Drinking vessel megaphone

Abstract

The present invention provides a novel mug that includes a vessel portion and a megaphone portion. The vessel portion is essentially suspended in the megaphone portion by attachment at the drinking rim.

Description

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a novelty device, particularly a megaphone device for sporting events.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Sports enthusiasts use various means to cheer on their favorite athlete or team. They may clap their hands, stomp their feet, bang their seats, yell or scream. Various types of rallying devices, such as megaphones, thunder sticks, noise makers, horns or sirens may also be used. The noise generated by cheering fans tends to increase when the fans want to motivate a particular team or athlete. The fans may also want to loudly voice displeasure with the opposing team or with a game official.

Branding is also an important aspect of demonstrating team loyalty. Fans express their support by wearing the team colors, painting themselves in the team colors or by purchasing items that display the favored team colors or logo.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,568,504 describes one type of rallying device. The device essentially comprises a collapsible cone that can be used as a megaphone or as a headgear. It can be imprinted with banner information. Another type of device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,439,419. This patent discloses a combined drinking cup and horn. One end of the combined drinking cup and the horn is used to drink from while the other end is used to shout through as a megaphone. When the combined cup and horn is being used as a cup, the megaphone or horn blowing aperture is plugged with a cap. U.S. Design Pat. No. 275,438 discloses a combined mug and megaphone. The megaphone segment is inserted into the mug part and extends beyond the top of the mug. This can cause problems when trying to use the mug to drink. Furthermore, in this design there are sharp edges on the inside, which make it nearly impossible to clean.

While various types of rallying devices are available, many of these, such as the air horn, do not easily accommodate a team logo. Other devices are expensive to manufacture, bulky to transport and store or are not easily adapted for different teams and/or different sports. Most noise making devices make a consistent sound and cannot be used to differentially express support or displeasure as can the language and the human voice. Thus, there exists a need for a novel type of promotional item that amplifies the human voice and that can accommodate placement of a team logo or name.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a novelty mug that is a combined drinking vessel and megaphone.

The mug comprises a vessel portion and a megaphone portion. The megaphone portion is essentially formed by the upstanding tapered wall of the mug. The vessel portion comprises a bottom wall and an upstanding wall. The vessel portion is suspended in the mug with its upper end being attached to the upper end of the mug and the bottom wall hanging essentially free. The vessel wall comprises a semicircular or crescent shaped cut away that together with the rim of the mug wall defines a mouth hole for the megaphone portion.

The mug is preferably fabricated from a moldable plastic material, preferably polypropylene. The outer surface of the mug may be printed with promotional material, such as a team logo, name or symbol.

The mug may or may not include a handle. In one preferred embodiment, the handle is provides as a separate module that can be snap fitted into the wall of the mug. In another embodiment, the handle is an integral hollow handle.

In another preferred embodiment, an information conveying artifact such as a logo, slogan or name is printed on the mug.

It is an object of an aspect of the invention to provide an improved DRINKING VESSEL MEGAPHONE that acts as both a drinking vessel and a megaphone and that is easily adapted to indicate support for a particular team or person.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings wherein:

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate perspective views of an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a megaphone/mug in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention in use as a mug;

FIG. 3 shows a megaphone/mug in accordance with the present invention in use as a megaphone;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a preferred embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of a preferred embodiment;

FIG. 6 illustrates the stackability of a megaphone/mug in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a second embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a stack of mugs of FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is of a preferred embodiment that is shown in the drawings and is an exemplification of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiment illustrated.

A combination megaphone and drinking vessel is provided. The “mega-mug” can be used at sporting events, political rallies, conventions, parties, and the like where it is desirable to demonstrate support for a team or person by cheering, booing, shouting, etc.

As shown in FIG. 1, a mega mug 10 comprises a generally cylindrical truncated cone shape having an open top end 12 and an open bottom end 14 and an upstanding wall 16 that extends from the top end to the bottom end and defines a mug wall 16. The overall open end of the mug is flat and does not include any protruding parts. Within the mug wall 16 there is a vessel portion 18 and a megaphone portion 20. A stabilizing base 22 is optionally attached at the bottom end. A handle 24 is provided to facilitate holding of the device. As can be seen in FIG. 1B the vessel portion is suspended in the mug by attachment of its upper end to the open top end of the mug.

In use the vessel portion is filled with a beverage. Once the beverage has been consumed, the mug can be lifted up and used as a megaphone. FIG. 2 illustrates the invention in use as a drinking vessel or mug and FIG. 3 illustrates the invention in use as a megaphone.

The structure and function of the mug can be understood in greater detail by referring to FIGS. 4 and 5. As shown in FIG. 4, the diameter (d1) of the top end 12 is preferably smaller than the diameter (d2) of the bottom end 14 of the mug wall. The vessel portion 18 is generally cup shaped and is disposed within the cavity formed by the mug wall. The vessel portion 18 comprises a bottom wall 28 and an upstanding wall 30 that extends upwardly from the bottom wall and defines an interior volume for receiving a liquid through an open top end 32. The interior surfaces of the vessel portion have smooth round corners to facilitate cleaning. The interior volume of the vessel portion can be varied according to the proposed use. For example, it can be adjusted to accommodate beer poured at a stadium. A typical stadium pour is fourteen ounces in North America while in Europe the typical pour is twenty ounces. For a children's party, it may be desirable to have mugs for juice or soft drinks that are smaller. It is clearly apparent that the volume of the vessel portion and the corresponding dimensions of the mug can be adjusted according to the desired use.

The area inside the mug wall that is not occupied by the vessel portion defines a cavity 34 that is a generally cylindrical tapered megaphone portion. The vessel portion 18 is suspended in the cavity 34 formed by the mug wall by the interaction of the open top end 32 of the vessel portion with the open top end 12 of the mug wall. The interaction can be achieved by a snap fit or other mechanism or the top end of the vessel portion may be formed integral with the top end of the chamber thus defining a single top end or drinking rim 36 that has a consistent height over the entire diameter.

Referring now to FIG. 5, the upstanding wall 30 of the vessel portion includes a cut-out segment 38, which is translated into a mouth hole 40 at the top end for use of the device as a megaphone. In a preferred embodiment, the cut-out in the vessel portion is circular. The hanging vessel portion acts as a resonator in the megaphone cavity. Vibration in increased and the volume that is transmitted through the megaphone is amplified. The sound reflecting surface within the megaphone cavity is also increased. When a user shouts into the megaphone portion, the sound is concentrated in the forward direction. In another embodiment a whistle or other noise making device can be inserted into the megaphone opening.

The mega mug of the invention can be fabricated from a variety of materials. It is preferably made from a moldable plastic material, such as polypropylene. Different materials may be used for different types of events or memorabilia. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the mug is manufactured from polypropylene and has a matte finish. The mug can be provided in a wide variety of colors and can be printed with an information conveying artifact such as a logo, slogan, team name, advertisement or the like. The handle and mug may be provided in the same color or different colors. For example, fans of a team whose colors are black and yellow may prefer a black mug with a yellow handle or vice versa. Fluorescent or luminescent dyes may be included.

In the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5, the handle is provided as a separate unit to allow the mugs to be stacked for easy storage and handling as shown in FIG. 6. When there is no handle attached a plurality of vessel portions can be stacked inside each other and the megaphone portions stack over each other. In a preferred embodiment, the handle is snap fitted into the wall of the mug for use.

An alternative embodiment is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. In this embodiment, the handle is hollow to allow for stacking.

The present invention has been described with regard to one or more embodiments. However, it will be apparent to persons skilled in the art that a number of variations and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

Claims

1. A mug comprising a vessel portion and a megaphone portion, said vessel portion being substantially suspended in said megaphone portion by attachment at an upper end.

2. A mug according to claim 1, wherein the vessel portion comprises a bottom wall and an upstanding wall defining an interior volume.

3. A mug according to claim 2, wherein the bottom wall is crescent shaped.

4. A mug according to claim 2, wherein the interior volume is from about eight ounces to about 30 ounces.

5. A mug according to claim 4, wherein the interior volume is from about fourteen ounces to about twenty-two ounces.

6. A mug according to claim 1 fabricated from polypropylene.

7. A mug according to claim 6, wherein said vessel portion is integrally formed with said megaphone portion.

8. A mug according to claim 1, wherein a noise maker is disposed in said megaphone portion.

9. A mug according to claim 8, wherein the noise maker is a whistle.

10. A mug according to claim 1, further comprising a handle.

11. A mug according to claim 10, wherein the handle is an attachable/detachable handle.

12. A mug according to claim 10 wherein the handle is hollow.

13. A mug according to claim 1 comprising a printed information conveying artifact.