WATER BOTTLE HAVING A LINER
The disclosure includes a liquid storage container comprising a shell having an inner portion and a liner that extends into the inner portion of the shell. In some embodiments, the shell extends into an inner portion of the liner. Accordingly, either the shell or the liner can each be arranged and configured to retain liquid. Furthermore, the liner and/or shell can be arranged and configured to be detached from each other to thereby allow a user to more easily and effectively clean the various surfaces of the liquid storage container.
The present invention relates generally to bottles, and more particularly to bottles that are easy to wash.
Description of Related ArtPeople use bottles to store liquids, such as water, juice, and coffee. Unfortunately, bottles can be difficult to clean and can accumulate residue and contaminants, such as mold, fungi, and bacteria, on the various surfaces over time. Thus, there is a need for a bottle that is easy to clean.
SUMMARYThe present disclosure includes a liquid storage container (also referred to as a “bottle”) that includes a shell having an open end for receiving liquid within an inner portion of the shell, a closed end located opposite the open end, and a sidewall that extends between the open end and the closed end. The liquid storage container can also include a liner that extends into the inner portion of the shell. The liner can thereby be arranged and configured to retain liquid. As well, the liquid storage container can include a lid removably attached to the open end of the shell. The lid can be arranged and configured to prevent liquid from spilling from the inner portion.
In some embodiments, the liner is arranged and configured to retain at least one of a frozen liquid and a boiling liquid. In some embodiments, the shell and lid are rigid, and the liner is flexible. The shell, liner, and lid can be constructed of silicone.
Furthermore, in some embodiments, the liner is arranged and configured to be detached from the inner portion of the shell. In this regard, the liner and other surfaces of the liquid storage container may be cleaned more easily and effectively.
Even still, in some embodiments, the liquid storage container may include an O-ring disposed between the lid and the open end of the shell. The lid can be threadably attached to the open end of the shell and the O-ring can substantially seal the liquid storage container so that the contents don't spill from the inner portion of the shell and liner.
In some embodiments, the liquid storage container includes a plurality of holes that extend through the sidewall of the shell. The holes can be sized and shaped to allow liquid to evaporate from between the shell and liner. The plurality of holes can be arranged in at least one of a checkerboard pattern and a random pattern. At least two holes of the plurality of holes can define different shapes from each other.
In several embodiments, the liquid storage container further comprises a strap that couples the lid to the shell such that when the lid is removed from the open end of the shell the lid is still coupled to the shell. In some embodiments, the liquid storage container further includes a latch that securely couples the lid to the shell, and a button configured to release the latch from the lid so that the lid is able to pivot, via the strap, with respect to the shell.
Furthermore, in some embodiments, the liquid storage container further comprises at least one hole that extends through the closed end of the shell. The at least one hole can be arranged and configured to receive at least one human finger to push up on the liner to thereby move the liner with respect to the shell.
Even still, in some embodiments, when the lid is attached to the open end of the shell the lid is arranged and configured to move between a normal position and a vacuum position. When the lid is in the normal position the lid and liner are not under vacuum, and when the lid is in the vacuum position the lid and liner are under vacuum. When the lid is in the normal position a center portion of the lid is located closer to the closed end than a center portion of the lid in the vacuum position.
In some embodiments, the liquid storage container includes a handle attached to the sidewall. The handle can be sized and shaped to receive at least a portion of a human hand.
The disclosure also includes a liquid storage container including a rigid shell having a first open end, a second open end located opposite the first open end, and a sidewall that extends between the first open end and the second open end. The liquid storage container can also include a lid removably coupled to the first open end of the rigid shell. When the lid is coupled to the shell the lid prevents liquid from spilling. The liquid storage container can include a liner having an open end and a closed end located opposite the open end. The liner can be arranged and configured to slideably receive the rigid shell through the open end.
In some embodiments, the liner is arranged and configured to retain liquid along the closed end. As well, in some embodiments, the liner comprises a ring that extends from the top end. The ring can be arranged and configured to receive the lid and thereby securely couple the lid to the liquid storage container.
Furthermore, in some embodiments, the lid is threadably coupled to the first open end of the shell, and when the lid is threadably decoupled from the shell, the lid is still coupled to the liquid storage container via the ring.
Even still, in some embodiments, the liquid storage container further comprises a bottom cap that slideably couples to the second open end of the rigid shell. Accordingly, when the bottom cap is slideably coupled to the second open end, the bottom cap is arranged and configured to retain liquid.
In several embodiments, the liquid storage container further includes a first locking mechanism disposed along the sidewall of the shell, and a second locking mechanism disposed along a side portion of the liner. The second locking mechanism can be arranged and configured to lockably receive the first locking mechanism to securely couple the shell to the liner. In some embodiments, the liner comprises a locking channel that slideably receives the first locking mechanism and allows the first locking mechanism to slide into a locked position with respect to the second locking mechanism.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages are described below with reference to the drawings, which are intended to illustrate, but not to limit, the invention. In the drawings, like reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout similar embodiments.
Although certain embodiments and examples are disclosed below, inventive subject matter extends beyond the specifically disclosed embodiments to other alternative embodiments and/or uses, and to modifications and equivalents thereof. Thus, the scope of the claims appended hereto is not limited by any of the particular embodiments described below. For example, in any method or process disclosed herein, the acts or operations of the method or process may be performed in any suitable sequence and are not necessarily limited to any particular disclosed sequence. Various operations may be described as multiple discrete operations in turn, in a manner that may be helpful in understanding certain embodiments; however, the order of description should not be construed to imply that these operations are order dependent. Additionally, the structures, systems, and/or devices described herein may be embodied as integrated components or as separate components.
For purposes of comparing various embodiments, certain aspects and advantages of these embodiments are described. Not necessarily all such aspects or advantages are achieved by any particular embodiment. Thus, for example, various embodiments may be carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other aspects or advantages as may also be taught or suggested herein.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
- 10—Liquid storage container
- 12—Shell
- 14—Open end
- 16—Inner portion
- 18—Closed end
- 20—Sidewall
- 22—Liner
- 24—Lid
- 26—O-ring
- 28—Threads
- 30—Strap
- 32—Strap
- 34—Latch
- 36—Plurality of holes
- 38—At least one hole
- 40a—Normal position
- 40b—Vacuum position
- 42—Center portion of lid
- 44—Handle
- 46—First open end (shell)
- 48—Second open end (shell)
- 50—Open end (liner)
- 52—Closed end (liner)
- 53—Optional wide base
- 54—Bottom cap
- 56—Ring
- 58—First locking mechanism
- 60—Second locking mechanism
- 62—Locking channel
The human body depends on water to survive. Every cell, tissue, and organ in your body needs water to function properly. For example, your body uses water to maintain its temperature, remove waste, and lubricate joints—water is essential for good health. As such, people often carry bottles filled with water and other fluids in order to stay properly hydrated and nourished.
In addition, people often use bottles for various other purposes, like carrying foods, such as soup, casserole, chili, and the like. However, one of the problems with conventional bottles is that they can easily accumulate residue and contaminants and can be difficult to clean. Accordingly, the present disclosure describes a bottle or liquid storage container capable of carrying any type of fluid or food, while also being easy to clean.
Liquid Storage Container EmbodimentsThe liquid storage container 10a can also include a liner 22a that extends into the inner portion 16a of the shell 12a. The liner 22a can be arranged and configured to retain liquid and food of any type. In order to more easily clean the liner 22a and the other surfaces of the liquid storage container 10a, the liner 22a can be completely detached from the shell 12a whereby the liner 22a is removed from the shell 12a, as shown in
The liquid storage container 10a may also include a lid 24a that can be removably coupled to the open-end 14a of the shell 12a. The lid 24a can be arranged and configured to securely attach to the shell 12a. As illustrated in
In some embodiments, the liquid storage container 10a can be configured to retain and/or carry any type of liquid and/or food. (It should be appreciated that liquid and food can be referred to as “content” or “contents.”) Accordingly, the components of the liquid storage container 10a, such as the shell 12a and the liner 22a, can be arranged and configured to retain at least one of a frozen content (down to −50° F.) and a boiling content (up to 500° F.).
Furthermore, as illustrated in
Now with reference to
As shown in
With additional reference to
With reference to
In some embodiments, the liquid storage container 10c includes features to assist the user in carrying the container 10c. As illustrated in
With continued reference to
As shown in
Now, with reference to
The embodiment illustrated in
The liner 22d can also include features to help stabilize the liner 22d, and thereby the entire liquid storage container 10d from tipping over, when it is stood upright on an object such as a table. As shown in
Because embodiments described herein are intended to provide users easier and more effective ways to clean the surfaces of the liquid storage container 10, various surfaces of the container 10 can thereby be removed to make accessibility that much easier. For example, as illustrated in
As illustrated in
As shown in
For the purposes of this disclosure, the term “substantially” should be understood to mean for the most part or to a great or significant extent. Additionally, the phrase “liquid storage container” may also be referred to as a “bottle”, “water bottle”, and the like.
None of the steps or limitations described herein is essential or indispensable. Any of the steps or limitations can be adjusted or modified. Other or additional steps and/or limitations can be used. Any portion of any of the steps, processes, structures, and/or devices disclosed or illustrated in one embodiment, flowchart, or example in this specification can be combined or used with or instead of any other portion of any of the steps, processes, structures, and/or devices disclosed or illustrated in a different embodiment, flowchart, or example. The embodiments and examples provided herein are not intended to be discrete and separate from each other.
The section headings and subheadings provided herein are nonlimiting. The section headings and subheadings do not represent or limit the full scope of the embodiments described in the sections to which the headings and subheadings pertain. For example, a section titled “Topic 1” may include embodiments that do not pertain to Topic 1 and embodiments described in other sections may apply to and be combined with embodiments described within the “Topic 1” section.
The various features and processes described above may be used independently of one another, or may be combined in various ways. All possible combinations and subcombinations are intended to fall within the scope of this disclosure. In addition, certain method, event, state, or process blocks may be omitted in some implementations. The methods, steps, and processes described herein are also not limited to any particular sequence, and the blocks, steps, or states relating thereto can be performed in other sequences that are appropriate. For example, described tasks or events may be performed in an order other than the order specifically disclosed. Multiple steps may be combined in a single block or state. The example tasks or events may be performed in serial, in parallel, or in some other manner. Tasks or events may be added to or removed from the disclosed example embodiments. The example systems and components described herein may be configured differently than described. For example, elements may be added to, removed from, or rearranged compared to the disclosed example embodiments.
Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” “may,” “e.g.,” and the like, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without author input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment. The terms “comprising,” “including,” “having,” and the like are synonymous and are used inclusively, in an open-ended fashion, and do not exclude additional elements, features, acts, operations and so forth. Also, the term “or” is used in its inclusive sense (and not in its exclusive sense) so that when used, for example, to connect a list of elements, the term “or” means one, some, or all of the elements in the list. Conjunctive language such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y, and Z,” unless specifically stated otherwise, is otherwise understood with the context as used in general to convey that an item, term, etc. may be either X, Y, or Z. Thus, such conjunctive language is not generally intended to imply that certain embodiments require at least one of X, at least one of Y, and at least one of Z to each be present.
The term “and/or” means that “and” applies to some embodiments and “or” applies to some embodiments. Thus, A, B, and/or C can be replaced with A, B, and C written in one sentence and A, B, or C written in another sentence. A, B, and/or C means that some embodiments can include A and B, some embodiments can include A and C, some embodiments can include B and C, some embodiments can only include A, some embodiments can include only B, some embodiments can include only C, and some embodiments can include A, B, and C. The term “and/or” is used to avoid unnecessary redundancy.
While certain example embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions disclosed herein. Thus, nothing in the foregoing description is intended to imply that any particular feature, characteristic, step, module, or block is necessary or indispensable. Indeed, the novel methods and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the form of the methods and systems described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions disclosed herein.
Claims
1. A liquid storage container, comprising:
- a shell having an open end for receiving liquid within an inner portion of the shell, a closed end located opposite the open end, and a sidewall that extends between the open end and the closed end;
- a liner that extends into the inner portion of the shell, wherein the liner is arranged and configured to retain liquid; and
- a lid removably attached to the open end of the shell, wherein the lid is arranged and configured to prevent liquid from spilling from the inner portion.
2. The liquid storage container of claim 1, wherein the liner is arranged and configured to retain at least one of a frozen liquid and a boiling liquid.
3. The liquid storage container of claim 1, wherein the shell and lid are rigid, and the liner is flexible.
4. The liquid storage container of claim 3, wherein the shell, liner, and lid are constructed of silicone.
5. The liquid storage container of claim 3, wherein the liner is arranged and configured to be detached from the inner portion of the shell.
6. The liquid storage container of claim 1, further comprising an O-ring disposed between the lid and the open end of the shell, wherein the lid is threadably attached to the open end of the shell.
7. The liquid storage container of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of holes that extend through the sidewall of the shell, wherein the holes are sized and shaped to allow liquid to evaporate from between the shell and liner.
8. The liquid storage container of claim 8, wherein the plurality of holes are arranged in at least one of a checkerboard pattern and a random pattern, and wherein at least two holes of the plurality of holes define different shapes from each other.
9. The liquid storage container of claim 1, further comprising a strap that couples the lid to the shell such that when the lid is removed from the open end of the shell the lid is still coupled to the shell.
10. The liquid storage container of claim 9, further comprising a latch that securely couples the lid to the shell, and a button configured to release the latch from the lid so that the lid is able to pivot, via the strap, with respect to the shell.
11. The liquid storage container of claim 9, further comprising at least one hole that extends through the closed end of the shell, wherein the at least one hole are arranged and configured to receive at least one human finger to push up on the liner.
12. The liquid storage container of claim 1, wherein when the lid is attached to the open end of the shell the lid is arranged and configured to move between a normal position and a vacuum position,
- wherein when the lid is in the normal position the lid and liner are not under vacuum, and when the lid is in the vacuum position the lid and liner are under vacuum, and
- wherein when the lid is in the normal position a center portion of the lid is located closer to the closed end than a center portion of the lid in the vacuum position.
13. The liquid storage container of claim 1, further comprising a handle attached to the sidewall, wherein the handle is sized and shaped to receive at least a portion of a human hand.
14. A liquid storage container, comprising:
- a rigid shell having a first open end, a second open end located opposite the first open end, and a sidewall that extends between the first open end and the second open end;
- a lid removably coupled to the first open end of the rigid shell, wherein when the lid is coupled to the shell the lid prevents liquid from spilling; and
- a liner having an open end and a closed end located opposite the open end, wherein the liner is arranged and configured to slideably receive the rigid shell through the open end.
15. The liquid storage container of claim 14, wherein the liner is arranged and configured to retain liquid along the closed end.
16. The liquid storage container of claim 14, wherein the liner comprises a ring that extends from the top end, and wherein the ring is arranged and configured to receive the lid.
17. The liquid storage container of claim 16, wherein the lid is threadably coupled to the first open end of the shell, and wherein when the lid is threadably decoupled from the shell, the lid is still coupled to the liquid storage container via the ring.
18. The liquid storage container of claim 14, further comprising a bottom cap that slideably couples to the second open end of the rigid shell, wherein when the bottom cap is slideably coupled to the second open end, the bottom cap is arranged and configured to retain liquid.
19. The liquid storage container of claim 14, further comprising a first locking mechanism disposed along the sidewall of the shell, and a second locking mechanism disposed along a side portion of the liner, wherein the second locking mechanism is arranged and configured to lockably receive the first locking mechanism to securely couple the shell to the liner.
20. The liquid storage container of claim 19, wherein the liner comprises a locking channel that slideably receives the first locking mechanism and allows the first locking mechanism to slide into a locked position with respect to the second locking mechanism.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 13, 2017
Publication Date: Jul 19, 2018
Inventors: Kyle Vaughan (Baltimore, MD), KC Wayman (New Windsor, MD)
Application Number: 15/406,633