GB2445143A

GB2445143A - Coaster for drinking vessel or bottle

Info

Publication number: GB2445143A
Application number: GB0625926A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Rebecca Lee Wright
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-12-23
Filing date: 2006-12-23
Publication date: 2008-07-02
Also published as: GB0625926D0

Abstract

A coaster for an individual drinking vessel or bottle has a grating portion 14 overlying a saucer portion 12 so that liquid from the base of the vessel or bottle stood on the grating portion can pass through it into the saucer portion. The grating portion 14 may be spaced above the floor of the saucer portion and comprise bars 22, 24 which widen downwardly from a narrow top surface. The reduced contact area between the bottom of the drinking vessel or bottle and the coaster reduces the tendency to stick to the coaster. At least an upper surface of the grating portion may be hydrophilic or absorbent or have such a coating. The grating portion and air within it provide thermal insulation. The coaster may be formed of plastics, particularly recycled plastics.

Description

Coaster for drinking vessel or bottle

DESCRIPTION

This invention relates to coasters for individual drinking vessels or bottles.

Various forms of coaster are known having various features. Some are hard-wearing and can be expected to have a long life; others not. Some are expensive to manufacture; others are not. Some can be washed satisfactorily and dried quickly; others cannot. Some provide good thermal insulation; others do not. Some are good at collecting any spillage or condensation falling from the vessel or bottle onto the coaster; others are not. Some are good at keeping the bottom of the drinking vessel or bottle dry; others are not. Some tend to stick to the bottom of the drinking vessel or bottle; others do not. Some provide a good breeding ground for bacteria and mould; others do not.

The present invention was initially conceived in the form of a coaster (or beer mat) particularly suited for domestic use or use in a pub, but it does have other applications. The aim of the present invention, or at least of specific embodiments of it, is to provide a coaster that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, that can be washed and dried quickly, that can be expected to have a longer life than a typical cardboard or fibreboard pub beer mat, that is good at collecting spilages and condensation falling from a drinking vessel or bottle, that is good at keeping the bottom of the drinking vessel or bottle dry, that does not tend to stick to the bottom of the drinking vessel or bottle, that provides effective thermal insulation between a drinking vessel and a support surface on which the coaster is placed and that is hygienic.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a coaster for an individual drinking vessel or bottle, the coaster having a saucer portion and a grating portion overlying the saucer portion so that the vessel or bottle can be stood by its base on the grating portion and liquid from the base of the vessel or bottle can pass through the grating portion and be collected in the saucer portion. Because of the arrangement of grating and saucer portions, the coaster can collect liquid dripping from the vessel or bottle, but without absorbing it in the way that a typical cardboard or fibreboard pub beer mat does. In the case where the coaster is used for a vessel containing a hot drink, the grating portion and in particular the air within the grating portion can provide effective thermal insulation. Furthermore, the grating portion reduces the contact area between the bottom of the drinking vessel or bottle and the coaster, and therefore reduces the tendency for the coaster to stick to the bottom of the vessel or bottle.

Preferably, the grating portion comprises an arrangement of bars each having a surface portion for supporting the base of the vessel or bottle and each increasing in cross-sectional width below the surface portion. For example, each bar may have a generally triangular cross-section, with an apex of the triangle providing the supporting surface portion and a side of the triangle being lowermost. Alternatively, each bar may have a generally semicircular cross-section, with the flat of the semi-circle being lowermost, or a generally circular cross-section.

The increased cross-sectional width beneath the supporting surface portion assists in giving each bar its required strength, while the relatively narrower surface portion that supports the base of the vessel or bottle provides very little space in which liquid might become trapped, for example due to the effect of surface tension, between the base of the vessel or bottle and the grating, so as to keep the base of the vessel or bottle relatively dry. The relatively narrower surface portion also reduces the thermal conductivity between the base of the vessel and the coaster so as to increase the thermal insulation provided by the coaster..

Preferably, the grating portion is spaced above a floor of the saucer portion.

Accordingly, any liquid that passes through a particular part of the grating portion into the saucer portion can level out in the saucer portion. Also, when used with a vessel containing a hot drink, the additional space provides even more effective thennal insulation.

Preferably, at least an upper surface of the grating portion is hydrophiic or absorbent or is coated with a hydrophiic or absorbent layer. Accordingly, liquid on the base of the vessel or bottle is encouraged away from the base of the vessel or bottle.

The grating and saucer portions are preferably separately fonned, for example so as to simplify manufacture of the coaster. In this case, the grating and saucer portions are preferably releasably held together, for example so as to simplify handling of the coaster, but so as to enable a damaged part of the coaster to be replaced without the need to replace the whole coaster, and so as to enable saucer and grating portions bearing different designs to be mixed and matched.

The grating and saucer portions are preferably formed from plastics material, and more preferably from recycled plastics material.

In order to be suitable as a coaster for an individual drinking vessel or bottle, the thickness of the coaster is preferably no more than 10 mm andlor the maximum diainetral extent of the coaster is preferably no more than 150 mm.

Specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described, purely by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a first embodiment of coaster; Figure 2 is a sectioned side view of the coaster taken along the angled section line 2-2 shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is an exploded isometric view of the coaster; Figure 4 is an assembled isometric view of the coaster; Figure 5 is an isometric view of an Imperial pint (568.3 millilitres) beer glass standing on the coaster; Figure 6 is a plan view of second embodiment of coaster; Figure 7 is a sectioned side view of the coaster taken along the section line 7-7 shown in Figure 6; Figure 8 is an isometric view of the coaster of Figures 6 and 7; and Figure 9 is a partial sectioned side view, on a larger scale, illustrating modifications to parts of the coasters.

Referring to Figures 1 to 5, the first embodiment of coaster 10 is formed from a saucer 12 and a grating 14. The saucer 12 has a thin circular base 16 and an upstanding peripheral wall 18. The inner edge of the top of the wall 18 is formed with a rabbet 20. The grating 14 has the overall form of a perforate disc provided by a polar array of five concentric annular bar portions 22 joined by four equiangularly-spaced radial bar portions 24. The bar portions 22,24 are generally triangular in cross-section with an apex of the triangle uppermost and a side of the triangle lowermost. The size of the outermost annular bar portion 22 is such that it is a snug or interference fit in the rabbet 20 in the wall 18 of the saucer 12, with the undersides of the bar portions 22,24 spaced by a distance S above the base 16 of the saucer 12. One or more feet 26 may be provided on the underside of the grating 14 to bear on the base 16 of the saucer 12 to assist in maintaining the spacing S. The saucer 12 and grating 14 are made from recycled plastics material such as polypropylene by any suitable manufacturing technique. For example, the saucer 12 made be injection-moulded or fold-moulded. The grating 14 may be injection-moulded or stamped from sheet material and then hot-press formed so as to shape the bar portions 22,24.

In use, the assembled coaster 10 is placed, with the base of the saucer 12 lowermost, on a table, bar counter or other support surface and, as shown in Figure 5, a beer glass 28 or other drinking vessel or bottle is placed on the grating 14. In the event that droplets of liquid form on the outside of the glass 28 (for example due to spillage from the rim of the glass 28 or due to condensation forming on the outside of the glass 28) and that the droplets mn down the side of the glass 28, they will tend to fall through the grating 14 and be collected hi the saucer 12. In an example of the coaster 10, the inside diameter D of the wall 18 of the saucer 12 is 4 inches (100 mm) and the spacing S between the base 16 of the saucer 12 and the grating 14 is /8 inch (3 turn), as a result of which the capacity of the saucer 12 before the perforations of the grating begin to fill with liquid is about Imperial fluid ounce (2.4 centilitres).

In the example of the first embodiment of coaster 10, its overall thickness T is about A inch (6 mm), and it overall diametral extent E is about 4 inches (100 mm).

It will be appreciated that many modifications and developments may be made to the embodiment of the invention described above.

For example, Figures 6 to 8 show a second embodiment of coaster 10 that is generally square rather than circular, and the grating 14 has a square array of bar portions 30. Again, the bar portions 30 are of triangular cross-section, but the rabbet 20 in the wall 18 of the saucer 12 has a groove 32 to receive the outermost edges of the outermost bar portions 30 so that the 2.5 grating 14 is a snap-fit into the saucer 12.

In the example of the second embodiment of coaster 10, its overall thickness T is about 4 inch (6 mm), and it overall diametral extent E is about 5 inches (130 mm).

The coaster 10 may have other shapes, such as oval or rectangular. The bar portions 22,24,30 of the grating 14 may be arranged in other forms which may be geometric (such as an array of concentric squares, rectangles or ellipses joined by diagonals) or non-geometric (such as a logo or monogram relevant to a product or service that is being advertised). Parts of the coaster 10 may be printed with advertising material 34, such as the upper surface of the base 16 of the saucer 12, as shown in Figure 1.

The bar portions 22,24,30 need not be triangular in cross-section, but are preferably shaped so that that area in contact with the drinking vessel 28 or bottle is small. For example, the grating 14 may have bar portions 36 with a semi-circular cross-section, as shown in Figure 9, with the flats of the semi-circles lowermost.

The grating 14 may be treated so that liquid is attracted from the base 38 of the drinking vessel 28 or bottle to the grating. For example, the grating 14 may be made from hydrophilic plastics material, or may be coated with a hydrophilic or absorbent coating 40, as shown in Figure 9.

The saucer 12 and grating 14 may be treated with a fungicide and are preferably such that they can be washed in a tiigh temperature dish-washing or glass-washing machine.

It should be noted that the embodiments of the invention have been described above purely by way of example and that many other modifications and developments may be made thereto within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A coaster (10) for an individual drinking vessel (28) or bottle, the coaster having a saucer portion (12) and a grating portion (14) overlying the saucer portion so that the vessel or bottle can be stood by its base on the grating portion and liquid from the base of the vessel or bottle can pass through the grating portion and be collected in the saucer portion.

2. A coaster as claimed in claim!, wherein the grating portion comprises an arrangement of bars (22,24; 30; 36) each having a surface portion for supporting the base of the vessel or bottle and each increasing in cross-sectional width below the surface portion.

3. A coaster as claimed in claim! or 2, wherein the grating portion is spaced above a floor of the saucer portion.

4. A coaster as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein at least an upper surface of the grating portion is hydrophilic or absorbent or is coated with a hydrophilic or absorbent layer (40).

5. A coaster as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the grating and saucer portions are separately formed.

6. A coaster as claimed in claimS, wherein the grating and saucer portions are releasably held together.

7. A coaster as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the grating and saucer portions are formed from plastics material.

8. A coaster as claimed in claim 7, wherein the plastics material is recycled plastics material.

9. A coaster as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the thickness (T) of the coaster is no more than 10 mm.

10. A coaster as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the maximum diametral extent (E) of the coaster is no more than 150 mm.

11. A coaster substantially as described with reference to the drawings.