WO2014190499A1

WO2014190499A1 - An improved cap for a bottle

Info

Publication number: WO2014190499A1
Application number: PCT/CN2013/076357
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kam Hung Chan
Original assignee: Lam Soon Trademark Limited; Lam Soon Products Supply (Hong Kong) Company Limited
Priority date: 2013-05-28
Filing date: 2013-05-28
Publication date: 2014-12-04

Abstract

Provided is an improved cap for a bottle and a bottle having such a cap. The cap comprises a body adapted to fit onto a neck of a bottle. The cap body has an aperture therethrough defining a main fluid flow path for pouring liquid from the bottle. A spout is movably mounted on the cap body. The spout has first and second apertures defining first and second fluid flow paths through the spout. The spout is movable relative to the cap body to selectively position one of said first and second spout apertures to communicate with the main fluid flow path in the cap body to enable liquid to be poured from the bottle through the main fluid flow path and a selected one of the first and second fluid flow paths of the spout. Also provided in the cap is a back flow aperture formed in the cap body to enable one of air to enter the bottle when liquid is being poured from the bottle and liquid which has dripped onto the cap body to drain back into the bottle.

Description

AN IMPROVED CAP FOR A BOTTLE

Technical Field

The invention relates to an improved cap for a bottle and, more particularly, but not exclusively, to an improved cap for pouring liquid from a bottle.

Background Art

A common problem with bottle caps is that liquid being poured from a bottle may drip onto the bottle during pouring thereby soiling the external surface of the bottle. This is a particular problem with liquids such as cooking oil which generally have a higher viscosity than water based liquids and therefore have a higher tendency to drip whilst being poured. This problem is exacerbated by the so called 'glugging' effect when air entering the bottle to equalize pressure in the bottle while a liquid is being poured from it causes the liquid to spurt out of the bottle uncontrollably.

Technical Problem

An object of the invention is to mitigate or obviate to some degree one or more problems associated with known caps for bottles.

Technical Solution

In one aspect, the invention provides an improved cap for a bottle and a bottle having such a cap. The cap comprises a body adapted to fit onto a neck of a bottle. The cap body has an aperture therethrough defining a main fluid flow path for pouring liquid from the bottle. A spout is movably mounted on the cap body. The spout has at least first and second apertures defining at least first and second fluid flow paths through the spout. The spout is movable relative to the cap body to selectively position one of said first and second spout apertures to communicate with the main fluid flow path in the cap body to enable liquid to be poured from the bottle through the main fluid flow path and a selected one of the first and second fluid flow paths of the spout. Also provided in the cap is a back flow aperture formed in the cap body to enable one of: air to enter the bottle when liquid is being poured from the bottle; and liquid which has dripped onto the cap body to drain back into the bottle.

The summary of the invention does not necessarily disclose all the features essential for defining the invention; the invention may reside in a sub-combination of the disclosed features.

Description of Drawings

The foregoing and further features of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments which are provided by way of example only in connection with the accompanying figures, of which:

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional side view of one embodiment of a cap according to the invention with a lid in a closed position;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional side view of the cap of Fig. 1 with the lid in an open position;

Figure 3 is a top view of the cap of Fig. 2;

Figure 4 is a side view of a body for the cap of Figs. 1 to 3;

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional side view of the cap body of Fig.4;

Figure 6 is a top view of the cap body of Fig.4;

Figure 7 is a bottom view of the cap body of Fig.4;

Figure 8 is a side view of a spout for the cap of Figs. 1 to 3;

Figure 9 is a cross-sectional side view of the spout of Fig. 8;

Figure 10 is a top view of the spout of Fig. 8;

Figure 11 is a bottom view of the spout of Fig. 8;

Figure 12 is an end view of the spout of Fig.8;

Figure 13 is another end view of the spout of Fig. 8;

Figure 14 is a cross-sectional side view of another embodiment of a cap according to the invention with a lid in an open position; and

Figure 15 is a front view of a bottle having a cap according to the invention.

Mode for Invention

The following description is of preferred embodiments by way of example only and without limitation to the combination of features necessary for carrying the invention into effect.

Referring to the drawings, Figs. 1 to 13 show one embodiment of an improved cap 10 for a bottle. The cap comprises a body 12 adapted to fit onto a neck of a bottle 13 (Fig. 15). The cap body 12 may have an internal screw thread 14 to allow it to be screw-threaded onto a neck of the bottle 13, although any conventional means for fitting a cap to a bottle 13 may be utilized in the present invention. The cap body 12 has an aperture 16 therethrough defining a main fluid flow path (indicated by arrowed line X in Fig. 5) for pouring liquid from the bottle. The cap body 12 may have a cylindrical support member 18 for receiving a spout 20. The support member 18 has an aperture 22 which completes the main fluid flow path X.

A lid 17 may be hingedly mounted to said cap body 12 for enclosing the spout 20 when the lid is closed as can be best seen in Fig. 1.

The spout 20 is movably mounted on the support member 18 of the cap body 12. The spout 20 has at least first and

second apertures

24, 26 defining first and second fluid flow paths (indicated respectively by arrowed lines Y and Z in Fig. 9) through the spout 20. In some embodiments, the spout may have more than two fluid flow apertures. The spout 20 is movable relative to the support member 18 of the cap body 12 to selectively position one of said first and

second spout apertures

24, 26 in communication with the main fluid flow path X in the cap body 12 to enable liquid to be poured from the bottle through said main fluid flow path X and a selected one of the first and second fluid flow paths Y, Z of the spout 20.

The spout 20 is preferably rotatably mounted on the support member 18. The spout is able to be moved by rotating its position relative to the cap body 12 such that, when the spout 20 is rotated relative to the cap body 12 to selectively position one of said first and

second spout apertures

24, 26 in communication with the main fluid flow path X, the other of said first and

second spout apertures

24, 26 is closed by a wall 19 of said support member 18. In a preferred embodiment, the spout 20 is movable relative to said cap body 12 from a first position where the spout first fluid flow path Y communicates with the main fluid flow path X to a second position where the spout second fluid flow path Z communicates with the main fluid flow path X. When the spout 20 is in the first position, the spout second fluid flow path Z is closed and, when the spout 20 is in its second position, the spout first fluid flow path Y is closed.

The spout 20 may be movable to a third position relative to said cap body 12 where both the first and second fluid flow paths Y, Z are closed by the wall 19 of the support member 18. The third position is preferably intermediate the first and second positions.

Also provided in the cap body 12 is a back flow aperture 28 to enable one or both of air to enter the bottle when liquid is being poured from the bottle or liquid which has dripped onto the cap body 12 to drain back into the bottle. The cap body 12 may be provided with a collar 40 surrounding the support member 18 and spout 20 to provide a collection basin for liquid which has dripped onto the cap body 12 thereby reducing soiling of the external surface of the bottle by liquid which has dripped from the spout.

The first and

second apertures

24, 26 of the spout 20 are defined by respective first and second cup-

shaped spout members

30, 32 which extend outwardly from respective opposing sides of a body 35 of the spout 20, although in some embodiments they may not extend in opposing directions, but may be angled at less than 180 degrees relative to one another. At least one of said first and second cup-

shaped spout members

30, 32 has a generally horizontally extending

lip

34, 36, although in this embodiment both have such a

lip

34, 36. The

lip

34, 36 is made to be thin in depth and advantageously it has been found that this considerably reduces dripping or back-curling of liquid over the edge of the

lip

34, 36 when liquid is being poured from the cap 10. As is best seen in Fig. 9, the first fluid flow path Y of the spout comprises a higher rate fluid flow path than the second fluid flow path Z in that the aperture 24 defining the first cup-shaped member 30 is larger than the aperture 26 defining the second cup-shaped member 32.

The back flow aperture 28 is preferably formed in a horizontal support wall 38 of the cap body 12 on which is provided the support member 18. The aperture 28 is preferably located at a position generally opposite to a liquid pouring direction of the cap 10 such that, when liquid is being poured, the aperture 28 is tilted upwards relative to the liquid pouring direction so that air can enter the bottle via the aperture 28 whilst liquid is being poured. When the bottle is returned to a non-pouring position, any liquid that has dripped onto the cap body 12 and has been captured by the basin defined by the collar 40 is able to drain back into the bottle via the aperture 28. The aperture 28 may be formed in a channel 39 provided in the upper surface of the horizontal support wall 38. The channel 39 may extend circumferentially around the support member 18.

The spout body 35 may be provided with an integrally formed rib 42 on its upper surface to enable the spout 20 to be manually gripped to rotate its position relative to the cap body 12.

The support member 18 of the cap body 12 and the spout body 35 may be provided with cooperating means to enable the spout 20 to be snap-fitted onto said cap body 12. These means may comprise a protruding circumferential rib on one of the support member 18 or spout body 35 and a complementary circumferential recess in the other of the support member 18 or spout body 35. In use, the rib and recess mate to form a snap-fixture.

Referring to Fig. 14, shown is another embodiment of a cap 100 according to the invention. This cap 100 has the same structure as the cap 10 of the first embodiment save that cap body 112 is provided with a seal 144 surrounding the spout 120 such that, when the lid 117 is closed onto the cap body 112, it forms a liquid impervious sealed enclosure around the spout 120. The seal may comprise an 'O' ring such as an elastomeric 'O' ring.

Fig. 15 shows a bottle 13 having a

cap

10, 100 according to the invention. The bottle 13 as shown in Fig. 15 is merely illustrative of a bottle and does not limit the invention to the type of bottle as shown in this drawing.

In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a product contained in a bottle, the method comprising: providing a bottle; filling said bottle with a liquid product; and closing said liquid filled bottle with a cap according to the invention.

The

cap

10, 100 of the invention is suited for pouring liquids of any type, but is well suited to pouring more viscous liquids such as cooking oils, household cleaning fluids, and shampoos or the like.

Claims

A cap for a bottle comprising:

a body adapted to fit onto a neck of a bottle, the body having an aperture therethrough defining a main fluid flow path;

a spout movably mounted on the cap body, the spout having at least first and second apertures, the spout being movable relative to the cap body to selectively position one of said first and second spout apertures in communication with the main fluid flow path; and

a back flow aperture formed in the cap body on an opposing side of the cap from a liquid pouring direction.
The cap for a bottle according to claim 1, wherein the first fluid flow path of the spout comprises a higher rate fluid flow path than the second fluid flow path.
The cap for a bottle according to claim 1, wherein the first and second apertures of the spout are defined by respective first and second cup-shaped spout members which extend outwardly from a body of the spout and at least one of said first and second cup-shaped spout members has a generally horizontally extending lip .
The cap for a bottle according to claim 1, wherein the back flow aperture is adapted to enable one or both of: air to flow into the bottle when liquid is being poured from the bottle; and liquid which has dripped onto the cap body to drain into the bottle.
The cap for a bottle according to claim 4, wherein the cap body has a collar surrounding the spout to provide a collection basin for liquid which has dripped onto the cap body.
The cap for a bottle according to claim 1, wherein, when the spout is moved relative to the cap body to selectively position one of said first and second spout apertures to communicate with the main fluid flow path, the other of said first and second spout apertures is closed by a wall of said cap body.
The cap for a bottle according to claim 6, wherein said spout is movable relative to said cap body from a first position where the first spout fluid flow path communicates with the main fluid flow path and the spout second fluid flow path is closed to a second position where the spout second fluid flow path communicates with the main fluid flow path and the spout first fluid flow path is closed.
The cap for a bottle according to claim 7, wherein the spout is movable to a third position relative to said cap body where both the first and second fluid flow paths of the spout are closed.
The cap for a bottle according to claim 1, wherein said spout is rotatably mounted to said cap body.
The cap for a bottle according to claim 9, wherein a body of the spout has a rib on its upper surface to enable the spout to be manually gripped to rotate its position relative to the cap body.
The cap for a bottle according to claim 1, wherein a seal is provided on the cap body surrounding the spout such that, when a lid is closed onto the cap body, it forms a sealed enclosure around the spout.
A bottle having a cap according to claim 1.
A method of manufacturing a product contained in a bottle, the method comprising:

providing a bottle;

filling said bottle with a liquid product; and

closing said liquid filled bottle with a cap according to claim 1.