Pre-filled personal hydration reservoir
A beverage reservoir for a personal hydration device is filled with a beverage concentrate and sealed in a tamper-evident manner. As a result, the reservoir can be sold pre-filled and the user can simply add water from any of a multitude of public water sources to form a beverage and use the reservoir confident that the beverage contains no mold, fungus, or residue from previously stored and consumed beverage. The reservoir can also include a port for re-filling such that the user can use the reservoir in a conventional manner after consumption of the beverage of the previously sealed-in beverage concentrate.
This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/251,707 filed Sep. 20, 2002.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to the field of beverage containers for active sports use, and more specifically to a particularly convenient reservoir for personal hydration and a method for making such a reservoir.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe importance of maintaining hydration while engaging in strenuous physical activity is well known. Recently, personal hydration devices have been developed which allow users to carry large amounts of liquids and drink more or less continuously during long periods of physical activity. These devices typically have a bag-like water reservoir that is carried in small, back-mounted packs and, more recently, backpacks of all sizes. A long flexible hose is connected to the reservoir at one end and terminates in a mouth piece at the other end. The hose is long enough to allow the user to carry the mouth piece and draw water from the reservoir at will during vigorous activity such as hiking or cycling.
Initial designs of the refillable reservoir suffered from two main limitations: restricted flow of the beverage at the junction between the hose and the reservoir and difficulty in cleaning the reservoir. Flow of the beverage is restricted when the user applies suction to the hose in an effort to drink and the reservoir collapses as the hose junction thereby forming an unwanted seal at the hose's end. Cleaning the reservoir is very important and difficult due to small diameters in the hose and a filling port in the reservoir. After a reservoir has been used to carry water, mold and/or fungus typically forms in the reservoir due to persistent moisture in the reservoir. After a reservoir has been used to carry sports beverages such as Gatorade®, a sticky residue remains and repeated fillings of such sports beverages eventually render the reservoir unusable.
More recent designs of hydration devices have been mostly successful of overcoming there early deficiencies. However, such recent designs still grow mold and/or fungus in the drinking hose due to lack of ventilation and are still difficult to clean despite larger fill openings. What is needed is a reservoir for a personal hydration device wherein difficulty in cleaning the reservoir is mitigated substantially.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn accordance with the present invention, a reservoir for use with a personal hydration pack is sealed in a tamper-evident manner while pre-filled with a beverage concentrate. Such indicates to the user that the beverage concentrate is clean, fresh, and free of contaminants from prior usage. In addition, the reservoir can be filled by a manufacturer of beverages and/or personal hydration reservoirs such that the end user purchases the reservoir pre-filled with concentrate. Accordingly, use of the personal hydration reservoir is particularly convenient since filling of the reservoir by the user can be accomplished at any location at which drinking water is dispensed. Most places in which strenuous, outdoor sports activities are practiced provide many locations dispensing drinking water, making each such location a potential source of a nourishing sports drink, containing many helpful and restorative ingredients other than water. More importantly, since many active people purchase such sports drinks for use in personal hydration devices, extraneous disposable containers in which such beverages are typically sold can be eliminated, thereby reducing costs and recyclable and non-recyclable waste.
The reservoir can be formed with a drinking hose attached and the beverage concentrate can be sealed with the drinking hose attached. In fact, the reservoir can be filled through the attached drinking hose and then sealed at the proximal end of the drinking hose. The reservoir can also be filled by welding the reservoir about the majority of its perimeter prior to filling and welding the remainder of the perimeter subsequent to filling.
The reservoir can include a sealed, tamper-evident re-filling port such that the reservoir can be used in a conventional manner after consumption of the beverage made from the previously sealed-in beverage concentrate. Accordingly, particularly active people can re-fill the reservoir if the originally supplied beverage is depleted prior to completion of a particularly long and strenuous period of high activity. For example, a cyclist on a particularly long ride can re-fill a depleted reservoir at any source of water to continue the ride without risking dehydration. By making the re-fill port tamper-evident, the user can be sure that the sealed-in beverage is clean, fresh, and free of contaminants despite the presence of the re-fill port.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In accordance with the present invention, personal hydration pack 10 includes a reservoir 20 which is pre-filled with a beverage concentrate and is sealed in a tamper-evident manner. Pre-filling reservoir 20 with a beverage concentrate prior to sealing in a tamper-evident manner allows the user to fill reservoir 20 from any drinking water source and therefore also eliminates waste containers such as plastic bottles in which the user would otherwise have purchased a beverage with which to fill reservoir 20. In addition, making pre-filled reservoirs such as reservoir 20 available to end-users encourages such end-users to purchase new reservoirs rather than risk build-up of mold and/or fungus in improperly cleaned, used reservoirs.
Reservoir 20 is positioned within personal hydration pack 10 as shown with personal hydration pack 10 shown cut-away. Personal hydration pack 10 includes two holes 12A-B through which drinking hose 22 of reservoir 20 can pass for drinking by a user during any of a number of physical activities such as hiking, cycling, skating, rowing, etc. In this illustrative embodiment, hose 22 terminates at a bite valve 24 which the user can bite to facilitate flow of a beverage contained within reservoir 20.
Reservoir 20 is shown in isolation in
Drinking hose 22 is welded to form a seal at proximal end 28. In one embodiment, reservoir 20 is welded around its perimeter and drinking hose 22 is fixed to reservoir 20 by hose fitting 24 prior to filling of reservoir 20 with a beverage. The beverage is then sealed within reservoir 20 by welding proximal end 28 of drinking hose 22. In an alternative embodiment, proximal end 28 of drinking hose 22 is sealed and drinking hose 22 is affixed to reservoir 20 in the manner described herein and a majority of the perimeter of reservoir 20 is welded prior to filling reservoir 22 with a beverage concentrate. After filling, the remainder of the perimeter of reservoir 20 is welded to seal in the beverage. In one illustrative example embodiment, the materials and techniques used are those described in the following U.S. patents which are incorporated herein by reference:
In either embodiment, the user adapts reservoir 20 for drinking by cutting off the welded portion of proximal end 28, filling reservoir 20 with water to mix with the concentrate, and affixing bite valve 24 to the now-open proximal end 28 of drinking hose 22. Thus, cutting of proximal end 28 of drinking hose 22 evidences a break of the seal of reservoir 20. Such is important in that tamper-evident sealing of reservoir 20 enables retail sale of reservoir 20 pre-filled with a beverage.
Sealing reservoir 20 with the beverage concentrate therein is a significant improvement over an alternative in which an unsealed reservoir pre-filled with concentrate is sealed within additional packaging. Not only does the sealed additional packaging represent unnecessary cost and wasted materials, but the sealed additional packaging hides the included reservoir and bite valve from the consumer, thereby making evaluation of the reservoir and concentrate combination difficult to evaluate for purchase.
An alternative embodiment is shown in
Port 32 is welded to reservoir 30 and has a threaded exterior annular surface which mates with a threaded cap 36. Port 32 is sealed by a user-removable seal 38 which, in this illustrative embodiment, is a ring-pull seal such as those used on conventional and currently available milk and juice cartons and which can be easily removed by a user without tools by simply pulling on a ring 38R after removing cap 36. The user attaches drinking hose 22 by screwing a hose fitting cap 40 onto port 32. Hose fitting cap 40 is sealed to drinking hose 22 as shown.
Port 34 is provided as an alternative port for re-filling reservoir 30 after consumption of the beverage previously made from water and the beverage concentrate pre-filled into reservoir 30 if the user so desires. Port 34 is also sealed and tamper-evident after initial filling.
Unlike with reservoir 20 described above, drinking hose 22 can be preserved and reused with multiple instances of reservoir 30. Alternatives to port 32 which are similarly sealed and tamper-evident are shown in
The user accesses the beverage concentrate sealed in reservoir 30 through port 42 by (i) piercing seal membrane 46 with sharp instrument 44 and (ii) inserting barbed distal end 48 into port 42. The user can then fill reservoir 30 through drinking hose 50 or, alternatively, through port 34.
An alternative configuration of drinking hose 22 is shown in
In another embodiment, personal hydration pack 10 (
The above description is illustrative only and is not limiting. For example, while welding is described herein as one embodiment for sealing a beverage in a flexible bag container, it should be appreciated that generally any technique for sealing a beverage in a flexible bag container can be used. It is also preferred that the reservoir support labeling in accordance with any applicable jurisdiction for the sale of pre-packaged beverages, including direct printing of content information on reservoir 20 and adhesive, pre-printed labels bearing such requisite information. The present invention is defined solely by the claims which follow and their full range of equivalents.
Claims
1. A method for forming a personal hydration device which includes carrier means for being carried by a user and a carcass attached to the carrier means wherein the carcass is designed to enclose a substantial majority of a reservoir and further wherein the reservoir is designed to store a beverage and to facilitate drinking of the beverage by the user while the reservoir is carried within the carcass of the personal hydration device, the method comprising:
- forming a body of the reservoir in a shape which is adapted for use in conjunction with the personal hydration device;
- filling the body with a beverage concentrate;
- sealing the beverage concentrate within the body in such a manner that access to the beverage concentrate within the body evidences breaking of the seal; and
- placing the sealed reservoir within the carcass of the personal hydration device.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
- attaching a drinking hose to the body prior to filling the body with the beverage concentrate such that the beverage concentrate is sealed within the body with the drinking hose attached.
3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:
- attaching a bite valve to the drinking hose prior to filling the body with the beverage concentrate such that the beverage concentrate is sealed within the body with the bite valve attached.
4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
- attaching a re-fill port to the body prior to filling the body with the beverage concentrate such that the beverage is sealed within the body with the re-fill port attached.
5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
- attaching one or more straps to the body such that the reservoir can be carried using the one or more straps without the personal hydration device.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein the one or more straps include two shoulder straps.
7. The method of claim 5 wherein the one or more straps include a waist strap.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 24, 2004
Publication Date: Dec 8, 2005
Inventor: David Setton (Oakland, CA)
Application Number: 10/926,109