Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02310399 2000-06-O1
LIQUID DISPENSING APPARATUS
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of liquid dispensing apparatus and in
particular coolers for dispensing liquids for human consumption.
Background of the Invention
Fruit juice is an example of a perishable liquid for human consumption that
has
a restricted shelf life once exposed to air. It is an object of the present
invention to dispense
such liquids, avoiding the use of prior art reservoirs and holding tanks. For
convenience of
use, it is a further object to avoid using dry crystallized juice or syrups
which must be mixed in
reservoirs prior to use. Therefore, the most practical type of packaging for
bulk consumable
liquid dispensing is the collapsible bag application of 4-10 liter capacity,
using a prior art
dispensing valve specifically designed to not let air back into the bag as the
liquid product is
being dispensed. In the preferred embodiment, the present embodiment
consequently uses
collapsible bag-in-a-box packaging technologies known in the art. The benefits
of such
packaging is, firstly, to maximize shelf life of the liquid product once the
packaging is opened,
and, secondly, the use of commercially available components to a large degree
commercially
available for dispensing liquids having a shelf life.
A commercially available valve for such packaging may be such as the T-19
valve manufactured by Liquidbox Corp. The valve is mounted to a spout which
itself is
mounted to an aperture in a collapsible bag which serves as a fluid reservoir.
The bag is
packaged inside a rectangular container such as a cardboard box. The box has a
perforated
cut-out which may be removed to allow the valve to be pushed through one wall
of the box.
The valve may be other suitable valves such as VlTop 57370F supplied by
Rapack, a division
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CA 02310399 2000-06-O1
of Packaging Affiliates, so long as the valve fits onto the spout protruding
from the collapsible
bag.
A design consideration for a cooler such as in the present invention that will
S allow juice to be cooled and dispensed is that it is desirable to keep
dispensed juice from
dripping onto any of the working parts of the cooler to avoid build up of
spillage which may
introduce contaminants into the product stream. That is, juice must go
directly from the valve
protruding from the collapsible bag to a consumers cup without touching any
parts other than
for example, a removable nozzle, which is removable for cleaning. Any dripping
from the
valve must be caught by a drip tray or the like, or must otherwise be
contained and easily
cleaned.
Summary of the Invention
Many liquid dispensing valves for consumable liquids are too cumbersome to
be used conveniently by all consumers for example, children and seniors who
may lack
strength and dexterity. One object of the present invention is thus to design
a simple lever
mechanism that will operate a corresponding dispensing valve. The lever
mechanism must
extend outwardly of the cooling compartment housing or cabinet for ease of
use. This also
avoids the need to open the housing door, as one would a conventional
refrigerator, in order to
dispense liquid. Advantageously, the lever mechanism passes through the
housing or cabinet
door. When the door is closed a valve operator arm of the lever mechanism is
positioned
adjacent to, so as to cooperate with, the valve so that the valve is opened
when the lever is
pressed downwardly by a user. Advantageously, the valve is self closing by an
internal spring.
The spring returns the operating lever to its normal or starting position.
One of the intended uses for the liquid dispensing apparatus of the present
invention is by families in the home. What this means is that the device will
likely be placed
in kitchens and would likely dispense bottled water as well as juice and other
liquids. In this
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embodiment an internal water reservoir in the cooler is filled from a source
of bottled water,
which is conventionally stored in an inverted bottle on the top of the cooler.
Water is fed from
the bottle spout into a water inlet coupling and nozzle. The nozzle is coupled
in fluid
communication with a port on the upper end of the internal reservoir. The
internal reservoir
may be a collapsible bag or bladder which is stored within a rigid plastic
housing mounted
inside the cooler. A port at a lower end of the collapsible bag is fitted with
a valve which can
be operated by the lever mechanism in the cooler door.
The lever mechanisms provide an ease of use acceptable to the household
I 0 consumer. Advantageously the lever has a child lock-out which may be
selectively engaged to
prevent a child playing with the lever mechanism.
The lever has a handle which protrudes outwardly of the cooler door. The lever
is rotatably mounted to the cooler door. The dispensable liquid and its
packaging or housings
are mounted inside of the cooling compartment. Therefore, in order for the
cooler door to
close and the tap mechanism, i.e. the valve engaging end of the lever, to
return to the exact
correctly aligned position every time, the following is provided.
In the case of a removable package of consumable liquid such as a box of fruit
juice, the package is held in one exact and repeatable position in the cooler
compartment by a
shelf having a notched front lip. The notch holds the juice box in the one
exact position every
time the package is replaced by mating the valve protruding from the packages
into the notch.
The lip holds the package aligned perpendicular to the cooler door. This way
the spout or
valve stem of the valve is held in one exact position for the lever to
repeatedly engage the
valve operating mechanism.
The inner surface of the cooler door is recessed so that, upon closure of the
door, the protruding valves are inserted into the recesses in the door. The
valves cooperate
with spaced-apart valve operating arms on the levers. The levers are pivotally
mounted on
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pivots in the door. The valve operating arms straddle the valve body so as to
engage the
undersides of an oppositely disposed pair of tabs extending from the valve
body. When the
lever is depressed on the outside of the cooler door, the arms are rotated
upwardly about the
pivot to urge the tabs on the valve upwardly. Further upward travel of the
arms raises the tabs
against the return biasing of the valve's internal spring mechanism to open
the valve. By
straddling the valve body, the operating arms assist in lateral positioning of
the valve relative
to the lever.
When the cooler door is closed so as to engage the arms under the tabs, a
valve
dispensing aperture of each valve is aligned over a corresponding dispensing
orifice formed in
a floor of the recess in the cooler door. Each orifice is aligned directly
beneath its
corresponding valve so that the juice or other dispensable liquid may flow by
gravity feed
linearly directly through the orifice to a receptacle, such as a cup, which is
positioned by a user
on the outside of the cooler door under the orifice.
The water, juice or other dispensable liquids are all cooled within a common
cooler storage compartment. A thermostat allows the temperature within the
storage
compartment to be adjusted, and allow the consumer to be able to control the
coolness of the
liquids being dispensed. The compartment is cooled in the manner of
conventional
refrigerators.
The internal water reservoir and its rigid housing, and replaceable containers
removably mountable into the compartment have the same general relative
dimensions and
shape as conventional consumable liquid packaging. In an alternative
embodiment the
containers may be refillable, for example made out of plastic and having a
bladder designed to
be reusable many times (i.e. cleaned and refilled). Other concerns
specifically related to such
refillable containers are that they should accommodate ease of filling,
cleaning and refilling.
Unlike for example, disposable juice box packaging which has an internal
collapsible bag, the
reusable container, because it is rigid, must vent, that is, allow air in in
order to dispense fluid
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unless it too incorporates a collapsible bladder. The vent may be a cap. The
containers each
must have a spout. A valve is mounted on the front of the spout. The container
may have a
handle for carrying the container and to help a consumer put a full container
into the cooler
compartment.
The liquid dispensing apparatus of the present invention for selectively
dispensing consumable liquids includes an insulated cabinet having at least
one support means
such as a supporting shelf for supporting one or more removable liquid
containers within the
cabinet. The containers are mounted in cooperation with alignment means such
as an
alignment jig on the supporting shelving so as to align a valve stem
protruding from the
containers with a valve actuating means correspondingly aligned on a door of
the cabinet when
the door is closed. The valve actuating means extend through the door. The
valve actuating
means are actuable from the outside of the door so as to actuate a valve
adjacent the inside of
the door, to thereby dispense liquid from the container through a liquid
dispensing aperture in
the door. The outside of the door is shaped so that a cup may be placed under
the liquid
dispensing aperture.
Advantageously, the valve actuating means are horizontally spaced apart lever
arms pivotally mounted in the door. The arms are positioned and spaced apart
so as to engage
valve triggers extending generally at right angles from each corresponding
valve. The lever is
actuable by depressing the external ends of the lever arms so as to rotate the
inner ends of the
lever arms adjacent the valve triggers upwardly against the valve triggers
against the return
biasing force of a resilient biasing means. The lever arms elevate the valve
triggers to thereby
open the valves.
In summary, the liquid dispensing apparatus of the present invention for
selectively dispensing consumable liquids includes an insulated cabinet having
an internal
refrigeratable compartment defined by enclosing contiguous panels. A first
valve actuator is
mounted on a first panel. The compartment has supports and a first alignment
jig mounted in
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the compartment for removably mounting a first liquid dispensing container on
the supports
and jig. The first alignment jig aligns the container when the container is
mounted on the
supports so that a first valve protruding from the container is both aligned
with the first valve
actuator and aligned with a first outlet aperture in the first panel.
The first valve actuator extends from an inner surface of the first panel
adjacent
the first valve when the container is aligned in the compartment, through the
first panel so as
to protrude from an outer surface of the first panel. Actuation of the first
valve actuator from
outside the cabinet actuates the first valve inside the compartment so as to
dispense
consumable liquid from the first valve through the first outlet aperture.
In one preferred embodiment, the first panel is a door. The first valve
actuator
may be a pair of horizontally spaced apart lever arms pivotally mounted in the
door. A lever
handle may be rigidly mounted to the lever arms, and the lever arms positioned
in the door and
spaced apart sufficiently so as to engage valve triggers extending from the
first valve. The
lever handle extends from the lever arms to protrude from the outer surface of
the door so as to
be actuable by a user depressing an external end of the lever handle.
Depression of the
external end of the lever handle causes rotation of inner ends of the lever
arms, upwardly
urging the valve triggers against a return biasing force of a resilient
biasing device. The
resilient biasing device may be, without intending to be limiting, a spring in
the valve. The
lever arms elevate the valve triggers to open the first valve and the first
valve closes upon
release of the external end of the lever handle.
Also in one preferred embodiment an upper panel such as a roof of the cabinet
has a spout coupler mounted through an aperture in the upper panel. The spout
coupler
provides for removable mounting of an inverted water bottle on the upper
panel. The spout
coupler has a lower end extending into the compartment. The lower end is
coupled to a water
reservoir in a rigid housing, so as to be in fluid communication with the
water reservoir. The
rigid housing is mounted in the compartment.
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The water reservoir also has a valve, referred to herein as a second valve so
as
to distinguish it from the first valve on the first liquid dispensing
container. The second valve
extends from the rigid housing through an aperture in the housing so as to
cooperate with a
corresponding second valve actuator mounted on the first panel, that is, in
one embodiment on
the door of the cabinet. The second valve actuator extends from the inner
surface of the first
panel adjacent the second valve through the first panel so as to protrude from
the outer surface
of the first panel. The first panel has a second outlet aperture aligned under
the second valve.
Actuation of the second valve actuator from outside the cabinet actuates the
second valve
inside the compartment so as to dispense water from the second valve through
the second
outlet aperture.
Advantageously, the supports are a supporting shelf mounted in the
compartment. The rigid housing may be mounted on the shelf or may be mounted
to an
underside of the upper panel.
The first alignment jig may include a lip on the shelf for engaging a front
edge
of the container. Alignment by the jig is also provided by a snug sliding
fitment of the
container between a side wall of the compartment and an opposed facing side
wall of the rigid
housing. A yoke is formed in the lip for snugly receiving therein a stem of
the first valve. The
stem extends between the container and the first valve.
In the embodiment where the first panel is a door, the rigid housing may be
advantageously mounted centrally on the shelf between a first compartment
space sized to
receive the first liquid dispensing container and an opposite second
compartment space sized
to receive a second liquid dispensing container. That is, the first and second
compartment
spaces sandwich the housing between them.
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In embodiments providing for use of a second container, the second liquid
dispensing container is herein described as having a third valve mounted
thereon so as to
distinguish the valve form the first and second valves referred to above. The
door has a third
valve actuator mounted thereon cooperating with the third valve when the door
is closed. The
third valve actuator extends through the door for actuation of the third valve
actuator from
outside the cabinet. The second liquid dispensing container is aligned in the
second
compartment space when removably mounted therein by a second alignment j ig in
the second
compartment space. The second alignment jig is substantially identical to the
first alignment
jig. The second alignment jig aligns the second container for cooperation with
the third valve
actuator.
In one aspect of the present invention the shelf generally bisects the
compartment so as to define a lower storage space. The lower storage space
allows for storage
of substitute containers in the compartment to substitute for the first liquid
dispensing
container or for the second liquid dispensing container.
In a second aspect of the present invention the lever arms are pivotally
mounted
in the door by means of opposite stub axles rigidly mounted to the lever arms
along an axis of
rotation of the lever arms. The stub axles are pivotally mounted in
corresponding stub axle
mounts in the door. In a further aspect, the door has a passageway from the
inner surface to
the outer surface of the door and the lever arms and the lever handle are
mounted journalled
through the passageway. In that embodiment, the stub axle mounts may be
opposed facing
parallel channels in opposed facing side walls of the passageway. The stub
axles are snugly
mounted in the channels in a rotatable sliding fitment therein which allows
for the lever arms
to be retracted from engagement with the valve triggers and releasably locked
preventing their
rotation. The distal ends of the lever arms, distal from the lever handle, may
be chamfered so
that upon closing the door the lever arms are urged under the valve triggers.
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In yet a further aspect of the present invention the lower end of the spout
coupler is coupled to an inlet nozzle of the water reservoir by a resilient
boot. A lower end of
the boot has an annular recess for accepting in a sliding friction fit therein
the inlet nozzle of
the water reservoir.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Figure 1 is, in front perspective view, the liquid dispensing apparatus of the
present invention with the cabinet door open.
Figure 2 is the view of Figure 1 with the cabinet door closed.
Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view along line 3-3 in Figure 2.
Figure 4 is an enlarged perspective, partially cut-away, partially exploded
view
showing a reservoir nozzle and valve.
Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view along 5-5 in Figure 3.
Figure 6 is the view of Figure 5 with the dispensing lever translated
outwardly
of the cabinet door into its locked position.
Figure 7a is, in plan view, the dispensing lever of Figure 5.
Figure 7b is, in side elevation view, the dispensing lever of Figure 7a.
Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view along line 8-8 in Figure 5.
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Figure 9 is, in perspective partially cut-away exploded view, a water bottle
spout coupler, resilient boot, bladder and housing, and valve of the water
dispensing apparatus
of Figure 1.
Figure 10 is a non-exploded cross-sectional view along line 10-10 in Figure 9
shown mounted to an upper cabinet wall.
Figure 11 is a partially cut-away enlarged view taken from Figure 10 showing a
bladder releasably mounted to the boot.
Figure 11 a is a further cut-away and enlarged view taken from Figure 11 of
the
releasable coupling between the boot and reservoir bladder.
Figure 12a is, in plan view, a refillable container of an alternative
embodiment
of the present invention.
Figure 12b is, in front elevation view, the container of Figure 12a.
Figure 12c is a cross-sectional view along line 12c-12c in Figure 12b.
Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments
The liquid dispenser of Figure 1 is intended to dispense fluids such as water,
juice, milk or the like. An insulated cabinet 4 has an internal refrigerated
storage compartment
6 accessible be means of door 8. Door 8 is mounted to insulated cabinet 4 by
means of hinges
10 or the like. Door 8 forms an airtight seal with cabinet 4 by means of
resilient gasket 12
which extends circumferentially around interior surface 14 of door 8. As seen
in Figure 2,
when door 8 is closed, exterior surface 16 of door 8 presents to a user a
centrally grouped
vending center 18.
CA 02310399 2000-06-O1
Vending center 18 includes a laterally disposed array of levers juxtaposed
over
a cup receiving cavity formed into surface 16. The levers protrude through
passages 20 in
door 8 into a corresponding cavity 22 in surface 14. Cavity 22 is elongate and
extends
horizontally across surface 14. Cavity 22 has a floor portion 24. Floor
portion 24 has liquid
dispensing apertures 26 formed therein as also seen in Figure 3. Dispensing
levers 28 are
pivotally mounted to door 8. Dispensing levers 28 each have a pair of
horizontally spaced
apart arms 30 which extend from passages 20 into cavity 22.
Removable containers 32 (shown in dotted outline in Figure 1 ) may
conventionally be cardboard boxes each sized to snugly fit on or within
support racks or shelf
34. Shelf 34 generally bisects compartment 6. The upper half of the
compartment is itself
compartmentalized into left and right sub-compartments 6a by a centrally
disposed columnar
housing 36. Sub-compartments 6a are sized to each accept one container 32. In
Figure 1
containers 32 are shown stored in the lower half of compartment 6 waiting to
be inserted into
sub-compartments 6a. Each container 32 may typically contain a MylarTM bladder
38 or the
like co-operating with nozzle 40 so as to dispense liquid stored in bladder 38
from container
32 downwardly through valve 42. Support shelf 34 has a yoke 34a which snugly
cradles
nozzle 40. Yoke 34a thus positions valve 42 in the correct orientation for its
insertion into
cavity 22 as door 8 is closed. Valve 42, such as that supplied by Rapack, a
division of
Packaging Affiliates of Romeoville, Illinois, USA, has a body 44 and an inlet
sleeve 46 as
better seen in Figure 4. Sleeve 46 fits snugly into nozzle 40 extending
outwardly from bladder
38.
When deployed from within the packaging of container 32, valve 42 is held
disposed outwardly of container 32. Cavity 22 is positioned on door 8 so that
as door 8 is
swung closed in direction A, valve 42 registers or mates within cavity 22 so
as to align valve
trigger flanges 45 over and adjacent arms 30 on levers 28. As also seen in
Figures 5, 6, 7a and
7b, the distal ends 30a of arms 30 are chamfered so that if arms 30 are
pivoted up as they
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engage arms 30, the chamfers engage trigger flanges 45 and force arms 30 under
trigger
flanges 45. Arms 30 are thus pivoted into their proper operating position in
relation to valve
42.
Advantageously, arm 30 extends from liquid dispensing lever 28 generally
parallel to the stem 42a of valve 42 so that rotation of liquid dispensing
lever in direction B
rotates arm 30 upwardly into engagement with valve trigger flanges 45. Valve
trigger flanges
45 are, when undeflected, normally in a lowered position corresponding to a
closed valve
position by a spring mechanism (not shown) located internally of valve 42. The
spring
mechanism urges the valve closed so as to automatically close the valve and
lower the trigger
flanges when the upward force of arms 30 is released by the releasing of a
downward pressure
applied by a user on levers 28. This then rotates the dispensing levers to
their starting
positions. If it is desired to disable the operation of levers 28, for example
to prevent children
playing with them and inadvertently dispensing fluid, levers 28 may be pulled
in direction C
into a position as seen in Figure 6 partially retracted from its corresponding
passage 20.
Retracting a lever 28 in direction C disengages arms 30 from beneath trigger
flanges 45.
Retraction and advancement of a lever 28 respectively in direction C or in the
opposite
direction so as to re-engage arms 30 with trigger flanges 45, is guided by an
oppositely
disposed pair of stubs or pivots 48, rigidly mounted on either side of lever
28, sliding along
opposed facing grooves 50 in passage 20. Stops 52 on distal ends 30a of arms
30 engage inner
surface 14 limit translation in direction C so that arms 30 must be pinched
together to remove
lever 28 entirely from passage 20.
A collapsible bladder reservoir 54 is mounted in housing 36. Reservoir 54 may
be a MylarTM or plastic bladder similar to bladders 38. As seen in Figure 9,
reservoir 54
differs from bladders 38 in that it has an inlet nozzle 56 in addition to an
outlet nozzle 40'
similar to nozzle 40. When reservoir 54 is mounted within housing 36 a
plurality of apertures
58 allow an in-flow of cold air from compartment 6 in housing 36 so as to cool
reservoir 54.
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Inlet nozzle 56 is connected to a source of water such as bottle 60 by a
resilient flexible
coupling or boot 62 and conventional rigid spout coupler 64.
Spout coupler 64 may be such as the Non-Spill SystemTM manufactured by
Kel-Jac Engineering and Plastic Sales of Riverside, California, USA. The spout
of bottle 60
inserts into the upper aperture of spout coupler 64 so as to impale the
frangible covering of the
spout onto the bayonet 66 of the spout coupler. Water from bottle 60 then
flows into the spout
coupler in direction D through the tubular bore 68 of the spout coupler. The
spout coupler is
mounted through an aperture in the upper wall 4a of cabinet 4 (shown in dotted
outline in
Figure 10). Annular flange 64a rests on the upper surface of wall 4a. Locking
ring 70 engages
tabs 72 on spout coupler 64 so as to hold flange 64a down onto wall 4a,
sandwiching wall 4a
between the flange and the locking ring.
Boot 62 resiliently frictionally mounts in a sliding friction fit onto the
lower end
of spout coupler 64. Boot 62 is hollow and generally frusto-conically shaped
so that it forms a
convergent nozzle in direction D between a larger opening 62a generally
coinciding with the
size of bore 68, and a smaller opening 62b matched to the size of the opening
of nozzle 56.
Nozzle 56 snugly mates, again in a sliding friction fit, into annular recess
74.
Opening 62a releasably couples in a watertight seal to the lower end of the
spout coupler with the assistance of resilient ring 76 formed inwardly of
opening 62a. Ring
seals 76 engage end 64a of coupler 64.
As better seen in Figure l la, the releasable mounting of nozzle 56 into
annular
recess 74 is accomplished by sandwiching the exposed end of nozzle 56 between
inner collar
62c and outer collar 62d at the lowermost end of boot 62 until ring flanges
56a and 56b mate
in corresponding ring grooves in annular recess 74.
Vending center 18 on exterior surface 16 has liquid dispensing depression 78.
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With door 8 closed into air sealing engagement against insulated cabinet 4,
rotation of liquid dispensing levers 28 in direction B rotate valve actuating
arms 30 upwardly
into engagement with valve triggers 45 thereby deflecting upwardly valve
triggers 45 to
dispense liquid downwardly through liquid dispensing apertures 26. Liquid
dispensed through
a liquid dispensing apertures 26 may be captured by a cup or like receptacle
80 held or
otherwise positioned beneath liquid dispensing apertures 26 within depression
78 on the
exterior face 16 of door 8. Any liquid spilled during the process of pouring
from valves 42 is
collected by trap 82. Advantageously, trap 82 is a removable tray releasably
mounted, for
example by means of a friction fit onto the lower shelf of depression 78.
The illustrated preferred embodiment provides for simultaneous vending of
liquid from two liquid containers 32, mounted on shelf 34 on either side of
housing 36, and
simultaneous vending of bottled water from the reservoir in housing 36. It is
understood that a
conventional refrigeration system including a compressor (not shown), etc. is
mounted in
cabinet 4 below and behind compartment 6. For convenience, when several
different types of
consumable liquid product are dispensed from the cooler, magnetic product
identification
labels may be magnetically mounted to the outside face of the cooler door, in
proximity to the
dispensing levers which actuate the valves.
A refillable water or juice container 86 as seen in Figures 12a-12c has the
same
dimensions and shape as container 32. Consequently, it may be substituted for
a container 32
for mounting on shelf 34. Container 86 may have a flush mounted handle 88
located above an
outlet nozzle 90 located on front face 86a. Nozzle 70 is identical to nozzles
40 as above
described. Again, a valve 42 (shown in dotted outline in Figure 12c) is
mounted to the nozzle
so that liquid can be dispensed in the same manner as from containers 32.
Container 86 may
be filled through opening 92, which is closable by a lid 94. A sloping floor
96 may be
provided to allow complete emptying of the contents through valve 42. The
container may be
made out of polycarbonate such as is currently in widespread use in the
bottled water industry.
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The container may be made by blow molding. To applicant's knowledge, it is not
possible to
manufacture the container as a one piece bottle with existing manufacturing
technologies.
Therefore, the container is made as a bottle in two pieces, namely, the basic
bottle container
and the spout. The spout is subsequently welded or otherwise mounted to the
front of the
basic bottle container. The spout incorporates the valve.
Containers 32 or 86 may be a 4 liter size when used in the illustrated 3 tap
beverage cooler, although this is not intended to be limiting.
As will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the foregoing
disclosure, many alterations and modifications are possible in the practice of
this invention
without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. Accordingly, the scope of
the invention is
to be construed in accordance with the substance defined by the following
claims.
