BALLASTED, NEUTRALLY BOUYANT FLOATING BEVERAGE-CONTAINER HOLDER WHICH PROVIDES FLOATATION, INSULATION AND STABILITY TO A BEVERAGE CONTAINER IN WATER

Abstract

A floatable device capable of supporting a beverage container in an upright position near a person who is floating in the water or engaged in other water activities. The center of gravity of the beverage-container holder remains relatively the same regardless of the weight of the drink, and to have the entire unit remain upright in turbulent water. Using a tether, the device is maintained in appropriate proximity to the person while the person is engaged in activities in a body of water. It is a further object to provide utility to swimmers, floaters, boaters, kayakers, fisherman and hunters in pools, lakes, rivers, oceans, spas, and other bodies of water. A collapsible beverage-container receptacle allows for easy storage and transformation of the receptacle for beverage-containers of varying sizes.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to improvements in a floating beverage holder. More particularly, the improvement relates to a ballasted holder with a floatation member for a drink container, such as a cup or can, which allows the beverage to remain in an upright position, even in the midst of waves, wakes or other turbulent water where the beverage holder is floating. Various types of containers are proposed in prior art.

2. Description of the Related Art

Every day, millions of people can be found engaging in recreational activities in the water. They may be swimming, boating or just relaxing in a spa. Oftentimes, when someone is engaged in these activities, they like to have a drink close to them to stay hydrated or just to relax. They don't want to have to get in and out of the water to get to their drink, and they don't want to have to hold on to their drink for the entire time that they are in the water. As a result, many people have come up with the idea of a floating drink holder.

While many variations of floating beverage container holders exist in the prior art, there are none that have all of the characteristics needed to ensure the following: (1) Continuous buoyancy of the receptacle, allowing the beverage-container to remain stable in the holder whether full or empty; (2) Insulating properties to help maintain the temperature of the beverage-both hot and cold; (3) A floatation member to provide stability and to keep the beverage container holder upright in waves, swells, wakes or other turbulent water; (4) A tethering system to allow floatation without the user having to physically hold the beverage container holder to ensure that it doesn't float away and to simultaneously allow beverage container holders to be tethered to each other; (5) The capacity to hold a variety of sizes and shapes of beverage-containers within the receptacle, including cups, cans, and bottles; and (7) Designed so that the beverage holders nest within each other to ensure minimal space is needed for storing the floating beverage holder, which is generally particularly important when storage is occurring on a boat, dock box or pool house. Of note is that in many of the previous versions, the entire beverage holder must be picked up in order to take a drink, so the bulkiness or size of the holder makes it more cumbersome to take a drink.

Examples of patents covering floating beverage container holders for a single beverage are discussed more fully below.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,194 issued Feb. 18, 1986 to James M. Kiss et al for a “Collapsible and Floatable Beverage Holder.” This reference shows a floating beverage holder that requires a user to blow air into it in order to inflate the float. There is no weight or ballast encompassed in this reference to ensure that the holder remains upright regardless of the amount of liquid present in the beverage container.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,948 issued Feb. 18, 1992, to Scheurer, for a “Buoyant Beverage Container for Swimming Pool Use.” This reference shows a buoyant sleeve and a body of heavy ballast material encapsulated between a bottom cap and a retainer cap. Although the ballast weight helps to maintain the container in an upright position when the container is empty, it has no floatation member to provide stability and to keep the container afloat in an upright position in the midst of turbulent water, nor does it include a tether.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,709 issued Mar. 17, 1998, to Nobile, for a “Thermally Insulated Floating Beverage Container Holding Device.” This reference has an elongated body for holding a drink container, and it has a weight secured to the bottom of the container in order to provide stability for holding the container upright during depletion of the beverage; however, this reference does not have a floatation ring or member to provide enough stability for withstanding turbulence produced by waves or swells like one would find in a lake with boating activity or an ocean. Furthermore, this reference does not include a tether.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,607,090 issued Aug. 19, 2003, to Doerr, for a “Floating Beverage Holder.” In this reference, there is no ballast or weight, and the container is maintained upright by moving a stabilizer up and down the cylindrical body as the drink within becomes empty. This reference does not allow the upright stability that is maintained with a weight or ballast on the bottom, thus it does not have the stability necessary to withstand turbulence produced by waves or swells like one would find in a lake with boating activity or in an ocean. In addition, this reference is not designed with an included tether.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,616,493 issued Sep. 9, 2003, to Powell et al., for a “Floatable Beverage Holder.” This reference is essentially a thick, flat, foam float that slides around the cylindrical side of a soda can. Although this reference does show a tether with an alligator clip on it, it is not weighted, thus in order to remain upright, the float must be adjusted up and down the beverage container to account for the volume of liquid in the beverage container.

U.S. Pat No. 6,991,505 issued Jan. 31, 2006, to Wells, for a “Buoyant Apparatus for Attachment to Beverage Insulators Holding Beverage Containers.” This reference is weighted to provide stability during rough aquatic action, but it is attached to an elongate arm with a rod-like configuration which is designed to be attached to a beverage insulator used to hold beverage cans or other containers. This reference does not itself have a cup type body to hold a beverage container, nor does is it designed with an included tether. One must hold on to the beverage container/insulator in order to keep it nearby, and one must lift up the entire apparatus in order to take a drink.

U.S. Patent Application 2010/0301053 published Dec. 2, 2010, to Willis et al. for a “Cooleebob Compliant Upright Drink Insulator Attachment.” Although this reference is weighted and is easily stored, it also works by attaching to a standard drink insulator, thereby limiting the usage. Furthermore, it is not designed to be tethered to the user or another object

Heretofore there has not been available a system or method for ballasted floating beverage-container holder with the advantages and features of the present invention.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an objective to provide a floatable device capable of supporting a beverage in an upright position near a person who is floating in the water or engaged in other water activities. Further, it is an object to have the center of gravity remain relatively the same regardless of the weight of the drink, and to have the entire unit remain upright in turbulent water.

It is also an objective of this invention to provide a device which will maintain the beverage in appropriate proximity to the person while the person is engaged in activities in a body of water. It is a further object to provide utility to swimmers, floaters, boaters, kayakers, fisherman and hunters in pools, lakes, rivers, oceans, spas, and other bodies of water.

It is another objective of the invention to have pass through holes incorporated in order to allow connection of a tether. It is also an object of this invention to utilize a tether which can be clipped on or connected in a variety of manners with a cord of adequate length to allow pulling behind or alongside while swimming, tubing or small boating (like kayaking) and to keep the drink holder close enough for convenience while floating, tubing or remaining within a confined water space.

It is another objective to have a floatation member or ring to provide stability for the receptacle body and drink. It is also an objective to have the floatation member made of closed-cell foam or other non-water-absorbing material. It is another object to have an area on the floatation member or ring where branding or personalization can occur. It is another object to allow floatation member/ring to be either fixed or inflatable.

It is another objective to allow multiple receptacles to nest within each other so that limited storage space is needed. It is another object to have a variety of colors of both the receptacle and the ring.

It is also an objective to have a flexible enough design to allow various materials to be used for manufacturing both the receptacle and the ring. It is yet another object to utilize materials for the receptacle and the floatation member which are UV, chemical and corrosion resistant for the sun and for compounds typically found in open bodies of water, swimming pools and spas.

Finally, it is an objective to have a receptacle which will hold a variety of shapes and sizes of beverage containers, thereby reducing manufacturing costs and thus reducing costs to consumers.

Various objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, along with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals represent like components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention illustrating various objects and features thereof.

FIG. 1 is a perspective of the top view of ballasted receptacle with foam ring constructed in accordance with the invention and showing an attached tether.

FIG. 2 is a perspective of a side view of the ballasted receptacle of FIG. 1 which shows the ring in relation to the receptacle and the tether.

FIG. 3 is a perspective of a side view which is cut out to show the interior portion of the receptacle.

FIG. 4 is a perspective of a side view of the ballasted receptacle with ring of FIG. 2 holding an insulated cup with lid and straw.

FIG. 5 is a perspective of the top view of the ballasted receptacle with ring of FIG. 1 holding an insulated cup with lid and straw.

FIG. 6 is a perspective of a side view of the ballasted receptacle with ring of FIG. 2 holding a can with a Koozie™.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an inflatable ring that could be used in another embodiment.

FIG. 7A is a side elevational view of the ring of FIG. 7.

FIG. 7B is a top plan view of the ring of FIG. 7.

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view of two embodiments thereof in a stacked orientation.

FIG. 9 is a three-dimensional isometric view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention shown in a first, extended position.

FIG. 10 is a side elevational view thereof.

FIG. 11 is a top plan view thereof.

FIG. 12 is a bottom plan view thereof.

FIG. 13 is a side sectional view taken about the line of FIG. 11.

FIG. 14 is a three-dimensional isometric view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention shown in a second, partially extended position.

FIG. 15 is a side elevational view thereof.

FIG. 16 is a top plan view thereof.

FIG. 17 is a bottom plan view thereof.

FIG. 18 is a side sectional view taken about the line of FIG. 16.

FIG. 19 is a three-dimensional isometric view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention shown in a third, collapsed position.

FIG. 20 is a side elevational view thereof.

FIG. 21 is a top plan view thereof.

FIG. 22 is a bottom plan view thereof.

FIG. 23 is a side sectional view taken about the line of FIG. 21.

FIG. 24 is a front elevational view of the collapsible receptacle element of the embodiment thereof.

FIG. 25 is a detailed view taken about the circle of FIG. 24.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

I. Introduction and Environment

As required, detailed aspects of the present invention are disclosed herein, however, it is to be understood that the disclosed aspects are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art how to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure.

Certain terminology will be used in the following description for convenience in reference only and will not be limiting. For example, up, down, front, back, right and left refer to the invention as orientated in the view being referred to. The words, “inwardly” and “outwardly” refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of the aspect being described and designated parts thereof. Forwardly and rearwardly are generally in reference to the direction of travel, if appropriate. Said terminology will include the words specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof and words of similar meaning.

II. Preferred Embodiment Floating Beverage-Container Holder 10

A first embodiment of this floating beverage-container holder 10 is shown in FIGS. 1-8. The beverage-container holder 10 includes a receptacle 8 in which the beverage container would be placed, with a weight enclosed in the bottom ballast chamber 1 that is encapsulated by the bottom of the cup 2. The receptacle 8 has a flange 6 with holes 3 for securing a tether 4. The receptacle flange 6 secures in place the floatation member 5 which has adequate space 7 for personalizing or customizing the ring 5, and which provides stability to keep the beverage-container holder 10 afloat.

In this embodiment, the receptacle body 8 includes a receptacle 8 side wall 12 having a top edge 11 and a bottom edge 13 of a substantially inverted, truncated, cone-shaped surface which is centered vertically. The receptacle 8 is made of injected molded plastic with a weight of approximately 130 grams. The internal dimensions of the receptacle 8 are sized to receive a 24-ounce insulated Tervis™ tumbler, an aluminum beverage can, with or without an insulating cover like a Koozie™, a wine glass with or without a stabilizer, or a standard beer bottle, and the injection molded plastic provides an insulating barrier between the water and the beverage container.

At the top edge 11 of the side wall 12 a flange 6 or lip of approximately 20 mm This flange 6 contains two holes 3 which can be used to clip or wrap a tether 4 to the floating beverage holder to keep it from floating away either by current or wind from the user. The top of the cylindrical receptacle 8 is completely open so as to permit the insertion of a beverage container into the receptacle 8. The floor 14 of the open receptacle 8 contains ridges 9 to prevent a vacuum seal from being formed between the drink container and the receptacle walls.

A ballast chamber 1 is positioned below the above-described receptacle 8, and this contains dense material in the form of a puck to serve as a ballast, much like that on a sailboat, to provide stability with or without a beverage container in the receptacle 8. This provides neutral buoyancy, and in fact it keeps the receptacle 8 upright in the water when it has no beverage container, even without the floatation member 5. Below the dense material or weight is a bottom wall 2 that provides a water-tight closure. The ballast may be incorporated into the receptacle 8 through various processes including: (1) Putting the weight into the ballast chamber 1 and enclosing the chamber with a sonic-welded cap; (2) Placing the weight into the ballast chamber 1 and over-molding the weight to create the bottom wall 2; (3) Injection molding by employing an “insert molding” which is a process that requires post-mold sealing of locator pin holes; (4) Using a cup containing the weight and affixing it to the bottom 2 of the receptacle 8 ; or (5) Inserting the weight into the inside bottom of the receptacle 8 and over-molding or affixing an internal cap to the interior of the receptacle 8 via sonic-welding or other processes. The weight of the ballast material or puck in this embodiment is 520 grams.

The floatation member 5 in this embodiment is a ring which is held in place by the friction caused by compression of the floatation member 5 and is vertically restricted by the flange 6 of the receptacle 8. The floatation member 5 is placed onto the receptacle 8 from the bottom 2, pushed up to the flange 6 where it remains in place. The floatation member 5 can remain in place during storage or can be taken off for storage, if needed. The top 7 and sides of the floatation member 5 can be branded or personalized as described above. The floatation member 5 in this embodiment has a weight of 41 to 91 grams, depending upon the process used for manufacturing the ring, either molded or vinyl dipped. In the case of a molded ring, it is manufactured through either an exothermic or an endothermic process, depending upon the compound that is used. The molded ring in this embodiment weighs 41 grams and has a density of approximately 1.65 pounds/cubic foot. A vinyl-dipped ring for the current embodiment would be die-cut from sheet stock and then vinyl dipped. The vinyl-dipped ring in this embodiment weighs 91 grams and has a foam density of 3.6 pounds/cubic foot. Both types of rings can be branded or personalized through printing, stamping, laser-etching or application of vinyl decals.

The tether 4 is extruded plastic coil with ends looped. In this embodiment, one end of the tether 4 is connected to a prefabricated plastic spring clip. The tether 4 can either be affixed to the receptacle 8 through the hole 3 on the flange 6 by pulling it through the looped end and with the spring clip being utilized to clip the tether 4 to a bathing suit or other object or by clipping it to the tether 4 itself thereby creating a loop that can be wrapped around a wrist or other object. Conversely, the spring clip may be attached directly to one of the holes 3 in the flange 6 of the receptacle 8 after running it through the loop end of the tether 4 to create a loop that can be wrapped around a user's wrist or other object

In other embodiments, the receptacle 8 may be made of other sufficiently dense materials, such as stainless steel, rather than of injected-molded plastic as described above. In still other embodiments, the size of the unit could be changed to accommodate different sizes of beverage containers, such as smaller beverage containers used by children or smaller beverage containers that are used by many resorts to reduce their beverage costs.

In another embodiment, referring now to FIG.7, an inflatable floatation member 5 or ring can be used as the floatation member 5. This floatation member 5 may be made with blow-molding, roto-molding or by various other processes known for producing other types of water products, with inflation valves incorporated. The floatation member 5 is inflated at the valve by blowing or by mechanical pumping. This embodiment may yield a lower cost alternative in order to reduce the cost to the consumer.

It is contemplated that the receptacle 8 can be made in any color or a mixture of colors. It is further contemplated that the floatation member 5 or ring can be made in any color or a mixture of colors. It is further contemplated that the floatation member 5 or ring can be branded or personalized on the top 7, bottom or sides of the ring, depending upon which ring embodiment is used. It is still further contemplated that the wall thickness of the receptacle 8 itself and/or the number of walls of the receptacle may be changed in another embodiment to provide additional insulation to the beverage container.

As shown in FIG. 8, the beverage-container holder is designed to be nested within each other to ensure minimal space needed for storage which is important in small spaces such as within ab oat, dock box, or pool house.

The premise of the present floating beverage-container holder 10 relies on the principles of a centered ballast or a conical pendulum. The beverage-container holder's 10 centered ballast is molded into the bottom 2 of the vessel which provides a constant center of gravity. The ballast weight combined with the weight of the receptacle 8 material is calculated to make the receptacle 8 neutrally buoyant. This allows the receptacle 8 in this embodiment to float on its own 1.5″ above the waterline while maintaining the center of gravity approximately 4.5″ below the surface. The 1.5″ thick foam ring 5 in this embodiment has to support the weight of the beverage and its container while providing dimensional stability to the neutrally buoyant receptacle 8. The stabilizing action of the foam ring keeps the receptacle 8 and its contents perpendicular to the surface of the water.

The exact weight of the loaded beverage-container holder 10 depends on the volume of the beverage left inside the container and the weight of the beverage container itself. From a mathematical perspective; after every sip of the beverage from the container, the weight distribution changes but the constant is still there. Due to the neutrally buoyant nature of the receptacle 8, as stated above, the foam ring 5 only supports the weight of the beverage and its container. The floating beverage-container holder 10 in this embodiment has an effective weight capacity of zero (0) to 3.75 pounds of beverage and associated container component weight.

III. Alternative Embodiment Floating Beverage-Container Holder 110

FIGS. 9-25 show an alternative embodiment floating beverage-container holder 110 which incorporates many of the same features of the embodiment disclosed above, including receptacle 108 having a flange 106 with holes 103 for receiving a tether or other tie-down element. A flotation member 105 having a top surface 107 is also incorporated about the receptacle 108. The receptacle 108 has a ballast chamber 101 at its base, with a bottom lid 102 for access thereto.

This embodiment differs from previous embodiments as the receptacle 108 is collapsible. FIGS. 9-13 show the beverage-container holder 110 in a first orientation having a fully extended receptacle 108. FIGS. 14-18 show the beverage-container holder 110 in a second orientation being partially collapsed for holding shorter beverage containers, such as soda cans. FIGS. 19-23 show the beverage-container holder 110 in a third orientation being fully collapsed for storage and shipping.

As shown in FIG. 13, the side wall 112 of the receptacle 108, which has a bottom edge 113 and top edge 111, is further broken into a bottom segment 116, a middle segment 118, and a top segment 124. A first break 120 separates the bottom and middle segments. A second break 122 separates the top and middle segments. The middle segment also includes an internal break 119. FIGS. 13, 18, and 23 show internally how these three segments 116, 118, 124 collapse together about the various breaks 120, 122, 119. FIGS. 10, 15, and 20 show how this appears from the exterior of the beverage-container holder 110.

The ballast chamber 101 could be a solid piece of material with a bottom 102, or a ballast chamber for holding water or other solutions or materials with the bottom 102 acting as a lid for filling. The weight of the entire assembly functions to counter the weight of the beverage container and functions as a ballast, but the ballast chamber 101 helps to maintain a low center of gravity and stability.

FIG. 24 shows the receptacle 108 with collapsible base 114 as discussed in detail above, but also showing a pair of ribs 126 and a base lip 128 which helps to secure the receptacle 108 within the ring 105. The ribs 126 and lower lip 128 along with the flange 106 prevent the receptacle 108 from accidentally popping out of the ring 105 when device is in use. FIG. 25 shows the ribs in more detail.

It is to be understood that while certain embodiments and/or aspects of the invention have been shown and described, the invention is not limited thereto and encompasses various other embodiments and aspects.

Claims

1. A ballasted, neutrally buoyant floating beverage-container holder comprising: a beverage-container holder receptacle body including a floor with elevated ridges and a receptacle side wall having a top edge and a bottom edge and defining a substantially inverted, truncated surface which is centered to accommodate most commonly available beverage containers while also providing an insulating barrier between the water and beverage container;a permanently affixed ballast chamber positioned below the receptacle floor, wherein the ballast chamber contains sufficiently dense material to serve as a ballast to provide stability by ensuring the center of gravity is always below the water line, with or without a beverage container in the receptacle so that it remains upright in the water;a floatation member retained to said receptacle body, with said floating member having a sufficient vertical height, being buoyant in water to provide stability for the neutrally buoyant receptacle body and ballast chamber, the flotation member providing sufficient buoyancy to cause receptacle and ballast chamber to float in water when said receptacle contains a full beverage container;said receptacle side wall comprised of a plurality of collapsible sections, thereby allowing said receptacle to transition between a first, fully extended orientation, a second, partially extended orientation, and a third, collapsed orientation wherein said receptacle side wall is fully contained within a space between a top edge and a bottom edge of said flotation member; anda tether of a length attached to the receptacle which will keep the beverage-container holder within a desired area of a body of water.

2. The ballasted neutrally buoyant floating beverage-container holder as recited in claim 1, wherein said bottom wall of the ballast chamber provides a water-tight closure.

3. The ballasted neutrally buoyant floating beverage-container holder as recited in claim 1 wherein said receptacle floor is designed with elevated ridges to prevent a vacuum seal from being formed between the beverage container and the receptacle floor.

4. The ballasted neutrally buoyant floating beverage-container holder as recited in claim 1, wherein said permanently affixed ballast chamber contains dense material that is completely enclosed within the ballast chamber to offset buoyancy and provide stability.

5. The ballasted neutrally buoyant floating beverage-container holder as recited in claim 1, wherein said floatation member is retained on said receptacle body by compression friction between the floatation member and receptacle body and is vertically restricted by a perpendicularly protruding flange.

6. The ballasted neutrally buoyant floating beverage-container holder as recited in claim 5, wherein said perpendicularly protruding flange also contains a plurality of perforations to attach said tether.

7. The ballasted neutrally buoyant floating beverage-container holder as recited in claim 1, wherein said ballast chamber is permanently enclosed within the bottom wall of the ballast chamber.

8. The ballasted neutrally buoyant floating beverage-container holder as recited in claim 1, wherein said ballast chamber contains sufficiently dense material to offset the buoyancy force created by submerged portions of the ballast chamber and receptacle body.

9. The ballasted neutrally buoyant floating beverage-container holder as recited in claim 1, where the ballast weight combined with the weight of the receptacle is calculated to make the receptacle neutrally buoyant allowing the flotation member to support only the weight of the beverage container and the beverage within.

10. The ballasted neutrally buoyant floating beverage-container holder as recited in claim 1, further comprising: at least one rib located on an exterior face of said receptacle, said at least one rib configured to constrain said receptacle within said flotation member; anda base lip located on said exterior face of said receptacle, said base lip configured to engage with a lower face of said flotation member and configured to constrain said receptacle within said flotation member.

11. The ballasted neutrally buoyant floating beverage-container holder as recited in claim 1, further comprising: said collapsible sections comprising an upper section, a middle section, and a lower section;a first break located between said lower section and said middle section configured to allow said lower section to be collapsed within said middle section; anda second break located between said middle section and said upper section configured to allow said lower and middle sections to be collapsed within said upper section.