Patent Publication Number: US-2007096046-A1

Title: Multifunctional spout chuck

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
      n/a  
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
      n/a  
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to a device for biasing a valve for a liquid container spout in the open position.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      There are many situations where someone would like to attend to personal hygiene, such as washing their hands or face, in a location where there is no running water. Often, the location where a person would most like to clean-up is the place least likely to have wash facilities. For example, outdoorsmen, outdoor workers, and athletes like to clean-up in the field or on a job site. In the absence of water, individuals resort to wiping their hands or face, for example, with a dry cloth, such as clothing, scrubbing with small pre-moistened paper towels, or waterless hand sanitizers and the like. However, nothing really substitutes for a stream of water for washing purposes.  
      Known portable hand wash stations often include bulky containers that are difficult to carry. Some provide an electric pump mechanism to aid in dispensing the fluid in the container and a basin in which water is retained. However, the absence of available water is likely coupled with the absence of an electrical source, making the use of an electrical pump impossible without a portable generator in many situations; and a basin, while nice to have, really isn&#39;t necessary for washing purposes. Moreover, inclusion of a pump, power cord, basin and other accessories adds greatly to cost as well as to weight.  
      Instead of the electric hand wash station, the simple and omnipresent “Igloo” or other similar container is commonly used to provide water for drinking and for washing. This is not surprising, as a substantial percentage of people engaged in outdoor activities bring drinking water in a container with them. While the Igloo and similar containers are very well suited to dispensing water into a drinking cup, they are not particularly well suited for dispensing water for washing purposes. Specifically, the valve associated with the dispensing spout in many known water containers includes a valve element or “button” that is biased towards a closed state. The button is placed into an open state by pressing the button to overcome a modest biasing force, thereby allowing the water in the container to be dispensed. So long as the button is pressed down, the valve remains open and provides a continuous flow of water. Unfortunately, to be able to wash your hands by rubbing them together with soap in the customary manner, a second person is required to press the button for water flow.  
      In view of the above limitations, it would be desirable to make better use of existing water containers. More specifically, it would be desirable to transform existing water coolers into efficient, functional hand washing stations by providing an accessory that would allow for “hands free” operation of a container valve.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      An accessory device hereinafter referred to as a “spout chuck” is provided for known water containers to facilitate “hands-free” operation of the container, thereby providing a washing station. Known fluid containers often have a valve assembly in which a button is biased towards a primary closed position which may be overcome by the application of marginal force in order to move the button to a secondary open position to dispense fluid. In an exemplary embodiment, the spout chuck has a body portion that includes a fixation element engageable with the valve assembly of the container, in order to position the spout chuck proximate to the valve assembly. The spout chuck further includes a biasing element capable of actuating the valve assembly, causing the button to move from the primary closed position to the secondary open position, thereby allowing fluid to be dispensed.  
      In addition, the spout chuck of the present invention may also be used with a container having a valve assembly including a movable stopper that is biased to a first closed position in which fluid is prevented from being dispensed. To allow fluid dispersion, the stopper is moved to a secondary open position, typically by depressing a button linked to the stopper. The spout chuck can include a shaped aperture which can engage the stopper of the valve assembly as to prevent the stopper from obstructing fluid flow out of the container when the button is no longer depressed, resulting in the hands-free operation of the container. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      A more complete understanding of the present invention, and the attendant advantages and features thereof, will be more readily understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a prior art container having a valve-controlled water spout;  
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the prior art container of  FIG. 1  having an alternative valve configuration;  
       FIG. 2A  is a cross-sectional view of the valve of  FIG. 2 ;  
       FIG. 3  is a front view of an embodiment of a spout chuck in accordance with the present invention;  
       FIG. 4  is a side view of the spout chuck of  FIG. 3 ;  
       FIG. 5  is a rear view of the spout chuck in  FIG. 3 ;  
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of an exemplary use of the present invention in operation with a prior art container;  
       FIG. 6A  is a side view of the present invention in operation with a prior art container;  
       FIG. 7  is a detail perspective view of the present invention in operation with a second prior art container;  
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the present invention hanging from a hook. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      Prior art containers are shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 1  illustrates a water container  10  having a valve operated by a button  12 . For this type of container, the button  12  is biased towards a primary closed position where the valve prevents fluid in the container from being dispensed. The valve can be opened by applying a modest force to the button, thereby causing the button to depress inward to a secondary open position. Subsequently, as the button is depressed towards the secondary open position, the valve of the container is opened and fluid is dispensed from a spout  14 . The container may further include a recess  16  which surrounds the button  12  and provides easier access to the spout  14  and the button  12 . Moreover, a flange  18  may surround the button  12  to provide a supporting structure to aid in depressing the button.  
       FIG. 2  illustrates a second container  20  similar to that of  FIG. 1 , except the second container  20  has an alternative fluid dispensing mechanism. For this particular type of container, a button  22  is biased towards a primary closed position in which fluid is prevented form escaping the container. Similarly to the container described above, fluid can be dispensed by applying a modest force to the button  22 , thereby causing the button  22  to depress downward to a secondary open position. Subsequently, as the button  22  is depressed downward towards the secondary open position, the valve of the container is opened and fluid is dispensed from a spout  24 . In addition, a recess  26  also may surround the button  22  to provide access to the spout  24  and the button  22 , and a flange  28  may further surround the button  22  to aid in depressing the button. Furthermore, either container in  FIG. 1  or  FIG. 2  may include a bracket  30  which can receive a rack for holding paper cups or other accessories (not shown).  
      A cross-sectional detail of the mechanism for dispensing water from the second container  20  is found in  FIG. 2A . As shown, a valve assembly  32  includes the button  22  connected to a movable stopper  34 . Movement of the stopper  34  is restricted by a generally cylindrical wall  36 , and the button  22  is biased towards a closed position in which the stopper  34  abuts the cylindrical wall  36  and prevents fluid from being dispensed. As the button  22  is depressed, the stopper  34  descends downward and fluid may be dispensed from the container  20  through the spacing between the stopper  34  and the cylindrical wall  36 .  
      Now referring to  FIGS. 3 through 5 , the present invention provides a spout chuck  38 . The spout chuck  38  generally defines a body portion  40 . In addition, the spout chuck  38  defines a fixation element  42  that provides for the coupling or affixation of the spout chuck  38  proximate to a valve or dispenser assembly of a fluid container. The fixation element  42  extends from the body portion  40 , where the fixation element  42  may include a first prong  44  and a second prong  46  coplanar to and laterally spaced from the first prong  44 . The spout chuck  38  further defines a biasing element  48  extending from the body portion  40 , which can be in the form of a third prong  50  offset from the first and second prongs, where the third prong  50  includes a raised protrusion  52  that extends towards the first and second prongs of the fixation element  42 . The biasing element  48  provides for the sufficient application of force or resistance as to actuate a valve or button assembly of a fluid container such that the button or valve assembly is moved from a primarily closed position to a secondary position where fluid is dispensed. The third prong  50  may be situated such that although it may be parallel to the first and second prongs, it is not coplanar with either of the first or second prongs.  
      The spout chuck  38  of the present invention can further include a shaped aperture  54  in the body portion  40 . The shaped aperture  54  defines a first end and a second end, wherein the width of aperture decreases to form a neck  56  in between the first and second ends. Furthermore, the spout chuck  38  can include a second aperture  58 , which can aid in hanging the spout chuck  38  from a hook or hanging feature on a container.  
      As can be seen from  FIG. 4 , the spout chuck  38  is a relatively thin apparatus, and can be manufactured from a wide range of plastics or other suitable material. Moreover, the spout chuck  38  may be constructed in a singular form, for example, through injection molding or the like, or alternatively be assembled from individual components in order to create the embodiments and functional characteristics as described.  
      The spout chuck  38  can be constructed as to provide the first and second prongs of the fixation element  42  with a flexible resiliency with respect to the body portion  40  of the spout chuck  38 . Similarly, the biasing element  48  may have a flexible resiliency with respect to the body portion  40  of the spout chuck  38 , which can ease the positioning of the spout chuck  38  proximate to a valve assembly of a fluid container. In addition, the biasing element  48  as well as the first and second prongs of the fixation element  42  may be elastically deformable with respect to each other to allow for the temporary increase of spacing between the biasing element  48  and the fixation element  42 , which further can aid in positioning the spout chuck. As such, the biasing element  48  and the fixation element  42  can be pulled apart somewhat and then, subsequently, the spacing between the two elements can resiliently decrease to the original positioning.  
      In an exemplary use of the present invention, the spout chuck  38  can be implemented with a container  10  having a depressible button  12  for regulating fluid flow, as previously described. As shown in  FIGS. 6 and 6 A, the spout chuck  38  is positioned about the button  12  and the flange  18  surrounding the button  12  such that the two prongs of the fixation element  42  abut the rear side of the flange  18 . Subsequently, the third prong  50  and the protrusion  52  of the biasing element  48  are directly in contact with the button  12  of the container  10 . As the two prongs of the fixation element  42  are further positioned about the flange  18  and button  12 , the protrusion  52  of the biasing element  48  places pressure on the button  12  in order to depress the button inward towards the secondary open position. With the spout chuck  38  coupled about the button  12  and flange  18 , the button  12  is now held in the secondary open position and fluid is dispensed until the spout chuck  38  is removed, thereby allowing “hands free” operation of the container.  
      Now referring to  FIG. 7 , in an exemplary operation of the spout chuck  38  with a container  20  having a movable stopper  34  as described above, the button  22  of the container  20  is depressed, causing the stopper  34  to descend from the cylindrical wall  36  of the valve assembly  32 . The spout chuck  38  is then positioned such that the stopper  34  passes through the shaped aperture  54  of the spout chuck  38 . The spout chuck  38  can then be positioned such that the neck  56  of the shaped circumscribes a portion of the stopper  34 , thereby interjecting the body portion  40  of the spout chuck  38  in between the stopper  34  and the cylindrical wall  36 . Once the button  22  is no longer depressed, the body portion  40  of the spout chuck  38  prevents the stopper  34  from closing and abutting the cylindrical wall  36 , thereby allowing fluid to be dispensed without the application of manual pressure to the button  22 .  
      Now referring to  FIG. 8 , when the spout chuck  38  is no longer needed to aid in fluid dispensing from a container, the spout chuck  38  may be hung from a dispenser  60  for an ancillary liquid container attached to the container. The dispenser  60  may include a rack attachable to the bracket  30  on the container. In addition, the dispenser  60  may include a hook  62  that fits the second aperture  58  in the spout chuck  38  so that the spout chuck  38  may hang from or otherwise be complementarily coupled to the dispenser.  
      It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to what has been particularly shown and described herein above. In addition, unless mention was made above to the contrary, it should be noted that all of the accompanying drawings are not to scale. A variety of modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, which is limited only by the following claims.