CN1318278C - Container with insulator, additional cap and expandable rack - Google Patents

Abstract

An insulated container for liquid food or even solid food has a large opening covered by a first lid. An additional opening is formed in the first cover and covered by the additional cover. Either opening can be used to add or remove liquid from the container. Additionally, a spout penetrates the container to provide another method of dispensing liquid from the container. The container has a foam filled insulated cavity. The container also has a handle. An extendable stand is provided at the bottom of the container for raising the height of the container to facilitate dispensing of liquid from the spout.

Description

Container with insulation, additional lid and opening, and extendable stand

technical field

The present invention relates to containers for transporting, storing and dispensing liquids, especially beverages and other liquid food products.

Background technique

Containers for transporting, storing and dispensing liquids are not always as easy to use as users would like. For example, when a container has a spout for dispensing liquid, it is often difficult to place the container on a table or other surface in such a way that a cup or bowl is placed under the spout for filling. Moreover, such containers are not always well suited for every task a user may place on the container. Certain tasks may require a container with a large opening or wide mouth to place ice into it or to quickly pour liquid into another container with a wide mouth. Also, it may be desirable to have a large opening or wide mouth to facilitate transport of solid food in the container. Other tasks may require smaller openings for pouring liquids from containers. Still other tasks may be better accomplished by dispensing liquid from a nozzle. Just a single opening or single nozzle is not well suited to fulfill every need.

The unique features of the present invention address each of the disadvantages present in existing containers.

Contents of the invention

The present invention thus provides a container for transporting, storing and dispensing liquids having a nozzle for dispensing liquid therefrom and a wide mouth opening into which liquid is easily added.

The present invention also provides a container for transporting, storing and dispensing liquids having an extendable stand on the bottom surface for easily positioning a receptacle under a spout to facilitate dispensing of liquid from the container.

Additional advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the features particularly pointed out in the claims or combinations thereof.

To achieve the advantages of the invention and in accordance with the purposes of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, in one aspect, the invention provides a container comprising: a receptacle for containing a liquid, the receptacle having a and a first opening for taking out the liquid; detachably assembled to the receptacle to close the first opening cover; penetrate the receptacle and for selectively dispensing liquid from the receptacle; formed between the receptacle and the first flat bottom surfaces on opposite ends of the opening, the flat bottom surfaces capable of stably supporting the container on a flat surface; and a set of extendable supports mounted to the receptacle adjacent the flat bottom surfaces, each The extendable stand has a first position in which the extendable stand is retracted and not extended out of the plane of the receiver out of the plane of the flat bottom surface and a second position in which the extendable stand is extended out of the receiver out of the plane of the flat bottom surface, and in the second position, the set of extendable supports is capable of supporting the container at a height greater than the height of the container when supported on the flat bottom surface.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one embodiment of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.

Description of drawings

Figure 1 is a side view of a container according to one embodiment of the invention with the stand extended and the lid and filter removed.

Figure 2 is a front view of the container of Figure 1 with the stand retracted.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the container taken along section 3-3 in Fig. 2 .

Detailed ways

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the examples shown in the drawings, where the same reference numerals in the drawings represent the same elements.

Referring to FIG. 3 , the container 100 of the present invention generally includes a receptacle 10 and a lid 50 . The receptacle 10 encloses a material receiving cavity 11 for containing a liquid, especially a beverage or other food. Although container 100 will primarily be used for transporting beverages or other liquid food products, its application is not limited thereto. Container 100 can also be used to transport, store and dispense other liquids. The container 100 can also be effectively used to transport and store solid food, if desired.

As shown in Figures 1-3, the receptacle 10 of the illustrated embodiment is generally cylindrical for durability and ease of manufacture. However, the exact shape of the receptacle 10 and each other component of the container 100 can be selected according to the intended use of the container 100 and the preferences of the user. Referring to FIG. 3 , the receptacle 10 must have an opening 12 for liquid to be added to or removed from the container 100 . In the illustrated embodiment, the receptacle 10 is generally a thin-walled cylinder that lacks an end face to form the opening 12 . The cover 50 closes the opening 12 to securely contain the liquid in the cavity 11 . Cap 50 is removably fitted to receptacle 10 by threads or other existing attachment means.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the illustrated receptacle 10 may include an inner shell 20 and an outer shell 30 between which the foam-filled space 13 is located. The foam-filled space 13 insulates the hot and cold materials contained in the cavity 11 . In the illustrated embodiment, the inner shell 20 is a thin-walled cylinder having a closed end face 21 and an open end face 22 . The housing 30 is a thin-walled cylinder with two open end faces 31 and 32 .

The open end surface 22 of the inner shell 20 is combined with the open end surface 32 of the outer shell 30 at the joint. The bond may be a one-way fitting bond in which the lip or protrusion of the outer shell 30 or inner shell 20 is deflected by a force applied thereto in a first direction during assembly to form a A flange or other obstruction on the other of the outer shell 30 or the inner shell 20 fits. This force causes the outer shell 30 and inner shell 20 to mate with each other, with the eventual lip or other protrusion passing around the flange or other obstacle and snapping into position behind the flange or other obstacle after mating is complete. However, due to the geometry of the flange and lip, a force applied in a direction opposite to the first direction cannot disengage the outer shell 30 and the inner shell 20 .

The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 has such a lip 23 formed on the inner shell 20 and a flange 33 formed on the outer shell 30 . During assembly, lip 23 must flex to slide over flange 33 and snap into place after having slid over flange 33 . Due to the geometry of the lip 23 and the flange 33 , a force applied in a direction opposite to the first direction cannot disengage the inner shell 20 from the outer shell 30 .

Receptacle 10 may include a bottom 40 . The bottom 40 may be coupled to the inner case 20 or the outer case 30 . In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the bottom 40 is joined to the closed end face 21 of the inner shell 20 by thread-forming fasteners 41 . The bottom 40 forms a sleeve connection with the open end 31 of the housing 30 to completely enclose and effectively seal the foam-filled cavity 13 .

In order to assemble the three main elements of the receptacle 10, as shown in FIG. The case 20 and the outer case 30 are joined together. The base 40 is then bonded to the inner shell 20 by thread-forming fasteners 41 while forming a sleeve connection with the open end 31 of the outer shell 30 . A small hole is provided in the bottom 40 to allow the foam to be introduced into the cavity 13, which hole is heat-sealed after expansion of the foam.

As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the container 100 may also include a handle 60 for allowing a user to easily hold the container 100 during transport. Preferably, the handle 60 enables the user to hold the container 100 with one hand, even after it is filled with liquid, as with the handle 60 in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2-3. The handle 60 is rotatably mounted to opposite sides of the container 100 at each end of the handle and is grasped at the middle thereof.

Container 100 may also include a spout 70, which provides a second method for removing liquid. As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the nozzle 70 should generally be positioned so that liquid can be poured into the container through the opening 12 and then dispensed through the nozzle 70 without tilting the container. As such, the nozzle 70 should generally penetrate the receptacle 10 near the bottom of the cavity 11 opposite the opening 12 .

As shown in FIGS. 1-3 , the lid 50 may preferably include an additional opening 51 for adding or removing liquid from the container 100 . The additional opening 51 provides a third method for removing liquid from the container 100, thus increasing the suitability of the container for many different tasks. The additional opening 51 is smaller than the opening 12 of the receptacle 10 . In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3, the cover 50 includes a first cover 52 having an additional opening 51 formed therein. The cover 50 also includes an additional cover 53 for closing the additional opening 51 . The additional cover 53 is removably fitted to the first cover 52 by screwing or other existing connection means.

The additional opening 51 has several potential uses. As it is smaller than the first opening 12 , the additional opening 51 can be used for a slower and more controlled pouring of liquid from the container 100 . The additional opening 51 can be used to add beverages to the container 100 while the container 100 is being transported. After the first cap 52 is fitted on the receptacle 10, only a small amount of liquid can be lost through the additional opening 51 due to sloshing, so that the container 100 can be filled through the additional opening 51 during transport. Furthermore, the additional opening 51 enables an utensil to be used to stir the liquid in the container 100 while the first cover 52 remains fitted and also prevents large quantities of liquid from being spilled from the container 100 .

Providing a larger opening 12 is also provided for faster pouring of liquid into the container 100 , for pouring from another wide mouthed container 100 , or for adding ice to the container 100 . The opening 12 also facilitates the storage and transport of solid food items in the container 100 that would not fit through the smaller additional opening 51 .

As shown in FIG. 3 , the first cover 52 may include a top case 55 and a bottom case 56 with a cavity formed between the top case 55 and the bottom case 56 . The cavity can also be insulated with foam if desired. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 , the additional cover 53 is removably fitted to a top shell 55 which is removably fitted to the outer shell 30 of the receptacle 10 . The bottom shell 56 is fitted to the top shell 55 by flexing and snapping onto an inner radial flange 57 formed on the top shell 55 .

A filter 54 can also be arranged in the additional opening 51 . The filter 54 is in the shape of a thin-walled cylinder having a closed end and an open end. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 , the filter 54 is generally dimensioned such that it can fit in the additional opening 51 . However, the radially outwardly extending flange 58 is larger than the additional opening 51 . The flange 58 suspends the filter 54 in the additional opening 51 to filter liquid poured through the additional opening 51 and store it. An axially inwardly extending flange 59 formed on the additional cover 53 may be provided for pressing against the flange 58 when the additional cover 53 is assembled to the first cover 52 . In this way, the flange 58 acts as a gasket to completely seal the additional opening 51 .

A set of extendable supports 80 is also provided on the receptacle 10 . In the illustrated embodiment, the base 40 has a flat bottom surface 42 formed thereon. The container 100 can be stably placed on the flat bottom surface 42 . When it is desired to place the container 100 on the flat bottom surface 42 , each bracket 80 can be retracted to a first position above the flat bottom surface 42 . Alternatively, each support 80 may extend downwardly beyond the flat bottom surface 42 to a second position to support the container 100 on the set of supports 80 . When the stand 80 is extended, the container 100 is supported at a higher elevation than it is on the flat bottom surface 42 . The added height of the container 100 places the nozzle 70 at a height sufficient to place a cup, bowl or other container 100 below the nozzle 70 for filling, despite the location of the nozzle 70 near the bottom of the cavity 11 and adjacent to the bottom 40.

In addition to increasing the height of the container 100 to facilitate use of the nozzle 70, the stand 80 may also allow the container 100 to be placed more stably on an uneven surface than if the flat bottom surface 42 were utilized.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 , the set of extendable legs 80 includes three independently retractable legs 80 . Alternatively, more or fewer than three brackets 80 may be used, and all brackets 80 need not be independently retractable. The brackets 80 may be mounted to the base 40 by, for example, hinge joints enabling them to pivot between retracted and extended positions.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations can be made in the methods and apparatus of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. Therefore, the present invention shall include such modifications and changes as long as they fall within the scope of the claims or their equivalents.

Claims (6)

1. A container comprising: a receptacle for containing liquid, the receptacle having a first opening for adding and removing liquid; A cover removably fitted to the receptacle to close the first opening; A nozzle that penetrates the receptacle and is used to selectively dispense liquid from the receptacle; a flat bottom surface formed on the end of the receptacle opposite the first opening, the flat bottom surface capable of stably supporting the container on a flat surface; and A set of extendable supports mounted to the receptacle adjacent the flat bottom surface, each extendable support having a first position and a second position, in the first position, the extendable supports are retracted and do not extend away from the receptacle to the flat Out of the plane of the bottom surface, in the second position, the extendable supports extend away from the receptacle to out of the plane of the flat bottom surface, and in the second position, the set of extendable supports is capable of supporting the container at a The height of the container height is large when the bottom surface is flat. 2. The container of claim 1, further comprising a lifting handle mounted to the receptacle. 3. The container of claim 1, wherein said set of expandable legs comprises three expandable legs. 4. The container of claim 3, wherein each extendable leg of said set of extendable legs is mounted to the receptacle by a hinged joint and is movable between a first position and a second position. turn. 5. The container of claim 4, further comprising a lifting handle mounted to the receptacle. 6. The container of claim 4, wherein said lid further comprises: a first cover removably assembled to the receptacle; An additional opening formed in the first cover for adding and removing liquid from the receptacle; and an additional cover removably fitted to the first cover for covering the additional opening.

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