Patent Publication Number: US-9423173-B1

Title: Single beverage freezable container

Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of my application Ser. No. 13/199,088, filed Aug. 18, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,621,885, issued Jan. 7, 2014, titled SINGLE BEVERAGE FREEZABLE CONTAINER, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and which claims the benefit of my provisional application having Ser. No. 61/401,776, filed Aug. 19, 2010. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (a) Field of the Invention 
     This application relates to a system and device for retaining and cooling a beverage container, and more particularly, but without limitation, to a reusable container holder that is designed to be cooled and then used to cool a beverage container retained within the device. 
     (b) Discussion of Known Art 
     The need to cool or retain a beverage container, such as a beverage bottle or can, is well recognized. However, solutions for this problem have resulted in designs that provide significant compromises. For instance, devices that are used solely to insulate the beverage container do not provide the ability to also chill or heat the contents of the beverage container, if chilling or heating is desired. Devices that provide chilling capability, such as the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,163,374 to Moore et al. lack the ability to accommodate both bottled and canned beverages, and thus provide limited versatility and utility. There is a need for a device or system that can be used to get canned or bottled beverages to a desired temperature range, and keep the beverage within the bottle or can at the desired temperature range. 
     Another example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,604,549 to Campi discloses a device made of foamed plastic that can accommodate cans by using a “puck-shaped” lid, and can then be modified to accommodate long neck bottles by replacing the puck-shaped lid with a lid that follows the shape of the top of a long-neck bottle. Immediately apparent shortcomings of this approach is that the user must carry and store different types of lids for different types of containers, depending if one will be using the device with a can or a bottle. 
     An approach at alleviating the problems associated with the Moore et al. and the Campi type of devices is found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,814,252 to Murakami et al., which uses an extendible, flexible, frusto-conical section to accommodate the neck portion of a bottle. The frusto-conical section includes a pair of opposed stretch panels to accommodate various shapes of bottles. 
     Therefore, a review of known devices reveals that there remains a need for a container that can be used to keep bottled or canned beverages at a desired temperature range without having to modify the container to allow use of the device with a can or with a bottle, or whether it is used to hold a long-neck beer bottle or a feeding bottle for an infant. 
     SUMMARY 
     It has been discovered that the problems left unanswered by known art can be solved by providing a container for accepting and retaining bottles or cans for the purpose of insulating or bringing them to a desired temperature range, and which in a preferred embodiment includes: 
     A hollow upper section having an internal cylindrical portion that has an upper edge and a lower edge; the upper section also having an internal frusto-conical section that extends from the cylindrical portion, the frusto-conical section having a slotted aperture that commences from the cylindrical portion and extends away from the cylindrical portion, the cylindrical portion also having a threaded portion next to the lower edge; and 
     A hollow base section, the base section having a base threaded portion that is adapted for engaging the threaded portion of the upper section. 
     According to a highly preferred embodiment of the invention the hollow upper section and the hollow base section are filled with a liquid or fluidized material such as a “freezer gel”, which is commonly hydroxyethyl cellulose, or a polymer, or silica coated with vinyl, or other similar material with a high enthalpy of fusion. Thus the hollow upper section and the hollow base section will both be hollow shells or sections that are filled with freezer gel. 
     It should also be understood that while the above and other advantages and results of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, showing the contemplated novel construction, combinations and elements as herein described, and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it should be clearly understood that changes in the precise embodiments of the herein disclosed invention are meant to be included within the scope of the claims, except insofar as they may be precluded by the prior art. 
    
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention according to the best mode presently devised for making and using the instant invention, and in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the disclosed invention while retaining a canned beverage, and also illustrates the outline of the positioning of a long-necked bottle when retained within the disclosed invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the components used to make the he hollow upper section and the hollow base section. The internal freezer gel material has been omitted from the view. 
         FIG. 3  is section view illustrating the fitment of the components illustrated in  FIG. 2 , and illustrating the nesting of the domed lower portion of the hollow base section and the domed recess commonly found in the bottom of bottles and cans. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EXEMPLAR EMBODIMENTS 
     While the invention will be described and disclosed here in connection with certain preferred embodiments, the description is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments shown and described here, but rather the invention is intended to cover all alternative embodiments and modifications that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims included herein as well as any equivalents of the disclosed and claimed invention. 
     Attention is now directed to  FIG. 1  where a preferred embodiment of the disclosed freezable container holder  10 , which is designed for retaining a single beverage container  12 , such as a bottle  13  or can  15 , has been illustrated. The container holder  10  includes a hollow upper section  14  that has an internal cylindrical portion  16 . The internal cylindrical portion  16  has an upper edge  18  and a lower edge  14 . Additionally, the upper section  14  also includes an internal frusto-conical section  20 , which while preferably being frusto-conical, may also be generally conical or shaped so as to accept the shape of a longneck type bottle. 
     As can be understood from  FIGS. 1 and 3 , the frusto-conical section  20  extends from the internal cylindrical portion  16 , and preferably includes a slotted aperture  22  that extends through the frusto-conical section  20  and commences from a location that is at or next to the cylindrical portion and extends away from the cylindrical portion.  FIG. 3  also makes it clear that, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the cylindrical portion  16  includes a threaded portion  24  next to the lower edge  21 . It is important to note that while threads have been illustrated as being the preferred embodiment, it is also contemplated that slotted engagement mechanisms may also be used. 
     The threaded portion  24  of the hollow upper section  14  cooperates with a hollow base section  26  to capture or enclose the beverage container  12  between the two sections. The hollow base section  26  includes a base threaded portion  28  that is adapted for engaging the threaded portion  24  of the hollow upper section  14 . The use of threads adds adjustability to the disclosed system in that turning the upper section  14  relative to the hollow base section  26  allows adjustment of the overall length of the disclosed invention in order to accommodate variations in length or shapes of cans of bottles that are to be retained by the disclosed invention. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , it will be understood that the hollow base section  26  is preferably made up from a base shell section  29  that has a horizontal base portion  30  that includes a perimeter  32 , which may be a flat-ring shape or curved section, and a base domed section  34 . The base shell section  28  of the hollow base section  26  also includes a wall portion  36  that extends up from the perimeter  32  and around the base domed section  34 . 
       FIGS. 2 and 3  also show that the hollow base section  26  also preferably includes a base inner sleeve  37 . The illustrated preferred example of the base inner sleeve  37  includes a generally domed bottom section  38  that is at a distance or spaced apart from the base domed section  34 . Additionally, the base inner sleeve  37  includes a base inner wall  40  that extends up from the generally domed bottom section  38  and ends in the base threaded portion  28 . A base sealing wall  42  that extends from the base inner wall  40  to the wall portion  36  of the base shell section  29  when the base inner sleeve  37  is inserted into the base shell section  29 . As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the generally domed bottom section  38  is adapted for engaging the recess  44  commonly found on the bottom of the bottle or can, which is the single beverage container. Thus, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the base domed section  34  adapted for extending into the generally domed bottom section  38  when the base sealing wall  42  is in contact with the wall portion  36  of the base shell section  29 . 
     Thus, it will be understood that the hollow upper section  14  and the hollow base section  26  may be filled with a liquid  44  or fluidized material such as a “freezer gel”, which is commonly hydroxyethyl cellulose, or a polymer, or silica coated with vinyl, or other similar material that may be frozen so that the disclosed invention may be used to cool the bottle  13  or can  15  retained by the invention. 
     Thus it can be appreciated that the above-described embodiments are illustrative of just a few of the numerous variations of arrangements of the disclosed elements used to carry out the disclosed invention. Moreover, while the invention has been particularly shown, described and illustrated in detail with reference to preferred embodiments and modifications thereof, it should be understood that the foregoing and other modifications are exemplary only, and that equivalent changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as claimed, except as precluded by the prior art.