BACKGROUND
Soft jacket can coolers, more commonly called koozies or huggers or coolies, are collapsible soft foam jackets that wrap around a canned beverage to keep the beverage cold. These collapsible soft jacket can coolers are often given away as a promotional items by businesses or individuals promoting their business. They are usually laid across a table or sitting in a bag not well organized to distribute or give away at trade shows or promotional events. A holder and dispenser for soft jacketed can coolers is an organized and efficient way to distribute the soft jacket can coolers at trade shows and promotional events and in office settings and in product sales displays and anywhere soft jacket can coolers are sold or distributed to individuals. Many people have a number of soft jacket can coolers in their home which are often tossed in a basket or drawer, unorganized, taking up a lot of space. A holder and dispenser for soft jacket can coolers is handy around the home to organize and keep your soft jacket can coolers stacked together and ready to dispense saving a lot of space. This soft jacket can cooler holder and dispenser can be magnetized to the side of a metal surface or refrigerator, can be mounted to a wall with a fastener, or sit on a counter or in a cabinet.
While soft jacket can coolers are popular, products that hold and dispense soft jacket can coolers are not commonly available. One reason is the products are expensive. The plastic product, which has a one piece mold, is expensive, because it has a very high mold cost. The wooden product is also expensive and not attractive or well suited to use as a promotional tool. There are a few unique features of this holder and dispenser that separate it from the rest of the comparable items. None of the other items have a partial ejection space indention that let's out a portion of the next in line soft jacket can cooler to make it even easier to get your fingers on the collapsed can cooler for dispensing. None of the other products can be disassembled into pieces that stack on each other to save a great deal of space while in transit, while being stored, or distributed in mass quantities. Mold costs are greatly decreased because of the individual pieces as well. When assembled, the dispensing area is raised up off the surface of which it is sitting and has a finger space indention for easy grabbing as well. With the top in the closed position an individual soft jacket can cooler can be inserted into the holder dispenser without opening the top. With the top in the open position rotated back around the hinge, as many soft jacket can coolers as you can hold in one hand can be inserted at once into the holder dispenser making it very quick to load and ready to dispense.
Summary of the Product
This soft jacket can cooler holder and dispenser is a promotional tool as well as a household organizational item capable of holding and dispensing multiple soft jacket can coolers. Multiple soft jacket can coolers can be loaded into the top of the product at the same time. The product can be fastened to a wall, magnetized to refrigerator, or sit on the surface. While sitting on a surface the product is angled back slightly so the soft jacket can coolers can be more easily removed. The product can be disassembled into pieces for packaging or storage and reassembled for use. The product has a partial ejection space in the front that allows a portion of the next inline soft jacket can cooler to partially dispense from a dispensing area in the front exposing a place to pinch the soft jacket can cooler and remove it from the dispenser.
Main Components of the Invention
Front: The front of the product is where soft jacket can coolers are dispensed. The front of the product has a slot opened from the top running down a portion of the front component connecting at the bottom. The top of the front component also has a latching mechanism that the top component secures into. Below the front component is the finger space indention, below that is the partial ejection space, below that is the dispensing area. Below the dispensing area, the horizontal bottom component holds up the soft jacket can coolers above the surface of which the product is sitting on. The horizontal bottom component also has a finger space indention. The slot that runs down the front component allows multiple soft jacket can coolers to be loaded simultaneously by allowing a thumb and finger to slide into the product while holding multiple soft jacket can coolers in said thumb and finger.
Back: The back of the product has hinging device at the top that the top component fastens to. There is a space below that, that allows the top component to swing open freely. The back component is joined to the side components and the bottom component which interlock. The back component also has a mounting hole for a fastener so the product can be mounted to a wall or vertical surface. Below the back component is an open area separating the side components that come down below the bottom component on each side. The back component has indentions where magnets can be installed to magnetize the product to a metal surface. The back component has openings to see how many soft jacket can coolers are left in the product.
Sides: The sides of the product are joined to the bottom, top, back, and front components which interlock. The side components have indentions where magnets can be installed to magnetize the product to a metal surface. The side components have openings to see how many soft jacket can coolers are left in the product. The top of the side components are square but the bottom of the side components are angled so the product leans back when sitting on a surface so these soft jacket can coolers are more easily dispensed. When sitting on a surface the product is held up by both the side components. At the top back inside corner of each side component there is an indention where the top fastens to the side components to create a hinging mechanism.
Top: The top is where the soft jacket can coolers are loaded into the product. The top component of the product has an opening that starts in the front and runs a portion to the back where the top component comes together. The opening allows an individual soft jacket can cooler to be inserted into the product with the top component in the closed position. The opening in the top component aligns with the slot in the front to easily load soft jacket can coolers. The back outside portion of the top component has extensions on each side to fasten to the indentions on the side components to create the hinging mechanism. The top component has a latching mechanism on the front portion of the top component that latches to the front component latching mechanism. The top component can be removed if unwanted to make it easier to load soft jacket can coolers into the product as it is not needed in the integrity of the product unless a lid or top is desired.
Bottom: The bottom of the product has an open area that raises the dispensing area up off the surface it is sitting on. The bottom component is joined to the front, back, and side components which interlock. The bottom component has a finger space intention in the front portion.
Dispensing: At the bottom of the front component there is a partial ejection space indention which is directly below the finger space indention. The partial ejection space indention is just wide enough to allow only a portion of the next in line soft jacket can cooler to partially dispense. So as a soft jacket can cooler is being dispensed, the soft jacket can cooler next in line on top of it slides out of the dispensing area only an amount allowable by the partial ejection space indention. Now the soft jacket can cooler to be dispensed is sticking out just enough to easily grab onto, with the help of the finger space indention and the raised dispensing area. Then the process repeats itself with each soft jacket can cooler that is dispensed. The partial ejection space indention is at the top of the dispensing area. The raised dispensing area and finger space indentions allow more room to grab onto the soft jacket can cooler.
Loading: There are two ways that soft jacket can coolers can be loaded into the product. With the top component in the closed position an individual soft jacket can cooler can be pushed through the opening of the top of the product without opening the lid. With the top component in the open position as many soft jacket can coolers as you can hold between your thumb and fingers can be loaded into the product at the same time. This is made possible by the slot in the front component that allows the thumb and finger into the product along with the soft jacket can coolers that are being loaded. This is especially convenient when at a promotional event and you don't want to spend too much time organizing promotional items like soft jacket can coolers.
Product Improvements
- Partial Ejection Space Indention
- The disassembly into pieces for distribution and storage of/or packaging into minimal space
- The low molding cost of individual pieces
- The front loading slot
- Finger Space Indention
- The raised Dispensing Area
- The slanted bottom sides to tilt the unit back for a better dispensing angle
- The low molding cost
- The top opening space
- The wall mounting holes in the back
- The magnet indentions
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a view of the bottom of the device
FIG. 2 is a view of the front piece of the device.
FIG. 3 is a view of the left side of the device.
FIG. 4 is a view of the top side of the device.
FIG. 5 is a view of the back of the device.
FIG. 6 is a view of the right side of the device.
FIG. 7 is a view of all the parts of the device prior to assembly.
FIG. 8 is a ¾ front right corner view of the assembled dispenser holder.
FIG. 9 is a ¾ front right corner view of the assembled dispenser holder with a collapsed soft jacket can cooler being pulled by the bottom section of the can cooler.
FIG. 10 is a ¾ front right corner view of the dispenser holder with the collapsed soft jacketed can coolers present in the invention showing the bottom collapsed section which acts like a tab for pulling out the soft jacketed can coolers.
CALL OUT NUMBER DESCRIPTION
1. Left side component
2. Right side component
3. Front component
4. Top component
5. Back component
6. Bottom component
7. Fastening hole in the back component to hang over a fastener
8. Openings on the side components
9. Finger space indention are created in a recessed area that is approximately a half circle, on the bottom component
10. Openings in back component
11. Slot opening in the front component for loading
12. Horizontal connecting section below the slot on the front component
13. Opening on the top component
14. Snap joint attachment mechanisms
15. Indentations for holding magnets
16. Partial ejection space indention on the front component
17. Finger space indention on the front component created by a upward recessed area on the horizontal portion below the slot on the front component.
18. Interlocking tabs to insert into the openings (27) and (29) of the side components (1) and (2) to join to the bottom component (6).
19. Recessed connecting area (indent) in the back of the bottom component to interlock with the tab (25) on the bottom of the back component (5).
20. Indents to fit the latching mechanism (#23) on the top of the front component to latch the top component (4) to the front component (3).
21. The sloped bottom edge of side components so the product sits back at an angle.
22. Sides of the top component
23. Latching mechanism Interlocking tabs that latch the top component (4) to the front component (3).
25. Interlocking extension on the back component (5) to connect to recessed area (19) in the bottom component.
26. Recessed area (indents) on the back component to interlock with interlocking extensions on the side components (31).
27. Openings on the left side component (1) to join with interlocking tabs (18) of the bottom component (6).
28. Recessed area (indents) on the front component (3) to hold interlocking extensions (30) of the side panels (1) and (2).
29. Openings on the right side component (2) to hold interlocking tabs (18) of the bottom component (6).
30. Extensions on the side components (1) (2) which interlock with the recessed connecting area (28) of the front component (3).
31. Extensions on the side components (1) (2) that interlock with the recessed connecting area (26) of the back component (5).
32. Dispensing area
34. Bottom of soft jacketed can cooler when collapsed, extending in a tab configuration
35. Soft jacketed can cooler
36. Hinge connecting point on) components
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1 shows the bottom component. The bottom component 6 has interlocking extensions 18 that connect to 27 and 29 of the side components. It also has a finger space indention 9 which along with the finger space indention 17 on the front panel allows the can coolers to be dispensed. The recessed area in the back of the bottom component 19 connects to the interlocking extension 25 of the back component. A tight fit causes 19 (the recessed area) and 25 (the interlocking extension) to interlock.
FIG. 2 shows the front section. The parts of the front component are the slot 11, which allows multiple soft jacket can coolers to be loaded at the same time. The front slot 11 is designed to allow a thumb and finger into the holder dispenser as they are holding as many soft jacket can coolers as possible with the top component 4 lid in the open position. The horizontal section 12, which extends from both sides of the front component 3 is below the slot which connects each side the front component and is where the finger space indention 17, and partial ejection space indention 16 are located. The partial ejection space 16 is an indention in the bottom of the front component 3 and is wider than the finger space indention 17 directly above it, and the partial ejection space 16 is only wide enough to let the bottom tab 34 of the next in line soft jacket can cooler partially dispense from the holder dispenser. The soft jacket can cooler being dispensed pulls the next in line soft jacket can cooler out with it only to the point where the outside edge of the next in line soft jacket can cooler make contact with the outer edge of the partial injection space indention 16, and stop the next in line soft jacket can cooler from being dispensed completely. This leaves the bottom tab of the next in line soft jacket can cooler sticking out of the holder dispenser. The partially ejected soft jacket can cooler along with the finger space indentions on the front component 17 and the bottom component 9, and the raised dispensing area makes pulling a soft jacket can cooler out of the holder dispenser very ergonomic. The top of the front component has indents 20 to fit the interlocking pieces 23 that act as the lid latching mechanism and the front component has recessed connecting areas 28 on either side of the front piece which allows the interlocking extensions of the side components 30, a tight fit between 28 and 30 allows the parts to interlock with a snapping action.
FIG. 3 shows the left side component 1. The left side component has openings 8 which allow for soft jacket can coolers to be adjusted inside the holder dispenser, and they also reduce the weight of the holder/dispenser. The left side component has a slanted bottom edge 21, and above the slanted edge, openings 27 for the interlocking extensions 18 of the bottom component 6. The left side component also has indentions 15 for holding magnets, The left side component also has extensions, the front extension 30 interlocks into the recessed connecting areas 28 of the front component 3 and back extension 31 interlocks with the recessed area 26 of the back component 5. FIG. 3 also shows the back top location of the hinge element 36 that allows the top to be opened.
FIG. 4 shows the top component 4 of the device. An open area 13 allows an individual soft jacket can cooler to be loaded into the holder dispenser with the top component lid in the closed position. The side portions 22 of the top component 4 are between tops of the side components 1 and 2, holding the soft jacket can coolers in the holder dispenser and the front of the top component has interlocking pieces 23 that fit into the recessed connecting areas 20 in the front component acting as the latching mechanism. The top component can be opened and closed as 20 and 23 provide the latching mechanism and the back outside edges of the top component have a hinging mechanism 36 allowing the top component to rotate open and closed.
FIG. 5 shows the back component. The back 5 has openings 10 for reducing weight. The back component 5 also has indentations 15 for magnets so the product can be placed on a refrigerator or other metallic object. The back also has a hole 7 that is designed to go over a fastener to hold the holder and dispenser on wall or vertical surface. A recessed connecting area 26 interlocks with extensions 31 of the side components, and an extension 25 on the bottom of the back component interlocks with recessed connecting area 19 on the bottom component.
FIG. 6 shows the right side component 2. The right side component has openings 8 which allow for soft jacket can coolers to be adjusted inside the holder dispenser, and they also reduce the weight of the holder/dispenser. The right side component has a slanted bottom edge 21, and above the slanted edge, openings 29 for the interlocking extensions 18 of the bottom component. The right side component also has indents 15 for holding magnets The right side component also has extensions, the front extension 30 interlocks into the recessed areas 28 of the front component and back extension 31 interlocks with the recessed connecting area 26 of the back component.
FIG. 7 shows the position of all six sides before they are interlocked into a final assembly.
FIG. 8 is a ¾ front corner view of the assembled dispenser holder, particularly showing the dispensing area 32.
FIG. 9 is a ¾ front corner view of the assembled dispenser holder with a collapsed soft jacket can cooler 35 being pulled by the bottom section of the can cooler 34, with the collapsed can cooler bottom being the tab that allows the can cooler to be pulled out.
FIG. 10 is a ¾ front corner view of the dispenser holder with the collapsed soft jacketed can coolers present in the invention showing the bottom collapsed section 34 which acts like a tab for pulling out the soft jacketed can coolers 35.
Patent Application
20240182228
