GB2578052A

GB2578052A - Apparatus, systems and methods for dispensing drinks, food, and other liquids

Info

Publication number: GB2578052A
Application number: GB1919277.2A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Showalter Edward
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2017-05-26
Filing date: 2018-07-24
Publication date: 2020-04-15
Also published as: WO2018218258A2; ZA201907747B; WO2018218258A3; CA3065150A1; RU2019141331A3; EP3630647A4; EP3630647A2; GB201919277D0; CO2019014499A2; RU2019141331A; JP2021513934A

Abstract

A self-emptying container having: a top; a bottom; a plurality of vertical walls extending between the bottom and the top; an inner bag for holding contents to be dispensed; a female coupling configured to receive and establish a friction seal with a male coupling of an external device for inserting or extracting the contents to or from the container after the friction seal is established between the female and male couplings; and at least one independent panel positioned inside the container; a compressible element associated with the at least one independent panel wherein during filling of the inner bag the compressible element is compressed, thus causing the at least one independent panel to exercise pressure onto the inner bag, and thus, helping to empty the inner bag.

Claims

1. A self-emptying container having a plurality of structural elements, the plurality of structural elements comprising: a top; a bottom; a plurality of vertical walls extending between the bottom and the top; an inner bag for holding contents to be dispensed; a female coupling configured to receive and establish a friction seal with a male coupling of an external device for inserting or extracting the contents to or from the container through a pour spout associated with the female and male couplings after the friction seal is established between the female and male couplings; and at least one panel positioned inside the container and configured to move in a first direction away from a center of the container or a second direction towards the center of the container; a compressible element associated with the at least one panel wherein during filling of the inner bag the compressible element is compressed and the at least one panel moves in the first direction; and wherein during emptying of the inner bag the compressible element is decompressed and the at least one panel moves in the second direction; thus causing the at least one independent panel to exercise pressure onto the inner bag, and thus, helping to empty the inner bag.

2. The container of claim 1, wherein the female coupling is configured such that the friction seal is established by applying a weight of the male coupling to the female coupling by placement of the male coupling on top of the female coupling.

3. The container of claim 2, further comprising the external device, wherein the external device is a food or beverage dispenser, wherein the contents are a food or a beverage, and wherein the weight applied to the female coupling further comprises a weight of a portion of the food or beverage dispenser applied to the male coupling.

4. The container of claim 1, wherein the plurality of structural elements are made of a single recyclable material.

5. The container of claim 1, wherein the female coupling is rounded and tapered and thus configured to receive a male coupling that is also rounded and tapered.

6. The container of claim 1, wherein the at least one panel is a floor panel below the inner bag and above the bottom of the container.

7. The container of claim 6, wherein the compressible element comprises a plurality of elastic bands, connecting the floor panel to the top of the container, such that a movement of the floor panel is assisted by the plurality of elastic bands and the floor plate lifts the inner bag upwards, and as such, helps to empty the inner bag.

8. The container of claim 1, wherein the at least one panel is adjacent to one of the vertical walls and outside of the inner bag.

9. The container of claim 1, further comprising a hand pump integral to the container and configured to be actuated by a user for pumping air into the container between the inner bag and the walls of the container; an air valve through which air can be pumped in a space between the container and the inner bag to cause contents of the container to exit the container.

10. The container of claim 1, the vertical walls further comprising folds, and the container further comprising a plurality of corners, a plurality of adjustable and removable corner, braces wherein each comer of the plurality of corners is configured to receive one corner brace of the plurality adjustable and removable corner braces; and a plurality of extendable legs, wherein each extendable leg of the plurality of extendable legs is configured to collapse into a first short length, or extend into a second long length such that the container collapses into a flat shape when the folds are folded and the plurality of extendable legs is collapsed into the first short length, and such that the container expands into an expanded shape when the folds are unfolded and the plurality of extendable legs is extended into the second long length.

11. The container of claim 10, further comprising a plurality of pre-applied adhesives, such that the expanded shape of the container is supported by using the plurality of pre-applied adhesives to hold the expanded shape.

12. The container of claim 1, further comprising a scannable tag, readable by a scanner.

13. The container of claim 1 further comprising a safety relief valve associated with the pour spout, the safety relief valve comprising a housing and a lid that extends into the housing, the safety relief valve being configured to open by air pushing the lid out of the housing such that the air inside of the container is released to prevent a buildup of air pressure inside of the container.

14. The container of claim 13, the safety relief valve further comprising a plurality of ridges inside of the housing, and a hook extending from the lid into the housing, the hook being configured to hold the lid inside of the housing in a closed state by hooking into the plurality of ridges, and being configured to release the lid out of the housing as a result of a buildup of air pressure inside of the container, the safety relief valve further configured to self-reset the lid to the closed state afterwards.

15. An adapter comprising a female coupling configured to receive and establish a friction seal with a male coupling of an external device for inserting or extracting a liquid to or from a container, by applying a load to the male coupling after inserting it into the female coupling, the load being provided by the weight of a portion of the external device, the adapter being configured for insertion in a mouth of the container and secured therein using a stretchable membrane that fits snugly around the mouth of the container for obtaining a tight seal, the stretchable membrane having tabs for a user to grasp.

16. An adapter for an airtight connection to a container and for airtight dispensing of the container's contents, the adapter comprising: a gate valve, a tube extending from the gate valve to a female coupling, the female coupling being configured for insertion in a mouth of the container, the female coupling having a dispensing valve for opening when dispensing the container's contents and closing when dispensing is finished as needed, such that air is prevented from entering the container, and an airtight connector for connecting the adapter to the container.

17. The adapter of claim 16 wherein the airtight connector is a stretchable membrane having tabs for a user to grasp.

18. The adapter of claim 15, further comprising a storage unit removably associated with the container, configured to hold a supply of stretchable membranes.

19. The adapter of claim 16, further comprising a storage unit removably associated with the container, configured to hold a supply of stretchable membranes.

20. The container of claim 1, further comprising a mixing apparatus mounted inside the container and actuable from the outside of the container for mixing the contents with ingredients added by a user, wherein the mixing apparatus includes a rotatable shaft and paddle blades coupled with the rotatable shaft, and wherein the mixing apparatus is actuable by a motor configured to lock with the rotatable shaft by a motor coupling having a fin pin, such that the motor and the rotatable shaft are taken apart by a quick release mechanism.