Patent Application
20210030178
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The disclosure and prior art relates to straw devices and more particularly pertains to a new straw device for drinking remotely from a water bottle.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a fluid coupling is fluidly coupled to a water bottle. A hose is fluidly coupled to the fluid coupling to receive water from the water bottle. The fluid coupling is positionable in a fed condition having the water bottle being inverted. In this way the fluid coupling and the hose are each gravity fed with respect to the water in the water bottle. A valve unit is fluidly coupled to the hose. The valve unit is operated by a user's mouth to deliver the water from the water bottle into the user's mouth when the user operates the valve unit.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
The outer wall 20 has an inside surface 22 and the inside surface 22 has a threaded portion 24 that is positioned adjacent to the second end 18. The threaded portion 24 threadably engages the water bottle 14 and the inside surface 22 of the outer wall 20 conforms to contours of a neck 26 of the water bottle 14. In this way the fluid coupling 12 forms a fluid impermeable seal with the water bottle 14. The water bottle 14 may be any commercially produced water bottle that has been purchased in a retail environment or the like.
A hose 28 is fluidly coupled to the fluid coupling 12 such that the hose 28 receives water from the water bottle 14. The hose 28 has a primary end 30 and a secondary end 32, and the primary end 30 is fluidly coupled to the second end 18 of the fluid coupling 12. The fluid coupling 12 is positionable in a fed condition having an axis extending through the first end 16 and the second end 18 of the fluid coupling 12 being vertically oriented. In this way the water bottle 14 is inverted such that the fluid coupling 12 and the hose 28 is each gravity fed with respect to the water in the water bottle 14. Additionally, the hose 28 is positioned into a J shape when the fluid coupling 12 is positioned in the fed condition. In this way the water bottle 14 and the fluid coupling 12 may be stored in a backpack or the like, while the hose 28 extends upwardly out of the backpack for drinking.
A valve unit 34 is fluidly coupled to the hose 28. The valve unit 34 may be operated by a user's mouth to deliver the water from the water bottle 14 into the user's mouth when the user operates the valve unit 34. In this way the user can remotely drink from the water bottle 14. The valve unit 34 comprises a mouthpiece 36 that has a first end 38, a second end 40 and a tunnel 42 extending through the first end 38 and the second end 40 of the mouthpiece 36. The first end 38 of the mouthpiece 36 is fluidly coupled to the secondary end 32 of the hose 28. In this way the mouthpiece 36 receives the water from the water bottle 14. The mouthpiece 36 may be comprised of a resiliently compressible material to inhibit damaging the user's teeth when the mouthpiece 36 is positioned in the user's mouth.
A valve 44 is positioned in the tunnel 42. The valve 44 is positionable in a closed condition to inhibit the water from passing through the mouthpiece 36. The valve 44 is positionable in an open condition to facilitate the water to pass through the mouthpiece 36. A lever 46 is rotatably coupled to the mouthpiece 36 and the lever 46 engages the valve 44. The lever 46 urges the valve 44 between the open condition and the closed condition when the lever 46 is manipulated.
In use, the fluid coupling 12 is threadably coupled to the water bottle 14 when the water bottle 14 is opened. The water bottle 14 is inverted thereby facilitating the water in the water bottle 14 to be gravity fed into the fluid coupling 12 and the hose 28. The water bottle 14 is stored in a backpack or the like and the hose 28 is routed to the user's mouth. In this way the user can drink the water in the water bottle 14 through the hose 28. The user positions the mouthpiece 36 in their mouth for drinking. Additionally, the lever 46 is manipulated to opening and closing the valve 44 in the mouthpiece 36.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
