RESERVOIR SYSTEM AND METHOD OF USE
A system for structurally supporting the interior of a fluid reservoir is disclosed. The reservoir can have a reinforcing brace within the reservoir. The brace can be splittable or separable, which can allow the reservoir to be inverted, for example for easier cleaning. The brace can maintain the shape of the reservoir when the reservoir is filled with liquid, preventing the reservoir from forming a cylindrical cross-section. The control of the shape of the reservoir can prevent or minimize distortion of a backpack which is carrying the reservoir.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/353,638, filed Jan. 19, 2012, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional App. No. 61/461,559, filed Jan. 19, 2011, both of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of fluid reservoirs. More specifically, this invention relates to reservoirs that can be stored in a larger bag.
2. Description of the Related Art
Light weight, resealable bags are used increasingly in sporting activities, such as hiking, biking, and snow sport activities like skiing and snowboarding. The reservoirs are often carried in a separate, larger bag, such as in a pocket of a backpack. When storing liquid, the reservoir passively forms a shape based on the placement of the seams and the strength of the walls. Often, the empty reservoir will be generally flat and the liquid-filled reservoir will form a generally cylindrical shape. This change in overall shape results in an awkward fit of the reservoir within the backpack when full, changing the ergonomics of the backpack and pressing into the wearer's back.
Limited access to the interior of typical bags makes cleaning more difficult and increases the potential for unclean and unsanitary bags. Once liquids placed in the bags are consumed, the remaining deposits encourage the growth of bacteria and mold. If left uncleaned, such growths can leave stains on the bag, may retain odors, taint any other fluids subsequently introduced into the bag, and create health risks. Regular and thorough cleaning of the inside of the reservoir is critical.
Commonly used bags for sporting are typically accessible through a relatively small side port in the bag, often covered by a removable cap. The side port limits the access to the interior of the bag, thereby limiting the ability to clean the interior of the bag.
Therefore, a closeable reservoir system is desired that is capable of ease of internal reservoir cleaning and able to hold the reservoir in a generally consistent shape whether empty or full. A closeable reservoir system is also desired that can provide rapid, convenient and clean liquid addition and removal without significantly changing the overall shape of the reservoir. It is also desired to have a closeable reservoir system with a reservoir that can withstand significantly increased fluid pressures without leaking or changing shape so much as to significantly distort the overall shapes of surrounding components. A closeable reservoir system is also desired that is easy and fast to open and close without going through a change in shape.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONA reservoir system is disclosed. The system has a container, such as a bag, and a sealing member, and an internal wall, baffle, strut or brace internally connecting opposite sides of the exterior walls. The reservoir system can have a carrier, such as a backpack. The carrier can have one or more pockets. The container can be in one of the carrier pockets.
The container can have a reservoir and an orifice. The orifice can have closed and open configurations. The reservoir can be in fluid communication with the orifice. The orifice can have an orifice closed length when the orifice is in the closed configuration.
The sealing member can be configured to slidably attach to the container. The sealing member can have has a seal length. The seal length can be at least substantially equal to the orifice closed length. The sealing mechanism can be configured to seal the container. The sealing member can have a substantially straight configuration.
The sealing member can be configured to attachably engage the container. The container can have a first end and a first side, and wherein the orifice is at the first end. The container can have an opening on the first side of the container. The reservoir system can have a cap removably attached to the opening. The cap can have a socket configured to attach to a tube. The sealing member can be tethered to the container. The sealing member can be configured to be interference fit to the container.
The brace can be separable into two pieces and/or from one or more sides of the exterior bag wall. The brace can have a re-attachable component. The re-attachable component can be a zipper, locking fork, brace slider, buckles, buttons and slots, straps and slots, lace and holes, hook and loop tape, or combinations thereof. With the sealing member removed and the brace separated, the bag can be inverted, for example, for ease of cleaning and access.
When finished with the need to access the inside of the bag, the bag can be everted (or “inverted” if the original motion described herein as inverting is actually considered by the reader as everting), the brace can be reattached. The reservoir can then be refilled with liquid, which may not cause a significant change in the depth of the bag due to the tension of the brace. The slider can be then be reattached to the bag, sealing the liquid in the reservoir.
The bag 12 can have one or more bag reinforcements 16, such as bag seals. The bag reinforcements 16 can strengthen one or more higher-probability mechanical failure areas on the bag 12. For example, first and second bag reinforcements 16a and 16b can be located on opposite sides of the bag 12 adjacent to the primary bag opening near the slider 14. A third reinforcement 16c can be located along all or a portion of the width of the bottom of the bag 12. The bag seals can have thicker dimensions than the surrounding material. The bag seals can have layers of the material of the bag 12 or a different material attached to and/or integral with the bag 12. The bag seals can be along all or part (as shown) of the circumference of the bag 12, for example, excluding the portion of the bag 12 adjacent to the orifice.
The slider 14 and the bag 12 can be configured to facilitate slidably translating the slider 14 on the bag 12. The slider 14 can have a slider seal configured to seal the orifice. The slider seal can be, for example, the location on the slider 14 where the dimensions of slider arms force the bag 12 to seal the bag 12. The top of the bag 12 can have an orifice and a first lip 18a and a second lip 18b surrounding the orifice. The slider 14 can pressure seal the bag 12 by pressing the first lip 18a and the second lip 18b together.
The bag 12 can be made from a single sheet or from separate sheets, for example, integrated and/or attached at the bag seams. The lips 18 can have lip seams. The lip seams can be part of the bag seams. The bag and/or lip seams can be leak-proof and water-tight when pressed together, for example by the slider 14.
The bag 12 and slider 14 can have any of the features, elements, or other disclosure from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/445,721, filed 2 Jun. 2006, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,043,005, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The bag 12 can have a brace 20 inside of the reservoir 15. The brace 20 can be positioned within a brace zone 22. The brace zone 22 can be spaced from the outflow socket 25 or nozzle by a brace zone bottom gap 24. The brace zone bottom gap 24 can be from about 0 in. to about 3 in., for example about 0.5 in. The brace 20 can be spaced from the top of the bag 12 by a brace zone top gap 26. The brace zone top gap 26 can be from about 0 in. to about 5 in., for example about 2.75 in.
The bag 12 can have a bag width 26, for example any width or widths about 1 in. wider than those described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/445,721, supra.
The bag 12 can have a brace exterior connector 30. The brace exterior connector 30 may or may not be visible from the outside of the bag 12 (e.g., the bag 12 can be opaque, the brace exterior connector 30 can be transparent, or the bag 12 and/or brace exterior connector 30 can be translucent). The brace exterior connector 30 can be releasably attached or fused to the interior or exterior of the bag exterior wall 30. The brace exterior connector 30 can be welded, epoxied or glued, melted, snapped, buttoned, connected by a hook and loop tape, or combinations thereof to the bag exterior wall 28. The brace exterior connector 30 can be an integrated element or feature of the brace 20.
The brace exterior connector 30 can be positioned to be laterally centered with respect to the bag 12 and/or the outlet socket 25 or nozzle.
The brace first wall 32a can be directly or indirectly separably attached to the brace second wall 32b and/or the opposite side of the bag exterior wall 28 (e.g., when the bag 12 has no brace second wall 32b).
The brace 20 can have a brace depth 34 when the brace 20 is assembled (e.g., when the zipper is zipped). The brace depth 34 can be from about 0.5 in. to about 4 in., for example about 2 in.
The brace 20 can have a zipper 36 or zip fastener. The zipper 36 can be a coil zipper, invisible zipper, metallic zipper, plastic-molded zipper, open-ended zipper, closed-ended zipper, or combinations thereof. The first brace wall 32a and second brace wall 32b (or opposing exterior bag wall) can be connected to each other when the zipper 36 is lined up and pressed together.
The zipper 36 can be attached to a zipper first wall 38a and a zipper second wall 38b. The zipper first wall 38a can releasably connect with a zipper second wall 38b. The catch walls or zipper walls 38 can overlap each other beyond the zipper 36. The zipper first wall 38a and/or zipper second wall 38b can be part of the brace first wall 32a and/or brace second wall 32b, respectively, or be a separate element attached to the respective brace walls 32.
The brace 20 can be configured to maintain a fixed depth and/or maximum depth of the middle of the bag 12. For example, the brace walls 32 and zipper walls 38 can be configured to resist bending or distortion. For example, the brace walls 32 and/or zipper walls 38 can have two, three or more layers of wall material, reinforcing structural geometry such as ribs, struts, or combinations thereof.
The brace walls 32 can have a brace wall thickness from about 0.1 mm to about 10 mm, for example about 6.4 mm, about 5 mm, about 2 mm or about 0.25 mm. The brace 20 and the components of the brace 20 can be made from TPU, any of the other materials listed herein or combinations thereof.
The locking fork 40 can have a first arm or prong 42a and a second arm or prong 42b. The arms 42 can be held together at a fork head 44. The fork head 44 can be integral with or attached to the prongs 42. The fork head 44 can hold the first and second prongs 42 in tension toward each other.
The brace 20 can have a brace height 46. The brace height 46 can be from about 1 in. to about 14 in., more narrowly from about 3 in. to about 9 in., for example about 8.8 in.
The locking fork 40 can be translated over the brace walls 32 until the locking fork head interference fits against the brace walls 32. The locking fork 40 can be slidably removed from the brace walls 32, for example releasing the brace walls 32 to allow inverting of the bag 12.
The catch walls 48 can be configured to slidably engage a brace slider 50. The first catch wall 48a can medially terminate at a catch first side 52a. The second catch wall 48b can terminate at a catch second side 52b. The catch sides 52 can have guides and/or configurations similar to how the lips 18 of the bag 12 are configured to receive the slider 14.
The brace slider 50 can be slid along and over the catch first side 52a and catch second side 52b similar to the translation of the locking fork 40, supra. The brace slider 50 can attach to the catch first side 52a and the catch second side 52b. The brace slider 50 can fix the catch first wall 52a to the catch second wall 52b. The brace slider 50 can hold the catch first side 52a sealed against or at a fixed distance from the catch second side 52b. The brace slider 50 can be slidably removed from the catch sides 52, for example, to release the first catch wall 52a from the second catch wall 52b allowing inverting of the bag 12.
One or more buckles 58 can be attached to the buckle straps 54. The buckles 58 can be side release buckles. The buckle straps 54 can be wrapped around, threaded through or otherwise fed through the buckles 58 to attach to the buckles 58. The buckle straps 54 can be welded, epoxied or glued, melted, snapped, buttoned, attached by hook and loop tape, or combinations thereof to the buckles 58. The buckle straps 54 can be wrapped around, threaded through or otherwise fed through the buckles 58 and then the buckle straps 54 can be secured to themselves, for example by welding, epoxying or gluing, melting, snapping, buttoning, attaching by hook and loop tape, or combinations thereof.
The buckles 58 can have two, separable portions or parts, for example, a buckle male portion 60a and a buckle female portion 60b. The buckle male portion 60a can be slidably attachable and detachable from the buckle female portion 60b. The buckle portions 60 can snap together and be squeezed to be released and separated. The buckles 58 can releasably hold the brace first wall 32a to the brace second wall 32b.
The slots 62 can have a slot wide length 68a and a slot narrow length 68b. The buttons 64 can be placed into the slot wide lengths 68a of the corresponding slots 62. The slots 62 and buttons 64 can be configured so the button 64 can pass in and out of, and slide along, the slot wide length 68a. The slots 62 and buttons 64 can be configured so the button 64 can not pass in and out of (i.e., out of plane with the brace walls 32), but can still slide along, the slot narrow length 68b. For example, the buttons 64 can have button heads and button stems. The button heads can extend from the button stems. The button heads can be wider than the width of the slot narrow lengths 68b and narrower than the slot wide lengths 68a. The buttons 64 and slots 62 can be positioned along the height of the bag 12 to align with the opposite configuration (i.e., if a button 64, then aligned with a slot 62, and vice versa) on the opposite brace wall. The button 64 and slot 62 can be configured so the button 64 can slide along the entire length of the slot 62. The button 64 and slot 62 can be configured so the button snaps or otherwise locks into the terminal end of the slot narrow length 68b.
The button 64 can have a button head 72 extending laterally from the button stem 70. For example, the button head 72 can extend perpendicular to the button stem 70 at the terminal end of the button stem 70. The button head 72 can have a rounded triangular configuration when viewed perpendicular to the plane of the brace wall 32 and/or catch wall 48. The button head 72 can be spaced from the surface of the brace wall 32 and/or catch wall 48 by the button stem 70, for example at a length about equal to or greater than the thickness of the opposing brace wall 32 and/or catch wall 48.
The slot 62 can have a slot snap 74. The slot snap 74 can be a narrowing in the slot 62 between the slot wide length 68a and the slot narrow length 68b. The slot snap 74 can have a slot snap width 75. The slot snap width 75 can be from about 1 mm to about 7 mm, for example about 2.9 mm. The slot snap width 75 can be the same width or a slightly narrower width than the button stem diameter 71. For example, the slot snap width 75 can be equal to or greater than about 99% of the button stem diameter 71, more narrowly about equal to or greater than about 95%, yet more narrowly about equal to or greater than about 80%, yet more narrowly about equal to or greater than about 72.5%, yet more narrowly about equal to or greater than about 65%.
The button head 72 can prevent the brace first wall 32a and/or catch first wall 48a from being separated from the brace second wall 32b and/or catch second wall 48b out of plane of the brace walls 32 or catch walls 48. For example, as shown in
The bag, brace, sliders, straps, buckles, buttons and any and all other elements described herein can be made from polyethylene, such as high density polyethylene (HDPE) or low density polyethylene (LDPE) (e.g., linear LDPE), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyurethane (e.g., thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), polyoxymethylene (POM), also known as acetal resin, polytrioxane and polyformaldehyde (e.g., Delrin by E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, Del.), Nylon, or combinations thereof. For example, the slider can be made from POM and the bag can be made from TPU.
Method of MakingThe bag can be molded and/or any and/or all of the elements of the bag, including the brace, can be welded (e.g., RF welded) together. The slider can be molded and/or any and/or all of the elements of the slider can be welded (e.g., RF welded) together
Methods of UseThe first lip 12a and second lip 12b can be pulled apart, as shown by arrows. When the orifice 78 is open, the brace 20 and zipper 36 can be accessed and manipulated as described herein.
The zipper 36 can, but does not have to, be reattached before liquid is delivered into the reservoir 15. After the reservoir 15 is desirably refilled, the slider 14 can be reattached, sealing the orifice 78. The zipper 36 can be substituted with or used in additional to any of the other attachment configurations shown herein, such as the fork 40, brace slider 50, buckles 50, buttons 64 and slots 62, or combinations thereof. For example, the insertion of the buttons 64 into the respective slots 62 can be concurrent with each other or can be sequential (e.g., as shown for the zipper in
When pressure in the bag 12 increases (e.g., when the bag 12 contains fluid and the bag 12 is squeezed), the brace 20 can apply tension between the front and back walls of the bag 12 to maintain the constant maximum depth of the bag 12. The slider 14 can apply compression on the orifice 78, for example, sealing the reservoir 15.
When loaded in a backpack, the bag 12 can maintain a maximum depth and shape when internal liquid pressure or external pressure is applied to the bag 12. The backpack can, in turn, not be subjected to deforming forces from the reservoir system 10.
It is apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made to this disclosure, and equivalents employed, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Elements of systems, devices and methods shown with any embodiment are exemplary for the specific embodiment and can be used in combination or otherwise on other embodiments within this disclosure.
Claims
1. A liquid reservoir system comprising:
- a reservoir container comprising a reservoir first wall, a reservoir second wall opposite the reservoir first wall, wherein the reservoir first wall and the reservoir second wall define a reservoir cavity configured to hold a liquid, wherein the reservoir first wall has an interior first wall side and an exterior first wall side, wherein the reservoir second wall has an interior second wall side and an exterior second wall side;
- an orifice first lip coupled to the reservoir first wall and an orifice second lip coupled to the reservoir second wall, wherein the orifice first lip and the orifice second lip define an orifice in fluid communication with the reservoir cavity, wherein the orifice first lip and the orifice second lip extend from a first lateral edge of the reservoir container to a second lateral edge of the reservoir container, and wherein at least one of the first orifice lip and second orifice lip is bendable to open the orifice;
- a bag seam sealing the first reservoir wall to the second reservoir wall along the first lateral edge of the reservoir container;
- a bag first reinforcement at the first lateral edge of the reservoir container and proximate to the orifice;
- a bag second reinforcement at the second lateral edge of the reservoir container and proximate to the orifice;
- a bag third reinforcement sealing the reservoir first wall to the reservoir second wall along a reservoir bottom edge of the reservoir container;
- a brace located within the reservoir cavity, wherein the brace includes a brace first end coupled to the interior first wall side and a brace second end coupled to the interior second wall side;
- an outlet socket coupled to the exterior first wall side or the exterior second wall side, wherein the outlet socket is in fluid communication with the reservoir cavity;
- a reservoir slider slidable over the first orifice lip and the second orifice lip, wherein the reservoir slider comprises a slider top, a slider first side extending from the slider top, a slider second side extending from the slider top, a slider first arm extending from the slider first side, a slider second arm extending from the slider second side, and wherein the slider first and second arms are configured to releasably press the first orifice lip to the second orifice lip, and wherein the reservoir slider has a slider first end and a slider second end, and wherein at least part of the slider first and second ends flare away from a longitudinal center axis of the slider; and
- a guide along at least one of the orifice first lip and the orifice second lip, wherein the reservoir slider is configured to slide over the guide.
2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a slider hole in the slider.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the reservoir first wall and the reservoir second wall comprises nylon.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the orifice first lip and orifice second lip are thicker than the reservoir walls surrounding the orifice first lip and orifice second lip.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the slider first arm extends at a right angle from the slider first side, and wherein the slider second arm extends at a right angle from the slider second side.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the brace has a brace height from 3 inches to 9 inches.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein a bottom edge of the brace is spaced apart from the outlet socket by a distance from zero inches to 3 inches, wherein a top edge of the brace is spaced apart from a top edge of the reservoir container by a distance from zero inches to 5 inches.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the brace has a brace wall thickness from 0.1 mm to 10 mm, and wherein the brace has a brace depth from 0.5 inches to 4 inches.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the first reservoir wall and the second reservoir wall are translucent.
10. The system of claim 1, wherein the brace first end is coupled to the interior first wall side at a center point of the reservoir first wall between the first lateral edge and the second lateral edge, and wherein the brace second end is coupled to the interior second wall side at a center point of the reservoir second wall between the first lateral edge and the second lateral edge.
11. The system of claim 1, wherein the bag third reinforcement has two ridges extending laterally across the bag third reinforcement.
12. A liquid reservoir system comprising:
- a reservoir container comprising an orifice, a reservoir first wall, and a reservoir second wall opposite the reservoir first wall, an orifice first lip coupled to the reservoir first wall, and an orifice second lip coupled to the orifice second wall, wherein the reservoir first wall and the reservoir second wall define a reservoir cavity configured to hold a liquid, and wherein the orifice first lip and the orifice second lip define an orifice in fluid communication with the reservoir cavity, wherein the reservoir first wall is coupled to the reservoir second wall along a first lateral edge and a reservoir bottom edge of the reservoir container, wherein the reservoir first wall has an interior first wall side and an exterior first wall side, wherein the reservoir second wall has an interior second wall side and an exterior second wall side, and wherein the orifice first lip and the orifice second lip extend from the first lateral edge to a second lateral edge;
- a brace located within the reservoir cavity, wherein the brace has a brace first end coupled to the interior first wall side and a brace second end coupled to the interior second wall side;
- an outlet socket coupled to the reservoir first wall or the reservoir second wall, wherein the outlet socket is between the brace and the reservoir bottom edge; and
- a reservoir slider slidable over the orifice first lip and the orifice second lip to releasably seal the orifice, and wherein the reservoir slider comprises a slider top, a slider first side extending from the slider top, a slider second side extending from the slider top, a slider first arm extending from the slider first side, a slider second arm extending from the slider second side, and wherein the slider first and second arms are configured to releasably press the first orifice lip to the second orifice lip, and wherein the reservoir slider has a slider first end and a slider second end.
13. The system of claim 12:
- wherein the brace has a brace height from 3 inches to 9 inches;
- wherein a bottom edge of the brace is spaced apart from the outlet socket by a distance from zero inches to 3 inches;
- wherein a top edge of the brace is spaced apart from a top edge of the reservoir container from zero inches to 5 inches;
- wherein the brace has a brace wall thickness from 0.1 mm to 10 mm;
- wherein the brace has a brace depth from 0.5 inches to 4 inches;
- wherein the brace first end is coupled to the interior first wall side at a center point of the reservoir first wall between the first lateral edge and the second lateral edge; and
- wherein the brace second end is coupled to the interior second wall side at a center point of the reservoir second wall between the first lateral edge and the second lateral edge.
14. The system of claim 12, further comprising:
- a bag first reinforcement at the first lateral edge of the reservoir container and proximate to the orifice;
- a bag second reinforcement at the second lateral edge of the reservoir container and proximate to the orifice;
- a bag third reinforcement sealing the first reservoir wall to the second reservoir wall along a reservoir bottom edge of the reservoir container.
15. The system of claim 12, wherein the reservoir slider comprises a slider first arm and a slider second arm configured to press the orifice first lip to the orifice second lip.
16. The system of claim 12, further comprising a guide along the exterior first wall side and the exterior second wall side and wherein the reservoir slider is configured to slide over the guide.
17. The system of claim 12, wherein at least one of the orifice first lip and the orifice second lip is bendable to open the orifice.
18. A liquid reservoir system comprising:
- a reservoir container comprising a reservoir first wall, a reservoir second wall opposite the reservoir first wall, an orifice first lip coupled to the reservoir first wall, and an orifice second lip coupled to the reservoir second wall, wherein the reservoir first wall and the reservoir second wall define a reservoir cavity configured to hold a liquid, wherein the orifice first lip and the orifice second lip define an orifice in fluid communication with the reservoir cavity, and wherein the reservoir first wall is coupled to the reservoir second wall along a first lateral edge and a reservoir bottom edge of the reservoir container;
- a brace located within the reservoir cavity, the brace including a brace first end coupled to the reservoir first wall and a brace second end coupled to the reservoir second wall, wherein the brace first end is coupled to the reservoir first wall at a center point of the reservoir first wall between the first lateral edge and a second lateral edge opposite the first lateral edge, and wherein the brace second end is coupled to the reservoir second wall at a center point of the reservoir second wall between the first lateral edge and the second lateral edge; and
- an outlet socket coupled to the reservoir first wall or the reservoir second wall, wherein the outlet socket is in fluid communication with the reservoir cavity; and
- wherein the orifice first lip is releasably sealable to the orifice second lip to seal the reservoir cavity.
19. The system of claim 18:
- wherein the brace has a brace height from 3 inches to 9 inches;
- wherein a bottom edge of the brace is spaced apart from the outlet socket by a distance from zero inches to 3 inches;
- wherein a top edge of the brace is spaced apart from a top edge of the reservoir container by a distance from zero inches to 5 inches;
- wherein the brace has a brace wall thickness from 0.1 mm to 10 mm;
- wherein the brace has a brace depth from 0.5 inches to 4 inches.
20. The system of claim 18, further comprising:
- a bag first reinforcement at the first lateral edge of the reservoir container and proximate to the orifice;
- a bag second reinforcement at the second lateral edge of the reservoir container and proximate to the orifice;
- a bag third reinforcement sealing the first reservoir wall to the second reservoir wall along a reservoir bottom edge of the reservoir container.
Type: Application
Filed: May 11, 2017
Publication Date: Aug 24, 2017
Inventors: Matthew J. LYON (Moraga, CA), Samuel M. LOPEZ (San Francisco, CA)
Application Number: 15/593,218