HEATED OR COOLED PORTABLE DRINKWARE

• US 20170360253A1
• Filed: 08/30/2017
• Published: 12/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ember Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Ember Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Alexander, Clayton
• Granted Patent: US 10,098,498 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• 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. (canceled)

2. An actively heated or cooled portable container, 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 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 having one or more electrical contacts; and

a module removably coupled to a portion of the body, the module comprising

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

control circuitry, and

one or more power storage elements configured to provide electrical energy to one or both of the control circuitry and the one or more heating or cooling elements,

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 associated with the operation of the module and wirelessly receive instructions from a user via the mobile electronic device.

3. The container of claim 2, 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 to adjust a temperature of the liquid in the chamber toward the user selected temperature.

4. The container of claim 2, wherein the module comprises one or more magnets configured to couple to one or more magnets on a bottom portion of the body to couple the module to the body.

5. The container of claim 2, 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.

6. The container of claim 2, wherein the module comprises one or tabs configured to couple to one or more slots on the portion of the body to couple the module to the body in a twist-lock manner.

7. The container of claim 2, wherein the body further comprises one or more sensors that communicate with at least one of the one or more electrical contacts on the outer surface of the body that contacts at least one of the one or more electrical contacts on the module and receives power from the one or more power storage elements, the one or more sensors in the body configured to communicate with the control circuitry via the electrical contacts.

8. The container of claim 2, wherein a bottom portion of the body comprises a recess configured to receive at least a portion of the module.

9. The container of claim 8, 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.

10. The container of claim 2, 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.

11. The container of claim 2, wherein the body further comprises cooling means in thermal communication with the chamber for removing heat from the liquid disposed in the chamber.

12. An actively heated portable baby bottle container, comprising:

a body having a chamber configured to receive and hold a liquid and one or more heating elements in thermal communication with at least a portion of the chamber, an outer surface of the body having one or more electrical contacts; and

a module removably coupled to a portion of the body, the module comprising

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

control circuitry, and

one or more power storage elements configured to provide electrical energy to one or both of the control circuitry and the one or more heating elements,

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 associated with the operation of the module and wirelessly receive instructions from a user via the mobile electronic device.

13. The container of claim 12, 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 elements to adjust a temperature of the liquid in the chamber toward the user selected temperature.

14. The container of claim 12, wherein the module comprises one or more magnets configured to couple to one or more magnets on the portion of the body to couple the module to the body.

15. The container of claim 12, 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.

16. The container of claim 12, 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.

17. The container of claim 12, wherein the body further comprises one or more sensors that communicate with at least one of the one or more electrical contacts on the outer surface of the body that contacts at least one of the one or more electrical contacts on the module and receives power from the one or more power storage elements, the one or more sensors in the body configured to communicate with the control circuitry via the electrical contacts.

18. The container of claim 12, wherein a bottom portion of the body comprises a recess configured to receive at least a portion of the module.

19. The container of claim 18, 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.

20. The container of claim 12, 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.

21. The container of claim 12, wherein the body further comprises cooling means in thermal communication with the chamber for removing heat from the liquid disposed in the chamber.