US20070107881A1

US20070107881A1 - Dispenser device

Info

Publication number: US20070107881A1
Application number: US11/273,735
Authority: US
Inventors: Ronald Franco
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-11-14
Filing date: 2005-11-14
Publication date: 2007-05-17
Also published as: WO2007059044A2; WO2007059044A3

Abstract

This invention provides a user with a simple means to manually or electronically cool or warm up a liquid in a container. The user is able to pump air into the container holding the liquid to force the air into a holding well where the user can treat a small amount of fluid by cooling it or heating it up to quickly treat this liquid. By treating small amounts of liquid the user can quickly and more readily cool or heat the liquid, then enjoy the liquid without being mistakenly burned or otherwise injured by the liquid.

Description

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to a dispenser device that enables a user to treat a liquid in the device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

People use containers every day to carry their lunches, snacks and drinks. Typically people use containers such as cups, mugs or a thermos to carry liquids, such as soft drinks, water or coffee. These cups, mugs or thermoses usually keeps the liquid cool or keeps it warm depending on the type of container utilized. The mugs or thermoses may be referred to as closeable drinking containers.
Specifically, closeable drinking containers having a handle or without a handle are utilized to keep liquids cold or warm. Even though these closeable drinking containers are known to keep the entire liquid cold or warm they do not allow a person to evenly cool or warm a portion of the liquid before the person drinks it. Since a person is not able to sufficiently warm or cool a small amount of liquid before he drinks it, the person may burn his tongue or injure himself when he makes initial contact with the liquid.
Therefore, there is need for a dispenser device that allows a user to cool or heat a small portion of liquid in a container without injuring himself.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been accomplished in view of the above-mentioned technical background, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a person with a simple method to cool or heat liquid in a container.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention a system for a utilizing a liquid cup cool system is disclosed. The system includes an outer housing defining a chamber for holding an inner housing configured to store liquid. The inner housing includes a first opening configured to receive air transferred into the inner housing. A second opening of the inner housing is configured to allow the liquid in the inner housing to be transferred from the inner housing into a holding well responsive to the air transferred into the inner housing. The holding well is configured to hold the liquid while the liquid is being treated.
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, a cool system apparatus is disclosed which includes an inner housing. The inner housing is configured to hold a liquid. The inner housing includes: a first opening configured to receive air transferred into the inner housing; a second opening is configured to allow the liquid in the inner housing to be transferred from the inner housing into a holding well responsive to the air transferred into the inner housing. The holding well is configured to hold the liquid while the liquid is being treated.
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, a cover is disclosed where an air transfer mechanism configured to transfer air. An air transfer hose is coupled to the air transfer mechanism where the air transfer house is configured to transfer the air from the air transfer mechanism into a container having a liquid. A liquid transfer hose is located inside the container, where the liquid transfer hose is configured to transfer the liquid from the container to a holding well in response to the air being transferred into the container. The holding well is configured to treat the liquid.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other advantages of the present invention will become more apparent as the following description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of a cup cooling system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of a portable cover cooling system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 3A depict a top view of the cover for the cup cooling system of FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 3B depicts a top view of the portable cover cooling system of FIG. 2 in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 4 illustrates the side view of the portable cover of FIG. 2 with a container in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 5 is a flow chart that depicts a method of how the cup cooling system of FIG. 1 is employed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and
FIG. 6 is a flow chart that depicts a method of how the portable cover cooling system of FIG. 4 is employed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The presently preferred embodiments of the invention are described with references to the drawings, where like components are identified with the same numerals. The descriptions of the preferred embodiments are exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
FIG. 1 illustrates the side view of the cup cooling system. The cup cooling system 100 includes: an outer housing 101, an inner housing 103, an air transfer mechanism 105, an outer housing opening 107, an air transfer hose 109, a first inner housing opening 111, a second inner housing opening 113, a liquid transfer hose 115, a cover 117, a holding well 119 and a treating structure 121. The outer housing 111 is a typical container or cup utilized to house any typical liquid, such as coffee or a soft drink. This outer housing 101 may also include a handle (not shown) to hold the outer housing or container 401 (FIG. 4) while drinking the liquid. Outer housing 101 and inner housing 103 and cover 117 may be made of typical materials used for containers, such as glass, plastic, Styrofoam, paper or cardboard. This outer housing 101 includes a chamber 112 inside the inner housing 103, where the chamber 112 holds a liquid. This inner housing 103 is a container that is air tight in that it does not allow air to come in or escape when it is covered by the cover 117 and the holding well 119.
The air transfer mechanism 105 is coupled to the outside housing 101. This air transfer mechanism 105 is a typical small air pump that is able to receive air and transfer or pump air through the outer housing opening 107 through the air transfer house 109 and the first inner housing opening 111 into chamber 112. This air transfer mechanism 105 or air pump is a typical small air pump utilized to pump air into in a container or device. The actual pumping of the air may be accomplished by a person pressing the air transfer mechanism to transfer or pump air into the inner housing 103 and chamber 112 or it may be accomplished by a typical electrical air pump that can be programmed to pump a certain amount of air into the inner housing 103 and chamber 112.
Next to the air transfer mechanism 105 is the air transfer hose 109, which is located in between the outer housing 101 and the inner housing 103. Air transfer hose 109 acts as a conduit for air to be transferred from the pump 105 to the chamber 112 of the inner housing 103. The air transfer hose 109 may be made of any flexible material, such as plastic, paper, cardboard or rubber, which is capable of transferring air from one point to another. The chamber 112 of the inner housing 103 stores a liquid that is inserted and taken out of the chamber 112 when the cover 117, holding well 119 and slideable flap 215, slideable flap 217 and slideable flap 219 are opened and closed. Chamber 112 is sealed air tight by an air tight seal 202 (FIG. 4) when it is covered by the cover 117 and the holding well 119.
When air is transferred from air transfer mechanism 105 through the air transfer hose 109 into the chamber 112; the liquid in the chamber 112 is forced out through the second inner housing opening 113. As the liquid is forced out of the chamber 112 through the second inner housing opening 113 the liquid is transferred through the liquid transfer hose 115 into the holding well 119. The liquid transfer hose 115 is located in between the inner housing 103 and the outer housing 101. In another embodiment, the liquid transfer hose 115 may be located inside the inner housing 103. This liquid transfer hose 115 is equivalent to air transfer hose 109, which may be made of a flexible material, such as plastic, paper, cardboard or rubber. The holding well 119, which receives the liquid from the transfer hose 115, is located on a top portion of the inner housing 103 in between the chamber 112, inner housing 103 and the cover 117.
At this holding well 119, the liquid from the chamber 112 is held so it can be treated. This liquid can be treated or managed in several ways. First, a person who has pumped the air into chamber 112 to force the liquid into the holding well 119 can open or take off the cover 117 of the cooling system 100 to blow on the liquid to cool it. For example, the person may open cover 117 by rotating knob 209 (FIG. 3) in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction to expand or contract slideable flap 215, slideable flap 217 and slideable 219. In another embodiment of the invention, holding well 119 may include a treating structure 121. This treating structure 121 may be utilized to cool the liquid or it can be utilized to heat the liquid. For example, the treating structure 121 may include a typical refrigerator tray or a cooling area that cools the liquid in the holding well 119. On the other hand, the treating structure 121 may include a typical heating tray or heating area that heats or warms the liquid in the holding well 119.
FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of a portable cover. This portable cover 200 may be utilized with any type of container or cup that has an opening capable of receiving a cover as in FIG. 4. This cover 200 is equivalent to cover 117, which may be made of glass, plastic, Styrofoam, paper or cardboard. The cover 200 includes a bottom portion 201 a, middle portion 201 b and a top portion 201 c. The middle portion 201 b includes an air transfer mechanism 201, an air transfer hose 203, a first cover opening 204, a liquid transfer hose 205 and a second cover opening 207. The air transfer mechanism 201 is attached or coupled to the air transfer hose 203. The top portion 201 c includes a knob 209 attached to slideable flap 215, slideable flap 217 and slideable flap 219 (FIG. 3A). The bottom portion 201 a includes an air tight seal 202, a holding well 211 and a treating structure 213. Air transfer mechanism 201 is equivalent to air transfer mechanism 105 described above so a description will not be included herein. Air transfer hose 203 is equivalent to air transfer hose 107 described above so a description will not be recited herein. Liquid transfer hose 205 is similar to liquid transfer hose 115 also described so a description will not be included herein.
Referring to FIG. 4, the cover 200 is placed on a container 401 capable of receiving this cover. The container 401 is a typical container equivalent to outer housing 103 described above, which includes a liquid. Air transfer mechanism 403 or air pump 403 is equivalent to the air pump 201 of FIG. 2, but in this embodiment the air pump 403 is on top of cover 200 instead of being attached to the outer housing 101 (FIG. 1). As the cover 200 is placed on the container 401, the air tight seal 202 seals the cover 200 onto the container preventing air from coming into or leaving the container 401. When the cover 200 is placed on the container 401 a person may manually press the air transfer mechanism 403 to transfer air from the air transfer mechanism 403 through the air transfer hose 203, the first cover opening 204, the liquid transfer hose 205 (located inside the container 401) and the second cover opening 207 (FIG. 3B) into the holding well 211. In another embodiment, the air transfer mechanism 401 may be a typical electrical air pump, which pumps air through the air transfer hose 203 and the first cover opening 204 into the container 401. When the air enters the container 401 the liquid is forced through the liquid transfer hose 205 into the holding well 211.
At this holding well 211, the liquid may be treated in several ways. As stated above, a person who has pumped the air to force the liquid into the holding well 211 can open the cover 200 by turning the knob 209. This knob 209 is mechanically connected to slideable flap 215, slideable flap 217 and slidable flap 219, which enables a person to turn the knob 209 in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction to open the cover 200 (FIG. 3A), which may be equivalent to cover 117. The slideable flap 215, slideable flap 217 and slideable 219 fold onto each other in a horizontal fan like fashion so that as a person turns knob 209 in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction the slideable flaps 215, 217 and 219 are expanded so the person can close the cover 200 in order that no liquid can leave the container 401. On the other hand, a person may turn knob 209 in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction to retract slideable flap 215, slideable flap 217 and slideable flap 219 so the slideable flaps 215, 217 and 219 fold onto each other and the person can blow and drink the liquid in the holding well 211. The holding well 211 may also include a treating structure 213. This treating structure 213 is equivalent to the treating structure 121 described above so a description is not disclosed.
FIG. 3A depicts a top view of a cover for the portable cover cooling system of FIG. 2. In this view of the cover 200, the knob 209, slideable flap 215, slideable flap 217 and slideable flap 219 are shown. The slideable flaps 215, 217, 219 are placed above each other where they can fully expand to close the cover 200 or these slideable flaps 215, 217 and 219 may be retracted to open the cover 200. Also, cover 200 encapsulates the inner housing 103 and outer housing 101. Further, cover 200 has a circular shape, but it can also have a typical cover shape, such as a rectangular shape or triangular shape used to cover a container. FIG. 3B illustrates the first cover opening 204 and the second cover opening 207 of cover 200.
FIG. 5 is a flow chart that depicts a method of how the cup cooling system is utilized. At block 501, a person utilizes the air transfer mechanism 105 to pump air through the air transfer hose 107, first opening 111 into the chamber 112 of the inner housing 103 (FIG. 1). This chamber 112 includes a liquid, such as coffee, water, tea, soft drink or any type of beverage. In another embodiment, the air transfer mechanism 105 may be a typical electrical air transfer mechanism 105 or electrical air pump. This air may be transferred or pumped by the air transfer mechanism 105 into the chamber 112 by manually pressing air transfer mechanism 105 or electronically pumping the air at any rate, such as a rate of approximately 1 pounds square inch per second. In yet another embodiment of the invention, a person may tilt the cup cooling system 100 by 30 to 50 degrees to force the liquid from the inner housing 103 into the holding well 119 where it can be treated.
At block 503, as the air is transferred through the air transfer hose 109 into the chamber 112 the air forces the liquid through the second opening 113 of the inner housing 103. When the liquid leaves the chamber 112 of the inner housing 103, this liquid, at block 505, travels through the liquid transfer hose 115 into the holding well 119. At block 507, the liquid at the holding well 119 will be treated in several ways. First, a person who has pumped the air to force the liquid into the holding well can open or take of the cover 117 off the cooling system 100 to blow on the liquid to cool it. For example, the person may turn the knob 209 in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction (FIG. 2) to retract or expand slideable flap 215, slideable flap 217 and slideable flap 219 so the person can open cover 117 to show the liquid in the holding well 119, which the person can blow on to cool the liquid. In another embodiment of the invention, holding well 119 may include a treating structure 121 (FIG. 1). This treating structure 121 may be utilized to cool the liquid or it can be utilized to heat the liquid. For example, the treating structure 121 may include a typical refrigerator tray that cools the liquid in the holding well 119. On the other hand, the treating structure 121 may include a heating tray that warms the liquid in the holding well 119.
At block 509, the user determines if he wants to keep adding more liquid into the holding well 119 to be treated as stated above. If the user decides that he wants to keep adding liquid and he wants to treat the liquid, then the process returns to step 501. If the user decides that he wants to stop treating the liquid then the process ends.
FIG. 6 is a flow chart that depicts a method of how the portable cover cooling system is utilized. At block 601, a person utilizes the air transfer mechanism 403 to pump air through the air transfer hose 203, first cover opening 204 into the container 401 (FIG. 4). This container 401 includes a liquid. In another embodiment, the air transfer mechanism 403 may be a typical electrical air transfer mechanism or electrical air pump. This air may be pumped into the container 401 manually by pressing air transfer mechanism 403 or electronically pumped at any rate, for example it may be transferred into the container at rate of approximately 1 pounds square inch per second. In yet another embodiment of the invention, a person may tilt the container 401 by 30 to 50 degrees to force the liquid from the container 401 into the holding well 211 where it can be treated.
At block 603, as the air is transferred through the air transfer hose 203 into the container 401 the air forces the liquid at block 605 through liquid transfer hose 205 into the holding well 211. At block 607, the liquid at the holding well 211 will be treated or managed in several ways. First, a person who has transferred or pumped the air into container 401 to force the liquid into the holding well 211 can open or take off the cover 200 to blow on the liquid to cool it. For example, the person may turn the knob 209 in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction to retract or expand slideable flap 215, slideable flap 217 and slideable flap 219 so the person can open cover 200 to show the liquid in the holding well 211, which the person can blow on to cool the liquid. In another embodiment of the invention, holding well 211 may include a treating structure 213. This treating structure 213 may be utilized to cool the liquid or it can be utilized to heat the liquid. For example, the treating structure 213 may include a typical refrigerator tray that cools the liquid in the holding well 211. On the other hand, the treating structure 213 may include a heating tray that warms the liquid in the holding well 211.
At block 609, the user determines if he wants to keep adding more liquid into the holding well 211 to be treated as stated above. If the user decides that he wants to keep adding liquid and he wants to treat the liquid, then the process returns to step 601. If the user decides that he wants to stop treating the liquid then the process ends.
This invention provides a user with a simple means to manually or electronically cool or warm up a liquid in a container. The user is able to pump air into the container holding the liquid to force the air into a holding well where the user can treat a small amount of fluid by cooling it or heating it up to quickly treat this liquid. By treating small amounts of liquid the user can quickly and more readily cool or heat the liquid, then enjoy the liquid without being mistakenly burned or otherwise injured by the liquid.
It is intended that the foregoing detailed description be regarded as illustrative rather than limiting and that it be understood that it is the following claims, including all equivalents, which are intended to define the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A cup cooling system comprising:

an outer housing defining a chamber for holding an inner housing configured to store liquid;

the inner housing including:

a first opening configured to receive air transferred into the inner housing;

a second opening configured to transfer the liquid in the inner housing to a holding well responsive to the air transferred into the inner housing; and

the holding well configured to hold the liquid while the liquid is being treated.

2. The cup cooling system of claim 1, wherein the liquid is transferred from the inner housing into a holding well by a liquid transfer hose.

3. The cup cooling system of claim 1, wherein the holding well includes a cooling area configured to cool the liquid.

4. The cup cooling system of claim 1, wherein the holding well includes a heated area configured to heat the liquid.

5. The cup cooling system of claim 1, wherein the outside housing includes an air transfer mechanism.

6. The cup cooling system of claim 5, wherein the air transfer mechanism is configured to transfer air into the first opening of the inner housing.

7. The cup cooling system of claim 1, wherein the holding well is located on a top portion of the inner housing.

8. The cup cooling system of claim 7, further comprising a cover encapsulating the inner housing and the outer housing.

9. The cup cooling system of claim 2, wherein the liquid transfer hose is located in between the inner housing and the outer housing.

10. An apparatus comprising:

an inner housing, wherein the inner housing is configured to hold a liquid;

wherein the inner housing includes:

a first opening configured to receive air transferred into the inner housing;

a second opening configured to transfer the liquid in the inner housing to a holding well responsive to the air transferred to the inner housing; and

11. A cover comprising:

an air transfer mechanism configured to transfer air;

an air transfer hose coupled to the air transfer mechanism wherein the air transfer house is configured to transfer the air from the air transfer mechanism into a container having a liquid;

a liquid transfer hose located inside the container, wherein the liquid transfer hose is configured to transfer the liquid from the container to a holding well in response to the air being transferred into the container; and

wherein the holding well is configured to treat the liquid.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the air transfer mechanism is a pump.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the air transfer hose is made of a flexible rubber.