GB2349065A - Ground-engaging support for stemmed glass - Google Patents

Abstract

A stand for a stemmed glass 8 is made of plastic-coated metal rod having an elongate lower end 1 or 11 sufficiently pointed for insertion in the ground. A single integral (Figure 2) or attached (Figure 3) collar part 3 has a gap 4 through which the stem of a glass can pass for the glass to be lowered and supported by the collar. Part 3 is spaced from the stem of the stand by a lateral extension 2. The plastic coating may be plastic paint of a colour selected from a range to indicate the person using the glass. For extra support, a number of additional spikes (18, Figure 5) can extend from the lower part of the stand into the ground or a rigid base block (22, Figure 5) with through-holes (23) for the stems of respective stands can be placed on the ground.

Description

PORTABLE'WINE-GLASS STEMS'FOR OUTDOOR USE AT GARDEN PARTIES, PICNICS, OPEN-AIR SPORTING/THEATRE/MUSICAL EVENTS This invention relates to devices that may be stuck into grass, soil or sand, to provide an upright stand capable of supporting a glass at a convenient height for people sitting on the ground or using a deck-chair or sunbathing.

Typically the glasses will be champagne or wine glasses of relevant shape and size. For parties going on a picnic, folding chairs and a blanket or groundsheet are usually the main accessories. Although seated comfortablv enough, containers and glasses of drinks are easily knocked over, particularly when children are running about and bottles and glasses are not highly visible, being at ground level. It can be extremely annoying when anyone, adult or child, knocks over a bottle of expensive alcohol. Being short of beverage prematurely can ruin an event for the host. Also the aggravation of having wine stains on one's clothing is stressful. In the event the party are using fold-up chairs it is often the case that reaching to the ground for the glass or bottle is done from a quite inconvenient position.

In the case of seated individuals, drink containers and glasses both need to be at convenient hand height, without having to lever oneself out of the chair. At this height it is equally easy to return the containers to their original position. Conversely, individuals who are lying or sitting on the ground, need the drink containers at their arm height (not for convenience of reaching), since at this height the containers are very conspicuous and unlikely to be disturbed accidentally. People moving about cannot miss seeing them, they are at eye-level for children anyway.

With increasing leisure time available to people, it is becoming part of life to attend outdoor functions, picnics and barbecues never go out of fashion, garden parties are no longer only an upper class event, spectator sports such as golf, motor-racing and horse-racing attract large crowds.

Recently outdoor operatic performances draw huge numbers.

Not to mention the sunday bandstand, rock concerts, beach parties and seaside activities. It is evident that devices providing a greater convenience when drinking at leisure outdoors are long overdue.

Thus there is a need for rods that stick into the ground, which have rings and supports at suitable heights on them, such that glasses of several appropriate shapes and sizes can be positioned at a convenient height for usage and visibility. Several types of attachment are needed to cater for different situations, and some simple way of reminding users who is using the glass on a particular support.

Naturally the devices must be lightweight for carrying from a vehicle, and since there are several items a carrying case is a requirement. The width of family car trunks/boots would limit the length of rods.

Since no product for this purpose exists and it is necessary to have a descriptive term for them, the term'Wine-Glass Stems'. is deemed appropriate and is used from here on, mainly as stems or glass-stems.

According to the present invention there is provided a set of metal stems with pointed lower ends, for ease of sticking into the ground, the entire stem being plastic coated for a smooth finish and ease of cleaning. Each stem has one or more attachments at a suitable height, to permit a range of glasses to be held in place on the stem, loosely but secure. There are refinements permitting different means of sticking into the grass/soil/sand. A lightweight container into which the set of stems fit easily is a necessary safety measure, and the carrier length must easily fit into boots/trunks of family cars.

Individual stems may be colour coded to remind users of which stem has their particular glass on it. Each stem has only one item to support, just a glass that one individual drinks from.

A specific representation of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which : Figure 1 illustrates a basic design glass-stem, positioned in the soil ; grass ready for use.

Figure 2 illustrates a wine-glass in place on a glass-stem, as viewed from the side and from above.

Figure 3 indicates an alternative attachment to provide supports for glasses.

Figure 4 depicts a basic glass-stem with minor variations appearance due to manufacture by welding on the ring support or by merely shaping the metal rod.

Figure 5 illustrates alternative means of securing the stems to the ground and providing additional base support.

Referring to the drawings, in Figure 1 the vertical stem 1 is shown stuck into the ground 6, with ground-level shown 5 and the underground portion of the stem 7 indicated. At the top of the stem, a horizontal bar 2 has a ring 3 attached at the end away from the stem. This ring has an open section 4 at the end of the ring furthest from the vertical rod.

Figure 2 illustrates the stems in use, stuck into the earth and holding a wine/champagne type glass 8, with the wide base 9 and the narrow stem 10 of the wine glass depicted. The glass has been placed within the ring-support via the narrow stem of the glass through the ring-support gap. Then the glass has been lowered down into the support until the width of the wine glass can go no further. It is then securely seated and may be quickly removed by reversing the movement process. A critical factor is that the horizontal bar 2 must be longer than the radius of the glass base or the glass cannot seat properly aligned vertically. Since the base of the wine-glass is too wide to pass vertically through the ring-support, the sideways entrance is vital.

In Figure 3 an alternative approach to controlling the exact height of a support on the stem is illustrated. In some cases such as adults sunbathing on a beach without fear of children racing about, glass-stem 11 depicts a detachable open ring 3 that can be locked at any height, since the column attachment of the bar 2 involves a detachable clamp system positioned on the stem by a clamp 12 and locked by the screw 13.

Figure 4 illustrates alternative manufacturing prospects.

Either the open ring 3 is welded onto the horizontal bar 2 such that the gap 4 is apposite to the vertical stem, or the entire stem is shaped mechanically to provide a ringsupport. In the latter case, it is not so significant that the entrance 16 into the ring 15 is at the opposite end to the stem 1 or the bar 14. In fact the bar 14 may be sloping rather than horizontal, providing the net result allows adequate space for seating the glass base without hindrance from the vertical stem.

Figure 5 illustrates alternative designs for achieving more secure attachment of a stem to the ground/soil/sand. In these diagrams the actual glass-support rings are not shown, but would be present. A stem 17 may need extra fixtures to ensure a firm vertical position in soft ground or sand, a series of spikes 18 are attached to the main rod 17 near the bottom and are able to move away from the stem within the constraint of a barrier 19, the attached spikes are not as long as the underground portion of the main stem 20. Upon plunging the stem into the soft ground the spikes are pushed sideways at first but then take a semi-vertical support position once the barrier stops further sideways movement. The multiple points of contact and deeper-positioned main-stem gives better support in sandy or beach conditions than a basic stem alone.

In the second example in Figure 5, a number of stems 21, with glass-support ring details omitted, are shown attached to a a block of wood 22 (or heavy-duty plastic) sitting on the ground. The block may be a rectangular, square or circular, block of suitable weight, which is drilled such that the stems 21 pass through the holes 23 with a tight fit but are able to penetrate the ground as far as necessary 24. The combination of the heavy base and ground penetration make for very firm and vertical positioning.

Considering the basic design for a glass-stem as portrayed in Figures 1 and 2, although dimensions are not to scale, there are many dimensional ratios and factors that determine whether the device is practical or not.

The rod itself is made of metal, iron, steel or alloy, and is coated with plastic paint, including the portion inserted into the ground. The plastic coat makes it easy to clean, safer to handle, prevents rusting and is weatherproof (so the stems could be left in one's lawn permanently). An additional benefit of the plastic coating is that when a glass or bottle is dropped into the support rather carelessly there is far less chance of breakage with the plastic coating than there would be with glass meeting bare metal roughly. Rod of 5mm diameter is sufficiently strong, the plastic coating is 0.5mm thick, making a final diameter of 6mm. The part of the rod intended to be sunk into the ground is at least 100mm long, preferably 125mm or more. This section (also coated) may be tapered at the bottom but works well enough without a point anyway. In the basic design for glass-stems the attachments and supports are all welded on or achieved by shaping the rod.

Considering the dimensions of the basic glass-stem, total length of the vertical rod is 500mm, including the 100-125mm below ground level. In practice such a depth is not usually necessary considering the weight of a glass of wine is little.

The horizontal bar at the top is at 90 degrees to the vertical rod and measures 25mm up to the junction with the ring. The inner diameter of the ring is 54mm of space and the gap in the ring is 22mm wide. Given that the minimum width of a wine glass stem is likely to be in the 6-12mm range there is ample room to insert the glass stem 10 through the gap and lower the glass into the space until positioned. The top diameter of wine glasses tend to be 60-70mm diameter and so cannot pass through the ring vertically. A particular concern is that the length of the horizontal or sloping bars 2 and 14 respectively to which the ring is attached create a wide enough gap between the wine glass in the support and the vertical rod. Typically wine glasses have fairly large diameter bases in order to prevent the glass being top-heavy and easily falling over. The length of the bar between the ring and the vertical rod, combined with the diameter of the ring support mean that a glass with a base having a radius of 55mm is accommodated. In practice, wine-glass bases are rarely more than 60mm diameter (30mm radius). So this specification is well exceeded. All comments on wine glasses, about dimensions considerations of glass-stems, are all equally true of champagne glasses. It is irrelevant how wide the glass is at the top since, there are are no protruding parts of the rod above the plane of the ring-support.

Additionally the glass-stem coatings would be in a variety of colours, not necessarily related to the type of drink in the glass but relate more as being a colour that a particular person always uses and knows that the glass must be theirs. An additional aspect to this, for large groups, is the use of wine/champagne glasses with different coloured bases on the glass, in such situations the glasses would be plastic and coloured base options are now available anyway as an aid to this system.

The heavy weighted base shown in part of Fig. 5 is most relevant for use as a master base for several glass wine-stems simultaneously, although it could easily be a small block for a single stem. A block of wood 500mm x 200mm x 35mm works well as a master base, with individual stem-holes of 7mm diameter drilled 100mm apart. A stem fits closely in a drilled hole but not so as to impede efforts to penetrate the ground with the rod through the base.

All systems described will fit the boot/trunk storage areas of most cars.

Claims (13)

1. CLAIMS 1. A glass-support stem consisting of a plastic-coated metal rod, with a pointed base, provides an upright stand when inserted into soil or sand, and which includes one fixed or adjustable support-ring, which is circular but contains a small gap at the furthest point from the stem connection, located on the upper part of the stem, such that wine glasses with narrow stems and wide bases may be inserted into the support-ring sideways through the gap in the ring, via the narrow stem of the wine glass, and then the glass lowered into the cradle provided by the ring until the wide mouth of the glass can go no further, a simple reversal of these movements releases the glass when a drink is needed, the mechanism providing a glass support at a convenient height above the ground and the design being suitable for use outdoors as at a beach or garden party.
2. 2. A glass-stem as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plastic coat on the metal stem is colour coded as a reminder to drinkers so they know which glass they have been using, in combination with the use of wine glasses with coloured bases (already available) many combinations of colours of glass-support stems with glass-bases means quite large parties outdoors are possible, with little confusion as to who is the user of a certain colour mix of glass-support stem and wine-glass base.
3. 3. A glass-support stem as described in claims 1 and 2, wherein additional attachments are needed to provide adequate support for the stem to remain upright, when in very soft or wet earth, a series of extra metal spikes attached to a fixed or adjustable metal band near the base of the stem, lying flat along the stem for transportation and storage, can be forced to radiate outwards when the stem is inserted into soil/sand, these spikes radiating outwards in umbrella fashion create extra support since the weight of containers held forces the spikes deeper into the earth.
4. 4. A glass-holder for stemmed glasses comprising a piece of material shaped to provide: an elongate section having a first end for insertion into the ground ; a spacer section extending sideways from a second end of the elongate section ; and an open ring section extending from the spacer section.
5. 5. A glass-holder as claimed in claim 4, wherein the elongate section is at least 150 mm in length.
6. 6. A glass-holder as claimed in claim, wherein the elongate section is at least 375 mm in length.
7. 7. A glass-holder as claimed in any one of the claims 4 to 6, wherein the internal diameter of the open ring section is between 45 mm and 60 mm.
8. 8. A glass-holder as claimed in any one of the claims 4 to 7, wherein the spacer section is arranged such that the centre of the open ring section is at least 30 mm distant from the elongate section.
9. 9. A glass-holder as claimed in any one of the claims 4 to 8, wherein the first end of the elongate section is provided with a point.
10. 10. A glass-holder as claimed in any one of the claims 4 to 9, wherein the material from which the holder is shaped comprises metal wire.
11. ii. A glass-holder as claimed in claim 10, wherein the metal wire has a diameter of between 4 mm and 8 mm.
12. 12. A glass-holder as claimed in any one of the claims 4 to 11, wherein the single piece of material is plastics coated.
13. 13. A glass-holder as claimed in any one of the claims 4 to 12, wherein the open ring section includes a gap of at least 22 mm.

    14 A glass holder substantially as herin described with reference to the accompanying drawings.