BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION Often beverages are held in cans or bottles and persons take the cans on recreational vehicles such as fishing boats, motor cycles and cars. Frequently, there is nowhere to conveniently sit a can once opened and, any seemingly stable surface, such as a seat, may become unstable without notice causing-spillage of the contents of the can.

Cars are typically equipped with consoles or glove compartments that have drink can recesses but these quite often are not easy to reach or are otherwise not conveniently positioned for individual use or individual preference. They are frequently formed as a secondary element of some other functioning part. They are not always stable, for example, the inside of a glove compartment door may be used but this is prone to bounce. In addition many drink holders do not present the entry to the holder as convenient as perhaps might otherwise be the case. Often entry is easier from one side due to various side fitting and brackets. A patent literature search demonstrates that the field of drink holders is enormous the following being exemplary.

US Patent 5,522,527 to TSAI describes a beverage container fixing device for a bicycle that is fitted by a tube clamp to a bicycle bar. The device is able to fold

away, it has a back plate connected to the clamp, a base hinged to the back plate and a hoop hinged to the back plate near its top, when the hoop and base are swung out at 90 degrees to the back plate a drink container may be placed on the base and surrounded by the hoop. The orientation of the drink is fixed due to the construction of the device, while it is possible to rotate the device when first installed, this rotation is only about the axis of the tube clamp. The folding of the device relies on the hinges being in planes parallel to the back plate and the base and hoop being essentially planar so that the folding may occur. This means the device is only properly operable in one fixed position, namely when the base and hoop are set at 90 degrees to the back plate.

US Patent 4, 887, 784 to KAYALI describes an adjustabledrink holderthat has the hoop and base structure of TSAI but has greater adjustability. The holder includes a back plate with a pivot mounting in the centre of the back plate. The pivot mounting is also pivotally mounted, the pivot axes being orthogonal. While this set up provides two degrees of movement of the back plate the purpose is not to enable flexibility of positioning the drink container but rather to enable the holder to be folded relative to a spring clamp so that the spring camp may be used to secure the drink holder to vertical or horizontal edges while a drink remains upright.

WO 95/09555 to VINAL describes a drink holder employing three spaced wire circular rings and a fourth and lowermost ring is smaller to function as a base supporting a drink can surrounded by the rings. The rings are all connected to a spine. The spine has retractable stakes that may be driven into the ground or a tube

clamp adjacent to the uppermost ring may be used to clamp the spine to a tube.

The tube clamp is mounted on a pivot so the spine may rotate thereby rotating the drink position about a horizontal axis.

WO 97/06030 to ZIMMERMAN describes a tray for the dashboard of a car, the tray has a supporting pedestal hinged to the tray, the pedestal is fitted to the dash and the tray may be pivoted to make it level, the tray has drink holders of the type employing a hoop above the tray as in TSAI and KAYALI.

US Patent 5,190,257 to GRADEI describes a drink holder as a can sized wire basket free to swing on a swing bracket for mounting purposes, regardless of the position of the swing bracket the basket always adopts a vertical position.

US Patent 3,734,439toWINTZdescribes adrink holderswing basket similar to GRADEI but with a different mounting bracket.

US Patent 3,317,171 to KRAMER describes a drink holder for different diameter containers, the holder has an L-shaped bracket and a fork shaped clamp that slides in and out on the bracket operating as a guide, a thumb screw is used to lock the fork shaped clamp around the container.

US Patent 5,251,777 to MCMAHON describes a proprietary shaped drink bottle having longitudinal slots which engage a C-shaped bracket functioning as a holder. The invention has no general application to other containers.

GB 2316297 to O'CON NELL describes a cup fitted with a detachable spigot that can be pushed into the ground or into a clip or bracket or other support that has hole to receive the spigot. There is no adjustment between the support and spigot receiver.

US Patent 4,844,399 to HARM describes a drink holder arrangement for a golf bag cart having two holders projecting on opposite sides of the golf cart, the holders are fitted at opposite ends of a common shaft and are free to swing on the shaft to keep the holders upright.

US Patent 2,926,879 to DIETRICH describes a tumbler holder having a base and a hoop connected by rods, the hoop being mounted on a C-shaped bracket by pivot pins so the holder is free swinging to remain upright.

All these arrangements are suitable for holding a drink container and they demonstrate the wide variety of innovations that have been made in this field they all tend toward complex fittings are not compact and not robust. The holders tend to be designed for specific applications and consequently lack flexibility or universal appeal.

While in each case a cylindrical drink container may be fairly easily placed into the holder, the holder aperture is not presenting itself for ease of entry as may be required in emergencies as might be experienced while fishing or in other activities where quick stowage of the drink container might be required and a more convenient arrangement would be preferred. In addition setting of holder position as might suit different individual preferences is generally not available.

OUTLINE OF THE INVENTION The present invention has as a primary object the provision of a beverage container holder that provides a useful alternative to the prior art.

The present invention has as a further object the provision of a beverage container holder adapted for use in a mobile environment where stable surfaces are not usually available.

The invention has as a still further object a provision of a beverage container holder that is suitable to be mounted on a non-horizontal surface and is able to be adjusted to suit individual users'needs and desires.

In one aspect the invention resides in a beverage container holder having a housing adapted to hold a beverage container, a pivot arm assembly comprising a housing connection, a pivot and a mounting means connected to the pivot, the housing having a front entry through which the container is inserted along a line of travel into the housing, the housing projecting from the pivot arm, the pivot arm being connected to the housing behind the housing opposite the front entry, the pivot being adapted to allow the holder to pivot so a user may set the line of travel of a container into the holder relative to a support on which the holder is mounted via the mounting means, the pivot being manually securable against further pivot at the user selected line of travel.

The housing is typically cup shaped although any housing able to hold a generally cylindrical beverage container such as a can is suitable. The housing can be insulated or double walled for insulation effect. The housing typically has a base and a side wall. The side wall preferably has a tapered lead in defining the front entry to the housing. The housing is typically sized to fit standard drink containers including cans and bottles. A compressible insert or sleeves of varying sizes may be used to customise the inside diameter to suit a user's preference for container

size so typically the housing has an inside diameter larger than or equal to the largest container and sleeves are selected to give a tight fit. The sleeves may typically fit to the container and be removable with the container in use.

The pivot arm may be made from a number of articulated linkages but is preferably compact and relatively small compared to the housing so the housing appears to effectively conceal the arm or at least give visual predominance to the housing and its entry giving the appearance that the housing is projecting from a support on which it is mounted via the mounting means.

The pivot arm is preferably formed from a flange projecting from the housing, a pivot link and the mounting means, the flange projecting from the base of the housing, and having a hole for a pivot pin, the pivot link having at least one hole aligned with the hole in the flange, the pivot pin passing through the holes in the flange and the pivot link, the pivot link and the flange being securable in a selected position using a fastener. Typically, the pivot pin is threaded and doubles as the fastener, the pivot link being fork shaped and one of its holes being threaded, the pivot pin thread engaging the thread in pivot link to clamp the pivot link to the flange so they may be manually tightened to lock the pivot in the selected position.

The mounting means can vary depending on the nature of the surface to which it is to be mounted. If it is to be mounted to a rail then a rail mounting is preferred, if to a flat surface then a surface mounting is preferred.

Preferably the mounting means comprises a clamp to enable the holder to be clamped to a rail or the like.

In one preferred embodiment the beverage container holder is used in combination with an air, land or sea vessel, the beverage container holder having a housing adapted to hold a beverage container and an arm having a pivot mounting adapted to al low the holder to pivot while the housing projects from the arm.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order that the present invention can be more readily understood and be put into practical effect, referencewill nowbe madetothe accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention and wherein: Figures 1 to 3 are drawings illustrating application of the present invention to a fishing dinghy, a motor cycle and a car respectively; Figure 4 is an exploded view illustrating a typical housing and two typical mountings, a rail mounting and a surface mounting; and Figure 5 is a side view illustrating portable application of the present invention to a rail mounting illustrating the invention fully assembled and mounted to a vertical rail by a rail clamp.

METHOD OF PERFORMANCE Referring to the drawings and initially to Figure 1, there is illustrated a fishing boat 10 having two fishermen seated in the boat 10, the boat having a hull 11, an outboard motor 12 at the stern and hand rails 13,14 and 15 which, in this case, provide suitable mounting sites for portable beverage container holders 16 in accordance with the invention. The container holders illustrated are of the form illustrated in Figure 5 and will be described below in greater detail.

Figure 2 illustrates application of the present invention to a motor cycle where a similar beverage container holder 16 is mounted to the handle bars 17 of the motor cycle 18. As can be seen in each case in relation to Figures 1 and 2 the position of the beverage container holders being adjustable and totally portable enables the persons using the beverage container holders in relation to the vehicle and in combination therewith to position the beverage container holder according to their own personal customised needs.

The same applies in Figure 3. In Figure 3 it is not uncommon for the vehicle 19 illustrated by way of its interior to have a drink container holder located within the console 20. This is not always convenient since the console is often used for other purposes. In the illustration of Figure 3, the driver of the vehicle has selected to utilise a separate beverage container holder 21 according to the present invention to suitably position the beverage container holder for the driver's own convenience and customised use. Another driver may prefer an eye level mounting position on the dash and so on, the options are many.

In each of the drawing Figures 1,2 and 3, the beverage container holders comprise a housing mounted on a pivot mounting to be described below.

It will be apparent that the pivot mounting to the base is multifunction, not only does the pivot mounting enable the drink container to be securely located in a generally vertical orientation relative to an inclined surface upon which the mount may be secured, but it also allows the user to"fine tune"the holder, to position the holder through a range of angles so that the can, if desired, may be angled slightly back toward the seating position of the user to facilitate ease of access and entry

and removal of the can from the housing. The entry of a container into the holder is made easier by the way the housing effectively projects from its mounting arm.

Referring now to Figure 4, there is illustrated in exploded view, a beverage container holder 22 having a housing 23 which is of generally cylindrical form including a base 24, a cylindrical side wall 25, an insulator 26 which may be removable, an arm having a bracket 27 projecting from the base 24, the bracket 27 being adapted to fit either pivot mountings 28 or 29 and be secured by way of a butterfly bolt 30. The pivot mounting 29 includes a surface mounting which is typical of the mounting illustrated in Figure 3 whereas the mounting 28 is a rail mounting which is typical of the mounting illustrated in Figures 1,2 and 5. It will be appreciated in relation to the rail mounting illustrated in Figure 5 that two butterfly bolts are utilised, one to tighten the rail clamp 31 and the other to secure the bracket 27 in the slot 32 of the mounting 28.

As illustrated in Figure 5, the bracket 27 may include suitable bracing or screws or be otherwise secured such as by welding to the base 24, braces being shown at 33, the housing 25 may be a double walled housing for insulation effect with a gap illustrated at 34, a can 35 being shown in position in Figure 5 and the rail mounting 28 is illustrated secured to a vertical rail 36. This is similar to the arrangement illustrated in the bow section of the boat of Figure 1.

Whilst the above has been given by way of illustrative example of the present invention many variations and modifications thereto will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the broad ambit and scope of the invention as set out in the appended claims.