BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed generally to beverage containers and more particularly to beverage containers that include a removable panel that provides access to an internal compartment to facilitate easy cleaning of the containers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Beverage containers come in numerous shapes and sizes. Many beverage containers include a body portion having a hollow interior volume, a neck portion coupled to the body portion that is substantially narrower than the body portion, and a mouth or opening coupled to a top portion of the neck portion that is operative to permit passage of liquid between the interior of the body portion and the external environment. For many beverage containers, washing the interior of the body portion after use may be a difficult task since the relatively small opening and neck portion of the container may severely limit access to the interior portion of the container.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a flask in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the flask shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a back elevational view of the flask shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a right side elevational view of the flask shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is a top view of the flask shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the flask shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 7A is a front left exploded perspective view of the flask shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 7B is a front right exploded perspective view of the flask shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 8 is a front perspective view of the flask shown in FIG. 1 when a removable assembly is detached from the remainder of the flask.
FIG. 9A is a left elevational view of the flask shown in FIG. 1 wherein a top locking assembly is in a locked position and a bottom locking assembly is in an unlocked position.
FIG. 9B is a left sectional view of the flask shown in FIG. 9A.
FIG. 10A is a left elevational view of the flask shown in FIG. 1 wherein both the top locking assembly and the bottom locking assembly are in the locked position.
FIG. 10B is a front sectional view of the flask shown in FIG. 10A.
FIG. 10C is a bottom sectional view of the flask shown in FIG. 10A.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed a beverage container or flask that includes a removable panel or sidewall. The removable panel is configured to include fasteners or “locks” that allow a user to selectively fasten the panel in place and to remove it from the remainder of the flask. When the removable panel is locked in place on the remainder of the flask, the panel provides a leak proof seal such that a liquid may be contained in the flask without escaping. The removable panel feature of the flask permits access to an interior volume or compartment of the flask, which facilitates simplified and more effective cleaning of the interior of the flask. This is in contrast to flasks or beverage containers in which the only access to an interior compartment is through a relatively small mouth or opening. As an example, a user may detach the removable panel from the remainder of the flask and then insert both pieces of the flask into a dishwasher for efficient and effective cleaning thereof.
An exemplary embodiment of a flask 10 according to the present invention is depicted in the figures. Referring initially to FIGS. 1-6, the flask 10 includes a body portion 12 comprising a front panel 18, a back panel 20, a top panel 14, and a bottom panel 16. The bottom panel 16 includes a pair of foot portions 36 (see FIGS. 6 and 7A) configured to permit the flask 10 to rest steadily on a flat surface in an upright position. The flask 10 also includes a removable left side panel 50, a removable right side panel 40, and an internal dividing panel 25 (see FIG. 7B and 10B). As may best be viewed in FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 10B, the dividing panel 25 divides the flask 10 into a first compartment 15 and a second compartment 27. The first compartment 15 is operative to store a liquid, and the second compartment 27 may be operative to store any suitable personal item or items of a user.
The flask 10 also includes a cap 70 that is removably coupled to a cylindrical neck portion 26 (see FIG. 7A) that extends upwardly from the top panel 14 of the flask and defines an opening 30 that provides a fluid connection into the first compartment 15. As may best be viewed in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the neck portion 26 includes external threads 28 configured to engage internal threads 74 of the cap 70. In operation, a user may threadably disengage the cap 70 from the neck portion 26 of the flask 10 by grasping an outer gripping surface 72 of the cap, fill the flask with a liquid or pour liquid therefrom, and then return the cap securely onto the neck portion to seal closed the first compartment.
As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the left removable panel 50 comprises a substantially rectangular vertical surface 52, a beveled edge 54 extending away from the vertical surface 52 toward the body portion 12 of the flask 10, and a seal coupling portion 56 configured for coupling with a seal 64. The left removable panel 50, once coupled to the seal 64 as shown in FIG. 8, may be securely but removably positioned over a panel attachment portion 22 of the body portion 12 to form the first compartment 15. The seal 64 may be formed from a sufficiently flexible material (e.g., rubber, silicone, or the like) such that when pressed onto the panel attachment portion 22, a leak proof (i.e., fluid-tight) seal is formed between the body portion 12 and the assembly 51.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the seal 64 is connected to a flexible cap attachment strap 66 positioned near a top portion 62 of the left removable panel 50. The cap attachment strap 66 comprises a loop portion 68 configured to securely attach the cap 70 to the cap attachment strap 66. Since it is desirable for the cap 70 to be freely rotatable so that it may be threadably engaged with the neck portion 26, the loop portion 68 is sized to loosely fit within a groove 71 of the cap 70, which permits the cap 70 to be rotated by a user. Thus, since the cap 70 is secured to the flask 10 via the cap attachment strap 66, a user may disengage the cap 70 from the neck 26 without having to be concerned that the cap may be misplaced.
Similar to the left removable panel 50, the right removable panel 40 comprises a substantially rectangular vertical surface 46, a beveled edge 44, and a seal coupling portion 42 configured to be coupled to a seal 48. Referring to FIGS. 1, 7B, and 10B, the right removable panel 40, once coupled to the seal 48, may be securely but removably coupled to a panel attachment portion 24 of the body portion 12, thereby forming the second compartment 27 defined by the dividing panel 25, the panel attachment portion 24, and the right removable panel 40. As can be appreciated, a user may utilize the second compartment 27 to store various objects as desired. In some embodiments, the right removable panel 40 may be selectively attachable to the body portion 12 of the flask 10 by a “snap-fit,” but other configurations for providing selective attachment may be provided.
Referring now to FIG. 8, a removable assembly 51 is shown that includes the left removable panel 50. As described in detail below, a user may selectively attach and lock the assembly 51 to the body portion 12 of the flask 10. In this regard, the interior portion of the body portion 12 (i.e., the compartment 15) is fully accessible upon disassembly, which may be advantageous by allowing simplified washing of the flask 10.
As may best be viewed in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the assembly 51 comprises a top locking (or fastening) assembly (having components designated with the letter “A”) that includes a screw 80A, a plate 100A, and a pin 120A, and a bottom locking assembly (having components designated with the letter “B”) that includes a screw 80B, a plate 100B, and a pin 120B. The bottom locking assembly is substantially identical to the top locking assembly, with similar parts having the same reference numbers assigned thereto. Therefore, the description provided below with reference to the top locking assembly is equally applicable to the bottom locking assembly. The screw 80A comprises a head 82A having a slot 84A sized for receiving a portion of a driver (e.g., a slot screwdriver, a coin, or the like) therein, and a body 86A. The body 86A of the screw 80A includes keyway aperture 92A disposed in a surface of the screw 80A opposite the head 82A and configured to receive a key portion 108A of the plate 100A. The components of the top locking assembly are secured together by the pin 120A, which passes through the plate 100A and into the keyway aperture 92A of the screw 80A. Specifically, the pin 120A enters the plate 100A through an aperture 112A on a first surface 103A, and exits the plate 100A through an aperture 110A in the key portion 108A.
As shown in FIG. 7A and 7B, the left removable panel 50 comprises a top recess or counterbore 58A disposed on the vertical surface 52 that leads to a cylindrically shaped channel 61A sized to receive the body 86A of the screw 80. The counterbore 58A comprises a panel engagement or ridge portion 59A that is shaped to interact with a corresponding ridge portion 90A (see FIG. 7B) of the screw 80A to restrict the rotation of the screw 80A relative to the removable panel 50. For example, the ridge portions 80A and 90A may be configured such that the screw 80A may only be inserted fully into the counterbore 80A when it is rotated at one or more predetermined angles and, once inserted, may rotate only a limited angle in a certain direction (e.g., 90 degrees in a clockwise direction, or the like). Further, the screw 80A includes a seal 88A positioned on the body 86A configured to prevent fluid from exiting the channel 61A.
During assembly, once the screw 80A has been inserted into the counterbore 58A and cylindrically shaped channel 61A of the left removable panel 50, the plate 100A may then be coupled to the screw 80A. This is accomplished by inserting the key portion 108A of the plate 100A into the keyway aperture 92 of the screw 80A and tapping the pin 120A through the apertures 110A and 112A of the plate and into an aperture 101A (see FIG. 10B) in the body 86A of the screw to form an interference or “friction” fit therewith.
The components of the bottom locking assembly (designated with the letter “B”) may be assembled in the same manner as those of the top locking assembly (designated with the letter “A”) described above. That is, the screw 80B may be inserted into a bottom counterbore 58B and cylindrically shaped channel 61B of the left removable panel 50 and secured to the plate 100B using the pin 120B as described above with reference to the top locking assembly.
As discussed above, the flask 10 is configured to permit the removable assembly 51 to be selectively locked onto the body portion 12 of the flask to form the fluid-tight first compartment 15 operative to contain a liquid therein. With reference to FIGS. 8, 9A, 9B, and 10C, the operation of the locking feature is now described. An interior surface 20A (see FIG. 8) of the back panel 20 comprises a top lock engagement portion or ridge 32A and a bottom ridge 32B. Similarly, an interior surface 18A of the front panel 18 comprises a top lock engagement portion or ridge 32C and a bottom ridge 32D (see FIG. 9B). The ridges 32A and 32C are sized, shaped, and positioned to engage with the top plate 100A of the removable assembly 51, and the ridges 32B and 32D are sized, shaped, and positioned to engage with the bottom plate 100B of the removable assembly, to selectively fasten the removable assembly to the body portion 12 of the flask 10.
As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the top plate 100A and the bottom plate 100B may be rotated by 90 degrees each by rotating the top screw 80A and the bottom screw 80B, respectively. To enable rotation without contacting the inner surfaces 18A and 20A of the front panel 18 and back panel 20, respectively, the top plate 100A and the bottom plate 100B each include rounded corners 105A, 107A and 105B, 107B, respectively. The rounded corners 105A-B and 107A-B restrict the rotation of the plates 100A and 100B by permitting them to only rotate approximately 90 degrees between the position of the top plate 100A and the position of the bottom plate 100B, as shown in FIG. 9B. In FIGS. 9A and 9B, the top screw 80A and the top plate 100A are illustrated in a “locked” position and the bottom screw 80B and bottom plate 100B are illustrated in an “unlocked” position. As can be seen, the top plate 100A includes two longer sides 104A opposite each other and two shorter sides 106A opposite each other with a distance between the longer sides being less than the distance between the shorter sides. Similarly, the bottom plate 100B includes two longer sides 104B opposite each other and two shorter sides 106B opposite each other having the same spacing. When one of the plates 100A and 100B is in the unlocked position (see the plate 100B in FIG. 9B), the plates 100A and 100B are permitted to pass freely past the top ridges 32A and 32C or the bottom ridges 32B and 32D, respectively. This is possible because when in the unlocked position, the horizontal width of the plates 100A and 100B is determined by the length of the shorter sides 106A and 106B, respectively, which is smaller than the distance between the top ridges 32A and 32C and the distance between the bottom ridges 32B and 32D, respectively.
In contrast, when the plates 100A are 100B are in the locked position (see the top plate 100A shown in FIG. 9B), the movement of the plates 100A and 100B is restricted by the top ridges 32A and 32C and the bottom ridges 32B and 32D, respectively. Thus, but turning the screws 80A and 80B, a user may selectively lock the assembly 51 onto the body portion 12 of the flask 10.
To achieve a fluid tight seal, the ridges 32A-D may be positioned on the interior surfaces 18A and 20A of the front panel 18 and back panel 20, respectively, at a location that requires a user to exert a small force on the assembly 51 when rotating the screws 80A and 80B, thereby compressing the seal 64 slightly to form a leak proof seal around the seal engagement portion 22 of the body portion 12. In other words, the plates 100A and 100B may not be inserted into the body portion 12 fully past the ridges 32A-32D unless a force sufficient to compress the seal 64 (thereby moving the plates 100A and 100B inward toward the body portion 12) is applied.
The foregoing described embodiments depict different components contained within, or connected with, different other components. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures are merely exemplary, and that in fact many other architectures can be implemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively “associated” such that the desired functionality is achieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality can be seen as “associated with” each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components so associated can also be viewed as being “operably connected”, or “operably coupled”, to each other to achieve the desired functionality.
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.
Patent Application
20120181283
