Patents Represented by Law Firm Kennedy Coverington Lodbell & Hickman, LLP
  • Patent number: 6050444
    Abstract: A consumable beverage dispenser is provided having a collapsible beverage container, a valve assembly, and a flexible tube or straw. The collapsible beverage container has at least one opening and the valve assembly is secured to the container at the opening. The valve assembly includes a flexible diaphragm disposed across the flow path such that beverage flow is permitted only outwardly from the container. The flexible tube extends outwardly from the valve assembly. When a user exerts sucking action on the end of the flexible tube, beverage is made to flow from the container out through the one-way valve assembly and into the flexible tube. As beverage is withdrawn, the container collapses and, when the user stops drinking, the flexible diaphragm closes to prevent air and back flow from entering the container. In one embodiment, the flexible tube is slidable within the valve assembly between an open and a closed position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 1998
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2000
    Inventor: James Wesley Sugg