Water cooler abstract
A water cooler bottle closure made of a closure cap adapted to
fit over the neck of a water cooler bottle, which closure cap has
an opening formed at its bottom. A flange projects around the periphery
of the opening to define an inner chamber. A base is provided to
close the opening so as to enable the formation of an ice plug in
the inner chamber when the latter has been filled with water and
subjected to freezing conditions. A water bottle filled with such
a closure, after having removed its base, can be tilted over a water
cooler and during that process no spill takes place. The plug of
ice then slowly melts and water runs into the cooler in the usual
manner.
Water cooler claims
I claim:
1. A water cooler bottle closure comprising:
a closure cap adapted to fit over the neck of a water cooler bottle,
said closure cap having an opening formed at the bottom thereof,
a continuous wall projecting around the periphery of said opening
to define an inner chamber which is associated with said closure
cap and is adapted to fit inside the neck portion of the water cooler
bottle,
said continuous wall being set back with respect to said opening
to define a flange,
a base including means engageable by said flange to imperviously
close one end of said chamber so as to enable the formation of an
ice plug in said inner chamber when said inner chamber has been
filled with water and said water has been subjected to freezing
conditions.
2. A water cooler bottle closure according to claim 1 wherein
said opening is circular and said inner chamber is cylindrical.
3. A water cooler bottle closure according to claim 2 wherein
said continuous wall is circular and projects around said circular
opening from the bottom of said closure cap, so that said cylindrical
inner chamber lies entirely inside said closure cap.
4. A water cooler bottle closure according to claim 3 wherein
said circular wall is interiorly corrugated so as to prevent said
plug of ice from slipping outside said inner chamber.
5. A water cooler bottle closure according to claim 1 wherein
said base is made of resilient material and comprises a disc portion
having outwardly tapered walls and a circular channel therebetween
which enables the disc portion to be press fitted into said opening
until said flange is engaged by said circular channel thereby enabling
said disc portion to fit snugly and imperviously into said opening,
and a handle portion integral with said base and enabling to insert
said base into said opening previous to filling said inner chamber
with water, and to remove said base from said opening before tilting
over said bottle when mounting the same on said water cooler.
6. A water cooler bottle closure comprising a closure cap adapted
to fit over the neck of a water cooler bottle, said closure cap
having a circular opening formed at the bottom thereof, a circular
wall which projects around said circular opening from the bottom
of said closure cap to define an inner cylindrical chamber which
is integral with said closure cap and lies entirely inside said
closure cap, said circular wall being set back with respect to said
opening to define a flange, said circular wall being interiorly
corrugated, a base made of resilient material which comprises a
disc portion having outwardly tapered walls and a circular channel
therebetween which enables the disc portion to be press fitted into
said opening until said flange is engaged by said circular channel
thereby enabling said disc portion to fit snugly and imperviously
into said opening, and a handle portion integral with the disc portion
and enabling to insert said disc portion into said opening and to
thereafter remove it from said opening, so constructed and arranged
that when said water cooler bottle closure is not in use, said cylindrical
chamber is filled with water and said water cooler bottle closure
is placed in a freezer to form an ice plug in said cylindrical inner
chamber, then when one intends to mount a bottle of water on said
water cooler, said water cooler bottle closure is fitted over the
neck of said bottle, said base is removed therefrom and said bottle
provided with said closure is thereafter tilted and mounted on said
water cooler.
Water cooler description
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
(a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a water cooler bottle closure. More particularly,
the present invention is directed to a device of the kind which
enables to mount a water bottle over a water cooler while preventing
any escape of water from the bottle during the tilting operation.
After the bottle has been placed over the water cooler, water starts
to flow into the cooler to be available to anyone.
(b) Description of Prior Art
Modern civilization has brought the pollution of an important portion
of the water supply, to the extent that drinkable water which is
harmless and pleasant to the taste is getting rare. In many places,
such as in industrial plants and offices, as well as in homes, it
is common to see fresh spring water made available through the use
of a water bottle mounted upside down over a water cooler, with
the neck plunging into the top part of the cooler. The difficulty
with such an arrangement is that the bottle which is often very
heavy must first of all be uncorked, and then tilted 180.degree.
to be mounted over the cooler with the neck down. It is obvious
that this is an operation which is tedious and which has to be executed
with some speed, in order to prevent any spill of water. A system
which would be ideal would block the water flow from the moment
the water bottle is tilted until it is well settled over the water
cooler.
To my knowledge there is not available any system which would be
effective in arriving at a reasonable solution to the problem mentioned
above. I am aware of U.S. Pat. No. 1635438 which relates to an
ice cap. Although it could be used to refrigerate a bottle of milk
during delivery, it could not safely be mounted on a water bottle
to prevent water spill because it could not stay on the neck when
tilting a water bottle.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
In order to overcome the above disadvantages, I have provided a
water cooler bottle closure comprising a closure cap adapted to
fit over the neck of a water cooler bottle, the closure cap having
an opening formed at the bottom thereof, flange means projecting
around the periphery of the opening, the flange means defining an
inner chamber which is associated with the closure cap, and a base
to close the inner chamber so as to enable the formation of an ice
plug in the inner chamber when the inner chamber has been filled
with water and the water has been subjected to freezing conditions.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention the
opening is circular and the inner chamber is cylindrical.
In accordance with yet another embodiment of the invention the
flange means comprises a circular wall which projects around the
circular opening from the bottom of the closure cap, so that the
cylindrical inner chamber lies entirely inside the closure cap.
In accordance with yet another embodiment of the invention the
circular wall is interiorly corrugated so as to prevent the plug
of ice from slipping outside the inner chamber.
In accordance with yet another embodiment of the invention, the
base comprises means to enable it to fit snugly into the opening.
In accordance with still another embodiment of the invention the
base is made of resilient material and comprises a disc portion
having outwardly tapered walls which enable the base to fit snugly
and imperviously into the opening and a handle portion integral
with the base and enabling to insert the base into the opening previous
to filling the inner chamber with water, and to remove the base
from the opening before tilting over the bottle when mounting the
same on the water cooler.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The invention is illustrated by means of the following drawings
in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a water cooler and water bottle,
fitted with a closure cap according to the invention, being placed
over the water cooler;
FIG. 2 is a cross-section view of a closure cap according to the
invention;
FIG. 3 is a cross-section view of the same closure cap mounted
over a water bottle;
FIG. 4 is an exploded view showing the various parts of the closure
cap illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 as well as a water bottle neck;
and
FIG. 5 is a view showing the melting of an ice plug formed in a
device according to the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to the drawings, there is shown a closure cap 1 which
is fitted over the neck 3 of a water bottle 5 the whole to be placed
on a water cooler 7 as shown in FIG. 1 of the drawing. As illustrated
in FIGS. 3 4 and 5 the closure cap 1 has a circular opening 9
formed at its bottom 11. A circular wall 13 projects around the
circular opening 9 in the manner shown in FIGS. 2 to 5 from the
bottom 11 of the closure cap 1 to define an inner cylindrical chamber
15 which is integral with the closure cap 1. It will also be noted
that the circular wall 13 is set back with respect to the opening
9 to define therewith a circular flange 16 as particularly shown
in FIGS. 2-5. Also as shown, the inner cylindrical chamber 15 lies
entirely inside the closure cap 1 and is adapted to fit inside the
neck portion of the water bottle cooler. Of course, this is not
essential and, as well known to those skilled in the art, the inner
cylindrical chamber could be partly or entirely outside the closure
cap 1.
The closure cap 1 described above can be made of any well known
material. However, it is recommended to use a plastic material which
can easily be molded. It has been found through experience that
the closure cap 1 can more easily be fabricated by molding, and
the particular technique involved is outside the scope of the present
invention and is entirely left to those skilled in the art.
The inner cylindrical chamber 15 has corrugations 17 along the
interior wall 13 thereof. The reason for providing these corrugations
17 along the interior wall 13 is to prevent the ice plug 19 which
will be described below, from slipping outside the inner chamber
15 when handling the closure cap.
As another part of the device according to the invention, there
is a base 21 which is preferably made of resilient material such
as rubber. The base 21 comprises a disc portion 23 which has outwardly
tapered walls 25. Between the disc portion 23 and the base 21 there
is a circular channel 24. Because of the resilient nature of the
material with which the base is made, the tapered walls 25 of the
disc portion 23 will enable the disc portion to be press fitted
into the opening 9 until the flange 16 is engaged by the circular
channel 24 thereby enabling the disc portion 23 of the base 21
to fit snugly and imperviously into the opening 9 of the closure
cap 1 all as shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings. The base 21 also
has a handle 27 which is integral with the disc portion 23 and enables
to insert the disc portion 23 into the opening 9. The handle 27
also permits to free the opening 9 before mounting the closure cap
on the neck 3 of the bottle 5. The handle portion 27 can have any
shape desired. In the model illustrated it appears as a truncated
cone. However, one can elect the type of handle of his choice.
It will therefore be seen that when the water cooler bottle closure
is not in use, the handle 27 should be mounted on the closure 1
by fitting the disc portion 23 in the circular opening 9 of the
closure 1. Because of the tapered walls 25 of the disc portion 23
the handle 27 and the base 21 will be firmly held by the bottle
closure 1. Then the chamber 15 is filled with water and the bottle
closure 1 is placed in a freezer in the position shown in FIG. 2
of the drawings, where an ice plug 19 will be formed in the cylindrical
chamber 15.
When a bottle of natural water 5 is intended to be mounted on a
water cooler 7 the cap 29 of the water bottle 5 is removed and
the bottle closure 1 with its base 21 is mounted over the neck 3
of the water bottle 5 in the manner shown in FIG. 5 of the drawings.
The base 21 is thereafter removed and the bottle with its closure
is tilted over and mounted on a water cooler.
As the ice melts, water starts to descend into the cooler until
the bottle is empty.
After removing the water bottle from over the cooler, the bottle
closure is removed from the neck of the water bottle, the base 21
is mounted in the circular opening, the inner chamber is filled
with water and the assembly is placed in a freezer for further use.
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