Senior Fitness - Exercise and Nutrition for Aging Men and Women
FREE Article Feed for your website.
Home Ownership Magazine
Party Planning Information
Article Marketing Resources
Bio-Medical Research Article Database
Informative Articles on Life, Love and Happiness
Tutorials on Business to Writing
Famous Quotes from Famous People
Song Lyric Information
New US Patent Information
Comprehensive List of Content by Category
Online Auctions and Shopping Related Articles
Article Search
Most Recent Articles
Title: Semiconductor storage device, operation method of the same and test method of the same
Patent Number: 7,436,691 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Yamada,   et al.

Title: Flat cell read only memory using common contacts for bit lines and virtual ground lines
Patent Number: 7,436,690 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Chen

Title: Non-volatile semiconductor memory
Patent Number: 7,436,689 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Fukushi

Title: Priority encoder circuit and method
Patent Number: 7,436,688 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Maheshwari

Title: Intelligent direct current power supplies
Patent Number: 7,436,687 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Patel

Title: Reconfigurable voltage inverter with tolerance to failures
Patent Number: 7,436,686 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Mavier,   et al.

Title: Piecewise on-time modulation apparatus and method for a power factor corrector
Patent Number: 7,436,685 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Li,   et al.

Title: DC/DC-rectifier with reduced losses
Patent Number: 7,436,684 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Dermark

Title: Wafer level packaging structure with inductors and manufacture method thereof
Patent Number: 7,436,683 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Shen

Title: Wiring board, electronic component mounting structure, and electronic component mounting method
Patent Number: 7,436,682 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Nishitani,   et al.

Title: Wiring board with built-in capacitor
Patent Number: 7,436,681 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Tanaka

Title: Multi-chip build-up package of optoelectronic chip
Patent Number: 7,436,680 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Wang

Title: Radio-frequency module for communication
Patent Number: 7,436,679 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Iijima,   et al.

Title: Capacitive/resistive devices and printed wiring boards incorporating such devices and methods of making thereof
Patent Number: 7,436,678 Issued on 10/14/2008 to McGregor

Title: Electronic device
Patent Number: 7,436,677 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Noritsune,   et al.

Title: Portable electronic apparatus and BGA package protective device
Patent Number: 7,436,676 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Higuchi,   et al.

Title: Constant current class 3 lighting system
Patent Number: 7,436,675 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Rimmer,   et al.

Title: Heat sink retaining device
Patent Number: 7,436,670 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Chen

Title: 3D multi-layer heat conduction diffusion plate
Patent Number: 7,436,669 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Huang

Title: Plasma display apparatus
Patent Number: 7,436,668 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Bae

Title: Electronic device
Patent Number: 7,436,667 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Wu,   et al.

Title: Thermal caching for liquid cooled computer systems
Patent Number: 7,436,666 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Konshak

Title: Heat-dissipating assembly of computer housing
Patent Number: 7,436,665 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Chen,   et al.

Title: Electronic appliance
Patent Number: 7,436,664 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Hori,   et al.

Title: Disk array system
Patent Number: 7,436,663 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Matsushima,   et al.

Title: Hot swappable cooling fan system
Patent Number: 7,436,662 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Gundlach

Title: Two-compartment AC adaptor
Patent Number: 7,436,661 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Fong,   et al.

Title: Heat sinks for electronic enclosures
Patent Number: 7,436,660 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Pedoeem,   et al.

Title: Upside down PC
Patent Number: 7,436,659 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Diaz,   et al.

Title: Mounting for dual hard drives
Patent Number: 7,436,658 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Haager,   et al.

Title: Keyboard illumination device for portable computer
Patent Number: 7,436,657 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Motai,   et al.

Title: Portable computer having improved latch mechanism
Patent Number: 7,436,656 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Jiang,   et al.

Title: Personal computing device with removable accessory module
Patent Number: 7,436,655 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Homer,   et al.

Title: Plasma display module
Patent Number: 7,436,654 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Cho

Title: Housing mechanism for electronic device and method for making the same
Patent Number: 7,436,653 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Yang,   et al.

Title: Solid electrolyte capacitor
Patent Number: 7,436,652 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Naito

Title: Multi-operational amplifier system
Patent Number: 7,436,258 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Tran,   et al.

Title: High-efficiency mixed-mode power amplifier
Patent Number: 7,436,257 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Park,   et al.

Title: Systems and methods for maintaining minimum pulse width during shutdown
Patent Number: 7,436,256 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Kost

Title: Power supply feed forward analog input filter component mismatch correction
Patent Number: 7,436,255 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Kost,   et al.

Title: Class D amplifier
Patent Number: 7,436,254 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Morishima

Title: Performing a coordinate rotation digital computer (CORDIC) operation for amplitude modulation (AM) demodulation
Patent Number: 7,436,252 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Taipale,   et al.

Title: System and method for dynamic power-optimization of analog active filters
Patent Number: 7,436,251 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Ozgun,   et al.

Title: Highly selective filtering device and corresponding filtering method
Patent Number: 7,436,250 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Le Naour,   et al.

Title: Circuit and method for filtering a radio frequency signal
Patent Number: 7,436,249 Issued on 10/14/2008 to Hjelm

Title: Fused carbon nanotube-nanocrystal heterostructures and methods of making the same
Patent Number: 7,189,455 Issued on 03/13/2007 to Wong,   et al.

Title: Wet cleaning process and wet cleaning equipment
Patent Number: 6,866,723 Issued on 03/15/2005 to Ueda,   et al.

Title: Method for estimating changes in product life resulting from HALT using exponential acceleration model
Patent Number: 7,120,566 Issued on 10/10/2006 to Brand,   et al.

Title: Onboard terrain anticollision display device
Patent Number: 7,120,540 Issued on 10/10/2006 to Meunier

Title: Iso-reflectance wavelengths
Patent Number: 7,120,553 Issued on 10/10/2006 to Benvegnu

Title: Virtual presence
Patent Number: 7,120,577 Issued on 10/10/2006 to Bubb

Title: Method for estimating EMI in a semiconductor device
Patent Number: 7,120,551 Issued on 10/10/2006 to Hirano,   et al.

Title: Process for calibration of a medical-technical device and a medical-technical device
Patent Number: 7,120,547 Issued on 10/10/2006 to Herrmann,   et al.

Title: Method and system for the automatic segmentation of an audio stream into semantic or syntactic units
Patent Number: 7,120,575 Issued on 10/10/2006 to Haase,   et al.

Title: Amorphous and polycrystalline silicon nanolaminate
Patent Number: 6,764,883 Issued on 07/20/2004 to Dokumaci,   et al.

Title: Polyethylene protective yarn
Patent Number: 6,764,764 Issued on 07/20/2004 to Tam,   et al.

Title: Process for the preparation of taxan derivatives
Patent Number: 6,737,534 Issued on 05/18/2004 to Pontiroli,   et al.

Title: Z-interconnections with liquid crystal polymer dielectric films
Patent Number: 6,764,748 Issued on 07/20/2004 to Farquhar,   et al.

Title: Carrier compositions
Patent Number: 6,764,799 Issued on 07/20/2004 to Skorokhod,   et al.

Title: Aromatic diamine and polyimide thereof
Patent Number: 6,737,503 Issued on 05/18/2004 to Kodama,   et al.

Title: Chemical aggregation process using inline mixer
Patent Number: 6,764,802 Issued on 07/20/2004 to Maric,   et al.

Title: Optical information recording medium and recording method using the same
Patent Number: 6,764,736 Issued on 07/20/2004 to Kitaura,   et al.

Title: Process for preparation of 4,5-epoxymorphinan-6-oxyglucuronides
Patent Number: 6,737,518 Issued on 05/18/2004 to Gutman,   et al.

Title: Method and apparatus for configurable hardware augmented program generation
Patent Number: 6,876,214 Issued on 04/05/2005 to Crook,   et al.

Title: Multi-mode imager with pinned photo region photoreceptors
Patent Number: 6,765,186 Issued on 07/20/2004 to Janesick

Title: Antiangiogenic peptides and compositions thereof
Patent Number: 6,737,507 Issued on 05/18/2004 to Moses,   et al.

Title: Molding material for electrical and electronic parts
Patent Number: 6,780,963 Issued on 08/24/2004 to Sawada,   et al.

Title: Methods of imaging, focusing and conditioning neutrons
Patent Number: 6,765,197 Issued on 07/20/2004 to Piestrup,   et al.

Title: Heterologous G protein coupled receptors expressed in yeast, their fusion with G proteins and use thereof in bioassay
Patent Number: 7,148,053 Issued on 12/12/2006 to Pausch,   et al.

Title: Delivery and expression of a hybrid surface protein on the surface of gram positive bacteria
Patent Number: 6,737,521 Issued on 05/18/2004 to Fischetti,   et al.

Title: 4-formylamino-N-methylpiperidine derivatives, the use thereof as stabilizers and organic material stabilized therewith
Patent Number: 6,737,527 Issued on 05/18/2004 to Haremza,   et al.

Title: Metal alloys for the reflective or the semi-reflective layer of an optical storage medium
Patent Number: 6,764,735 Issued on 07/20/2004 to Nee

Title: Multi-element electron-transfer optical detector system
Patent Number: 6,765,190 Issued on 07/20/2004 to Jordan

Title: Trenched gate non-volatile semiconductor method with the source/drain regions spaced from the trench by sidewall dopings
Patent Number: 6,764,904 Issued on 07/20/2004 to Liu,   et al.

Title: Magnetic resonance imaging coated assembly
Patent Number: 6,765,144 Issued on 07/20/2004 to Wang,   et al.

Integrated beverage holder Number:7,419,070 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) owispatent

Home    Author Login    Submit Article    Article Search    Add Your Link    Edit Your Link    Contact Us    Advertising    Disclaimer

   

 
Web LinkGrinder.com

Top Breaking News
     Greek, Cypriot Leaders Resume Unification Talks in Nicosia by Nathan Morley
     Indonesia Tobacco Sales Grow, Raising Health Fears
     South Korea Allows Top Defector to Travel Overseas by VOA News

Title: Integrated beverage holder

Abstract: An insulated container includes a body, a cover and an expandable beverage holder. The body includes outer walls and a base to define a storage space and to prevent heat transfer out of the storage space. The cover is configured to couple with the body and to prevent heat transfer out of the storage space. The expandable beverage holder is configured to couple to the cover and to hold a beverage container when expanded.

Patent Number: 7,419,070 Issued on 09/02/2008 to Cantwell,   et al.


Inventors: Cantwell; Robert (Leslie, MO), Patel; Arvin (Sunnyvale, CA)
Assignee: North Pole Limited (Kowloon, HK)
Appl. No.: 10/686,991
Filed: October 15, 2003


Current U.S. Class: 220/739 ; 220/592.01; 220/915.2; 62/457.4
Current International Class: B65D 25/00 (20060101)
Field of Search: 220/737,739,915.1,915.2,902,903,592.01,592.03,592.16 62/457.1,457.4,457.7,457.2,457.5,457.6 206/545,549


References Cited [Referenced By]

U.S. Patent Documents
2880902 April 1959 Owsen
5350081 September 1994 Graham
5505307 April 1996 Shink
5511755 April 1996 Spykerman
5842571 December 1998 Rausch
D408225 April 1999 Hodosh
5924303 July 1999 Hodosh
6067816 May 2000 Hodosh
6116045 September 2000 Hodosh et al.
6363739 April 2002 Hodosh et al.
6364329 April 2002 Holub et al.
6481239 November 2002 Hodosh et al.
6834838 December 2004 Dennis et al.
2005/0072181 April 2005 Mogil et al.
Primary Examiner: Stashick; Anthony D
Assistant Examiner: Grosso; Harry A
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Armstrong Teasdale LLP

Claims



The invention claimed is:

1. An insulated container comprising: a body comprising outer walls and a base defining a storage space and configured to prevent heat transfer out of the storage space; a cover configured to couple with the body and to prevent heat transfer out of the storage space; and an expandable beverage holder configured to couple to the cover, the expandable beverage holder having a telescoping construction and movable between a collapsed configuration and an expanded configuration, in the expanded configuration the expandable beverage holder comprising a side configured to extend into the storage space and configured to hold a beverage container, a bottom of the expandable beverage holder configured to prevent heat transfer.

2. The insulated container of claim 1, wherein a side of the expandable beverage holder is configured to allow heat transfer.

3. The insulated container of claim 1, wherein the body and the cover are soft-sided.

4. The insulated container of claim 1, further comprising at least one of a zipper, a snap and a hinge to facilitate coupling the body to the cover.

5. A container comprising: an insulated body comprising outer walls and a base, the insulated body defining a storage space; an insulated cover movably coupled with the insulated body; and an expandable beverage holder integrated with the insulated cover, the expandable beverage holder having a telescoping construction and movable between a collapsed configuration and an expanded configuration, in the expanded configuration the expandable beverage holder comprising a side configured to telescope into the storage space and configured to hold a beverage container.

6. The insulated container of claim 5, wherein the side is configured to telescope away from the storage space to form the beverage holder in the expanded configuration.

7. The insulated container of claim 6, wherein the side is configured to compress to facilitate moving the expandable beverage holder to the collapsed configuration.

8. The insulated container of claim 5, wherein the side is configured to compress to facilitate moving the expandable beverage holder to the collapsed configuration.

9. The container of claim 5, wherein a bottom of the expandable beverage holder is configured to prevent heat transfer.

10. The container of claim 5, wherein the side of the expandable beverage holder is configured to allow heat transfer.

11. An insulated container comprising: a body comprising outer walls and a base, the body defining a storage space and configured to prevent heat transfer out of the storage space; a cover configured to couple with the body and to prevent heat transfer out of the storage space; and an expandable beverage holder configured to couple to the cover, the expandable beverage holder having a telescoping construction and movable between a collapsed configuration and an expanded configuration, the expandable beverage holder comprising a side configured to telescope into the storage space in the expanded configuration to hold a beverage container.
Description



FIELD

The present invention relates to insulated containers generally and more particularly to insulated containers with beverage holders.

BACKGROUND

Insulated food and beverage containers or `coolers` are very common among American households. They can most often be seen on trips to a picnic or the beach. A problem with picnics is finding a place to put down the beverage container on a level location. Anyone who has ever been there knows the problem with having beverages at the beach. That is, sand gets blown and/or kicked into the beverage containers. To provide a level surface and to prevent sand from entering the beverage containers, many coolers have been designed with beverage holders to elevate the cup, soda can or bottle off of the sandy ground.

While cooler mounted beverage holders may alleviate some problems, conventional beverage holders create new problems for the cooler user. For example, typically the beverage holder extends into the cooler storage space even when the beverage holder is not in use. Hence, less food and/or drinks can be packed into the cooler and transported to the desired destination. A further problem is that the beverage holder affords no cooling to the beverage.

Therefore, an improved cooler mounted beverage holder is needed.

SUMMARY

An insulated container includes a body, a cover and an expandable beverage holder. The body includes outer walls and a base to define a storage space and to prevent heat transfer out of the storage space. The cover is configured to couple with the body and to prevent heat transfer out of the storage space. The expandable beverage holder is configured to couple to the cover and to hold a beverage container when expanded.

In one aspect of the invention, the expandable beverage holder is configured to extend away from the storage space when expanded.

In another aspect of the invention, the expandable beverage holder is configured to extend into the storage space when expanded.

In another aspect of the invention, bottom of the expandable beverage holder is configured to prevent heat transfer.

In another aspect of the invention, sides of the expandable beverage holder are configured to allow heat transfer.

In another aspect of the invention, the body and the cover of the insulated container are soft-sided.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an insulated container with an integrated beverage holder, according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of an integrated beverage holder coupled to the cover of an insulated container (cover-beverage holder combination), according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the cover-beverage holder combination depicted in FIG. 2, where the expandable beverage holder is in a collapsed position, according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the cover-beverage holder combination depicted in FIG. 3, where the expandable beverage holder is in an expanded position, according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the cover-beverage holder combination depicted in FIG. 2, where the expandable beverage holder is in a collapsed position, according to another embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the cover-beverage holder combination depicted in FIG. 5, where the expandable beverage holder is in an expanded position, according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the cover-beverage holder combination, which may be used with the insulated container shown in FIG. 1, including the expandable beverage holder in a collapsed position.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the expandable beverage holder shown in FIG. 7 expanded upwardly with respect to the cover.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the expandable beverage holder shown in FIG. 7 expanded downwardly with respect to the cover.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an insulated container with an integrated beverage holder 100, according to one embodiment of the present invention. The insulated container with an integrated beverage holder includes a body 110, a cover 120, and an expandable beverage holder 130. In one embodiment, the body comprises outer walls and a base to define a storage space for storing food and drinks. The outer walls and base of the body are also configured to prevent heat transfer out of the storage space. The cover is configured to couple with the body and to prevent heat transfer out of the storage space. The expandable beverage holder is configured to couple to the cover and to hold a beverage container when expanded. The expandable beverage holder is one type of integrated beverage holder in accordance with the invention. The expandable beverage holder may be used to hold a can, bottle and/or other types of beverage containers or items.

In one aspect, the expandable beverage holder 130 is expanded using a telescoping construction. In another aspect, the expandable beverage holder is expanded using an extending, snapping, and/or popping construction. These beverage holder constructions are exemplary only and the beverage holder may be of any suitable construction.

In one aspect, coupling of the body 110 to the cover 120 includes a zipper. In another aspect, the coupling of the body to the cover includes a snap. In yet another aspect, the coupling of the body to the cover includes a hinge. These body-cover couplings are exemplary only and the body-cover coupling may be any suitable type of coupling.

In one aspect, the body 110 and the cover 120 are soft-sided. In another aspect, the body and the cover are hard-sided. The body and/or cover, however, may be constructed of any suitable material and is not limited to hard and soft materials.

FIG. 2 is a top view of an integrated beverage holder coupled to the cover of the insulated container (cover-beverage holder combination), according to one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the expandable beverage holder 130 is coupled to or `integrated` into the cover 120. Line A-A is applied in FIGS. 3-6 below.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the cover-beverage holder combination depicted in FIG. 2, where the expandable beverage holder is in a collapsed position, according to one embodiment of the invention. The cover-beverage holder combination includes the cover 120 and the expandable beverage holder 130. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 3, the expandable beverage holder is configured to extend away from the storage space when expanded. Thus, in one aspect, the collapsed expandable beverage holder lies partially above the cover 120 so that the expandable beverage holder can extend away from the storage space when expanded.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the cover-beverage holder combination depicted in FIG. 3, where the expandable beverage holder is in an expanded position, according to one embodiment of the invention. The cover-beverage holder combination includes the cover 120 and the expandable beverage holder 130. The expandable beverage holder includes beverage holder sides (sides) 135.

In one aspect, the beverage holder sides 135 are pulled away from the cover 120 so that the sides telescope upwards (away from the storage space), forming the beverage holder, as shown in FIG. 8. To collapse the beverage holder, the sides may be compressed, as shown in FIG. 7. In another aspect, the beverage holder may be locked in an `upright` or `deployed` position.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the cover-beverage holder combination depicted in FIG. 2, where the expandable beverage holder is in a collapsed position, according to another embodiment of the invention. The cover-beverage holder combination includes the cover 120 and the expandable beverage holder 130. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 5, the expandable beverage holder is configured to extend into the storage space when expanded. Thus, in one aspect, the collapsed expandable beverage holder lies below or partially below the cover 120 so that the expandable beverage holder can extend into the storage space when expanded.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the cover-beverage holder combination depicted in FIG. 5, where the expandable beverage holder is in an expanded position, according to one embodiment of the invention. The cover-beverage holder combination includes the cover 120 and the expandable beverage holder 130. The expandable beverage holder includes the beverage holder sides 135 and a beverage holder bottom (bottom) 140.

In one aspect, the beverage holder bottom 140 is configured to prevent heat transfer out of the storage space. In another aspect, the beverage holder sides 135 are configured to allow heat transfer. If the beverage holder bottom prevents heat transfer and the beverage holder sides allow heat transfer then the temperature of the beverage may be better maintained when the beverage container is inserted in the beverage holder. That is, a cold beverage can be kept cool when inserted in the beverage holder, where the temperature of the storage space is colder than outside air; and a hot beverage can be kept warm when inserted in the beverage holder, where the temperature of the storage space is warmer than outside air.

In one aspect, the beverage holder sides 135 are pulled away from the cover 120 so that the sides telescope downwards (into the storage space), forming the beverage holder, as shown in FIG. 9. To collapse the beverage holder, the sides may be compressed, as shown in FIG. 7. In another aspect, the beverage holder may be locked in a `deployed` position.

The present invention provides a beverage holder which allows increased storage capacity of insulated containers. The beverage holder also can limit heat transfer out of a beverage container.

Having disclosed exemplary embodiments and the best mode, modifications and variations may be made to the disclosed embodiments while remaining within the subject and spirit of the invention as defined by the following claims.

*


Free Web Sudoku Puzzles.
Solve with your browser.
  5 8         3 4
    1     4 6    
    4   5        
3     9       1  
      2   6      
  8       3     9
        9   7    
    3 5     4    
8 1         2 6  
What is it?



Add Your Site · Terms Of Service · Privacy Policy


DISCLAIMER
Linkgrinder is a free service that searches the Internet and indexes all files found so that you may search quickly and easily for shared files. These files are created and made available individually by users whose identity we are not aware of and who we have no control over. In essence we function like a search engine tool; these files ARE NOT STORED OR SERVED BY OUR NETWORK. We are not responsible for any materials obtained by using our service. We do not monitor any of the contents of these files. These files may contain viruses, illegal materials, materials inappropriate for minors, offensive files and the like. BY USING OUR SERVICE, YOU ASSUME FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR DOWNLOADING THESE MATERIALS AND WILL INDEMNIFY US FOR ANY DAMAGES THAT MAY BE INCURRED.

For More Specific Information VIEW OUR TERMS OF SERVICE.

Thank you and Enjoy!