Insulated beverage container

An insulated shielded beverage carrier includes an insulated sleeve for housing a beverage container therein, a support housing for receiving the insulated beverage, and an umbrella supported by and anchored to the support housing for shading the insulated beverage from harmful heating effects of the sun.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to an insulated and stabilized beverage 
container, and particularly to an insulated and stabilized beverage 
container which is shielded from the sun by an umbrella provided 
therewith. 
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART 
Heretofore, insulated beverage containers have been known in which a 
beverage of a can or bottle type is housed within an insulated sleeve or 
similar insulated beverage container carrier. These types of devices are 
often times unsatisfactory since when used out of doors sun light will 
heat the contents of the can or bottle due to the upper portion of the can 
or bottle begin exposed from the insulated sleeve. If a can or the like is 
entirely housed within an insulated sleeve, then it is necessary to remove 
the can therefrom in order to consume the beverage. Further the consumer 
is often relaxing or even lying down when enjoying a beverage, and the 
beverage must constantly be picked up in order to consume the same, even 
when it is housed within an insulated sleeve. Accordingly, the present 
invention overcomes these problems found in the art by providing an 
insulated beverage container which is shaded from sun and other external 
factors, and is easier to consume even in a reclining position. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a 
beverage carrier which is shielded from the sun or external weather 
factors. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a beverage 
carrier shielded from the sun, and wherein the beverage housed therein is 
consumable when a user is in a reclining position. 
The objects of the present invention are fulfilled by providing a shielded 
beverage carrier comprising: 
an insulated sleeve for accommodating a beverage receptacle therein; 
a support housing for receiving the insulating sleeve therein, the support 
housing including an inner wall corresponding to an exterior shape of the 
insulated sleeve; and 
an umbrella anchored to the support housing. 
The support housing is pleasing in appearance and stable in configuration 
so that the same may be placed adjacent to the user without fear of 
overturning the same, even when a beverage therein is being consumed. 
Further, the shielding member or umbrella attached to the support housing 
is rotatably and angularly adjustable between any number of positions in 
order to block the sun from the support housing at all times. 
Further, the beverage carrier is adaptable to fit within a floatation 
device for use in an aquatic environment, the floatation device also 
providing added stability to prevent tipping of the support housing under 
most circumstances. 
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become 
apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it 
should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, 
while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention are given by way 
of illustration only, since various changes and modification within the 
spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in 
the art from this detailed description.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring in general to FIGS. 1 through 5, the present invention includes a 
beverage can 10 housed within an insulated sleeve 12 of any known type. 
These insulated sleeves are often known as a "huggy", "cool cup", or "cool 
can" and are designed to slide around a can for maintaining the same in a 
somewhat insulated and chilled condition. 
A primary support member or housing 14 is provided which includes a wide 
support base 16 defining a flange portion 17 in connection therewith. The 
support base may either be formed of a material consistent with that of 
the remaining support housing 14 or may be formed of a styrofoam buoyant 
material. Also provided in connection with the primary support housing is 
a first decorative tier 18 and a second decorative tier 20. The tiered 
nature of the primary support housing in combination with its flanged 
support base 16 enables a stable configuration in which to house the can 
and insulated sleeve 10, 12, respectively. Further, in order to add 
stability to the support member, at least the lower tier 18 may be 
weighted. An inner wall 44 of the support 14 is of a circumference great 
enough to easily house the insulated sleeve 12 having a can 10 therein. 
Insertion and removal of the insulated sleeve 12 and can 10 into the 
support 14 may be accomplished without undue force, the support 14 merely 
providing a stable housing for the insulated sleeve and can 10. 
An umbrella 22 is removably anchored within a fitting or aperture 40 
positioned at an upper periphery of the second decorative tier 20 as most 
clearly shown in FIG. 5. The umbrella 22 includes a lower shaft portion 24 
and an upper shaft portion 26, the upper shaft portion 26 being rotatably 
and angularly pivotable with respect to the lower shaft portion 24 by a 
hinge connection 28 of any suitable type. The umbrella 22 may then be 
adjusted to shade against the sun which may be heating the insulated 
beverage. For example, the hinge 28 may be of a ball and socket type 
arrangement, a bi-directional hinge, or the like which enables positioning 
of the umbrella 22 at any desired angle whereby the umbrella will remain 
fixed at that position until further movement thereof. As primarily seen 
in FIG. 2, the hinge 28 enables the upper umbrella shaft 26 to be folded 
in a storage position against the lower umbrella shaft 24. In this storage 
position, the top 23 of the umbrella 22 may be securely clipped to the 
support housing 14 by a clamp 48 attached adjacent a base of the first 
decorative tier 18 by means of a screw 33 or the like. The clamp 48 is 
shown in greater detail in FIG. 5. The awning portion of the umbrella is 
of a sufficient diameter to shade the entire surface of the primary 
support housing 14. 
Referring again to FIG. 5, the lower shaft 24 of the umbrella is fixed to 
the primary support housing 14 by means of screws 32 within the first tier 
18. In other words, the lower umbrella shaft 24 is of a sufficient length 
to extend nearly to the support base 16 and is anchored to the first tier 
at 32 in a stable manner. 
FIG. 3 clearly shows that the insulated sleeve 12 fits securely within 
inner wall 44 of support housing 14 and all the way to the base 16 thereof 
so that the insulated sleeve 12 is nearly engulfed by the support housing 
14. 
FIG. 3 shows a straw 30 provided in connection with the support housing 14 
and lower umbrella shaft 24. As seen from the Figures, the straw 30 is a 
long and flexible tubular device to assist in dispensing of the beverage, 
even in a reclined position of the user. Further, due to the flexible 
nature of the straw, it may easily be inserted and removed from the 
beverage container without detaching the straw from the lower umbrella 
shaft 24. Positioning of the straw 30 is of particular importance to 
enable consumption of the beverage while in a relaxed or reclined 
position. The straw used must be of a type which is flexible through at 
least a portion thereof such as shown at 30a in FIG. 3 so that a lower 
portion of the straw may be positioned within the can 10 and a distal end 
of the straw will reach to the user's mouth as shown in FIG. 3. Attachment 
of the straw to the lower umbrella shaft 24 may be by any suitable means 
including a pre-formed tubular sleeve 42 which slides around the umbrella 
shaft by a band element 43 with the tubular sleeve 42 passing to one side 
of the lower shaft 24. This particular arrangement is shown in detail in 
FIG. 10. Alternatively, the straw may be attached to the umbrella shaft by 
means of any suitable gripping device, or may be threaded through a minute 
aperture within the shaft 24 thereby fixing the straw in place. An 
advantage of the tubular sleeve 42 is that the wraparound band element 43 
may slide up and down the lower umbrella shaft 24 to position the distal 
end of the straw 30 at any suitable height for consumption of the beverage 
by the user. 
Referring now to FIGS. 6 through 8, there is shown a second embodiment of 
the present invention of a smaller handheld version in which the lower 
umbrella shaft 24 is fixed directly to the insulated sleeve 12 by screws 
32 or the like as most clearly shown in FIG. 5. Instead of the tiered 
support housing 14, there is provided a thin plastic shell 50 surrounding 
the insulated sleeve 12. The shell 50 may either be a coating applied to 
the sleeve 12 or a separate housing from which the sleeve may be removed. 
Remaining features including the adjustability of the umbrella 22, and the 
nature of and attachment of the straw 30 to the lower umbrella shaft 24 
are identical to the description above in connection with the first 
embodiment and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity. 
In FIG. 7, there is shown a rectangular support base 34 of a dimension to 
suitably stabilize the insulated sleeve 12. Provided within the 
rectangular base 34 is an aperture 36 into which a base end 13 of housing 
50 will fit and into an enlarged opening of Which the base 16 of tiered 
support housing 14 will also fit as shown in FIG. 9. 
A combination of either shell 50 or housing 14 fitted within the 
rectangular floatation device 34 provides a beverage station suitable for 
use in an aquatic environment. 
Accordingly, the present invention achieves a unique feature of shading 
beverage cans from the warming of sun while making consumption easier from 
an awkward position by the user. A beverage may be consumed in various 
positions, such as those positions common to sun bathing including lying 
on a persons stomach or sitting in a beach chair. This makes drinking 
possible without removing the beverage from the primary support housing 
14. It also makes consumption possible without sitting up or rolling over. 
Alternatively, the straw attachment need not be used, and the can 10 in 
combination with the insulated sleeve 12 may be removed from the housing 
14 in order to drink the beverage straight from the can 10. During period 
of nonconsumption, the drink can be replaced in the support housing 14 to 
shade it from the sun. 
As indicated, the base 16 and first decorative tier 18 are weighted to give 
greater stability and thereby prevent overturning of the device. 
The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be 
varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure 
from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as 
would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included in 
the scope of the following claims.