Liquid Pouring Apparatus

Abstract

A liquid pouring apparatus. The liquid pouring apparatus may include a container and a liquid transfer slide. The container may have four walls in the shape of a box of no less than four inches in width and no more than twelve inches in height of each wall and one end of the container may be enclosed by a bottom wall. The liquid transfer slide may have a slide base connected to one of the four walls at an edge opposite the bottom wall of the container. The point of connection between the liquid transfer slide and the container may be one or more hinges. The slide base may have two rails that extend from the edge of the slide base connected to the container to the opposite edge. An adjustable strap may be connected to one of the four walls of the container.

Claims

1. A liquid pouring apparatus comprising: a container comprising: a first wall and a second wall opposite the first wall, a third wall and a fourth wall opposite the third wall, wherein the third wall is connected to the first wall and the second wall and the fourth wall is connected to the first wall and second wall, the first wall, the second wall, the third wall, and the fourth wall each comprising an inner side and an outer side, the first wall, the second wall, the third wall, and the fourth wall each comprising a top edge and a bottom edge, a bottom wall perpendicular to the first wall, the second wall, the third wall, and the fourth wall, wherein the bottom wall is connected to the bottom edge of the first wall, the bottom edge of the second wall, the bottom edge of the third wall, and the bottom edge of the fourth wall, and an adjustable strap connected to the first wall; and a liquid transfer slide comprising: a slide base, wherein: the slide base has a top side, a bottom side, a first edge, a second edge opposite the first edge, a third edge, and a fourth edge opposite the third edge, a width of the second edge being less than a width of the first edge, and the first edge of the slide base is movably connected to the top edge of the second wall, a first edge rail connected to the third edge of the slide base, wherein: the first edge rail is perpendicular to the slide base and is connected to the top side of the slide base, and a second edge rail connected to the fourth edge of the slide base, wherein: the first edge rail is perpendicular to the slide base and is connected to the top side of the slide base.

2. The liquid pouring apparatus of claim 1, wherein a composition of the first wall, the second wall, the third wall, the fourth wall, and the bottom wall is wood.

3. The liquid pouring apparatus of claim 1, wherein a composition of the liquid transfer slide is either polycarbonate or acrylic.

4. The liquid pouring apparatus of claim 3, wherein the width of the first edge of the slide base is equal to a width of the second wall of the container and a distance between the first edge of the slide base and the second edge of the slide base is less than a height of the second wall of the container.

5. The liquid pouring apparatus of claim 4, wherein the slide base is cut into a trapezoidal prism with the width of the second edge of the slide base being at least half the width of the first edge of the slide base.

6. The liquid pouring apparatus of claim 1, wherein the adjustable strap comprises an adjustable tri-glide buckle.

7. The liquid pouring apparatus of claim 1, wherein widths of the first wall, the second wall, the third wall, and the fourth wall are no less than four inches.

8. The liquid pouring apparatus of claim 1, wherein heights of the first wall, the second wall, the third wall, and the fourth wall are no more than twelve inches.

9. The liquid pouring apparatus of claim 8, wherein the heights of the first wall, the second wall, the third wall, and the fourth wall are each the same height.

10. The liquid pouring apparatus of claim 8, wherein the heights of the first wall, the third wall, and the fourth wall are each the same height and a height of the second wall is greater than the heights of the first wall, the third wall, and the fourth wall.

11. The liquid pouring apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first edge of the slide base is movably connected to the top edge of the second wall by one or more rotating hinges.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] The figures described below depict various embodiments of the devices and methods disclosed herein. It should be understood that the figures depict illustrative embodiments of the disclosed devices and methods and that the figures are intended to be exemplary in nature only. Further, wherever possible, the following detailed description refers to the reference numerals included in the following figures, in which features depicted in multiple figures are designated with consistent reference numerals.

[0016] There are shown in the drawings arrangements which are presently discussed, it being understood, however, that the present embodiments are not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown, wherein:

[0017] FIG. 1A depicts a first isometric view of an exemplary liquid pouring apparatus;

[0018] FIG. 1B depicts a second isometric view of an exemplary liquid pouring apparatus;

[0019] FIG. 1C depicts a third isometric view of an exemplary liquid pouring apparatus;

[0020] FIG. 1D depicts a fourth isometric view of an exemplary liquid pouring apparatus;

[0021] FIG. 1E depicts a fifth isometric view of an exemplary liquid pouring apparatus;

[0022] FIG. 1F depicts a sixth isometric view of an exemplary liquid pouring apparatus;

[0023] FIG. 2A depicts an isometric view of a first exemplary use of the liquid pouring apparatus;

[0024] FIG. 2B depicts an isometric view of a second exemplary use of the liquid pouring apparatus; and

[0025] FIG. 2C depicts an isometric view of a third exemplary use of the liquid pouring apparatus.

[0026] The figures depict the present embodiments for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that alternate embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the invention described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Introduction

[0027] Disclosed herein is a liquid pouring apparatus.

[0028] The liquid pouring apparatus is a device designed to assist those suffering from involuntary tremors in pouring beverages without spilling. As will be made clear below, the liquid pouring apparatus achieves this by housing the beverage carton in a container and pouring the liquid over a tapered transfer slide into a cup, glass or mug. In this way, the user is able to pour a beverage into a glass without spilling, even if the liquid pouring apparatus is shook while pouring.

Liquid Pouring Apparatus

[0029] As illustrated in FIGS. 1A-1F, a liquid pouring apparatus 100 may include a container 101 to hold a beverage carton 200 (as illustrated in FIG. 2A) and a liquid transfer slide 151. In some embodiments, the container 101 may include a first wall 111, a second wall 112, a third wall 113, a fourth wall 114, a bottom wall 115, and an adjustable strap 121. Also in some embodiments, the liquid transfer slide 151 may include a slide base 161, a first edge rail 162, and a second edge rail 163. In some embodiments, the liquid transfer slide 151 may be movably connected to the container 101, e.g., by one or more hinges 131.

[0030] As illustrated in FIGS. 1A-1F, the container 101 may be constructed into the shape of a box, where the first wall 111 is connected to the third wall 113 and the fourth wall 114, the second wall 112 is opposite the first wall 111 and also connected to the third wall 113 and the fourth wall 114 (wherein the third wall 113 is also opposite the fourth wall 114), and the bottom wall 115 is connected to the bottom side of the first wall 111, second wall 112, third wall 113, and the fourth wall 114. Each of the walls may be perpendicularly connected via any suitable attachment mechanism, such as interlocking joints, adhesives, nails, screws, bolts, etc. Each of the walls, except the bottom wall 115, may have the same width, as illustrated in FIGS. 1A-1F, but these walls need not be the same width. Similarly, each of the walls, except the bottom wall 115, may have the same height, but these walls need not be the same height, as illustrated in FIGS. 1A-1F (wherein the second wall 115 has a greater height than the first wall 111, the third wall 113, and the fourth wall 114). In some embodiments, the walls of the container 101 may be constructed from any suitably rigid material such as wood, metal, hardened plastic, and/or a composite material.

[0031] As illustrated in FIGS. 1A-1D, the adjustable strap 121 may be attached to the front wall 111 of the container 101. In some embodiments, the first wall 111 may have one or more holes to feed a portion the adjustable strap 121 through to affix it to the container 101. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the adjustable strap may be affixed or fastened to the inner side of the first wall 111 (e.g., via screws, nails, adhesive, etc.). Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the adjustable strap 121 may be affixed or fastened to the outer side of the first wall 111 (e.g., via screws, nails, adhesives, etc.). In some embodiments, the adjustable strap 121 may have an adjustment component that adjusts the length of the strap, such as a buckle (e.g., a tri-glide buckle, an eight-shaped ring, a slide buckle, a pin buckle, a side release buckle, etc.).

[0032] As illustrated in FIGS. 1D-1F, the slide base 161 of the liquid transfer slide 151 may be constructed into the shape of a trapezoidal prism. In some embodiments, the wider parallel edge of the slide base 161 may have the same width as the second wall 112 of the container 101 and the narrower parallel edge of the slide base 161 may be at minimum one third of the width of the wider parallel edge. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the first edge rail 162 and the second edge rail 163 may be perpendicularly connected to the non-parallel edges of the slide base 161 (wherein the first edge rail 162 and the second edge rail 163 are also attached to the same side of the slide base 161). Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the first edge rail 162 and the second edge rail 163 may be attached to the slide base via a suitable adhesive. The slide base 161 and the edge rails of the liquid transfer slide 151 may be constructed from any suitably rigid, non-porous, and washable material such as glass, metal, ceramic, hardened plastic, polycarbonate, and/or acrylic.

[0033] As illustrated in FIGS. 1E-1F, wider parallel edge of the slide base 161 may be movably connected to the second wall 112 of the container 101, e.g., by one or more hinges 131. In some embodiments, the one or more hinges 131 may be attached to the second wall 112 and the slide base 161 by any suitable attachment mechanism, such as nails, screws, bolts, etc. The one or more hinges 131 should be calibrated to allow for free rotation such that the liquid transfer slide 151 naturally hangs straight down when the liquid pouring apparatus 100 is rotated along the one or more hinges' 131 axis of rotation (so long as the container 101 is not rotated to make contact with the liquid transfer slide 151).

[0034] As illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2C, a user may place a beverage carton 200 (e.g., a milk carton, a juice carton, a juice bottle, a soda bottle, etc.) into the container 100 and grip and/or wrap their hand with the adjustable strap 121. The user may then lift and tilt the container 100 such that the liquid transfer slide 151 may be placed into a beverage container of the user's choosing (e.g., a cup, a glass, a mug, etc.). The user may then tilt the container 100 further such that the liquid in the beverage carton 200 may then travel down the liquid transfer slide 151 and into the beverage container.

Additional Considerations

[0035] Although the text herein sets forth a detailed description of numerous different embodiments, it should be understood that the legal scope of the invention is defined by the words of the claims set forth at the end of this disclosure. The detailed description is to be construed as exemplary only and does not describe every possible embodiment, as describing every possible embodiment would be impractical, if not impossible. One could implement numerous alternate embodiments, using either current technology or technology developed after the filing date of this disclosure, which would still fall within the scope of the claims.

[0036] Throughout this specification, plural instances may implement components, operations, or structures described as a single instance. Although individual operations of one or more methods are illustrated and described as separate operations, one or more of the individual operations may be performed concurrently, and nothing requires that the operations be performed in the order illustrated. Structures and functionality presented as separate components in example configurations may be implemented as a combined structure or component. Similarly, structures and functionality presented as a single component may be implemented as separate components. These and other variations, modifications, additions, and improvements fall within the scope of the subject matter herein.

[0037] As used herein any reference to some embodiments means that a particular element, feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrase some embodiments in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. In addition, use of the a or an are employed to describe elements and components of the embodiments herein. This is done merely for convenience and to give a general sense of the description. This description, and the claims that follow, should be read to include one or at least one and the singular also includes the plural unless it is obvious that it is meant otherwise.

[0038] As used herein, the terms comprises, comprising, includes, including, has, having or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

[0039] The patent claims at the end of this patent application are not intended to be construed under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) unless traditional means-plus-function language is expressly recited, such as means for or step for language being explicitly recited in the claim(s).

[0040] While particular embodiments and applications have been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are not limited to the precise construction and components disclosed herein. Various modifications, changes, and variations, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art, may be made in the arrangement, operation and details of the method and apparatus disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope defined in the appended claims.

[0041] The particular features, structures, or characteristics of any specific embodiment may be combined in any suitable manner and in any suitable combination with one or more other embodiments, including the use of selected features without corresponding use of other features. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular application, situation or material to the essential scope and spirit of the present invention. It is to be understood that other variations and modifications of the embodiments of the present invention described and illustrated herein are possible in light of the teachings herein and are to be considered part of the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0042] While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described, it should be understood that the invention is not so limited and modifications may be made without departing from the invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims, and all devices that come within the meaning of the claims, either literally or by equivalence, are intended to be embraced therein. It is therefore intended that the foregoing detailed description be regarded as illustrative rather than limiting, and that it be understood that it is the following claims, including all equivalents, that are intended to define the spirit and scope of this invention.