Frozen beverage holder and method of making same
The present invention is directed to a frozen beverage holder and method of making the same, the frozen beverage holder formed from a frozen block with one or more orifices formed in the frozen block adapted to receive a beverage container. The beverage holder may be formed entirely from a frozen liquid, semi-liquid, semi-solid, or gaseous material, and may also include height positioning devices or steps to position a beverage container inserted into the orifices at a desired height, a storage area and drainage channel formed into the frozen beverage holder; and a business card holder formed as a groove in the frozen beverage holder and configured so that a business card may be vertically inserted into the groove. The present invention is also directed at a mold for making the frozen beverage holder.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/343,767, filed on May 4, 2010.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is generally directed to a beverage holder made from a frozen substance that may be used to hold and support one or more beverages. Specifically, the present invention is directed to a frozen beverage holder that comprises one or more orifices or receptacles to accept variously sized and shaped beverage containers.
Various products and methods exist in order to maintain beverages at typically desired cold temperatures. Generally, these products and methods can be broken down into three (3) main approaches: (i) insulation devices; (ii) cooled cavities; and (iii) a combination of each. For example, insulation devices may comprise what are commonly known as “coosies,” also known as a “can cooler,” “beer sleeve,” or “stubby holder.” These devices are generally manufactured from an insulating material in a shape that receives a beverage can or bottle. This device does not continuously cool the beverage, but rather seeks to maintain the pre-existing temperature of the beverage as long as possible.
Cooled cavities may comprise nothing more than a bucket, filled with ice, within which beverages may be deposited. To some extent, cooled cavities may include standard and miniature refrigerators.
Combinations of both insulation devices and cooled cavities may comprise the general cooler, a device that manufactured from an insulating material and may be filled with ice or other coolants to maintain the inner cavity at a low temperature.
However, each of these devices have significant drawbacks. Insulating devices alone generally rely upon the temperature of the beverage, and therefore their efficacy reduces over time. Cooled cavities are generally bulky and inconvenient, and must be carried by the user even after all beverages have been exhausted. Moreover, cooled cavities such as coolers generally do not support beverages once opened. In fact, it is common practice to use a cooled cavity to reduce the temperature of a beverage, remove the beverage from the cooled cavity, and use an insulating device such as a coosie to maintain the beverage temperature.
Accordingly, a device and method of cooling beverages without the aforementioned drawbacks is desirable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAspects of the invention may include a beverage holder formed from a frozen block, comprising one or more orifices formed in the frozen block, adapted to receive a beverage container.
Aspects of the present invention may also include a beverage holder formed entirely from a frozen liquid, semi-liquid, semi-solid, or gaseous material, comprising: one or more orifices formed in the frozen block, the one or more orifices of a generally cylindrical shape and adapted to receive a beverage container, the one or more orifices comprising height positioning devices or steps to position a beverage container inserted into the orifices at a desired height; a storage area and drainage channel formed into the frozen beverage holder; and a business card holder formed as a groove in the frozen beverage holder and configured so that a business card may be vertically inserted into the groove.
Aspects of the present invention may also include a mold for forming a frozen beverage holder, the mold comprising: a bottom surface, the bottom surface comprising protrusions shaped to occlude the frozen material from areas that will form orifices in the frozen beverage holder for receiving beverage containers; and side surfaces connected to the bottom surface such that the mold is substantially liquid-tight.
These and other aspects will become apparent from the following description of the invention taken in conjunction with the following drawings, although variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the invention.
The present invention can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description together with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference indicators are used to designate like elements. The accompanying figures depict certain illustrative embodiments and may aid in understanding the following detailed description. Before any embodiment of the invention is explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The embodiments depicted are to be understood as exemplary and in no way limiting of the overall scope of the invention. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The detailed description will make reference to the following figures, in which:
Before any embodiment of the invention is explained in detail, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The present invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONThe matters exemplified in this description are provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of various exemplary embodiments disclosed with reference to the accompanying figures. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the exemplary embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention. Descriptions of well-known functions and constructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness. Moreover, as used herein, the singular may be interpreted in the plural, and alternately, any term in the plural may be interpreted to be in the singular.
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Unlike other cooling devices, frozen beverage holder 10 is formed entirely from a frozen material. This provides several benefits. First, use of a frozen beverage holder in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention provides for a direct interface between a beverage container and the frozen material, thereby providing optimal cooling. Additionally, because the frozen beverage holder in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention is comprised entirely of a frozen material, once melted there is no waste or unnecessary containers. Additionally, as the frozen beverage holder begins to melt, liquid may puddle in the beverage chambers, thereby maintaining a direct interface with the beverage container and cooling the beverage container efficiently.
While the frozen beverage holder 10 is illustrated as a rectangular block comprising two (2) beverage chambers, a frozen beverage holder in accordance with the present invention may be of any shape or size, and may comprise any number of beverage chambers. For example, and with reference to FIG. 2A, a frozen beverage holder 210 may comprise a rectangular frozen block 211 with one (1) beverage chamber 212. With reference to
In addition to various arrangements and design choices in the shape of the frozen beverage holder and the number and spacing of beverage chambers, frozen beverage holders may further comprise trays or other storage areas, indents, or surfaces formed into the frozen block. For example, the frozen beverage holder 260 depicted in
In utilizing the frozen beverage holder, it is desirable to have as much of the beverage container in direct contact with the frozen block. However, the beverage container must be easily removable. Given the varying sizes of beverage containers (e.g., beverage cans, bottles, and cups), a mechanism is useful to maintain each type of beverage container at a particular desired height. Generally, the smaller the diameter of the beverage container, the larger the vertical height of the container. For example, when comparing beer bottles, standard beverage cans, and plastic cups, beer bottles generally have the smaller diameter and the largest height.
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As briefly discussed above, frozen beverages holders in accordance with the present invention may further comprise trays or other storage areas, indents, or surfaces formed into the frozen block.
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Various frozen beverage holders have been discussed. With reference to
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Additionally, mold 90 may comprise functional elements that may assist in the removal of a shaped frozen block from the mold 90. For example, planar variations or fluting 918 in each side wall 910, 911, 912, 913 may assist in breaking the contact between the frozen block and mold walls, thereby assisting in removal of a shaped, frozen ice block from the mold 90.
Mold 90 may be comprised of any material. Certain materials may be more desirable due to their performance at reduced temperatures, their waterproof nature, and their mold release characteristics. Additional elements such as cost, availability, and ability to manufacture into complex shapes may be taken into account when selecting mold materials. For example, silicone and flexible rubber may be used due to their flexible nature in removing shaped frozen blocks from the mold. Polyethylene may used for its firmer, rigid characteristic that may be desirable in forming intricate shapes into frozen blocks. Polypropylene may be used for its material characteristics in both mold forming and freezing. Note that these materials are exemplary only, and it is contemplated that molds for forming frozen beverage holders in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention may be made from any material. Additional materials may include silicone, silicone blends, polypropylene, polystyrene, high impact polystyrene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyester, polyamides, polyvinyl chloride, polyurethanes, polycarbonate, polyvinylidene chloride, polyethylene, polycarbonate/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polymethyl methacrylate, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyetheretherketone, phenolics, urea-formaldehyde, melamine formaldehyde, polylactic acid, and plastarch materials.
Additionally, each protrusion used to make each component—positioning devices, storage areas, internal beverage cavities, internal lighting cavities, marketing components, etc.—may be removable. In this manner, when preparing the mold for use, the user may select which components are desired in the final frozen block and may insert the protrusions necessary for each desired component, while omitting protrusions for undesired components.
Molds may be used to make single frozen beverage holders or a plurality of frozen beverage holders. For example, and with reference to
It will be understood that the specific embodiments of the present invention shown and described herein are exemplary only. Numerous variations, changes, substitutions and equivalents will now occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is intended that all subject matter described herein and shown in the accompanying drawings be regarded as illustrative only, and not in a limiting sense, and that the scope of the invention will be solely determined by the appended claims.
Claims
1. A beverage holder formed from a frozen block, comprising:
- one or more orifices formed in the frozen block, adapted to receive a beverage container.
2. The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein the one or more orifices comprise height positioning devices to position a beverage container inserted into the orifices at a desired height.
3. The beverage holder of claim 2, wherein the height positioning devices comprise steps formed into the frozen block.
4. The beverage holder of claim 2, wherein the orifices have a decreasing diameter as the depth of the orifice in the frozen block increases, and wherein the decreasing diameter of the orifices comprise the height positioning devices.
5. The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein the orifices are generally cylindrical in shape.
6. The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein the frozen block if formed from a frozen liquid, semi-liquid, semi-solid, or gaseous material.
7. The beverage holder of claim 1, further comprising a storage area formed in the frozen block.
8. The beverage holder of claim 7, wherein the storage area comprises a drainage channel.
9. The beverage holder of claim 1, further comprising a published material holder formed in the frozen block.
10. The beverage holder of claim 9, wherein the published material holder is a business card holder, and wherein the business card holder is formed as a groove in the frozen block configured so that a business card may be vertically inserted into the groove.
11. The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein the beverage holder is comprised entirely of a frozen material.
12. The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein the orifices provide a direct interface between the frozen beverage holder and the beverage container.
13. A mold for forming a frozen beverage holder, the mold comprising:
- a bottom surface, the bottom surface comprising protrusions shaped to occlude the frozen material from areas that will form orifices in the frozen beverage holder for receiving beverage containers; and
- side surfaces connected to the bottom surface such that the mold is substantially liquid-tight.
14. The mold according to claim 13, wherein the bottom surface further comprises a protrusion for occluding the frozen material from an area that will form a storage area in the frozen beverage holder.
15. The mold according to claim 13, wherein the side surfaces comprise planar variations.
16. The mold according to claim 13, wherein the mold is comprised of a material selected from the group consisting of: silicone, silicone blends, polypropylene, polystyrene, high impact polystyrene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyester, polyamides, polyvinyl chloride, polyurethanes, polycarbonate, polyvinylidene chloride, polyethylene, polycarbonate/acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polymethyl methacrylate, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyetheretherketone, phenolics, urea-formaldehyde, melamine formaldehyde, polylactic acid, and plastarch materials.
17. The mold according to claim 13, wherein the side surfaces comprise four side surfaces arranged in a substantially quadrilateral shape.
18. The mold according to claim 13, wherein the side surfaces comprise a single side surface arranged in a substantially round, substantially oval, or substantially oblong shape.
19. The mold according to claim 13, wherein the mold accepts various protrusions selected by a user, and wherein the protrusions shaped to form the orifices are moveable and removable.
20. A beverage holder formed entirely from a frozen liquid, semi-liquid, semi-solid, or gaseous material, comprising:
- one or more orifices formed in the frozen block, the one or more orifices of a generally cylindrical shape and adapted to receive a beverage container, the one or more orifices comprising height positioning devices or steps to position a beverage container inserted into the orifices at a desired height;
- a storage area and drainage channel formed into the frozen beverage holder; and
- a business card holder formed as a groove in the frozen beverage holder and configured so that a business card may be vertically inserted into the groove.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 26, 2010
Publication Date: Nov 10, 2011
Inventors: Jeffrey Baker (Glen Allen, VA), Kevin Baker (Burbank, CA)
Application Number: 12/807,061
International Classification: F25D 3/08 (20060101); B22C 9/24 (20060101);