Patent Publication Number: US-6217294-B1

Title: Combination container with mounted fan

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention presents a novelty apparatus which combines a fluid reservoir type container with a portable battery operated fan device. 
     A variety of fan devices are now presently on the market, and present a variety of novelty apparatus for the consumer. Typically, such types of products include containers having a fan device having mounted on the top thereof, and incorporating a pump device such that when the fan is actuated, and the pump is actuated to pump water from the fluid reservoir container, a cooling or misting effect is achieved. A variety of battery operated portable hand-held fan devices are available, to present other types of products which the user may employ in order to achieve a cooling effect. Within the frame work of such types of devices, the present invention provides a fluid reservoir in the form of a container, which has a portable battery operated fan device associated therewith. The fluid reservoir device is intended to contain and carry a source of fluid which the user may ingest, and the portable battery operated fan device is adapted to be disengageably mountable onto the fluid reservoir container so that it may be employed as a fan either when mounted on the container, or removed to be used by the consumer as a separate fan device. 
     Further, the present invention provides alternate forms of such types of apparatus which may be varied in connection with the type of fluid reservoir container as may be desired by the consumer. 
     OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES 
     It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a combination fluid reservoir container having associated therewith a portable battery operated fan device which may be disengageably mounted to the container. 
     In conjunction with the foregoing object, it is a further object of the present invention to provide a fluid reservoir container which is adapted to accommodate and contain a fluid suitable for ingestion by the consumer thereby functioning as a water supply reservoir in the nature of a bottle, and permitting the entire apparatus to carry a portable fan therewith for cooling purposes. 
     In conjunction with the foregoing objects, a further object of the present invention is to present an alternate embodiment wherein the fluid reservoir container may be a divided container providing two chambers, one of which would be adapted to carry drinking fluid, and the other chamber adapted to carry water or any other cooling fluid, each chamber provided with a separate filling port. The chamber adapted to carry a drinking fluid is provided with a port from which the consumer would drink the fluid, while the chamber provided with cooling fluid is provided with a pump device such that fluid from the chamber may be pumped by depressing a hand-operated pump in order to achieve a cooling effect for the user. The fan may then be removed to further enhance the cooling effect to be achieved. 
     Further objects and advantages will be understood by reference to the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In summary, the present invention provides a fluid reservoir container which is in combination with a portable battery operated fan device which may be disengageably mounted onto the container. The container is adapted by being provided with a mounting surface associated with the container, and the fan device is provided with a mating configuration designed to fit within and be accommodated on the mounting surface of the container. Holding means are provided in order to hold the fan in position on the container in disengageably engageable fashion. 
     A further alternate embodiment is presented wherein the container may have a wall dividing the fluid reservoir container into two chambers, such that one chamber may contain a drinking fluid, while the other chamber contains a cooling fluid. Each chamber is provided with a separate port such that the chamber accommodating the drinking fluid permits the user to drink therefrom, while the chamber provided with the cooling fluid may ideally be provided with a manual pump device such that cooling fluid may be pumped from the chamber by the user to achieve a cooling effect. The portable fan mounted thereon may then be used to enhance the cooling effect achieved. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     In connection with the accompanying drawings; 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fluid reservoir having a portable battery operated fan mounted thereon and showing the holding means as a sheath enveloping the entire device; 
     FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line  2 — 2  of FIG. 1 showing the manner in which the portable battery operated fan is mounted into a space provided on the container; 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken in the direction of the Line  3 — 3  as shown in FIG. 1, showing the lower section of the portable battery operated fan as mounted in the container depression; 
     FIG. 4 is a plane exploded view showing the container, a portable fan associated therewith, and the enveloping sheath associated therewith; 
     FIG. 5 is a plan exploded view showing an alternate form of the container wherein the container is provided with an internal separation wall in order to form a dual chamber container for a purpose to be described hereinafter; 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the container wherein the mounting surface is formed by a flat side wall, and a series of four L-shaped bosses are provided to accomplish the snap fitting mounting of the fan unit therebetween. 
     FIG. 7 is a side elevational view showing another alternate embodiment of a container/fan combination wherein the container has a circular configuration and the fan unit includes a pair of curvilinear arms having a mating configuration with the container to accommodate the snap fitting of the fan unit onto the mounting surface of the container. 
     FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line  8 — 8  of FIG. 7 showing the manner in which the curvilinear arms of the fan unit snap fit onto the container side wall 
     FIG. 9 is a plan elevational view showing an alternate form of a container including a configured depressed section to accommodate a portable battery operated fan to be mounted therein, and the holding means associated therewith; and 
     FIG. 10 is a side elevational view, partly broken away, showing the portable fan as mounted within the configured depressed area of the container and holding means associated therewith. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     As will be observed in FIG. 1, the container/fan apparatus  10  is illustrated in one of its embodiments. As is shown in both FIGS. 1 and 4, the apparatus  10  generally consists of a container  12  which is formed by a bottom wall  13 , side walls  14 , and a top end  15 . Hence, it will be appreciated that the container  12  forms a fluid reservoir chamber  16 . The top end  15  of the container  12  is shown to be provided with two inlet ports  18  and  20  respectively, which take the form of a threaded neck  19  and  21  respectively. Threaded neck  18  is provided with a closure taking the form of a cap  23  which is provided with threads  24  in order to permit the screw-threading engagement of the cap  23  onto the threaded neck  19 . 
     Similarly, inlet port  20  takes the form of a threaded neck  21  and is provided with a cap  26  which, again, is screw-threadedly mounted onto the threaded neck  21 . The provision of two inlet ports  18  and  20  thereby permits the user to utilize the first inlet port  18  for drinking purposes, and the second inlet port  20  may be provided with a pump sprayer generally indicated by the numeral  28 . It will therefore be appreciated that the user may engage the pump in order to expel a cooling fluid, particularly water, from the container  12  in order to perform a cooling function. Hence, it is contemplated that if the container  12  is filled with water, the user of the device may either drink from the device, or ultimately use it as a cooling device. 
     It will be further observed from FIG. 3, that the container  12  is provided with a configured depression  30  which, in this embodiment takes the shape of a rectangular configuration. It will be observed that a fan unit  32  is provided, having a back wall  34  which is configured to fit within the configured depression  30  of the container  12 . The fan unit  32  takes the form of a fan housing  36  in which the operational mechanism for the fan will be located in the upper portion thereof, and the power supply is located in the lower portion thereof. The fan unit is completed by having a hub  38  upon which a plurality of fan blades  40  are carried. An on/off switch  42  is provided in order to activate the fan in the manner commonly known in the art. As shown in FIG. 1, the fan unit  32  is fitted within the configured depression  30  with the fan hub and fan blades extending outwardly therefrom in order to permit the fan to be operational when mounted onto the container  12 . 
     The assembly is completed by means of an enveloping sheath  43  which is constructed with appropriate apertures in order to accommodate the two inlet ports  18  and  20  respectively, as well as the fan hub and fan blades  38  and  40  respectively, and the on/off switch  42 . Hence, it will be observed that apertures  44  and  45  accommodate inlet ports  18  and  20  respectively, while aperture  47  accommodates the extended portion of the fan unit  32  including the fan hub and fan blades  38  and  40  respectively, and aperture  49  accommodates the on/off switch  42 . 
     It is contemplated that the fan unit of the present invention is a typical battery operated portable fan formed by a housing, in which is contained the operational mechanism for the fan consisting of a motor  51 , from which a motor shaft  52  extends outwardly to accommodate the mounting of the fan hub and blades  38  and  40  respectively. The construction of the fan unit  30  is not anticipated to be novel in and of itself other than in combination with the apparatus as depicted in FIGS. 1 and 3. 
     It will further be observed that the sheath  43  functions to envelope the container  12  and the fan unit  32  so that the fan unit is held in place in order to render the apparatus a complete combination of container and fan apparatus  10 . The sheath may be formed of any suitable material such as cloth, vinyl, or other similar material. The particular material utilized is not considered to be inventive with respect to the subject matter of the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 represents a further refinement of the embodiment as depicted in FIGS. 1 through 4 of the invention. For ease of reference, similar numerals are applied to FIG. 5 with reference to the description therein. It will be observed that the features are basically identical other than the container  12  of FIG. 5 further includes a dividing wall  54  which divides the fluid reservoir chamber  16  into two chambers consisting of a drinking chamber  56  and a cooling chamber  58 . The embodiment of FIG. 5 contemplates that the user may therefore employ the inlet port  18  as a drinking port in order to drink fluid which is contained within the drinking chamber  56 , while the cooling chamber  58  may contain another fluid such as water, which would be expelled by the pump sprayer  28  in order to achieve a cooling effect. The container  12  is otherwise configured similarly to the embodiment as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 in that it is provided with a configured depression  30  to accommodate the fan unit  32  therein. A sheath  43  is provided, once again, to accommodate the entire device being held together with the fan unit  32  held in mounting engagement within the configured depression  30  of the container  12 . In all other respects, the unit  32  is constructed identically as previously described and is designed to be a portable battery operated fan unit including a battery power source as depicted in FIG.  3 . As shown therein, a pair of typical batteries  39  are provided in order to power the fan unit. 
     As an alternative, one could provide a pair of side-by-side containers each having a flat wall such that the two containers may be maintained side-by-side and held together by the sheath  43  thereby to provide the same result, that being an overall container having two separate chambers. In such event, the two containers would be provided as separable containers. 
     FIGS. 9 and 10 show an alternate embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, there is provided a container  60  which is in the form of a bottle, which includes a chamber  62  for containing a fluid therein. The container is provided with a top  63  which includes an inlet port  64  in order to accommodate the filling of the container  60 . The inlet port  64  is enclosed by means of a cap  66  which may include a sipping valve  68  which is designed to pull upwardly in order to open and permit the user to sip, and push downwardly in order to close off the opening. A straw portion may be used in place of the sipping valve  68 . The operation of such mechanisms is well-known in the art. 
     It will be observed that the container  60  is provided with a configured depression  70  formed along the side wall of the container  60 . The configured depression  70  is shown to include an upper holding flange  72  and a lower holding flange  73 . Further, a centering nib  75  is positioned approximately centrally of the configured depression  70  and along the upper end thereof. 
     The fan unit  80  is constructed as previously described, and includes a housing  81  which contains the operational mechanism for the fan and for the power supply therefor as previously described. The fan unit again is similar to that described with respect to FIGS. 1 through 5 and including the motor shaft which contains the hub  38  and fan blades  40  as previously described. In this embodiment, however, the back wall  83  includes an upper holding rail  85 , and a lower holding rail  87 . It will also be observed that the back wall  83  is provided with a centrally located recess  89  which is positioned to be in cooperative relationship with respect to the centering nib  75 . It will therefore be observed that the fan unit  80  may be mounted into the configured recess  70  by inserting the fan unit such that the upper holding rail  85  is positioned behind the upper holding flange  72  of the container  70 , and simultaneously the lower holding rail  87  being positioned behind the lower holding flange  73 . The unit is then centered by sliding the unit until the centering nib  75  is positioned in recess  89 . 
     It will be appreciated that other locking mechanisms may be employed in order to accomplish the mounting of the fan unit  80  into the configured recess  70 . For example, nibs and flanges which would accommodate snap fitting are contemplated, as well as other mounting mechanisms presently available in the art. The particular mounting means employed is not considered to be critical with respect to the invention other than the provision of some mounting means in order to retain the fan in position within the configured recess. 
     It will also be observed that as an additional feature of the invention, the fan unit  80  may be provided with a pivotally battery cover/stand  91  such that when the fan unit  80  is removed from the unit, the back cover/stand  91  may be pivotally opened and function as a rest arm to retain the fan unit  80  in an upright position on a flat surface. 
     It is further contemplated that the fluid ports may take the form of a threaded neck and the closure therefor takes the form of a threaded cap. However, the fluid port may include a neck with a snap ring formed thereon and the cap includes a cooperating snap groove such that the cap snaps onto the neck. It is contemplated that any form of fluid port may be employed in combination with a cooperating closure so that such combination will be within the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 discloses a further embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the container  12  is provided with a side wall  94  which is substantially flat. A series of four L-shaped bosses  95  are formed on the side wall  94 . The fan unit is identical to the fan unit as disclosed with the respective FIGS. 9 and 10. The fan unit  80  is constructed to have a flat back wall  83  and the housing  81  is configured and sized to snap fit within the four L-shaped bosses  95 . Hence, the fan unit  80  may be easily mounted onto the side wall  94  of the container  12  to provide the desired combination container/fan assembly. 
     A further alternative embodiment is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. In this embodiment, the container  100  is shown to be circular in configuration as is typical of a plastic bottle container. The fan unit  104  is shown to include a central housing  106  which contains the fan motor (not shown) and having the fan shaft and fan blades  108  extending outwardly therefrom. The fan unit  104  further includes a pair of opposed curvilinear arms  110  extending laterally outwardly from the housing  106 . The arms  110  are configured to extend slightly beyond a  180  degree arc and to be in cooperating mating configuration with the circular bottle. In this manner, the arms  110  accommodate the snap-fitting of the fan unit  104  onto the container  100 . 
     It will also be observed that each of the arms  110  may be provided with a battery chamber  112  and  114  respectively to accommodate a battery  115  therein. Appropriate wiring would extend through the arms  110  to the housing  106  thereby to provide power to the fan unit  104 . Hence, in this embodiment, the arms  110  form the holding means for accommodating the mounting of the fan unit  104  onto the container  100 . 
     It is contemplated that other mounting configurations may be employed as between the container and the fan unit so long as the container provides a mounting surface for the fan unit and the fan unit is provided with a matingly engaging mounting surface relative to the container. Holding means may assume various configurations so long as the holding means accommodates the mounting and retention of the fan unit on the container side wall in engageable/disengageable arrangement. 
     It will be appreciated from the above description that an innovative combination container and fan unit apparatus has been provided which permits the user to enjoy the drinking of a beverage while simultaneously using the unit as a personal cooling unit. It is contemplated that various modifications may be made with respect to the components of the apparatus without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. Hence, while there has been described what is considered to be the preferred embodiments of the invention, it is intended to cover in the appended claims all obvious modifications and variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                   
               
               
                 PARTS LIST 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 1 
                   
                 34 
                 back wall 
                 67 
                   
                 100 
                 container 
               
               
                 2 
                   
                 35 
                   
                 68 
                 sipping valve 
                 101 
               
               
                 3 
                   
                 36 
                 fan housing 
                 69 
                   
                 102 
               
               
                 4 
                   
                 37 
                   
                 70 
                 configured depression 
                 103 
               
               
                 5 
                   
                 38 
                 hub 
                 71 
                   
                 104 
                 fan unit 
               
               
                 6 
                   
                 39 
                 batteries 
                 72 
                 upper holding flange 
                 105 
               
               
                 7 
                   
                 40 
                 fan blades 
                 73 
                 lower holding flange 
                 106 
                 central housing 
               
               
                 8 
                   
                 41 
                   
                 74 
                   
                 107 
               
               
                 9 
                   
                 42 
                 on/off switch 
                 75 
                 centering nib 
                 108 
                 fan blades 
               
               
                 10 
                 container/fan apparatus 
                 43 
                 sheath 
                 76 
                   
                 109 
               
               
                 11 
                   
                 44 
                 aperture 
                 77 
                   
                 110 
                 curvilinear arms 
               
               
                 12 
                 container 
                 45 
                 aperture 
                 78 
                   
                 111 
               
               
                 13 
                 bottom wall 
                 46 
                   
                 79 
                   
                 112 
                 battery chamber 
               
               
                 14 
                 side walls 
                 47 
                 aperture 
                 80 
                 fan unit 
                 113 
               
               
                 15 
                 top end 
                 48 
                   
                 81 
                 housing 
                 114 
                 battery chamber 
               
               
                 16 
                 fluid reservoir chamber 
                 49 
                 aperture 
                 82 
                   
                 115 
               
               
                 17 
                   
                 50 
                   
                 83 
                 back wall 
                 116 
               
               
                 18 
                 inlet port 
                 51 
                 motor 
                 84 
                   
                 117 
               
               
                 19 
                 threaded neck 
                 52 
                 motor shaft 
                 85 
                 upper holding rail 
                 118 
               
               
                 20 
                 inlet port 
                 53 
                   
                 86 
                   
                 119 
               
               
                 21 
                 threaded neck 
                 54 
                 dividing wall 
                 87 
                 lower holding rail 
                 120 
               
               
                 22 
                   
                 55 
                   
                 88 
                   
                 121 
               
               
                 23 
                 cap 
                 56 
                 drinking chamber 
                 89 
                 recess 
                 122 
               
               
                 24 
                 threads 
                 57 
                   
                 90 
                   
                 123 
               
               
                 25 
                   
                 58 
                 cooling chamber 
                 91 
                 battery cover/stand 
                 124 
               
               
                 26 
                 cap 
                 59 
                   
                 92 
                   
                 125 
               
               
                 27 
                   
                 60 
                 container 
                 93 
                   
                 126 
               
               
                 28 
                 pump sprayer 
                 61 
                   
                 94 
                 side wall 
                 127 
               
               
                 29 
                   
                 62 
                 chamber 
                 95 
                 L-shaped boss 
                 128 
               
               
                 30 
                 configured depression 
                 63 
                 top 
                 96 
                   
                 129 
               
               
                 31 
                   
                 64 
                 inlet port 
                 97 
                   
                 130 
               
               
                 32 
                 fan unit 
                 65 
                   
                 98 
                   
                 131 
               
               
                 33 
                   
                 66 
                 cap 
                 99 
                   
                 132