Patent Application
20240034521
This disclosure generally relates to a pour assembly for bottles. More specifically, the disclosure relates to a pour assembly comprising a spout protector.
Pour assemblies are known in the art and are used in both residential and commercial settings to pour liquors and other spirits, including mixers, when preparing a drink. Numerous advancements have been made in relation to pour assemblies, including the addition of ball bearings to control the volume of liquid dispensed as well as an air return that provides for consistent and high rate pouring. Other innovations have taken place, including those directed at preventing breakage, leakage, spitting, spillage, repeated pours to achieve a desired volume, evaporation, and those to improve the appearance of the pour by blending the liquid with air.
One deficiency that remains is protecting the opening of a spout of the pour assembly from contaminants, such as insects, including fruit flies. Among the attempted remedies to this issue is wrapping the end of the spout with cellophane or other material. This approach is time consuming as it requires repeatedly wrapping and unwrapping the spout while risking contamination if the material is reused. Given the time involved, adherence to this solution is also inconsistent. In a similar approach, a cup is placed over the pour assembly, or a golf tee is inserted into the spout. These techniques, however, suffer from similar issues as those related to using cellophane or other wrap.
Another solution involves the placement of a ball or sphere positioned within the spout. However, this does not adequately address the contamination issue as a portion of the spout's interior is still accessible to germs and insects. This solution also suffers from being prone to buildup that is not easily cleaned thereby causing the flow rate of the pour assembly to decrease leading to inconsistent pours over time.
Thus it is a primary aspect of this disclosure to provide a pour assembly that improves upon the art.
Another aspect of this disclosure is to provide a pour assembly that protects a pour assembly from contaminants.
Yet another aspect of this disclosure is to provide a pour assembly that is easy to clean.
Another aspect of this disclosure is to provide a pour assembly that can be retrofitted to existing pourers.
Yet another aspect of this disclosure is to provide a pour assembly that operates through the natural movement of a pour.
Another aspect of this disclosure is to provide a pour assembly that is easy to replace.
Yet another aspect of this disclosure is to provide a pour assembly that is cost-effective.
Another aspect of this disclosure is to provide a pour assembly that is easy to use.
Yet another aspect of this disclosure is to provide a pour assembly that limits or prevents evaporation.
These and other aspects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the specification and claims.
The disclosure provides various aspects of a pour assembly.
In some aspects, the techniques broadly described herein relate to a pour assembly for a container, including: a rod extending from a top end to a bottom end; a protector connected to the top end of the rod; a stop connected to the bottom end of the rod; and a retention member positioned around the rod between the protector and the stop.
In some aspects, the techniques broadly described herein relate to a pour assembly further including a pourer having a seal, a spout, and an air return; the rod extending through the spout and the seal; and the retention member selectively and statically connected to the air return.
In some aspects, the techniques broadly described herein relate to a pour assembly further including the protector having a bottom end, wherein the bottom end of the protector is positioned within a top end of the spout when in a blocked position.
In some aspects, the techniques broadly described herein relate to a pour assembly wherein a shape of the protector is selected from a group consisting of a ball shape, a tear drop shape, a cylindrical shape, and a cylindrical shape with the bottom end of the protector having a spherical shape.
In some aspects, the techniques broadly described herein relate to a pour assembly further including the rod having a length to transition between a blocked position, wherein the protector occludes an opening in the spout when the pourer is in an upright orientation, and an unblocked position, wherein the protector is moved away from the opening of the spout when the pourer is at a tilted orientation.
In some aspects, the techniques broadly described herein relate to a pour assembly wherein the length of the rod is larger than a length of the pourer.
In some aspects, the techniques broadly described herein relate to a pour assembly further including the retention member having a torsion lever, a torsion spring, and a rod holder.
In some aspects, the techniques broadly described herein relate to a pour assembly further including a pourer having an air return; the air return having an external diameter larger than an internal diameter of the torsion spring; and the air return received through the internal diameter of the torsion spring.
In some aspects, the techniques broadly described herein relate to a pour assembly further including the rod holder positioned around the rod a predefined distance from the stop, wherein the predefined distance is a length between the rod holder and the stop sufficient for the rod to travel to transition the protector occluding an opening in a spout of a pourer in a blocked position to the protector moving away from the opening in the spout in an unblocked position.
In some aspects, the techniques broadly described herein relate to a pour assembly further including the pourer inserted in a bottle containing a liquid; and the predefined distance is sufficient to prevent the liquid from contacting the protector during a pour.
In some aspects, the techniques broadly described herein relate to a pour assembly further including the rod holder positioned between the protector and the stop.
In some aspects, the techniques broadly described herein relate to a pour assembly wherein the rod holder is configured to prevent the rod from traveling further than the predefined distance during a pour.
In some aspects, the techniques broadly described herein relate to a pour assembly further including a guide leg extending from the rod holder at an angle that is out of alignment with a direction the rod holder extends.
In some aspects, the techniques broadly described herein relate to a pour assembly further including the torsion lever extending from a first end of the retention member to the torsion spring; and the rod holder extending from the torsion spring to a second end of the retention member; wherein the torsion lever and the rod holder extend from the torsion spring in different directions.
In some aspects, the techniques broadly described herein relate to a pour assembly further including the rod holder having a hook-like shape.
This has outlined, rather broadly, the features, advantages, solutions, and benefits of the disclosure in order that the description that follows may be better understood. Additional features, advantages, solutions, and benefits of the disclosure will be described in the following. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that this disclosure may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures and related operations for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions and related operation do not depart from the teachings of the disclosure as set forth in the appended claims. The novel features, together with further objects and advantages, will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying Figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the Figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present disclosure.
The disclosure described herein is directed to different aspects of a pour assembly. The detailed description set forth below, in connection with the appended drawings, is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. These descriptions include specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the various concepts and aspects of the pour assembly. The disclosure is described herein with reference to certain aspects, iterations, embodiments, and examples but it is understood that the disclosure can be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the aspects set forth herein. It will be apparent, however, to those skilled in the art that these concepts and aspects may be practiced without these specific details. As described herein, the use of the term “and/or” is intended to represent an “inclusive OR”, and the use of the term “or” is intended to represent an “exclusive OR”.
Although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements or components, these elements or components should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element or component from another. Hence, a first element discussed herein could be termed a second element without departing from the teachings of the present application. It is understood that actual systems or fixtures embodying the disclosure can be arranged in many different ways with many more features and elements beyond what is shown in the drawings. For the same or similar elements or features, the same reference numbers may be used throughout the disclosure.
It is to be understood that when an element or component is referred to as being “on” another element or component, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. Furthermore, relative terms such as “between”, “within”, “below”, and similar terms, may be used herein to describe a relationship of one element or component to another. It is understood that these terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the disclosure in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures.
With reference to the Figures, aspects of a pour assembly 10 having a pourer 12 and a spout protector 14 for use with a bottle 16 or other container are shown according to the disclosure. The pourer 12 comprises one or more of a seal 18, a spout 20, and an air return 22, including those presently known in the art. In other aspects, the spout protector 14 comprises one or more of a protector 24, a shaft or rod 26, one or more stops 28, and a retention member 30.
In some aspects, and with reference to the exemplars depicted in
In yet other aspects, and with reference to the exemplars depicted in
In yet other aspects of the pourer 12, and with reference to the exemplars depicted in
In further aspects, and with reference to the exemplars depicted in
In other aspects, and with reference to the exemplars of
In other aspects of the present invention, and with reference to the exemplars of
In other aspects of the present invention, and with reference to the exemplars of
In particular aspects, and with reference to the exemplars of
The present invention contemplates various configurations of the one or more stops 28 that provides for similar operation with the one or more stops 28 comprising fewer than or more than the one or more stops 28 comprising the first stop 28A, the second stop 28B, and the third stop 28C. In still other aspects, the second stop 28B has a size, shape, and/or density greater than at least the first stop 28A to facilitate the dislodging and occluding action described herein. In some such aspects, the one or more stops 28 are comprised of one or more springs, one or more weights, or a combination of spring(s) and weight(s). Also contemplated within the aspects of the present invention is a connection of the one or more stops 28 that provide for manual detachment to the rod 26 as discussed previously, which provides for similar advantages attributed thereto. In other aspects, the one or more stops 28 is fixedly connected to the rod 26 such that manual detachment is not possible, such as by way of welding or monolithic, single-body construction.
In other aspects, and with reference to the exemplars of
In further aspects, and with reference to
In yet other aspects, the torsion lever 74 extends from the first end 84 to the torsion spring 76. In further aspects, the torsion lever 74 extends outwardly from the torsion spring 76, which provides the advantage of facilitating use of the torsion lever 74 as described herein. The torsion lever 74, in other aspects, is configured to be manually manipulated to increase an internal diameter 88 of the torsion spring 76 for selective and static connection to the tube 52 of the air return 22 as described herein.
In still further aspects, the torsion spring 76 is sized and shaped to receive and engage the tube 52 of the air return 22 within the internal diameter 88 of the torsion spring 76. Accordingly, in certain aspects, the internal diameter 88 of the torsion spring 76 is smaller than an external diameter of the tube 52 of the air return 22. When the torsion lever 74 is moved against the action of the torsion spring 76, the internal diameter 88 is temporarily expanded to be greater than that of the tube 52 to allow selective placement about a length of the tube 52 and thereafter the torsion lever 74 is released causing the internal diameter 88 of the torsion spring 76 to reduce and thereby statically connecting the retention member 30 to the air return 22. This process is repeatable to relocate and statically secure the position of the retention member 30 on the air return 22.
In yet other aspects, the rod holder 78 is configured to be positioned about the rod 26 of the spout protector 14 to prevent the rod 26 from traveling beyond the predefined distance 72 during a pour and in further aspects, to align the rod 26 through the hollow interior of the seal 18 and the hollow interior 48 of the spout 20 to allow unfettered movement of the spout protector 14 during a pour of the bottle 16. In further aspects, the rod holder 78 extends from the torsion spring 76 to the second end 86 of the retention rod 82. In some aspects, the torsion lever 74 and the rod holder 78 extend parallel to one another and in the same direction from the torsion spring 76 thereby creating a space 90 in which the rod 26 is received to accomplish the configurations discussed herein. In other aspects, the rod holder 78 extends away from the torsion spring 76 in a direction away from the torsion lever 74 such that operation of the torsion lever 74 is not obstructed by the rod holder 78. In still further aspects, the rod holder 78 has a hook-like shape to permit the rod holder 78 to wrap at least partially around the rod 26 thereby preventing the rod 26 from escaping a position within the rod holder 78. In certain aspects, the rod holder 78 has the guide leg 80 that extends from the rod holder 78 to the second end 86 of the retention rod 82. In some aspects, the guide leg 80 extends at an angle out of alignment with the rod holder 78. In some such aspects, guide leg 80 is configured to facilitate crimping the rod holder 78 around the rod 26 to further prevent the rod 26 from escaping a position within the rod holder 78 and to also provide for improved alignment and movement of the rod 26 during a pour of the bottle 16.
In still further aspects, a portioner 92 is positioned on the rod 26 between the protector 24 and the one or more stops 28, as well as above the retention member 30. In some aspects the portioner 92 is configured to limit the amount of the liquid 36 that can be poured in a single tilt of the bottle 16 by closing off the spout 20 from within the hollow interior 48, which is facilitated in aspects of the spout 20 having a tapered shape.
In an exemplary assembly wherein the protector 24, the rod 26, and the one or more stops 28 are detachably connected, the spout protector 14 is assembled by inserting the rod 26 through the pourer 12. Once inserted or before insertion, the protector 24 is connected to the top end 64 of the rod 26. Then, the tube 52 of the air return 22 is connected to the retention member 30. Thereafter, the one or more stops 28 are connected to the lower portion 66 of the rod 26 such that the retention member 30 is positioned between the one or more stops 28 and the bottom end 38 of the seal 18. The seal 18 of the pourer 12 is then inserted into the bottle 16.
In an exemplary operation, while the bottle 16 is upright, the weight of the one or more stops 28 and the rod 26, along with gravitational forces, pull the spout protector 14 downwards until the protector 24 is received over and/or in the top end 46 of the spout 20 in the blocked position. When the bottle 16 is tilted to be poured, the weight of the protector 24 and the rod 26 along with gravitational forces cause the spout protector 14 to travel outwardly away from the spout 20 so that liquid can flow from the pourer 12 in the unblocked position. The travel of the spout protector 14 is limited to the predefined distance 72 based on the position of the retention member 30. In some such configurations, the predefined distance 72 is sufficient that during a pour the protector 24 is positioned away from the opening 50 in the spout 20 a sufficient distance that the liquid 36 does not come into contact with the protector 24 during a pour. When the pour is complete, the bottle 16 is turned upright and the process reverses, resulting in the protector 24 again engaging the spout 20 and stopping the movement of the spout protector 14 further into the bottle 16.
Therefore, a pour assembly 10 has been provided that protects a pour assembly from contaminants, is easy to clean, can be retrofitted to existing pourers, operates through the natural movement of a pour, is simple to replace, is cost-effective, simple to use, limits or prevents evaporation, and improves upon the art.
From the above discussion and accompanying figures and claims it will be appreciated that the pour assembly 10 offers many advantages over the prior art. Although the present disclosure and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions, modifications, and alterations can be made herein without departing from the technology of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. The scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular configurations of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification only expressly stated otherwise. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure, processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding configurations described herein may be utilized according to the present disclosure. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within their scope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.
The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.
This application claims the benefit U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/393,056 filed Jul. 28, 2022, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/402,541 filed Aug. 31, 2022, the contents of these applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63393056 | Jul 2022 | US | |
| 63402541 | Aug 2022 | US |
