Abstract:
Disclosed are various embodiments for ownership indicators for beverage containers such as coffee cups, bottles, and soda cans. In a first embodiment, a beverage container has a circumferentially arranged legend of a plurality of symbols, and a rotating marker configured to indicate one or more of the plurality of symbols. In a second embodiment, a beverage container has a rotating circumferentially arranged legend of a plurality of symbols, and a fixed marker configured to indicate one or more of the plurality of symbols. In a third embodiment, a beverage container has a plurality of indicator symbols with an integrated means for modifying one or more of the plurality of indicator symbols.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a non-provisional of, and claims priority to, co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application entitled “BEVERAGE CONTAINER OWNERSHIP INDICATORS,” filed on Apr. 24, 2015, and assigned application No. 62/152,193, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    In a large gathering, such as a party, meeting, etc., many people may be drinking beverages. However, it is often the case that more than one person will be drinking beverages having the same or similar container. For example, two or more people may be drinking a specific type of cola via the same type of can, or two or more people may be drinking bottled water from the same type of bottle. This may happen frequently, as hosts are likely to provide multi-packs of the same type of beverage, such as a twenty-four-pack of cola or a twelve-pack of bottled water. Such multi-packs may be an economical way of providing types of beverages that are frequently desired by guests. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0003]    Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, with emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. 
           [0004]      FIGS. 1 and 2  are top views of examples of a beverage can according to embodiments of the present disclosure. 
           [0005]      FIGS. 3-5  illustrate perspective views of examples of a beverage cup according to embodiments of the present disclosure. 
           [0006]      FIG. 6  illustrates a perspective view of an example of a beverage bottle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0007]      FIG. 7  illustrates a perspective view of an example of a beverage can according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0008]      FIG. 8  illustrates a perspective view of an example of a beverage cup according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0009]      FIG. 9  illustrates a perspective view of an example of a beverage can according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0010]    The present application relates to ownership indicators for beverage containers. An issue may often arise in a gathering such as a meeting, a party, and so forth, when multiple guests drinking beverages from the same or similar type of container set the beverage container down. For example, a guest may set a beverage container down upon a counter while eating, socializing, using restroom facilities, or otherwise taking a break from beverage consumption. When multiple containers of the same type are present, a guest may become confused as to which one is his or her own. For hygiene and/or cultural reasons, the thought of drinking from another person&#39;s beverage may be unacceptable. Accordingly, when in doubt, one or more beverages may be discarded, which in turn leads to additional beverage costs for the host and is an inefficient use of resources. Yet, if guests accidentally drink from the beverage of another, the guests may receive saliva-transmitted pathogens, which could spread serious illness. 
         [0011]    Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide ownership indicators for beverage containers. While some beverage cups may be written upon via a permanent marker, beverage cans and bottles may have surfaces that are not amenable to writing. For instance, the surface may be slick, and ink may smear. Besides, circulating writing utensils may be a chore, and writing may be resisted by guests. In various embodiments, integral factors of the beverage container may be utilized to indicate a self-selected letter, number, or other symbol identified to the guest, thereby indicating ownership. This could be a first letter of the guest&#39;s first name, a first letter of the guest&#39;s last name, the guest&#39;s middle initial, the first digit of the guest&#39;s Social Security number, the guest&#39;s favorite number, or any other identification approach. The approach could be self-selected by the guest and/or announced by the host. 
         [0012]    Turning now to  FIG. 1 , shown is a top view of one example of a beverage can  100  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Upon the top  103  of the beverage can  100 , various letters, number, or symbols may be shown. In this example, the alphabet A through O are shown in a first circumferential row  106 , as well as numbers one up to zero are shown in a second circumferential row  109 . In other examples, only letters or only numbers may be present. For example, letters A through J may be shown or numbers 1 through 9 may be shown. Other symbols may be shown also or instead. For example, in  FIG. 2 , a row  118  of symbols (“!,” “@,” “#,” etc.) is provided. 
         [0013]    By rotating the pull tab  112  on the top  103  of the beverage can  100 , the guest is able to provide an identification/ownership indicator with respect to the beverage can  100 . In this example, a small mark  115  or the center of the pull tab  112  may be used to point towards a letter, number, or other symbol. In other examples, the pull tab  112  may be manufactured with an integral arrow for precisely pointing. 
         [0014]    The letters, numbers, or symbols may be engraved or printed upon the top  103  of the beverage can  100 . Alternatively, the letters, numbers, or symbols may be printed upon a label that is affixed to the top  103  of the beverage can  100 . It is noted that the pull tab  112  may concurrently point to two different symbols. In this example, the pull tab  112  may point to a letter and a number concurrently. In another example, one row of symbols may correspond to the first thirteen letters of the alphabet, while the next row of symbols may correspond to the next thirteen letters of the alphabet. In another embodiment, a rotating label may be affixed to the rim of the beverage can  100  such that a marker on the top  103  would indicate a particular symbols of a plurality of symbols located on the rotating label. 
         [0015]      FIG. 3  illustrates a perspective view of an example of a beverage cup  300  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The beverage cup  300  may be a coffee cup, which may be a plastic cup, paper cup, etc. The beverage cup  300  may have a rotating sleeve  303  with a marker  306  that can be used to indicate a letter, number, or other symbol within a row of symbols  309  for ownership indication. In some cases, such as in the example of  FIG. 4 , the row of symbols  309  may be on the rotating sleeve  303 , while the marker  306  may be on the beverage cup  300  itself. 
         [0016]      FIG. 5  illustrates a perspective view of an example of a beverage cup  500  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In  FIG. 5 , the lid  503  or top of the beverage cup  500  may include press indicators  506  associated with letters, numbers or other symbols. While beverage cups  500  may have press indicators  506  to indicate contents (e.g., “cola,” “diet,” etc.), the press indicators  506  of the present disclosure are contemplated to be arbitrary (e.g., “A” through “K”) for indicating ownership (e.g., the first letter of the owner&#39;s last name). 
         [0017]      FIG. 6  illustrates a perspective view of an example of a beverage bottle  600  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Like the beverage can  100  of  FIG. 1 , the beverage bottle  600  of  FIG. 6  has a circular arrangement  603  of letters and numbers to indicate ownership identification. Instead of using a pull tab  112  ( FIG. 1 ), the ring  606  left behind after opening the cap  609  of the beverage bottle  600  may be used to indicate ownership. The ring  606  may have an indicator  612  such as a line, mark, arrow, or other indicator that may be aligned via rotation with symbols on the circular arrangement  603 , which is another ring below or printed on the neck of the beverage bottle  600 . 
         [0018]      FIG. 7  illustrates a perspective view of an example of a beverage can  700  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, a writeable label  703  may be disposed upon a beverage can  700  or other container that otherwise has an unwriteable surface. For example, a specific area of a beverage can  700  may be coated with a certain material (e.g., paper, plastic, etc.) that enables the specific area to be written upon with an ordinary pen or pencil. 
         [0019]      FIG. 8  illustrates a perspective view of an example of a beverage cup  800  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In  FIG. 8 , a grouping of scratch-off symbols  803  is provided (“A” through “G”). A user is able to scratch off one or more of the symbols to indicate ownership. In this example, the symbol  806  “D” has been scratched off, revealing a modified symbol underneath. The modified symbol may be struck through, underlined, with a different color, or modified in some other way. Several types of integrated modification means may be provided. Rather than scratch-off symbols, in other embodiments, pull-tabs or poppable bubbles may be employed, where the action of removing the pull tab or popping the bubble indicates a selection of a particular symbol, color, or other indicator. In some cases, the distributor of the beverage may offer a prize if a particular unique symbol is revealed beneath the scratch-off, pull-tab, or bubble. 
         [0020]    In another embodiment, a multi-pack of beverage containers may be distributed with indicators unique to the multi-pack. For instance, each can within a 32-pack of beverage cans may be marked with a number from one to thirty-two. These indicators may be used to indicate ownership. An added color to the number may increase the probabilities. For instance, a colored dot, dash, or circle may distinguish among the beverage containers.  FIG. 9  depicts one example of a beverage can  900  with a numerical identifier  903  (“13”) with a colored indicator below the identifier. 
         [0021]    It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure are merely possible examples of implementations set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims.