BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to beverage containers and, and more particularly, to a mobile apparatus for storing a beverage container.
2. Description of the Related Art
Coasters are well known as a way to protect furniture from heat, condensation or spillage from a beverage container. Currently, coasters are manufactured in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors and are made of a plethora of materials. Typically, it is important for a coaster to remain in place on the surface on which the coaster rests so as to reduce the likelihood that a beverage in a glass or mug, for example, will spill. For this reason, non-dip or non-skid materials such as rubber have been applied to the bottoms of coasters. At other times, it would be convenient to move a beverage container from one location to another without the drinker of the beverage having to leave his current location to get the beverage. Such might be the case, for example, when a guest is watching a sporting event on television in the living room and a party host is in the kitchen preparing food and beverages.
Therefore, there is a need for a new and improved beverage coaster which can be used for moving a beverage from one location to another while maintaining the temperature of the beverage. There is also a need for a beverage coaster which readily provides a means for displaying advertisements and other promotional material, it is to the fulfillment of these needs that the present invention is directed.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a beverage container storage device that satisfies the needs identified. A device having features of the present invention comprises a sidewall having a bottom wail attached at its bottom edge and a top wall attached to its top edge essentially creating a truncated cone or pyramid. The side wall may be inscribed with advertisements, team logos, or other marketing material. A drawer for storing items may be formed in the side wall. The top wall has an opening for receiving a beverage container. The opening may be lined with a liner material having insulating properties so as to keep hot beverages hot and cold beverages cold. The device also includes wheels attached to the bottom wall so that the device may readily rolled across a floor, tabletop or other surface.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the wheels are re rectractable. When the wheels are in a retracted position, an optional non-skid or non-slip material attached to the bottom wall comes into contact with the surface upon which the device rests preventing the device from further moving laterally on the surface.
To further facilitate ease of use of the device of the present invention, a remote control capability may be provided. In this embodiment, a remote control unit having a joystick is provided to wirelessly operate the wheels and thus control the speed and direction of the device. An antennae is mounted on the device to receive control signals from the remote control unit. The control signals direct the operation of motors attached to the wheels and thus control the speed and direction of the wheels.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a beverage storage device which may be readily moved from one location to another location.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a beverage storage device which is easy and inexpensive to manufacture.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a beverage storage device that is effective in maintaining a beverage at or near a desired temperature.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a beverage storage device which can be remotely controlled to move in any desired direction.
These and other aspects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the device of the present invention in the form of a frustum of a pyramid.
FIG. 2 is a top view of the device of the present invention as depicted in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the device of present invention as depicted in FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a bottom view of an alternative embodiment of the device of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the device of the present invention taken through line 5-5 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 6 is en exploded view of the wheel of the present invention as highlighted in FIG. 5.
FIG. 7 is a top view of the ball bearing ring for use in connection with the present invention as depicted in FIG. 6.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the device of the present invention including a storage drawer.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the device of the present invention in the form of a frustum of a cone and including remote control capability.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no imitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated embodiments, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.
As shown in FIG. 1, a wheeled coaster 10 for storing a beverage container 12 comprises a top wall 14, sidewalls 18 attached to the top wall 14 at their top end, and a bottom well (not shown) attached to the bottom end of the side walls 18. The top wall 14 has an opening 16 for receiving a beverage container. Wheels 22 are attached to the bottom wall 22 to provide mobility to the coaster 10. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the wheeled coaster 10 has the shape of a truncated, four-sided pyramid with four distinct surfaces. Any suitable material may be used to form the wheeled container 10. Preferably, top wall 14, side walls 18 and bottom 24 are formed as a single piece of plastic by a plastic injection molding process. Alternatively, other materials such as Styrofoam, wood, or metal may be used. The side walls 18 may be inscribed with advertisements, team logos, or other marketing material.
As shown in FIG. 2, the wheeled coaster 10 has four side walls 18, preferably of the same size and shape. In the embodiment shown, side walls 18 have the shape of a trapezoid. In this arrangement, the side walls 18 are connected in an edge-to-edge configuration. For example, side wall 18a and side wall 18b are connected at edge 20. As shown, the side walls 18 converge inwardly and connect to top wall 14 at their top ends. Top wall 14 has a section defining an opening 1$ which is sized and shaped to receive a beverage container. In the embodiment shown, opening 16 is generally circular in shape.
FIG. 3 shows a bottom view of the wheeled coaster 10 depicted in FIG. 1. As shown, bottom wall 24 is generally rectangular in shape and is provided with a plurality of wheels connected thereto so that the coaster 10 may readily rolled across a floor, tabletop or other surface. Wheels 22 may be any wheels suitable for attachment to a flat surface such as to bottom wall 24. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 3, two wheels are attached to each side of bottom wall 24 in a symmetrical arrangement. Alternative positions for the placement of wheels 22 on bottom wall 24 are possible without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.
FIG. 4 shows a bottom view of an alternative arrangement for the wheels 22 attached to the bottom wall 24. In this embodiment, wheels 22 are positioned towards the center of bottom wall 24 as opposed to at or near the sides of bottom wall 24 as depicted in FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of the wheeled coaster of the resent invention taken through line 5-5 of FIG. 1. As shown, the top wall 14 has a section defining an open 16 which extends downwardly through the body of the wheeled coaster 10 forming a recess 26 therein. Recess 26 is provided with a beverage container carrier 2 which generally shaped and sized to accommodate a beverage container 12. In the embodiment shown, beverage container carrier 28 is generally cylindrical in shape. The beverage container carrier 28 has an upper portion including a handle 30 having a spring loaded pushbuttons 32 formed therein. Recess 26 is formed such that a cutout section 34 defined by upper stop 36, recess side wall 38, and lower stop 40, is provided. When pushbuttons 32 are biased open, beverage container carrier 28 is maintained in a raised position by the pushbuttons 32 abutting against upper stop 36. When pushbuttons 32 are biased closed, beverage container carrier 28 may be lowered to a lowered positions 42, 44. The spring bias provided to pushbuttons 32 help maintain beverage container carrier 28 in a lowered position by exerting an outward force against recess side wall 38. Optionally, the recess 26 may be provided with a liner material 46 having insulating properties so as to maintain beverages at or near a desired temperature. In the preferred embodiment, Neoprene is used as the liner material 46 although it will be clear to those skilled in the art that other insulator materials may be used.
Referring now to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, a detailed view of the wheel 22 of the present invention is shown. In the preferred embodiment, wheel 22 comprises a housing 48 having a pair of ball bearing rings 50, 52 attached thereto. Ball bearing rings 50, 52 have a plurality of bail hearings 54 enclosed therein. The ball bearings 54 impinge against the surface of bail wheel 56 and allow the wheeled coaster of the present invention to be readily moved from one location to another on a floor, patio, tabletop or other surface. In one embodiment, housing 48 may be selectively raised or lowered. When housing 48 is raised, ball wheel 56 is moved above the surface of bottom wall 24 allowing the bottom wall 24 to directly contact the surface upon which the wheeled coaster 10 rests. In this embodiment, bottom wall 24 may be provided with a non-skid or non-skid materials such as rubber allowing the device of the present invention to remain in place on the surface on which the wheeled coaster 10 rests, thus reducing the likelihood that a beverage in a glass or mug, for example, will spill. Alternatively, when housing 48 is raised, bottom wall 24 may be provided with a relatively low friction material such as felt to protect hardwood flooring or any other surface upon which the wheeled coaster 10 rests.
FIG. 8 shows an alternative embodiment of the present invention. As shown, in this embodiment, side wall 18 has an optional drawer 58 formed therein. Drawer 58 may be provided with a handle or pull 60 to facilitate the opening and closing of drawer 58. Drawer 58 is preferably sized so that it may fit within the interior of the wheeled coaster 10 without contacting the beverage container carrier 28 when it is in the lowered position or the wheel housing 48 when it is in the retracted position. Alternatively, drawer 58 may be positioned beneath the beverage container carrier 28. In this arrangement, drawer 58 may extend across the entire width of the wheeled coaster 10.
In another embodiment of the present invention depicted in FIG. 9, an antennae 62 and remote control unit 64 are provided to wirelessly control the movement of the wheeled coaster 10 of the present invention. The remote control unit 64 may include a joystick 66 start and stop movement as well as to provide such functions as acceleration, turning and the like. The joystick 66 is electrically connected to a transmitter (not shown). When the transmitter is activated by operation of the joystick 66, radio signals are transmitted by the transmitter and received by a receiver (not shown) which is electrically connected to the antennae 62 on wheeled coaster 10.
In contrast to embodiments of the present invention depicted in FIGS. 1-8, the embodiment of the present invention depicted in FIG. 9 is a frustum of a cone having a top wall that is generally circular in shape and a singular sidewall. It will be clear to those skilled in the art various other shapes and configurations may be utilized without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.
Thus a scribed, a user of the device of the present invention who is seeking to move a beverage container from one location to a another may simply place the beverage container through the opening in the top wall and into beverage container carrier. The wheeled carrier can then be pushed in any desired direction on a floor, tabletop of other surface. At the desired location, the wheels on the wheeled coaster can be retracted allowing either a skid resistant material such as rubber or a floor protector pad such as a felt pad to come into contact with the surface upon which the wheeled coaster rests. The beverage container may selectively moved from a raised position to a lowered position more suitable for longer term storage of a beverage in wheeled coaster. To facilitate maintaining the temperature of the beverage in the beverage container, the device of the present invention may included a liner material such as Neoprene. A remote control capability if further provided to aid in control of the speed and direction of travel of the device.
Although the present invention has been described in terms of exemplary embodiments, it is not limited thereto. Rather, the appended claims should be construed broadly, to include other variants and embodiments of the invention, which may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and range of equivalents of the present invention.
Patent Application
20130307393
