INSULATED UTILITY COVER FOR ATHLETE'S DRINK CONTAINER
An insulating and protecting cover for a water bottle or fluid container, where the cover is manufactured from neoprene or a similar insulating and protecting material, and the cover further having at least one pocket or similar compartment incorporated into the cover to store various items, is disclosed. The cover may be manufactured from a single layer of neoprene or as a multi-layer laminate to provide additional insulation as well as enhanced protection from being dropped or hitting other objects. The cover may incorporate a zipper or other similar openable element to permit easy placement of the cover around the bottle, and may incorporate a cutout or other open section to permit easy access to a handle element of the bottle being covered. The cover may be manufactured in a variety of colors or patterns to match the user's apparel or as a fashion statement.
This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/181,930, filed on Jun. 19, 2015, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein in its entirety as if set forth in full.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention generally relates to insulating devices for fluid containers, and more specifically relates to insulating utility covers for an athlete's drink container. In one core embodiment, the insulating cover substantially covers the exterior surface of the drink container with an insulating material such as neoprene, and further incorporates a zipper or similar openable element to allow for ease of use, along with at least one pocket or compartment in which the user may store various items such as a smartphone or set of keys. The insulating cover may also incorporate a cutout or open section to allow for ready access to a handle on the container and/or to allow for viewing of the container contents. The insulating cover may also be manufactured using a single layer of insulating material or as a multi-layer laminate to provide additional insulation as well as enhanced protection of the container from inadvertent impacts.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONGym enthusiasts often take a water bottle to the gym so that they have ready access to water, or another desired fluid replenishment, and to help with maintaining hydration during a workout. Using a standard over the counter water bottle may end up causing confusion as to whose water bottle is whose, where multiple athletes may have similar or the same water bottle. Moreover, for a typical workout session, which can last an hour or more, the cold water or fluid replenishment will warm up during the time of the workout, such that by the end of the workout, the water or fluid is no longer a refreshing cold temperature, but has now likely reached room temperature.
In many gyms, where the room temperature may be, or may reach elevated temperatures, the user's water bottle may also sweat causing water puddles to form where the bottle was placed on the floor or table or bench. The sweat on a water bottle also makes it more difficult to open the bottle or container.
Further, athletes often keep their smartphone, a set of keys, a locker key, and/or a security card with them during the workout. Keeping these items together or safe during a workout, which may entail moving from station to station or between different machines may be cumbersome, and often results in one or more personal items being left behind. It would be easier to have one location or container to hold and protect any and all of such items that the athlete has with him or her during a workout or exercise session such that as the athlete moves between stations or machines all of his or her belongings stay together and with the athlete.
Prior art devices have been created in an attempt to address certain of these problems and issues. One example are the standard koozies used to insulate a water bottle. However, such insulating covers do not fully address the above noted problems including the need to be able to store certain items with or on the insulating cover.
Accordingly, it would be useful to have a practical device that an athlete could use at the gym or during an exercise session that could (1) act as an insulating cover for a water bottle or fluid container, similar to a koozie, (2) act as a protective layer around the water bottle, to protect the bottle from damage due to inadvertent impacts, (3) provide at least one pocket or sleeve to hold a smartphone or set of keys or security card, and (4) be manufactured with different colors or design schemes or indicia to allow users to have a unique identifier for their particular water bottle and stored items. Ideally, the cover would be flexible, dirt and scuff resistant, be machine washable, and would come in different sizes and shapes so that the covers could be used with different size fluid or drink containers.
Such an insulating water bottle cover configuration does not appear to have been fully designed, developed, or commercialized. While certain of these problems may be addressed by one or more examples of the prior art, a complete solution to all of these problems does not appear to have been specifically designed or used in the relevant prior art.
SUMMARY OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art and fulfills the needs described above by providing an insulating cover for a fluid or drink container, comprising a cover shaped to envelope a fluid or drink container; at least one pocket formed on the outside of said cover, wherein at least one of said at least one pocket is sized to fit a wireless device; a zipper element incorporated along one side of said cover to allow for easy placement and removal of the fluid container from said cover; and a cutout section incorporated along one side of said cover to allow access to a handle formed on the fluid container; wherein said cover is manufactured from an insulating material thereby providing thermal insulation characteristics to maintain the temperature of any fluid contained within said fluid container.
Another preferred aspect of the invention is the insulating cover for a fluid container, as described above, and further comprising at least one see-through section incorporated within said flexible cover to allow a user to see any contents of said fluid container.
Another preferred aspect of the invention is the insulating cover for a fluid container, as described above, wherein said neoprene material is approximately between 2 millimeters and 5 millimeters thick.
To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, the most significant digit or digits in a reference number refer to the figure number in which that element is first introduced.
The inventive insulating and utility cover for an athlete's drink container or water bottle is described in the following paragraphs and accompanying figures. More particularly, with reference to
In one embodiment, as shown in
As also shown in
Standard thickness neoprene is 2 mm to 4 mm, with the embodiment shown having a thickness of 3 mm. The use of a material such as neoprene also provides an additional feature to the inventive cover 100 in that it provides some protection to the water container from inadvertent impacts or simply being dropped. Such impact protection is increased with use of thicker neoprene, such as 4 mm to 6 mm.
In another embodiment, shown in
In a further embodiment, impact protection to the container can be enhanced through use of a semi-rigid, or rigid bottom section or layer 80 as shown in
To allow for ease of use in putting the cover 100 over the bottle to be insulated, or in removing the cover 100 from the bottle, a zipper 106 is incorporated along one side or edge of the cover 100, as shown in
As also shown in
In the embodiment shown in
Other pockets, including as shown in
In a further refined embodiment of the design of one or more pockets 108 incorporated into the insulating cover 100, the pocket may be formed such that an outer section 150 may fold away from the cover exterior, as shown in
As also shown in
In the
While each of these features and components are shown incorporated along one side of the cover 100, each such component could be placed along any side of the cover 100, or indeed on more than one side of the cover 100. For example, as shown in
In another embodiment, not shown, the cover 100 may be manufactured with a cutout to allow the water container handle to be more fully exposed and be readily grasped. With such a cutout, the athlete may also be able to see a segment of the container and to determine the level of fluid within the container.
As also shown in
While various design indicia 204 may be used to distinguish a cover 100 from other covers, as shown in
In addition to including design indicia 204 on the exterior of the cover 100, the cover could also be manufactured with a clear or see-through section 130, as shown in
As noted above, different embodiment colors, or combination of colors or designs may be used to customize or individualize the cover. While the embodiments shown in
While preferred embodiments of the inventive device and cover have been described and disclosed, in particular by reference to certain figures and exemplary embodiments relating to the insulating cover 100, such cover embodiments and designs are not to be construed as limiting the scope of application of the inventive devices or products. For example, as described, the cover 100 may be made in a different size to accommodate different size containers, or include alternative placement or use of a zipper 106 or other closure device. Moreover, alternative materials for the cover may be used to provide different outside design configurations that could be effective to distinguish different covers 100 and drink containers. All such alternate embodiments are believed to be within the scope of the inventive design and below claims.
It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that other modifications, substitutions, and/or other applications are possible and all such modifications, substitutions and applications are within the true scope and spirit of the present invention. It is likewise understood that the above disclosure and attached claims are intended to cover all such modifications, substitutions, and/or applications.
Claims
1. An insulating cover for a fluid or drink container, comprising:
- a flexible cover shaped to substantially envelope a fluid or drink container;
- at least one pocket formed on the exterior of said cover, wherein at least one of said at least one pocket is sized to hold a wireless device;
- a closure element incorporated along one side of said cover to allow for easy placement and removal of the fluid container from within said cover; and
- at least one opening incorporated along one side of said cover to allow access to a handle formed on the fluid container;
- wherein said cover is manufactured from an insulating material thereby providing thermal insulation characteristics to maintain the temperature of any fluid contained within said fluid container.
2. The insulating cover for a fluid container, as provided in claim 1, wherein said cover is manufactured from a plurality of laminates thereby providing enhanced thermal insulation capability and improved protection from inadvertent impacts.
3. The insulating cover for a fluid container, as provided in claim 1, further comprising a semi-rigid bottom section providing enhanced impact protection to said fluid container.
4. The insulating cover for a fluid container, as provided in claim 1, further comprising at least one see-through section incorporated within said flexible cover to allow a user to see any contents of said fluid container.
5. The insulating cover for a fluid container, as provided in claim 1, wherein said closure element is a zipper.
6. The insulating cover for a fluid container, as provided in claim 1, wherein said closure element are overlapping flaps using hook and loop material to attach said overlapping flaps to each other.
7. The insulating cover for a fluid container, as provided in claim 1, wherein said closure element are overlapping flaps using magnets to attach said overlapping flaps to each other.
8. The insulating cover for a fluid container, as provided in claim 1, wherein said at least one opening incorporated along one side of said cover is at least one slit formed in said cover.
9. The insulating cover for a fluid container, as provided in claim 1, wherein said at least one opening incorporated along one side of said cover is a full opening allowing direct access to a handle formed on the fluid container.
10. The insulating cover for a fluid container, as provided in claim 1, wherein said insulating material is neoprene.
11. The insulating cover for a fluid container, as provided in claim 10, wherein said neoprene material is approximately at least 2 millimeters thick.
12. The insulating cover for a fluid container, as provided in claim 10, wherein said neoprene material is approximately between 2 millimeters and 5 millimeters thick.
13. The insulating cover for a fluid container, as provided in claim 1, wherein said insulating material is an insulating foam material.
14. The insulating cover for a fluid container, as provided in claim 13, wherein said insulating material is a closed-cell insulating foam material.
15. The insulating cover for a fluid container, as provided in claim 1, further comprising a latch element onto which clip at least one of a key chain, key, key chain fob, or towel.
16. The insulating cover for a fluid container, as provided in claim 1, wherein said one of said at least one pocket formed on the exterior of said cover is sized to fit a set of keys.
17. The insulating cover for a fluid container, as provided in claim 1, wherein said one of said at least one pocket formed on the exterior of said cover is sized to fit at least one of a plurality of key cards or credit cards.
18. The insulating cover for a fluid container, as provided in claim 1, wherein said one of said at least one pocket is formed on the exterior of said cover by an elastic mesh material.
19. The insulating cover for a fluid container, as provided in claim 1, further comprising a flap section on the exterior of at least one of said at least one pocket to hold identification information.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 23, 2016
Publication Date: Dec 22, 2016
Inventors: Amanda Otero-Palacios (Boca Raton, FL), Christopher Todd Stacy (Boca Raton, FL)
Application Number: 15/136,912