U.S. patent application number 11/503823 was filed with the patent office on 2007-02-22 for car-racing themed beverage holder.
Invention is credited to William Joseph Marthaler, Joseph Anthony Tomaro.
Application Number | 20070040088 11/503823 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37766597 |
Filed Date | 2007-02-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070040088 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Tomaro; Joseph Anthony ; et
al. |
February 22, 2007 |
Car-racing themed beverage holder
Abstract
The present invention is an insulated beverage holder having the
shape of a gasoline refueling can of the type used in automobile
races. The beverage holder is designed to hold standard 12-ounce
sized, and other sizes, of beverage containers and beverages
therein. Said beverage holder has an upper portion having a spout,
an insulated lower portion, a means for attaching said top portion
to said rigid container. A vent in the handle portion allows air to
move into and out of the insulated bottom portion when the rigid
container is inserted into or removed from said insulated bottom
portion.
Inventors: |
Tomaro; Joseph Anthony;
(Westlake, OH) ; Marthaler; William Joseph;
(Hudson, OH) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Joseph Tomaro
25816 Briarwood Ct
Westlake
OH
44145
US
|
Family ID: |
37766597 |
Appl. No.: |
11/503823 |
Filed: |
August 14, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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60595922 |
Aug 17, 2005 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
248/311.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45C 11/20 20130101;
A45F 5/00 20130101; A45F 3/16 20130101; A45F 2200/0583
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
248/311.2 |
International
Class: |
A47K 1/08 20060101
A47K001/08 |
Claims
1) An insulated beverage holder designed for use in holding
beverage containers therein, said beverage holder comprising: A
rigid container portion screw thread or snap attachable to a top
portion having a spout; An insulated bottom portion into which said
rigid container inserts; An overall shape similar to that of fuel
cans used in the refueling of racing cars; and a handle portion
having an air vent communicating between the outside air and the
volume that is displaced when said rigid container is inserted into
or removed from said insulated bottom portion.
2) The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein said beverage holder
accommodates metal beverage containers.
3) The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein said beverage holder
accommodates liquid beverages.
4) The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein said beverage holder is
insulated to allow beverages to be stored at either cold or warm
temperatures for prolonged periods of time.
5) The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein said beverage holder has
provisions for attachment of a neck lanyard to the holder.
6) The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein said beverage holder may
utilize an air vent in the handle to allow for venting of the
liquid.
7) The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein said beverage holder may
be constructed of various materials including but not limited to
metal (aluminum, steel), plastic, glass, rubber, paper, expanded
foam, fabric and components made of these materials as required by
the design.
8) The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein said beverage holder may
exist in a variety of sizes from 1-ounce up to 8-quarts.
9) The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein said beverage holder my
utilize an elastomeric gasket or molded lips, ridges or tabs to
seal the top of the beverage holder to the beverage container
contained within.
10) The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein said beverage holder
may utilize an optional closure cap or sealable spout.
11) The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein said beverage holder
may incorporate an optional insect screen.
12) The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein said beverage holder
may or may not utilize support tabs to support the beverage
container contained within, in order to accommodate beverage
containers of various size.
13) The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein said beverage holder
may utilize a flexible material for the drinking spout.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The subject application claims the benefit of priority to
U.S. Ser. No. 60/595,922 filed on Aug. 17, 2005, which is
incorporated herein in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present invention relates to beverage-can holders. More
specifically it relates to a standard 12-ounce beverage can and to
hand-held insulated containers and embodiments thereof.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] People who attend public outdoor events, such as car races,
horse races, baseball games and the like, often spend many hours
continuously outdoors, sometimes sitting in hot air or direct
sunlight, and other times in cooler settings. But even in settings
that are perfectly comfortable, spectators of hours-long public
sporting events will need to ingest fluids, i.e., water, either as
water or in the forms of such common beverages as soft drink, beer
and fruit juices that are packaged in metal cans, the most common
sort of which is the standard 12-ounce, metal beverage
container.
[0004] It is the case that the attendees or `fans` of many sporting
events feel themselves to be participants within a culture or
subculture of aficionados, many of whom enjoy expressing their
enthusiasm in public and easily visible ways. For example,
attendees at baseball games often wear hats or shirts having
emblazoned on them slogans or symbols that express the wearer's
feelings or allegiances to a particular team or other type of
participant in the sport. Or they carry placards or such things as
large foam hands that, by their colors or designs, proclaim the
fans specific interest in a particular team.
[0005] In some sporting events, such as racing, the specific
outcome, i.e., who the winner will be, is of less interest than is
the specific sport itself, in which case the fans' enthusiasm is
announced to others around him or her by means of the like
emblazoned T-shirts, coffee mugs and the like.
[0006] In cold weather, it is desirable to have warm fluids to
drink, such as coffee, especially if it can be kept warm for
extended weather periods of time. In hot weather, the opposite is
the case. In either heat or cold, or even in comfortable settings,
people often want their soft drinks or beer or other fluids to be
cold or hot, and maintained at desired temperatures for sustained
periods of time. To that end, there exist various types of beverage
holders that are thermally insulated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] It is an object of the present invention to provide methods
and/or apparatus as defined in one or more of the appended claims
and, as such, having the capability of accomplishing one or more of
the following subsidiary claims.
[0008] One object of the present invention is to provide a beverage
holder that is appropriate to the sports setting associated with
motorcar racing;
[0009] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
beverage holder that is thermally insulated;
[0010] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
beverage holder capable of holding inside itself a standard
12-ounce, 16-ounce or 24-ounce metals cans that holds soft drinks
or beer;
[0011] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a
beverage holder that can be manufactured in multiple sizes; and
[0012] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a
beverage holder having an external shape that is representative of
automobile racing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0013] The structure, operation, and advantages of the present
invention will become further apparent upon consideration of the
following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying
figures. The figures are intended to be illustrative, not limiting.
Certain elements in some of the figures may be omitted, or
illustrated not-to-scale, for illustrative clarity. The
cross-sectional views may be in the form of "slices", or
"near-sighted" cross-sectional views, omitting certain background
lines which would otherwise be visible in a "true" cross-sectional
view, for illustrative clarity.
[0014] The structure, operation, and advantages of the present
preferred embodiment of the invention will become further apparent
upon consideration of the following description taken in
conjunction with the accompanying FIGURES, wherein;
[0015] FIG. 1 is an orthogonal side view of the external design of
the present invention; and
[0016] FIG. 2 is an exploded cross-section view of one embodiment
of the invention.
[0017] FIG. 3 is an exploded cross-section view of a second
embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0018] The present invention is designed to be used to hold
beverages, either bulk liquid, or beverages contained in standard
beverage can sizes, including but not limited to 12-ounce, 16-ounce
and 24-ounce metal beverage cans, and to insulate said beverage to
keep it warm or cold as needed.
[0019] The specific design of the present beverage-holder invention
is inspired by fuel cans currently being used in motorcar racing,
in particular those sponsored by well-known commercial entities
(such as NASCAR and NASCAR BUSCH Series). That is, the beverage
holder according to the present invention is intended to simulate
in its external design the appearance of a large metal refueling
can of the sort used to convey gasoline rapidly into a racing car
during a pit stop.
[0020] Referring to FIG. 1 there is shown in orthogonal side view
of the beverage holder 10 at the present invention, illustrating
its fuel-filling-apparatus design of the main body 12, including a
fuel pouring spout 14 which serves as a sipping tip for the
beverage can contained therein (not shown), a handle 15, a
removable top portion 16, and insulated bottom 17, and a loop 18
appropriate for attachment to a lanyard (not shown) of a sort that
can be worn around the neck or held in the hand or wrapped around a
wrist. The handle 15 simulates the handle of an actual refueling
can and also contains as air vent therein (not shown) for allowing
air to move into or out of the bottom portion 17 when a rigid
holder 28 (shown in FIG. 2), holding a can 30 or fluids, is
inserted into or removed from said bottom portion 17. Said handle
15 also provides for ease of holding of the-invention during
use.
[0021] Referring now to FIG. 2 there is shown in exploded
cross-sectional view one embodiment of the present invention 20,
comprising a top portion 22 having a spout 23, a bottom portion 24
with a vent handle portion 26 attachable thereto or integral
therewith, a rigid, removable beverage-can holder 28 with a
beverage container 30 held therein. Also shown is a screw-type
threaded portion 32 of the top portion 22, and the corresponding
mated threads 34 on the beverage-can holder 28 can also be a snap
fit in addition to thread fit. Support tabs 34 and 36 support the
beverage container 30 within the rigid holder 28. A snap and/or
detent (not shown) helps to seal the top of the can 30 to the top
portion 22, and also pulls the container 30 snugly against the
gasket 38 which provides a secure seal and holds the container
snugly against the supporting tabs 34, 36. Sealing mechanism may
also be in the form of molded lips, tabs or ridge, integral to the
top portion 22, which provide direct sealing contact between top
portion 22 and beverage container 30, as well as to the bottom
portion 24.
[0022] Use of the invention consists of inserting a beverage
container 30 into a removable holder 28, to which the top portion
22 is then screw attached or snapped, and inserting removable
holder 28 with beverage container 30 contained therein, and said
top portion attached thereto, into the insulated bottom portion or
outer housing 24 having handle 26 attached thereto. The beverage
container rests upon the support tabs 34, 36. The user then drinks
the beverage container contents by way of the spout 23, which also
serves to limit spillage in the event of an accident, and also
allows straw insertion into the fluid contained therein, unless the
spout is protected by an optional insect screen. Spout may also
have a removable cap, seal or closeable drinking tip to close the
opening and further prevent spillage 29.
[0023] The inventors intend, as suggested in FIG. 2 that, instead
of inserting a 12-ounce or larger metal beverage container 30 into
holder 28, that the holder itself could contain a beverage. That
is, for example, holder 28 can be filled with a soft drink or beer
and then attached to the top portion 22 and inserted into the
insulated bottom portion 24.
[0024] One embodiment of the invention is intended to hold a
standard 12-fluid-ounce beverage container, while other embodiments
can be sized to hold as little as one fluid ounce (shot size) or as
much as 1 to 8 quarts of liquid (beer pitcher size).
[0025] The inventors also envision an embodiment, as shown in FIG.
3 designed specifically to hold the standard 12-ounce container
size can also be made to hold a 16-ounce or 24-ounce can. That is,
tabs 34 36 shown in FIG. 2 would not be present, and the overall
dimensions would be smaller than is suggested by the embodiment
portrayed in FIG. 2. Spout portion 23 can also be made of flexible
material such as corrugated tube to allow the user to easily
reposition spout portion 23.
[0026] Beverage holder 10 can be made from a variety of materials,
but will most likely be made from injection or blow molded plastic
or other materials such as paper, metal (steel, aluminum) etc.
These primary construction materials can be used in combination
with additional materials such as rubber, plastic, fabric, expanded
foam, paper, glass or metal components as required by the
design.
[0027] Although the invention has been shown and described with
respect to a certain preferred embodiment or embodiments, certain
equivalent alterations or modifications will occur to others
skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of this
specification and the annexed drawings. In particular regard to the
various functions performed by the above described components
(assemblies, devices, circuits, etc.) the terms (including a
reference to a "means") used to describe such components are
intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated to any component
which performs the specified function of the described component
(i.e., that is functionally equivalent), even though not
structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs
the function in the herein illustrated exemplary embodiments of the
invention. In addition, while a particular feature of the invention
may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several
embodiments, such feature may be combined with one or more features
of the other embodiments as may be desired and advantageous for any
given or particular application.
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