BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of Invention

[0002] The subject invention is generally related to clips and hangers associated with bottles and containers. Particularly, the subject invention is related to mass packaged commercial containers and bottles such as sport drink bottles and the like. Specifically, the subject invention is directed to bottle closures or caps and clips associated with the same.

[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0004] Closures comprise all sorts of devices including for example-flat cap closures such as those found on brown chemical bottles, sodas and vitamin bottles; foil adhesive closures to be peeled or punctured such as those found on juice containers and the like; dispensing closures such as those found on popular sport water bottles and sport drinks; retractable spouts having pivot handles to pull the spout from a recessed closed position to an open dispensing position; and the like. Dispensing closures and caps comprise screw-type, pull-push, hinged and various other configurations. The closures and of the prior art are generally designed with the primary purposes of sealing the container, retaining the seal when pressurized, and in many cases providing a convenient means for dispensing the contents without removing the cap. Often the term cap is used interchangeably for the term closure. These closures may or may not include various tamper evidence features.

[0005] Over the years, containers having dispensing closures have become popular for drinks such as bottled water, sports drinks, fruit juices and the like. In many cases it has become desirable to be able to carry these drinks with the user as he/she participates in various activities such as walking, hiking, jogging, bike riding and the like. It is also desirable that the hands remain free during such “on the go” activities. Numerous configurations of clips and hangers for bottles and containers have been developed. Vinarsky U.S. Pat. No. 5,597,087 discloses a sport bottle having an integral clip manufactured directly into the bottle. Vinarsky U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,285 shows a hanger-clip accessory for a sports bottle. Stark U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,238 shows a beverage can holder having a clip. Walker U.S. Pat. No. DES 404,643 shows a bottle carrier clip accessory. Green U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,857, Hayashi U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,783, Markson U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,973, Thompson U.S. Pat. No. 4,273,246 and Arnold U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,152 each show bottle holders with a friction mount bottle holder. Edelman et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,304,039 discloses a replacement cap for a toothpaste tube having a hanger bracket for hanging the toothpaste tube in a toothbrush rack. More recently, AquaHook Company of Huntington Beach, Calif. has introduced a new Aqua-Clip hanger of the type comprising a friction mount bottle holder as disclosed in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. Nos. DES 404,643; 4,631,783; 5,301,857; 5,573,12 and 5,960,973.

[0006] There are three significant disadvantages present in the prior art configurations. Specifically, the devices are not economically adaptable into standard mass application bottling equipment (suitable only as an after market item), and/or the devices do not provide secure attachment means for “on the go” user requirements, and/or the devices require reconfiguration of the bottle itself.

[0007] After market designs, such as those that engage the neck of the bottle and others, are not economically adaptable into existing standard mass application bottling equipment due to several factors. These factors include the extra cost of manufacturing the additional device, physical limitations of the currently preferred materials, prohibitive investments in mass application equipment, the inefficiency of slower running bottling lines secondary to accommodating the new device, and interference with packaging/handling practices. Therefore, they require separate purchases and also require the user to keep track of the device independently of the container.

[0008] On the go devices, important as a central theme of the instant patent application, preclude hanger and bracket configurations. Hanger configurations such as 5,676,285 are not suited for suspension except to stationary objects. Bracket configurations such as 3,304,039 are not suited for attachment universally, but require a corresponding and exactly matching independent receptacle in order to function securely.

[0009] Finally, clip designs integral to the bottle itself require very costly reconfiguration of the basic bottle design, manufacture and material selection. This would require the bottle manufacturer to scrap or modify existing tooling and practices to a degree that the project would become practically and economically unfeasible.

[0010] With specific reference to Vinarsky U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,285 and Edelman U.S. Pat. No. 3,304039, it will be noted that both of these patents rely on a cap or closure with an addition that creates an attachment means. Vinarsky teaches a gravity dependent hook addition suitable for hanging bottles from stationary supports or brackets. It does not utilize the space between the clip and the bottle as an attachment area in a coacting relationship and would not be suitable for on-the-go sport bottles.

[0011] Edelman teaches a tab/slot bracket concept and requires a corresponding and mated slot to engage the tab cap addition. As with Vinarsky, this is not a coacting, on-the-go design.

[0012] These disadvantages have prevented widespread acceptance of the clips on sport drink type containers even though the concept is generally accepted as desirable.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0013] The subject invention is directed to bottle closure/clip designs that

[0014] 1) permit the clip to be mass applied economically as an integral component of the initial product offering,

[0015] 2) provide a secure attachment means for on the go user needs,

[0016] 3) do not require reconfiguration of the existing bottle.

[0017] The basic concept of the subject invention is the reconfiguration of the closure design to include an integrated clip in the closure. The terms closure and cap are used interchangeably throughout this disclosure and should not be considered to be limiting. The closure may be designed to fit on standard bottle constructions and standard application machinery. The clip may be either an integral feature of a closure, an integral feature of a reconfigured closure or may be an add-on, adapted to be secured to an existing or reconfigured closure. In the preferred embodiments the integrated clip is part of the closure mold. The add-on clip is frictionally mounted, threaded, sonic-welded or otherwise glued or secured to a closure design. A significant advantage to these designs is that the bottle container is not altered and may be manufactured, filled, labeled and processed using existing equipment. The cap is then secured to the bottle with the integral clip, or the clip can be added as a downstream step after the bottle is closed and sealed. This permits the option of adding the clip to the original product at a minimum of expense to the manufacturer. It is important to preserve this sequence in order to assure that such clips can be applied in a standard bottle-manufacturing fill-line using standard bottling equipment with little modification. It is also important that the clip be of a configuration permitting the use of industry standard high-speed in-line and/or chuck-automated cappers.

[0018] In the preferred embodiments of the instant invention the clip is mounted directly on the cap as part of the initial mold either fully activated or including a live hinge. Live hinges allow the clip to be stowed in such a fashion as to be out of the way for bottle processing, capping, packaging and storage, only to be activated when the clip is placed in use. Stowed clips in this fashion can also provide a handle feature to the closure for easier handling.

[0019] In alternative embodiments, the clip can be as a separate mounted piece that is friction, snapped, welded, glued, threaded, and so forth on the closure separately.

[0020] In another embodiment the clip may be held in place between the cap and the bottle. The clip is versatile in design and may be used in connection with snap-caps, threaded caps, dispensing caps, flat caps and the like.

[0021] The clip itself can be any of a plurality of numerous desirable configurations depending upon intended application. It can include a friction-clip for securing the bottle tightly to a belt or article of clothing. It can be open, permitting the clip to bottle to hang over a handle bar or the like. It can be of a hook configuration, or can contain an eyelet for hanging on a hook or similar mounting mechanism. The clip can have various shapes and geometry aiding attachment, serving as advertising space or relaying information of one sort or the other.

[0022] It is, therefore, an object and feature of the subject invention to provide a bottle clip for use in connection with bottle and sport-drink containers and the like.

[0023] It is a further object and feature of the subject invention to provide a clip that can be installed on a standard container in a standard assembly line/filler system with a minimum of modification to the assembly process.

[0024] It is a further and object of this invention to provide a secure clip attachment means for on the go user needs.

[0025] It is also an object and feature of the invention to provide a clip that can be adapted to a standard container without modification of the container.

[0026] It is an additional object and feature of the invention to provide a clip that can be stowed for shipping and storage and later activated when placed in use.

[0027] Other objects and features of the invention will be readily apparent from the accompanying drawing and detailed description of the preferred embodiments.