Patent Publication Number: US-2018050897-A1

Title: Waste Beverage Container with Ice Separator

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Desert locations such as Las Vegas receive as little as four inches of rainfall per year. As such, individuals, businesses, and governments strive to conserve water. Although much effort has been dedicated to conserving water, millions of gallons of water are still wasted by the disposal of post-consumer waste beverage ice. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention creates a unique method to recover ice from discarded or waste beverages. This present invention could be especially useful for restaurants. Water reclaimed by the invention could be used to maintain lush vegetation thereby differentiating the restaurant from its competitors in the desert climate. The inventor estimates that about 60 gallons of water per day will be recovered from a typical fast food restaurant with this invention. 
     The present invention recovers water from used melted beverage ice. The used beverage is separated from the ice and directed to the septic system in one embodiment. Benefits of the present invention to restaurants, families, and society are:
         1. Relatively clean water that normally would be disposed of in the septic system or dumpster is conserved for additional use such as to water vegetation. Estimates are that 60 gallons of water per day will be conserved from a single typical fast food restaurant.   2. Trash cans and the space around trash cans will be cleaner since less beverage will be contained in the trash cans.   3. Humans will endure less physical strain when transporting trash to the dumpster since the trash cans will contain less beverage, ice, and water. Estimates are that the total load of all trash in a typical restaurant will be reduced by 500 lbs per day.   4. There will be less insects around dumpsters and trash cans since there will be less sugary beverage contained in them.   5. Environmentally conscience consumers will be less likely to leave restaurants or places of business with a drink in hand thereby promoting better health for the consumer and a cost savings for the restaurant.   6. Fosters good will for the restaurant since conserving water is admired by most people.   7. Restaurants and homes in desert areas can maintain lush vegetation thereby differentiating them from other restaurants and homes that do not make use of the present invention.       

    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Drawings depicting one embodiment of the invention are included in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the invention depicting the externally visible components of the invention for one embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the invention with the container hidden (indicated by dashed lines) so that internal components of the invention are visible.  FIG. 2  also depicts the drain pipe  201  that leads to the septic system. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed, the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. 
       FIG. 1  depicts an embodiment of the waste beverage container. Waste beverage  104  and waste ice  103  poured from a cup  102  are separated from one another by the strainer  101 . The waste beverage  104  flows through the strainer and most of the waste ice  103  is deflected by the strainer  101 . The holes in the strainer  101  are large enough to allow waste beverage to easily flow through the strainer  101 , but the holes in the strainer  101  are small enough to prevent most of the waste ice from flowing through the strainer  101 . The exterior of the ice container  100  is shown in  FIG. 1 . A water spigot  105  which can be used to release water from the ice container  100  is shown in  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 2  depicts the embodiment of  FIG. 1  with the wall of the ice container  100  hidden. The drain pipe  200  directs the waste beverage to the septic system. The bottom of the drain pipe  201  which further directs the waste beverage to the septic system is also shown in  FIG. 2 . Melting ice and water  202  is stored in the container. 
     The strainer  101  depicted in  FIG. 1  allows waste beverage to easily flow through and into the drain pipe ( FIG. 2, 202 ) while most of the waste ice slides down the strainer  101  and into the container  100 . In the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 1 , the strainer  101  is constructed from a flat sheet of wire mesh formed into a dome shape. One skilled in the art will recognize that there are many forming methods whereby a flat sheet of wire mesh may be formed into a domed shape. One skilled in the art will also recognize that the domed screen  101  functions as a strainer. Furthermore, one skilled in the art will recognize that many different types of strainers may be used in place of the domed screen in various embodiments. In some embodiments of the present invention, the strainer  101  formed from flat wire mesh may be replaced with perforated metal or perforated plastic formed into a dome shape. One skilled in the art will recognize that there are many forming methods whereby flat sheets of metal or plastic may be perforated and formed into a dome shape. Waste beverage will flow through the perforations in the metal or plastic dome shape while waste ice will be deflected off the metal or plastic dome shaped and directed into the container  100 . One skilled in the art will recognize many different methods whereby many different types of strainers may be constructed and used in the present invention. Furthermore, one skilled in the art will recognize that a dome shaped strainer may be replaced with a flat strainer (not shown) mounted to the top of the drain pipe at an inclined angle. Waste beverage will flow through the angled strainer while waste ice will deflect and slide off of the angled strainer and into the container  100 . One skilled in the art will recognize that there are many different methods whereby many different type of strainers may be attached to the drain pipe  200 . 
       FIG. 2 , depicts the drain pipe  200  which directs the waste beverage to the septic system. In various embodiments the drain pipe may be tapered as depicted in  FIG. 2 , or not tapered. One skilled in the art will recognize that the drain pipe  200  may be constructed of many different types of materials such as metal or plastic. One skilled in the art will also recognize that the drain pipe  200  may direct the waste beverage to the septic system or to any other desired location. One skilled in the art will recognize that at the location where the drain pipe exits the container  100  must be sealed so that water will not leak around the drain pipe. 
       FIG. 1  depicts the container  100  used for holding the melting ice. One skilled in the art will recognize that the container  100  may be of various sizes, shapes, and materials. 
       FIG. 1  depicts a water spigot  105  which may be used to release or hold the water in the container  100  as desired. One skilled in the art will recognize that there are many different types of devices or methods that may be used to hold or release the water from the container  100 . In certain embodiments a spigot  105  or valve is not used but instead the bottom of the container  100  is perforated and the water is allowed to freely flow out of the container into a desired area such as a natural area or garden. 
     The present invention could be located in various places in or around a home, restaurant, or business. In one embodiment the present invention is located adjacent to the normal waste basket inside the restaurant. In another embodiment the present invention is located outside the restaurant. 
     To the knowledge of the inventor, no other waste beverage container exists that separates the waste beverage from the waste ice. In most cases, the waste beverage and waste ice are disposed of in a garbage can along with the disposable cup. In some cases the waste beverage and waste ice are poured into a sink drain and routed to the septic system. As previously described herein, the present invention reclaims the waste ice and makes use of the melted ice (water) for other purposes such as irrigating vegetation.