Abstract
A universal cover for covering all types of beverage containers and an associated carrying case is disclosed. When placed over any beverage container, the universal cover disclosed uses decorative weights made with acrylic plastic gems, crystals or metal, to keep the cover secured in place as well as for keeping it well stretched and snugly placed over the rim of beverage container. The universal cover also includes a central opening for inserting a straw or a sipping device there-through. The universal beverage cover offers the functionality of creating a cover for containers where typically no lid or cover typically exists as is the case for non-portable beverage containers such as wine glasses, beer or juice mugs, and other crystal-ware used at a restaurant, banquet hall, or another indoor setting. The universal cover disclosed provides a level of protection against pathogens and other contaminants while maintaining the necessary decor and formality of the setting. Embodiments of the invention provide the additional functionality of maintaining beverage temperature for longer periods. The universal cover can be made with fabrics, or faux leather or vinyl type fabric for based on the degree of insulation or durability desired.
Claims
1. A universal cover for a container comprising: a covering component having an upper surface, a lower surface, and a boundary wherein the lower surface is adapted for placement over a mouth of the container, and the upper and the lower surface connect to each other at the boundary; a plurality of symmetrically placed hoops along the boundary such that a distance measured along the boundary between any hoop and its neighbors is substantially equal; a plurality of weight components with each weight component having a weight measure wherein the weight measure for each of the plurality of weights is substantially equal, where each of the weight component further includes a hook adapted for insertion into the any of the plurality of hoops.
2. A universal cover of claim 1 wherein the covering component has a shape where the shape is that of a square having four vertexes and four hoops where placement of each of the hoops coincides with each of the vertex.
3. A universal cover of claim 1 wherein the covering component has a shape selected from a group consisting of a star, a circle, pentagon, a hexagon, or an arbitrarily shaped mascot.
4. A universal cover of claim 1 wherein the plurality of weights are detachably attached to the plurality of hoops.
5. A universal cover of claim 1 further comprising a message, including but not limited to a text or an image, inscribed on the upper surface of the covering component.
6. A universal cover of claim 1 wherein the covering component includes an opening adapted to allow an insertion of a straw or another sipping device to pass therethrough.
7. A universal cover of claim 6 wherein the opening further includes gripping tabs adapted to prevent the straw or another sipping device from moving around in the opening.
8. A universal cover of claim 1 where the covering component is selected from a group consisting of fabric, faux leather, and vinyl.
9. A universal cover of claim 1 where the plurality of weight components are made with plastic gem weights, crystal beads and metallic beads.
10. A universal cover of claim 9 where the plurality of weight components use hard acrylic type plastic beads.
11. A universal cover of claim 9 where the plurality of weight components are replaced by stretchable bands.
12. A pouch adapted to accommodate a universal beverage cover of claim 1 comprising an upper surface bounded by upper surface edges wherein the upper surface edges contains an upper edge opening; a lower surface bounded by lower surface edges wherein the lower surface edges contains an lower edge opening; and wherein the upper surface and the lower surface are fixedly attached to each other along the upper surface edges and the lower surface edges except no attachment exists between the upper surface and the lower surface along the upper edge opening and the lower edge opening.
13. A pouch of claim 12 further comprising an upper surface conduit included within the upper surface; a lower surface conduit included within the lower surface; and a drawstring passing through the upper surface conduit and through the lower surface conduit.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference is made to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which:
[0018] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the invention where the universal cover is used over a mug or a cup;
[0019] FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the invention where the universal cover is used over a glass;
[0020] FIG. 3 shows the top view of an embodiment of the invention;
[0021] FIG. 4 shows the top view of an embodiment of the invention where the Straw Hole includes a staw gripper, and the Cover includes marketing logos;
[0022] FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the invention where the universal cover is used over a wine glass where the supporting weights are decorative;
[0023] FIG. 6 shows a bag or pouch case adapted to conveniently carry the invention in a ladies purse or handbag;
[0024] FIG. 7 shows the conformation of the bag or the pouch case where its drawstring has been engaged to close the opening and secure the contents inside;
[0025] FIG. 8 shows a view of an embodiment of the invention where the Universal Container Cover is enclosed in its see-through bag or pouch case utilizing a drawstring;
[0026] FIG. 9 shows an embodiment of the invention where stretchable bands are used for securing the Cover on to a beverage container; and
[0027] FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention where the stretchable bands are in their relaxed non-engaged state.
PARTS LIST
[0028] Cover 20 [0029] Hanger Hoop 22 [0030] Weight 24 [0031] Decorative Weight 28 [0032] Straw Hole 30 [0033] Straw Gripper 32 [0034] Logo or Decorative Design 40 [0035] Carry Pouch 50 [0036] Draw String 52 [0037] Universal Container Cover 100
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0038] The arrangement in FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the invention where the universal cover is used over a mug or a cup. As illustrated in FIG. 1 the components of Universal Container Cover 100 are shown. The embodiment shows an exemplary arrangement with Cover 20 placed over a mug. The Cover 20 is substantially shaped like a square in the embodiment shown. The four corners of the Cover 20 include a Hanger Hoop 22, wherein the Hanger Hoop 22 is adapted to fixedly attach to a dangling Weight 24. The purpose of the Weight 24 to stabilize the cover over the mouth of the beverage container so that once the Cover 20 is placed over the beverage container, it does not easily move. The Cover 20 substantially in its center includes a Straw Hole 30 with a ring enforcement that enables a straw to be inserted therethrough enabling the consumption of the beverage stored in the container without requiring the Cover 20 to be removed.
[0039] The illustration in FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the invention where the universal cover is used over a glass. In FIG. 2 the Universal Container Cover 100 is used for covering a beverage glass. The embodiment illustrates the versatility and universality Universal Container Cover 100 for, unlike commonly used plastic and other types of lids, the Cover 20 offers flexibility in its ability for use with any type of container irrespective of its size, height, and shape. The Universal Container Cover 100 provides for a plurality of sizes and shape choices of the Cover 20 so as to enable its use on practically any size of container openings. It will be appreciated by a skilled artisan that the Weight 24 attached to Hanger Hoop 22 in an embodiment with larger sized Cover 20 can be increased, for example, to offer added stability. From a functional standpoint, the plurality of Weights 24 prevent the Cover 20 from shifting when a straw is inserted into Straw Hole 30 and potentially moves laterally by the act of its being used for sipping beverage stored in the covered container. An embodiment of the invention includes detachable Weights 24.
[0040] The illustration in FIG. 3 shows the top view of an embodiment of the invention. In FIG. 3 the substantially rectangular of the Cover 20 has been illustrated. However, this shape is used for illustration purposes only. An embodiment of the invention uses a Cover 20 that is circular, or shaped like a star, or having another non-descriptive arbitrary shape. The embodiments of the Cover 20 include a plurality of Hanger Hoops 22 that are regularly spaced around the periphery of the cover. The plurality of Hanger Hoops 22 are the anchor points to which the plurality of Weights 24 are attached. A skilled artisan will appreciate that a symmetrical placement of the plurality of Weights 24 will enable a counterbalancing of force and prevent the Cover 20 from getting pulled to one side or another. Furthermore, the plurality of Weights 24 generate sufficient lateral tensile forces that keep the Cover 20 sufficiently stretched and allows for easy access to the beverage through the Straw Hole 30.
[0041] The illustration in FIG. 4 shows the top view of an embodiment of the invention where the Straw Hole includes a staw gripper, and the Cover includes marketing logos. The embodiment shows that insignia and letters or other marks may be transcribed on the Cover 20 as Logo or Decorative Design 40. The Universal Container Cover 100 in this manner would thus be associated with a group, a university, an idea, a theme, or a club or the like. The embodiment shown also illustrates the use of a Straw Gripper 32 in the Straw Hole 30 to further secure the straw. It will be appreciated by a skilled artisan that generally the inclusion of a Straw Gripper 32 will need to such that forces generated by putting the straw will need to counterbalanced by plurality of Weights 24 that get attached to the plurality of Hanger Hoops 22.
[0042] The illustration in FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the invention where the universal cover is used over a wine glass where the supporting weights are decorative. The embodiment shown uses a Decorative Weight 28. Essentially, this embodiment illustrates that the cover design can be both functional and decorative. Similar to the previous embodiments, a plurality of Decorative Weights 28 are attached to a plurality of Hanger Hoops 22 and provide stability to the Cover 20 and also maintain the Cover 20 in a stretched conformation thereby facilitating the insertion of a drinking straw into the Straw Hole 30. The plurality of Decorative Weights 28 may be detachably attached to the plurality of Hanger Hoops 22 so as to facilitate changing the Decorative Weights 28 for creating a novel impression without the need to carry a multitude of Covers 20.
[0043] FIG. 6 shows a bag or pouch case adapted to conveniently carry the invention in a ladies purse or handbag. FIG. 7 shows the conformation of the bag or the pouch case where its drawstring has been engaged to close the opening and secure the contents inside. Illustrated here is an embodiment for a Carry Pouch 50 utilized for carrying Universal Container Cover 100. Since the apparatus requires that cover and the accompanying weights be properly secured, a closing mechanism Draw String 52 is included therein. Once the string is pulled the mouth of the Carry Pouch 50 closes and secures the contents inside. FIG. 8 shows a view of an embodiment of the invention where the Universal Container Cover is enclosed in its see-through bag or pouch case utilizing a drawstring.
[0044] As illustrated in FIG. 6 through FIG. 8, a pouch adapted to accommodate a universal beverage cover of an upper surface bounded by upper surface edges wherein the upper surface edges contains an upper edge opening; a lower surface bounded by lower surface edges wherein the lower surface edges contains an lower edge opening; and wherein the upper surface and the lower surface are fixedly attached to each other along the upper surface edges and the lower surface edges except no attachment exists between the upper surface and the lower surface along the upper edge opening and the lower edge opening. The pouch further comprising an upper surface conduit included within the upper surface; a lower surface conduit included within the lower surface; and a drawstring passing through the upper surface conduit and through the lower surface conduit.
[0045] The arrangement in FIG. 9 shows an embodiment of the invention where stretchable bands are used for securing the Cover on to a beverage container. As illustrated in FIG. 9 the components of Universal Container Cover 100 are shown where the weights are replaced by plurality of Bands 26 that are stretchable and go across and around the bottom of the container. The embodiment shows an arrangement with Cover 20 placed over a mug with the four corners of the Cover 20 that each include Hanger Hoop 22 with a pair of Hanger Hoops 22 connected by a stretchable Band 26. The embodiment shown helps form a tighter seal between the brim of the beverage container and Cover 20 such as may be needed for transporting a beverage container in a moving vehicle or being used outdoors. An embodiment of the invention causes the hanging weights to snap on to each other to create to create a long stretchable band, further preventing heat loss by maintaining a close contact of the Cover 20 to the outer surface of the container thereby keeping the container insulated. FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention where the stretchable bands are in their relaxed non-engaged state.
[0046] It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and, because certain changes may be made in carrying out the above method and in the construction(s) set forth without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
[0047] It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall there between.
