Patent Application
20090321476
This application claims priority to, and incorporates by reference, Chinese Patent Application Number 2008-20120492, filed Jun. 26, 2008, under 35 U.S.C. § 119.
The present invention relates generally to the field of bottled water dispensers and, more particularly, to bottled water coolers having a leakage-proof bottle receptacle with a moving baffle.
The demand for clean and healthy drinking water is increasing dramatically, which is being driven by the rapid growth in population and standards of living across the globe. This demand has translated into a continuing need for safe, clean, and easy to use water dispensers, including for both hot and cold water.
Many of the currently-available water dispensers suffer from at least several drawbacks. More particularly, many of such water dispensers fail to employ adequate means and structures to prevent the undesirable heating of the water that is contained in the water bottle, during a hot water sterilization process. More particularly, many bottled water dispensers include both a cold water reservoir (i.e., a “cold water tank” or “cold tank”) and a hot water reservoir. It is common to periodically sterilize and clean such cold water reservoirs, which will become infected with bacteria and/or other microorganisms over time, by transferring hot water into the cold water reservoir for a period of time (to kill any such bacteria and/or other microorganisms that may be present therein). In many cases, the sterilizing hot water is transferred from the hot water reservoir into the cold water reservoir to carry out such process. In many of the prior art bottled water dispensers, the water contained within the water bottle is subject to the heat emitted by (and may even mix with) the hot water that is shunted into the cold water reservoir during a sterilization process, which results in the undesirable heating of the water contained within the water bottle.
Many of the prior art bottled water dispensers will utilize a moving baffle that is disposed near the bottom portion of the water receptacle, which closes a gate that prevents the above-described heating of the water contained within the water bottle. However, when the water level in the cold tank drops (i.e., when cold water is dispensed from the water dispenser), residual negative pressure within the cold tank reservoir will often prohibit water from smoothly running into and adequately back-filling the cold tank (the reservoir from which cold water is dispensed). In many cases, the moving baffle will “stick” to a portion of the receptacle, which does not allow such negative pressure to be adequately relieved from the water bottle.
As the following will demonstrate, many of the foregoing problems with currently-available water dispensers are addressed by the present invention.
According to certain preferred aspects of the invention, bottled water dispensers are provided that include a water bottle receptacle. The water bottle receptacle will preferably include a first and second floating baffle (with a hole disposed in the center portion of the second floating baffle), a probe disposed through an aperture (or one-way valve) located in the neck portion of the water bottle, a first set of seal rings located on an interior side of the receptacle (which receives the neck portion of the water bottle), a second set of seal rings located on the exterior side of the receptacle (which secure the water bottle cap to the receptacle), a third set of seal rings (which connect the probe to the bottom of the receptacle), a one-way valve located above the first floating baffle and opposite a vent hole, and a raised ring having a triangular cross-sectional shape that is located at the bottom portion of the receptacle—which makes contact with the second floating baffle when the water level in the cold tank of the dispenser has exceeded a certain threshold level (such as during a hot water sterilization procedure). When the second floating baffle contacts and is positioned against the raised ring having a triangular cross-sectional shape, the water contained within the water bottle will not be undesirably heated during, for example, a hot water sterilization procedure.
The invention provides that, in certain preferred embodiments, the second floating baffle will comprise a step-like ring which makes contact with the raised ring mentioned above. Preferably, the raised ring and the step-like ring of the second moving baffle will exhibit approximately the same diameter, thereby providing a continuous area for both rings to make contact with each other. According to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, the hole disposed in the center portion of the second floating baffle has a diameter of about 2-5 mm, such as about 4 mm. Still further, the invention provides that an air filtration sponge is preferably attached to an outside portion of the vent hole, such as an activated charcoal sponge.
The above-mentioned and additional features of the present invention are further illustrated in the Detailed Description contained herein.
The following will describe in detail several preferred embodiments of the present invention. These embodiments are provided by way of explanation only, and thus, should not unduly restrict the scope of the invention. In fact, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate upon reading the present specification and viewing the present drawings that the invention teaches many variations and modifications, and that numerous variations of the invention may be employed, used and made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.
Referring to
The bottled water dispensers further include a first floating baffle 5 and a second floating baffle 8. Another set of seal rings 12 connect the probe 6 to the bottom of the receptacle. The first floating baffle 5 is preferably hollow, and considerably larger than the second floating baffle 8, with the first floating baffle 5 being positioned above the second floating baffle 8. The invention provides that when the water level within the cold tank exceeds a certain minimum volume, the first floating baffle 5 is buoyantly forced upwards, which causes a one-way valve 11 to also be forced upwards and to close (plug) a vent hole 15 (through which air is allowed to escape from the dispenser when the water level is below such minimum volume). A disc 7 (located below the first floating baffle 5) is held in a stationary position and prevents the first floating baffle 5 from dropping below a certain point (when the water in the cold tank is depleted below such point). In certain preferred embodiments, the receptacle further comprises an air filtration sponge 10, such as an activated charcoal sponge, located outside of the vent hole 15. The filtration sponge 10 will preferably filter and remove contaminants from the air that is vented from the internal parts of the water dispenser. Although
The invention provides that the second floating baffle 8 will exhibit a relative low amount of buoyancy. In certain preferred embodiments, the second floating baffle 8 will be comprised of a material that is slightly less dense than water, such that it exhibits a minimal level of buoyancy. That is, the second floating baffle 8 will preferably be comprised of a material that exhibits a density of between 0.85-0.99 gm/cm3 or, more preferably, between 0.90-0.99 gm/cm3 or, still more preferably, between 0.95-0.99 gm/cm3. For example, in certain preferred embodiments, the second floating baffle 8 will be comprised of polypropylene, which has a density of about 0.95 gm/cm3.
The invention provides that during a hot water sterilization process, extremely hot water (e.g., about 90-degrees Celsius) will be transferred from a hot water tank within the dispenser into the cold water tank within the bottled water dispenser. The hot water will be allowed to incubate in the cold water tank for a period of time, such as for about one hour, to preferably kill any bacteria or other microorganisms that may be present in the cold tank. The bottled water dispenser preferably comprises a microprocessor which may instruct a valve within the dispenser to open, which causes the hot water to be transferred into the cold water tank. Following this sterilization process, the hot water in the cold water tank is preferably cooled by the activation of the cooling system connected thereto. More particularly, the cooling system (e.g., a coolant compressor and condenser) may be periodically activated and deactivated, such as for 15 minute activation and 15 minute deactivation cycles, so as to prevent the cooling system from being overworked and to avoid the overheating of the cooling system (which may otherwise result from the initially high temperature of the hot water contained within the cold tank).
The hot water transferred into the cold tank during the sterilization process may, without the employment of the present invention, undesirably heat the water contained within the water bottle (in view of the close proximity of the neck portion of the water bottle to the hot water). The invention provides that upon the cold tank being provided with a threshold volume of such hot water, the second floating baffle 8 will be buoyantly forced upwards and will close an opening between the neck portion of the water bottle and the internal parts of the dispenser, thereby preventing the water included within the water bottle from becoming heated by the hot water that is shunted into the cold tank during the sterilization process.
Referring now to
Still further, the invention provides that a hole 16 (
As explained above, the invention provides that the water dispensers may include reservoirs, and other assemblies, for holding and dispensing hot and cold water. For example, the water dispensers may include an internal cold tank which holds a volume of water, which preferably comprises a means for cooling or chilling the water contained therein, such as by incorporating the use of heat sinks (evaporators) or circulating coolants (refrigerant gasses) along the surfaces thereof. A non-limiting example of such a refrigerant gas includes 134a (tetrafluoroethane). Similarly, the water dispensers may include an internal hot tank, which preferably includes a means for heating the water contained therein, such as by including electric heating coils along or near the surface thereof.
The many aspects and benefits of the invention are apparent from the detailed description, and thus, it is intended for the following claims to cover all such aspects and benefits of the invention which fall within the scope and spirit of the invention. In addition, because numerous modifications and variations will be obvious and readily occur to those skilled in the art, the claims should not be construed to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described herein. Accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents should be understood to fall within the scope of the invention as claimed herein.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-20120492 | Jun 2008 | CN | national |
