Patent Publication Number: US-9895000-B2

Title: Chair with gravity feed beverage can dispenser

Description:
This non-provisional patent application is based on provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/389,723 filed Mar. 8, 2016. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present invention is directed to a chair that includes a dispenser for dispensing containers and, more particularly, to a chair including a built-in dispenser that dispenses chilled beverage containers on demand, and wherein the dispenser is adapted to hold an arrangement of beverage containers that are progressively advanced and individually released from the dispenser by gravity feed. 
     Discussion of the Related Art 
     When seated for an extended period of time, such as when watching a movie or sporting event on television, it is often desirous to consume food and beverages. In particular, many sports enthusiasts enjoy consuming soft drinks or beer while watching a sporting event, such as a football game or baseball game on television. During the course of the event, a person may need to make numerous trips to the kitchen in order to retrieve another beverage after the previous one has been consumed. This can be inconvenient, especially if a person is watching an exciting movie or sporting event, wherein the need to get up and leave the room may cause them to miss a critical moment during the event. 
     Accordingly, it is more convenient to have a supply of chilled beverages nearby a person&#39;s seating area so that they can easily retrieve a cold beverage on demand. However, placing a traditional cooler or refrigerator in the middle of a living area is not very attractive or desirable. 
     Accordingly, there is a need for a comfortable chair, such as a recliner chair, that includes a built-in beverage dispenser that allows a user to retrieve a chilled beverage, on demand, without having to leave the comfort of their seat while viewing an event or while engaged in a conversation. 
     Objects and Advantages of the Invention 
     Considering the forgoing, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a chair that includes a built-in beverage dispenser that is structured to dispense chilled beverage containers on demand. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide a chair that includes a built-in beverage dispenser that is structured to hold an arrangement of beverage containers, and wherein the beverage containers are progressively moved in sequence along a rack for delivery to a dispensing drawer that dispenses an individual one of the beverage containers to the user. 
     It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a chair that includes a built-in beverage dispenser that is structured to hold an arrangement of beverage containers and a cooler for cooling the beverage containers. 
     It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a chair that includes a built-in beverage dispenser that includes a removable cooler that is structured to be filled with ice or frozen gel packs 
     It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a chair that includes a built-in beverage dispenser that holds an arrangement of beverage containers that are progressively moved along a path by gravity feed, with a lowermost one of the beverage containers along the path being deposited within a dispensing drawer for delivery to the user on demand. 
     It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a chair that includes a built-in beverage dispenser that dispenses beverage cans with the use of a gravity feed system, while requiring no electric power or complex moving parts. 
     It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a chair that includes a built-in beverage dispenser, as set forth above, and wherein the chair is a recliner chair. 
     It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a chair that includes a built-in beverage dispenser, as set forth above, and wherein the chair is made to include a pebble leather material resembling a football. 
     These and other objects and advantages of the present invention are more readily apparent with reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to a chair that includes a seat base, a back rest, left and right chair arm structures on opposite sides of the seat base, and a dispenser housing fitted within one of the chair arm structures. A cooler is removably received within the interior chamber of the dispenser housing and is structured to be filled with ice or frozen gel packs. A downwardly angled rack within the interior chamber provides a path that is directed at least partially around the cooler. The rack holds an arrangement of adjacently positioned beverage cans that are able to roll along the path by gravity assist while being chilled by the cooler. A sliding drawer below the interior chamber includes a pocket for receiving a lowermost beverage can from the rack. The drawer pulls out from the front of the chair to dispense a single beverage can. 
    
    
     
       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 front top perspective view of the chair with automatic gravity feed beer dispenser of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a front top perspective view showing an arm rest cover removed from a left chair arm structure to reveal an interior chamber with a cooler and an arrangement of beverage cans and a dispensing drawer pulled out from a bottom of the chair arm structure to dispense a single beverage can; 
         FIG. 3  is an isolated perspective view showing a dispenser housing that has been removed from the left chair arm structure, and including the ice filled cooler received within the interior chamber of the dispenser housing and arrangement of beverage cans within the dispenser housing, and the bottom drawer pulled out to dispense a single beverage can; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line indicated by the arrows  4 - 4  in  FIG. 3  showing the arrangement of beverage cans positioned along a dispensing path that travels about the ice filled cooler, and with the bottom drawer pulled out to dispense a single beverage can; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view similar to  FIG. 4  and showing the bottom drawer closed to allow a next successive beverage can at a bottom of the rack to be delivered into the pocket of the drawer; and 
         FIG. 6  is a partially exploded cross-sectional view showing the top arm rest cover removed and the cooler pulled out from the dispenser housing. 
     
    
    
     Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to the several views of the drawings, and initially  FIGS. 1-2 , the chair with an automatic gravity feed beverage dispenser is shown and is generally indicated as  10 . The chair  10  includes a seat base  12 , a back rest  14  and opposite chair arm structures  16  and  18  on opposite sides of the seat base  12 , as clearly illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The right chair arm structure includes a top arm rest  20  which may be cushioned for comfort. A beverage holder  24  may also be provided on the top of the right chair arm structure  16 . The left chair arm structure  18  includes an arm rest  22  which also may be padded for purposes of comfort. The arm rest  22  is removable to reveal a beverage dispenser assembly  30  that is built-in to the interior of the left chair arm structure  18 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     The beverage dispenser assembly  30  includes a dispenser housing  32 , as seen in  FIGS. 3-6 , which may be made to be easily removed through the open top of the left chair arm structure  18  (see  FIG. 2 ). The dispenser housing  32  has an interior chamber that is adapted to receive a cooler  34 . When the cooler  34  is fitted within the interior chamber of the dispenser housing, a rack is formed to hold an arrangement of beverage containers C. In a preferred embodiment, the beverage containers C are aluminum cans and in at least one embodiment, the aluminum can beverage containers C are beer cans. In another embodiment, the beverage containers C are soft drink cans. The rack is structured to hold the arrangement of beverage containers C in a downwardly directed path that allows the containers C to move in sequence, along the path with a lowermost one of the containers C 1  being deposited within a pocket  62  of the drawer  36  that is pulled out from the front of the chair arm structure  18  to deliver the individual beverage container C 1  to a person seated in the chair. 
     The cooler is preferably made to be easily removable from the interior chamber of the dispenser housing  32 , as seen in  FIG. 6 . The cooler  34  includes a top neck portion  40  that extends up to an open top  42  that allows the cooler to be easily filled with ice I (e.g., crushed ice or ice cubes) or frozen gel packs. The cooler  34  further includes a downwardly sloped top wall  44 , a vertical inner wall  46  and a downwardly sloped bottom wall  48 . An opposite vertical wall  49  extends from the open top  42  to the lowermost point of the bottom wall  48  and is normally positioned in engagement with a front inner surface of the front wall of the dispenser housing. The bottom sloped wall  48  of the cooler seats against an angled plate member  50  that is fitted within the interior chamber of the dispenser housing  32 . The angled plate member  50  holds the cooler at a desired position within the interior chamber of the dispenser housing  32  in order to form the rack which holds the arrangement of beverage containers C in the downwardly directed path, as clearly seen in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . A bottom sloped floor  52  is also fitted within the interior of the dispenser housing  32  in generally parallel relation to the downwardly angled plate member  50  for forming the final dispensing chute that delivers the beverage containers C to the drawer  36 . Specifically, when the drawer  36  is closed (i.e., pushed all the way in to the bottom chamber  54  of the dispenser housing  32 ), the pocket  62  of the drawer is aligned with the lowermost beverage container Cl along the path so that the lowermost container C 1  drops into the drawer pocket  62 . When the drawer  36  is pulled out, by grasping the handle  64 , a floor  60  of the drawer  36  holds the next successive lowermost beverage container C in position to be dropped into the pocket  62  when the delivered beverage container 
     C 1  is removed from the pocket  62  and the drawer is closed. Once the drawer  36  is closed, the pocket  62  moves in position below the next successive beverage container along the delivery path, allowing the lowermost one of the containers Cl to drop into the pocket  62  for delivery to the user. 
     While the present invention has been shown and described in accordance with several preferred and practical embodiments, it is recognized that departures from the instant disclosure are fully contemplated within the spirit and scope of the present invention which is not to be limited except as defined in the following claims.