This patent specification relates to the field of storage and dispensing devices. More specifically, this patent specification relates to a dispenser configured to store, dispense, and transport beverage container insulators.
Beverage container insulators are typically made from insulating materials such as neoprene, foam rubber, and the like. These insulators are also known as koozies™, cozies, and coolies which are often given as gifts, promotional items, and/or accumulated as novelties. As a result, most individuals end up with a number of these insulators. While the insulators tend to be made from flexible materials and with a collapsible design, they also provide unique storage challenges. For example, without a containing force to maintain their collapsed state the insulators can become disorganized and quickly take up any available storage space. Also, when a number of insulators are taken to accommodate a number of people at a gathering, such as at a tailgate, the beach, a boat, a vacation condo, etc., they frequently become disorganized, lost or misplaced during travel to and from the gathering. For these reasons individuals may experience frustration and forego the use of insulators altogether in situations where they would be the most useful.
Therefore a need exists for a novel dispenser configured to store, dispense, and transport beverage container insulators. There is also a need for a novel beverage container insulator dispenser which is configured to maintain insulators in a collapsed state and to prevent a number of insulators from becoming disorganized and taking up excessive storage space. A further need exists for a novel dispenser that could serve as a promotional item to organize and dispense insulators for both individual dispensing and for (e.g. in an office) or as a novel give-a-way (e.g a small dispenser that is included in a gift bag) since companies frequently give out insulators as a promotional item (at golf tournaments, races, conferences, insurance company offices, etc.). Finally, a need exists for a portable novel beverage container insulator dispenser which is configured to prevent a number of insulators from becoming become disorganized, lost or misplaced during travel.
A beverage container insulator dispenser is provided which is configured to store and dispense beverage container insulators. In some embodiments, a beverage container insulator dispenser may include a body having a first end and a second end with at least one wall. A cavity may be formed into the body, and the cavity may be shaped to contain at least one beverage container insulator which is in a collapsed state. An access panel may govern access to the cavity, and a portion of the access panel may be movably coupled to the body. A dispensing aperture may be positioned proximate to the first end of the body. A motivation partition may be movably coupled within the cavity, and a motivation element may be coupled to the motivation partition and configured to tension the motivation partition towards the dispensing aperture.
In further embodiments, a beverage container insulator dispenser may include a body having a first wall and a second wall positioned generally parallel to each other, a third wall and a fourth wall positioned generally parallel to each other and coupled generally perpendicular to both the first wall and second wall, and a fifth wall coupled generally perpendicularly to the first, second, third, and fourth walls. An access panel may govern access to the cavity, and a portion of the access panel may be movably coupled to the body. A cavity may be formed by the first wall, second wall, third wall, fourth wall, fifth wall, and access panel, and the cavity may have a rectangular prism shape. A dispensing aperture may be positioned proximate to the first end of the body. A motivation partition may be movably coupled within the cavity, and a motivation element may be coupled to the motivation partition and configured to tension the motivation partition towards the dispensing aperture irrespective to the force of gravity.
Some embodiments of the present invention are illustrated as an example and are not limited by the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references may indicate similar elements and in which:
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well as the singular forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
For purposes of description herein, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “left”, “right”, “rear”, “front”, “side”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in
Although the terms “first”, “second”, etc. are used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, the first element may be designated as the second element, and the second element may be likewise designated as the first element without departing from the scope of the invention.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one having ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
In describing the invention, it will be understood that a number of techniques and steps are disclosed. Each of these has individual benefit and each can also be used in conjunction with one or more, or in some cases all, of the other disclosed techniques. Accordingly, for the sake of clarity, this description will refrain from repeating every possible combination of the individual steps in an unnecessary fashion. Nevertheless, the specification and claims should be read with the understanding that such combinations are entirely within the scope of the invention and the claims.
A new dispenser configured to store and dispense beverage container insulators is discussed herein. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be evident, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details.
The present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the invention, and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated by the figures or description below.
The present invention will now be described by example and through referencing the appended figures representing preferred and alternative embodiments.
In some embodiments, the body 11 may comprise one or more walls, such as a first wall 21, second wall 22, third wall 23, fourth wall 24, and/or a fifth wall 25. Optionally, the body 11 may be configured in a generally rectangular prism shape with the walls 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, comprising generally rectangular shapes. Preferably, a first wall 21 and a second wall 22 may be positioned generally parallel to each other, a third wall 23 and a fourth wall 24 may be positioned generally parallel to each other and coupled generally perpendicular to both the first wall 21 and second wall 22, and a fifth wall 25 may be coupled generally perpendicularly to the first 21, second 22, third 23, and fourth 24 walls. However, it should be understood to one of ordinary skill in the art that the body 11 and one or more walls 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, may be configured in a plurality of sizes and shapes including “T” shaped, “X” shaped, square shaped, cylinder shaped, cuboid shaped, hexagonal prism shaped, triangular prism shaped, or any other geometric or non-geometric shape, including combinations of shapes. It is not intended herein to mention all the possible alternatives, equivalent forms or ramifications of the invention. It is understood that the terms and proposed shapes used herein are merely descriptive, rather than limiting, and that various changes, such as to size and shape, may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.
In preferred embodiments, the body 11 may comprise one or more walls 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, which are shaped to form a generally rectangular prism shaped cavity 12 within the body 11. Preferably, the cavity 12 may comprise a shape and dimensions which allows one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, or more, such as a plurality, of beverage container insulators 200 to be stacked or linearly arranged as shown in
The dispenser 100 may comprise an access panel 13 which may be movably coupled to the body 11 and configured to govern access to the cavity 12. The access panel 13 may be configured to form a barrier to prevent beverage container insulators 200 within the cavity 12 from exiting the cavity 12 in a disorganized fashion such as by falling out of the cavity 12. In further embodiments, an access panel 13 may be positioned anywhere on the body 11 such as within one or more walls. For example, the body 11 may comprise six walls and an access panel 13 may be formed into one or more of the walls. In still further embodiments, an access panel 13 may take the place of and/or function as a wall. For example, an access panel 13 may take the place of and/or function as a top wall, bottom wall, rear wall, or side wall. It is to be understood that an access panel 13 may be formed or comprise any portion of the body 11 to allow access to the cavity 12.
In some embodiments, the access panel 13 may be movably coupled, by being removably coupled, to one or more walls 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, of the body 12 so that the access panel 13 may be coupled to the body 11 to prevent access to the cavity 12 and removed from the body 12 to allow access to the cavity 12. Preferably, the dispenser 100 may comprise one or more access panel fasteners 18 which may removably couple a portion of the access panel 13 to portions of the body 11, such as a first wall 21, second wall 22, third wall 23, and/or fourth wall 24. An access panel fastener 18 may comprise press fit or snap fit fasteners, hook and loop type or Velcro® fasteners, magnetic type fasteners, threaded type fasteners, sealable tongue and groove fasteners, snap fasteners, clip type fasteners, clasp type fasteners, ratchet type fasteners, a push-to-lock type connection method, a turn-to-lock type connection method, slide-to-lock type connection method or any other suitable temporary connection method as one reasonably skilled in the art could envision to serve the same function.
In alternative embodiments, the access panel 13 may be movably coupled to the body 11 with portions of the access panel 13 pivotally coupled to portions of the body 11, such as with a hinge 15, and other portions of the access panel 13 may be removably coupled to portions of the body 11. In this manner, portions of the access panel 13 may be pivoted away from the body 11 to allow access to the cavity 12. Conversely, by pivoting the portions of the access panel 13 into contact with the body 11 access to the cavity 12 may be temporarily prevented.
A hinge 15 may comprise a butt hinge, butterfly hinge, flush hinge, barrel hinge, concealed hinge, continuous hinge, T-hinge, strap hinge, double-acting hinge, Soss hinge, a flexible material hinge, or any other type or style of hinge or pivotal joining method that allows portions of an access panel 13 and body 11 to be pivoted away from each other. In further embodiments, a hinge 15 may comprise any type of hinge known in the art, including so-called “living” hinges, which typically comprise a linear, relatively flexible area between two relatively more rigid components, such as a line of thin plastic between thicker plastic portions, as is well known in the art. In still further embodiments, a hinge 15 may comprise a spring or other tension providing device that is able to mechanically assist with the opening or closing of the access panel 13.
In other embodiments, an access panel 13 and body 11 may be movably coupled together by being slidably joined together with a tongue and groove engagement allowing portions of an access panel 13 to be slid open and closed from the body 11. In further embodiments, an access panel 13 and body 11 may be joined with any other type of engagement that allows all or at least a portion of an access panel 13 to be moved relative to the body 11 thereby restricting and granting access to the cavity 12 within the body 11 of the dispenser 100.
Preferably, an access panel 13 may comprise a dispensing aperture 14 out of which beverage container insulators 200 may be removed from the cavity 12. In some embodiments, a dispensing aperture 14 may comprise a horizontal slot, having one or more first horizontal lips 51 and second horizontal lips 52, which may be shaped to allow one or more beverage container insulators 200 which are in a collapsed state 220 (
In some embodiments, a dispensing aperture 14 may be formed into the access panel 13 so that the dispensing aperture 14 may be positioned proximate to the first end 31 of the body 11 when the access panel 13 is coupled to the body 11 as shown in
In some embodiments, the dispenser 100 may comprise a motivation partition 41 which may be movably coupled to the body 11 within the cavity 12. Optionally, portions of the body 11 forming the cavity 12, such as one or more walls 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, may comprise one or more channels 17 into which portions of the motivation partition 41 may fit and which may be used to guide the movement of the motivation partition 41 within the cavity 12. The motivation partition 41 may be shaped to extend across the cavity 12 so that a beverage container insulator 200 in contact with the motivation partition 41 may not move around the motivation partition 41 as the partition 41 moves within the cavity 12. A motivation element 40 may be coupled to the motivation partition 41 and configured to tension the motivation partition 41 towards the dispensing aperture 14. Beverage container insulators 200 may be positioned within the cavity 12 and maintained in a collapsed state 220 (
In some embodiments, a motivation partition 41 may be movably coupled within the cavity 12 by being coupled to a motivation element 40 and the motivation partition 41 may not be coupled to a wall 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, of the body 11. Portions of the motivation partition 41, such as a partition edge surface 42, may be configured to slide across one or more walls, such as the first wall 21, second wall 22, and fifth wall 25, and/or the access panel 13. A motivation partition 41 may comprise one or more partition edge surfaces 42, which may be planar in shape, or any other shape, and which may contact and slide across one or more walls, such as the first wall 21, second wall 22, and fifth wall 25, and/or the access panel 13 to guide the movement of the motivation partition 41 within the cavity 12 when it is moved towards and away from the dispensing aperture 14. For example, a motivation partition 41 may be generally rectangular prism shaped and comprise four partition edge surfaces 42 which may extend around the motivation partition 41 to contact one or more walls 21, 22, 25, and/or access panel 13 to guide the movement of the motivation partition 41 within a generally rectangular prism shaped cavity 12.
In further embodiments and as shown in
In still further embodiments and as shown in
The motivation element 40 may tension the motivation partition 41 towards the dispensing aperture 14, irrespective to the force of gravity, so that as one or more collapsed beverage container insulators 200 are removed from the cavity 12 through the dispensing aperture 14, the motivation partition 41 may motivate the remaining beverage container insulators 200 within the cavity 12 towards the dispensing aperture 14. In this manner, the motivation element 40 may tension the motivation partition 41 towards the dispensing aperture 14 so that the motivation partition 41 may resist movement away from the dispensing aperture 14 as one or more collapsed beverage container insulators 200 are inserted into the cavity 12 through the dispensing aperture 14.
In some embodiments and as shown in
In alternative embodiments and as shown in
In still further embodiments, a motivation element 40 may comprise any type of spring such as a Tension/extension spring, Compression spring, Torsion spring, Variable spring, Coil spring, Flat spring, Machined spring, Serpentine spring, Cantilever spring, Hairspring or balance spring, Leaf spring, V-spring, Belleville washer or Belleville spring, Gas spring or gas piston, Mainspring, Negator spring, Progressive rate coil springs, Spring washer, Torsion spring, Wave spring, Rubber band, bungee cord, a shock cord, or other non-metallic elastic material, or any other material or device which is suitable for tensioning a motivation partition 41 towards a dispensing aperture 14.
An example of a beverage container insulator 200 is shown in
Optionally, a follower 46 may be coupled to the motivation partition 41 with one or more skids 43. A follower 46 may be configured in any shape and size such as a generally planar rectangular prism shape, similar to the depicted motivation partition 41, a U-shape, a T-shape, or any other shape. In some embodiments, the device 100 may comprise a finger recess 48 which may be formed by, formed into, and/or formed between a follower 46 and a motivation partition 41, and the finger recess 48 may form a recess or space for receiving the finger(s) of the user when moving the motivation partition 41. Preferably, a follower 46 may comprise one or more follower surfaces 47, which may be planar in shape, or any other shape, and which may contact and slide across one or more walls, such as the first wall 21, second wall 22, and fifth wall 25, and/or the access panel 13 to guide the movement of the follower 46 and therefore the movement of the motivation partition 41 to which the follower is coupled, within the cavity 12 when the motivation partition 41 is moved towards and away from the dispensing aperture 14. For example, a follower 46 may be generally rectangular prism shaped and comprise four follower surfaces 47 which may extend around the follower 46 to contact one or more walls 21, 22, 25, and/or access panel 13 to guide the movement of the motivation partition 41 within a generally rectangular prism shaped cavity 12.
While some materials have been provided, in other embodiments, the elements that comprise the dispenser 100 such as the body 11, access panel 13, motivation partition 41, motivation element 40, optional static partition 16, and/or any other element discussed herein may be made from durable materials such as aluminum, steel, other metals and metal alloys, wood, hard rubbers, hard plastics, fiber reinforced plastics, carbon fiber, fiber glass, resins, polymers, heavy cardboards and stiff foams (allowing the body 11 to float) or any other suitable materials including combinations of materials. Additionally, one or more elements may be made from or comprise durable and slightly flexible materials such as soft plastics, silicone, soft rubbers, or any other suitable materials including combinations of materials. In some embodiments, one or more of the elements that comprise the dispenser 100 may be coupled or connected together with heat bonding, chemical bonding, adhesives, clasp type fasteners, clip type fasteners, rivet type fasteners, threaded type fasteners, other types of fasteners, or any other suitable joining method. In other embodiments, one or more of the elements that comprise the dispenser 100 may be removably coupled or removably connected by being press fit or snap fit together, by one or more fasteners such as hook and loop type or Velcro® fasteners, magnetic type fasteners, threaded type fasteners, sealable tongue and groove fasteners, snap fasteners, clip type fasteners, clasp type fasteners, ratchet type fasteners, a push-to-lock type connection method, a turn-to-lock type connection method, slide-to-lock type connection method or any other suitable temporary connection method as one reasonably skilled in the art could envision to serve the same function. In further embodiments, one or more of the elements that comprise the dispenser 100 may be coupled by being one of connected to and integrally formed with another element of the dispenser 100.
Although the present invention has been illustrated and described herein with reference to preferred embodiments and specific examples thereof, it will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that other embodiments and examples may perform similar functions and/or achieve like results. All such equivalent embodiments and examples are within the spirit and scope of the present invention, are contemplated thereby, and are intended to be covered by the following claims.
This application claims priority to and the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/348,178, filed on Jun. 10, 2016, entitled “BEVERAGE CONTAINER INSULATOR DISPENSER”, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62348178 | Jun 2016 | US |