Abstract:
A floating beverage container that remains substantially upright when placed in liquid, and continues to function well when placed in a cup holder or other substantially flat surface, including a floatation compartment releasably attached to a ballast chamber. The floatation compartment includes an interior surface including multiple inner diameters and a tapered upper section to accommodate many types of beverage containers. The ballast compartment has a substantially flat bottom surface.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates generally to a universal floating beverage holder, and more particularly to a floating beverage holder that remains substantially upright when placed in liquid, and continues to remain upright when placed on a flat surface. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    There is a compelling need for an improved floating beverage holder. Previous beverage holders efficiently accommodate only one particular dimension of beverage and are designed to function solely in the water, while not being able to remain upright when placed on a substantially flat surface, such as a cup holder, a side of a pool, or the surface of a boat. 
         [0005]    People who engage in recreational water activities such as swimming, floating, fishing, boating, or other activities on or near the water frequently desire a holder for their beverage. Previous beverage holders, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,025,146 would not remain upright when placed on a flat surface. 
         [0006]    Other floating beverage holders accommodate only a single size of beverage containers. Beverage containers frequently come in varying sizes such as aluminum cans, glass bottles, plastic bottles, and plastic cups. Beverage containers also come in various shapes and sizes including twelve ounce, sixteen ounce, eighteen ounce, twenty ounce, and twenty two ounce containers, among others. Previous attempts to improve beverage holders, such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,972,063 and 6,991,505 have resulted in only marginal improvements. 
         [0007]    Therefore, it is desired to provide a universal floating beverage holder that remains substantially upright both when floating in liquid, and when placed on a flat surface such as a cup holder or other substantially flat surface. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    To achieve the foregoing, and in accordance with the purposes of the present invention as embodied and broadly described herein, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved floating beverage holder. 
         [0009]    Another object of the invention is to provide a beverage holder that has an interior surface having multiple inner diameters, including a tapered interior surface. This enables the beverage holder to encapsulate varying sizes and shapes of beverages while remaining upright while floating in liquid and ensuring the contents of the beverage will not be spilled or contaminated by the liquid. 
         [0010]    The universal floating beverage holder features a design and construction that makes it simple and inexpensive to manufacture. 
         [0011]    Therefore, the present invention provides a sufficient orientation, density, and distribution of both flotation material and weight such that that various sizes and weights of beverages are held upright while in liquid or on a flat surface. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS/FIGURES 
         [0012]    The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention and to enable a person skilled in the relevant art to make and use the invention: 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of the beverage holder of the present invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  shows an exploded perspective view of the beverage holder of the present invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  shows a top view of the ballast chamber of the present invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  shows a sectional side view of the beverage holder of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0017]    The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. While specific configurations and arrangements are discussed, it should be understood that this is done for illustrative purposes only. A person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that other configurations and arrangements can be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It will be apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art that this invention can also be employed in a variety of other devices and applications. 
         [0018]    The beverage holder  10  of the present invention includes a floatation compartment  20  attached to a ballast chamber  30 , as shown in  FIG. 1 . Floatation compartment  20  further includes an aperture  21 , wherein a beverage container could be releaseably inserted into beverage holder  10 . In a preferred embodiment, floatation compartment  20  includes a lower portion  27  and a lip  22  as shown in  FIG. 2 , wherein the outer diameter of lip  22  is larger than the outer diameter of lower portion  27 . This design allows beverage holder  10  to remain substantially upright when placed in liquid. 
         [0019]    In one embodiment, the outer diameter of lip  22  is between approximately four inches and approximately eight inches, and in a most preferred embodiment, between approximately 5.5 inches and approximately 6.5 inches. 
         [0020]    Ballast chamber  30  includes a bottom surface  32  as shown in  FIG. 2 . In a preferred embodiment, bottom surface  32  is substantially flat. Ballast chamber  30  further includes a top edge  34 . Top edge  34  of ballast chamber is removably connectable to a bottom surface  28  of flotation compartment  20  by a connection mechanism  40 . In a preferred embodiment, connection mechanism  40  is a threaded mechanism that allows ballast compartment  30  to be releasably screwed into floatation compartment  20  as shown in  FIG. 2 , however, in alternate embodiments, other connection methods may be used, such as fastening devices or other connection methods as would be known to one skilled in the relevant art. 
         [0021]    The beverage holder of the present invention may include holes in the bottom surfaces of the floatation compartment and the ballast chamber to facilitate the equalization of water and air. Such holes assist the beverage holder in remaining substantially upright while floating in liquid. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 , ballast chamber  30  includes a plurality of holes  38  in bottom surface  32 . 
         [0022]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , ballast chamber  30  may contain a plurality of ballast compartments  36 , although in alternate embodiments, ballast chamber  30  could include a single chamber, or any number of chambers, as would be known to one skilled in the relevant art. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 , ballast compartment  36  includes five circular compartments, although various shapes and sizes could be used in alternate embodiments. 
         [0023]    In a preferred embodiment, floatation compartment  20  includes an interior surface  23 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 4 , interior surface  23  includes a lower interior edge  24 , a middle interior edge  25  and an upper interior edge  26 . In a preferred embodiment, lower interior edge  24  has a smaller inner diameter than middle interior edge  25 . In a preferred embodiment, lower interior edge  24  has an inner diameter between approximately 2.3 inches and approximately 2.5 inches. In a more preferred embodiment, lower interior edge  24  has a diameter of approximately 2.4 inches. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 4 , lower interior edge is sized to accommodate bottles or similarly sized beverage containers. 
         [0024]    In a preferred embodiment, middle interior edge  25  has an inner diameter between approximately 2.5 inches and approximately 2.7 inches. In a more preferred embodiment, middle interior edge  25  has a diameter of approximately 2.6 inches. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 4 , middle interior edge  25  is sized to accommodate aluminum cans or similarly sized beverage containers. In a preferred embodiment, upper interior edge  26  is tapered such that angle θ shown in  FIG. 4  extends outward between approximately five to approximately twenty degrees from the upright vertical axis. In a more preferred embodiment, angle θ is between approximately eight and approximately fifteen degrees. In a most preferred embodiment, angle θ is approximately ten degrees. Upper interior edge  26  is preferably tapered to accommodate plastic cups or other similarly tapered beverage holders. 
         [0025]    In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 4 , upper interior edge  26  tapers from the inner diameter of middle interior edge  25  described above, up to an inner diameter between approximately 2.7 inches and approximately 4.5 inches, or more preferably an inner diameter between approximately three inches and 3.5 inches. In a more preferred embodiment, upper interior edge  26  tapers up to an inner diameter of approximately 3.4 inches. 
         [0026]    Ballast chamber  30  includes sufficient weight to enable the beverage holder  10  to remain substantially upright when placed in liquid, preventing the beverage container from spilling its contents or becoming contaminated with the liquid. In a preferred embodiment, ballast chamber  30  includes weight between approximately five ounces and approximately ten ounces. In more preferred embodiment, ballast chamber  30  includes weight between approximately seven ounces and approximately nine ounces, or most preferably, ballast chamber  30  includes weight of approximately eight ounces. 
         [0027]    In a preferred embodiment, floatation compartment  20  is made of a floatable material having a density such that beverage holder  10  will float such as foam or cork, although in alternate embodiments, other buoyant material may be used, such as buoyant plastic polymeric, or elastomeric materials or any combination thereof, as would be known to one skilled in the relevant art. In a preferred embodiment, floatation compartment  20  is made of a floatable material that allows flotation compartment  20  to be substantially rigid. 
         [0028]    Ballast chamber  30  may be made of plastic, such as recycled plastics, injection molded plastics, reinforced plastics, or other plastics comprised of polypropylene, polyethylene, polyvinyl-chloride, or other materials as would be known to one skilled in the relevant art. The present invention may be manufactured by injection molding, casting, or other known manufacturing processes. 
         [0029]    While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or any embodiment thereof. It will be apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art that this invention can also be employed in a variety of other devices and applications. All patents, patent applications and publications cited herein are fully incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.