Beverage container holder

A beverage container holder for attachment to a food and beverage container having a sloped outer surface comprises: (a) an upwardly facing top surface; (b) first and second openings in the top surface forming receptacles for receiving a beverage container; (c) a bottom portion connected to and extending downwardly from the top surface; and (d) an attachment mechanism attached to the bottom portion for further attachment to the sloped outer surface of the carrier. The bottom portion further has an attaching surface which is sloped so that when the container holder is attached to the carrier, the receptacles can receive the beverage container so that the liquid inside the container is level. The disclosed holder also has a third receptacle between the first and second receptacles for receiving miscellaneous small items.

BACKGROUND 
The present invention relates to devices for holding beverage containers. 
When people leave home to engage in recreational activities, such as at the 
park or the beach, they usually take food and beverages along with them. 
The food and beverages are often stored in portable food and beverage 
carriers, such as ice chests. A very popular type of portable carrier has 
sloped outer surfaces, such as carriers sold under the name PLAYMATE and 
the trademark IGLOO JUGS.RTM. by Stalnaker Plastics located at 3102 Kiowa 
Street, Fort Worth, Tex. 
The sloped outer surfaces of such carriers, however, are not convenient for 
placement of a beverage container while beverage is being consumed. A 
separate item, such as a tray or small table, can be brought along for 
such a purpose but such an item is often inconvenient to store while 
traveling. Such an item is difficult to keep level on uneven ground or 
sand and does not generally provide a secure place for food or drink if 
the item is moved even slightly from a level position. This is especially 
true for beverage containers which can easily become slippery due to 
moisture condensation on their outer surfaces. In addition, such an item 
for placement of beverage containers is usually not inexpensive and can be 
easily misplaced. 
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a beverage container holder 
which: 
(1) Will attach securely to a food and beverage carrier with a sloped outer 
surface; 
(2) Provides a secure and substantially level, nonsliding surface to 
securely place a beverage container and/or other items; 
(3) Is inexpensive to manufacture; 
(4) Does not present a storage problem; 
(5) Is lightweight; and 
(6) Is easy to clean. 
SUMMARY 
The present invention is directed to a beverage container holder that 
satisfies the foregoing needs. 
A beverage container holder according to the present invention can be 
attached to a carrier having a sloped outer surface. A beverage container 
holder having features of the present invention can comprise an 
upward-facing top surface, a first opening in the top surface which forms 
a first receptacle, and a bottom portion connected to and extending 
downwardly from the top surface. The bottom portion includes a supporting 
surface for supporting the container holder on the carrier. The receptacle 
is for receiving a beverage container. 
The container holder can also have an attaching mechanism for attaching the 
bottom portion of the container holder to the sloped outer surface of the 
carrier. The attaching mechanism can be attached to the container holder 
and can later be attached to the carrier when the container holder is 
installed. 
The supporting surface is sloped so that when the container holder is 
attached to the carrier, the first receptacle can receive the beverage 
container in a substantially vertical position. This allows the liquid 
inside the beverage container to remain substantially level. 
The receptacle can be formed from a container wall extending downwardly and 
a seat wall extending laterally and inwardly from the container wall. 
The beverage container holder can have a second opening in the top surface 
similar to the first opening. The first opening and second openings can be 
spaced apart from the handle so that when the container holder is attached 
to the carrier, the user can grip a handle on the carrier without touching 
beverage containers in the first and second receptacles. The beverage 
container holder can also include a third opening in the top surface which 
forms a third receptacle for receiving miscellaneous small items, such as 
keys, sunglasses, cigarettes, chips and other dry food items. 
The beverage container holder can also be molded into a sloped outer wall 
of the carrier.

DESCRIPTION 
As is shown in FIGS. 1 through 7, a beverage container holder 10 can be 
attached to a food and beverage carrier 12. The food and beverage carrier 
12 has a sloped wall 13, a sloped outer surface 14 on the sloped wall 13, 
a vertical outer surface 16, a handle 18 and a hollow chamber inside the 
carrier 12. The carrier 12 shown in FIG. 1 is a cooler box or ice chest 
for containing and carrying food and beverages. However, the beverage and 
container holder 10 can be attached to any carrier or similar item having 
a sloped surface. The beverage container holder 10 in FIG. 1 can be 
separate from the carrier 12 or can be molded into the sloped wall 13 as 
part of the carrier 12. 
The beverage container holder 10 can comprise a top surface 20, a bottom 
portion 22, a front wall 24, first and second side walls 26 and 28, 
respectively, and an attaching mechanism 29. The beverage container holder 
10 also has a first opening 30 and a second opening 32 in the top surface 
20. The first opening 30 forms a first receptacle 34 for receiving a 
beverage container, such as a cup or soda can. The second opening 32 
similarly forms a second receptacle 36 for receiving a beverage container. 
The bottom portion 22 and attaching mechanism 29 need not be present when 
the holder 10 is molded as part of the carrier 12. 
The first and second receptacles 34 and 36 have first and second container 
walls 38 and 40, respectively, and first and second seat walls 42 and 44, 
respectively. Each of the container walls 38 and 40 extend downwardly from 
and are substantially perpendicular to the top surface 20. Each of the 
seat walls 42 and 44 extend inwardly from and substantially perpendicular 
to first and second lower edges 46 and 48, respectively, of the first and 
second container walls 38 and 40, respectively. The first and second seat 
walls 42 and 44 can each support a beverage container. The holder 10 need 
not have the first and second seat walls to function effectively. The 
holder 10 can be configured so that the beverage container can rest in 
either of the first or second receptacles 34 or 36 and be held in place by 
the first or second container walls 38 and 40, respectively, without the 
first or second seat walls 42 or 44, respectively. The bottom of the 
beverage container could then rest against a portion of the bottom portion 
22 or even the sloped surface 14. 
The first opening 30 is spaced apart from the second opening 32 so that 
when the beverage container holder 10 is attached to the carrier 12, a 
user can grip the handle 18 without touching beverage containers received 
in the first and second receptacles 34 and 36. The carrier 12 can 
therefore be easily carried by the handle 18 even when beverage containers 
are in the receptacles 34 and 36. The container holder can have more than 
the two receptacles 34 and 36 shown in the drawings. For instance, one or 
two receptacles could fit between the receptacles 34 and 36, especially 
when the container holder is installed on a carrier which is larger than 
carrier 12. A larger carrier would leave more room to grip a handle such 
as the handle 18. 
The container holder 10 comprises an inset portion 45 which provides 
additional room for the hand of the user of the carrier 12. The insert 45 
is tapered at both ends to avoid a sharp corner that might cut the hand of 
the user and to allow the inset 45 to fit different sizes and shapes of 
handles 18. 
The bottom portion 22 connects to and extends downwardly from the top 
surface 20. The bottom portion 22 includes first and second supporting 
surfaces 50 and 52. The supporting surfaces 50 and 52 are sloped to fit 
the slant of the sloped outer surface 14 so that when the container holder 
10 is attached to the carrier 12, the receptacles 34 and 36 can receive 
beverage containers in a substantially vertical position. This way the 
liquid in the beverage containers remains level when the carrier 12 is 
carried or set on a relatively flat surface and does not spill. 
The bottom portion 22 includes first and second bridges 54 and 56 extending 
across opposite sides of the seat walls 42 and 44, respectively. The first 
and second supporting surfaces 50 and 52 are formed underneath the first 
and second bridges 54 and 56, respectively. The supporting surfaces 50 and 
52 could be located on another part of the bottom portion 22, such as at 
the bottom surface of the first and second side walls 26 and 28. The 
attaching mechanism 29 can also be located on another part of the holder 
10, such as adjacent the top surface 20 and attached to the handle 18 when 
the holder 10 is installed on the carrier 12. 
The attaching mechanism 29 can be attached to the first and second 
supporting surfaces 50 and 52. The side of the attaching mechanism 29 
opposite that attached to the supporting surface 50 or 52 can be attached 
to the sloped outer surface 14 of the carrier 12. When this happens, the 
bottom portion 22 of the beverage container holder 10 is attached to the 
carrier 12. 
The attaching mechanism 29 can be foam tape which is sticky on both sides 
so the tape can be attached securely to each of the supporting surfaces 50 
and 52, as well as the sloped outer surface 14. A suitable double stick 
foam tape is designated 4929-Y and is made by Minnesota Mining and 
Manufacturing Company located in St. Paul, Minn. A variety of other means 
can be used for the attaching mechanism 29, such as glue or the woven hook 
and loop fasteners sold under the registered trademark VELCRO.RTM. by 
Velcro U.S.A. Inc. located in Manchester, N.H. 
The beverage container holder 10 further comprises a third opening 58 in 
the top surface 20. The third opening 58 forms a third receptacle 60 for 
receiving small items, such as keys, sunglasses, cigarettes, chips and 
other dry food items. The third opening 58 is located between the first 
and second openings 30 and 32 and is adjacent to the handle 18 when the 
holder 10 is attached to the carrier 12. The third receptacle 60 has first 
and second slanted surfaces 55 and 57, respectively, which meet in the 
middle of the third receptacle 60. However, the third receptacle 60 can 
have a flat bottom surface and the third receptacle can extend all the way 
across the container holder 10 replacing the first and second receptacles 
34 and 36. 
The front wall 24 of the holder 10 is connected to and substantially 
perpendicular with a forward portion 59 of the top surface 20. The front 
wall 24 can form a front surface 61 substantially flush with the vertical 
surface 16, as shown in FIG. 1. However, it is not necessary that the 
front surface 61 be flush with the vertical surface 16 depending on the 
size of the carrier 12 and its sloped outer surface 14. When the carrier 
12 is larger than that shown in the drawings, the beverage container 
holder 10 can be installed on the sloped outer surface 14 away from the 
vertical outer surface 16 so that it fits with the handle 18. 
Alternatively, the beverage container holder 10 can be installed spaced 
apart from the handle 18. The holder 10 can also be installed away from 
the handle 18 and flush with the vertical outer surface 16. 
The front surface 61, as shown in FIG. 1, is substantially flat and smooth. 
The front surface 61 can therefore be used to place a sticker or stickers 
which advertise products or services as desired. Alternatively, the 
advertising can be molding in or painted on the front surface 61 of the 
holder 10. This kind of advertising can be inexpensive and very effective 
because the user of the holder 10 and carrier will typically expose the 
advertisements to a variety of persons, such as those at the beach or 
park. 
The drawings illustrate a beverage container holder 10 on only one side of 
the carrier 12. However, a container holder 10 can be installed on each of 
the sloped sides of the carrier 12, thereby allowing four (or more) 
beverage containers to be received by the beverage container holders. 
Installation and use of the beverage container holder 10 is simple and 
easy. The beverage container holder 10 can come with the attaching 
mechanism 29 already attached to the first and second supporting surfaces 
50 and 52. If double stick foam tape is used for the attaching mechanism 
29, release paper can be provided on the bottom side of the attaching 
mechanism 29. The release paper can be removed and the front wall 24 of 
the container holder 10 lined up flush with the vertical outer surface 16 
of the carrier 12. The holder 10 can then be pressed into place on the 
sloped outer surface 14. 
The holder 10 is used by placing beverage containers as desired into the 
receptacles 34 and 36 after the holder 10 is installed on the carrier 12. 
The third receptacle 60 can be used by placing small items therein as 
desired. 
The carrier 12 illustrated in the drawings is hinged in the middle of a top 
lid 62. A hinge button 64 releases the top lid 62 so it can be rotated 
open. The top lid 62 pivots open to provide access to the hollow chamber 
inside the carrier 12. The container holder 10 can be installed on either 
the sloped surface 14 or on the other sloped surface 66 of the carrier 12 
on the opposite side of the handle 18 from the sloped surface 14. 
The holder 10 can be made of hard plastic, such as high impact polystyrene, 
which can be injection molded at low cost. The holder 10 can also be made 
of other materials such as polyurethane foam, molded cardboard, soft metal 
such as aluminum or the material sold under the registered trademark 
STYROFOAM.RTM. made by Dow Chemical Corporation of Midland, Mich. When the 
STYROFOAM.RTM. material is used, the container holder 10 need not be 
hollow underneath as shown in the drawings and need not have the first and 
second bridges 54 and 56. The container holder can be completely filled in 
with STYROFOAM.RTM. material beneath the first and second receptacles 34 
and 36. 
When the beverage container holder 10 is installed, the holder 10 can be 
left permanently in place on the carrier 12. Therefore, the beverage 
container holder 10 does not need to be separately stored and is not 
easily misplaced separately from the carrier 12. The holder 10 is small 
and does not add significant weight to the carrier 12. 
The holder 10 is very easy to clean, especially when it is made of plastic. 
It can be sprayed clean or wiped with a damp sponge without retaining much 
moisture inside. The moisture that remains can be allowed to evaporate 
because there is substantial ventilation in the holder 10 even when it is 
installed on the carrier 12, as shown in FIG. 1. 
The manufacturing specifications and tolerances need not be precise for the 
holder 10. The most stringent specifications that are required are those 
of the first and second receptacles 34 and 36, depending on how close the 
fit for a particular type of beverage container is desired. 
The beverage container holder 10 can be made to fit on a carrier 12, such 
as the ice chests sold in "mini," "little" and "regular" sizes under the 
name PLAYMATE and the registered trademark IGLOO JUGS.RTM. by Stalnaker 
Plastics located at 3102 Kiowa Street, Forth Worth, Tex. The dimensions 
for the beverage container holder 10 that would fit on each of the 
foregoing ice chests, including the smallest "mini" ice chest, could have 
a length about 6 to 8.5 inches and a width of about 2.8 to 3.125 inches. 
The height of the beverage container holder 10 can be about 2.25 to 2.75 
inches. A suitable depth of the first and second receptacles 34 and 36 
between the top surface 20 and the seat walls 42 and 44 could be about 0.5 
to 0.7 inches. A suitable clearance between the container walls 38 and 40 
and a typical beverage container, such as a soda can, could be about 0.03 
to about 0.07 inches. When the beverage container holder 10 is made of 
high impact polystyrene, a suitable thickness for the various walls in the 
container holder 10 could range from about 0.04 inch to about 0.1 inch. 
The supporting surfaces 50 and 52 can extend below the bottom edges of the 
side walls 26 and 28 by about 0.02 inch to 0.06 inch. Of course, all of 
the foregoing dimensions could vary greatly depending on the size of the 
carrier 12 and the desired fit of the container holder 10 with the carrier 
12. 
Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail 
with reference to certain preferred versions thereof, other versions are 
possible. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should 
not be limited to the description of the preferred versions contained 
herein.