Patent Application
20050274686
The Invention is an insulated container for holding a liquid. Insulation is provided by air-filled annular rings surrounding a portion of the container. The annular rings are formed during the manufacture of the container and are incorporated into the structure of the container. A suitable application for the Invention is as a single-use beverage bottle.
It is desirable to control the rate of transfer of heat across the walls of a bottle or other container to control the rate at which a chilled liquid is warmed by ambient air outside the container and to control the rate at which a heated liquid in the container is cooled.
The present invention is a single-use container for holding a liquid, such as a disposable bottle for a consumer beverage. The container has a wall and is composed of a suitable material, such as a plastic. A surround member engages the wall of the container. One or more annular rings are defined by the surround member. Each annular ring in combination with the wall of the container defines an interior volume that contains air or other gas. The air or other gas contained in the interior volume of the annular ring acts to slow the transfer of heat to and from the interior of the container. An annular reinforcing member separates and supports the wall of the container and the corresponding annular ring. The number and location of the annular rings is selected to achieve a desired overall rate of heat transfer across the wall of the container.
The annular rings may be formed by the wall of the container and the surround member in combination, as described above. Alternatively, separately-formed gas-filled annular rings may be added to a container, either individually or as an array of annular rings. The annular rings also may serve the purpose of providing an improved gripping surface to help a user to retain the container in his or her hand. As used in this application, the term ‘gas’ includes air.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification, illustrate the embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
In describing an embodiment of the invention, specific terminology will be selected for the sake of clarity. However, the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents that operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose.
Referring to
Referring to
Decisions made in the design of a specific application of the Invention may render use of the annular reinforcing member 20 unnecessary, such as selecting a material for the surround member 12 or dimensions of the surround member 12 sufficient to maintain a pre-selected shape of annular ring 14.
For each of the embodiments, each interior volume 16 is filled with air or other suitable gas 18. The gas 18 may be vented to the ambient air 22 (and hence at ambient pressure) or may be sealed and under a pressure higher than ambient. Annular reinforcing member 20 may be dispensed with if a pressure for gas 18 is selected sufficiently above ambient pressure to maintain the pre-selected shape of annular ring 14.
The plurality of interior volumes 16, each containing air or other suitable gas 18, serve to retard the rate of heat transfer between the liquid 4 held in the container 2 and the ambient air 22 outside of the container. The annular rings 14 also serve to provide an improved gripping surface for a person using the container 2. The number, location and dimensions of annular rings 14 are selected during design of a particular application of the Invention to achieve a desired overall thermal conductivity between the ambient air 22 and the liquid held in the container 2. As used in this application, the term “configure” or “configuration” means the number, location, dimensions and composition of the annular rings 14. The term “overall” with respect to thermal conductivity refers to the transfer of heat by conduction or convection from the ambient air 22 to or from the liquid 4 for the entire bottle, including those portions of the bottle 2 not covered by the surround member 12
For any of the embodiments illustrated by
Container 2 preferably is a single-use plastic bottle for a consumer beverage. The wall 8 of container 2 is preferably formed of a transparent or translucent material, such as a plastic. The surround member 12 preferably is formed from a transparent or translucent material of a color contrasting to that of the wall 8. For example, the wall 8 may be transparent and without coloration, while the surround member 12 has a blue tint.
As shown by the detail cross section of
Although this invention has been described and illustrated by reference to specific embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made which clearly fall within the scope of this invention. The present invention is intended to be protected broadly within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
