip depressions 25 therein. One or
more pins 26 project outwardly from the cylindrical wall and they
are positioned to co-operate with inclined slots 27 suitably
located in the entry portion 19 of the cavity.
[0020] Referring to FIG. 5 each of the spaced apart inclined slots
27 have an open entry portion 27A in the bottom wall 17 of the
container and terminate at the other end in a stepped down portion
27B. In use the insert can be taken from a freezer in it's frozen
state and inserted into the cavity 18, 19. The insert is rotated to
align the pins 26 with the notches 27 and inserted into the entry
portion thereof. Rotating the insert a partial turn causes the pins
to slid in the inclined slots forcing the insert into the cavity.
The pins in their final inserted position are located in the
stepped down portion 27B of the notch( or equivalent thereof)
thereby locking the insert in it's final `use` position in the
container cavity.
[0021] If desired the insert can be made with a slight taper
decreasing in outer diameter in a direction away from the enlarged
base portion to facilitate placing the insert in the container
cavity and removing it therefrom. The cavity walls can also be
provided with a taper corresponding to that of the insert and so
sized that the two surfaces contact one another as the insert is
forced to it's final position in the cavity by the pins sliding in
the slopped notches i.e. channels. Of course the pins and slopped
notches can be replaced by co-operating screw threads or the like.
From a heat transfer point of view it is desirable to have contact
and preferably good contact between the outer surface of the insert
and the inner surface of the cavity,
[0022] The foregoing detailed description is given primarily for
clearness of understanding and no unnecessary limitations are to be
understood therefrom, for modification will become obvious to those
skilled in the art upon reading this disclosure and may be made
upon departing from the spirit of the invention and scope of the
appended claims. Accordingly, this invention is not intended to be
limited by the specific exemplifications presented hereinabove.
Rather, what is intended to be covered is within the spirit and
scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *