Adaptive Drinkware.

Abstract

Vessels systems are disclosed which change their shape as a function of their environment. This can include adopting to the amount of fluid held by the drinkware or the surface upon which it resides. The drinkware is therefore designed well for reside on both flat and irregular surfaces. As mass is added or removed from a vessel portion, a support system provides features such as measure, signaling, increased stability, and associated entertainment value corresponding to such features. The support system can serve to lower the center of gravity of a vessel when it is relatively full compared to when it is relatively empty.

Description

[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. No. 60 / 913,824, entitled “Adaptive Drinkware”, filed Apr. 25, 2007.DESCRIPTION & BACKGROUND[0002]The invention is in the field of drinkware.[0003]Various types of specialized drinking vessels are commonly used, in our modern world. Often the designs of these vessels have been tailored with respect to the types of beverages they will hold. Due to the success of these designs, there have emerged some commonly recognized associations between particular drinking vessels and their usage. A wine glass, for example, is advantageous for the drinking of wine as its colorless transparent quality allows an individual to evaluate the bouquet of the wine, which is thought to relate to its value, it may be shaped to assist in smelling the wine and / or allowing the wine to breath, A “shot glass” is useful for the aiding the rapid distribution and consumption of measured quantities of undiluted alcohols. In the case of espresso style coffee, a very s...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]In one preferred embodiment the drinking vessel is realized with a base section that consists of a plurality of flexible rods. The rods are attached to the bottom of the vessel portion and are secured at an angle of between 10 and 50 degrees thereby forming a conical support structure. The rods may be of a flexibility that causes compression of the base section so that, the vessel portion changes its elevation at least once as a function of the amount of beverage held by the vessel. The rods may all be of the same length or may be of different lengths and may be advantageous when the vessel is placed on an irregular surface.

[0012]An object of the invention is to provide vessels whose shape changes after the time of manufacture. In some embodiments, base of the vessel can expand, compress, or slide and may thereby lower the center of gravity of the vessel for example when liquid is poured into the vessel portion. This can cause the advantage of making the vessel, less likely to spill due to tipping.

[0013]Another object of the invention is to provide a flexible and adjustable base for the vessel which can adopt to different contours such as rough or otherwise uneven support surfaces (e.g. sand).

[0015]Additional objects of the invention provide advantages such as increasing stability through various features such as base structures that adapt to the support surfaces. The support structures can also change their shape or form, as a function of, or in order to indicate, the level of liquid is the vessel. Changes in shape or form can be used to provide, initiate, or a change the state of a secondary feature such as turning on a light emitting a sound, or the like. The support structure(s) can expand in order to lower the center of gravity so that contents will not be less likely to spill.

Problems solved by technology

A martini glass for the drinking of martinis is somewhat arbitrary, yet many might become un-agreeable if served a martini in a wine glass.

This type of a design has limited utility and particular disadvantages.

These types of stabilizing systems are also of limited practicality since they require an additional object to function in conjunction with the drinking vessel, i.e. drinking holders are normally separate from drinking vessels.

While a person may put a lid on a coffee cop, the cup itself is not responsive to the amount of coffee within the cup.

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