Beverage container accessory

• US 7,419,072 B1
• Filed: 06/17/2005
• Issued: 09/02/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dana G. Vanella
• Original Assignee: Dana G. Vanella
• Inventors: Vanella, Dana G.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGO, LIEN M
• Application Number:
  US11/156,188
• Time in Patent Office: 1,173 Days
• Field of Search: 222/113, 362/154, 362/101, 362/802, 220/605, 220/629, 220/630, 220/737, 215/395
• US Class Current: 222/113
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 23/0309 Illuminated
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2203/12 Audible, olfactory or visual signalling means B65D51/248, B65D55/028, B65D79/02 and B65D81/24 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 23/001 Supporting means fixed to the container

Abstract

An illuminate-able beverage-ware device includes a bottle-supporting component with a base and a bottle-gripping sidewall that cooperatively define an upwardly opening space for receiving a bottle or other beverage container. An actuator arrangement actuates a battery-powered light source that transmits lights upwardly toward the false bottom, outwardly through the sidewall, and downwardly toward the base, while inwardly extending protrusions on a circularly shaped sidewall of one embodiment hold the device on the bottle when the bottle is lifted (e.g., to a drinking position). The false bottom, sidewall, and base are all at least partially transparent to light so that light is transmitted upwardly through the false bottom toward the bottle (e.g., to illuminate a beverage within the bottle), outwardly through the sidewall, and downwardly through the base (e.g., to illuminate information on the underside of the base for a highly visible additional display of information to a bystander when the bottle is raised to a drinking position).

Claims

1. A device, comprising:

bottle-supporting means for supporting a bottle on a horizontal support surface, said bottle-supporting means including a bottle-supporting component having a downwardly facing base portion and a bottle-gripping portion extending upwardly from the base portion such that the base portion and the bottle-gripping portion cooperatively define an upwardly opening space for receiving a lower portion of the bottle;

a false-bottom component within the upwardly opening space such that the base portion, the false-bottom component, and the bottle-gripping portion cooperatively define a downwardly disposed space;

bottle-illuminating means for transmitting light upwardly toward the false-bottom component and downwardly toward the base, said means including a battery-powered light source component within the downwardly disposed space; and

light-actuating means for actuating the light source component by action of a person placing the lower portion of the bottle into the upwardly opening space of the bottle-supporting component;

wherein the bottle-gripping portion of the bottle-supporting component is adapted to bear against the lower portion of the bottle in tight-fitting engagement of the lower portion in order to hold the bottle-supporting component on the bottle when the person lifts the bottle;

wherein the base portion of the bottle-supporting component and the false-bottom component are at least partially transparent to light so that light is transmitted upwardly through the false-bottom component toward the bottle and downwardly through the base portion toward the horizontal support surface;

wherein the false-bottom component is moveable within the upwardly opening space so that the false-bottom component is adapted to move downwardly in response to the person placing the lower portion of the bottle into the upwardly opening space of the bottle-supporting component in order to thereby actuate the battery-powered light source component; and

wherein the bottle-gripping portion of the bottle-supporting component includes a sidewall and said sidewall includes retaining means for retaining the false-bottom component in a first position of the false-bottom component in which the false-bottom component does not actuate the battery-powered light source while enabling movement of the false-bottom component under influence of the bottle to a second position of the false-bottom component in which the false-bottom component does actuate the battery-powered light source.

2. A device, comprising:

bottle-supporting means for supporting a bottle on a horizontal support surface, said bottle-supporting means including a bottle-supporting component having a downwardly facing base portion and a bottle-gripping portion extending upwardly from the base portion such that the base portion and the bottle-gripping portion cooperatively define an upwardly opening space for receiving a lower portion of the bottle;

a false-bottom component within the upwardly opening space such that the base portion, the false-bottom component, and the bottle-gripping portion cooperatively define a downwardly disposed space;

bottle-illuminating means for transmitting light upwardly toward the false-bottom component and downwardly toward the base, said means including a battery-powered light source component within the downwardly disposed space; and

light-actuating means for actuating the light source component by action of a person placing the lower portion of the bottle into the upwardly opening space of the bottle-supporting component;

wherein the bottle-gripping portion of the bottle-supporting component is adapted to bear against the lower portion of the bottle in tight-fitting engagement of the lower portion in order to hold the bottle-supporting component on the bottle when the person lifts the bottle;

wherein the base portion of the bottle-supporting component and the false-bottom component are at least partially transparent to light so that light is transmitted upwardly through the false-bottom component toward the bottle and downwardly through the base portion toward the horizontal support surface;

wherein the bottle-gripping portion of the bottle-supporting component includes a circularly shaped sidewall extending upwardly from the base portion and the sidewall includes a plurality of at least three inwardly extending protrusions that are adapted to bear inwardly against the lower portion of the bottle in tight-fitting engagement of the lower portion; and

wherein the sidewall includes means for retaining the false-bottom component in a first position of the false-bottom component in which the false-bottom component does not actuate the battery-powered light source while enabling movement of the false-bottom component under influence of the bottle to a second position of the false-bottom component in which the false-bottom component does actuate the battery-powered light source, said means including at least three pairs of inwardly extending protrusions on the sidewall such that the pairs are spaced apart circumferentially at uniform intervals and such that each pair includes two vertically spaced apart protrusions.

3. A device as recited in claim 2, wherein the sidewall is at least partially transparent to light so that light is transmitted outwardly from the downwardly disposed space through the sidewall.

4. A device as recited in claim 2, wherein the bottle-supporting component is a molded one-piece plastic structure.

5. A device as recited in claim 2, further comprising information displayed on an underside of the base portion.

6. A device, comprising:

bottle-supporting means for supporting a bottle on a horizontal support surface, said means including a bottle-supporting component having a downwardly facing base portion and a bottle-gripping portion extending upwardly from the base portion such that the base portion and the bottle-gripping portion cooperatively define an upwardly opening space for receiving a lower portion of the bottle;

a false-bottom component within the upwardly opening space such that the base portion, the false-bottom component, and the bottle-gripping portion cooperatively define a downwardly disposed space;

bottle-illuminating means for transmitting light upwardly toward the false-bottom component and downwardly toward the base portion, said bottle-illuminating means including a battery-powered light source component on the base portion of the bottle supporting component;

light-actuating means for actuating the light source component by action of a person placing the lower portion of the bottle into the upwardly opening space of the bottle-supporting component, said light-actuating means including the false-bottom component, and the false-bottom component being disposed moveably within the upwardly opening space in a position above the battery-powered light source component such that the false-bottom component is adapted to actuate the battery-powered light source component under influence of the bottle; and

tight-fitting means for gripping the lower portion of the bottle in order to hold the device on the bottle when the person lifts the bottle, said tight-fitting means including a plurality of at least three inwardly extending protrusions on the bottle-gripping portion of the bottle-supporting component, said inwardly extending protrusions being adapted to bear inwardly against the lower portion of the bottle in tight-fitting engagement of the lower portion;

wherein the base portion of the bottle-supporting component and the moveable false-bottom component are at least partially transparent to light so that light is transmitted through the false-bottom component toward the bottle and through the base portion of the bottle-supporting component away from the bottle;

wherein the bottle-gripping portion of the bottle-supporting component includes a sidewall and said sidewall includes retaining means for retaining the false-bottom component in a first position of the false-bottom component in which the false-bottom component does not actuate the battery-powered light source while enabling movement of the false-bottom component under influence of the bottle to a second position of the false-bottom component in which the false-bottom component does actuate the battery-powered light source.