ILLUMINATING BEVERAGE COOLER

Abstract

An illuminating beverage container cooler. The sleeve of the cooler is made of a flexible thermally insulating material, such as neoprene, and the base of the cooler is made of a rigid material with lights and necessary batteries installed within a containment compartment in said base. The lights, when turned on, result in the portion of the bottle above the insulating cylindrical sleeve sidewalls being illuminated. The illuminating cooler also functions as a flashlight when the beverage container is removed.

Description

This application claims benefit of provisional application No. 61/341,501 filed Apr. 1, 2010.

There is no federally sponsored research or development.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to the field of insulated personal beverage containers. Insulated personal beverage containers are often referred to as “can coolers, can koozies, bottle coolers, and beverage coolers.” The primary unique addition to this beverage cooler is a light source which exists within the cooler on the top surface of the base of the cooler. This light source, upon activation, results in the glass container that is inserted in the cooler, becoming illuminated or “glowing”.

The addition of the light allows for both a decorative and functional improvement to the prior art. When an individual is consuming a beverage in a dark environment, such as out-of-doors in the evening, the individual is able to easily locate his or her beverage. The illuminated beverage container also acts as a light source which can be utilized while the individual is moving about in the dark environment. In addition, the illuminated base of the cooler can be utilized as a flashlight upon removal of the container.

The prior art includes a variety of beverage coolers, however, none of them are equipped with an illuminated base. U.S. Pat. No. 4,638,645, issued on Jan. 27, 1987, discloses a cooler that was capable of enclosing a cooling material, such as ice, within the inner and outer walls of the cooler.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,745,776, issued May 24, 1988, discloses a beverage cooler wherein the base of that cooler contains a refrigerant element.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,882,914, issued Nov. 28, 1989, discloses a beverage cooler whereby the sidewalls of the cooler are filled with a gel refrigerant for additional cooling properties.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,039,207, issued Mar. 21, 2000, discloses a beverage cooler that adds a hinged insulator lid whereby a can beverage could be completely enclosed with typical insulating material when the lid is closed.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,380, issued May 16, 2000, discloses a glow cup system with illumination capabilities. Chemical ampules are inserted within the sidewalls of the cup and are illuminated upon fracturing of those same chemiluminescent fluid ampules.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,206,223, issued on Mar. 27, 2001, discloses a foam can cooler with a hinged mating lid. The base and lid of the cooler are slightly undersized when accommodating a canned beverage, thus the friction developed when the hinged lid is placed over the upper portion of the can results in a spill-resistant cooler.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,550,271, issued Apr. 22, 2003, discloses a neoprene-like tapered bottle insulator having a detachable carrying strap and a bottle opener. A zipper is incorporated into the upper tapered portion of the cooler so that the bottle can be easily inserted and removed from the cooler.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,404,345, issued Jul. 29, 2008, discloses an insulated beverage cooler wherein the inner surface of the base of the cooler accommodates a bottle cap opener.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,614,516, issued on Nov. 10, 2009, discloses an insulated combination bottle and can cooler which provides for insulating material for either a can beverage or a bottle beverage with the unique object of the invention being an invertible inner portion of the cooler which can accommodate either a can or, when inverted, the upper tapered portion of a bottle.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the invention is to incorporate a light source into the base of a standard beverage cooler. This new invention is both aesthetically pleasing and functional. It is aesthetically pleasing to the extent that individuals are able to observe a glowing, illuminated, beverage. Various colored beverage bottles and drinks will result in various colors of illumination. The other primary objects are functionality. Individuals can readily locate their beverage when the cooler light is activated. Individuals can also illuminate a walking path either with or without the bottled beverage inserted in the cooler. The cooler light is powered by batteries and it is equipped with a power switch so that battery life can be extended when the illumination effect is not desired, or the cooler is not in use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top view of the invention depicting the top surface of the insulating cylindrical sleeve and the top surface of the bottom base of the cooler, containing three light emitting diodes.

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the cylindrical sleeve of FIG. 1 taken through the middle of the sleeve and a side view of the entire light emitting diode base.

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the cooler with the insulating cylindrical sleeve sectioned so that the entire light emitting diode base is visible.

FIG. 4 is side perspective view of the cooler again with one-half of the insulating cylindrical sleeve removed so that the remaining portion of the light emitting diode base is depicted.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the sleeve with a full side view of the light emitting diode base with the addition of a beverage container.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The invention significantly improves the existing art by adding an illumination device as the base of the beverage cooler. The illumination base would typically, but not necessarily, consist of light emitting diodes (LEDs) that are powered by, typically, but not necessarily, three AAA batteries. The battery power and illumination is controlled by an on/off switch.

The invention has both aesthetic and functional advantages over the prior art. The functional improvements include the ability to identify the location of a bottled beverage when the beverage is being consumed in an environment that is not illuminated by natural or artificial light. Another functional improvement over the prior art, with the addition of the light, is the ability to illuminate a path of travel while ambulating with the beverage cooler when it contains a bottled beverage. Yet another functional improvement is the ability to utilize the illuminating base as a flashlight when the beverage is removed from the cooler. A typical drinking glass can also be accommodated and illuminated by the cooler. Desired labels, logos, or other indicia may also be placed on the outer surface of the insulating cylindrical sleeve.

The cooler may be dimensioned to accommodate different sized beverage containers ranging from approximately eight to forty ounces. When the beverage bottle container is inserted in the cooler, the cooler insulating cylindrical sleeve will cover approximately forty to sixty percent of the container so that the remaining uncovered portion of the container will be visible when the light emitting diodes are activated. The light emitting diode base may be constructed of any rigid polymeric material. The insulating cylindrical sleeve may be constructed of neoprene, neoprene backed by cloth material, foam rubber, and any other pliable, flexible insulating material. In addition, the base and the sleeve may be enclosed within a rigid metallic shell with the metal being stainless steel, carbon steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, copper, or the like.

The direct current batteries used to power the light emitting diodes may be of any size or style and may also be rechargeable.

It is not intended that the invention be limited to the described embodiments. To the contrary, the invention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents which may be reasonably included within the scope of the invention as further defined in the claims. The detailed description is designed to be sufficient so that any person of ordinary skill in the pertinent art, science, or area could make and use the invention without extensive experimentation.

FIG. 1 illustrates the illuminating beverage cooler from an overhead view. The top edge view of the insulating cylindrical sleeve 101 is shown in FIG. 1 along with a top view of the light emitting diode base 102 and a top view of the light emitting diodes 103. Three separate light emitting diodes are illustrated in FIG. 1.

The insulating cylindrical sleeve 101 is made of a soft pliable insulating material such as neoprene, however, any suitable flexible insulating material may be used.

The light emitting diode base 102 is comprised of a hard plastic and functions as a containment structure wherein three standard AAA batteries are contained within the structure and three light emitting diodes are on the surface of the structure so that light will emit upwards from the base of the cooler through the glass bottled beverage, thus, illuminating the glass bottled beverage and giving it a glowing effect.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the sleeve through the section depicted in FIG. 1, and a full side view of the base. FIG. 2 illustrates the cross-sectional thickness of the insulating sleeve and a full side view of the light emitting diode base of the cooler.

FIG. 3 depicts the cooler 100 in a front perspective view, also illustrating the insulating sleeve 101, the light emitting diode base 102, and the light emitting diodes 103.

FIG. 4 illustrates the cooler from a side perspective view, again illustrating the insulating sleeve 101, the light emitting diode base 102, and the light emitting diodes 103.

FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 depict contour lines on the top edge of the light emitting diode base for the purpose of revealing the contour.

FIG. 5 illustrates the cooler 100 in a side view depicting a cross-section of the insulating cylindrical sleeve 101 and a full view of the light emitting diode base 102. A typical bottle 104 is depicted in FIG. 5 inserted in the cooler.

The thermally insulated beverage cooler provides the user with a number of advantages and improvements over the prior art. The light or lights incorporated in the base of the cooler provides for the introduction and passing of light into and through the glass beverage container such that the container glows. The glowing container provides for both aesthetic appeal to the viewer and it also provides for a means of locating an individual's beverage in a dark environment. The addition of the light in the base of the cooler also provides for illumination of a dark environment so that the user can use the invention to illuminate his or her path while ambulating in a dark environment. The invention also allows for the removal of the glass beverage container, thus, leaving the further exposed light in the bottom of the base to provide illumination in the form of a flashlight.

The preferred embodiments of the invention are intended to be illustrative only and are not intended to limit, the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art would understand that various modifications and adaptations and alternative embodiments may be contemplated.

The present invention is not so limited to the sole embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. An illuminating beverage cooler for a bottled beverage container comprising:

A base made of a rigid plastic material shaped in the form of a disc having a top and bottom surface and a circumferential edge containing standard direct current batteries within said base and light emitting diodes on the top surface of said base with means for activating and deactivating the light emitting diodes, and a cylindrical sleeve made of flexible insulating material attached to the circumferential edge of said base and projecting upward;

said base having a diameter approximately equal to the bottom diameter of a typical twelve ounce bottled beverage container and a thickness sufficient to enclose standard AAA batteries when the batteries are oriented parallel to and between the top and bottom surfaces of said base;

said cylindrical sleeve being attached to said base at the bottom of said sleeve and open at the top and dimensioned to snugly receive a bottled beverage container in sleeve-like fashion;

said cylindrical sleeve having a length of approximately forty to sixty percent of the length of a typical bottled beverage container when the sleeve is attached to the illuminating base and the bottled beverage container is placed in the cooler with the container bottom resting on the top surface of the base to facilitate light from the base of the cooler illuminating and passing through the bottled beverage container when the light is activated.

2. The illuminating beverage cooler as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cooler functions as a typical flashlight when the light on the top surface of the base is activated and the bottled beverage container is removed.

3. The illuminating beverage cooler as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base and cylindrical sleeve are dimensioned to accommodate smaller and larger diameter typical bottled beverage containers through the approximate range of eight to forty ounces.

4. The illuminating beverage cooler as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base is made of any polymeric rigid material.

5. The illuminating beverage cooler as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flexible insulating material is made of neoprene.

6. The illuminating beverage cooler as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer surface of the cylindrical sleeve is adorned with indicia.

7. The illuminating beverage cooler as claimed in claim 1, wherein the batteries are of any direct current type.

8. The illuminating beverage cooler as claimed in claim 1, wherein the batteries are of a rechargeable direct current type.

9. The illuminating beverage cooler as claimed in claim 1, wherein the flexible insulating material is made of foam rubber.

10. The illuminating beverage cooler as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base and the sleeve are enclosed within a rigid metallic shell.

11. The illuminating beverage cooler as claimed in claim 1, wherein the beverage container is a typical drinking glass.