Patent Publication Number: US-11040819-B1

Title: Insulated holder for a beverage container

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to an insulated holder for a beverage container, and more particularly to an insulated holder that includes an integral bottle opener. 
     Description of Related Art 
     The prior art teaches many forms of insulated holders for beverage containers. Common holders, include products sold under the names Koozie® and Coldster®, are used to keep the beverage (e.g., can or bottle) cold for a longer period of time, especially in a hot environment. 
     The prior art teaches the general construction of an insulated holder for holding a beverage container. However, the prior art does not teach such an insulated holder that includes a bottle opener built into the bottom. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further advantages as described in the following summary. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention teaches certain benefits in construction and use which give rise to the objectives described below. 
     The present invention provides an insulated holder for a beverage container, the insulated holder comprising a thermally insulating main body having a base and an upwardly extending side wall that extends upwardly to a top perimeter opening, wherein the top perimeter opening allows access to an interior chamber formed by the main body. The interior chamber is adapted to receive the beverage container, and an opening is formed in a bottom surface of the base, wherein a bottle opener prong extends laterally into the opening. 
     A primary objective of the present invention is to provide an insulated holder having advantages not taught by the prior art. 
     Another objective is to provide an insulated holder that includes an interior chamber adapted to contain a beverage container. 
     A further objective is to provide an insulated holder that includes a bottle opening function. 
     Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings illustrate the present invention. In such drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a top perspective view of an insulated holder for a beverage container according to one embodiment of the present invention and showing a bottle in the insulated holder; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded bottom perspective view thereof, without the bottle; 
         FIG. 3  is a constructed bottom perspective view thereof; 
         FIG. 4  is a bottom plan view thereof; 
         FIG. 5  is a sectional view thereof taken along line  5 - 5  in  FIG. 4 ; and 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional view of another embodiment of the insulated holder. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The above-described drawing figures illustrate the invention, an insulated holder for a beverage container that is also adapted to open bottle caps. 
       FIG. 1  is a top perspective view of an insulated holder for a beverage container  10  according to one embodiment of the present invention and showing a bottle  12  in the insulated holder  10 , and  FIG. 2  is an exploded bottom perspective view thereof, without the bottle  12 . As shown in  FIGS. 1-2 , the insulated holder  10  comprises a thermally insulating main body  20  adapted to contain the beverage container  12  (such as the bottle or a can), and further having a base  30  that is adapted to open bottle caps, discussed below. 
     The insulating main body  20  has an upwardly extending side wall  22  that extends upwardly to a top perimeter opening  24 , wherein the top perimeter opening  24  allows access to an interior chamber  26  formed by the main body  20 , and the interior chamber  26  is adapted to receive the beverage container  12 . In some embodiments, the main body  20  has a double-walled construction having an inner wall  23  that is spaced apart from the upwardly extending side wall  22  to form an air gap therebetween, for insulating the beverage container  12  within the interior chamber  26 . The inner and outer walls  22  and  23  may be generally parallel to each other, and the air gap  25  is a suitable width for insulation within the interior chamber  26 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the top perimeter opening  24  of the insulated holder  10  may be adapted to removably attach to a bottom perimeter  27  of a top cap  28 , the top cap  28  further having an upper aperture  29  that is wide enough to allow access to drink from the beverage container  12  while attached to the main body  20 . For example, a user may remove the top cap  28 , place the beverage container  12  inside the main body  20  of the insulated holder  10 , and then replace the top cap  28  to secure the beverage container  12  in place, wherein the beverage container  12  may extend upwardly through the upper aperture  29  and past the top cap  28 . In this embodiment, the top cap  28  may be adapted to threadedly engage the top perimeter opening  24 , but in other embodiments may attach via another means (e.g., welding, frictional engagement, snap closures, etc.). In some embodiments, the top perimeter opening  24  may be without threads or attachment means, and be provided without the top cap  28 . 
     In this embodiment, the base  30  includes an integral bottom portion  32  of the main body  20 , and a bottom cap  36  separate from the integral bottom portion  32 , which includes a cap perimeter  38  that is attached to a bottom perimeter  34  of the integral bottom portion  32 . In other implementations, the base  30  may comprise only the integral bottom portion  32 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the cap perimeter  38  is spin welded to the bottom perimeter  34  of the integral bottom portion  32 , but in alternative embodiments the cap perimeter  38  may be threadedly engaged or otherwise bonded to the bottom perimeter  34  of the integral bottom portion  32 , or be attached via any other means known in the art. The base of the insulated holder  10  further includes a bottle cap opening function, the structure of which is best shown in  FIGS. 4-5  and discussed below. 
       FIG. 3  is a constructed bottom perspective view of the insulated holder  10 ,  FIG. 4  is a bottom plan view thereof, and  FIG. 5  is a sectional view thereof taken along line  5 - 5  in  FIG. 4 . As shown in  FIGS. 3-5 , The bottom cap  36  of this embodiment includes an opening  40  on a bottom surface  37  of the bottom cap  36 , wherein the opening  40  includes a bottle opener prong  42  that extends into the opening  40 . The opening  40  shown is sized and adapted to open a bottle cap using the bottle opener prong  42 , i.e., having angles suited to engage standard bottle caps, but the opening  40  may be shaped or sized in any suitable fashion, and may include further features useful for bottle opening (e.g., additional grip material, prongs, ridges, etc.). Because in this embodiment the opening  40  is on the bottom cap  36  and not the integral bottom portion  32 , it does not result in a loss of insulation in the interior chamber  26 . In this manner, in some cases the bottom cap  36  may be removable for use without the bottle cap function. 
     In some embodiments, as shown in  FIG. 5 , a recess  44  may be formed in the bottom surface  37  of the bottom cap  36 , surrounding the opening  40 , wherein the recess  44  is at a depth that is represented by D 1 . The opening  40  and bottle opener prong  42  may also recess a distance D 2  that is less than D 1 . Another alternative is shown in  FIG. 6 , discussed below. 
       FIG. 6  is a sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the bottom cap  50  of the insulated holder  10 , wherein the opening  40  and bottle opener prong  42  may not recess into the bottom surface  37 , as discussed above, and D 2  is approximately 0. 
     As used in this application, the words “a,” “an,” and “one” are defined to include one or more of the referenced item unless specifically stated otherwise. The terms “approximately” and “about” are defined to mean+/−10%, unless otherwise stated. Also, the terms “have,” “include,” “contain,” and similar terms are defined to mean “comprising” unless specifically stated otherwise. Furthermore, the terminology used in the specification provided above is hereby defined to include similar and/or equivalent terms, and/or alternative embodiments that would be considered obvious to one skilled in the art given the teachings of the present patent application. While the invention has been described with reference to at least one particular embodiment, it is to be clearly understood that the invention is not limited to these embodiments, but rather the scope of the invention is defined by claims made to the invention.