Claims
- 1. A mounting adapter for mounting on an upwardly open water reservoir of a bottled water cooler, said mounting adapter comprising:an adapter body including an upstanding feed tube for engaging and opening a bottle cap carried on the neck of a water bottle; a seal member carried by said adapter body for sealingly engaging an interior wall surface of the cooler reservoir upon slide-fit installation of said adapter body into the cooler reservoir; at least one support member carried by said adapter body for vertically supporting and suspending said adapter body from the cooler reservoir when said adapter body is slide-fit installed therein; and at least one handle member formed by said adapter body and positioned for manual grasping from above to facilitate slide-fit installation and lift-out removal of said adapter body relative to the cooler reservoir, said at least one handle member defining a radially outwardly open handle port extending through said adapter body between said seal member and support member.
- 2. The mounting adapter of claim 1 wherein said mounting adapter comprises a unitary plastic molding.
- 3. The mounting adapter of claim 1 wherein said mounting adapter defines a radially outwardly open annular channel, and wherein said seal member comprises an annular seal ring seated within said channel.
- 4. The mounting adapter of claim 3 wherein said annular seal ring further includes a radially outwardly projecting annular seal lip for engaging the interior wall surface of the cooler reservoir.
- 5. The mounting adapter of claim 1 wherein said at least one support member comprises a radially outwardly projecting mounting flange formed at an upper end of said adapter body.
- 6. The mounting adapter of claim 1 wherein said at least one support member comprises a plurality of mounting clips carried by said adapter body.
- 7. The mounting adapter of claim 1 wherein said at least one handle member comprises a pair of handles formed on said adapter body generally adjacent an upper end thereof at diametrically opposed positions.
- 8. The mounting adapter of claim 1 wherein said at least one handle member comprises a pair of radially outwardly open handle ports formed in said adapter body.
- 9. The mounting adapter of claim 1 wherein said feed tube defines first and second flow paths for separate passage of air and water therethrough.
- 10. The mounting adapter of claim 1 further including an inner tube mounted within said feed tube and cooperating therewith to define first and second flow paths for separate passage of air and water therethrough.
- 11. The mounting adapter of claim 10 wherein said inner tube has a lower end terminating at least slightly below a lower end of said feed tube, said inner tube further including a radially outwardly projecting annular baffle disk formed at the lower end thereof.
- 12. The mounting adapter of claim 1 wherein said adapter body further defines an air inflow passage, and further including an air filter unit mounted along said air inflow passage.
- 13. The mounting adapter of claim 12 further including a check valve mounted along said air inflow passage for preventing water backflow therethrough.
- 14. The mounting adapter of claim 1 further comprising a bottle cap including a cap body carrying a valve plug for engagement by said feed tube to move said valve plug to an open position.
- 15. The mounting adapter of claim 14 wherein said bottle cap further includes a depending skirt on said cap body for snap-fit re-usable mounting of the bottle cap onto a succession of water bottles.
- 16. The mounting adapter of claim 1 wherein said adapter body includes an upper generally cylindrical sleeve segment carrying said seal member and said at least one support member, said sleeve segment having a lower margin merging with a radially inwardly extending and generally annular support landing, said support landing having a radially inner margin merging with a downwardly suspended and generally cup-shaped well, said well having a bottom wall with said feed tube upstanding therefrom.
- 17. The mounting adapter of claim 10 wherein said support landing has a recessed pocket formed therein, and further including an air filter unit mounted within said recessed pocket.
- 18. A mounting adapter for mounting on an upwardly open water reservoir of a bottled water cooler, said mounting adapter comprising:an adapter body including an upper generally cylindrical sleeve segment having a lower margin merging with a radially inwardly extending and generally annular support landing, said support landing having a radially inner margin merging with a downwardly suspended and generally cup-shaped well having a bottom wall, and a feed tube projecting upwardly from said bottom wall for engaging and opening a bottle cap carried on the neck of a water bottle; a seal member carried by said sleeve segment for sealingly engaging an interior wall surface of the cooler reservoir upon slide-fit installation of said adapter body into the cooler reservoir; at least one support member carried by said sleeve segment for vertically supporting and suspending said adapter body from the cooler reservoir when said adapter body is slide-fit installed therein; and at least one handle member formed by said adapter body and positioned for manual grasping from above to facilitate slide-fit installation and lift-out removal of said adapter body relative to the cooler reservoir, said at least one handle member defining a radially outwardly open handle port extending through said sleeve segment extending through said adapter body between said seal member and support member.
- 19. The mounting adapter of claim 18 wherein said adapter body comprises a unitary plastic molding.
- 20. The mounting adapter of claim 18 wherein said sleeve segment defines a radially outwardly open annular channel, and wherein said seal member comprises an annular seal ring seated within said channel.
- 21. The mounting adapter of claim 20 wherein said annular seal ring further includes a radially outwardly projecting annular seal lip for engaging the interior wall surface of the cooler reservoir.
- 22. The mounting adapter of claim 18 wherein said at least one support member comprises a radially outwardly projecting mounting flange formed at an upper end of said sleeve segment.
- 23. The mounting adapter of claim 18 wherein said at least one support member comprises a plurality of mounting clips carried by said sleeve segment.
- 24. The mounting adapter of claim 18 wherein said at least one handle member comprises a pair of handles formed on said sleeve segment generally adjacent an upper end thereof at diametrically opposed positions.
- 25. The mounting adapter of claim 18 wherein said at least one handle member comprises a pair of radially outwardly open handle ports formed in said sleeve segment.
- 26. The mounting adapter of claim 18 further including an inner tube mounted within said feed tube and cooperating therewith to define first and second flow paths for separate passage of air and water therethrough, said inner tube having a lower end terminating at least slightly below a lower end of said feed tube, said inner tube further including a radially outwardly projecting annular baffle disk formed at the lower end thereof.
- 27. The mounting adapter of claim 18 wherein said adapter body further defines an air inflow passage, and further including an air filter unit mounted along said air inflow passage.
- 28. The mounting adapter of claim 27 further including a check valve mounted along said air inflow passage for preventing water backflow therethrough.
- 29. The mounting adapter of claim 18 wherein said support landing has a recessed pocket formed therein, and further including an air filter unit mounted within said recessed pocket.
- 30. A mounting adapter for mounting on an upwardly open water reservoir of a bottled water cooler, said mounting adapter comprising:an adapter body including an upstanding feed tube for engaging and opening a bottle cap carried on the neck of a water bottle; a seal member carried by said adapter body for sealingly engaging an interior wall surface of the cooler reservoir upon installation of said adapter body into the cooler reservoir; at least one support member carried by said adapter body for vertically supporting and suspending said adapter body with respect to the cooler reservoir when said adapter body is installed therein; and an inner tube mounted within said feed tube and cooperating therewith to define first and second flow paths for separate passage of air and water therethrough, said inner tube having a lower end terminating at least slightly below a lower end of said feed tube, said inner tube further including a radially outwardly projecting annular baffle disk formed at the lower end thereof.
- 31. The mounting adapter of claim 30 further including at least one handle member formed by said adapter body and positioned for manual grasping from above to facilitate installation and removal of said adapter body relative to the cooler reservoir.
- 32. The mounting adapter of claim 31 wherein said at least one handle member comprises a pair of handles formed on said adapter body generally adjacent an upper end thereof at diametrically opposed positions.
- 33. The mounting adapter of claim 30 further comprising a bottle cap including a cap body carrying a valve plug for engagement by said feed tube to move said valve plug to an open position, and a depending skirt on said cap body for snap-fit re-usable mounting of the bottle cap onto a succession of water bottles.
- 34. The mounting adapter of claim 30 wherein said adapter body includes an upper generally cylindrical sleeve segment carrying said seal member and said at least one support member, said sleeve segment having a lower margin merging with a radially inwardly extending and generally annular support landing, said support landing having a radially inner margin merging with a downwardly suspended and generally cup-shaped well, said well having a bottom wall with said feed tube upstanding therefrom.
- 35. The mounting adapter of claim 34 wherein said support landing has a recessed pocket formed therein, and further including an air filter unit mounted within said recessed pocket.
Parent Case Info
This application claims benefit to provisional application Ser. No. 60/102,603 filling date Oct. 1, 1998.
US Referenced Citations (9)
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60/102603 |
Oct 1998 |
US |