GB2301814A - Receptacle holder - Google Patents

Abstract

A receptacle holder (1), for example for receiving and removably retaining a can or bottle containing liquid refreshment, comprises attachment means in the form of a clip (3, 4, 34) for attaching the receptacle holder to a support such as a belt or waistband of an item of clothing worn by the user, support means (5, 6) for supporting a receptacle to be held and retaining means (7) for receiving therein and removably retaining a receptacle to be held. The retaining means (7) affords one or more members of resiliently flexible material, preferably an elasticated sleeve (8), able to adapt to a variety of different circumferential shapes and/or sizes of receptacle to be held.

Description

RECEPTACLE HOLDER The present invention relates to a receptacle holder especially, but not exclusively, for clipping over a belt or waistband of an item of clothing worn by a user and for receiving and removably retaining a receptacle, for example a can or bottle containing liquid refreshment.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a receptacle holder as aforesaid which is convenient and easy to use, and which enables a user to removably insert into the holder a receptacle, typically a standard drinks can or bottle, which may have any one of a range of different circumferential shapes and/or sizes.

A receptacle holder according to the present invention comprises attachment means for attaching the receptacle holder to a support and retaining means for receiving and removably retaining a receptacle to be held wherein the retaining means comprises one or more members of resiliently flexible material arranged to adapt to a variety of different circumferential shapes and/or sizes of receptacle to be held by the holder and, hence, to grip at least part of the circumference of a receptacle when received in the retaining means.

The holder may also comprise support means on which the base of a receptacle held by the holder rests.

Preferably, the receptacle holder comprises a body having a main portion having at one end thereof a foot bent out of the plane of the main portion and affording the support and having at the other end thereof, remote from the foot or other support, a clip affording the attachment means and enabling the receptacle holder to be clipped over a support, such as a belt or waistband of an item of clothing worn by a user. Preferably a region of the main portion between the foot and clip mounts the retaining means.

Preferably the retaining means comprises a band of the resiliently flexible material forming a sleeve affording an opening in which a receptacle to be held may be received and retained. The sleeve and opening extend forwardly of a front face of the main portion of the body such that, in an upright position of intended use of the receptacle holder, the opening generally overlies the foot or other support means at the lower end of the body, whilst the clip is preferably at the upper end of the body.

Preferably the resiliently flexible material is an elasticated material capable of stretching between wide limits.

Preferably the clip is formed by bending back on itself an upper region of the body so as to form a tongue lying closely spaced behind the main portion of the body, thus forming a hook-like member.

Preferably the body including any support, main portion, and clip is formed as a unitary member, typically of plastics material.

Preferably a forward region of the sleeve of the retaining means is provided with a pocket. Preferably also, the pocket has a top closure flap which may be folded over and retained in the closed position by releasable fastening means such as hook-and-loop material (VELCRO - Registered Trade Mark).

Alternatively, other fastening means, such as zips, may be used.

Preferably, the retaining means is mounted to the main portion of the body by securing means which enables the retaining means to be repositioned at different positions along the main portion and, if desired, to be completely removed from the body.

Selected regions of the body and/or retaining means may afford surfaces suitable to receive indicia such as lettering and/or logos which may be printed on such surfaces or stuck thereto by adhesive. For example, a self-adhesive label containing such indicia may be attached to one or more of such surfaces.

Preferably in its relaxed, namely unstretched, state, the sleeve of the retaining means affords an opening of a size somewhat less that the circumferential size of a standard drinks can or bottle.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings which show, by way only of illustrative example, a currently preferred embodiment of the receptacle holder and in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the receptacle holder; and Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the receptacle holder.

The present invention provides a receptacle holder which, in its currently preferred embodiment, is constructed and arranged to receive and removably retain a receptacle in the form of a standard drinks can or bottle and to enable the latter to be conveniently carried on the person. Thus, in the description which follows, the receptacle holder of the present invention is described in relation to a drinks can holder 1 having a body 2 of substantially rigid plastics material.The body 2 is a unitary member having a main portion 3 with a forward face 3,, a tongue 4 lying closely spaced behind the main portion 3 and formed by bending back on itself an upper portion of the body 2 disposed at one end thereof, and a support foot 5 formed by bending forwards a portion of the body 2 disposed towards the other end thereof so as to lie at an angle of approximately 90. to the forward face 3' of the main portion 3 of the body.

The tongue 4 and main portion 3 provide between them a tapering gap 34 and thus form a hook-like member which acts as a clip for clipping over a suitable support, such as an item of clothing or portion thereof, for example a belt, waistband or pocket, worn by a user. Although the plastics material of which the body 2 is made, is generally rigid, it has sufficient resilience to enable the tongue 4 to flex to a limited extent relative to the main portion 3, thus affording a measure of grip over the support assuming the latter is thicker than the narrowest region of the gap 34. This narrowest region lies between the rounded free end 4' of the tongue 4 and an adjacent region of the main portion 3 as can best be seen in Figure 2.

The support foot 5 has an upper surface 6 affording a support surface for a drinks can to be received and removably retained by the receptacle holder 1. Preferably the support surface 6 extends at an angle slightly less than 90- with respect to the forward face 3' of the main portion 3. The foot 5 has a rounded free end 5'.

At a position intermediate the support foot 6 and the clip the main portion 3 mounts retaining means 7 in the form of an elasticated sleeve 8 having securing means 9 by which the retaining means 7 is secured around the main portion 3 of the body 2. The sleeve 8 further comprises generally curved sides 10 and a generally flat forward region to which is secured a pocket 11 having an open upper end closable by a releasably fastenable flap 12. When the flap 12 is in its pocket closing condition (as shown) it overlies an upper edge and inner upper marginal region of the sleeve 8 and is releasably secured in this condition by cooperating strips of hook-and-loop material such as that passing under the Trade Nark VELCRO". The pocket 11 may be formed of any suitable material attached in an appropriate manner to the elasticated material of the sleeve 8 and is capable of receiving a piece of thin card or other similar material.

The securing means 9 is in the form of a sleeve which encircles a region of the main portion 3, this sleeve having been formed by laying end regions of the elasticated material which forms the respective sides 10 over each other in substantial overlap and then securing them to each other along seam lines 10', 10'' to create a sleeve having an opening size substantially smaller than the periphery of the main portion 3 of the body 2 when the elasticated material of the sleeve is in its relaxed condition.

The retaining means 7 thus described is manufactured as a separate entity from the body 2 and subsequently assembled thereto by expanding the sleeve of the securing means 9 and slipping it over and sliding it along the body 2 until it is suitably disposed in the position shown in the Figures whereby the opening 13 afforded within the elasticated sleeve 8 lies generally above the foot 5 of the body 2. The elasticity of the securing means 9 enables the retaining means 7 to be repositioned at different positions along the main portion 3 and to retain the selected position as well as, if desired, to be completely removed from the body 2.

In the relaxed state of the sleeve 8, its opening 13 has a size substantially less than the circumferential dimension of a standard drinks can whereby, when the receptacle holder is in use and receives such a can, the sleeve 8 will be expanded and, by virtue of the elasticity thereof, will suitably grip part of the circumference of the received can whose base will be supported on the support surface 6 of the foot 5.

The receptacle holder is, however, not limited to use with such a standard drinks can but may receive and removably retain any one of a very wide variety of receptacles of different circumferential shapes and/or sizes, its ability to appropriately grip and retain any inserted receptacle arising from the adaptability of the resiliently flexible material of the sleeve 8 to the circumferential shape and/or size of the inserted receptacle.

Selected regions of the body and/or retaining means may afford surfaces on which indicia may be printed, adhered or otherwise formed. Such indicia may include lettering and/or logos adapting the receptacle holder for use as a sales promotional aid, and may be provided as one or more self-adhesive labels. An example of such a selected region is the front face of the pocket 11.

The receptacle holder of the present invention may be adapted for use with many differently shaped and/or sized receptacles by exchanging the retaining means 7 for any other similar means selected from a range of different ones having sleeves 8 whose openings 13 are of different sizes in the relaxed state. Thus, not only may a given retaining means 7 be used with a variety of different receptacles, but also, by exchange of the retaining means the range of potential use is extended further.

Although the body 2 is described as being of a rigid plastics material, it may be made of any other suitable material, such as a metallic material or even a semi-rigid or resilient plastics material.

The invention is not limited to details of the preferred embodiment as described above, but extends to all such variations as fall within the scope of the appended claims. For example, the retaining means 7 need not include an elasticated sleeve 8 but may alternatively include resiliently flexible arms capable of being bent to and of maintaining a set position to grip any inserted receptacle.

Claims (20)

1. A receptacle holder comprising attachment means for attaching the receptacle holder to a support and retaining means for receiving and removably retaining a receptacle to be held; wherein the retaining means comprises one or more members of resiliently flexible material arranged to adapt to a variety of different circumferential shapes and/or sizes of receptacle to be held by the holder and, hence, to grip at least part of the circumference of a receptacle when received in the retaining means.

2. A receptacle holder as claimed in claim 1, including support means upon which a receptacle to be held by the holder can rest.

3. A receptacle holder as claimed in claim 1 or 2, comprising a body with a main portion having at one end thereof a foot bent out of the plane of the main portion and constituting the support means, and having at the other end thereof, opposite the support foot, a clip constituting the attachment means and enabling the receptacle holder to be clipped over a support.

4. A receptacle holder as claimed in claim 3, wherein a region of the main portion between the foot and clip mounts the retaining means.

5. A receptacle holder as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the retaining means comprises a band of the resiliently flexible material forming a sleeve affording an opening in which a receptacle to be held may be received and retained.

6. A receptacle holder as claimed in claim 4 when appended to claim 3 or 4, wherein the sleeve and its opening extend forwardly from a front face of the main portion of the body such that, in an upright position of intended use of the receptacle holder, the opening generally overlies the support foot at the lower end of the body, the clip being at the upper end of the body.

7. A receptacle holder as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the resiliently flexible material is an elasticated material capable of stretching between wide limits.

8. A receptacle holder as claimed in claim 3 or any claim appended thereto, wherein the clip is formed by bending back on itself an upper region of the body so as to form a tongue lying closely spaced behind the main portion of the body to form a hook-like member.

9. A receptacle holder as claimed in claim 8, including a tapered gap between the tongue and main portion of the body, the narrowest part of the gap lying between the free end of the tongue and an adjacent region of the main portion of the body.

10. A receptacle holder as claimed in claim 3 or any claim appended thereto, in which the body including the support foot, main portion, and clip, is formed as a unitary member.

11. A receptacle holder as claimed in claim 10, wherein the body is formed of a generally rigid plastics material.

12. A receptacle holder as claimed in claim 5 or any claim appended thereto, wherein a forward region of the sleeve of the retaining means is provided with a pocket.

13. A receptacle holder as claimed in claim 12, wherein the pocket has a top closure flap which may be retained in its closed position by releasable fastening means.

14. A receptacle holder as claimed in claim 13, wherein the releasable fastening means comprises hookand-loop material.

15. A receptacle holder as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the retaining means is mounted to a main portion of the body by securing means which enables the retaining means to be repositioned at different positions along the main portion and, if desired, to be completely removed from the body.

16. A receptacle holder as claimed in claim 15, wherein the securing means comprises a sleeve of elasticated material which surrounds and grips the main portion of the body.

17. A receptacle holder as claimed in claim 5 or any claim appended thereto, wherein, in its relaxed state, the sleeve of the retaining means affords an opening of a size substantially less than the circumferential size of a standard drinks can or bottle.

18. A receptacle holder as claimed in any preceding claim, in which one or more regions of the body and/or retaining means carries indicia.

19. A receptacle holder substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

20. A receptacle holder according to any preceding claim, when used as a promotional aid.