Patent Application
20250033840
The present disclosure is generally directed to dispensing assemblies, and more specifically to supplement dispensers configured to dispense a volume of liquid, solution, suspension, powder, or solid from a cap into a connected container.
Various types of dispensers are well known in the art. Essentially a dispenser allows for materials to be transported from one location to another, and then dispensed into a desired receiver.
There are various materials that may be desired to be transportable for use of specific dosages or concentrated delivery. For example, a drink enhancer may be added to a user's drink, such as flavoring or medicine to water. Some users may add a nutritional supplement to water. Importantly, in many cases, effective use of supplements may require specific amount of supplement and might not be advisable to combine with water far in advance of consumption. Often, these users may be “on the go”, which may make this process more difficult.
Other times, dispensers may be used to transport a pre-measured quantity of materials, such as a concentrated cleaning solution, to be diluted with a larger quantity of liquid.
Thus, what is needed is a dispenser that may be used to dispense a specified amount of material into a container, such as a bottle, without requiring additional tools by the user, such as a scoop or measuring device, while ensuring the correct amount of material is dispensed, while the dispenser may be securely engaged to the container for a potentially extended amount of time.
Various embodiments of the present disclosure may be directed to a dispensing cap. The dispensing cap may comprise a container engagement portion, a fill cavity, a seal, and a releasing mechanism.
One embodiment may be a dispensing cap configured to engage a container, wherein the dispensing cap is configured to hold a material that may be released into the container.
One embodiment may be a dispensing cap comprising a chamber; a sealing structure; and a releasing structure. The releasing structure may comprise an upper portion and a seal engaging structure; and the seal engaging structure extends away from the upper portion. The upper portion may be deformable. The sealing structure may comprise a stem and a flange. The seal engaging structure engages the stem. The chamber may comprise an open mouth. The flange covers the open mouth when the upper portion may be not deformed. The upper portion may be configured to cause the flange to not cover the open mouths. The dispensing cap may further comprise an additive stored within the chamber. The additive may be a powder. The additive may be a liquid. The additive may be a solid. The additive may be medicinal. The dispensing cap may further comprise a container engagement portion. The container engagement portion may comprise one or more threads. The container engagement portion may comprise a frictional sealing surface. The dispensing cap may further comprise a tamper seal; wherein the tamper seal may be configured to be broken if the upper portion may be deformed. The sealing structure may comprise a reinforcement structure configured to increase rigidity of the flange. The dispensing cap may further comprise an upper portion; wherein the upper portion may be rotable; wherein the upper portion may comprise a lower opening; and wherein the sealing structure blocks the lower opening when the upper portion may be in a first rotable position, and wherein the sealing structure does not block the lower opening when the upper portion may be in a second rotable position.
One embodiment may be a dispensing cap comprising a chamber; a sealing structure; a releasing structure; a container engagement portion; an additive; and a tamper seal; wherein the releasing structure may comprise an upper portion and a seal engaging structure; wherein seal engaging structure extends away from the upper portion; wherein the upper portion may be deformable; wherein the sealing structure may comprise a stem and a flange; wherein the seal engaging structure engages the stem; wherein the chamber may comprise an open mouth; wherein the flange covers the open mouth; wherein deforming the upper portion may be configured to cause the flange to not cover the open mouth; wherein the additive may be stored in the chamber; wherein the tamper seal may be configured to be broken if the upper portion may be deformed; and wherein the sealing structure may comprise a reinforcement structure configured to increase rigidity of the flange.
In some embodiments, the dispensing cap may be a size and type such that it may be affixed to existing bottles, and in some embodiments, common disposable water bottle types may be used in conjunction with the present disclosure.
The drawings are of illustrative embodiments. They do not illustrate all embodiments. Other embodiments may be used in addition or instead. Details which may be apparent or unnecessary may be omitted to save space or for more effective illustration. Some embodiments may be practiced with additional components or steps and/or without all of the components or steps, which are illustrated. When the same numeral appears in different drawings, it refers to the same or like components or steps.
To minimize the limitations in the cited references, and to minimize other limitations that will become apparent upon reading and understanding the present specification, the present specification discloses a dispensing apparatus that is designed to allow squeeze based dispensing of a liquid from a reservoir into a cup that may sit atop the reservoir.
In the following detailed description of various embodiments, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various aspects of the embodiments. However, these embodiments may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, and/or components have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments.
While multiple embodiments are disclosed, still others will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description. As will be realized, these embodiments are capable of modifications in various obvious aspects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of protection. Accordingly, the graphs, figures, and the detailed descriptions thereof, are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. Also, the reference or non-reference to a particular embodiment shall not be interpreted to limit the scope of protection.
In the following description, certain terminology is used to describe certain features of one or more embodiments. For purposes of the specification, unless otherwise specified, the term “substantially” refers to the complete or nearly complete extent or degree of an action, characteristic, property, state, structure, item, or result. For example, in one embodiment, an object that is “substantially” located within a housing would mean that the object is either completely within a housing or nearly completely within a housing. The exact allowable degree of deviation from absolute completeness may in some cases depend on the specific context. However, generally speaking, the nearness of completion will be so as to have the same overall result as if absolute and total completion were obtained. The use of “substantially” is also equally applicable when used in a negative connotation to refer to the complete or near complete lack of an action, characteristic, property, state, structure, item, or result.
As used herein, the terms “approximately” and “about” generally refer to a deviance of within 5% of the indicated number or range of numbers. In one embodiment, the term “approximately” and “about,” may refer to a deviance of between 0.0001-10% from the indicated number or range of numbers.
As used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Ranges may be expressed herein as from “about” one particular value, and/or to “about” another particular value. When such a range is expressed, another embodiment includes from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values are expressed as approximations, by use of the antecedent “about,” it will be understood that the particular value forms another embodiment. It will be further understood that the endpoints of each of the ranges are signified both in relation to the other endpoint, and independently of the other endpoint.
“Optional” or “optionally” means that the subsequently described event or circumstance may or may not occur, and that the description includes instances where the event or circumstance occurs and instances where it does not.
Throughout the description and claims of this specification, the word “comprise” and variations of the word, such as “comprising” and “comprises,” means “including but not limited to,” and is not intended to exclude, for example, other components, integers or steps. “Exemplary” means “an example of” and is not intended to convey an indication of a preferred or ideal embodiment. “Such as” is not used in a restrictive sense, but for explanatory purposes.
Disclosed are components that may be used to perform the disclosed methods and systems. These and other components are disclosed herein, and it is understood that when combinations, subsets, interactions, groups, etc. of these components are disclosed that while specific reference of each various individual and collective combinations and permutation of these may not be explicitly disclosed, each is specifically contemplated and described herein, for all methods and systems. This applies to all embodiments of this application including, but not limited to, steps in disclosed methods. Thus, if there are a variety of additional steps that may be performed it is understood that each of these additional steps may be performed with any specific embodiment or combination of embodiments of the disclosed methods.
The present methods and systems may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of preferred embodiments and the examples included therein and to the Figures and their previous and following description.
Various embodiments are now described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of one or more embodiments. It may be evident, however, that the various embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to facilitate describing these embodiments. It is to be understood that the methods and systems are not limited to specific methods, specific components, or to particular implementations. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting.
The seal structure 110 may comprise a flange 111 and stem 112. The flange 111 may be configured to create an enclosed structure in combination with the chamber 105. For example, in one embodiment, the chamber 105 may be a cavity with an opening on one end (which may be described as an open face or mouth) and be configured to receive a pre-determined amount of material, and the flange 111 may be a size/material that substantially plugs or closes the opening, thereby retaining materials within the chamber 105 when at rest or moving. In other embodiments, such as when the material contained within the chamber 105 is a substantially solid material, the flange 111 may be large enough to retain the material within the chamber 105 without creating what might be referred to as a seal capable of retaining a liquid or powder material. In one embodiment, the stem 112 may extend from the flange 111 toward the releasing structure 115, such that the releasing structure 115 may engage the stem 112, and thereby, engage the seal structure 110 through the stem 112.
The flange 111 may also comprise reinforcement structures, to reduce the amount of material needed to ensure that the flange 111 is structurally sound, such as spokes 113. In some embodiments, the spokes 113 may be configured to reinforce the flange 111.
The releasing structure 115 may comprise a neck 125 and an upper surface 120. In one embodiment, the neck 125 may engage the stem 112. In one embodiment, the neck 125 may engage the stem 112 in a fixed manner, and in other embodiments the engagement may be not-fixed, provided that the neck 125 may prevent the stem 112 from disengaging the neck 125. In one embodiment, the upper surface 120 may be deformable, such that a user may push downward on the upper surface, which may cause the neck 125 and engaged stem 112 to move downward, thereby causing the flange 111 to also move downward, and allowing material contained within the chamber 105 to be released. In an embodiment where the dispensing cap 100 engages a container, the material may be directly deposited into the container by deforming the upper surface 120, which may also comprise a liquid. In this way, pre-determined amounts of material may be introduced to containers. This may allow users to carry around concentrated materials configured to engage a container and ensure that all the materials are deposited within the container. This may aid in medication compliance issues, or prevent people from measuring doses themselves and using an inconsistent or incorrect amount of materials.
In some embodiments, the neck 125 may receive the stem 112. In other embodiments, the roles may be switched. In other embodiments, any structure by which the neck engages the stem may be used. In some embodiments, the neck 125 and stem 112 may be a single unit, such that this unit may engage the upper surface 120 and/or the flange 111. In a preferred embodiment, at least the flange 111 may be removed from the dispensing cap 100 to allow the chamber 105 to be refilled after use.
In some embodiments, the materials to be contained within the chamber 105 may be a liquid, suspension, powder, solid, gas, or substantially any type of material.
The releasing structure 115 may comprise an upper surface 120 and neck 125. In some embodiments, the upper surface may be actuatable or deformable in a permanent or temporary manner.
In some embodiments, the dispensing cap 100 may comprise a medicine, supplement, or other consumable material in a particular quantity, and the dispensing cap 100 may be configured to engage a particular type of container, such as a water bottle, gallon jug, spray bottle, can, or substantially any other sort of container.
One benefit of the dispensing cap 100 may be that it allows a user to carry a quantity of additive prepared by a manufacturer or at home in a small form factor, thereby avoiding the need for carrying a container, such as a shaker bottle, that may be used on demand with containers available wherever the user is.
The dispensing cap 100 may also have the advantage of having relatively little material and be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, such that in some embodiments, the dispensing cap may be disposable. In other embodiments, the dispensing cap may be reusable.
The dispensing cap 100 may also have the advantage of allowing for precise and/or accurate amounts of materials to be stored within the cap for future use, which may be important in certain applications, such as medicines.
The dispensing cap 100 may also have the advantage of ensuring sterility or cleanliness of each individual dosage of materials, rather than providing users with a single container comprising a plurality of dosages which may be contaminated over time.
The container engagement portion 130 may be substantially any structure configured to engage a top portion of a container. In some embodiments, the container engagement portion 130 may be threaded. In other embodiments, the container engagement portion 130 may comprise a structure/material for engaging the top of a container via friction. In other embodiments, the container engagement portion 130 may comprise a structure/material configured to snap on or off a container. In other embodiments the container engagement portion 130 may be substantially any known structure or mechanism used to allow caps to engage bottles.
In some embodiments, a component may be considered deformable as long as any portion of that component may be deformable. That is, as long as portion of the component may be deformed, the component may be considered deformable. In some embodiments, the deformation may be fixed, or the component may return to its original configuration after a force causing the deformation is removed from the system.
In some embodiments, the chamber 105 may be a hollow cavity or other area defined by solid structures of the dispensing cap 100. In some embodiments, the chamber 105 may be referred to a reservoir when a material exists within the chamber 105.
In a preferred embodiment, an upper seal of the dispenser cap 600 may be depressed, or deformed, which may break the tamper seal 605. In this way, a visual observation of the dispenser cap 600 may allow a user to quickly determine if materials contained within the dispenser cap 600 have been used, altered, or modified. In some embodiments, the tamper seal 605, once broken or otherwise impaired in a visually apparent manner, may not be recoverable to the original state. In other embodiments the tamper seal 605 may be reset, such as in a situation where the dispenser cap 600 is intended for reuse.
In some embodiments, the tamper seal 605 may be a structure that is known in the art
Unless otherwise stated, all measurements, values, ratings, positions, magnitudes, sizes, locations, and other specifications, which set forth in this specification, including in the claims that follow, are approximate, not exact. They are intended to have a reasonable range, which is consistent with the functions to which they relate and with what is customary in the art to which they pertain.
The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. While multiple embodiments are disclosed, still other embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the above detailed description, which shows and describes the illustrative embodiments. As will be realized, these embodiments are capable of modifications in various obvious aspects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the detailed description is to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. Also, although not explicitly recited, one or more additional embodiments may be practiced in combination or conjunction with one another. Furthermore, the reference or non-reference to a particular embodiment shall not be interpreted to limit the scope of protection. It is intended that the scope of protection is not limited by this detailed description, but by the claims and the equivalents to the claims that are appended hereto.
Except as stated immediately above, nothing which has been stated or illustrated is intended or should be interpreted to cause a dedication of any component, step, feature, object, benefit, advantage, or equivalent to the public, regardless of whether it is or is not recited in the claims.
This Non-Provisional application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/515,531, filed on Jul. 25, 2023, titled DISPENSING CAP, the contents of which are expressly incorporated herein by this reference as though set forth in their entirety and to which priority is claimed.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63515531 | Jul 2023 | US |
