Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Packaged or wrapped product – Having consumer oriented diverse utility
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-16
2001-05-01
Cano, Milton (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Packaged or wrapped product
Having consumer oriented diverse utility
C426S250000, C222S144000, C222S153100, C222S520000, C206S221000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06224922
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a drink colorizer, and particularly to a self-contained drink colorizing system having a selective color-dispensing multiple reservoir and a rotatably and linearly movable lockable selecting and dispensing valve.
2. Description of the Related Art
Coloring of drinks is known. Various colored drinks, and various colored drink mixes, are widely marketed
There are, however, no self-contained drink coloring systems having a self-contained selective color-dispensing multiple reservoir.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is a specialty beverage container with a multiple colorant reservoir built into the cap. The colorant reservoir has a number of colorant chambers, much like the sections of an orange, opening into a central cylindrical tube, which is open into the main chamber of the beverage container (bottle). The consumer purchases a bottle filled with a neutral drink and with a colorizer cap. The consumer then proceeds to unlock the colorizer cap, select a colorant, and add colorant or colorants to achieve the desired color. The consumer may then discard the colorant valve mechanism (or the entire colorizer cap) and drink the beverage colored to his specifications.
The central cylinder has controlled inner diameter, into which each of the several colorant chambers opens through a small valve opening. All the valve openings are normally sealed by a colorant-selection valve tube which closely fits the controlled inner diameter. The valve tube is sealed at the top, open at the bottom, and has a single opening aligned for connecting to the individual colorant chambers of the reservoir when pulled up into operating position. When the valve tube is pushed down, into its normal position for shipping, it seals all the colorant chambers. It is locked into sealing position by a pull tab, which serves both as a lock and as a tamper-indicator. When unlocked, the valve tube is pulled up into operating position, and rotated so that the valve tube opening aligns with a selected colorant chamber. The valve connection is sufficiently restricted to feed colorant slowly, drop by drop, so that the colorization may be easily controlled. The valve may be rotated again and again, to align with additional colorant chambers, to provide the selected color.
The object of the invention is to make an inexpensive, attractive, single-use self-contained colorizer for a beverage.
A feature of the invention is the placement of multiple colorant chambers in a colorizer cap, which colorizer cap has a locked colorant-selection valve which also serves as a permanent seal until unlocked.
An advantage of the invention is that it allows easy selection of the exact color desired.
Another advantage is its educational value in showing how colors are combined to form additional colors. Red and yellow, for example, yield orange.
Still another advantage is that the colorant chambers are typically sealed at atmospheric pressures, and may have a shelf life span great enough to permit the bottler to keep a significant inventory of colorizer caps prior to filling the bottles with the beverage liquid. The beverage liquid, which may vary in pressure as a function of temperature, may be carbonated under slight pressure, or may be compressed by being squeezed, without affecting the colorants which are separately sealed.
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Cano Milton
Dauerman Sherry A.
Kling Carl C.
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