GB2508349A

GB2508349A - Valve on a pourer regulating discharge from a bottle

Info

Publication number: GB2508349A
Application number: GB201221391A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter Joseph Slevin; Adam Michael Robinson
Original assignee: DISRUPTIVE DOSING Ltd
Current assignee: DISRUPTIVE DOSING Ltd
Priority date: 2012-11-28
Filing date: 2012-11-28
Publication date: 2014-06-04
Also published as: GB201221391D0

Abstract

A pourer has radial sealing flanges 2 through which a conduit 6 and air vent 10 pass; a chamber 5 in the conduit has an annular valve seat 7 against which a hub 14 seals. The hub is mounted on a threaded shaft 12 and vanes 15 of a turbine cause relative rotation between shaft 12 and hub 14, moving the hub towards the valve seat, in response to liquid flowing through the turbine. One or two revolutions could be sufficient to close the valve. The turbine may have two or four inclined rotationally symmetric blades. The vent may be formed in the threaded shaft. The conduit and vent can be entirely contained between the sealing flanges or extend out from either end. There may be a baffle at the end of the conduit.

Description

ROTARY METERED POURER

This invention relates to a pourer for use in facilitating pouring of a liquid from a bottle, particularly but not exclusively for reducing the likelihood of a surge of liquid or splashing during pouring into a thinking glass, to allow the velocity and direction of the liquid flow to be controlled and for the amount of liquid to be metered independent of the angular rotation of the bottle.

Pour spouts commonly comprise a cylindrical body member and a protmding spout. The body may be dimensioned to be received in various sizes of bottle neck.

A disadvantage in use of such pourers is that the liquid in the bottle is permanently exposed to the ambient atmosphere. While this may not be a problem in a busy bar, there is a risk of spoilage or contamination, for example by insects in a less busy bar or domestic environment. Sealing mechanisms are known but these introduce complications and have varying degrees of effectiveness. Resealing with the original cap isa superior option but removal of the pourer after each use is inconvenient.

US 2010/0230447 discloses an aftermarket pour spout having a flange which extends out of the bottle neck. Such a pourer may be fitted after removal of the bottle cap. Alternatively a pourer may be fitted before the bottle is capped but this would make it necessary to alter the tooling of the capping apparatus to accommodate the increased length of the bottle neck.

According to a first aspect of the present invention a pourer comprises a conduit having an inlet and an outlet; sealing means comprising a plurality of sealing members extending radially from the conduit and dimensioned to engage an interior surface of a bottle neck; an air vent having an inlet and an outlet; the inlet and outlet of each of the conduit and air vent being located on opposite sides of the sealing means; wherein the pourer has a maximum diameter permitting it to be engaged completely within a bottle neck; and wherein the conduit includes a chamber having a valve comprising a valve seat and a moveable member located in the chamber arranged to engage the valve seat to close the valve when the pourer is inverted; a threaded member extending axially of the chamber; the moveable member comprising a hub rotatably mounted on the threaded member, the hub including a valve closure surface and further comprising one or more blades extending from the hub and arranged so that the moveable member is caused to rotate by a flow of liquid through the chamber as the pourer is inverted in use so that the moveable member may move along the threaded member to close the valve.

The pitch of the thread on the threaded member may be arranged so that the moveable member rotates through one or two revolutions between the fully opened and closed positions of the valve.

The moveable member may include 2-4 blades, symmetrically disposed about the hub.

The blades preferably have inclined surfaces so that a rotational force is developed by passage of liquid through the pourer.

Alternatively, a rotor may have one or more apertures and inclined surfaces arranged to create a rotational force by passage of liquid through the apertures.

The pitch, number of revolutions, blade size and blade angle are selected so that passage of a predetermined measure of liquid causes rotation of the moving member to close the valve from a fully opened position.

The pourer is preferably configured to be inserted into a bottle neck in use without any part of the pourer extending outwardly from the bottle neck.

The pourer is preferably used for pouring a bottled liquid, for example, a bottled alcoholic beverage including spirits or liqueurs.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a bottle having a neck and a pourer iii accordance with the first aspect located wholly within the neck. The bottle may further include a cap or cork stopper closing the neck.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a metered dose pourer which may be wholly or substantially located within the neck of a conventional bottle, preferably to allow existing commercial spirit or liqueur bottles to be used without any need for modification of the capping apparatus.

In a first preferred embodiment the valve is located within the sealing means.

In particularly preferred embodiments the threaded member may be a tubular air vent having an inlet communicating with the exterior of the pourer and an outlet communicating with the interior of the bottle in use. This arrangement is advantageous because the air vent is located axially and is not affected by the angular orientation of a bottle into which the pourer is engaged.

The pourer of this invention has the advantage that it may be inserted into a bottle neck after filling and prior to capping of the bottle, without any need for alteration of the tooling of a capping apparatus. Use in bottles closed by cork stoppers is also facilitated because the pourer may be located a sufficient distance within the bottle neck to accommodate a cork.

The pourer, being wholly located within the neck may be concealed by the foil wrapper or label applied to the neck of the bottle.

Altematively the power may include a flange extending from the bottle neck and arranged to cooperate with a cap to seal the bottle. Preferably, the flange is thin so that the configuration of the cap need not be altered to accommodate the pourer.

Use of an axial conduit is preferred. This has the advantage that the rate of pouring is independent of rotation of the bottle.

The sealing means preferably comprises an array of radially extending resilient flanges arranged in axially spaced relation, the diameter of each flange being selected to allow liquid-tight engagement with an interior surface of a bottle neck. A pourer may be configured for use with a particularly dimensioned bottle. A selection of pourers may be provided for use with a range of bottles, for example as used by a particular drinks manufacturer. The sealing means may have flexible flanges to accommodate a range of common bottle sizes.

In certain embodiments, the conduit extends outwardly of the sealing means by a distance greater than the distance of the inlet of the air vent from the sealing means. This ensures that liquid pouring from the outlet does not enter the inlet of the air vent to avoid choking of the air vent.

In preferred embodiments, the distance of the outlet is more than 1 mm, preferably 5-50 mm, more preferably 10-50 mm, from the sealing means. The distance may be more than twice, preferably more than three times, the internal diameter of the conduit.

In a f1rther embodiment, the outlet of the air intake extends inwardly of the sealing means by a distance sufficient to prevent bubbles from entering the conduit or becoming entrained in the liquid flow into the inlet and provides suction at the inlet.

The distance of the air intake may be preferably 5-50 mm, more preferably 10-50 mm, from the sealing means.

In a preferred embodiment the sealing members may extend radially from a generally cylindrical body, the body having an internal cavity communicating with the inlet of the conduit. The cavity may be cylindrical or conical in shape. The cavity may serve to provide a funnel to direct a flow of liquid into the conduit. In addition, the hollow sealing means decreases the available volume within the bottle neck that is occupied by the pourer.

In alternative embodiments the air vent extends parallel to the pourer axis at a radial distance greater than the circumference of the conduit. The air vent may be located circumferentially of the pourer. A plurality of circumferentially located air vents may be provided.

In the first embodiment a closing baffle may be provided at the outer end of the conduit, arranged to be located within the neck of the bottle in use and co-planar with the rim of the neck. The baffle may have one or more apertures to permit air flow to the air vent.

The baffle may serve as a drip guard. A plurality of apertures which serve as air intakes may be located to form an annular array around the conduit.

The air vent preferably has a cross sectional area smaller than the conduit.

Preferably the air intake has a smaller diameter. This serves to restrict liquid flow into the intake due to surface tension and viscosity of the liquid According to one embodiment of the present invention the air intake comprises an annular passageway. For example the conduit and air intake may be provided as two concentric tubes. The narrow dimension of such an air intake may serve to minimise fluid ingress during use.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a bottle having a neck fitted with a pourer in accordance with the first aspect of the present invention and sealed with a screw cap.

Use of a pourer in accordance with this invention confers several advantages.

The quantity of a liquid poured from a bottle may be controlled, avoiding splashing and reducing the likelihood of an unnecessarily portion being supplied independent of the rotational angle of a bottle or if a bottle is rotated during pouring. This may be particularly beneficial if alcoholic spirits are being poured and the consumer does not wish to over indulge. The pourer may be inserted into the bottle during the bottling process, but does not impede application of a screw cap or a cork stopper inserted into the neck. Re-tooling of bottling apparatus is avoided. Furthermore, the pourer may be concealed by the foil wrapper applied to the neck of a bottle or by a suitable label.

It is not necessary that the pourer dispenses a measure sufficiently accurately to comply with legal requirements, although preferred embodiments of the invention may achieve this degree of reproducible accuracy. In alternative embodiments, the measure of liquid is determined sufficiently accurately to allow a user to monitor his or her alcoholic intake as an aid to avoiding excessive consumption.

The invention is further described by means of example, but not in any limitative sense, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:-Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first pourer in accordance with this invention; Figure 2 is a cross sectional view of the pourer inserted into the neck of a bottle; Figure 3 is a cross sectional view with the pourer inverted; and Figure 4 shows views of the pourer.

Figures 1-4 show a pourer in accordance with this invention. A cylindrical body (1) is disposed axially of the pourer. Five cylindrical disc-like flanges (2) extend radially from the body (1) and are dimensioned to engage an inner surface (3) of a bottle neck (4) as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

The body (1) includes a cylindrical conduit (5) extending axially of the pourer and bottle neck in use. The conduit has an outlet (6) having a smaller diameter than the conduit (5). A conical intermediate portion (7) provides an annular valve seat (8) surrounding the outlet (6). A threaded member (12) extends outwardly of the pourer from a support (13). The support has a liquid intake (24) located to one side of the pourer.

The moveable valve member comprises a hub (14) mounted on the threaded member (12). Blades (15) extend outwardly from the hub. An end portion of the hub has a valve closure member (16) arranged to co-operate with the valve seat (8) to provide a liquid tight seal when the moveable member is in the lower position, as shown in Figures 3 and 4.

In use of the pourer, the bottle is initially in the upright position as shown in Figure 2. Gravitational force causes the hub and rotor to descend to the lower position, as shown in Figure 2. When the bottle is inverted, liquid flowing through the inlet (24) impinges on the rotor blades (15) causing rotation of the moveable member so that the hub and blades move downwardly within the conduit (5) in order to close the valve. During the period of rotation, a metered quantity of liquid is dispensed. After the liquid has been poured from the bottle, the bottle may be returned to the upright position and the valve automatically resets to the open position as shown in Figure 2.

An air vent (9) extends from an inlet (10). The inlet is co-planar with the outer surface of the sealing means. The air vent has an outlet (11) conmiunicating with the conduits.

In use the sealing means may be inserted into the neck of a bottle either before or after filling of the bottle, so that the sealing means is wholly located within the neck of a bottle, without leaving any part of the sealing means extending beyond the neck. In the embodiment shown, the pourer may be concealed by the bottle cap and foil covering applied to the outer surface of the bottle neck.

Claims

CLAIMS1. According to a first aspect of the present invention a pourer comprises a conduit having an inlet and an outlet; sealing means comprising one or a plurality of sealing members extending radially from the conduit and dimensioned to engage an interior surface of a bottle neck; an air vent having an inlet and an outlet; the inlet and outlet of each of the conduit and air vent being located on opposite sides of the sealing means; wherein the pourer has a maximum diameter permitting it to be engaged completely within a bottle neck; and wherein the conduit includes a chamber having a valve comprising a valve seat and a moveable member located in the chamber arranged to engage the valve seat to close the valve when the pourer is inverted; a threaded member extending axially of the chamber; the moveable member comprising a hub rotatably mounted on the threaded member, the hub including a valve closure surface and further comprising one or more blades extending from the hub and arranged so that the moveable member is caused to rotate by a flow of liquid through the chamber as the pourer is inverted in use so that the moveable member may move along the threaded member to close the valve.
2. A pourer as claimed in claim I, wherein the moveable member rotates through one or two revolutions between the fully opened and closed positions of the valve.
3. A pourer as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the moveable member includes 2-4 blades symmetrically disposed about the hub.
4. A pourer as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the blades have inclined surfaces.
5. A pourer as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the threaded member comprises a tubular air vent.
6. A pourer as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the conduit extends axially inwardly from the sealing means, the conduit including the valve seat, the moveable member being moveable within the conduit between an open position remote from the valve seat and a closed position in which the moveable member engages the valve seat to close the valve.
7. A pourer as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the sealing means comprises an array of radially extending flanges arranged in axially spaced relation.
8. A pourer as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the outlet of the conduit is located outwardly of the sealing means.
9. A pourer as claimed am any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the conduit has an outlet generally co-planar with an outer surface of the sealing means.
10. A pourer as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the inlet of the conduit is located inwardly of the sealing means.
11. A pourer as claimed in any of claims ito 9, wherein the conduit has an inlet generally co-planar with an inner surface of the sealing means.
12. A pourer as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the conduit extends outwardly of the sealing means by a distance greater than the distance of the inlet of the air vent from the sealing means.
13. A pourer as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the sealing members extend radially from a generally cylindrical body, the body having an internal cavity communicating with the inlet of the conduit.
14. A pourer as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the air vent is located circumferentially of the pourer.
15. A pourer as claimed in claim 8 or any claim dependent on claim 8, wherein a closing baffle is provided at the outer end of the conduit.
16. A bottle having a neck and a pourer in accordance with any preceding claim.
17. A pourer substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
18. A bottle including a pourer substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.