Heated or cooled portable drinkware

• US 10,098,498 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2017
• Issued: 10/16/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ember Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Ember Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Alexander, Clayton
• Primary Examiner(s): PASCHALL, MARK H
• Application Number:
  US15/691,540
• Publication Number:
  US 20170360253A1
• Time in Patent Office: 412 Days
• Field of Search: 219490, 219441, 219553, 219494, 219497, 219439, 219438, 219442
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 19/2288 with means for keeping liquid cool or hot
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 2200/166 sensor
• CPC Class Codes: A47J 36/2433 with electrical heating means
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2200/42 Heating means
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 9/003 Vacuum feeding-bottles vacuum bottles in general A47J41/02
• CPC Class Codes: F28D 20/02 using latent heat
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 1/0269 For heating of fluids
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 2203/021 Heaters specially adapted for heating liquids
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 3/0014 Devices wherein the heating current flows through particular resistances
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 3/06 Heater elements structurally combined with coupling elements or holders
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 3/82 Fixedly-mounted immersion heaters
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/14 Thermal energy storage

Abstract

An actively heated or cooled portable container has a body with a chamber that receives and holds a liquid, and one or more heating or cooling elements in thermal communication with at least a portion of the chamber. An outer surface of the body has one or more electrical contacts. A module is removably coupled to a portion of the body. The module has one or more electrical contacts on an outer surface of the module that contact the one or more electrical contacts on the outer surface of the body, control circuitry, and one or more power storage elements that provide power to the control circuitry and/or the one or more heating or cooling elements. The control circuitry wirelessly communicates with a mobile electronic device to wirelessly transmit information to the mobile electronic device associated with the operation of the module and/or wirelessly receive instructions from a user via the mobile electronic device.

Claims

1. An actively heated or cooled portable container system, comprising:

a body chosen from a group consisting of a cup, a mug, a baby bottle, a beer mug, a carafe and a liquid container, the body having a chamber configured to receive and hold a liquid, one or more heating or cooling elements disposed in the body and in thermal communication with at least a portion of the chamber, a distal outer surface of the body having one or more electrical contacts, one or more sensors disposed in the body and configured to sense a parameter of the liquid in the chamber, the one or more sensors configured to communicate with at least one of the one or more electrical contacts on the distal outer surface of the body; and

a module configured to removably couple to a bottom portion of the body to thereby contact at least a portion of the body and provide an electrical connection with the body when the body is placed on the module, the module comprising

one or more electrical contacts on a proximal outer surface of the module configured to contact the one or more electrical contacts on the distal outer surface of the body,

control circuitry configured to wirelessly communicate with a mobile electronic device to one or both of wirelessly transmit information to the mobile electronic device and wirelessly receive instructions from a user via the mobile electronic device, and

one or more power storage elements configured to provide electrical energy to the control circuitry,

wherein when the body is attached to the module the one or more sensors in the body are configured to communicate with the control circuitry via at least one of the one or more electrical contacts in the body and the module, and the one or more heating or cooling elements are configured to receive power from the one or more power storage elements via at least one of the one or more electrical contacts in the body and the module, and wherein detaching the body from the module disconnects the control circuitry from the one or more sensors and disconnects the one or more heating or cooling elements from the one or more power storage elements.

2. The container of claim 1, wherein the control circuitry is configured to wirelessly receive a user selected temperature from the mobile electronic device, the control circuitry configured to control power delivery to the one or more heating or cooling elements when the module is coupled to the body to adjust a temperature of the liquid in the chamber toward the user selected temperature.

3. The container of claim 1, wherein the module comprises one or more magnets configured to couple to one or more magnets on the bottom portion of the body to couple the module to the body.

4. The container of claim 1, wherein the module comprises a threaded portion configured to threadably couple to a threaded portion on the body to couple the module to the body.

5. The container of claim 1, wherein the module comprises one or tabs configured to couple to one or more slots on the bottom portion of the body to couple the module to the body in a twist-lock manner.

6. The container of claim 1, wherein the one or more electrical contacts on one of the body and the module are one or more pins and wherein the one or more electrical contacts on the other of the body and the module are one or more rings.

7. The container of claim 1, wherein a bottom portion of the body comprises a recess configured to receive at least a portion of the module.

8. The container of claim 7, wherein the recess is sized to receive said at least a portion of the module so that the module sits generally flush with the body, where an outer side surface of the body and an outer side surface of the module are generally aligned.

9. The container of claim 1, wherein the module further comprises a wireless power receiver configured to receive power via inductive coupling and to provide the received power to one or both of the control circuitry and one or more power storage elements.

10. The container of claim 1, wherein the body further comprises cooling means in thermal communication with the chamber for removing heat from the liquid disposed in the chamber.

11. The container of claim 1, wherein the body is a single piece that extends from an opening at a proximal end of the body to the distal outer surface of the body.

12. The container of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors are one or more of a temperature sensor, a capacitance sensor, a pressure sensor and a tilt sensor.

13. An actively heated portable baby bottle container system, comprising:

a body having a chamber configured to receive and hold a liquid, one or more heating elements disposed in the body and in thermal communication with at least a portion of the chamber, a distal outer surface of the body having one or more electrical contacts, one or more sensors disposed in the body and configured to sense a parameter of the liquid in the chamber, the one or more sensors configured to communicate with at least one of the one or more electrical contacts on the distal outer surface of the body; and

a module configured to removably couple to a bottom portion of the body to thereby contact at least a portion of the body and provide an electrical connection with the body when the body is placed on the module, the module comprising

one or more electrical contacts on a proximal outer surface of the module configured to contact the one or more electrical contacts on the distal outer surface of the body,

control circuitry, and

one or more power storage elements configured to provide electrical energy to the control circuitry,

wherein when the body is attached the module the one or more sensors in the body are configured to communicate with the control circuitry via at least one of the one or more electrical contacts in the body and the module, and the one or more heating elements are configured to receive power from the one or more power storage elements via at least one of the one or more electrical contacts in the body and the module, and wherein detaching the body from the module disconnects the control circuitry from the one or more sensors and disconnects the one or more heating elements from the one or more power storage elements.

14. The container of claim 13, wherein the control circuitry is configured to wirelessly communicate with a mobile electronic device to one or both of wirelessly transmit information to the mobile electronic device and wirelessly receive information from a user via the mobile electronic device, said wirelessly received information including a user selected temperature, the control circuitry configured to control power delivery to the one or more heating elements when the module is coupled to the body to adjust a temperature of the liquid in the chamber toward the user selected temperature.

15. The container of claim 13, wherein the module comprises one or more magnets configured to couple to one or more magnets on the bottom portion of the body to couple the module to the body.

16. The container of claim 13, wherein the module comprises a threaded portion configured to threadably couple to a threaded portion of the body to couple the module to the body.

17. The container of claim 13, wherein the module comprises one or tabs configured to couple to one or more slots on the bottom portion of the body to couple the module to the body in a twist-lock manner.

18. The container of claim 13, wherein the one or more electrical contacts on one of the body and the module are one or more pins and wherein the one or more electrical contacts on the other of the body and the module are one or more rings.

19. The container of claim 13, wherein a bottom portion of the body comprises a recess configured to receive at least a portion of the module.

20. The container of claim 19, wherein the recess is sized to receive said at least a portion of the module so that the module sits generally flush with the body and an outer circumferential surface of the body substantially aligns with an outer circumferential surface of the module.

21. The container of claim 13, wherein the module further comprises a wireless power receiver configured to receive power via inductive coupling and to provide the received power to one or both of the control circuitry and one or more power storage elements.

22. The container of claim 13, wherein the body further comprises cooling means in thermal communication with the chamber for removing heat from the liquid disposed in the chamber.

23. The container of claim 13, wherein the body is a single piece that extends from an opening at a proximal end of the body to the distal outer surface of the body.

24. The container of claim 13, wherein the one or more sensors are one or more of a temperature sensor, a capacitance sensor, a pressure sensor and a tilt sensor.