WO2005000683A2

WO2005000683A2 - Drinks container and closure member therefor

Info

Publication number: WO2005000683A2
Application number: PCT/GB2004/002682
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kul Bhushan Kaushal
Original assignee: Kul Bhushan Kaushal
Priority date: 2003-06-24
Filing date: 2004-06-23
Publication date: 2005-01-06
Also published as: WO2005000683A3; GB0314639D0

Abstract

This invention relates to a drinks container (10) and to a closure member (14) therefor. According to the invention there is provided a closure member, and a drinks container having such closure member. The closure member has a passageway through which liquid can pass, and has a dispensing member (24) which is movable between a first or open position in which liquid can flow through the passageway and a second or closed position in which substantially no liquid can flow through the passageway, the closure member having resilient biassing means (26) urging the dispensing member towards its second position.

Description

DRINKS CONTAINER AND CLOSURE MEMBER THEREFOR

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a drinks container and to a closure member therefor.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Drinks containers come in many forms and shapes, including aluminium cans and plastic bottles. Plastic bottles in particular usually have a reservoir for the drink and a resealable closure member or cap which is screw-fitted to the top of the reservoir. The cap can be removed when some of the liquid drink is to be consumed, and replaced to prevent spillage of any liquid remaining in the reservoir. Aluminium cans are typically not reclosable, and once opened must be maintained upright to prevent the spillage of liquid therefrom.

It is not always desirable to consume all of the liquid within the reservoir when this is first opened, so that the drinks container will typically need to be stored, albeit temporarily, with some liquid remaining therein. As above indicated, with an aluminium can this will require some means of maintaining the can upright, and even that may not be enough to prevent spillage if the drinks container is being moved as may occur when the user is walking or running, or is in a moving vehicle, for example.

Also, whilst with a plastic drinks container the closure cap can typically be reconnected to seal the drinks container, that requires the closure cap to be retained when not in use, and to be reconnected after use, both of which activities are usually two-handed operations. The use of two hands is not always possible or practical, however, for example when the user is driving a car. Accordingly, there has been sought a closure cap for a drinks container which can allow the container to be resealed to prevent the spillage of liquid therefrom, and which requires only one-handed operation.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

A known plastics drinks container which can satisfy these requirements has a closure cap with a spout which carries a sealing plunger, the plunger allowing the release of liquid from the reservoir when pulled up to its open position and not allowing the release of liquid when pushed down to its closed position. The plunger can be opened and closed by the fingertips of one hand of the user whilst the other hand holds the reservoir of the drinks container; alternatively, however, the user can use his or her teeth to grip and open the plunger, so that one-handed operation is possible. When it is desired to close the cap the plunger may be pushed down against a suitable surface, or for example the user's teeth again, so that one-handed operation to seal the drinks container is again possible.

It is a recognised disadvantage of this type of drinks container that the plunger must be fully depressed to ensure that liquid will not leak from the drinks container, and that significant force is required to lift the plunger from the fully-depressed position; not all persons are able to impart this force with their fingertips or teeth. Accordingly, this type of drinks container is not usable by all persons, and many young and also many elderly people are unable to impart the force required. Also, those with false teeth cannot use those teeth to lift the plunger and so must revert to two-handed operation, avoiding the major advantage of the drinks container. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a drinks container, and a closure member therefor, which allows one- handed operation and yet which avoids or reduces the above- stated disadvantages with the known drinks containers .

According to the invention, there is provided a drinks container having a closure member, the closure member having a passageway through which liquid can pass, the closure member having a plunger or dispensing member which is movable between a first position in which liquid can flow through the passageway and a second position in which liquid cannot flow through the passageway, the closure member having a resilient biassing means which urges the plunger towards its second position.

Because of the resilient biassing means, manual movement of the plunger towards its second (sealing) position is not required. Accordingly, it is the force provided by the resilient biassing means which effects closing of the closure member, and the force required to achieve effective and repeated sealing can readily be determined and the appropriate resilient biassing means incorporated.

A force is, however, required to move the plunger towards its first (open) position, this force being required to overcome the resilient biassing means and any frictional resistance to such movement. It can, however, be arranged that the force need not be a pulling force provided by the fingertips as in the prior art device, but rather be a pushing force provided by the base of the forefinger and/or thumb for example, where a greater force can usually be imparted. In practice, it is likely that the drinks container will be used in a one-handed operation, the plunger being moved to its first position by the user's hand as this embraces and grips the closure member of the drinks container. Desirably, the plunger is located in a housing part of the closure member, the housing part preferably being integral (or securely connected) to the closure part of the closure member, the closure part preferably including screw thread(s) by which the closure member can be releasably secured to the top of the reservoir of the drinks container.

Preferably, the plunger is slidably located in the housing part, and in particular is slidable therein between its first and second positions.

Desirably, the housing part has an inlet opening in communication with the reservoir of the drinks container, and an outlet in communication with a drinking spout or the like; when the plunger is in its second position a part of the plunger blocks the outlet opening from the inlet opening, and when the plunger is in its first position the passageway in the plunger connects the inlet opening with the outlet opening.

Preferably, the plunger is substantially circular in cross- section, though it may have guide channels or guide rails which cooperate with corresponding elements of the housing part to maintain the relative angular position of the plunger. The passageway may be formed as a channel through the plunger, or it may be a channel around a part of the periphery of the plunger.

Desirably, the inlet opening of the closure member is connected to one end of an inlet conduit, the other end of the inlet conduit being located adjacent the bottom of the reservoir of the drinks container. The inlet conduit can serve as a "drinking straw" or the like, avoiding the need for the drinks container to be tipped up or inverted in order for the liquid contained therein to be drunk. In this latter regard, it is recognised that a particular danger arises when the driver of a motor vehicle is drinking in that it is almost always necessary for the driver to take his or her eyes off the road when inverting a drinks container to consume the contents thereof. Even if the driver takes his or her eyes off the road for only a very short period of time a danger can arise to which the driver is unable to react in time. Also, the user may experience discomfort when tipping his or her head back if it is necessary to tip up or invert the reservoir to consume the liquid, especially when he or she is jogging, for example.

The closure member can be sold as part of the drinks container, or can be sold separately for fitment to a drinks container by the user. With plastics drinks containers the closure member could be sold as part of the drinks container, notwithstanding that it will typically have a closure part with a screw thread by which it may be removed from, and re-attached to, the reservoir of the drinks container. With an aluminium can on the other hand, it will normally not be practicable to supply the closure member with the drinks container, and this may be sold together with the drinks container, or separately, for fitment to the aluminium can by the user. The closure member can be designed for repeated use (in which case it should be cleanable), or to be disposable after use with one drinks container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig.l shows a side view of a drinks container according to the invention, in the "as sold" condition;

Fig.2 shows a side view of the closure member; Fig.3 shows a sectional view of part of the closure member with the plunger in its second or closed position; and

Fig.4 shows a view as Fig.3 with the plunger in its first or open position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Fig.l shows the drinks container 10 according to the present invention. In common with prior art drinks containers, the drinks container 10 comprises a reservoir 12 and a closure member 14. In this embodiment the reservoir 12 and the closure member 14 are (wholly or predominantly) of plastics material, and the reservoir 12 may be transparent and flexible in known fashion.

The top of the reservoir 12 carries a screw thread (not visible in this view), and the closure part 16 of the closure member 14 carries a cooperating screw thread (also not visible), by which the closure member 14 may be (sealingly) secured to the reservoir 12 in known fashion.

According to the invention, the closure part 16 of the closure member 14 is connected to a dispensing part 20, which dispensing part comprises a housing 22, a plunger 24 and a resilient biassing means 26 (Figs. 3 and 4). The housing 22 has an inlet opening 30 and an outlet opening 32. The outlet opening 32 is connected to a spout 34 which in this embodiment has a bulbous end providing added comfort to the user. The inlet opening 30 in this embodiment is connected to one end of an inlet conduit 36, the other end of which inlet conduit 36 lies adjacent the bottom of the reservoir 12 (Fig.l). The inlet conduit is an optional, preferred, feature, which allows the liquid in the drinks container 10 to be consumed without the user tipping the drinks container 10, or his or her head.

The dispensing member or plunger 24 is slidable within the housing 22 between a first (open) position shown in Fig.4 and a second (closed) position shown in Fig.3. The plunger is urged towards its second position by the resilient biassing means, in this embodiment a compression spring 26. The plunger 24 in this embodiment is substantially circular in cross-section, and has a passageway in the form of a channel 40 formed in its periphery, part way along its length. As shown in Fig.4, when the plunger 24 is moved to its first position (compressing the spring 26), the channel 40 is substantially aligned with the inlet opening 30 and the outlet opening 32, allowing liquid to pass from the inlet conduit 36, around the channel 40, and into the spout 34 to be drunk by the user.

It will be understood that the user moves the plunger 24 by pressing upon its exposed end 42, and this pressure will typically be generated by the user's hand as the closure member 14 is gripped. Thus, it is expected that the drinks container will be used in a one-handed operation, with the user holding the drinks container in such a way that his or her hand surrounds the top of the reservoir 12 and the closure member 14, a part of the user's hand overlying the exposed end 42 of the plunger 24 and allowing the user to press the plunger 24 to its first position. The force may be imparted to the plunger 24 by the user's thumb or forefinger for example, or by the base of the forefinger or thumb, as desired. In either case, it will be understood that most users will be able to impart a considerable force to the plunger, and in particular a greater force than could be imparted by their fingertips or teeth to the known drinks container described above.

It will be understood that the plunger 24 is a tight fit in the housing 22, so that when the plunger is in its second position shown in Fig.3 liquid will not leak from the inlet conduit 36 past the plunger 24, even if the drinks container is left on its side or is tipped upside down. The plunger 24 need not need to be a very tight fit, however, since the pressure of the liquid seeking to leak past the plunger will in any event be small.

Thus, it is expected that the invention will mostly be utilised with non-carbonated drinks in which leakage of the liquid is caused by the hydrostatic pressure of the liquid, which will be small. However, it is not excluded that the invention could be utilised with carbonated drinks in which case the plunger would need to provide a seal suitable for greater pressures. If the plunger was suitably sealed, the closure member of the invention would act to maintain the pressure within the reservoir. Additional sealing means such as O-rings and the like can be added to the plunger 24 if required or desired.

The compression spring 26 will need to be sufficiently strong to move the plunger 24 back to its second position despite the frictional resistance to such movement, and in order to move the plunger 24 to its first position the user will need to impart sufficient force to overcome the frictional resistance and the compression spring 26; as above indicated, however, the typical mode of operation of the drinks container will facilitate the application of the required force.

In the embodiment shown the channel 40 passes around the whole periphery of the plunger 24, so that it is not necessary for the plunger 24 to maintain its angular position relative to the housing 22. A complete peripheral channel has the additional advantage that liquid can pass from the inlet opening 30 to the outlet opening 32 around both sides of the plunger 24, so that the width and depth of the channel 40 can be reduced. In another embodiment, however, the channel is only formed around slightly more than half of the periphery of the plunger, and in yet another embodiment the peripheral channel is replaced by a passageway formed through the plunger. In both of these latter embodiments the angular relationship between the plunger and the housing must be maintained so as to ensure that the channel or passageway is aligned with the inlet opening and outlet opening when the plunger is in its first position. The angular relationship can be maintained by any suitable means, for example one or more cooperating grooves and rails in the plunger and housing, the groove(s) and rail(s) being parallel with the direction of movement of the plunger.

As above indicated, the closure part 16 of the closure member 14 has a screw thread by which it may be secured to the top of the reservoir 12. Since it can be arranged that the closure part can fit many reservoirs the closure member 14 as seen in Fig.2 may be sold separately, and fitted to the reservoir by a user. Thus, the closure member 10 according to the invention may be fitted to a reservoir of a drinks container after the removal of a conventional screw cap from that reservoir, in order to convert a "standard" drinks container into a drinks container having the benefits set out for the present invention.

The closure member 14 will typically be made mostly of plastics materials. Whilst it is not intended that the compression spring 26 come into contact with the liquid, the spring may be made of stainless steel, a suitable plastic, or other food grade material in case inadvertent contact should occur. With an appropriate choice of materials for the closure member 14, it may be arranged that the closure member is cleanable and therefore re-usable.

Fig.l shows the drinks container according to the invention in the "as sold" condition. In this condition, the closure member 14 carries a protective cap 44 which protects the spout 34 from damage or contamination prior to use, and also covers the plunger 24 so as to prevent depression thereof. In known fashion, the protective cap may be secured by way of a tamper-evident seal to the closure member 14.

It would be possible to utilise the closure member according to the invention with other drinks containers, for example aluminium cans. However, it is understood to be a particularly desirable feature of aluminium cans that they be stackable and recyclable, so that it is not desirable to fit a closure member (of different material) permanently to the top of the can. Instead, the closure member could be designed to fit to a conventional aluminium can once that can has been opened. In this regard, a seal could be effected between a sealing surface of the closure member and the aluminium can by clipping the closure member to the drinks opening, or to the top lip of the can, both of which are of standard dimensions.

In the embodiment shown, the dispensing part 20 of the closure member 14 is connected to the closure part 16. In other embodiments the dispensing part is integral with the closure part, i.e. the housing 22 is formed as one piece with the closure part.

In other embodiments the compression spring 26 could be replaced by another resilient member, such as an gas-filled chamber, or a block of resilient foam, for example.

Claims

1. A drinks container having a closure member, the closure member having a passageway through which liquid can pass, the closure member having a dispensing member which is movable between a first position in which liquid can flow through the passageway and a second position in which substantially no liquid can flow through the passageway, the closure member having resilient biassing means urging the dispensing member towards its second position.

2. A drinks container according to Claim 1 in which the dispensing member is located in a housing part of the closure member.

3. A drinks container according to Claim 2 in which the housing part is integral with a closure part of the closure member.

4. A drinks container according to Claim 3 in which the closure part includes a screw thread by which the closure member can be releasably secured to the top of a liquid reservoir.

5. A drinks container according to Claim 2 in which the dispensing member is slidably located in the housing part, and is slidable therein between its first and second positions.

6. A drinks container according to Claim 1 in which the dispensing member is substantially circular in cross- section.

7. A drinks container according to Claim 6 in which the dispensing member has guide means to limit rotation of the dispensing means .

8. A drinks container according to Claim 1 in which the passageway is formed as a channel around a part of the periphery of the dispensing member.

9. A drinks container according to Claim 8 in which the dispensing means is substantially circular in cross section and the channel is annular.

10. A closure member for use with a drinks container, the closure member having a passageway through which liquid can pass, the closure member having a dispensing member which is movable between a first position in which liquid can flow through the passageway and a second position in which substantially no liquid can flow through the passageway, the closure member having resilient biassing means urging the dispensing member towards its second position.