AU725495B3

AU725495B3 - A bottle

Info

Publication number: AU725495B3
Application number: AU25235/00A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Ross James Hohl
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-04-03
Filing date: 2000-04-03
Publication date: 2000-10-12
Anticipated expiration: 2001-10-12

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A PETTY PATENT Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: Invention Title: Ross James HOHL As above CULLEN CO., Patent Trade Mark Attorneys, 239 George Street, Brisbane, QId. 4000, Australia.

A BOTTLE The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to me: A BOTTLE Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to bottles and, in particular, to bottles that are used to store liquid in a liquid dispensing apparatus, and which are inverted during use.

The invention has been developed primarily for a bottle or similar device used for storing drinking water and will be described hereinafter with reference to this application. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to this particular use.

Description of the Prior Art Bottled drinking water dispensers have become commonplace.

They are often used in places such as offices, reception areas and tea rooms of many different businesses where there is a relatively large demand for cool clean drinking water.

Bottled drinking water dispensers have a base unit comprising a dispensing bowl, a tap from this bowl and sometimes a cooling mechanism to cool the water contained in the dispensing bowl. Water contained in the dispensing bowl is drained by gravity via the tap into a cup or other portable container. A large bottle (usually plastic) containing the water is inverted with the end of the neck of the bottle being below the water level in the bowl.

As water is drained from the dispensing bowl, the level of the water in the bowl steadily decreases. Once the level of the water in the dispensing bowl is too low to fully cover the outlet of the bottle, air enters the bottle and an amount of water from the bottle escapes into the bowl making the water level rise until the outlet of the bottle is again fully covered by water.

During the period of time in which the outlet of the bottle is not fully covered, the pressure differential between the air contained in the bottle and the air outside the bottle causes additional air from outside of the bottle to be forced into the interior of the bottle. The aforementioned addition of air to the interior of the bottle presents itself as a gurgling sound that can be loud and abrupt in a quiet environment.

It can be appreciated that if a water dispenser is situated in a noise sensitive environment (such as a library for example), then it is obvious that the previously mentioned loud and abrupt gurgling sound would be undesirable.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a bottle which may overcome the above mentioned disadvantage or provide the consumer with a useful or commercial choice.

Summary of the Invention According to the invention there is provided a container for storing a potable liquid in a potable liquid dispensing apparatus, the container comprising: a necked portion having an outlet and at least one opening in a side of the necked portion that is spaced away from the outlet and that enables the inside of the container to communicate with the outside of the container, wherein during use the necked portion is inserted into a dispensing vessel containing a liquid body such that the at least one opening is just below the surface level of the liquid body.

The size, shape, position and number of the at least one opening can be varied to suit.

The at least one opening can be an aperture that extends completely through a side wall of the bottle.

The at least one opening could consist of a tube. A first end of the tube communicates with the exterior of the bottle and a second end of the tube communicates with the interior of the bottle so as to be either above or below the level of the liquid in the bottle.

The at least one opening can have an internal diameter that does not exceed The bottle can be of various shapes and sizes and can be constructed of a variety of suitable materials.

Brief Description of the Drawings An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a bottle according to a first embodiment of the present invention; and Fig. 2 illustrates the operation of the bottle of Fig. 1 in a potable liquid dispensing apparatus.

A side elevation of the preferred embodiment of a bottle 10 is illustrated in Fig. 1. The bottle 10 is substantially the same as conventional water bottles that are used in gravity feed water dispensing apparatus.

The bottle 10 can be constructed of any suitable material such as plastic and comprises a main body portion 11 that is substantially cylindrical in shape and is completely sealed at a first end. A second end of the main body portion 11 tapers into a narrower neck portion 12. The second end is not sealed and functions as an inlet/outlet.

An aperture 13 extends completely through a side wall of the neck portion 12. In this embodiment the aperture 13 is circular in shape and has a diameter of 4mm. The diameter of the aperture 13 is substantially less than the diameter of the inlet/outlet of the bottle 10. It should be appreciated that the aperture 13 is not limited to being circular in shape and could, for example, be rectangular in shape.

Fig. 2 illustrates the operation of the bottle 10 in a water dispensing apparatus (not completely shown). The bottle 10, which contains water 14, is inverted and positioned in the water dispensing apparatus so that the water 14 can flow into a dispensing bowl 18 containing water 19.

Normally, the water 19 in the dispensing bowl 18 will be of a sufficient quantity so that the level 17 of the water 19 will be above the aperture 13. Thus, the air outside of the bottle 10 will be unable to enter the bottle 10 via the aperture 13.

If some of the water 19 is drained from the bowl 18, then the level 17 of the water 19 in the bowl 18 will decrease. If the level 17 decreases sufficiently so that the aperture 13 is exposed to the outside air then two things will happen, some of the water 14 will drain from the bottle into the bowl 18, and air will progressively be allowed into the bottle The quantity of water 14 that is drainedfrom the bottle 10 will be sufficient to increase the water level 17 so that the water 19 in the bowl 18 rises again to cover the aperture 13. The outflow of water 14 from the bottle results in the water level 15 in the bottle decreasing.

Since the size of the aperture 13 is much less than that of the inlet/outlet of the bottle, the air that enters the bottle 10 through the aperture 13 will do so progressively. Thus, instead of having large bubbles of air abruptly making their way through the water 14 into the bottle 10, many small bubbles 16 of air will enter the bottle 10 instead, resulting in a substantially quieter operation.

The foregoing describes only one embodiment of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art, can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention.

It is to be understood that the term "comprising" as used herein is to be understood in the inclusive sense of "having" or "including" and not in lo the exclusive sense of "consisting essentially of'.

Claims

1. A container for storing a potable liquid in a potable liquid dispensing apparatus, the container comprising: a necked portion having an outlet and at least one opening in a side of the necked portion that is spaced away from the outlet and that enables the inside of the container to communicate with the outside of the container, wherein during use the necked portion is inserted into a dispensing vessel containing a liquid body such that the at least one opening is just below the surface level of the liquid body. lo

2. The bottle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one opening has an internal diameter that does not exceed

3. The bottle as claimed in claims 1 or 2 substantially as herein described with reference to the drawings. DATED this 4th day of August 2000 Ross James HOHL By his Patent Attorneys CULLEN CO.