Abstract:
A collapsible liquid container has a collapsible bottle section and a cap assembly. The collapsible bottle section expands and collapses to accommodate varying amounts of liquid. The cap assembly is coupled to the collapsible bottle and it prevents leakage of the liquid while allowing for the passage or air as the collapsible bottle section is expanded and collapsed.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    This invention relates generally to a beverage container, and more specifically, to a beverage container that collapses and expands to accommodate the amount of liquid contained within it.  
           [0003]    2. Background of the Invention  
           [0004]    Many individuals have beverage containers for storing any sort of liquid drink. However, most beverage containers are formed in a predetermined non-adjustable size. The size of the beverage container cannot be adjusted despite how much or how little liquid is contained within them. A problem arises when the beverage container is not full in that the beverage container still occupies the same amount of storage space as a full bottle would.  
           [0005]    Several attempts have been made to solve the above problem. Some of these attempts are listed below.  
           [0006]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,253,936 illustrates a collapsible liquid container with a flexible fluid container that expands and collapses according to how much liquid is contained within it. However, this flexible fluid container is housed within the dispenser body. The problem with this is that while the flexible fluid container may collapse when it is emptied, the overall size of the liquid container remains the same.  
           [0007]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,957,316 describes a valved bottle cap. One embodiment of the cap consists of an outer cap body and an inner cap body. The cap is secured to the bottle by a pair of guide sleeves that interlock with the grooves of the central tube. Although this may secure the cap to the water bottle, repeated application and removal of the cap could cause the guide sleeves to break. Once the guide sleeves are broken, the cap would not stay in place and would no longer be functional.  
           [0008]    Therefore, a need existed to provide an improve beverage container. The improved beverage container will be adjustable in size. The improved beverage container must be able to change its size in order to accommodate the amount of liquid contained within it while occupying no more storage space than necessary.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved beverage container  
           [0010]    It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved beverage container that is adjustable in size.  
           [0011]    It is still another object of the present invention to provide a beverage container that may change sizes in order to accommodate the amount of liquid contained within it so as to take up no more storage space than necessary.  
         BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
         [0012]    In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a collapsible liquid container is disclosed. The collapsible liquid container generally has a collapsible bottle and a cap assembly. The collapsible bottle expands and collapses to accommodate varying amounts of liquid. The cap assembly is coupled to the collapsible bottle and it prevents leakage of the liquid while allowing for the passage or air as the collapsible container is expanded and collapsed.  
           [0013]    One embodiment of the cap assembly of the present invention has a cap component, a hole, and a stopper component coupled to the cap component. The stopper component is inserted into the hole to prevent the passage of air and liquid.  
           [0014]    Another embodiment of the cap assembly of the present invention has a cap component, a hole, a stopper component, and a flexible flap traversing the opening portion of the bottle to help regulate the flow of air and liquid.  
           [0015]    Another embodiment of the cap assembly of the present invention has a cap component, a hole, and a buoyant stopper component that fits within the cap component. When the liquid contained within the collapsible bottle pushes up against the stopper component, it overlaps the hole and thus prevents the passage of air and liquid.  
           [0016]    The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following, more particular, description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0017]    The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, as well as a preferred mode of use, and advantages thereof, will best be understood by the following detailed description of illustrated embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals and symbols represent like elements.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 1 is an elevated perspective view of one embodiment of the collapsible beverage container of the present.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 2 is a side view of the collapsible beverage container of FIG. 1.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the plurality of ridges on the body portion of the collapsible beverage container taken along line  3 - 3  of FIG. 2.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 4 is a partial side view of the collapsible beverage container of the present invention with another embodiment of the cap assembly.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 5 is a partial side view of the collapsible beverage container of the present invention with another embodiment of the cap assembly.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the cap assembly of FIG. 5 taken along line  6 - 6  of FIG. 5. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0024]    Referring to the Figures wherein like numerals and symbols represent like elements, a collapsible beverage container  10  is shown. The collapsible beverage container  10  is used to store any kind of liquid. As the amount of liquid contained within the collapsible beverage container  10  increases or decreases, the collapsible beverage container  10  can be expanded or collapsed accordingly. Thus, the collapsible beverage container  10  will not occupy any more storage space than necessary.  
         [0025]    Referring to FIGS.  1 - 3 , the collapsible beverage container  10  is comprised of a main body section  20  and a cap assembly  30 . The main body section  20  has an opening portion  21  and a collapsible body portion  22 . On the collapsible body portion  22  exists a plurality of flexible ridges  23 . The flexible ridges  23  allow the collapsible body portion  22  to expand and collapse to accommodate the amount of liquid contained within it. A gripping edge  24  on the collapsible body portion  22  may also be present. The gripping edge  24  is used to help provide an individual with a firm grasp on the collapsible body portion  22  while expanding and collapsing it.  
         [0026]    A date indicator  25  may be placed on the collapsible body portion  22  of the main body section  20 . The date indicator  25  will provide an area to denote the freshness of the liquid contained within the collapsible beverage container  10 . When a liquid is placed in the collapsible beverage container  10 , one can denote the date on the date indicator  25 .  
         [0027]    A plurality of lettering  27  may also be present on the collapsible body portion  22  of the main body section  20 . The plurality of lettering  27  will serve as a volume indicator that will denote the amount of liquid contained within the main body section  20 . The plurality of lettering  27  functions in the following manner. When the flexible ridges  23  are compressed, the lettering  27  on the side of the collapsible body section  20  will come together and display a message indicating the amount of liquid stored within the collapsible body section  20  (i.e., ¾ full, ½ full, 14 full, etc).  
         [0028]    An attachment device is used to couple the cap assembly  30  to the main body section  20 . In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, one or more spiraled ridges  29  are present on the opening portion  21  of the main body section  20 . The spiraled ridges  29  are used to allow the cap assembly  30  to be snapped or screwed on and attached to the main body section  20 .  
         [0029]    The cap assembly  30  has a cap component  31 , an opening  33  in the cap component  31  for allowing the passage of air and liquid, and a stopper component  34 . The cap component  31  has one or more spiraled ridges  32 . The spiraled ridges  32  of the cap component engage the spiraled ridges  29  on the opening portion  21 . This will allow for the snapping or screwing on and attaching of the cap assembly  30  to the main body section  20 . The stopper component  34  is coupled to the cap component  31  so as to prevent loss of the stopper component  34  when the cap assembly  30  is in the open position. The stopper component  34  is inserted into the hole  33  to prevent the passage of air and liquid.  
         [0030]    Referring to FIG. 4, another embodiment of the cap assembly  40  is shown. The cap assembly is designated  40  to indicate a different embodiment. The cap assembly  40  comprises a cap component  41 , a stopper component  44 , and a flexible flap  45  that traverses the opening portion  21  of the main body section  20  to help regulate the flow of air and water. The cap component  41  has a plurality of spiraled ridges  42  that engage the spiraled ridges  29  on the opening portion  21  for screwing on and attaching the cap assembly  40  to the main body section  20 . The stopper component  44  has at least one ridge  46  and the hole  43  has at least one groove  47  to anchor the stopper component  44  into the hole  43  thus preventing loss of the stopper component  44  while the cap assembly  41  is in an open position.  
         [0031]    When the main body section  20  is expanded or collapsed, the air passes through the hole  43 . By applying pressure to the cap assembly  40 , the flexible flap  45  that traverses the opening portion  21  of the main body section  20  will be lowered in order to allow air to escape out of the opening  21  and through the hole  43 . When pressure is released from the cap assembly  40 , the flexible flap  45  will close thereby preventing air and liquid from escaping.  
         [0032]    [0032]FIGS. 5 and 6 show another embodiment of the cap assembly  50 . The cap assembly  50  has a cap component  51 , a hole  53 , and a buoyant stopper component  54  fitting within the cap component  51 . The cap component  51  has a plurality of spiraled ridges  52  that engage the spiraled ridges  29  on the opening portion  21  thereby screwing on and attaching the cap assembly  50  to the main body section  20 .  
         [0033]    The buoyant stopper component  54  has a small lower flat portion  55  fitting within the opening portion  21  of the main body section  20 . This small lower flat portion  55  is coupled to a large upper flat portion  56 . The large upper flat portion  55  is larger than the opening portion  21  of the collapsible bottle  20  so as to prevent the entire buoyant stopper component  54  from sliding down into the body portion  22  of the collapsible bottle  20 . A small space exists between the small lower flat portion  55  and the opening portion  21  of the main body section  20  and also between the large upper flat portion  55  and the cap component  51  to allow for the passage of air. When the main body section  20  is gently compressed, air will be allowed to flow out of the small space exists between the small lower flat portion  55  and the opening portion  21 . However, once the liquid in the collapsible body portion  22  pushes upward against the small lower flat portion  55 , the large upper flat portion  56  overlaps the hole  53  in the cap component  51  thereby blocking it and preventing the passage of air and liquid out of the collapsible beverage container.  
         [0034]    It is the intention that the inventions not be limited only to the specific structures, materials, or acts that are described in the preferred embodiments, but in addition, include any and all structures, materials or acts that perform the claimed function, along with any and all known or later-developed equivalent structures, materials, or acts for performing the claimed function. While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in form or details may be made therein without departing from the spirit of and the scope of the invention.