Patent Application
20170349331
The present invention relates to beverage containers having a handle.
Some beverage containers have a handle attached to a beverage container main body for carrying the beverage container. The handle is typically attached to the beverage container main body by an upper connector portion and a lower connector portion extending respectively from the top and a bottom of the handle toward the beverage container main body. Each of the upper connector portion and the lower connector portion are fastened directly to a side of the beverage container main body using a fastener, such as a screw or bolt.
A beverage container 10 according to a first embodiment is shown in
The handle portion 14 has an elongated grip 26 for holding and carrying the beverage container 10. A handle upper portion 28 laterally extends from and connects an upper end portion of the grip 26 to the container main body 12. A handle lower portion 30 of the grip 26 is directly attached to the lower sidewall 20 by a fastening member 32. The fastening member 32 of the present embodiment is a threaded bolt or screw that extends through an aperture 33 on the handle lower portion 30 and engages with a receptacle 34 on the lower sidewall 20; however, other methods of attachment are contemplated.
The handle portion 14 includes an attachment collar 36 for attaching the handle upper portion 28 to the container main body 12. The attachment collar 36 of the present embodiment has an annular shape, as shown in
To assemble the beverage container 10, the attachment collar 36 of the handle portion 14 is first positioned over an upper portion 24U of the upper sidewall 24 and then lowered so that the upper sidewall projects through the opening 36A of the attachment collar 36. The attachment collar 36 is moved downwardly until the inner circumferential surface 38B of the base portion 38 is immediately adjacent to or abutting the outer periphery of the lower portion 24L of the upper sidewall 24 and/or the lower surface 38A of the base portion 38 is immediately adjacent to or abutting the upwardly facing surface 39 of the upper portion 16 of the container main body 12. Thereafter, the handle portion 14 is rotated as needed to align the aperture 33 of the handle lower portion 30 with the receptacle 34, and the fastening member 32 is then inserted into the receptacle 34 and rotated to threadably attach the handle lower portion 30 to the container main body 12. Attachment of the handle lower portion 30 at the receptacle 34 helps to prevent the attachment collar 36 from moving upwardly and away from the upwardly facing surface of the upper portion 16. The snug friction fit of the inner circumferential surface 38B of the attachment collar 36 against the outer circumferential surface of the lower portion 24L of the upper sidewall 24 may help to prevent lateral movement of the handle portion 14 relative to the container main body 12, and further helps to prevent upward movement of the attachment collar 36 relative to the upper portion 16. The beverage container 10 using the handle portion 14 is simpler to assemble and requires fewer parts for assembly than previously-implemented beverage containers because the beverage container 10 does not use a separate fastener to attach the handle upper portion 28 to the container main body 12.
In a second embodiment the attachment collar may have a semi-circular shape that only partially surrounds an outer circumferential surface of the upper sidewall 24, as shown in
In a third embodiment shown in
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention and its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as are within the true spirit and scope of this invention. Furthermore, it is to be understood that the invention is solely defined by the appended claims. It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.).
It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Accordingly, the invention is not limited except as by the appended claims.
