U.S. patent application number 14/143768 was filed with the patent office on 2015-07-02 for beverage coaster.
The applicant listed for this patent is Nicholas K. Woods. Invention is credited to Nicholas K. Woods.
Application Number | 20150182053 14/143768 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 53480434 |
Filed Date | 2015-07-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150182053 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Woods; Nicholas K. |
July 2, 2015 |
BEVERAGE COASTER
Abstract
A beverage coaster including a housing and a volume of coolant.
The housing has a base portion and a tubular portion that define a
beverage container receiving space and a housing cavity in which
the volume of coolant is disposed so that thermal energy of a
beverage transfers from the beverage to the volume of coolant to
maintain the beverage in a cool state.
Inventors: |
Woods; Nicholas K.;
(Oklahoma City, OK) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Woods; Nicholas K. |
Oklahoma City |
OK |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
53480434 |
Appl. No.: |
14/143768 |
Filed: |
December 30, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
248/346.11 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47G 23/0313
20130101 |
International
Class: |
A47G 23/03 20060101
A47G023/03 |
Claims
1. A beverage coaster, comprising: a housing having a base portion,
a tubular portion, and a housing cavity defined by the base portion
and the tubular portion, the base portion having a bottom wall, at
least one side wall, a peripheral top wall, and an interior top
wall, the tubular portion having an inner wall, an outer wall, and
a rim, the inner wall and the outer wall extending from the
peripheral top wall and the interior top wall of the base portion,
respectively, with the outer wall of the tubular portion spaced a
distance inwardly from the side wall of base portion, the inner
wall of the tubular portion cooperating with the interior top wall
of the base portion to define a beverage container receiving space;
and a volume of coolant disposed in the housing sufficient to
substantially fill the housing cavity so that when a beverage
container containing a beverage is in the beverage receiving space,
the beverage is in thermal communication with the volume of coolant
such that thermal energy of the beverage transfers from the
beverage to the volume of coolant to maintain the beverage in a
cool state.
2. The beverage coaster of claim 1, wherein the bottom wall of the
housing is provided with a plurality of feet affixed to the bottom
wall of the base portion of the housing.
3. The beverage coaster of claim 1, wherein the bottom wall of the
base portion of the housing has a groove for receiving a rim of a
like beverage coaster.
4. The beverage coaster of claim 1, wherein the beverage container
receiving space is tapered.
5. The beverage coaster of claim 1, wherein the tubular portion has
a height, wherein the base portion has a width, and wherein the
ratio of the height to the width is at least about 1:3.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] Beverage coasters are well-known articles used to rest
beverages on. The primary purpose of beverage coasters is to
protect the table surfaces or other surfaces on which a beverage is
placed from heat and condensation. Beverage coasters are typically
fabricated of wood, cardboard, plastic, vinyl, stone, or other
material and can be simple or decorative in design. For example,
bars often serve cold beverages accompanied by a paper beverage
coaster that absorbs the condensation of the beverage container and
which may depict a company's logo, other advertisement, or
decorations.
[0002] Koozies, on the other hand, are used to insulate a beverage
from heat and are often formed as a closed-end cylinders designed
to slide around a beverage container. Koozies effectively reduce
the rate at which a beverage warms. However, because they are
merely passive insulators, they do not cause thermal energy to be
withdrawn from the beverage being consumed in a way that causes the
temperature of the beverage to be maintained.
[0003] Methods for keeping a beverage in a cold state include
placing ice in the beverage. However, not all beverages are
suitable for adding ice. For example, ice is generally not added to
beer because the ice dilutes its composition and flavor.
Nonetheless, most people, at least in the United States, prefer to
consume their beer cold.
[0004] Other methods used to keep a beverage in a cold state
include pouring the beverage in a glass that has been placed in a
freezer after washing and without drying. Such a glass is commonly
referred to as a "frosted glass." The layer of ice that forms on a
frosted glass maintains the beverage in a cooler state longer due
to the transfer of thermal energy from the beverage to the cooler
frosted glass. However, the layer of ice is thin and quickly melts
causing the benefits of a frosted glass to be short lived.
[0005] Attempts have been made to solve some of these deficiencies
in beverage cooling methods. The prior art includes devices that
act as coasters and provide enhanced temperature maintenance
through the use of cooling substances located at the base or center
of the coaster. However, these devices are either limited to
cooling the bottom-most portion of a beverage or do not adequately
support a beverage container positioned on the coaster or cooling
device. Additionally, prior art devices are complex and often
involve multiple parts which are cumbersome to handle and
clean.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and
constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more
implementations described herein and, together with the
description, explain these implementations. The drawings are not
intended to be drawn to scale, and certain features and certain
views of the figures may be shown exaggerated, to scale, or in
schematic in the interest of clarity and conciseness. Not every
component may be labeled in every drawing. Like reference numerals
in the figures may represent and refer to the same or similar
element or function. In the drawings:
[0007] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a beverage coaster
constructed in accordance with the inventive concepts disclosed
herein.
[0008] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of
FIG. 1.
[0009] FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the beverage coaster.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
[0010] Before explaining at least one embodiment of the presently
disclosed and claimed inventive concepts in detail, it is to be
understood that the presently disclosed and claimed inventive
concepts are not limited in their application to the details of
construction, experiments, exemplary data, and/or the arrangement
of the components set forth in the following description or
illustrated in the drawings. The presently disclosed and claimed
inventive concepts are capable of other embodiments or of being
practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be
understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is
for purpose of description and should not be regarded as
limiting.
[0011] In the following detailed description of embodiments of the
inventive concepts, numerous specific details are set forth in
order to provide a more thorough understanding of the inventive
concepts. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in
the art that the inventive concepts disclosed and claimed herein
may be practiced without these specific details. In other
instances, well-known features have not been described in detail to
avoid unnecessarily complicating the instant disclosure.
[0012] As used herein, the terms "comprises," "comprising,"
"includes," "including," "has," "having" or any other variation
thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For
example, a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a
list of elements or steps is not necessarily limited to only those
elements or steps and may include other elements, steps, or
features not expressly listed or inherently present therein.
[0013] Unless expressly stated to the contrary, "or" refers to an
inclusive or and not to an exclusive or. For example, a condition A
or B is satisfied by anyone of the following: A is true (or
present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or not
present) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (or
present).
[0014] In addition, use of the "a" or "an" are employed to describe
elements and components of the embodiments herein. This is done
merely for convenience and to give a general sense of the inventive
concepts. This description should be read to include one or at
least one and the singular also includes the plural unless it is
obvious that it is meant otherwise.
[0015] Throughout this disclosure and the claims, the terms
"about," "approximately," and "substantially" are intended to
signify that the item being qualified is not limited to the exact
value specified, but includes some slight variations or deviations
therefrom, caused by measuring error, manufacturing tolerances,
stress exerted on various parts, wear and tear, or combinations
thereof, for example.
[0016] The use of the term "at least one" will be understood to
include one as well as any quantity more than one, including but
not limited to each of, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 100,
and all integers therebetween. The term "at least one" may extend
up to 100 or 1000 or more, depending on the term to which it is
attached; in addition, the quantities of 100/1000 are not to be
considered limiting, as higher limits may also produce satisfactory
results. Singular terms shall include pluralities and plural terms
shall include the singular unless indicated otherwise.
[0017] The term "or combinations thereof" as used herein refers to
all permutations and/or combinations of the listed items preceding
the term. For example, "A, B, C, or combinations thereof" is
intended to include at least one of: A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC,
and if order is important in a particular context, also BA, CA, CB,
CBA, BCA, ACB, BAC, or CAB. Continuing with this example, expressly
included are combinations that contain repeats of one or more item
or term, such as BB, AAA, AAB, BBC, AAABCCCC, CBBAAA, CABABB, and
so forth. The skilled artisan will understand that typically there
is no limit on the number of items or terms in any combination,
unless otherwise apparent from the context.
[0018] Finally, as used herein any reference to "one embodiment" or
"an embodiment" means that a particular element, feature,
structure, or characteristic described in connection with the
embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. The appearances
of the phrase "in one embodiment" in various places in the
specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment,
although the inventive concepts disclosed herein are intended to
encompass all combinations and permutations including one or more
of the features of the embodiments described herein.
[0019] Referring now to FIGS. 1-3, one version of a beverage
coaster 10 constructed in accordance with the inventive concepts
disclosed herein is illustrated. The beverage coaster 10 includes a
housing 12 configured to support a beverage container, such as
beverage container 14 (depicted in FIG. 1), and a volume of coolant
15 (FIG. 2) disposed in the housing 12 so that thermal energy of a
beverage contained in the beverage container transfers from the
beverage to the volume of coolant to maintain the beverage in a
cool state.
[0020] The housing 12 may be formed of a suitable plastic and
includes a base portion 16 and a tubular potion 18. The base
portion 16 has a bottom wall 20, a plurality of side walls 22, a
peripheral top wall 24, and an interior top wall 26 which cooperate
to define a base cavity 27 (FIG. 2). In the embodiment shown in
FIGS. 1-3, the base portion 16 is constructed in the shape of a
square. However, it should be appreciated that the base portion 16
may be constructed in a variety of shapes, including but not
limited to, rectangles, stars, circles, ovals, diamonds, pentagons,
and hexagons. In one embodiment, a plurality of feet 28 are affixed
to the bottom wall 20 of the base portion 16 to prevent the housing
12 from damaging various surfaces when the beverage coaster 10 is
in use. While four feet 28 are shown in the embodiment illustrated
in FIG. 3, any different number of feet may be provided depending
on the shape of the base portion 16. Also, it will be understood
that the feet may be attached to the base portion 16 or may be
formed as a part of the base portion 16.
[0021] The tubular portion 18 extends from the base portion 16 and
has an inner wall 30, an outer wall 32, and a rim 34 which
cooperate to define a tubular cavity 35 (FIG. 2). The inner wall 30
and the outer wall 32 extend from the interior top wall 26 and the
periphery top wall 24 of the base portion 16, respectively. The
outer wall 32 of the tubular portion 18 is spaced a distance
inwardly from the side walls 22 of the base portion 16. The
distance between the outer wall 32 of the tubular portion 18 and
the side walls 22 of the base portion 16 facilitates supporting a
beverage container filled with a beverage. To further create an
effective support for a beverage container filled with a beverage,
the ratio of the height of the tubular portion 18 to the width of
the base portion 16 may be at least about 1:3.
[0022] The inner wall 30 of the tubular portion 18 cooperates with
the interior top wall 26 of the base portion to define a beverage
container receiving space 36. The beverage container receiving
space 36 may be formed so that the bottom and at least a portion of
the side of a beverage container is in surface-to-surface contact
with the inner wall 30 of the tubular portion 18 and the interior
top wall 26 of the base portion 16 to enhance thermal communication
between the coolant 15 and a beverage when the beverage container
is positioned in the beverage container receiving space 36. By way
of example, the beverage container receiving space 36 may be
tapered to conform to the tapered shape of the beverage container
14 (FIG. 1).
[0023] To further enhance thermal communication between the coolant
15 and a beverage, the tubular portion 18 is formed to have a
height so that the tubular portion 18 extends at least about one
fourth of the beverage container 14. However, the tubular portion
18 can be formed to have a variety of heights so that the tubular
portion 18 extends less than or more than one fourth of the height
of the beverage container.
[0024] It should also be appreciated that the construction of the
tubular portion 18 is not limited to a cylindrical tube (as shown
in FIG. 1) but can be constructed in the shape of square tube or a
hexagonal tube or any other tube constructed to receive a beverage
container through an open distal end.
[0025] Referring to FIG. 2, the base portion 16 and the tubular
portion 18 are configured such that the base cavity 27 of the base
portion 16 and the tubular cavity 35 of the tubular portion 18 are
in fluid communication with one another so as to define a housing
cavity 38. The coolant 15 is disposed in the housing cavity 38 in a
volume sufficient to substantially fill the housing cavity 38. The
coolant 15 is characterized by the property of absorbing sufficient
thermal energy when chilled to maintain a beverage in cool state
and may consist of material such as, but not limited to, a liquid
or fluid, such as water, gels, or any other aqueous solutions with
cold retention properties. The coolant 15 may be formulated to have
different freezing points or may be formulated so that the coolant
remains malleable at temperatures as low as 0.degree. F., by way of
example.
[0026] The volume of coolant 15 may be injected or inserted into
the housing 12 through an opening into the housing 12. After the
volume of coolant 15 is inserted in the housing 12, it may be
sealed within the housing cavity 38 by a variety of methods
including inserting a plasticized plug or other suitable structure
in the opening and thereafter securing the plug in the opening with
a non-toxic adhesive, by sonic welding, heat fusion radio
frequency, or the like.
[0027] In use, the volume of coolant 15 may be cooled to reach a
frozen or near frozen state by placing the beverage coaster 10 in a
freezer so that the beverage coaster 10 has an overall temperature
that is lower than the temperature of a beverage disposed in the
beverage container 14 and that is lower than the temperature of the
beverage container 14. Thermal energy of the beverage and the
beverage container 14 therefore transfers from the beverage and the
beverage container 14 to the coolant 15 disposed in the housing
cavity 38 of the beverage coaster 10. The withdrawal of thermal
energy from the beverage and the beverage container 14 along with
the simultaneous absorption of thermal energy by the coolant 15
disposed in the housing cavity 38 maintains the beverage in a cool
state.
[0028] In one embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the bottom
wall 20 of the base portion 16 may include a groove 46 for
receiving a rim of a tubular portion of a like beverage coaster.
When two or more housings are stacked upon one another, a rim of a
tubular portion of a first housing engages with the groove on a
bottom wall of a base portion of a second housing. The groove 46
facilitates the stacking and efficient storing of multiple beverage
coasters. For example, multiple beverage coasters may be stacked in
a freezer where multiple beverage coasters 10 may be chilled.
Stacking reduces the amount of space used in the freezer and thus
increases the number of beverage coasters that may be stacked in a
freezer at one time. By reducing the amount of space it takes to
cool or freeze a number of beverage coasters, a restaurant
establishment, for example, may employ an increased number of
beverage coasters to accommodate an increased number of beverages
consumed by its patrons.
[0029] The housing 12 may be customized with various indicia as the
user desires. Indicia may be imprinted on the bottom wall 20, the
side wall 22, the peripheral top wall 24, or the interior top wall
26 of the base portion 16, or it may be imprinted on the inner wall
30, the outer wall 32, or the rim 34 of the tubular portion 18.
Indicia may be imprinted on multiple locations on the housing 12 or
on a single location. If indicia are imprinted on multiple
locations, the indicia may or may not be related. For example, a
restaurant establishment may place its restaurant logo on the
interior top wall 24 of the base portion 16 and its slogan along
the side wall 26 of the base portion 16.
[0030] Because the housing 12 is formed as a one-piece unit, it may
be easily handled, transported, and stored and may be easily
cleaned by hand or in a dishwasher. For example, a restaurant
establishment should appreciate the simple construction of the
housing 12 because time may be saved when handling a single
integral piece that easily fits into a dishwasher and that does not
require the assembling or dissembling of multiple parts.
[0031] From the above description, it is clear that the present
inventive concept is well adapted to carry out the objects and to
attain the advantages mentioned herein as well as those inherent in
the invention. While exemplary embodiments of the invention have
been described for purposes of this disclosure, it will be
understood that numerous changes may be made which will readily
suggest themselves to those skilled in the art and which are
accomplished within the spirit of the inventive concept disclosed
and claimed herein.
* * * * *