FLOW RATE ENHANCEMENT DEVICE AND METHOD OF USE THEREOF
A flow rate enhancement device that comprises a tube and a band, the tube allowing for air communication from outside of a container to the floor of the container, thus preventing negative pressure from building within the container as it is emptied, and the band helps secure the device to the container's opening.
To the full extent permitted by law, the present application claims priority to and the full benefit from Patent Application No. 61/688,430, Container with Stem, filed May 14, 2012, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and this application also claims priority to and the full benefit from patent application Ser. No. 13/340,831, Liquid Container with Enhanced Fluid Flow, filed Dec. 30, 2011, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and this application also claims priority from patent application Ser. No. 29/443,663, Flow Rate Enhancement Device, filed Jan. 21, 2013, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT None PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT None REFERENCE TO A SEQUENCE LISTING None BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Technical Field of the Invention
The disclosure generally relates to pouring liquids out of containers, and more specifically to a flow rate enhancement device for doing the same.
2. Description of Related Art
The disclosure relates generally to a flow rate enhancement device and a method of using the same.
When pouring liquids out of containers, it is common for the liquid to completely occlude the opening of the container. This temporarily prevents air from entering the container, creating reduced (negative) pressure inside the container. This slows down the outward flow of liquid, until finally a pocket of air pushes the liquid aside to get inside the area of reduced (negative) pressure. When this happens, the flow of the liquid is interrupted.
Therefore, it is readily apparent that there is a recognizable unmet need for a flow enhancement device that is easy to use, easy to produce, and allows liquids to be poured from containers more efficiently.
SUMMARYBriefly described, in a preferred embodiment, the present apparatus and method overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages and meets the recognized need for such a device by providing a flow rate enhancement device that is easy to use, simple to manufacture, and allows for easier use of containers with liquids.
The present apparatus and method includes a flow rate enhancement device that includes a tube and a band. The tube allows air communication from outside of a container to the floor of the container, thus preventing negative pressure from building within the container as it is emptied. The band can be used to secure the device to the container's opening.
According to its major aspects and broadly stated, the present disclosure describes a flow rate enhancement device, the flow rate enhancement device comprising a tube. The tube is placed in a container that has an opening and a floor, the opening of the container having an interior wall. The tube partially occludes the container's opening, and the tube provides fluid communication, of air, between the opening and near the container's floor.
The tube has a top, a bottom, and a channel through which the air flows. The bottom of the tube is placed near the container's floor, and the top of the tube is near the container's opening.
The flow rate enhancement device also has a band, and the band has an outer wall that is proximate, or even in contact with, container's opening's interior wall. The band's upper edge is near to the container's opening.
In some embodiments, the tube's bottom is non-linear, thus preventing the bottom from forming a seal with the container's floor. Alternatively, tube may not be long enough to reach all the way to container's floor.
The flow rate enhancement device may be adhesively secured to the container, or it may be fixedly secured to container, or it may be manufactured as part of the container or the band alone may be manufactured as part of the container.
In use, the flow rate enhancement device is inserted into a container that has a floor and an opening, and the tube provides air flow from the container's opening to the container's floor. Whatever the container holds, such as a liquid or liquid-like substance, is poured out of the container, and air flow concurrently flows through the tube, such air flow may result from a vacuum created in the container by liquid exiting the container when tipped upside down.
More specifically, the present disclosure of a preferred embodiment is a flow rate enhancement device, the flow rate enhancement device having a tube and a band. The tube has a top, a channel, a bottom, and an air opening. The band has an inner wall, an outer wall, an upper edge, a lower edge, and a liquid opening and/or an air opening; such liquid opening may include the container opening. The flow rate enhancement device is placed in the container opening or the tube is placed in the container opening having an air opening, and the container has an opening, an interior wall, and a floor.
The air opening lies within the channel near the top of the tube. The liquid opening lies within the interior of the inner wall of the band.
The channel lies within the tube, and fluidly communicates the tube's top with the tube's bottom. The band's outer wall lies on the exterior periphery of the band, and the band's inner wall lies in the interior periphery of the band. The band's upper edge is near the tube's top. The band's lower edge may be approximately ¼″ below upper edge, although it will be recognized that the lower edge may be any distance from upper edge or even therewith. The air flows into the tube's channel as liquid flows through the band and out of the container.
In use, the flow rate enhancement device is inserted into a container via the opening, by first inserting the tube's bottom into the container. The tube's bottom may be non-linear, thus preventing the bottom from forming a seal with the container's floor. For exemplary purposes only, the tube's bottom may be a jagged edge, or the bottom may be angled or the bottom may comprise a slit partly up the tube that provides fluid communication between the channel and near, but not directly against, the container's floor. Also, tube may not be long enough to reach the container's floor.
When the flow rate enhancement device is fully inserted in the container, the bottom is near the container's floor. Further, the top and the band are near and within the container's opening. The outer wall is in contact with the container's interior wall, and friction between the outer wall and the interior wall prevents flow rate enhancement device from falling fully into the container.
Rather than being secured via friction to the container, the device may also be secured via an adhesive such as glue, it may also be manufactured into the container such that the device is fixedly secured to the container, and the flow rate enhancement device may be manufactured as part of the container such that the container's interior wall includes the band of the flow rate enhancement device.
Accordingly, a feature of the flow rate enhancement device is its ability to be easy to install and use.
Another feature of the flow rate enhancement device is its ability to be inexpensive to manufacture.
Yet another feature and advantage of the flow rate enhancement device is its ability to be used in many different types of containers with many different types of liquids.
Yet another feature and advantage of the flow rate enhancement device is its ability to be manufactured directly into the containers.
Yet another feature and advantage of the flow rate enhancement device is its ability to be transferable from one container to another.
Yet another feature and advantage of the flow rate enhancement device is its ability to be easily cleaned.
These and other features of the flow rate enhancement device will become more apparent to one skilled in the art from the prior Summary, and following Brief Description of the Drawings, Detailed Description, and Claims when read in light of the accompanying Detailed Drawings.
The present flow rate enhancement device will be better understood by reading the Detailed Description with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and in which like reference numerals denote similar structure and refer to like elements throughout, and in which:
It is to be noted that the drawings presented are intended solely for the purpose of illustration and that they are, therefore, neither desired nor intended to limit the disclosure to any or all of the exact details of construction shown, except insofar as they may be deemed essential to the claimed invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONIn describing the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, as illustrated in
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It is contemplated herein that flow rate enhancement device 100, in addition to being secured via friction to container C, may also be secured via an adhesive such as glue, it may also be manufactured into container C such that flow rate enhancement device 100 is fixedly secured to container C, and flow rate enhancement device 100 may be manufactured as part of container C such that interior wall IW of container C comprises band 300 of flow rate enhancement device 100.
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In an alternate embodiment (not shown), flow rate enhancement device 100 may comprises tube 200 but not band 300. In this embodiment, tube 200 still provides air flow AF from container's C opening O and container's C floor F, and tube may be secured to container's opening via adhesives or being manufactured therewith container C.
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It is contemplated herein that band opening 360 or channel 220 may be configured otherwise, such as a mouth having pointed or arced ends, a bent kidney bean having curved ends, or other the openings or passageways known to one of ordinary skill in the art.
The foregoing description and drawings comprise illustrative embodiments. Having thus described exemplary embodiments, it should be noted by those skilled in the art that the within disclosures are exemplary only, and that various other alternatives, adaptations, and modifications may be made within the scope of the present disclosure. Merely listing or numbering the steps of a method in a certain order does not constitute any limitation on the order of the steps of that method. Many modifications and other embodiments will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Although specific terms may be employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. Accordingly, the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments illustrated herein, but is limited only by the following claims.
Claims
1. A flow rate enhancement device for a container having an opening, an interior wall, and a floor, wherein said flow rate enhancement device comprises:
- a tube, wherein said tube is placed in the container having the opening and the floor, and wherein said tube partially occludes the opening, and wherein said tube provides fluid communication between the opening and proximately near the floor of the container.
2. The flow rate enhancement device of claim 1, wherein said tube comprises a top and a bottom, and wherein said bottom is proximate the floor of the container.
3. The flow rate enhancement device of claim 2, wherein said top of said tube is proximate the opening of the container.
4. The flow rate enhancement device of claim 3, wherein said tube comprises a channel, and wherein said channel provides air flow communication from between the opening and the floor of the container.
5. The flow rate enhancement device of claim 4, wherein said flow rate enhancement device further comprises a band, and wherein said band comprises an outer wall.
6. The flow rate enhancement device of claim 5, wherein said outer wall of said band is in contact with the interior wall of the container.
7. The flow rate enhancement device of claim 6, wherein said band comprises an upper edge, and said upper edge is proximate the opening of the container.
8. The flow rate enhancement device of claim 7, wherein said bottom of said tube is non-linear, thus preventing said bottom from forming a seal with the floor of the container.
9. The flow rate enhancement device of claim 5, wherein said band is split, having a first end and a second end of said band.
10. The flow rate enhancement device of claim 6, wherein said band is adhesively secured to the interior wall of the container.
11. The flow rate enhancement device of claim 6, wherein said band is fixedly secured to interior wall of the container.
12. The flow rate enhancement device of claim 6, wherein said flow rate enhancement device is manufactured as part of the interior wall of the container.
13. A method of using a flow rate enhancement device for a container having an opening, an interior wall, and a floor, said method comprising the step of:
- inserting said flow rate enhancement device into the container having an opening, an interior wall, and a floor, wherein said flow rate enhancement devices comprises a tube and a band, and wherein said tube provides air flow communication between the opening and the floor of the container.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the container contains a liquid-like substance, said method further comprising the step of:
- pouring the liquid-like substance out of the container, wherein air flow concurrently flows through said tube into the container.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein said tube comprises a top and a bottom, and wherein air flow concurrently flowing through said tube comprises air flow entering said tube proximate said top and air flow exiting said tube proximate said bottom.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein said band comprises an outer wall, and wherein the container's opening comprises an interior wall, wherein inserting said flow rate enhancement device into a container comprises placing said band's outer wall and the container's interior wall in contact with each other.
17. A flow rate enhancement device for a container having an opening and a floor, wherein said flow rate enhancement device comprises:
- a tube, wherein said tube is placed in the container having the opening and the floor; and
- a band, wherein said band comprises an air opening and a liquid opening.
18. The flow rate enhancement device of claim 17, wherein said band is secured to the container's opening.
19. The flow rate enhancement device of claim 18, wherein said tube comprises a channel and a bottom, and wherein said tube's bottom is proximate the container's floor.
20. The flow rate enhancement device of claim 19, wherein said liquid opening of said band enables liquid flows through said liquid opening.
21. The flow rate enhancement device of claim 19, wherein said air opening of said band enables air flow through said air opening.
22. The flow rate enhancement device of claim 19, wherein said band is separate from said tube, and said tube is inserted into said air opening of said band.
Type: Application
Filed: May 14, 2013
Publication Date: Sep 19, 2013
Inventor: Dillon George (Ooltewah, TN)
Application Number: 13/894,006
International Classification: B65D 47/32 (20060101);