COLLAPSIBLE BOTTLE
A collapsible fluid container having an expanded and a collapsed configuration, including a rigid top portion having an open mouth with structure onto which a closure member may be disposed, a rigid base portion bottom, and a resilient medial portion disposed between the upper portion and base portion. When in the expanded configuration the container is substantially cylindrical. It is placed into a collapsed configuration by twisting the upper portion and base portion in relation to one another or pushing the upper portion toward the base portion until they approximate one another. Retention structure is employed to hold the container in the collapsed configuration. When the retention structure is disengaged, the resilient material of the medial portion urges the container back into a fully expanded configuration.
The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/524,201, filed 08/16/2011 (Aug. 16, 2011).
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENTNot applicable.
NAMES OR PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENTNot applicable.
INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISCNot applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to fluid containers, and more specifically to collapsible fluid containers, and more particularly still to a fluid container that can be repeatedly moved between an expanded configuration for holding fluid and a collapsed configuration for compact storage and easy transport.
2. Background Discussion
The need for regular and sufficient hydration has people increasingly carrying a ready supply of water or other fluids. Runners, hikers, backpackers, skiers, cyclists, tourists and sightseers, hunters and fishermen, airline travelers, and the like, now routinely carry water bottles containing plain water or (ofttimes) electrolyte replacement fluids. To facilitate ease in carrying such bottles, a number of vendors offer bottle carrying apparatus, such as grips for handheld water bottles, hip and backpacks for hydration packs that hold bottles, and hands free hydration systems, typically comprising a pack for holding a water bladder to which a lengthy straw is connected (such as many versions of the now famous CAMELBAK®), [CAMELBAK is a registered trademark of Camelbak, Inc, of Petaluma, Calif.]
There are, of course, numerous uses for bottles other than for carrying fluids into environments where fluid is not readily available. For instance, bottles are everywhere employed as simple fluid or food storage containers. Reusable food and fluid storage containers minimize waste, reduce the volume of products that find their way into landfills, reduce energy required to manufacture the containers, and so forth.
In both environments of use, there arises the problem of what to do with the bottle when it is emptied of its contents. When a runner, cyclist, hunter, backpacker or other outdoors sportsman empties a water bottle (or numerous water bottles), he or she generally carries those bottles home. As anyone who has done this can attest, there is no small measure of irritation associated with having to carry one or more large empty bottles over a long distance, sometimes with the bottle bouncing and clanging annoyingly against one's body or pack. In the home, while there is no significant inconvenience associated with having to carry around an empty bottle; it is instead the clutter connected with loose and empty containers that causes the irritation and inconvenience. And unless a container is capable of nesting in other food/fluid storage containers, considerable space may be required to store empty storage containers. This, too, is a longstanding source of irritation.
There is therefore a need for a fluid container that when emptied can be collapsed or otherwise configured such that it takes up much less space than when filled and that can be easily carried in a pocket or stored in large numbers in a drawer.
Several vendors of hydration systems have developed collapsible bottles, including Vapur, Prima Bottled Water, Platypus, and others. There are also a number of patent publications that teach collapsible bottles of one kind or another, including U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,644, to Robbins, III, which discloses a collapsible thin film plastic container that includes a unitary extrusion blow molded container body having a cylindrical side wall, and a closed lower end and an open upper end. The side wall has thickened upper and lower minor portions, the upper minor portion provided with means for receiving a removable lid. The thickened upper and lower portions permit the container to remain in a substantially upright, self-supporting position, but permit the main peripheral side wall portion to collapse upon exertion of an axially directed compressive force.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,551, also to Robbins, III, teaches a reusable and re-collapsible one-piece container having telescoping portions in a peripheral side wall that permits collapse from an extended to a collapsed condition.
Yet another patent to Robbins, III, U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,213, shows a reusable re-collapsible container and re-sealable cap that includes a one-piece, extruded and blow molded container formed with a peripheral side wall divided into upper, intermediate and lower portions, with the upper and lower portions having significantly greater wall thicknesses than the intermediate portion, all of which permits the intermediate portion to reverse fold as the upper and lower portions are moved toward one another in a telescoping relationship.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,576 teaches a container having a medial sidewall portion with a bellows-type configuration to permit selective collapse and extension of the container. It employs helical creases which spiral or angle between first and second portions of the container side wall to facilitate collapse.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,873,100 describes an expandable plastic bottle that also employs a bellows-type side wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,880,902 discloses a collapsible, drinking cup having a side wall with alternating thick and thin portions.
U.S. Pat. Appl. Pub. No. 20050017015, by Higuchi, shows a collapsible container including a top tap, a small width in the height direction at the bottom, and a horizontal bellows formed on the whole or part in a longitudinal direction of the container body, except the top tap, and the width in the height direction.
These publications and products reflect the current state of the art of which the present inventor is aware. Reference to, and discussion of, these publications is intended to aid in discharging Applicant's acknowledged duty of candor in disclosing information that may be relevant to the examination of claims to the present invention. However, it is respectfully submitted that none of the above-indicated publications disclose, teach, suggest, show, or otherwise render obvious, either singly or when considered in combination, the invention described and claimed herein.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is a collapsible fluid container having an expanded configuration and a collapsed configuration. The apparatus includes a relatively rigid upper portion with a mouth, a relatively rigid base portion, and a medial portion fabricated from resilient material and disposed between the upper portion and base portion. When in the collapsed configuration, the medial portion is distorted so as to reduce the volume within the fluid container so as to bring the upper portion into engagement with the lower portion. Retention structure disposed on the upper and lower portions may be engaged and employed to secure the container in the collapsed configuration, or an element physically separable from the container may also be so employed (a resilient band, for instance). When the retention element(s) are disengaged and the upper portion and lower portion are allowed to separate from one another, the resilient material of the medial portion urges the container back into a fully extended and expanded configuration.
This summary broadly sets out the essential and important features of the present invention so that the detailed description that follows may be better understood, and so that the present contributions to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described in the detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
Accordingly, before explaining the preferred embodiment of the disclosure in detail, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited in its application to the details of the construction and the arrangements set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The inventive apparatus described herein is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based may readily be used as a basis for designing other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims are regarded as including such equivalent constructions as far as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
For a better understanding of the present invention, its advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated the preferred embodiment.
The invention will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
Disposed between the upper and base portions is a flexible and resilient medial portion 26, preferably fabricated from food grade silicone rubber, and having an upper edge 28 and a lower edge 30 connected to the upper and lower portions, respectively, either by being welded to, incorporated into, or both, the lower rim 32 of the upper portion 12 and the upper rim 34 of the lower portion 22, each of which are made from generally or relatively rigid material (the rigidity being relative to the flexible and resilient medial portion). In a preferred embodiment, the diameters of the lower and upper rims and the medial portion at these points of connection are substantially the same. In an alternative embodiment, the upper portion may be slightly smaller than that of the base portion so as to provide a snug fit of the former into the latter when the medial portion is folded and collapsed down. As will be appreciated, the medial portion is generally cylindrical in shape, though a contoured medial portion having either a slightly tapering or a slightly bulging waist region 36 are possible without materially affecting apparatus function.
The bottle may be moved from a fully expanded and extended configuration (
It will be appreciated that in each the embodiments shown in
In every instance the twisting of the resilient medial portion into the collapsed configuration facilitates when the bottle is twisted into the collapsed configuration, the twisted resilient material contains a rotational force urging the upper and base portions to rotate in opposing directions in relation to one another, and thus out of the collapsed configuration and into the expanded configuration. Expansion into the expanded configuration is prevented either by preventing rotation of the upper and base portions by the retention elements, or simply by preventing any release of the upper portion from the base portion.
From the foregoing it will be seen that in its most essential aspect, the present invention is a collapsible fluid container comprising an upper portion with a mouth; a base portion shaped for placement on a flat surface such that said fluid container is in a generally upright orientation; a medial portion fabricated from resilient material and disposed between the upper portion and the base portion; wherein the container has an expanded configuration and a collapsed configuration, and when in the collapsed configuration the medial portion is distorted so as to reduce the volume within said fluid container and so as to bring the upper portion and the lower portion into engagement with one another such that they can be secured with a retention element or elements. Then, when the upper portion and lower portion are released from such engagement, the resilient material of the medial portion will urge the container back into the expanded configuration.
The above disclosure is sufficient to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention. The description also provides the best mode of practicing the invention presently contemplated by the inventor. However, while there is provided herein a full and complete disclosure of the preferred embodiments of this invention, the written description and the drawings do not limit the invention to the exact construction, dimensional relationships, and operation shown and described. Various modifications, alternative constructions, changes and equivalents will readily occur to those skilled in the art and may be employed, as suitable, without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.
Therefore, the above description and illustrations should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention, which is defined instead by the appended claims.
Claims
1. A collapsible fluid container having an expanded and a collapsed configuration, comprising:
- a generally rigid top portion having an open mouth with structure onto which a closure member may be disposed;
- a generally rigid base portion having a bottom with a planar portion for placement on a flat surface;
- a flexible and resilient medial portion disposed between said upper portion and said base portion; and
- retention structure for securing the container in the collapsed configuration;
- wherein when in the expanded configuration said collapsible fluid container is substantially cylindrical, and said apparatus is placed into a collapsed configuration by removing any closure member from said mouth and then either twisting said upper portion and said base portion in relation to one another or pushing said upper portion toward said base portion until said retention structure is engaged so as to hold said fluid container in the collapsed configuration.
2. The fluid container of claim 1, wherein said medial portion is fabricated from food grade silicone rubber.
3. The fluid container of claim 1, wherein said medial portion has an upper edge connected to a lower rim of said upper portion and a lower edge connected to an upper rim of said base portion.
4. The fluid container of claim 3, wherein the diameters of said upper rim and said lower rim and the diameter of said medial portion at the points of connection are substantially the same.
5. The fluid container of claim 3, wherein said upper portion is sized to nest snugly into said base portion, such that when said fluid container is twisted or pushed into the collapsed configuration said base portion captures and retains said upper portion.
6. The fluid container of claim 1, wherein said upper portion has a lower rim with a diameter and said base portion has an upper rim with a diameter substantially the same as the diameter of said lower rim, and wherein to move said fluid container from a fully expanded configuration to a fully collapsed configuration, said closure member is removed so as to allow air to escape and then rotating said upper portion in relation to said base portion, such that said flexible and resilient medial portion folds and overlaps itself within the confines of the upper and lower portions until said lower rim and said upper rim are generally approximated, thereby bringing said retention elements into engagement, thereby securing said fluid container in the collapsed configuration.
7. The fluid container of claim 6, wherein said retention structure comprises a female element disposed on either of said upper or base portions and a male element disposed on either of said upper or base portions and insertable into said male element, wherein to engage said male element with said female element said upper portions is twisted such that said male element slightly bypasses said female element sufficiently for the male element to insert into the female element as said flexible and resilient medial portion urges said upper and said base portions to rotate and maintain the insertion.
8. The fluid container of claim 6, wherein said retention structure comprises a resilient band.
9. The fluid container of claim 1, wherein said retention structure comprises a resilient band.
10. The fluid container of claim 1, wherein said upper portion has a lower rim with a contoured edge and said base portion has an upper rim with a contoured edge complementary to the contoured edge of said lower rim, and wherein to move said fluid container from a fully expanded configuration to a fully collapsed configuration, said closure member is removed so as to allow air to escape and then rotating said upper portion in relation to said base portion, such that said flexible and resilient medial portion folds and overlaps itself within the confines of the upper and lower portions until said lower rim and said upper rim are generally approximated, thereby bringing said contoured edges of said upper and lower rims into contact so as to prevent twisting of said medial portion in a direction opposite that of the direction in which it was twisted to collapse.
11. The fluid container of claim 1, wherein said upper portion includes a rounded overhang spaced apart from said medial portion, said overhang including a circumferential interior rim, and where said base portion includes an exterior circumferential rim that engages said circumferential interior rim when said fluid container is placed in the collapsed configuration to prevent the top and bottom portions from separating from one another.
12. The fluid container of claim 1, wherein said upper portion has a slightly smaller outside diameter than the interior diameter of said base portion, such that when said upper portion is twisted or pushed in relation to said base portion, said medial portion collapses and folds within the confines of the base portion and said upper portion fits snugly within said folds of said medial portion.
13. The fluid container of claim 12, wherein said base portion is fabricated from silicone rubber and is integral with said medial portion, and wherein said base portion has a thickness slightly greater than the thickness of said medial portion such that it is sufficiently rigid to capture and retain said upper portion and to retain the bottle in a collapsed configuration.
14. The fluid container of claim 1, wherein said upper portion has an inner diameter larger than the exterior diameter of said base portion, such that when said upper portion is twisted or pushed in relation to said base portion, said medial portion collapses and folds within the confines of said upper portion and said bottom portion fits snugly within said base portion.
15. A collapsible fluid container, comprising:
- an upper portion having an open mouth;
- a base portion;
- a medial portion fabricated from resilient material, said medial portion disposed between said upper portion and said base portion; and
- retention structure;
- wherein said fluid container has an expanded configuration and a collapsed storage configuration and is translated from the expanded configuration to the collapsed configuration by twisting said upper portion in relation to said base portion, and wherein when said fluid container is in the collapsed configuration, said resilient material imparts a force to each of said upper and base portions urging said upper and base portions to rotate in a direction opposite that of the rotation of twist used to place said fluid container in the collapsed configuration, and said retention elements uses such force as a means to maintain engagement with one another and thereby to retain said fluid container in the collapsed configuration.
16. The fluid container of claim 15, wherein said retention structure comprises complementary clasp elements disposed on each of said upper portion and said base portion.
17. The fluid container of claim 15, wherein said retention structure comprises a resilient band.
18. The fluid container of claim 15, wherein said retention structure comprises a contoured lower edge in said upper portion and a contoured upper edge in said base portion that engage one another when said fluid container is in said collapsed configuration prevent rotation of said upper portion in relation to said base portion.
19. The fluid container of claim 15, wherein said upper portion and said base portion have different diameters, such that when said fluid container is placed into the collapsed configuration, either of said upper portion or said lower portion fits within the other of said upper portion or said base portion.
20. A collapsible fluid container, comprising:
- an upper portion with a mouth;
- a base portion shaped for placement on a flat surface such that said fluid container is in a generally upright orientation;
- a medial portion fabricated from resilient material and disposed between said upper portion and said base portion;
- wherein said fluid container has an expanded configuration and a collapsed configuration, and when in the collapsed configuration said medial portion is distorted so as to reduce the volume within said fluid container and so as to bring said upper portion and said lower portion into engagement with one another, and wherein when said upper portion and said lower portion are released from such engagement, said resilient material will urge said fluid container back into the expanded configuration.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 16, 2012
Publication Date: Mar 28, 2013
Inventor: David B. Haynie (Palo Alto, CA)
Application Number: 13/587,760