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(11) | EP 1 352 849 A2 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Thermally insulated container for a bottle |
| (57) A bottle container, comprising a thermally insulating tubular element (6), which
is provided with a closed bottom and an open top (8) and inside which the body of
a bottle (B) can be inserted at least partially, and a tubular jacket (9), provided
with at least one transparent portion, for covering the outer lateral surface (10)
of the tubular element and in which the lower end (9a) and the upper end (9b) are
open, the tubular element (6) being inserted substantially coaxially and detachably
in the jacket (9). |
[0002] It is known that the optimum drinking temperature of some alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages is approximately six to eight degrees Celsius.
[0003] The reasons can be the most disparate: from the personal pleasure of enjoying a cool beverage to the need to preserve some of the properties of the beverage, such as its taste, odor and fragrance, or to limit the loss of the gaseous substances that are typical of carbonated beverages.
[0004] The method most commonly used to keep beverages chilled is to store the bottles in a refrigerator until shortly before drinking them, and then serve them in buckets filled with ice.
[0005] As an alternative, thermally insulating containers for bottles, similar to so-called thermos flasks, are known: they are cups or bottles that have a body with two walls separated by an interspace in which a vacuum is produced or a thermally insulating material or substance is introduced in order to limit the exchange of heat between the beverage contained therein and the outside environment.
[0006] In particular, glass bottles are known which are constituted by a vessel which has a closed bottom and tapers with an upper neck, in which there is a mouth for filling and for pouring the beverage, and by a glass container in which the vessel is inserted coaxially up to the base of the neck.
[0007] An empty interspace remains between the container and the vessel and is optionally filled with insulating substances; at the base of the neck, the vessel and the container are mutually fixed so as to constitute a "monolithic" bottle.
[0008] The customization of these containers, cups and bottles of a known type with informational, advertising and commercial messages is currently performed by printing, for example by screen printing, the messages directly on their outer surface or by wrapping and pasting around them preprinted labels made of paper or polymeric films.
[0009] The messages imprinted directly on the outer surface of the containers, cups and bottles are permanent and cannot be modified at will; this makes such containers, cups and bottles obsolete and unusable if it is necessary to change the content of the messages.
[0010] The labels are instead exposed to the outside environment and are often subject to tearing, breakage and removal and to stains, dirt and humidity.
[0011] The aim of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, by providing a bottle container that can be customized in a simple manner with informational, advertising or commercial messages or with decorations that can be modified easily and are preserved unchanged and intact over time.
[0012] An object of the present invention is to provide a container that allows to thermally insulate the bottle effectively and to keep the beverage contained therein at the ideal temperature for drinking, has a simple constructive structure and can be easily manufactured in short times and at low costs.
[0013] Another object of the present invention is to provide a container that is commercially competitive and versatile and can also be used for bottles that contain widely consumed beverages without affecting significantly their production and marketing costs and adapts to the more or less refined style of the environments and tables where the various beverages are served.
[0014] This aim and these and other objects that will become better apparent hereinafter are all achieved by the present bottle container, characterized in that it comprises a thermally insulating tubular element, which is provided with a closed bottom and an open top and inside which the body of a bottle can be inserted at least partially, and a tubular jacket, provided with at least one transparent portion, for covering the outer lateral surface of said tubular element and in which the lower and upper ends are open, said tubular element being inserted substantially coaxially and detachably in said jacket.
[0015] Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become better apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of a bottle container, illustrated by way of non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Figure 1 is a schematic exploded perspective view of a container according to the invention; and
Figure 2 is a schematic general sectional view, taken along a longitudinal plane, of the container of Figure 1 with a bottle inserted therein.
[0016] With reference to the figures, the reference numeral 1 generally designates a container for a bottle B.
[0017] The bottle B is of a conventionally known type and comprises an internally hollow cylindrical body 2, which is closed in a lower region by a bottom 3 and tapers upward into a neck 4.
[0018] The neck 4 ends with an opening 5, through which a generic beverage is introduced in the body 2, where it is stored in order to be poured when it is consumed.
[0019] The container 1 comprises a thermally insulating tubular element 6, comprising a bottom closed by a base 7 and an open top 8, and inside which it is possible to insert at least partially the body 2 of the bottle B, and a tubular jacket 9, which is provided with at least one transparent portion for covering an outer lateral surface 10 of the tubular element 6.
[0020] A lower end 9a and an upper end 9b of the jacket 9 are open; the tubular element 6 can be inserted detachably, substantially snugly and coaxially, into the jacket 9, through its lower end 9a, while the upper end 9b is open in order to allow the insertion and extraction of the bottle B.
[0021] Customization markings, such as informational, advertising and commercial messages or decorations, can be formed between the outer lateral surface 10 of the tubular element 6 and the transparent portion of the jacket 9.
[0022] The customization markings can be formed directly on the outer lateral surface 10 of the tubular element 6 or, as an alternative, can be formed on a sheet or label 11 that is interposed between the jacket 9 and the outer lateral surface 10 of the tubular element 6; in any case, the markings are clearly visible and detectable from outside by way of the transparency of the jacket 9, are protected from the outside environment by the covering barrier constituted by the jacket 9, and can be easily modified and eliminated either by replacing the tubular element 6 with another one or by replacing the label 11 with another label or another covering sheet.
[0023] At the base of the tubular element 6 there is an abutment for the lower end 9a of the jacket 9, which is constituted by an annular abutment surface 12, which protrudes from the outer lateral surface 10 proximate to the base 7 and at which there is an interlock for the lower end 9a that is suitable to monolithically couple the assembled parts so as to form a single body.
[0024] Conveniently, the container 1 comprises a second thermally insulating tubular element 13, comprising a closed bottom 14 and an open top 15 and inside which it is possible to insert at least partially the body 2 of the bottle B; the second tubular element 13 can be inserted in the tubular element 6 substantially coaxially.
[0025] Advantageously, the second tubular element 13 is formed monolithically as a single body C with the jacket 9, the open top 15 of the second tubular element 13 being formed so that it coincides with the upper end 9b of the jacket 9, while between the outer lateral surface 16 of the second tubular element 13 and the jacket 9 there is an annular space 17 for accommodating the lateral surface of the tubular element 6. The tubular element 6 is inserted coaxially in the space 17 so that its outer lateral surface 10 is adjacent to the jacket 9, while between its inner lateral surface 18 and the outer lateral surface 16 of the second tubular element 13 there remains a thermally insulating interspace 19.
[0026] The interspace 19 slows heat exchange between the bottle B and the outside environment and generally contains air, but it might be filled at least partially with thermally insulating materials or substances.
[0027] Advantageously, the tubular element 6 and/or the second tubular element 13 are made of thermally insulating material such as a polymer, such as for example polystyrene, expanded polyurethane or the like, while the jacket 9 is made of clear plastic material.
[0028] The outer lateral surface 10 of the tubular element 6 and the jacket 9 have the shape of a prism-like polyhedron that has a pentagonal base, each face of which can be, if desired, differently customized, and one can be inserted substantially snugly in the other, while the second tubular element 13 is cylindrical.
[0029] In practice it has been found that the described invention achieves the intended aim and objects.
[0030] The container according to the invention in fact has a simple constructive structure and is manufactured in reduced times and at low costs.
[0031] The container according to the invention is therefore commercially competitive and versatile, and is adapted to be used for any kind of bottle, even for small quantities and even for bottles that contain widely consumed beverages, without affecting significantly their manufacturing and marketing costs.
[0032] The possibility to customize and style at will the container according to the invention allows not only to use it as a means for disseminating informational and/or advertising messages that can be perceived immediately by consumers, but also to give it an aesthetic appearance that matches the more or less refined style of the environments and tables where the various beverages are served.
[0033] The container according to the invention can be customized easily with messages and/or decorations which, by way of the presence of the covering jacket, are protected against the outside environment, remaining intact and unchanged; moreover, said messages and/or decorations can be modified or eliminated simply and rapidly by covering the tubular element with a covering sheet or by replacing the label wrapped around it.
[0034] Finally, the container according to the invention can be reused and customized several times, thus helping to reduce the volumes of waste to be disposed.
[0035] The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the inventive concept.
[0037] In practice, the materials used, as well as the shapes and the dimensions, may be any according to requirements without thereby abandoning the scope of the protection of the appended claims.
[0038] The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. MO2002A000087 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.
[0039] Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.
1. A bottle container, characterized in that it comprises a thermally insulating tubular element, which is provided with a closed
bottom and an open top and inside which the body of a bottle can be inserted at least
partially, and a tubular jacket, provided with at least one transparent portion, for
covering the outer lateral surface of said tubular element and in which the lower
and upper ends are open, said tubular element being inserted substantially coaxially
and detachably in said jacket.
2. The container according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises customization markings formed between said outer lateral surface of
the tubular element and said transparent portion of the jacket.
3. The container according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said markings are formed on said outer lateral surface of the tubular element.
4. The container according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said markings are formed on a sheet that is interposed between said jacket and said
outer lateral surface of the tubular element.
5. The container according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said tubular element comprises an abutment of said lower end of the jacket.
6. The container according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said abutment is constituted by an annular surface that protrudes from the outer
lateral surface of said tubular element proximate to its bottom.
7. The container according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said tubular element comprises an interlocking portion of said lower end of the jacket
which is formed proximate to said abutment.
8. The container according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises an additional tubular element, which has a closed bottom and an open
top and inside which it is possible to insert at least partially the body of said
bottle, said additional tubular element being insertable substantially coaxially in
said tubular element.
9. The container according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said jacket and said additional tubular element are formed integrally and monolithically
with the open top of said additional tubular element, which is formed so as to coincide
with said upper end of the jacket, an annular space for accommodating the lateral
surface of said tubular element being formed between the outer lateral surface of
said additional tubular element and said jacket.
10. The container according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a thermally insulating interspace that is formed in said annular space
between the inner lateral surface of said tubular element and the outer lateral surface
of said additional tubular element inserted therein.
11. The container according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one of said tubular element and said additional tubular element is made
of thermally insulating material, such as a polymer or the like.
12. The container according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said thermally insulating material is polystyrene or the like.
13. The container according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said thermally insulating material is expanded polyurethane or the like.
14. The container according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the outer lateral surface of said tubular element and said jacket have the shape
of a prism-like polyhedron.
15. The container according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said prism-like polyhedron has a pentagonal base.