Patent Application
20240415306
The present invention relates to beverage holders, and in particular to wine bottle holders.
A bottle holder, primarily for wine, has a hollow rectangular support base having a central opening for supporting a bottle, an upper rectangular bottle neck support member having a circular opening larger than the neck of a bottle, and a handle. A pair of strings are attached to the support base and the strings pass through openings in the bottle neck support member through the handle, down through other openings in the bottle neck support member and then to the support base. In use, the bottom of the wine bottle is placed in the opening in the support base and the neck of the bottle is passed through the bottom of the opening in the bottle neck support member to hold the bottle in place.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved wine bottle holder that provides protection to the bottle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved wine bottle holder that is more attractive.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved wine bottle holder that is easy to use.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved wine bottle holder that is easy to store.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improved wine bottle holder that is inexpensive.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improved wine bottle holder that permits the bottle to be seen.
These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following specification and accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The top member 30 has a circular opening 34 for receiving a bottle B, which passes through the circular opening 34 and rests on the bottom member 32. The diameter of the circular opening is approximately 3.25 inches which is large enough to receive the base of most wine bottles which are typically 3 inches or 3.2 inches. Holes 36, 38, 40, and 42 are located proximate each of the corners 36a, 38a, 40a and 42a of the top member 30 of the base 12. The holes 36, 38, 40, and 42 each of the corners are large enough for the strings 18 and 20 to pass through.
The bottle support member 44 has a circular opening 46 with orthogonal short and long through-cuts 48 and 50 around the periphery of the circular opening 46 forming flexible segments 52. The orthogonal short and long through-cuts 48 and 50 around the periphery of the circular opening 46 make the size of the circular opening 46 adjustable to fit different sized bottles. The bottle support member 44 is attached to the bottom surface 54 of the top member 30 of the base 12. The dimension of the circular opening 46 in the bottle support member 44 is approximately 3.25 inches, which is slightly larger than the outside dimensions of a wine bottle. The flexible segments 52 bend downwardly when a bottle B is placed in the circular opening 46 of the bottle support member 44 and press against the side wall of the bottle B so that when a bottom of a wine bottle is placed into the circular opening 46 the bottle B comes to rest on the bottom member 32 of the base 12 limiting movement of the bottle B.
The bottle support member 44 is octagonal so that the holes 36-42 are not covered by the bottle support member 44 when in place. Its major dimensions are slightly smaller than the inside width and length of the base. In the preferred embedment, the bottle support base has a thickness of ⅛ inch, and the short and long through cuts 48 and 50 are ⅛ inches apart and the short through cuts 48 are ⅛ inch long and the long through cuts 50 are ¼ inch long. The bottle support member can be attached to the bottom surface 54 of the top member 30 by adhesive, tape or any other suitable means.
In the preferred embodiment, the bottle support member 44 is made of cardboard. In some embodiments the bottle support member 44 is made of plastic or other suitable materials. In some embodiments of the invention, instead of the a separate bottle support member 44 the top member 30 is made of plastic and the circular opening 34 in the top member 34 of the base 12 is molded to form the flexible segments 52.
The bottle neck supporting member 16 is generally circular in shape and has a central opening 56 for receiving the neck N of a bottle and four equally spaced holes 58, 60, 62, 64. In the preferred embodiment the diameter of the bottle neck support member 16 is 1¾ inches is about ⅝ inches thick. The central opening 56 has a diameter of approximately 18 mm for fitting around the neck N of a wine bottle 8. Most wine bottles have a neck dimension of 18.5 mm-21 mm. The holes 62, 64, 66, and 68 at each of the corners are large enough for the strings 18 and 20 to pass through.
In the preferred embodiment the neck support member 16 is made of a soft neoprene foam material that can expand to fit different sized necks of bottles and conform to the shape of the neck N of a bottle. In other embodiments, the neck support member 16 may be made of wood, plastic, cardboard or metal. In some embodiments, a foam insert may be inserted in the central opening 56 in the neck support member 16.
The handle 14 is generally rectangular and has an opening 68 extending the length of the handle 60. In the preferred embodiment, the handle 68 has a length of 5 inches and is ¾ inches high and ½ inches wide. The longitudinal opening 68 is approximately ¼ inches, big enough for the strings 18 and 20 to pass through the longitudinal opening 68. In other embodiments, the handle 70 may be other than rectangular, such as round or scalloped.
Pair of strings, 18 and 20, are attached through the holes 36, 38, 40, and 42 to the top member 30 of the base 12. In the preferred embodiment, each of the strings is 18.5 inches long and has a tensile strength sufficient to support the weight of a bottle B filled with liquid, such as wine, and the weight of the bottle holder 10, specifically 5 pounds so as to account for acceleration of the bottle when picked up by lighting the handle. In some embodiments, four strings can be used, and one end of each string is connected to the base 12 and the other end of each string is connected to the handle 14. In some embodiments the strings 18 and 20 are made of braided cotton but can be made of other suitable materials, such as plastic or wire.
The bottle holder is assembled as follows: each of the strings 18 and 20 has two ends. One end of each string is knotted 70 and then passed upwardly through one of the holes 36-42 in the top member 30 of the base 12, then upwardly through one of the holes 58-64 in the neck support member 16 and then through the longitudinal opening 68 in the handle 14 and then down through a hole 58-64 in the neck support member 116 and then through one of the remaining holes 36-42 in the top member 30 of the base 12. A knot 70 is then formed in the other end of the string 18 and 20. The knots 70 are larger than the holes 36-42 in the top member 30 of the base so the strings cannot be pulled though the holes 36-42. In some embodiments the ends of the strings are connected to a compressible member that is crimped to the string. Other suitable devices can be used to prevent the strings 18 and 20 from passing though the holes 36-42. In the preferred embodiment, each string 18 and 20 passes through opposite holes 36 and 40 or 38 and 42 in the top member 30.
In use, the bottle B is placed in the circular 34 and 46 openings in the sides of the bottle B bending the flexible segments 52 and the bottom of the bottle B resting on the bottom member 32 of the base. The flexible segments 52 in the bottle support member 44 hold the bottle B in place. The neck N of the bottle B is then passed though the bottom of the circular opening 46 in the bottle neck support member 16. The bottle neck support member 16 is pressed downwardly to meet the neck N of the bottle B. Lifting the handle 14 will cause the strings 18 and 20 to be extended to their full length as result of the weight of the base 12 and the bottle B and its contents.
Although several embodiments have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the disclosure is not to be limited by the examples presented herein, but is envisioned as encompassing the scope described in the appended claims and the full range of equivalents of the appended claims.
