U.S. patent application number 10/963763 was filed with the patent office on 2005-06-02 for beverage container.
Invention is credited to Swift, James.
Application Number | 20050115918 10/963763 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34622950 |
Filed Date | 2005-06-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050115918 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Swift, James |
June 2, 2005 |
Beverage container
Abstract
The invention comprises a beverage container. Self-skinning,
high density foam is molded around and envelopes a deformable
plastic bottle. The Self-skinning, high-density foam is molded into
any desired shape, such as the shape of an athletic shoe. The skin
of the beverage container bears indicia reminiscent of the object
that the beverage container is intended to represent. The neck of
the bottle extends through the foam envelope, allowing access to
the interior volume of the bottle for filling or for consuming the
beverage.
Inventors: |
Swift, James; (Willow Grove,
PA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ROBERT S. LIPTON, ESQUIRE
201 NORTH JACKSON STREET
P. O. BOX 934
MEDIA
PA
19063-0934
US
|
Family ID: |
34622950 |
Appl. No.: |
10/963763 |
Filed: |
October 13, 2004 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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60511265 |
Oct 14, 2003 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
215/382 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 1/0223
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
215/382 |
International
Class: |
B65D 090/02 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A beverage container, the beverage container comprising: a. a
bottle having an interior volume and an outside bottle surface; b.
foam molded to and enveloping said outside bottle surface, said
foam defining an outer skin; c. said bottle having a neck, said
neck extending from said bottle through said outer skin of said
foam, said neck being in fluid communication with said interior
volume; d. a cap, said cap sealably engaging said neck.
2. The beverage container of claim 1 wherein said foam is a
self-skinning, high density foam.
3. The beverage container of claim 2 wherein said foam is molded to
form a pre-selected shape.
4. The beverage container of claim 3 wherein said outer surface of
said beverage container bears indicia corresponding to said
pre-selected shape.
5. The beverage container of claim 4 wherein said pre-selected
shape is of an athletic shoe, said athletic shoe having a heel, a
toe and an upper.
6. The beverage container of claim 5 wherein said neck extends
through said heel of said athletic shoe.
7. The beverage container of claim 5 wherein said neck extends
through said toe of said athletic shoe.
8. The beverage container of claim 5 wherein said neck extends
through said upper of said athletic shoe.
9. The beverage container of claim 5 wherein said bottle is
generally cylindrical.
10. The beverage container of claim 5 wherein said bottle is formed
in a pre-selected bottle shape corresponding to said pre-selected
shape of the beverage container.
11. The beverage container of claim 10 wherein said pre-selected
bottle shape corresponds to the shape of an athletic shoe.
12. The beverage container of claim 5 wherein said sealable
engagement between said cap and said neck is a releasable
engagement.
13. The beverage container of claim 12, further comprising: a. a
nipple closure, said nipple enclosure engaging said cap b. a fluid
channel defined by said nipple closure, said fluid channel in
user-selectable fluid communication with said interior volume of
said bottle.
14. The beverage container of claim 13, further comprising: said
nipple closure having a first and a second position, said nipple
closure when in said first position sealably engaging said cap and
blocking fluid communication between said interior volume and said
fluid channel, said nipple closure having a second position, said
nipple closure when in said second position releasing said sealable
engagement with said cap and allowing fluid communication between
said interior volume and said fluid channel.
15. A beverage container, the beverage container comprising: a. a
molded self-skinning, high density foam having an outer skin and a
fluid-tight inner skin, said foam being molded into a pre-selected
shape; b. said inner skin of said foam defining an interior volume
of the beverage container; c. a fitting, said fitting defining an
opening, said opening communicating from said interior volume of
the beverage container through said outer skin; d. a cap, said cap
sealably engaging said fitting.
16. The beverage container of claim 15 wherein said shape of said
beverage container is pre-selected to resemble an athletic
shoe.
17. A beverage container, the beverage container comprising: a. a
molded self-skinning, high density foam having an outer skin and a
fluid-tight inner skin, said foam being molded into a pre-selected
shape; b. said inner skin of said foam defining an interior volume
of the beverage container; c. said foam defining an opening, said
opening communicating from said interior volume to said outside
surface d. a cap, said cap sealably engaging said opening.
18. The beverage container of claim 18 wherein said shape of said
beverage container is pre-selected to resemble an athletic shoe.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This Application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Patent Application No. 60/511,265 filed Oct. 14, 2003.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The invention is a beverage container having integral molded
foam insulation. The molded foam of the insulation may be formed
into any pre-selected shape, such as the shape of a shoe.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Beverage containers are well known in the art, including
beverage containers formed of a plastic. Beverage containers having
foam insulation also are known in the art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The invention is a beverage container featuring an integral
molded layer of foam insulation. The molded layer of foam
insulation has a pre-selected shape, such as the shape of an
athletic shoe. The beverage container therefore assumes the
external appearance of the shoe or other pre-selected shape.
[0007] The outer surface of the foam layer of the beverage
container may bear indicia indicative of the shape represented by
the molded foam layer, such as markings reminiscent of a shoe.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the beverage container of
the Invention.
[0009] FIG. 2 is a side view of the beverage container of the
invention.
[0010] FIG. 3 is a top view of the beverage container.
[0011] FIG. 4 is a cross section of the beverage container of the
Invention.
[0012] FIG. 5 is a detail view of the cap of the beverage
container.
[0013] FIG. 6 is a first alternative embodiment.
[0014] FIG. 7 is a second alternative embodiment.
[0015] FIG. 8 is a third alternative embodiment.
[0016] FIG. 9 is a fourth alternative embodiment.
[0017] FIG. 10 is a fifth alternative embodiment.
DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT
[0018] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the beverage container 2 of
the Invention. In the embodiment illustrated by FIG. 1, the
beverage container 2 is molded in the shape of a shoe 4, such as an
athletic shoe. The shoe 4 features a heel 6, toe 8 and upper 10
similar in appearance to an actual shoe. Indicia 12 may appear on
shoe 4 to identify a brand of athletic shoe, brand of beverage, to
convey any other information, or to be purely decorative. A
removable cap 14 allows access to the interior of the beverage
container 2 for cleaning, filling, or for any other purpose. The
cap 14 may be equipped with a conventional nipple closure 16 to
allow the user to drink from the beverage container 2 without
removing the cap 14.
[0019] FIG. 2 is a side view of the beverage container 2. The
beverage container is in the shape of shoe 4, featuring heel 6, toe
8 and upper 10. Indicia 12 appear on beverage container 2, as does
cap 14 with nipple closure 16.
[0020] FIG. 3 is a top view of beverage container 2 with the
beverage container being in the shape of shoe 4. FIG. 3 shows the
location of section line A-A.
[0021] FIG. 4 is a cross section of beverage container on section
line A-A of FIG. 3. Bottle 18 appears in shoe 4. Bottle 18 may be a
conventional cylindrical bottle composed of resilient molded
plastic or may be of any other suitable material, such as aluminum.
Bottle 18 defines an interior volume 20 and has an outside bottle
surface 21. Beverage 22 is contained in the interior volume 20 of
bottle 18.
[0022] Self-skinning high density molded foam 24 is molded around
outside bottle surface 21. To produce beverage container 2, a
suitable bottle 18 is placed in a mold prepared for the purpose. An
interior volume of the mold defines a desired shape, such as the
shoe 4 of FIG. 4. Self-skinning, high density foam 24 is injected
into the mold using techniques well known in the art of forming
foam 24. The foam 24 expands to conform to the space defined by the
mold and the bottle 18, enveloping the outside surface 21 of bottle
18.
[0023] The self-skinning nature of the foam 24 causes the foam 24
to form an outer skin 26 that is relatively dense, strong and
smooth, without significant pits or voids. The foam 24 of the
beverage container 2 is nonetheless flexible and resilient to the
touch.
[0024] Colorants may be added to the foam 24 prior to injection
using techniques well known in the art to select a finished color
of skin 26.
[0025] Bottle 18 has a neck 25 that extends from bottle 18 and
communicates through the outer skin 26 of foam 24. In the
embodiment illustrated by FIGS. 1-4, neck extends through heel 6 of
shoe 4. Neck 25 allows access to interior volume 20 of bottle 18
for filling or for consumption of beverage 22. Cap 14 may
releasably connect to bottle 18 using any of the techniques known
in the art to form a fluid-tight connection preventing escape of
beverage 22. Examples of such releasable fluid-tight connections
include a screw connection or a snap connection.
[0026] FIG. 5 is a detail of cap 14 and nipple closure 16. Slidable
nipple closure 16 is of conventional design. When nipple closure 16
is in a first, or closed, position shown by solid lines on FIG. 5,
flow of beverage 22 is blocked and the beverage container 2 is
fluid-tight. When nipple closure 16 is in a second, or open,
position shown by dashed lines on FIG. 5, fluid channel 28 is in
fluid communication with interior volume 20 of beverage container,
allowing beverage 22 to flow through fluid channel 28. As the user
draws beverage 22 through fluid channel 28, a partial vacuum may
occur within interior volume 20, impeding the flow of beverage 22.
The resilient nature of bottle 18 and foam 24 allows the user to
compress beverage container 2, continuing the flow of beverage 22
through fluid channel 28. Alternatively, user may place beverage
container 2 in a position in which fluid channel 28 is elevated
above the surface of beverage 22 and allow make-up air to enter
bottle 18 through fluid channel 28.
[0027] FIG. 6 shows a first alternative embodiment. In the
alternative embodiment of FIG. 6, neck 25 of bottle 18 extends
through toe 8 of shoe 4, allowing access to the interior volume 20
of bottle 18 through toe 8. FIG. 7 shows a second alternative
embodiment. In FIG. 7, neck 25 of bottle 18 extends through upper
10 of shoe 4, allowing access to interior volume 20 of bottle 18
through upper 10.
[0028] FIG. 8 shows a third alternative embodiment. In the third
alternative embodiment, bottle 18 conforms in a predetermined
manner to the desired shape of beverage container 2. If beverage
container 2 is to be in the shape of a shoe 4, as shown by FIG. 8,
then bottle 18 may be formed generally in the shape of a shoe 4.
The bottle 18 formed in the shape of shoe 4 of FIG. 8 is of a size
selected to accommodate a pre-selected thickness of foam 24 between
bottle 18 and skin 26. The thickness of foam 24 is selected to
provide a desired amount of insulation and to allow molding of
desired shapes and surface details of the object that the beverage
container 2 is intended to resemble. Bottle 18 may be formed in any
shape or size provided that bottle 18 does not intrude upon the
minimum space required in the mold during production to allow
formation of skin 26 and to allow desired shapes and surface
details to be formed.
[0029] FIG. 9 shows a fourth alternative beverage container 2. The
alternative embodiment of FIG. 9 dispenses with bottle 18.
Self-skinning, high density foam 24 forms both outer skin 26 and
fluid-tight inner skin 30. Inner skin 30 defines interior volume 20
of beverage container 2 and holds beverage 22. Fitting 32 may be
bonded to foam 24 during the molding process. Fitting 32
alternatively may be attached to foam 24 using any of the
techniques known in the art, including adhesives and heat or
solvent welding. Fitting 32 receives cap 14 to form a fluid tight
connection between interior volume 20 of beverage container 2 and
nipple closure 16.
[0030] As shown by FIG. 10, an integral molded fitting 34 may be
molded from self-skinning, high density foam 24 during the molding
process for foam 24. Any suitable means may be used to attach cap
14 to integral molded fitting 34, including means such as adhesives
or heat welding or solvent welding that are not releasable.
[0031] In describing the above embodiments of the invention,
specific terminology was selected for the sake of clarity. However,
the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terms
so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific term
includes all technical equivalents that operate in a similar manner
to accomplish a similar purpose.
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