Patent Application
20230020892
Embodiments described herein generally relate to a container cover, and more particularly to a customizable container cover.
Beverage containers may be sold at different venues and may be transported to and from various places. The containers may be sensitive to temperature. In this aspect, it would be desirable to use a container cover to manage temperature sensitivities of a beverage container. Moreover, the beverage container covers may be adorned with décor, logos, advertisement images, etc.
The various advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent to one skilled in the art by reading the following specification and appended claims, and by referencing the following drawing(s), in which:
Exemplary embodiments disclosed herein describe a customizable container cover device including a first housing shell, a second housing shell, a retention ring, a retention grid and a plurality of interlocks. The first housing shell may include a first ring carve out along its top surface, a plurality of apertures positioned along the edge of the first housing shell, and a first grid portion integrated into a bottom surface of the first housing shell. The second housing shell may include a second ring carve out along its top surface, a plurality of mating tabs attached to an internal surface of the second housing shell and a second grid portion integrated into a bottom surface of the second housing shell. The retention ring may include a first portion configured for insertion in the first ring carve out and a second portion configured for insertion in the second ring carve out. The retention grid may include a first grid portion integrated in a bottom surface of the first housing shell and a second grid portion integrated in a bottom surface of the second housing shell. Each interlock may be form by interconnecting a mating tab with a corresponding aperture positioned along the edge of the first housing shell.
In some exemplary embodiments, the container cover may be formed by interconnecting the plurality of mating tabs on the second housing shell with the plurality of apertures on an internal surface of the first housing shell.
In some exemplary embodiments, the container cover is configured to receive and retain an enclosed container between the retention ring and the retention grid.
In some exemplary embodiments, the retention ring is configured to secure a top region of an enclosed container in the container cover.
In some exemplary embodiments, the retention grid is configured to secure a bottom region of an enclosed container in the container cover.
In some exemplary embodiments, each first and second grid portion includes a plurality of plurality of slots, and each slot includes an anchor guard.
In some exemplary embodiments, the first housing shell and the second housing shell forming the container cover may be interchanged with a different first housing shell and second housing shell.
In some exemplary embodiments, the first housing shell and the second housing shell forming the container cover may be interchanged with a different first housing shell or second housing shell.
In some exemplary embodiments, one end of each of the plurality of mating tabs extends pass the edge of the second housing shell.
In some exemplary embodiments, the first housing shell and the second housing shell may be separated from one another by disconnecting the plurality of interlocks.
In some exemplary embodiments, the plurality of interlocks may be disconnected by applying pressure to one or more of the interlocks.
In some exemplary embodiments, the first and second housing shells each include a hollow enclosure.
In some exemplary embodiments, the first and second housing shells are spherical shaped shells.
In some exemplary embodiments, an external surface of the first housing shell includes ornamentation.
In some exemplary embodiments, the external surface of the second housing shell includes ornamentation.
The present disclosure describes a customized container cover which is configured to cover a container, such as, for example, a beverage container (e.g., water bottle, soda can, tea bottle, etc.). The container cover may be implemented of various materials which help manage temperature sensitivities of the container. Moreover, the container cover may be customized to a particular shape, and with various surface ornamentation included on the external surface of the cover. The container cover may be assembled by attaching a first housing shell and a second housing shell. The first housing shell and the second housing may be interchanged with other housing shells. The container cover may be disassembled and reassembled with a different first housing shell and/or second housing shell. Each first and second housing shell may have a same shape, color, décor, size, and surface ornamentation as one another. Moreover, each first and second housing shell may have a different shape, color, décor, size, and surface ornamentation from one another.
Turning to
The plurality of apertures 18 are each configured to receive a corresponding mating tab 20 integrated on the second housing shell 12b. The first housing shell may have any suitable shape, such as, for example, a spherical shape. The first housing shell may include a hollow area. The first housing shell may be made out of any suitable material, such as, for example, plastic, acrylic or metal. The first housing shell may include insulating materials to manage temperature sensitivities of the container. The first housing shell may include ornamentation on its external surface. The external ornamentation may be customized, such as, for example, a photo image. In other aspects, the ornamentation may include sport novelty décor, logos, advertisement images, etc.
The second housing shell 12b may include a second ring carve out 15b along its top surface, a plurality of mating tabs 20 attached to an internal surface of the second housing shell 12b and a second grid portion 16b integrated into a bottom surface of the second housing shell. The second ring carve out 15b is configured to receive a retention ring portion 14b. Each mating tab is positioned along an edge of the second housing shell at a same position as a corresponding one of the plurality of apertures in the first housing shell 12a and is configured to attach to a corresponding one of the plurality of apertures in the first housing shell 12a. A hook 21 is positioned at the end of each mating tab 20 which extends pass an edge of the second housing shell. Each hook 21 connects into a corresponding aperture 18 on the first housing shell.
The second housing shell may have any suitable shape, such as, for example, a spherical shape. The second housing shell may include a hollow area. The second housing shell may be made out of any suitable material, such as, for example, plastic, acrylic or metal. The second housing shell may include insulating materials to manage temperature sensitivities of the container. The second housing shell may include ornamentation on its external surface. The external ornamentation may be customized, such as, for example, a photo image. In other aspects, the ornamentation may include sport novelty décor, logos, advertisement images, etc.
The retention ring 14 may include a first portion 14a configured for insertion in the first ring carve out 15a and a second portion 14b configured for insertion in the second ring carve out 15b. The retention ring may have a cylindrical shape. The retention ring may be made from any suitable material, such as, for example, plastic or metal. The retention ring 14 may be configured for attachment to a neck region 17 of an enclosed container 13. The retention ring is configured to secure a top region of the enclosed container 13 in the container cover.
The retention grid 16 includes a first portion 16a integrated in a bottom surface of the first housing shell 12a and a second portion 16b integrated in a bottom surface of the second housing shell 12b. The retention grid includes a container receiving platform 22 and an anchor 24. The container receiving platform is formed by slots 23a integrated in first portion 16a and slots 23b integrated in second portion 16b. Each portion (16a and 16b) of the retention grid includes a plurality of slots 23a and 23b.
The container receiving platform 22 is configured to receive a bottom end of an enclosed container 13. The size of the container receiving platform 22 may have a diameter corresponding to the diameter of the enclosed container 13. The anchor 24 is formed by guards 25a attached to the ends of slots 23a integrated in first portion 16a of the retention grid and guards 25b attached to the ends of slots 23b integrated in second portion 16b of the retention grid. The guards (i.e., anchor guards) 25 and slots 23 form an enclosure 27 in the retention grid 16 to retain a bottom edge (or a part of the bottom edge) of an enclosed container 13. The anchor 24 secures the bottom region of the enclosed container 13 in the device 10. The retention ring 14 and the retention grid 16 collectively secure the positioning/attachment of an enclosed container 13 in/to the device 10.
In further aspects, the container cover device 10 may include a plurality of interlocks 19. Each interlock may be formed by interconnecting a mating tab 20 with a corresponding aperture 18. The container cover device may be formed by interconnecting each one of the plurality of mating tabs 20 on the second housing shell 12b with a corresponding aperture 18 on the first housing shell 12a. The container cover device may be disassembled by dislodging the interlocks (i.e., disconnecting the hook 21 of each mating tab 20 from its corresponding aperture 18), which effectively separates the first and second housing shells from one another. The interlocks may be dislodged by applying pressure to one or more of the interlocks. The applied pressure will disengage (i.e., unhook) the hook 21 from the aperture 18. The container cover device may be reassembled by reassembling the interlock (i.e., connecting mating tab 20 to aperture 18 by inserting the hook 21 therein).
As noted, each first housing shell 12a and the second housing shell 12b may be interchanged with other housing shells (i.e., a different first housing shell and second housing shell respectively). Each first housing shell 12a includes apertures 18 for mating with a second housing shells 12b. Each second housing shell 12b includes mating tabs 20 to attach to a first housing shell 12a. As such, the first and second housing shells may be interchanged with other housing shells using the interlocks 19. The first housing shell and the second housing shell forming the container cover device 10 may be interchanged with a different first housing shell and second housing shell respectively. Moreover, the first housing shell or the second housing shell forming the container cover device may be interchanged with a different first housing shell or second housing shell respectively.
The container cover device 10 may include a hollow enclosure. The container cover device is configured to receive and retain a container, such as, for example, container 13, in the hollow enclosure. The container cover device 10 is configured to receive and retain the container 13 between retention ring 14 and retention grid 16. The container cover device 10 may be made from any suitable material, such as, for example, plastic, acrylic or metal. The container cover device may include insulating materials to manage temperature sensitivities of the container. The container cover device 10 (“the device”) may be configured in any suitable shape, such as, for example, a prolate spheroid (e.g., a football shape), a sphere (e.g., a ball shape as shown in
Moreover, it should be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are no intervening elements present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.)
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and/or “including,” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groups thereof.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which example embodiments belong. It will be further understood that terms, e.g., those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art. However, should the present disclosure give a specific meaning to a term deviating from a meaning commonly understood by one of ordinary skill, this meaning is to be taken into account in the specific context this definition is given herein.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate from the foregoing description that the broad techniques of the embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in a variety of forms. Therefore, while the embodiments of this invention have been described in connection with particular examples thereof, the true scope of the embodiments of the invention should not be so limited since other modifications will become apparent to the skilled practitioner upon a study of the drawings, specification, and following claims.
