WO1994018113A1

WO1994018113A1 - Dispenser for liquid drinks

Info

Publication number: WO1994018113A1
Application number: PCT/EP1994/000413
Authority: WO
Inventors: Dennis Laurier Rivard; Ehreth Aaron Horinek; Michael Richard Proulx; Klaus Wächter
Original assignee: Dennis Laurier Rivard; Ehreth Aaron Horinek; Michael Richard Proulx; Waechter Klaus
Priority date: 1993-02-12
Filing date: 1994-02-11
Publication date: 1994-08-18
Also published as: EP0682642B1; ES2096452T3; DE59401339D1; EP0682642A1; AU6109494A

Abstract

A dispenser for liquid drinks has a housing in which is provided a preferably coolable liquid reservoir (60) and an upwardly open conical seating surface (16) for supporting the area (20) next to the neck of a reversed bottle (64) or the like with a downwards pointing neck. A pipe (40) which projects downwards into the housing is linked to the reservoir (60). An upper end section of the pipe provided with an opening (22) dips into the bottle neck and if required actuates a closure element inside the bottle neck in order to establish fluid communication through the pipe between the bottle and the reservoir. The upper end section of the pipe has a valve arrangement (24) with a valve element held by gravity and/or a spring in a closed position in which it closes the opening of the upper end section of the pipe. The valve element may be displaced into an open position by the bottle neck or by a closure element located in the bottle neck.

Description

Dispenser for drinkable liquids

The invention relates to a dispenser for drinkable liquids.

A dispenser of the type mentioned at the outset is known from EP 438 451. In a housing there is a reservoir for holding the liquid, which can be cooled or heated using suitable means. The reservoir is connected to a filling tube which is arranged in the housing and projects into the interior of a bottle neck when the bottle is placed on the housing with the mouth facing downward. The bottle or the area near the neck is supported on a conical seat of the housing.

In order to prevent the liquid from running out of the bottle when it is placed on the housing, the bottle has a suitable closure which, when placed on the conical seat is opened automatically. For example, it is known to arrange a flap or a breakable membrane or the like inside the bottle neck, which is opened by the filling tube. From EP 438 451 it is known to close the mouth of the bottle by a cap which has a hollow cylindrical section protruding into the bottle neck. The hollow cylindrical section is designed to be breakable in its inner region. It is separated by the filling tube, so that the liquid can flow downward into the reservoir of the dispenser by gravity through lateral openings in the filling tube. If the bottle is lifted off, the broken closure element is telescopically moved into the remaining part of the hollow cylindrical section. For this purpose there is a snap connection between the filling tube and the breakable closure element.

In the known dispenser, the reservoir is connected to the atmosphere via an opening in the housing. A filter sits in the opening, which prevents dirt particles from entering the interior of the reservoir through the inflowing air. The inflow of air into the reservoir is necessary so that air can flow in when the bottle is emptied.

If there is no bottle on the housing, there is a direct connection between the reservoir and the surroundings. Contamination can therefore enter the reservoir and contaminate the liquid.

The invention has for its object to improve a dispenser of the type mentioned in that when a bottle is removed from the conical seat, the connection between the reservoir and the atmosphere is automatically interrupted, so that no contamination from the outside can take place. The hygienic conditions should thus be improved.

This object is achieved by the features of patent claim 1.

In the dispenser according to the invention, the upper end section of the filling tube has a valve arrangement with a valve element which is biased by gravity and / or a spring into a closed position in which it closes the opening at the upper end section. The valve element can be from the bottle neck itself, i.e. can be adjusted from its mouth or from a closure element in the bottle neck into the open position. In the case of the dispenser according to the invention, a connection to the reservoir is thus automatically shut off as soon as a bottle is removed, e.g. because it is empty. Dirt particles can therefore no longer get into the reservoir via the fill pipe and contaminate the liquid.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the opening in the filling tube is provided on the side at the upper end, and the valve element is a slide guided by the tube, which is connected to an actuating projection located outside the tube.

Various design alternatives are possible for the formation of the slide. According to the invention, a preferred one is that the valve element is a sleeve which is displaceable on the outside of the upper end section. Section is arranged and in the closed position bears against a seal on the upper end portion. The seal is, for example, an O-ring seal seated on the filling tube, which at the same time limits the upward movement of the sleeve. To actuate the sleeve, a plate connected to the sleeve is preferably provided, against which the mouth of the bottle neck abuts when the bottle is placed on the conical seat. As a result, the sleeve moves into the open position and the liquid can flow from the bottle through the filling tube into the reservoir. The sleeve can be returned to the closed position, for example, by a snap connection being made between the bottle neck and suitable means on the plate, so that when the bottle neck is pulled back, the plate and thus the sleeve are also pulled upward into the closed position. A frictional connection or a snap connection can then ensure that the plate remains in this position. However, it is also conceivable to prestress the sleeve or the plate in the direction of the closed position by means of a spring. The plate preferably has a circumferential seal which interacts with a cylindrical cavity below the conical seat which surrounds the upper end section of the filling tube. When a biasing spring is used, the cavity is preferably provided with an upper shoulder or shoulder, against which the plate rests in the closed position of the sleeve.

Alternatively, a sealing sleeve can be provided below the actuating plate for the sleeve, which is sealingly connected to the underside of the plate and to the bottom of the cavity, so that the filling tube is sealed below the plate and does not contaminate the Opening in the fill pipe can penetrate into the reservoir. In this case, a sleeve closing the opening can also be dispensed with. In the closed position, the plate closes the sleeve from the atmosphere, while the actual sealing takes place through the sleeve. It goes without saying that the cuff must be made of a sufficiently flexible material so that it can yield when the plate is moved into the open position.

In an alternative construction, the valve element is a sleeve which is closed at the upper end and which is telescopically displaceable in the upper end section of the tube. The closed end of the sleeve sealingly cooperates with the upper end of the tube. In the upper end section of the filling pipe, at least one control element is pivotally mounted, of which a control section lying outside the pipe cooperates with a cylindrical inner section of the bottle neck and of which an internal control section cooperates with the sleeve in order to raise the sleeve when the bottle neck engages the control element. The sleeve is preferably biased into the closed position by a spring.

In the constructions described so far, the valve element is actuated by the end of the bottle neck or a configuration of the bottle neck. As already mentioned, it is also possible to actuate via a closure element in the bottle neck, as is described, for example, in EP 438 451. In this context, an embodiment of the invention provides that a slide sleeve is telescopically displaceably mounted within the upper end section of the tube and one that protrudes upward from the tube. having actuating section. A spring biases the slide sleeve into the closed position. The slide sleeve has a radial opening which is connected to the lateral opening of the tube when the slide sleeve is in the open position.

In order to provide a limitation of the fill level in the reservoir, an embodiment of the invention provides that the lower end section of the fill pipe, which extends into the reservoir, has a valve seat, a valve ball being arranged in the pipe below the valve seat, which ball is lighter has a specific weight than the liquid and can be pressed against the valve seat by the liquid penetrating into the tube. A ventilation of the emptying bottle can take place via such a valve arrangement, but further filling of the reservoir is prevented when the level in the reservoir has reached a level at which the valve ball is forced on the valve seat to lie on.

Various design options are conceivable for forming the dispenser housing in the area of the conical seat. One is according to the invention that the housing is closed at the top by a cover which has an annular seal surrounding the tube on the underside, which cooperates with an annular cylindrical extension of the reservoir. This also creates a suitable seal for the reservoir. The ring seal can be arranged on the circumference of a sealing plate which surrounds the tube in a sealing manner. Alternatively, the ring seal can be arranged on a cylindrical projection on the underside of the cover. The conical seat is preferably formed on a separate component which is sealingly received by a circular opening in the cover. An annular seal is preferably arranged on the upper edge of the seat component, for example an O-ring.

The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to drawings.

Fig. 1 shows schematically in section part of the device according to the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the device according to the invention similar to FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a third embodiment of the device according to the invention similar to FIG. 1.

4 shows a fourth embodiment according to the invention in the closed state.

FIG. 5 shows the device according to FIG. 4 in the open state.

Fig. 6 shows the exploded view of a fifth embodiment according to the invention.

A housing 14 (not shown in more detail) for a dispenser has a reservoir 60 which can be cooled or heated by means not shown, as described in EP 438 451. The reservoir 60 is delimited at the top by an annular cylindrical wall 62. The housing 14 has in the upper region an upwardly and outwardly opening conical seat 16 for receiving the conical region 20 of an only indicated bottle 64, which contains, for example, drinking water. The conical seat 16 is cylindrical in the lower region, so that a cylindrical space 18 is formed. The cylindrical space 18 receives a filling arrangement 10, which has a filling tube 40. The filling pipe 40 extends sealingly through a bottom 68 of the conical seat section 16 into the reservoir 60. A slide sleeve 24 is slidably mounted around the tube 40 and is connected to a plate 70. The plate 70 has an O-ring 32 on the circumference, which cooperates in a sealing manner with the wall of the cylinder space 18. The upward movement of the plate 70 is limited by a shoulder 38 of the cylinder space 18. In addition, an annular seal 50 is arranged in the upper end region of the filling pipe 40, against which the plate 70 bears tightly when it is in the upper position. The slide sleeve 24 closes radial openings 22 in the tube 40 in the closed position shown.

The top 30 of the plate 70 has latching means 34, which can be flexible tongues. They act together with a bead 36 of the bottle neck 42. If the bead 36 is pressed against the plate 70, the latching means 34 engage around the bead 36. A flap 56 is arranged in the bottle neck 42 and is pivotably attached to a ring section 52. If, as described, the bottle 64 is placed on the seat section 16, the described locking of the bead 36 with the latching means 34 takes place and the bottle neck presses the plate 70 downward, through which the openings 22 are connected to the interior of the bottle neck. At the same time, the closed end bumps of the tube 40, the flap 56 so that liquid can flow from the bottle 64 through the openings 22 and the tube 40 into the reservoir 60. The counterflow of air into the bottle is realized by suitable means such as are described, for example, in EP 438 451.

If the bottle 64 is removed, the bottle neck 42 with the bead 36 takes the plate 70 up again into the closed position shown in FIG. 1, so that the openings 22 are closed and no impurities enter the reservoir 60 via the openings 22 can. The plate 70 is held in the closed position shown by means of the latching means 34, e.g. due to sufficient friction between the seal 32 and the wall of the cylindrical cavity 18.

Below the bottom 68 of the cavity 18, the tube 40 is surrounded by a sealing plate 72, which carries an O-ring 74 on the circumference, which cooperates sealingly with the inner wall of the cylindrical extension 62. As a result, contamination cannot enter the reservoir 60 from above via the housing.

In Fig. 2, which is largely the same as that of Fig. 1, the same parts are provided with the same reference numerals. 1, the plate 70 is biased into the closed position by a spring 44, which is supported on the bottom 68 of the cavity 18. For sealing purposes, the plate 70 is not provided with a circumferential seal, rather an annular seal 48 is provided between the shoulder 38 and the plate 70. The function of the device according to FIG. 2 is otherwise the same as that of FIG. 1. It is therefore not explained again. In the embodiment according to FIG. 3, those parts which are the same as those of the device according to FIG. 1 are again provided with the same reference numerals. 2 differs from that of FIG. 2 in that a flexible sleeve 53 surrounds the tube 40 in the region of the cavity 18. The sleeve is fastened to the underside of the plate 70 and to the top of the base 68. In this case, no seal interacts with the plate 70. This function is performed by the sealing collar 53. The slide sleeve 24, which closes the openings 22 in the closed position, can also be omitted, since the collar 43 ensures that contaminants cannot enter the pipe 40 via the openings 22. Sealing to the pipe then takes place between the plate 70 and the O-ring 50 on the pipe 40.

In the device 80 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the conical seat, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, is not shown. It can be provided in the same way for a bottle which is only indicated by the neck 82 in FIG. 4. The bottle neck 82 has a bead 84, which partially closes the mouth at 86, the mouth being formed by an inwardly pointing, hollow-cylindrical extension 88.

The device 80 is connected in a manner not shown to a housing for a dispenser. It has an annular flange 90 which delimits a reservoir 92, not shown in more detail, in which the liquid which emerges from the bottle is received. The flange 90 is part of the filling tube 92, the interior 94 of which has radial openings 96 within the reservoir 92. The lower end 98 of the fill tube 92 is completed at 100. A sleeve-shaped slide 102 sits telescopically in the upper part of the tube 92. It is closed at the upper end by a cover section 104 which projects radially beyond the slide 102. It has a groove 106 directed downwards. The groove 106 interacts with an O-ring 108 which is arranged at the upper end of the tube 92. The slide 102 has radial openings 110 below the section 104. Section 104 is connected by a thin rod 112 inside 94 of tube 92 which is connected at the lower end to a spring 114 which is connected to the bottom 100 at the other end. The spring 114 biases the sleeve slide 102 in the direction of the closed position, as shown in FIG. 4, so that the openings 110 are closed.

Triangular cams 116 are pivotally mounted in slots of the tube 92, which are not designated in any more detail. In the position shown in FIG. 4, a control section of the cams 116 projects radially beyond the circumference of the tube 92. A section 118 of the cams 116 engages the lower end of the sleeve slide 102. If the cylindrical extension 88 is therefore moved over the tube 92, the cams 116 are pivoted inwards, as a result of which a control surface 120 pushes the sleeve slide 102 upward into the open position, so that liquid along the arrows 122 into the interior of the sleeve slide 102 and can flow into the interior 94 of the tube 92 into the reservoir 92. If the bottle is removed again upwards, the cams 116 are pivoted outward again by gravity on the slide sleeve 102 or by the spring 114 into the position shown in FIG. 4 position shown.

FIG. 6 shows a cover 130 of an otherwise not shown presented housing for a dispenser that closes the housing at the top and thus the reservoir. The reservoir can have a hollow cylindrical projection 132 drawn in dashed lines. The cover has a ring-cylindrical wall 134 which forms a cylindrical passage 136. In the outside of the wall 134 there is an annular seal 138 which cooperates in a sealing manner with the inside of the attachment 132. Ribs 140 in the upper outer region of the wall 134 limit the cover 130 downwards when it is placed on the housing.

The passage 136 receives a goblet-like component 142, which in its upper region forms a conical seat 144 for a bottle, not shown, similar to the embodiment according to FIGS. 1 to 3. At the upper end, a circumferential ring seal 146 is arranged, which cooperates sealingly with a section 150 of the passage 136. The goblet-like section 142 can be surrounded by a cylindrical apron 152, which can have flexible tongues 154 with an undercut at the free end, which engage under the free end of the wall 134 from below in order to securely fix the component 142 in the cover 130.

The bottom 156 of the goblet-like section 142 has a cylindrical passage 158 for receiving a filling and valve arrangement which is composed of the other components which have been pulled apart and which are to be described in more detail below. As indicated by the dash-dotted arrow, a lower pipe section 160 is arranged in the lower region of the passage 158. It receives a valve ball 162, which is delimited from above by a valve seat 164, which is attached in a section 166 of the pipe section 160 which is enlarged on the inside. The valve seat 164 also forms an abutment for a spring 168. The upper part of the arrangement to be described is formed by a tube section 170 which has an opening 172 at the top and radial openings 174. It receives a sleeve slide 176 which has radial bores 178 below one in the diameter of the smaller actuating pin 180. The actuating pin fits through the upper opening 172 of the pipe section 170 and is also held in this position by means of the spring 168. The spring 168 engages the sleeve slide 176 at 182.

The filling and valve arrangement described is mounted in the passage 158, the pipe section 160 being immersed in the reservoir 184, which is delimited in the upper region by the extension 132. If a bottle is now placed on the conical seat 144, for example a bottle as described in EP 438 451, the pin 180 is constantly pressed downwards against the spring 168 by the removable or breakable closure element, which means that radial openings 174, 178 of pipe section 170 and sleeve slide 176 are aligned with each other. As a result, liquid can flow into the pipe via the openings 174, 178 and into the pipe section 160 via the valve seat 164. There is sufficient space between the ball 162 and the inner wall of the pipe section 160 so that the liquid can flow out of the pipe section 160 downward. The falling out of the ball 162 from the pipe section 160 is prevented by an opening 186 with a smaller cross section. If, however, the liquid level in the reservoir 164 rises, the valve ball 166 is lifted upwards until it finally lies against the valve seat 164. As a result, the opening in the valve seat 164 is closed and further liquid can be drawn from the showed bottle no longer flow into reservoir 164.

An air filter 188 is also installed in component 142 in the upper region, so that there is always a connection between the atmosphere and the reservoir 184. This allows air to flow into the volume released in the bottle.

Claims

Expectations

1. Dispenser for drinkable liquids, with a housing, in which a preferably coolable reservoir for the liquid is provided, and which has an upwardly open conical seat surface for supporting the area near the neck of a bottle or neck arranged downwards the like, a tube which projects into the housing from above and is connected to the reservoir, an opening having an upper end section of the tube dipping into the bottle neck and optionally actuating a closure element in the bottle neck in order to flow over the tube ¬ to establish a connection between the bottle and the reservoir, characterized in that the upper end section of the tube (40, 92, 170) has a valve arrangement with a valve element (24, 102, 176) which is driven by gravity and / or a spring is biased into a closed position in which it closes the opening (24, 110, 174) at the upper end section and that of the bottle hen neck (42, 82) or a closure element in the bottle neck is adjustable in the open position.

2. Dispenser according to claim 1, characterized in that the opening (24, 110, 174) is provided laterally at the upper end of the tube (40, 92, 170) and the Ventilele¬ element from the tube (40, 92, 170) guided slide (24, 102, 176), which is connected to an actuating projection (70, 118, 180) lying outside the tube.

3. Dispenser according to claim 2, characterized in that the valve element is a sleeve (24) which is arranged displaceably on the outside of the upper end section and, in the closed position, bears against a seal (50) on the pipe section.

4. Dispenser according to claim 3, characterized in that the sleeve (24) is connected to a plate (70) which can be actuated from the free end (36) of the bottle neck (42).

5. Dispenser according to claim 4, characterized in that the plate (70) is biased upwards by a spring (44).

6. Dispenser according to claim 4 or 5, characterized gekennzeich¬ net that the plate (70) sealingly cooperates with a hohlzylin¬ drischen closed portion (18) of the housing (14) which surrounds the upper portion of the tube (40) .

7. Dispenser according to claim 4 or 5, characterized gekennzeich¬ net that a sealing sleeve (53) is attached to the underside of the plate (70), the lower end of which is connected to the housing (68).

8. Dispenser according to claim 4, characterized in that the plate (70) cooperates with the lower end of the bottle neck (42) via a releasable snap connection (36, 34).

9. Dispenser according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the valve element is a sleeve (102) which is closed at the upper end and which extends telescopically in the upper end. Section of the tube (92) is displaceable, the closed end of the sleeve (102) sealingly cooperating with the upper end of the tube (92) and in the tube (92) at least one control element (116) is pivotally mounted, one of which control section lying outside the tube (92) interacts with a cylindrical section (88) of the bottle neck (82) and from which an inside control section (118) cooperates with the sleeve (102) in order to engage the sleeve (102) ¬ to lift when the bottle neck (82) engages the control section (116).

10. Dispenser according to claim 9, characterized in that the sleeve (102) is biased by a spring (114) in the closed position.

11. Dispenser according to claim 9 or 10, characterized gekennzeich¬ net that at least one pivotally mounted cam (116) cooperates with the lower end of the slide sleeve (102).

12. Dispenser according to one of claims 9 to 11, characterized ge indicates that the slide sleeve has a radially projecting flange (104) at the upper end which cooperates sealingly with the upper end of the tube (92).

13. Dispenser according to claim 1 and 2, characterized in that a slide sleeve (176) is telescopically displaceably mounted within the upper end portion of the tube (170) and has an actuating portion (180) upwardly from the tube (170), a spring (168) the slide sleeve (176) up into the Preloads the closed position, the slide sleeve (176) has a radial opening (178) which is connected to the lateral opening (174) of the tube (92) when the slide sleeve (176) is in the open position.

14. Dispenser according to one of claims 1 to 13, characterized ge indicates that the lower end portion of the tube (160) has a valve seat (164), below the valve seat (164) has a valve ball (162) in the tube section (160) is arranged, which has a lighter specific weight than the liquid and can be pressed against the valve seat (164) by the liquid in the pipe section (160).

15. Dispenser according to one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the housing is closed at the top by a cover (130) which on the underside comprises a ring seal (40, 160) surrounding the tube ( 74, 138) which interacts with an annular cylindrical upper shoulder (62, 132) of the reservoir (60, 184).

16. Dispenser according to claim 15, characterized in that the ring seal (74) is arranged on a sealing plate (72) which surrounds the tube (40) in a sealing manner.

17. Dispenser according to claim 15, characterized in that the ring seal (138) is arranged on an annular cylindrical attachment (134) on the underside of the cover (130).

18. Dispenser according to one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that the conical seat (144) on one separate component (142) is formed, which is sealingly received by a circular opening (136) of the cover (130).

19. Dispenser according to claim 18, characterized in that an annular seal is arranged on the circumference of the upper edge of the component (142).