Patent Application
20150210465
1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention relates to beverage dispensers in general and more particularly to insulating and dispensing methods and devices for beverage cans.
2. Description of Related Art
Beverage cans are commonly sold with variety of liquid contents including but not limited to tea, coffee, juice, soft drink and beer.
Many prefer to have cold drinks out of the can. However, if the content of the chilled can is not consumed in a short period of time, it gets warm and will no longer be desired.
Since the wide-mouth of the can remains open, there is a chance of spillage and in case the liquid content of the can is carbonated, the carbonation is lost very rapidly, resulting in less desired or undesired drink and consequently it goes to waste.
The present invention provides insulation for the entire beverage can to keep the liquid content cold for a longer period of time. Furthermore, it prevents possible spillage by providing a screw-on cap. In case the beverage is carbonated, the carbonation loss is minimized. A built-in tab-lifter is also provided for convenience.
A primary object of the invention is to insulate the content of a beverage can and keep it cold for a longer period of time while providing a convenient and practical method and device to initially open the can, then dispense the beverage and re-seal the content for as many times as desired.
A second object of the invention is to eliminate possible spillage and minimize the carbonation loss for carbonated drinks by providing a sealed container.
A further object of the invention is to conveniently open a beverage can by providing a built-in tab-lifter on the device.
The device, whose functionality is explained below, is designed based on an inspiration by double-wall containers. In this method, a transparent (or translucent) container with one wall or multiple walls made from low heat conductivity material (or materials), hosts a beverage can while its inner wall remains slightly away from the heat conductive wall of the can. The additional walls, and the trapped air between the container and the can provide insulation for the beverage can.
The beverage can is lowered into the insulating container, the tab is lifted up to open the wide-mouth on the top of the can and an insulating lid is screwed on the top of the container to create a seal, keep the can in place and provide an alternate dispensing method.
The two main components of the invention are an insulating container 10, and a screw-on lid 20. The container is transparent (or translucent) and its inner diameter is slightly more than the diameter of the beverage can 40. The bottom of the container 10 conforms to the bottom of the can 40 in such way to keep it right at the middle of the container 10 with minimal contact.
The beverage can 40 is visible through the transparent (translucent) container 10. The container 10 has threads 11 at the top where the threaded lid 20 would be screwed on it.
The lid 20 is composed of four different pieces: a threaded outer ring 21, a round inner piece 23, a screw-on cap 25 and a gasket 30.
The threaded ring 21 has a tab-lifter 22 on the outer skirt to facilitate lifting up the tab 42 and conveniently open the beverage can 40.
The threads 31 on the ring 21 match the threads 11 on the container 10. The outer ring 21 is screwed on the container 10 while the round inner piece 23 remains with no circular motion and is pushed down by the ring 21 on the top of the beverage can 40. The round inner piece 23 eventually sits tightly on the top of the can 40, its opening 24 aligns with the wide-mouth opening 41 of the beverage can 40, and the tab 42 is positioned under the cavity 28.
The round inner piece 23 has a threaded opening 24 where the cap 25 is screwed on the top. When the device is fully assembled, the cap 25 is un-screwed for dispensing and screwed back on to re-seal. The round inner piece 23 also has one or multiple holders 29 on the top to keep the threaded ring 21 attached to the round inner piece 23 while allowing it to turn freely and independently.
A gasket 30 is placed in the round groove 26 of the round inner piece 23 and is aligned with the top rim 43 of the beverage can 40 where it creates a seal as the lid 20 is tightened on the container 10.
There are two short rods 27 in the bottom of the round inner piece 23, which are in charge of keeping the piece's opening 24 aligned with the wide-mouth opening 41 of the can 40. The threaded ring 21 reaches the container threads 11 only when both rods 27 are inside the wide-mouth opening 41 of the beverage can 40. They remain inside the opening 41 and maintain the alignment while the ring 21 is being tightened on the container 10 and consequently the gasket 30 sits tightly on the top rim 43 of the can 40 to create a seal.
