Water dispenser bottle

A stackable, lightweight water dispenser bottle and method of using a plurality of such bottles in conjunction with a conventional water cooler is disclosed. The bottle comprises a generally parallelepipedal container body with rounded edges and corners with a plurality of dimples in a top portion and complementarily shaped protuberances on a bottom portion. The top portion has a central depression therein with a round hole surrounded by a cylindrical collar sealed by a screw-on cap. A neck portion rising from a central depression in the bottom portion terminates in an opening communicating with the interior of the container body and is sealed with a plastic cap after the water bottle is filled. A first such water bottle can be inverted and sealingly inserted into the opening at the top of a water cooler to partially fill the cooler. A second water bottle with its neck portion uncapped is sealingly inserted into the hole surrounded by the collar of the first water bottle to add the contents of the second water bottle to the water cooler. Each water bottle is sized to accommodate about 2.5 to 3.5 gallons and filled with water weighs approximately 21 pounds, thereby facilitating lifting, inverting, and positioning efforts in filling a water cooler. A stacking spacer arrangement allows convenient storage of filled bottles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Along with an increased concern about the purity and potability of 
municipally provided water supplies has come an increased use of bottled 
water services provided commercially. The commercially provided water is 
said to be purer and better tasting than what comes out of the tap in many 
localities. 
Generally, the commercial water purveyors supply the subscriber with some 
type of dispensing apparatus such as the familiar water cooler that can 
now be found in countless offices and homes. Bottled water is usually 
provided in large plastic bottle-type containers that hold about five 
gallons and weigh roughly 42 pounds. 
Even for a strong, healthy adult, the act of lifting a bulky and heavy 
water bottle from floor level and inverting it at a height of about four 
feet above the floor into position on top of a water cooler presents 
certain problems. Careless or improper lifting techniques may produce 
hernias or back injuries or exacerbate already existing ones. Spilling 
water in the process of inverting and positioning the water bottle is also 
commonplace because of the size and weight of the conventional water 
bottle. 
For a child or a weak adult the task of refilling a water cooler may 
present a well nigh insurmountable problem. It would be a great boon to 
that segment of the bottled water consuming public consisting of the 
young, the elderly, or the less robust if there existed a stackable water 
dispenser bottle that was lighter in weight and easier to handle than the 
water bottles conventionally employed. Previous attempts to solve the 
above-mentioned problems have not yielded a completely satisfactory 
solution. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,207 to Cullis discloses a bottled water container of 
the type in which the container is supported upon the water cooler for 
selective removal and replacement, the container having a handle 
straddling a recess located in the body of the container at the 
intersection of the side and upper end walls thereof and bridging a gap 
created by the recess in the peripheral edge along the intersection of the 
side and upper end walls of the container. The purpose of the handle is to 
facilitate lifting, upending, and placement of the container in proper 
position in the water cooler. The handle is hollow and molded separate 
from the body of the container and is integrated with the body such that 
the interior of the handle is isolated from the interior of the container 
body so that the interior of the container can be readily cleaned to 
enable reuse of the bottled water container. The container disclosed, 
however, has a conventional size and weight. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,955 to Schieser et al. is directed to a large 
lightweight plastic bottle of rectangular or square transverse cross 
section with spaced reinforcing ribs or bands extending therearound. 
Opposed flat faces or sides of each bottle are provided with a square 
locking projection and a complementary receiving socket, respectively, so 
that a plurality of such bottles can be stacked on their sides with the 
projections and sockets of adjacent sides interfitted to keep the bottles 
in alignment in the stack and with the reinforcing ribs superimposed for 
strength. The water bottle disclosed, however, has a conventional shape 
and size. 
The patents listed directed below may have some relevance to the invention 
disclosed in the specification, claims, and drawing which follow. 
______________________________________ 
Patent Number 
Name of Inventor 
Date Issued 
______________________________________ 
282,974 G. S. Fairchild Aug. 14, 1883 
302,565 L. S. Hoyt July 29, 1884 
571,430 S. Costello Nov. 17, 1896 
587,895 C. B. White Aug. 10, 1897 
591,280 E. Junker Oct. 5, 1897 
596,746 W. H. Fulcher Jan. 4, 1898 
598,782 F. Hill Feb. 8, 1898 
3,323,668 D. G. Hills June 6, 1967 
3,391,824 A. P. J. Wiseman 
July 9, 1968 
3,631,974 R. B. Schaefer et al. 
Jan. 4, 1972 
4,513,865 E. R. Melzi Apr. 30, 1985 
______________________________________ 
None of the prior-art references described or mentioned above discloses the 
stackable, lightweight water dispenser bottle of the present invention, 
which provides various improvements and advantages over the prior art. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
A stackable, lightweight water dispenser bottle and method of using a 
plurality of such bottles in conjunction with a conventional water cooler 
is disclosed. The bottle comprises a generally parallelepipedal container 
body with rounded edges and corners. A top portion of the container body 
has a central depression therein with a round hole surrounded by a 
cylindrical collar, preferably having external threads and meant to be 
sealed by a screw-on cap. 
The top portion further has a plurality of concave dimples located on the 
outer surface thereof. A bottom portion of the container body has a 
central depression from which rises a neck portion terminating in an 
opening communicating with the interior of the container body, and meant 
to be sealed with a plastic cap after the water bottle is filled, the cap 
having a tab for ease in removal of the cap when the contents of the 
bottle are used to fill a water cooler. 
The bottom portion further has a plurality of protuberances located at 
positions opposite the dimples on the top portion and having a convex 
shape and size which complement the shape and size of one of the dimples 
on the outer surface of the top proportion. After removal of the cap on 
the neck portion, a first such water bottle can be inverted and sealingly 
inserted into the opening at the top of a water cooler to partially fill 
the cooler with water. The screw cap on the top portion of the water 
bottle thus mounted on the water cooler is then removed, and a second 
water dispenser bottle with its neck portion uncapped is sealingly 
inserted into the hole surrounded by the collar of the first water bottle 
to add the contents of the second water bottle to the water cooler 
reservoir. 
Each water dispenser bottle is preferably made of a lightweight plastic 
material such as a polycarbonate and has a size to accommodate about 2.5 
to 3.5 gallons of water. Since an individual water dispenser bottle filled 
with water weighs approximately 21 pounds, lifting, inverting, and 
positioning efforts in filling a water cooler are facilitated by the 
present invention. 
The invention additionally comprises a rectangular spacer element having a 
central hole sized to accept the neck portion of a dispenser bottle and 
having planar top and bottom surfaces. Four protuberances identical to 
those found on a water dispenser bottle are located on the top surface of 
the spacer at positions corresponding to those of the dimples on the 
surface of the bottom portion of a water dispenser bottle. Four dimples 
identical to those found on the surface of the top portion of a water 
dispenser bottle are located at corresponding positions of the bottom 
surface of the spacer element. 
The spacer is preferably made from a lightweight, stiff plastic material 
such as styrofoam. The thickness of the spacer element is such that when 
the dimples on the bottom surface are interfitted with the protuberances 
on the top portion of a water dispenser bottle, the dimples on the bottom 
of a second water dispenser bottle can be engaged by the protuberances on 
the top surface of the spacer element with sufficient clearance between 
the top of the capped neck portion of the first water dispenser bottle and 
the screw-cap in the central depression on the bottom of the second water 
dispenser bottle. 
A plurality of water dispenser bottles can be stacked in a vertical column 
with the screw-cap bearing end of the first water dispenser bottle resting 
on the floor and successive water dispenser bottles stacked on top of the 
first water dispenser bottle with spacer elements between adjacent bottles 
and interfitted therewith. 
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a water 
dispenser bottle which is about half the size and weight of a conventional 
bottled water container. 
It is another object of the invention to provide a water dispenser 
container made of a lightweight plastic and having a generally 
parallelepipedal shape. 
Another object of the invention is to provide a water dispenser bottle 
designed so that a plurality of such bottles can be stacked in a stable, 
nonswaying column. 
Still another object of the invention is to provide a water dispenser 
bottle having rounded corners and edges for a pleasing appearance and to 
facilitate cleaning of the interior of the bottle. 
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a water dispenser 
bottle having a plurality of dimples on the top surface thereof and a 
plurality of protuberances complementary in shape to the dimples on a 
bottom surface of the bottle opposite the position of the dimples. 
Still another object of the invention is to provide a water dispenser 
bottle that is stackable by virtue of interfitting dimples and 
protuberances when the top of a first such bottle is placed in contact 
with the bottom of a second such bottle, thus bringing the edges into 
alignment for esthetic reasons. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a water dispenser 
bottle having a top opening which can be sealed by a screw cap arrangement 
and a cap-sealed neck portion on a bottom part of the bottle which can be 
sealingly inserted into the uncapped opening in the top of a second such 
bottle to allow the contents of the first bottle to flow into the second 
bottle and into a water cooler on which the second bottle is mounted. 
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a method of filling a 
conventional water cooler using the smaller, lighter water dispenser 
bottles of the present invention in a stacking arrangement to combine 
their contents in the reservoir of a water cooler. 
One more object of the invention is to provide a spacer element for 
placement between adjacent water dispenser bottles when stacking them in a 
vertical column, the spacer element having protuberances and dimples on 
its top and bottom surfaces, respectively, to allow engagement of adjacent 
water dispenser bottles with a spacer between them to stabilize their 
positions and prevent any relative lateral movement between the bottles. 
Finally, it is a purpose of the present invention to provide a stackable, 
lightweight water dispenser bottle and a method of using it to greatly 
reduce the effort involved in filling a conventional water cooler, to 
facilitate this operation for the young, elderly, or weak, and to prevent 
physical injuries associated with lifting large, heavy objects such as the 
conventional 5-gallon water bottle. 
These and other objects and features of the present invention will be 
apparent from the following detailed description taken with reference to 
the figures of the accompanying drawing, wherein like elements are denoted 
by like reference numerals.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
As shown in FIG. 1, a stackable, lightweight water bottle 10 for use in 
combination with a water cooler comprises a parallelepipedal container 
body 12 having generally parallel top and bottom portions 14 and 16, 
respectively, with a first set of opposed side walls 18 and 20 and a 
second set of opposed side walls 22 and 24 contiguous with and connecting 
said top and bottom portions to define an interior volume 25. Container 
body 12 has rounded edges and corners as shown in FIG. 1, to facilitate 
cleaning of the interior of container body 20 and to provide a pleasing 
appearance. 
Top portion 14 has a central depression 26 which has a circular hole 28 
communicating with the interior volume 25 of container body 12. Circular 
hole 28 is surrounded by a cylindrical collar 30 having an exterior 
threaded portion 32 to accommodate a screw cap 34. Four dimples 36 are 
located symmetrically with respect to a vertical axis through the center 
of container 12 in the outer surface of top portion 14. As shown in the 
sectional view of FIG. 2, each dimple 36 has a substantially hemispherical 
concave shape. 
As shown in FIG. 3, bottom portion 16 has a central depression 38 from the 
lowest part of which rises a frustoconical neck portion 40 terminating in 
an opening 42 which communicates with the interior volume 25 of container 
body 12. Four protuberances 44 are located on the exterior surface of 
bottom portion 16 at positions opposite those of the four dimples 36. Each 
protuberance 44 has a convex hemispherical shape which matches the concave 
shape of a dimple 36. The sectional views of FIGS. 4 and 5 show further 
details of the protuberances 44 and the neck portion 40. 
Water bottle 10 is preferably made of a lightweight plastic material such 
as polyethylene or the polycarbonate plastics conventionally used for 
water cooler bottles. 
After the interior volume 25 of container body 20 has been filled with 
water, opening 42 at the end of neck portion 40 is meant to be sealed, 
such as with a conventional plastic cap 46 with a tab 48 for easy removal. 
Referring to FIG. 6, a conventional water cooler 50 has a reservoir for 
water 52 which is filled via an orifice 54 at the top. Cooler 50 further 
comprises a spigot arrangement 56 to allow water from reservoir 52 to flow 
out into a cup or glass placed on horizontal shelf 58. 
A first water dispenser container 10 is shown mounted atop water cooler 50 
with neck portion 40 inserted into orifice 54 after cap 46 has been 
removed. Also shown is a second water dispenser container 10' about to be 
stacked on top of container 10 with its neck portion 40' to be inserted in 
hole 28 and with protuberances 44' about to be fitted into dimples 36. 
A watertight seal between first water dispenser container 10 and second 
water dispenser container 10' is effected through a tight frictional fit 
between frustoconical neck portion 40' and cylindrical collar 30 or 
through a compressible annular flange 60 positioned therebetween. The 
degree of taper of frustoconical neck portion 40 is preferably between 5 
and 25 degrees. Screw cap 34 has been removed from first water dispenser 
container 10 but screw cap 34' is left on water dispenser container 10'. 
Referring to FIG. 7, water dispenser containers 10 and 10' are shown 
stacked atop water cooler 50 after the process of filling reservoir 52 has 
been completed. Protuberances 44' of water dispenser container 10' are 
fully engaged by recesses 36 in water dispenser container 10 so that there 
is no tendency for container 10' to rotate with respect to container 10 
and the two containers are locked together in a stable position. A third 
water dispenser container could be added to the arrangement, but unless 
water cooler 50 had a lot of weight in its lower part, this could result 
in a dangerously topheavy arrangement. 
Since water dispenser containers 10 and 10' each weigh only about 21 pounds 
when filled with water, the lifting and manipulating efforts required to 
fill water cooler 50 are substantially reduced in comparison to using 
conventional 5-gallon water bottles. The present invention thus serves a 
valuable purpose in making it possible for individuals who lack the 
requisite strength for lifting and handling 5-gallon water bottles to fill 
a conventional water cooler with the stackable, compact water dispenser 
container 10 provided by the present invention. 
Referring to FIG. 8, a spacer element 62 is provided by the invention to 
facilitate stacking of filled water dispenser bottles. Spacer element 62 
comprises a generally rectangular sheet of a stiff, lightweight material 
having parallel and generally planar top and bottom surfaces 64 and 66, 
respectively. Four protuberances 68 on top surface 64 of spacer element 62 
are located so as to fit into the dimples on the screw-cap bearing end of 
a water dispenser bottle 10. Four dimples 70 are located opposite 
protuberances 68 on bottom surface 66 of spacer element 62. A central hole 
72 in spacer element 62 is designed to accommodate the neck portion 40 of 
a water dispenser bottle 10 when dimples 70 of spacer element 62 are 
interfitted with the protuberances 36 on the top portion 14 of a water 
dispenser bottle 10. 
The minimum value of thickness 74 of spacer element 62 is dictated by the 
requirement that a second water dispenser bottle 10' is stacked on top of 
a first water dispenser bottle 10 with a spacer element 62 between them, 
the topmost portion of cap 46 on water dispenser bottle 10 must not 
interfere with the lowest portion of screw-on cap 34' of water dispenser 
bottle 10', as can be seen from FIG. 9. 
FIG. 9 shows a water dispenser bottle 10" stacked on top of a water 
dispenser bottle 10' which in turn is stacked on top of a water dispenser 
bottle 10, with spacer element 62 sandwiched between bottles 10 and 10' 
and spacer element 62' sandwiched between bottles 10" and 10'. In the 
broken away portion of FIG. 9, protuberance 44 of water dispenser bottle 
10 can be seen inserted into dimple 70 of spacer element 62 and 
protuberance 68 of spacer element 62 can be seen inserted into dimple 36' 
of water dispenser bottle 10'. Spacer elements 62 and 62' prevent changes 
in the relative lateral positions of water dispenser bottles 10, 10', and 
10". 
The exact shape of spacer element 62 is not crucial except for the 
requirement that it be large enough in area to include the plurality of 
protuberances 68 and dimples 66 in their properly located positions. Thus, 
for example, the four corners of the spacer element 62 shown in FIG. 8 
could be truncated to save material without seriously affecting the 
performance of the spacer element. 
The water dispenser bottle 10 of the present invention is conveniently 
stackable for ease in shipping and storage. A plurality of bottles 10 can 
be stacked in a column one above the other with spacer elements 62 between 
adjacent bottles to provide a strong, stable storage arrangement. 
It should be understood that the invention in its broader aspects is not 
limited to the specific embodiments shown and described herein, but 
departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the appended claims 
without departing from the principles of the invention and without 
sacrificing its chief advantages. For example, there are other well-known 
alternatives to the threaded collar 30 and screw cap 34 arrangement 
described hereinabove. For example, some sort of lip could be provided at 
the distal end of collar 30 and a snap-on type of cap could be provided to 
effect sealing closure of round hole 28 in container body 12. Similarly, 
there are various ways of sealing opening 42 at the end of neck portion 
40. All such similar modifications and changes will make themselves 
apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, and all such changes and 
modifications are intended to be covered by the appended claims.