Airpot Lid Assembly
An airpot beverage has a receptacle with an interior space capable of holding a liquid and a top opening near an upper edge of the receptacle. A lid assembly covers the top opening and has a lid cover, an actuator on the lid cover, and a lid bottom. The lid cover and the lid bottom together define an interior cavity within the lid assembly. A bellows housing is defined within the interior cavity and forms a chamber therein. A bellows is housed within the chamber and has a flexible sidewall substantially and closely surrounded by the bellows housing. The bellows is capable of being expanded and compressed. The bellows chamber can change in size to accommodate compression and expansion of the bellows.
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1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure is generally directed to beverage dispensers, and more particularly to a lid assembly for an airpot beverage dispenser.
2. Description of Related Art
Airpot beverage containers or dispensers are known in the art. Airpots are generally comprised of a wide-mouthed receptacle with a cavity that can contain a liquid such as a hot or cold beverage. Airpots typically have a lid with an actuator for pumping air into the receptacle above the liquid, which causes the beverage to be dispensed or discharged. Typically, an airpot functions to discharge a beverage from within the cavity upon operation of the actuator. In many airpots, pumping the actuator mechanism compresses a bellows inside the lid to force air from within the bellows into the cavity of the vessel. The increased air pressure inside the receptacle forces the liquid to be directed to and exit via a spout for dispensing.
Such a bellows is commonly formed of a flexible plastic or elastomer material in order to minimize the effort required to pressurize the airpot and selectively dispense the beverage contained therein. The bellows is commonly shaped with pleated, convoluted, corrugated, or crimped sidewalls and vertically collapses and expands during use. One problem with such airpots is that the force upon the bellows from the actuator and/or the pressure within the bellows can laterally deform the flexible pleats or convolutions. When the bellows laterally deforms, the pleats or convolutions can buckle, bind, or bulge outwardly, which can either reduce pumping efficiency or prevent further pumping altogether.
Objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following description in conjunction with the drawing figures, in which:
The present invention is directed to airpots for dispensing liquid beverages. The disclosed airpot lid assembly solves or improves upon one or more of the above-noted and other problems with known airpot lids. In one example, the disclosed airpot lid assembly reduces or eliminates the stability problem with the bellows that occurs in known airpot lids. In another example, the disclosed airpot lid assembly can yield consistent and complete pumping action of the lid assembly. The disclosed airpot lid assembly laterally or circumferentially confines the vertically collapsible bellows to inhibit or prevent binding or deformation of the pumping mechanism during use.
Turning now to the drawings,
The receptacle 12 is generally a vertically elongate vessel with an exterior wall 18, an interior liquid space 20, a closed bottom 22 at the lower end of the wall, and a top opening 24 surrounded by an upper edge 26 of the wall. The top opening 24 typically is a wide-mouth opening, but the top opening can vary. The receptacle 12 can be single walled or doubled walled and vacuum insulated. The receptacle 12 could be formed of molded plastic, glass, metal, or a combination thereof. The receptacle 12 has a known liquid dispensing tube or channel (not shown) in communication with a spout 27 through which the liquid may be dispensed from the space 20. The design of the receptacle 12 can vary and remain within the teachings of the present invention.
The lid cover 32 of
An interior lid cavity 48 of the cover 32 is defined within the general dome shape of the cover 32 within the sidewall 42 below the top 40. As shown in
Also revealed in
The bellows 38 further has a bellows outlet tube 70 with a through passage 71, which projects downwardly from the bottom 74. The outlet tube 70 fits through a hole 89 in an outlet gasket 88. The hole 89 in the gasket 88 is sized to snugly receive the tube 70. The gasket 88 has a groove formed on one end between a pair of spaced apart, radially extending annular flanges. The groove fits snugly in the outlet hole 63 of the lid bottom 36 and the flanges assist in retaining the gasket in place. The opposite end of the gasket extends beneath the bottom 36 and also has a groove between two flanges, which can be configured to connect with part of the receptacle if desired. When the bellows 38 including tube 70, the lid bottom 36, and the gasket 88 are assembled, the flanges on gasket 88 sits flat against either side of the circular depression 55 of the lid bottom 36 as shown in
The bellows cap 64 has a generally flat disc 78 with a circular perimeter 80 and an annular wall 82 projecting downward from the perimeter. The cap 64 also has a circular ridge 84 around a hole 86 situated concentrically in the top 78. The cap hole 86 corresponds to a bellows inlet hole 79 that is centrally situated on the top 72 of the bellows. The inlet valve 66 has a flat disc-shaped top 65 and a downward projecting cylinder 67 that is sized to fit within the hole 86 84 of the cap 38. The spring 68 in this example is a cone shaped helix that seats inside the bellows 38 as described above and couples with the cylinder 67 of the inlet valve 66 through the inlet hole 79 and through the cap hole 86. In this example the cylinder is perforated to accept a top loop of the spring. When assembled, the inlet valve 66 seats through both the cap hole 86 and the bellows inlet hole 79. The configuration of the spring 68 is such that it biases the bellows 38 toward the expanded condition and biases the inlet valve 66 upward and away from the top of the bellows cap 64. During pumping action, the biasing force of the spring 68 is overcome and the inlet valve 66 is closed by the pumping force.
As shown in
As shown in
When the airpot pot lid assembly is in the ready state as shown in
When the force B is released, the resiliency of the bellows 38 and the upward bias of the spring 68 both opens the inlet valve 66 and expands the bellows 38. As the bellows expands, it is refilled with air drawn through the inlet valve 66 after each compression stroke. The airpot 10 is then ready for the user to repeat the pumping stroke with the actuator 16 and the actuation lever 90 returned to the ready state as shown in
In an alternative embodiment the actuator can employ a push-button. The actuator 16 could be any suitable mechanism that is capable of transferring a force from the user to compress the bellows 24.
In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, the bellows 38 is confined within a bellows housing forming a chamber or space 83. The space in the disclosed example is comprised of a combination of the bellows cap 64 including the first annular wall 82 and the lid bottom 36 including the second annular wall 60. As in
In this example, the diameter of the cap annular wall 82 is slightly smaller than the diameter of the bottom annular wall 60 on the lid bottom 36. Thus, the wall 82 slides or telescopes inside the wall 60. The bellows chamber 83 confines and supports the sidewall 76 of the bellows 38 and ensures that the pleated sides or the bellows body 24 do not deform laterally outward, which would otherwise reduce or prevent further pumping action. The cap annular wall 82 could alternatively be configured to slide or telescope over or exterior to the bottom annular wall 60 and yet remain within the teachings of the present invention. In this example, the annular walls 60 and 82 are circular in shape. However, the shape of the bellows sidewall 76 and each annular wall 60 and 82 can vary, for example, and be circumferentially non-circular. For example, each can be hexagonal, octagonal, oblong, or other suitable shape that can accommodate a like-configured bellows 38.
Although certain airpot lid assemblies and features have been described herein in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure, the scope of coverage of this patent is not limited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all embodiments of the teachings of the disclosure that fairly fall within the scope of permissible equivalents.
Claims
1. An airpot beverage container comprising:
- a receptacle with an interior space capable of holding a liquid and a top opening near an upper edge of the receptacle;
- a lid assembly that covers the top opening, the lid assembly having a lid cover, an actuator on the lid cover, and a lid bottom, the lid cover and the lid bottom together defining an interior cavity within the lid assembly;
- a bellows housing defined within the interior cavity and forming a chamber therein; and
- a bellows within the chamber and having a flexible sidewall substantially and closely surrounded by the bellows housing, the bellows capable of being expanded and compressed and,
- wherein the bellows chamber can change in size to accommodate compression and expansion of the bellows.
2. An airpot beverage container according to claim 1, wherein the bellows housing includes a bellows cap positioned on a top of the bellows and movable with the bellows as the bellows is compressed and expanded.
3. An airpot beverage container according to claim 2, wherein the bellows housing includes a movable annular wall projecting downward from the bellows cap and a fixed annular wall projecting upwardly from the lid bottom.
4. An airpot beverage container according to claim 3, wherein the movable annular wall telescopes relative to the fixed annular wall.
5. An airpot beverage container according to claim 4, wherein the movable annular wall telescopes inside the fixed annular wall.
6. An airpot beverage container according to claim 4, wherein the fixed annular wall telescopes inside the movable annular wall.
7. An airpot beverage container according to claim 1, wherein the bellows sidewall includes a plurality of convolutions.
8. An airpot beverage container according to claim 1, wherein the bellows housing is a circular cylinder capable of changing in height.
9. An airpot beverage container comprising:
- a receptacle having an interior space capable of holding a liquid and having a liquid outlet spout;
- a lid assembly defining an interior cavity;
- an actuator for pressurizing the interior space via compression of the bellows;
- a bellows housing in the interior cavity and having a first annular wall projecting downward and a second annular wall projecting upward, the first and second annular walls movable telescopically relative to one another; and
- a bellows chamber formed within the first and second annular walls; and
- a flexible bellows within the bellows chamber and closely surrounded by the first and second annular walls, wherein the bellows and the bellows chamber can expand and compress upon movement of the actuator.
10. An airpot beverage container according to claim 9, wherein the first annular wall fits telescopically inside the second annular wall.
11. An airpot beverage container according to claim 9, wherein the second annular wall fits telescopically inside the first annular wall.
12. An airpot beverage container according to claim 9, wherein the bellows has a convoluted circumferential sidewall.
13. An airpot beverage container according to claim 9, wherein the actuator is a lever on the lid assembly.
14. An airpot beverage container according to claim 9, wherein the bellows housing is a circular cylinder.
15. An airpot beverage container according to claim 9, wherein the bellows housing has a bellows cap on a top of the bellows, the first annular wall depending from the bellows cap and the second annular wall projecting up from a surface of the lid assembly.
16. An airpot lid assembly for an airpot beverage container comprising:
- a lid cover having a top, a circumferential wall, a bottom, an interior cavity between the top and bottom within the circumferential wall, and an actuator on the lid cover;
- a bellows in the interior cavity and capable of expanding and of being compressed by movement of the actuator; and
- a bellows housing including an annular wall surrounding the bellows, wherein the annular wall can change in height as the bellows is compressed and expanded.
17. An airpot lid assembly according to claim 16, wherein the bellows has a convoluted sidewall
18. An airpot lid assembly according to claim 16, wherein the annular wall is a circular cylinder.
19. An airpot lid assembly according to claim 16, wherein the annular wall includes a fixed part and a movable part vertically and telescopically movable relative to one another.
20. An airpot lid assembly according to claim 19, wherein the fixed part projects up from a surface of the bottom of the lid and the movable part depends from a bellows cap on a top of the bellows.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 24, 2007
Publication Date: Apr 30, 2009
Applicant: Sunchaser Corporation (Land of Lakes, FL)
Inventor: Hsu Jin Yu (Chenghai)
Application Number: 11/923,230
International Classification: B65D 37/00 (20060101); B65D 83/14 (20060101);