DE102019108408A1 - Drinking vessel - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a drinking vessel in which a housing with a rechargeable accumulator and at least one power connection is detachably attached to or around the outer surface.

Description

The invention relates to a drinking vessel with an outer surface.

The popularity of take-away beverages such as coffee-to-go has increased steadily in recent years. The take-away drink such as coffee or cola is usually served in cardboard or plastic cups, which have the advantage of being inexpensive to manufacture, low in weight and stackable. The emptied paper cup is then disposed of as garbage.

Whether in the pedestrian zones, in the subway or other public transport, people with disposable cups in their hands have long been part of the street scene. The “quick coffee on the go” is popular. According to the German Environmental Aid, 320,000 coffee mugs per hour end up in the trash nationwide or, what is worse from an environmental point of view, in the great outdoors. Non-decomposable or difficult-to-decompose plastics pollute the environment and are sometimes even life-threatening for wild animals. In order to reduce the number of disposable cups, environmentalists have long been calling for a deposit of € 0.20 per disposable cup to be introduced. This is to help create an incentive to use reusable containers. Larger grocery chains are therefore starting to offer reusable cups, in particular thermal cups, which can be reused as often as desired after emptying and possibly cleaning. Other providers even offer discounts on beverage products, provided that a disposable cup is not used. In the meantime, drinking vessels (cups) are also known which can be closed in a liquid-tight manner with a lid. If such cups are designed as thermal cups, the hot beverage is protected from cooling even for a longer period of time.

For several decades, mobile electronic devices such as cell phones, tablets or MP3 players have also been everyday companions. Due to their extended functions, mobile telephones also serve as data storage devices, small computers, or photo and film devices. The constantly growing power consumption of such devices can often only be made available for a short time (depending on the capacity of the integrated accumulator), so that such devices often have to be charged after a short period of use. In order to extend the limited battery life in mobile electronic devices, additional chargers have been developed, so-called power banks, which serve as additional accumulators (secondary batteries) and which, if no charger is available, serve as a bridging power supply. Such devices must either be carried separately unless power banks are built into clothing, bags or suitcases. It is known to connect such power banks to a suitable charging station for recharging via a cable connection. Inductively operating charging devices, as are known, for example, for toothbrushes, can also be used, but require that the charging station has standardized or widely used connections.

In the DE 20 2018 005 273 U1 a hip belt with a belt strap is proposed, which serves as a receptacle for an accumulator (power bank) and cable guides, for example for a USB charging cable. Such hip belts are usually worn on the body, where they are perceived as annoying and annoying, especially on hot summer days.

It is the object of the present invention to create a reusable drinking container which has an extended range of uses.

This object is achieved by the drinking vessel according to claim 1. This drinking vessel has, on or around the outer surface, a housing with a rechargeable battery (power bank) and at least one power connection. This housing is releasably attached.

The basic idea of the present invention is that the drinking vessel serves as a holder for a power bank, which can be connected relatively quickly to a mobile device such as a mobile phone, for example via a USB connection, so that a power connection is also available parallel to the use of the drinking vessel or energy source is usable. To recharge the power bank, a standard plug-in contact or USB connection with a transformer to the network can be provided, possibly in such a way that both the mobile phone or another mobile consumer and the power bank can be recharged in parallel.

The drinking vessel is, for example, a cup in the shape of a cylinder or truncated cone, which is preferably closed with a lid. The drinking vessel can, however, also be a resealable, commercially available drinking bottle, to the outer wall of which the housing with the secondary accumulator is attached.

Preferably, or as is known from conventional drinking cups and / or drinking bottles, the outer surface of the drinking vessel has an essentially cylindrical or conical contour, at least over a partial area. If the housing for the accumulator is designed to be tubular, the housing can be attached with a friction fit. Such a frictional connection can in particular by an elastic inner wall of the annular body of the Housing are provided. A more stable connection can be created if the drinking vessel on its outside and the housing with the accumulator on its inside wall have corresponding threaded sections which can be screwed together. The detachable connection of the secondary accumulator from the drinking vessel allows both the combined and the separate use of the drinking vessel and the secondary accumulator.

The drinking vessel is preferably a cup or a mug with a lid or a resealable bottle, in particular a thermal bottle.

In order to facilitate the manufacture of the housing with the accumulator, but also to be able to optimally adapt a possibly elastic housing, a flexible lithium-ion battery is selected as the accumulator, which is for example in the WO 1998/035397 A1 is described.

Conventional plugs and sockets, in particular micro-USB connections, are used as power connections.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, a display for the charge and battery status is arranged on the housing for the accumulator, so that the remaining capacity of the power bank can be recognized at any time.

Finally, according to a further embodiment of the invention, the housing can also have a data storage unit in addition to the accumulator. Large amounts of data that would otherwise block the memory of the mobile phone, in particular photographs or films, can be swapped out in this way in the additional data storage unit.

• 1 einen Trinkbecher in einer perspektivischen Ansicht,
• 2 denselben Trinkbecher nach 1 in einer Schnittansicht,
• 3 eine Trinkflasche in einer perspektivischen Ansicht,
• 4 dieselbe Trinkflasche nach 3 in einer Schnittansicht,
• 5 eine weitere Trinkflasche in einer Seitenansicht,
• 6 eine Schnittansicht durch eine Trinkflasche nach 5 und
• 7 eine Detailansicht F nach 6.

Embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings. Show it:

• 1 a drinking cup in a perspective view,
• 2 the same drinking cup 1 in a sectional view,
• 3 a drinking bottle in a perspective view,
• 4th the same drinking bottle 3 in a sectional view,
• 5 another drinking bottle in a side view,
• 6th a sectional view through a drinking bottle according to 5 and
• 7th a detailed view F after 6th .

The drinking vessel after 1 and 2 consists of a double-walled cup on the upper edge 11 a thread profile 12 is provided that in a corresponding internal thread 21st of the tubular housing 20th engages and for screw fastening this housing 20th serves. A secondary accumulator is located in this housing 22nd embedded, which has appropriate connections with a power connector 23 is conductively connected for loading and unloading. The case 20th can optionally be provided with an additional data memory.

The case 20th can - depending on the height of the accumulator - only extend over part of the height of the cup (here about 2/3 of the total height) or over the full height of the cup 10 so that this is completely out of the case 20th is wrapped. Becomes the accumulator 22nd not required, the housing can 20th unscrewed. However, the drinking vessel can alternatively also consist of a conically shaped cup, the diameter of which widens towards the top. Instead of the screw thread 12 , 21st a frictional connection can also easily be selected, preferably in such a way that the cup on its outer periphery and / or the annular housing 20th has an elastic ring area on its upper edge, which securely fixes the housing 20th on the drinking vessel 10 enables.

However, the present invention can be made according to 3 to 6th even on conventional bottles 13 to use. In this case, the housing has 20th At least on part of its inside an elastic trim, for example in the form of an annular bead 24 that allows the housing 20th frictionally with the bottle 13 connect to. The prerequisite is that the elastic inner wall or parts thereof have the same diameter as the outer diameter of the bottle 13 are adapted.

At the in 5 The illustrated embodiment of a drinking bottle is the clamping connection with which the housing 20th on the bottle 13 is attached, solved. The annular housing 20th has an internal thread at the top 21st which corresponds to the external thread 12 an annular body 25th is trained. A ring body serves as a clamping profile 26th who look like in detail 7th can be seen sealing between the ring body 25th , the bottle 13 and the case 20th comes to rest, which a frictional clamping of the housing 20th allows so that the secondary accumulator 22nd is shielded liquid-tight to the outside.

The consumption of energy from the accumulator serving as a power bank 22nd can be done either via a cable plug connection or inductively. Inductive connections are watertight. For the temporary fixation of a charging connection between the housing of the accumulator 22nd and an end user such as a cellular phone can use a permanent magnet contact.

QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of the documents listed by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Patent literature cited

• DE 202018005273 U1 [0005]
• WO 1998/035397 A1 [0012]

Claims (7)

Drinking vessel with an outer surface, characterized in that a housing (20) with a rechargeable accumulator (22) (power bank) and at least one power connection (23) is detachably attached to or around the outer surface. Drinking vessel after Claim 1 , characterized in that the outer surface is essentially cylindrical or essentially conical, at least over a partial area, and that the housing (20) for the accumulator (22) is tubular and frictionally plugged onto the partial area or screwed to it. Drinking vessel after Claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that the drinking vessel is a cup or a mug (10) with a lid or a resealable bottle (13), preferably a thermal bottle. Drinking vessel according to one of the Claims 1 to 3 , characterized in that the accumulator (22) is a flexible lithium-ion battery. Drinking vessel according to one of the Claims 1 to 4th , characterized in that the power connections (23) are micro-USB connections. Drinking vessel according to one of the Claims 1 to 5 , characterized in that a display for the charge and battery status is arranged on the housing (20) for the accumulator (22). Drinking vessel according to one of the Claims 1 to 6th , characterized in that the housing (20) also has a data storage unit in addition to the accumulator (22).

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