GB2361001A

GB2361001A - Valved cap member

Info

Publication number: GB2361001A
Application number: GB0008394A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kuo-Ping Ho
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-04-05
Filing date: 2000-04-05
Publication date: 2001-10-10
Also published as: GB0008394D0

Abstract

A cap member 50, eg. for use in a drink dispenser for a cyclist, comprises a fitting section 53 and a mouth-held section 54, the fitting section having an inward socket 51 which extends to the inner face of the mouth-held section, the outer face of the mouth-held section having a slit 55 which communicates with the socket, and the cap member having a variable diameter whereby the walls flare outwardly from the fitting section to the mouth held section. The inner wall of the socket may have at least one pair of opposite projecting stop sections 52,52'. The base of the socket of the fitting section can be formed with an arch shape. The upper and lower edges of the mouth-held section may be formed with dents 56. The cap member can be held securely in a user's mouth by gripping the mouth held section between the user's teeth.

Description

2361001 SLIPPROOF SOFT SUCKING MOUTH STRUCTURE

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a slipproof soft sucking mouth structure which in normal state is completely watertightly sealed. The sucking mouth has such a configuration that a user can conveniently hold the sucking mouth in mouth without easy slippage out of the mouth. The sucking mouth is applicable to various kinds of water discharging structures of water containers.

In a racing, when a bicycle rider needs to drink water, the rider must hold the handle bar with one hand and hold a kettle with the other hand. This is inconvenient and dangerous.

In order to eliminate the above shortcoming, a water containing bag with a sucking mouth has been developed. The water is contained in a sealed bag body. A conduit extends from the bottom of the bag body. The sucking mouth is fitted with the other end of the conduit for a bicycle rider to drink the water. Referring to Fig. 1, the sucking mouth is composed of a communicating adapter A and an outer cap B. One end of the communicating adapter A is disposed with a ratchet fitting section AI for inserting into the conduit. The other end of the adapter A is disposed With a sucking mouth fitting section A2 for fitting with the outer cap B. The outer cap B has a dimension corresponding to the outer diameter of the sucking mouth fitting section A2. The top edge of the outer cap B is disposed with a skirt section Bl. The top face of the outer cap B is formed with an opening section B2. A user can conveniently hold and bite such sucking mouth in his/her mouth for sucking water. However, the outer cap B is not sufficiently sealedly fitted with the adapter A so that the opening 1 1 1 section B2 is not watertight and leakproof.

Fig. 2 shows a leakproof sucking mouth structure disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,060,833 " camel back ". A strong spring 21 and a steel ball 22 are disposed in the sucking mouth 20. The spring 21 presses the steel ball 22 against a water exit 23 to avoid leakage. However, after a long period of contact between the steel ball 22 and the spring 21 and the water, the steel ball and the spring tend to rust. This is harmful to health. Moreover, when drinking water, the steel ball and the spring must be forcedly pushed backward for sucking water. It is strength-consuming and inconvenient for a user to at the same time bite and suck water.

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 show a personal hydration device with improved exit valve disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,727,714, which improves the problem of leakage and enables a user to conveniently suck water. The device has a cylindrical sucking mouth 30 formed with an opening section 44. The inner side of the opening section is additionally disposed with a rib 42 to increase the wall thickness of the opening section 44 and enhance the sealing effect thereof Such sucking mouth is able to improve the shortcoming of the sucking mouth of Fig. 1 and effectively avoid leakage. Also, such sucking mouth is able to reduce the difficulty in sucking of the sucking mouth of Fig. 2. However, such sucking mouth has unified diameter and polished surface and is apt to slip out from the mouth of a user. Therefore, the user still needs to hold the sucking mouth with a hand.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a slipproof soft sucking mouth structure which is effectively watertightly sealed without leakage 2 of water.

It is a flirther object of the present invention to provide the above slipproof soft sucking mouth structure which enables a user to conveniently hold the sucking 5 mouth in mouth without easy slippage out of the mouth.

It is still a flirther object of the present invention to provide the above slipproof soft sucking mouth structure which enables a user to easily bite and suck out water.

According to the above objects, the slipproof soft sucking mouth structure of the present invention is a cap member made of resilient material. The cap member includes a fitting section and a mouth-held section. The fitting section of the cap member is formed with a socket inward extending to inner face of the mouth-held section. A top face of the mouth-held section is formed with a cut section communicating with the socket. The mouth-held section of the sucking mouth has ununified diameter. The upper and lower edges of the mouth-held section are formed with several dents. The fitting section of the sucking mouth is fitted with a conduit of the water bag. The resilient force of the diverging mouth-held section itself compresses and makes the central cut section watertightly sealed without leakage of water. A user can conveniently hold the mouth-held section in mouth without easy slippage. The dents formed on the upper and lower edges of the mouth-held section provide a suitable position for the user's teeth to bite and exert pressure so as to controllably open the cut section for sucking out the water.

The present invention can be best understood through the following description and accompanying drawings wherein:

3 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a perspective exploded view of a conventional sucking mouth; Fig. 2 is a sectional assembled view of the sucking mouth of U.S. Patent No. 5,060,833; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the sucking mouth of U.S. Patent No. 5, 727,714; Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the sucking mouth of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a longitudinal ectional view of the sucking mouth of Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the sucking mouth of the present invention; Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7-7 of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8-8 of Fig. 7; and Fig. 9 is a sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer to Figs. 6 to 8. The sucking mouth 50 of the present invention is an elongated cap member made of resilient material. One end of the sucking mouth 50 is disposed with a fitting section 53, while the other end thereof is an outward diverging mouth-held section 54. Referring to Fig. 8, the bottom of the cap member is formed with a socket 51. Two lateral inner sides of the socket 51 are formed with opposite projecting stop sections 52, 52' at front and middle sections. The bottom of the cap member, that is, the rear section of the socket 51 is formed with a fitting section 53. The top section of the cap member such diverges outward as to form a flat elliptic mouth-held section 54. The top face of the mouth-held section 54 is formed with a longitudinal cut section 55 communicating with the socket 51. The upper and lower edges of the mouth-held section 54 are respectively formed with 4 several dents 56.

The fitting section 53 of the sucking mouth 50 is fitted with a conduit 60 of the water bag. The sucking mouth 50 is pushed inward to make the edge of the opening of the conduit 60 abut against the stop section 5 2 of the front section of the socket 5 1. The mouth-held section 54 has a flat elliptic configuration corresponding to the profile of the human oral cavity so that a user can conveniently hold the sucking mouth in mouth. The outward diverging design of the mouth-held section 54 makes it uneasy for the sucking mouth to slip out from the user's mouth.

Referring to Figs. 6 and 8, the dents 56 formed on the upper and lower edges of the mouth-held section 54 provide a suitable position for the user's teeth to exert pressure. The elongated cap member is not so hard that a user must bite open the cap member with great strength. Therefore, after exerting pressure onto the dents of the upper and lower edges, the cut section 55 is subject to the pressure and opened to form an opening section. The user's mouth then can suck the water from the water bag through the conduit 60 and the cut section 55 of the sucking mouth into the user's mouth. After the teeth of the user release the mouth-held section 54, the pressure exerted onto the cut section 55 disappears. The resilient force of the lateral walls of the mouth-held section 54 again restores the cut section 55 into a watertight state to avoid leakage of water.

Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 9, the circumference of the base of the socket 51 is formed with an arch shape 57 to enhance the thickness of the wall of the mouth- held section 54. Therefore, the cut section 55 is more watertight sealed so as to completely seal the water.

According to the above arrangement, the present invention has the following advantages:

1. The outward diverging mouth-held section is a semi-elliptic body with certain thickness of two lateral walls. Therefore, the sealing effect.for the cut section is enhanced and the problems of loosening and leakage of water existing in the conventional sucking mouth are eliminated.

2. The mouth-held section has ununified diameter - in accordance with the profile of human oral cavity. Therefore, a user can easily hold and bite the mouthheld section in mouth without easy slippage thereof out of the mouth.

3. The cap member is elongated and the mouth-held section is not so hard as to be difficult for a user to bite.

4. The circumference of the base of the socket of the fitting section is formed with an arch shape so as to enhance the watertight sealing effect for the cut section and thus completely avoid leakage of water.

The above embodiment is only used to illustrate the present invention, not intended to limit the scope thereof. Many modifications of the above embodiment can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

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Claims

1. Slipproof soft sucking mouth structure which is a cap member made of resilient material, the cap member comprising a fitting section and a mouth-held section, the fitting section of the cap member being formed with a socket inward extending to inner face of the mouth-held section, a top face of the mouth-held section being formed with a cut section. communicating with the socket, said sucking mouth structure being characterized in that the sucking mouth has ununified diameter, a transverse axis of the cap member being larger U= a longitudinal axis of the cap member, the cap member outward diverging from two sides of the fitting section to the mouth-held section.

2. Slipproof soft sucking mouth structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein an inner wall of the socket is formed with at least one pair of opposite projecting stop is sections.

3. Slipproof soft sucking mouth structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the circumference of the base of the socket of the fitting section is formed with an arch shape.

4. Slipproof soft sucking mouth structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upper and lower edges of the mouth-held section are respectively formed with several dents.

5. Slipproof soft - sucking mouth structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein a longitudinal axis of the mouth-held section of the cap member is larger than a transverse axis thereof 7

6. A sucking mouth structure substantially as described herein with reference to Figs. 6 to 8 or Fig. 9 of the drawings.

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