The presently disclosed subject matter is directed to a beverage holder. Specifically, a beverage holder particularly suited for support on a piece of exercise equipment.
Many people consume water or other beverages such as juice, dietary supplements, tea or the like as part of their regular exercise workout. These beverages are typically provided in bottles, cans, reusable cups, or even insulated containers that the user likes to keep close at hand during strenuous workouts.
While many pieces of exercise equipment such as bikes and treadmills provide cup holders for this purpose, they are strangely absent from power racks or squat racks. As such, the user may be forced to keep such beverage containers far away, which reduces the tendency to frequently drink from them, or risk keeping they nearby on the floor where they can become contaminated or accidentally kicked over resulting in a messy spill. Accordingly, there exists a need for a means by which a beverage container can be easily held on power racks in a gym environment to avoid the problems as described above. The development of the beverage holder fulfills this need.
The principles of the present invention provide for a beverage holder, comprising a cup resting on a base portion. The cup has a diameter, a cup bottom wall with a cup bottom wall upper surface, a cup wall bottom surface, an interior, and an upper perimeter edge circumscribed with a cup rim. The cup bottom wall bottom surface is affixed to the base such that it rests on the base upper surface of the base portion. The base portion has a planar base front surface, a planar base top surface upon which the cup bottom wall bottom surface rests, a planar base bottom surface opposite the base top surface, a planar base right side surface and a planar base left side surface opposite the base right side surface.
The beverage holder also comprises a back-plate portion which is attached to the cup and the base portion. The back-plate portion is affixed to the base portion at a perpendicular orientation and parallel with the cup sidewall. The back-plate portion has a planar back-plate front surface lower portion continuous with the base top surface, a planar back-plate right side surface, and a planar back-plate left side surface opposite the back-plate right side surface.
The beverage holder also comprises a planar projection portion which spans the width between the back-plate right side surface and the back-plate left side surface. The planar projection portion has a front surface attached to a rear portion of the cup rim, superjacent the projection portion is a stepped portion that gradually tapers down in a plurality of stepped elements to a planar back-plate front surface upper portion, and a planar back-plate rear surface is opposite the back-plate front surface lower portion, the projection portion, the stepped portion, and the back-plate front surface upper portion.
The beverage holder also comprises a peg which is attached to the back-plate portion. The peg is affixed to a location on the back-plate rear surface and extends rearwardly therefrom. The peg is located along a longitudinal centerline bisecting the back-plate rear surface to provide proper balance when the holder is suspended from a support surface via the peg.
The beverage holder also comprises a bracket portion which is attached to and extends rearwardly from the back-plate rear surface, subjacent the peg and opposite the back-plate front surface lower portion. The bracket portion has a bracket side portion that is affixed to the back-plate portion at a perpendicular angle. The bracket side portion has a planar bracket side portion left side surface that is coextensive with the back-plate left side surface and a planar bracket side portion right side surface opposite the bracket side portion left side surface. The bracket side portion also has a planar bracket side portion bottom surface coextensive with the base bottom surface, and a planar bracket side portion upper surface, opposite the bracket side portion bottom surface. The bracket portion also has a rear portion that is affixed to the terminal end of the side portion of the bracket portion and extends away perpendicularly therefrom. The bracket rear portion also has a planar bracket rear portion upper surface that is coextensive with the bracket side portion upper surface and a planar bracket rear portion bottom surface, opposite the bracket rear portion upper surface, that is continuous with the bracket side portion bottom surface. The bracket rear portion also has a planar bracket rear portion front surface coextensive with the bracket side portion right side surface and faces the back-plate rear surface. A planar bracket rear portion rear surface is located opposite the bracket rear portion front surface, and the bracket rear portion also has a bracket rear portion right side surface which is opposite the bracket side portion left side portion.
The cup may also comprise a cup sidewall that is generally cylindrical in shape while the cup rim may have a rear portion that is affixed with a projection surface of the back-plate portion. The cup rim may have a rear portion that is integral with a projection surface of the back-plate portion. The cup bottom wall may gently transition from the cup sidewall such that the interior surface of the cup sidewall and the cup bottom wall upper surface is a smooth and continuous surface and does not have any sharp corners.
The cup bottom wall may have an overall diameter which is slightly greater than the width of the base portion, such that a portion of the cup bottom wall bottom surface is visible in a bottom plan view of the holder. The cup interior may be defined by the cup bottom wall, the cup sidewall and a planar area between inner edges of the cup rim. The base portion may be generally square and has a width slightly less than the diameter of the cup. The base portion may generally be rectangular and has a width slightly less than the diameter of the cup.
The back-plate front surface upper portion may have a thickness less than that of the back-plate front surface lower portion. While the back-plate front surface lower portion has a thickness equal to that of the base portion, such that the back-plate right side surface is continuous with the base right side surface and the back-plate left side surface is continuous with the base left side surface at this location. The back-plate right side surface and the back-plate left side surface may remain planar and follows the overall thickness of the back-plate portion.
The beverage holder may also comprise a gap defined by the boundaries of the rear side of the cup sidewall, the rear of the cup rim, the projection portion, the back-plate front surface lower portion, and the base upper surface. The peg may be a cylindrical element with a terminal distal end, opposite the back-plate rear surface, that is smoothly rounded and has no sharp edges.
The beverage holder may comprise a terminal distal end which is configured to snugly insert the peg into a rounded bore hole. The peg may be located superjacent to the cup. The length the bracket side portion extends rearwardly away from the back-plate portion, and the length that the bracket rear portion extends away from the bracket side portion is defined as a bracket gap. The beverage holder is manufactured in a unitary fabrication and the cup, the base portion, the back-plate portion, the peg, and the bracket portion are integrally formed. The beverage holder may be manufactured in a unitary fabrication and the cup, the base portion, the back-plate portion, the peg, and the bracket portion are affixed, bonded, or attached to each other to provide an integral device.
The beverage holder may also be made of material selected from the group consisting of waterproof material, inert material, resilient to damage material, resistant to staining material, and capable of being easily cleaned material.
The advantages and features of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following more detailed description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like elements are identified with like symbols, and in which:
The best mode for carrying out the invention is presented in terms of its preferred embodiment, herein depicted within
The terms “a” and “an” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one (1) of the referenced items.
Referring now to
The cup includes a cup sidewall 20 that is generally cylindrical in shape, having a diameter, and having an upper perimeter edge circumscribed 5 with a cup rim 22. The cup rim 22 has a rear portion that is affixed or integral with a projection portion 15 of the back-plate portion. The cup rim 22 has a slightly greater diameter that that of the cup sidewall 20. The cup has a cup bottom wall with a cup bottom wall upper surface 25a and a cup wall bottom surface 25b. The cup bottom wall bottom surface 25b is affixed to the base such that it rests on the base upper surface 14a of the base portion. The cup bottom wall gently transitions from the cup sidewall 20 such that the interior surface of the cup sidewall and the cup bottom wall upper surface 25a is a smooth and continuous surface and does not have any sharp corners. The cup bottom wall has an overall diameter slightly greater than the width of the base portion, such that a portion of the cup bottom wall bottom surface 25b is visible in a bottom plan view of the holder 10 (please refer to
The base portion is generally square or rectangular and has a width slightly less than the diameter of the cup. The base portion thus has a planar base front surface 13, a planar base top surface 14a upon which the cup bottom wall bottom surface 25b rests, a planar base bottom surface 14b opposite the base top surface 14a, a planar base right side surface 12a and a planar base left side surface 12b opposite the base right side surface 12a.
The back-plate portion is affixed to the base portion at a perpendicular orientation and parallel with the cup sidewall 20. The back-plate portion has a planar back-plate front surface lower portion 17a continuous with the base top surface 14a, a planar back-plate right side surface 18a, and a planar back-plate left side surface 18b opposite the back-plate right side surface 18a. A planar projection portion 15 spans the width between the back-plate right side surface 18a and the back-plate left side surface 18b and has a front surface attached to a rear portion of the cup rim 22. Superjacent the projection portion 15 is a stepped portion 16 that gradually tapers down in a plurality of stepped elements to a planar back-plate front surface upper portion 17b. The back-plate front surface upper portion 17b has a thickness less than that of the back-plate front surface lower portion 17a. A planar back-plate rear surface 17c is opposite the back-plate front surface lower portion 17a, projection portion 15, stepped portion 16, and back-plate front surface upper portion 17b.
The back-plate front surface lower portion 17a generally has a thickness equal to that of the base portion, such that the back-plate right side surface 18a is continuous with the base right side surface 12a and the back-plate left side surface 18b is continuous with the base left side surface 12b at this location. The back-plate right side surface 18a and back-plate left side surface 18b remains planar and follows the overall thickness of the back-plate portion. There is a gap defined by the boundaries of the rear side of the cup sidewall 20, the rear of the cup rim 22, the projection portion 15, the back-plate front surface lower portion 17a, and the base upper surface 14a.
A peg 40 is affixed to or otherwise attached to a location on the back-plate rear surface 17c and extends rearwardly therefrom (i.e. opposite the cup). The peg 40 is preferably located along a longitudinal centerline bisecting the back-plate rear surface 17c to provide proper balance when the holder 10 is suspended from a support surface via the peg 40. The peg 40 is preferably a cylindrical element with a terminal distal end, opposite the back-plate rear surface 17c, that is smoothly rounded and has no sharp edges. The shape of this terminal end is configured to snugly insert the peg 40 (and thus the holder 10) into a rounded bore hole, similar to a rack of exercise equipment. The peg 40 location is located superjacent to the cup.
The bracket portion is attached to and extends rearwardly from the back-plate rear surface 17c, subjacent the peg 40, and opposite the back-plate front surface lower portion 17a. The bracket portion generally has the same thickness of the base portion and the lower portion of the back-plate portion.
The bracket portion has a bracket side portion that is affixed to the back-plate portion at a perpendicular angle. The bracket side portion has a planar bracket side portion left side surface 31 that is coextensive with the back-plate left side surface 18b and a planar bracket side portion right side surface 35 opposite the bracket side portion left side surface 31. The bracket side portion also has a planar bracket side portion bottom surface 34b coextensive with the base bottom surface 14b, and a planar bracket side portion upper surface 32b, opposite the bracket side portion bottom surface 14b.
The bracket portion also has a rear portion that is affixed to the terminal end of the side portion of the bracket portion and extends away perpendicularly therefrom. The bracket rear portion has a planar bracket rear portion upper surface 32a that is coextensive with the bracket side portion upper surface 32b and a planar bracket rear portion bottom surface 34a, opposite the bracket rear portion upper surface 32a, that is continuous with the bracket side portion bottom surface 34b. The bracket rear portion also has a planar bracket rear portion front surface 30a coextensive with the bracket side portion right side surface 35 and faces the back-plate rear surface 17c. Further, a planar bracket rear portion rear surface 30b is located opposite the bracket rear portion front surface 30a. The bracket rear portion also has a bracket rear portion right side surface 33 which is opposite the bracket side portion left side portion 31.
The width of the rear portion is oriented parallel with the width of the back-plate portion and is preferably not as wide thereas. Therefore, the bracket rear portion right side surface 33 terminates at a smaller distance than the back-plate right side surface 18a. The length that the bracket side portion extends rearwardly away from the back-plate portion, and the length that the bracket rear portion extends away from the bracket side portion can be defined as a bracket gap 45, which is generally configured to enable placement about a piece of exercise equipment, such as squat racks, so that the cup is parallel to the ground surface.
In a preferred method of operation, it is determined that the holder 10 can be held by a user of supported on a support surface, either by the bracket portion (i.e., the bracket side portion and bracket rear portion at least partially engages a portion of the support surface or the bracket gap 45 receives a portion of the support surface), or by partial or full insertion of the peg 40 into a bore hole portion of the support surface. Such a support surface as previously identified can be a piece of exercise equipment. A beverage or a beverage container can be placed in the cup portion of the holder 10 and supported by any of the methods previously mentioned.
The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
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