GB2510604A

GB2510604A - A consumable drinking vessel holder

Info

Publication number: GB2510604A
Application number: GB1302263.7A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ruth Ann Warnock; Andrew Warnock
Original assignee: WARNOCK ORIGINAL WORKS
Current assignee: WARNOCK ORIGINAL WORKS
Priority date: 2013-02-08
Filing date: 2013-02-08
Publication date: 2014-08-13
Anticipated expiration: 2033-02-08
Also published as: GB201302263D0; GB2510604B

Abstract

A consumable drinking vessel holder 10 is provided for holding an ingestible consumable vessel (36, fig 7) formed as a liquid container, preferably being a chocolate or ice champagne flute (68). The holder 10 comprises an elastically flexible preformed hollow body 12 having an interior surface 18 which is complementarily shaped to match or substantially match a consumable drinking vessel (36) to be held. The hollow body 12 includes an access slot 16 for insertion of the consumable drinking vessel (36).

Description

A Consumable Drinking Vessel Holder The present invention relates to a consumable drinking vessel holder, and more particularly but not necessarily exclusively to a chocolate champagne flute holder.

Champagne flutes formed of chocolate or other consumable vessel material are known, and are often used in social gatherings, and in particular for parties, as a novelty item instead of traditional glasses or flutes. The consumable vessel utilised, typically being chocolate, is moulded and is sufficiently solid at room temperature to receive and hold a liquid, generally being champagne, therein for at least a few minutes before starting to melt.

However, a problem occurs in that a user's digits or hand grasping the exterior of the chocolate champagne flute imparts localised body heat to contact interface portions of the outside surface. This promotes more rapid melting of the consumable vessel, potentially leading to leakage of the liquid being held therein, and also more particularly transfers the melted consumable vessel to the user's digits and/or palm.

The present invention therefore seeks to provide a solution to this problem.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a consumable drinking vessel holder for holding an ingestible consumable vessel formed as a liquid container, the holder comprising an elastically flexible preformed hollow body having an interior surface which is complementarily shaped to match or substantially match a consumable drinking vessel to be held, the hollow body including an access slot for insertion of the consumable drinking vessel.

Preferable andlor optional features of the first aspect of the invention are set forth in claims 2 to 14, inclusive.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a consumable drinking vessel holder system comprising a consumable drinking vessel holder in accordance with the first aspect of the invention, and an ingestible liquid container shaped as a drinking vessel.

Preferable and/or optional features of the second aspect of the invention are set forth in claims 17 to 20, inclusive.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a meltaNe drinking vessel holder for holding an ingestible consumable vessel formed as a meltable liquid container, the holder comprising an elastically flexible prefoimed hollow body having an interior surface which is complementarily shaped to match or substantially match a consumable vessel to be held, the hollow body including an access slot for insertion of the consumable vessel.

The invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of one embodiment of a consumable drinking vessel holder, in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the consumable drinking vessel holder; Figure 3 is a front side view of the consumable drinking vessel holder; Figure 4 shows a rear side view of the consumable drinking vessd holder; Figure 5 is a top plan view of the consumable drinking vessel h&der; Figure 6 is a bottom plan view of the consumaNe drinking vessd holder; and Figures 7a to 7c show the in use consumaNe drinking vessel holder being applied and mounted to a consumable drinking vessel, in this case being a chocolate champagne flute.

Refening to the drawings, there is shown a consumable drinking vessel holder i0 which comprises a body 12 defining a hollow interior 14 and having an access opening 16 for accessing the interior 14 from a side of the body 12.

The body 12 is dastically flexible, a'lowing the access opening 16 to be widened or expanded before the body 12 then resuming its original or substantially original shape.

To this end, it is preferable that the body 12 is preformed from, for example, moulded plastics or an elastomer. In the present case, the body 12 is formed from a material that is or includes silicone, but any suitable bio-cornpatible resiliently deformable material, including other polymeric synthetic materials, can be considered. Bio-compatibility is preferable due to the holder's intended use with a foodstuff.

The interior surface 18 of the body 12 defines a bowl-receiving portion 20, a stem-receiving portion 22, and a tapering seating portion 24 between the bowl-receiving portion 20 and the stem-receiving portion 22. The bowl-receiving portion 20, in this embodiment, is smooth and extends arcuately in a lateral direction from the access opening 16 and at least in part arcuately from an uppermost edge or upper rim 26 of the body 12.

The stem-receiving portion 22 is also arcuate in a lateral direction from the access opening 16, and preferably tapers smoothly in a diverging direction from a thwermost edge or lower nm 28 of the body 12 to meet the tapenng seating portion 24.

The upper rim 26 defines a bowl opening 30, and the lower rim 28 defines a stein opening 32. The access opening 16 intersects the bowl opening 30 and the stem opening 32.

The tapering seating porion 24 defines a seat for receiving a transition portion 34 of a consumable drinking vessel 36, typically being the transition area between a bowl 38 and a stein 40.

The access opening 16 is a longitudinal slot which extends from the upper rim 26 to the lower rim 28 of the body 12, and due to the body 12 being elastically flexible, can be widened as required during the insertion of the consumaNe drinking vessel 36 before then resuming its original or substantially original form.

To accommodate a shape of the consumable dnnking vessel 36, the intenor surface 18 of the body 12 is formed to be complementarily or substantially complementarily shaped with at least part of the consumable drinking vessel 36. To this end, the slot of the access opening 16 preferably tapers from the upper rim 26 of the body 12 to the lower rim 28.

To prevent or inhibit melting of the consumable drinking vessd 36, the material of the body 12 is preferably thermally insulating. To further promote thermal insulation against the transference of heat from a user holding the holder 10 to the consumable vessel 36 held thereby, an exterior surface 42 of the hollow body 12 preferably includes a plurality of raised or defined contact portions 44. The contact portions 44 provide a slightly incrcascd thickncss of matcrial, leading to locáliscd reduced thermal conductivity at and in the vicinity of an interface with the pads of digits andlor palm of a user.

It may also be beneficial, as shown in the present embodiment, to make the contact portions 44 discrete by disguising them as part of an ornate or intricate pattern or design 46 on the exterior surface 42 of the body 12. In this embodiment, the exterior surface 42 includes an unfurling rose petal pattern, and the contact portions 44 are incorporated into first side petals 48 extending from a rear petal 50 defining a back side 52 of the body 12, opposite the access opening 16.

IS It is also beneficial that the upper rim 26 includes an upper out-turned lip 52 as a stop for a user's digits. This upper out-turned lip 52 is conveniently provided at an upper edge 54 of a second side petal 56, which extends from an upper edge 58 of the said first side petal 48.

Furthermore, to prevent or limit slippage of a user's digits or palm from the coiltact portions 44, a second out-turned lip 60 below the said upper out-turned lip 52 may be advantageously provided on or in the vicinity of the contact portions 44, in this case being along an upper edge 62 of the first side petals 48.

The back side 52 of the body 12, in this case defining the said rear petal 50, also preferably includes an additional third out-turned lip 64 at the upper rim 26, again to assist a user's gripping of the holder 10.

To further improve the thermal insulating characteristics of the holder 10, the interior surface 18 of the body 12 at the bowl-receiving portion 20 may define an air-insulation chamber 66, whereby, when the consumable drinking vessel 36 is received by the holder 10, an air layer is formed between part of the interior surface 18 of the body 12 and an outer surface of the consumable vessel. Preferably, the air-insulation chamber 66 is at or adjacent to the contact portions 44.

The air-insulation chamber 66 is formed by incorporating a slightly greater degree of concavity into a portion of the interior surface 18 opposing the contact portions 44 on the exterior surface 42. In this way, when grasped by a user, typically at or adjacent to the contact portions 44, not only does the increased thickness of the thermally insulating material of the holder 10 Umit heat energy transference to the consumable vessel 36 held by the holder 10, but the air layer within the air-insulation chamber 66 also provides secondary insulation.

Refening to Figures 7a to 7c, the consumable drinking vessel 36 in this embodiment is a moulded chocolate champagne flute 68, and together with the holder 10 provides a consumable drinking vessd holder system 70. However, although the holder 10 is preferably for use with any suitable beverage glass or vessel formed of a foodstuff, any other suitable masticatable ingestible confection or foodstuff which is adapted to hold a IS liquid can be utilised with the holder 10 of the present invention. Furthermore, the champagne flute 68 may be ice or other ingestible non-foodstuff. Preferably, however, the flute 68 or other vessel is meltable.

The foodstuff beverage container 72 of this embodiment comprises the bowl 38 which is relatively slim and elongate, the stem 40 which is also elongate and which extends from a base of the bowl 38, and a plate-like base 74 which extends radially outwardly from a foot of the stem 40. Although not provided in this case, a transition may be provided interposed between a head of the stem 40 and the base of the bowl 38, and as such the holder 10 would be adapted accordingly at the transition-receiving portion to accommodate this feature.

In use, the stem 40 of the chocolate champagne flute 68 is guided through the access opening 16 and into the hollow interior 14 of the body 12. Being elastically flexible, the body 12 may be opened out slightly via the access opening 16 to accommodate the stein and transition if necessary.

With the holder 10 on the stem 40, as shown in Figure 7b, the body 12 is then slid up towards the bow' 38 whereby the transition region seats on the tapering-seating portion 24 within the body 12 and the bowl-receiving portion 20 receives the bowl 38. See Figure 7c.

In a modification to the embodiment described above, it is also feasible to include one or more spacers on the interior surface of the hollow body. The spacer may be a rib, semi-spherical projections or pips, for example. If a rib, the rib may be rectilinear or arcuate. For example, the nb may extend only longitudinally or laterally. However, the rib may extend in a spiralling arc direction from the access opening.

One or more spacers may be beneficial in again spacing the interior surface of the holder away from an outer surface of the consumable vessel, thus leading to reduced heat transference from the user.

It is therefore possible to provide consumable drinking vessel holder which can hold an ingestible nutritious foodstuff confection or other consumable material formed as a liquid container, such as a chocolate or ice champagne flute, thereby reducing a rate of melting of the consumable vessel and thus aflowing the liquid therein to be held for longer periods. It is also possible to provide a bio-compatible reusable barrier, which can be cleaned for reuse, which prevents or reduces the ansference of melted consumable vessel material to the user.

The embodiments described above are provided by way of examples only, and various other modifications will be apparent to persons skifled in the field without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

Claims 1. A consumable dnnking vessel holder for holding an ingestible consumable vessel formed as a Uquid container, the holder comprising an elastically flexible preformed hollow body having an interior suiface which is complementarily shaped to match or substantially match a consumable vessel to be held, the hollow body including an access slot for insertion of the consumable vessel.
2. A consumable drinking vessel holder as daimed in claim I, wherein an exterior surface of the hollow body includes one or more raised contact portions for spacing a user's digits frirther from the interior surface of the hollow body to thereby reduce a rate of heat transfer.
3. A consumable drinking vessel holder as claimed in claim 2, wherein the raised contact portions are incorporated as part of an ornate pattern on the exterior surface of the hollow body. so as to be discrete.
4. A consumable drinking vessel holder as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the hollow body is formed of a thermally insulating material.
5. A consumable drinking vessel holder as claimed in claim 5, wherein the thermally insulating material is a polymeric synthefic material.
6. A consumable drinking vessel holder as claimed in claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the thermally insulating material is or includes silicone.
7. A consumable drinking vesse' holder as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the interior surface of the hollow body includes a tapering seating portion for seating a transition portion of a consumable drinking vessel.
8. A consumable drinking vessel holder as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the interior surface of the hollow body includes a bowl-receiving portion for receiving a liquid-containable bowl portion of a consumable dnnking vessel.
9. A consumable drinking vessel ho'der as claimed in dairn 8, wherein the bowl-receiving portion is adapted to only partially cover the Uquid-containable bowl portion of a consumable drinking vessel.
10. A consumable drinking vessel holder as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the interior surface of the hollow body includes a stem-receiving portion for receiving a stern portion of a consumable drinking vessel.
11. A consumable drinking vessel holder as claimed in claim 10, wherein the stem-receiving portion is adapted to only partially cover the stem portion of a consumable drinking vessel.
12. A consumable drinking vessel holder as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further comprising one or more spacers which project inwardly of the interior surface of the hollow body, whereby at least a portion of the interior surface is maintainable in spaced relationship relative to the consumable drinking vessel when received in the hollow body.
13. A consumable drinking vessel holder as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further cornpnsing an air-insulation chamber formable between at least a portion of the interior surface and the consumable drinking vessel when received in the hollow body.
14. A consumable drinking vessel holder as claimed in claim 13, wherein the air-insulation chamber is provided by at least a portion of the interior surface of the hollow body being concave relative to the consumable drinking vessel received in the hoflow body.
IS. A consumable drinking vessel holder substantiafly as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
16. A consumable drinking vessel holder system comprising a consumable drinking vessel holder as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, and an ingestible liquid container shaped as a drinking vessel.
17. A consumaNe drinking vessd holder system as claimed in claim 16, wherein the drinking vessel is a champagne flute.
18. A consumable drinking vessel holder system as claimed in claim 16 or claim 17, wherein the consumable drinking vessel is formed of a material which is meltable at room temperature.
19. A consumable drinking vessel holder system as claimed in any one of claims 16 to 18, wherein the consumable drinking vessel is chocolate or ice.
20. A consumable drinking vesse' holder system as claimed in any one of claims 16 to 19, wherein the consumable drinking vessel is formed of an ingestible nutritious material.
21. A consumable drinking vessel holder system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 7a to 7c of the accompanying drawings.
22. A meltable drinking vessel holder for holding an ingestible consumable vessel formed as a meltable liquid container, the holder comprising an elastically flexible preformed hollow body having an interior surface which is complementarily shaped to match or substantially match a consumable vessel to be held, the hollow body including an access slot for insertion of the consumable vessel.