Dispensing – With plural openings or discharge guides
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-06
2001-11-20
Shaver, Kevin (Department: 3754)
Dispensing
With plural openings or discharge guides
C222S481500, C222S488000, C222S529000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06318604
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns a spout for use with a liquid container to provide a liquid dispenser, such as a gasoline jug, and which inhibits spillage of liquid due to overflow of the liquid during filing of a receiving tank. More particularly, it concerns a spout which may be readily attached to a liquid container and is manually controllable as well as automatically inhibiting overflow by cutting off the inflow of air once the receiving tank is filled.
2. Description of the Prior Art
While conventional pour spouts are available and in use by consumers for dispensing petroleum products such as oil and kerosene into gasoline tanks of lawn mowers and similar equipment, increasing attention is being focused on the use of spouts which inhibit spillage. Areas with air pollution problems are looking for ways to reduce to release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the atmosphere. When a container, such as a gasoline jug, is used to pour gasoline into the fuel tank of an engine, it is common for the user to overfill the tank. The spilled fuel represents not only a fire hazard and may damage plant life, but also represents an undesired source for the release of organic vapors which pollute the atmosphere.
One partial solution is shown in my previous U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,746,036 and 4,834,270. These patents show an example of the use of a remotely operated spout where the operator can virtually instantaneously stop the flow of liquid from a tank. This same concept is shown in the separate spout shown in the drawings and labeled “prior art”. This spout is currently offered on a fuel jug sold by No-Spill Research, Inc. of Stanbury, Mo., and features a push-button operated closure with a detachable extension on the spout. The spout permits the user to simply release the button and stop the flow of fuel. However, in the event the user inadvertently keeps the button depressed after the receiving tank is filled, air can continue to flow into the fuel jug adjacent the button, and fuel thereby continues to flow into the tank.
Other attempts to solve this problem have resulted in spouts which are difficult to operate. In one case, a spout is actuated by shifting a spring-loaded exterior sleeve engageable with the rim of the receiving tank relative to the remainder of the spout and the fuel jug. The force required to overcome the spring is cumbersome and difficult to control, and the application of force may cause the receiving tank or jug to tip and spill the contents. In addition, a preferred spout will resist the escape of vapors during periods of storage. There has thus arisen the need for a simple and effective pouring spout which inhibits spillage, both by limiting the entry of air once the receiving tank is filled and also by providing a manual control to shut off the flow of liquid.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
These and other objects have largely been met by the spill inhibiting spout of the present invention. That is to say, the spout hereof provides both a manual control and a vent control to inhibit undesired overflow of the dispensed liquid from a receiver. The manual control is advantageously spring biased to the closed position and permits one handed operation by the user without the need for shifting the entire spout. The vent control effectively shuts off the flow of air into the spout when the level of liquid in the receiver rises to cover the air intake port. When the spout is fixed in sealing relationship with the container to which it is mounted, the inability to introduce air into the container to replace the volume of the dispensed liquid causes a partial vacuum therein. This in turn slows or stops the flow of liquid out of the spout.
The spout air intake is located on a sidewall of the pouring tube and directs a return flow of air into the container when the manual button is depressed and liquid flows from the spout. Advantageously, the intake port communicates the air into the container through a vent tube and then to a tubular rod which also actuates the stop. The holes which allow the air to move from the rod into the container are located inside the body of the spout only when the discharge button is depressed. This largely prevents dangerous and undesirable venting of fumes when the stop is in the closed position, as there is no outlet for the passage of fumes to the atmosphere. The tubular rod mounts the stop and a conduit at one end and spring and the button adjacent the ports on the other end. The stop is preferably frustoconical in configuration to promote laminar flow of the liquid and provide good sealing engagement with an internal annular seat or rim within the pouring tube.
The spout hereof can be used with virtually any liquid, can be sized for mounting on containers of various sizes and is easily controlled. The operation of the pouring spout is greatly simplified in comparison to other vent limiting spouts, in that the user can simply tip the dispenser, i.e. the container and spout, so that the pouring tube and its air intake port are located in the receiving tank. By depressing the button positioned opposite the pouring tube, liquid is dispensed past the stop, and releasing the button causes corresponding cessation of liquid flow. If the button is retained in a depressed position until the liquid level in the tank rises to a level covering the air intake port on the pouring tube, a partial vacuum is formed within the dispensing container and liquid slows and then stops flowing from the pouring tube.
These and other advantages will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art with reference to the following drawings and description of the preferred embodiment shown therein.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2197352 (1940-04-01), Terkel
patent: 3913611 (1975-10-01), St. John
patent: 4722463 (1988-02-01), Anderson
patent: 4746036 (1988-05-01), Messner
patent: 4834270 (1989-05-01), Messner
patent: 5042698 (1991-08-01), Fessell
patent: 5988458 (1999-11-01), Messner
Hovey Williams Timmons & Collins
Nicolas Frederick
No-Spill Research, Inc.
Shaver Kevin
LandOfFree
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