ADJUSTABLE ADDITIVE CARTRIDGE SYSTEMS AND METHODS
An additive delivery system may incorporate a cartridge system, including a container cap and a reservoir assembly that provides for storage of an additive. The container cap includes a mixing nozzle for mixing of the additive with a base fluid as the base fluid flows from the base fluid container through the cartridge. A one-way valve prevents backflow of base fluid and/or mixed base fluid/additive from an area downstream of the mixing nozzle such that the base fluid supply remains in a pure state.
Priority is claimed under all applicable laws, treaties, conventions and regulations, based on U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/303,376, titled CARTRIDGE RESERVOIR SYSTEMS, filed on Mar. 4, 2016; U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/363,177, titled ADJUSTABLE ADDITIVE CARTRIDGE SYSTEMS, filed on Jul. 15, 2016; and pending U.S. application Ser. No. 15/358,087, titled ADJUSTABLE ADDITIVE CARTRIDGE SYSTEMS, filed Nov. 21, 2016. The subject matter described in all applications is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Where an element or subject matter of this application or a part of the description, claims or drawings in the aforementioned applications are not otherwise contained in this application, that element, subject matter or part is incorporated by reference in this application for the purposes of any and all applicable rules, procedures or laws.
COPYRIGHT STATEMENTA portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
BACKGROUND 1. Technical FieldThe disclosure relates to dispensing and delivery systems for beverages and other products. The disclosure further relates to dispensing and delivery systems in which an additive, such as flavorings, concentrates or supplements, may be provided in replaceable cartridges and mixed with a base fluid, such as water, as the base fluid is dispensed and/or consumed from a container and wherein one-way flow of base fluid is provided to prevent additive from mixing with the base fluid supply, which may thus be used with different additive delivery systems. The disclosure further relates to dispensing and delivery systems and additive delivery systems that provide for user adjustment of the amount of additive that is mixed with the base fluid. The disclosure further relates to reservoir assemblies for storage of additives and for use in such additive delivery systems, and to methods for making and using such systems.
2. Prior ArtThe prior art includes various devices for providing additives to a base liquid. Such devices include pre-mix systems, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,306,117, in which a predetermined amount of additive is dispensed into a base liquid within the container and mixed therewith prior to consumption. Prior art systems also include devices in which an additive is provided to a base fluid as it is dispensed from a container. Such delivery systems are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 8,230,777, which describes a dispensing system in which a base liquid flows through a supplement area containing solid supplements, and U.S. Pat. No. 8,413,844, which describes a water dispenser (pitcher) having a filter and an additive chamber in which the additive is dispensed as water is poured from the dispenser. There is a need in the art for systems and methods that improve upon these prior art undertakings.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccording to one aspect of the disclosure, an additive delivery system may incorporate a cartridge system, including a container cap and an additive reservoir assembly that provides for storage of an additive. The container cap may be secured to a base fluid container. A mixing nozzle is cooperatively associated with the container cap for mixing of the additive with a base fluid as the base fluid flows from the base fluid container through the cartridge. A one-way valve prevents backflow of base fluid and/or mixed base fluid/additive from an area downstream of the mixing nozzle such that the base fluid supply remains in a pure state. These features permit different cartridge assemblies, containing different respective additives, to be used with a given supply of base fluid. Moreover, this feature permits a given additive to be used with a given supply of base fluid without requiring the entire supply of base fluid to be used or consumed in a mixed state. A leftover supply of base fluid may remain unmixed and used in other applications, such as with other flavorings or supplements. The additive delivery systems enable more efficient use of both additive and base fluid.
According to another aspect of the invention, an additive delivery system may incorporate a cartridge system and provide for adjustable flow of additive and adjustable mixing of additive with a base fluid as the base fluid flows through the additive delivery system. An adjustment actuator may be moved by a user to cause a corresponding adjustment in valve components incorporated into the additive delivery system. The valve components may include a metering component, which may have a conical portion that cooperates with a mixing nozzle having a correspondingly shaped seat to provide precise control of additive flow. Movement of the adjustment actuator by a user results in movement of the metering component in precise fashion to increase or decrease the flow of additive that occurs when base fluid is dispensed through the cartridge. Indicia may be included to indicate relative degrees of additive flow and mixing to the user. This feature permits a user to achieve a desired and repeatable mixing proportion of additive to base fluid.
According to another aspect, an additive delivery system may utilize a cartridge system that provides improved flow geometries that enhance mixing of additive and base fluid as the additive and base fluid flow from the cartridge. Such flow geometries may include a central flow component for the additive and a surrounding or radially displaced flow component for the base fluid. They may also include one or more convergence zone in the additive flow path. Such flow geometries may also be used in conjunction with one or more agitating or turbulence creating elements incorporated into a dispensing spout downstream of a mixing area in the cartridge assembly to further enhance the mixing of the additive and base fluid prior to use or consumption. Such flow geometries and agitating or turbulence creating elements provide for thorough mixing of additive and base fluid.
According to one aspect of the disclosure, a reservoir assembly for use with an additive delivery system and cartridge may include a flexible reservoir such as a pouch, bag, bladder or other flexible reservoir structure. This reservoir assembly structure provides improved flow and mixing characteristics by reducing or eliminating vacuum in the reservoir as additive is dispensed. A protective cage or solid walled protective housing may enclose the reservoir to protect it during sale/shipping. In the case of a protective cage or other external element with apertures or holes, such flexible reservoir structures may also permit external pressure to be applied to the additive reservoir, such as pressure created when a user squeezes or otherwise applies pressure to a container, i.e., water bottle, in which the cartridge is housed. This interaction between the flexible cartridge reservoir structure and the interior conditions may facilitate more uniform or consistent dispensing of additive from the cartridge and more uniform mixing with a base fluid.
According to another aspect, a cartridge assembly is packaged and distributed as a unit that includes a reservoir assembly and adjustable mixing cap, such that the cartridge assembly may be installed on a user's own bottle of base fluid, such as a water bottle purchased separately. A frangible protective outer safety membrane, such as a shrink wrap, or foil pouch, may seal the entire cartridge assembly package for quality and safety control.
Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the described invention pertains. Although other implementations, methods and materials similar to those described herein can be used to practice the invention, suitable and example implementations, methods and materials are described below. All publications, patent applications, and other references mentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. In case of conflict, the present specification, including definitions, will control. In addition, the materials, methods and examples are illustrative only and are not intended to be limiting in any way. The details of one or more example implementations of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.
The above and other attendant advantages and features of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description together with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like elements throughout. It will be understood that the description and embodiments are intended as illustrative examples and are not intended to be limiting to the scope of invention, which is set forth in the claims appended hereto.
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In operation, the additive flow adjustment actuator may be rotated relative to the cap base 250. Such rotation also causes rotation of the metering insert 300 relative to the mixing nozzle 350, resulting in slight axial, i.e., upward or downward movement of the insert 300 by way of cooperating threads between the insert 300 and nozzle 350. Axial movement of the metering insert 300 results in a change of additive flow through the metering area between the conical portion of insert 300 and the corresponding surface on mixing nozzle 350. As base fluid flows into the cartridge assembly, resulting from pressure changes within the base fluid container, i.e., from squeezing of a flexible bottle and or by suction applied by a user during consumption, and/or inverting or tipping, such action results in flow of additive and base fluid is mixed with additive at the appropriate level determined by the rotational position of the additive flow adjustment actuator. The additive flow path is illustrated by arrows “A”, it being recognized that because the metering element 300 is in a fully closed position in this figure, the arrows “A” are adjacent where flow would occur in the metering section in this figure. The base fluid flow path is generally illustrated by arrows “B”, it being recognized that flow will occur at the interface of the sealing element 320 and annular seat 272 of cap base 250, rather than the exact location of arrows “B” near that area.
The components described above may be made using injection molding or other known techniques using thermoplastics, such as food grade polypropylene or like materials. The disclosure also contemplates other materials, such as stainless steel or other food grade or non-food grade materials.
It should be understood that implementation of other variations and modifications of the invention in its various aspects may be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, and that the invention is not limited by the specific embodiments described herein. It is therefore contemplated to cover, by the present invention any and all modifications, variations or equivalents. For example, while the metering function of the additive delivery system has been described using a conical metering component or element, other structures may be used, such as flow control elements that utilize gate or ball valve or other components that provide adjustment of the metering area and flow passage based on user movement of an actuator. In addition, while snap fittings have been described for components, it will be recognized that other fastening structure or techniques may be used, such as threaded or screw fittings, friction fittings, or adhesive or welding techniques.
Claims
1. An additive delivery system comprising:
- a cap base for securing the additive delivery system to a base fluid container,
- a mixing nozzle cooperatively associated with the cap base and providing a base fluid flow path and an additive flow path;
- a backflow preventing structure disposed in the base fluid flow path;
- a metering structure disposed in the additive flow path for permitting a user to adjust the amount of additive mixed with the base fluid; and
- a reservoir assembly receiving structure for receiving a reservoir assembly containing an additive.
2. The additive delivery system of claim 1, further comprising a reservoir assembly.
3. The additive delivery system of claim 1, wherein the reservoir assembly receiving structure is on the mixing nozzle.
4. The additive delivery system of claim 1, wherein the mixing nozzle includes a central passage providing at least part of the additive flow path and at least one outer passage providing at least part of the base fluid flow path.
5. The additive delivery system of claim 1, wherein the metering structure comprises a metering component having a conical surface that cooperates with a conical surface defined on the mixing nozzle.
6. The additive delivery system of claim 5, wherein the metering component is adjusted by movement of an actuator cooperatively associated with the cap base.
7. The additive delivery system of claim 1, wherein the reservoir assembly receiving structure is a snap fitting formed on the mixing nozzle.
8. The additive delivery system of claim 1, further comprising a reservoir assembly fastened to the reservoir assembly receiving structure, the additive reservoir assembly including a reservoir spout and a reservoir fastened thereto for containing an additive.
9. The additive delivery system of claim 8, wherein the additive reservoir assembly includes an outer housing at least partially surrounding the reservoir.
10. The additive delivery system of claim 9, wherein the outer housing is snap fit to the reservoir spout.
11. The additive delivery system of claim 1, wherein the mixing nozzle includes a first conical section for converging the additive flow.
12. The additive delivery system of claim 1, wherein the mixing nozzle includes a central additive flow passage and at least two base fluid flow ports disposed radially outward from the additive flow passage.
13. The additive delivery system of claim 1, further comprising a one-way seal disposed in the base fluid flow path.
14. A method of mixing a base fluid with an additive comprising:
- securing an additive delivery system to a base fluid container containing a stored supply of base fluid, the additive delivery system including a supply of additive;
- dispensing the base fluid from the container;
- mixing the additive with the base fluid as a portion of the base fluid flows from the container;
- wherein the step of mixing the additive with the base fluid occurs without mixing additive with the stored supply of base fluid in the container.
15. The method of claim 14, further comprising mixing the additive from a flexible reservoir in communication with an additive flow path.
16. The method of claim 14, further comprising preventing backflow of base fluid by a one-way seal disposed in a base fluid flow path.
17. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of removing the additive delivery system from the container and replacing it with a second additive delivery system with another additive.
18. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of protecting the flexible reservoir with an outer housing.
19. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of adjusting the flow of additive mixed with the base fluid.
20. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of adjusting the flow of additive mixed with the base fluid by adjusting a conical metering element.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 6, 2017
Publication Date: Feb 6, 2020
Patent Grant number: 10888826
Inventors: GARRETT S. WAGGONER (SARASOTA, FL), ANDREW GAY (MILL CREEK, WA), THOMAS A. URBANIK (Watertown, MA), WILLIAM G. KURTH (Dunbarton, NH), DANIEL J. FAULKNER (Portland, OR), DREW KISSINGER (Carlisle, MA)
Application Number: 15/451,384