AU2005201478B2

AU2005201478B2 - Wine Glass Holder

Info

Publication number: AU2005201478B2
Application number: AU2005201478A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Antonio Beltrami
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-04-07
Filing date: 2005-04-07
Publication date: 2011-03-10
Anticipated expiration: 2025-04-07
Also published as: AU2005201478A1

Description

Pool Section 29 Regulation 3.2(2)) AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Application Number: Lodged: Invention Title: Wine Glass Holder The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me / us: 1 WINE GLASS HOLDER The present invention relates to improvements in devices for holding wine glasses at outdoor events such as picnics, concerts and the like. Outdoor events where people partake of food and wine are becoming 5 more popular, however, uneven ground conditions often make placing a wine glass on the ground somewhat problematic. This results in people having to hold the wine glass which then makes it difficult for food to be eaten. There have been some attempts to provide wine glass holders for use in such situations with limited success. Often the wine glass is held by a support structure supporting 10 same beneath the cup or bowl zone of the glass around or partially around the stem of the wine glass. The support structure will normally include a spike of some form to be inserted into the ground. Such devices do still have some problems in use in that the glass remains not particularly well supported and in some ground conditions (particularly sandy conditions), simple spikes do not 15 provide a reliable support base. The objective of the present invention is to provide an improved support device for a wine glass of the type having a base, a central upright stem leading from the base to a cup or bowl shaped zone adapted in use to contain wine or other beverage, the support device being capable of use at outdoor events to 20 support and reliably hold a wine glass without the need for same to be held by the person drinking the wine; and permitting the user to easily and periodically drink a portion of the wine and replace the wine glass securely in the support device. Accordingly, the present invention provides a support device for holding a wine glass of the type having a base, a central upright stem leading from the base 25 to a cup or bowl shaped zone for receiving wine or another beverage, said support device including a platform means, a ground penetration means depending downwardly from said platform means and in use being adapted to penetrate into a ground zone to hold said platform means in a stable position, a wall structure connected to a peripheral region of said platform means and being 30 directed inwardly and disposed over a portion of said platform means whereby the base of a said wine glass in use is positionable on said platform means with said wall structure overlying a portion of said base of the wine glass, and a fixed 2 recess means adapted to partially surround a stem of the wine glass when the base of said wine glass is positioned on said platform means. Preferred features of this invention may be as defined in claims 2 to 22 annexed hereto, the subject matter of these claims being included in the 5 disclosure of this specification by this reference thereto. The arrangement of a support device as described above permits the wine glass to be stably supported on its own base while being held against tipping by the wall structure engaging the glass base should it attempt to tip and by the fixed recess zone engaging and holding the stem of the glass. The wall structure and 10 the recess zone restrict tipping of the glass in generally mutually perpendicular directions and thereby together provide a stable support and holding structure. A preferred embodiment of this invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig 1 is a front view of the support device in a position of use and holding a 15 typical wine glass; Fig 2 is a plan view of the support device shown in Fig 1; Fig 3 is a front view of the support device without a wine glass; and Fig 4 is a side view of the support device shown in Figs 2 and 3. Referring to Fig 1, the support device 10 is shown holding a wine glass 11 20 and illustrating how the device 10 might be supported in a ground zone 12 by inserting its spike member 13 therein. The support device 10 includes a platform 14 which in this case is circular but could be any shape including polygonal shapes. The platform 14, as illustrated has a circular peripheral edge 15 with a wall structure 16 extending upwardly from and inclined inwardly from the 25 peripheral edge 15. The wall structure 16 has a free edge zone 17 comprised of two opposed parts 18, 19 that are located in a diametral upright plane. The wall structure 16 defines a space 20 between the surface of the wall structure 16 and the upper surface of the platform 14. The space 20 is generally complementary to the shape of the base or foot 21 of the wine glass 11 but sufficiently large to 30 readily accommodate all or at least most sizes of the base or foot of conventionally available wine glasses. The edge zone 17 of the wall structure 16 conveniently has a fixed recess 22 to releasably hold the stem 23 of the wine glass 11. Conveniently an 3 upstanding collar 24 might be provided partially surrounding the recess 22. With the wine glass 11 positioned as illustrated in Fig 1, the glass is held against tipping in a direction toward the open mouth of the recess 22 by the glass base 21 engaging with the wall structure 16. If the glass attempts to tip in a direction 5 parallel to the edge zone 17 then it is prevented from doing so by the glass stem 23 engaging with walls of the recess 22 or by the base 21 also engaging with a portion of the wall structure 16. To prevent the possibility of the glass sliding on the platform 14 in a direction towards the open side of the recess 22, a flange or flange element 25 might be provided on the periphery of the platform 14 opposite 10 the space 20 and directed upwardly a short distance. The flange element 25 might extend fully around the open side periphery of the platform 14 or might be one or more individual flange elements positioned at different localities. The support device 10 may include a ground penetrating spike member 13 as illustrated which includes, in transverse cross-section, four radially directed 15 legs, ie a star spike. Conveniently the upper end of the spike member might include flange portions angled outwardly to support the platform 14 spaced from the upper surface 26 of the ground 12. While the annexed drawings disclose a preferred embodiment of this invention, it will be recognized that many variations might be made within the 20 scope of the annexed claims. It is preferred that the support device 10 be integrally moulded in one piece from a suitable plastics material although it could be fabricated from two or more parts. Materials other than plastics material could also be used, such as wood or metal. The wall structure 16 and the platform 14 might be solid or imperforate as 25 illustrated or one or more apertures could be formed therein. While the drawings illustrate one spike member 13, two or more such spike members (or similar) could be employed. While the opposed parts 18, 19 of the free edge zone 17 are shown aligned and in a diametral plane of the platform 14, however the angle a formed by the parts 18, 19 might be greater than 1800 if desired. The parts 18, 30 19 of the edge zone 17 might also be formed on a segmental plane so long as the fixed recess 22 is projected to a central axial location to be engageable with the wine glass stem. Many other variations could also be made without departing from the spirit of the invention disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A support device for holding a wine glass of the type having a base, a central upright stem leading from the base to a cup or bowl shaped zone for receiving wine or another beverage, said support device including a platform 5 means, a ground penetration means depending downwardly from said platform means and in use being adapted to penetrate into a ground zone to hold said platform means in a stable position, a wall structure connected to a peripheral region of said platform means and being directed inwardly and disposed over a portion of said platform means whereby the base of a said wine glass in use is 10 positionable on said platform means with said wall structure overlying a portion of said base of the wine glass, and a fixed recess means adapted to partially surround a stem of the wine glass when the base of said wine glass is positioned on said platform means.

2. A support device according to claim 1 wherein the platform means is 15 imperforate.

3. A support device according to claim 1 wherein the platform means includes one or more apertures passing from an upper surface to a lower surface thereof.

4. A support device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the peripheral region of said platform means is generally circular. 20

5. A support device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the peripheral region of said platform means has a polygonal shape.

6. A support device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the fixed recess means is connected with said wall structure.

7. A support device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the wall 25 structure has a forward edge zone defining an open mouth region between the forward edge zone and the platform means adapted to allow entry of a wine glass base therethrough. 5

8. A support device according to claim 7 when appended through claim 6, wherein the fixed recess means is formed in said forward edge zone.

9. A support device according to claim 7 or claim 8 wherein in plan view, said forward edge zone of the wall structure is positioned in a vertical mid plane of 5 said platform means.

10. A support device according to any one of claims 7 to 9 wherein the forward edge zone of the wall structure has two opposed edge parts defining an angle in plan view greater than 1800.

11. A support device according to claim 10 wherein the two opposed edge 10 parts each define a straight line in plan view.

12. A support device according to claim 10 wherein the two opposed edge parts each define a concave curved line in plan view.

13. A support device according to any one of claims 7 to 12 wherein said platform means includes a flange means upstanding from a peripheral region of 15 said platform means opposite said open mouth region.

14. A support device according to claim 13 wherein said flange means is a single upstanding flange element positioned between positions where the forward edge zone of the wall structure meets the platform means.

15. A support device according to claim 14 wherein the flange element is 20 positioned midway between said positions where the forward edge zone of the wall structure meets the platform means.

16. A support device according to claim 13 wherein said flange means is a flange element peripherally extending from one position where the forward edge zone of the wall structure meets the platform means to an opposed position 25 where the forward edge zone of the wall structure meets the platform means. 6

17. A support device according to claim 13 wherein the flange means includes multiple and peripherally spaced upstanding flange elements.

18. A support device according to any one of claims 1 to 17 wherein the ground penetration means includes at least one downwardly depending spike, the 5 or each said spike having in transverse cross-section section a plurality of radially extending legs.

19. A support device according to any one of claims 1 to 18 wherein the wall structure is imperforate.

20. A support device according to any one of claims 1 to 18 wherein the wall 10 structure has one or more openings between outer surfaces and inner surfaces thereof.

21. A support device according to any one of claims 1 to 20 wherein the device is integrally moulded from a plastics material.

22. A support device according to any one of claims 1 to 20 wherein the device 15 is fabricated from two or more parts.

23. A support device for a wine glass substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this 7th day of April 2005 ANTONIO BELTRAMI WATERMARK PATENT & TRADE MARK ATTORNEYS 290 BURWOOD ROAD HAWTHORN VICTORIA 3122 AUSTRALIA P25440AU00 SKP/Jc