Patent Document

RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/161,251, filed Jul. 28, 2005, which in turn claims priority to Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/593,676, filed on Feb. 4, 2005, the complete disclosures of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     In the past few years bottled water has become common place. The public has shown that it is willing to purchase water for the convenience and purity of the bottled water. Bottled water is perceived to be relatively free of contaminants and can be placed in coolers, refrigerators, etc. and allow consumers to drink cold clean water almost everywhere without relying on the often dirty warm drinking fountains of the past. This seems to represent a shift in the public&#39;s attitude towards purchasing something that has traditionally been thought of as “free.” 
         [0003]     Additionally, because of pollution, people living in big cities such as Tokyo and San Francisco, some people are breathing pure oxygen in “oxygen bars” where consumers typically inhale oxygen often mixed with a scent for a per minute fee. Users claim that they feel refreshed and invigorated after inhaling the oxygen. Because of the systems used to produce the oxygen can often produce contaminants and the addition of some scents can introduce dangerous bacterium into the lungs of a user, there have been some serious health concerns raised associated with the use of such oxygen bars. Also, in order to benefit from breathing the oxygen, the consumer must visit the bar. There is a need for safe, pure and convenient access to pure oxygen without the dangers or inconvenience associated with visiting an oxygen bar. Of course it is possible to obtain breathable oxygen with a doctor&#39;s prescription, this is both impractical for the majority of consumers who just want to benefit from conveniently being able to breath pure oxygen at their pleasure without the bulk of conventional breathable oxygen cylinders. Additionally, doctors will only give a prescription for oxygen to patients who need them for diseases such as emphysema, etc. This does not help those who want to breathe pure oxygen for personal reasons.  
         [0004]     There is a need for a clean, inexpensive and safe way to dispense water and oxygen to the general public in order to meet a need for clean water and air.  
         [0005]     Other features and advantages of the instant invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention which refers to the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0006]      FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0007]      FIG. 2  shows a partial sectional view of an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0008]      FIG. 3  shows a side view of another embodiment of the invention.  
         [0009]      FIG. 4  is a perspective sectional view of an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0010]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view depicting a feature of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011]     Referring to  FIGS. 1, 2  and  5 , a bottle (shown generally as  100 ) is shown having a valve  102  and a mask  104 . The mask  104  has a cut out portion  112  that fits over a user&#39;s nose (not shown) when used to inhale oxygen. The bottle  100  consists of a water bottle  106  with an air bottle  110  partially disposed within water bottle  106  and contained within a sleeve  108 . Sleeve  108  may completely surround both water bottle  106  and air bottle  110  or may only partially surround the bottles. Sleeve  108  helps hold air bottle  110  in place and gives extra structural support to bottle  100 . Sleeve  108  is made of a suitable insulative material as is known in the art to provide insulative qualities to bottle  100  to help keep water cool. Mask  104  also functions as a protective cover for bottle  100  and conceals both water bottle cap  206  and oxygen nozzle  204 . Oxygen nozzle  204  has a valve assembly  202  that allows oxygen to flow when valve  102  is fitted into nozzle  204  and depressed. In use, mask  104  is removed form bottle  100  and valve  102  is placed against nozzle  204 . This places mask  104  in a generally horizontal orientation allowing a user to comfortably place mask  104  against face (not shown) and by pressing down on valve  102  oxygen is released allowing user to inhale oxygen. The oxygen stops flowing when valve  102  is released. Any appropriate valve structure will work as is know in the art. A biasing spring (not shown) may be used to provide a normally closed valve function. Mask  104  may be removed from nozzle  204  and used to cover bottle  100  for later use. Mask  104  may remain in place while a user removes water bottle cap  206  and drinks from the water bottle  106  or the user may temporarily remove mask  104  while drinking. Oxygen bottle  110  is ideally pressurized at a level that remains safe in the unlikely event of structural failure. Although many materials would be acceptable, PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) Plastics are generally best for this application because PET plastics are clear, tough and are a good barrier to gas and moisture. PET plastics also have very good heat characteristics. A typical PET bottle is designed to withstand pressure of up to 150 psi. The present invention uses oxygen at a pressure well below 150 psi providing a very reliable safety margin. A typical 2 liter carbonated soft drink is pressurized at approximately 35 psi at 45 degrees F.  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  illustrates another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment a bottle  300  also contains a water bottle  304  and an oxygen bottle  306 , however the inner bottles are linearly arranged in a vertical orientation. In this embodiment, oxygen breathing mask  314  forms a natural base for bottle  300 . An upper portion  350  of bottle  300  is a water bottle  302  which holds water  304  for drinking. Water  304  may be purified, spring, fortified with trace minerals, distilled, etc. as is common in the art. In other embodiments, other liquids such as soda, tea, milk or other liquid beverages may be contained by upper portion  350 . A lower portion  360  of bottle  300  contains an oxygen bottle  306  which contains pressurized oxygen  324  suitable for breathing. Water bottle  302  has a conventional cap  326  used to access water  304 . Again, PET plastic is used in this embodiment. A sleeve  320  extends below upper portion  350  of bottle  300  and forms a hollow space which holds oxygen bottle  306 . Mask portion  314  has a corresponding sleeve  318  that press fits into upper sleeve  320  to provide a friction fit while allowing movement between the two sleeves.  
         [0013]     Like the previous embodiment, mask  314  has a nose cutout portion  316  that allows a user to comfortably press mask  314  against the face (not shown) and breath in oxygen. Mask  314  is connected to oxygen bottle  306  by a valve  310 . Valve  310  includes a central portion  322  that is connected to mask  314 . A spring  312  biases center portion to close against a seal  308  such as an O-ring or other sealing means as is known in the art. In use, a user ensures that cap  326  is secure and turns bottle  300  over and presses mask  314  gently allowing oxygen  324  to enter mask  314 . As the user stops pressing mask  314  against water bottle  302 , oxygen  324  stops flowing and the user is free to drink conventionally from bottle  300 .  
         [0014]     In another embodiment, mask  314  includes a hinged sanitary cover (not shown) that covers a bottom section of mask  314  so that foreign matter will not contaminate mask  314  when bottle  300  is set down on an unclean surface. In use, a user would simply flip open the hinged cover (not shown) when breathing oxygen and then close it before setting it back down on a surface. Mask  314  may be made of any suitable material such as rubber or flexible plastic.  
         [0015]     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , a bottle  400  is shown having two oxygen spheres  412  centrally disposed within a water bottle  414 . Oxygen spheres  412  are made from any suitable material but again PET plastic is particularly well suited for this application. Although two spheres  412  are shown, other embodiments such as one, three spheres or even a radial arrangement of cylindrical oxygen cells (not shown) would be possible. Bottle  400  has a mask  402  for breathing oxygen. A user places mouth and nose against mask  402  and presses to start the flow of oxygen. The oxygen is controlled using a valve  422  that is biased with a spring  406 . A stepped plunger  408  is provided to control the oxygen flow as it enters mask  402 . Any suitable valve structure such as a needle valve or ball valve as is well known in the art could be used to control the flow of oxygen. Valve  422  is enclosed by a PET plastic cone  410  and includes threads  424  which fit into threaded cap  404 . Water bottle  414  includes a water outlet  420  secured with a threaded cap  418 .  
         [0016]     Although the instant invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art.

Technology Category: 1