BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Many aspects of the invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present invention. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a device for providing a handle on a bottle, in accordance with a first exemplary embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view of a device for providing a handle on a bottle, in accordance with a second exemplary embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 3 is a side view of the device for providing the handle on the bottle as shown in FIG. 2 with the cap attached, in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a device for providing the handle on the bottle as shown in FIG. 2 with a cap removed, in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the device for providing the handle on the bottle as shown in FIG. 2, in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 6 is bottom view of the cap for providing a seal on the opening of the bottle, in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 7 is a side view of the device for providing the handle on the bottle as shown in FIG. 2 with the cap attached to the opening of the bottle, in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1 is cross-sectional view of a device 10 for providing a handle 14 on a bottle (shown in FIG. 7), in accordance with a first exemplary embodiment of the invention. The device 10 includes a ring structure 12 and the handle 14. The ring structure 12 is formed to removably engage an open portion of the bottle at the bottle neck (not shown). The ring structure 12 may have internal threads (not shown), or a similar mechanical structure, engageable with a threaded bottle opening.
FIG. 2 is a side view of a device 110 for providing a handle 114 on a bottle 128 (shown in FIG. 7), in accordance with a second exemplary embodiment of the invention. The device 110 contains the ring structure 112 for engaging the device 110 to the opening of the bottle 128. The ring structure 112 contains exterior threaded portions 122 and interior grooves 123 (shown in FIG. 4). The threaded portions 122 provide a mechanism for attachment of the ring structure 112 to a cap 116. The cap 116 may have a helical rib (not shown) for secure attachment to the exterior threaded portions 122. While not explicitly illustrated, one having ordinary skill in the art will recognize how to form an interior portion of the cap to engage a threaded cylindrical opening. Further, other mechanisms for providing a liquid tight seal over an opening are considered to be within the scope of the present invention. The handle 114 is integral with the ring structure 112 to provide an easy mechanism to carry and pour a liquid contained within the bottle 128.
The ring structure 112, in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment, may be made by any of a variety of shapes that will be well-known to one of ordinary skill in the art. For instance, the ring structure 112 may be round, oval, square, or rectangular in shape in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment, although the only ring structure 112 discussed herein is toroidal. Variations to the shape of the ring structure 112 may impact the shape and attachment mechanism for the cap 116.
In the second exemplary embodiment a rigid skirt 118 is provided for attaching the handle 114 to the ring structure 112. The rigid skirt 118 may also be useful when a user is pouring a liquid from the bottle 128 to keep spilling off the bottle 128. Further, if the bottle 128 is made of a particularly flimsy plastic, the rigid skirt 118 may inhibit the bottle 128 bending near a bottle neck.
In addition, in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment an indent 127 is provided at the base of ring structure 112 and the top of rigid skirt 118. The indent 127 is provided so that cap 116 will close in a continuous manner with the rigid skirt 118 to provide a substantially stress-free condition that maximizes strength imparted to the device 110 when in a closed position and provides for ease of opening and closing the device 110.
The device 110 may be used as a marketing tool at parties or otherwise used as a promotional good. For instance, the cap 116 or the rigid skirt 118 may be imprinted with company logos or other designs as a marketing tool or a promotional tool. When desired, at least one label may be included in order to satisfy marketing or promotional requirements. At least one of any such label can be itself substantially transparent, except of course, for the message indicia that needs to be opaque or translucent or contrasting in order to be visible to the consumer. The cap 116, ring structure 112, and rigid skirt 118 may, for instance, be made of a hard plastic and may be substantially translucent.
FIG. 3 is a side view of the device 110 for providing the handle 114 on the bottle 128 (shown in FIG. 7) with the cap 116 attached, in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the invention. The cap 116 and the device 110 are shown engaged. More specifically, the cap 116 and the device 110 are engaged at the ring structure 112 (not shown). In this embodiment, the rigid skirt 118 connects the handle 114 to the ring structure 112 (not shown). The device 110 may be attached to the bottle 128 while the cap 116 is engaged to the device 110 in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention. The cap 116 may provide a liquid tight seal when engaged with the device 110.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the device 110 for providing the handle 114 on the bottle 128 (shown in FIG. 7) with the cap 116 removed, in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the invention. The device 110 contains the ring structure 112 with exterior threaded portions 122 and interior grooves 123. The interior grooves 123 of the ring structure 112 are adapted to removably engage to an opening on the bottle 128. The cap 116 (shown in FIG. 2) is adapted to removably engage the exterior threaded portions 122 of the ring structure 112. Exterior threaded portions 122 are provided to removably engage the ring structure 112 of device 110 and the cap 116. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, the handle 114 is integral with the ring structure 112 for ease of carrying and pouring a liquid in the bottle 128 through a pouring channel 124. The rigid skirt 118 is provided to connect the handle 114 to the ring structure 112. The rigid skirt 118 may also act as a spill shield for a user when a liquid is poured from the bottle 128.
FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the device 110 for providing the handle 114 on the bottle 128 (shown in FIG. 7), in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the invention. In this view, the interior grooves 123 are shown for coupling the device 110 to the opening of the bottle 128. Pouring channel 124 is also shown in FIG. 5, as the space for liquid to be poured through the device 110 when the device 110 is engaged to the bottle 128. Exterior threaded portions 122 are provided to removably engage the ring structure 112 of device 110 and the cap 116 (not shown).
FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the cap 116 for providing a seal on the opening of the bottle 128 (shown in FIG. 7), in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the cap 116 is further provided with at least one helical rib 117 to securely engage to the exterior threaded portions 122 (as shown in FIG. 4) of the ring structure 112 (as shown in FIG. 4) when the cap 116 is engaged with the device 110. The cap 116 acts as a seal on the bottle 128 when the device 110 is attached to an opening on the bottle neck. A rubber stopper 119 may be placed at the underside of the cap 116 for providing an enhanced fluid seal for the bottle 128 when engaged. The cap 116 may also have a gripping portion 126 on the exterior of the cap 116. The gripping portion 126 may be any types of grips or materials that are commonly used for engaging or disengaging the device 110, or both. As one example, the gripping portion 126 may be used for turning the cap 116 in engaged and disengaged positions
FIG. 7 is a side view of the device 110 for providing the handle 114 on the bottle 128 as shown in FIG. 2 with the cap 116 attached to the opening of the bottle 128, in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the device 110 has been attached to the bottle 128 at the ring structure 112 (shown in FIG. 2), such that the handle 114 is engaged with the rigid skirt 118 and becomes integral with the ring structure 112. In accordance with this embodiment, a user can pick up the bottle 128 by grasping the handle 114. The cap 116 is adapted to removably engage to the exterior threaded portions 122 on ring structure 112 (shown in FIG. 2). The cap 116 can be used to open the bottle 128, and close the bottle 128 when the bottle 128 is not being used. The device 110 may also be removed from the bottle 128 during a non-use period and stored or used on a different bottle. A bottle cover that is provided with the purchase of the bottle 128 can be used to close the opening on the bottle 128 when the device 110 is removed. The device 110 may be made of any of a variety of materials in accordance with the embodiments described herein. For example, plastic, paperboard, metal, and the like may be used. For example, plastic sheets may be used to form the rigid skirt 118 of the present invention, including but not limited to, low, medium and high density polyethylene, ethylene vinyl acetate, ethylene acrylic acid, ethylene methyl acrylic acid, ethylene vinyl alcohol, surlyn, nylon, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyester, styrene acrylonitrile, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, and combinations thereof. The thickness of the plastic used to produce the rigid skirt 118 varies. The plastic for the rigid skirt 118 may be about 30 mil. Plastics of any thickness that can be used to form the rigid skirt 118 is disclosed, including medium and high density polyethylene. The device 110 may, for instance, be substantially transparent, translucent or opaque in accordance with the embodiments described herein.
The device 110, in accordance with the exemplary embodiments herein, may be made by any of a variety of processes that will be well-known to one of ordinary skill in the art. For example, there are several processes to manufacture the device 110 of the present invention. The process of thermoforming and plastic injection molding are two such processes. The process of thermoforming stretches plastic sheets into three dimensions to mold the device 110 from a stretched plastic sheet.
The device 110 of the present invention has a further feature of being stackable. The stackable feature of the device 110 provides for ease of storage of the device 110 when they are not being used. In addition, the stackable feature demonstrates that two or more devices 110 can be sold as a kit.
It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present invention, particularly, any “preferred” embodiments, are merely possible examples of implementations, merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the invention. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments of the invention without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the invention. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and the present invention and protected by the following claims.
Patent Application
20080023434
