Patent Application
20240025620
The present invention generally relates to a container for the storage of a first substance which is itself enclosed within a vessel, such as a water bottle, mason jar, baby bottle, or the like, where the vessel is filled with a second substance and the container stores the first substance until the mixing of the first and second substances is desired. More specifically, the present invention generally relates to an internal container for the storage of a first substance that can be opened without direct user contact, where the internal container is enclosed within an external vessel, where the external vessel is filled with a second substance and the internal container stores the first substance until the mixing of the first substance and second substance is desired, at which point the internal container may facilitate the mixing of the first substance and the second substance.
Mixtures of disparate materials including various liquids and powders, especially for food or nutrition, can degrade over time. An example of this is the degradation of baby formula causing colic in infants. In detail, the normal preparation of baby formula requires the mixing of a powdered baby formula with water. When the resultant mixture is left for an extended period of time, for example about two hours or more, the resultant mixture degrades and may cause colic or even risk harboring increased amounts of bacteria.
As another example, in the case of protein shakes (e.g., powdered protein such as whey protein mixed with a liquid such as water), congealing and clumping together may occur after about two to four hours when a previously mixed protein shake is stored at room temperature. When one considers the amount of time that may pass between preparing and consuming a protein shake, the potential issues with degradation of the protein shake become clear.
To overcome the above issues, disparate materials, including liquids and powders, are often stored in separate containers and subsequently mixed to provide the freshest, least degraded mixture at the time of consumption. However, this storage process requires additional steps or tools to help mix the disparate materials, thus increasing process complexity and expended time when preparing, storing, and consuming.
For example, to have a fresh supplement at a gym, a user may carry a container for their supplement and a bottle for their water to the gym inside their purse or bag. When the user would like to mix the supplement and the water, the user would have to open both the water bottle and the supplement container, optionally use a scoop to measure the supplement, and then add the supplement into the open water bottle. The user would then need to re-seal both the supplement container and the water bottle and shake the water bottle to mix the supplement and the water.
Alternatively, the user may choose to scoop the measured supplement into an empty water bottle, and at the time of use, the user would need to open the water bottle, find a water source to fill the water bottle, and reseal the water bottle prior to shaking and thus mixing the supplement and water into the desired solution. In either situation, the user is required to complete a secondary or tertiary action in order to ensure separation of the disparate materials prior to use.
In another example, to have a fresh baby bottle filled with formula in the middle of the night, a user may need to get up, go to the kitchen, measure and fill the baby bottle with formula, fill the bottle with water, screw the lid on, and shake the bottle to mix.
In the current state of the art, products have similar features such as a food container comprising two components (e.g., a lid and a bowl), liquid sealed containers, and food mixing containers. As described above, several related issues exist within the conventional art.
Of note, within conventional systems, users are forced to compromise when it comes to mixing and utilizing disparate materials. Specifically, users can pre-mix the disparate materials and be faced with potential degradation and contamination issues. Alternatively, users can mix the disparate materials closer to the time of desired consumption; however, this may require the user to travel with additional mixing, measuring, and storage apparatuses, which also inevitably increases the user's mixing time.
What is needed is a device, system, and method that allows for the user to keep disparate materials separated until a desired time, while allowing for the mixing of the disparate materials with minimal user intervention.
According to an aspect of the present invention, an internal container is adapted to be positioned within an external vessel, said internal container including: a bowl including: an internal surface; an external surface; and a rim disposed at an interface of said internal and said external surface and defining an opening of said bowl; and a lid configured to mate with said bowl so as to collectively define an interior volume of said internal container adapted to be at least partially filled with a first substance, where said lid includes: a lip positioned along an outer perimeter of said lid, where in a state of non-sustained agitation, said internal container is positioned within said external vessel, said lid is fixed to said bowl, and said internal container interior volume is completely separated from an interior volume of said external vessel, and where in a state of sustained agitation, said internal container is positioned within said external vessel and said lid is separated from said bowl and said internal container interior volume is exposed to said interior volume of said external vessel.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a multi-vessel drink containment system, includes: an internal container, including: a bowl including: an internal surface; an external surface; and a rim disposed at an interface of said internal surface and said external surface and defining an opening of said bowl, where said rim includes a gasket; and a lid configured to mate with said bowl so as to collectively define an interior volume of said internal container adapted to be at least partially filled with a first substance, where said lid includes a groove for receiving said gasket; and an external vessel including: a body including: an internal surface; and an external surface; where an interface said internal surface and said external surface defines an opening of said body, where said opening of said body is configured to receive said internal container therethrough; a cover configured to mate with said body so as to collectively define an interior volume of said external vessel adapted to be at least partially filed with a second substance, where said second substance is different from said first substance, where in a state of non-sustained agitation, said internal container is positioned within said interior volume of said external vessel and said gasket is fitted within said groove such that said lid is fixed to said bowl and said internal container interior volume is completely separated from said external vessel interior volume, and where in a state of sustained agitation, said internal container is positioned within said interior volume of said external vessel and said gasket is displaced from said groove such that said lid is separated from said bowl and said interior volume of said internal container is exposed to said interior volume of said external vessel.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an internal container adapted to be positioned within an external vessel, said internal container including: a bowl having an area moment of inertia; and a lid having an area moment of inertia and configured to mate with said bowl so as to collectively define an interior volume of said internal container adapted to be at least partially filled with a first substance, where in a state of non-sustained agitation, said internal container is positioned within an interior volume of said external vessel, said lid is fixed to said bowl, and said interior volume of said internal container is completely separated from said interior volume of said external vessel, and where said area moment of inertia of said lid is between about 1.1 and about 9.0 times greater than said area moment of inertia of said bowl.
According to yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a method for using a multi-vessel drink containment system includes the steps of: providing an internal container, where said internal container includes: a bowl includes: a first face defining an internal surface of said bowl; a second face defining an external surface of said bowl; and a rim disposed at an interface of said first face and said second face and defining an opening of said bowl, where said rim includes a latch and a gasket; and a lid configured to mate with said bowl so as to collectively define an internal container interior volume, where said lid includes: a first face defining an internal surface of said lid; a second face defining an external surface of said lid; and a groove for receiving said latch; at least partially filling said internal container with a first substance; attaching said lid to said bowl to enclose said first substance within said internal container interior volume; providing an external vessel, where said external vessel includes: a body includes: a first face defining an internal surface of said body; a second face defining an external surface of said body; and a rim disposed on an interface of said first face and said second face and defining an opening of said body; a cover configured to mate with said body so as to collectively define an external vessel interior volume, at least partially filling said external vessel with a second substance, where said second substance is different from said first substance; inserting said internal container into said external vessel interior volume; attaching said cover to said body to enclose said internal container within said external vessel interior volume; and agitating said external vessel and the contents of the external vessel such that said latch is displaced from said groove and said lid is separated from said bowl such that said internal container interior volume is exposed to said external vessel interior volume.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a part of the specification, further serve to explain the principles of the invention and to enable a person skilled in the pertinent art to make and use the invention.
The following detailed description describes the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but rather is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.
Various inventive features are described below, and each can be used independently of one another or in combination with other features. However, any single inventive feature may not address any or all of the problems discussed above or may only address one of the problems discussed above. Further, one or more of the problems discussed above may not be fully addressed by any of the features described below.
Generally speaking, the present invention relates to the storage of a first substance within an internal container which is itself enclosed within an external vessel, such as a water bottle, mason jar, or baby bottle, filled with a second substance, for the purpose of storing the enclosed substance until mixing of substances is desired. The present invention, a specially designed internal container, allows for both on-demand and single-step mixing of two substances. To use the internal container, a user fills a first substance into the internal container in an open state, closes the internal container, and places the internal container, along with a second substance, inside the external vessel. The external vessel, with the internal container therein, may then be carried, used, or consumed by the user until mixing the two substances is desired. This requires that the container does not open or leak prior to the time at which a user desires the two substances to mix. The user then shakes or moves the external vessel with a sustained agitation to cause the internal container to strike an internal surface of the external vessel. Due to the imbalance in stiffness of the lid and bowl components, this causes a latch mechanism to detach, causing separation of the bowl and the lid, thus mixing of the first substance and the second substance. The internal container itself further facilitates the mixing of the first substance and the second substance.
Referring now to
The lid 120 may optionally include one or more grip elements 122 along an outer perimeter 121 thereof. The grip elements 122 provide improved grip for a user when attaching the lid 120 to the bowl 110 or removing the lid 120 from the bowl 110. The grip elements 122 may be protrusions, depressions, or the like, though the present invention is not limited in this regard. While the grip elements 122 are shown as being provided on the lid 120, it is within the scope and content of the present invention for the grip elements 122 to be formed on either or both of the lid 120 and the bowl 110.
The bowl 110 may optionally include or more whisks 111 defined on an external surface 1102 of the bowl 110. The whisks 111 function as agitators or turbulators and assist in mixing substances as described in greater detail below. The one or more whisks 111 may be formed as protrusions or depressions in the external surface 1102 of the bowl 110. The one or more whisks 111 increase the external surface area of the bowl 110 and improve the whisking or mixing functionality of the internal container 100. This improved whisking or mixing functionality allows the internal container 100 to double as a container and also as a mixing ball, as known in the conventional art. While the whisks 111 are shown as being provided on the bowl 110, it is within the scope and content of the present invention for whisks 111 to be formed on either or both of the bowl 110 and the lid 120.
Moreover, the whisks 111 and the grip elements 122 serve an additional critical function. As shown in
Referring now to
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This cross-sectional view of the internal container 100 also provides an ideal opportunity to look more closely at exemplary materials and dimensions of the internal container 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The internal container 100 must be capable of safely housing a first substance and releasing the first substance at a desired time without direct user contact with the internal container 100. Given these requirements, the internal container 100 must be formed of a food-safe material that is capable of forming a water-tight seal. It is also preferable that the material be bisphenol A-free (BPA-free), polyvinyl chloride-free (PVC-free), phthalate-free, and lead-free. Moreover, it is preferable that the material be heat-resistant to at least 100° C. Additionally it is also preferable that the material be elastic so as to allow for repeated use and to facilitate removal of the lid 120 from the bowl 110 without direct user contact. It is also preferable for the material to be sound absorbing so that the shaking process is not disturbing to the user or those around the user. According to an embodiment of the present invention the internal container 100 may be formed of food-safe silicone.
The interior volume 102 of the internal container 100 is preferably less than about 200 cc, more preferably between about 25 cc and about 200 cc, and most preferably between about 30 cc and about 150 cc; though it should be noted that the present invention is not limited in this regard.
An opening diameter D1 of the bowl 110 is dimensioned to accommodate a conventional powder scoop (not shown) having about a 40 g capacity. Preferably, the opening diameter D1 is between about 25.0 mm and about 100.0 mm, more preferably between about 30.0 mm and about 80.0 mm, and most preferably between about 40.0 mm and about 70.0 mm.
A thickness T1 between an internal surface 1101 and an external surface 1102 of the bowl 110 is substantially constant outside of the presence of whisks and depressions (not shown). A thickness of the lid 120 (no reference numeral) is similarly dimensioned. It is within the scope and content of the present invention for variances in thickness both due to manufacturing and also to improve operability of the internal container 100 both in terms of handling and mixing efficiency (e.g., due to grip elements and/or whisks). According to an embodiment of the present invention, the thickness T1 may be less than about 6.0 mm, preferably between about 0.25 mm and about 5.0 mm, and most preferably between about 1.0 mm and about 4.0 mm.
An external diameter D2 of the internal container 100 is dimensioned to fit within the mouth of an external vessel (not shown), which will be described in detail below. Generally, the external vessel may be a vessel that is larger than the internal container 100, for example a water bottle, a mason jar, a baby bottle, or the like. The external diameter D2 of the internal container 100 is less than about 12.0 mm greater than the opening diameter D1, preferably between about 0.5 mm to about 10.0 mm greater than the opening diameter D1, and most preferably between about 2.0 and about 8.0 mm greater than the opening diameter D1.
The final feature that is illustrated in
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A thickness of the rim 113 between the internal surface 1101 of the bowl 110 and the external upper wall 113b is preferably less than the thickness T1, more preferably less than about 80 percent of the thickness T1, and most preferably less than about 60 percent of the thickness T1.
The gasket 113d extends away from the external upper wall 113b, preferably the gasket 113d extends from the external upper wall 113b at least about 5 percent the thickness T1, more preferably the gasket 113d extends from the external upper wall 113b between about 5 percent and about 50 percent of the thickness T1, and most preferably the gasket 113d extends from the external upper wall 113b between about 10 percent and about 25 percent of the thickness T1.
As shown in
It is worth noting at this time that it is within the scope of the present invention for the gasket 113d to be monolithically formed with the bowl 110, monolithically formed with the lid 120, or alternatively formed as a discrete element. It is also within the scope and content of the present invention for the elements of the rim 113 to be formed on the internal surface 1101 of the bowl 110. The rim 113 may be referred to as a first latching component.
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According to an embodiment of the present invention, at least one of the lid 120 and the bowl 110 is configured to elastically deform during mating. In detail, when the lid 120 is pressed onto the bowl 110, at least one of the rim 113 and the lip 123 is deflected until the gasket 113d is received within the groove 123d. From this enlarged cross-sectional view, a unique feature of the present invention is clearly illustrated. The surfaces that define the gasket 113d are configured such that the removal of the lid 120 from the bowl 110 is made easier by the angles between the surfaces of the gasket 113d as described above. In detail, since the angle between the first gasket surface 113d1 extends generally perpendicularly to the external upper wall 113b and is less than the angle between the second gasket surface 113d2 and the external upper wall 113b, it requires less force to remove the lid 120 from the bowl 110 that to attach the lid 120 to the bowl 110.
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To better illustrate the present invention,
In a step S100, an internal container and an external vessel are provided. In a step S200, a first substance is filled into the internal container and the internal container is closed by attaching the lid to the bowl. In a step S300 both a second substance and the filled internal container are positioned within the external container and the external container is closed by attaching the cover to the base. In a step S400 the external container is subjected to an agitated state such that the gasket is displaced from the groove such that the lid is separated from the bowl and the interior volume of the internal container is exposed to the interior volume of the external vessel so as to combine the first substance and the second substance.
As described throughout the present disclosure, through this method the first substance and second substance may be kept separated until such time as mixing is desired. Moreover, the mixing may be implemented without direct user contact with the internal container or use of additional storage or mixing apparatuses.
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To make clear how the present invention begins to solve the problems identified in the state of the art, consider the following example. The first substance 301 may be a powdered infant formula or a powdered protein supplement and the second substance 302 may be water. As detailed above, in such an example it is desirable to keep the first substance 301 and the second substance 302 separate until such time that a user intends to consume the mixture of the first substance 301 and the second substance 302. The mating of the lid 120 and the bowl 110 as described above collectively forms the water-tight seal of the internal container 100. In other words, the internal container 100 can be placed within an external vessel 500 partially filled with water (the second substance 302) and keep the powdered formula or powered protein supplement (the first substance 301) separated from the water (the second substance 302).
Therefore, the internal container 100 solves the first two problems identified above with regard to the conventional art. First, the contents of the internal container 100 can be kept separate from the contents of the external vessel 500. Second, since the filled internal container 100 can be kept inside of the filled external vessel 500, the internal container 100 eliminates the need for bringing extra containers and/or utensils which are required when using the conventional art.
The one piece of the puzzle that has yet to be explained is how the contents of the internal container 100 and the external vessel 500 can be combined without requiring any direct user contact with the internal container 100. At this time, several states of agitation can be defined to aid in better understanding.
In the first state of agitation, the external vessel 500, and therefore the contents of the external vessel 500 including the internal container 100, are at rest. It therefore follows that in this first state of agitation the internal container 100 will remain closed.
In the second state of agitation, the external vessel 500, and therefore the contents of the external vessel 500 including the internal container 100, are at a non-sustained state of agitation. In the non-sustained state of agitation, the external vessel 500, and therefore the contents of the external vessel 500 including the internal container 100, are subjected to some movement and some non-sustained agitation. For example, the external vessel 500 may be moved from a surface into a backpack and subsequently carried within the backpack while within the second state of agitation. When in the second state of agitation, the internal container 100 may move about within the external vessel 500, but the lid 120 will not separate from the bowl 110.
Therefore, for all intents and purposes, the first state of agitation and the second state of agitation can both be treated as a state of non-sustained agitation, where a state of non-sustained agitation is defined as an agitation of the external vessel 500 that does not dislodge the lid 120 from the bowl 110 of the internal container 100.
Referring now to
In the third state of agitation, the external vessel 500, and therefore the contents of the external vessel 500 including the internal container 100, are in motion. In this third state of agitation the lid 120 of the internal container 100 is separated from the bowl 110 of the internal container 100, thus exposing the interior volume 102 of the internal container 100 to the interior volume 502 of the external vessel 500. The manner in which the lid 120 of the internal container 100 is separated from the bowl 110 of the internal container 100 will be described in detail below.
Referring now to
It is worth noting at this time that while the lid 120 and the bowl 110 are depicted as being formed as two discrete elements it is within the scope of the present invention for the lid 120 and the bowl 110 to be monolithically formed.
Referring now to
To better understand the various states of agitation described above,
It is worth noting at this time that the sustained agitation of the external vessel 500 serves several important functions. As described above, the sustained agitation of the external vessel 500 facilitates the opening of the internal container 100. The sustained agitation of the external vessel 500 also facilitates the mixing of the contents of the external vessel 500 and the internal container 100. In other words, a user simply shakes the external vessel 500 as though they were mixing a protein shake or a baby bottle as described above. This single shaking step facilitates both the opening of the internal container 100 and the mixing of the contents of the external vessel 500 and the internal container 100.
This is an ideal time to dive deeper into how the lid 120 can be joined and removed from the bowl 110, and specifically how the sustained agitation of the external vessel 500 facilitates the opening of internal container 100 without direct user contact with the internal container 100. As described above, the bowl 110 and the lid 120 are preferably formed of a flexible material, such as a food-safe silicone.
At this time, three different opening techniques will be described. In the first opening technique, the lid 120 may simply be pried from the bowl 110. In such a case, a user simply grasps the outer perimeter 121 of the lid 120 and lifts the lid 120 away from the bowl 110. The lid 120 deforms in response to the force applied by the user such that the internal lip wall 123b is moved clear of the gasket 113d. Positioning of the lid 120 on the bowl 110 is the first opening technique in reverse.
The second opening technique is similar to the first opening technique in that the user deforms a portion of the internal container 100; however, in the second opening technique the user deforms the bowl 110. In detail, the user may apply a compressive force to the internal container 100 thereby deforming the bowl 110 such that the internal lip wall 123b is moved clear of the gasket 113d.
The third opening technique is unique to the present invention and solves the aforementioned issues identified in the prior art. In the third opening technique, the internal container 100 is positioned within an external vessel 500 and is opened with only indirect contact by the user. As described above, the internal container 100 may be opened by applying a state of sustained agitation to the external vessel 500. Through the sustained agitation of the external vessel 500, the internal container 100 and is moved in such a way that the internal container 100 strikes an internal surface 5101 of the external vessel 500 with a force sufficient to deform the bowl 110 such that the internal lip wall 123b is moved clear of the gasket 113d causing the lid 120 and the bowl 110 to separate.
The force sufficient to deform the bowl 110 such that the internal lip wall 123b is moved clear of the gasket 113d is related to the imbalance of the stiffness of the lid 120 and the stiffness of the bowl 110. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the lid 120 and the bowl 110 have matching diameters; however, the lid 120 and the bowl 110 have substantially different cross-sections. Given the disparate cross-sections of the lid 120 and the bowl 110, it follows that the lid 120 and the bowl 110 have substantially different area moments of inertia. Specifically, the area moment of inertia of the lid 120 is between about 1.1 and about 9.0 times greater than the area moment of inertia of the bowl 110, preferably the area moment of inertia of the lid 120 is between about 1.5 and about 5.0 times greater than the area moment of inertia of the bowl 110, and most preferably the area moment of inertia of the lid 120 is between about 2.0 and about 4.0 times greater than the area moment of inertia of the bowl 110.
Generally speaking, the deflection of an object is inversely proportionate to the area moment of inertia of the object. In other words, the deflection of the bowl 110 is greater than the deflection of the lid 120. Specifically, the deflection of the bowl 110 is between about 1.1 and about 9.0 times greater than the deflection of the lid 120, more preferably the deflection of the bowl 110 is between about 1.5 and about 5.0 times greater than the deflection of the lid 120, and most preferably the deflection of the bowl 110 is about 2.0 to about 4.0 times greater than the deflection of the lid 120. These numerical ranges reflect the aforementioned wall thickness ranges as described above.
Since stiffness is the load divided by the deflection, it can be said that for a given load the lid 120 has a greater stiffness than the bowl 110. In the case of the internal container 100, the load represents the force with which the internal container 100 strikes an internal surface of external vessel 500. While in the state of sustained agitation, this force is sufficient to deform the bowl 110, and to a lesser extent the lid 120, such that the internal lip wall 123b is moved clear of the gasket 113d. For the purposes of the above calculations, the force is applied normal to the tangent of the surface, or essentially from the side. However, in practice, a force within the stated range is sufficient to deform the bowl 110 and the lid 120 when applied from any direction.
As described above, this force may be generated by an intermittent acceleration of the external vessel 500 of between about 4 g's and about 30 g's for at least a portion of greater than about 2 seconds.
Certain exemplary embodiments (“examples”, “embodiments”, etc.) are described to provide an overall understanding of the principles of the function, structure, manufacture, use, and preparation of the devices and methodologies disclosed herein. While one or more embodiments and/or example are described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, one of ordinary skill in the relevant art will readily understand that the devices, processes, methods of use, relevant drawings, etc. specifically described herein are non-limiting exemplary embodiments and the scope of the invention is defined by the accompanying claims in this disclosure. The features described, illustrated, or exemplified with one or more embodiments may also be combined with the features of one or more other examples or embodiments. Such combinations, modifications, and variations are included within the scope of the presently described invention. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate and readily understand that the devices disclosed herein can have various configurations in addition to the examples and the embodiments disclosed herein, and that the various features as disclosed herein in the various embodiments are interchangeable and able to be combined.
One of ordinary skill in the art will readily understand that any ordering of method steps implied by the drawings or description herein is not to be construed as limiting or requiring the disclosed methods to perform the steps in that order. Rather the various steps of each of the methods disclosed herein can be performed in any of a variety of sequences. In addition, as the described methods are merely exemplary embodiments, various other methods including fewer steps or additional steps are also within the scope and content of the present invention.
Any publications and patent applications mentioned in the specification are indicative of the level of those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains. All publications and patent applications are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.
Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity and understanding, certain changes and modifications may be practiced within the scope of the appended claims. Also, it should be understood that numerous changes may be made within the spirit and scope of the inventive concepts described herein. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but that it has the full scope defined by the following claims.
Although specific embodiments and aspects were described herein and specific examples were provided, the scope of the technology is not limited to those specific embodiments and examples. One skilled in the art will recognize other embodiments or improvements that are within the scope and spirit of the present technology. Therefore, the specific structure, acts, or media are disclosed only as illustrative embodiments. The scope of the technology is defined by the following claims and any equivalents therein.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/392,088, filed on Jul. 25, 2022, which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63392088 | Jul 2022 | US |
