Hand washing dispenser for a water bottle

Abstract

A gravity based dispenser for use with a bottle of liquid. The dispenser hangs about the neck of a user and allows the user to selectively dispense water from the water bottle while the user maintains a valve of the dispenser in an open position. In a closed position, the valve of the dispenser prevents the flow of liquid from the bottle to which the dispenser is attached. The valve is biased to the closed position. In this way, a user may use water to wash their hands using a single water bottle without using unnecessary quantities of water.

Claims

1. A gravity based dispenser for a bottle, said dispenser comprising: a tube; wherein said tube is adapted to be inserted into a bottle through a hole in said bottle and receive liquid therefrom; a nozzle; wherein said nozzle is connected to said tube and adapted to receive liquid from said tube and dispense said liquid therefrom; a seal; wherein said seal surrounds said tube and is adapted to engage said bottle and prevent liquid from flowing out of said bottle and through any space between an outer surface of said tube and an edge of said hole in said bottle; a valve including: a stem including: two spaced rims extending radially outwardly therefrom; and wherein said stem extends into said nozzle and up into said tube; and a diaphragm; wherein said stem extends through said diaphragm; and wherein said diaphragm is located within said nozzle in between said two spaced rims; wherein said stem is adapted to move with respect to said two spaced rims and said diaphragm to thereby create a space therebetween and allow liquid in said bottle to flow into said tube through said space and out from said nozzle until said stem is moved to close said space and block liquid from flowing therethrough; wherein said valve is adapted to allow said liquid from said tube to pass through said nozzle while in an open position, and prevent said liquid from said tube from passing through said nozzle while in a closed position; and wherein said valve is biased to said closed position; a wing; wherein said wing is attached to said valve and protrudes from said nozzle, and is adapted to move said valve from said closed position to said open position when moved relative to said nozzle from a resting position; and wherein said wing is biased toward said resting position; a dispenser housing; wherein said dispenser housing supports said nozzle, said tube, said seal, and said valve; and a relief tube; wherein said relief tube extends from said valve and is adapted to be inserted into said bottle when said dispenser is installed on said bottle; wherein when said valve is biased to said closed position, said wing is also biased to said resting position.

2. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the dispenser housing is integral with the nozzle.

3. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the seal comprises a flange protruding radially from said tube and is adapted to engage said bottle when said dispenser is installed on said bottle.

4. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein said seal comprises a flange protruding radially from said tube, and wherein said flange is formed from silicone.

5. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein said tube includes a shoulder adapted to limit a depth of insertion of said dispenser housing into said hole in said bottle.

6. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein said seal comprises a plurality of flanges protruding radially from said tube and are adapted to engage said bottle when a cap of said bottle is removed to expose a mouth of said bottle, and adapted wherein said mouth of said bottle is the hole into which said dispenser is installed.

7. The dispenser of claim 6, wherein said tube includes a shoulder adapted to limit a depth of insertion of said dispenser housing into said hole in said bottle.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The figures which accompany the written portion of this specification illustrate embodiments according to the teachings of the present invention.

(2) FIG. 1 1 is a front isometric view of a gravity based dispenser attached to a bottle of liquid.

(3) FIG. 2 is a front isometric view of a nozzle and relief tube of the dispenser of FIG. 1.

(4) FIG. 3 is a front plan view of the dispenser and bottle of FIG. 1.

(5) FIG. 4 is a side cutaway view of the dispenser and bottle of FIG. 1 taken along a center of the dispenser.

(6) FIG. 5 is a front isometric view of a gravity based dispenser attached to a bottle of liquid.

(7) FIG. 6 is a front plan view of the dispenser and bottle of FIG. 5 showing plane A-A through the dispenser.

(8) FIG. 7 is a side cutaway view along plane A-A of the dispenser and bottle of FIG. 6. and showing plane B-B through the dispenser.

(9) FIG. 8 is a front cutaway view of the dispenser and bottle of FIG. 5 taken through a valve of the dispenser along plane B-B.

(10) FIG. 9 is a front plan view of the dispenser and bottle of FIG. 5 showing a plane C-C.

(11) FIG. 10 is a side cutaway view of the dispenser and bottle of FIG. 9 along plane C-C.

(12) The various embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(13) The embodiments of the present disclosure described below are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise forms disclosed in the following detailed description. Rather, the embodiments are chosen and described so that others skilled in the art may appreciate and understand the principles and practices of the present disclosure.

(14) The following embodiments and the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and form part of this disclosure, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, certain illustrative aspects of the invention are described herein in connection with the following description and the annexed drawings. These aspects are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the invention can be employed and the subject invention is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. Other advantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the drawings.

(15) As described herein, an upright position is considered to be the position of apparatus components while in proper operation or in a natural resting position as described herein. FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a dispenser in an upright position, and FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of a dispenser in an upright position. Vertical, horizontal, above, below, side, top, bottom and other orientation terms are described with respect to this upright position during operation unless otherwise specified. The terms above, below, over, and under mean having an elevation or vertical height greater or lesser than and are not intended to imply that one object or component is directly over or under another object or component.

(16) The phrase in one embodiment, as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, although it may. Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, can, might, may, e.g., and the like, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/or states. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or states are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without author input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or states are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.

(17) In one embodiment, a gravity driven dispenser 100 for a water bottle 103 is provided. The dispenser includes a valve 108 biased to a closed position. The valve 108 releases water from the bottle 103 while held in an open position by a user. In this way, while hunting, fishing, camping, or during disaster relief, the user may periodically wash their hands with water while avoiding using an excess of water to do so.

(18) In one embodiment, the gravity-based dispenser 100 for the bottle 103 includes a nozzle 116, a tube 104, a seal 106, a valve 108, and a dispenser housing 110. The nozzle 116 is configured to dispense liquid from the bottle 103 when receiving the liquid from the bottle 103. The tube 104 is configured to insert into the bottle 103 through a hole in the bottle 103 and receive the liquid from the bottle 103. The seal 106 surrounds the tube 104. The seal 106 is configured to engage the bottle 103 and prevent the liquid from flowing out of the bottle 103 through the hole in any space between the tube 104 and an edge of the hole. The valve 108 is configured to selectively provide liquid from the tube 104 to the nozzle 116 while in an open position and prevent the liquid from flowing from the tube 104 to the nozzle 116 when in a closed position. The dispenser housing 110 supports the nozzle 116, tube 104, seal 106, and valve 108.

(19) Referring to FIGS. 1-4, a first embodiment of a gravity driven dispenser 100 for a bottle 103 of liquid is shown installed on a water bottle 103. A flexible ribbed or flanged plug inserts into the mouth 400 of the bottle 103 when a cap of the bottle 103 is removed to expose the mouth 400 of the bottle 103. The flexible flanges 118 may vary in size (e.g., smaller to larger) or be a single size (i.e., diameter). The flexible ribs 118 accommodate different sizes of bottles having different opening diameters. The dispenser 100 includes a relief tube 114 going up through the bottle 103 from the valve 108 to relieve any back air pressure, enabling a smooth flow from a nozzle 116 of the dispenser 100 when the valve 108 is actuated (i.e., in an open position). The dispenser 100 includes a touch valve mechanism. The touch valve includes a set of wings 112 protruding from the nozzle 116 of the dispenser 100. When the user moves the wings 112 from their initial position, the valve 108 releases fluid (e.g., water) from the bottle 103. This allows the user to actuate the valve 108 with a hand, or a wrist. When the user removes pressure from the wings 112, the valve 108 closes, preventing the fluid from flowing from the bottle 103 out the nozzle 116 of the dispenser 100. In one embodiment, the dispenser 100 includes lanyard attachment points 130 at the top of the bottle 103 and lanyard attachment points 132 at the bottom of the bottle 103. The purpose of the multiple lanyard connection points 130, 132 is to allow the user to carry the water bottle 103, via the lanyard 140 in either the right side up position or the upside down position. When using a lanyard 140, the user leans over and the bottle 103 is at the desired length of user's arms (i.e., the user can contact the wings 112 of the valve mechanism 108 with their wrist. Whenever the user moves the wings 112 relative to the nozzle 116, the wings 112 activate the touch valve mechanism 108 and release the water. If the user is walking and wants to make sure that the touch valve mechanism 108 does not get activated, they can attach the lanyard 140 to the top attachment point 130 (i.e., the lanyard attachment point 130 proximate the bottle opening) and the bottle 103 would stay right side up, preventing the release of fluid from the dispenser 100 (because gravity would be working against the dispenser 100 instead of driving the action thereof).

(20) In one embodiment, the valve 108 is inside the tube 104 portion of the dispenser housing 110. The wings 112 are connected to the valve 108 via a stem 140 extending into the nozzle 116 and up the tube 104. In one embodiment, the valve 108 is a touch valve mechanism. The stem 140 extends through a diaphragm 142. The diaphragm seals against at least one rim 150 extending radially outward from the stem 140. When stem 140 is moved from the resting position, space is created between the diaphragm 142 and the rim 150 such that the liquid in the bottle 103 is allowed to flow from the bottle 103 into the tube 104, through the space created between the diaphragm 142 and the rim 150, and out the nozzle 116. Thus, whenever the wings 112 attached to the valve 108 via the stem 140 are moved relative to the nozzle from their resting position, the valve 108 moves from the closed position to the open position. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the stem 140 includes two spaced rims (upper rim 150, and unlabeled lower rim) extending radially outwardly therefrom. As can be seen, the stem 140 extends through the diaphragm 142, which is located within the nozzle 116 in between the two spaced rims. The stem 140 is adapted to move with respect to the two spaced rims and the diaphragm 142 to thereby create a space therebetween and allow liquid in the bottle 103 to flow into the tube 104 through the space and out from the nozzle 116 until the stem 140 is moved to close the space and block liquid from flowing therethrough. In one embodiment, the dispenser 100 further includes a relief tube 114 extending from the valve and the bottle 103 when the dispenser 100 is installed on the bottle 103. In one embodiment, the dispenser housing 110 is integral with the nozzle 116. In one embodiment, the seal 106 includes a flange 118 protruding radially from the tube 104. The flange 118 is configured to engage the bottle 103 when the dispenser 100 is installed on the bottle 103 (e.g., engage the mouth 400 of the bottle 103). In one embodiment, the seal 106 includes a plurality or series of flanges 118 extending radially from the tube 104. In one embodiment, at least one of the flanges 118 are formed of silicone. In one embodiment, the tube 104 has a shoulder 146 configured to limit a depth of insertion of the dispenser housing 110 and the hole in the bottle 103.

(21) Referring to FIGS. 5-10, a second embodiment of a gravity driven dispenser 100 for a bottle 103 of liquid (e.g., water) is shown. In this embodiment, the bottle 103 remains in its upright position when the dispenser 100 is installed on the bottle 103 and in the upright position of the dispenser 100. The user may open the bottle cap (partially or fully) to allow air into the mouth 400 of the bottle 103 to relieve any back pressure caused by draining water from the bottle 103 via the dispenser 100. The dispenser 100 includes a retainer 504 (e.g., strap 504) that reaches around the bottle 103, securing the dispenser 100 to the bottle 103. A spring housing 512 of the dispenser 100 is attached to the retainer 504. The spring housing contains a spring 308 configured to bias the tube 104 toward the bottle 103. The tube 104 has serrations 304 at an end of the tube proximate the bottle 103. The tube 104 is configured to rotate with the nozzle insert 310. As the user rotates the nozzle insert 310, the spring 308 pushes the tube 104 toward the bottle 103, and the serrations 304 cut or puncture a hole in the bottle 103. Once the hole in the bottle 103 is formed, the spring 208 pushes the tube 104 into the bottle 103. A silicone or rubber gasket 306 surrounds the tube 104 and is set back from the serrated end 304 of the tube 104 such that the gasket 306 seals to the outside of the bottle 103 when the serrated end 304 of the tube 104 is pressed by the spring 308 into the bottle 103 through the hole cut by serrated end 304 of the tube 104. In one embodiment, the spring housing 512 includes a notch 514 configured to engage a corresponding key 516 of the nozzle insert 310 such that when the tube 104 punctures the bottle 103 and is inserted into the bottle 103, the nozzle insert 310 is prevented from rotating.

(22) When the dispenser 100 is not in use (i.e., not on a bottle 103), the user may pull back on the nozzle insert 310 (i.e., away from the bottle 103) and turn the nozzle insert 310 90 to keep the tube 104 from sticking out of the spring housing 512. This enables the user to carry the dispenser 100 detached from the bottle 103 without fear of the serrated edge 304 of the tube 104 being exposed and causing unintended damage to items in contact with the dispenser 100.

(23) When the serrated edge 304 (i.e., end) of the tube 104 is in the bottle 103, the tube 104 and nozzle insert 310 stay in a locked position using a key 516 on the nozzle insert 310 of the dispenser 100 and a notch 514 in the spring housing 512. This prevents the nozzle insert 310 from turning. To have the water flow out of the bottle 103, the user twists the nozzle cap 312 counterclockwise to start and increase the amount of water they want flowing out of the nozzle 116. The user twists the nozzle cap 312 clockwise to decrease the flow of water. In one embodiment, the nozzle 116 (e.g., nozzle cap 312) includes several holes that sprinkle the liquid from the nozzle in a wide area to get more coverage on the user's hands. When the user is finished washing their hands, they turn the nozzle cap 312 clockwise to decrease and cease the flow of water from the nozzle 116.

(24) In one embodiment, the dispenser housing 110 and secures the dispenser 100 to the bottle 103 when the dispenser 100 is installed on the bottle 103. The tube 104 includes serrations 304 on an end thereof configured to insert into the bottle 103 when the dispenser 100 is installed on the bottle 103. The seal 106 includes a gasket 306 disposed about the tube 104 and pressed against the bottle 103 by the tube 104 when the tube 104 is inserted into the bottle 103. The dispenser 100 further includes a spring 308 configured to bias the tube 104 toward the bottle 103 when the dispenser 100 is installed on the bottle 103. The dispenser 100 also includes a nozzle insert 310 connected to the tube 104. The nozzle insert 310 is configured to be rotatable by the user relative to the dispenser housing 110 in the tube 104 is configured to rotate with the nozzle insert 310 such that the separation's 304 of the tube 104 create the hole in the bottle 103 as the tube 104 is rotated. And nozzle 312 engages the tube 104 to create the valve 108. The nozzle 312 opens the valve 108 when rotated in a first direction (e.g. counterclockwise) and closes the valve 108 when rotated in a second direction opposite the first direction (e.g. clockwise). In one embodiment, the tube 104 extends along a longitudinal axis, and the nozzle insert 310 tube 104, and nozzle 312 have a common axis of rotation wherein the common axis of rotation is the longitudinal axis of the tube 104. In one embodiment, the dispenser housing 110 includes a strap 504 configured to reach around the bottle 103 and retain the dispenser housing 110 on the bottle 103 when the dispenser housing 110 is installed on the bottle 103. In one embodiment, the nozzle 312 includes a plurality of holes configured to disperse the liquid across a pattern having a width of at least a half an inch. In one embodiment, the dispenser housing 110 includes a spring housing 512 having a notch 514 at an end of the spring housing 512 adjacent the nozzle insert 310. The nozzle insert 310 includes a key 516 configured to engage the notch 514 when the tube 104 is inserted into the hole in the bottle 103. In one embodiment, the tube 104 includes a shoulder 518 configured to prevent the gasket 306 from moving along the tube 104 toward the nozzle 116 when the tube 104 is inserted into the bottle 103. In another embodiment, the gasket 306 is supported by the dispenser housing 110 and pressed against the side of the bottle 103 by the housing 110 when the housing 110 is installed on the bottle 103 such that even if the tube 104 is pulled back from the bottle 103 and the nozzle insert 310 is turned 90 degrees to prevent the tube from being pushed back into the bottle 103 by the spring 308, the liquid will not flow out of the bottle 103 because the gasket 306 and dispenser housing 110 cooperate to allow the liquid to fill a small portion of the dispenser housing 110 without allowing leaking between the bottle 103 side and the dispenser housing 110.

(25) In one embodiment, the dispenser 100 includes a soap housing 604 for a disposable pod 606 made of foil or plastic. When a tab 608 is broken off the end of the pod 606 (e.g., the lower end) the user can squeeze the pod 606 in the center and release soap into the user's free hand. This pod 606 could be changed out when empty by inserting a new pod in the housing 604. In one embodiment, the housing 604 includes a band extending around the bottle 103 and including lanyard attachment points 132. Alternatively, the pod 606 may include an attachment such as a hook and loop system for self-adhering to the lanyard 140.

(26) In another embodiment, the soap housing 604 for a disposable pod 606 of soap or sanitizer is part of the dispenser housing 110. In yet another embodiment, the pod housing 604 is a separate housing from the dispenser housing 110 including the spigot (i.e., nozzle 116) and valve 108, and the pod housing 604 attaches to the bottle 103 at the end opposite the housing 110 including the valve 108 and spigot 116 (see, for example, FIG. 1). In one embodiment, the dispenser 100 includes a lanyard attachment point 132 separate from the pod housing 604 and dispenser housing 110 including the spigot 116 and valve 108. The lanyard attachment point 132 attaches to the bottle 103 (e.g., secures around the bottle) at the end of the bottle 103 opposite the pod housing 604 to enable the user to secure the bottle 103 to the lanyard 140 in both the upright and upside down position of the bottle 103.

(27) Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that any arrangement, which is calculated to achieve the same purpose, may be substituted for the specific embodiment shown. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the present invention.

(28) Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.