BACKGROUND
The present disclosure relates to stemmed glasses that can be compactly joined into sets, and the sets efficiently stacked.
The stemmed glass or stemware is a popular and necessary type of drinkware that has, in its basic form of a bowl and a foot connected by a centered stem, remained practically unchanged for centuries. The problem is that due to its characteristic shape stemware is difficult to store as it takes more space than conventional stemless drinkware and is usually not stackable. This creates a storage problem for houseware and barware applications. The problem also extends to the single serve market and more particularly to the single serve wine and spirits market where there's the particular need for sealed filled containers that can be compactly packed for efficient shipping and shelving, with good portability and functional characteristics, and have physical characteristics as close as possible to a full stemmed glass.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
The features and advantages of the present disclosure is set forth in the detailed description which follows, and will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the description or recognized by practicing the disclosed embodiments as described, together with the claims and appended drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 depicts a side view of an embodiment of a stemmed glass as disclosed herein;
FIG. 2 depicts a perspective view of the stemmed glass of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 depicts a side view of the stemmed glass of FIG. 1 joined with a second stemmed glass to form a stemmed glass set;
FIG. 4 depicts a perspective view of an embodiment of a stemmed glass as disclosed herein;
FIG. 4B of the stemmed glass of FIG. 4 joined with a second stemmed glass to form a stemmed glass set;
FIG. 5 depicts a side view of the stemmed glass of FIG. 4 with plastic wrapping;
FIG. 6 depicts a side view of an embodiment of a stemmed glass as disclosed herein;
FIG. 7 depicts a side view of an embodiment of a stemmed glass as disclosed herein;
FIG. 8 depicts a side view of the stemmed glass of FIG. 7 joined with a second stemmed glass to form a stemmed glass set;
FIG. 9 depicts a top sectional view of FIG. 8;
FIG. 10 depicts a side view of an embodiment of a stemmed glass as disclosed herein;
FIG. 11 depicts a side view of the stemmed glass of FIG. 10 joined with a second stemmed glass to form a stemmed glass set;
FIG. 12 depicts a frontal view of an embodiment of a stemmed glass as disclosed herein;
FIG. 13 depicts a frontal view of an embodiment of a stemmed glass as disclosed herein;
FIG. 14 depicts a side view of the stemmed glass of FIG. 12;
FIG. 15 depicts a side view of the stemmed glass of FIG. 13 inverted;
FIG. 16 depicts a side view of the stemmed glass of FIG. 14 joined with the stemmed glass of FIG. 13 to form a stemmed glass set.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIGS. 1 and 2 depict a stemmed glass 10, here configured to be an article of stemware similar to a wine glass, in accordance with one embodiment. Stemmed glass 10 includes a bowl 12 with a bowl rim 14, a planar bowl base 16 and a bowl surface 18 laterally extending between the bowl rim 14 and the planar bowl base 16. The bowl surface 18 is contiguous with, and merges into, the planar bowl base 16 to form the bowl 12. In the particular embodiment, the bowl 12 is depicted to have a bi-convex configuration with a planar bowl base 16, but it should be understood that the shape can be varied as desired by a designer to have, for example, an oval cross section, a fluted, conical or tulip shape with a narrow pointed bowl base, or an angular shape with one or more planar surfaces, such as pyramidal or rectangular, for example.
A foot 20 is depicted with a substantially planar foot surface 21. A stem 30 is depicted with an upper stem end 31 attached to the bowl surface 16 and a lower stem end 32 attached proximate a periphery of planar foot surface 21.
A bowl 12a, with the same shape and dimensions as bowl 12, depicted in broken lines is disposed in a volume of space defined by the planar bowl base 16, the stem 30, and the planar foot surface 21, with a bowl base 16a disposed adjacent the planar bowl base 16 and substantially aligned with it, a bowl rim 14a disposed adjacent the planar foot surface 21, and a bowl surface 18a is disposed against the stem 30.
The stem 30 is depicted in this embodiment to substantially conform to the shape of a bowl surface 18a, however it should be understood that, in other embodiments, the stem 30 can be configured to have a shape that does not conform to the shape of the bowl surface 18a having, for example, only a portion of its length in contact with bowl surface 18a, or alternatively have no contact at all with bowl surface 18a.
In this embodiment, a raised lip 22 on the foot 20 that merges into the lower stem end 32 to provide additional mechanical stability to the stem 30 and the foot 20. In the embodiment depicted, the raised lip 22 is substantially an arc-shaped, rim-like feature generally conforming to the circumference or periphery of the foot 20. Alternatively, the raised lip 22 can optionally be configured as an oval, or another polygonal shape, for example. The raised lip 22 can also be configured to give a better aesthetic appearance to the stemmed glass 10. The foot 20 can optionally be configured as an oval, an elliptical, a square, or another polygonal shape, for example.
The stemmed glass 10 can be manufactured as a single, one-piece unitary component. Alternatively, the stemmed glass 10 can be manufactured as a multipart article of two or more parts assembled together to conform a single product, where in the stem 30 can be physically secured to the bowl 12 or to the foot 20, or to both, by a suitable adhesive, or by thermal or mechanical attachment. In an exemplary embodiment, the stemmed glass 10 can be fabricated from a transparent polymeric material such as, for example, food grade polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Other suitable materials can be used such as, for example, glass, non-transparent polymers, or combinations of materials such as a glass bowl with a stem and foot made of polymeric materials.
The joining feature of the disclosed stemmed glass 10 can be best explained with reference to FIG. 3 in which the stemmed glass 10 is placed adjacent to a second stemmed glass 10b and joined to form a stemmed glass set 40. The second stemmed glass 10b is inverted with respect to the stemmed glass 10 so that a bowl 12b faces the foot 20 of stemmed glass 10, and can be placed with a bowl rim 14b disposed against the planar foot surface 21 of the stemmed glass 10. The bowl rim 14 is disposed against a planar foot surface 21b, the bowl surface 18 is disposed against a stem 30b, the planar bowl base 16 is disposed against a planar bowl base 16b, and a bowl surface 18b is disposed against the stem 30. The bowl 12 of the stemmed glass 10 is substantially aligned with a bowl 12b of the second stemmed glass 10b. Stemmed glass sets can be stacked.
The raised lip 22 of the first stemmed glass 10 can be configured to conform to the shape of the bowl 12b and be disposed adjacent to it to aid in retaining it in place for easier handling.
In one embodiment, FIG. 4 depicts a stemmed glass 100, here configured as a single serve beverage container including a seal 102 removably attached to a bowl rim (not shown) of the stemmed glass 100 and covering a bowl opening (not shown) of a bowl 112. The seal 102 is a foil seal, but other sealing methods can be used such as lift-and-peel or induction, for example. The stemmed glass 100 is depicted having a circular shallow recess 140 and a recess wall 141 in a foot 120.
FIG. 4B depicts the stemmed glass 100 joined with a second stemmed glass 100b, having a removable seal 102b. When a bowl rim (not shown) with the seal 102b of the second stemmed glass is placed into the circular shallow recess 140 of the stemmed glass 100, the recess wall 141 can serve to retain a bowl 112b of the second stemmed glass 100b inhibiting lateral movements of the second stemmed glass 100b. The diameter of the circular shallow recess 140 is sized to be slightly larger than the diameter of the bowl rim of the second stemmed glass 100b to ensure a tight grip, but a larger diameter sizes can be used. The foot 120 can serve as a puncture protector for the seal 102b of the second stemmed glass 100b when joined with the stemmed glass 100 as set. The same applies to the stemmed glass 100 when joined with the stemmed glass 100b as a set.
The stemmed glass set 150 can be covered with a removable plastic film wrapper (not shown) to aid in keeping the two stemmed glasses tightly joined for handling and shipping. Additionally, the removable plastic wrapper aids in keeping the stemmed glasses sanitary by preventing contaminants from reaching their surfaces. Moreover, the removable plastic wrapper can be made of UV or light resistant material to protect the liquid content of the glasses from their effects.
For single unit handling, stacking and shelving of the stemmed glass 100, alternative protection of the seal 102 can be achieved by covering the bowl 112 and the seal 102 fully or partially with a removable plastic film wrapper 142, as depicted in FIG. 5.
Alternatively, the bowl 112 of the stemmed glass 100 can be protected with a plastic cap (not shown). The cap is frictionally held over the top of the bowl 112. Alternatively, the cap can be held by the removable plastic film wrapper depicted in FIG. 5 or by screwing or by clipping on, for example. The cap can alternatively be fabricated of metal, or plastic with coated metal, a rubberized metal, wood, or a combination of conventional materials as well known in the relevant art.
FIG. 6 depicts one embodiment of a stemmed glass 200 including a bowl 212, a stem 230, a foot 220 and a rack adapter 246. The rack adapter 246 provides a channel-like opening 247 sized and shaped to allow the stemmed glass 200 to be placed into a standard wine glass rack (not shown). In the example shown, the rack adapter 246 features a double opposing cone shape 248. However, it should be understood that other shapes can be used such as a single cone shape or a cylindrical shape, for example.
For applications in which a more compact configuration is desired, one embodiment of a stemmed glass 300 is depicted in FIG. 7. The stemmed glass 300 includes a bowl 312, a bowl rim 314, a bowl groove 315, a bowl base 316, a foot 320, and a stem 330 disposed in the bowl groove 315. The bowl groove 315 is depicted here to extend from the bowl base 316 to the bowl rim 314 all along the bowl surface 318, but it should be noted that the bowl groove 315 can have a shorter length, for example extending from the bowl base 316 to the middle of the bowl 312 such that only a portion of the stem 330 is disposed in it.
FIG. 8 depicts the stemmed glass 300 joined with a second stemmed glass 300b to form a stemmed glass set 350.
FIG. 9 depicts a top sectional view depicting a stem 330b of the second stemmed glass 300b disposed within the bowl groove 315 of the bowl 312 of the stemmed glass 300. The interior surface of the bowl groove 315 substantially conforms to the exterior surface of the stem 330.
FIG. 10 depicts one embodiment of a stemmed glass 400 including a bowl 412, a rim 414, a planar bowl base 416, a bowl surface 418, a foot 420, and a stem 430 with an upper stem end 431 attached to the bowl base 416.
FIG. 11 depicts the stemmed glass 400 joined with a second stemmed glass 400b to form a stemmed glass set 450. The bowl rim 414 disposed against a planar foot surface 421b, and the bowl surface 418 is disposed against a stem 430b. The upper stem end 431 extends from an edge of the periphery of the bowl base 416 to proximate the center of the bowl base 416 allowing an opposing upper stem end 431b, extending from an edge of the periphery of a bowl base 416b to proximate the center of the bowl base 416b, to be disposed proximate the bowl base 416 from the opposing edge of the periphery of the bowl base 416 to proximate the center of the bowl base 416. In this embodiment, the bowl 412 of the stemmed glass 400 and a bowl 421b of the second stemmed glass 400b are configured to be substantially misaligned from one another when joined as stemmed glass set 450, but it should be understood that in other embodiments they can be configured to align.
FIG. 12 depicts a frontal view of one embodiment of a stemmed glass 500 including a bowl 512 with an internal bowl cavity 514, a male connector 515 attached to a bowl base 516; a foot 520, and a stem 530. In this embodiment, the male connector 515 is a slide-in type, but other types of connectors or fasteners can be used such as, for example, snap-in or slide-and-twist in other alternative embodiments. Also, in this embodiment, the male connector 515 is attached to the bowl base, but it can alternatively be attached to the stem 530.
FIG. 13 depicts a frontal view of one embodiment of a stemmed glass 600 including a bowl 612 with an internal bowl cavity 614, a bowl base 616, a foot 620, a stem 630, and a female connector 615 disposed inside bowl 612 between bowl base 616 and the bottom of the internal bowl cavity 614. Female connector 615 has an opening which extends through bowl base 616 and permits coupling with the male connector 515 of the stemmed glass 500.
FIG. 14 depicts a side view of stemmed glass 500. FIG. 15 depicts a side view of stemmed glass 600 inverted with respect to stemmed glass 500.
FIG. 16 depicts the stemmed glass 500 joined with a second stemmed glass 600 to form a stemmed glass set.
Patent Grant
10172487
