Patent Application
20240300721
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to a wine storage container.
Wine may be transported and sold using a variety of types of containers. Some of the containers may include a glass wine bottle, a plastic bag, or a cardboard box.
However, many wine containers may have bulky shapes, such as rectangular cardboard boxes, that may be difficult to compactly store in common storage locations, such as a wine refrigerator. Additionally, the packaging of wine containers are generally discarded after a single use, which can lead to substantial environmental waste. A new container design that allows for reusable, compact storage of wine that limits environmental waste may be needed.
Aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are directed toward a wine storage container.
Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the presented embodiments of the disclosure.
Some example embodiments of the present disclosure may include a wine container including: a lid; a lower portion including a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, wherein the first end includes an opening and the second end includes a base; a handle; and a perforated region, wherein the lid is configured to be attached to the lower portion at the first end of the lower portion, wherein the handle is attached to the lower portion, wherein the perforated region is located on a bottom third of the lower portion; and wherein the perforated region is configured to be removable to form a perforated opening.
According to some example embodiments, the lower portion is a cylindrical tube.
According to some example embodiments, the perforated region includes a perforated circle and a perforated trapezoid, wherein the perforated circle is positioned adjacent to a base of the perforated trapezoid.
According to some example embodiments, the perforated circle has a diameter of about 1.5 inches and the perforated trapezoid has a height of about 2 inches.
According to some example embodiments, the handle is attached to the lower portion proximate to the first end of the lower portion.
According to some example embodiments, the base includes two paper disks bound together with an adhesive.
According to some example embodiments, the wine container further includes an inner wine container inside the wine container.
According to some example embodiments, the inner wine container includes wine and a wine tap for dispensing the wine inside the inner wine container.
According to some example embodiments, the wine container includes kraft paperboard.
Some example embodiments of the present disclosure may include a method for inserting an inner wine container into a wine container, wherein the inner wine container includes wine and a wine tap for dispensing the wine, and wherein the wine container includes a lid at a first end of the wine container, a lower portion, and a perforated region on the lower portion, the method includes: removing the lid from the first end of the lower portion to expose an opening at the first end of the lower portion; removing the perforated region to form a perforated opening; inserting the inner wine container into the opening of the lower portion; inserting the wine tap of the inner wine container through the perforated opening such that the wine tap protrudes from a surface of the wine container; and reattaching the lid to the first end of the lower portion.
According to some example embodiments, the lower portion is a cylindrical tube.
According to some example embodiments, the perforated region includes a perforated circle and a perforated trapezoid, wherein the perforated circle is positioned adjacent to a base of the perforated trapezoid.
According to some example embodiments, the perforated circle has a diameter of about 1.5 inches and the perforated trapezoid has a height of about 2 inches.
According to some example embodiments, the lower portion further includes a base at a second end opposite to the first end of the lower portion.
According to some example embodiments, the base includes two paper disks bound together with an adhesive.
According to some example embodiments, the wine container includes kraft paperboard.
Some example embodiments of the present disclosure may include a wine container including: a hollow tube including a first end and a base; and a perforated region positioned on a lower portion of the base of the hollow tube, wherein the perforated region includes a perforated circle and a perforated trapezoid, wherein the perforated circle is positioned adjacent to a base of the perforated trapezoid, and wherein the perforated region is configured to be removable to form a perforated opening.
According to some example embodiments, the perforated circle has a diameter of about 1.5 inches and the perforated trapezoid has a height of about 2 inches.
According to some example embodiments, the base includes two paper disks bound together with an adhesive.
According to some example embodiments, the wine container includes kraft paperboard.
The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certain embodiments of the disclosure will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Reference will now be made in more detail to embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout, and duplicative descriptions thereof may not be provided, and duplicative descriptions thereof may not be provided. In this regard, the present embodiments may have different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the descriptions set forth herein. Accordingly, the embodiments are merely described, by referring to the drawings, to explain aspects of the present description. As utilized herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Expressions such as “at least one of,” when preceding a list of elements, modify the entire list of elements and do not modify the individual elements of the list.
Because the present disclosure to be described may be variously modified and may have one or more suitable embodiments, specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in more detail in the detailed description. However, this is not intended to limit the present disclosure to a specific embodiment, and it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, or substitutes included in the technical scope of the present disclosure.
The terms utilized are only utilized to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Hereinafter, it will be further understood that the terms “comprise”, “include” or “have,” when utilized in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The “/” utilized herein may be interpreted as “and” or as “or” depending on the situation.
In the drawings, thickness is enlarged or reduced in order to clearly express one or more suitable layers and regions. Throughout the specification, the same reference numerals designate the same components. Throughout the specification, when a component such as a layer, a film, a region, or a plate is mentioned to be placed “on” another component, it will be understood that it may be directly on another component or that another component may be interposed therebetween. Throughout the specification, although the terms “first”, “second”, “third”, etc., may be utilized herein to describe one or more suitable elements, components, regions, and/or layers, these elements, components, regions, and/or layers should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only utilized to distinguish one component from another component.
One or more embodiments of the present disclosure are directed toward a wine storage container. In some embodiments, the wine storage container may be a hollow tube (e.g., a hollow cylinder) configured to hold an inner wine container. It will be appreciated that a size of the wine container may vary depending on the volume of wine desired to be stored in the container.
The wine storage container may include a mono-material construction lower portion, a removable lid (e.g., a removable paper or cardboard lid), a perforated region, and a reinforced double-disk base. The perforated region may be configured to be at least partially detached and/or removed to form a perforated opening in a surface of the wine container. The inner wine container may include a disposable plastic bag or pouch containing wine and include a spout for dispensing the wine (e.g., a wine tap). The inner wine container can be inserted and removed from the wine container such that another inner wine container can be inserted. When the inner wine container is inserted into the wine container (e.g., when the inner wine container is stored within the lower portion of the wine container), the wine tap may protrude from a surface of the wine container through the perforated opening of the wine container. The wine container is configured to be reused with different inner wine containers that may be replaced after all of the wine has been dispensed. The wine container embodiments disclosed herein may be reusable and may limit wine container packaging waste.
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The lid 105 may be configured to be removable from the lower portion 110 by applying a force to the lid 105 in a direction opposite from the lower portion 110. When the lid 105 is removed, an opening of wine container 100 is exposed at an end of the lower portion 110 where the lid 105 was attached. The inner wine container can be inserted or removed through the opening. The lid 105 can be reattached to the lower portion 110 by inserting the lid 105 over the opening of the lower portion 110. In some embodiments, the height of the lid 105 may be about 1 inch. In some embodiments, the lid 105 may be entirely composed of paperboard.
The handle 115 may be used to facilitate the portability of the wine container 100 allowing the wine to be easily carried and allowing the wine container to be hung from the handle when serving wine from the container if desired. The handle 115 may be coupled to the wine container 100 and extend from openings 116 (e.g., round openings) near the end of the lower portion 110 where the lid 105 was attached. In some embodiments, the handle 115 may be coupled to the wine container 100 using small stoppers attached to ends of the handle 115. For example, the stopper may be positioned on the inside of the wine container 100 where it can abut to an inner surface of the lower portion 110 and thereby can prevent the ends of the handle 115 from being pulled out from the wine container 100. It will be appreciated that the handle 115 may also be attached by an adhesive and/or another coupling mechanism such that it does not detach from the lower portion 110. In some embodiments, the openings 116 may be positioned in an upper region of the lower portion proximate to the opening so that the wine container 100 remains upright when carried or hung by the handle 115. In one embodiment, the openings 116 may be about 2 inches from the end of the lower portion 110 where the lid 105 was attached. In one embodiment, the handle may include a rope or a string that is lightweight and flexible to allow the wine container 100 to be carried, but also such that the handle 115 does not take up much space when the wine container 100 is stored. For example, when the wine container 100 is stored upright, the handle 115 handle can lie flat across the top of the wine container 100 or against the side of the wine container 100 such that it does not add significant height to the wine container 100. Additionally, when the wine container 100 is stored on its side, the handle 115 can lie against a side of the wine container 100 so that it does not significantly increase a width of the wine container 100. In one embodiment, the handle 115 may be about 14.75 inches long and may be 0.25 inches in diameter, but it will be appreciated that the handle 115 length and thickness may vary. In another embodiment, the handle 115 may be relatively rigid and can be made from wood, metal, or plastic.
The perforated region 120 may be positioned near the base 130 of the wine container 100 and allows the lower portion 110 to have a continuous surface such that there are not openings or crevices that may catch or be hooked during transport and thereby damaging the lower portion. The continuous surface of the lower portion 110 also protects the inner wine container and can prevent the inner wine container from being punctured or otherwise damaged during transport. In some embodiments, the perforated region 120 may be positioned in a range from about 0.5 inches to about 4 inches from the base 130. Further, the perforated region 120 may include perforated lines that define a circle region 121 and an inverse trapezoid region 122 where the circle region 121 may be connected to a base of the trapezoid region 122 and be configured to accommodate a wine tap 221 (
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Accordingly, the lid 105 can be securely maintained on the lower portion 110 an outer surface of the lower portion 110 may be substantially smooth allowing the wine container to be efficiently stored next to other wine containers (or other items) without taking up extra space or having an irregular shape. In some embodiments, the length of the upper region 230 may be about 1 inch. Further, the upper region 230 forms a step 231 on which a lower surface of the lid 105 can rest when the lid is on the lower portion 110. Because the edge of the lid 105 can be flush with the edge of the lower portion 110 rather than form a protruding edge, the likelihood of the lid 105 being accidentally pushed off during transport or handling is reduced.
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As utilized herein, the term “substantially,” “about,” and similar terms are utilized as terms of approximation and not as terms of degree, and are intended to account for the inherent deviations in measured or calculated values that would be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art. “About” or “approximately,” as utilized herein, is inclusive of the stated value and refers to within an acceptable range of deviation for the particular value as determined by one of ordinary skill in the art, considering the measurement in question and the error associated with measurement of the particular quantity (i.e., the limitations of the measurement system). For example, “about” may refer to within one or more standard deviations, or within ±30%, 20%, 10%, 5% of the stated value.
Also, any numerical range recited herein is intended to include all sub-ranges of the same numerical precision subsumed within the recited range. For example, a range of “1.0 to 10.0” is intended to include all subranges between (and including) the recited minimum value of 1.0 and the recited maximum value of 10.0, that is, having a minimum value equal to or greater than 1.0 and a maximum value equal to or less than 10.0, such as, for example, 2.4 to 7.6. Any maximum numerical limitation recited herein is intended to include all lower numerical limitations subsumed therein and any minimum numerical limitation recited in this specification is intended to include all higher numerical limitations subsumed therein. Accordingly, Applicant reserves the right to amend this specification, including the claims, to expressly recite any sub-range subsumed within the ranges expressly recited herein.
The utilize of “may” when describing embodiments of the present disclosure refers to “one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.”
As utilized herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
It should be understood that embodiments described herein should be considered in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. Descriptions of features or aspects within each embodiment should typically be considered as available for other similar features or aspects in other embodiments. While one or more embodiments have been described with reference to the drawings, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that one or more suitable changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the following claims and equivalents thereof and equivalents thereof.
