TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to combination bottle systems that provide flexible capacity and function for containers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A variety of styles and configurations of bottles and containers are used to hold liquids and foods ranging, for example, from baby formula and milk to consumables oriented for more adult tastes such as, for example, nutritional or energy drinks consumed on long commutes, vacation shores or the high vistas of the Rocky Mountains.
Millions of bottles are discarded each year. For example, of the large variety of bottles used in tending growing babies and children, approximately 70 million end in landfills across the US each year. A part of this disposal load results when babies “outgrow” both the size and function of their bottles. For example, they outgrow their nipple-topped bottles and move up the maturity ladder to what are often called “sippy cups” and then finally to bottles topped by lids configured to securely include a straw.
Fixed capacities also reduce the utility of bottles and containers. Small babies can more readily hold a smaller bottle while the grasp as well as appetite of large children is better suited to bottles of greater capacity.
Hikers sometimes include a mix of bottles in their equipment to allow adaptation to the dry conditions of desert hiking with 1500 cc water bottles while in cooler mountain environments they may employ standard 1 liter bottles. Yet, for some foods and recreational drinks, a 1 liter capacity bottle may be too much and a separate smaller bottle is required for smaller amounts of drink and food if valuable pack space is to be conserved.
Further, many bottles are still constructed from potentially mutagenic materials that may raise the risk of some cancers and birth defects.
What is needed, therefore, is a bottle and container system that provides capacity and function flexibility in an integrated system constructed from safe materials and which adapts to the age, abilities and interests of the user.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A base unit is combined with various capacity-adding units and/or top units having various functional ends to provide a combination bottle and system of wide flexibility and use. Various capacities may be devised by combining one or multiple capacity-adding units to a base unit while various functions for the combined bottle may be implemented through various functional ends for the employed top unit. In some embodiments, combinations of attachment configurations of various perimeter lips of the constituent bottle units create neck features in devised combination bottles. Various configurations of attachment configurations may be combined to impose particular stacking or combination rules on constituted combination bottles devised from various embodiments of the combination bottle systems provided.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1A depicts an exemplar base unit employed in a combination bottle system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 1B-1F each depict various example configurations for functional ends of top units that may be employed with various embodiments of a combination bottle system in accordance with the present invention.
FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C each depict various example attachment configurations employed in a top unit embodiment for use with various embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 3 depicts an embodiment from a combination bottle system employing multiple capacity adding units and a coffee style top unit.
FIG. 4 depicts another embodiment from a combination bottle system employing an open lip top unit.
FIG. 5 depicts another embodiment from a combination bottle system.
FIG. 6 depicts another embodiment from a combination bottle system employing a sippy cup top unit.
FIG. 7 illustrates a few example attachment configurations employed in an embodiment of a combination bottle.
FIG. 8 depicts yet another embodiment of a combination bottle.
FIG. 9 depicts a combination bottle in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention in which a double walled construction is employed by various units of the combination bottle.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLAR EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1A depicts aspects of an exemplar bottle system 10. As shown in FIG. 1A, base unit 20 is a container having capacity 21 and an open end 22 with a perimeter lip 24 configured with an attachment configuration 26X. Base unit 20 may be any of a variety of configurations, such as, for example, round, square, faceted or oval. Attachment configuration 26X is preferably, although not necessarily, round.
Various exemplar top units are shown in FIGS. 1B-1F with each being depicted with a functional end 28. FIG. 1B shows top unit 301 having, for example, a functional end 28 that is a nipple end 32. In these Figs, reference 28 refers to any functional end while particular types of functional ends are identified by their own unique reference.
Top unit 301 is shown having a shell 31 and a separable nipple 32 as its functional end. Top units 30 that employ separable functional ends 28 are comprised from a shell 31 and a separable functional end. In FIG. 1C, top unit 302 is shown having a functional end 28 which in this particular embodiment, is a sippy cup lip functional end 34 while in FIG. 1D, top unit 303 exhibits a functional end 28 which is a straw functional end 36 with an optional ferrule or bulb 37 to retain straw 36 in top unit 303. Top unit 304 is shown with a functional end 28 which is a push-pull access sports type functional end 29 (FIG. 1E). In FIG. 1F another functional end 28 which is a sports type functional end 29 adapted for bicycling is shown. The nipple functional end 32, sippy cup functional end 34, integrated straw functional end 36, push-pull access sports functional end 291 and flip over sports type functional end 292 are just examples of various types of functional ends 28. These examples should not be considered limiting however. It should be appreciated that functional ends 28 may be either integrated, such as shown by an integrated sippy cup functional end 34 in FIG. 1C or separable from shell 31 of top unit 30 such as is shown in FIG. 1B. It should be appreciated that as with other various functional ends, nipple functional end 32 may be separable from shell 31 or integral with top unit 30. As shown in FIGS. 1A-1F, top units 30X include an attachment configuration 26Y that mates with an attachment configuration 26X of base unit 20 or later shown capacity-adding unit 50. As will be appreciated, top unit 30 may have functional ends 28 that provide substantially covered tops to the combination bottle as shown in FIG. 3 for use with hot liquids while another type of functional end may merely be an open lipped functional end such as that shown in FIG. 4. It will be further appreciated that these are merely examples of a few of the many different types of top units that may be employed in a bottle system in accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention.
FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C depict from a top down view a base unit 20 with a semi-rectangular configuration devised for convenient stacking, shipment and use in suitcases or packs where space is at a premium. As those of skill will appreciate, base unit 20 as well as the capacity adding units 50 may display any of a variety of configurations such as circular or rectangular to name just a couple of examples.
Base unit 20 is depicted as configured with various exemplar types of attachment configurations 26X provided to illustrate, without limiting, a variety of example types of attachment configurations employable with various units of the combination bottle and system 10. FIG. 2A illustrates an attachment configuration 26XA in which a slot 40 is part of an attachment configuration 26X that may be part of a base unit or a capacity-adding unit 50 such as those shown in later figures. Slot 40 is configured to accept a tab from attachment configuration 26Y of a corresponding top unit 30 or capacity-adding unit 50 and a sloping channel 42 is provided to allow mating between various units of system 10. FIG. 2B depicts a screw thread attachment configuration 26XB with threads 44 that are internal to the perimeter lip 24. FIG. 2C depicts a screw thread attachment configuration 26XC having threads 46 that are external on perimeter lip 24. These are just a few exemplars of attachment configurations 26X that may be used to provide one of the pair of attachment configurations 26X and 26Y that mate to provide attachment amongst base units 20, capacity-adding units 50, and top units 30.
FIG. 3 depicts an exemplar combination bottle 60 with multiple capacity-adding units 50 each having capacity 52 and a first perimeter lip 24 with an upper attachment configuration 26X and a second perimeter lip 24 with a lower attachment configuration 26Y. It should be appreciated that the combination bottle 60 shown in FIG. 3 is illustrated with three capacity-adding units 50 and a base unit 20 and a top unit 305 shown configured as with “coffee top” functional end 28 useful for drinking liquids that may be spilled, but a variety of top units 30 as well as capacity-adding units 50 of a variety of configurations may be employed with the depicted embodiment. It should also be appreciated that the upper and lower attachment configurations 26X and 26Y respectively, of a particular capacity-adding unit may be of the same type such as, for example, both screw configurations, or different types such as, for example, tab and slot connective configuration for upper attachment configuration 26X and screw configuration for lower attachment configuration 26Y, for example. Further, the upper and lower attachment configurations of a particular capacity-adding unit may both be of the same type (e.g., screw) yet one may exhibit internal threads while the other external threads or, both upper and lower attachment configurations may exhibit the same character of threads. Further, the perimeter lips 24 of a particular capacity-adding unit 50 or base unit 20 or top unit 30 may be of either “gender” (e.g., male or projecting) or in units having two perimeter lips such as, for example, exemplar capacity-adding units 50, the perimeter lips may be of different gender (e.g., one male and the other female or accepting) or the same gender.
A variety of materials are preferably employed in the construction of preferred embodiments of combination bottle 60 including, for example, materials such as stainless steel, aluminum, PET, copolyester, glass, PS, AS, bio based polymers, PE, PP, PPSU, BPA, PES, acrylic, bamboo, melamine, or PA. As those of skill will recognize, these materials are typically less toxic and more inert than many other materials and therefore are recommended for use in bottles and containers for foods and liquids.
As shown in FIG. 3, attachment configuration 26X and attachment configuration 26Y are mateable with each other to combine the various units of combination bottle 60. There need not be uniformity between the first and second lip gender nor in the attachment configurations of said perimeter lips. In combination bottles devised from units 20, 50 and 30, for example, attachment configurations 26X and 26Y amongst each of the constituent units 20, 30 and 50 need not be of the same configurations and, in some embodiments, imposing particular types of attachment configurations 26X and 26Y will intentionally dictate the order such units are combined and that will impose a desired connection or stacking outcome in such embodiments where desired.
FIG. 4 depicts a combination bottle 60 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention in which a base unit 20 is combined through the mating of attachment configuration 26Y of perimeter lip 24 of base unit 20 with attachment configuration 26Y exhibited by perimeter lip 24 of capacity-adding unit 50 and the mating of attachment configuration 26Y of the perimeter lip 24 of top unit 306 with attachment configuration 26X of capacity-adding unit 50 to create an open lipped cup variant combination bottle 60.
FIG. 4 depicts various exemplar units 20, 50 and 30 arranged to illustrate another exemplar embodiment of combination bottle 60. It should be understood that the illustrations of the present disclosure are merely exemplars and the combinations available are not in any way limited to those shown whether in combinations shown or in dimensions relative or absolute. As illustrated in FIG. 4, multiple units such as base unit 20 and capacity-adding units 50 with diameter A may be combined into a multi-piece bottle 60 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Various top units 30 may be chosen for employment in combination bottle 60 as those of skill will understand after appreciating this disclosure.
FIG. 5 depicts a combination bottle 60 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention in which a base unit 20 is combined through the mating of attachment configuration 26X of perimeter lip 24 of base unit 20 with attachment configuration 26Y exhibited by perimeter lip 24 of capacity-adding unit 50 and the mating of attachment configuration 26Y of the perimeter lip 24 of top unit 302 with attachment configuration 26X of upper perimeter lip 24 of capacity-adding unit 50 to create a larger sippy cup variant combination bottle 60 for extended car trips, for example.
FIG. 6 illustrates the combination of an exemplar base unit 20 having attachment configuration 26X on a projecting (e.g., “male”) perimeter lip 24 configured for mating to an attachment configuration 26Y configured on a corresponding lower projecting perimeter lip of a capacity adding unit 50. When the present disclosure refers to a perimeter lip without specifying that it is projecting or accepting/receiving it should be understood that such perimeter lip may be either.
In some of the provided views, attachment configuration 26X is configured on a projecting perimeter lip 24 and attachment configuration 26y is configured on an accepting perimeter lip 24 but as those of skill will understand after appreciating this disclosure, some embodiments may exhibit attachment configurations 26X and 26Y with each found on projecting perimeter lips 24. It will be noted that upper perimeter lip 24 of capacity adding unit 50 creates a diameter A2 in capacity adding unit 50 that is smaller than diameter A1 of the body 55 of capacity adding unit 50.
As shown in FIG. 7, configured in the upper-most capacity-adding unit 50 of the figure is perimeter lip 24 configured with an attachment configuration exhibiting slot 40 and channel 42 to accept tab 54 on either another capacity-adding unit 50 or, as shown, a top unit 30 as shown in FIG. 7. Depicted top unit 30 includes a functional end 28 which is a sports top nozzle 29 and a finger ring 41 although no particular configuration should be implied as this should be understood to be merely an example of one of the many configurations of functional tops used with combination bottle 60.
FIG. 8 depicts a base unit 20 with capacity 21 having an attachment configuration 26X exhibited on its perimeter lip 24. Depicted combination bottle 60 includes base unit 20 and capacity-adding unit 50 with capacity 51 and, as illustrated, top unit 30 having attachment configuration 26Y that mates with attachment configuration 26X of unit 50. Top unit 30 is configured with a functional unit 28 which is an adult suction functional end 33 to provide a sealed container until suction is applied to top unit 30.
It will be appreciated that because diameter B is less than diameter A1 this results in combination bottle 60 a neck of smaller diameter and shown height C which may provide a convenient hand-hold in bottle 60. Surface 54 of mid-level capacity-adding unit 50 of FIG. 8 is shown in a planar configuration which creates a bottom surface on that capacity-adding unit 50 which provides added stability between the constituent units. For added leak prevention, an optional washer may be employed to enhance the fit between capacity-adding unit 50 and base unit 20 or another capacity-adding unit 50 with which it is mated through the mating of respective attachment configurations 26X and 26Y.
FIG. 8 depicts a double-walled construction that may be employed in configurations employed with fluids that are preferably maintained in temperature. Space 51 between walls 53 is preferably air but may be partial vacuum or even filled with argon or other insulative gas as those of skill will appreciate. Thus, combination bottles that provide improved thermal stability with safe materials while offering flexible capacities and utility are provided by such embodiments.
Patent Application
20160257441
