US2784577A - Weighted coaster - Google Patents

Description

United States PatentN WEIGHTED COASTER Gordon T. Beaham, III, Bayside, Va. i Application September 23, 1955, Serial No. 536,180 1 claim. (ci. ss- 61) Summarized briefly, the present invention is a coaster for glasses, so designed as to insure to a maximum extent against accidental tipping of the glasses from an upstandmg position.

It is well appreciated that in many instances, glasses are accidentally tipped over by reason of being supported upon an unstable surface, or by reason of being subject to the effects of a stiff breeze. For example, at outings, picnics, etc., a glass may be tipped over by a wind. Alternatively, on boats, trains, and the like, a table surface may rock, again causing tipping of the glasses.

While heretofore it has been proposed to provide coasters designed specifically for the purpose of preventing accidental tipping of a supported glass, many of these, so far as is known, have failed to nd widespread commercial favor. This, I believe may be due in some instances to the fact that the coasters have not been so designed as to support the weight of the glass and locate the center of gravity thereof in a manner that will insure against accidental tipping. In other instances, the coaster may itself be so lightly constructed as to result in an insufficient anchoring action so far as the bottom of the glass is concerned.

Among important objects of the invention, in view of the above, are the following:

To provide a coaster having a glass receiving receptacle so arranged relative to a large diameter base as to provide maximum stability considering the height of the glass, the over-all weight of the glass and its contents, and the size and weight of the coaster itself;

To form the coaster in such a manner as to permit its manufacture at a relatively low cost considering the benefits to be obtained from the use thereof;

T o facilitate stacking of the coasters when they are not in use; and

To achieve the desired stabilizing functions of the coaster while still providing a highly attractive appearance thereof.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claim appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of the coaster formed according to the present invention as it appears when in use;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the coaster on an enlarged scale; and

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken diametrically through the coaster substantially on line 3-3 of Figure 2, the scale being still 4further enlarged.

The coaster constituting the invention includes a large diameter, flat, circular base of molded plastic or similar material formed throughout its circumference with a downwardly opening groove 12. Set into and filling the groove 12 is an annular weight 14 which may be formed of lead or other heavy material, the under side of said weight being ilush with the under side of the base. Angularly spaced about the circumference of the weight, preferably at 90 intervals, are countersunk openings receiving screws 16 or equivalent fastening elements threaded upwardly into the bottom of the recess 12.

To protect the supporting surface from being marred by the coaster, an annular, at pad 1S of felt, soft rubber, or the like, is cemented to the coplanar bottom surfaces of the weight and base.

Molded integrally with the annular base 10, at the inside edge thereof, is an upwardly projecting, frustoconical supporting wall 20, the base of which is provided L with obtusely related surfaces 21, 22. The surface 22 (see Figure 3), is inclined into parallelism with the outer surface of the wall 20, and thus it will be seen that when a plurality of the coasters are being stacked for storage awaiting the next use, the surface 22 of each coaster will be in face to face contact with the outer surface of wall 20, at the base of the wall. These surfaces contact before the remaining part of the outer surface of the wall 20 of any coaster contacts the corresponding wall of a coaster positioned over the same, and thus a scratching of the outer surfaces of the walls is prevented.

At its upper end, wall 20 merges into the upper end of a receptacle 24 having a at bottom 26, the upper surface of which is formed with spaced, low rounded lugs 28, adapted to support the glass out of direct contact with the bottom wall. The side wall of the receptacle flares in a direction away from the bottom Wall 26, to facilitate the insertion of glasses, and it will be appreciated that any condensation forming upon the glasses will ow down the outer surface thereof into the bottom of the receptacle.

It is also of importance to note that the bottom wall 26 lies in a plane spaced above the bottom of the base 10, the plane of said wall 26 being substantially common to that of the top surface of weight 14. As a result, al1 the weight of the lead ring 14 is disposed below the lowermost portion of the support glass G. Further, the large diameter base and the ring embedded thereon are spaced outwardly of the periphery of the lower end of the glass, so that maximum stability is achieved. The particular diameter of the base relative to that of the supported glass, and the elevation of the lower end of the glass above the bottom of the base cooperate to provide a desirable stabilizing action, by providing the broadest base possible against angular instability and by concentrating the cornbined weight of the glass and coaster in a relatively small area of the surface supporting the coaster against sliding or frictional instability. Further, elevation of the flat bottom of the receptacle 24 above the bottom of the base 10 allows maximum stability even on a slightly uneven or convex surface, such as the ground. Further, the use of the lead ring, again disposed below the plane of the glass bottom has a further stabilizing action and these features, discharged by the components of the device in a coactive relationship, serve to insure against tipping of the glass under such conditions as the impingement 'of a strong Wind against the glass, or the rolling or pitchingl of the structure on which the glass is supported.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily conned to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A coaster comprising an upstanding, conically upwardly tapering supporting wall; an annular base rigid with and projecting outwardly from the lowerend of said wall, said base having at its undersldera downwardly opening, annular recess having side walls spaced inwardly 4from the respective, corresponding outer walls of the base; a weight filling said recess and having an inner diameter substantially equal to the outer diameter of the lower end of the supporting wall; and a downwardly, conically tapering receptacle depending from the upper end of the supporting wall, said receptacle having a bottom wall lying in a plane that is substantially common to that of the top surface of the Weight and that intersects the base between the top and bottom surfaces thereof.

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References Cited in thele of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Beaham Jan. 13, 1885 Keil Aug. 11, 1903 Savage Apr. 9, 1912 Huston Oct. 19, 1926 Benoit Dec. 30, 1930 Schade Nov. 7, 1939 Gill Sept. 3, 1940 Braddock July 4, 1944 Mart Jan. 3, 1950 Lanpher Mar. 11, 1952 .Amberg Mar. 23, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain May 3o, 1905

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