Water refilling assembly for hydro pack
A hydro pack includes a water bag with a handle on a top end thereof and a outlet frame is located on a lower end of the water bag. A connection member is connected with the outlet frame and a hose with semi-circular cross section is connected to the connection member. The other end of the hose is connected with a female unit. A universal mouth piece assembly, a bottle water connector, a faucet connector, a filtering unit and a suction unit each have a male part which is optionally connected with the female unit so as to conveniently and quick refill clean water in the water bag.
The present invention relates to a hydro pack, and more particularly, to a water refilling assembly for conveniently refill water in the hydro pack without removing the hydro pack from the backpack.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONA conventional hydro pack used for outdoor activities generally includes a water bag which is received in a backpack and includes an inlet portion through which water can be refilled into the water bag, and a hose which is cooperated with a mouth piece so that the user can suck the water from the water bag via the mouth piece. When the water in the water bag is used out, the user has to dismount the backpack and remove the water bag from the backpack to refill the water bag. Generally, the backpack is stuffed with items for outdoor use and all of the items have to re-arranged again when the full water bag is placed into the backpack again. This is not convenient for the user and some of the users may not want to refill the water because of the in convenience and this could cause serious result when travel in remote and wild places. Besides, the inlet portion of the water bag generally so small and the refill action becomes time consuming.
Furthermore, the quality of water that the user can get can be very much different. The clean water can be easily got when traveling in a urban area. It is difficult to have clean water in some areas such as in a forest where no tap water or bottled water provided so that the user has to filter the water retrieved from creeks or lakes. There are many filtering devices available in the market, but they are bulky and complicated so that it is impossible for a backpacker to carry this type of water filtering devices. In addition, most of the water filtering devices do not have a proper connection member to be connected with the personal hydro pack. All of the refilling assembly is operated with the hydro pack removed from the user and this requires a lot of time.
A conventional mouth piece assembly is shown in
However, because the locking member 3 is made by way of plastic injection and the flexible plate 32 is the only part that let the locking member 3 function, so that once the flexible plate 32 is broken or cracked, the locking member 3 cannot perform as expected. Besides, the press plate can easily be pressed unintentionally and this results disconnection between the male and female parts. Furthermore, the user has to press the press plate each time when connecting or disconnecting the male and female parts.
The present invention intends to provide a convenient refilling assembly for hydro pack and the refilling assembly can be easily connected with the hydro pack without removing the water bag from the backpack.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a refilling assembly for hydro pack and the refilling assembly can be cooperated with a filtering device which filters the water before it is refilled into the water bag of the hydro pack.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a refilling assembly for hydro pack wherein connection of the male and female parts are more efficient and easy to use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to a hydro pack and comprises a water bag having a handle on a top end thereof and a outlet frame is located on a lower end of the water bag. A connection member is connected with the outlet frame and a hose has one end connected to the outlet frame and the other end of the hose is connected with a female unit. The female unit includes a female part, a locking member and a valve unit, wherein the female part includes a tubular portion and a toothed tube is connected to an end of the tubular portion. A connection slot is defined in the other end of the tubular portion. The hose is connected to the toothed tube and the locking member is inserted into the connection slot. Two engaging holes are located in two ends of the connection slot.
The locking member includes a locking ring and a press plate extends transversely from the locking ring. A biasing plate extends from the locking ring and is located opposite to the press plate. Two hooks extend from the locking ring and the biasing plate is located between the two hooks. A guide inclined surface is defined in a side of the locking ring. The locking member is inserted into the connection slot and the two hooks are engaged with the engaging holes. The biasing plate biases an inside of the connection slot.
The valve unit includes a tapered valve, a seal ring and a spring, wherein the tapered valve has a groove in one end thereof and the seal ring is engaged with the groove. The spring is mounted to the tapered valve and contacts a flange on the other end of the tapered valve so as to seal an opening in the tubular portion by the seal ring.
A universal mouth piece assembly, a bottle water connector, a faucet connector, a filtering unit and a suction unit each have a male part which is optionally connected with the female unit as needed. The male part includes a tubular body and a groove is defined in an end thereof, a seal ring is engaged with the groove. An engaging recess is defined in the other end of the male part. The male part is inserted into the tubular portion of the female part and the seal ring seals the inner periphery of the tubular portion of the female part. The locking member is engaged with the engaging recess.
The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.
Referring to
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The locking member 52 includes a locking ring 521 and a press plate 522 extends transversely from the locking ring 521. A biasing plate 523 extends from the locking ring 521 and is located opposite to the press plate 522. Two hooks 524 extend from the locking ring 521 and the biasing plate 523 is located between the two hooks 524. A guide inclined surface 5211 is defined in a side of the locking ring 521 so as to guide the male part 61/71/81/932/101 to insert into the female part 51. The locking member 52 is inserted into the connection slot 513 and the two hooks 524 engaged with the engaging holes 5131. The biasing plate 523 biases an inside of the connection slot 513.
The valve unit 53 includes a tapered valve 531, a seal ring 532 and a spring 533. The tapered valve 531 has a groove 5311 in one end thereof and the seal ring 532 is engaged with the groove 5311. The spring 533 is mounted to the tapered valve 531 and contacts a flange on the other end of the tapered valve 531 so as to seal an opening in the tubular portion 512 by the seal ring 532.
Referring to
The reception member 6312 is rotatably inserted into the insertion hole 621 and the connection tube 63121 is engaged with the connection hole 6221 so that the first pivotable member 62 and the mouth piece unit 63 are connected to each other. The mouth piece unit 63 is pivotable about an axis of the connection tube 63121 and the first pivotable member 62 is connected with the male part 61 so that the first pivotable member 62 is pivotable about an axis of the male part 61. The mouth piece 635 can be pivoted about the axis of the connection tube 63121 and the first pivotable member 62 is pivotable about an axis of the male part 61 so that the user can reach the mouth piece 635 from any angle. A cap unit 60 is connected to the mouth piece unit 63 and includes a ring 601 and a cap 603. A connection strip 602 is connected between the ring 601 and the cap 603. The cap 603 is removably mounted to the mouth piece 635 to avoid the mouth piece 635 from being contaminated.
The male part 61 includes a tubular body and a groove 611 is defined in an end thereof. A seal ring 6110 is engaged with the groove 611. An engaging recess 612 is defined in the other end of the male part 61.
When the male part 61 on the first pivotable member 62 is inserted into the tubular portion 512 of the female part 51, the seal ring 6110 seals the inner periphery of the tubular portion 512 of the female part 51. The male part 61 presses the tapered valve 531 to move the seal ring 532 away from the inner periphery of the tubular portion 512 such that the universal mouth piece assembly 6 communicates with the female unit 5. The locking rings 521 is engaged with the engaging recess 612 of the male part 61 to position the male part 61 in the female part 51 and restricts the pivotable movement of the mouth piece unit 63 relative to eh female part 51. Besides, the seal member 634 of the mouth piece unit 63 prevents splashing when the interior pressure in the mouth piece unit 63 is too high. Also, the seal member 634 of the mouth piece unit 63 prevents suction when the interior pressure in the mouth piece unit 63 is too low. The existence ensures that the user can suck the water safe and comfortable.
As shown in
The male part 71 includes a tubular body and a groove 711 is defined in an end thereof. A seal ring 75 is engaged with the groove 711 and an engaging recess 712 is defined in the other end of the male part 71.
As shown in
The adapter 74 and the fitting ribs 742 are made by soft material so as to be cooperated with the open ends 1101 of the water bottles 110 of different sizes. When refilling water into the water bag 4 from a water bottle 110. As shown in
When releasing the squeezing action, the water inlet bowl 721 has higher interior pressure and the flexible disk 722 is pushed by the higher pressure to seal the apertures 7232 to prevent the water from flowing reversely. In the same time, the air inlet bowl 732 includes negative pressure and the air outside the air inlet bowl 732 enters the water bottle 110 via the tube 7321 and the air inlets 7322. The ribs 7323 on the air inlet bowl 732 prevent the open end 1101 and the fitting ribs 742 from sealing the air inlets 7322 when the water bottle 110 is pushed toward the adapter 74. After two or three times of squeeze, the water in the water bottle 110 can be filled into the water bag 4. When pressing the press plate 522, the locking ring 521 is moved away from the engaging recess 712 so that the bottle water connector 7 can be pulled and separated from the female part 51.
Two recesses 1044 are defined in the rotary disk 104 and two rollers 1045 are rotatably received in the recesses 1044 by two pins 1046. A gap is defined between the rollers 1045 and the side panels 10313, the hose 100 is narrowed in the gap. A handle base 1047 is connected to the rotary disk 104 and a biasing plate 10471 is located in the handle base 1047. A handle 1048 has one end pivotably connected to the handle base 1047 and a pivot 10481 extends from the other end of the handle 1048 so as to be connected with a knob 1049. The handle 1048 can be folded and extend through the hole 10491 and the through hole 10315 so as to be carried conveniently.
As shown in
While we have shown and described the embodiment in accordance with the present invention, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
Claims
1. A hydro pack comprising:
- a water bag (4) having a handle (43) on a top end thereof and an outlet frame (41) located on a lower end of the water bag (4), a connection member (42) connected with the outlet frame (41) and a hose (420) having one end connected to the outlet frame (41) and the other end of the hose (420) connected with a female unit (5), the female unit (5) including a female part (51), a locking member (52) and a valve unit (53), the female part (51) including a tubular portion (512) and a toothed tube (511) connected to an end of the tubular portion (512) and a connection slot (513) defined in the other end of the tubular portion (512), the hose (420) connected to the toothed tube (511) and the locking member (52) inserted into the connection slot (513), two engaging holes (5131) located in two ends of the connection slot (513);
- the locking member (52) including a locking ring (521) and a press plate (522) extending transversely from the locking ring (521), a biasing plate (523) extending from the locking ring (521) and located opposite to the press plate (522), two hooks (524) extending from the locking ring (521) and the biasing plate (523) located between the two hooks (524), a guide inclined surface (5211) defined in a side of the locking ring (521), the locking member (52) inserted into the connection slot (513) and the two hooks (524) engaged with the engaging holes (5131), the biasing plate (523) biasing an inside of the connection slot (513);
- the valve unit (53) including a tapered valve (531), a seal ring (532) and a spring (533), the tapered valve (531) having a groove (5311) in one end thereof and the seal ring (532) engaged with the groove (5311), the spring (533) mounted to the tapered valve (531) and contacting a flange on the other end of the tapered valve (531) so as to seal an opening in the tubular portion (512) by the seal ring (532), and
- a universal mouth piece assembly (6), a bottle water connector (7), a faucet connector (8), a filtering unit (9) and a suction unit (10) each have a male part (61/71/81/932/101) which is optionally connected with the female unit (5), the male part (61/71/81/932/101) including a tubular body and a groove (611/711/811) defined in an end thereof, a seal ring (6110/75/812) engaged with the groove (611/711/811), an engaging recess (612/712/813) defined in the other end of the male part (61/71/81/932/101), the male part (61/71/81/932/101) inserted into the tubular portion (512) of the female part (51) and the seal ring (6110/75/812) sealing the inner periphery of the tubular portion (512) of the female part (51), the locking member (52) engaged with the engaging recess (612/712/813).
2. The hydro pack as claimed in claim 1, wherein the handle (43) includes a clamp slot (431) defined in an underside thereof which includes a guide opening 4311 in one end and a closed end through which a through hole (4312) is defined, a rod (435) is clamped in the clamp slot (431) and has two connection parts (4352) on one end thereof, the connection parts (4352) are movably and rotatably engaged with the through hole (4312), multiple ribs (4351) are formed on the other end of the rod (435), the rod (435) includes an axial ridge (4353) extending from an outer surface thereof and the axial ridge (4353) is located corresponding to an elongate slit (4313) defined between two parts of the clamp slot (431), two first transverse ridges (4354) on the rod (435) contacting two respective lower insides of the two parts of the clamp slot (431), two second transverse ridges (4355) on the rod (435) contacting two respective mediate insides of the two parts of the clamp slot (431), two third transverse ridges (4356) on the rod (435) contacting two respective upper insides of the two parts of the clamp slot (431), the two respective lower insides of the two parts of the clamp slot (431) are located right above the elongate slit (4313), the water bag (4) having an open end (40) which is bent and inserted into a gap between the rod (435) and the two parts of the clamp slot (431), the handle (43) includes a grip holes (432) and two clamp holes (433) with which the hose (420) is engaged.
3. The hydro pack as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outlet frame (41) includes a connection plate (411) which is fixed to the water bag (4) and a tubular portion (412) extends from the connection plate (411), a cylindrical valve (413) is inserted into the tubular portion (412) of the outlet frame (41), a seal ring (414) is engaged with a groove (4131) defined in an end of the cylindrical valve (413) and a flange extends radailly outward from the other end of the cylindrical valve (413), a spring (415) is mounted to the cylindrical valve (413) and contacts the flange of the cylindrical valve (413) so as to seal an inner periphery of the tubular portion (412) by the seal ring (414), a press plate (416) is mounted to the tubular portion (412) and a spring (417) is biased between the press plate (416) and the tubular portion (412), a C-shaped engaging portion (4161) extends from the press plate (416) and overlaps on an opening of the tubular portion (412), the connection member (42) has one end inserted into the tubular portion (412) via the C-shaped engaging portion (4161) and the opening of the tubular portion (412), and a seal ring (422) engaged with a groove (421) defined in the connection member (42), an engaging recess (423) is defined in the connection member (42) and the C-shaped engaging portion (4161) is engaged with the engaging recess (423), the connection member (42) has a toothed tube (424) which is connected with the hose (420).
4. The hydro pack as claimed in claim 1, wherein the universal mouth piece assembly (6) includes the male part (61) at a lower end thereof and a first pivotable member (62) is connected to the male part (61), the first pivotable member (62) has a mouth piece unit (63) which includes a body (631), a spring (632), a collar (633), a seal member (634), a mouth piece (635), a seal ring (636) and a seal ring (637), the body (631) has a reception tube (6311) and the mouth piece (635) is mounted to the reception tube (6311), the spring (632) is located at an inner end of the reception tube (6311) biases the seal member (634) which has a seal ring (636) mounted to a first end thereof, a plurality of notches (6341) are defined in an outer surface thereof and a seal end (6342) is connected to a second end of the seal member (634), the collar (633) is engaged with the reception tube (6311) and the first end of the seal member (634) is inserted into the collar (633), the seal end (6342) removably seals an outlet (6351) in the mouth piece (635), the body (631) has a pivotable member (6312) connected to and located opposite to the reception tube (6311), the pivotable member (6312) communicates with an interior of the body (631) and the reception member (6312), a connection tube (63121) extends from a side of the pivotable member (6312) and a seal ring (637) is mounted to the connection tube (63121), the first pivotable member (62) has an insertion hole (621) and a chamber (622) communicates with a side of the insertion hole (621), the chamber (622) includes a connection hole (6221) and a cover (623) is mounted to an opening of the chamber (622), the chamber (622) communicates with an interior of the first pivotable member (62), the reception member (6312) is rotatably inserted into the insertion hole (621) and the connection tube (63121) is engaged with the connection hole (6221) so that the first pivotable member (62) and the mouth piece unit (63) are connected to each other, the mouth piece unit (63) is pivotable about an axis of the connection tube (63121) and the first pivotable member (62) is connected with the male part (61) so that the first pivotable member (62) is pivotable about an axis of the male part (61).
5. The hydro pack as claimed in claim 4, wherein a cap unit (60) is connected to the mouth piece unit (63) and includes a ring (601) and a cap (603), a connection strip (602) is connected between the ring (601) and the cap (603).
6. The hydro pack as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bottle water connector (7) is connected with the male part (71) and a water inlet bowl (721) is connected to the male part (71), an air inlet bowl (732) is mounted to the water inlet bowl (721) and a tube (7321) is connected to the air inlet bowl (732), an adapter (74) is connected to the tube (7321) and includes multiple fitting ribs (742) which form a tapered outer surface so as to be cooperated with water bottles (110) of different sizes, the water inlet bowl (721) has a plurality of positioning recesses (7211) defined in an inner periphery thereof, a flexible disk (722) is connected to the air inlet bowl (732) which has multiple positioning blocks (7233) which are engaged with the positioning recesses (7211), multiple apertures (7232) are defined through the positioning disk (723).
7. The hydro pack as claimed in claim 1, wherein the faucet connector (8) includes an adapter (82) and the male part (81), a hose (83) is connected between a toothed tube (8211) of the adapter (82) and a toothed tube (814) of the male part (81), the adapter (82) includes a bowl-shaped body (821) and a connection groove (8212) is defined in an outer periphery thereof, a fitting ring (822 is mounted to the bowl-shaped body (821) and engaged with the connection groove (8212, the fitting ring (822 has an opening (8221) with which a faucet is connected.
8. The hydro pack as claimed in claim 1, wherein the filtering unit (9) includes a top cover (91), a seal ring (92), a bottom cover (93), a ceramic filtering member (94) and a filtering net (95), the top cover (91) is connected with a female part (911) which has a tubular portion (9111) and the tubular portion (9111) communicates with an inlet (912) of the top cover (91), the tubular portion (9111) has a connection slot (9112) and a locking member (96) is inserted into the connection slot (9112), the top cover (91) has a filtering chamber (913) defined therein and an outer thread (914) is defined in an outer surface of the top cover (91), the ceramic filtering member (94 is received in the filtering chamber (913) and active carbon particles (941) are received in the ceramic filtering member (94), the seal ring (92) seals the filtering chamber (913) and has an outlet (921) on which the filtering net (95) is mounted, Zinc-Copper powders (951) are received in the filtering net (95), the bottom cover (93) has an inner thread (931) which is threadedly connected with the outer thread (914) of the top cover (91), the bottom cover (93) presses the seal ring (92) and is connected with the male part (932).
9. The hydro pack as claimed in claim 1, wherein the suction unit (10) includes a suction head (102), a body (103) and a rotary disk (104), the suction head (102) includes a plurality of slats (1021) and a passage (1022) is defined through a center of the slats (1021), a net (1023) is located between the slats (1021), the suction head (102) includes a toothed tube (1024) so as to be connected with a hose (100), the body(103) includes a back board (1031), a restriction member (1032) and a band (10316), the back board (1031) is an n-shaped board and has a pin hole (10311) defined through a center thereof, two side panels (10313) are connected on two sides of the back board (1031) and each side panel (10313) has a locking slit (10314), the restriction member (1032) is located at a lower end of the back board (1031), two clips (10323) are connected on two ends of the restriction member (1032), each clip (10323) includes a rail (10321) and a hook (10322) formed therein, the rails (10321) are engaged with the locking slits (10314) and the hooks (10322) hook on the side panels (10313), two tie holes (10312) are formed on a rear side of the back board (1031) and two ends of the band (10316) are tied with the tie holes (10312), the rotary disk (104) is a circular disk and has a pin hole (1041) defined centrally therethrough which is located corresponding to the pin hole (10311) in the back board (1031), a pin (1042) extends through the two pin holes (10311, 1041), a semi-circular groove (1043) is defined in an outer periphery of the rotary disk (104) and the hose (100) is located between the semi-circular groove (1043) and the back board (1031), two ends of the hose (100) are engaged with the two clips (10323), an outlet end of the hose (100) is connected with the male part (101), two recesses (1044) are defined in the rotary disk (104) and two rollers (1045) are rotatably received in the recesses (1044) by two pins (1046), a gap is defined between the rollers (1045) and the side panels (10313), the hose (100) is narrowed in the gap, a handle base (1047) is connected to the rotary disk (104) and a biasing plate (10471) is located in the handle base (1047), a handle (1048) has one end pivotably connected to the handle base (1047) and a pivot (10481) extends from the other end of the handle (1048) so as to be connected with a knob (1049).
10. The hydro pack as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hose (420) has a semi-circular cross section.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 17, 2008
Publication Date: Jan 21, 2010
Inventor: Chien-Ping Lien (Taipei Hsien)
Application Number: 12/219,184