Patent Application
20190077555
Many fluids are only commercially available in containers that may be much larger than required for ordinary use. Lubricants are often packaged in gallon containers when only a few ounces may be needed at a time. Cough syrup, mouth wash, shampoo, and other medicinal or hygiene products are also frequently packaged in large containers. This may be helpful to save packaging costs, but can make it difficult to properly dispense these products in predetermined amounts without the use of additional measuring devices that then must be kept clean and available at all times.
For example, food preparation commonly involves dispensing salad dressings, oils, sauces, condiments, and other liquid ingredients. Properly managing the consumption of these products is an important part of a healthy diet. Many special diets require control of calorie intake, and the type of foods from which the calories come. While this can often be readily determined for pre-measured quantities of specific food products, calorie type and quantity can be materially affected by calories in oils and dressings added when the food is served. Consumers seeking to monitor their food intake are often not aware of the quantities of these products they are adding to their diets. Salad dressing, ketchup, mustard, olive oil, and the like, are packaged in bottles or other containers that lack the ability to easily dispense predetermined fixed amounts. Thus a consumer can easily add what appears to be an adequate amount to their meal, often not realizing they are adding more than a serving size, and perhaps much more than their dietary plan allows.
Salads, particularly those made only with vegetables, are often considered an especially healthy aspect of a balanced diet—that is until the consumer adds salad dressing. Relative to the small recommended serving sizes, salad dressings often have large amounts of fat, sugar, cholesterol, and other ingredients that are usually far less healthy than vegetables alone. Salad dressing is also frequently sold in “squeezable” semi-rigid bottles which make it difficult to determine an appropriate serving size. Consumers can unknowingly consume multiple servings of dressing often negating the benefits of an otherwise healthy meal. Salad dressing is thus often overused because consumers do not have a simple and easy way to dispense a predetermined, fixed amount specific to their dietary preferences.
Disclosed is a fixed volume fluid dispenser that can be used to dispense a fluid such as salad dressing. The dispenser may be part of a container, or it may be a separate device useable in conjunction with a container such as a salad dressing bottle that one might find for sale in a retail grocery store. In that case, the dressing dispenser may be attached to the open end of the salad dressing bottle in place of the standard bottle cover and cap that is often sold with the bottle. The dispenser may include a cover and cap which may be similar to the one on the original salad dressing bottle. In this way, the dispenser can seal the contents of the bottle to avoid foreign material or bacteria from entering the bottle, and to reduce the opportunity for spoilage of the contents during storage.
The disclosed dispenser includes a valve with a handle, knob, or other such actuator for changing the position of the valve components inside the dispenser. The valve components generally separate a measuring chamber from the main portion of the bottle where the material to be dispensed is stored (i.e. the storage chamber). The valve is adjustable from an “open” position to a “closed” position. In the open position, the material in the bottle can flow from the main storage area into the measuring cavity of the dispenser. In the closed position, the main storage chamber is sealed off from the measuring chamber to avoid contamination of the material in the storage area of the bottle. The dispenser may be coupled to the bottle in any number of ways. One way is with threads that correspond to threads on the container. Salad dressing, olive oil, ketchup, and other food toppings are often sold in bottles with a threaded coupling that is a standard size. Thus the dispenser may be configured to easily engage this arrangement of threads to keep the dispenser held tightly to the bottle. However, any suitable mechanism for maintaining the dispenser adjacent to the bottle may be used.
Other optional aspects of a fixed volume fluid dispenser are discussed in this disclosure. For example, the dispenser may be formed as an integral part of the container. The two may, for example, be formed as a single unitary structure, both cylindrical and both aligned along a common axis. In another aspect, the disclosed dispensers and bottles may have measuring and storage chambers of any suitable size. In many cases, the measuring chamber is substantially smaller than the storage chamber. Along these lines, the storage bottle and dispenser may optionally be cylindrical and/or aligned along an axis common to both the dispenser and the container.
In operation, a user may remove the original cap from a bottle or container, and couple the dispenser to the container (or acquire a bottle with a built-in dispenser). The dispenser and container may be coupled together by, for example, rotating the bottle and dispenser in opposite directions to engage the threads of the dispenser with the threads on the bottle.
Once in place, the user may close the cap on the dispenser, and manipulate the knob, lever, or other actuator to allow fluid in the container to enter the interior of the dispenser. In many situations, this process may be aided by inverting, shaking, or squeezing the container. When the measuring chamber is filled with the desired serving size, the user may return the valve actuator to the “closed” position to prevent any additional material from entering the dispenser. The cap on the dispenser may then be opened, thus allowing the contents of the dispenser to be applied to the food. In this way, a predetermined quantity of the contents of the bottle may be dispensed without requiring the use of additional measuring tools such as teaspoons, table spoons, and the like.
Further forms, objects, features, aspects, benefits, advantages, and examples are included in the detailed description, drawings, and claims provided herewith.
For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications in the described embodiments, and any further applications of the principles of the invention as described herein are contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Embodiments of the invention are shown in some detail, although it will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art that some features that are not relevant to the present invention may not be shown for the sake of clarity.
Illustrated in
Valve 110 may be adjusted from an “open” position (shown in
As illustrated in further detail in
Any suitable retention mechanism may be used in coupler 208 to retain measuring chamber 118 in the proper alignment and spatial relationship to measuring chamber 102. Such mechanisms may include, snaps, clips, friction between parts, adhesives, and the like. Along these lines, storage chamber 102 and the measuring chamber 118 may optionally be cylindrical and/or aligned along a common axis B running longitudinally along a long axis of the container 100. Such an alignment may be useful in aiding the coupling and decoupling of the storage and measuring chambers.
In another aspect, measuring chamber 102 illustrated in
A fixed volume measuring device optionally includes coupler 208 configured to couple the measuring device to a container. The coupler optionally has at least one engagement member 210 arranged and configured to engage corresponding retention elements 212 of the container to maintain the measuring device adjacent to the container. The engagement members may include threads extending into the coupler. The corresponding retention elements on the container optionally include threads extending outwardly away from the container to engage the threads on the coupler. As mentioned herein elsewhere, any suitable retention mechanism may be used to retain measuring chamber 118 in the proper alignment and spatial relationship to measuring chamber 102.
Other optional aspects of a fixed volume measuring device as disclosed herein include a measuring chamber that is formed with a container as a single unitary structure. In another aspect, measuring chamber 102 and container 100 may be cylindrical and aligned along a common axis B. Alternatively, sealing member 112 may be configured to seal an open end of the container, and the seal may be a partial or complete fluid seal (i.e. hermetic seal). The actuator may be configured to rotate or otherwise reposition one or more sealing members between a closed position (shown in
In another aspect, a container may be configured to include a fixed volume measuring chamber. As illustrated in
In another aspect, the actuator 408 may be configured to rotate sealing member 412 between a closed position (shown in
In another aspect, the containers illustrated in
In operation, a user may acquire a container such as a bottle or other container of a fluid such as salad dressing, the bottle operating as the storage chamber. The user then couples the measuring chamber to the bottle according to whatever type of coupler 208 is incorporated into the bottle. For example, the measuring device may be coupled by aligning the measuring device along the central axis B of the container, and rotating the bottle and measuring device in opposite directions to allow engagement members 210 to engage retention members 212.
Once in place, the user may close cap 106 to cover opening 116 before manipulating actuator 114 to rotate sealing member 112 into the open position. The user may then invert the container holding the first end 108 downward with respect to gravity thus allowing the contents of the storage chamber 118 (i.e. the salad dressing) to move from the storage chamber 118 into the measure chamber 102 by the force of gravity. A user may aid this process by repeatedly shaking the bottle, and/or by applying pressure against the outside surface 216 of storage chamber wall 202 which may be flexible enough to be temporarily deformed or squeezed to increase the internal pressure on the fluid inside.
When the measuring chamber is adequately filled, the user may manipulate actuator 114 to move the sealing member 112 into the closed position. The user may then open cap 106 allowing a predetermined amount of the contents of the storage chamber in the bottle to be released. The cap 106 may then be closed to maintain proper sanitation of the contents of the container and measuring device. In this way, a predetermined quantity of the contents of the bottle may be dispensed without requiring the use of additional measuring aids such as teaspoons, table spoons, and the like.
While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that all changes, equivalents, and modifications that come within the spirit of the inventions defined by following claims are desired to be protected. All publications, patents, and patent applications cited in this specification are herein incorporated by reference as if each individual publication, patent, or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference and set forth in its entirety herein.
While the invention is illustrated in the drawings and described herein, this disclosure is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character. The present disclosure is exemplary in nature and all changes, equivalents, and modifications that come within the spirit of the disclosure are included. The detailed description is included herein to discuss aspects of the examples illustrated in the drawings for the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention. No limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications in the described examples, and any further applications of the principles described herein are contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Some examples are disclosed in detail, however some features that may not be relevant may have been left out for the sake of clarity.
Where there are references to publications, patents, and patent applications cited herein, they are understood to be incorporated by reference as if each individual publication, patent, or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference and set forth in its entirety herein.
Singular forms “a”, “an”, “the”, and the like include plural referents unless expressly discussed otherwise. As an illustration, references to “a device” or “the device” include one or more of such devices and equivalents thereof.
Directional terms, such as “up”, “down”, “top” “bottom”, “fore”, “aft”, “lateral”, “longitudinal”, “radial”, “circumferential”, etc., are used herein solely for the convenience of the reader in order to aid in the reader's understanding of the illustrated examples. The use of these directional terms does not in any manner limit the described, illustrated, and/or claimed features to a specific direction and/or orientation.
Multiple related items illustrated in the drawings with the same part number which are differentiated by a letter for separate individual instances, may be referred to generally by a distinguishable portion of the full name, and/or by the number alone. For example, if multiple “laterally extending elements” 90A, 90B, 90C, and 90D are illustrated in the drawings, the disclosure may refer to these as “laterally extending elements 90A-90D,” or as “laterally extending elements 90,” or by a distinguishable portion of the full name such as “elements 90”.
The language used in the disclosure is presumed to have only their plain and ordinary meaning, except as explicitly defined below. The words used in the definitions included herein are to only have their plain and ordinary meaning. Such plain and ordinary meaning is inclusive of all consistent dictionary definitions from the most recently published Webster's and Random House dictionaries. As used herein, the following definitions apply to the following terms or to common variations thereof (e.g., singular/plural forms, past/present tenses, etc.):
“Actuator” An actuator is a component of a device that is responsible for adjusting or controlling the state or position of an aspect of the device. An actuator generally requires an input to perform the change in state. Such input may be a change in voltage or current in an electrical signal, pressure from a fluid such as a liquid or a gas, or physical manipulation by a human operator. When the control input is received, the actuator responds by converting the energy in the control input to an output that operates the actuated device.
For example, a knob or handle on a valve may be thought of as an actuator where rotational force applied by a human operator is converted into mechanical motion of a valve mechanism inside a pipe thus interrupting or otherwise changing the flow of fluid through the pipe. In another example, a sensor and controller assembly in an electronic thermostat may send an electrical signal to a reversing valve and/or a compressor in a heat pump to change the operating mode of the device from heating to cooling. The reversing valve and compressor may have actuators configured to accept this signal and physically adjust the state of the valve and compressor accordingly.
“Chamber” generally refers to a natural or artificial enclosed space or cavity. A chamber may be defined by a wall with an inner and outer surface, and may be fully or partially enclosed. For example, a partially enclosed chamber may include one or more openings. Alternative terms include, but are not limited to, cavity, cell, enclosure, or pocket.
“Container” generally refers to a device creating a partially or fully enclosed space that can be used to contain, store, and transport objects or materials. This includes any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in retaining, storing, packaging, shipping, or disposing of any item or items. A container may be rigid or partially rigid, such as in the case of a glass or earthenware jar, or a lunch sack made of paper or fabric. A container may also be collapsible, flexible or pliable such as in the case of a plastic bag or semi-collapsible rubber bladder. Alternative terms include, but are not limited to, bottle, capsule, canister, carton, tank, vessel, vase, or flask.
“Couple” or “Coupled” refers generally to an indirect and/or direct connection between the identified elements, components, and/or objects. Often the manner of the coupling will be related specifically to the manner in which the two coupled elements interact.
“Coupler” generally refers to an item or collection of items that is configured to couple multiple other items in a predetermined relationship to one another.
“Cylinder” generally refers to a shape with straight parallel sides and a cross section that is a closed polygon. A cylinder may be partially or completely hollow or solid, or any combination thereof, such as a solid cylinder defining holes, indentations, and the like that are transverse or substantially perpendicular to the parallel sides. A cylinder may define any polygonal cross section such as circle, ellipse, square, rectangle, triangle, trapezoid, parallelogram, or other closed polygon. In the case of a hollow or partially hollow cylinder, the outside surface of the cylinder may have a different polygonal cross section than the inside surface. For example, the outside surface may define a circle, while the inside surface may define an ellipse, a square, or other closed polygon.
“Fixed Volume” as used herein generally refers to a volume defined by a container or chamber whose shape remains substantially unchanged, even when one or more forces are exerted on the container. Such forces may be compressive, expansive, torsional, and the like.
“Fluid” as used herein generally refers to a substance which cannot resist any shear force applied to it and continually deforms (flows) under an applied shear stress. That is to say, it has zero shear modulus. This includes liquids, gases, plasmas, and to some extent, plastic solids.
“Multiple” as used herein is synonymous with the term “plurality” and refers to more than one, or by extension, two or more.
“Rigid” as used herein generally refers to the state of being unable to bend or be forced out of shape, that is to say, not flexible. A rigid structure is generally one in which the distance between any pair of points on the object remains substantially fixed under one or more forces applied from any direction. In theory, a rigid body has infinite values for its shear modulus, bulk modulus, and Young's modulus. However, as used herein, a rigid object is considered rigid even though it may exhibit minimal changes in shape under compression, torsion, shear forces, and the like.
“Salad Dressing” or “Dressing” generally refers to liquids, sauces, oils, that may be consumed individually or mixed together and served as food for human or animal consumption, particularly as a topping for a salad. The concept generally includes any suitable mixture, suspension, solution, or other fluid of varying viscosity. For example, a dressing commonly referred to as a “Vinaigrette” may include a mixture (emulsion) of salad oil and vinegar that is often flavored with herbs, spices, salt, pepper, sugar, and other ingredients. The term “salad dressing” also includes creamy dressings which may be based on mayonnaise or fermented milk products, such as yogurt, sour cream or buttermilk. One example is mayonnaise-based “Ranch” dressing. Other examples include mustard-based dressings, or mixtures that may include sesame oil, fish sauce, citrus juice, or soy sauce. As used herein, the term “salad dressing” also generally includes similar types of sauces or marinades used in the preparation of food that may not be generally considered “salads”.
Other examples of salad dressing include: Blue cheese dressing, caesar dressing, olive oil including extra virgin olive oil, French dressing, ginger dressing, Honey Dijon, hummus, Italian dressing, Louis dressing, Russian dressing, Tahini, Thousand Island dressing, and Wafu dressing.
“Thread” or “Screw Thread” generally refers to a helical structure wrapped around a cylinder or cone thus configured to convert rotational force movement to linear movement. Conversely, threads prevent linear movement without the corresponding rotational movement. Threads on a cylinder are sometimes referred to as “straight thread” while threads on a cone are sometimes referred to as “tapered thread”. Threads may be thought of as ridges extending outwardly away from an outer surface of a cylinder or cone, or as indentions recessed into the cylinder or cone.
“Valve” generally refers to a device that regulates, directs or controls a flow of matter through a conduit. Examples of such matter include gases, liquids, fluidized or granular solids, or slurries. A valve may operate by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. A valve may include movable parts that open, close, or partially obstruct one or more ports, passageways, or chambers. Types of valves include, but are not limited to: Ball valve, butterfly valve, ceramic disc valve, clapper valve, check valve or non-return valve, choke valve, diaphragm valve, gate valve, globe valve, knife valve, needle valve, pinch valve, piston valve, plug valve, slim valve, spool valve, thermal expansion valve, pressure reducing valve, sampling valve, and safety valve.
