Patent Application
20090120932
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The invention relates to cocktail shakers used in the home, restaurants or bars for making mixed drinks, alcoholic or otherwise. Cocktail shakers have been used to prepare mixed drinks for many years. A common feature of existing devices is the use of a screen or other filtering means to filter out large pieces of ice or other ingredients before pouring the drink into a glass for consumption. The filter may be part of the cocktail shaker or may be a separate device that is placed on top of the mixing container, and extends across the opening of the mixing container. In this way, the drink is filtered when the drink is poured from the mixing container.
In public places, like bars or restaurants, bartenders typically use a separate filter. The use of a separate screening device requires time and effort to both use and to clean. A separate filter requires that the bartender pick up the filter and place the filter on the mixing container to make the drink. The separate filter must be separately cleaned after the drink is made. Debris often gets caught in the screen filter, making clean-up time consuming and messy. All of these motions and steps take time that is often in short supply, especially in a crowded bar or restaurant.
Sometimes, professional bartenders dispense with the filter entirely, and simply crack the cap away from the mixing container, attempting to create a small space between the mixing container and cap to prevent debris from pouring into the drinking glass. The drink is then poured from between the crack. But, this technique often results in large chucks of ice or debris ending up in the drink because it is difficult to precisely hold the cap and mixing container at the proper distance. Thus, the end result may be a watery drink because too much ice ended up in the drink.
Other cocktail shakers come with a filter that is attached to either the mixing container or the cap. These filters may be permanently attached or may be removable for cleaning. Although these devices exist, they are not typically used in bars and restaurants because of the need to rapidly clean and re-use the cocktail shaker. The attached filters make cleaning the device much more time-consuming and difficult, and cocktail shakers with attached filters are typically used in the home.
One common feature of existing devices, whether used in bars, restaurants or the home, is that the filter device covers the entire mouth of the mixing container. For example, Hawthorne strainers are frequently used by professional bartenders and consist of a flat metal surface that covers the rim of the mixing container, with a continuous coil of wire at the perimeter. Other strainers that cover the rim of the mixing container are taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,913,165, issued to Linz et al. on Jul. 5, 2005 and U.S. D498,966 issued to Fiedeler et al. on Nov. 30, 2004. Other devices use a filter to entirely cover a pouring spout, for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,555,046 issued to Bennett on Nov. 26, 1985. In all cases, the filter device is essentially horizontal, and covers the rim or other opening through which liquid is dispensed.
It is often important that mixed drinks be made quickly, particularly in bars and restaurants. If numerous customers are waiting for drinks, bartenders may simply refuse to make certain types of drinks because of the time involved.
The present invention dispenses with the need for a filter to cover the entire rim or opening of the mixing container. Likewise, it eliminates the need to separately clean the filter.
The present invention allows for rapidly making a mixed drink, without the use of a separate filter, and without the need for a filter that covers the opening of the mixing container.
In one embodiment, the invention is a cap that snugly fits with a mixing container. The mixing container may be a standard sized glass or any container that is capable of holding the ingredients of a mixed drink, and thus the cap may be of any size needed to snugly connect with the mixing container.
The cap has an open end connected by a surface with a closed end. The open end comprises an annulus connected with a perimeter which is in turn connected with a surface. The annulus has a smaller circumference than the perimeter of the cap, so that the annulus fits inside a mixing container, while the cap perimeter rests on the rim of the mixing container. The annulus contains a plurality of perforations sized to prevent large chips of ice or other debris from passing through the perforations. The size of the perforations may be varied depending on the size of particles to be filtered out. In addition, the perforations may be holes or may be made from a plurality of fingers, projections or flanges.
In one embodiment, a gasket sits directly above the annulus, at the perimeter that connects the annulus with the surface. The gasket surrounds the cap and may prevent leaks. Other embodiments contain two or more gaskets for ornamentation and/or to prevent leaks.
In another embodiment, the mixing container is double-walled.
To pour the drink, the operator simply cracks open the cap, tilting and lifting it slightly out of the mixing container so that part of the perforated annular opening is exposed. The bartender tilts the mixing container and cap sideways, and the drink pours out through the perforations.
In another embodiment of the invention the perforated annulus is located on the rim of the mixing container, and the cap is solid.
The elimination of a separate filter saves time in preparing a drink and in the subsequent clean-up. The elimination of an integral filter that covers the rim of a mixing container also makes clean-up far more efficient.
Standard cocktail shakers are frequently used with a separate filtering device. Typically, drink ingredients are put into a mixing container, a top is placed over the container and the bartender shakes the container to mix the drink (“bartender” will be used for ease of understanding and is defined as any person preparing a drink, whether in a bar, restaurant, or the home). After shaking and mixing, the bartender may remove the cap and place a separate filter over the rim of the mixing container, pouring the mixed drink through the filter to remove large bits of ice or other large drink ingredients.
The use of a separate filter requires extra motions and steps that take time that is often in short supply, especially in a crowded bar or restaurant.
The present invention eliminates the need to separately handle a filter, either for preparing a drink or during clean-up. In one embodiment, a cap 10 is made of any solid, relatively rigid material. Non-limiting examples of such a material are plastic, metal or wood. Cap 10 may be made of any combination of these materials, or may be made entirely of one type of solid, relatively rigid material. Cap 10 has a closed end 12 connected with an open end 14 by surface 16.
Open end 14 comprises annulus 18 with a plurality of perforations 20. Perforations 20 may be any size desired to filter or remove particles, including ice chips, above a pre-determined size. Typical filters currently available generally filter out particles that are larger than approximately ⅜″, and one embodiment of the invention will contain perforations sized to filter out particles larger than ⅜″.
Perforations 20 may be a plurality of holes located in annulus 18. In this embodiment, annulus 18 has a solid or continuous bottom edge 26, as shown in
In another embodiment, perforations 20 are formed by fingers 21, as shown in
Annulus 18 is connected with perimeter 22 that is connected with surface 16, as shown in
In one embodiment surface 16 is dome shaped, with surface 16 comprised of curved walls connecting closed end 12 with open end 14. However surface 16 may be any shape that can accommodate perimeter 22.
Perimeter 22 is located at the bottom of surface 16 and is connected with surface 16. When cap 10 is placed on mixing container 32, perimeter 22 will rest snugly against the rim 30 of mixing container 32. Annulus 18 is angled slightly inward so that the circumference of annulus 18 is smaller than the circumference of perimeter 22. In this way, when cap 10 is resting on rim 30 of mixing container 32, annulus 18 will be inside the walls of mixing container 32 and will not rest snugly against the walls of mixing container 32, as shown in
In all embodiments, mixing container 32 may be single-walled, as shown in
In all embodiments, there may be a single gasket 24, two gaskets 24 and 28, or a plurality of gaskets, as shown in
To make a drink, the drink ingredients are placed in mixing container 32. Cap 10 is put on top of mixing container 32 and perimeter 22 or gasket 24 comes into continuous contact with rim 30 of mixing container 32. The device is shaken to mix the drink. To filter and pour the mixed drink, cap 10 is slightly lifted out of mixing container 32. Cap 10 is not entirely removed from mixing container 32; it is partially lifted and slightly tilted, as shown in
Another embodiment is shown in
As shown in
In these embodiments, cap 110 is of any shape and material that fits snugly inside mixing container 132. Cap 110 comprises closed end 112 connected with open end 114 by surface 116.
The drink ingredients are placed in mixing container 132, cap 110 is put in place so that perimeter 122 is in continuous contact with rim 130, and the device is shaken to mix the drink. After mixing, the bartender lifts and tilts cap 110, again keeping the lower edge of cap 110 in contact with mixing container 132, as shown in
Various changes and modification to the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The embodiments disclosed herein are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and the scope of the invention is as stated in the claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced herein.
