Abstract:
A valve for a bottle or a bottle cap comprises a fluid delivery tube having an inlet and an outlet, the tube being moveable between a first position where fluid cannot enter the tube and a second position where fluid can enter the tube and means for urging the tube to the first position, wherein the tube is moveable to said second position by means of force applied in opposition to the urging means.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention concerns valves for drinking cups for use particularly by infants. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Drinking cups having a cap with a spout towards one side thereof are available for use by infants. These spouts are usually wide and narrow and have two or more holes therein. A problem with these drinking cups is that they leak when not handled correctly, which is often the case with infants due to lack of controllability or carelessness. 
         [0003]    An object of this invention is to provide a drinking cup that is less prone to leakage. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    According to the invention, a valve is provided that can be incorporated in drinking bottles or in caps for drinking bottles, whereby fluid flow from the bottle through the valve is permitted by application of pressure or force onto a valve component, especially a fluid delivery tube of the valve. 
         [0005]    In a preferred embodiment, a valve for a bottle or a bottle cap comprises a fluid delivery tube having an inlet and an outlet, the tube being moveable between a first position where fluid cannot flow through the tube and a second position where fluid can flow through the tube, and means for urging the tube to its first position, wherein the tube is moveable to its second position by application of force in opposition to the urging means. 
         [0006]    When the valve is incorporated in a bottle cap, the cap may be mountable on the bottle or may be formed integrally with the bottle. 
         [0007]    The inlet of the delivery tube is preferably in a side of the tube and the outlet of the delivery tube is preferably at an end of the tube. 
         [0008]    The delivery tube is preferably moveable in a nozzle or the like of the bottle cap. Preferably the delivery tube is slidable within the nozzle. The inlet of the tube is preferably closed by an inner wall of the nozzle. 
         [0009]    In preferred embodiments of the invention, the delivery tube is preferably shaped to be a push fit through the nozzle for assembly of the valve. The valve preferably includes means for retaining the tube in the nozzle. The preferred retaining means comprises one or more stops on the tube for abutment against an end of the nozzle. The stops are preferably at one end of the tube. The stops are preferably tapered to facilitate insertion through the nozzle. 
         [0010]    The preferred means for urging the tube to the first position comprises spring means. The spring means may be formed integrally with a part of the valve, especially with the delivery tube or a part associated therewith. 
         [0011]    In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the spring means comprises a resilient skirt. In another preferred embodiment, the spring means comprises one or more resilient coilable rods. The coilable rods preferably depend from a flange or the like extending outwardly from an upper end of the delivery tube, whereby abutment of the free ends of the rods causes them to coil to form springs for urging the delivery tube to its first position. To facilitate the coiling action of the rods, the valve may include ramps against which the free ends of the rods abut. 
         [0012]    In yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, the spring means is formed integrally between the delivery tube and another part of the valve. Preferably the spring means comprises a resilient hinge between the delivery tube and another part of the valve. The other part of the valve is preferably a nozzle for the delivery tube. 
         [0013]    Alternatively, the spring means may comprise a separate spring member, such as a helical spring around the delivery tube outlet between an abutment of the tube and another part of the valve. The other part of the valve may be associated with a nozzle for the delivery tube. 
         [0014]    In preferred embodiments of the invention, the valve may include means for pressure equalization in the bottle. Thus, the delivery tube may have an additional passage for allowing air back into the bottle. 
         [0015]    To facilitate the application of force to the delivery tube to move it to its second position, the delivery tube preferably has a peripheral flange. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0016]    This invention will now be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0017]      FIG. 1  shows a cap for a bottle before assembly into working condition; 
           [0018]      FIG. 2  is a section through the cap of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 3  shows the cap in working condition; 
           [0020]      FIG. 4  is a section through the cap in working condition; 
           [0021]      FIG. 5  is a section through a second valve of the invention in closed condition; 
           [0022]      FIG. 6  shows the valve of  FIG. 5  in open condition; 
           [0023]      FIG. 7  shows a third embodiment of the invention; 
           [0024]      FIG. 8  shows a fourth embodiment of the invention; and 
           [0025]      FIG. 9  shows a fifth embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0026]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 4  of the accompanying drawings, a cap  10  for a fluid-containing bottle has a nozzle  12  extending therefrom. The nozzle  12  has a flange  14  about its free end. Within the nozzle  12 , a fluid delivery tube  16  is reciprocally slidable. The delivery tube  16  is a fluid-tight fit within the nozzle  12 . The delivery tube  16  is closed near its bottom end by a plug  18  but is open at its top end  20 . A small hole  22  is located just above the plug  18 . 
         [0027]    The delivery tube  16  itself has a flange  24  around its periphery spaced from its free end  20 . The flanges  14  and  24  are connected at opposite sides by resilient hinges  26 . 
         [0028]    At its lower end, the delivery tube  16  has a pair of stops  28  on its outside. The stops  28  taper inwardly and downwardly, so that the delivery tube  16  can be fitted into the nozzle  12  with the stops  28  inside the cap  10  but cannot be easily pulled out of the cap. 
         [0029]    The cap  10  can be conveniently molded in one piece and can include a screw-threaded inner wall for screw-threaded attachment to a bottle. Once the cap has been molded, the delivery tube is pushed into the nozzle until the stops  28  are though the nozzle. 
         [0030]    The cap  10  operates in the following manner. After molding in one piece, the delivery tube  16  is pushed into nozzle  12 , so that the stops  28  are below the top of the cap. The resilient hinges  26  act to urge the delivery tube  16  upwardly, so that the stops  28  abut the underside of the cap  10 . In this position, the small hole  22  is within the nozzle  12 , so that no fluid from the bottle can pass through the small hole into the delivery tube. When a drink is to be taken from the bottle, the delivery tube  16  is pushed downwards into the bottle, so that the small hole  22  is clear of the nozzle for fluid to enter the hole and pass through the delivery tube. 
         [0031]    Turning to  FIGS. 5 and 6  of the accompanying drawings, there is shown an alternative embodiment of the invention, in which a cap  50  and delivery tube  52  are not formed integrally. Instead, the cap  50  has a nozzle  54  with a smaller flange  56  than the previous embodiment. The delivery tube  52  is basically the same in form as that of the previous embodiment except that it is not connected to the cap by resilient hinges. It does have a peripheral flange  58 . Instead, there is a helical compression spring  60  around the delivery tube  52  between the flange  56  of the cap nozzle and the flange  58  of the delivery tube. 
         [0032]    This embodiment operates in a similar fashion to that of the previous embodiment. The cap is assembled by fitting the helical spring around the delivery tube and then pushing the tube through the nozzle with the spring trapped between the flanges  56  and  58 , until the stops at the end of the delivery tube are through the nozzle. The spring  60  urges the delivery tube  52  upwards, so that the wall of the nozzle  54  closes the small hole  62  in the delivery tube. When fluid is to be withdrawn from the bottle, pressure is applied to the delivery tube  52  to push it into the bottle, which makes the small hole  62  accessible to the fluid contents of the bottle, so that they can pass through to the delivery tube. Pressure will typically be applied to the flange  58  of the delivery tube by a user&#39;s lips acting on the flange of the tube. 
         [0033]    In  FIG. 7  of the accompanying drawings, another embodiment of the invention is shown which is a two-part construction. A bottle cap  100  has a top wall  102  that has a nozzle  104  extending through it. At its top the nozzle has a lead-in part  106  with divergent sides. At its bottom end  108 , the nozzle has an internal annular lip  110  with a downwardly sloping top surface  112 . The nozzle  104  is situated in and surrounded by a depressed region  114  of the top wall of the cap. The depressed area  114  has a side wall  116  that includes a sloping portion  118 . 
         [0034]    Reciprocally slidable in the nozzle  104  is a delivery spout  120  that comprises a delivery tube  122  surrounded by a flange  124  at its top end that has a depending skirt  126 . The skirt  126  is slightly divergent over a major portion of its length but has a bottom portion  128  that flares outwardly more sharply. This bottom portion  128  forms an integral spring which has its edge  130  seated against the side wall  116  of the depressed region  114  and on top of the sloping part  118 . 
         [0035]    The delivery tube  122  has its bottom end  132  closed and also has an annular lip  134 . The lip  134  has its underside  136  rounded to facilitate insertion of the delivery tube  122  into the nozzle  104  until the lip passes through the nozzle. The delivery tube  122  also has a hole  138  in its side spaced from its bottom end. 
         [0036]    The spring  128  holds the delivery tube  122  in a position where the lip  134  abuts the underside of the nozzle so that the inner wall  140  of the nozzle closes the hole  138  in the side of the delivery tube. To permit fluid to be drawn from the bottle, the delivery tube  122  has to be depressed so that it extends through the nozzle  104  to an extent that the hole  138  in the side wall of the delivery tube is open into the bottle for fluid from the bottle to pass into the delivery tube. The delivery tube can be depressed by pressure from the lips of the user on the top of the spout. 
         [0037]    Turning to  FIG. 8  of the accompanying drawings, another cap  148  of the invention is in two-part form having a delivery tube  150  with a skirt  152  similar to that of the previous embodiment except that there is no flared bottom part to the skirt. The delivery tube  150  extends through a nozzle  154  in the same way as the previous embodiment. 
         [0038]    To provide the spring means for holding the delivery tube  150  in a closed position, the cap  148  has internally a pair of depending resilient rods  156  formed integrally with the cap. Each rod  156  meets a ramp  158  in a depression  160  in the top of the cap, the ramps  158  being oppositely orientated, so that when downwards pressure is applied to the delivery tube  150 , the rods  156  coil in opposite directions to form coil springs. The coil springs thus formed urge the delivery tube  150  to a closed position, once downward pressure is released. 
         [0039]    In the above embodiments, it is believed that the valve equalizes pressure on the opening or closing stroke. The valve admits a portion of air, which helps to control fluid flow. An infant cannot then drink continuously, which is perceived as being bad for teeth (e.g., by leading to tooth decay from sweet drinks) and has to stop to allow the valve to close for air ingress. 
         [0040]    Finally, in  FIG. 9 , another cap  200  according to the invention is shown to illustrate the provision of specific pressure equalization means, so that as fluid is removed from the bottle, it can be replaced by air. In this embodiment, the actual spring means for urging delivery tube  202  to a closed position is not shown. 
         [0041]    The delivery tube  202  is off-center in a delivery spout  204  that has a secondary tube  206  to allow air to return to a bottle on which the cap is fitted. The delivery tube has the same general form as in previous embodiments. The secondary tube is narrower than the delivery tube  202  and has an inlet at one end and an outlet part way along its length, so that when the delivery tube is in a closed position the secondary tube is also closed and vice versa. 
         [0042]    While the invention has been described with reference to drinking bottles for use particularly by infants, it will be appreciated that the valve arrangements of the invention may be useful for other bottles or containers for the delivery of fluids including, for example, carbonated drink bottles.