The present invention relates to the field of personal-sized holders for beverage containers, and more particularly to Koozie®-type container holder.
The can was invented in 1795 by Nicolas Appert to preserve food for the French army and navy during the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte. Since then, the can has played a persistent and important role in modern life. An estimated 130 billion cans are used by Americans each year. Many of these cans are used as individual beverage containers, especially as vessels for beer and soft drinks, which, as well as bottles, enable persons to enjoy a beverage while traveling, attending or participating in a sporting event, or while simply on the run.
To enhance the experience of consumers of various canned beverages, the can holder was invented. The can holder is typically a sleeve made of a soft material or fabric such as for example leather, neoprene, EVA, polyester, vinyl, or foam, but hard plastic and metal holders, are also known and popular. Usually, the can holder provides or is intended to provide thermal insulation to the can, or bottle, so that the radiant heat from the sun, ambient heat around the can, and the heat from a user's hand will not quickly warm the beverage, particularly on hot days. The can holder also provides a comfortable way for the user to hold a canned beverage, and a canvas for the user to display personal information such as a sport team loyalty.
Insulated can holders typically fit tightly about the can and extend at least half way up the can, allowing room for opening and drinking from the can, as shown, for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,293,015 (McGough), and as is known with the popular Rambler Colster® by YETI Coolers. Insulated holders have been adapted similarly to individual sized bottles for the same purposes as such holders are used for cans. The insulated holders for bottles also similarly typically fit tightly about the bottle and extend at least half way up the bottle, allowing room for opening and drinking from the bottle. These insulated sleeves used to keep a canned or bottled drink cold are now commonly called “Koozies.”
Many canned and bottled beverages are consumed outdoors, and it is known that various insects and spiders may crawl or fly into open beverage containers, especially when they are left unattended, even for a short time. The design of known personal sized, portable, cans and bottles do not prevent such entry and neither do Koozie®-type container holders. “Koozie” is a registered trademark of Norwood Promotional Products, Inc. of Indianapolis, Ind. Anyone who has been surprised to find such a bug inside their drink upon returning to it after a short time away fully appreciates the need for protecting the opening of the can or beverage. However, personal sized, portable cans do not typically have closeable openings, and neither do known Koozie®-type container holders. Beverage cans today have “stay-tabs” which, while non-removing, once pulled for opening the can, do not close back. Some bottles have caps that are usually tossed after opening, and some bottles reusable tops which can be used to reseal or close the bottle, however, but such tops are typically removable and are often lost or purposefully thrown away.
There is a need for securing the mouth of an open, personal sized, beverage can or bottle to prevent or at least discourage entry of insects and spiders when the can or bottle is left open and unattended outdoors.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable, personal sized beverage container holder or Koozie®-type container holder with a cover. The cover fits over the mouth of the beverage container.
The present invention will be better understood by referring to the following detailed description of preferred embodiments and the drawings referenced therein, in which:
The present invention provides a device for holding beverages contained in cans or bottles, and particularly for protecting the beverages from insects and spiders when left unattended outdoors, and even for protecting against or alleviating spillage indoors.
Referring now to the drawings, it should be understood that the scale of the drawings and parts thereof may or may not be rigorously to scale, but provided in the manner presented for illustrative purposes.
One embodiment of a beverage container holder 10 of the present invention is shown in
Cover 12 of holder 10 of the invention comprises a disk 16, a first flap 18, and a second flap 20. Cover 12 also comprises an attacher or fastener for attaching or fastening cover 12 to sleeve 14. Such fasteners can be snaps 22, as shown in
Disk 16 is generally circular, and at least in one embodiment is flat, and is approximately the same size as the top of can 15. Disk 16 comprises an upper disk surface 25 and a lower disk surface 27. In use according to the invention, the upper disk surface 25 does not come into contact with can 15, as shown in
The first flap 18 of the cover 12 extends radially in a first direction from the edge 28 of disk 16. The first flap 18 comprises a first upper flap surface 29, a first lower flap surface 30, a first rounded edge 31, and a first female snap 23a. In use according to the invention, the first upper flap surface 29 does not come into contact with the sleeve 14. The first lower flap surface 30 does come into contact with the sleeve 14. The first rounded edge 31 is at the end of the first flap 18 and distal to disk 16. First female snap 23a is the female side of a snap fastener 22, and mates with the first male snap 21a on sleeve 14 as shown in
The second flap 20 of the cover 12 extends radially in a second direction from the edge 28 of the disk and approximately 180 degrees from the first flap 18. The second flap 20 further comprises a second upper flap surface 33, a second lower flap surface 34, a second rounded edge 35, and a second female snap 23b. The second rounded edge 35 is at the end of the second flap 20 and distal to disk 16. Second female snap 23b is the female side of a snap fastener 22, and mates with the second male snap 21b on sleeve 14 as shown in
The sleeve 14 surrounds the sides of can 15, which is held by holder 10 of the present invention. In addition to the material surrounding the sides and bottom of can 15, sleeve 14 comprises a first male snap 21b and a second male snap 21b as stated above. In one embodiment, sleeve 14 also comprises a bottom or bottom surface 40 as shown in
Sleeve 14 typically covers at least the lower portion of the sides of can 15 and more typically covers all or most all of the sides of can 15 to the top of can 15 as shown in the Figures. Sleeve 14 is generally a cylindrical tube, comprising an inner surface 41 and an outer surface 42. The sleeve inner surface 41 makes contact with the sides of can 15. The sleeve outer surface 42 makes contact with a user's and when that user is holding the holder 10 of the present invention. In one embodiment, the sleeve outer surface 42 has added thereto or otherwise includes or comprises frictional or padded material (not shown) for additional user comfort and grip. The sleeve outer surface 42 may also include an insignia or design that will enable a user to express himself or herself, or differentiate his or her beverage from other beverages inside similar holders. Such insignia or design might be provided by the user or by an advertiser supplying the holder to the user and will typically be imprinted on the sleeve outer surface 42. In one embodiment, such insignia or design may be imprinted on cover 12.
The first male snap 21b, located on sleeve 14, is positioned about one-quarter to one third of the way down from the upper edge of the sleeve 14. The first male snap 21b is the male side of a snap fastener 22 and mates with the first female snap 23b on flap 20, as shown in
The bottom surface 40 at least partially covers the bottom of can 15 and makes contact with the bottom of can 15. The bottom surface 40 in one embodiment comprises a central strip 45, a first peripheral gap 46, and a second peripheral gap 47 as shown in
When the present invention is used, the user inserts can 15 into sleeve 14. If cover 12 is not already attached to sleeve 14 and moved aside by the user as discussed above to allow such insertion, as shown in
When the user wishes to leave the beverage after a sip and return later, the user may return the cover to its initial closed position, as shown in
Holder 10, and particularly cover 12 and sleeve 14, may be comprised of a variety of materials. One of skill in the art will appreciate that sleeve 14 may be a Koozie®-type container holder, and in one embodiment, sleeve 14 is comprised of one or more materials of which Koozie®-type container holders are commonly comprised, such as soft, flexible materials such as neoprene, polyester, vinyl, foam, leather, EVA, and flexible forms of plastic and flexible forms of rubber and synthetic rubber for non-limiting example. The sleeve may include or comprise insulating materials or itself be an insulator. In one embodiment, sleeve 14 is comprised of a waterproof or water resistant material. In one embodiment, sleeve 14 is comprised of an insulating material or an otherwise protective or easy-to-grip material that is not soft or flexible. For example, in one embodiment, sleeve 14 is comprised of one or more hard materials such as stainless steel, aluminum, copper, nickel, zinc, brass, other metals, and harder forms of plastic, rubber, and synthetic rubber for non-limiting example. In one embodiment, sleeve 14 is comprised of an insulating material encased in a hard or inflexible material.
Cover 12 may be comprised of the same material as sleeve 14 or of a different material. In one embodiment, cover 12 is comprised of one or more soft, flexible materials such as neoprene, polyester, vinyl, foam, leather, synthetic leather, EVA, flexible forms of plastic, and flexible forms of rubber and synthetic rubber for non-limiting example. In one embodiment, cover 12 is comprised of one or more hard materials such as stainless steel, aluminum, copper, nickel, zinc, brass, other metals, and harder forms of plastic, rubber, and synthetic rubber for non-limiting example. In one embodiment, cover 12 is comprised of an insulating material encased in a hard or inflexible material.
The material used for the cover 12 will affect how closely the cover may fit to the beverage container being held in holder 10. For example, in the embodiment shown in
It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the holder 10 may be a different shape from those shown in the Figures without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It will also be understood by those skilled in the art that the shape and size of the holder and particularly the sleeve and cover may be changed to accommodate the change in size and/or shape of beverage container to be held in the holder. For non-limiting example,
It will still further be understood by those skilled in the art that features of the invention illustrated in specific embodiments illustrated in Figures herein may be combined with other embodiments of the invention described herein without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For non-limiting example,
An advantage of the present invention is that it can be readily adapted to existing Koozie®-type container holders and individual beverage coolers. That is, cover 12, preferably comprised of a flexible material, and connectors or fasteners such as snaps 22, and optionally or alternatively cap 52, may be comprised in a kit for adapting common soft Koozie®-type container holders without a cover, and known hard Koozie®-type container holders and coolers such as the Yeti Colster® cooler and similar stainless steel coolers by Rtic and Ozark, to have the advantages of the invention. The kit could optionally include a tool for facilitating installation of the snaps 22 or other fasteners on an existing Koozie®-type container holder or cooler or other personalized beverage container holder sleeve. In one embodiment, the cover already includes the female snaps as shown in the drawings herein, and the kit user would only need to install the male snap on a soft sided Koozie®-type container holder or substitute the cap provided with the male snaps for one on the hard sided cooler.
While preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been described, it should be understood that other various changes, adaptations and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.
The present invention claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/333,390, filed May 9, 2016.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
9526364 | Lovison | Dec 2016 | B1 |
20060231562 | Carroll | Oct 2006 | A1 |
20080128421 | Ulbrand | Jun 2008 | A1 |
20130026163 | Hawkins | Jan 2013 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
62333390 | May 2016 | US |