Patent ID: 8827115

Claim:
A household, liquid storage device that is improved by modifying said device to also measure and dispense user-selected, specific volumes of said stored liquid, said device of the type having a container that has a top, open end, a closed, bottom end and a cylindrical interior wall that connects said ends, a lid that is attached to and covers said open end, and a longitudinal axis extending between said ends, the improvements to said device comprising: a liquid dispensing orifice situated in the bottom end and on the longitudinal axis of said container, a multi-part, threaded rod combination having top and bottom ends, and a cylindrical outer surface that extends between said ends, said threaded rod combination being rotatably mounted on the longitudinal axis of said container so that the bottom end of said threaded rod combination extends through said liquid dispensing orifice and the top end of said threaded rod combination is detachably connected to said lid, a disc diaphragm having top and bottom surfaces, a cylindrical outer rim surface, and a center orifice that extends between said top and bottom surfaces and though which said threaded rod combination passes and about which said diaphragm is mounted perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said container, wherein said diaphragm having a configuration adapted to attach said diaphragm to said threaded rod combination in such a manner that a user of said device can by the rotation of said threaded rod combination move said diaphragm up and down on said container longitudinal axis so as to situate said diaphragm at a user selected height above the bottom end of said container so that the volume of liquid below said diaphragm is equivalent to that of the liquid which said user has selected to dispense, and wherein said threaded rod combination having a configuration adapted to, by the upward movement for a specified distance of one of said parts of said multi-part, threaded rod combination: (a) provide a temporary airflow passage though said threaded rod combination that allows air from the ambient environment surrounding the bottom end of said threaded rod combination to enter said threaded rod combination and flow through said threaded rod combination to enter a region of said container that is above the level of the liquid in said container, and (b) cause said liquid dispensing orifice to go from a first state in which said orifice is plugged to a second state in which said orifice is unplugged so as to allow a user-selected and measured volume of liquid to be dispensed.