Insulated beverage container

Abstract

An insulated beverage protector for sealing and storing an open bottle comprised of: (i) a body having at least two sections, that removably attach to each other(a) an upper section that is tapered and configured to snugly surround the tapered neck of the bottle and (b) a base section configured to snugly surround the cylindrical base of the bottle; (ii) a cover that removably attaches to the body; (iii) a stopper (stored within the cover) that removably attaches to the inside, top-most surface of the cover.

Claims

1. An insulated beverage protector for sealing and storing an open bottle having a tapered neck and a cylindrical base comprised of (i) a body having at least two sections, that removably attach to each other a. an upper section that is tapered and configured to snugly surround the tapered neck of the bottle and b. a base section configured to snugly surround the cylindrical base of the bottle, and (ii) a cover that removably attaches to the body, and (iii) a stopper that removably attaches to an inside, top-most surface of the cover, wherein the stopper has a hollow channel that mates with a post that projects downward from the inside, top-most surface of the cover.

2. The insulated beverage protector of claim 1 further comprised of an integrated bottle cap opener.

3. The insulated beverage protector of claim 2 wherein the integrated bottle cap opener is on an outer surface of (a) the cover or (b) the base section.

4. The insulated beverage protector of claim 3 wherein the cover has a handle.

5. The insulated beverage protector of claim 4 wherein the handle has a spring-loaded gate.

6. The insulated beverage protector of claim 5 wherein an inner surface of the body is comprised of insulating material.

7. The insulated beverage protector of claim 6 wherein the insulating material is a neoprene sleeve.

8. The insulated beverage protector of claim 7 wherein a top-most outside edge of the upper section has external threads, and a bottom-most inside edge of the cover has internal threads.

9. The insulated beverage protector of claim 8 further comprising at least one extender ring that couples between a bottom of the upper section and a top of the base section.

10. The insulated beverage protector of claim 1 wherein the body is double-walled.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

(1) FIG. 1A shows one embodiment of the insulated beverage protector of the present invention in a closed position, with a cover [10] attached to a body [20], which is attached to a base [30]. The body has an upper section [21] and a base section [22]. The cover preferably has a handle [50].

(2) FIG. 1B shows a cut-away view of one embodiment of the insulated beverage protector of the present invention in an open position, with the cover removed and an opened bottle [90] with a stopper [40] inserted into the bottle mouth.

(3) FIG. 2A is a front view of the cover with an integrated bottle opener [11].

(4) FIG. 2B is a front-perspective view of the cover with an integrated bottle opener [11].

(5) FIG. 2C is a top view of the cover showing the integrated bottle opener [11].

(6) FIG. 3 is a side view of the cover, with a bottle [90] and bottle cap [91] engaging the integrated bottle opener [11].

(7) FIG. 4A is a side view of the cover with a spring-loaded gate [51] in the handle [50] in a closed position.

(8) FIG. 4B is a front view of the cover with a spring-loaded gate [51] in an open position.

(9) FIG. 5A is a side view of a stopper [40] with a thumb screw [41] that is stored within the cover.

(10) FIG. 5B is a front view of a stopper with a thumb screw in FIG. 4A.

(11) FIG. 6A is a cut-away view of the cover with a stopper with thumb screw attached to inner surface of the cover. Inward-facing threads [13] on the cover mate with external threads on the neck of the upper section of the body, shown in FIG. 8B. The downward-projecting post [12] is inserted into a hollow core/channel [42] in the stopper.

(12) FIG. 6B is a cut-away view of the cover with a stopper with thumb screw removed (i.e., detached) from the downward-projecting post [12].

(13) FIG. 7A is a front perspective view of the stopper [40] with hollow core/channel [42].

(14) FIG. 7B is a top view of the stopper [40] with hollow core/channel [42].

(15) FIG. 8A shows an embodiment of the insulated beverage protector of the present invention in a closed position with an expansion ring [60] that mates with (preferably, threadably attaches to) the bottom of the upper section and the top of the base section.

(16) FIG. 8B is an exploded view of an embodiment of the insulated beverage protector of the present invention with the cover [10] separated from the upper section [21], the upper section separated from the expansion ring [60], and the expansion ring separated from the base section [30]. In this preferred embodiment, the neck on the upper section has external threads [23] which mate with internal threads on the bottom-most, inside edge of the cover (shown in FIG. 6A).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(17) The present invention is directed to an insulated beverage protector for sealing and storing an opened bottle. By the term bottle is meant a narrow-necked container bottle having a top opening (a mouth), a tapered neck and a cylindrical base.

(18) The insulated beverage protector of the present invention provides a snug fit for the bottle housed therein. By snug fit (and similar terms, e.g., snugly fit) is meant that the outer wall of the bottle and the inner wall of the body of the insulated beverage protector are in contact with each other, preferably the contact is such that there are minimal gaps, still more preferably no gaps, between the outer wall of the bottle and the inner wall of the body of the insulated beverage.

(19) The snug fit may be, and preferably is achieved by an elastomeric material within the body.

(20) The elastomeric material may, in some embodiments, be inserted into the cavity formed by the inner wall of the body (e.g., as a sleeve).

(21) The body may be, and preferably is, lined with an insulating materialfor example, a neoprene sleeve.

(22) The body may be single-walled, or double-walled.

(23) In other embodiments, an elastomeric material may be affixed to the inside wall of the body. In this embodiment, the elastomeric material may be a single continuous piece wrapped in the form of a cylinder that hugs the internal circumference of the body, or a plurality of elastomeric pieces (e.g., strips).

(24) When a bottle cap or closure is attached to the mouth, the bottle is closed. When a bottle cap or closure is removed from the mouth, the bottle is opened.

(25) The insulated beverage protector is comprised of a body [20], a cover [10], and a stopper [40]. The body has at least two sections: (i) an upper section [21] that is tapered and configured to snugly surround the tapered neck of the bottle; and (ii) a base section [22] that is configured to snugly surround the cylindrical base of the bottle.

(26) The base section securely attaches/couples to the upper section. A bottle is inserted in the insulated beverage protector by (i) uncoupling/detaching the upper section and the base section, (ii) inserting the top of the bottom through bottom of the upper section, and reattaching/coupling the base section to the upper section. Preferably, the top edge of the base section has inner threads, and the bottom edge of the upper section has external threads.

(27) The body may contain one (or several) expansion ring(s) [60] that mate(s) with (preferably, threadably attaches to) the bottom of the upper section and the top of the base section.

(28) Preferably, the outer wall of the body is constructed of metal or a metal alloy, more preferably stainless steel or aluminum.

(29) The cover has a post [12] that projects downward from the topmost, inside surface.

(30) A stopper [40] with a hollow core/channel [42] is removably attached to the post.

(31) When a closed bottle is stored within the insulated beverage container, the stopper is kept in a stored position within the cover. The hollow core/channel within the stopper is mated with the downward-projecting post on the topmost, inside surface of the cover.

(32) When a bottle stored in the insulated beverage container is opened (i.e., the bottle cap is removed from the bottle mouth), the bottle may be sealed by disengaging (i.e., removing) the stopper from the post, and inserting (preferably screwing) the stopper into the open bottle mouth, thereby sealing the bottle.

(33) Preferably, the stopper has a thumb screw [41] or similar flat surface that can be easily grasped between the thumb and forefinger. More preferably, the stopper is tapered; and even more preferably, tapered with threads.

(34) Importantly, the inner surface of the cover cannot form a seal with an open bottle mouth; the seal is formed by inserting the stopper into the bottle mouth.

(35) In preferred embodiments, threads on the bottom of the inside surface of the cover mate (threadably attach/couple) with external threads on the neck of the upper section of the body.

(36) In some embodiments, a bottle opener [11] is integrated on the outer top surface of the cover; in other embodiments, a bottle opener may be integrated on the outer bottom surface of the base section. By bottle opener is meant a lip that is placed under the edge of a bottle cap (i.e., metal cap that has been pleated or ruffled around the rim of a bottle mouth of a closed bottle) and enables removal of the bottle cap.

(37) The integrated bottle opener may be constructed of metal.

(38) Preferably, the cover has a handle [50].

(39) In preferred embodiments, the handle in the cover has a spring-loaded gate [51]. The spring-loaded gate may be a D-shaped wire gate or D-shaped straight gate.