Abstract:
A lid for a cup is described, where the lid acts to hold a bottle with a neck upside down inside the cup. The lid includes a rim attachment mechanism allowing the lid to be attached to the cup, a dome connected to the rim attachment mechanism and having a aperture therein, and a bottle receptacle extending into the interior of the dome through the aperture in the dome, wherein the bottle receptacle is formed to accept the neck of the bottle and to hold the bottle in a fixed position relative to the lid.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The present disclosure is directed to lids for holding a bottle inverted in a disposable cup. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    While beer and margaritas have always been popular drinks, a recent phenomenon has occurred where frozen margaritas have been combined with beer. The “beer rita” is typically made by inverting a bottle of beer into a glass or pitcher of frozen margaritas. This allows the beer to slowly combine with the margarita as it is being consumed. The popularity of the beer rita has been increasing as it has been shown on various reality televisions shows. While simply inverting a beer bottle into a drink glass is effective, it is not always stable and the beer bottle can fall or be easily knocked out of the glass. Further, the technique has only been used with traditional, wide rimmed, glass margarita glasses. It would be helpful to have an inexpensive disposable cup and lid that would hold a beer bottle securely in the disposable cup. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    An embodiment of a lid for a cup is described where the lid acts to hold a bottle with a neck upside down inside the cup. The lid includes a rim attachment mechanism allowing the lid to be attached to the cup, a dome connected to the rim attachment mechanism and having an aperture therein, and a bottle receptacle extending into the interior of the dome through the aperture in the dome, wherein the bottle receptacle is formed to accept the neck of the bottle and to hold the bottle in a fixed position relative to the lid. 
         [0004]    The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the invention, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]    For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0006]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a cup lid according to the concepts described herein for holding a bottle inverted in a drinking glass; 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a cup lid according to the concepts described herein holding an inverted bottle in a cup; 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the top of an embodiment of a cup lid according to the concepts described herein; 
           [0009]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the bottom of an embodiment of a cup lid according to the concepts described herein; 
           [0010]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the cup lid shown in  FIG. 4  showing its intended placement on a cup; 
           [0011]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the cup lid shown before insertion of the inverted bottle; and 
           [0012]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the cup lid shown in  FIG. 6  after insertion of the inverted bottle. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]    Referring now to  FIG. 1 , an embodiment of a lid according to the concepts described herein is shown. As described above, it has become popular to invert a bottle of beer into a frozen mixed drink to form a new type of cocktail. Most commonly a bottle of beer is inserted upside down into a frozen margarita to create a “beer rita.” While this is the most popular example of such a drink, any types of beverages could be used, alcoholic or non-alcoholic. Typically, the bottle is set into the glass or pitcher and rests against the edge of the glass or pitcher. Unfortunately, a bottle in that position can be prone to falling or being knocked out of the glass or pitcher. Additionally, that type of arrangement uses wide rimmed margarita glasses and does not work well for disposable cups. The present invention describes a lid for a disposable cup that can be used to hold a bottle inverted in the cup in a stable manner. 
         [0014]    Lid  10  is an embodiment of a device to hold an inverted bottle in a cup  11  according to the concepts described herein. Lid  10  is positioned on cup  11  by snapping it onto the rim of the cup  11  as is common with lids for disposable cups, such that it is held securely to the cup  11 . A bottle  13  can then be inserted upside down into an aperture  12  sized to receive the neck  15  of the bottle in lid  10  such that the bottle  13  is held inverted in the cup. In addition to the aperture  12 , lid  10  preferably includes a straw hold  14  for receiving a typical drinking straw  16 . 
         [0015]      FIG. 2  shows lid  10  on cup  11  with the bottle  13  inserted completely into aperture  12 . In this fully inserted position, the shoulder of bottle  13  rests on an upper edge  17  of aperture  12 . Upper edge  17  prevents bottle  13  from dropping further into cup  11  and provides a stable position for bottle  13  in lid  10 . 
         [0016]    Referring now to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , a preferred embodiment of lid  10  is described in more detail. Lid  10  is formed by dome  24 , bottle receptacle  22 , and rim attachment  25 . Aperture  12 , extends through the inner volume of bottle receptacle  22 . Bottle receptacle  22  is preferably conical in shape such that it narrows as it extends into the interior of dome  24 , and is sized to receive neck of a typical beer or soda bottle. Upper edge  17  of bottle receptacle  22  is smaller than the main diameter of the bottle such that the neck of the bottle will extend through aperture  12  but the remainder of the bottle will be held in place by the top surface  17  where bottle receptacle  22  extends from dome  24  as the shoulders of the bottle, where the bottle transitions from the neck to the main portion, rest against the top surface  17 . Rim attachment  25  is formed by ledge  27  which contacts the rim of the cup and band  28  which snaps over the rim of the cup and holds lid  10  onto the cup as is well known. Straw hole  14  is provided in dome  24  to allow a straw to be inserted into the cup for drinking the liquid therein. 
         [0017]    In  FIG. 4 , the bottle receptacle can be seen in more detail. As stated, the bottle receptacle is preferably conically shaped and includes a bottom ledge  26  adjacent to the aperture  12  in which the bottle is inserted. If the shoulder of the bottle inserted into lid  10  is too small to rest on upper edge  17 , the bottle will be caught and held in place either by the conical chap of bottle receptacle  22  as it narrows or by ledge  26  which will act to catch the shoulder of the bottle. 
         [0018]    Referring now to  FIG. 5 , the embodiment of lid  10  shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4  is shown relative to a cup. Cup  11  is sized to receive lid  10  by having the same diameter rim  29  as rim attachment  25 . As lid  10  is inserted onto cup  11 , band  28  fits over rim  29  and snaps in place to hold lid  10  to cup  11  as is well known with disposable lids and cups. Dome  24  extends above cup  11  and includes bottle receptacle  22  with aperture  12  for receiving an inverted bottle. Straw hole  14  allows for the insertion of a straw through lid  10  into cup  11 . 
         [0019]    Referring now to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , an embodiment of lid  10  is shown with a bottle before and after insertion, respectively. Bottle receptacle  22  of lid  10  is sized to receive neck  15  of bottle  13  as it is inserted into lid  10 . Bottle  13  can come to rest on upper edge  17  of lid  10  or anywhere along the inner surface of bottle receptacle  22  or on ledge  26 , such that bottle  13  is ultimately held in a fixed position with respect to lid  10 . In the inserted position, the contents of bottle  13  are permitted to flow into the cup (not shown) and mix with the existing contents of the cup, such as a margarita. 
         [0020]    As an additional feature in certain embodiments of lid  10 , there is space on dome  24  for promotional or advertising material to be added to lid  10 . Lid  10  can be formed from any suitable material, but is preferably a plastic having enough strength to support a full bottle inserted into aperture  12  while lid  10  is sitting on the rim of a cup. 
         [0021]    Although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure of the present invention, processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according to the present invention. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within their scope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.