There are many types of containers which also provide a drinking cup to facilitate drinking the liquid within the container. One example is the familiar vacuum flask with a screw-on drinking cup at the top of the flask. Another example is illustrated in US Patent 4,273,247 to Earls, which describes a bottle closure-cup assembly including a bottle with a rotatably removable cup. A further example is illustrated in US Patent 4,984,723 to Hsu, which describes a drinking cup removably attached to the bottom of a bottle.

OBJECTS AND BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a novel liquid beverage container of a construction which enables the container to be initially used as a bottle, but which may also be converted to a drinking cup if desired.

According to the present invention, there is provided a container for liquid beverages, comprising: a lower container section having a side wall, a closed bottom, and an open top; and an upper container section having a side wall, an open bottom, and a normally-closed pouring spout; the side wall of the upper container section being fixedly received over the open top of the lower container section to form therewith a container for a liquid beverage which may be dispensed through the pouring spout when opened; the upper container section being removable from the lower container section to convert the lower container section to a cup for drinking the container contents.

According to further features in one described preferred embodiment, the side wall of the upper container section is telescopingly received over the open top of the lower container section; also, the length of the side wall of the upper container section is less than one-half the length of the side wall of the lower container section.

According to additional features in the described preferred embodiment, the container further includes a sealing strip covering the lower end of the upper container section and the adjacent surface of the lower container section when the upper container section is telescopingly received thereover. Preferably, the sealing strip is formed with a weakened line around its circumference to permit it to be severed when removing the upper container section from the lower container section.

According to still further features in a described preferred embodiment, the pouring spout in the upper container section is defined by a neck of reduced diameter formed in the upper part of the upper container section and coaxial therewith. In this embodiment, the neck is formed with external threads, and is normally closed by an internally threaded cap.

According to a still further described preferred embodiment, the side walls of the upper and lower container sections may be provided with mating threads to permit separation of the upper container section from the lower container section by unthreading.

It will thus be seen that a container constructed in accordance with the foregoing features may be used as a conventional bottle for containing a liquid beverage and for pouring out its contents into a drinking glass or cup whenever desired; but may also be easily converted to a drinking cup by merely separating the upper container section from the lower container section so as to permit the lower container section to be used as a drinking cup.

Such a construction provides an important advantage over the prior art containers briefly described above, in that, by enabling the container itself to be converted to a drinking cup, it eliminates the need for providing a separate drinking cup attached to the normal container.

The novel construction also has important advantages over the conventional beverage can opened by a pull-out tab. Thus, the novel container provides for more convenient pouring of the container contents into a glass or cup since this may be done from the pouring spout, rather than from merely a small hole produced by the pull-out tab in the conventional beverage can. It also provides for more convenient drinking of the beverage directly from the container since this may be done by merely converting the container to a cup as described above and drinking therefrom in the conventional manner.

Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention is herein described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a simplified, exploded, pictorial illustration of the main parts of one form of container constructed in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 shows the container in its normal condition for use as a bottle; and Fig. 3 illustrates the container of Figs. 1 and 2 at the beginning of its conversion to a drinking cup.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The container illustrated in Figs. 1-3 is intended primarily for containing beverages in a manner permitting the beverage to be poured into a drinking glass or cup as in a conventional bottle but also permitting the container itself to be converted to a drinking cup if desired. The container may take any desired configuration, e. g., that of a conventional beverage bottle or that of a conventional beverage can. The configuration illustrated in Figs. 1-3 is merely an example.

The illustrated container, generally designated 10, is shown in Fig. 1 as constituted of a lower container section 12 having a side wall 13 closed by a bottom wall 14, and an open top 15; and an upper container section 16 having a side wall 17 closed by top wall 18. Top wall 18 is formed with a pouring spout 19 for pouring out the liquid contents of the container. In this case, the pouring spout is in the form of a neck 19 of reduced diameter and coaxial with the top wall 18.

Neck 19 is formed with external threads 20 normally closed by an internally threaded cap 21.

Side wall 17 of the upper container section 16 is dimensioned so as to be telescopingly received over the open top of the lower container section 12 to form with it a container for a liquid beverage which may be dispensed through the pouring spout 19 when opened. The upper container section 16, however, is removable from the lower container section 12 to permit the lower container section to be converted to a cup for directly drinking the container contents, if desired.

Preferably, the length of side wall 17 of the upper container section 16 is less than one-half the length of side wall 13 of the lower container section 12; in this case, side wall 17 is approximately one-third the length of side wall 13.

Also, the upper edge 13a of the lower container section is preferably constructed as a cup rim to facilitate drinking therefrom when the container is converted to a cup.

As seen particularly in Figs. 2 and 3, a sealing strip 24 covers the lower end of the upper container section 16 and the adjacent surface of the lower container section 12 when the upper container section is telescopingly received over the lower container section. Sealing strip 24 firmly secures the two container sections to each other and also seals the abutting edges. Sealing strip 24 may be peeled away when the upper container section 16 is to be removed to convert the lower container section 12 to a cup. Sealing strip 24 may be formed with a weakened line, as shown at 25 in Figs. 2 and 3, around its circumference to permit it to be severed when the upper container section 16 is to be removed and the lower container section 12 is to be used as a drinking cup.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the lower end of side wall 17 in the upper container section 16 is formed with internal threads mating with external threads formed in side wall 13 of the lower container section 12. In such a construction, the two sections may be firmly held together by the threads, but preferably a sealing strip 24 is also applied for sealing purposes.

In another alternative embodiment, the upper container section 16 may be hingedly attached to the lower container section 12.

According to a still further embodiment, the lower container section 12 may be made of a rigid material, such as a rigid plastic or metal, and the upper section may be made of a plastic material, such as a flexible plastic.

It will be seen that a container constructed in accordance with the foregoing features may be used as a conventional bottle, or may be converted for use as a conventional cup. Thus, when used as a conventional bottle, the pouring spout 20 facilitates pouring out the contents of the container into a glass or cup for drinking; and when converted to a cup, the upper edge 13a (Fig. 1) of the lower container section 13 serves as a rim to facilitate drinking.

While the invention has been described with respect to several preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that these are set forth merely for purposes of example, and that many other variations, modifications and applications of the invention may be made.