US1248705A - Container for drinking-water. - Google Patents

Description

V .G. D. POGUE'. v CONTAINER FOR DRINKING WATER. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 26. I9I6.

' 1 mm Dec. I, 191?? GEORGE D. POGUE, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

CONTAINER Foa nnmknvawnrnn.

Application filed October 26, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE D. 'Poeun, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Containers for Drinking-Water, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to water bottles of the type that are used for delivering spring water or distilled water to a consumer and for supplying the water to a water cooler, the type of bottle that is now in general use for this purpose being usually of about five gallons capacity and provided with a neck of conventional form that can be inserted in an opening in the water cooler when the bottle is arranged in an inverted position.

The neck of the bottle furnishes a convenient means for carrying or handling the bottle, and when the bottle is arranged in operative position on the cooler, the neck comes in direct contact with the water in the water compartment of the cooler. If the neck of the bottle is coated with filth or germs, as usually occurs, due to the fact that the neck is grasped by the hand of the person carrying the bottle, filth or germs enter the water in the cooler into which the neck of the bottle projects. Furthermore, the outer surface of the bottle usually collects more or less dust and dirt when the bottle is in storage, and while it is in transit from the filling station to the consumer, and

if the bottle is taken into a warm room while the bottle and contents are cold the moisture in the room condenses on the outer surface of the bottle and runs down same, thus carrying the particles of dust and dirt on the bottle into the water compartment of the cooler through the opening in the cooler that receives the neck of the bottle. The result is, that the real object in purchasing pure drinking water is, in most cases, defeated, the consumer who is willing to pay an extra price to procure pure drinking water frequently getting water that contains more bacteria and impurities than the water in the supply mains of the city water distributing system.

The main object of my invention is to provide a sanitary container for drinking water, which is so constructed that there is n po ibility of the Water the Water Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dee. a 1917. Serial No. 127,820.

compartment of the cooler with which the container is used becoming polluted by dirt or germs on the exterior of the container.

Another object is to provide a container for the purpose described that comprises an eflicient means for protecting the contents of same against contamination while the container is in storage or in transit and when the container is being arranged in operative position on the water dispensing device with which it is used.

Another object is to provide a water bottle that can be inverted and arranged in operative position on a water cooler or similar device without liability of spilling or wasting the water in the bottle.

And still another object is to provide a water cooler that is equipped with means for automatically releasing the water in a sealed water bottle that is being arranged in operative position on the cooler. Other objects and desirable features of my invention will be hereinafter pointed out.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a vertical sectional view of a water cooler provided with a sanitary water container constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical. sectional view of the neck portion of the container.

Fig. 3 is a similar view, illustrating a slight modification of my invention.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the piercing device on the water cooler that breaks the seal of the container when the container is being arranged in operative position; and

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view, illustrating a slight modification of my invention.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate the preferred form of my invention, A designates the casing or shell of a water cooler, and B designates a tubular-shaped member that is arranged inside of said casing in an upright position, so as to divide the interior of same into a water compartment 1 and an ice compartment 2 that surrounds said water compartment, the upper end of the ice compartment-being normally closed by a removable cover C provided with a center opening that is adapted to receive the'neck portion of a water bottle D arranged in an inverted position. The cooler is equipped with a water faucet 3 for controlling the discharge of the water from the water compartment 1 and with an overflow pipe & through which the water produced by the melting of the ice in the ice compartment 2 can escape.

The neck portion of the bottle D is so constructed that when the bottle is arranged in operative position on the cooler, as shown in Fig. 1, the water in the water compartment 1 of the cooler will not contact with the outer surface of the neck portion of said bottle, thereby preventing the water in the water compartment of the cooler from being polluted by dirt or germs on the exterior of the bottle D. In the preferred form of my invention as herein shown the bottle D is provided with a relatively thick neck portion 00 that has an annular groove g formed in the end of same, so as to receive the upper end of the tubularmember B of the cooler when the bottle D is arranged in operative position on the cooler, thus forming a double wall neck whose inner part 5 lies inside of the tubular member B of the cooler that forms the water compartment 1 and whose outer part 6 lies outside of the member B within the ice compartment 2 of the cooler.

After the bottle D has been filled, it is sealed by a sealing cap 7 that fits snugly over the inner part 5 of the double wall neck, said sealing cap being retained in position by an annular member 8, preferably a gasket of rubber or some other suitable material, that is pressed into the groove 3/ in the neck portion w, so as to force a flange 7 at the inner end of the sealing cap tightly against the end wall of the groove y and also cause said cap to snugly embrace the part 5 of the neck. The sealing cap 7 is preferably formed of paper or some other suitable material that can be punctured easily, and in order to protect said sealing cap while the bottle is in storage and in transit, a removable cover or cap 9 formed of metal or any other suitable material is mounted on the outer portion 6 of the neck, the removable cover 9 of the bottle herein shownconsisting of a flanged cap that is screwed onto the outer portion 6 ofthe neck of the bottle. The cover 9 is removed before the bottle is arranged in operative position on the cooler, but the sealing cap 7 is left intact so as to prevent the contents of the bottle from being contaminated during the operation of arranging the bottle in operatlve position on the cooler.

Incidentally, the sealing cap 7 prevents the contents of the bottle from spilling out of same during the operation of inverting the bottle and introducing the neck portion of same into the opening in the cooler that receives said neck portion.

The cooler is provided with means for releasing the water in the bottle D after the neck portion'of the bottle has been intro duced into the opening in the cover C of the cooler, and while various means may be employed for this purpose, I prefer to equip the cooler with a piercing device 10 arranged inside of the tubular member B of the cooler in such a manner that it will pierce or break the sealing cap 7 of the bottle during the operation of introducing the neck portion into the opening provided for same in the cooler, said piercing device 10 consisting of a sharppointcd member of substantially U shape in cross section that is arranged in an upright position at the center of the member B, with its upper end projecting slightly above the upper end of the member B. If desired, the opening in the cover C of the cooler that receives the neck portion of the bottle may be provided with a gasket 11, of rubber or other suitable material, so as to form a supporting surface for the bottle that is more or less resilient.

While I prefer to provide the bottle with an integral neck portion 0; having an annular groove y formed in the end of same. l do not wish it to be understood that my invention is limited to a bottle having a double wall neck, both parts of which are intogrally connected to the body portion of the bottle, for, if desired, an ordinary water bottle can be converted into a bottle having the desirable characteristics of my invention, by simply arranging a sleeve or open-ended, tubular-shaped member 12 over the neck 13 of the bottle, as shown in Fig. 3, and securing said sleeve in position in any suitable manner, as, for instance, by pouring cement 14 between said parts, so as to form an annular key that cooperates with a lip 13 on the neck of the bottle and with an annular rib 12 on the inner side of the sleeve 12 to securely lock said sleeve in position, there by forming a double wall neck on the bottle whose inner and outer portions project into the water compartment 1 and ice compartment 2, respectively, of the water cooler when the bottle is arranged in operative position.

A bottle of the construction above described eliminates the possibility of dirt or germs on the exterior of the bottle entering the water compartment 1 of the cooler, owing to the fact that the portion 5 on the neck of the bottle that comes in contact with the water in the water compartment 1 of the cooler is incased in a sealing cap 7 that remains intact until after the neck portion of the bottle has been introduced into the open ing provided for same in the water cooler. The neck portion of the bottle can be grasped by the person carrying or handling the bottle in the same manner as a bottle of the type now in general use, but it will be impossible for any dirt or germs that collect on the outer surface of the neck portion to enter the Water compartment 1 of the cooler, owing to the fact that the outer part 6 of the neck lies outside of the tubularshaped member B of the cooler and projects into the ice compartment 2. It is also immaterial whether the outer surface of the body portion of the bottle is coated with dust or dirt, for any condensed moisture on the outer surface of the bottle that runs down same through the opening in the cover C of the cooler will enter the ice compartment 2 of the cooler. The sealing cap 7 not only protects the contents of the bottle against contamination, While the bottle is in storage or in transit and while it is being arranged in operative position on the cooler, but said cap also prevents the water from spilling out of the bottle during the operation of inverting the bottle and arranging it on the cooler. It is, of course, immaterial, so far as my broad idea is concerned, what means is employed for sealing the bottle, but when the bottle is sealed by means of a cap that is retained in position by a resilient gasket positioned in the groove in the neck portion of the bottle, said gasket cooperates with the upper edge of the tubular shaped member of the cooler to form a reasonably tight joint for the water compar ment 1, and also tends to prevent the neck portion of the bottle, which is preferably formed of glass, from being injured by the tubular member B of the cooler that projects into the annular groove in said neck portion.

While I prefer to provide the cooler with a stationary piercing device that breaks the seal on the bottle and thus automatically releases the water in the bottle, during the operation of arranging the bottle on the cooler, the cooler could be provided with-a manually-operable piercing device 10", as shown in Fig. 5, consisting of a piercing device reciprocatingly mounted in a stuffing box in the lower part of the cooler and combined with a spring 10 that normally holds said device retracted. After the bottle has been positioned on the cooler, the device 1O can be forced upwardly to break the seal on the bottle.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is:

l. A water container, consisting of a bottle whose neck portion is provided in its end with a groove for the purpose described, a readily puncturable sealing cap arranged over the opening in the neck, and means in said groove separate and distinct from said cap that holds said cap in position.

2. A water container, consisting of a bottle having a neck provided with two spaced portions arranged one within the other, the outer portion being a'trifle larger than the inner portion, a puncturable sealing cap arranged over the inner portion of the neck and projecting into the space between said portions, a means separate and distinct from said cap and arranged between thespaced portions on the neck of the bottle for retaining the cap in position, and a removable closure mounted on the outer portion of the neck and arranged over the sealing cap for protecting said sealing cap when the container is in storage or in transit.

3. A water container, consisting of a bottle whose neck portion has a groove formed in the end of same, a puncturable sealing cap arranged over the portion of the neck that forms the inner wall of said groove, and a gasket of suitable material arranged in said groove so as to hold said sealing cap in position and also protect the neck of the bottle against injury by the member that projects into said groove when the bottle is arranged in operative position on a water dispensing device.

a. A water container, consisting of a bottle provided. with a neck, an open-ended, tubular-shaped member surrounding said neck and spaced away therefrom so as to form an annular groove that is adapted to receive a part through which water escapes from the bottle and means for securing said member to the neck of the bottle without obstructing said groove.

5. A water container, consisting of a bottle having a neck provided with a lip, an open-ended, tubular-shaped member ar ranged over said neck and spaced away therefrom so as .to form an annular groove that is adapted to receive a part through which water escapes from the bottle, and means arranged between the lip on said neck and a portion on the inner side of said tubular-shaped member so as to secure said member in position without obstructing said groove.

6. A water dispensing device, consisting of a casing whose interior is divided into a central water compartment and an ice compartment by means of a vertically-disposed, tubular-shaped member, and a water bottle arranged in an inverted position in an opening in the top wall of said casing and provided with a neck which is so formed that any moisture which flows down the outer surface of the neck will enter the interior of the ice compartment in the casing.

ing, a water bottle arranged in an inverted position withits neck projecting into said opening, said neck having two spaced portions arranged one within the other, a tubular-shaped member in the cooler that projects into the space between the two portions ofsaid neck, and a puncturing device on said cooler that projects into the discharge opening in the neck of the bottle when the bottle is arranged in operative 7 position.

9. A water dispensing device provided with a vertically-disposed, tubular-shaped member that constitutes a water compartment, an inverted water bottle provided with a neck that has an inner portion that lies within said member and an outer portion that surrounds said member, and a puncturing device that projects into the discharge opening in the neck of the bottle and thus breaks the seal for said opening when the bottle is being arranged in operative position on said member.

10. A water dispensing device, consisting of a water cooler provided with a water compartment and with an ice compartment that surrounds said water compartment, a water bottle arranged in an inverted position on said cooler and provided with a neck that has two spaced portions which lie on opposite sides of a dividing wall between the two compartments of the cooler, and means on said cooler that automatically breaks the seal on said bottle and thus releases the contents of same during the operation of arranging the bottle in operative position on said cooler.

11. A water-dispensing device, consisting of a water cooler provided with a member that is adapted to hold water, a water bottle arranged in an inverted position and having a neck provided with a discharge portion that projects into said member and a portion that surrounds said discharge portion and lies outside of said member, a seal arranged over the discharge portion of said neck that comes in contact with the water in said member, and means for breaking said seal.

GEORGE D. FOG-Uh].

Copies .of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

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