Abstract:
A cozy for holding beverage containers of different sizes, comprises a base member having an exterior and an interior. The interior forms a cavity with an open top and a bottom end wider than the top to receive and hold a receptacle member herein and provide resistance to tipping. The interior may further include a weighting mechanism proximate the bottom of the base member which may provide a lower center of gravity to offset the center of gravity created by liquid held in a beverage container. The exterior may also include a flat bottom to mitigate tipping of a beverage container held by the cozy.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention generally relates to the field of household utensils and, more specifically, to freestanding beverage container holders that stabilize beverage containers of different sizes in an anti-spilling fashion. A beverage may be usually consumed from a beverage container such as a pint glass, soda can, and a water bottle, etc. Naturally, beverage containers may be prone to tipping over and spilling due to the fact that the center of gravity of the container may be relatively high because the dimension of the height of the container may be designed to be greater than the dimension of the base of the container. Such predisposition may be further aggravated given the rigidness of the body of the containers affords no absorption or reduction of force of impact on the body of the containers. Further, beverages may oftentimes be consumed both indoors and outdoors. For example, when placed on the grass at a picnic or on the sand at a beach, beverage containers may be more subject to tipping over and spilling due to the uneven nature of the surfaces of the grass and the sand. Additionally, when placed indoors, for example, on a coffee table or a study desk, beverage containers may also be subject to accidents that cause the containers to tip over and spill thus preventing damage to what is spilled upon. 
         [0002]    A number of beverage container holders exist in the prior art. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,600, an insulated cup holder is illustrated to have a bag-like flexible base secured to a rigid interior frame to form a holder that may be placed on uneven surfaces without spilling. In U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US 2007/0181766A1, a beverage container holder is shown to have a supporting member to support the container laterally and axially, and a stabilizing member to stabilize the holder, which has an outer dimension greater than at a lower end than at an upper end of the stabilizing member. In U.S. Pat. Pub. No. US 2007/0205205A1, a low center gravity holder includes a beverage container receptacle having a bottom with a high friction surface to resist skidding on a smooth surface and with a fabric hooking material to resist skidding on fabric. The holder also includes a stabilizing annular collar that is weighted by a gel material or weighted granular elements. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,096 discloses a beverage container stabilizing device for releasably holding various sized drink containers. The holder includes one or more biased members, each of which are secured to the inner surface of a frame, releasably holding various sized drink containers within a frame&#39;s interior region. The frame has a top end and a bottom end which rests upon the relatively horizontal surface when the drink container stabilizing device is in a resting position. A retaining member is used to further secure the one or more biased members proximate the top end of the frame, and a base plate may be attached to the bottom end of the frame so as to provide an underlying support for a drink container should the device be raised from its resting position. The base plate may further serve to secure the one or more biased members proximate to the bottom end of the frame. As can be seen, there is a need for beverage container holders that are freestanding and stabilize beverage containers of different sizes in a position and manner less prone to tipping over and spilling. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    In one aspect of the present invention, a cozy for holding a beverage container comprises a base member having an exterior and an interior. The interior forms a cavity with an open top and a bottom end to receive and hold herein a receptacle member. The interior further includes a weighting mechanism. The base member further includes a flat bottom. 
         [0004]    These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]      FIG. 1  is an exploded side view of a cozy according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional side view of the cozy shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  is a bottom end perspective side view of the cozy shown in  FIG. 1 ; and 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  is a side view of a cozy according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. 
         [0010]    The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims. 
         [0011]    Various inventive features are described below that can each be used independently of one another or in combination with other features. 
         [0012]    However, any single inventive feature may not address any of the problems discussed above or may only address one of the problems discussed above. Further, one or more of the problems discussed above may not be fully addressed by any of the features described below. 
         [0013]    Broadly, embodiments of the present invention generally provide a freestanding beverage container holder that stabilizes beverage containers of a variety of sizes and prevents the beverage containers from tipping over and spilling thus preventing damage to what is spilled upon. 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a side view of an embodiment of a cozy  10  for holding a beverage container (not shown) in accordance to the present invention. The cozy  10  includes a base member  30  and a receptacle  20 . The base member  30  may be configured to have an exterior  34  and an interior  36 . For sake of illustration, the base member  30  is shown both in an opened state to expose the interior  36  to view and a closed state where the interior  36  forms a cavity  32  with a top opening  322  and a bottom end  324 . The interior  36  may also be configured to include a weighting mechanism that is not shown in  FIG. 1  but in  FIGS. 2 and 4 . The receptacle  20  may be configured to include a top opening  22  and a bottom  24 . In an exemplary embodiment, the receptacle  20  may be substantially cylindrical and have a depth  202 , a top circumference  204 , and a bottom circumference  206 . The base member  30  may also have a height  302 , a top circumference  304 , and a bottom circumference  306 . The bottom circumference  306  may be wider than the top circumference  304 . In an exemplary embodiment, the base member  30  can be of any shape that has a broad bottom end towards the bottom end  324  of the cavity  32  and a small top end towards the top opening  322  of the cavity  32 . In another exemplary embodiment, the receptacle  20  may accommodate a beverage container of a variety of sizes and shapes, such as a pint glass, a soda can, and a water bottle, etc. When the receptacle  20  is adapted to be fastened to the inside of the cavity  32 , the top opening  322  of the cavity  32  may be coupled to a periphery of a wall of the receptacle  20  via glue, snap fasteners and the like. 
         [0015]    In one exemplary embodiment, the receptacle  20  may be a tapered cup. In another exemplary embodiment, the tapered cup may have a height of, for example, 3.5 inches, a top circumference of 10 and ¾ inches, and a bottom circumference of 9 inches. The cavity  32  may match the shape and the dimensions of the receptacle  20  so that the top opening  322  of the cavity  32  may be coupled to an uppermost periphery of the top opening  22  of the receptacle  20  and the bottom end  324  of the cavity  32  may contact a bottom periphery of the bottom  24  of the receptacle  20  directly. 
         [0016]      FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional side view of the cozy  10  shown in  FIG. 1 . In some embodiments, the base member  30  may include a flat bottomed surface  38 . A weighting mechanism  40  may be disposed inside the interior  36  of the base member  30  and adapted to substantially fill the lower end of the base member  30  proximate the bottom end  324  of the cavity  32 . The weighting mechanism  40  may also be configured to substantially surround the bottom  24  of the receptacle  20 , and may extend upwardly to any height that is less than the height of the cavity  32 . By providing a weighted mass towards the bottom of the base member  30 , the weighing mechanism  40  supplies a lower center of gravity and in conjunction with the tapered interior therefore stabilizes the top heavy beverage container held herein and prevents spills. 
         [0017]    In an exemplary embodiment, the weighting mechanism  40  may include an annular bag  44  filled with granular articles  42  such as pebbles, beads, gravels, gel, liquid, or rocks. The annular bag  44  may be configured to have a center opening area that may have substantially the same size and shape as that of the bottom  24  of the receptacle  20 . In another exemplary embodiment, the annular bag  44  may be configured to have a center opening area that is greater than that of the bottom  24  of the receptacle  20 . The bottom  24  of the receptacle  20  comes into direct contact with the bottom end  324  of the interior  36 , which may be configured directly atop of and against the flat bottom  38  of the exterior  34  of the base member  30 . The flat bottom  38  may be adapted to contact a surface on which the cozy  10  rests. In use, it may be appreciated that wider bottom features of the cozy  10 , for example the bottom circumference  306  may resist movement of the top of the receptacle  20  from tipping beyond a center of gravity. 
         [0018]    Referring now to  FIG. 3 , a flat bottom  38  of the base member  30  may be configured to be disposed substantially in the center of the bottom of the exterior  34  where the cozy  10  comes into contact with a surface on which the cozy  10  is placed. In some embodiments, the flat bottom  38  may also include a displaying area for displaying marks, logos, quick response codes, images and texts, including a cozy manufacturer&#39;s logo or mark. A neck  50  may be at the uppermost periphery of the base member  30 . The neck  50  may further include an area for displaying marks, logos, quick response codes, images and texts, including a cozy manufacturer&#39;s logo or marks. In an exemplary embodiment, the neck may be of a height of 2 inches. 
         [0019]      FIG. 4  is a side view of a cozy  210  according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a base member  230 , a receptacle  220  and a weighting mechanism  240  may be one integral piece. Such integral piece may, for example, may be made of inexpensive materials such as plastic, metal or disposable materials. The base member  230  may further include an exterior  234  and an interior  236 . Both the bottom  238  of the cozy  210  and the bottom  224  of the receptacle  220  may be configured to be flat. 
         [0020]    Further, the bottom  224  of the receptacle  220  may be adapted to be disposed directly atop the bottom  238  of the exterior  234  of the cozy  210 . 
         [0021]    In yet another embodiment, the exterior of the base member of the cozy may be made of flexible materials such as thick cloth or leather for the purpose of absorbing force upon impact and further prevent tipping over and spills. 
         [0022]    Additionally, the cozy may serve and function as a coaster so that cold beverage containers held inside the cozy would not leave undesirable condensation rings on a surface where they are placed. 
         [0023]    It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.