Abstract:
A bottle carrier has a resilient ring dimensioned to encircle a neck of the bottle in an installed condition. A brim is unitarily formed with and depends from the resilient ring and is dimensioned to fall in facing or contacting relation to a shoulder of the bottle.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims benefit of Ser. No. 60/747,810 filed on May 21, 2006 and is a continuation in part of Ser. No. 10/948,371, filed Sep. 22, 2004, now abandoned. The disclosures of applications 60/747,810 and 10/948,371 are incorporated by reference in their entireties herein as if set forth at length. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to beverage containers. More particularly, The invention relates to carriers for single beverage bottles. 
     There are a wide variety of prior art bottle carriers. Examples of one class of these are shown in: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,954,247, 6,029,870, 6,131,780, 6,533,148, 6,550,271, 6,626,333, Des. 347,734, and Des. 491,465; and US published patent application 2003/0111496. Advantageously, a carrier provides hands-free transport of a single bottle, allowing the user to periodically drink from the bottle. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     One aspect of the invention a carrier for a beverage bottle. The carrier has a resilient ring dimensioned to encircle a neck of the bottle in an installed condition. A brim is unitarily formed with and depends from the resilient ring and is dimensioned to fall in facing or contacting relation to a shoulder of the bottle in the installed condition. The user may carry the bottle via a carrying loop such as a lanyard. 
     The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a view of a carrier on a bottle. 
         FIG. 2  is a partial medial sectional view of a bottle and carrier. 
         FIG. 3  is a view of a molded component of a carrier. 
         FIG. 4  is a view of a user holding a bottle via a carrier 
         FIG. 5  is a partial medial sectional view of a bottle and alternate carrier. 
     
    
    
     Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  shows a bottle  20  assembled with a carrying apparatus  22 . The exemplary bottle has a central longitudinal axis  500  and extends from a bottom/base  24  to a threaded mouth  26  which bears an internally threaded cap  28 . The cap may be a simple closure or a cap/valve assembly. The bottle has a shoulder  30  separating a neck  32  from a body  34 . Some bottles may include a neck flange  36  ( FIG. 2 ) circumscribing the neck and having an upper surface  38  and a lower (underside) surface  40 . 
     The apparatus  22  comprises the combination of a unitarily-molded bottle—engaging member  42  ( FIG. 3 ) and a lanyard assembly  44  ( FIG. 1 ). The member  42  may be molded from a resilient material such as a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), a rubber, or polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The member  42  has a ring portion  46  ( FIG. 2 ) encircling the neck and having an interior surface engaging the neck exterior surface. The ring  46  has an interior surface  47  for engaging the neck  32  and an upper rim surface  48  for engaging the flange underside to resist passage of the flange  36  downward through the ring. The engagement may comprise a full circumferential contact. A brim  50  depends from the ring. An exemplary brim is not symmetric around the axis  500  (e.g., so as to resemble the brim of a baseball or similar cap). The exemplary brim has a root portion at the ring extending less than a full 360° (e.g., somewhat over 180°) about the axis  500 . The brim extends generally downward and forward. 
     The exemplary brim  50  has a convex outer surface  52  (relative to the axis  500 ) and a concave inner surface  54  joined by a rim  56 . The outer surface  52  may have molded logo  58  (e.g., protruding and/or recessed and/or painted or integrally colored) such as wording/lettering and/or graphics and/or other visual indicia. The inner surface  54  may contact or closely face an adjacent tapering portion of the shoulder  30 . An arcuate distal rim portion joins the outer surface  52  and inner surface  54 . The brim further has a pair of proximal side portions which extend to the rim and simulate the protruding brim as the bill of the baseball-style cap. 
     The exemplary lanyard assembly  44  includes a flat woven cloth strap  70  and a slider  72  though which the strap passes. Such a flat strap can readily accommodate logos (e.g. a logo repeated along its length) for advertising/promotional purposes or ornamentation. The slider permits user adjustment of the size of a strap loop  74  to comfortably and conveniently accommodate the user&#39;s neck and/or shoulder for carrying and access ( FIG. 4 ). Cordage and non-woven (e.g., leather) straps are alternatives. To mount the member  42  to the lanyard assembly  44 , the exemplary member  42  includes a tubular portion  80  ( FIG. 2 ) having an interior surface  82  defining a passageway through which the strap passes. The exemplary tubular portion  80  is formed at the distal end of a short web  86  extending aft from the ring portion  46  and is oriented tangentially relative to the ring (i.e., the passageway length is normal to and offset from the axis  500  outboard of the ring). 
     The apparatus may be sized to accommodate a corresponding group of bottles. Exemplary relaxed ring IDs D ( FIG. 3 ) (perimeter/2π if noncircular when relaxed) are 0.6-2.0 inches, more narrowly 0.8-1.5 inches. For positive retention, the ring may be slightly strained (e.g., circumferentially stretched) in the installed condition, especially for flangeless bottles, to frictionally bear against the neck along essentially the full circumference thereof. The ring should have sufficient resilience to permit many installation/removal cycles (e.g., over one hundred). Exemplary loop circumferential lengths are 2-7 feet, more narrowly 3-6 feet, to accommodate a user&#39;s shoulder and/or neck area and may be adjustable. Exemplary brim lengths L ( FIG. 2 ) are 0.5-1.5 inches, more narrowly 0.6-1.0 inch at the forward end, tapering toward the rear of the ring. Such a brim size may accommodate a sufficiently large logo to serve advertising/promotional purposes (e.g., for the apparatus or an unrelated good/service). The brim may also be grasped by the user to install/remove the apparatus. 
       FIG. 5  shows an alternate carrier  122  wherein the molded bottle-engaging member  124  further includes a cover  126  and a living hinge  128 . Features common to the carrier  22  and its bottle-engaging member  42  are referenced with like numerals. The exemplary cover  126  includes a sidewall  130  and a top or upper web  132  at the upper end of the sidewall  130 . The sidewall  130  extends to a lower rim  134 . The sidewall has an inner/interior/inboard surface  140  and an outer/exterior/outboard surface  142 . Similarly, the web  132  has an inner/interior/inboard/lower surface or underside  144  and an outer/exterior/top surface  146 . In the exemplary installed condition, the surface  140  may closely face or compressively engage the periphery of the cap. The cover is formed with a rebate  150  extending from the sidewall rim  134  and inboard surface  140  and accommodating the bottle flange  36 . 
     The rim  134  may be positioned to contact or closely face the ring upper rim surface  48  outboard of the bottle flange. In the exemplary carrier, the rim  134  is contacting but physically separate from the upper rim surface  48  of the ring along a majority of the circumferential span (e.g., along an entirety thereof). The bottle-engaging member  124  may be initially molded with this separation between rim and ring. Alternatively, the initial molding may leave them partially connected with connections that may be severed upon opening of the cover. The exemplary hinge  128  loops from the sidewall to the tubular portion to provide a relatively large degree of accommodation between open and closed conditions. Retention in the closed condition may be by elasticity and/or a detent action (e.g., a cover inward projection interfitting in a cap feature or between the cap lower rim and the flange). 
       FIG. 5  shows a condition wherein the ring is in an installed condition and the cover is in an installed/closed condition covering the cap. The combination of cover, ring, and brim may further create the appearance of a baseball-style cap with the cover adding the baseball cap&#39;s dome to the brim provided by the brim  50 . Thus, the cover (especially the forward portion of the sidewall), may similarly bear a logo  160  in addition to or in lieu of the brim logo  58 . The cover logo may simulate a team logo of a baseball or other team to simulate the cap of such team. 
     The cover may be shifted to an open condition exposing the cap. The opening may include circumferential stretching of the cover sidewall  130  to disengage from the bottle cap. The hinge may function to retain the cover to prevent its loss. 
     Alternative covers could lack the rebate. For example, with a relatively larger bottle flange, the cover lower rim might be fully occluded by the flange from exposure to the ring (e.g., with the ring and lower rim sandwiching the flange). Other variations might feature a flange-accommodating rebate in the ring upper rim surface. Other variations might be shaped to accommodate a cap/valve assembly. 
     One or more embodiments of the present invention have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, details of any particular implementation may be influences by details of the particular bottles with which the carrier is to be used. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.