US20070119809A1

US20070119809A1 - Mouthpiece assembly for water bottles

Info

Publication number: US20070119809A1
Application number: US11/386,713
Authority: US
Inventors: Han-min Chen
Original assignee: Taiwan Vertex Production Corp
Current assignee: Taiwan Vertex Production Corp
Priority date: 2005-11-29
Filing date: 2006-03-23
Publication date: 2007-05-31
Also published as: CN2850483Y

Abstract

A mouthpiece assembly includes a mouthpiece mounted on a movable part which is mounted on an insertion tube of a base. The base is connected with a hose and two locking members extend from the base so as to hook the movable part. Two operation plates are connected on two sides of the movable part and two covers are pivotably connected with the two operation plates. The two covers enclose the mouthpiece. When the two operation plates are moved upward, the movable part is pulled away from the base so as to open the outlets defined in the movable part and the two covers are pivoted outward so that the mouthpiece is accessible. When pulling the operation plates downward, the movable part is re-seal the outlets in the base an the covers are pivoted inward to enclose the mouthpiece again.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a mouthpiece assembly for water bottles and includes two covers which pivotably enclose the mouthpiece and the covers are easily opened and closed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A conventional water bottle or bag for outdoor use generally includes a container with a connection means connected thereto and a hose is connected to the connection means. A mouthpiece assembly is connected to the other end of the hose and generally includes connection member which is fixedly connected to the water bottle and includes a passage defined therethrough. A seal rod is fixedly located in the passage and located above a top of the connection member and an outlet is defined between the seal rod and the inner periphery of the passage. A mouthpiece is sliably mounted on the connection member and has a through hole defined therethrough, the inner diameter of the through hole is sized such that the seal rod can be snugly engaged with the through hole such that the outlet is sealed. When the mouthpiece is pulled away from the connection member, the seal rod is disengaged from the through hole so that the water can flow through the outlet. After having the water, the mouthpiece is pushed back to its original position and the seal rod is engaged with the through hole again. There are some recessed grooves and notches are formed even when the mouthpiece is pushed back and dust is easily stocked in the grooves and notches. In order to prevent the mouthpiece from being contaminated by dust, a cover is used to mount on the mouthpiece and the cover is connected to the hose by a strip. However, the user has to pull the cover off and then to pull the mouthpiece to access the water. It often requires two hands to complete the steps and this takes too much time and is not satisfied by the users.
The present invention intends to provide a mouthpiece assembly for water bottles wherein the mouthpiece is enclosed by two covers form lateral directions and the two cover can be easily pivoted outward by pulling two operation plates in one direction and inwardly by pushing the two operation plates in the other direction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a mouthpiece assembly for a water bottle and the mouthpiece assembly includes a base having an insertion tube which is located between two locking members on the base. Each of the two locking members has an engaging recess defined in a side thereof. A movable part has a mounting tube in which the insertion tube is inserted. A seal rod is located in the mounting tube which is removably inserted in the insertion tube so as to seal the insertion tube. A plurality of outlets are defined between the seal rod and the inner periphery of the mounting tube. A connection portion extends from the insertion tube and a mouthpiece is mounted on the connection portion. Two insertion holes are defined on two first opposite sides of the movable part and each insertion hole has two notches defined in an inside thereof. Two locking holes and a through hole are defined in an outside of each insertion hole.
Two covers are located outside of the mouthpiece and enclose the mouthpiece. Each cover has two lugs on a lower end thereof and each lug has a elongate slot. A pivot is connected to each of the two covers and the two lugs of each cover are inserted into the two insertion holes respectively. The two pivots are respectively engaged with the two engaging recesses of the two locking members.
Two operation plates each have a positioning ridge on an upper portion and a lower portion of a side thereof and two protrusions extend from a mediate portion of each operation plate. The positioning ridges of each operation plate are engaged with the locking holes and the protrusions of each operation plate extend through the elongate slots and are engaged with the notches.
The primary object of the present invention is to provide a mouthpiece assembly for water bottles wherein the mouthpiece is protected by two covers and the covers and the outlets are opened simultaneously by pulling two operation plates.
The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view to show the mouthpiece assembly of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the mouthpiece assembly of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view to show the mouthpiece assembly of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a side cross sectional view of the mouthpiece assembly of the present invention;
FIG. 5 shows the two covers are opened;
FIG. 6 shows the two covers are completely opened;
FIG. 7 shows the positions of the protrusions of the operation plates in the elongate slots of the lugs of the covers;
FIG. 8 shows the stops on the movable part are in contact with the contact members of the two covers, and
FIG. 9 shows the locking protrusions on the locking members are engaged with the ribs on the movable part.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, the mouthpiece assembly for water bottles of the present invention comprises a base 2 having a flange 22 connected thereto and an insertion tube 23 extending from a top of the flange 22 and a connection tube 21 extends from an underside of the flange 22. The connection tube 21 is to be connected with a hose (not shown) which is connected to the water bottle (not shown). Two locking members 221 extend from the top of the flange 22 and the insertion tube 23 is located between the two locking members 221. Each of the two locking members 221 has an engaging recess 2211 defined in a side thereof. The two locking members 221 each have a locking protrusion 2212 on an upper portion of each of the engaging recesses 2211.
A movable part 3 has a mounting tube 31 in which the insertion tube 23 is inserted. A seal rod 311 is located in the mounting tube 31 and extends downward as shown in FIG. 2 from a top of the mounting tube 31. The seal rod 311 is removably inserted in the insertion tube 23 so as to seal the insertion tube 23. The insertion tube 23 has a groove 231 defined in an outer periphery thereof and a seal 6 is engaged with the groove 231 to prevent from leakage between the mounting tube 31 and the insertion tube 23. A plurality of outlets 312 are defined between the seal rod 311 and the inner periphery of the mounting tube 31. A connection portion 32 extends from the insertion tube 23 and a mouthpiece 1 with a slit defined through a distal end thereof is mounted on the connection portion 32. The mouthpiece 1 has a plurality of reinforcement flanges 11 on an outer periphery thereof so as to increase the structural strength when connected with the connection portion 32. Two insertion holes 33 defined on two first opposite sides of the movable par 3 and each insertion hole 33 has two notches 331 defined in an inside thereof. Two locking holes 332 and a through hole 333 are defined in an outside of each insertion hole 33.
Two covers 4 are located outside of the mouthpiece 1 and enclose the mouthpiece 1. Each cover 4 has two lugs 41 on a lower end thereof and each lug 41 has an elongate slot 413 defined therethrough. A pivot 412 is connected to each of the two covers 4 and the two lugs 41 of each cover 4 are inserted into the two insertion holes 33 respectively. The two pivots 412 are respectively engaged with the two engaging recesses 2211 of the two locking members 221 so that the two covers 4 can be pivoted outward about the pivots 412. Each of the two covers 4 has an engaging lip 42 on one side and an engaging groove 43 in the other side, so that when the two covers 4 are matched with each other, the engaging lips 42 are engaged with the engaging grooves 43 corresponding thereto as shown in FIG. 4.
Two operation plates 5 each have a positioning ridge 52 on an upper portion and a lower portion of a side thereof. Two protrusions 51 extend from a mediate portion of each operation plate 5. The positioning ridges 51 of each operation plate 5 are engaged with the locking holes 332 and the protrusions 51 of each operation plate 5 extend through the elongate slots 413 and engaged with the notches 331. Therefore, the two operation plates 5 are fixedly connected to the movable part 3. The movable part 3 has two stops 34 on two second opposite sides thereof and the two lugs 41 each have a contact member 411 which is in contact with the stop 34 corresponding thereto when the two covers 4 are opened as shown in FIG. 8. The movable part 3 has two ribs 35 on two second opposite sides thereof and the locking protrusions 2212 are engaged with the ribs 35 when the two covers 4 are in closed positions as shown in FIG. 9.
Referring to FIGS. 5 to 9, when the user wants to have water via the mouthpiece 1, he or she uses two fingers to lift the two operation plates 5 upward, the two covers 4 are then pivoted outward about the two pivots 412, and the two protrusions 51 of the two operation plates 5 are then moved along the elongate slots 413 of the two lugs 41 of the covers 4 till the two covers 4 are completely in their open positions as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Simultaneously, the upward movement of the two operation plates 5 moves the movable part 3 upward, the seal rod 311 is disengaged from the insertion tube 23, so that the user can have the water through the outlets 312 and the slit 12. In the meanwhile, the engagement of the stops 34 and the contact members 411 avoids the two covers 4 from overly pivoted. The two covers 4 can be positioned in their open positions by engaging the locking protrusions 221 with lower edges of the ribs 35.
The two covers 4 can be easily pivoted inward to their close positions simply by pulling the two operation plates 5 downward, or directly pushing the two covers 4 toward each other.
While we have shown and described the embodiment in accordance with the present invention, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A mouthpiece assembly comprising:

a mouthpiece;

a base having a flange connected thereto and an insertion tube extending from a top of the flange, two locking members extending from the top of the flange and the insertion tube located between the two locking members, each of the two locking members having an engaging recess defined in a side thereof;

a movable part having a mounting tube in which the insertion tube is inserted, a seal rod located in the mounting tube and extending from a top of the mounting tube, the seal rod removably inserted in the insertion tube so as to seal the insertion tube, a plurality of outlets defined between the seal rod and the inner periphery of the mounting tube, a connection portion extending from the insertion tube and the mouthpiece mounted on the connection portion, two insertion holes defined on two first opposite sides of the movable par and each insertion hole having two notches defined in an inside thereof, two locking holes and a through hole defined in an outside of each insertion hole;

two covers located outside of the mouthpiece and enclosing the mouthpiece, each cover having two lugs on a lower end thereof and each lug having an elongate slot defined therethrough, a pivot connected to each of the two covers and the two lugs of each cover inserted into the two insertion holes respectively, the two pivots respectively engaged with the two engaging recesses of the two locking members, and two operation plates each having a positioning ridge on an upper portion and a lower portion of a side thereof and two protrusions extending from a mediate portion of each operation plate, the positioning ridges of each operation plate being engaged with the locking holes and the protrusions of each operation plate extending through the elongate slots and engaged with the notches.

2. The assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mouthpiece has a connection tube extending from an underside of the flange.

3. The assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the movable part has two stops on two second opposite sides thereof and the two lugs each have a contact member which is in contact with the stop corresponding thereto when the two covers are opened.

4. The assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the movable part has two ribs on two second opposite sides thereof and the two locking members each have a locking protrusion on an upper portion of each of the engaging recesses, the locking protrusions are engaged with the ribs 35 when the two covers are in closed positions.

5. The assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the two covers has an engaging lip on one side and an engaging groove in the other side, so that when the two covers are matched with each other, the engaging lips are engaged with the engaging grooves corresponding hereto.

6. The assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the insertion tube has a groove defined in an outer periphery thereof and a seal is engaged with the groove.

7. The assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mouthpiece has a plurality of reinforcement flanges on an outer periphery thereof.