COMBINATION CANTEEN AND FLYING DISK

Abstract

The invention includes a container secured to a canteen body forming a bowl, with the container being selectively movable between a position in which water will flow and another position in which water will not flow from the container. Moving the container thereby allows water to fill the attached bowl for consumption by a pet. In one example of the invention, an additional dish is attached to the main dish body, with the additional dish being removable and useful as a flying disk.

Description

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application claims the benefit of prior U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/891,217, filed Feb. 22, 2007, contents of which are incorporated herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to water containing devices such as canteens.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

When camping and hiking, it is common to carry a canteen containing water for use during the hike. A canteen is typically a single-purpose item, and if the user wants to take along a bowl or other items, they must be carried as separate items. It is also common to take a flying disk on a hike, and the flying disk must also be purchased and carried separately from the other items. It would be useful to have a canteen with additional features, including an incorporated bowl and a detachable flying disk.

DRAWINGS

The various embodiments of the invention are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings.

FIG. 1 is a top view of a preferred example of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a preferred canteen, taken at line A-A in FIG. 1, with the canteen in a nested position.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a preferred canteen, taken at line A-A in FIG. 1, but with the canteen in an extended position to cease water flow.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a preferred canteen, taken at line A-A in FIG. 1, with the canteen in an upright position to allow water flow.

FIG. 5 is a back view of the preferred example of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the preferred example of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the preferred example of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a preferred example of the invention, shown with the canteen nested.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a preferred example of the invention, shown with the canteen in an extended position.

FIG. 10 is an exploded view of a preferred example of the invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a preferred form, the invention includes a canteen secured to a canteen body forming a bowl, with the canteen being selectively movable between a position in which water will flow and another position in which water will not flow from the canteen. Moving the canteen thereby allows water to fill the attached bowl for consumption by a pet. In one example of the invention, an additional dish is attached to the main dish body, with the additional dish being removable and useful as a flying disk.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

An exemplary canteen 1 in accordance with the present invention is depicted in FIG. 1. As shown, the canteen includes a fluid container 10 nested within a canteen body forming a bowl 20. The container may be of any size or shape and, as illustrated, is generally formed in a kidney shape. The container has a perimeter that is generally adjacent the rim of the bowl, except along an area opposite from the mouth of the container where a recessed region is provided. The recessed or scalloped region 12 provides a region in which a person's hand can be inserted to raise the container from the nested position as in FIG. 1 to a raised position as in FIGS. 3 and 4.

As best seen in FIG. 10, the container includes a neck 15 forming an opening or mouth, and a mating cap 16 having a ball valve 30. In the preferred example, the neck includes external threads that mate with complementary internal threads formed within the cap. The ball valve is snap-fit into a retainer 22 formed in the cap for pivotal movement to allow water to be poured from the container by rotation of the cap with respect to the valve. The retainer holds the valve 30 in a substantially stationary position with respect to the bowl, with a stem 33 extending downward from the valve 30 and into a lower portion of the bowl where the stem abuts a shoulder or other surface to restrict pivotal movement of the stem with respect to the bowl. Preferably, the valve includes both a water channel 31 and an air channel 32 to facilitate a steady stream of water from the container. Likewise, the cap 16 includes mating water and air channels. As shown, the stem 33 provides an opening that is relatively closer to the bottom of the bowl than the air channel, helping to ensure that air travels through one channel and water travels through the other.

The container cap includes an opposing pair of stems 14 (one visible in FIG. 10) that are sized and configured to be received within corresponding concavities within the retainer 22 of the canteen body. The canteen body also includes a pair of opposing grooves that receive the opposing stems of the cap. The cap stems can be slideably received within the grooves and held in place by the concavities to enable the container to be pivotably attached to the canteen body. Likewise, the stems and concavities are sized and configured to allow the cap and therefore the container to be detached from the canteen body.

In use, the container is pivotally attached to the canteen body such that the canteen body serves to retain the container and doubles as a drinking bowl. Thus, the canteen body or dish 20 includes an interior well 24 formed within a central region of the canteen body, with the well being large enough to receive the container and therefore also large enough to serve as a bowl. The cross-sectional view of FIG. 2, taken at line A-A in FIG. 1, shows the fluid container 10 nested within the well 24 of the bowl 20.

As noted above, the lid and the valve each include water passage channels to allow water to flow out of the container. The passages are configured to only allow water to flow when the water flow channels are aligned. Thus, in a first position, the nested configuration of FIG. 2, the fluid channel 17 of the cap is out of alignment with the channel 31 of the valve 30, thereby preventing water from flowing through the valve and into the bowl. At a second position, as shown in FIG. 5, the channels 17, 31 are aligned and water can flow freely from the container to the bowl. At a third position, as shown in FIG. 3, the container 10 is not nested within the bowl 20 but the channels 17, 31 are not aligned and therefore water does not flow.

This combination of positions is particularly useful for using the bowl as a watering dish for a pet. Thus, the canteen can be placed on the ground or other surface and the container raised to the position of FIG. 4 to begin to fill the bowl with water. Once enough water has been placed in the bowl, the container can be adjusted to the position of FIG. 3 in which the container is not nested within the bowl but the water cannot flow. As shown, the channels within the cap and valve are preferably configured so that in this third position the container is maintained in a substantially vertical position or a position slightly more open than 90 degrees from the fully closed position. In such a position, the bowl is readily accessible by a pet for drinking and the risk of tipping or spilling is minimized, yet water does not flow from the container.

In order to hold the container firmly in one or all of the positions described above, the canteen body and container or cap include complementary bumps or raised portions. A first pair of bumps 26 is provided on the canteen body on opposing sides of the cap, with the bumps mating with a recessed region, shoulder, or other surface 18 to frictionally hold the container in place in the third position of FIG. 4. An additional pair of bumps 25 is provided to mate with an additional shoulder or mating surface 19 on the cap to hold the container in the position of FIG. 3. Alternate structures are also possible to hold the container in place, such as channels, grooves, detents, or other features.

As best seen in FIG. 1, the canteen body further includes a handle 13, with the handle configured generally adjacent the point of attachment of the cap to the canteen body so that the container will be carried upright when the canteen is carried by the handle.

The canteen body also includes a pair of connectors 28, 29 to fasten shoulder strap clips (not shown). The connectors are best seen in FIG. 5.

One example of the invention also optionally includes a flying disk 60 that is attachable to the canteen body. The flying disk is a substantially circular, relatively shallow concave disk. As shown in FIG. 10, the flying disk can serve either of two primary purposes. Oriented in a concave position as in FIG. 10, the disk can serve as a bowl for feeding a pet or other use. Oriented in the opposite position, the disk can serve as a flying disk. In order to allow the disk to readily serve as a bowl, the disk includes a plurality of feet 40. In other versions, the disk does not include feet.

The disk is secured to an outer portion of the container body, and can be attached to either side. As illustrated in FIG. 7, in one example of the invention the disk is removably attachable to the side of the container body adjacent the bottom of the bowl. A lower surface of the canteen body includes one or more ribs that mate with corresponding surfaces on the disk, thereby enabling the disk to be snap fit onto the canteen body. Other arrangements such as channel-and-groove, tab-and-slot, threads or other fastening arrangements may be used. Deflection of the ribs or the canteen body likewise allow the disk to be removed from the canteen body.

Preferably, the components of the invention are formed from one or more components such as polypropylene, thermoplastic elastomers, as set forth on the attached drawing sheets. Other materials are also possible, consistent with the production of a drinking container and bowl.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, as noted above, many changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited by the disclosure of the preferred embodiment. Instead, the invention should be determined entirely by reference to the claims that follow.

Claims

1. A canteen for delivering a fluid to an animal, comprising:

a container configured to hold the fluid;

a canteen body having a recessed region configured to receive and hold fluid transferred from the container, the container being pivotally connected to the canteen body to enable the container to be pivoted to a first position in which the container is at least partially nested within the recessed region, a second position in which the container is not nested within the recessed region and water flows from the container to the recessed region, and a third position in which the container is not nested within the recessed region and water is blocked from flowing from the container to the recessed region; and

a removable dish secured to the canteen.

2. The canteen of claim 1, wherein the third position further comprises an orientation in which the container forms an angle of approximately 90 degrees with respect to the canteen body.

3. The canteen of claim 1, further comprising a valve pivotally connected to the container, the valve having a first channel for communicating water flow out of the container and a second channel for communicating air flow into the container.

4. The canteen of claim 3, further comprising a cap secured to the container, the container having a third channel and a fourth channel whereby when the first channel is aligned with the third channel and the second channel is aligned with the fourth channel water is able to flow out of the container and air is able to flow into the container.

5. The canteen of claim 3, wherein the valve is mounted to the canteen body, the valve further comprising a stem extending from the first channel into a lower portion of the recessed region.

6. The canteen of claim 1, further comprising a handle secured to the canteen body.

7. The canteen of claim 1, wherein the dish is configured for use as a flying disk when in an inverted position.

8. The canteen of claim 1, wherein the dish is secured to a bottom surface of the canteen body.

9. The canteen of claim 1, wherein the dish further comprises a plurality of feet.

10. The canteen of claim 1, wherein the container further comprises a neck terminating at a mouth, the container further having a perimeter the perimeter of the container being substantially adjacent a perimeter of the recessed region.

11. The canteen of claim 1, wherein the canteen body further has a rim and the container further comprises a neck terminating at a mouth, the container having a first side, a second side, and a bottom opposite the neck, the first side and second side each lying adjacent the rim, the bottom being offset from the rim to accommodate a hand of a user to facilitate pivoting of the container.

12. The canteen of claim 1, further comprising a cap secured to the container, the cap further comprising a first surface to restrict movement of the container away from the second position, the cap further comprising a second surface to restrict movement of the container away from the third position.

13. The canteen of claim 1, further comprising a strap secured to the canteen.

14. The canteen of claim 1, further comprising a valve pivotally connected to the container, the valve having a first channel for communicating water flow out of the container and a second channel for communicating air flow into the container, the valve being mounted to the canteen body and further comprising a stem extending from the first channel into the recessed region, the canteen further comprising a shoulder on the canteen body abutting the stem to restrict pivotal movement of the valve.