Water cooler abstract
A semi-portable water cooler suitable for outdoor use on a sports
playing field includes a thermally insulated container supplied
with water such as from a municipal water supply by way of a feeder
hose. A spiraled water conduit tube is emplaced within the container
which is filled with ice. Water received from the feeder hose passes
upwardly through the tube and exits from a cover at the top of the
container. The cooled exiting water is fed into a number of separate
exterior lengths of flexible hose, each terminating in a valve-controlled
drinking spout. The spouts with attached hoses are held by brackets
supported by the container, and are slideably retained while permitting
lifting to drinking height for a standing person.
Water cooler claims
Having thus described my invention, what is claimed is:
1. A water cooler comprising:
a) a thermally insulated container comprised of a circular cylindrical
sidewall, a flat bottom panel integral with said sidewall and defining
therewith an interior region, a removable circular top cover having
a center first aperture, and a second aperture disposed in said
sidewall adjacent said bottom panel and equipped with an exterior
fluid coupling fitting,
b) a length of tubing disposed within said container and shaped
in part as a spiral coil that lies closely adjacent said sidewall,
said tubing having an entrance extremity that communicates with
said second aperture, and an exit extremity located within said
interior region adjacent said top cover,
c) an interior length of flexible hose extending in leak proof
joinder between said exit extremity and said first aperture,
d) a multi-port fluid diverting fixture associated with said first
aperture,
e) an exterior length of flexible hose coupled to each port of
said fixture and terminating in a distal extremity,
f) a spout attached to each distal extremity and comprised of a
squeeze-controlled valve and associated discharge nozzle, and a
cup-shaped spacer disposed upon said nozzle in a manner to prevent
lip contact of the nozzle by a drinker,
g) a service bracket attached to said top cover and extending upwardly
therefrom, and
h) holder means disposed upon said bracket for securing said spouts
and permitting slidable upward deployment of said exterior lengths
of flexible hose.
2. The water cooler of claim 1 wherein the length of said interior
length of flexible hose is sufficient to permit removal of said
cover without disconnecting said interior flexible hose from said
spiral coil.
3. The water cooler of claim 2 wherein said interior length of
flexible hose is between 1 and 3 feet.
4. The water cooler of claim 1 wherein the entrance extremity of
said spiral coil is at an elevation at least as high as said second
aperture.
5. The water cooler of claim 1 wherein said spouts number between
4 and 8.
6. The water cooler of claim 1 wherein said service bracket is
of inverted U-shaped shape.
7. The water cooler of claim 1 wherein a flexible connector hose
communicates between the entrance extremity of said spiral coil
and said exterior fluid coupling fitting.
8. The water cooler of claim 1 wherein said fluid coupling fitting
includes a quick-disconnect feature wherein joinder and separation
with a compatible fitting is achieved by axial movements of the
joining components.
9. The water cooler of claim 1 further comprising a plug for said
fluid coupling fitting, said plug tethered to the sidewall of said
container.
10. The water cooler of claim 1 further comprising a bypass valve
associated with said exterior fluid coupling fitting and adapted
to controllably divert water otherwise intended to enter said exterior
fluid coupling fitting.
11. The water cooler of claim 1 further comprising flow restricting
means active between each exterior length of flexible hose and its
associated spout.
12. The water cooler of claim 1 wherein two holder means are disposed
upon said bracket in diametrically opposed relationship.
Water cooler description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns apparatus for cooling drinking water and
dispensing a large volume of said cooled water to a number of individuals
simultaneously.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the course of athletic competition, particularly outdoors on
hot days, players need to drink a cooled beverage to avoid dehydration
and help cool the body. In certain sports such as soccer, football
and lacrosse, the number of participants is large. Therefore, the
volume of beverage needed at the sites where these events occur
is also large. The most universally accepted cold beverage is water,
and the dispenser should be sufficiently portable to be taken out
to the field to service the players.
Numerous portable devices have been disclosed for cooling beverages.
Such devices generally employ a thermally insulated container which
holds ice. In the simplest of such devices cooler chests are employed
wherein bottles or cans of beverages are stored in contact with
ice cubes and are removed as needed by way of a closure lid. In
other devices, a coiled tube is disposed within a compartment filled
with ice, preferably in cube or crushed form, and water is run through
the tube toward a dispensing extremity. Such construction is shown
for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4407356 to DeLau wherein water is
caused to flow by gravity from a top reservoir through a cooling
coil to a lower spigot. The DeLau cooler unit is limited in its
capacity by the size of the reservoir. If the reservoir is made
larger, the considerable weight of the water compromises the portability
of the unit. Also, the low position of the spigot necessitates the
use of a table, upon which the cooler would be placed, and cups
to receive the cooled water. Other portable cooling devices equipped
with coils through which the beverage travels are disclosed in U.S.
Pat. Nos. 2871675; 4856678; 5350086; 5743107; 5803163.
However, such devices in general have limited beverage capacity
and lack sufficient portability to be carried or wheeled outdoors
to a playing field. Also, the dispensers usually service just one
player at a time, and necessitate the inconvenience of having to
use drinking cups.
In order to permit multiple dispensing ports while obviating the
need for drinking cups, portable water coolers have been disclosed
having flexible drinking spouts disposed above the cooling chamber.
However, such units require pumped pressurization to drive the water
to heights above the cooling chamber. Such pressuization, when achieved
by a hand-operated pump causes the dispenser to be difficult to
use. When a battery-operated pump is employed, the dispenser becomes
expensive and problematic. The battery must be frequently re-charged,
and both the battery and pumping mechanism are subject to failure.
Furthermore, the pressurization mechanism, often associated with
an upper lid of the cooling compartment, causes difficulties in
adding fresh ice to the cooling compartment. In general, most prior
water coolers intended for semi-portable outdoor use have a limited
capacity, requiring manual addition of drinking water.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide
a water cooler having an unlimited water supply while still being
sufficiently portable to permit movement onto a playing field.
It is another object of this invention to provide a water cooler
as in the foregoing object which can service several drinkers at
the same time.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a water
cooler of the aforesaid nature which dispenses cooled water without
the need for a drinking cup to receive and drink the dispensed water.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a water cooler
of the aforesaid nature which permits easy ice replacement.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide
a water cooler of the aforesaid nature which enables the ice to
efficiently cool the water.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a water
cooler of the aforesaid nature of lightweight, durable construction
amenable to low cost manufacture.
These objects and other objects and advantages of the invention
will be apparent from the following description.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The above and other beneficial objects and advantages are accomplished
in accordance with the present invention by a portable water cooler
comprising:
a) a thermally insulated container comprised of a circular cylindrical
sidewall, a flat bottom panel integral with said sidewall and defining
therewith an interior region, a removable circular top cover having
a center first aperture, and a second aperture disposed in said
sidewall adjacent said bottom panel and equipped with an exterior
fluid coupling fitting,
b) a length of tubing disposed within said container and shaped
in part as a uniform spiral coil that lies closely adjacent said
sidewall, said tubing having an entrance extremity that communicates
with said second aperture, and an exit extremity located within
said interior region adjacent said top cover,
c) an interior length of flexible hose extending in leak proof
joinder between said exit extremity and said first aperture,
d) a multi-port fluid diverting fixture associated with said first
aperture,
e) an exterior length of flexible hose coupled to each port of
said fixture and terminating in a distal extremity,
f) a spout attached to each distal extremity and comprised of a
squeeze-controlled valve and associated discharge nozzle, and a
cup-shaped spacer disposed upon said nozzle in a manner to prevent
lip contact of the nozzle by the drinker,
g) a service bracket attached to said top cover and extending upwardly
therefrom in an inverted U-shape configuration, and
h) holder means disposed upon said bracket for securing said spouts
and permitting slidable upward deployment of said exterior lengths
of flexible hose.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention,
reference should be had to the following detailed description taken
in connection with the accompanying drawing forming a part of this
specification and in which similar numerals of reference indicate
corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawing:
FIG. 1 is a perspective front view of an embodiment of the water
cooler of the present invention, with portions broken away to reveal
interior details.
FIG. 2 is a top view of the embodiment of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a side view with portions broken away.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the spout component of
the embodiment of FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of a multi-port fluid diverting
fixture which may be used in the embodiment of FIG. 1.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged exploded side view of the exterior fluid
coupling fitting of the embodiment of FIG. 1.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to FIGS. 1-6 an embodiment of the water cooler of
the present invention is shown comprised of a thermally insulated
container 10 having internal coiled tubing 11 and four lengths
of exterior flexible plastic hose 27 emergent from said container
and terminating in spouts 12 supported by service bracket 13.
Container 10 is comprised of circular cylindrical sidewall 14
flat bottom panel 15 integral with said sidewall and defining therewith
an interior region 16 and removable circular top cover 17. Said
top cover is provided with a centered first aperture 18. A second
aperture 19 is disposed in said sidewall adjacent said bottom panel,
and is equipped with an exterior fluid coupling fitting 20. Suitable
containers for use in the present invention include those currently
available as coolers for bottled and can beverages, and are generally
of double-wall plastic construction having thermal insulation between
the walls. Laterally opposed carrying handles 52 are usually incorporated
into the exterior surface 53 of sidewall 14 adjacent its upper extremity
54.
Tubing 11 is preferably fabricated of copper and may have an inside
diameter between about 1/4" and 1/2" Said tubing is in
the shape of a uniform self-supporting spiral coil 21 that lies
closely adjacent or in contact with the interior surface 22 of sidewall
14. Said tubing has an entrance extremity 23 that communicates with
said second aperture, and an exit extremity 24 located within interior
region 16 adjacent top cover 17. An interior length of flexible
hose 25 extends in leak-proof joinder between the exit extremity
of said tubing and said first aperture in top cover 17. The length
of hose 25 must be at least a foot long and may be up to three feet
in length in order to permit removal of cover 17 without disconnecting
said hose from tubing 11. Entrance extremity 23 is preferably at
an elevation at least as high as said second apertures thereby enabling
gravity-aided drainage of water from coil 21 for storage purposes.
In some embodiments a stand or spacer may be positioned on bottom
panel 15 to produce the desired elevation of the coil.
A multi-port fluid diverting fixture 26 is coupled to said first
aperture. An exterior length of flexible hose 27 is connected to
each port 28 of fixture 26 and terminates in a distal extremity
29 which preferably contains flow restricting means in the form
of channeled plug 30. The length of exterior hose 27 is at least
three feet, thereby enabling the hose to lie in a looped configuration
permitting upward extension to a standing drinker.
A spout 12 is associated with the distal extremity 29 of each exterior
length of hose 27. Said spout is comprised of a squeeze-controlled
valve 31 and associated discharge nozzle 32. A bell-shaped spacer
33 is secured to the nozzle The size and shape of the spacer is
such that it prevents lip contact of the nozzle by the drinker.
The exit diameter 50 of nozzle 32 is preferably larger than the
effective diameter of plug 30 thereby permitting the water emergent
from the nozzle to have reduced force relative to the unrestrained
force that would otherwise result. The number of spouts that may
be employed is between about 4 and 8.
Service bracket 13 having an inverted U-shape, is attached to
top cover 17 and extends upwardly therefrom by a height of 15 to
30 inches. Holder arms 56 extend outwardly from the upright arms
35 of bracket 13 and contain retainer loops 34.. Said loops secure
spouts 12 while permitting slidable upward deployment of said exterior
lengths of hose 27. In the exemplified embodiment, service bracket
13 is of flat metal construction, and is attached as by bolting
to the sidewall of top cover 17. In alternative embodiments, service
bracket 13 may be removably attached to top cover 17 by engagement
with the top and/or sidewall portions of said cover. Also, the service
bracket may have configurations other than U-shaped.
Referring now to FIG. 6 fluid coupling fitting 20 is shown to
be of the quick-disconnect type wherein joinder and separation of
an associated garden hose equipped with a compatible fitting is
achieved by axial movement of the joining components. A threaded
collar 41 causes fitting 20 to seat within second aperture 19. A
rubber washer 42 spacer 43 and securing nut 44 are applied to collar
41 from interior region 16 in a manner to cause leak-proof engagement
of fitting 20 with sidewall 14. A threaded hose barb adapter 45
is secured onto collar 41. A flexible connector hose 46 which extends
from the entrance extremity 23 of tubing 11 is frictionally pressed
onto adapter 45 and secured thereupon by hose clamp 47. By virtue
of such arrangement of components, the coil of tubing 11 may be
removed from said container for servicing and/or cleaning. A plug
48 may be tethered to the exterior of sidewall 14 for the purpose
of preventing leakage from the coil when the cooler is stored. A
bypass valve 57 may be associated with fitting 20 to permit water
from a supply garden hose to be initially discharged, particularly
if said water has been lying stagnant within the garden hose on
a hot day, and thereby heated.
In use, container 10 is filled with ice in cube or comminuted form,
and a conventional garden hose, not a part of this invention, is
connected to fitting 20. The water which supplies the garden hose,
generally a municipal water supply having a pressure of 40-60 psi,
is turned on. The cooler can be carried or wheeled to a location
on a field which may be adjacent the sidelines. In this regard,
the cooler of this invention is deemed to be "semi-portable."
The range of placement of the cooler is dependent upon the length
of the garden hose. Stagnant warm water in the garden hose is dumped
via valve 57 prior to use. The player seeking a drink grasps the
spout, lifts it upward to drinking height and squeezes the trigger
lever 37 that activates valve 31. The spout is held so that the
nozzle is upwardly directed. The flow of water through the nozzle
is controlled by restricting means 30 so that a stream is produced
having a height slightly greater than the length of spacer 33. This
mode of operation obviates the need for the drinker to place his
lips on spacer 33 thus creating a sanitary drinking situation.
Holes 38 in the bottom of spacer 33 prevent the unwanted accumulation
of water in said spacer. The exact height of the stream of water
emergent from the nozzle is adjusted by proper, choice of restricting
means 30 in conjunction with existing municipal water pressure.
Suitable flexible hoses useful in the cooler of this invention include,
for example, plasticized polyvinyl chloride reinforced with braided
fiberglass.
While particular examples of the present invention have been shown
and described, it is apparent that changes and modifications may
be made therein without departing from the invention in its broadest
aspects. The aim of the appended claims, therefore, is to cover
all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit
and scope of the invention. |