Refrigeration – Withdrawable liquid – e.g. – dispenser – In indirect heat exchanging relationship to coolant
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-14
2001-05-15
Buiz, Michael (Department: 3744)
Refrigeration
Withdrawable liquid, e.g., dispenser
In indirect heat exchanging relationship to coolant
C062S390000, C062S398000, C222S146600
Reexamination Certificate
active
06230513
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns apparatus for cooling drinking water and dispensing a large volume of said cooled water to a number of individuals simultaneously.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the course of athletic competition, particularly outdoors on hot days, players need to drink a cooled beverage to avoid dehydration and help cool the body. In certain sports such as soccer, football and lacrosse, the number of participants is large. Therefore, the volume of beverage needed at the sites where these events occur is also large. The most universally accepted cold beverage is water, and the dispenser should be sufficiently portable to be taken out to the field to service the players.
Numerous portable devices have been disclosed for cooling beverages. Such devices generally employ a thermally insulated container which holds ice. In the simplest of such devices cooler chests are employed wherein bottles or cans of beverages are stored in contact with ice cubes and are removed as needed by way of a closure lid. In other devices, a coiled tube is disposed within a compartment filled with ice, preferably in cube or crushed form, and water is run through the tube toward a dispensing extremity. Such construction is shown for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,356 to DeLau wherein water is caused to flow by gravity from a top reservoir through a cooling coil to a lower spigot. The DeLau cooler unit is limited in its capacity by the size of the reservoir. If the reservoir is made larger, the considerable weight of the water compromises the portability of the unit. Also, the low position of the spigot necessitates the use of a table, upon which the cooler would be placed, and cups to receive the cooled water. Other portable cooling devices equipped with coils through which the beverage travels are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,871,675; 4,856,678; 5,350,086; 5,743,107; 5,803,163.
However, such devices in general have limited beverage capacity and lack sufficient portability to be carried or wheeled outdoors to a playing field. Also, the dispensers usually service just one player at a time, and necessitate the inconvenience of having to use drinking cups.
In order to permit multiple dispensing ports while obviating the need for drinking cups, portable water coolers have been disclosed having flexible drinking spouts disposed above the cooling chamber. However, such units require pumped pressurization to drive the water to heights above the cooling chamber. Such pressuization, when achieved by a hand-operated pump causes the dispenser to be difficult to use. When a battery-operated pump is employed, the dispenser becomes expensive and problematic. The battery must be frequently re-charged, and both the battery and pumping mechanism are subject to failure. Furthermore, the pressurization mechanism, often associated with an upper lid of the cooling compartment, causes difficulties in adding fresh ice to the cooling compartment. In general, most prior water coolers intended for semi-portable outdoor use have a limited capacity, requiring manual addition of drinking water.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a water cooler having an unlimited water supply while still being sufficiently portable to permit movement onto a playing field.
It is another object of this invention to provide a water cooler as in the foregoing object which can service several drinkers at the same time.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a water cooler of the aforesaid nature which dispenses cooled water without the need for a drinking cup to receive and drink the dispensed water.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a water cooler of the aforesaid nature which permits easy ice replacement.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a water cooler of the aforesaid nature which enables the ice to efficiently cool the water.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a water cooler of the aforesaid nature of lightweight, durable construction amenable to low cost manufacture.
These objects and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The above and other beneficial objects and advantages are accomplished in accordance with the present invention by a portable water cooler comprising:
a) a thermally insulated container comprised of a circular cylindrical sidewall, a flat bottom panel integral with said sidewall and defining therewith an interior region, a removable circular top cover having a center first aperture, and a second aperture disposed in said sidewall adjacent said bottom panel and equipped with an exterior fluid coupling fitting,
b) a length of tubing disposed within said container and shaped in part as a uniform spiral coil that lies closely adjacent said sidewall, said tubing having an entrance extremity that communicates with said second aperture, and an exit extremity located within said interior region adjacent said top cover,
c) an interior length of flexible hose extending in leak proof joinder between said exit extremity and said first aperture,
d) a multi-port fluid diverting fixture associated with said first aperture,
e) an exterior length of flexible hose coupled to each port of said fixture and terminating in a distal extremity,
f) a spout attached to each distal extremity and comprised of a squeeze-controlled valve and associated discharge nozzle, and a cup-shaped spacer disposed upon said nozzle in a manner to prevent lip contact of the nozzle by the drinker,
g) a service bracket attached to said top cover and extending upwardly therefrom in an inverted U-shape configuration, and
h) holder means disposed upon said bracket for securing said spouts and permitting slidable upward deployment of said exterior lengths of flexible hose.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2871675 (1959-02-01), Cornelius
patent: 3865276 (1975-02-01), Thompson
patent: 4407356 (1983-10-01), DeLau
patent: 4462220 (1984-07-01), Lannelli
patent: 4491244 (1985-01-01), Yanes
patent: 4856678 (1989-08-01), Stanfill et al.
patent: 5129552 (1992-07-01), Painchaud et al.
patent: 5226296 (1993-07-01), Kolvites et al.
patent: 5350086 (1994-09-01), Martin et al.
patent: 5743107 (1998-04-01), Kyees
patent: 5803163 (1998-09-01), Goulet
patent: 6105825 (2000-08-01), Gomi et al.
Buiz Michael
Jiang Chen-Wen
Rainer Norman B.
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