Foldable beverage receptacle

This application is a continuation in part of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/866,665, filed Oct. 3, 2007, entitled Insulated Beverage Receptacle, the contents of which are incorporated herein in their entirety.

The present invention relates to a foldable jacket or sleeve for a beverage container. The jacket can be formed from paperboard and secured to or as part of the paperboard container or case in which the beverages are normally offered for sale.

Insulated beverage container holders are well known in the art. The most popular is a sleeve made from foam which snugly surrounds a can. The foam sleeve normally covers 50% or more of the can thus insulating the can and beverage contained therein from the surrounding atmosphere. In the majority of instances the beverage is cold and the surrounding atmosphere is warm. The foam sleeve helps to keep the beverage cold during its consumption. Many companies utilize these insulated beverage holders for advertising purposes and provide them free of charge to their customers. An example of this type of insulated beverage container holder is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,293,015, issued to McGough. Another advantage of this type of container holder is that condensation from the beverage container is retained by the foam material of the holder and not transferred to the consumer or neighboring surfaces such as furniture.

Recently, insulated beverage container holders for bottles, in particular long neck beer bottles, have become available. These holders are usually equipped with a zipper or other fastener to secure the conforming shape of the holder around the neck of the bottle.

These prior art beverage container holders must be purchased or obtained separately from the purchase of the beverage containers. The consumer of these beverages must remember to bring these prior art container holders with them whenever they are consuming the beverages. They also must remember to bring the container holders home so they can be used again.

What is needed in the art is an insulated beverage container holder or sleeve which is supplied as part of the paperboard carton used for distribution of the beverage and does not need to be purchased separately from the beverages. Also, an insulated beverage container holder which is designed to be disposable with the package or carton in which the beverages are sold so that they do not have to be retained by the consumer for reuse.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,315, issued to Shelby discloses a collapsible beverage container holder which is formed from a single substantially rigid sheet of paperboard. The sheet is substantially rectangular and has two lateral opposite side edges. The sheet is also provided with a plurality of creases. The sheet is folded along the creases and the lateral edges are joined together to form a sleeve into which a beverage container can be placed, as illustrated in FIG. 1. A flap or bottom portion 34 is secured to sheet along the length thereof between two creases, as illustrated in FIG. 2. After the lateral edges are joined together, the free end of the bottom portion is secured to the sheet thereby forming a beverage container holder with a bottom. A layer of insulation material 62 can be bonded to the interior surface of the paperboard. This beverage container holder is designed to be used on an individual basis and not secured to other holders or beverage sales cartons.

A carton of the type in which a plurality of beverage containers are sold that can also be used as a cooler is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,863, issued to Arasim. When the carton is to be used as a cooler the beverage containers are removed from the carton. A plurality of panels which have been detachably secured to the carton are removed therefrom. Another panel formed on the side of the carton is removed thereform along three sides. The forth side remains secured to the carton. The plurality of other panels are attached to the side panel thus forming a bin with the carton, as shown in FIG. 4. The bin is then filled with ice and the beverage containers. The carton then acts as a cooler for the beverage containers. There are no individual insulated beverage container holders disclosed in this patent.

U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2003/0075549, filed by O\'Brien discloses an insulated jacket for a beverage can or bottle formed from bubble film. The jacket is made from a blank that is folded along one side and the edges secured together to form a cylindrical jacket for a beverage can or bottle as shown in FIG. 3. While this reference teaches the formation of individual insulated beverage container holders, there is not teaching in the application of a plurality of these jackets secured together or attached to the carton in which the beverages are offered for sale.

Therefore what is lacking in the art is an economical insulated holder for beverage containers which is provided with or as part of the carton in which the beverage containers are sold. Also, what is lacking is a plurality of insulated beverage container holders that are secured together such that one or more holders can be utilized. Finally, an economical insulated beverage container holder that requires little storage space and readily folds into its operative shape is lacking in the prior art.

A foldable insulated jacket for a beverage container is formed from the same material as that of the carton in which the beverages are sold. A plurality of the insulated jackets can be formed as a portion of the carton or as separate items removably secured to the carton. A layer of insulating material can be added to the material of the jacket to provide additional insulating properties for the jacket.

Accordingly, it is an objective of the instant invention to provide an insulating jacket for a beverage container which is foldable and formed from a portion of the paperboard container.

It is an additional objective of the instant invention to provide a plurality of foldable insulating jackets for beverage containers which are removably secured to the carton in which the beverage containers are sold.

It is a further objective of the instant invention to provide an insulating jacket for a beverage container wherein a plurality of insulating jackets are removably secured together as a portion of the paperboard carton and separated by perforations.

It is yet another objective of the instant invention to provide an insulating jacket for a beverage container formed with an additional layer of an insulating material.

It is a still further objective of the invention to provide a foldable insulating jacket for a beverage container which includes securable tabs for assembly.