DESCRIPTION A LIQUID DISPENSING DEVICE
The present invention relates to liquid dispensing devices and in particular, but not
exclusively, to dispensing devices for potable liquids.
Numerous liquid dispensing devices worn around or on part of a body are known
in the art.
US 5957347 describes a wristband comprising a hollow annular tube filled with a potable liquid and constructed from a flexible, elastic material. It is a single-use,
pre-sterilized container, fitted with an integral valve, which is used to dispense the liquid directly into a mouth. It can be used to dispense water, sports drinks or
liquid medication.
US 6126041 discloses a wristband device that relies upon the positive pressure
produced during the filling of an annular tube, to autonomously provide liquid to a valve sited on the outer surface of the wristband. It is claimed that this facilitates
withdrawal of fluid from the container. Furthermore, on introducing liquid the
tube expands but then automatically shrinks in size and volume when the liquid is dispensed improving the comfort for the wearer.
US4988097 describes a wrist band drink dispenser which is able to dispense hot
and cold drinks due to an insulating layer.
A holster and pouch arrangement is shown in US6173866 where the pouches are
prefilled with a drink and inserted into the holster and can fit around a wrist.
A device described in US 5669529 can be attached to a wrist and has been
designed with a corrugated side section that expands on filling. Although,
the valve construction used to dispense liquid is not particularly suitable for
carbonated beverages.The device can also be attached to a wrist and can store and
dispense hot and cold drinks. However, it must be removed from the wrist to
dispense the drink.
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a liquid dispensing
device comprising a body formed from a flexible material and having an internal
layer therein which creates at least two separate compartments within the body, at
least a first one of said compartments being adapted to contain a liquid and a
second of said compartments being adapted to retain air therein; a means on the
body for selectively enabling liquid to be dispensed from said at least one of said
compartments; a means on the body for selectively enabling inflation and
deflation of said other of the compartments; and a means of securing the device to
a user's body.
The present invention therefore provides for a "flat-pack" device that can be easily
packaged and transported in large numbers when the device has not been filled
with a liquid and is deflated. Furthermore, the present invention also provides for
a device that can be secured to a user's body so that liquid is always available and
conveniently located for access by an individual. For example, a sports person or
a person requiring medication can access a fluid contained within the device
without the need to use their hands.
Advantageously, the body of the device can be made from a biodegradable and/or
recyclable and/or a water soluble material. It will therefore be apparent to one
skilled in the art that a number of materials may be used for the production of the body to allow it to be disposed of easily. For example, the material may be a biodegradable polymeric material such as a plastics material or rubber based
material.
The feature that the body can be produced from a biodegradable or water soluble
material is also advantageous as it allows the device to have a prolonged and/or pre-determined shelf life. The biodegradability and/or water solubility of the material may be activated when a liquid has been introduced into the device and the device is only intended to carry liquid for a short period of time.
Alternatively, the biodegradability/water solubility may be pre-determined when
the device is storing the liquid, such as is the case with many shampoo bottles that
have a finite shelf life. Furthermore, materials that are commonly associated with carrying portable liquids may also be employed. For a number of applications, it
is also preferred that the body is made at least partially (such as the at least two
compartments for example), from a resilient and/or deformable material.
The means of dispensing and the means of inflating and deflating are preferably a
single valve device, but may also comprise one or more valves linked or located
near to one another. Preferably, the valve device comprises an inner and an outer
tube that cooperate with the walls of the body and with said internal layer whereby
to allow a user to select whether the valve is to seal both compartments, dispense
the liquid from the first compartment or enable inflation/deflation of the second
compartment.
Advantageously, the valve device can be folded flat against the body when not in use for dispensing liquid from the first compartment or inflating/deflating the
second compartment. Preferably, the device further provides a means of covering the valve so as to protect it from contamination and/or damage when in use. Such
a means of covering may be simply a flap of material extending from the body of the device that is capable of covering the valve and/or the device permitting the valve to be retractable within the body itself. Should a cover be employed, it is
preferable that the cover is releasably attached to the body of the device so as to enable the individual to access the fluid a plurality of times. The cover may be
releasbly attached to the body of the device by means of Velcro™ or a re-
positionable adhesive for example.
Preferably, the at least two compartments are elongated and joined to one another
along at least part of their length. The at least two compartments may be joined to
one another by means of a flexible strip. The flexible strip may also provide a
means by which compartments are joined to the body of the device, or the means
of securing the device to a user's body (such as by means of a wrist band for
example).
It will be evident to the skilled addressee that a number of securing means may be
used in conjunction with the present invention. Preferably, the securing means
comprises a tab that is disposed at one end of the flexible strip and/or at one end
of at least one compartment and an aperture disposed at the opposing end of the
flexible strip or compartment. The tab can then be looped though the aperture and releasably adhered to itself. For example, the tab may employ Velcro™ on one
side of the tab so that it can be adhered to a corresponding region of the tab after the tab has been placed though the aperture.
Optionally, the body and the at least one internal layer are sufficiently
impermeable to water vapor and gas to retain a pressurised liquid in said first of said compartments. This will be particularly important for hot liquids or liquids that are produced with carbonated water. In order that the temperature of the
liquid (whether it be hot or cold) can be maintained relative to the surrounding environment and indeed the user's body temperature, the body of the device or
individual compartments may additionally have insulating layers or the
components may be manufactured from materials which have insulating properties.
The body may also be formed as part of a piece of clothing and preferably will
have a valve disposed in a location that can be accessed easily by an individual,
such as located near to the wrist or the neck of the piece of clothing. Furthermore,
the device may be incorporated into the sleeve of a jacket or similar garment and
the individual raise the sleeve so that the valve can easily be placed in the mouth.
The device may also be adapted to be located directly on the vrist, arm, shoulder,
torso, or leg of an individual. For example, the device may b e in configuration of an arm or a wrist band.
It will also be apparent to one skilled in the art that the device may be re-usable
and therefore may also be provided with a means of re-filling the at least one compartment with liquid. Such a re-filling means may comp rise a plug or
additional valve, but may also be by means of the valve used for dispensing the
liquid.
Should the device be used for the administration of a medicine, the amount of liquid dispensed from the valve may metered so that a pre-determined dose of the
medicament is dispensed.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a kit
of parts for producing a liquid dispensing device comprising a body formed from a
flexible material and having an internal layer therein which creates at least two
separate compartments within the body, at least a first one of said compartments
being adapted to contain a liquid and a second of said compartments being
adapted to retain air therein; a means on the body for selectively enabling liquid to
be dispensed from said at least one of said compartments; a means on the body for
selectively enabling inflation and deflation of said other of the compartments; and
a means of securing the device to a user's body.
The kit of parts may be used to produce a device as herein above described above.
An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of
example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a liquid dispenser in
accordance with the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the embodiment shown in figure 1 arranged so that a tab has been placed through a hoop to secure the two ends of the dispenser
together;
Fig. 3 is a schematic representation of a cross-sectional view of a valve device of
the dispenser; and
Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating the device as shown in Figs 1 and 2 placed around
an individuals arm.
A flexible drink dispenser for placing around an arm or a leg of a user will be
described hereinafter, but it should be noted that the present invention relates to a
drink dispensing device that can have a multitude of applications.
The drink dispenser 1 comprises a flexible body formed by three elongate layers
of flexible elastomer material 2,4,6, which are sealed at their edges to form two
watertight elastic compartments 3,5. The two compartments 3, 5 are joined along their entire length by the central layer 6, which extends longitudinally beyond the
seal to create two overhangs 8,9. The elastomer material can be any polymeric material possessing suitable elasticity to permit each compartment 3, 5 to be inflated and deflated.
The two overhangs 8,9 are used to form a means of securing the two ends of the dispenser together, thereby allowing the dispenser to fit around an elongate object such as an arm of a user. In the latter case, the dispenser would be in the form of a wristband.
In the present embodiment, the securing means comprises a combination of a tab 9
disposed at one end of the central layer 6 and a hoop 8 disposed on the other end.
The tab 9 has a Velcro (RTM) strip on one side and appropriately placed on the
outside of the elastomer material 2 there is a corresponding region of Velcro
(RTM) 12. Once the tab 9 has been inserted through the hoop , the tab is folded
back on itself and thereby looped around the hoop. The Velcro (RTM) then
adheres the one side of the tab to the elastomer material, thereby securing the
device around an arm 20 or other body part.
Alternatively, the hoop 8 and tab 9 could be made of a material less deformable
than the central layer 6. Obviously, there is a plurality of ways in which one end of
the dispenser 1 can be secured to the other end, such as a tab and buckle
arrangement, a hook and loop arrangement or any type of conventional arrangement used on wrist watch straps. The hoop 8 and tab 9 combination is
currently preferred as it can be easily incorporated into the manufacture of the dispenser 1.
The outer compartment 3 is used to house potable liquids such as water, sports
drinks, alcohol or medicine.
The inner compartment 5 can be inflated by the introduction of air. The air
provides a means of adjusting the size of the dispenser.
The dispenser 1 also includes a two-way valve device 10 disposed within a nipple
11 on the outer wall of the fluid containing compartment 3. The nipple includes a tube 13 which extends tlirough the outer compartment 3, through the intermediate
strip 6 and into the inner compartmen 5t. The end of the tube 13 disposed in the
inner compartment 5 preferably carries a flap valve 15 enabling air to be
introduced but normally resisting air escape.
The valve 10 has three different primary functional states:
(a). a first closed state where the valve 10 seals both the inner and the outer
compartments, allowing no air to be int roduced or liquid to be dispensed;
(b). a second state, where the inner compartment 5 can be inflated or deflated
but the outer compartment remains sealed; and
( c). a third, dispensing state where the liquid from the outer compartment 3
may be dispensed.
When in state (a), the valve can lie flat against the body 2. On the other hand,
when the valve is to adopt its operational states (b) and ( c) it is moved out of its
folded position against body 2 to assume the projecting position shown in Fig 3 where it projects away from the flexible body to permit easy access to the mouth of the wearer.
In a preferred embodiment, the tube will initially provide a means of covering the nipple to protect it from contaminants prior to use.
The above described embodiment is for a single-use-drinking device. However, it
should be noted that the invention includes repeated use devices.
In a different embodiment of the present invention, a multiple layer device
possessing suitable barrier properties can be used to accommodate carbonated
beverages and medicine, the additional layers conferring the necessary sealing properties.
In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the inner compartment, or
one internal chamber therein, is pressurised and so aids the extraction of the
liquid.
A multiple layer system may incorporate a feature that allows the outer
compartment 3 to be refilled and re-used.
Fabricating the device from biodegradable or water-soluble materials that permit
easy recycling is preferable.
To drink from the container, the valve 10 is pulled into its extended position to dispense the liquid with no need to remove the dispenser from the wrist. The
valve 10 is inserted into the wearer's mouth and the liquid is dispensed by gently depressing the nipple as shown by the arrows A in Fig. 3 and applying suction. On completion the valve is returned to its closed position.
For inflating the inner compartment 5, the valve 10 is moved to its extended state
(b) and inserted into the mouth whereby air can be blown into the compartment 5 via the tube 12.
For withdrawing liquid from the outer compartment 3, the user simply sucks on
the valve, an internal ball 14 allowing liquid to be withdrawn by suction from the
compartment 3. When no suction is applied the ball 14 automatically adopts a
position in which liquid is prevented from escaping from compartment 3.
Thus, in a typical case where the device is in the form of a single use wristband,
the operation is as follows:-
1. The wristband device is supplied pre-filled with the desired beverage.
2. The wristband is secured to the wrist via the tab (revealing the nipple) and loop located on the opposing ends of the two compartments.
3. The nipple is pulled until in position 1.
4. The inner diameter of the wristband is adjusted by introducing air, by blowing into the nipple valve, until it fits snugly to the wrist.
5. The nipple is returned to its closed position.
6. For dispensing the liquid, the nipple is pulled into position 2.
7. The nipple is introduced into the wearer's mouth and the contents (say 300ml) removed by biting and sucking the nipple.
8. On finishing the drink the nipple is returned to the closed position.