GB2390358A

GB2390358A - A bottle pourer

Info

Publication number: GB2390358A
Application number: GB0301431A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Peter Carter; Simon Edward Morse
Original assignee: IMI Cornelius Inc
Current assignee: Cornelius Inc
Priority date: 2002-01-22
Filing date: 2003-01-22
Publication date: 2004-01-07
Anticipated expiration: 2023-01-22
Also published as: GB2390358B; GB0301431D0; GB0201348D0

Abstract

A pourer 1 for dispensing a measured volume of liquid from a bottle has a connector 5 with an opening 6 connectable to the bottle. The opening 6 leads to a measuring chamber 2 containing a valve in the form of a lightweight ball 10 arranged to float on the surface of liquid in the measuring chamber 2. The measuring chamber 2 is connected to a dispensing chamber 3 via a valve in the form of a ball 14 biased by gravity to a closed position when the bottle is inverted to transfer liquid into the measuring chamber 2. The ball 10 closes an opening 9 when a measured volume of liquid has been transferred to the measuring chamber 2. The ball 14 is biased by gravity to an open position when the bottle is returned to an upright position to allow the measured volume of liquid to transfer from the measuring chamber 2 to the dispensing chamber 3. The measured volume of liquid is dispensed from the dispensing chamber 3 when the bottle is next inverted. At the same time, a measured volume of liquid is transferred from the bottle to the measuring chamber 2 and is transferred to the dispensing chamber 3 when the bottle is returned to the upright position ready for the next dispense.

Description

A BOTTLE POURER

This invention relates to a pourer for dispensing liquid from a bottle or similar container. In particular, but not exclusively, the invention 5 concerns a pourer for measuring and dispensing a pre-determined volume of liquid from a bottle.

It is known to use an Optic_ to measure and dispense a pre-determined volume of liquid i.e. a shot of alcohol, from a bottle. The known Optics 10 measures include a valve mechanism for dispensing a measured volume of liquid from a chamber into a glass and re-filling the chamber for the next dispense. A common type of valve mechanism closes an outlet from the chamber under a biasing force and is operable by pressing the glass against an actuator to overcome the biasing force and open the outlet.

15 This type of measure is typically employed with a bottle held in an elevated, inverted position at the back of the bar in view of the consumer and within reach of the bar staff. In this way, a measured volume can be dispensed in a simple, reliable manner without the bar staff holding the bottle by using the glass to actuate the valve mechanism.

An Optic_ is not normally employed for dispensing a measured volume from a hand-held bottle and it is common practice for this type of dispense to use a free flowing nozzle in conjunction with a separate measure (shot glass) of a volume equal to the pre-determined volume of 25 liquid to be dispensed. The user e.g. bar staff delivers the pre-

determined volume of liquid into the measure and then transfers the liquid from the measure into a glass. Such method of dispense is liable to human error e.g. inaccurate measurements or spillage that result in the wrong proportion of liquid being dispensed or unnecessary waste.

An object of the present invention is to provide a bottle pourer that mitigates and/or overcomes the disadvantages of the known bottle pourers. 5 According to the present invention there is provided a pourer for connection to a liquid container comprising a dispensing chamber for holding liquid to be dispensed when the pourer is in a first position and for dispensing the liquid contained therein when the pourer is in a second position, and a measuring chamber for measuring a pre-determined 10 volume of liquid from the bottle when the pourer is in the second position and delivering the pre-determined volume of liquid to the dispensing chamber when the pourer is in the first position.

The invention therefore provides a pourer that can be used with a bottle 15 or similar container for hand held pouring which accurately measures and dispenses a pre-determined volume of liquid. Furthermore, the pourer is simple and easy to use.

The first position preferably corresponds to an upright position of the 20 container to which the pourer is attached and the second position corresponds to a pouring position of the container. The terms "upright position " and " pouring position,' are used hereinafter for convenience only and it will be understood that the invention is not limited thereto.

25 Preferably, the pourer further comprises means to control flow of liquid between the measuring chamber and the dispensing chamber. For example, a valve that allows liquid flow from the measuring chamber to the dispensing chamber in the upright position and prevents liquid flow between the measuring chamber and the dispensing chamber in the

pouring position. In this way, the pourer can dispense a volume of liquid at the same time as measuring a volume of liquid for the next dispense.

In a preferred arrangement, the valve comprises a valve seat and a valve 5 member movable under gravity towards and away from the valve seat to open and close the valve according to the orientation of the pourer. For example, the valve member may be arranged to move to an open position away from the valve seat when the pourer is in the upright position and to a closed position engaging the valve seat when the pourer is in the 10 pouring position. In this way, liquid can be transferred from the measuring chamber to the dispensing chamber between dispenses and the measuring chamber is isolated from the dispensing chamber to prevent liquid flowing between the chambers during a dispense.

15 Preferably, the valve member is a ball and means is provided to guide the ball between the open and closed positions. For example, the guide means may comprise a cage for retaining the ball in the open position with apertures allowing liquid to flow freely from the measuring chamber to the dispensing chamber.

Advantageously, the pourer comprises further means to control liquid flow between the container to which the pourer is attached and the measuring chamber. The further liquid flow control means may permit liquid to flow from the bottle into the measuring chamber in the pouring 25 position and prevent or restrict return flow of liquid from the measuring chamber to the bottle in the upright position.

In this way, the measuring chamber can receive a pre-determined volume of liquid from the bottle in the pouring position for transfer to the 30 dispensing chamber in the upright position. In one arrangement the

measuring chamber has a volume substantially the same as the pre-

determined volume of liquid to be dispensed.

In one arrangement, the further liquid flow control means comprises a 5 valve having a valve member arranged to co-operate with a valve seat to seal the measuring chamber from the container when a pre-determined volume of liquid has been dispensed from the container.

Preferably, the valve member is constructed to float in the liquid and the 10 walls of the measuring chamber taper to guide the valve member towards the valve seat as the measuring chamber fills with liquid. For example, the valve member may comprise a float of lightweight food grade plastics material. 15 In a different arrangement the further fluid flow control means comprises a weir arranged such that, in use, fluid can flow over the weir in the pouring position and is prevented from flowing back over the weir in the upright position.

20 Preferably, the pourer further comprises a nozzle having an elongate passageway in fluid communication with the dispensing chamber for directing liquid flow from the chamber during dispense. The passageway preferably extends parallel to the longitudinal axis of the container to which the pourer is attached.

In one arrangement the nozzle comprises a further passageway in fluid communication with the dispensing chamber for air to enter the dispensing nozzle during dispense of liquid. This prevents an air-block and maintains steady liquid flow through the nozzle.

In one arrangement the dispensing chamber has a transparent/translucent wall. This allows the user to visually determine when the dispensing chamber contains liquid.

5 Preferably, the pourer is adapted for fluid-tight connection to the container. For example the pourer have an inlet connector for attaching to an open end of the container. The inlet connector may be a push-fit on the open end of the container and may include a seal such as an O ring. The inlet connector may be suitable for attaching to one size of 10 container. Alternatively, the inlet connector may be capable for selective connection to different sizes of containers.

The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view, partly cut-away for clarity, of a first embodiment of a pourer according to the invention; Figure 2 is a side view of the pourer shown in Figure 1 in an 20 upright position; Figure 3 is a side view of the pourer shown in Figure 1 in a pouring position; 25 Figure 4 is a side view similar to Figure 3 showing the measuring chamber partially full; Figure 5 is a side view similar to Figure 3 showing the measuring chamber full;

Figure 6 is a side view similar to Figure 2 showing the dispensing chamber containing liquid drained from the measuring chamber; Figure 7 is a side view similar to Figure 3 showing the dispensing 5 chamber emptying and the measuring chamber re-filling; and Figure 8 shows a side view of a second embodiment of a pourer according to the invention.

10 Shown in Figures 1 to 7 is a pourer (1) comprising a measuring chamber (2), a dispensing chamber (3), a nozzle (4) extending from the dispensing chamber (3) and a connecting member (5) for connecting the bottle pourer (1) to a bottle (not shown).

15 The connecting member (5) is of cylindrical shape having an opening (6) for accepting a neck of the bottle so the open end of the bottle is in fluid communication with the bottle pourer (I). The connecting member (5) is a push-fit on the neck of the bottle and provides a fluid tight seal between the opening of the bottle and the pourer (1) by being a close fit with the 20 neck of the bottle. It will be understood however that the fluid tight seal may be provided by other means, for example an elastomeric seal such as an O-ring positioned in the wall of the opening (6).

The connecting member (5) leads to the measuring chamber (2) via a 25 tubular elbow channel (7). The chamber (2) is of a pre-determined volume that substantially corresponds to the desired volume of liquid to be dispensed. The wall (8) of the chamber (2) tapers towards an opening (9) at one end of the elbow channel (7).

A ball (10) of spherical shape is provided in the measuring chamber (2).

The ball (10) is made of lightweight food grade material and forms a valve member arranged to float on the surface of liquid contained in the measuring chamber (2) as described later.

The ball (10) has a diameter greater than the diameter of the opening (9).

The tapering wall (8) of the measuring chamber (2) acts to guide the ball (10) towards the opening (9) and, when engaged with the ball (10), seals the opening (9) to prevent liquid flow between the bottle and the 10 measuring chamber (2).

The measuring chamber (2) is in fluid communication with the dispensing chamber (3) through a one-way valve (11). The valve (11) has a valve seat (12) with a circular hole (13) and a valve member in the form of a 15 nonfloating ball (14).

The ball (14) is movable relative to the valve seat (12) under the influence of gravity to open and close the valve (11) for controlling flow of liquid between the measuring chamber (2) and the dispensing chamber (3) as 20 described later. The ball (14) is located and retained for such movement by a cage (15) with openings (16) through which liquid can flow.

The dispensing chamber (3) is in the form of a hemispherical glass bowl (17) secured around the rim to the main body (18) of the pourer (1). The 25 bowl (17) allows the contents of the chamber (3) to be seen by the user and customer. It will be understood, however, that the dispensing chamber (3) may be made of any transparent/translucent material, e.g. clear plastics.

The nozzle (4) has two passageways (19 and 20) extending from the dispensing chamber (3) and terminating in outlet openings (21 and 22).

Passageway (19) is larger that passageway (20) and is arranged for dispensing liquid from the dispensing chamber (3). Passageway (20) 5 allows air to enter the dispensing chamber (3) during dispense to maintain a steady flow of liquid.

Operation of the bottle pourer (1) will now be described in more detail starting from the upright position shown in Figures 1 and 2 with both the 10 measuring chamber (2) and the dispensing chamber (3) empty. In this position, the one-way valve (11) is open and the floating ball (10) is clear of the opening (9).

If the bottle to which the pourer (1) is attached is tipped to the pouring 15 position shown in Figure 3, the ball (14) is displaced under gravity to engage the valve seat (12) and close the one-way valve (11) between the measuring chamber (2) and the dispensing chamber (3). The floating ball (10) is still clear of the opening (9) allowing liquid (23) to pass through the elbow channel (7) into the measuring chamber (2).

The ball (10) floats on the surface of the liquid (23) and, as the measuring chamber (2) fills, the ball (10) is guided by the tapering wall (8) towards the opening (9) that is now at the top of the measuring chamber (2).

Eventually, the ball (10) contacts the wall (8) around the opening (9) to 25 prevent further liquid entering the measuring chamber (2). The measuring chamber (2) now contains a pre-determined volume of liquid (23) that is prevented from flowing into the dispensing chamber (3) by the ball (14) engaging the valve seat (12).

If the bottle is now returned to the upright position, the ball (14) falls under gravity to open the one-way valve (ll) allowing the liquid (23) in the measuring chamber (2) to drain through the opening (13) into the dispensing chamber (3). At the same time, the ball (10) remains in 5 position preventing backflow of liquid (23) from the measuring chamber (2) into the bottle until the level of liquid (23) in the measuring chamber (2) falls below the position of the opening (9). The ball (10) then moves clear of the opening (9) while floating on the surface of the liquid (23) and eventually falls to the bottom of the measuring chamber (2) when all 10 the liquid (23) has been transferred to the dispensing chamber (3) as shown in Figure 5.

The dispensing chamber (3) now contains a measured volume of liquid (23) and the measuring chamber (2) is empty. If the bottle is again tipped 15 to the pouring position, the ball (14) falls under gravity to engage the valve seat (12) to close the one-way valve (11) and prevent back-flow of liquid (23) from the dispensing chamber (3) to the measuring chamber (2). The liquid (23) flows into the larger passageway (19) and flows out of the nozzle (4) through the opening (21) into a glass (not shown) or 20 similar receptacle placed below the nozzle (4). The passageway (20) allows air into the dispensing chamber (3) to replace the liquid (23) and maintain a steady flow of liquid (23) through the nozzle (4).

At the same time the liquid (23) is being dispensed from the dispensing 25 chamber (3), liquid (23) is also dispensed from the bottle into the measuring chamber (2) as described previously. This liquid is prevented from entering the dispensing chamber (3) by the one-way valve (11) that is closed by engagement of the ball (14) with the valve seat (12) under gravity.

At the end of the dispense, when the dispensing chamber (3) is empty, the bottle is returned to the upright position and the ball (14) moves away from the valve seat (12) under gravity to open the one-way valve (11).

The liquid (23) in the measuring chamber (2) can now flow through the 5 opening (13) into the dispensing chamber (3) as described previously and the pourer (1) is re-charged for the next dispense of a measured volume of liquid (23) from the dispensing chamber (3).

The rate at which liquid flows into the measuring chamber (2) is faster 10 than the rate at which liquid is dispensed from the dispensing chamber (3). This ensures that the pre-determined volume of liquid is always measured from the bottle before the tipping action is completed.

As will now be appreciated, the initial tipping action charges the 15 dispensing chamber (3) with a measured volume of liquid (23) for the first dispense. Each subsequent tipping action of the bottle dispenses a measured volume of liquid from the dispensing chamber (3) and measures a further pre-determined volume of liquid (230 into the measuring chamber (2) that is transferred to the dispensing chamber (3) on 20 completion of the tipping action for the next dispense.

The above operation is repeated with each tipping action for dispensing accurately measured volumes of liquid (23) until the bottle is empty. The pourer (1) can then be removed from the bottle and attached to a new 25 bottle for further dispenses of measured volumes of liquid (23) by the same process.

Figure 8 shows a second embodiment having an alternative arrangement for controlling flow of liquid from the bottle to measure a pre-determined 30 volume of liquid into the measuring chamber. For convenience, like

reference numerals in the series (100) are used to indicate parts of the second embodiment corresponding to the first embodiment above-

described. 5 In this embodiment, the floating ball (10) co-operable with the tapering wall (108) of the measuring chamber (102) is omitted and the elbow channel (109) leads to a passageway (170) that forms a weir (171) at the top of the measuring chamber (102) in the upright position.

10 In this way, the measuring chamber (102) fills with liquid when the bottle is tipped to the pouring position and, when the bottle is returned to the upright position, the liquid in the passageway (170) can run back into the bottle leaving the measuring chamber (102) filled with liquid up to the height of the weir (171). The one-way valve (111) is closed by the ball 15 (114) in the pouring position and opens to transfer the measured volume from the measuring chamber (102) to the dispensing chamber (103) in the upright position as described previously.

As will now be appreciated, the invention provides a pourer of simple 20 construction for pouring measured volumes of liquid from a hand-held bottle or similar container to which the pourer is attached in a reliable manner. Thus, the simple action of tipping the bottle between an upright, position and a pouring position is sufficient to dispense a measured volume of liquid.

In this way, the user does not have to actuate manually a trigger mechanism or other complicated mechanism for operating a valve in the manner of an Optic_ to release a measured volume of liquid when using the invented pourer. More particularly, the user only needs one free hand 30 to pick-up a free-standing bottle from the bar or other convenient storage

location to dispense the liquid. The user can therefore use their other hand to pick up and dispense liquid from another bottle into the same glass, for example when making a cocktail, or a different glass, for example when pouring two drinks at the same time.

It will be understood that the invention is not meant to be limited to the above-described embodiment and that various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention. For example, the inlet connector may have a stepped opening for locating the pourer on necks of different 10 diameter. The volume of liquid measured and dispensed with the tipping action of the bottle may be chosen as desired. Any suitable valve may be employed for controlling transfer of the liquid from the measuring chamber to the dispensing chamber according to the orientation of the pourer. It will also be understood that the above-described embodiments are intended to illustrate the principle of the invented pourer and that features of the embodiments may be used separately or in combination with any other feature of the same or different embodiments.

Claims

1. A pourer for connection to a liquid container comprising a dispensing chamber for holding liquid to be dispensed when the pourer is in a first position and for dispensing the liquid contained therein when the 5 pourer is in a second position, and a measuring chamber for measuring a pre-determined volume of liquid from the bottle when the pourer is in the second position and delivering the pre-determined volume of liquid to the dispensing chamber when the pourer is in the first position.

10

2. A pourer according to claim 1 wherein, in use, the first position corresponds to an upright position of a container to which the pourer is attached and the second position corresponds to a pouring position of the container. 15

3. A pourer according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the pourer further comprises means to control flow of liquid between the measuring chamber and the dispensing chamber.

4. A pourer according to claim 3 wherein the flow control means 20 permits a volume of liquid to be dispensed at the same time as measuring a volume of liquid for the next dispense.

5. A pourer according to claim 3 or claim 4 wherein the flow control means comprises a valve that allows liquid flow from the measuring 25 chamber to the dispensing chamber in the first position and prevents liquid flow between the measuring chamber and the dispensing chamber in the second position.

6. A pourer according to claim 5 wherein the valve comprises a valve 30 seat and a valve member movable under gravity towards and away from

the valve seat to open and close the valve according to the orientation of the pourer.

7. A pourer according to claim 6 wherein the valve allows liquid to be 5 transferred from the measuring chamber to the dispensing chamber between dispenses and isolates the measuring chamber from the dispensing chamber to prevent liquid flowing between the chambers during a dispense.

10

8. A pourer according to claim 6 or claim 7 wherein the valve member is arranged to move to an open position away from the valve seat when the pourer is in the first position and to a closed position engaging the valve seat when the pourer is in the second position.

15

9. A pourer according to any one of claims 6 to 8 wherein, the valve member is a ball and means is provided to guide the ball between open and closed positions.

10. A pourer according to claim 9 wherein the guide means comprises 20 a cage for retaining the ball in the open position with apertures allowing liquid to flow freely from the measuring chamber to the dispensing chamber.

11. A pourer according to any one of claims 3 to 10 wherein the pourer 25 comprises further means to control liquid flow between a container to which the pourer is attached in use and the measuring chamber.

12. A pourer according to claim 11 wherein the further liquid flow control means permits liquid to flow from the container into the 30 measuring chamber in the second position and prevents or restrict return

flow of liquid from the measuring chamber to the container in the first position.

13. A pourer according to claim 11 or claim 12 wherein the measuring 5 chamber is arranged to receive a pre-determined volume of liquid from the bottle in the second position for transfer to the dispensing chamber in the first position.

14. A pourer according to claim 13 wherein the measuring chamber has 10 a volume substantially the same as the pre-determined volume of liquid to be dispensed.

15. A pourer according to any one of claims 11 to 14 wherein the further liquid flow control means comprises a valve having a valve 15 member arranged to co-operate with a valve seat to seal the measuring chamber from the container when a pre-determined volume of liquid has been dispensed from the container.

16. A pourer according to claim 15 wherein the valve member is 20 constructed to float in the liquid and the walls of the measuring chamber taper to guide the valve member towards the valve seat as the measuring chamber fills with liquid.

17. A pourer according to claim 16 wherein the valve member 25 comprises a float of lightweight food grade plastics material.

18. A pourer according to any one of claims 11 to 14 wherein the further fluid flow control means comprises a weir arranged such that, in use, fluid can flow over the weir in the second position and is prevented 30 from flowing back over the weir in the first position.

19. A pourer according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the pourer further comprises a nozzle having an elongate passageway in fluid communication with the dispensing chamber for directing liquid flow 5 from the chamber during dispense.

20. A pourer according to claim 19 wherein the passageway extends parallel to the longitudinal axis of the container to which the pourer is attached.

21. A pourer according to claim 19 or claim 20 wherein the nozzle comprises a further passageway in fluid communication with the dispensing chamber for air to enter the dispensing nozzle during dispense of liquid.

22. A pourer according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the dispensing chamber has a transparent/translucent wall.

23. A pourer according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the 20 pourer is adapted for fluid-tight connection to a container.

24. A pourer according to claim 23 wherein the pourer has an inlet connector for attaching to an open end of the container.

25 25. A pourer according to claim 24 wherein the inlet connector is a push-fit on the open end of the container.

26. A pourer according to claim 25 wherein the inlet connector includes a seal.

27. A pourer according to claim 26 wherein the seal is an O-ring.

28. A pourer according to any one of claims 24 to 27 wherein the inlet connector is connectable to one size of container.

29. A pourer according to any one of claims 24 to 27 wherein the inlet connector is selectively connectable to different sizes of containers..

30. A pourer substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to 10 Figures 1 to 7 of the accompanying drawings.

31. A pourer substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 7 of the accompanying drawings as modified by Figure 8 of the accompanying drawings.

32. A method of dispensing a measured volume of liquid from a container comprising the steps of providing a pourer having a measuring chamber and a dispensing chamber, connecting the pourer to a container for a liquid to be dispensed, moving the container from a first position to 20 a second position to transfer a measured volume of liquid from the container to the measuring chamber, returning the container to the first position to transfer the measured volume of liquid from the measuring chamber to the dispensing chamber, moving the container from the first position to the second position to dispense the measured volume of liquid 25 from the dispensing chamber and transfer a measured volume of liquid from the container to the measuring chamber, and returning the container to the first position to transfer the measured volume of liquid from the measuring chamber to the dispense chamber for the next dispense of a measured volume of the liquid.

33. A method according to claim 33 further including the step of isolating the measuring chamber from the dispensing chamber in the second position to prevent transfer of liquid from the measuring chamber to the dispensing chamber while dispensing a measured volume of liquid 5 from the dispensing chamber.

34. A method of dispensing a measured volume of liquid from a container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 7 of the accompanying drawings.

35. A method of dispensing a measured volume of liquid from a container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 7 of the accompanying drawings as modified by Figure 8 of the accompanying drawings..