Drink container with ice flow dam
The drink container with ice flow dam is formed as a unitary structure, the ice flow dam being ally and permanently formed with the beverage container. The container may have any practicable shape, e.g., conventional drinking glass, martini glass, coffee cup, etc. The ice flow dam may extend partially or completely about the upper, inner circumference of the beverage container, and may have any practicable pattern of liquid passages, serrations about its inner periphery, etc., so long as an open area is provided through the otherwise open area of the top of the container for the placement of solids such as ice, drink garnishes, etc. within the container. The container and its integral ice flow dam may be formed of any practicable material, e.g., glass, plastic, or even metal, and the container and/or ice flow dam may be colored or tinted.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to individual serving capacity beverage containers, drinking vessels, and the like, and more particularly to a drink container with ice flow dam disposed integrally therewith and extending at least partially about the upper, inner circumference of the container to keep the beverage cool.
2. Description of the Related Art
The inclusion of ice in various beverages (sodas, ice tea, etc.) to keep the beverage at a very cold and refreshing temperature has been known for decades. Generally, some quantity of ice (cubes, etc.) is placed loosely in the container and the beverage is poured thereover, or the ice may be placed into the container after the beverage has been poured therein. Either way, the ice chills the beverage to provide a more refreshing drink, particularly on a warm day.
However, a chronic problem with such iced drinks served in individual containers is the shifting of the ice within the container as the container is tipped to allow the consumer to drink. This is generally not too much of a problem when the container is relatively full, but as the contents are consumed the container must be tilted ever more toward the horizontal from the vertical. This usually results in the ice suddenly shifting in the container, with some of the remaining beverage and ice sloshing into the face and perhaps down the front of the consumer.
The annoyance resulting from such mishaps has long been recognized, and various ice-retaining devices for insertion in a beverage container have been developed in the past as a result. An example of such is found in German Patent Publication No. 20,319,157, published on Mar. 11, 2004, which describes (according to the drawings and English abstract) a number of embodiments of devices removably installable within a drinking glass, cup, or the like to prevent ice from flowing from the container when it is tipped for drinking. Another example of such a device is found in International Patent Publication No. WO 2004/039,221, published on May 13, 2004, which describes (according to the drawings and English abstract) a spiral-shaped device having an inverted U-shaped clip that secures removably over the edge of a drinking glass or the like to prevent ice from flowing from the container when it is tipped.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus, a drink container with ice flow dam solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe drink container with ice flow dam comprises an individual drinking glass, vessel, or the like having an ice flow dam formed integrally and permanently therewith so that the glass or vessel and the ice flow dam comprise a unitary structure. The drinking vessel may comprise a frustoconical shape, an inverted conical shape having a supporting stem and base (e.g., martini glass), a container having vertically curved sides (e.g., a “Coke®” glass), a short, squat shape similar to that of a conventional coffee cup or the like, or any other practicable container shape. The ice flow dam is formed in the upper portion of the inner circumference of the container or vessel and may extend partially or completely about the inner circumference, so long as at least the center of the upper portion of the vessel is open for the placement of ice cubes or other solids (e.g., drink garnishes, etc.) therein. The ice flow dam may have any practicable pattern and number of holes, slots, or other liquid passages therethrough, which are configured to allow the flow of a liquid therethrough while blocking the passage of ice or other solids (drink garnishes, etc.) therethrough. The ice flow dam and/or its integral beverage container may be formed of any practicable material, e.g., glass, plastic, or even metal, and may be tinted or colored as desired.
These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTSThe drink container with ice flow dam includes several embodiments of an individual serving capacity drink container having an ice dam, i.e., a barrier preventing the spillage of ice or other solids (drink garnishes, etc.) therefrom when the container is tipped for drinking.
The drinking glass 112 includes a wall 116 having an inner surface 118 and an upper rim 120 defining the span of the open top 122. The closed bottom 124 of the glass 112 is formed integrally with the wall 116. The drinking glass 112 has a somewhat frustoconical shape, the span or diameter of the closed bottom 124 being smaller than the span or diameter of the open top 122. This shape is exemplary and is common to a large percentage of individual serving capacity beverage containers, if not the majority thereof. However, it will be seen that the drink container may have virtually any shape, with various other shapes being illustrated in other drawing Figures and described further below.
The ice flow dam 114 is formed integrally with the glass or container 112, and extends inwardly from a portion of the inner surface 118 of the wall 116 below the upper rim 120 to subtend a portion of the open top area 122. The ice flow dam 114 is a foraminous sheet having a plurality of fluid passages 126 therethrough, the passages 126 being configured to block the passage of relatively large solids (e.g., pieces of ice having a major dimension greater than ¼ inch or so, drink garnishes such as olives, etc.). The precise configuration and dimension of the passages 126 are not particularly critical, so long as they allow the passage of the beverage readily therethrough while blocking larger solids. The long, thin oval shapes of the passages 126 of the ice flow dam 112 of
The ice flow dam 114 is placed below the rim 120 so that the ice flow dam 112 does not contact the upper lip of the user of the glass or container 112 while drinking therefrom. Thus, the act of drinking a beverage from the glass or container 112 is essentially identical to using a conventional glass or container of similar size and shape, except that the user need not be concerned with spillage as he or she tips the glass toward the horizontal to finish the drink. It will be noted that the inner edge of the ice flow dam 114 is somewhat lower than its outer peripheral edge where it joins the wall 116 of the glass or container 112. This provides at least two advantages, in that: (1) the acute angle formed between the underside of the ice flow dam 114 and the wall 116 of the container 112 provides a better “trap” to prevent the escape of ice from the container; and (2) the depression of the center portion of the ice flow dam 114 provides greater clearance from the nose and face of a person drinking from the glass or container 112. This shallow conical depression of the inward portion of the ice flow dam may be adopted in any of the other embodiments of the device, as shown in other drawings.
The ice flow dam 314 is formed integrally with the glass or container 312, and extends inwardly from a portion of the inner surface 318 of the wall 316 below the upper rim 320 to subtend a portion of the open top area 322, somewhat like the semicircumferential ice flow dam 114 of the beverage container and ice flow dam 110 of
The ice flow dam 414 is formed integrally with the glass or container 412, and extends inwardly from a portion of the inner surface 418 of the wall 416 below the upper rim 420 to subtend a portion of the open top area 422, somewhat like the semicircumferential ice flow dam 114 of the beverage container and ice flow dam 110 of
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
Claims
1. A drink container with ice flow dam, comprising:
- an individual serving capacity beverage container, the beverage container having a wall defining an inner surface, and an upper rim defining an open top, the beverage container having a closed bottom formed integrally with the wall; and
- an ice flow dam extending from the inner surface of the wall below the upper rim of the beverage container, the ice flow dam subtending at least a portion of the open top, the ice flow dam being formed integrally with the beverage container.
2. The drink container with ice flow dam according to claim 1, wherein the beverage container and the ice flow dam further includes a color imbued therewith.
3. The drink container with ice flow dam according to claim 1, wherein the ice flow dam comprises a foraminous plate having a plurality of beverage passages therethrough.
4. The drink container with ice flow dam according to claim 1, wherein the beverage container and the ice flow dam are formed of glass.
5. The drink container with ice flow dam according to claim 1, wherein the beverage container and the ice flow dam are formed of plastic.
6. The drink container with ice flow dam according to claim 1, wherein the ice flow dam extends from a portion of the inner surface of the wall of the beverage container.
7. The drink container with ice flow dam according to claim 1, wherein the ice flow dam extends from the entire inner circumference of the wall of the beverage container and has a large opening disposed generally centrally therethrough.
8. A drink container with ice flow dam, comprising:
- an individual serving capacity beverage container having a wall defining an inner surface and an upper rim defining an open top, the beverage container having a closed bottom formed integrally with the wall;
- an ice flow dam extending from the inner surface of the wall below the upper rim of the beverage container, the ice flow dam subtending at least a portion of the open top, the beverage container and the ice flow dam including a color imbued therewith.
9. The drink container with ice flow dam according to claim 8, wherein the ice flow dam is formed integrally with the beverage container.
10. The drink container with ice flow dam according to claim 8, wherein the ice flow dam comprises a foraminous plate having a plurality of beverage passages therethrough.
11. The drink container with ice flow dam according to claim 8, wherein the beverage container and the ice flow dam are formed of glass.
12. The drink container with ice flow dam according to claim 8, wherein the beverage container and the ice flow dam are formed of plastic.
13. The drink container with ice flow dam according to claim 8, wherein the ice flow dam extends from a portion of the inner surface of the wall of the beverage container.
14. The drink container with ice flow dam according to claim 8, wherein the ice flow dam extends from the entire inner circumference of the wall of the beverage container and has a large opening disposed generally centrally therethrough.
15. A drink container with ice flow dam, comprising:
- an individual serving capacity beverage container having a wall defining an inner surface and an upper rim defining an open top, the beverage container having a closed bottom formed integrally with the wall; and
- an ice flow dam extending from the inner surface of the wall below the upper rim of the beverage container, the ice flow dam subtending at least a portion of the open top, the ice flow dam being a foraminous plate having a plurality of beverage passages therethrough.
16. The drink container with ice flow dam according to claim 15, wherein the ice flow dam is formed integrally with the beverage container.
17. The drink container with ice flow dam according to claim 15, wherein the beverage container and ice flow dam include a color imbued therewith.
18. The drink container with ice flow dam according to claim 15, wherein the beverage container and the ice flow dam are formed of materials selected from the group consisting of glass and plastic.
19. The drink container with ice flow dam according to claim 15, wherein the ice flow dam extends from a portion of the inner surface of the wall of the beverage container.
20. The drink container with ice flow dam according to claim 15, wherein the ice flow dam extends around the entire inner circumference of the wall of the beverage container and includes a large opening disposed generally centrally therethrough.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 22, 2010
Publication Date: Dec 22, 2011
Inventor: Brett M. Gatta (Scotia, NY)
Application Number: 12/801,722