Abstract:
A bottle cap is described that includes a sleeve for receiving the neck of a bottle. A gate is slidably mounted in a frame across the top of the sleeve, the gate being slidable between a closed position in which the gate is watertight and an open position in which an aperture in the frame is exposed to allow the flow of liquid therethrough. A strap extends from the gate for moving the gate from its closed position to its open position.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to improvements in water dispensing units, and particularly to advantageous aspects of a device and method for installing a water bottle into a dispensing unit with minimal spillage. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     In today&#39;s increasingly sophisticated office and home environments, people are no longer satisfied with drinking tap water. The main reasons for this are taste and health. Depending upon the locale, tap water may have an undesirable metallic or mineral taste. Further, again depending upon the locale, the tap water may contain pollutants, microorganisms, and other pathogenic agents that people wish to avoid. 
     Instead of drinking tap water, many consumers purchase spring water or purified water. As illustrated in FIG. 1, one common method of purchasing large quantities of water is in the form of a five-gallon bottle  1  that is placed into a dispensing unit  2  in an inverted configuration. A dispensing unit  2  typically provides refrigeration of the water and sometimes also provide heated water for hot beverages. Water  3  is gravity-fed from the bottle  1  into a well  4  inside the dispensing unit  2 . As needed, water  3  is drawn from the well  4  through a spigot  5  located at the front of the dispenser  2 , and additional water  3  is then drawn by gravity into the well  4  to replace the water  3  that has been removed. 
     One significant problem in this dispensing technique is the installation of the water bottle  1  into the dispensing unit  2 . This tends to be a cumbersome process, particularly where the person installing the water bottle does not have sufficient height or upper body strength to properly control the bottle  1 . A five-gallon bottle filled with water weighs over 40 pounds and can be quite unwieldy. Typically, the person installing the water bottle first removes the cap of the water bottle. The person then lifts the water bottle above the dispensing unit and attempts to invert the water bottle such that the opening of the water bottle is properly seated in the well of the dispensing unit. However, if the water bottle is not inverted and seated into the well with sufficient speed and accuracy, water tends to spill out of the bottle onto the dispensing unit, the floor, and any surrounding furniture, papers, persons, etc. In addition to wasting water and damaging nearby items, this also results in a loss of productivity, as valuable employee time must now be used to clean up the spillage. 
     There is thus a need for a device and method for installing a water bottle into a dispensing unit with minimal spillage. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     These and other issues raised by the prior art are addressed by the present invention, one aspect of which provides a bottle cap, comprising a sleeve for receiving the neck of a bottle; a gate slidably mounted in a frame across the top of the sleeve, the gate being slidable between a closed position in which the gate is watertight and an open position in which an aperture in the frame is exposed to allow the flow of liquid therethrough; and a strap extending from the gate for moving the gate from its closed position to its open position. 
     Additional features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent by reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows a diagram of a water bottle and dispenser according to the prior art. 
     FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of a bottle cap according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 shows a side view of the bottle cap shown in FIG. 2, with the gate and pull strap removed for purposes of illustration. 
     FIG. 4 shows a side view of the bottle cap rotated  90  degrees from the side view shown in FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 5 shows the side view of FIG. 3 with the bottle cap flap detached from the sleeve and rolled back. 
     FIG. 6 shows a diagram of the interlocking rib structure used to attach the flap to the sleeve. 
     FIG. 7 shows a bottom view of the bottle cap shown in FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 8 shows a plan view of the gate and pull strap used in the bottle cap shown in FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 9A shows a top view of the bottle cap shown in FIG. 2 with the gate in its closed position, and FIG. 9B shows a cross section of the bottle cap through the plane  9 B— 9 B in FIG.  9 A. 
     FIG. 10A shows a top view of the bottle cap shown in FIG. 2 with the gate in its open position, and FIG. 10B shows a cross section of the bottle cap through the plane  10 B— 10 B in FIG.  10 A. 
     FIG. 11 shows a diagram illustrating the operation of the present invention in installing a bottle into a dispenser. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     A first aspect of the present invention provides a water bottle cap that includes a gate having a closed position in which the bottle cap is watertight and an open position in which water may flow through the cap. The gate is moved from its closed position to its open position by pulling on a strap. A water bottle having a bottle cap according to the present invention is inverted and installed into a dispensing unit with the gate in its closed position. Once the bottle has been properly positioned in the dispensing unit, the strap is then pulled to move the gate into its open position. According to a further aspect of the invention, once the water bottle is empty, the bottle cap may be removed for use in installing another water bottle. As a preliminary matter, it should be noted that although the present discussion revolves around the use of water bottles and dispensers, the present invention may also be used in connection with the dispensing of beverages and liquids in which large bottles are inverted for installation in a dispensing unit. 
     FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of a water bottle cap  10  according to present invention. According to this embodiment of the invention, the bottle cap  10  is fabricated from a resilient plastic or other suitable material that can form a watertight seal with the neck and opening of a water bottle. As shown in FIG. 2, the bottle cap  10  includes a sleeve  12  that is dimensioned to fit closely around the neck of the water bottle. At the top of the sleeve  12  is a lip  14  that is dimensioned to fit closely around a corresponding lip portion at the opening of the water bottle. The sleeve  12  includes a flap  16  that, as described in greater detail below, is detached from the sleeve and rolled back to facilitate the seating of the lip  14  onto the lip of the water bottle and the sleeve  12  around the neck of the water bottle. Once the lip  14  and sleeve  12  are properly seated, the flap  16  is then rolled back into position and reattached, locking the cap into position. As described further below, the flap  16  is attached to the sleeve  12  using interlocking ribs or other technique that creates a watertight seal at the flap  16 . It should be noted, however, that if a suitably elastic material is used to fabricate the bottle cap  10 , it would be possible to eliminate the flap  16  entirely and instead stretch the base of the sleeve  12  to fit over the lip of the bottle and then work the sleeve  12  downward over the neck of the bottle until the lip of the bottle is properly seated in the lip  14  of the bottle cap  10 . 
     At the top of the bottle cap  10 , across the sleeve  12 , is a retractable gate  18  that is slidably mounted inside a frame  20 , such that the gate  18  and frame  20  are watertight when the gate  18  is in its initial, closed position. As described below, this can be accomplished by providing suitable grooves in the sides of the frame  20  that are dimensioned to closely receive the gate  18 . In the present embodiment of the invention, the frame  20  is integrally formed with the sleeve  12 . However, the frame may also be fabricated separately and then attached to the sleeve  12  without departing from the spirit of the invention. 
     The gate  18  includes a projection  22  that serves two functions. First, the projection  22  functions as a stop to prevent the gate  18  from being pulled all of the way out of the frame  20  by coming into contact with a crossbar  24  of the frame  22 . This position of the gate  18  is hereinafter referred to as the “open” position. Second, the projection  22  functions as a knob to facilitate the sliding of the game  18  back into its initial, closed position in the frame  20 . 
     Extending downward from the gate  18  is a pull strap  26  that is threaded through an exit slot  28  in the frame  20 . As its name implies, the pull strap  26  is used to pull the gate  18  out of its closed position into its open position. The movement of the gate  18  and strap  26  is limited by the projection  22  bumping up against the crossbar  24 . The pull strap  26  is guided downward alongside the sleeve  12  by a pair of slotted guides  30  and  32  that protrude from one side of the sleeve  12 . The pull strap  26  terminates in a handle  34  that is used to exert downward pressure of the pull strap  26  to pull the gate  18  into its open position. Although a pair of guides  30  and  32  is shown, it would be possible to use more than two guides or a single guide without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In the present embodiment of the invention, the guides  30  and  32  are integrally formed with the sleeve  12 . However, the guides may be fabricated separated without departing from the spirit of the invention. 
     FIG. 3 shows a side view of the water bottle cap  10  with the gate  18  and pull strap  26  removed for purposes of illustration. The gate  18  is slidably mounted in a slot  36  (shown in broken lines) in the frame  20  that is defined by a series of grooves around the inner perimeter of the rounded portion of the frame  20 . The gate  18  communicates with the pull strap  26  at the outside of the frame  20  through exit slot  28 . Lip  14  includes a rounded shoulder  38  that is used to provide a friction-reducing guiding surface for the pull strap  26  as it pulls the gate  18  into its open position. As mentioned above, the pull strap  26  is threaded through slots  40  and  42  in guides  30  and  32 . The relationship between the frame  20 , exit slot  28 , shoulder  38 , and guides  30  and  32  can better be understood with reference to FIG. 4, which is the view shown in FIG. 2 rotated by 90 degrees. 
     As mentioned above, flap  16  is detachably mounted to the sleeve  12  to facilitate the positioning of the bottle cap  10  onto the neck of the water bottle. As shown in FIG. 3, the flap  16  is attached to the sleeve  12  by a series of interlocking ribs  44  (illustrated in broken lines) that are integrally formed, respectively, on the inner surface of the flap  16  and the outer surface of the sleeve  12 . In order to facilitate the placement of the sleeve  12  onto the water bottle, the sleeve  12  is cut away underneath the flap  16 . The cutaway portion of the sleeve can better be seen with reference to FIG. 5, which shows the view of FIG. 3 with the flap  16  detached from the sleeve  12  and rolled back. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the interlocking ribs  44  that are used to detachably mount the flap  16  to the sleeve  12 . Other techniques may be used to detachably attack the flap  16  to the sleeve  12  without departing from the spirit of the invention. 
     FIG. 7 shows a bottom view of the bottle cap  10 . As shown in FIG. 7, the interior of the sleeve  12  is round to accommodate a round water bottle neck. However, of course, different shapes may be used for the interior of the sleeve  12  for different bottle neck shapes, such as a neck shape with a square profile. 
     FIG. 8 is a plan view of the gate  18  and pull strap  26 , separated from the bottle cap  10 . As shown in FIG. 8, in the present embodiment of the invention, the gate  18 , projection  22 , pull strap  26  and handle  34  are fabricated from a continuous piece of material. (For purposes of illustration, a broken line has been inserted to shown the delineation between the gate  18  and the pull strap.) However, it would also be possible to construct some or all of these components using separate pieces of material without departing from the spirit of the present invention. 
     FIG. 9A shows a top view of the bottle cap  10  with the gate  18  in its initial, closed position, and FIG. 9B shows a cross section of the view shown in FIG.  9 A through the plane  9 B— 9 B. FIG. 10A shows a top view of the bottle cap  10  with the gate  18  in its second, open position, and FIG. 10B shows a cross section of the view shown in FIG. 10A taken through the plane  10 B— 10 B. FIGS. 9A-B and  10 A-B illustrate in greater detail the operation of the bottle cap  10 . As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, when the gate  18  is in its initial, closed position, projection  22  abuts the curved portion of the frame  20 . Pulling on the pull strap  26  causes the gate  18  to move towards the left, until projection  22  butts up against the frame crossbar  24 , thereby exposing a central aperture  44  (FIG. 10A) in the bottle cap  10 . The central aperture  44  is dimensioned to be sufficiently large such that water may flow freely through the bottle cap  10 , as needed. For purposes of illustration, in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the mouth of a water bottle has been shown in broken lines. 
     FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the present invention in installing a water bottle  48  in a dispensing unit  50 . As shown in FIG. 11, a dispensing unit  50  typically has a cavity  52  shaped to receive the water bottle  50 , and a well  54  for holding water for immediate use. In using the present invention, the user first removes the manufacturer&#39;s cap from the water bottle  48 , and then mounts the water bottle cap  10  described above onto the bottle, making sure that the gate  18  is in its closed position. The user then inverts the bottle  48 . Because the cap  10  is watertight, there is less need for speed and accuracy in installing the bottle  48  into the dispenser  50 . Once the bottle  48  has been properly seated in the cavity, the user then pulls on the strap  26  in the direction generally indicated by arrow A to move the gate  18  into its open position, thereby allowing water to flow into the well  54 . If the friction between the bottle  48 , strap  26  and cavity  52  is sufficient to hinder the pulling of the strap  26 , the user may apply pressure to the bottle  48  in the direction generally indicated by arrow B with one hand while pulling on the strap  26  with the other. After the water bottle  48  is expended, the user may reuse the bottle cap  10  by simply detaching the cap  10  from the bottle  48  and reattaching it onto another bottle. The user moves the gate  18  from its open position to its closed position using projection  22 . 
     In the present embodiment of the invention, the pull strap  26  remains attached to the bottle cap  10  after the water bottle has been installed. The strap  26  may be draped over the rear face of the dispensing unit  50  so as to be unobtrusive. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the strap  26  and gate  18  are completely removable from the cap. Thus, after the bottle has been installed in the dispensing unit, the user pulls the strap  26  and gate  18  completely free of the dispensing unit and stores them in a suitable location for reattachment to the cap  10  when a new bottle is installed. 
     It is contemplated that the present bottle cap will be sold separately from water bottles and be reused, as needed. However, it would also be possible to use the present bottle cap directly on new bottles of water. In that case, breakaway tabs could be used to hold the gate  18  in its initial position. Also, the cap could be sealed with a thin layer of plastic for added security. This thin layer of plastic would be torn away by the user before installing the water bottle. 
     While the foregoing description includes details which will enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, it should be recognized that the description is illustrative in nature and that many modifications and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of these teachings. It is accordingly intended that the invention herein be defined solely by the claims appended hereto and that the claims be interpreted as broadly as permitted by the prior art.