Beverage Accessory and Method of Using Same

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 18/323,927 filed May 25, 2023 and entitled “BEVERAGE ACCESSORY AND METHOD OF USING SAME,” which is a continuation of International Application Serial No. PCT/US21/60705, filed Nov. 24, 2021, and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/118,154, filed Nov. 25, 2020, entitled “BEVERAGE ACCESSORY AND METHOD OF USING SAME,” the contents of each of which are fully incorporated as if fully set forth herein.

The present disclosure relates to devices and methods for serving beverages. More particularly the present disclosure relates to devices that couple to a bottle to aid in opening, holding, serving, containing and/or branding a beverage.

Beverages are often served in bottles, such as glass bottles. These bottles may come in various shapes and/or sizes, and in some cases, the shape of the bottle signals its contents. There are several common variations. For example, Bordeaux bottles are some of the most popular and have distinctively high shoulders and straight sides. Burgundy bottles have sloping shoulders and are generally used for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Alsace bottles are tall and slender. Sparkling wine bottles, such as those used for Champagne, have a rounded shoulder and a deep dimple at the bottom known as a “punt”. Port bottles are similar to Bordeaux bottles with high shoulders. Dessert bottles are often tall and thin. In addition to these traditional shapes, other shapes are also possible, including shapes for other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

Many of these bottles are difficult to hold or manipulate while serving. Additionally, the beverage may often drip down the side of the bottle while or after serving. Thus, it would be desirable to create accessories to aid in serving beverages from bottles.

In some examples, a bottle accessory includes a thermoplastic or thermoset body comprising a cylindrical portion and a cone-shaped portion, the cylindrical portion having an inner wall, an outer wall, and a well defined by the inner wall and the outer wall, and an absorbent ring disposed within the well.

Various embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the appended drawings. It is to be appreciated that these drawings depict only some embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope.

Despite the various improvements that have been made in the beverage industry, conventional devices and methods suffer from certain shortcomings such as those discussed above.

There therefore is a need for further improvements to the devices and methods used to serve beverages. Among other advantages, the present disclosure may address one or more of these needs.

illustrate a first embodiment of the disclosure wherein a bottle accessoryincludes a drip catcher A. Bottle accessorygenerally includes an elongated body. Bodymay be formed of a thermoplastic or thermoset material such as silicone, TPE, various plastics, elastomers and/or metals, and may be formed by injection molding or any other suitable manufacturing technique. In some examples, bodyis formed of an elastomeric material. In some examples, the elongated bodyincludes a generally cylindrical portion Pand a tapered portion P, the tapered portion Phaving a sidewallwith a gradually narrowing diameter. The wider end of the bodymay be disposed adjacent the open end of a bottle, while the narrower end of the bodymay be disposed closer to the bottom of a bottle. As shown, the cylindrical portion Pincludes a dual-wall configuration in which the body forms an inner wall, an outer wall, and a welldefined between the inner wall and the outer wall. In at least some examples, wellhas a width defined as the distance between the inner and outer walls, and a height that is suitable to accept another element.

Wellmay be a void configured and sized to accept an absorbent ringthat fits snugly within the cylindrical well (). Absorbent ringmay be formed of a liquid-absorbent material such as a sponge, foam, felt, cotton, etc. In at least some examples, absorbent ringis disposable, reusable and/or washable. Alternatively, absorbent ringmay be cleaned and reused. As shown, absorbent ringis generally cylindrical and complements the shape of the well. It will be understood that the wellitself may have different shapes (e.g., the well may be cone-shaped and have a narrowing diameter instead of a cylinder), and that the absorbent ringmay be modified to have a complementary shape to fit within the various well voids (e.g., cone-shaped, cylindrical, absorbent material, etc.).

illustrates bottle accessoryas it fits onto a bottle. As shown, the accessoryfits adjacent the opening of the bottle around the bottle's neck region. Bodyof accessorymay be elastomeric so that it provides a tight, fluid seal around the bottle and prevent liquid from passing between the accessoryand the bottle. The bottle may be tilted to serve the beverage and the bottle accessorymay catch dripping liquid that runs down the side of the bottle. Specifically, liquid that drips down the side of the bottle will be led into wellwhere it will be absorbed by absorbent ring. After the bottle is empty, the bottle accessorymay be removed from the bottle and reused.

illustrate another embodiment of a bottle accessory. In this example, accessoryincludes a bodyhaving a sidewall, an inner wall, an outer walland a wellto serve as a drip catcher Bsimilar to that described with reference to. Bodymay be formed of any of the materials discussed above. In this embodiment, bodyis extended down the side of the bottle along one side to include a flared end, the bodyforming a hollow shell that complements the shape of a bottle. Flared endmay extend down the side of the body close to the bottom of a bottle. In this example, bodymay incorporate a semi-annular, rimforming a grip portion Badjacent the flared endand projecting out from the body so that a user's fingers can manipulate the bottle. Grip portion Bmay allow for the fore, middle, ring, and/or pinky fingers to pull on opposing direction to the thumb which sits in the punt of the bottle to hold the bottle in tension therebetween. Though accessoryhas been shown with both the drip catcher Band the grip portion B, it will be understood that embodiments are possible that only incorporate one of these features. For example,illustrates an accessoryB that incorporates the grip portion only, but not the drip catcher.

A third example shown inillustrates an accessorythat incorporates a grip portion Cand a saber guide C. Accessoryincludes a bodyof the same material and in the shape of a hollow shell similar to that of accessorywith some exceptions. Notably, bodydoes not include a drip catcher feature, and terminates on the neck or shoulders of the bottle away from the finish of the bottle. A flared endis configured to extend along a first side of a bottle, the flared endincluding a projecting rimof grip portion Cfor the user's fingers. On an opposing side of the bodyis an elongated saber guide C. Saber guide Cmay be formed of a rigid material, such as thermoplastics, metal, wood and the like, and configured as a generally planar or curved armthat lays flat on a side of the bottle. Armmay be formed of a same or different material than the rest of the body. Saber guide Cmay be used to assist in a sabrage, a technique for opening a champagne bottle with a saber, sword, blade, knife, bottom of wine glass, metal credit card, any other suitable thin and hard material, etc. In at least some examples, the grip portion Cis spaced and sized so that the user places their index, middle, and and/or ring fingers on the grip portion, and their thumb at the bottom of the bottle at the punt of the bottle (see). With the bottle in hand and retained with the grip portion C, the user's second hand may glide a blade along the rigid saber guide to break the bottle at a seam between the neck and the lip of the bottle and serve the beverage.

A fourth example shown inillustrates an accessorythat incorporates a coupleable and removable grip portion C′ and a saber guide C′. Accessoryincludes a bodyof the same material and in the shape of a hollow shell similar to those previously discussed. A flared endis configured to extend along a first side of a bottle, the flared endincluding a projecting rimof grip portion C′ for the user's fingers. A separable, elongated saber guide C′ is provided that may be coupleable to body. Saber guide C′ may be formed of a rigid material, such as thermoplastics, metal, wood and the like, and configured as a generally planar or curved armthat lays flat on a side of the bottle. Armmay be formed of a same or different material than the rest of the body. Saber guide C′ may include a transverse channelfor coupling to body, the transverse channelbeing sized to receive a fixation portionof bodyand be made friction frit therewith. Saber guide C′ may be used to assist in a sabrage.

illustrate another embodiment of a bottle accessory. In this example, accessoryincludes a bodyhaving a sidewall. Bodymay be formed of any of the materials discussed above. In this embodiment, bodyincludes a continuous circular collar, and the body is extended down a side of the bottle along only one side to include a flared end, the bodyforming a hollow shell or sleeve that complements the shape of a bottle. Flared endmay extend down the side of the body close to the bottom of a bottle. In some examples, flared endmay circumferentially cover approximately ¼, ⅓, or ½ of a bottle while leaving the rest of the bottle exposed.

In this example, bodymay incorporate one or more of a plurality of semi-annular rimsforming a grip portion Dadjacent the flared endand projecting out from the body so that a user's fingers can manipulate the bottle. In some examples, rimsmay project from the body by 1/16, ⅛, ¼, ½, ¾ or 1 inch. In some examples, the rimsare curved so that their distal ends closer to the bottom of the bottle, while the midpoint between the distal ends is disposed closer to the collar. Additionally, below annular rims, a plurality of arched ribsare shown. In some embodiments, the ribsare arranged in two rows, each row having two ribs. It will be understood that rimsand/or ribsare optional and that variations are possible that include zero, one or a plurality of each of these elements. Grip portion Dmay allow for the fore, middle, ring, and/or pinky fingers to pull on opposing direction to the thumb which sits in the punt of the bottle to hold the bottle in tension therebetween.

In, another embodiment of a bottle accessory is shown. Accessoryis similar to accessorybut is slightly taller to accommodate longer bottles. It will be understood that the length of the accessory, the length of the flared end, the diameter of the collar and other dimensions may be slightly adjusted to accommodate different bottles. Additionally, the body of accessories,may be formed of a stretchable material to accommodate multiple sizes of bottles.

Although the invention herein has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it is to be understood that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and applications of the present invention. For example, any of the features described above may be used in any combination as desired. It is therefore to be understood that numerous modifications may be made to the illustrative embodiments and that other arrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

It will be appreciated that the various dependent claims and the features set forth therein can be combined in different ways than presented in the initial claims. It will also be appreciated that the features described in connection with individual embodiments may be shared with others of the described embodiments.