GB2397215A

GB2397215A - A drinking vessel support/holder with a suction cap attachment

Info

Publication number: GB2397215A
Application number: GB0301082A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Antony John Ward; Raymond Jack Longbottom
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-01-16
Filing date: 2003-01-16
Publication date: 2004-07-21
Also published as: GB0301082D0

Abstract

A drinking vessel support/holder with a suction cup attachment that may support a drinking vessel from a vertical or near vertical surface without the need for a permanent or semipermanent fixing method. The main body of the support/holder may have a load bearing spine 5 with a base 4 with an outer lip 9 and an arm arrangement 6 to prevent the drinking vessel from toppling out of the support/holder. Preferably the spine 5 is pivotally attached to the suction cup and may extend to accommodate a variety of drinking vessels. The main body may have an additional support 8 to brace the support/holder against a vertical surface and additional arm arrangements 6 up and down the spine 5. Preferably the main body may be made from moulded plastic.

Description

1 239721 5

PORTABLE DRINKING VESSEL HOLDER UTILISING TEMPORARY ATTACHMENT METHOD

Technical Field:

The invention relates to a suction mounted drinking vessel support/holder.

Background:

Many people enjoy the opportunity to relax by bathing either at home or at some other suitable leisure facility. As part of that activity it is common to want to enjoy a drink of some sort. In many homes this is not possible due to the absence of a suitable surface on which to safely and securely support the chosen drinking vessel.

Essential Technical Features: A drinking vessel support/holder using a suction cup attachment method, to provide a simple and novel method of supporting a drinking vessel in a location where there is no existing surface to provide such support safely and conveniently, without the need for a permanent or semi-permanent f King method.

Summary of the invention:

The present invention contributes to the convenience of the use of a drinking vessel support/holder that is flexible enough in it's design to be used in many areas within the home, where there is not already a convenient place to stand a drinking vessel.

Note: Throughout this description there will be reference to a "drinking vessel" as used in the context of the drinking vessel support/holder. The use of the said invention is not limited to any singular drinking vessel, but includes cups, mugs, wine glasses, pint glasses, tumblers, cans, cartons and the like. Throughout this description the words "drinking vessel" will be used to represent all of the above mentioned, but not restricted to, types of beverage container.

The convenience consists of providing at the most opportune circumstance such as whilst having a bath either in one's own home or whilst away in a hotel or apartment, an option to safely support a drinking vessel where there may not be an existing shelf or other safe place to support a drinking vessel. Circumstances are not just restricted to having a bath; other opportune circumstances include whilst on holiday in a caravan or other holiday home, or for seated occupants travelling in a motor vehicle or other transportation method i.e. boat, train, areoplane etc. The present invention provides an option to safely support a drinking vessel from a vertical or near vertical surface in the absence of a suitable horizontal surface, without the need for a permanent or semi-permanent fixing method. This is achieved with the use of a suction cup. One particular method of using a suction cup is described in the "detailed description" section of this document, and is shown in the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not restricted to just one method of suction cup.

A variety of suction cup designs could be successfully used within the present invention. For example, a suction cup whose mechanism is operated via a lever that is separate from the main body of the present invention, would give the option to mount the suction cup in a different position, for example mid way down the structural spine 5 (Fig 1) of the present invention.

The use of the suction cup gives the advantage that a surface does not have to be defaced, damaged, or permanently modified to secure the drinking vessel support/holder with a permanent or semi-permanent fixing. The suction cup also gives the advantage that the present invention is a portable product that can be used in many different locations, thus meaning that a person only needs one of the present inventions to enjoy it's benefits in many different locations.

The suction cup takes advantage of the fact that most bathrooms, one of the locations where the present invention could be used, have tiles and/or windows, which provide an ideal surface to which the present invention could be fixed. Indeed the present invention could be used to support a drinking vessel anywhere that there is a vertical or near vertical smooth surface such as bathroom or kitchen wall tiles, the inside surface of a bath tub, a mirrored surface, or a pane of glass. The present invention is designed to operate on, but is not restricted to, those surfaces previously mentioned.

The present invention will have a main body made from moulded plastic, which will give the advantage of keeping the cost down.

The main body will incorporate a base, which the drinking vessel can be placed upon.

The base may include a raised outer lip to prevent the drinking vessel from sliding off.

The main body will incorporate an arm arrangement to prevent the drinking vessel from toppling over or being knocked off the base of the drinking vessel support/holder. This arm arrangement could be fixed in position or incorporate the ability to expand and adjust to accommodate a greater variety of drinking vessels The main body will incorporate a spine feature to act as a structural load-bearing member, to enable the present invention to support the drinking vessel and it's contents. This spine could incorporate the ability to expand and adjust to accommodate a greater variety of drinking vessels or simply be fixed to an optimum size.

The main body will include a support feature protruding from the base of the spine feature towards and touching the vertical or near vertical surface that the present invention is being attached to, to provide additional structural support.

The drinking vessel support/holding feature is permanently fixed to the suction cup, thereby eliminating the need to assemble the cup holder prior to use.

An additional feature of this invention is the ability to position the main body of the support/holder at varying angles relative to the mounting surface. This would give the advantage of providing a consistently horizontal base independent of the angle of the mounting surface.

A variation on the present invention would be to incorporate the ability to hold more than one drinking vessel simultaneously, whilst utilising the same attachment method.

This would give the advantage of allowing multiple users to simultaneously utilise the present invention to safely and securely support their drinking vessels or allow a single user to safely and securely support multiple drinking vessels.

Brief description of accompanying drawings:

Fig I is an isometric view of the complete invention, shown in place mounted on a vertical surface, ready for use.

Fig 2 is a side view of the complete invention, shown in place mounted on a vertical surface, ready for use.

Fig 3 is a front view of the complete invention, shown in place mounted on a vertical surface, ready for use.

Fig 4 is a side view of the suction cup and crank part of the invention, showing the existing technology of how the suction cup is secured to the vertical surface. Fig 4 shows the invention prior to being secured to the vertical surface.

Fig 5 is a side view of the suction cup and crank part of the invention, showing the existing technology of how the suction cup is secured to the vertical surface. Fig 5 shows the invention after it has been secured to the vertical surface.

Fig 6 is an isometric view of the complete invention shown in place mounted on a vertical surface and supporting a drinking vessel.

Detailed description:

The first section of the detailed description refers to f gs I, 2 and 3.

Figs 1, 2 and 3 show the present invention in place mounted onto a vertical or near vertical surface, ready for use.

The suction cup part of the present invention is made up of 10 and l l (fig 2).

The main body of the present invention is intended to be moulded from plastic, and incorporates the features 2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and 9.

Feature 2 is the interfacing cam that is used during the operation of the present invention when it is being attached to the vertical or near vertical surface, and it incorporates surface 17 as shown in fig 4. The detail of this operation is described later in this description. The use of the cam feature has the advantage that the invention can not be used without first securing the suction cup to the vertical or near vertical surface by utilising the cam feature to operate the suction mechanism (as described later in this description). This gives the safety advantage of lessening the opportunity for the user to use the present invention incorrectly.

Feature 3 is an additional structural support that engages with the suction cup outer 10, when the present invention is fitted into place on a vertical or near vertical surface. Feature 3 gives the advantage of additional structural support that contributes to the overall robustness of the present invention, particularly with the attachment of the suction cup. The present invention has the added advantage that when feature 3 "clicks" against the suction cup outer 10 as the two parts come into contact, the user knows that the present invention has been fitted in place correctly and securely.

Feature 4 is the base of the main body, and provides the surface upon which the drinking vessel being supported is placed.

Feature 5 is the non-adjustable, structural load-bearing spine of the main body of the present invention. Spine 5 is designed to be as strong as possible, with the option to utilise moulded-in rib features to further increase the strength. The inherent strength within the spine 5 gives the advantage of allowing the spine 5 to be used as a handle with which to operate the suction mechanism (as described later in this description).

Spine 5 is connected to the suction cup assembly, features 10 and 11, via the interfacing cam feature 2, and feature 5 acts as the spine upon which all the other main features of the present invention are mounted.

Feature 6 is the fixed arm arrangement that forms part of the overall drinking vessel support structure of the present invention. The arm arrangement 6 gives the advantage that it supports the drinking vessel to stop it from toppling over or being knocked off the base of the present invention. In the drawings there are two arms shown, but the present invention is not restricted to just this arm arrangement. The present invention would also work with a single arm, or indeed with more than one arm (for instance additional arm arrangements at different levels up and down the spine S).

Feature 7 is shown as the gap within the arm arrangement. With the particular design shown in the accompanying drawings the gap 7 would allow the stem of a drinking vessel shaped as a traditional wine glass to pass through. The advantage that this gives is that the wine shaped drinking vessel would not have to be lifted completely above the arm arrangement 6 to allow the wine shaped drinking vessel to be moved away from the present invention.

Feature 8 is an additional structural support that protrudes from the base of the spine 5, towards the vertical or near vertical surface 13 (shown in fig 4) that the present invention is attached to. Feature 8 gives the advantage of additional support by coming into contact with the surface 13 when the present invention has been secured in place, and by providing additional strengthening ribs 8a underneath the base 4.

When the drinking vessel is placed into the present invention, onto the base 4, the load is transmitted through the base 4, through the strengthening ribs 8a, and support feature 8, and onto the vertical or near vertical surface l 3. This gives the advantage of allowing surface 13 to become a load bearing structural member of the arrangement. The advantage that this gives is that it takes load away from the suction cup sub assemble, thus reducing the risk of the suction cup failing.

Featuer 9 is the raised lip at the outer edge of the base 4. By adding this raised feature to the base 4 of the present invention, it gives the added advantage of ensuring that the base of the drinking vessel being supported by the present invention cannot slide off the edge of the base 4.

Fig 6 shows the present invention in place, with a drinking vessel being supported.

The next section of the detailed description explains how the suction cup is used to hold the main body of the present invention in place.

Suction cup 10 has an spine 5 attached to it, which forms the structural spine of the drinking vessel holding feature. The spine 5 is attached via a dowel 12, about which the spine 5 is allowed to pivot during the attaching and un-attaching operations of the invention. The spine 5 is attached appropriately via the dowel 12 to the rubber suction cup 11 centrally to the circular disc 10. To attach the invention to the vertical surface 13, the suction cup 11 is pressed in direction 14, against the vertical surface 13, with the spine 5 pointing outward and upward, as illustrated in fig 4. This will create an airtight seal as indicated at 15 (fig 5), between the suction cup 10 and the vertical surface 13. The spine 5 is then urged through a pivotal traverse 16, which will take the spine 5 from the upwardly facing vertical position indicated in fig 4, through approximately 100 degrees to the downwardly facing vertical position indicated in fig 5, whilst moving the base 4 initially away from the vertical surface 13 and then back towards the vertical surface 13.

During the approximately 100 degree rotation of spine 5, the cam surface 17 at the suction cup 11 end of the spine 5 withdraws the centre of the suction cup 11, in the direction indicated at 18. Whilst this happens the airtight seal at 15 is maintained by the circular disc 10 pressing on the outer edge of the suction cup 11, resulting in a vacuum being created in the area 19. This created vacuum is sufficient to hold the invention onto the vertical surface 13, whilst also supporting the load of a drinking vessel and it's contents.

Claims

1. A drinking vessel supportlholder using a suction cup attachment method, to provide a simple and novel method of supporting a drinking vessel in a location where there is no existing surface to provide such support safely and conveniently, without the need for a permanent or semi- permanent fixing method.

2. A drinking vessel supportlholder as claimed in claim 1, designed as one unit to give the advantage that there is no requirement for sub- assembly by the user prior to attachment to the chosen vertical or near vertical surface, and subsequent use.

3. A drinking vessel supportlholder as claimed in Claim I comprising a support spine 5 to act as a load baring structural member.

4. A drinking vessel supportfholder spine as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 3 incorporating a support base 4 on which to mount the chosen drinking vessel.

5. A drinking vessel supportlholder spine as claimed in Claim 3 or Claim 4 incorporating a support arm arrangement 6, to prevent said drinking vessel from toppling or dismounting the drinking vessel supportlholder.

6. A drinking vessel support/holder as claimed in claim 4 incorporating a raised rim 9 at the base 4, to prevent the drinking vessel from sliding off the edge of the base 4.

7. A drinking vessel supportlholder's structural spine 5 as claimed in claim 3, incorporating an additional structural feature 8 to brace against the vertical or near vertical surface, to provide additional strength and robustness to the present invention, by allowing the vertical or near vertical surface to become an integral part of the support structure of the present invention.

8. A drinking vessel support/holder as claimed in Claim 1, incorporating an angle adjustment mechanism to allow the main body of the invention to be moved relative to the mounting surface.

9. A drinking vessel support/holder spine as claimed in Claim 3 that incorporates the ability to expand and adjust to accommodate a greater variety of drinking vessels.

10. A drinking vessel support/holder arm arrangement as claimed in Claim 5 that incorporates the ability to expand and adjust to accommodate a greater variety of drinking vessels.

I 1. A drinking vessel support/holder as claimed in Claim I with the ability to supportlhold multiple drinking vessels.

12. A drinking vessel support/holder as claimed in claim 1, constructed substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.