A Bottle And A Joint

Abstract

This disclosure relates to a bottle having a top portion comprising an opening, a bottom portion, and a shell portion extending between the top portion and the bottom portion. The top portion includes a sealing part which is arranged to releasable cover the opening. The bottom portion includes a recess such that the bottom portion is dimensioned to receive at least a part of a top portion of another similar bottle. A locking arrangement is included such that the top portion comprises a first locking element and the bottom portion comprises a second locking element for locking the bottle and another similar bottle together.

Claims

1. A bottle, comprising: a top portion comprising an opening; a bottom portion; a shell portion extending between the top portion and the bottom portion; and a locking portion; wherein the top portion further comprises a sealing part arranged to releasable cover the opening; the top portion, the bottom portion, the shell portion and the sealing part are arranged to define a bottle space; the bottom portion comprises a recess such that the bottom portion is configured to receive at least a part of a top portion of another similar bottle; the locking arrangement is arranged such that the top portion comprises a first locking element and the bottom portion further comprises a second locking element for locking the bottle and another similar bottle together; the first locking element comprises a first friction surface and the second locking element comprises a second friction surface such that the first friction surface is arranged to be locked with the second friction surface when locking the bottle and another similar bottle together; the sealing part comprises a screw thread portion; and the first friction surface comprises one or more flexible protrusions arranged to protrude from the outer surface of the screw thread portion of the sealing part, and the second friction surface comprises at least a part of an outer surface of the recess.

2. The bottle according to claim 1, wherein the top portion further comprises a neck portion arranged to extend from the opening towards the shell portion, and a taper portion between the neck portion and the shell portion.

3. The bottle according to claim 1, wherein: the sealing part and the neck portion comprise screw threads such that the sealing part is releasable connected to the neck portion; or the sealing part further comprises a screw thread portion the neck portion comprises screw threads such that the sealing part is releasable connected to the neck portion, the screw thread portion such that the screw thread portion is arranged perpendicular to the opening and the screw thread portion forms at least a part of an outer surface of the top portion.

4. The bottle according to claim 1, wherein: the recess comprises a form which is a compatible counter form of at least a part of the top portion; or the recess comprises a form which is a compatible counter form of at least a part of the neck portion and at least a part of the taper portion; or the recess comprises a form which is a compatible counter form of at least a part of the sealing part; or the recess comprises a form which is a compatible counter form of at least a part of sealing part and at least a part of the taper portion.

5. The bottle according to claim 1, wherein the taper portion comprises a conical surface such that the taper portion is arranged to taper towards the opening.

6. The bottle according to claim 1, wherein the neck portion comprises a right circular cylinder surface.

7. The bottle according to claim 1, wherein the recess in the vicinity of the end of the bottle is wider than the top portion in the vicinity of the opening.

8. A joint for connecting two bottles together, the joint comprising: a first bottle and a second bottle, each of the first bottle and the second bottle comprising a top portion comprising an opening; a bottom portion; a shell portion extending between the top portion and the bottom portion; wherein the top portion further comprises a sealing part arranged to releasable cover the opening of each the first bottle and the second bottle; wherein the sealing part further comprises a screw thread portion arranged perpendicular to the opening; wherein the top portion, the bottom portion, the shell portion and the sealing part are arranged to define a bottle space; and wherein the joint further comprises: the bottom portion of the first bottle comprising a recess such that the bottom portion is dimensioned to receive at least a part of a top portion of the second bottle; and a locking arrangement arranged such that the top portion of the first bottle comprises a first locking element and the bottom portion of second bottle comprises a second locking element for locking the first bottle and the second bottle together; such that at least a part of top portion of the first bottle is arranged to be placed inside the recess of the second bottle; the second locking element the second bottle is arranged to be locked with the first locking element of the first bottle for forming a joint; the first locking element of the first bottle comprises a first friction surface which further comprises one or more protrusions arranged to protrude from the outer surface the screw thread portion of the sealing part and the second locking element of the second bottle comprises a second friction surface which further comprises at least a part of an outer surface of the recess; and at least a part of the first locking element is wider than the second locking element such that the first locking element is arranged to squeeze against the second locking element for forming friction between the first locking element and second locking element.

9. The joint according to claim 8, wherein at least a part of the first locking element is wider than the second locking element such that the protrusions of the first locking element are arranged to bend for forming friction between the first locking element and second locking element.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0047] The invention is described in detail by means of specific embodiments with reference to the enclosed drawings, wherein:

[0048] FIG. 1 depicts a bottle according to the invention from one side;

[0049] FIG. 2 depicts a sealing part as seen from other side; and

[0050] FIG. 3 depicts a joint according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0051] As used throughout the present disclosure, unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “or” encompasses all possible combinations, except where infeasible. For example, the expression “A or B” shall mean A alone, B alone, or A and B together. If it is stated that a component includes “A, B, or C”, then, unless specifically stated otherwise or infeasible, the component may include A, or B, or C, or A and B, or A and C, or B and C, or A and B and C. Expressions such as “at least one of” do not necessarily modify an entirety of the following list and do not necessarily modify each member of the list, such that “at least one of “A, B, and C” should be understood as including only one of A, only one of B, only one of C, or any combination of A, B, and C.

[0052] FIG. 1 shows a bottle according to the invention.

[0053] The bottle 1 comprises a top portion 2 comprising an opening 5, a bottom portion 3, a shell portion 4 extending between the top portion 2 and the bottom portion 3. The top portion 2 comprises a sealing part 6 which is arranged to releasable cover the opening 5. The top portion 2, the bottom portion 3, the shell portion 4 and the sealing part 6 are arranged to define a bottle space 7. The bottom portion 3 comprises a recess 8 such that the bottom portion 3 is dimensioned to receive at least a part of a top portion 2 of another similar bottle. The bottle 1 comprises a locking arrangement such that the top portion 2 comprises a first locking element 10 and the bottom portion 3 comprises a second locking element 11 for locking the bottle 1 and another similar bottle together.

[0054] The recess 8 is provided to the bottom surface of the bottom portion 3 of the bottle 1, as shown in FIG. 1. The recess 8 extends into bottle 1 from the bottom surface of bottom portion 8. The recess 8 has an outer recess surface 16 defining the recess and being towards outside the bottle space 7.

[0055] The top portion 2, the bottom portion 3 and the shell portion 4 comprise an outer surface and an inner surface such that the inner surface faces towards the bottle space and the outer surface faces outwards the bottle space.

[0056] In one embodiment the top portion 2 comprises a neck portion 9 extending from the opening 5 towards the shell portion 4 and a taper portion 12 between the neck portion 9 and the shell portion 4. In other words, the taper portion 12 is arranged to connect the neck portion 9 to the shell portion 4. The taper portion 12 is arranged to taper in a direction from the shell portion 4 towards neck portion 9. The taper portion 12 has a taper surface 12.

[0057] In one embodiment, the shell portion 4 and the neck portion 9 have rectangular or circular cross-section.

[0058] In one preferred embodiment the neck portion 9 has a circular cross-section.

[0059] In one preferred embodiment the shell portion 4 has a circular cross-section.

[0060] In one embodiment the cross-section of the neck portion 9 is smaller than the cross-section of the shell portion 4.

[0061] In one embodiment the neck portion 9 is arranged to a right circular cylinder form.

[0062] In one embodiment, an angle between the taper portion 12 and the shell portion is 30-60 degrees.

[0063] In one embodiment, the sealing part 6 and the neck portion 9 comprise screw threads such that the sealing part 6 is releasable connected to the neck portion 9.

[0064] In one embodiment the sealing part 6 further comprises a connecting part such that sealing part 6 is arranged to be connected to the bottle 1 when the sealing part 6 is released. In other words, the sealing part 6 is easy to find for resealing the bottle 1.

[0065] In one embodiment the sealing part 6 further comprises a screw thread portion 13 such that the screw thread portion 13 is perpendicular to the opening 5 and the screw thread portion 13 forms at least a part of an outer surface of the top portion 2. In other words, the screw thread portion 13 covers at least a part of the top portion 2. Preferably the screw thread portion 13 covers at least a part of the neck portion 9.

[0066] In one embodiment the recess 8 has a form which is a compatible counter form of at least a part of the top portion 2.

[0067] In one embodiment, the recess 8 comprises a conical portion and a circular cylinder portion. The conical portion has a conical surface 17, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

[0068] The conical portion or conical surface 17 tapers towards the recess 8 or towards the circular cylinder portion of the recess 8. Further, the conical portion or conical surface 17 tapers from the bottom surface of the bottle towards the recess 8 or towards the circular cylinder portion of the recess 8.

[0069] The conical surface 17 is preferably a counter form of the taper portion or taper surface 12 of the top portion 2. Thus, the tapering angle of the taper portion 12 corresponds the tapering angle of the conical portion 17.

[0070] In one embodiment, the recess 8 has a form which is a compatible counter form of at least a part of the neck portion 9 and at least a part of the taper portion 12.

[0071] In one embodiment the conical portion of the recess 8 has a form which is a compatible counter form of the taper portion 12.

[0072] In one embodiment a circular cylinder portion of the recess 8 has a form which is a compatible counter form of the top portion 2.

[0073] In one embodiment material of the bottle 1 is glass. In one embodiment material of the bottle 1 is metal. In one embodiment material of the bottle 1 is polymer. In a preferred embodiment material of the bottle 1 is polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

[0074] In one embodiment a diameter of the shell portion 4 is 5-20 cm and a height of the bottle 1 is 10-50 cm.

[0075] Following embodiments are alternative embodiments of the first and the second locking elements.

[0076] In one embodiment the first locking element 10 comprises a first snap-fit connector and the second locking element 11 comprises a second snap-fit connector such that the first locking element 10 is arranged to be locked with the second locking element 11 of another similar bottle. In other words, a snap-fit connectors attach the bottle and another similar bottle by pushing the first and the second locking element together.

[0077] In one embodiment the first locking element 10 comprises a first screw thread and the second locking element 11 comprise a second screw thread which is a compatible counter screw thread for the first screw thread. In other words, the bottle 1 and another similar bottle are connected together and released by the first and the second screw threads. In one embodiment the screw threads are arranged to the bottle 1 and to another similar bottle by forming the outer surface of the bottles. In one embodiment the sealing part 6 comprises the first screw thread and the recess 8 comprises the second screw thread. In one embodiment the neck portion 9 comprises the first screw thread and the recess 8 comprises the second screw thread. In one embodiment the screw thread is arranged to the bottle 1 and another similar bottle such that less than one full turn locks the bottles together.

[0078] In one embodiment the first locking element 10 comprises a first magnetic element and the second locking element 11 comprises a second magnetic element such that the first locking element 10 is arranged to be locked with the second locking element 11 of another similar bottle. Preferably, a first magnetic element is added by an adhesive material or is embedded in the top portion 2 and a second magnetic element is added by an adhesive material or is embedded in the bottom portion 3. In other words, the bottle 1 is locked with another similar bottle by a magnetic force.

[0079] In one embodiment the first locking element 10 comprises a first self-adhesive element and the second locking element 11 comprises a second self-adhesive element such that the first locking element 10 is arranged to be locked with the second locking element 11 of another similar bottle.

[0080] In one preferred embodiment the first locking element 10 comprises a first friction surface 21 and the second locking element 11 comprises a second friction surface 22 such that the first friction surface 21 is arranged to be locked with the second friction surface 22 when locking the bottle 1 and another similar bottle together. In other words, the bottle 1 is locked with another similar bottle by a friction force.

[0081] In one embodiment, the first locking element 10 is provided to the top portion 2 or outer surface of the top portion 2.

[0082] In another embodiment, the first locking element 10 is provided to the neck portion 9 or outer surface 15 of the neck portion 9.

[0083] In further embodiment, the first locking element 10 is provided to the sealing portion 6 or outer surface of the sealing portion 6.

[0084] In some embodiments, the second locking element 11 is provided to the recess 8 or outer surface 16 of the recess 8.

[0085] In other embodiments, the second locking element 11 is provided to the circular cylindrical portion of the recess 8 or outer surface thereof.

[0086] In other embodiments, the second locking element 11 is provided to the conical portion 17 of the recess 8 or outer surface thereof.

[0087] FIG. 2 shows a sealing part 6 as seen from other side.

[0088] In one embodiment the first friction surface 21 comprises one or more protrusions 20 arranged to protrude from the outer surface 15 of the sealing part 6 and the second friction surface 22 comprises at least a part of an outer surface of the recess 8. Preferably, the first friction surface 21 comprises at least four protrusions 20 arranged to protrude from the outer surface of the screw thread portion 13.

[0089] In another embodiment the second friction surface 22 comprises one or more protrusions arranged to protrude from the outer surface 16 of recess 8 and the first friction surface 21comprises at least a part of an outer surface the top portion 2. Preferably, the second friction surface 22 comprises at least four protrusions arranged to protrude from the outer surface of the recess 8.

[0090] In one embodiment the one or more protrusions 20 are flexible. In other words, the protrusions 20 are arranged to deform when the bottle 1 and another similar bottle are locked together. The deformation creates a pressure and thus a friction force between the first and second friction surface 22.

[0091] In one embodiment the taper portion 12 comprises a conical surface such that the taper portion narrows 12 towards the opening 5.

[0092] In one embodiment the neck portion 9 comprises a right circular cylinder surface.

[0093] In one embodiment, the recess 8 in the vicinity of the end of the bottle 1 is wider than the top portion 2 in the vicinity of the opening 5.

[0094] FIG. 3 shows a joint according to the invention for connecting two bottles 1a, 1b together. The joint 14 comprises a first bottle 1a and a second bottle 1b, each bottle 1a, 1b comprises a top portion 2 comprising an opening 5, a bottom portion 3, a shell portion 4 extending between the top portion 2 and the bottom portion 3. The top portion 2 further comprises a sealing part 6 which is arranged to releasable cover the opening 5 of the bottle 1. The top portion 2, the bottom portion 3, the shell portion 4 and the sealing part 6 are arranged to define a bottle space 7. The joint 14 comprises the bottom portion 3 of the first bottle 1a comprising a recess 8 such that the bottom portion 3 is dimensioned to receive at least a part of a top portion 2 of the second bottle 1b. The joint 14 further comprises a locking arrangement such that the top portion 2 of the first bottle 1a comprises a first locking element 10 and the bottom portion 3 of second bottle 1b comprises a second locking element 11 for locking the first bottle 1a and the second bottle 1b together. At least a part of top portion 2 of the first bottle 1a is arranged to be placed inside the recess 8 of the second bottle 1b. The second locking element 11 of the second bottle 1b is arranged to be locked with the first locking element 10 of the first bottle 1a for forming a joint.

[0095] Following embodiments are alternative embodiments of the first locking element 10 and the second locking element 11.

[0096] In one embodiment the first locking element 10 comprises a first snap-fit connector and the second locking element 11 comprises a second snap-fit connector such that the first locking element 10 is arranged to be locked with the second locking element 11 of another similar bottle. In other words, a snap-fit connectors attach the bottle and another similar bottle by pushing the first and the second locking element together.

[0097] In one embodiment the first locking element 10 comprises a first screw thread and the second locking element 11 comprise a second screw thread which is a compatible counter screw thread for the first screw thread. In other words, the bottle 1 and another similar bottle are connected together and released by the first and the second screw threads. In one embodiment the screw threads are arranged to the bottle 1 and to another similar bottle by forming the outer surface of the bottles. In one embodiment the sealing part 6 comprises the first screw thread and the recess 8 comprises the second screw thread. In one embodiment the neck portion 9 comprises the first screw thread and the recess 8 comprises the second screw thread. In one embodiment the screw thread is arranged to the bottle 1 and another similar bottle such that less than one full turn locks the bottles together.

[0098] In one embodiment the first locking element 10 comprises a first magnetic element and the second locking element 11 comprises a second magnetic element such that the first locking element 10 is arranged to be locked with the second locking element 11 of another similar bottle. Preferably, a first magnetic element is added by an adhesive material or is embedded in the top portion 2 and a second magnetic element is added by an adhesive material or is embedded in the bottom portion 3. In other words, the bottle 1 is locked with another similar bottle by a magnetic force.

[0099] In one embodiment the first locking element 10 comprises a first self-adhesive element and the second locking element 11 comprises a second self-adhesive element such that the first locking element 10 is arranged to be locked with the second locking element 11 of another similar bottle.

[0100] In a preferred embodiment of the invention the first locking element 10 of the first bottle 1a comprises a first friction surface 21 which further comprises one or more protrusions 20 arranged to protrude from the outer surface the screw thread portion 13 of the sealing part 6 and the second locking element 11 of the second bottle 1b comprises a second friction surface 22 which further comprises at least a part of an outer surface of the recess 8. In an alternative embodiment the second locking element 11 of the second bottle 1b comprises a second friction surface 22 which further comprises one or more protrusions arranged to protrude from the outer surface of recess 8 and the first locking element 10 of the first bottle 1a comprises a first friction surface 21 which further comprises at least a part of an outer surface of the top portion 2.

[0101] In a preferred embodiment of the invention at least a part of the first locking element 10 is wider than the second locking element 11 such that the first locking element 10 is arranged to squeeze against the second locking element 11 for forming friction between the first locking element 10 and second locking element 11. In an alternative embodiment at least a part of the first locking element 10 is wider than the second locking element 11 such that the second locking element 11 is arranged to squeeze against the first locking element 10 for forming friction between the first locking element 10 and the second locking element 11.

[0102] In a preferred embodiment of the invention at least a part of the first locking element 10 is wider than the second locking element 11 such that the protrusions 20 of the first locking element 10 or the protrusions of the second locking element 11 are arranged to bend for forming friction between the first locking element 10 and second locking element 11. In an alternative embodiment at least a part of the first locking element 10 is wider than the second locking element 11 such that the protrusions of the second locking element 11 are arranged to bend for forming friction between the first locking element 10 and second locking element 11.

[0103] As shown in FIG. 3, the taper portion 12 and the taper surface of the top portion 2 of the first bottle 1b preferably corresponds the conical portion or conical surface 17 of the second bottle 1b. Thus, the top portion 2 of the first bottle 1a is arranged into the recess 8 of the second bottle 1b, the taper portion 12 and the taper surface of the top portion 2 of the first bottle 1b and the conical portion or conical surface 17 of the second bottle 1b are parallel to each other. In some embodiments, the taper portion 12 and the taper surface of the top portion 2 of the first bottle 1b and the conical portion or conical surface 17 of the second bottle 1b are against each other.

[0104] In some embodiments, the recess 8 has a form which is a compatible counter form of at least a part of the top portion 2 and thus the recess 8 is arranged to receive the top portion 2 of another bottle.

[0105] Alternatively, the recess 8 has a form which is a compatible counter form of at least a part of the neck portion 9 and at least a part of the taper portion 12, and thus the recess 8 is arranged to receive the neck portion 9 and at least a part of the taper portion 12 of another bottle.

[0106] Further alternatively, the recess 8 has a form which is a compatible counter form of at least a part of the sealing part 6, and thus the recess 8 is arranged to receive at least part of the sealing portion 6 of another bottle.

[0107] Yet alternatively, the recess 8 has a form which is a compatible counter form of at least a part of the sealing part 6 and at least a part of the taper portion 12, and thus the recess 8 is arranged to receive at least a part of the sealing part 6 and at least a part of the taper portion 12 of another bottle.

[0108] The invention has been described above with reference to the examples shown in the figures. However, the invention is in no way restricted to the above examples but may vary within the scope of the claims. The figures are merely schematic representations and serve only to explain the invention. Elements that are identical or have the same effect are consistently marked with the same reference signs.