PINEAPPLE-SHAPED BOTTLE FOR BEVERAGES, AND METHOD OF SUPPORTING THE SAME

Abstract

A pineapple-shaped bottle has a main body part configured to enclose an inner space for accommodating a beverage and having an opening, and a cover which is configured to close and to open at least partially the main body part so that the bottle is supported on its bottom, and to be removed and placed underneath the main body part of the bottle so as to support the bottle from below.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a pineapple-shaped bottle for beverages and a method of supporting the same.

Bottles for beverages are known in the art and are formed as a circumferentially closed containers which bound an inner empty space to be filled with a beverage. Beverage containers are usually closed by top covers which are removable attachable to a main body part of the bottle. In order to support such a bottle on a surface for standing position, for withdrawal of its content, for storage, etc. the bottom part of the bottle is formed to place the bottle on the supporting surface and to support the bottle on the supporting surface.

It is believed that the existing bottles, including the pineapple-shaped bottles, can be further improved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a pineapple-shaped bottle and a method of supporting the same, which is a further improvement of the existing bottles and their supporting methods.

In keeping with these objects and with others which will become apparent hereinafter, one feature of the present invention resides, briefly stated, in a pineapple-shaped bottle, which has a main body part configured to enclose an inner space for accommodating a beverage and having an opening, and a cover which is configured to close and to open a part of the main body part, and the cover is configured so that when removed, it is placeable underneath the main body part of the bottle so as to support the main body part from below.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the cover has an inner contour which substantially corresponds an outer contour of a lower part of the bottle so as substantially encompass the lower part of the bottle when the cover supports he main body part from below, and at the same time to have a bottom of the main body upwardly spaced from the bottom of the cover.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the cover has protrusions which are configured so that in the position when the cover is placed on a top of the main body part they are graspasble by a user to facilitate moving the cover between an open position and a closed position, while in the position when the cover is placed underneath the main body with the protrusions facing downwardly they form a reliable support on the supporting surface, and in the position when the cover is placed underneath the main body with the protrusions facing upwardly the main body parts can rest on the protrusions.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the cover has at least three such protrusions which are spaced from each other in a direction that is transverse to a direction of elongation of the bottle between a top and a bottom of the bottle.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the protrusions of the cover have proximal sections extending in the direction of elongation of the bottle and second distal sections extending from the first sections in a direction which is inclined to the direction of elongation of the bottle.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention the outer surface of the main body part of the bottle is provided with a plurality of convex formations.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention the convex formations on the outer surface of the main body part of the bottle are multi-facet formations.

A method of supporting a pineapple-shaped bottle resides in using a main body part configured to enclose an inner space for accommodating a beverage and having an opening, closing and opening a part of the main body part when the latter is supported on its bottom, or alternatingly removing the cover and placing it underneath the main body part of the bottle so as to support the main body part from below by the cover.

According to another embodiment of the method of the present invention, the cover has an inner contour substantially corresponds to an outer contour of a lower part of the bottle so as substantially encompass the lower part of the bottle when the cover supports the main body part from below, and at the same time to have a bottom of the main body upwardly spaced from the bottom of the cover

According to another embodiment of the method of the present invention, the cover has protrusions which are configured so that in the position when the cover is placed on a top of the main body part they are graspasble by a user to facilitate moving the cover between an open position and a closed position, while in the position when the cover is placed underneath the main body with the protrusions facing downwardly they form a reliable support on the supporting surface, and in the position when the cover is placed underneath the main body with the protrusions facing upwardly the main body parts can rest on the protrusions.

According to a further embodiment of the method of the present invention, the cover has at least three such protrusions which are spaced from each other in a direction that is transverse to a direction of elongation of the bottle between a top and a bottom of the bottle.

According to a further embodiment of the method according to the present invention, the protrusions of the cover have proximal sections extending in the direction of elongation of the bottle and second distal sections extending from the first sections in a direction which is inclined to the direction of elongation of the bottle.

According to a further embodiment of the method of the present invention the outer surface of the main body part of the bottle is provided with a plurality of convex formations.

According to a further embodiment of the method of the present invention the convex formations on the outer surface of the main body part of the bottle are multi-facet formations

The novel features of the present invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims.

The invention itself, both as to its construction and manner of operation, will be best understood from the following description of the preferred embodiments, which is accompanied by the following drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view showing a pineapple-shaped bottle according to the present invention in a closed position;

FIGS. 2a and 2b are views showing a pineapple-shaped bottle according to the present invention in an open position with a cover removed from its top, as viewed from two different points of view;

FIG. 3a is a perspective view of a pineapple-shaped bottle according to the present invention in an open position with a cover placed underneath the bottle as a support with protrusions facing downwardly;

FIG. 3b is a side view of a pineapple-shaped bottle according to the present invention in an open position;

FIG. 3C is a fragment of a side area a pineapple-shaped bottle according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a view showing a cross section of a pineapple-shaped bottle of FIG. 2 according to the present invention in an open position with a cover removed from its top;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a pineapple-shaped bottle with a cover placed underneath of the bottle as a support; and

FIG. 6 is a view showing a cross-section of a pineapple-shaped bottle of FIG. 3 according to the present invention in an open position with a cover placed underneath the bottle.

FIG. 7 is a view of a pineapple-shaped bottle according to the present invention in an open position with a cover placed underneath the bottle as a support with protrusions facing upwardly.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A pineapple-shaped bottle according to the present invention is identified as a whole with reference numeral 1. It has a main body part 2 with a wall 3 configured to enclose an inner space 4 for accommodating a beverage. As shown in FIGS. 2 -5 the main body part 2 can be provided with a hollow neck 5 communicating with the inner space 4 for filling the bottle with a beverage and discharging a beverage from the bottle. The neck 5 can be closed or opened by a cap 6 connectable with the neck 5, for example by a threaded connection.

The bottle further has a cover which is identified as a whole with reference numeral 7. The cover 7 is removably attachable to the main body part 2 of the bottle, for example by a threaded connection. The cover 7 is configured to close and to open at least a portion of the main body part 2. As can be seen from the drawings, the cover 7 has a main portion 8 and a plurality of protrusions 9 extending from the main portion.

The protrusions include at least three such protrusions. When the bottle 1 is located in a vertical orientation and the cover 7 is on the top of the bottle, the protrusions 9 extend substantially in a vertical longitudinal direction of the main body part 2 of the bottle 1 and upwardly from the main portion 8 of the cover 7. The protrusions 9 have first proximal sections 9′ located closer to the main portion 8 of the cover 7 and oriented substantially longitudinally in a direction of elongation of the bottle, and second distal sections 9″ extending farther from the proximal sections and oriented substantially at an angle to the direction of elongation of the bottle to reach further in the transverse direction.

The cover 7 is configured so that when removed, it is placeable underneath the main body part 2 of the bottle so as to support the main body part 2 and thus the bottle 1 from below on a supporting surface 10. The cover 7 has an inner contour 11 which substantially corresponds to an outer contour 12 of a lower end portion of the main body part 2 of the bottle 1. When the cover 7 is placed under the main body part 2 with its protrusions facing downwardly, it substantially encompasses a lower end portion of the main body part 2 of the bottle 1 and supports the bottle 1 from below so that the bottom of the main body part 2 is upwardly spaced from the bottom of the cover 7. In this position the protrusions 9 of the cover 7 actually stand on the supporting surface 10, as shown in FIG. 4

When the cover 7 is placed under the main body part 2 with its protrusions facing upwardly, its protrusions support the main body part 2 of the bottle 1 and supports the bottle 1 from below. In this the cover 7 with its wider surface actually stand on the supporting surface 10, as shown in FIG. 7

It can be seen further that the outer surface 12 of the bottle, including the main body part 2 and the cover 7 can be provided with convex formations 13. The convex formations 13 can be formed as multi-facet formations having a plurality of surfaces.

In the pineapple-shaped bottle 1 according to the present invention, the single component, namely the cover 7 in an advantageous manner alternatingly either covers at least a portion of the bottle from above or supports the bottle from below, and therefore the one component, namely the cover 7, performs two different functions.

The construction of the protrusions 9 with the longitudinally extending sections 9′ and inclinedly extending sections 9″ makes corresponding operations with the cover very convenient. When the cover 9 is placed on the top of the bottle, it is convenient to place the fingers of a user underneath the inclinedly extending sections 9″ of the protrusions 9 and to grasp them in order to lift the cover. When the cover 9 is placed underneath the bottle, the inclinedly extending sections 9″ of the protrusion 9 provide an extended surface support for the bottle on the supporting surface.

Since the outer surface 12 of the bottle 1 is provided with convex formations 13 which can be formed as multi-facet formations having a plurality of surfaces, it is easier for the user to reliably hold the bottle in his hands.

In a not shown embodiment the cover 7 can be provided, instead of a protruding threaded inner sleeve which receives a protruding threaded neck of the main part, with a cork which extends toward the main body part and is tightly insertable into the neck of the main body part 2.

The invention is not limited to the details shown since various modifications and structural changes are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in particular in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A pineapple-shaped bottle, comprising a main body part configured to enclose an inner space for accommodating a beverage and having an opening; and a cover which is configured to close and to open at least partially the main body part, wherein said main body part has a hollow neck communicating with an inner space of the main body part and closeable by a cap, wherein an outer surface of the main body part is provided with a plurality of covex formations formed as multi-facet formations with a plurality of surfaces, wherein the cover has an inner contour which substantially corresponds to an outer contour of a lower part of the main body part of the bottle so as substantially encompass a lower part of the bottle when the cover supports the bottle from below and to provide a space between a bottom of the main body part and a bottom of the cover, wherein the cover is configured so that when said cover is placed on top of said main body part it covers said hollow neck with the cap, and when said cover is removed, it is placeable underneath the main body part of the bottle so as to support the main body part of the bottle having the outer surface provided with a plurality of covex formations formed as multi-facet formations with a plurality of surfaces from below.

2. (canceled)

3. The pineapple-shaped bottle of claim 1, wherein the cover has protrusions which are configured so that in the position when the cover is placed on a top of the main body part they are graspasble by a user to facilitate moving the cover between an open position and a closed position, while in the position when the cover is placed underneath the main body with the protrusions facing downwardly they form a reliable support on the supporting surface, and in the position when the cover is placed underneath the main body with the protrusions facing upwardly the main body parts can rest on the protrusions.

4. The pineapple-shaped bottle of claim 3, wherein the cover has at least three such protrusions which are spaced from each other in a direction that is transverse to a longitudinal direction between a top and a bottom of the bottle.

5. The pineapple-shaped bottle of claim 3, wherein the protrusions of the cover have proximal sections extending in the longitudinal direction of the bottle and second distal sections extending from the first sections in a direction which is inclined transversely to the longitudinal direction of elongation of the bottle.

6-14. (canceled)