AU2004100653B4

AU2004100653B4 - Insulated beverage holder

Info

Publication number: AU2004100653B4
Application number: AU2004100653A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Scott Bingley
Original assignee: LICENSING ESSENTIALS Pty Ltd
Current assignee: LICENSING ESSENTIALS Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2003-12-17
Filing date: 2004-08-09
Publication date: 2005-02-10
Anticipated expiration: 2012-08-09
Also published as: AU2004100653A4

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR AN INNOVATION DIVISIONAL PATENT Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: Invention Title: LICENSING ESSENTIALS PTY LTD, of 44 Sparks Avenue, Fairfield 3078, Victoria, Australia Scott BINGLEY DAVIES COLLISON CAVE, Patent Attorneys, of 1 Nicholson Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia "Insulated beverage holder" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: Q:\OPER\AXD\AUG\12484850 LI.DOC 9/8/04 P:\OPERAxd\I 2383400 res Ispadoc-13/01/05 -1- INSULATED BEVERAGE HOLDER The present invention relates to an insulated beverage holder. More particularly, the invention relates to an insulated beverage holder that is adapted to receive a beverage container and which includes an electronic circuit that when actuated produced an audio output.

Insulated beverage holders are known. For example, insulated beverage holders for receiving a beverage container such as a can or bottle of drink have been manufactured using foamed polymeric materials such as polyisoprene, polyurethane and expanded polystyrene. In such cases, the body of the beverage holder is usually formed from the insulating material and in many cases, the base of the beverage holder is also formed from the insulating material.

In many instances, insulated beverage holders are used for advertising purposes, generally by including a company, sporting team or other logo on the body thereof. Other forms of advertising or decoration, such as the printing of slogans or other images on the body of insulated beverage holders has also been employed in the past.

The present invention is aimed at providing an insulated beverage holder that includes an electronic circuit that on actuation produces an audio output. It is envisaged that such an arrangement may be very useful as a marketing tool for the insulated beverage holder.

With the above in mind, the present invention relates to an insulated beverage holder including: a body portion including an insulated receptacle for receiving a beverage container; a base portion associated with the body portion and including a recess in a lower face thereof; an electronic circuit mounted within the base portion; and an actuator for actuating the electronic circuit to produce an audio output, said actuator being located within said recess of the base portion such that it does not protrude from the lower face of the base portion.

According to one embodiment, the base portion includes an aperture located in the P:\OPER\Axd\12383400 rs spadoc-13101/05 -1Arecess of the lower face of the base portion through which the actuator protrudes or through which the actuator is accessible, mechanical depression of the actuator facilitating actuation of the electronic circuit.

It will be appreciated that the aperture may be covered by a resilient plastic material provided that actuation of the actuator is possible by depressing the resilient P:\OPERx 1I2383400 r ISpa.doc-13/01/5 -2plastic material.

According to an alternative embodiment the actuator includes an electrical contact disposed in the recess of the base portion and being accessible to a user of the beverage holder, contact of the electrical contact with a metal article completing the electronic circuit and thereby facilitating actuation of the electronic circuit. According to this embodiment, it is preferred that the recess of the base portion generally correspond with the size of a cap to a bottle and that a pair of electrical contacts be located on either side of the recess. Accordingly, a bottle cap may be inserted into the recess to complete the electrical circuit on contacting the pair of electrical contacts causing the audio output to be generated.

The electronic circuit may be mounted within the base portion as desired.

Preferably, however, the electronic circuit is mounted in a housing in the base portion.

The housing may be secured to the base portion or may be integral therewith.

Furthermore, the electronic circuit may be accessible in the housing, for example to change a battery associated with the electronic circuit. Alternatively, the electronic circuit may be permanently housed without access being available to change a battery or the like.

The base portion and body portion may be associated by any suitable means. For example, the base portion may be integral with the body portion and, as previously noted, the electronic circuit may be mounted in an integral housing of the base portion.

Alternatively, the base portion may be mounted on the body portion or secured to the body portion by any suitable means.

Likewise, the base portion and body portion may be formed from any suitable material, provided that the body portion is provided with an insulated receptacle for receiving the beverage container. For example, the body portion and base portion may be formed from a plastics material and an insulating wall be inserted into the body portion.

Alternatively, the body portion may be formed from an insulating material such as expanded polystyrene or a polyisoprene or other foamed plastics material.

To facilitate enhanced sound emission of the audio output, the body portion and/or base portion may include apertures or other openings that enable better sound emission through the body portion and/or base portion. For example, the base portion may include an array of apertures for enhancing sound emission from the audio output through the base PAOPERkAmdRI23834O rc Ispa.dcc.I3/OI/05 -2Aportion. In that case, the array of apertures is preferably located adjacent a speaker of or P:\OPER\Axd\I2383400 hnovaion prv.doc-09/O8/04 -3associated with the electronic circuit that emits the audio output.

The audio output may take any form and is not particularly limited. For example, the audio output may be a song, statement or slogan that is emitted on actuation of the electronic circuit. In a particular embodiment, the audio output is a sporting team song.

The insulated beverage holder may also include further advertising, logos, slogans or indicia on the body portion and/or base portion. For example, taking the exemplified sporting team embodiment as mentioned in the previous paragraph, the insulated beverage holder may include a representation of the sporting team logo on the body portion in addition to the sporting team song audio output.

A preferred embodiment of the insulated beverage holder will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figures 1 and 2 illustrate perspective views of the insulated beverage holder; Figure 3 illustrates a bottom view of the base portion of the insulated beverage holder according to one embodiment; and Figure 4 illustrates a bottom view of the base portion of the insulated beverage holder according to an alternative embodiment.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, two perspective views are shown, one from above and one from below the insulated beverage holder 10. The beverage holder 10 includes a body portion 11 and a base portion 12 that are joined together at join 13.

The body portion 11 is formed from or includes an insulating material to provide insulation to a beverage container received by receptacle 14. Indicia or a logo or other slogan 15 may be provided on the body portion 11.

The base portion 12, according to this embodiment, includes a recess 16 having an aperture 17 therein. An actuator 18 protrudes through the aperture 17 of the recess 16 of the base portion 12. According to this embodiment, the actuator 18 is connected to an electronic circuit (not shown) housed within the base portion 12. As such, a user of the beverage holder 10 can actuate the electronic circuit by depressing the actuator 18 resulting in the playing of an audio output by the electronic circuit.

To facilitate sound emission through the base portion 12, arrays of apertures 19 are provided. The position of the arrays of apertures 19 corresponds with the positioning of speakers (not shown) housed within the base portion 12.

P:\OPER\Axd\12383400 Iovation prvdoc.-00908/04 -4- The base portion of the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 is shown from below in Figure 3 of the drawings. As will be seen, the actuator 18 protrudes through the aperture 17 of the recess 16. The actuator 18 is therefore accessible to a user of the beverage holder In an alternative embodiment, as illustrated in Figure 4, the actuator may include a pair of electric contacts 38 which are housed within a recess 36 of the base portion 32. The recess 36 may correspond to the shape of a metal cap of a bottle such that the cap can be inserted into recess 36 and thereby form a contact between the pair of electrical contacts 38 closing the electronic circuit housed within the base portion 32 resulting in the generation of the audio output. Once again, arrays of apertures 39 are provided in the base portion 32.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention described herein is susceptible to variations and modifications other than those specifically described. It is to be understood that the invention includes all such variations and modifications which fall within its spirit and scope. The invention also includes all the steps, features, compositions and compounds referred to or indicated in this specification, individually or collectively, and any and all combinations of any two or more of said steps or features.

DATED: 9 August, 2004 by DAVIES COLLISON CAVE Patent Attorneys for the Applicant(s): LICENSING ESSENTIALS PTY LTD

Claims

1. An insulated beverage holder including: a body portion including an insulated receptacle for receiving a beverage container; a base portion associated with the body portion and including a recess in a lower face thereof; an electronic circuit mounted within the base portion; and an actuator for actuating the electronic circuit to produce an audio output, said actuator being located within said recess of the base portion such that it does not protrude from the lower face of the base portion.

2. An insulated beverage holder according to claim 1, wherein the base portion includes an aperture located in the recess of the lower face of the base portion through which the actuator protrudes or through which the actuator is accessible, mechanical depression of the actuator facilitating actuation of the electronic circuit.

3. An insulated beverage holder according to claim 1, wherein the actuator includes an electrical contact disposed in the recess of the base portion and being accessible to a user of the beverage holder, contact of the electrical contact with a metal article completing the electronic circuit and thereby facilitating actuation of the electronic circuit.

4. An insulated beverage holder according to claim 1, wherein the electronic circuit is mounted in a housing in the base portion.