Abstract:
A cover for a beverage dispensing container is provided that is adapted to be positioned directly over the container. The cover includes a decorative exterior that provides the desired aesthetic appearance to the container. The cover is shaped to conform to the shape of the container such that the cover encloses the container with the exception of the dispenser in order to enable the beverage held in the container to be easily dispensed from the container. The interior of the cover includes a number of support panels that provide sufficient rigidity to the cover to enable the cover to stand over the container.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/472,966, filed on Apr. 7, 2011, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a self supporting decorative cover for beverage carriers and dispensers. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Beverages containers of many different types are utilized to dispense beverages of various types to individuals desiring to consume the beverages. The containers can have a variety of shapes and configurations, in addition to a number of different types of dispensing mechanisms. In each configuration, the beverage dispenser is designed to hold a relatively large amount of the particular beverage to be dispensed. 
     In order to enable the dispensers to function effectively, they are often formed of plastic materials that enhance the ability of the container to retain the beverage in a hot or cold state, based in part on the properties of the materials used to form the containers. Further, the use of plastics enables the containers to be formed in virtually any shape due to the ability of plastic to conform to the shape of a mold for the desired container configuration. 
     One concern with containers of this type is that, while effective in providing desired amounts of the beverage, the aesthetic appearance of the container is limited based on the manner of its manufacture or construction. As a result, when dispensing beverage containers of these types are utilized, they often detract from, or at the very least, do not enhance the appearance of the environment in which they are placed. 
     To address this concern, covers have been developed that are placed over the beverage containers that provide an enhancement to the esthetic appearance of the containers. These covers fit over the beverage dispensing containers and are formed of a cloth bag that is shaped to conform exactly to the shape of the beverage dispensing container, such that when placed on the container, these covers assume the shape of the carrier/dispenser. One significant drawback to covers of this type is that if the cover is not formed correctly, or if the material forming the cover has somehow become altered in shape, such as by shrinking, the covers cannot fit the container, with the resultant effect is little or no aesthetic improvement to the appearance of the container. Further, existing covers are made as a single piece so they cannot be adapted to various motifs. Additionally, once the covers become soiled or worn they must be disposed of. 
     Thus, there exists a need for a device to be utilized in conjunction with beverage dispensing containers that can readily enhance the appearance of the containers in a manner that prevents the containers from detracting from the aesthetic environment in which the containers are used. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, according to one aspect of the present invention, a cover for a beverage dispensing container is provided that is adapted to be positioned directly over the container. The cover includes a decorative exterior that provides the desired aesthetic appearance to the container. The cover is shaped to conform to the shape of the container such that the cover encloses the container with the exception of the dispenser in order to enable the beverage held in the container to be easily dispensed from the container. The interior of the cover includes a number of support panels that provide sufficient rigidity to the cover to enable the cover to stand over the container. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, cover includes a strap that is releasably positioned on the outside of the cover to provide additional stability to the cover. 
     According to a further aspect of the present invention, interior support panels of the cover are removable from the decorative exterior. This enables the decorative exterior to be cleaned in a conventional manner when soiled, and for the interior support panels to be used in other decorative exteriors to enclose similarly shaped containers. 
     Other aspects, advantages and features of the present invention will be made apparent from the following detailed description taken together with the drawing figures. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The drawings illustrate the best mode currently contemplated of practicing the present invention. 
       In the drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is an isometric view of a beverage dispenser for use with the cover of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is an isometric view of a first embodiment of the cover of the present invention disposed over the beverage dispenser of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is an isometric view of the exterior component of the cover of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is an isometric view of the interior components of the cover of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 5  is an isometric view illustrating the assembly of the interior and exterior components of the cover of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 6  is an isometric view of the cover of  FIG. 2 ; and 
         FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view along line  7 - 7  of  FIG. 5 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference now to the drawing figures in which like reference number designate like parts throughout the disclosure, a beverage container is shown generally at  10  in  FIG. 1 . The container  10  can be formed with any suitable shape and of any suitable material, and includes a generally hollow body  12 , a dispenser  14  attached to the body  12  for dispensing the beverage held within the body  12 , and a lid  16  for accessing the interior off the container  10  to empty or fill the interior with additional amounts of the beverage. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 2-6 , a cover  18  constructed according to one embodiment of the present invention is positioned over the container  10 . In the illustrated embodiment, the cover  18  includes a decorative exterior member  20  and a number of interior support panels  22 . 
     The decorative exterior member  20 , as best shown in  FIGS. 3 and 6 , is formed of any suitable material, such as a fabric, natural or synthetic cloth material, leather, plastic, rubber, etc, with any desired pattern or texture, and includes an exterior surface member  24  on which a desired pattern is formed. The exterior member  20  also includes an interior surface member  26  that can also be formed of any desired material, which can be the same or different than the material forming the exterior surface  24 . The exterior surface  24  and the interior surface  26  are shaped to be able to form an enclosure over the container  10  when formed into the cover  18 . In the illustrated embodiment, the exterior surface  24  is formed of a unitary piece of the selected material, while the interior surface  26  is formed of separate pieces  27  of the selected material that are attached to the exterior surface  24 . 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the decorative exterior member  20  is shaped to include a top panel  28 , a pair of opposed side panels  30 , a rear panel  32  and a front panel  34 , which defines an aperture  35  for the dispenser  14  of the container  10 . The respective panels  28 - 34  are formed by attaching the exterior surface  24  and interior surface  26  to one another along their aligned edges. The surfaces  24  and  26  can be attached or secured to one another in any suitable manner, such as by stitching, adhesives, or mechanical fasteners, among others. For each of the side panels  30 , the rear panel  32  and the front panel  34 , the edges  36  adjacent the top panel  28  are left unattached, such that the side panels  30 , the rear panel  32  and the front panel  34  form openings  42  for pockets  38  located between the surfaces  24  and  26  when the surfaces  24  and  26  are secured to one another. For the top panel  28 , one edge  40  adjacent the rear panel  30  or front panel  32  is left unattached to form an opening  42  into a pocket  38  located within the top panel  28  between the surfaces  24  and  26 . The pockets  38  extend over the entire area of the respective panels  28 - 34 . 
     Looking now at  FIGS. 4-5 , the interior support panels  22  are formed of any suitable rigid material, such as a metal or plastic, among others, and are sized to conform to the size and shape of the pockets  38  formed in the respective panels  28 - 34 . The support panels  22  can additionally be formed to include different contours or design features thereon, in order to enhance the ability of the cover  18  to conform to and/or provide the desired shape for the cover  18  over the container  10 , which may be different than the shape of the container  10 , such as a shape simulating another object. 
     To assemble the cover  18 , the interior support panels  22  are inserted into the correspondingly-shaped pockets  38  as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 7 . In the illustrated embodiment, the openings  42  for the pockets  38  are located on the interior of the cover  18 , so as not to detract from the aesthetic appearance of the cover  18 . Once each of the support panels  22  is located in the associated pocket  38  formed in the panels  28 - 34 , the panels  28 - 34  can be folded with respect to one another to position the cover  18  in the configuration shown in  FIG. 6 . In this position, the openings  42  for the pockets  38  are located on the interior of the cover  18 , with only the seamless exterior surface  24  of the decorative exterior member  20  being visible. Further, the size of the panels  22  is located in the pockets  38  is such that when the cover  18  is in the position of  FIG. 6 , the panels  22  do not leave significant size gaps therebetween. 
     Once the cover  18  is positioned as shown in  FIG. 6 , a number of belts  44  can be located around the exterior of the cover  18 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . The belts  44  are formed of any suitable material and operate to maintain the cover  18  in the position of  FIG. 6 . The belts  44  can be formed of an elastic material, which enables the belts  44  to be positioned around the cover  18  without the need for any additional fastening devices. Alternatively, the belts  44  can be formed, optionally of an elastic material, with suitable fastening devices  46 , such as a hook and loop fastener, or other suitable device, on each end that enable the belt  44  to be secured to complementary fastening devices (not shown) located on the exterior surface  24  or the interior surface  26  of the exterior decorative member  20 , or directly to the exterior decorative member  20 . 
     When the belts  44  are secured around the exterior decorative member  20 , the cover  18  can be moved and placed directly over the container  10  with the aperture  35  in the front panel  34  aligned with the dispenser  14  of the container  10 . 
     To disassemble the cover  18  after use, the belts  44  are removed from the exterior decorative member  20 , and the support panels  22  are removed from the pockets in each panel  28 - 34  of the exterior member  20 . The exterior member  20  can then be stored with the belts  44  and panels  22 , or cleaned, such as by machine washing the exterior member  20 . 
     Additionally, the support panels  22  and belts  44  can be switched between exterior covers  20  shaped for similar container  10  in order to vary the appearance of the cover  18  when desired. Further, different support panels  22  can be used with the same exterior member  20  in order to provide a modified shape to the cover  18 . 
     While the concepts of the present disclosure will be illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and description, such an illustration and description is to be considered as exemplary and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only the illustrative embodiments are shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the disclosure are desired to be protected. There are a plurality of advantages that may be inferred from the present disclosure arising from the various features of the apparatus, systems, and methods described herein. It will be noted that alternative embodiments of each of the apparatus, systems, and methods of the present disclosure may not include all of the features described yet still benefit from at least some of the inferred advantages of such features. Those of ordinary skill in the art may readily devise their own implementations of an apparatus, system, and method that incorporate one or more of the features of the present disclosure and fall within the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims.