WO2004050542A1

WO2004050542A1 - A dispenser

Info

Publication number: WO2004050542A1
Application number: PCT/DK2003/000829
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jacob Andreas Jacobsen
Original assignee: Jacob Andreas Jacobsen
Priority date: 2002-12-03
Filing date: 2003-12-03
Publication date: 2004-06-17
Also published as: DK175005B1; AU2003284859A1

Abstract

A dispenser comprising a fluid container (1) with an opening (4), a tap (12) to tap fluid in the container (1), an air intake (13) with a one-way valve (18) to let air into the container (1) for replacing the tapped fluid, an adapter (5) to detachably close the opening, and a support (7) to, in a tapping position where the opening (4) faces downwards, support the container (19 at a distance above an underlying surface. The support (7), which comprises a number of legs (8), is detachably mounted on the adapter (), whereby a simple and inexpensive dispenser is provided, which occupies the least possible space during storage, and which is effectively secured against becoming unsealed in the tapping position.

Description

A Dispenser

The invention relates to a dispenser of the kind, which comprises a fluid container with an opening, a tap for tapping the fluid in the container, an air intake with a one-way valve to let air into the container to replace the tapped fluid, an adapter to detachably close the opening, and a support detachably mounted on the adapter, to, in a tap position where the opening faces downwards, support the container at a distance over an underlying surface.

For example, beverages are frequently stored and supplied in relatively large containers, which can often hold 5 litres or more. When supplied the containers are usually tightly sealed with a lid, which is screwed onto a neck on the container.

When the beverage is to be used, the lid is screwed off and the container manually tilted down such that the beverage can pour out of the opening and down into, for example, a glass. For each following glass which is to be filled, the container must first be tilted back up at least so much so that the beverage does not pour out before the container has come into a position over a new glass, after which the container again must be tilted down in order to fill also this glass with a quantity of beverage.

When the desired number of glasses have been filled, the lid is screwed on again. Thereafter, the container can be stored in, for example, a refrigerator until the next time there is a need for the beverage.

It is, however, difficult and awkward to handle the large and heavy container in this way, especially for persons, for example children, who do not have the necessary strength. Therefore supports have been developed to support a container upside down, that is to say, with the opening turned downwards and at a distance from an underlying surface, for example a table.

During use, the lid is removed and replaced by an adapter with a tap, after which the container is turned over and placed in the support. Thereafter the beverage can easily and comfortably be poured into glass after glass just by using the tap.

One such support is known from US patent number 2,056,863. In this case the support is comprised of a stand with an upper ring, which during use encircles and controls the container, and four legs which simultaneously brace against an underlying surface. The adapter is comprised of, in this case, a tube, which is arranged axially through a plug in the container's neck. In the tapping position, the plug rests on a central plate or ring which is connected with the legs via radial arms .

A similar support is known from the patent application WO 99/02450. This support is meant for containers which have a collar around the neck to, in a tapping position, be at rest against the support.

The support known from US patent nr . 4,173,295 has an adapter which connects a tap with a container. The adapter is detachably mounted at the container's bottom, thereafter the container with the mounted adapter is secured in a recess in the table.

These known supports however suffer from the disadvantage that they have a complicated and expensive construction which is difficult to handle. Simultaneously they occupy a large amount of space when they are not in use. Additionally there is a risk that the seal between the adapter and the beholder becomes unsealed when the tap is used.

The object of the invention is to provide a dispenser of the type mentioned in the opening paragraph, which has a simple and inexpensive construction, is easy to use, ensures a proper seal in the tapping position, and occupies the lease possible amount of space during storage.

The adapter mounts on the container during the first use and usually remains on the container until the container is empty. Thereafter the adapter is usually demounted in order to be used with a new container.

From the manufacturer's side the container is closed with, for example, a plug, a cover, or a lid with a thread to screw onto a complementary thread on the neck of a container. The adapter detachably connects with the container in the same way as these closing means .

Conventionally the tap is mounted on the adapter and when it is activated in the container's tapping position, it experiences the forces which are necessary to open the tap, together with commonly occurring unintentional forces. These forces are transferred to the connection between the adapter and the container, whereby a risk is generated that the connection can become unsealed, and that the fluid can therefore leak out and foul the environment .

This problem is according to the invention solved by mounting the support, which is comprised of a number of legs, detachably to the adapter . The loads from the container are therefore transferred, in the tapping position, to the support via the connection between the adapter and the container. The friction forces generated thereby effectively ensure that the connection remains sealed. A simple and inexpensive construction is achieved according to the invention, when each leg is formed as a flat bar with an end part which fits into a complementary formed recess in the adapter .

When the container is to be brought into the tapping position, the legs are quickly and easily pushed into their recesses, and when the container shall subsequently be stored, the legs are pulled out. The flat legs now do not occupy very much space.

The recesses can be formed as openings in the adapter's walls which then must have a relatively large thickness. To save material and thereby achieve a less expensive construction each recess can be formed with a projection on the adapter which can have a relatively thin wall .

Each recess can have a rectangular opening sized for the insertion of a rectangular formed flat bar.

In a second embodiment the bar can be comprised of a thin and elastic material and the recess can have a conical form. When the container is to be brought into a tapping position, the legs can be bent transversely and easily pushed in this condition into the recesses which can for example be concentric with the container opening.

With this construction the advantage is achieved, that the support becomes much less expensive due to the modest amount of material used for the bars which nevertheless can become strong enough due to their bent form. Another advantage is that the bars are placed in the recesses under tension and are therefore ensured not to fall out if the dispenser is for example lifted or moved. The projection to the conical recesses can be a circumferential rib with a slot which forms the recesses. The rib acts like a reinforcement of the adapter.

The abovementioned recesses are positioned at a bottom in the adapter and the legs are, in the tapping position, acted upon by the load from the container to bend transversely to their narrow dimension.

In another embodiment, the recesses can be positioned on the side of the adapter and be stretched out mainly parallel with and simultaneously in towards the centre of the container's opening. In this way the legs are advantageously acted upon by the loads from the container to bend transversely to their wide dimension. In this case the leg's end part can create an obtuse angle with the rest of the leg, whereby a stable support is provided.

The invention will be explained in greater detail below where only example embodiments are described with reference to the drawings, in which

Fig. 1 shows an axial view through a first embodiment of a dispenser according to the invention in a tapping position,

Fig. 2 shows the same, seen from below,

Fig. 3 shows an axial view through a second embodiment of a dispenser according to the invention in a tapping position, and

Fig. 4 shows the same, according to line IV-IV in fig. 3.

In fig. 1 and 2 is seen a first embodiment of a dispenser in a tapping position for a fluid, which in the following is assumed to be drinking water. The dispenser comprises a container 1 with a neck 2 with an external thread 3 and an opening 4, an adapter 5, which with an internal thread 6 is screwed onto the neck's external thread 3, and a support 7 in the form of three legs 8, which each are inserted loosely into a recess 9.

The adapter is in this case formed as a cap with a bottom 10 and a side wall 11 with the thread 6. On the adapter's sidewall a conventional tap 12 is mounted and on its bottom an air intake 13 in the form of a hose 14, which is mounted on a stud 15 on the inner side of the adapter's bottom. An opening 16 in the stud connects the hose with the free. The hose is extending close up to the container's bottom 17, where it is equipped with a conventional one-way valve 18.

In the connection between the adapter 5 and the container's neck 2 there is furthermore placed a sealing ring 19 to ensure the tightness of the connection.

In the case shown, the recess 9 is formed as a circumferential groove 20 in a circumferential rib 21 which acts as a reinforcement of the adapter.

When the circumferential groove proceeds uninterrupted over at least a substantial part of the circumference or over in total

3^"60 degrees the legs can be placed in a more or less randomly chosen place in the groove. In another embodiment, the groove can be interrupted except in certain areas which define a recess, which is complementarily formed to each leg's mounting part, whereby the placement of the legs on the adapter is given in advance .

Alternatively the bottom can be formed with a separate protrusion (not shown) for each recess. The circumferential groove is conically formed, while the legs are bent in an arc, such that their mounting parts follow the groove's form.

The legs can either be pre-bent or arranged to be bent to shape from a flat condition, each time they are to be pushed into their recesses . The bending increases the strength of the legs. In the last named case an additional advantage is achieved, that in addition to being thin and inexpensive, the legs bind in the groove and are therefore well secured in the adapter.

Due to the circumferential groove's conical form, the legs slope diagonally out and down, such that they come to form a stable support for the container.

The consumer purchases the container with the screwed-on cap. The adapter and the support can either be included in the purchase or purchased separately and reused.

When the consumer is to use some of the drinking water in the container, the cap is screwed off, and the adapter instead screwed tightly in place on the neck. The legs are inserted into their sockets and the container is placed in the tapping position, with down facing opening, on for example a table.

The legs are sufficiently high such that there is room for, for example, a glass under the tap. The consumer can therefore easily get him or herself a glass of drinking water just by placing a glass under the tap and activating this.

The tapped volume of water is replaced by air, which via the opening 16 in the adapter's stud 15, the hose 14, and the oneway valve 18 flows into the container. The one-way valve ensures that the water cannot flow the opposite way. As long as the dispenser is in the tapping position, the consumer can fill a desired number of glasses with drinking water from the container. However, forces are exerted on the tap each time, which over time can cause the adapter to turn and/or rock so much that its connecuion with the container neck becomes unsealed.

This tendency is positively counteracted by the support being mounted on the adapter and that the loads from the container's weight are therefore transferred via said connection. The thereby generated friction forces effectively prevent the connection from loosening or become unsealed.

The container can for example stand in the tapping position during a meal where a desired number of portions of pure water is distributed to the participants of the meal. Afterwards the legs are easily pulled out of their recesses, after which the container can be easily stored in for example a refrigerator without the legs inexpediently taking up useful space in this. The flat legs occupy almost no space in their dismounted condition, and can therefore be easily stored in for example a drawer .

Figs. 3 and 4 show a second embodiment of a dispenser according to the invention. This embodiment corresponds mainly to the first embodiment; discussed above and shown in figs. 1 and 2. Therefore the same reference numerals are used for the same components .

In this case three protrusions 23 with recesses 24 are formed on the adapter's side wall 22, which are extending transversely to the container's opening and in towards its' centre .

The three legs 25 each have a mounting end part 26 which fits to the recesses. This end part forms an obtuse angle with the rest of the leg. In the shown tapping position, the legs therefore slope diagonally out and downwards such that they come to form a stable support for the container. The legs are influenced to bend on their wide dimension and are therefore very strong.

This embodiment for the dispenser moreover functions in the same way as the first embodiment. This function will therefore not be discussed in more detail here.

In the above, embodiments for the dispenser are described and shown on the drawings having three straight legs, each of which has an equal thickness and each of which is detachably mounted in a recess in the adapter. However, within the scope of the invention many other embodiments for the dispenser are possible .

In this way the number of legs can be different than three, for example, two or four. In addition, the legs do not need to be straight, but can for example be wider below, seen in the tapping position. The legs can also be strengthened by a bead running along the edge and they can be formed with a foot to gently transfer the dispenser's weight to the underlying surface, for example a table.

Finally there can alternatively be formed recesses in the legs to detachably receive complementary formed taps on the adapter .

In the examples described above it is furthermore assumed that the dispenser is for drinking water. Within the scope of the invention the dispenser can, however, be used just as well for other beverages such as for example mineral water, soda water, and juice, as well as other fluids, such as example ketchup, mustard, oil, turpentine and paint.

Claims

1. A dispenser of the kind which comprises a fluid container

(1) with an opening (4), a tap (12) for tapping fluid in the container (1), an air intake (13) with a one-way valve (18) for letting air into the container (1) to replace the tapped fluid, an adapter (5) to detachably close the opening, and a support (7) detachably mounted on the adapter (5) , to, in a tapping position where the opening (4) faces downwards, support the container (1) at a distance over an underlying surface, characterized in that the support (13) comprises a number of legs (8;25).

2. A dispenser according to claim 1, characterized in that each leg (8; 25) is formed as a flat bar with an end part which fits into a complementary formed recess (9; 24) in the adapter .

3. A dispenser according to claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that the recess (9,-24) is formed in a protrusion (21,-23) on the adapter.

4. A dispenser according to claim 1, 2, or 3 characterized in that the recess (9; 24) has a rectangular opening.

' 5. A dispenser according to claim 1, 2 or 3 , characterized in that the recess (9) has a conical form, while the leg (8) is produced of a relatively thin, flat material and is arranged to, with at least the end part, elastically assume the same conical form as the recess (9) .

6. A dispenser according to any of the claims 1-5, characterized in that the recess (9) is concentric with the container's (1) opening (4). A dispenser according to claim 6, characterized in that the protrusion is a circumferential rib (21) , which is concentric with the container's (1) opening (4), and that the recess (9) is formed as a completely or partly circumferential groove (20) in this rib (21) .

A dispenser according to any of the claims 1-4, characterized in that the protrusion (23) is formed on the side of the adapter, and that the recess (24) is extending mainly parallel with and in the direction towards the centre of the container opening (4) .

A dispenser according to claim 8, characterized in that the leg's (25) mounting end part (26) makes an obtuse angle with the rest of the leg (25) .