Abstract:
A device that attaches to a pouring spout used on a bag-in-the-box liquid container, the device having a reservoir to catch and contain any liquid drips from the spout spigot valve after valve operation. The device may have a chute to direct drips into the reservoir.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to a device that attaches to a pouring spout used on bag-in-the-box liquid containers and catches and contains any liquid drips leaking from the spout. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Bag-in-the-box structures for liquids such as wines, milk, fruit juices, water, and other liquids, have an inner bag, often made of plastic positioned inside a box, often made of cardboard or plastic. A factory-installed spout with a spigot valve is attached to the bag and extends through the box, generally at the bottom end of a sidewall of the box, which directs the liquid from the box into portable containers used for consumption of the liquid. The spout includes an integral, normally closed spigot valve, as is known in the art. An opening in the spout directs flowing fluid generally downwardly. When the spigot valve is activated, liquid flows into the nozzle and passes generally downwardly into the portable container. These boxed liquid containers are generally described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,400,866 and 5,074,441. 
     The spout and spigot valve in these box containers are constructed from elastomers that seal by compression of elastomer surfaces. These elastomers are less resilient in cool temperatures. Boxed-liquid containers are typically cooled by refrigeration during storage, thus resulting in lower resiliency and less sealing force. Thus, drips may occur during use and as a result of repeated valve opening and closing. The drips flow from the spigot valve into the spout and then out of the spout onto the floor or surface below the box, creating a mess. Dripping is an undesirable loss of fluid and produces undesirable wet surfaces or puddles. 
     The instant invention was created with the shortcomings of the liquid-in-a-box spigot valves in mind. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention attaches to a boxed liquid container spout, and catches and stores the dripping from the spout and valve. The liquid can be easily emptied from the device, and is conveniently stored in-position on the box container. In more detail, the invention is a device that attaches to the spout typically used in bag-in-the-box fluid containers to catch and contain liquid drips from the spigot valve operation or valve leakage. An upper mounting section attaches around the outer surface of the fluid discharge spout and extends below the spout, with a reservoir at the lower end to catch and contain liquid drips. The mounting section may have a chute or trough to direct the drips into the reservoir. The reservoir can be cup shaped, and attaches to the lower end of the mounting section and is positioned below the spout to catch and contain the liquid drippings. 
     The upper mounting section on the spout has an opening that fits closely over the spout. The opening may be a slot permitting positioning of the drip catcher on the spout. A second larger opening connected to the slot may be used for placing the invention on the spout. The large opening passes over the spout and the smaller opening is then closely positioned above the spout and then slid downwardly to contact the sides of the spout. 
     The reservoir is preferably located at a distance from and directly under the spout to permit portable containers to be placed directly under the spout without interference from the drip catcher. 
     The device is designed to be rotated at least 90 degrees to empty collected liquid drippings without removing the drip catcher from the spout. Rotating the drip catcher 180 degrees, a position directly above the spout, permits boxed liquid storage in refrigerators or shelves without removal of the liquid drip catcher. 
     The device may be permanently attached to a spout or can be a separate device that can be easily attached or removed. 
     Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a removable drip catcher for boxed liquid containers that collects liquid leaking from the spout. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a drip catcher that is attached to a boxed liquid container that collects the drips in a reservoir. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a drip catcher that does not interfere with filling of portable containers under the boxed liquid containers. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a drip catcher that remains on the spout when emptying or when the boxed liquid container is stored. 
     A more complete appreciation of the present invention and its scope can be obtained from the accompanying drawings, which are briefly summarized below, the following detailed description of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention, and the appended claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the drip catcher mounted on a boxed liquid container spout. 
     FIG. 2 is a front view of the boxed liquid drip catcher. 
     FIG. 3 is a side view of the boxed liquid drip catcher. 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the liquid drip catcher showing a different embodiment of the mounting structure. 
     FIG. 5 is a front elevation view of another embodiment of the liquid drip catcher. 
     FIG. 6 is a side elevation view of the liquid drip catcher embodiment as shown in FIG.  5 . 
     FIG. 7 is another embodiment of the liquid drip catcher. 
     FIG. 8 is a front view of the embodiment shown in FIG.  7 . 
     FIG. 9 is a side view of the embodiment shown in FIG.  7 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring first to FIG. 1, an embodiment of the invention is shown depending from a spout  20  formed on a boxed liquid container  22 . The boxed liquid container is not part of the invention. Normally, the spout  20  is constructed from elastomeric materials, and contains a valve also constructed from elastomeric material that opens with lifting pressure allowing the liquid to flow through an opening in the spout. The liquid catcher  24  hangs from the spout and is suspended in a position below the spout to collect drips therefrom. 
     The liquid drip catcher  24  shown in FIG. 1 includes a hanger structure  26  for attaching the drip catcher to the spout, and a reservoir structure  28  connected to the bottom end of the hanger structure  26 , the reservoir structure  28  for catching and storing the liquid drips from the spout of the boxed liquid container. 
     The hanger structure  26  of FIGS. 1,  2  and  3  form a wide slot  30  transitioning to a relatively narrow slot  32 . The wide slot  30  is positioned near the bottom of the hanger structure  26 , and the narrower slot  32  is positioned near the top end of the hanger structure  26 . The wide slot  30  allows the hanger structure  26  to be positioned over the spout  20 . When the hanger structure  26  is then moved downwardly with respect to the spout, the spout is moved along, relatively, the length of the wide slot  30  to the transition from the wide slot  30  into the narrow slot  32 . The narrow slot  32  is sized to engage the sides of the spout  20  for secure positioning thereon, and to keep the hanging structure  26  from being pulled straight off the spout, either accidentally or intentionally. The sidewalls of the narrow slot  32  portion in the hanger structure  26  may engage corresponding annular grooves in the outer wall of the spout for secured positioning of the hanger structure  26  on the spout. 
     To remove the hanger structure  26  from the spout  20 , the hanger structure is slid upwardly with respect to the spout  20  to remove the spout from the narrow slot  32  and transition it into the wide slot  30 , at which time the hanger structure  26  can be pulled directly off the spout. 
     The top end of the narrow slot  32  is curved to engage the top of the spout  20  and cause the liquid catcher  24  to be oriented with the reservoir  28  directly below the spout. 
     The reservoir  28  of the liquid catcher shown in FIGS. 1,  2  and  3  has an upper section  34  and a lower section  36 . The upper section  34  is attached to the bottom of the hanger structure  26  and slopes generally downwardly and away from the hanger structure. The lower section  36  is attached to the bottom of the upper section  34  of the reservoir and extends generally directly outwardly from the hanger structure. The upper section  34  defines sidewalls  38  formed at right angles to the bottom wall  40  of the sloped upper section. The bottom section  36  of the reservoir defines sidewalls  42  formed at outward angles to the bottom wall  44  of the bottom section  36 . An end wall  46  formed along the bottom section connects the sidewalls  42  and forms a container like structure for catching, directing and storing the liquid drippings. 
     When liquid drips from the spout  20 , the liquid drop travels directly downwardly from the spout and strikes the bottom wall  40  of the upper section  34  of the reservoir. The sloped bottom wall  40  then directs the drop to the bottom section  36  of the reservoir to collect the liquid drop therein. The sloped bottom  40  wall of the upper section  34  of the reservoir  28  minimizes the splashing that might occur from the impact of the liquid drop. The sidewalls keep what splashing does occur contained in the reservoir. 
     The sloped bottom wall  40  of the upper portion  34  of the reservoir  28  acts as the rear wall for the bottom portion  36  of the reservoir, and the volume of liquid able to be held in the reservoir is defined by the height of the sidewalls of the bottom portion of the reservoir. The outwardly sloped sidewalls and end walls form a cup for storing the liquid drippings. 
     The liquid drip catcher  24  can be rotated 360 degrees, or any portion thereof, around the spout  20 . This is convenient if the liquid catcher needs to be moved out of the way to store the boxed-liquid container on a flat surface, or to empty the reservoir of the liquids contained therein without removing the drip catcher from the spout. 
     The narrower slot portion  32  of the hanger structure  26  can have straight sidewalls, as shown in the larger slot structure, or can have curved sidewalls, as shown in FIG. 2, to effectively snap onto the spout  20 . 
     A second embodiment of the hanger structure can be seen in FIG.  4 . In this embodiment, the reservoir  28  is the same as previously described with respect to FIGS. 1-3, but the hanger structure  26  is an inverted, generally U-shape formed by prongs  48  having inwardly directed tips  50 . The prongs are resilient, and deform outwardly to pass by the spout  20 , and spring back to their normal position to grip the spout and support the liquid catcher  24  thereon. The bottom portion  3  of the hanger structure  26  is solid, with the reservoir  28  attached thereto as described above. 
     It is important for the reservoir, particularly the bottom portion of the reservoir, to be spaced a distance below the spout to allow a container to be positioned directly underneath the spout in order to be filled. While the reservoir  28  in this first embodiment has been described with a sloped first portion  34  and a horizontally extending bottom portion, along with the advantages of that particular structure, the reservoir can be generally round, oval, or V-shaped, and can have straight or curved sides. 
     The material for construction of the invention may be plastic, composites, metal, ceramic, glass, or other like material suitable for this purpose. A thermoplastic is preferred, selected from polyethylene, polypropylene, polyamide, ABS, PVC, or other thermoplastics or combination of these and other thermoplastics. 
     Since the boxed-liquid container is typically positioned on the front of a shelf, the liquid drip catcher can extend below the bottom of the box  22 , and thus below the shelf, to allow for the proper positioning of the reservoir  28  below the spout  20 . 
     FIGS. 5 and 6 show a second embodiment of the drip catcher  24 . The hanger structure  52  is similar to that of that shown in FIGS. 1-3, includes a lower relatively wide slot  54  and an upper relatively narrow slot  56 . The spout is inserted through the hanger structure  52  in the wide slot  54  and the hanger structure is slid downwardly so the spout is positioned in the narrow slot  56  for secure placement on the spout. The reservoir  58  in this embodiment extends directly outwardly and substantially right angles to the hanger structure  52  and has outwardly sloping side  60  and front walls  62 , with the back wall  64  being formed by the bottom end of the hanger structure  52 . The reservoir  58  is positioned directly below the spout to catch liquid dripping therefrom. The liquid drips from the spout and impacts the bottom wall  66  of the reservoir  58  and collects therein. The bottom wall  66  of the reservoir is relatively flat and horizontal with respect to the vertically extending hanger structure  52 . This embodiment of the drip catcher does not extend as far forward from the boxed-liquid container as the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3, and thus takes up less space. The outwardly sloped front  62  and sidewalls  60  of the reservoir  58  help direct liquid drops impacting thereon towards the bottom wall  66  and minimizes splashing from the initial impact. 
     FIGS. 7-9 show a third embodiment of the present invention. The hanger structure  68  of this third embodiment is similar to that described with respect to FIGS. 5 and 6. The reservoir  68  is shaped with vertical sidewalls  70  and a curved front wall  72 , with the curved front wall forming a portion of the bottom wall  74 . The portion of the bottom wall  74  adjacent the bottom of the hanger structure  76  is horizontal and extending at substantially right angles to the hanger structure  76 . A short distance away from the hanger structure the bottom wall  74  begins curving upwardly in a continuous curve and forms the front wall  72 . Typically, the drips from the spout are centered from side to side in the reservoir and thus the majority of them hit the sloped front wall  72  and flow down into the reservoir  68 . This allows the sidewalls  70  to be formed at right angles to the horizontal portion of the bottom wall  74 , with only the front wall  72  needing to be curved to minimize splash and direct the liquid drippings into the reservoir  68 . In this embodiment also the reservoir  68  is positioned directly below the spout and minimizes the forward extension of the liquid drip catcher  24  from the boxed liquid container. The hanger structure  76  of this embodiment includes the relatively wide lower slot portion  78  and the relatively narrower upper slot  80  portion for receiving and engaging the spout as described above. 
     The boxed liquid drip catcher, as described herein, is a separate device for removably mounting on the spout. However, it is contemplated that the drip catcher may be mounted in a permanent fashion during the construction of the box, or can be mounted in a manner allowing rotation of the drip catcher around the spout during construction of the box. 
     Presently preferred embodiments of the present invention and many of its improvements have been described with a degree of particularity herein. The previous descriptions are of preferred examples for implementing the invention. The scope of the invention should not necessarily be limited by the exemplary description, but as defined by the scope of the following claims.