Abstract:
A portable animal fluid dispenser ( 10 ) including a reservoir ( 12 ) and a container ( 14 ) detachably mounted to a side wall ( 22 A) of the reservoir ( 12 ). The container ( 14 ) has an outlet in fluid communication with a passage ( 24 ) in the side wall ( 22 A) and a closure ( 34 ) removably coupled to the passage ( 24 ). A carrier ( 16 ) is provided to attach the carrier ( 16 ) to an article worn by a person, for example a belt.

Description:
This application claims benefit of provisional application Serial No. 60/170,542 filed Dec. 14, 1999 and Ser. No. 60/174,701 filed Jan. 6, 2000. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a portable animal fluid dispenser. 
     It is often desirable to water an animal during a long walk. This is especially true when the weather is very warm. Water supply is not always available. This has created a need for a portable water dispenser. Typical examples are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,720,184; 5,105,768; 5,636,592; 5,738,039; 5,809,934 and 5,809,935. These styles generally include a handle for carrying. They also require some manipulation in setting up or using the device. Some of the structures are not necessarily stable for use by the animal without aid of the owner. 
     The present invention provides a portable animal fluid dispenser which is hands-free. It includes a reservoir having bottom and side walls and a container detachably mounted to a first side wall of the reservoir. The container has an outlet in fluid communication with a passage in the side wall and a closure removably coupled to the passage. A carrier is provided and shaped to attach the carrier to an article worn by a person, for example a belt. The carrier may be integral with the reservoir or separate and have an opening generally the shape of the cross-section of the container for receiving the container. The carrier includes an attachment which may be hook shaped. 
     Preferably, the passage in the first side wall is adjacent the bottom wall. The side wall includes a threaded receiver structure encompassing the passage and receiving a threaded structure of the container. The container preferably is an open ended container. A tether connects the closure to the reservoir. The tether and closure may be integral to the receiver structure. The closure my be a plug received in the passage. The dispenser has a longitudinal axis parallel to the bottom wall and the length of the container along the longitudinal axis is greater than the length of the reservoir along the longitudinal axis. The dimensions of the container and reservoir are interrelated to assure that the reservoir will not overflow and nearly all the fluid will flow into the reservoir. The reservoir can be square shaped or cylindrical. 
     Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable animal fluid dispenser in its use position according to the principles of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the portable animal fluid dispenser of FIG. 1 in its transport position. 
     FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along lines III—III of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4 is a plan view of a carrier according to the principles of the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is a side view of the carrier of FIG.  4 . 
     FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view along lines VI—VI of FIG. 4 showing the guides that assist replacement of the dispenser onto the carrier. 
     FIG. 7 shows an alternate reservoir shape. 
     FIG. 8 shows the slight curvature of the sides of the container. 
     FIG. 9 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the portable animal fluid dispenser according to the principles of the present invention. 
     FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 9, shown with the closure in the channel. 
     FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the another embodiment of the portable animal fluid dispenser according to the principles of the present, invention. 
     FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the portable animal fluid dispenser of FIG. 11, shown with the closure removed from the passage. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A portable animal dispenser  10 , as illustrated in FIG. 1, includes a reservoir  12  from which the animal drinks and a storage container  14  detachably mounted to the reservoir  12  by the receiver structure  30 . A carrier  16 , as shown in FIG. 2, supports the dispenser  10  and attaches it to a belt or waist band  18  of the pet owner. The dispenser  10  is transported as shown in FIG.  2  and then placed on the ground G wherein fluids in container  14  flows into reservoir  12  to be drunk by the animal. Once the animal is done, the fluid can be thrown out or poured back into the container  14  and mounted back onto the belt  18  via the carrier  16  which may remain on the belt  18 . 
     The reservoir  12  includes a bottom  20  and a plurality of side walls  22 . A passage  24  in one of the side wall  22 A fluidly connects the container  14  to the reservoir  12 . A pair of feet  26  adjacent to the bottom of the side wall  22 B space the bottom wall  20  from the ground G. The feet  26  together with a single contact point, provided at the other end by the slightly curved sidewalls of the container  14  as shown in FIG. 8, form a three point support which assures stability in the drinking mode shown in FIG.  3 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the passage  24  is adjacent to the bottom wall  20 . This allows maximum emptying of the container  14  into the reservoir  12 . A sculpturing may be provided on the wall  22 A to urge the fluids towards the passage  24  when the dispenser  10  is returned to its upright or transport position. This allows collection of any remaining water not consumed by the animal. 
     As shown in FIG. 3, the wall  22 A of the reservoir  12  includes a receiver  30  which threadably receives at  32  a threaded portion of the container  14 . The threading is configured to be repeatable in its positioning of the container relative to the reservoir over the life of the dispenser. Sealing of the container  14  to receiver  30  interface is achieved by compression between a seal ridge on the receiver and a protrusion on the inner wall of the container  14 . The container  14  preferably is an open mouthed container. If a smaller receiver  30  is desirable, a small mouth container  14  could be used with its mouth adjacent to the side wall which engages the ground in the drinking mode. A closure  34 , illustrated as a plug, is connected by tether  36  to the receiver . 30  and is received in the passage  24  as illustrated in FIG. 2. A threaded closure  34  may also be used. The tether  36 , plug  34 , receiver  30  and reservoir  12  may be a single moulded product. Tether  36  may be a strip as shown, a cord, or any other structure and may be formed separate from the receiver  30  and attached thereto. 
     Also as illustrated in FIG. 3, the rear of the container  14  also rests on the ground G. The container  14  may taper from its threaded open end towards its closed end portion. Alternatively, the interior threaded portion  32  of the receiver  30  may be skewed to allow the container  14  to be inclined from the receiver  30  down towards the ground G. 
     The particular structure illustrated stabilizes the total portable animal fluid dispenser  10  in its use position of FIGS. 1 and 3. The longitudinal length of the container  14  is larger than the longitudinal length of the reservoir  12 , further enhancing the stability. 
     The cross section and length of the container  14  compared to the dimensions of the reservoir  12 , are selected such that the water level in the reservoir  12 , will not exceed or overflow the reservoir  12  when in a use position. (as shown in FIGS. 1,  9 ,  10 ), even when the container  14  is full of fluid. The reservoir  12  may have a square-type configuration, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, or may be circular as shown in FIGS. 7,  9  and  10 . 
     The container  14  may have a nearly square cross-section, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 8, or may be cylindrical. If a square-type configuration is used, however, the four sides of the container  14  may be curved (as shown in FIG. 8) in order to maintain.stability of the dispenser in the use position in any angular position. 
     As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the carrier  16  includes a horizontal wall  40  with an opening wall  42  having the general shape of the cross section of container  14 . A front wall  44 , a rear wall  46 , and a pair of side walls  48  each extend from the plate  40 . The side walls  48  secure the plate  40  to the rear wall  46 . The side walls  48  include two sloping top edges  52  and  54 . The reservoir  12  and the receiver  30  are shown in phantom in FIG.  5 . 
     An attachment  56  is illustrated as a pair of spaced-apart hooks  57  on the back wall  46  and would receive a belt or waist band  18  as shown on FIG.  2 . Preferably, the opening  42  in the carrier is greater than the outside diameter of the container  14  to allow easy insertion and removal. In the transport position in FIG. 2, the receiver  30  rests on the top surface of the plate  40  to support the dispenser  10  in the carrier  16 . As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the guides  62  assist in the repositioning of the receiver  30  onto the surface of the plate  40  and provide lateral support to the receiver  30  and hence the dispenser  10  during the transportation mode. 
     FIGS. 9 and 10 show another embodiment of the attachment  56 . In this embodiment, the attachment  56  comprises a pair of spaced apart hooks  57  that form a channel  59  therebetween. The closure  34  adjacent the end of the tether  36  slides into the channel  59  in order to retain the closure  34 , as shown in FIG.  10 . The receiver  30 , tether  36 , closure  34 , and attachment  56  may all be integrally formed. 
     Another embodiment of the portable animal fluid dispenser  10  is illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12. The carrier  16  is integral with the receiver  30  and the reservoir  12 . The tether  36  is also integral with the receiver  30  and the closure  34 . All of these integrated structures may be formed by injection molding, for example. 
     The attachment  56  may extend along the side of the container  14  which is opposite the side adjacent the ground G when in use. In order to retain the closure  34  in a location away from the passage  24  when the dispenser  10  is being used, the attachment  56  has a hole  72  to securely receive a probe  71  adjacent an end of tether  36 , as shown in FIG.  12 . 
     The use of the portable animal fluid dispenser  10  includes removing the container  14  from the receiver  30  and filling it with liquid. When the container is full, it is threadably received in the receiver  30 . The closure  34  is configured to close the passage  24  in the wall  22 A of the reservoir  12 . In the embodiments as shown in FIGS. 2,  4 , and  5 , for example, the container  14  may be into the opening  42  of the carrier  16 , which is either on or then placed on a belt or waistband  18  of the owner. To provide liquid for an animal, the owner removes the dispenser  10  from the carrier  16  and places it on the ground G. The closure  34  is removed from the passage  24 . In the embodiments as shown in FIGS. 9-12, for example, the carrier  16 , attachment  56 , and receiver  30  may be integrally formed 
     In any of these embodiments, liquid flows from the container  14  through the passage  24  in order to fill the reservoir. The flow continues until the liquid in the reservoir  12  and the container  14  are the same level. The animal drinks from the reservoir  12  which continues to refill from the container  14 . If the animal does not use all of the liquid, the dispenser  10  is raised from its horizontal to a vertical position and the fluid flows back through passage  24  into container  14 . The closure  34  is then replaced onto the passage  24  and the container  14  is reinserted on to the carrier  16 , as in the case of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1,  2 , and  4 , or the in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 9-12, dispenser  10  is replaced onto an article worn by a person. 
     Depending upon how much liquid is consumed, the animal may be watered again on the same trip. The cycle is then repeated to refill the container  14 . 
     Although the present invention has been described and illustrated in detail, it is to be clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only, and is not to be taken by way of limitation. The spirit and scope of the present invention are to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims.