Abstract:
A beverage container holder comprising a base and at least one structure projecting upwardly from the base, wherein the at least one structure projecting upwardly from the base releasably holds a beverage container inserted into engagement with the at least one structure, wherein the base comprises portions projecting horizontally beyond the at least one upwardly projecting structure when the beverage holder is disposed in a resting position on an underlying support surface to provide additional tip-over resistance to the beverage container, and wherein either the base or the at least one structure projecting upwardly includes a visible element that is singularly identifiable by the user.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    This invention relates to holders for beverage containers such as bottles, cans and glasses. Beverage container holders made in accordance with the invention are desirably releasably attachable to or engageable with beverage containers; preferably embody a low profile relative to the width, diameter or other principal transverse (“substantially horizontal”) dimension of the base, are resistant to accidental turnover and associated spillage, and comprise one or more indicia that assist a user in differentiating his or her beverage from that of another. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    Conventional holders for beverage containers include, for example, insulated polymeric beverage container holders (sometimes referred to as “koozies” or “coosies”), handle attachments for cans or bottles, vehicular beverage holders, and the like. U.S. Pat. No. 6,578,809 discloses flexible bases that grip beverage holders such as glasses, cans or bottles and are also designed to absorb condensation or minor spillage. U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,207,538 and 7,726,499 disclose plastic bottle holders having a handle. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,282,598 and 7,748,678 disclose beverage container holders that can be mounted in or on a vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 6,141,969 discloses a beverage vessel holder in which a thermoelectric device provides heating and/or cooling to a beverage vessel in use. U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,302 discloses a beverage container holder useful for supporting a drinking container on a wide variety of surfaces and for keeping the beverage hot or cold. U.S. Pat. No. 6,877,705 discloses a coaster attachable to the base of stemware to be carried with the stemware, the coaster comprising a material that will absorb and prevent the transmission of moisture to an underlying substrate. U.S. Pat. No. 7,328,876 discloses a cup holder stretchable around a beverage holder that is also insertable into a beverage holder in a vehicle console. Also previously known are identification “bracelets” attachable to stemware to assist users in identifying the beverage of a particular user. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    Notwithstanding the various types and kinds of beverage container holders previously disclosed, there remains a need for a beverage container holder that is easily attachable to and detachable from a beverage container such as a can or bottle, that remains attached to the beverage container during consumption of the contained beverage, that comprises at least one design element by which the beverage holder is readily and singularly identifiable by the user as being his or her own, and that preferably comprises at least one element providing resistance to accidental tip-over and resultant spillage during use. 
         [0006]    Beverage container holders are disclosed herein that embody all the benefits and advantages identified above, and that are lightweight, inexpensive, injection moldable, and are easily attachable to and detachable from beverage containers of different types and sizes. 
         [0007]    According to one embodiment of the invention, a beverage container holder is disclosed that comprises a base and an upwardly projecting substantially cylindrical, flexing sidewall, the base further comprising a transverse dimension that is greater than the height of the sidewall, wherein the sidewall is configured to grip a beverage container inserted into a recess defined by the sidewall so that the beverage container abuts against a portion of the base, and wherein either the base or sidewall includes a visible element that is singularly identifiable by the user. Optionally, the sidewall can contain a plurality of arcuately spaced projections directed inwardly from the sidewall to grip the beverage container. 
         [0008]    According to another embodiment of the invention, a beverage container holder is disclosed that comprises a base and an upwardly projecting substantially cylindrical, flexing sidewall, wherein the sidewall is configured to grip a beverage container inserted into a recess defined by the sidewall, wherein the base further comprises a transverse dimension that is greater than the diameter of a beverage container plus twice the thickness of the sidewall, and wherein either the base or sidewall includes a visible element that is singularly identifiable by the user. 
         [0009]    According to another embodiment of the invention, a beverage container holder is disclosed that comprises a base and a plurality of upwardly projecting, circumferentially spaced-apart, flexing, arcuate wall sections, each arcuate wall section cooperating with the others to grip a beverage container inserted between or among them, and wherein either the base or at least one wall section includes a visible element that is singularly identifiable by the user. 
         [0010]    According to another embodiment of the invention, a beverage container holder is disclosed that comprises a base and a plurality of upwardly projecting, circumferentially spaced-apart, flexing, arcuate wall sections, each arcuate wall section cooperating with the others to grip a beverage container inserted between or among them, wherein the base further comprises a transverse dimension that is greater than the diameter of the beverage container plus twice the thickness of an arcuate wall section, and wherein either the base or at least one wall section includes a visible element that is singularly identifiable by the user. 
         [0011]    According to another embodiment of the invention, a beverage container holder is disclosed that comprises a base and at least one structure projecting upwardly from the base, wherein the at least one structure projecting upwardly from the base releasably holds a beverage container inserted into engagement with the at least one structure, wherein the base comprises portions projecting horizontally beyond the at least one upwardly projecting structure when the beverage holder is disposed in a resting position on an underlying support surface to provide additional tip-over resistance to the beverage container, and wherein either the base or the at least one structure projecting upwardly includes a visible element that is singularly identifiable by the user. 
         [0012]    According to another embodiment of the invention, a beverage container holder is disclosed wherein each beverage container holder is made in accordance with any of paragraphs [0005-0009] above and wherein each such beverage holder has at least one aperture extending through the base. 
         [0013]    According to another embodiment of the invention, a beverage container holder is disclosed that comprises a material or an insert in combination with a configuration specifically intended to increase the mass of the beverage container holder, especially at or near its lower end, and thereby lower the center of gravity of the beverage container holder and any beverage container releasably engaged by the holder. 
         [0014]    According to another embodiment of the invention, a plurality of beverage container holders are disclosed wherein each beverage container holder is made in accordance with any or a combination of paragraphs [0005-0010] above and wherein each such beverage container holder has a visible element that makes it singularly identifiable relative to the others. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]    The apparatus of the invention is further described and explained in relation to the following drawings wherein: 
           [0016]      FIG. 1  is a front elevation view, partially broken away and partially in section, of a beverage container holder; 
           [0017]      FIG. 2  is a top plan view of the beverage container holder of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional front elevation view taken along line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 4  is a beverage container holder similar to that of  FIG. 3  as applied to a beverage container that is a can; 
           [0020]      FIG. 5  is a beverage container holder similar to that of  FIG. 3  but having a taller sidewall and applied to a beverage container that is a bottle; 
           [0021]      FIG. 6  is a top plan view of a beverage container holder similar to that of  FIG. 2  but having a base portion with a differently configured perimeter; 
           [0022]      FIG. 7  is a top plan view of a beverage container holder similar to that of  FIG. 2  but having a base portion with a differently configured perimeter; 
           [0023]      FIG. 8  is a top plan view of a beverage container holder similar to that of  FIG. 2  but having a base portion with a differently configured perimeter; 
           [0024]      FIG. 9  is a top perspective view of another beverage container holder; 
           [0025]      FIG. 10  is a top plan view of the beverage container holder of  FIG. 9 ; 
           [0026]      FIG. 11  is a front elevation view of the beverage container holder of  FIG. 9 ; 
           [0027]      FIG. 12  is a bottom plan view of the beverage container holder of  FIG. 12 ; 
           [0028]      FIG. 13  is a top perspective view of another beverage container holder; 
           [0029]      FIG. 14  is a top plan view of the beverage container holder of  FIG. 13 ; 
           [0030]      FIG. 15  is a front elevation view of the beverage container holder of  FIG. 13 ; 
           [0031]      FIG. 16  is a bottom plan view of the beverage container holder of  FIG. 13 ; 
           [0032]      FIG. 17  is a top perspective view of another beverage container holder; 
           [0033]      FIG. 18  is a top plan view of the beverage container holder of  FIG. 17 ; 
           [0034]      FIG. 19  is a front elevation view of the beverage container holder of  FIG. 17 ; 
           [0035]      FIG. 20  is a bottom plan view of the beverage container holder of  FIG. 17 ; 
           [0036]      FIG. 21  is a top perspective view of another beverage container holder; 
           [0037]      FIG. 22  is a top plan view of the beverage container holder of  FIG. 21 ; 
           [0038]      FIG. 23  is a front elevation view of the beverage container holder of  FIG. 21 ; and 
           [0039]      FIG. 24  is a bottom plan view of the beverage container holder of  FIG. 21 . 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0040]    Referring to  FIGS. 1-4 , a beverage container holder  30  is disclosed that comprises base  32 , sidewall  34  having an inside surface defining a continuous, substantially cylindrical interior void  36 , and indicia  37  visible on the outside surface of sidewall  34 . Beverage container holder  30  is preferably unitarily molded or otherwise formed from a moldable, commercially available polymeric resin or from any other material suitable for such purposes as determined by those of ordinary skill in the art. Sidewall  30  is desirably sufficiently flexible to facilitate insertion and removal of beverage containers during use, and is desirably resistant to breakage upon such impacts as might reasonably be encountered during use a holder for beverage containers such as, for example, can  42  shown in  FIG. 4 . Outside radius  38  and inside radius  40  are desirably provided along the circumferentially extending intersection between base  32  and sidewall  34  to relieve stress concentrations that might otherwise occur in those sections of beverage holder container  30 , and thereby reduce the likelihood of breakage during manufacture, storage, transport or use. It will also be appreciated that the inside surface of sidewall  34  will likely have a slight inward taper from top to bottom to facilitate molding. Indicia  37  can be any shape, image, graphic or text capable of singularly identifying that particular beverage container holder to one or more users in a situation or setting where several beverage container holders of the same general type are present. Such indicia  37  can, for example, take the form of an adhesively applied decal, a painted design, a molded or embossed character or image. In  FIG. 1 , for illustrative purposes only, indicia  37  is the image of a football. 
         [0041]    According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, in order to provide some resistance to accidental tip-over during use, base  32  has a thickness about the same or slightly greater than the thickness of sidewall  34 , and is depicted as having a circular perimeter with a diameter that is greater than the height of sidewall  34  above base  32 . It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading this disclosure, however, that for some uses, such as holding beverage bottles, a beverage container holder having a base that is wider than the height of the sidewall is not practical. This is illustrated, for example, with reference to  FIG. 5 , where beverage container holder  44  is made similarly to beverage container holder  30  of  FIGS. 1-4  except that the height of sidewall  48  above base  46  is greater than the width or diameter of base  46  to provide additional support to bottle  50 . It should be appreciated upon reading this disclosure, however, that bottle  50  can also be used with a beverage container holder configured similarly to that shown in  FIGS. 1-4 , or in accordance with one or more other embodiments of the invention. For example, and referring this time to  FIGS. 1-5 , according to another embodiment of the invention, base  32 ,  46  has a principal transverse dimension (the diameter) that is greater than the outside diameter of sidewall  34 ,  48  respectively. Said differently, base  32 ,  46  has a principal transverse dimension that is greater than the diameter of the beverage container to be held plus twice the thickness of sidewall  34 ,  48  respectively. 
         [0042]    Furthermore, although the beverage container holders  30 ,  44  shown and described in relation to  FIGS. 1-5  have bases with circular perimeters, it is seen in  FIGS. 6-8  that the perimeter shapes of bases  58 ,  60 ,  62  of beverage container holders  52 ,  54 ,  56  respectively, can vary significantly within the parameters discussed above, while sidewalls  64 ,  66 ,  68  and interior voids  70 ,  72 ,  74  respectively are unchanged. In accordance with the invention, bases  32 ,  58 ,  60 ,  62  can themselves provide a visible element that is singularly identifiable by a user. Where the shape of the base is varied simultaneously with indicia such as football indicia  37  on a sidewall, it is possible, for example, to produce 16 (4×4) singularly identifiable beverage container holders by using only four different base configurations and four different (text, color, type of ball, etc.) decal indicia. It should also be appreciated upon reading this disclosure in relation to the accompanying drawings that each of bases  32 ,  58 ,  60 ,  62  has a principal transverse dimension meeting the criteria stated in paragraph [0014] even though bases  58 ,  60 ,  62  are not circular and therefore do not, strictly speaking, have a diameter (although it may be argued that each of bases  58 ,  60 ,  62  can be circumscribed by circles having equal or substantially equal diameters). 
         [0043]    Referring to  FIGS. 9-12 , beverage container holder  80  comprises substantially circular base  82  having two opposed, spaced-apart, upwardly projecting arcuate structures  88 ,  90  that are desirably cooperatively configured to releasably engage and frictionally hold a beverage container such as a can or bottle between them. For illustrative purposes, each of structures  88 ,  90  is depicted as having spaced-apart vertical posts joined by an arcuate, horizontally disposed top rail. Slots  84 ,  86  in base  82  are desirably provided underneath each rail to facilitate molding. In this embodiment, the principal transverse dimension of base  82  is again greater than the height of upwardly projecting structures  88 ,  90  above base  82  and is also greater than the diameter of a circle circumscribing the outside of upwardly projecting structures  88 ,  90  and greater than the diameter of a usable beverage container plus twice the thickness of one of structures  88 ,  90 . 
         [0044]    Star-shaped indicia  92 ,  94  are provided inside voids  96 ,  98  for use as identifiers, and it will be recognized upon reading this disclosure that they can be painted or overlaid with differently colored decals to distinguish one from the other among a group, or some can be molded with other differently shaped indicia by changing inserts to the mold. With this embodiment, the height of top edge  102  ( FIG. 11 ) above base  82  can be considered the height of the arcuate structures  88 ,  90  of beverage container holder  80 . Also, in this embodiment, the interior bottom portion  104  of base  82  beneath the interior seating surface  100  for a beverage container is recessed slightly above the perimeter of base  82  to reduce material cost and provide an insulative air gap between the portion of base  82  underlying a beverage container (not shown) disposed inside holder  80  and an underlying support surface upon which base  82  rests when the beverage is not in the hands of the user. 
         [0045]    Referring to  FIGS. 13-16 , beverage container holder  110  comprises a scalloped, generally circular base  112  and opposed, upwardly projecting, continuous arcuate sidewall sections having inwardly projecting top edges  120  to assist in providing frictional engagement with the outside wall of a beverage container with which holder  110  is used. In this embodiment, the principal transverse dimension of base  112  is again greater than the height of sidewall sections  114 ,  116  above base  112  and is also greater than the diameter of a circle circumscribing the outside of arcuate sidewall sections  114 ,  116  and greater than the beverage container diameter plus twice the thickness of a sidewall section. Slots  118  and  122  are desirably provided in base  112  to facilitate molding of the inwardly projecting top edges  120  of arcuate sidewall sections  114 ,  116 . In this embodiment, base  112  has a substantially constant thickness between upwardly facing surface  124  and downwardly facing bottom surface  125 . In this embodiment, singularly identifiable indicia as described above can be placed upon or integrated into outwardly visible portions of sidewall sections  114 ,  116  to facilitate identification of the holder and distinguish it from others that may be in use at the same location or event. Similarly, if other beverage container holders are provided having other visually identifiable base configurations, the configuration of base  112  can itself be the element that is singularly identifiable by the user. 
         [0046]    Referring to  FIGS. 17-20 , beverage container holder  130  comprises a base having a top surface  140 , a bottom surface  154 , and a plurality of circumferentially spaced, inwardly scalloped recesses  134 ,  136 ,  138  and a slightly tapered, substantially cylindrical sidewall  132  having a plurality of circumferentially spaced sidewall voids  150 ,  153 ,  148  communicating with recesses  134 ,  136 ,  138 , respectively. The recesses in base  140  and sidewall  132  cooperate to facilitate molding of a plurality of inwardly facing projections  142 ,  144 ,  146  near the top edge  152  of sidewall  132 , which projections desirably provide frictional engagement with a beverage container inserted into releasable engagement with beverage container holder  130 . As discussed above in relation to the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , an indicia that is singularly identifiable can be applied to or incorporated into the outwardly facing surface of sidewall  132  to aid a user in distinguishing his beverage container from those being used by others. 
         [0047]    Referring to  FIGS. 21-24 , beverage container holder  160  comprises a three-sided base  162  having three radiused corners  164 ,  166 ,  168  formed at or near the intersection of three convex arcuate arcs, each of which constitutes a side of base  162 . Three continuous arcuate sidewall sections  170 ,  172 ,  174  project upwardly from top surface  176  of base  162 , with one such sidewall section being disposed between each radiused corner and the next sequential radiused corner disposed along the perimeter of base  162 . According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, the arcuate midpoint of the outside surface of each of sidewall section  170 ,  172 ,  174  at the point of attachment to base  162  is tangent to the associated convex arcuate arc around the base. In this embodiment, the principal transverse dimension of base  162  is again greater than the height of arcuate sidewall sections  170 ,  172 ,  174  above upwardly facing surface  176  of base  162  and is also greater than the diameter of a circle circumscribing the outside of arcuate sidewall sections  170 ,  172 ,  174  and greater than the diameter of a beverage container with which holder  160  is used plus twice the thickness of an arcuate sidewall section  170 ,  172 ,  174 . Outwardly projecting radiused corners  164 ,  166 ,  168  provide additional stability and tip resistance to beverage container holder  160 . In the embodiment shown, base  162  has a substantially constant thickness between upwardly facing surface  176  and downwardly facing bottom surface  125 . In this embodiment, apertures  184 ,  186   188  are optionally provided in base  176 . Alternatively, singularly identifiable indicia as described above can be placed in the apertures or can be placed upon or integrated into outwardly visible portions of sidewall sections  170 ,  172 ,  174  to facilitate identification of the holder and distinguish it from others that may be in use at the same location or event. Similarly, if other beverage container holders are provided having other visually identifiable base configurations, the configuration of base  162  can itself be the element that is singularly identifiable by the user. 
         [0048]    Although the use of a base having at least one element with a principal transverse dimension greater than diameter of a beverage container with which it is used plus twice the thickness of any upwardly projecting sidewall engaging the beverage container is one preferred configuration for improving the tip-over resistance of the subject beverage container holders, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the disclosure that tip-over resistance can also be provided in other ways. For example, one can weight the beverage container holders at or near the base by insert molding or otherwise attaching a weight to the base (such as inside recess  104  as shown and described in relation to  FIG. 11 ) or by selecting a material and configuration for the subject beverage container holder that concentrates mass at or near the base and thereby lowers the center of gravity of the beverage container holder. 
         [0049]    Other alterations and modifications of the invention will likewise become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading this specification in view of the accompanying drawings, and it is intended that the scope of the invention disclosed herein be limited only by the broadest interpretation of the appended claims to which the inventor is legally entitled.