Patent Application
20060112990
The present invention relates to liquid dispensing devices in general, which can be used for hands-free drinking, especially by cyclists.
There are many activities in which it is desirable to be able to drink at will, but the user's hands are otherwise occupied, such as bicycling or other sporting activities. During such activities, if the user removes a conventional bottle from a holder to drink, he may lose his concentration, interrupt his view ahead, or lose his balance or his pace while using one hand for holding and returning the bottle. Similarly, among the handicapped population, there are many individuals with limited hand dexterity for whom use of a conventional bottle is difficult or impossible. Therefore, a variety of hands-free drinking vessels have been developed. Many of these include valves permitting the user to suck liquid from a vessel to the mouth.
One pressurized fluid dispensing device, particularly for cyclists, is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,087 to Wery, et al. This patent discloses a fluid dispensing device including a vessel having a sealable opening, a female coupling member operable to seal the opening and having a first check valve operable to releasably maintain a pressurized condition within the vessel, a male coupling member operable to sealingly engage the female coupling member while opening the first check valve for dispensing fluid from within the vessel, and a second check valve disposed in communication with the vessel operable for limiting pressure within the vessel. The device further includes a tubing member attached to the male coupling member which has an actuatable valve for dispensing fluid from the vessel through the tubing member. It also includes a pressure adapter operable to sealingly engage the female coupling member to communicate a pressurized condition into the vessel.
However, this dispensing device suffers from several disadvantages. First, it requires the use of a dedicated vessel which is specifically designed to receive the various coupling members of the invention. Second, the device is composed of several separate elements, each having a different function, so it is relatively complex to manufacture and maintain. In addition, if one of the coupling members is lost, the rest of the device cannot be used without a replacement. Third, in order to use this device, first the female coupling member must be coupled to the bottle. Then the pressure adapter is coupled to the female coupling member to pressurize fluid inside the bottle. Next, the pressure adapter must be removed from the female coupling member and a male coupling member is coupled to the female coupling member. Finally, tubing is mounted on the male coupling member for drinking by the user. Thus, use of this device requires several steps to assemble prior to use and during recharging of the bottle, and is cumbersome and complex for the user.
Accordingly, there is a long felt need for a simple, relatively inexpensive pressurized liquid dispensing device, and it would be very desirable to have a dispensing device which could convert any conventional soft drink or water bottle to a hands-free, pressurized water container and dispenser.
The present invention relates to a pressurized liquid dispensing device which can be coupled to a conventional soft drink bottle or conventional aluminum water bottle, and which is relatively easy to manufacture, use and maintain.
There is provided according to the present invention a liquid dispensing device for use with a liquid container, the dispensing device including a cap portion for sealingly connecting the dispensing device to the liquid container, a conduit for permitting outflow of liquid under pressure from the liquid container, and a holder for a pressure valve for increasing the air pressure in the liquid container, wherein each of the cap portion, conduit and holder are assembled into a single unit before use.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the liquid dispensing device has a unitary body wherein said cap portion, conduit and holder are integrally formed.
Further according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the liquid container is a conventional plastic soft drink bottle, or a conventional aluminum water bottle, having a threaded neck, or any other liquid container which can hold liquid under pressure.
Further according to a preferred embodiment, the dispensing device also includes tubing sealingly coupled to the conduit having a dispensing valve mounted in the tubing for actuation by the mouth of a user, so as to permit the flow of liquid under pressure from the container to the user's mouth.
According to a preferred embodiment, a pressure valve is mounted in the integrally formed holder. The pressure valve may be a standard tire valve.
Further according to the present invention, the dispensing device also includes a relief valve for limiting the pressure inside the liquid container. Preferably, the relief valve includes a housing integrally formed with the dispensing device body.
It is a particular feature of the invention that it is suitable for hands free use. Coupling tubing having a dispensing valve to the integral conduit and arranging the other end of the tubing adjacent the mouth of the user permits a user to open the tubing, thereby causing liquid under pressure to flow from the container and out through the tubing.
There is also provided, in accordance with the invention, a method for forming a liquid dispensing device, the method including forming a unitary dispensing device body, integrally forming with the body a cap portion for sealingly connecting the dispensing device to a liquid container, integrally forming with the body a conduit for permitting outflow of liquid under pressure from the liquid container, and integrally forming with the body a holder for a pressure valve for increasing the air pressure in the liquid container.
According to one embodiment of the invention, the method further includes mounting a pressure valve in the integrally formed holder. The pressure valve may be a tire valve.
According to a preferred embodiment, the method further includes sealingly coupling tubing to the conduit, the tubing having a dispensing valve mounted therein for actuation by the mouth of a user, so as to permit the flow of liquid under pressure from the container to the user's mouth.
Further according to a preferred embodiment, the method further includes mounting a relief valve in the body. Most preferably, the method includes integrally forming with the body a housing for the relief valve.
The present invention will be further understood and appreciated from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:
a is a plan view of a dispensing device constructed and operative in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
b is a schematic sectional illustration of the dispensing device of
a is a perspective view of an adapter for use with the dispensing device of the invention;
b is a schematic sectional illustration of the adapter of
The present invention relates to a dispensing device for liquid under pressure, particularly water, which can easily be assembled or manufactured as a single unit and can be utilized in conjunction with substantially any soft drink bottle or other liquid container having a neck, especially for hands free use. The dispensing device has an integrally formed cap portion for sealingly coupling to the liquid container, an integrally formed conduit for permitting outflow of liquid under pressure from the liquid container, and an integrally formed holder for a pressure valve for increasing the air pressure in the liquid container. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the dispensing device also includes an integral relief valve.
Referring now to
Body 12 also includes an integrally formed conduit 16 for permitting outflow of liquid from the liquid container. One end of conduit 16 includes an external nipple 18 adapted and configured to sealingly hold tubing (not shown) with a pressure resistant actuatable valve, and arranged to extend towards the mouth of a user. It will be appreciated that this tubing also will be under pressure during use of the dispensing device, so the coupling of the tubing to conduit 16 must be sufficiently strong to prevent inadvertent release of the tubing from conduit 16. Additional tubing may be coupled to the other end 20 of the conduit inside the container, which tubing can extend substantially to the bottom of the container.
Body 12 further includes an integrally formed holder 22 for a pressure valve 23 for introducing air under pressure into the liquid container up to a desired pressure, for example, between 3 and 5 Bar. Preferably, pressure valve 23 is built-in in holder 22. According to the embodiment of
According to the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in
It will be appreciated that the embodiment of
Dispensing device 40 is formed of a body which may be a unitary body or a single unit assembled before use. Device 40 has an integrally formed cap portion 48 for sealingly connecting the dispensing device to the liquid container 42. It is a particular feature of the present invention that liquid container 42 may be substantially any conventional liquid container which is capable of holding liquid under pressure and having a sealable neck. Thus, the liquid container may be a conventional 1.5 or 2 liter soft drink bottle, it may be an aluminum drinking bottle, such as those manufactured and sold by SIGG Switzerland AG, of Frauenfeld, Switzerland, or any other liquid container having a suitable neck for sealable coupling to the dispensing device. In this case, cap portion 48 may be formed with internal or external screw threads adapted and configured to engage screw threads on the neck of the bottle.
Dispensing device 40 further includes a pressure valve 50 for introducing air under pressure into the liquid container 42. Pressure valve 50 is mounted in an integral holder in dispensing device 40. In this embodiment of the invention, dispensing device 40 also includes a pressure relief valve 52, sealingly mounted in device 40, for controlling the maximum pressure inside container 42 during charging air into the container.
Dispensing device 40 also includes an integrally formed conduit 54 for permitting outflow of liquid from the liquid container. The end of conduit 54 which extends outside the liquid container is adapted and configured to sealingly hold a length of tubing 56, which is arranged to extend towards the mouth of a user. Tubing 56 includes a dispensing valve 58, or other actuatable valve, preferably adjacent the mouth of the user. Dispensing valve 58 may be a conventional actuatable valve, or ideally may be a Rapid Valve™ actuatable valve manufactured and marketed by Source Vagabond Systems, Inc., of Israel. In this embodiment, tubing 56 is coupled to the handle bars of the bicycle, so that dispensing valve 58 is readily accessible to the mouth of the user. When the user wishes to drink, he merely actuates valve 58 with his mouth, as by sucking or pinching. This serves to open the valve, and the water, under pressure, flows from the container into the user's mouth.
The other end of conduit 54 extends a short distance into container 42. Additional tubing 60 may be coupled to conduit 54 inside the container extending towards the bottom of the container, as shown. It will be appreciated that the additional tubing may be one of two kinds. In one option, the tubing is slightly larger in diameter than the inside diameter of conduit 16, and tightly engages the inside surface of conduit 16. Alternatively, the tubing may have a slightly smaller diameter than the outer diameter of end 20 of conduit 16. In this case, the tubing is pushed onto conduit 16 for tight engagement with the outer walls of conduit 16.
Operation of the dispensing device of the present invention is as follows. A dispensing device 40 is assembled, preferably in the factory. Thus, a pressure valve 50 is inserted in the pressure valve holder, a relief valve 52 is mounted in the relief valve holder, drinking tubing 56 having a dispensing valve 58 is coupled to the upstanding end of the liquid conduit 54, and additional tubing 60 is coupled to the end of conduit 54 extending into the liquid container. An empty liquid container 42, able to hold liquid under pressure, is partly filled with water or other liquid for dispensing. A selected volume remains only with air, e.g., one quarter or one fifth of the container's volume. Dispensing device 40 is secured to the top of the container, with tubing 60 extending into the liquid. A bicycle pump or gas cylinder or other source of pressurizing gas is coupled to pressure valve 50 and the air in container 42 is pressurized to the desired pressure, e.g., up to about 5 Bar. It will be appreciated that tubing 56, as far as the dispensing valve 58, is also under pressure. Relief valve 52 is adapted and configured to limit the pressure in the container to a pre-selected level, and to prevent leakage of gas beneath that level. Thus, should the pressure inside the container rise above a pre-selected threshold value during pressurization, relief valve 52 will open to regulate the pressure.
Liquid container 42, with the pressurized liquid inside, is mounted in an appropriate holder 44. Tubing 56 is fixed in the desired position close to the mouth of the user. When the user wishes to drink, he or she merely actuates dispensing valve 58 with his or her mouth, and the pressure in the container forces the liquid out of container 42 through tubing 56 and into the user's mouth. If desired, dispensing valve 58 may also be configured for manual actuation, so the user can optionally actuate the valve by hand under suitable conditions.
Body 62 also includes an integrally formed conduit 63 for permitting outflow of liquid from the liquid container. As in
Body 62 further includes an integrally formed holder 70 for a pressure valve for increasing the air pressure in the container. In the embodiment of
As stated above, the dispensing device of the present invention is suited for use with a variety of different liquid containers.
It will be appreciated that, alternatively, a plurality of dispensing devices may be manufactured, each formed with a cap portion designed particularly to engage the neck of a differently shaped liquid container.
While the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, it will be appreciated that many variations, modifications and other applications of the invention may be made. It will further be appreciated that the invention is not limited to what has been described hereinabove merely by way of example. Rather, the invention is limited solely by the claims which follow.
