Bottles were developed centuries ago, with some of the earliest bottles appearing in China, Rome, and Crete. A bottle is defined as a rigid container with a neck that is smaller than the body, and a mouth or opening. Typically, but not universally, bottles are taller than wide. Bottles are often made of glass or plastic, although bottles may be made of any material that is generally impermeable to the liquid to be contained. Glass bottles are preferred in the distilled beverage industry, because glass is easily cleaned, enables long-term storage without degradation of the liquid content and inhibits seepage of external elements into the container and seepage of the liquid contents out of the container.
The design or configuration of a bottle or container can enhance or hinder its use. For example, it can be difficult to pour liquid from a bottle with a large body and short neck without spilling the liquid. This is even more difficult when the bottle is full of liquid. A bottle with a long neck may facilitate the ability to accurately pour the liquid, but if the body has a wide diameter relative to the neck, a large volume of liquid may fill the neck with a momentum that is difficult to control, making dispensing and halting the flow of the liquid more difficult. Many bottles also tend to have a height greater than the dimension of the base, making such bottles susceptible to being knocked over and the contents spilled. A glass bottle having a smooth exterior surface may be difficult to firmly grasp, particularly if the glass is wet, for example with condensation.
An example of a design that can enhance a container or fluid containing vessel is a child's self-righting training cup. Such a design is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,303,170 and 4,388,996 entitled “Self-Righting Training Cup”, assigned to Kiddie Products, Inc. In these examples, a cup is provided with a hemi-spherical shaped base with a flat circular bottom surface, a cylindrical upper portion and a weight positioned proximate the flat bottom. A cover substantially closes the open end of the cup and provides a sipper opening at the end of a spout. However, to reduce the weight of the cup and make the cup lighter, it was determined that the height of the upper cylindrical portion must be limited relative to the diameter of the lower hemi-spherical portion. Cups of this type typically have a limited tipping range. In other words, if tipped too far, the cup is unable to right itself.
An adult version of the self-righting cup is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,096,966. Here, a cup is disclosed having a hemi-spherical base and a centrally located circular flat bottom portion. The diameter of the circular bottom portion small compared to the diameter of the hemi-spherical portion. As a result, when tipped and released or when set down on the hemi-spherical portion of the base, the cup will have a tendency to return to its upright position but may also have a tendency to rotate along the curved hemi-spherical base and induce an undesired oscillating motion to the cup.
Another example is U.S. published patent application 2008/0257845, entitled “Self-Righting Baby Bottle.” Similar to the child-proof cups described in a preceding paragraph, the disclosed bottle has a hemi-spherical weighted base. In addition, the cap that encloses the open neck of the bottle includes a nipple that prevents significant spilling of the liquid contents if the bottle is significantly tipped, for example, beyond ninety degrees. The bottle is provided with a weighted end piece that does not include a flat bottom portion. As a result, when tipped and released the bottle will oscillate and the cap will move in a circular or elliptical path back and forth past the vertical position until the liquid in the bottle settles and the motion of the bottle dampens.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,776,303, entitled “Self-Righting Fluid-Storage Container,” is designed for athletes to use during training or competition without the need to be concerned about setting down the container. Rather, the design permits the athlete simply to drop or throw the container after use. Here, the design includes a long cylindrical container and an oversized weighted base. The base is elliptical in cross section to impart a purposeful rotation and oscillation of the container when released which gradually dampens the motion and moves the orientation of the container towards a desired vertical orientation. A straw and cap prevent excess spilling.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,139,325, entitled “Self-Righting Container,” is directed to a fluid container having an elongate tapered neck, a circular flange at the end of the neck and a weighted hemi-spherical base with a centrally located flat portion. As noted above, given the elongate neck and the oversized diameter of the hemi-spherical base, once the container is tipped and the fluid content moves to the open end of the neck, the momentum of the moving fluid is difficult to counteract without a significant counterbalancing weight. The hemi-spherical base will also impart a rotational and oscillating motion to the container upon release.
The foregoing references are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety and are hereby made a part of this specification. To the extent publications and patents or patent applications incorporated by reference contradict the disclosure contained in the specification, the specification is intended to supersede and/or take precedence over any such contradictory material.
According to aspects of the present disclosure, a bottle with a curved outer surface and counter-balanced base is disclosed. In one embodiment, the bottle includes a first side and a second side, each of the sides being generally circular in shape. A wall or front and rear surface connects the first side and the second side. The wall is curved and sufficiently wide to allow the bottle to roll on at least a leading or front portion of the wall. In one embodiment, a spout extends from the top of the bottle and is offset relative to a vertical centerline of the bottle. In other embodiments, the spout need not be offset. The base has a heel portion that provides stability when the bottle is at rest on the base and a counterbalance relative to rolling of the bottle along its front edge or wall. The counterbalance or counterweight is offset relative to the centerline of the bottle. Stated differently, it is not coaxially aligned with the centerline of the bottle when the bottle is resting on its base. As such, the bottle may be rolled along a surface on its front edge or wall, for example by pushing the spout, and the bottle is enabled without additional assistance to return to a level or stable setting on its base by rocking back in the opposite direction under the influence of the heel portion. Thus, the bottle may be tipped or rolled along its edge to reposition the spout for purposes of pouring liquid from the bottle out of the spout and when released, the bottle will automatically return to its upright position on its base due to the off-set or eccentrically weighted base.
According to aspects of the present disclosure, one embodiment comprises a bottle having a body with a first side and a second side, the second side space from and parallel to the first side, each of the first and second sides being generally circular in shape. An edge connects the first side and the second side, and the edge has a leading portion and a trailing portion. A spout extends from the edge, the spout offset from the vertical centerline of the body. The bottle has a substantially flat base, the base having a toe portion adjoining the leading portion of the edge and a heel portion spaced from the toe portion and adjoining the trailing portion of the edge. In addition, when the bottle is supported on a generally flat horizontal surface by the leading portion of the edge, the bottle will roll to a position resting on the base under the influence of the heel portion.
According to aspects of the present disclosure, in a second embodiment, a container for holding liquids is provided and includes a body having a generally circular first side and a generally circular second side spaced from the first side. A curved surface interconnects at least a portion of the first and second sides. A spout extends outwardly from the curved surface. A flat base is located generally opposite the spout between the first and second sides, and the base has a toe portion and a heel portion. The bottle is adapted to roll on the curved surface when the spout is moved from a first upright position to a second position such that liquid may pour from the spout. The bottle is also adapted to return to the first position, e.g., a static position resting on the base, solely under a force applied by the heel portion. And when the bottle moves between the first and second positions, the bottle generally remains in a single vertical plane.
According to aspects of the present disclosure, a third embodiment of a bottle comprises a first side wall and a second side wall spaced from the first side wall; a flat base interconnecting a portion of the first side wall and second side wall, the base having a toe portion and a heel portion spaced from the toe portion; an edge surface interconnecting the first side wall and the second side wall and extending from the toe portion to the heel portion of the base; a spout extending outwardly from the edge surface; and wherein, the bottle has a vertical centerline extending between the base and the spout and the heel portion are offset from the centerline.
It is noted that as used herein, the terms “includes” and “including” mean, but is not limited to, “includes” or “including” and “includes at least” or “including at least.” The term “based on” means “based on” and “based at least in part on.” In addition, it should be noted that the examples described herein are provided for purposes of illustration, and are not intended to be limiting. Other devices and/or device configurations are also contemplated.
In other embodiments the bottle may include a channel in the first side and/or the second side proximate the edge. The first side and the second side may include an inner portion and an outer portion, and wherein the inner portion is inset relative to the outer portion. The inner portion may have a circular shape or a non-circular shape. The channel may have a substantially C-shaped cross-sectional shape, a U-shaped cross-sectional shape or a different cross-sectional shape, such as square, triangular or other geometry. The toe portion of the base may comprises a non-linear edge.
The Summary is neither intended nor should it be construed as being representative of the full extent and scope of the present invention. Moreover, reference made herein to aspects of the present disclosure should be understood to mean certain embodiments of the present invention and should not necessarily be construed as limiting all embodiments to a particular description. The present invention is set forth in various levels of detail in the Summary of the Invention as well as in the attached drawings and the Detailed Description and no limitation as to the scope of the present invention is intended by either the inclusion or non-inclusion of elements, components, etc. in this Summary.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the general description of the invention given above and the detailed description of the drawings given below, serve to explain the principles of these inventions.
It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale. In certain instances, details that are not necessary for an understanding of the invention or that render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It should be understood, of course, that the invention is not necessarily limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein.
With reference to
For optimized performance, in a preferred embodiment, the toe portion 26 is not a straight line or sharp edge but is a curved or rounded edge between the first side 16 and the second side 18 to provide a lesser but sustained resistance during transition of the bottle from the base 14 to the front surface 30 rather than a greater more instantaneous resistance and, upon return, from the front surface 30 to setting on the base 14. This modest curve is shown in
As would be appreciated by a person of skill in the art upon reading the present disclosure, the weight of the heel portion 24, its distance from the toe portion 26 (which is the pivot point or fulcrum for the transition between the bottle statically resting on its base 14 and rolling on the leading edge 30), the weight of the bottle 10 and the weight of the liquid in the bottle are all factors in the optimization of the motion that returns the bottle to its static sitting position. It also should be appreciated that the size and configuration of the recess 22 also relates to the size and weight of the heel portion 24 needed to prevent continuing rotation of the bottle 10 and to return the bottle 10 to its upright position when the bottle is released. For example, a larger recess 22 generally allows for a smaller the heel portion 24.
As illustrated in
As discussed above, the bottle 10 is preferably weighted such that it automatically returns to a substantially upright position, e.g., resting on the bottom surface. According to aspects of the present disclosure, the counterweighted portion 24 is configured to cause the bottle 10 to return to its upright position, on its base 14, when supported on its front side 30 and released.
It is noted that the examples shown and described are provided for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting. While various embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, it is apparent that modifications and alterations of those embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art. For example, the trailing edge 32 may have a different profile or shape. The ability of the bottle to roll on its leading edge does not directly involve the shape or contour of the trailing edge 32. Rather than being curved and providing the body with a generally cylindrical shape, the trailing edge 32 may comprise a straight portion, multiple straight portions, a differently curved portion, i.e., differently curved compared to the front portion 30, or multiple differently shaped portions. However, it is to be expressly understood that such modifications and alterations are within the scope and spirit of the present invention, as set forth in the following claims. Other modifications or uses for the present invention will also occur to those of skill in the art after reading the present disclosure. Such modifications or uses are deemed to be within the scope of the present invention.
The present application claims the benefit, under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e), of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/480,241 filed Mar. 31, 2017 entitled “Bottle with Offset Spout and Counter-Balanced Base,” the entirety of which is incorporated herein by this reference.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20180282011 A1 | Oct 2018 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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62480241 | Mar 2017 | US |