Finned beverage containers having narrowed portion

Abstract

Disclosed herein are beverage bottles having a bottle body including a narrowed portion, the narrowed portion dividing the volume of the bottle body between a first portion including fins and a second portion containing a majority of volume. Bottles may also include one or more of: fins that are molded in, attached individually or in a finned section; a base section adapting a finned bottle for transport in a track or conveyor of bottling machinery; aerodynamic noses and nosecones, attachable to the neck or bottom of a bottle or other location, optionally holding an object, prize or additive, also optionally acting as a stand; a production sleeve permitting transport through a track or conveyor; and noses, fins and finned sections that are reversible. Detailed information on various example embodiments of the inventions are provided in the Detailed Description below, and the inventions are defined by the appended claims.

1 . A throwable beverage product capable of being processed through a tracked bottling machine, comprising:
 a bottle body having a bottom, a wall and an interior, and wherein said body interior is capable of holding a beverage;   a neck incorporated in said bottle body, said neck including an opening through which a beverage may be placed into or removed from said interior;   fins incorporated within the wall of said bottle body, said fins providing for aerodynamic guidance of said body as said body travels through the air in a direction defined by a vector starting from said bottom and to said neck;   wherein said bottle body includes a narrowed portion, further wherein said narrowed portion divides the volume of said bottle body between a first portion including said fins and a second portion, and further wherein said bottle body is configured to contain a majority of volume in said second portion;   a cap portion having a seal fitted to seal said neck and provide enclosure for said interior; and   a nose, said nose being separable and attachable to said bottle body, optionally by way of said cap portion, said nose providing for a covering of said bottle body when attached to said bottle body.   
     
     
         2 . A throwable beverage product according to  claim 1 , wherein said nose is adapted to attach to an uncapped bottle. 
     
     
         3 . A throwable beverage product according to  claim 2 , wherein said nose is adapted to attach to an uncapped bottle using threads. 
     
     
         4 . A throwable beverage product according to  claim 3 , wherein said nose includes said cap portion, and further wherein said nose when attached on said neck, acts as a cap. 
     
     
         5 . A throwable beverage product according to  claim 1 , wherein said nose is adapted to attach to a capped bottle. 
     
     
         6 . A throwable beverage product according to  claim 5 , wherein said nose is adapted to attach to a capped bottle using an attachment method selected from the group consisting of slip-fit, friction fit and detents. 
     
     
         7 . A throwable beverage product according to  claim 1 , wherein said body includes an attachment feature, whereby said nose is adapted to attach to said body using said attachment feature, and wherein the attachment feature is selected from the group consisting of a lug, a ridge and a flute. 
     
     
         8 . A throwable beverage product according to  claim 1 , wherein said nose is adapted to cover said neck of said bottle body when attached to said bottle body. 
     
     
         9 . A throwable beverage product according to  claim 1 , wherein in the throwing configuration of said product, said nose has a mass that biases the balance of said product toward the nose. 
     
     
         10 . A throwable beverage product according to  claim 1 , wherein said nose is fashioned from a pliable material. 
     
     
         11 . A throwable beverage product according to  claim 1 , wherein said nose is fashioned from a stiff material. 
     
     
         12 . A throwable beverage product according to  claim 1 , further comprising an object, wherein said nose includes a cavity for holding said object. 
     
     
         13 . A throwable beverage product according to  claim 12 , wherein said object is selected from the group consisting of prizes, toys, messages, identifiers, beverage additives and colorants. 
     
     
         14 . A throwable beverage product according to  claim 1 , wherein said body further includes recesses, wherein said body has a stackable configuration whereby two of said bodies may be stacked together, and further wherein in that stacking one of the fins of one of said bottles fits into said recess formed in the other of said bottles. 
     
     
         15 . A throwable beverage product according to  claim 1  further comprising a production sleeve adapted for transport through a track or conveyor, said sleeve being further adapted for insertion of said bottle body in a fins-first position whereby said neck is held in a fixed external position relative to the outside of said production sleeve. 
     
     
         16 . A throwable beverage product according to  claim 15 , wherein said production sleeve further comprises a feature configured to prevent the rotation of said bottle body in said sleeve. 
     
     
         17 . A throwable beverage product according to  claim 16 , wherein said feature is selected from the group consisting of ribs, channels, pins and separators. 
     
     
         18 . A throwable beverage product according to  claim 1 , wherein the attachment of said nose to said body is selected from the group consisting of threads, snaps, ridge and flutes, lug and hole, adhesives and friction fits. 
     
     
         19 . A throwable beverage product according to  claim 1 , wherein the shape of said nose is selected from the group consisting of pointed, rounded and flattened shapes. 
     
     
         20 . A throwable beverage product capable of being processed through a tracked bottling machine, comprising:
 a bottle body having a bottom, a wall and an interior, and wherein said body interior is capable of holding a beverage;   a neck incorporated in said bottle body, said neck including an opening through which a beverage may be placed into or removed from said interior;   fins incorporated within the wall of said bottle body, said fins providing for aerodynamic guidance of said body as said body travels through the air in a direction defined by a vector starting from said bottom and to said neck;   wherein said bottle body includes a narrowed portion, further wherein said narrowed portion divides the volume of said bottle body between a first portion including said fins and a second portion, and further wherein said bottle body is configured to contain a majority of volume in said second portion;   a cap portion having a seal fitted to seal said neck and provide enclosure for said interior; and   a nose, said nose being separable and attachable to said bottle body, optionally by way of said cap portion, said nose providing for a covering of said bottle body when attached to said bottle body, further wherein said nose is attachable to the bottom of said body.