Interlocking beverage holders
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wine racks are cumbersome to disassemble for transport or storage and lack self-contained temperature control for maintaining desirable beverage temperatures, especially in varying ambient conditions.
Innovation Solution
Interlocking beverage holders with arcuate, tongue-and-groove-type connectors and a refrigerant, such as carboxymethylcellulose, that chill beverages and can be easily assembled and disassembled to form a storage rack with a desired capacity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If conventional wine racks are used to store multiple wine bottles, then beverage storage capacity is provided, but the racks are bulky and cumbersome to disassemble for transport or storage
Solution Approach 1:
The wine rack is divided into multiple individual holder units, each capable of storing one beverage container. These modular holders can be easily separated and recombined, allowing the rack to be disassembled into compact individual units for transport or storage while maintaining the capacity to hold multiple bottles when assembled.
2Quantity of substance
If conventional wine racks are used for storage, then beverage storage is enabled, but the racks are exposed to ambient conditions that maintain wine at undesirable serving temperatures
Solution Approach 1:
The invention combines the beverage holder structure with an integrated refrigerant reservoir within each holder unit. This merging of storage and temperature control functions allows each holder to independently maintain chilled temperatures for its stored beverage, protecting against ambient temperature variations without requiring external cooling systems.
3Quantity of substance
If conventional wine racks are used, then beverage storage is provided, but extreme or varying ambient temperatures can ruin perishable beverages
Solution Approach 1:
The refrigerant reservoir is integrated within each holder unit, combining temperature control functionality directly with the storage structure. This ensures reliable temperature maintenance for each beverage container independently, protecting against ambient temperature extremes without requiring external cooling infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
Each holder unit contains its own refrigerant reservoir and cooling capability, making the system self-sufficient for temperature control. The holders can be pre-chilled individually and will maintain their beverages at proper temperatures during transport or storage without requiring external power sources or active cooling systems.
4Ease of operation
If modular beverage holders are used to allow easy disassembly, then ease of assembly and disassembly is improved, but numerous components make the device cumbersome to erect and disassemble
Solution Approach 1:
The connector mechanisms are integrated directly into the holder structure itself, combining the holder body with the interlocking features. This eliminates separate connector components and reduces the total number of parts, allowing holders to be quickly assembled and disassembled by simple interlocking motions without requiring additional fasteners or complex assembly procedures.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution allows for quick assembly and disassembly, maintains beverages at a low temperature, and can be compactly stored, addressing the issues of bulkiness and temperature control in existing wine racks.
Implementation Method 1
Each block contains a refrigerant that chills to an extremely low temperature when placed within a freezer to cool a beverage stored within the beverage receptacle
Implementation Method 2
Each block contains a refrigerant that chills to an extremely low temperature when placed within a freezer to cool a beverage stored within the beverage receptacle
Data Source
AI summary
Interlocking, detachable beverage holders each include a block having a central beverage receptacle that is dimensioned and configured to receive and conform to a wine bottle or similar container. The beverage receptacle is defined by a continuous inner wall having a plurality of ribs longitudinally positioned thereon that stabilize a stored container. Each block exterior includes a plurality of protrusions, notches, rims and concave cleats that seamlessly intermesh with those of other blocks allowing multiple blocks to be interconnected like jigsaw puzzle pieces. Each block contains a refrigerant that reaches a frigid temperature when placed within a freezer to chill a beverage stored within the beverage receptacle.