Abstract:
A cap for a bottle containing a carbonated beverage provides a dispensing mechanism that prevents carbonation gas from escaping from the bottle as the beverage is being dispensed. The cap has a housing with a first end adapted to mate with a neck of the bottle and an opening out of which beverage to be dispensed flows. A valve is mounted in the housing having a first end coupled in fluid communication with the bottle when the cap is on the bottle and a second end coupled in fluid communication to an outlet in the housing. A manually operated actuator is coupled to the valve for opening and closing the valve.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This invention relates to bottle caps, and more particularly to a bottle cap for bottles containing carbonated beverages that has a dispensing mechanism which permits carbonated liquid in the bottle to be dispensed and prevents the escape of carbonation gas from the bottle. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Large or family size bottles of carbonated soft drinks, e.g., 1.5 and 2 liter bottles, have a problem with the soft drink going flat if it is not used within a short period after the bottle is opened. Although these bottles have resealable caps, typically caps which are threaded onto a threaded neck of the bottle, each time the cap is unscrewed it allows the carbonation gas within the bottle to escape. Consequently, each time the bottle is opened, more carbonation gas is lost and if the soft drink is not used within a short period of time, it goes flat. 
     It is an objective of this invention to provide a reusable bottle cap for bottles containing carbonated soft drinks that has a dispensing mechanism for dispensing the soft drink and preventing the escape of the carbonation gas from the bottle. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A cap in accordance with this invention for a bottle containing a carbonated beverage provides a dispensing mechanism that prevents carbonation gas from escaping from the bottle as the beverage is being dispensed. The cap has a housing with a first end adapted to mate with a neck of the bottle and a second end having an outlet out of which beverage to be dispensed flows. A valve is mounted in the housing having a first end coupled in fluid communication with the bottle when the cap is on the bottle and a second end coupled in fluid communication to an outlet in the housing. A manually operated actuator is coupled to the valve for opening and closing the valve. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a side section of a bottle cap according to the invention; 
     FIG. 2A is a side elevation view of the tube and gasket of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 2B is a top view of the tube and gasket of FIG. 2A; 
     FIG. 3 is a top sectional view of an embodiment of a bottle cap according to the invention; 
     FIG. 4 is a side view of a race used in the embodiment of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is a top view of a plunger assembly used in the embodiment of FIG. 3; and 
     FIG. 6 is a side perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 3 mounted on a bottle. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to FIG. 1, a bottle cap 10 according to the invention has a housing 11 a gasket and tube 14, and clamping device or dispensing mechanism 16. Housing 11 illustratively comprises a lower portion or screw cap 12 and an upper portion or shell 36 which are affixed together as will be described below. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, gasket and tube 14 are received in screw cap 12, as discussed below, and screw cap 12 snapped together with shell 36 which contains clamping device 16. In this regard, screw cap 12 and shell 36 are provided with a snap ring 17 which holds screw cap 12 and shell 36 together. 
     Screw cap 12 comprises a cylindrical shell 18 internally threaded at 20 and having an open lower end 22 and a top 24. Screw cap 12 is formed to resemble a bottle cap for a soft drink bottle, such as a two-liter soft drink bottle, so that internal threads 20 mate with the threads 26 on a neck 28 of a bottle 30 (FIG. 1). Top 24 of screw cap 12 has a hole 31 extending therethrough at generally the center thereof through which tube 32 of gasket and tube 14 extends as will be described below. 
     Referring more specifically to FIGS. 2A and 2B, gasket and tube 14 includes tube 32, which is hollow, which extends through a gasket 34, which is illustratively a disc. Tube 32 and gasket 34 are illustratively formed as one piece, such as by injection or blow molding, from a resilient material such as rubber to form gasket and tube 14. Referring to FIG. 1, gasket 34 fits within screw cap 12 and abuts against the lower surface of top 24 of screw cap 12 so that tube 32 extends upwardly through hole 31 in top 24. 
     When screw cap 12 and shell 36 are affixed together, tube 32 extends up through shell 36 and out through an outlet 15 in the top of shell 36. Shell 36 also has a channel 38 extending transversely therethrough which intersects tube 32 when screw cap 12 is attached to shell 36. Channel 38 has first and second ends 42, 44 at opposite sides thereof and an expanded mid-portion 40 through which tube 32 extends. Located within expanded mid-portion 40 of channel 38 is clamping device 16. Clamping device 16 coacts with tube 32 to provide a valve through which carbonated beverage is dispensed as will be evident from the discussion below. Clamping device 16 illustratively comprises a moveable tooth 46 and fixed teeth 48 opposite sides of tube 32, a spring 52 and a plunger 58. Moveable tooth 46 abuts and is illustratively affixed to a proximal end 50 of the spring 52. Spring 52 extends in channel 38 between mid-portion 40 of channel 38 to first end 42 of channel 38. First end 42 of channel 38 may open through shell 36 in which case a stop 56 is provided at first end 42 of channel 38 against which a distal end 54 of spring 52 abuts. Illustratively, stop 56 can be formed as part of shell 36 by making the diameter of first end 42 of channel 38 smaller than the diameter of channel 38. Alternatively, first end 42 of channel 38 ends at an inner surface of shell 36 so that channel 38 does not extend through shell 36 at its first end 42 so that the inner surface of shell 36 acts as the stop 56. 
     Plunger 58 is also received in channel 38 and has a distal end 60 which abuts, and is illustratively affixed to moveable tooth 42. Plunger 58 has a proximal end 62 which extends through shell 36 at the second end 44 of channel 38. A stop 64 is provided at the second end 44 of channel 38 and a corresponding stop tab 66 is affixed to plunger 58. 
     In operation, screw cap 12 of bottle cap 10 is screwed onto the neck 28 of bottle 30 (FIG. 1). When soft drink in bottle 30 is not being dispensed, spring 52 of clamping device 16 urges movable tooth 46 of clamping device 16 toward fixed teeth 48 of clamping device 16 to pinch tube 32 shut. This prevents carbonation gas from escaping from bottle 30. 
     When it is desired to dispense soft drink from bottle 30, bottle 30 is tilted so that the soft drink flows into screw cap 12 and covers gasket 34 of gasket and tube 14. The proximal end 62 of plunger 58 is then depressed, which forces movable tooth 46 of clamping device 16 back against spring 52, compressing spring 52 and opening tube 32. Soft drink now flows out of bottle 30 through tube 32. When the desired amount of soft drink has been dispensed from bottle 30, plunger 58 is released. Spring 52 then urges moveable tooth 46 back against fixed teeth 48, pinching tube 32 shut. Bottle 30 is then returned to the upright position. 
     During dispensing, bottle 30 is tilted so that soft drink covers the opening to tube 32 in gasket 34. Consequently, when plunger 58 is depressed to open tube 32, the liquid soft drink covering the opening to tube 32 in gasket 34 prevents the carbonation gas from escaping through tube 32. By releasing plunger 58 before returning bottle 30 to the upright position, liquid soft drink remains covering the opening to tube 32 in gasket 34 at all times when tube 32 is opening. Thus, the carbonation gas is prevented from escaping which prevents the soft drink in bottle 30 from going flat. 
     FIGS. 3-6 show an embodiment of the invention where the moveable tooth 46 and fixed teeth 48 are mounted in a horizontal orientation in shell 36. Like elements to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 are numbered with like reference numerals. Referring more particularly to FIG. 5, plunger 58 and moveable tooth 46 are part of a plunger assembly 66. In plunger assembly 66, moveable tooth 46 and plunger 58 are affixed in spaced relation to each other by spaced apart rails 68, 70. Plunger assembly 66 further includes opposed tabs 72, 74 extending laterally outwardly from rails 68, 70 at a base of moveable tooth 46 and 21 opposed tabs 76,78 extending laterally outwardly from rails 68, 70 at a junction 80 where plunger 58 is joined to rails 68, 70. 
     Shell 36 has a horizontally oriented channel 82 extending therethrough with sidewalls 84, 86 on either side of channel 82 (FIG. 3). Races 88 are affixed in sidewalls 84, 86 at generally the middle of channel 2. As shown more particularly in FIG. 4, each race 88 comprises a longitudinally extending rail 90 having first and second segments 92, 94. First segment 92 has a first generally T-shaped slot 96 formed therein and second segment 94 has a generally L-shaped slot 98 formed therein wherein slots 96, 98 are on opposite sides of tube 32. Fixed teeth 48 are mounted in channel 82 on a first side of tube 32 (FIG. 3). Plunger assembly 66 is placed in channel 82 so that the open space defined by rails 68, 70 surrounds fixed teeth 48 and tube 32 (as shown in connection with FIGS. 3 and 5). Tabs 72, 74 are received in T-shaped slots 96 of races 88 and tabs 76, 78 are received in L-shaped slots 98 of races 88. 
     Races 88 may illustratively be formed integral with sidewalls 84, 86. To facilitate assembly of plunger assembly 46 and fixed teeth 48 into channel 82, shell 36 can be formed as two pieces, such as top piece 100 and bottom piece 102 (FIG. 6) so that when the pieces 100, 102 are apart, channel 82 is exposed. In this regard, top and bottom pieces 100, 102 are provided with fitting tabs 104 to secure them together. 
     As discussed with the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, spring 52 urges moveable tooth 46, and in the embodiment of FIGS. 3-6, plunger 22 assembly 66, toward tube 32 to pinch tube 32 against fixed teeth 48 thus pinching tube 32 shut. When it is desired to dispense soft drink, plunger 58 is depressed, forcing moveable tooth 46 away from fixed teeth 48. As bottle 10 is titled before depressing plunger 58 so that the inlet to tube 32 is covered with soft drink, carbonation gas is prevented from escaping from bottle 10 when soft drink is being dispensed. 
     While presently preferred embodiments and other less preferred embodiments of the invention are described above, those skilled in the art will recognize that other embodiments are possible without departing from the scope of the following claims.