Patent Publication Number: US-2005115978-A1

Title: Universal bottle base cup

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      This patent application claims priority from provisional patent application number 60/519,828 having a filing date of Nov. 13, 2003.  
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      This invention relates to bottle base cups, and in particular to bottle base cups that can be attached to the outside exterior base of a bottle in order to prevent the bottle from tipping over when pressurized.  
     DISCUSSION OF THE RELATED ART  
      A relatively thin walled plastic bottle with a flat bottom base is not well suited to store a liquid under pressure. An increase in air pressure within the bottle header space will typically cause the base to bulge outward forming a concave shape making it very easy for the bottle to tip over. It is recognized that placing a matching base cup onto the base of a pressurized bottle will prevent the bottle from tipping over when stored in the upright position. Typically, the matching base cup is custom made to fit the outside diameter of the bottle. In some embodiments, the matching base cup is glued or bonded on to the base of the bottle.  
      One drawback from this arrangement is that the base cup cannot be used on other bottles with slightly varying diameters. To exemplify further, the inside diameter of the base cup must fit securely to the outside diameter of the base of the bottle to from a firm and accurate fit. If the base cup is not fit properly to the matching bottle base, an undesirable effect will be achieved as the bottle may slant or tilt to one side when placed upright.  
     OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION  
      It is a principle object of the present invention to provide an improved bottle base cup that can be attached to the base of a bottle in order to prevent the bottle from tipping over when pressurized with air.  
      Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved bottle base cup that has inner facing flexible fingers in order to conform to various bottle base diameters.  
      A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved bottle base cup that will not easily fall off the base of the bottle.  
      It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improved bottle base cup that can be attached to the base of a bottle without the use of glue, bonding agents, or the like.  
      Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved bottle base cup that can be attached to the base of a trigger sprayer bottle in order to adapt and convert the bottle in to a pressure resistant bottle.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention is directed to a bottle base cup and includes a hollow cylinder that is open on one side and closed on the other. Flexible fingers are positioned around the circumference of the top open portion. These flexible fingers bend slightly inward in the relaxed state. When the cup is pressed onto the base of a bottle, the flexible fingers will bend out to conform and adjust to the shape of the base of the bottle. When the bottle base cup is fully pressed on, the fingers may exhort constant force against the bottle&#39;s external wall to grasp and prevent the bottle base cap from falling off.  
      When thin walled plastic bottles with flat bases are pressurized with air, the tendency is for the bottom to bulge outward causing the base of the bottle to become rounded. If an attempt is made to stand the bottle up on its base, tipping or falling over is likely to happen. Thus most plastic bottles with flat bases are not designed to be pressurized. A standard bottle with a flat base can be converted into a pressure resistant bottle simply by manually pressing on the bottle base cup on to the base of the bottle. Since pressurizing the bottle will cause the base to bulge, the bottle will not tip because the bottle base cup will allow the bottle base to bulge outward within the inside cavity of the bottle base cup as the flexible fingers center and secure the bottle.  
      One clear advantage is that one bottle base cup can conform to several off the shelf bottles with varying bottle base dimensions. If the outside diameter of the base of the bottle is smaller than the general inside diameter of the base cup, the flexible fingers will bend inward to exhort force and grasp and center the bottle. In addition, some off the shelf bottles have ribs that circumference the outside diameter near the base such as the case with most cylindrical trigger sprayer bottles. When the bottle base cup is pressed on, the flexible fingers will flex out and over thus clearing the ridges as the bottle travels downward.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      For a fuller understanding of the nature of the present invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a top plan of the bottle base cup;  
       FIG. 2  is a side elevational view in section of the bottle base cup;  
       FIG. 3  is a side elevational view in section of the bottle base cup with the flexible fingers in the relaxed state and a side elevational view of the exterior of a bottle directly above the bottle base cup;  
       FIG. 4  is a side elevational view in section of the bottle base cup with the flexible fingers extended outward and a side elevational view of the exterior of a bottle as it is partially attached to the bottle base cup;  
       FIG. 5  is a side elevational view in section of the bottle base cup and a side elevational view of the exterior of a bottle with the base cup fully attached;  
       FIG. 6  is a side elevational view in section of the bottle base cup and a side elevational view of the exterior of a bottle while the bottle is pressurized causing the base to bulge;  
       FIG. 7  is a side elevational view showing the exterior of the bottle base cup and a side elevational view of the exterior of the bottle while fully attached to the bottle base cup. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      In the description which follows, like parts are indicated throughout the specification and drawings with the same reference numerals, respectively. The drawings are not necessarily to scale and the proportions of certain parts have been exaggerated to better illustrate operation of the invention.  
      In  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a bottle base cup contains flexible fingers  10  which follow the circumference of the top portion of the bottle base cup.  FIG. 2  illustrates a top portion  20  of flexible fingers  10  and a pivot point  15  at the bottom portion of the flexible fingers  10 . As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an inside cavity  40  towards the base of the bottle base cup is surrounded by step  35  which follows the inside circumference of the base of the bottle base cup. A ledge  30  follows the outside circumference of the base of the bottle base cup.  FIG. 1  illustrates slots  45  spaced between fingers  10 .  
      As seen in  FIG. 3 , a bottle  55  is pressed against top portion  20  of finger  10 . At this point finger  10  is in the relaxed state. Rib  60  follows the outside circumference of bottle  55 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , as bottle  55  is pressed down, rib  60  will force fingers  10  to flex outward at pivot point  1   5 . In  FIG. 5 , bottle  55  is pressed all the way down into the bottle base cup until the bottom corners of bottle  55  touches step  35 . At this point, fingers  10  are now flexed inward and the top  20  of fingers  10  makes contact to the outside surface of bottle  55 . Fingers  10  surround the circumference of the top of the base cup and each finger  10  is separated from the other by groove  45  allowing each finger to flex independently. The tension of each finger  10  may vary depending on the outside diameter of the base of bottle  55 . The tension created by fingers  10  create sufficient resistance to secure the bottle and base cup effectively and to not allow the bottle base cup to fall off easily.  
      When thin walled plastic bottles with flat bases are subject to pressure, the tendency is for the bottom to bulge outward. As seen in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the bottle is pressurized and capped  50  with bulge  65  illustrated at the base of bottle  55 . Cavity  40  which is located within the inside circumference of step  35  provides sufficient area for bulge  65  to expand without making contact to the inside base of the bottle base cup. At this point the bottle can be pressurized without pushing or forcing the bottle base cup down while fingers  10  evenly exhort pressure and resistance at top  20  to center and hold the bottle in place making it difficult to remove the base cup. As shown in  FIG. 7 , fingers  10  are flexed slightly inward.