Ice bucket with stoppers for placing bottles in different positions

Abstract

A bucket for chilling bottles that includes a vessel and right, left and central stoppers that form part of the vessel's bottom. The right stopper is located between the center of the vessel and the right side of the vessel, the left stopper is located between the center of the vessel and the left side of the vessel, and the central stopper is located in the center of the vessel. The vessel can receive a bottle in a first position when the bottle is placed between the left stopper and the left side wall of the vessel, in a second position when the bottle is placed on the left stopper, in a third position when the bottle is placed on the right stopper, and in a fourth position when the bottle is placed on the central stopper.

Claims

1. A bucket for chilling bottles with ice-water mixture, comprising: (a) a vessel that comprises a substantially upright peripheral wall, a bottom, and an upper opening; and (b) a right stopper and a left stopper that form part of the bottom of the vessel; wherein the right stopper is located between a center of the bottom of the vessel and the right side of the vessel, and the left stopper is located between the center of the bottom of the vessel and the left side of the vessel; wherein the vessel is designed to receive a bottle placed in the vessel in a first position, a second position, and a third position; wherein when the bottle is in the first position, a bottom of the bottle is placed between the left stopper and the peripheral wall on the left side of the vessel, the bottle leans on the right side of the vessel and stands at a first angle (a); wherein when the bottle is in the second position the bottom of the bottle is placed on the left stopper, the bottle leans on the right side of the vessel and stands at a second angle (b), wherein the second angle is greater than the first angle; wherein when the bottle is in the third position the bottom of the bottle is placed on the right stopper, the bottle leans on the right side of the vessel and stands at a third angle (c), wherein the third angle is greater than the second angle; and wherein the vessel is designed to receive at same time a first bottle in the second position and a second bottle in the third position.

2. The bucket of claim 1, further comprising a central stopper that form a part of said bottom of said vessel, wherein the central stopper is located on said center of said vessel; wherein the vessel is further designed to receive said bottle in a fourth position, in which said bottom of the bottle is placed on the central stopper, the bottle leans on said right side of the vessel and stands at a fourth angle (d); wherein the fourth angle is greater than said second angle and smaller than said third angle; and wherein the vessel is designed to receive at same time said first bottle in said second position, said second bottle in said third position, and a third bottle in the fourth position.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0003] The intention of the drawings attached to the application is not to limit the scope of the invention and its application. The drawings are intended only to illustrate the invention and they constitute only one of its many possible implementations.

[0004] FIG. 1 depicts the ice bucket (10) with a few bottles (100).

[0005] FIG. 2 is a top perspective depiction of the ice bucket (10).

[0006] FIGS. 3 and 4 are a cross-sectional depiction of the ice bucket (10).

[0007] FIGS. 5A-5D depict the ice bucket (10) with a bottle (100) in the first, second, third and fourth positions respectively.

THE INVENTION

[0008] The main object of the present invention is to provide a bucket (10) for chilling a bottle (100) of drinks such as champagne or wine with cubes of ice or ice-water mixture (200), or a plurality of bottles. The ice bucket (10) comprises (a) a vessel (11) that comprises a substantially upright peripheral rounded wall (12), a bottom (13) and a rounded upper opening (14), and (b) a right stopper (15R) and a left stopper (15L) that form a part of the bottom of the vessel. The bucket can be circular, elliptical, to one degree or another, and can also include straight sections. The bucket includes the stoppers as described above. It is possible to have one circular stopper, even a complete circle is possible, and in such case one side of it will be considered the right stopper and the opposite side will be considered the left stopper. The use of the expressions right and left in this disclosure and in the claims is intended to indicate opposite directions, one opposite the other, and rather the right or left side of the user or of another body.

[0009] The term stoppers in this disclosure and in the claims means a protrusion or something protruding, such as lugs or pins, and the like, from the bottom of the bucket, on which or on the sides of which the bottom of the bottle can be stopped and the bottle can rest and lean stably on the peripheral rim of the bucket. In the drawings, the stoppers are depicted in the form of a circular ring bump.

[0010] The right stopper is positioned between the center (16) of the vessel and the right side (R) of the vessel, and the left stopper is positioned between the center of the vessel and the left side (L) of the vessel.

[0011] The vessel is capable to contain cubes of ice or ice-water mixture and is designed to receive the bottle that is placed in the vessel in a first position, a second position, or a third position.

[0012] In the first position, the bottom (101) of the bottle rests (stopped) between the left stopper and the peripheral wall on the left side of the vessel, and the bottle leans on the right side of the vessel and stands at a first angle (a). In this first position, the bottle is more immersed in the cavity of the bucket (within the ice water) and it protrudes but slightly outside the rim of the bucket.

[0013] In the second position, the bottom of the bottle rests (stopped) on the left stopper, and the bottle leans on the right side of the vessel and stands at a second angle (b). The second angle is greater than the first angle. In this second position, the bottle is less immersed in the cavity of the bucket (within the ice water) and less protrudes outside the rim of the bucket, in relation to the first position.

[0014] In the third position, the bottom of the bottle rests (stopped) on the right stopper, and the bottle leans on the right side of the vessel and stands at a third angle (c). The third angle is greater than the second angle. In this third position, the bottle is less immersed in the ice water and maximally protrudes outside the rim of the bucket, in relation to the first and the second position, and it is much closed to stand vertically.

[0015] And of course, everything described above can be in the opposite direction. The special structure of the bucket, and the stoppers, enable the user to place the bottle inside the bucket in several positions, at several angles. Also, if the user places several bottles in the bucket, each of which is supported at its bottom in a different position on the stoppers, then the fear that they will rattle each other every time the user pull one bottle out is significantly reduced.

[0016] The bucket (10) may further include a central stopper (15C) that also form a part of the bottom of the vessel and that is located on the center of the vessel. In such embodiment, the vessel is further designed to enable the user to place the bottle in a fourth position in which the bottom of the bottle rests (stopped) on the central stopper, and the bottle leans (rest) on the right side of the vessel and stands at a fourth angle (d). The fourth angle is greater than the second angle and smaller than the third angle. In this fourth position, the bottle is a bit less vertical than in the third position.

[0017] The vessel is further designed to receive at the same time two bottles, wherein a first bottle (100A) is in the second position and the second bottle (100B) is in the third position. The vessel is further designed to receive at the same time also a third bottle (100C) in the fourth position.

[0018] FIG. 1 depicts the ice bucket (10) with a few bottles (100), FIG. 2 is a top perspective depiction of the ice bucket (10), FIGS. 3 and 4 are a cross-sectional depiction of the ice bucket (10), and FIGS. 5A-5D depict the bucket (10) with a bottle (100) in the first, second, third and fourth positions respectively.