TWO PIECE BEVERAGE/DRINKING OR FOOD CONTAINER

Abstract

A two-piece stemware container with an upper bowl-like vessel element having side walls forming an upwardly extending open goblet cavity for carrying food or drink. The cavity has an open top and a closed bottom base portion. A female threaded receptacle is concealed and carried within the base portion. A lower stem-like element having an upwardly extending column is integrally formed with a bottom base. The lower stem-like element has a male screw thread member located at the upper end of said column and adapted to mate with the female threaded receptacle for connecting the lower stem-like element with the upper bowl-like vessel element. The lower stem-like element has an effective height such that when the lower stem-like element is inverted and inserted into the top opening where it can be carried within the cavity.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a non-provisional application based on, and claims priority to provisional application No. 61/648,190 filed on May 17, 2012, the contents of which are incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of stemware or drinking vessels for beverages or food items, such as desserts. More particularly, this invention provides two-part drinking vessels or stemware in which a stem is removably connected with a bowl or goblet shaped vessel for holding a beverage or a food item. The invention allows for use of the goblet-shaped vessel whether or not the stem is connected to the bowl or has been removed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There have been many designs of two-piece stemware in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,842,590, 5,996,825 and 7,861,888 illustrate and describe typical two-piece plastic containers with an upper portion or bowl-like vessel element and a lower portion or stem-like element. (Note that the expressions “upper”, “upwardly”, “top”, “lower”, “bottom” and similar expressions denote relative direction of parts with respect to gravity when placed in a resting position.) Typically the upper portion has a plug or similar mechanism at its base designed to be received in a receptacle on the upper part of the stem-like element. The stem-like lower portion usually has a hollow and tapered structure so as to allow stacking with similar stem elements. Similarly, the upper portion has tapered side walls so as to also allow stacking with similar upper portion vessel elements. Typical of the prior art, is the use of a male-type plug at the lower surface or base of the upper portion bowl-like vessel element and a receptacle for receiving the plug of the upper portion at a point on the stem so that the stem may act as a support for the vessel. Unfortunately, such arrangements, while allowing the upper bowl-like vessel portion and the lower stem-like portion to be separately stackable, they lack a number of desirable features.

Additionally, the traditional design of the prior art renders the use of the upper bowl-like vessel elements as a stand-alone usable goblet, impractical. With a male-type connector plug at its base, prior art upper portion or bowl-like vessel elements cannot easily be supported without the addition of the lower portion stem-like element.

Multi-part containers using a female-type connector on an upper member and a male-type connector on a lower member used as a support for the upper member is not unknown in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,640,989 discloses such an arrangement. However, the upper container element also incorporates a male-type plug and the connecting structures do not allow for a secure and stable support without the lower portion.

OBJECTIVE OF THE INVENTION

It is accordingly an objective of the present invention to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art by providing a two-piece container usable as a drinking or food vessel with a detachable stem and wherein the upper bowl-like vessel can stand alone. Accordingly, when the upper bowl-like vessel is detached from its stem, the upper element would nonetheless be able to be fully supported as a stand-alone drinking container without concerns of tipping or not being adequately supported. The use of a female receptacle at the bottom of the upper vessel element allows for such an arrangement. In addition, the base of the upper element may be structured with a flat surface to allow the upper bowl element to be fully supported as a stand-alone element. Having extended plugs or rounded bottoms with male-type connecting elements renders the upper bowl element unstable.

When the upper and lower elements are attached, a traditional wineglass structure becomes apparent. When separated, the upper portion can be used as a stand-alone drinking vessel with a secure bottom supporting surface. The stem-like element is further designed to be able to fit within the upper bowl-like vessel element when the stem is removed from the vessel and is inverted, thus allowing practical, space-saving storage. This arrangement overcomes the difficulties of the prior art where the bottom connection point of the upper bowl element is not designed to serve multiple functions. In order to achieve the objectives of the present invention, it is necessary for the connection point between the lower stem-like element and the upper goblet or vessel-like element to be concealed for aesthetic appeal. The present invention addresses this issue as described below. In addition, the present invention allows for the stem-like element to be securely contained within the vessel element, also described below.

Having described the invention in general terms, the invention will now be described by way of example in connection with specific embodiments in conjunction with the annexed drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following description, reference will be made to the annexed drawings which provide illustrative embodiments of the present invention, and which include the following:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the present invention in its assembled form;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of only the upper goblet vessel element illustrated as disassembled from the lower stem element;

FIG. 3A is a side elevation view illustrating the present invention in assembled form;

FIG. 3B is a side elevational view illustrating the present invention in exploded form;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation exploded view illustrating the upper goblet portion disassembled from the lower stem portion;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of the upper goblet portion illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation view illustrating two similar upper goblet portions stacked one atop the other; and

FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view illustrating additional features of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now in more detail to the figures, the assembled stemware 10 of the present invention includes an upper goblet-like or bowl-like element 11 removably supported on a stem-like element 12. The upper goblet or bowl-like element 11 has sidewalls 13 which may be tapered as illustrated in the attached drawings, straight or any other attractive and aesthetically appealing shape and which form an interior cavity 14′. When the side walls are tapered as shown, the cavity is generally conical in shape. When they are straight, the cavity is generally cylindrical Importantly the upper element 11 has an open top 14 through which liquid or other food may be introduced to the cavity of vessel element 11 and through which a user may partake of the food or drink carried within the cavity 14′. The top 14 must be a sufficiently large opening to accommodate the use of the assembled structure as a container from which beverages may be drank. The upper and lower elements 11 and 12, respectively, are preferably made of a molded plastic utilizing materials and techniques that are known in the art. When assembled, the upper and lower elements have the general shape of a wineglass.

The upper element 11 also includes a lower bottom portion 15 with inwardly tapered outer walls 15′ and a generally flat bottom surface 16 that allows the upper element 11 to rest on a flat surface so as to be used as a stand-alone container. The bottom portion 15 has a thickness 29 with the top thereof forming a closed bottom surface of cavity 14′. In order to fully support the upper element, the flat bottom surface 16, which is generally circular, should have a diameter of no less than about 30% of the largest width or cross-sectional diameter of the cavity 14′. The upper open end 14 has a larger diameter than the flat surface 16 of the lower bottom portion 15. The lower bottom portion of vessel 11 also has a base portion 17 within which a female threaded screw receptacle 18 is contained. The base portion 17 is sufficiently thick to accommodate the depth of female receptacle 18 so that the receptacle 18 is fully concealed within the base portion 17 and the bottom surface 16 provides a flat supporting surface. The base 15, as noted above, is tapered inwardly so that it may fit and rest within an opening 14 of a second vessel, as illustrated in FIG. 5. Here, a first vessel element 11′ supports a second similarly shaped upper vessel element 11″ with the base portion 15″ of the vessel 11″ resting within opening 14′ of the supporting vessel 11′.

The lower or stem-like element 12 is an integrally molded unit. The central vertical column 20 of stem-like element 12 may also be tapered and either hollow or solid. A flared portion 21 provides a transition between the vertical upwardly extending column 20 and a base 22. The base 22 has a diameter generally larger than the diameter of open top 14 of the upper element 11 with an overhanging lip periphery 23. The base portion 22 is generally sloped from the transition 21 toward the bottom flat surface 24 to provide a resting surface when the stem 12 is inverted and placed within the top opening 14 of vessel 11.

The lip 23 may form a continuous and uninterrupted surface with the sloped surface of base 22 or may have a slightly alternate angle of slope so as to provide a secure covering over open top 14 when the stem is inserted within the vessel 11.

Lower stem element 12 has a male-type threaded member 19 designed to screw into and mate with female receptacle 18 of the upper vessel element 11. Male member 19 is supported by an upwardly flared housing 25, which is integrally molded with the column 20. Housing 25 may be formed with a hollow central portion 26 in order to accommodate an aesthetic or distinguishing member 27 as illustrated in FIG. 7. Such distinguishing members may be used to identify particular stem elements or when assembled with an upper element 11, a particular drinking vessel.

Lower stem element 12 has an effective height indicated as 12H, which extends from a point 30 on base 22, that is designed to contact the periphery of opening 14 to the top of threaded member 19, and which is equal or less than the cavity height 11H so that it may be fully incorporated within the cavity 14′ when it is inverted and inserted through opening 14.

With female receptacle 18 molded within the base portion 17 of vessel 11, the generally flat surface 16 can thereby provide a secure supporting surface for upper element 11 even when disassembled from the lower stem element 12.

FIG. 6 generally illustrates two similar assemblies with their stem elements carried within the cavity of each upper element. Specifically, an upper vessel element 11′ and 11″ carry within its cavity its respective support stem elements 12′ and 12″. The base 22′ of stem 12′ and 22″ of base 12″ are arranged to cover the openings 14 of their respective vessels 11′ and 11″. In this manner, similar containers 11′ and 11″ can be stacked one atop the other while carrying their respective supporting stem elements 12′ and 12″.

The embodiment of the two piece assembly disclosed herein provides upper and lower portions of a stemmed vessel with the upper portion having a flat base so that it may fully supportive and stand-alone without the need for the stem element. The addition of the lower stem element when fully assembled by mating threaded members 18 and 19 provide a stable wineglass appearance. The incorporation of a female receptacle fully embedded and concealed within the base portion of the upper vessel element makes for an attractive dual-purpose assembly.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in connection with currently preferred embodiments shown and described in detail, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and practical application to thereby enable a person skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

Claims

1. A two-piece stemware container comprising:

an upper bowl-like vessel element having side walls forming an upwardly extending open goblet cavity for carrying food or drink therein, said cavity having an open top and a closed bottom base portion, a female threaded receptacle concealed and carried within said bottom base portion, said cavity having a cavity height extending from an upper surface of said base to a said open top,

a lower stem-like element having an upwardly extending column integrally formed with a bottom support base,

said lower stem-like element further having a male screw thread member located at the upper end of said column and adapted to mate with said female threaded receptacle for connecting said lower stem-like element with said upper bowl-like vessel element,

said support bottom base having a diameter at least as large as the diameter of said open top of said upper bowl-like vessel, and said lower stem-like element having an effective height such that when said lower stem-like element is inverted and a top surface of said bottom base is resting on the circumference of said open top said effective height is equal to or less than said cavity height thereby allowing said lower stem-like element to be carried within said cavity.

2. The stemware container according to claim 1, wherein said upper bowl-like vessel element is an integrally molded unit.

3. The stemware container according to claim 2, wherein said side walls form a generally cylindrical cavity.

4. The stemware container according to claim 2, wherein said side walls are tapered forming a generally conical cavity.

5. The stemware container according to claim 2, wherein said bottom base portion has a diameter of no less than about 30% of the largest cross-sectional diameter of said cavity.

6. The stemware container according to claim 2, wherein said lower stem-like element is an integrally molded unit.

7. The stemware container according to claim 6, further comprising a housing located at the upper end of said column.

8. The stemware container according to claim 7, wherein said housing is upwardly flared from said column.

9. The stemware container according to claim 8, wherein said housing is formed with a hollow central portion.

10. The stemware container according to claim 9, further comprising a distinguishing member carried within said hollow central portion.

11. An upper bowl-like vessel element comprising side walls forming an upwardly extending open goblet cavity for carrying food or drink therein, said cavity having an open top and a closed bottom base portion, a female threaded receptacle concealed and carried within said bottom base portion adapted to mate and connect with a male screw thread member carried by a lower stem-like element thereby connecting said lower stem-like element with said upper bowl-like vessel element, said cavity having a cavity height extending from an upper surface of said base to a said open top.

12. The upper bowl-like vessel according to claim 11, wherein said side walls form a generally cylindrical cavity.

13. The upper bowl-like vessel according to claim 11, wherein said side walls are tapered forming a generally conical cavity.

14. A lower stem-like element comprising

an upwardly extending column integrally formed with a bottom support base,

a male screw thread member located at the upper end of said column and adapted to mate with a female threaded receptacle carried by an upper bowl-like vessel element having a goblet cavity with an open top and a closed bottom, for connecting said lower stem-like element with said upper bowl-like vessel element,

said bottom support base having a diameter at least as large as the diameter of said open top of said upper bowl-like vessel, and said lower stem-like element having an effective height such that when said lower stem-like element is inverted and a top surface of said bottom base is resting on the circumference of said open top said effective height is equal to or less than said cavity height thereby allowing said lower stem-like element to be carried within said cavity.

15. The lower stem-like element according to claim 14, further comprising a housing located at the upper end of said column.

16. The lower stem-like element according to claim 15, wherein said housing is upwardly flared from said column.

17. The lower stem-like element according to claim 16, wherein said housing is formed with a hollow central portion.

18. The lower stem-like element according to claim 17, further comprising a distinguishing member carried within said hollow central portion.