Apparatus for dispensing beverages from a container

A dispenser has a rubber socket with an opening at one end for fluid-tight coupling to a beverage container. An L-shaped, rigid tube has a first leg connected to receive the beverage from the socket, and a second leg with an opening about which a user's mouth can be placed to receive the beverage from the dispenser. Either the socket or the tube has an inlet opening through which a tubular plug extends. A flexible tube is attached to the inner end of the plug and projects outwardly from the open end of the socket. The tube provides passageway through which air enters the container to replace the beverage flowing out through the dispenser.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to dispensers for beverages and more 
particularly to such devices for dispensing beverages from containers, 
such as bottles and cans. 
Many beverages such as soda, fruit juices, and beer are distributed in 
glass bottles having a long neck which terminates with an external lip 
over which a cap is fastened. The cap is removed for beverage consumption. 
Alternatively, a metal can is used to contain the beverage with an opening 
mechanism located on one end wall of the can. 
To pour the beverage, the bottle is tilted at a slight angle so that the 
beverage does not fill the neck entirely. A can is tilted similarly so 
that the beverage does not entirely cover the end opening. This allows air 
to enter the container to replace the liquid flowing out. Tilting the 
container at a greater angle increases the speed of the flow as the fluid 
pressure at the opening is increased. However, if the container is tilted 
at too great an angle the liquid entirely fills the opening and air cannot 
continuously enter to replace the liquid which is flowing out. As a 
consequence, periodically the flow of liquid is interrupted while air 
surges into the container, thereby creating a pulsed flow of liquid. This 
limits the speed at which the container can be emptied. 
It is often desirable to pour a beverage from a container as rapidly as 
possible and to do so without a pulsating flow. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
An apparatus for dispensing a beverage from a container includes a 
resilient tubular socket having an open first end adapted to fit tightly 
around a mouth of the container- A rigid tubular member is connected to 
receive the beverage from a second end of the socket. The tubular member 
preferably is L-shaped with a short leg adapted to be placed partially 
within a user's mouth so that the beverage can flow into the mouth through 
a opening in that leg. 
The tubular member has an air inlet to which a flexible tube is connected. 
The tube extends through the tubular member and the socket projecting out 
the first end of the socket. When the dispenser is attached to a container 
the tube extends through an opening into the container. 
To use the dispenser, the socket is attached tightly over the neck of a 
bottle or around the open end of a can. The assembly is inverted so that 
the container is substantially vertical with its mouth pointing downward. 
This orientation allows the beverage to flow through the dispenser into 
the mouth of the user while air enters the bottle through the inlet and 
tube to replace the exiting beverage. 
An object of the present invention is to provide a dispenser for beverages 
contained within a container which allows the beverage to flow through a 
container opening relatively fast. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a first passageway in 
the dispenser through which liquid can flow and a second passageway 
through which air can enter the container to replace the liquid which has 
flowed through the first passageway. 
A further object of the present invention is to provide a resilient 
coupling element for attaching the dispenser to a container in a 
fluid-tight manner. 
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a spout on the 
beverage dispenser about which a user's mouth can be placed to receive 
liquid flowing through the first passageway.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a beverage dispenser 10 has a generally 
L-shaped, tubular member 12 fabricated from a rigid plastic, such as a 
polyvinyl chloride. The tubular member 12 has a round cross-section. A 
short leg 14 of the tubular member 12 has an outer diameter chosen so that 
a user may place the open end of the leg 14 within his or her mouth and 
place lips around the outer surface. 
A piece of rigid plastic pipe 16 is tightly inserted into an opening at the 
end 18 of the tubular member 12 which is remote from the short leg 14. The 
pipe 16 preferably is fabricated from the same rigid plastic material as 
the tubular member 12. A portion 20 of the pipe 16 extends from the 
tubular member 12. 
A socket 22 fabricated of a resilient, elastic material, such as rubber, 
has a round cross-sectional tubular section 24 which extends over the 
projecting portion 20 of the pipe. The socket 22 is slid tightly over the 
pipe 16, so that one end of section 24 abuts tubular member 12. This 
provides a fluid-tight coupling between the socket 22 and the tubular 
member 12. 
The other end of socket section 24 has an outward flange 26 which is closed 
by an integral end cap 28. The end cap 28 has a centrally located circular 
aperture 30 therethrough which is sized to accommodate the necks of 
standard beverage bottles, such as bottle 32. As the end cap 28 is 
fabricated of elastic material, the aperture 30 can enlarge to enable the 
lip 34 of the beverage bottle 32 to be forced through the aperture. 
Smaller size beverage bottles 32 can be accommodated by inserting the neck 
of the bottle farther into the socket until the end cap 28 sealingly 
engages the outer surface of the bottle neck. In some instances the lip 34 
of the beverage bottle 32 enters the tubular portion 24 of the socket 22. 
The elastic structure at this end of the socket 22 provides a fluid-tight 
seal when the dispenser 10 is attached to the bottle. 
The long leg 15 of the L-shaped tubular member 12 has a lateral tubular 
projection 36 which communicates with the interior cavity of the member. 
The projection 36 has an open end within which is located a plug 38 to 
seal the opening and prevent fluid from flowing out through the projection 
36. Plug 38 has a centrally located inlet aperture 40 therethrough which 
communicates with a nipple 42 extending inwardly from the plug 38. The 
term "plug" is used generically to cover not only an element as shown 
which fits within the lateral projection 36, but also a cap which fits 
over the end of that projection. 
A flexible plastic tube 44 has one end forced around the nipple 42 
providing a fluid-tight seal therebetween. The flexible tube 44 extends 
from the end cap 38 through the tubular member 12, pipe 16 and socket 22 
exiting through the aperture 30 in the end cap 28 of the socket. The tube 
44 projects from the socket 22, approximately five inches for example, 
with the exact distance being dependent upon the height of the bottles 
with which the dispenser will be used, as will be described. 
In order to use the dispenser 10, an open bottle containing the beverage is 
placed upright. The dispenser 10 is inverted from the orientation 
illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 and the tube 44 is inserted into the neck of 
the bottle. The dispenser 10 then is forced downward so that the socket 22 
fits tightly around the neck of the bottle. The bottle and dispenser 
assembly is rapidly inverted into a substantially vertical position. As 
this inversion occurs, the head of the user bends forward and the short 
leg 14 of the dispenser is placed within the mouth of the user with lips 
pressed tightly around the outer surface of leg 14. The L-shaped design of 
the dispenser 10 allows the bottle to be inverted into a vertical position 
for maximum flow while allowing the head of the user to remain in a normal 
upright position as the beverage flows into the user's mouth. 
As the bottle is inverted, the beverage flows out of the neck of the bottle 
32 into the socket 22. The fluid continues flowing through the socket and 
pipe 16 into the tubular member 12 from which it exits through opening 45 
at the end of the short leg 14 and into the mouth of the user. The cross 
sectional area of this first passageway through which the beverage flows 
is approximately equal to or greater than the cross sectional area of the 
mouth 46 of the bottle 32. Nowhere is the first passageway narrower that 
the bottle mouth. This provides a beverage path that is free of 
obstructions, such as narrow valve orifices, which affect the rapidity of 
the fluid flow. 
While the beverage is flowing through the first passageway, air enters 
inlet aperture 40 in plug 38 and flows through a second passageway formed 
along with the flexible tube 44. Thus, as the beverage is flowing out one 
passageway through the dispenser 10, air enters the bottle 32 through 
another passageway to replace the exiting beverage. Preferably, the length 
of the flexible tube 44 should be sufficient to extend entirely through 
the neck portion of the bottle 32, ideally extending into the uppermost 
portion of the bottle when it is inverted. This design enables the 
beverage to flow from the bottle with relative speed as it does not have 
to pulsate in order to allow air to enter. 
In order to facilitate the user placing a mouth around the short leg 14 of 
the dispenser 10 without a significant amount of fluid loss, the user may 
place a finger over the aperture 40 in plug 38 to prevent air from 
entering the bottle 32 until it is in an inverted position. Once the 
dispensing position has been reached, the user removes the finger, 
allowing air to flow through the aperture 40 and into the bottle. 
From the present description, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art 
that variations of the described design can be made without departing from 
the inventive principle. For example, the L-shaped tubular member 12 and 
pipe 16 can be replaced by a single molded unit having a nipple section 
about which the tubular portion 24 of the socket 22 fits. 
with reference to FIG. 3, a second embodiment 50 of the present beverage 
dispenser is adapted for use with either a can or a bottle. The dispenser 
50 has a funnel-shaped tubular socket 52 made out of an elastic material, 
such as rubber or soft plastic, for attaching the dispenser 50 to a 
beverage container. The socket 52 has a wide circular mouth 54 with an 
inner diameter that is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of a 
standard beverage can. This enables the socket to be stretched over the 
opened end of the beverage can, thereby providing a fluid-tight seal to 
the can. This also provides a firm attachment of the beverage dispenser 50 
to the can. 
The socket 52 tapers from the wide mouth 54 to a smaller diameter open end 
53 forming a neck portion 58 therebetween. The socket 52 tapers rapidly 
inward near the mouth opening 54 so that the inner diameter of the neck 
portion 58 is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the mouth on a 
standard beverage bottle. This enables the beverage dispenser 50 to be 
used alternatively by inserting the neck of an open bottle through the 
mouth 54 of the socket and into engagement with the inner surface of neck 
portion 54. An inwardly projecting ridge 60 is located around the inner 
surface of neck portion 58 to engage a depression around the lip of the 
beverage bottle. Specifically, the beverage bottle is inserted into the 
socket 52 so that the lip is forced past the ridge 60, which stretches as 
the lip passes. The combination of the elastic, snug fitting socket and 
the ridge 60 provide a fluid-tight seal with the neck of the beverage 
bottle. 
Between the small end 56 of the socket 52 and the ridge 60 is an aperture 
through the wall of the socket. A hollow plug 62 is inserted through the 
aperture in the socket 52 so that a head of the plug passes against the 
outside surface of the socket. In this position, part of the tubular 
portion of the plug extends into the central opening of the socket 52. One 
end of a flexible plastic tube 64 is forced around the exposed portion of 
the plug 62 providing a fluid-tight seal therebetween. The flexible tube 
64 extends from the plug 62 through the mouth 54 of the socket 52. The 
tube 64 projects several inches from the socket 52 and provides a similar 
function to that previously described for tube 44 of the dispenser 10 
shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The tubular section of plug 62 may be angled with 
respect to the plane of the head so as to direct the plastic tube 64 
toward mouth 54. 
A right angle hollow elbow 66 made of a rigid plastic material fits within 
the smaller end 56 of the socket 52. For that purpose, one open end of the 
elbow 66 has a smaller diameter nipple 68 which fits snugly within the 
smaller open end of the socket. The outer diameter of the nipple 68 is 
chosen to provide the fluid-tight seal inserted into the socket. The other 
end of the elbow 66 has an opening 70 about which the user's mouth may be 
placed. The cross-sectional area of the passage through the elbow 66 is 
substantially equal to the cross-sectional area of the opening in the 
beverage can or bottle which is inserted into the socket 52, thus 
providing an unrestricted passage of equivalent size between the beverage 
container and the mouth of the user. 
Alternatively, the socket 52 and elbow 66 could be fabricated as a single 
piece in which case different portions of that piece would serve the same 
functions as the separate components illustrated in the drawing. 
The second embodiment 50 of the beverage dispenser is utilized in a similar 
manner to that previously described with respect to the first embodiment. 
Specifically, the second dispenser 50 is inverted from the orientation 
illustrated in FIG. 3 and placed over the open end of a can or bottle 
until a snug engagement with that container is achieved. The combination 
of the dispenser 50 and the beverage container then is rapidly inverted 
while the user places his or her mouth about opening 70. As the inversion 
occurs, the liquid beverage within the container begins flowing through 
the socket 52 and elbow 66 into the user's mouth, while air enters the 
beverage container through plug 62 and tube 64. This allows air to enter 
through one passageway to replace the volume of beverage flowing out of 
the container through another passageway in the beverage dispenser 50. 
Although the present invention has been described in the context of a 
dispenser having one end about which the user may place his or her mouth, 
the dispenser may also be utilized to pour the beverage from a can or 
bottle into another container, such as a glass.