Abstract:
A holder for storing a beverage container in an upright orientation. The beverage holder includes a base with a perimeter and a sidewall extending upwards from the base defining an interior volume with an open upper end. The interior volume can receive a beverage container therein such as a two-liter soda bottle. A bracket disposed on the sidewall of the beverage holder can secure the beverage holder to a shelf of a refrigerator to prevent the beverage container from falling over when the door is opened. The beverage holder can be removed from the shelf and replaced back thereon as desired.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/359,334 filed on Jul. 7, 2016. The above identified patent application is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety to provide continuity of disclosure. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to beverage holders. More specifically, the present invention provides a beverage holder configured to support a beverage container in an upright position on a refrigerator shelf. 
         [0003]    Refrigerators keep beverages cold, but main shelf space is often at a premium. Beverage containers are often placed in a door shelf for easy access and for minimizing the amount of main shelf space that is occupied by drinks. Unfortunately, the door shelves are the warmest part of a refrigerator and are the only part of the refrigerator that items can fall from due to inertia as a result of the door opening and closing. However, the practice of storing beverage containers within the door shelves nevertheless continues due to the limited refrigerator storage space. 
         [0004]    When a beverage container is placed in a door shelf and the door is subsequently opened, the liquid within the beverage container experiences a centrifugal acceleration due to the swinging door. When the door is halted the liquid with the beverage container continues to move. The moving liquid causes the beverage container to sway and possibly knock over other items, as well as potentially falling or spilling contents if the cover is missing or not properly secured. The effect is amplified when you have a taller bottle holding a substantial amount of liquid. A sticky, smelly, corrosive, or easily perishable material can cause additional harm and difficulty in cleaning. Therefore, there exists a need for a device which can stabilize beverage containers when a refrigerator door is swung open and prevent them from falling over. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of beverage holders now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a beverage holder comprising a base with a sidewall extending along the perimeter of the base. The sidewall extends upwards from the base defining an interior volume with an open upper end. The interior volume is configured to receive a beverage container therein. A bracket disposed on a sidewall is configured to removably secure the beverage holder to a shelf of a refrigerator, wherein the beverage holder can be utilized for providing convenience for the user when a refrigerator door is opened. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    Although the characteristic features of this invention will be particularly pointed out in the claims, the invention itself and manner in which it may be made and used may be better understood after a review of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like numeral annotations are provided throughout. 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the beverage holder. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the beverage holder in use. 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  shows a perspective view of a second embodiment of the beverage holder in use. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    Reference is made herein to the attached drawings. Like reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to depict like or similar elements of the beverage holder. The figures are intended for representative purposes only and should not be considered to be limiting in any respect. Unless specifically limited to a single unit, “a” is intended to be equivalent to “one or more” throughout the present disclosure. 
         [0011]    Referring now to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a perspective view of an embodiment of the beverage holder. The beverage holder  10  comprises a base  11  with a sidewall  12  extending along the perimeter of the base  11  and upwards therefrom to form an interior volume  19  with an open upper end  16 . The interior volume  19  is configured to receive a beverage container therein (as seen in  FIG. 2 ). A bracket  18  is disposed on a sidewall  12  and is configured to removably secure the beverage holder  10  to a shelf of a refrigerator. 
         [0012]    In the illustrated embodiment, the base  11  is planar and cylindrical and is configured to receive a single beverage container therein. In other embodiments, the base  11  is in the shape of a polygon. The base  11  can be made of any suitable material and in any suitable shape known to a person of ordinary skill in the art. In some embodiments, the base  11  is waterproof. 
         [0013]    In the illustrated embodiment, the sidewall  12  is a single sidewall  12  extending along the perimeter of the base  11 . The sidewall  12  extends vertically from the base  11  to stabilize a beverage container regardless of the amount of liquid contained therein when exposed to the force and acceleration involved in opening a refrigerator door. In other embodiments, a plurality of sidewalls  12  are used. The sidewall  12  in this embodiment further comprises one or more apertures  15 . The sidewalls  12  can be composed of any suitable rigid material such as plastic and in any suitable shape for receiving a beverage container. 
         [0014]    In the illustrated embodiment, the apertures  15  are rectangular cut-outs on the sidewall  12 . The apertures  15  are adapted to allow for easier removal of a beverage container  22  from the beverage holder  10 . In this way, the apertures  15  reduce the friction between the beverage holder  10  and the beverage container  22 , such that less force is required to remove the beverage container  22  therefrom. In alternative embodiments, the apertures  15  are circular or another suitable shape, and may have various dimensions. 
         [0015]    In the illustrated embodiment, the bracket  18  is a hinged bracket with a pivotable section  14 , pivotally affixed by a hinge  17  to an extension arm  13 . The extension arm  13  extends from the sidewall  12  away from the interior volume  16 . The bracket  18  is configured to allow the pivotable section  14  snap down and contact a side of the support rail  23  of the refrigerator shelf  21  while the extension arm  13  rests upon an upper edge of the support rail  23 . The rest of the beverage holder  10  remains within the interior volume of the refrigerator shelf  21 . In a snapped down position, the hinge  17  is configured to provide a spring force against the side of the support rail  23  to prevent the bracket  18  from returning to an extended position. In the snapped position (as seen in  FIG. 2 ), the pivotable section  14  is angled inwards and downwards towards the base  11  of the beverage holder  10  forming a channel  26  configured to receive the shelf, while the extension arm  13  remains in a horizontal plane. In the extended position, the pivotable section  14  extends away from the sidewall  12 . In one embodiment, the pivotable section  14  and the extension arm  13  are disposed in the same horizontal plane. In some embodiments, the pivotable section  14  comprises a plurality of tines adapted to provide a better grip against the refrigerator shelf  21 . 
         [0016]    Referring now to  FIG. 2 , there is shown a perspective view of an embodiment of the beverage holder in use. A refrigerator shelf  21  located within a refrigerator door is shown comprising a support rail  23 . In the illustrated embodiment, the bracket  18  of the beverage holder is removably secured to the refrigerator shelf  21  via the pivotable section  14 . In this way, the beverage holder  10  is configured to support a beverage container  22  therein and maintains the beverage container  22  in an upright position when the refrigerator door is opened or closed. 
         [0017]    Referring now to  FIG. 3 , there is shown a perspective view of a second embodiment of the beverage holder. In the illustrated embodiment, the sidewall  12  extends upwards from the base  11  defining a plurality of interior volumes  19 A,  19 B each with an open upper end  16 . In the shown embodiment, the sidewall  13  forms a pair of interior volumes  19 A,  19 B separated by a gap  27  extending from the base  11  to the open upper end, wherein each of the pair of interior volumes  19 A,  19 B are adapted to receive a container simultaneously therein. 
         [0018]    In the illustrated embodiment, the beverage holder includes a plurality of brackets  18 A,  18 B, with each bracket disposed on a first side  30  of the beverage holder. Each bracket  18 A,  18 B is positioned adjacent a corresponding interior volume  19 A,  19 B respectively. Each bracket  18 A,  18 B is fixed with an extension arm  13  extending out from the sidewall  13  and away from the interior volume. In the shown embodiment, the extension arm  13  is L-shaped and has a downward protrusion  31  extending at an angle from the extension arm  13 . 
         [0019]    In one embodiment, each of the one or more apertures  33 ,  34  are equally dimensioned, and disposed at intervals about the sidewall  12 . The one or more apertures include a first pair of lateral apertures  33  and a second pair of medial apertures  34 , wherein each pair of apertures  33 ,  34  includes a first aperture facing a second aperture. Further, the one or more apertures are positioned equidistant from adjacent apertures. 
         [0020]    In use, the pivotable section  14  extending perpendicularly from the sidewall  12  is placed over the support rail  23  of the refrigerator shelf  21  and pivoted downwards. A beverage container  22  is placed into the open interior of the beverage holder  10 . The vertical sidewalls of the beverage holder  10  prevent the beverage container  22  from falling over when a refrigerator door is swung open by resting flush against the exterior of the beverage container  22 . In use, the beverage container  22  is secured to the beverage holder  10  by the sidewalls  12  such that the center of gravity of a beverage container  22  is below an upper end of the sidewalls  12 . The beverage holder  10  includes various embodiments for holding one or more beverage containers  22  in every size and shape. 
         [0021]    It is therefore submitted that the instant invention has been shown and described in various embodiments. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art. With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention. 
         [0022]    Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.