GB2393633A

GB2393633A - Bottle holder

Info

Publication number: GB2393633A
Application number: GB0321182A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Tara Singh Jhite
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2002-09-10
Filing date: 2003-09-10
Publication date: 2004-04-07
Anticipated expiration: 2023-09-10
Also published as: GB0220926D0; GB0321182D0; GB2393633B

Abstract

A bottle holder (10) comprising a support structure (12) including a base portion (14), the holder (10) being adapted to hold a bottle generally upright on a surface, and to support the bottle when tilted for pouring therefrom, the support structure (12) including a front supporting part (16), which includes a lowermost portion (16a) which is adapted to engage with a bottle (30) held in the holder (10) and an uppermost portion (16b) which is spaced from the bottle (30) and which forms a handle (22) by which the holder (10) may be lifted with the bottle (30) therein, and a rear supporting part (18) which engages with the bottle (30) and provides a collar (24) suitable for supporting the neck of the bottle (30). The holder is made from bent elongate metal rod, a base plate (14) and a handle plate (26). A lateral supporting part (20) may be made of a supplementary length of rod which is welded to a main length of rod forming the front and rear supporting parts behind the handle plate.

Description

.., 1..DTD: / Title: Bottle Holder Description of Invention

5 This invention relates to bottle holders, and in particular, although not exclusively, to holders for plastics bottles which typically contain a beverage.

The invention will be described hereinafter in relation to such bottles, but it should be understood that the holder described herein could accommodate any type of bottle whose dimensions and overall shape are compatible with those of 10 the holder.

Plastic, disposable, drinks bottles are widely used for beverages such as water and soft drinks (which may be carbonated). They come in various capacities, from 500ml or less to 3 litres or more. A problem with handling such bottles, however, is that the bottles are flexible, particularly in their mid 15 section. When a bottle is full of liquid (and particularly when it is internally pressurised) this does not present a problem, but once the lid has been removed and the pressure released, the bottle, particularly the mid section of the bottle, can tend to collapse when handled. This is a particular problem when pouring from one of the larger sizes of bottle: if holding the bottle with only one hand it 20 will need to be held in its centre region, which makes it more likely to collapse leading to uncontrolled pouring of liquid.

It is often necessary, therefore, to use two hands to pour from such a bottle. One hand supports the bottle at its base whilst the other supports the bottle at its mid section or neck region. Otherwise, it is easy to spill liquid from 25 the bottle or drop the bottle. This is only an inconvenience for the home user, but can be a real difficulty in the catering industry where staff encounter difficulty in serving customers, particularly if it is necessary for them to hold a customer's glass and pour from the bottle.

l Another problem with many such bottles is that, being tall relative to their diameter, they are fairly unstable and can be knocked over relatively easy.

Previous solutions to this problems include harness type devices which wrap around the body of the bottle, and may provide a handle for pouring, or 5 canister type holders with a separate body and lid.

None of these solutions provide a holder which may receive the bottle easily and support the bottle adequately in use. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved bottle holder.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a bottle 10 holder comprising a support structure including a base portion, the holder being adapted to hold a bottle generally upright on a surface, and to support the bottle when tilted for pouring therefrom, the support structure including a front supporting part, which includes a lowermost portion which is adapted to engage with a bottle held in the holder and an uppermost portion which is spaced from 15 the bottle and which forms a handle by which the holder may be lifted with the bottle therein, and a rear supporting part which engages with the bottle and provides a collar suitable for supporting the neck of the bottle.

Thus, a bottle may easily be handled and poured from using only one hand. The provision of front and rear supporting parts which engage with front 20 and rear portions of a bottle held in the holder minimises the risk of the bottle slipping or collapsing during pouring. Furthermore, since this invention provides a stand for the bottle, the danger of knocking the bottle over is much reduced. The support structure preferably includes a lateral supporting part which 25 extends between the uppermost portion of the front supporting part and the rear supporting part.

The support structure may comprise an open frame including a plurality of elongate members or portions. In this case, two members may provide each supporting part.

Preferably the frame is constructed in two parts, in which case the front and rear supporting parts may be provided by one component whilst a second component provides the lateral supporting part. I;or example, the collar, rear supporting part, and the front supporting part may be made from one elongate 5 metal rod which is bent to form that part of the support structure, and the lateral support may be made from a second piece of metal rod, and the two rods are welded together at the handle.

Conveniently, a handle plate is provided to cover the weld.

The base may comprise a plate, in which case the base plate may be 10 supported by the support structure.

There are many materials which provide a suitable combination of rigidity and ductility which would be suitable for manufacturing the bottle holder. The bottle holder is, conveniently, made of metal.

The bottle holder is particularly suitable for bottles which are greater 15 than 2 litres in volume.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 shows schematically a perspective view of a bottle holder which is one embodiment of the invention; and 20 FIGURE 2 shows the bottle holder of Figure 1 holding a bottle.

FIGURE 3 is a top view of the holder of Figures I and 2.

The bottle holder 10 illustrated in the drawings, comprises a support structure in the form of a cradle indicated generally at 12, and a base 14. The support structure 12 is an open frame, made of metal whilst the base 14 is a thin 25 plate made of metal, the plate being welded onto the metal frame 12.

The support structure 12 has a number of parts, which provide support for a bottle. These are a front supporting part 16, a rear supporting part 18, a lateral supporting part 20, a handle 22, and a collar 24.

l; ( t( 4 The rear supporting part 18 comprises two elongate members which are generally parallel to one another and to the longitudinal (neck to bottom) axis of a bottle when received in the holder 10 and which engage with a rear side of the bottle. 5 The front supporting part 16 includes a lowermost portion 16a which comprises two elongate portions which are generally parallel to one another and to the elongate members forming the rear supporting part 18 and which engage with a front side of a bottle received in the bottle holder 10. The front supporting part 16 further includes an uppermost portion 16b, and the portions 10 which form it extend outwardly from the axis of the holder 10 and converge towards one another as indicated at 17 until they again extend parallel to one another and to the rear supporting part 18, to form the handle 22.

The lateral supporting part 20 comprises two limbs which extend transversely of the rear supporting part 18 to embrace a bottle received by the 15 holder, ending in portions 23 which extend parallel to the rear supporting part 18 at the handle 22. The lateral supporting part 20 thus extends between the uppermost portion 16b of the front supporting part 16 and the rear supporting part 18.

The collar 24, rear supporting part 18 and the front supporting part 16 20 are made from one elongate metal rod which is bent to form that part of the support structure 12. The lateral supporting part 20 is made from a second piece of metal rod and the two rods are welded together at the handle 22. A handle plate 26 covers the weld and increases the rigidity of the handle 22.

In this way the support structure 12 provides both the handle 22 and the 25 collar 24. Moreover, since the support structure is generally rigid, movement of one supporting part with respect to the remainder of the holder 10 in substantially prevented, and thus the holder 10 provides a stable support for a bottle, in particular a flexible plastic bottle, during pouring.

: Figure 3 shows more clearly the shape of the collar 24. The collar is generally U-shaped with the width of the U being of corresponding diameter to the neck of a disposable drinks bottle.

In use, as shown in Figure 2, a bottle 30 may be inserted into the holder 5 10 by tilting the bottle and lowering the bottle 30 through the lateral support 20 to the base 14. As can be seen from the figures the lateral support 20 is only just wider than a typical 2 It. disposable drinks bottle, but the members forming the lateral support 20 are significantly longer than the diameter of the bottle, in this embodiment as much as a third longer. There is thus sufficient space for | 10 the bottle to be inserted into the holder 10 without the need, for example, to l provide a flexible collar 24 which can be moved out of the way whilst a bottle is inserted in the holder 10. There is also sufficient clearance for the user's fingers to pass through the edge of the bottle and the handle 22 when the handle 22 is grasped.

15 Once the base of the bottle 30 has been inserted past the lateral support 20 and stands on the base 14, the neck of the bottle 30 may be slid into the collar 24.

When the bottle is upright the holder 10 provides a stand for the bottle and increases the stability of the bottle, making it more difficult to knock over 20 the bottle accidentally. To pour from the bottle the user grasps the handle 22 and tilts the bottle holder 10 until the bottle 30 is in a sufficiently horizontal inclination to discharge its contents. The collar 24 supports the neck of the bottle preventing the bottle from falling out of the holder, whilst the lateral support 20, the rear support 18 and, to some extent, the front support 16 prevent 25 the bottle from collapsing even when it is nearly empty.

Thus, this bottle holder enables bottles to be used with ease and, indeed, grace. It should also be noted that forming a collar 24 suitable for supporting the neck of the bottle, a rear supporting part 18, and a front supporting part 16

( from one elongate metal rod which is bent to form those parts of a support structure 12, and a lateral supporting part 20 from a second piece of metal rod, and welding the two rods together at a handle 22, provides a relatively simple and convenient method of manufacturing a bottle holder 10 comprising a 5 support structure 12 including a base portion 14, a handle 22 by which the holder may be lifted.

In the present specification "comprises" means "includes or consists of"

and "comprising" means "including or consisting of".

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following |

10 claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in l terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may, separately, or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims

( I: l CLAIMS

1. A bottle holder comprising a support structure including a base portion, the holder being adapted to hold a bottle generally upright on a surface, and to 5 support the bottle when tilted for pouring therefrom, the support structure including a front supporting part, which includes a lowermost portion which is adapted to engage with a bottle held in the holder and an uppermost portion which is spaced from the bottle and which forms a handle by which the holder may be lifted with the bottle therein, and a rear supporting part which engages 10 with the bottle and provides a collar suitable for supporting the neck of the bottle.

2. A bottle holder according to claim I wherein the support structure includes a lateral supporting part which extends between the uppermost portion 15 of the front supporting part and the rear supporting part.

3. A bottle holder according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the support structure comprises an open frame including a plurality of elongate members or portions.

20

4. A bottle holder according to claim 3 wherein two members provide each supporting part.

5. A bottle holder according to any one of claims 3 or 4 wherein the frame is constructed in two parts.

6. A bottle holder according to claim 5 wherein the front and rear supporting parts are provided by one component whilst a second component provides the lateral supporting part.

7. A bottle holder according to claim 6 wherein the collar, rear supporting part, and the front supporting part are made from one elongate metal rod which is bent to form that part of the support structure, and the lateral support is made 5 from a second piece of metal rod, and the two rods are welded together at the handle.

8. A bottle holder according to claim 7 wherein a handle plate is provided to cover the weld. |

9. A bottle holder according to any preceding claim wherein the base comprises a plate.

10. A bottle holder according to claim 9 wherein the base plate is supported 15 by the support structure.

11. A bottle holder according to claim 10 wherein the base plate is arranged between the front and rear supporting parts of the support structure.

20

12. A bottle holder substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

13. Any novel feature or novel combination of features described herein and/or in the accompanying drawings.