Single serving beverage container used as a drinking vessel

Abstract

A single serving beverage container has a body having a first end, which in the drinking vessel serving position is at the top, and an opposite second end that functions as the base of the container. Accessible from the first end is a closure that can be opened and the second end is closed. The body defines a two-chamber interior cavity of a first predetermined volume for containing a beverage and a second adjacent volume for increasing the total useable container volume after the closure has been opened and for providing a drinking rim optimized to enhance the drinking experience.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A beverage container, comprising:
 a body having a first end, which in a drinking vessel serving position is disposed at a top of the container;   a second end opposite the first end, the second end forming a base of the container with the body defining a two-chamber interior, a first chamber of which has a predetermined volume for containing a beverage and a second chamber adjacent thereto defining an incremental volume chamber for increasing the total useable drinking vessel volume after a closure between the first and second chambers has been opened;   wherein the closure forms a liquid-tight seal between the first and second chambers when in place and has a removable opening enabling free flow of the container's contents between the two adjacent chambers when the closure has been opened; and   a drinking rim or lip on an uppermost end of the incremental volume chamber.   
     
     
         2 . A beverage container according to  claim 1 , wherein the second chamber is at least 15% of a volume of the first chamber 
     
     
         3 . A beverage container according to  claim 1 , wherein the first and second chambers are made as a single piece. 
     
     
         4 . A beverage container according to  claim 1 , wherein the first and second chambers are made from two or more pieces. 
     
     
         5 . A beverage container according to  claim 1 , wherein the closure element comprises a protective film. 
     
     
         6 . A beverage container according to  claim 5 , wherein the protective film is one of a metal foil film and a plastic film. 
     
     
         7 . A beverage container according to  claim 1 , wherein the closure is removably mounted to a substantially planar rim. 
     
     
         8 . A beverage container according to  claim 1 , wherein the closure is removably mounted to a sloped surface. 
     
     
         9 . A beverage container according to  claim 1 , wherein the closure is free to deform from a first position to a second position to accommodate the expansion of the container's contents before the closure is removed. 
     
     
         10 . A beverage container according to  claim 1 , wherein the closure comprises a cap that is mechanically and removably attached to a mating element on the body. 
     
     
         11 . A beverage container according to  claim 1 , wherein the closure is a plug that is removably compressed into the opening between the first and second chambers. 
     
     
         12 . A beverage container according to  claim 1 , wherein the closure comprises a canning jar type plate seal that is removably held in place with a threaded collar and mating element on an end of the first chamber. 
     
     
         13 . A beverage container according to  claim 1 , wherein the closure comprises a pull tab for removal thereof. 
     
     
         14 . A beverage container according to  claim 1 , wherein the second chamber is mounted in a reversed orientation with the drinking rim facing toward the first chamber when the closure is in place and wherein the second chamber and the closure are removable, and wherein the second chamber is reinstallable on the first chamber with the closure removed in an with the drinking rim oriented away from the first chamber. 
     
     
         15 . A beverage container according to  claim 1 , wherein a cover closure is provided at the open drinking rim end of the second chamber thereby creating an independent storage volume between the closure and the cover closure separate and distinct from the first chamber, wherein the independent storage volume is usable to contain a material separate from a material disposed in the first chamber. 
     
     
         16 . A beverage container according to  claim 15 , wherein the cover closure forms a tamper-resistant seal at the drinking rim end of the second chamber. 
     
     
         17 . A beverage container according to  claim 1 , wherein the size and shape of the first chamber is selected to fit within the top open end of the second chamber enabling vertical stacking of a plurality of containers. 
     
     
         18 . The beverage container of  claim 1  wherein the second chamber comprises an incremental volume chamber having an opening in a top end and a bottom end and comprising an attachments means, wherein the second chamber can be attached to an independent and separate single serving beverage container to create a clinking vessel with a continuous containment volume that is at least 115% of the volume of the separate single serving beverage container. 
     
     
         19 . A beverage container according to  claim 18 , wherein the attachment means comprises a sleeve made of compressible material that is frictionally held in place on the single serving beverage container, the single serving beverage container being substantially cylindrically shaped. 
     
     
         20 . A beverage container according to  claim 18 , wherein the attachment means comprises a threaded connection configured to mate with an existing threaded connection on the single serving beverage container. 
     
     
         21 . A beverage container according to  claim 18 , wherein the attachment means comprises a cylinder made of a flexible material and having a channel configured to mate with a top cylindrical rim of a beverage can. 
     
     
         22 . A beverage container according to  claim 18 , wherein the attachment means comprises a compressible rim on a bottom of the incremental volume chamber. 
     
     
         23 . A beverage container according to  claim 18 , wherein the incremental volume chamber has a circumferential marking to align with a non-symmetrical orientation of an opening on a beverage can. 
     
     
         24 . A beverage container according to  claim 18 , wherein the opening in the top end further comprises a removable closure. 
     
     
         25 . A method of preparing a beverage for being consumed from a single serving beverage container, comprising:
 opening a closure element between the single serving beverage container and an incremental volume chamber, wherein the incremental volume chamber has an opening in a top end and in a bottom end and is affixed to the serving beverage container to create a clinking vessel with a total volume that is at least 115% of a volume of the the songle serving beverage container.