HOLDER FOR A BEVERAGE CONTAINER

Description

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present application relates generally to holder for a beverage container, and more specifically relates to a holder for cardboard juice boxes.

BACKGROUND

This section provides background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the invention. It should be understood that the statements in this section of this document are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.

Juice boxes are a convenient way of providing beverages to children. While overall simple to use, it is common for young children to squeeze the pliable cardboard juice boxes while drinking or inserting the straw. This often results in spills which can be messy and time consuming to clean.

BRIEF SUMMARY

There is provided a holder for a beverage container. The holder is a rigid body that has a bottom and at least one peripheral side wall such that a hollow receptacle is created. The hollow receptacle is sized to accommodate a cardboard juice box.

In one embodiment, the rigid body is rectangular in shape and has four connected peripheral side walls.

In one embodiment, the hollow receptacle is 3.8 to 6.0 cm in width, 4.9 to 6.0 cm in length, and 10.0- to 14.0 cm in height.

In one embodiment, the rigid body has at least one finger imprint on the at least one peripheral side wall to aid in gripping of the rigid body. A thump imprint is positioned on an opposite side of the rigid body to the at least one finger imprint.

In one embodiment, the bottom of the rigid body has an aperture sized to allow a user's finger to contact and push the cardboard juice box out of the hollow receptacle.

In one embodiment, at least one of the peripheral side walls has an aperture sized to allow a user's finger to contact and push the cardboard juice box out of the hollow receptacle.

In one embodiment, at least one of the peripheral side walls has a notch adjacent a top of the peripheral side wall. The notch is sized to allow a user's finger to contact and push the cardboard juice box out of the hollow receptacle.

In one embodiment, the holder has a lid. The lid has a gasket for sealingly engaging with the rigid body.

In one embodiment, the lid has a straw aperture. The straw aperture corresponds in position to the position of a straw aperture on the cardboard juice box.

In another embodiment, the lid has an integrated straw.

In one embodiment, a straw holder is positioned on an exterior surface of one of the at least one peripheral side walls for holding a straw when not in use.

In one embodiment, the straw holder is a sleeve.

In one embodiment, the rigid body is made of food safe plastic, bamboo, or stainless steel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features will become more apparent from the following description in which references are made to the following drawings, in which numerical references denote like parts. The drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to in any way limit the scope of the invention to the particular embodiments shown.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a holder for a beverage container.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the holder for a beverage container.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of another side of the holder for a beverage container.

FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective view of the holder for a beverage container with an aperture in the bottom.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the holder for a beverage container with an aperture in a side wall.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the holder for a beverage container with a notch in a side wall.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the holder for a beverage container with a lid.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the lid with a straw aperture.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the lid with an integral straw.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the holder for a beverage container with a lid variation.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the holder for a beverage container with a straw pocket.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the holder for a beverage container with a straw sleeve.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the holder for a beverage container with a cardboard juice box sliding in or out of the beverage container.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the holder for a beverage container with a second lid variation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A holder for a beverage container, generally identified by reference numeral 10, will now be described with reference to FIG. 1 through FIG. 14.

Referring to FIG. 1, a holder for a beverage container 10 is a rigid body 12 that has a bottom 14 and at least one peripheral side wall 16 such that a hollow receptacle 18 is created. Hollow receptacle 18 is sized to accommodate a cardboard juice box 100, shown in FIG. 13. Cardboard juice boxes from different sources may have different dimensions and hollow receptacle 18 should be sized to allow some clearance space between cardboard juice boxes and an interior 20 of hollow receptacle 18. Clearance between cardboard juice boxes and interior 20 allows for easy insertion and removal of cardboard juice boxes from hollow receptacle 18 while also limiting movement of cardboard juice box within hollow receptacle 18. In the embodiment shown, rigid body 12 is rectangular in shape and has four connected peripheral side walls 16. It will be understood by a person skilled in the art that the dimensions of rigid body 12 will vary depending upon the dimensions of the cardboard juice box with which it can be used. In one embodiment, hollow receptable 18 is 3.8 to 5.0 cm in width, 4.9 to 6.0 cm in length, and 10.0 to 14.0 cm in height. These dimensions may accommodate many of the cardboard juice boxes currently on the market with different clearances between cardboard juice boxes and interior of hollow receptacle 18. While any suitable rigid material may be used, it is preferred that rigid body be made of food safe plastic, bamboo, or stainless steel. Rigid body 12 may have rounded edges to prevent sharp corners which could potentially cause injury to users.

Referring to FIG. 10, rigid body 12 has at least one finger imprint 22 on a peripheral side wall 16 and a thumb imprint 24, shown in FIG. 3, positioned on an opposite side of rigid body 12 to a finger imprint 22 to aid in gripping rigid body 12. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, there are four finger imprints 22. In addition to providing addition grip and helping to prevent a user's hands from slipping on rigid body 12, finger imprints 22 and thumb imprints 24 can help teach a child where to place their fingers when holding juice boxes, cups, and other containers. It will be understood by a person skilled in the art that there may be multiple thump imprints 24 to provide multiple positions for gripping rigid body 12. This allows a user to choose which finger imprints 22 and thump imprints 24 to use based upon comfort.

Particularly when clearance between cardboard juice box and interior 20 of hollow receptacle 18 is limited, it can be challenging to remove cardboard juice box without inverting holder 10 which could result in spills. Referring to FIG. 4, to aid in removal without the need for inversion, bottom 14 may have an aperture 26 sized to allow a user's finger to contact and push the cardboard juice box out of hollow receptacle 18. It will be understood by a person skilled in the art that aperture 26 may be any shape or size but must not be so large that cardboard juice box can slide through aperture 26. Referring to FIG. 5, as an alternative or in addition to aperture 26, an aperture 28 may be positioned within at least one of peripheral side walls 16 to aid in pushing the cardboard juice out of hollow receptacle 18. Aperture 28 may be any shape or size but must not be so large that cardboard juice box can slide through aperture 28. Referring to FIG. 6, as an alternative or in addition to aperture 26 and/or aperture 28, a notch 30 may be positioned adjacent a top 32 of at least one peripheral side wall 16. The notch is sized to allow a user's finger to contact and push the cardboard juice box out of hollow receptacle 18. In the embodiment shown, a pair of notches 30 positioned on opposite peripheral side walls 16 are provided to allow the user to pinch the cardboard juice box and lift it out of hollow receptacle 18.

Referring to FIG. 7, a lid 34 with a gasket 36 for sealingly engaging with rigid body 12 may be provided to limit access to a cardboard juice box inside hollow receptable 18 or to create a drinking container that mimics a cardboard juice box. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, lid 34 may have a straw aperture 38 that corresponds in position to the position of a straw aperture on cardboard juice boxes. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, lid 34 has an integrated straw 40. Referring to FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, a straw holder 42 is positioned on an exterior surface 44 on a peripheral side wall 16 for holding a straw from the cardboard juice box or alternative straw for use at a future time. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, straw holder 42 is a sleeve. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, straw holder 42 is a pocket. It will, however, be understood by a person skilled in the art that any suitable holding apparatus including clamps, ties, and anything else known to a person skilled in the art may be used.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, lid 34 is attached to rigid body 12 by at least one latch 44. In the present embodiment, latch 44 has a locking extension 46 that corresponds to a locking indent 48 on rigid body 12. Locking extension 46 reversibly connects to locking indent 48 to lock lid 34 to rigid body 12. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 14, an alternative lid 34 is shown. Lid 34 is attached to rigid body 12 by retractable and extendable teeth 50 positioned on the exterior sides of lid 34. Teeth move between the retractable and the extendable positions by pressing button 52. The mechanisms associated with this type of movement are well known to a person skilled in the art and, therefore, will not be described in detail. When extended, teeth 50 contact corresponding recesses 54 on interior 20 of hollow receptacle 18 and hold lip 34 firmly in place. To release lid 34, button 52 is pushed to retract teeth 50 and allow removal of lid from rigid body 12.

Any use herein of any terms describing an interaction between elements is not meant to limit the interaction to direct interaction between the subject elements, and may also include indirect interaction between the elements such as through secondary or intermediary structure unless specifically stated otherwise.

In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements.

It will be apparent that changes may be made to the illustrative embodiments, while falling within the scope of the invention. As such, the scope of the following claims should not be limited by the preferred embodiments set forth in the examples and drawings described above, but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole.