Patent Publication Number: US-2007107881-A1

Title: Dispenser device

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION  
      This invention relates to a dispenser device that enables a user to treat a liquid in the device.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      People use containers every day to carry their lunches, snacks and drinks. Typically people use containers such as cups, mugs or a thermos to carry liquids, such as soft drinks, water or coffee. These cups, mugs or thermoses usually keeps the liquid cool or keeps it warm depending on the type of container utilized. The mugs or thermoses may be referred to as closeable drinking containers.  
      Specifically, closeable drinking containers having a handle or without a handle are utilized to keep liquids cold or warm. Even though these closeable drinking containers are known to keep the entire liquid cold or warm they do not allow a person to evenly cool or warm a portion of the liquid before the person drinks it. Since a person is not able to sufficiently warm or cool a small amount of liquid before he drinks it, the person may burn his tongue or injure himself when he makes initial contact with the liquid.  
      Therefore, there is need for a dispenser device that allows a user to cool or heat a small portion of liquid in a container without injuring himself.  
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention has been accomplished in view of the above-mentioned technical background, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a person with a simple method to cool or heat liquid in a container.  
      In a preferred embodiment of the invention a system for a utilizing a liquid cup cool system is disclosed. The system includes an outer housing defining a chamber for holding an inner housing configured to store liquid. The inner housing includes a first opening configured to receive air transferred into the inner housing. A second opening of the inner housing is configured to allow the liquid in the inner housing to be transferred from the inner housing into a holding well responsive to the air transferred into the inner housing. The holding well is configured to hold the liquid while the liquid is being treated.  
      In another preferred embodiment of the invention, a cool system apparatus is disclosed which includes an inner housing. The inner housing is configured to hold a liquid. The inner housing includes: a first opening configured to receive air transferred into the inner housing; a second opening is configured to allow the liquid in the inner housing to be transferred from the inner housing into a holding well responsive to the air transferred into the inner housing. The holding well is configured to hold the liquid while the liquid is being treated.  
      In another preferred embodiment of the invention, a cover is disclosed where an air transfer mechanism configured to transfer air. An air transfer hose is coupled to the air transfer mechanism where the air transfer house is configured to transfer the air from the air transfer mechanism into a container having a liquid. A liquid transfer hose is located inside the container, where the liquid transfer hose is configured to transfer the liquid from the container to a holding well in response to the air being transferred into the container. The holding well is configured to treat the liquid. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS  
      These and other advantages of the present invention will become more apparent as the following description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
       FIG. 1  illustrates a side view of a cup cooling system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 2  illustrates a side view of a portable cover cooling system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 3A  depict a top view of the cover for the cup cooling system of  FIG. 1  in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 3B  depicts a top view of the portable cover cooling system of  FIG. 2  in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 4  illustrates the side view of the portable cover of  FIG. 2  with a container in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 5  is a flow chart that depicts a method of how the cup cooling system of  FIG. 1  is employed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and  
       FIG. 6  is a flow chart that depicts a method of how the portable cover cooling system of  FIG. 4  is employed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      The presently preferred embodiments of the invention are described with references to the drawings, where like components are identified with the same numerals. The descriptions of the preferred embodiments are exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.  
       FIG. 1  illustrates the side view of the cup cooling system. The cup cooling system  100  includes: an outer housing  101 , an inner housing  103 , an air transfer mechanism  105 , an outer housing opening  107 , an air transfer hose  109 , a first inner housing opening  111 , a second inner housing opening  113 , a liquid transfer hose  115 , a cover  117 , a holding well  119  and a treating structure  121 . The outer housing  111  is a typical container or cup utilized to house any typical liquid, such as coffee or a soft drink. This outer housing  101  may also include a handle (not shown) to hold the outer housing or container  401  ( FIG. 4 ) while drinking the liquid. Outer housing  101  and inner housing  103  and cover  117  may be made of typical materials used for containers, such as glass, plastic, Styrofoam, paper or cardboard. This outer housing  101  includes a chamber  112  inside the inner housing  103 , where the chamber  112  holds a liquid. This inner housing  103  is a container that is air tight in that it does not allow air to come in or escape when it is covered by the cover  117  and the holding well  119 .  
      The air transfer mechanism  105  is coupled to the outside housing  101 . This air transfer mechanism  105  is a typical small air pump that is able to receive air and transfer or pump air through the outer housing opening  107  through the air transfer house  109  and the first inner housing opening  111  into chamber  112 . This air transfer mechanism  105  or air pump is a typical small air pump utilized to pump air into in a container or device. The actual pumping of the air may be accomplished by a person pressing the air transfer mechanism to transfer or pump air into the inner housing  103  and chamber  112  or it may be accomplished by a typical electrical air pump that can be programmed to pump a certain amount of air into the inner housing  103  and chamber  112 .  
      Next to the air transfer mechanism  105  is the air transfer hose  109 , which is located in between the outer housing  101  and the inner housing  103 . Air transfer hose  109  acts as a conduit for air to be transferred from the pump  105  to the chamber  112  of the inner housing  103 . The air transfer hose  109  may be made of any flexible material, such as plastic, paper, cardboard or rubber, which is capable of transferring air from one point to another. The chamber  112  of the inner housing  103  stores a liquid that is inserted and taken out of the chamber  112  when the cover  117 , holding well  119  and slideable flap  215 , slideable flap  217  and slideable flap  219  are opened and closed. Chamber  112  is sealed air tight by an air tight seal  202  ( FIG. 4 ) when it is covered by the cover  117  and the holding well  119 .  
      When air is transferred from air transfer mechanism  105  through the air transfer hose  109  into the chamber  112 ; the liquid in the chamber  112  is forced out through the second inner housing opening  113 . As the liquid is forced out of the chamber  112  through the second inner housing opening  113  the liquid is transferred through the liquid transfer hose  115  into the holding well  119 . The liquid transfer hose  115  is located in between the inner housing  103  and the outer housing  101 . In another embodiment, the liquid transfer hose  115  may be located inside the inner housing  103 . This liquid transfer hose  115  is equivalent to air transfer hose  109 , which may be made of a flexible material, such as plastic, paper, cardboard or rubber. The holding well  119 , which receives the liquid from the transfer hose  115 , is located on a top portion of the inner housing  103  in between the chamber  112 , inner housing  103  and the cover  117 .  
      At this holding well  119 , the liquid from the chamber  112  is held so it can be treated. This liquid can be treated or managed in several ways. First, a person who has pumped the air into chamber  112  to force the liquid into the holding well  119  can open or take off the cover  117  of the cooling system  100  to blow on the liquid to cool it. For example, the person may open cover  117  by rotating knob  209  ( FIG. 3 ) in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction to expand or contract slideable flap  215 , slideable flap  217  and slideable  219 . In another embodiment of the invention, holding well  119  may include a treating structure  121 . This treating structure  121  may be utilized to cool the liquid or it can be utilized to heat the liquid. For example, the treating structure  121  may include a typical refrigerator tray or a cooling area that cools the liquid in the holding well  119 . On the other hand, the treating structure  121  may include a typical heating tray or heating area that heats or warms the liquid in the holding well  119 .  
       FIG. 2  illustrates a side view of a portable cover. This portable cover  200  may be utilized with any type of container or cup that has an opening capable of receiving a cover as in  FIG. 4 . This cover  200  is equivalent to cover  117 , which may be made of glass, plastic, Styrofoam, paper or cardboard. The cover  200  includes a bottom portion  201   a,  middle portion  201   b  and a top portion  201   c.  The middle portion  201   b  includes an air transfer mechanism  201 , an air transfer hose  203 , a first cover opening  204 , a liquid transfer hose  205  and a second cover opening  207 . The air transfer mechanism  201  is attached or coupled to the air transfer hose  203 . The top portion  201   c  includes a knob  209  attached to slideable flap  215 , slideable flap  217  and slideable flap  219  ( FIG. 3A ). The bottom portion  201   a  includes an air tight seal  202 , a holding well  211  and a treating structure  213 . Air transfer mechanism  201  is equivalent to air transfer mechanism  105  described above so a description will not be included herein. Air transfer hose  203  is equivalent to air transfer hose  107  described above so a description will not be recited herein. Liquid transfer hose  205  is similar to liquid transfer hose  115  also described so a description will not be included herein.  
      Referring to  FIG. 4 , the cover  200  is placed on a container  401  capable of receiving this cover. The container  401  is a typical container equivalent to outer housing  103  described above, which includes a liquid. Air transfer mechanism  403  or air pump  403  is equivalent to the air pump  201  of  FIG. 2 , but in this embodiment the air pump  403  is on top of cover  200  instead of being attached to the outer housing  101  ( FIG. 1 ). As the cover  200  is placed on the container  401 , the air tight seal  202  seals the cover  200  onto the container preventing air from coming into or leaving the container  401 . When the cover  200  is placed on the container  401  a person may manually press the air transfer mechanism  403  to transfer air from the air transfer mechanism  403  through the air transfer hose  203 , the first cover opening  204 , the liquid transfer hose  205  (located inside the container  401 ) and the second cover opening  207  ( FIG. 3B ) into the holding well  211 . In another embodiment, the air transfer mechanism  401  may be a typical electrical air pump, which pumps air through the air transfer hose  203  and the first cover opening  204  into the container  401 . When the air enters the container  401  the liquid is forced through the liquid transfer hose  205  into the holding well  211 .  
      At this holding well  211 , the liquid may be treated in several ways. As stated above, a person who has pumped the air to force the liquid into the holding well  211  can open the cover  200  by turning the knob  209 . This knob  209  is mechanically connected to slideable flap  215 , slideable flap  217  and slidable flap  219 , which enables a person to turn the knob  209  in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction to open the cover  200  ( FIG. 3A ), which may be equivalent to cover  117 . The slideable flap  215 , slideable flap  217  and slideable  219  fold onto each other in a horizontal fan like fashion so that as a person turns knob  209  in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction the slideable flaps  215 ,  217  and  219  are expanded so the person can close the cover  200  in order that no liquid can leave the container  401 . On the other hand, a person may turn knob  209  in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction to retract slideable flap  215 , slideable flap  217  and slideable flap  219  so the slideable flaps  215 ,  217  and  219  fold onto each other and the person can blow and drink the liquid in the holding well  211 . The holding well  211  may also include a treating structure  213 . This treating structure  213  is equivalent to the treating structure  121  described above so a description is not disclosed.  
       FIG. 3A  depicts a top view of a cover for the portable cover cooling system of  FIG. 2 . In this view of the cover  200 , the knob  209 , slideable flap  215 , slideable flap  217  and slideable flap  219  are shown. The slideable flaps  215 ,  217 ,  219  are placed above each other where they can fully expand to close the cover  200  or these slideable flaps  215 ,  217  and  219  may be retracted to open the cover  200 . Also, cover  200  encapsulates the inner housing  103  and outer housing  101 . Further, cover  200  has a circular shape, but it can also have a typical cover shape, such as a rectangular shape or triangular shape used to cover a container.  FIG. 3B  illustrates the first cover opening  204  and the second cover opening  207  of cover  200 .  
       FIG. 5  is a flow chart that depicts a method of how the cup cooling system is utilized. At block  501 , a person utilizes the air transfer mechanism  105  to pump air through the air transfer hose  107 , first opening  111  into the chamber  112  of the inner housing  103  ( FIG. 1 ). This chamber  112  includes a liquid, such as coffee, water, tea, soft drink or any type of beverage. In another embodiment, the air transfer mechanism  105  may be a typical electrical air transfer mechanism  105  or electrical air pump. This air may be transferred or pumped by the air transfer mechanism  105  into the chamber  112  by manually pressing air transfer mechanism  105  or electronically pumping the air at any rate, such as a rate of approximately 1 pounds square inch per second. In yet another embodiment of the invention, a person may tilt the cup cooling system  100  by 30 to 50 degrees to force the liquid from the inner housing  103  into the holding well  119  where it can be treated.  
      At block  503 , as the air is transferred through the air transfer hose  109  into the chamber  112  the air forces the liquid through the second opening  113  of the inner housing  103 . When the liquid leaves the chamber  112  of the inner housing  103 , this liquid, at block  505 , travels through the liquid transfer hose  115  into the holding well  119 . At block  507 , the liquid at the holding well  119  will be treated in several ways. First, a person who has pumped the air to force the liquid into the holding well can open or take of the cover  117  off the cooling system  100  to blow on the liquid to cool it. For example, the person may turn the knob  209  in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction ( FIG. 2 ) to retract or expand slideable flap  215 , slideable flap  217  and slideable flap  219  so the person can open cover  117  to show the liquid in the holding well  119 , which the person can blow on to cool the liquid. In another embodiment of the invention, holding well  119  may include a treating structure  121  ( FIG. 1 ). This treating structure  121  may be utilized to cool the liquid or it can be utilized to heat the liquid. For example, the treating structure  121  may include a typical refrigerator tray that cools the liquid in the holding well  119 . On the other hand, the treating structure  121  may include a heating tray that warms the liquid in the holding well  119 .  
      At block  509 , the user determines if he wants to keep adding more liquid into the holding well  119  to be treated as stated above. If the user decides that he wants to keep adding liquid and he wants to treat the liquid, then the process returns to step  501 . If the user decides that he wants to stop treating the liquid then the process ends.  
       FIG. 6  is a flow chart that depicts a method of how the portable cover cooling system is utilized. At block  601 , a person utilizes the air transfer mechanism  403  to pump air through the air transfer hose  203 , first cover opening  204  into the container  401  ( FIG. 4 ). This container  401  includes a liquid. In another embodiment, the air transfer mechanism  403  may be a typical electrical air transfer mechanism or electrical air pump. This air may be pumped into the container  401  manually by pressing air transfer mechanism  403  or electronically pumped at any rate, for example it may be transferred into the container at rate of approximately 1 pounds square inch per second. In yet another embodiment of the invention, a person may tilt the container  401  by 30 to 50 degrees to force the liquid from the container  401  into the holding well  211  where it can be treated.  
      At block  603 , as the air is transferred through the air transfer hose  203  into the container  401  the air forces the liquid at block  605  through liquid transfer hose  205  into the holding well  211 . At block  607 , the liquid at the holding well  211  will be treated or managed in several ways. First, a person who has transferred or pumped the air into container  401  to force the liquid into the holding well  211  can open or take off the cover  200  to blow on the liquid to cool it. For example, the person may turn the knob  209  in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction to retract or expand slideable flap  215 , slideable flap  217  and slideable flap  219  so the person can open cover  200  to show the liquid in the holding well  211 , which the person can blow on to cool the liquid. In another embodiment of the invention, holding well  211  may include a treating structure  213 . This treating structure  213  may be utilized to cool the liquid or it can be utilized to heat the liquid. For example, the treating structure  213  may include a typical refrigerator tray that cools the liquid in the holding well  211 . On the other hand, the treating structure  213  may include a heating tray that warms the liquid in the holding well  211 .  
      At block  609 , the user determines if he wants to keep adding more liquid into the holding well  211  to be treated as stated above. If the user decides that he wants to keep adding liquid and he wants to treat the liquid, then the process returns to step  601 . If the user decides that he wants to stop treating the liquid then the process ends.  
      This invention provides a user with a simple means to manually or electronically cool or warm up a liquid in a container. The user is able to pump air into the container holding the liquid to force the air into a holding well where the user can treat a small amount of fluid by cooling it or heating it up to quickly treat this liquid. By treating small amounts of liquid the user can quickly and more readily cool or heat the liquid, then enjoy the liquid without being mistakenly burned or otherwise injured by the liquid.  
      It is intended that the foregoing detailed description be regarded as illustrative rather than limiting and that it be understood that it is the following claims, including all equivalents, which are intended to define the scope of the invention.