Abstract:
The present invention generally relates to a bottle having an attached sleeve for improved gripping comprising of a plastic, metal, or polymeric material. The attached sleeve having straps that form a substantially grid like structure having openings and a sleeve dimple at the bottom of said attached sleeve having at least one ridge or at least one protrusion.

Description:
RELATED U.S. APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/303,946, filed on Feb. 12, 2010, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention generally relates to a beverage container and, more particularly, to a champagne or sparkling wine bottle having a sleeve which encompasses the bottle. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Traditionally, a champagne bottle or a sparkling wine bottle is a hollow vessel comprised of a body section, a narrower neck section, an opening on the end of the neck, a cork or crown cap for closure of the opening, and a bottom that is steeply domed or dimpled towards the inside of the container. The champagne or sparkling wine bottles are commonly made from glass but have also been made of other materials such as plastic. 
         [0004]    The steeply domed or dimpled containers offer the advantage of making it possible to produce a peripheral bearing region that is flat and above all continuous over the entirety of its extent, so that they afford the containers placed on a substantially flat support a remarkably stable footing. Bottoms of this type are particularly advantageous when the containers are filled with pressurized liquids, such as carbonated beverages, because these bottoms, due to their highly inwardly convex shape, are intrinsically able to withstand the pressure applied to them from the inside, and therefore remain stable. 
         [0005]    Some steeply domed or dimpled bottoms of champagne bottles have contained a central pimple usually located at the concave face of the bottom. These central pimples may also have ribs extending from the central pimple. Both of these embodiments were developed to improve the mechanical strength of champagne bottles. 
         [0006]    Champagne bottles are commonly held by the base of the bottle during pouring. A pourer usually places his thumb in the domed or dimpled base. However, the prior art champagne bottles are often difficult to grip which can lead to slippage and accidents. Therefore there is a need for a champagne bottle with a domed or dimpled base that is easier to grip during pouring. 
         [0007]    Typically a champagne bottle&#39;s contents are served cold, such as champagne and sparkling wine. Since the bottle content is cold, condensation is likely to result in the formation of dew on the outside of the bottle. One of the drawbacks associated with pouring a champagne bottle is this dew which causes the champagne bottle to become slippery. This problem is exacerbated when the champagne bottle is stored in an ice bucket where the ice slush clings to the bottle as the bottle is removed from the cooler. 
         [0008]    In an attempt to solve this problem many people wrap a napkin or towel around the champagne bottle. However, this is only useful if a napkin or towel is present and even if a napkin or towel is present the use of it will either cause the napkin to be thrown away or the towel to be washed. Therefore there is a need for a champagne bottle with a gripping device already incorporated on the bottle that will allow for safer and more secure handling of a champagne bottle without the need for using another device. 
         [0009]    In addition, many champagne bottles are labeled with paper or similar materials. These likely become damp when the bottle suffers from condensation or is placed in an ice bucket. This dampness may cause the labeling to either tear off or become illegible. There is a need for labeling of champagne bottles that are more resistant to water damage and/or condensation damage. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    The present invention generally relates to a bottle having an attached sleeve for improved gripping comprising of a plastic, metal, or polymeric material. The attached sleeve having straps that form a substantially grid like structure having openings and a sleeve dimple at the bottom of said attached sleeve having at least one ridge or at least one protrusion. 
         [0011]    In one embodiment, the attached sleeve contains a cup that is placed under the sleeve dimple to help provide for an easier to grip champagne container. In another embodiment, the cup may have a protruding nub on the top of the cup. The protruding nub helps attach the cup to the sleeve dimple providing for easier gripping, especially when pouring. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    Objects and advantages together with the operation of the invention may be better understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in connection with the following illustrations, wherein: 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  illustrates an exploded view of a toast bottle. 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  illustrates a perspective view of a toast bottle. 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  illustrates a front view of a toast bottle. 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  illustrates a rear view of a toast bottle. 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  illustrates a side view of a toast bottle. 
           [0018]      FIG. 6  illustrates a side view of a toast bottle. 
           [0019]      FIG. 7  illustrates a top view of a toast bottle. 
           [0020]      FIG. 8  illustrates a bottom view of a toast bottle. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0021]    Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural and functional changes may be made without departing from the respective scope of the invention. As such, the following description is presented by way of illustration only and should not limit in any way the various alternatives and modifications that may be made to the illustrated embodiments and still be within the spirit and scope of the invention. 
         [0022]    A Toast Bottle is illustrated in  FIGS. 1-8 . A champagne bottle  10  may be encompassed by a sleeve  12  to provide an easier to grip and more aesthetically pleasing champagne container  14 . 
         [0023]    The champagne container  14  is comprised of a champagne bottle  10  encompassed by a sleeve  12  wherein the sleeve  12  is firmly engaged with the champagne bottle. The champagne bottle  10  is commonly made of glass but may also be made from any composition known in the art such as plastic, a glass-plastic mixture, or any other material known in the art. The champagne bottle  10  may be filled with champagne, sparkling wine, other alcoholic beverages or any other drinking liquid. In one embodiment the, sleeve  12  is comprised of copper which helps maintain a lower temperature when the champagne container  14  is removed from refrigeration. However, the sleeve  12  may also be comprised of any other material known in the art such as plastic, metal, or a polymeric material. In one embodiment, the sleeve may be removeably attached or permanently attached to the bottle. In another embodiment, the sleeve may easily slide on and off bottle. 
         [0024]    In one embodiment, the sleeve  12  may be made of a body comprising straps  16  that form a grid like structure as seen in  FIGS. 1-3 . The straps  16  cross each other and form openings  18  that may be square but may also be any other shape such as a diamond, triangle, rhombus, etc. In one embodiment, the openings  18  may have sides  20  with a length of approximately 0.5 cm. The length of the sides  20 , however, is not necessarily limited to such dimensions and may be of any distance. The openings  18  of the sleeve  12  do not have to be of an equal size but some may be of an equal size. The sleeve  12  may have any number of openings  18  created by the straps  16 . In one embodiment, the dimensions of the openings may be larger nearer to the bottom of the sleeve than the openings nearer to the top of the sleeve. 
         [0025]    In one embodiment, the sleeve  12  has no openings at the bottom of the sleeve  22  near the base of the champagne bottle  10  and the sleeve  12  also has no openings at the top of the sleeve  24  near the opening of the champagne bottle  10 . However, a sleeve  12  may have openings  18  at either the bottom of the sleeve  22  or the top of the sleeve  24 . The bottom of the sleeve  22  may contain a bottom ring  26  that encircles a portion of the bottom of the sleeve  22 . The top of the sleeve  24  may contain a separate top ring  28 , which may be smaller in radius than the bottom ring  26 , that encircles a portion of the top of the sleeve  24 . 
         [0026]    The straps  16  and openings  18  may be interrupted by any number or any variation of unopened portion sleeve such as a top label  30 , a middle label  32 , or a bottom label  34 . These interruptions may be blank or contain markings such as the name of the product, location of the product, warning label, or any other label commonly known in the art. The labels on the sleeve  12  may be of any shape or size and may contain any information. The straps  16  and openings  18  may also be interrupted by any other means known in the art. 
         [0027]    In one embodiment, the rear label  36  has an enclosure  38  with at least one opening  40  attached to the rear label  36 . This enclosure  38  may be located on the left side of the rear label  36  if viewing the champagne bottle container  14  from behind, but the enclosure  38  may be located at any location on the sleeve. The sleeve  12  may contain any number of enclosures located at any place on the sleeve  12 . The sleeve  12  may also contain no enclosures. The enclosure opening  40  may contain a feather or any other substance such as a flag, ribbon, or balloon. 
         [0028]    In another embodiment, the sleeve  12  may have one or two protruding sides  42  as shown in  FIGS. 1-3 . In an embodiment with two protruding sides  42  the protruding sides  42  are located approximately 180 degrees from each other on the sleeve  12 . The protruding sides  42  may extend from the top ring  28  of the sleeve  12  to the bottom ring  26  of the sleeve  12  but can extend any length along the vertical axis of the sleeve  12 . The protruding sides  42  may have indentations  44  as shown in  FIG. 3  and may have any number of indentations  44 . 
         [0029]    In another embodiment, the sleeve  12  encompasses the champagne bottle&#39;s punt with a sleeve dimple  46  providing a greater ease for holding the champagne container  14  and pouring the contents of the champagne bottle  10 . The sleeve dimple  46  may contain openings  18  which may be located between the sleeve dimple bottom  48  and the sleeve dimple top  50  which rests next to the punt. The sleeve dimple bottom  48  may have a slit located below the openings  18  in the sleeve dimple  46  as shown in  FIG. 6  but a slit may be located at any location on the sleeve  12  or the sleeve dimple  46 . 
         [0030]    In another embodiment, the sleeve dimple bottom  48  may be creased  52  which may provide greater stability, easier gripping, or any other advantages the crease  52  may provide. The sleeve dimple top  50  may contain one or more ridges or one or more protrusions to provide for better gripping. 
         [0031]    In another embodiment, the sleeve dimple top  50  contains a cup  54 . The cup  54  helps provide for an easier to grip champagne container  14 . The cup  54 , in its preferred embodiment, is comprised of rubber but may also be comprised of any material known in the art such as plastic, metal, or a polymeric material. The cup  54  may contain a protruding nub  58  at the end located closest to the punt. The nub  58  may help attach the cup  54  to the sleeve dimple  46 . However, the cup  54  may be attached to the sleeve dimple by any known means in the art. 
         [0032]    The champagne bottle  10  has a liquid dispensing region  56  in which the contained liquid exits the champagne bottle  10 . The liquid dispensing region  56  may be closed with a cork but may also be closed with a crown cap or any other means known in the art.