Patent Publication Number: US-7913330-B2

Title: Dispensing apparatus

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/082,436 filed on Mar. 17, 2005 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,478,442 titled DISPENSING APPARATUS. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to delivery systems and more specifically a container and dispenser combination for periodically delivering materials to a body of water. 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     None 
     REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
     None 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The concept of containers that hold a body of water for human use are well known in the art. One such container that holds a recreational body of water is known as a spa or hot tub. Spas and hot tubs are used in all types of climates and are generally maintained at a comfortable temperature so that a person can immerse himself or herself in the body of water. Generally, the spas or hot tubs are located outdoors. In colder climates this means that even though the outside temperature may be below freezing the temperature of the body of recreational water in the spa or hot tub needs to be maintained well above the freezing point. As bacteria and other organisms can grow in the body of water it is necessary to periodically apply disinfectants or other water treatment materials to the body of water to bring the water to proper recreational levels. Oftentimes the use of the spa or hot tub can be sporadic; however it is still necessary to periodically attend to maintaining the proper quality of the recreational water. In the wintertime this can entail the user removing the cover from the spa and dispensing the proper materials into the water to bring the water quality up to a level for recreational use. The cover is then placed back on the spa or hot tub. If the weather is cold the user might procrastinate or neglect to attend to the dispensing of materials until the weather warms up. At other times the user may be on vacation for a length of time. In each case it is desirable that the user periodically dispense the materials into the body of recreational water even though the weather is inclement or the user is on vacation. The present invention provides a dispensing system for a body of water that can use the latent heat of the body off water to maintain the dispersant in a deliverable state for periodic delivery either through a manual activation or through a timer that periodically dispenses the dispersant into the body of water. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Briefly, the invention includes a dispenser delivery system for a closed container that permits periodic dispensing of a dispersant into a fluid in the container without having to remove a cover over the container. In one embodiment the dispenser can be filled or activated through controls extending through a cover to the dispensing delivery system and in another a timer contained within the container can be set to periodically deliver dispersant to the body of fluid in the container. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a side view of a spa with a cover; 
         FIG. 2  is a partial section view of the cover of the spa of  FIG. 1  with a dispenser delivery system in a delivery mode; 
         FIG. 3  is a partial sectional view of the cover of the spa of  FIG. 1  in a closed or non-delivery condition; 
         FIG. 4  is a partial section of a spa cover with a timer controlled dispenser delivery system in the non-delivery mode; 
         FIG. 5  is a partial section view of a spa cover with the time controlled dispenser delivery system of  FIG. 4  in the dispensing mode. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       FIG. 1  is a front view of spa or hot tub  10  that is located on a platform  9 . The spa includes a container  11  with a cover  12  that extends over the container to keep the body of recreational water therein free of debris. A thermostatic controlled heater maintains the proper temperature of the water in the container. In addition the cover and container generally include insulation to help maintain the water at the proper temperature. 
     Located on top of cover  10  is a hood  13  that extends over a set external controls for the delivery of dispersants from a dispenser located in the air space beneath the cover and the body of water and preferably as an attachment to the cover. 
       FIG. 2  shows a partial cross sectional view of the cover  12  and hood  14  to reveal the dispending system for periodically dispensing dispersant into the body of water in the spa. Located on the underside of cover  12  is a dispenser  15  that has a first ear  16  that is secured to cover  12  through a screw  17  and a second ear  18  that are secured to cover  12  through a screw  19 . 
       FIG. 2  shows the dispenser in the dispensing position as well as the external filling condition. Located within container  15  is a dispersant  21 . An aperture  22  in the lower portion of dispenser  15  provides for gravity feed of dispersants from chamber  21  in dispenser  15 . An external supply tube  32  extends upward to a funnel  33  that allows one to inject dispersant into the container  15  by pivoting back hood  13  without having to open the cover  12 . Positioned alongside of tube  32  is a push rod  30  that has a sealing member  31  on one end and a handle  39  on the opposite end. An L shaped latch member  36  having a hinge  37  is shown with surface  36   a  holding push rod  30  in the open position. 
     With the push rod  30  is in the dispensing position as shown in  FIG. 2  the dispersant  21  in chamber  20  can be delivered to the body of water through the aperture or port  22 . In addition a fresh charge of dispersant can be added to the dispenser  15  by pivoting hood  13  about hinge  14  to expose the funnel  3  for insertion of dispersant therein, which will flow through tube  32  an into the chamber  20 . The embodiment of  FIG. 2  allows one to deliver dispersant at a controlled rate even though a person is not present since droplets of dispersant  23  can be emitted from port  22  through a drip feed. By sizing the port  22  for the dispersants one can control the dispersant rate. For example, if the dispersant is of the type that needs to be delivered all at once a larger delivery port can be used. On the other hand if the dispersant is of the type that should be delivered over an extended period of time a small delivery port can be used and the dispersant can be allowed to drip feed into the body of water. 
       FIG. 3  shows the dispensing system of  FIG. 2  in the non-dispensing condition. Hood  13  has been pivoted back on hinge  14  to reveal how the hood can be swung to an out of the way. In addition the latch member  36  has been pivoted to an unlatched condition by rotating latch member 90 degrees about hinge  37 . As the compression spring  35  around push rod  30  exerts an upward force on handle  39  it brings the handle to the up condition, which brings the sealing member  24  to a closed condition that closes the top opening  24 . Sealing the container  15  has two effects first, it prevents any dispersant from escaping form container  15  since air cannot enter or escape from the container  15 . In this condition one can manually operate the dispenser by pushing down on the handle  39  to allow air to enter chamber  20  thereby allowing the dispersant therein to be dispensed into the body of recreational water. Second, by pushing down on handle  39  one also permits the addition of additional dispersant to chamber  20  (see  FIG. 2 ) since the end  32   a  becomes unsealed to allow the dispenser to flow into chamber  20 . 
     Thus, the embodiment of  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3  allow for both on demand manual deliver or extended dispersant delivery without the user having to open the cover  12  of the spa or hot tub. As a result the delivery of the dispersant to the body of recreational becomes easier since the large cover need not be removed from the container, which generally means there is less tendency to neglect or procrastinate on the regular treatment of the water in the container. 
       FIG. 4  shows an alternate embodiment of the invention that cans also delivery dispersant without having to remove the cover of the hot tub. The embodiment of  FIG. 4  includes a timer for controlling the delivery of the dispersant to the body of water and a shutoff member to stop or start deliver of dispersant. 
       FIG. 4  shows a portion of a cover  40  with a first member or lip  44  secured to one portion of the cover and a second L shaped member or lip  45  secured to another portion of the cover. The purpose of lips  44  and  46  is to allow one to quickly attach a dispenser  41  to the underside of cover  40  so the dispenser can be held in a ready to use condition. That is, one can attach or detach a dispenser  41  to the underside of cover  40  by merely sliding the dispenser along the underside of the cover until dispenser flange  47  and dispenser flange  46  engage their respective lips. In this condition the dispenser is in a ready to use condition beneath the cover  40 . The dispenser can be provided with one or more dispersants and can contain enough dispersants for many months. With the dispenser  41  located in the air space above the body of water the latent heat of the water can maintain the dispersant in a non-freezing condition, this is particular beneficial when the dispersant is or contains a liquid. On the other hand, a solid dispersant which may be in tablet or granular form can also be used with the dispenser  41 . 
     The embodiment of  FIG. 4  differs from the embodiment of  FIG. 2  in that the dispenser  41  includes a shutoff member  53  that can be controlled by a timer  42 . Timer  42  includes a dial  43  for setting the time of day as well as the day of delivery of material from dispenser  41 . Dispenser  41  is shown in partial section having a liquid dispersant  51  in chamber  50 . In the embodiments shown a sealing member or shutoff member  53  extends laterally across port  52  to prevent egress of dispersant from chamber  50 . The sealing member is controlled by the timer  42 .  FIG. 4  shows the shutoff member  53  in the closed condition. 
       FIG. 5  shows the dispenser  41  in the dispensing condition. In this condition the port  52  has been uncovered as the sealing or shutoff member  53  has been slid laterally toward the right until the port  52  is open. In this condition the dispersant  60  can escape from dispenser  41 . When sufficient amount of dispersant has been discharged the timer closes the port  52  by extending sealing member  53  there across as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     Thus in the embodiment of  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5  one can periodically deliver dispersant to the spa or hot tub even though one might not be present. In addition since the delivery system is contained in the air chamber and above the water line or a fluid gas interface line the latent heat of the water as well as the insulation of the cover allow the dispersant to be maintained in a condition that permits delivery of dispersant. 
     In both embodiments the user need not remove the cover once a charge of dispersant has been placed in the dispenser. Depending on the type of dispersant required as well as the frequency of deliver either the dispersant delivery system of  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3  or the dispersant delivery system of  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4  or both can be used to timely deliver the dispersant to the body of fluid contained in the container. Thus the present invention provides for undercover delivery of a dispersant without the user having to remove the cover each time a charge of dispersant is delivered to the container. 
     While the present invention has been described in relation to spa or hot tubs, once the present invention is known it will be envisioned that the dispensing apparatus of the present invention can be used with a variety of fluids that require periodic maintenance as well as other systems that require periodic maintenance of the fluid in the system.