Liquid Dispenser Appliance

Abstract

Liquid dispensing appliance for use with a bladder bag equipped with a nozzle and containing a liquid in varying volumes, for example wine, tea, juice or water that is currently sold in bags of varying volumes. The appliance consists of 2 pieces—1 body comprising of a top panel, 2 side panels, a front panel and a back panel and the 2.sup.nd piece a removable sliding tray sized to mate with the body. The sliding tray is configured to engage the nozzle thus locking the bag and tray in place. The sliding tray is positioned at an upward angle to aid in the flow of the liquid towards the nozzle. The tray also consists of a hole in the bottom for ease of removal for loading and unloading the bag. The front panel has a concave recess configured to engage the top part of the nozzle. The back panel consists of a wide slot for use as a handle. The appliance may also come with decorations.

Claims

1. An appliance for dispensing variable size bladder or bag liquids with nozzles comprising: An enclosure with an interior volume adequate to hold commercially available bladder bags of liquid, and a tray. Said enclosure has fixed front and back walls. Said enclosure has a fixed top wall. Said enclosure has fixed side Walls with grooves for receiving the tray. The front wall containing a receiving portion to partially capture a bladder nozzle. Said tray is a removable sliding tray that traverses the grooves in the side walls and whose front portion secures the nozzle and whose main portion supports the bag of liquid inside the appliance.

2. The appliance of claim 1, where the tray further contains a feature to indicate the type of liquid within the appliance.

3. The appliance of claim 1, where the side panel grooves traverse a front inferior to back superior pathway.

4. The appliance of claim 1, where said removable tray has a retention feature to engage the bags nozzle.

5. The appliance of claim 1, where the back panel further incorporates a recess for the purpose of a handle

6. The appliance of claim 1, where the enclosure materials specifically match the materials of the appliance use location.

7. The appliance of claim 1, where the enclosure materials specifically match the color of the appliance use location.

8. An appliance for dispensing variable size bladder or bag liquids with nozzles comprising: An enclosure with an interior volume adequate to hold commercially available bladder bags of liquid, and a tray. Said enclosure has fixed front and back walls. Said enclosure has a fixed top wall. Said enclosure has fixed side walls. The front wall containing a receiving portion to partially capture a bladder nozzle. Said tray is a removable tray and whose front portion secures the nozzle and whose main portion supports the bag of liquid inside the appliance.

9. The appliance of claim 8, where said tray slides in grooves located on said enclosure walls.

10. A method for loading a liquid dispensing appliance whereby a bottomless appliance is turned upside down, a bag containing liquid is transported through the bottom portion and secured with a sliding tray.

11. The method of claim 10, further including nestling a nozzle on the bag containing liquid into a receiving portion on the front wall of the liquid dispensing appliance, And whereby securing with a sliding tray does not require secondary actions.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0015] FIG. 1 is an isometric representation of the appliance.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a representation of a liquid bag being loaded into the appliance body.

[0017] FIG. 3 is a representation of the sliding tray slid in place in the appliance body.

[0018] FIG. 4 is a representation of the back wall of the appliance.

[0019] FIG. 5 is a representation of the appliance on a residential countertop.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] The invention is comprised of two items as seen in (FIG. 1), an appliance body 1 and an appliance tray 2. The appliance body is composed of five walls, front, back, top and two sides. The body is preferably sized with an internal volume to accommodate commercial liquid bladder bags. Preferably between 0.75 and 6 liters or 45.8 in.sup.3 and 366.2 in.sup.3. This size is also preferable to fit on residential counter tops. In a novel action of the invention, the tray is removed by pulling it out of the body and the entire body is then turned upside down (FIG. 2). After removing the bag of liquid 3, from its original container, the bag is dropped down through the bottom of the appliance 4.

[0021] The neck of the nozzle 5, is nestled into the concave receiving portion 6, on the front wall of the appliance body. The tray is then slid back into place locking the nozzle and holding the bag inside (FIG. 3). The action of the receiving portion 6 is such that it retains the nozzle from motion in three directions, anteriorly away from the front wall, posteriorly towards the back wall, and superiorly towards the top wall. The nozzle is free to move inferiorly or superiorly away from the open bottom. The addition of the tray stops this final degree of freedom and captures the nozzle and liquid contents in a simple one step action that does not require a secondary locking mechanism. During use, the main portion of the tray 7, supports the weight of the liquid as the appliance body is bottomless. In a preferred embodiment, the front portion of the tray 8, contains a retention feature to inform the user of the proper assembled location of sliding tray 2. The feature 8 can be a concave shelf, a flat bump, a molded ridge etc. The feature 8 combined with receiving portion 6 completes the capturing of the nozzle. The weight of the bag on the tray and the fully captured nozzle keep the liquid contents stable during the transport and manipulation required for use. When the appliance is turned over again, however, the tray can be easily removed. The tray/nozzle/front wall assembly does not require a release button, a catch, a pin, a snap, a latch, or any additional user action.

[0022] The tray 2 preferably contains an indicating feature to inform the user of the appliance's contents. The tray can simply be of a color to match the contents of the liquid, i.e. red for red wine, white for white wine, etc. However this indicating feature can be a molded/fabricated icon such as a letter or word. It can be an opening or window such that the user can see the contents.

[0023] The side walls of the body contain mating features for the sliding action of the tray. In a preferred embodiment these are grooves or recesses in the walls that receive the edges of the tray. In a preferred embodiment the grooves traverse an inferior front to superior back pathway in order to aid gravity induced liquid dispensing. Those familiar with the art will contemplate alternative mating features for the sliding action; they would be tracks, “c” channels, linear slide bearings, toothed grooves, molded features, slots, or positive rails. Those familiar with the art will also contemplate that the sliding action of the tray could be side to side rather than front to back, that the grooves could be a slot on one side and a shelf on the other, they could be additionally located on the front and back walls, or any combination therein.

[0024] The body 1 can then be turned back over and is ready to dispense its contents. The handle #9, for the appliance is preferably a recess located on the back wall of body 1. This allows the handle detail to remain unseen in normal use. The recess can also be used as a catch surface for wall mounting the body. The use of a recess handle rather than a positive feature or additional feature is preferable for the simplicity of the present invention, however, molded handles, leather handles, strap handles, clips, grips and no handle are also envisioned. [0025] the handle can be used to carry apparatus to other areas of a home or restaurant/bar [0026] the handle can be used to tilt the apparatus to dispense the last portions of the bagged liquid [0027] commonly used in residential kitchens and restaurants such as wood, metal, and plastic [0028] may also be comprising of adornments such as stickers, charms including wine glass signets and decorations that may be applied prior to or after ownership.