Beverage Holder

Abstract

A holder for storing a beverage container in an upright orientation. The beverage holder includes a base with a perimeter and a sidewall extending upwards from the base defining an interior volume with an open upper end. The interior volume can receive a beverage container therein such as a two-liter soda bottle. A bracket disposed on the sidewall of the beverage holder can secure the beverage holder to a shelf of a refrigerator to prevent the beverage container from falling over when the door is opened. The beverage holder can be removed from the shelf and replaced back thereon as desired.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/359,334 filed on Jul. 7, 2016. The above identified patent application is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety to provide continuity of disclosure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to beverage holders. More specifically, the present invention provides a beverage holder configured to support a beverage container in an upright position on a refrigerator shelf.

Refrigerators keep beverages cold, but main shelf space is often at a premium. Beverage containers are often placed in a door shelf for easy access and for minimizing the amount of main shelf space that is occupied by drinks. Unfortunately, the door shelves are the warmest part of a refrigerator and are the only part of the refrigerator that items can fall from due to inertia as a result of the door opening and closing. However, the practice of storing beverage containers within the door shelves nevertheless continues due to the limited refrigerator storage space.

When a beverage container is placed in a door shelf and the door is subsequently opened, the liquid within the beverage container experiences a centrifugal acceleration due to the swinging door. When the door is halted the liquid with the beverage container continues to move. The moving liquid causes the beverage container to sway and possibly knock over other items, as well as potentially falling or spilling contents if the cover is missing or not properly secured. The effect is amplified when you have a taller bottle holding a substantial amount of liquid. A sticky, smelly, corrosive, or easily perishable material can cause additional harm and difficulty in cleaning. Therefore, there exists a need for a device which can stabilize beverage containers when a refrigerator door is swung open and prevent them from falling over.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of beverage holders now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a beverage holder comprising a base with a sidewall extending along the perimeter of the base. The sidewall extends upwards from the base defining an interior volume with an open upper end. The interior volume is configured to receive a beverage container therein. A bracket disposed on a sidewall is configured to removably secure the beverage holder to a shelf of a refrigerator, wherein the beverage holder can be utilized for providing convenience for the user when a refrigerator door is opened.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Although the characteristic features of this invention will be particularly pointed out in the claims, the invention itself and manner in which it may be made and used may be better understood after a review of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like numeral annotations are provided throughout.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the beverage holder.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the beverage holder in use.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a second embodiment of the beverage holder in use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference is made herein to the attached drawings. Like reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to depict like or similar elements of the beverage holder. The figures are intended for representative purposes only and should not be considered to be limiting in any respect. Unless specifically limited to a single unit, “a” is intended to be equivalent to “one or more” throughout the present disclosure.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a perspective view of an embodiment of the beverage holder. The beverage holder 10 comprises a base 11 with a sidewall 12 extending along the perimeter of the base 11 and upwards therefrom to form an interior volume 19 with an open upper end 16. The interior volume 19 is configured to receive a beverage container therein (as seen in FIG. 2). A bracket 18 is disposed on a sidewall 12 and is configured to removably secure the beverage holder 10 to a shelf of a refrigerator.

In the illustrated embodiment, the base 11 is planar and cylindrical and is configured to receive a single beverage container therein. In other embodiments, the base 11 is in the shape of a polygon. The base 11 can be made of any suitable material and in any suitable shape known to a person of ordinary skill in the art. In some embodiments, the base 11 is waterproof.

In the illustrated embodiment, the sidewall 12 is a single sidewall 12 extending along the perimeter of the base 11. The sidewall 12 extends vertically from the base 11 to stabilize a beverage container regardless of the amount of liquid contained therein when exposed to the force and acceleration involved in opening a refrigerator door. In other embodiments, a plurality of sidewalls 12 are used. The sidewall 12 in this embodiment further comprises one or more apertures 15. The sidewalls 12 can be composed of any suitable rigid material such as plastic and in any suitable shape for receiving a beverage container.

In the illustrated embodiment, the apertures 15 are rectangular cut-outs on the sidewall 12. The apertures 15 are adapted to allow for easier removal of a beverage container 22 from the beverage holder 10. In this way, the apertures 15 reduce the friction between the beverage holder 10 and the beverage container 22, such that less force is required to remove the beverage container 22 therefrom. In alternative embodiments, the apertures 15 are circular or another suitable shape, and may have various dimensions.

In the illustrated embodiment, the bracket 18 is a hinged bracket with a pivotable section 14, pivotally affixed by a hinge 17 to an extension arm 13. The extension arm 13 extends from the sidewall 12 away from the interior volume 16. The bracket 18 is configured to allow the pivotable section 14 snap down and contact a side of the support rail 23 of the refrigerator shelf 21 while the extension arm 13 rests upon an upper edge of the support rail 23. The rest of the beverage holder 10 remains within the interior volume of the refrigerator shelf 21. In a snapped down position, the hinge 17 is configured to provide a spring force against the side of the support rail 23 to prevent the bracket 18 from returning to an extended position. In the snapped position (as seen in FIG. 2), the pivotable section 14 is angled inwards and downwards towards the base 11 of the beverage holder 10 forming a channel 26 configured to receive the shelf, while the extension arm 13 remains in a horizontal plane. In the extended position, the pivotable section 14 extends away from the sidewall 12. In one embodiment, the pivotable section 14 and the extension arm 13 are disposed in the same horizontal plane. In some embodiments, the pivotable section 14 comprises a plurality of tines adapted to provide a better grip against the refrigerator shelf 21.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a perspective view of an embodiment of the beverage holder in use. A refrigerator shelf 21 located within a refrigerator door is shown comprising a support rail 23. In the illustrated embodiment, the bracket 18 of the beverage holder is removably secured to the refrigerator shelf 21 via the pivotable section 14. In this way, the beverage holder 10 is configured to support a beverage container 22 therein and maintains the beverage container 22 in an upright position when the refrigerator door is opened or closed.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown a perspective view of a second embodiment of the beverage holder. In the illustrated embodiment, the sidewall 12 extends upwards from the base 11 defining a plurality of interior volumes 19A, 19B each with an open upper end 16. In the shown embodiment, the sidewall 13 forms a pair of interior volumes 19A, 19B separated by a gap 27 extending from the base 11 to the open upper end, wherein each of the pair of interior volumes 19A, 19B are adapted to receive a container simultaneously therein.

In the illustrated embodiment, the beverage holder includes a plurality of brackets 18A, 18B, with each bracket disposed on a first side 30 of the beverage holder. Each bracket 18A, 18B is positioned adjacent a corresponding interior volume 19A, 19B respectively. Each bracket 18A, 18B is fixed with an extension arm 13 extending out from the sidewall 13 and away from the interior volume. In the shown embodiment, the extension arm 13 is L-shaped and has a downward protrusion 31 extending at an angle from the extension arm 13.

In one embodiment, each of the one or more apertures 33, 34 are equally dimensioned, and disposed at intervals about the sidewall 12. The one or more apertures include a first pair of lateral apertures 33 and a second pair of medial apertures 34, wherein each pair of apertures 33, 34 includes a first aperture facing a second aperture. Further, the one or more apertures are positioned equidistant from adjacent apertures.

In use, the pivotable section 14 extending perpendicularly from the sidewall 12 is placed over the support rail 23 of the refrigerator shelf 21 and pivoted downwards. A beverage container 22 is placed into the open interior of the beverage holder 10. The vertical sidewalls of the beverage holder 10 prevent the beverage container 22 from falling over when a refrigerator door is swung open by resting flush against the exterior of the beverage container 22. In use, the beverage container 22 is secured to the beverage holder 10 by the sidewalls 12 such that the center of gravity of a beverage container 22 is below an upper end of the sidewalls 12. The beverage holder 10 includes various embodiments for holding one or more beverage containers 22 in every size and shape.

It is therefore submitted that the instant invention has been shown and described in various embodiments. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art. With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1) A beverage holder, comprising:

a base affixed to a sidewall disposed along a perimeter thereof having an open upper end, defining an interior volume;

the interior volume configured to receive a beverage container therein;

a bracket disposed on the sidewall configured to secure the beverage holder to a shelf.

2) The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein the bracket comprises a pivotable section rotably affixed to an extension arm via a hinge.

3) The beverage holder of claim 2, wherein the pivotable section is movable between a snapped down position and an extended position, the snapped down position forming a channel configured to receive the shelf.

4) The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein the sidewall comprises one or more apertures thereon.

5) The beverage holder of claim 4, wherein each of the one or more apertures are equally dimensioned and disposed at intervals about the sidewall.

6) The beverage holder of claim 4, wherein the one or more apertures include a first pair of lateral apertures and a second pair of medial apertures, wherein each pair of apertures includes a first aperture facing a second aperture.

7) The beverage holder of claim 4, wherein the one or more apertures are positioned equidistant from adjacent apertures.

8) The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein the interior volume is configured to receive a single beverage container therein and to secure the beverage container in an upright position via a friction fit.

9) The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein the sidewall comprises a plurality of interior volumes joined via a gap extending from the base to the open upper end, wherein each of the plurality of interior volumes are adapted to receive a beverage container therein.

10) The beverage holder of claim 1, wherein the bracket comprises a plurality brackets, wherein each of the plurality of brackets are disposed on a first side and adjacent each corresponding interior volume.