Abstract:
A holder system for receiving and retaining a beverage container therein is disclosed. The holder system includes a holder generally formed of resiliently compressible material, such as insulative foam. The holder includes an exterior surface having hook-and-loop material thereon, preferably loop material. The system further includes a plurality of hook-and-loop material pieces, preferably hook material pieces for mating with the loop material of the holder. The material pieces may be selectively located to allow the holder to matingly secure therewith in a plurality of locations. Alternatively and/or in addition, the material pieces may be located to allow the holder to matingly secure with a plurality of material pieces thereof simultaneously.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The invention relates to a beverage container holder and, in particular, to an insulating beverage container holder system for stabilizing the beverage container on one or more surfaces.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     Currently, beverage container holders are well known, designs of which generally fall into one of two categories. In the first category, the beverage container holders provide hands-free stability where the beverage container is susceptible to being jostled or toppled. For instance, automotive vehicles have beverage container holders to hold the beverage container while a driver operates the vehicle or otherwise occupies their hands.  
         [0003]     Another category of beverage containers provide certain thermal or insulative properties. For instance, a type of insulative beverage container holder is well-known and popularized as the Koozie™ beverage container holder, which is often simply referred to as a cozy. The cozy has a body substantially comprised of a cylindrical portion and a round base portion generally closing a bottom side of the cylindrical portion. The round base commonly has a hole through its center to allow for drainage, such as produced when a cold beverage container resides in a warm, humid environment allowing moisture to condense on the surface of the container. The body of the cozy is made of an insulative foam. The cozy-type beverage container holder has been advertised as maintaining an aluminum can containing a beverage at a temperature of about 40 degrees or below for a time period three times longer than a can exposed to ambient air.  
         [0004]     Boats are one of the most difficult vehicles on which to stabilize a beverage. As a boat moves with any significant speed across a surface of water, the boat will move up and down as it rides each wave, often bouncing up and down, as well as pitching to the port and starboard. Even at a standstill, boats are rocked by waves and by wakes traveling away from other boats. Smaller boats will lean to port or starboard simply by a person moving within a passenger area of the boat.  
         [0005]     Most of the stability-type beverage container holders are generally fixed in position and include hard plastic components. As a result, the holders may be fragile or susceptible to impact damage, and the holders have a singular location at which the container can be placed. In a passenger compartment of a boat the passengers tend to move around, and boating accessories such as skis and fishing poles and coolers are moved around. These accessories may impact with stationary, rigid holders causing damage or simply breaking them. Additionally, a boat would need to be equipped with the holders all over, or otherwise a passenger would need to return to a particular spot repeatedly in order to drink from the beverage container and replace the container in the holder.  
         [0006]     One of the benefits of the cozy-type holder is that the foam material has a lower density that water. As a result, the cozy holder and the beverage therein are able to float. Accordingly, the cozy holder is popular among people who enjoy time on boats and similar water-based pleasure craft.  
         [0007]     Accordingly, there has been a need for an improved beverage container system allowing a beverage to be insulated and stabilized on a variety of surfaces.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0008]     In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a system for generally immobilizing a beverage container, particularly in a vehicle, is disclosed. The system includes a holder for receiving and retaining the beverage container, the exterior of the holder being generally covered with a first member including a first material that is mateable with a second material in hook-and-loop fashion. The second material maybe secured on surfaces in one or more of various places, such as in or on the vehicle. The surfaces may include generally horizontal surfaces or generally vertical surfaces, or surfaces somewhat oblique thereto. This allows the holder to be secured to these surfaces, such as a horizontal surface and a vertical surface, either singly or simultaneously, and to a selected one of a plurality of such surfaces. The holder may be formed of soft, resilient foam so that the beverage container may be generally immobilized and stabilized with an impact-resistant, or non-breakable, holder system.  
         [0009]     In accordance with an additional aspect, a holder system for generally immobilizing and stabilizing a beverage container is disclosed including a holder having an outer surface with a generally cylindrical side surface portion and a generally planar bottom surface portion, a first member or material piece securable on a structure surface, and a second member or material piece securable on a structure surface, the first and second material pieces respectively releasably mateable with the cylindrical side surface portion and the bottom surface portion. The cylindrical surface portion and bottom surface portion may include respective vertical and horizontal layers adhered thereto for mating with the first and second members or material pieces. The vertical layer may generally cover the cylindrical side surface portion. The horizontal layer may generally cover the bottom surface portion. In one form, the first and second members or material pieces may be releasably mateable with the cylindrical side surface portion and the bottom surface portion in hook-and-loop fashion. In this form, the vertical and horizontal layers may be loop material, an the first and second members or material pieces may be hook material.  
         [0010]     The first and second members or material pieces may be secured with respective structure surfaces, such as of a vehicle. The first and second members or material pieces may be secured in relative proximity, and the holder may be secured with the first and second members or material pieces simultaneously.  
         [0011]     The holder system may include a plurality of first members or material pieces secured at a plurality of locations. The holder system may include a plurality of second members or material pieces secured at a plurality of locations.  
         [0012]     The holder may be substantially comprised of foam material. The foam material may be resiliently compressible. The holder may be substantially comprised of insulative material.  
         [0013]     In a further aspect, a holder system for generally immobilizing and stabilizing a beverage container is disclosed including a holder having an outer surface, the outer surface including a generally cylindrical side surface portion and a generally planar bottom surface portion, a member or material piece securable on a first structure surface, the member selectively releasably mateable with the cylindrical side surface portion and with the bottom surface portion. The material piece may include a hook-and-loop material portion, and the cylindrical side surface portion and bottom surface portion include a portion of hook-and-loop material portion mateable with the member material piece. This allows the member to be selectively located on a structure surface, and the holder may be secured therewith in regardless of the orientation of the structure surface. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]      FIG. 1  is an environmental view showing beverage container holder systems of the present invention secured with an instrument panel of a boat, each beverage container holder system having a beverage container, a first beverage container being secured with a substantially horizontal surface and a second beverage container being secured with a substantially vertical surface;  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the beverage container holder system showing the holder having a body with one portion of hook-and-loop material adhered to a cylindrical outer surface, and showing a vertically oriented strip of a mating portion of hook-and-loop material secured therewith for securing the holder with a substantially vertical surface;  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the beverage container holder system showing the holder having a generally flat bottom portion with one portion of hook-and-loop material adhered thereto, and showing a horizontally oriented strip of a mating portion of hook-and-loop material for securing the bottom portion of the holder with a substantially horizontal surface;  
         [0017]      FIG. 4A  is an environmental view showing the vertically oriented strip secured with a vertical surface and showing a direction of securement for the holder therewith;  
         [0018]      FIG. 4B  is an environmental view similar to  FIG. 4A  showing the horizontally oriented strip secured with a horizontal surface and showing a second direction of securement for the holder therewith;  
         [0019]      FIG. 4C  is an environmental view similar to  FIGS. 4A and 4B  showing the horizontally and vertically oriented strips proximally located and secured with respective horizontal and vertical surfaces and representing securement of the holder therewith; and  
         [0020]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the holder showing the hook-and-loop material of the cylindrical portion and the bottom portion partially removed. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0021]     Referring initially to  FIG. 1 , beverage container holder systems  1  in accordance with the present invention are depicted including a holder  4  having a body  6  and mating hook-and-loop material  14  for stabilizing and securing the holder  4  with one or more surfaces (see  FIGS. 4A-4C ). As shown, the beverage container holder systems  1  are secured with an instrument panel  8  of a boat  2 . A first beverage container holder system  1   a  is secured on a generally horizontal surface  10  of the instrument panel  8 , while a second beverage container system  1   b  is secured on a generally vertical surface  12  of the instrument panel  8 .  
         [0022]     As used herein, the terms horizontal surface should be understood to mean a surface which is closer to horizontal than to vertical, and vertical surface should be understood to mean a surface with is closer to vertical than to horizontal. In using the beverage container holder system  1 , it should be recognized that the horizontal or vertical surfaces will be generally aligned with either a base or a side of a beverage container held within the holder  4 , and the angle at which the surface may be relative to horizontal or vertical is dependent on the ability of the beverage contain to retain the beverage therewithin.  
         [0023]     The hook-and-loop material  14  generally comprises a pair of relatively thin sheet-like materials, one material being a hook material  16  and the other being a loop material  18 . However, one of the materials  16 ,  18  may be formed integral with the body  6 .  
         [0024]     The body  6  is generally covered by one of the materials  16 ,  18  of the hook-and-loop material  14 . As will readily be recognized, the hook material  16  may be substituted for the loop material  18  provided the loop material  18  is vice-versa substituted for the hook material  16  such that the system  10  is provided with a portion of hook material  16  and with loop material  18  in an opposed and mating relationship. In use, the holder  4  is typically carried by a person with an uncovered hand so that the person&#39;s palm in contact with the material  14 . Due to the generally rougher texture of the hook material  16 , it is preferred that the material secured on the body  6  be the loop material  18 .  
         [0025]     In  FIG. 1 , the holders  4  are generally immobilized so that a boat pilot (not shown) may have both hands free to operate a steering wheel W and a throttle T without being impeded or restricted by concern for a beverage. The instrument panel  8  is located in a passenger area of the boat  2 , and various parts of the passenger area or other portions of the boat  2  may easily be equipped with a plurality of pieces of hook material  16 . These pieces of hook material  16  may be secured with vertical surfaces, horizontal surfaces, or both. This allows a person to generally immobilize and stabilize the holder  4  with a beverage container therein in various parts of the boat  22 , as desired. More pointedly, the holder  4  and the holder system  1  may be used in many areas of the boat  2 . As described, the beverage container holder system  1  provides benefits of the known insulator cozy as well as the benefits of the known cup holder systems that generally immobilize and stabilize beverage containers therein.  
         [0026]     The body  6  is generally formed of a soft, resilient foam material with a density lower than that of water, in the manner described above for a cozy. Accordingly, the holder  4  is compressible, easily washed, floatable in water, and desirably used when boating. Additionally, the holder  4  is generally unbreakable. The body  6  includes a generally cylindrical portion  20 , generally oriented vertically, and a bottom portion  22  which is generally oriented horizontally. The cylindrical portion  20  has a thickness, as can be seen in  FIGS. 2 and 5 , such that a bottom edge  20   a  is provided ( FIG. 5 ). The bottom portion  22  generally encloses a lower end of the cylindrical portion  20  so that a beverage container (not shown) may be inserted within the body  6  and, when the body  6  is held by a user, the beverage container is retained therewithin. It should be noted that the bottom portion  22  may include a central hole (not shown) permitting drainage from the holder  4 , as is known. The foam material body  6  further acts as an insulator to retard shifting of the temperature of the beverage container to the temperature of ambient air.  
         [0027]     Securement of the loop material  18  to the body  6  may be viewed in  FIG. 5 . The cylindrical portion  20  has an exterior surface  24 , and the bottom portion  22  has an exterior surface  26 . The bottom portion  22  is secured within the cylindrical portion  20  so that the bottom surface  26  is generally flush with the bottom edge  20   a  of the cylindrical portion  20 . The loop material  18  is secured to the exterior surfaces  24 ,  26 , as well as to the cylindrical portion bottom edge  20   a . The loop material  18  is preferably permanently secured, such as by adhesive, and more preferably with non-water-soluble adhesive. As shown, a first piece  28  of the loop material  18  covers the entirety of the cylindrical surface  24 , and a second piece  30  covers the entirety of the generally flat bottom surface  26 . In this manner, the holder  4  may be secured with hook material  16  in any orientation, as will be described below.  
         [0028]     As can be seen in  FIG. 2 , the first loop piece  28  may be mated with a first hook piece  40 . The first hook piece  40  is oriented so that it may be mated with the cylindrical portion  20  of the holder  4 , and it is, therefore, referred to herein as the vertical hook piece  40 . As shown, the vertical hook piece  40  is somewhat arcuate as to conform to the curvature of the cylindrical portion  20 . In use, the vertical hook piece  40  may be secured with a correspondingly curved surface. However, the vertical hook piece  40  is more preferably secured with a generally planar vertical surface  42 , as can be seen in  FIGS. 4A and 4C . As noted above, the foam material of the holder  4  is generally resiliently compressible so that the holder  4  may be pressed against the vertical hook piece  40 . This compression allows a sufficient amount of the vertical hook piece  40  to mate with the first loop piece  28  to generally stabilize and immobilize the holder  40  with the vertical surface  42 .  
         [0029]     In addition or alternatively, the holder  4  may be stabilized and immobilized with a generally horizontal surface  46 , best viewed in  FIG. 4B . Toward this end, a second generally horizontal hook piece  48  is secured on the horizontal surface  46 , and the second loop piece  30  may be mated with the horizontal hook piece  48 .  
         [0030]     In use, the holder  4  may be mated with one or more of the hook pieces  40 ,  48  to stabilize and immobilize the holder  4  with a beverage container therein. As shown in  FIG. 4A , the holder  4  may be pressed against the vertical hook piece  40  on the vertical surface  42 , thus mating the hook piece  40  with the first loop piece  28  on the cylindrical portion  20 . Similarly,  FIG. 4B  displays the holder  4  placed against the horizontal surface  46  to mate the second loop piece  30  with the horizontal hook piece  48 . Furthermore, the holder  4  maybe simultaneously pressed against both the horizontal surface  46  and the vertical surface  42  to stabilize and generally immobilize the holder  4  in two dimensions, as shown in  FIG. 4C . To enable this, the vertical hook piece  40  and the horizontal hook piece  48  are secured with the surfaces  42 ,  46  in relative proximity so that the holder  4  may be pressed against both pieces  40 ,  48 .  
         [0031]     While the invention has been described with respect to specific examples including presently preferred modes of carrying out the invention, those skilled in the art will appreciate that there are numerous variations and permutations of the above described systems and techniques that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.