Water cooler abstract
A water transport system replaces the inverted water bottle on
a conventional bottled water cooler of the type with a refrigerated,
open top water reservoir. The system automatically transfers water
from an upright water bottle below the reservoir into the reservoir
whenever water in in the reservoir falls below a predetermined level.
A water pipe carries water from the bottle, through a sealed closure
in the bottle neck and up into the reservoir whenever air pressure
in the bottle is elevated. An air pump in a housing atop the reservoir
generates air pressure in an air tube passing through the closure
and into the bottle. A water level sensor reduces air pressure in
the system when the water in the reservoir reaches a predetermined
level to thereby automatically control refilling of the reservoir.
Water cooler claims
I claim:
1. For a bottled water cooler having a cooled water reservoir with
an open top adapted to support an inverted water container, a water
transfer assembly for transferring water automatically from a non-inverted
bottle of water having a constricted neck and positioned below said
reservoir to the reservoir, the water transfer assembly comprising:
(A) a housing arranged to be installed on said reservoir in place
of said inverted container by simply laying said housing on said
reservoir;
(B) an air pressure system including an electrically powered air
pump, said pump having an air inlet and a pressurized air outlet,
said pump being contained within said housing;
(C) a closure for hermetically sealing the neck of said non-inverted
bottle;
(D) an elongate, flexible tube means having two ends for fluid
connection with said outlet at a first end and extending from said
housing and through said closure and arranged for opening within
said bottle at a second end for providing air pressure to said bottle
for water transfer;
(E) an elongate, flexible water pipe means for transferring water
from said bottle to said reservoir, said pipe means having a first
terminus arranged to be at the bottom of said bottle, said pipe
means extending from said first terminus, through said closure,
and through said housing and arranged to deliver water from a second
terminus to said reservoir; and
(F) water level sensing means supported by said housing and disposed
for sensing the level of water within said reservoir, said sensing
means cooperating with said air pressure system to reduce air pressure
within said bottle when water in said reservoir reaches a predetermined
level.
2. The water transfer assembly according to claim 1 further comprising
electric switch means operatively interconnected between said sensing
means and said air pump for switching off said pump when water in
said reservoir rises to a predetermined level and switching on said
pump when water falls below a predetermined level.
3. The water transfer system according to claim 2 further comprising
valve means interconnected between said sensing means and said tube
means for opening said tube means to atmospheric pressure when water
in said reservoir rises to a predetermined level and closing said
tube means from atmospheric pressure when water in said reservoir
falls below a predetermined level.
4. The water transfer system according to claim 1 further comprising
valve means interconnected between said sensing means and said tube
means for opening said tube means to atmospheric pressure when water
in said reservoir rises to a predetermined level and closing said
tube means from atmospheric pressure when water in said reservoir
falls below a predetermined level.
5. The water transfer system according to claim 1 further comprising
holding means attached to said housing for suspending said closure
and elements dependent therefrom.
6. For a bottled water cooler having a cooled water reservoir with
an open top adapted to support an inverted water container, a water
transfer assembly for transferring water automatically from a non-inverted
bottle of water having a constricted neck and positioned below said
reservoir to the reservoir, the water transfer assembly comprising:
(A) a housing arranged to be installed on said reservoir in place
of said inverted container by simply laying said housing on said
reservoir;
(B) a fluid pressure system including an electrically powered fluid
pump means contained within said housing for forcing water from
said bottle into said reservoir;
(C) a closure for closing the neck of said non-inverted bottle;
(D) an elongate, flexible water pipe means for transferring water
from said bottle to said reservoir, said pipe means having a first
terminus arranged to be at the bottom of said bottle, said pipe
means extending from said first terminus, through said closure,
and through said housing and arranged to deliver water from a second
terminus to said reservoir from forces generated by said pump means;
and
(E) water level sensing means supported by said housing and disposed
for sensing the level of water within said reservoir, said sensing
means cooperating with said fluid pressure system to force water
from said bottle when water in said reservoir reaches a predetermined
level.
7. The water transfer assembly according to claim 6 further comprising
electric switch means operatively interconnected between said sensing
means and said fluid pump means for switching off said pump means
when water in said reservoir rises to a predetermined level and
switching on said pump means when water falls below a predetermined
level.
8. For a bottled water cooler having a cooled water reservoir with
an open top adapted to support an inverted water container, a water
transfer assembly for transferring water automatically from a non-inverted
bottle of water having a constricted neck and positioned below said
reservoir to the reservoir, the water transfer assembly comprising:
(A) a housing arranged to be installed on said reservoir in place
of said inverted container by simply laying said housing on said
reservoir; said housing having a top portion, a bottom portion,
and lateral wall means for joining said top and bottom to define
an interior chamber;
(B) an air pressure system including an electrically powered air
pump, said pump having an air inlet and a pressurized air outlet,
said pump being contained within said chamber;
(C) a closure for hermetically sealing the neck of said non-inverted
bottle;
(D) an elongate, flexible tube means having two ends for fluid
connection with said outlet at a first end and extending from said
housing through said lateral wall means and through said closure
and arranged for opening within said bottle at a second end for
providing air pressure to said bottle for water transfer;
(E) an elongate, flexible water pipe means for transferring water
from said bottle to said reservoir, said pipe means having a first
terminus arranged to be at the bottom of said bottle, said pipe
means extending from said first terminus, through said closure,
and through said chamber and arranged to deliver water downward
from said bottom portion from a second terminus to said reservoir;
and
(F) water level sensing means supported by said housing and disposed
for sensing the level of water within said reservoir, said sensing
means cooperating with said air pressure system to reduce air pressure
within said bottle when water in said reservoir reaches a predetermined
level.
Water cooler description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to bottled water coolers of the type having
a refrigerated reservoir with an open top onto which an inverted
water bottle is supported and more particularly to a water transfer
assembly which fits onto the reservoir in place of the inverted
water bottle to automatically maintain a predetermined water level
in the reservoir by pumping water from an upright water bottle positioned
below the reservoir.
Water coolers of this type generally require the difficult lifting
of the 20 Kg. bottle, rapidly inverting it and positioning the neck
within the reservoir before all the water spills out. Additionally,
one should avoid contaminating the neck, which becomes immersed
in the drinking water in the reservoir.
The concept of providing a different cooler without an open top
with the water bottle upright below the reservoir and pumping water
up to the reservoir is not new, as evidenced by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3495612
issued Feb. 17 1970 to Moreland et al.; 3179292 issued Apr. 20
1965 to Terry and 3584472 issued Jun. 15 1971 to Sholtes.
Although these coolers presented certain advances, they had definite
disadvantages, and have not met with substantial success in the
decades since their introduction. The open top coolers are most
popular. They are relatively trouble free, although the reservoir
requires frequent cleaning because of the introduction of foreign
matter every time the bottle is replaced.
It would be desirable if a simple device were available to convert
these economical and ubiquitous coolers so that they could function
automatically without requiring the difficult and awkward lifting
and inverting maneuver that has injured so many backs. It would
also be desirable if a means could be provided to avoid the opening
and contaminating of the reservoir every time a bottle is changed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a water
transfer assembly for mounting atop a refrigerated reservoir in
place of an inverted water bottle that will pump water from an upright
water bottle into the reservoir to automatically maintain a predetermined
water level. It is a further object that the assembly be installable
by simply laying it in place on the reservoir and sealing the bottle
with a closure or stopper. It is yet another object that the assembly
be economical of manufacture and use so that it may be added to
the low cost coolers of the art at very little cost.
The water transfer assembly of the invention comprises a housing
arranged to fit on the reservoir. An electric powered air pump within
the housing pumps air through a tube into the bottle, passing through
a stopper sealing the bottle neck so that pressure builds up in
the bottle. Water in the bottle is forced by the air pressure through
a water pipe through the stopper, through the housing and out the
bottom of the housing into the reservoir. A sensing device below
the housing senses the water level and reduces the air pressure
when a predetermined water level is reached so that the water level
in the reservoir is automatically maintained.
These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention
will become apparent when the detailed description is studied in
conjunction with the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the water transfer assembly of
the invention in place on a cooler.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view partially diagrammatic, taken through
line 2--2 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view of a portion of another embodiment
of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In the figures, like elements are given the same reference numeral.
Referring now first to FIGS. 1 and 2 a conventional water cooler
2 well known in the art, need not be described in detail. It has
a refrigerated reservoir 5 with a gravity feed drain 24 and an open
top 28 adapted to ordinarily receive an inverted water bottle (not
shown). Water spills from the inverted bottle until the neck is
submerged and a vacuum builds up in the bottle. Then water only
leaves the bottle when the reservoir level drops enough to admit
air to the bottle. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the water transfer
assembly 1 of the invention is in place on the reservoir instead
of an inverted water bottle. The water bottle 3 is upright below
the reservoir. It may be beside the cooler or inside the cooler
as desired.
A closure or stopper 18 hermetically seals the neck 19 of the bottle.
A long flexible water pipe 15 has a first opening 16 at or near
the bottom of the bottle. The pipe 15 passes through closure 18
through the lateral wall 31 of the housing and has a second terminus
at the bottom 30 of the housing to deposit water into the reservoir
5. Water is forced up through pips 15 only when air pressure builds
up in the bottle through end 14 of air tube 12 which also passes
through closure 18 and through lateral wall 31 of housing 4 and
into the housing where it is connected to the pressure outlet 11
of air pump 8. A filter 26 may be provided at air inlet 10 to reduce
contamination of the air pressure system 7. The pump may be one
of the very low power, low cost pumps used for home aquaria that
may be operated continuously from power cord 9. A float 25 connected
to lever assembly 20 below the bottom 30 of the housing operates
as a liquid level sensor operatively connected to bleeder valve
21 interposed in the air pressure system 7 to open the system to
atmospheric pressure when the water in reservoir 5 reaches a predetermined
level. This reduces the pressure in the bottle, stopping the flow
in water pipe 15. When the level drops sufficiently in the reservoir,
the float will drop, valve 21 will close, and pressure will once
again build up in tube 12 and bottle 3 restoring water flow. By
using a simple low cost, low pressure pump, there is no need for
a pressure limiting device and the cost of running the pump continuously
is minimal. Enclosing the pump within the housing muffles the sound.
In the alternate embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 the float 25
actuates an electric switch 23 which operates two circuits from
power cord 9 energizing air pump 8 and closing bleed valve 33 so
that the air pressure system is sealed from the atmosphere and pressure
can build up therein whenever the level in the reservoir falls below
a predetermined level.
To protect the portion of the device ordinarily within the bottle
from contamination during bottle changing, a holder 27 for that
purpose may be provided on the housing 4 so that the tubing will
hang down in the air without touching anything. The same transfer
assembly concept may alternatively be practiced using a water pump
instead of an air pump to force the water from the bottle. This
requires a more expensive pump and involves problems of priming
the pump. Therefore the air pump is the preferred mode of practice
of the invention.
The above disclosed invention has a number of particular features
which should preferably be employed in combination although each
is useful separately without departure from the scope of the invention.
While I have shown and described the preferred embodiments of my
invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied
otherwise than as herein specifically illustrated or described,
and that certain changes in the form and arrangement of parts and
the specific manner of practicing the invention may be made within
the underlying idea or principles of the invention within the scope
of the appended claims.
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