Heated or cooled portable drinkware

• US 10,413,119 B2
• Filed: 09/04/2018
• Issued: 09/17/2019
• 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:
  US16/121,000
• Publication Number:
  US 20190008317A1
• Time in Patent Office: 378 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 drinkware container system, comprising:

a 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;

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 a mechanical and an electrical connection with the body when the body is placed on top of the module, allowing the body with the attached module to be portable as a single unit, the module comprising

one or more electrical contacts on a proximal outer surface of the module configured to provide an electrical connection with the one or more electrical contacts of the body when the body is placed on top of the module, and

one or more power storage elements selectively connectable to the one or more heating or cooling elements; and

control circuitry operable to control the operation of the one or more heating or cooling elements to control an amount of energy supplied to the liquid in the chamber to maintain or increase the temperature of the liquid to a temperature setpoint,

wherein when the body is placed on top of the module, the one or more heating or cooling elements and one or more sensors are powered by 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 mechanically detaching the module from the body disconnects the one or more heating or cooling elements and one or more sensors from the one or more power storage elements.

2. The container of claim 1, wherein the control circuitry is housed in the module and when the body is attached to the module one or more sensors in the body that sense one or more parameters of the liquid in the chamber 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 wherein detaching the body from the module disconnects the control circuitry from the one or more sensors.

3. The container of claim 2, wherein the one or more sensors includes a temperature sensor operable to sense a temperature of the liquid in the chamber.

4. The container of claim 1, wherein the one or more electrical contacts on one of the body and the module include one or more pins and wherein the one or more electrical contacts on the other of the body and the module include one or more circular rings, allowing coupling of the body and the module irrespective of an orientation of the body and the module.

5. The container of claim 1, wherein the module is configured to provide a mechanical connection with the body at least in part via at least one magnet in the body and at least one magnet in the module.

6. The container of claim 1, wherein the control circuitry is configured to wirelessly communicate with an electronic device, the control circuitry configured to control power delivery to the one or more heating or cooling elements when the body is placed on top of the module to adjust a temperature of the liquid in the chamber toward a user selected temperature.

7. An actively heated or cooled drinkware container system, comprising:

a 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, an outer surface of the body having one or more electrical contacts, and one or more sensors disposed in the body;

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 a mechanical and an electrical connection with the body when the body is placed on top of the module, allowing the body with the attached module to be portable as a single unit, the module comprising one or more power storage elements selectively connectable with the one or more heating or cooling elements when the body is placed on top of the module, the module having one or more electrical contacts configured to at least partially electrically couple the module and the body when the body is placed on top of the module;

one or more magnets in one or both of the module and the body configured to at least partially mechanically couple the module and the body; and

control circuitry operable to control the operation of the one or more heating or cooling elements to control an amount of energy supplied to the liquid in the chamber to maintain or increase the temperature of the liquid to a temperature setpoint, wherein when the body is placed on top of the module, the one or more heating or cooling elements and one or more sensors are powered by 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 mechanically detaching the module from the body disconnects the one or more heating or cooling elements and one or more sensors from the one or more power storage elements.

8. The container of claim 7, wherein the one or more electrical contacts on one of the body and the module include one or more pins and wherein the one or more electrical contacts on the other of the body and the module include one or more circular rings, allowing coupling of the body and the module irrespective of an orientation of the body and the module.

9. The container of claim 7, wherein the control circuitry is housed in the module and when the body is placed on top of to the module the one or more sensors are configured to communicate with the control circuitry via 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.

10. The container of claim 7, wherein the one or more sensors includes a temperature sensor operable to sense a temperature of the liquid in the chamber.

11. The container of claim 7, wherein the one or more magnets include at least one magnet in the body and at least one magnet in the module.

12. The container of claim 7, wherein the control circuitry is configured to wirelessly communicate with an 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 a user selected temperature.

13. An actively heated or cooled drinkware container system, comprising:

a 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, and one or more sensors disposed in the body;

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 a mechanical and an electrical connection with the body when the body is placed on top of the module, allowing the body with the attached module to be portable as a single unit, the module comprising one or more power storage elements selectively connectable to the one or more heating or cooling elements and configured to provide power from the one or power storage elements to the one or more heating or cooling elements when the body is placed on top of the module; and

control circuitry operable to control the operation of the one or more heating or cooling elements to control an amount of energy supplied to the liquid in the chamber to maintain or increase the temperature of the liquid to a user selected temperature setpoint, wherein when the body is placed on top of the module, the one or more heating or cooling elements and one or more sensors are powered by the one or more power storage elements, and wherein mechanically detaching the module from the body disconnects the one or more heating or cooling elements and one or more sensors from the one or more power storage elements.

14. the container of claim 13, further comprising one or more magnets in one or both of the module and the body configured to at least partially mechanically couple the module and the body.

15. The container of claim 14, wherein the one or more magnets include at least one magnet in the body and at least one magnet in the module.

16. The container of claim 13, wherein the body has a distal outer surface having one or more electrical contacts, and the module has one or more electrical contacts on a proximal outer surface of the module configured to provide an electrical connection with the one or more electrical contacts of the body when the body is placed on top of the module.

17. The container of claim 16, wherein the control circuitry is housed in the module and when the body is placed on top of the module the one or more sensors are configured to communicate with the control circuitry via one or more electrical contacts in the body and the module, wherein 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.

18. The container of claim 13, wherein the one or more sensors includes a temperature sensor operable to sense a temperature of the liquid in the chamber.

19. The container of claim 13, wherein the control circuitry is configured to wirelessly receive a user selected temperature, 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.