US 11,273,460 B1Granted

Airpot beverage dispenser

AssigneePacific Market International, LLC

InventorsMatthew Kenneth Dolph, Ryan Michael Smith, Stephen Lake, Andrew C. F. Wahl, Ping The Phan

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Abstract

An airpot beverage dispenser having a body with a beverage cavity, a lid with lower and upper lid portions, a bellows within the upper lid portion, an actuator for compressing the bellows to increase the pressure of trapped air in the bellows, a duckbill valve, a skirt valve extending fully around the duckbill valve, and a spout. The skirt valve is movable into sealing engagement with a lid lower wall to define an air flow path from the bellows to the beverage cavity, and when the pressure of the trapped air in the bellows is sufficiently increased, the duckbill valve opens and passes the trapped air to the beverage cavity to force beverage out the spout. When the spout is moved to a stored position and the dispenser is in a locked state, the skirt valve serves as a relief valve to prevent over pressure in the beverage cavity.

Claims31

Dependent claims

An airpot beverage dispenser for dispensing a beverage, comprising:

a container body with a body upper end portion and a beverage cavity for holding the beverage;
a lid attachable to the body upper end portion, the lid including:
a lower lid portion in engagement with the body upper end portion and having a lower lid wall with a lower lid wall aperture;
and
an upper lid portion having an upwardly open upper lid portion chamber with a chamber bottom wall having a chamber bottom wall aperture;
a spout including:
a spout head portion having an outward end portion with an opening for dispensing the beverage contained in the beverage cavity, and an inward end portion;
and
a spout conduit having an upper end portion in fluid communication with the inward end portion of the spout head portion and a lower end portion positioned within the beverage cavity;
a bellows positioned at least partially within the upper lid portion chamber, the bellows having a first bellows aperture, and a lower bellows end wall with a second bellows aperture, the bellows being downwardly collapsible;
a bellows valve closing the first bellows aperture when the bellows is being downwardly collapsed to trap air in the bellows;
an actuator downwardly movable to apply a downward force on the bellows to progressively downwardly collapse the bellows to progressively increase the pressure of the trapped air in the bellows;
and
a valve assembly supported by the lower bellows end wall, the valve assembly including:
a skirt valve portion having a skirt wall with an upper end skirt wall portion and a flexible lower end skirt wall portion, the lower end skirt wall portion defining a skirt wall aperture, downward movement of the actuator moving the lower end skirt wall portion into fluid tight sealing engagement with the lower lid wall with the lower end skirt wall portion extending fully about the lower lid wall aperture;
and
a duckbill valve portion having an upper duckbill valve portion and a lower duckbill valve portion, the upper duckbill valve portion being in fluid communication with the second bellows aperture, the upper end skirt wall portion being in fluid tight sealing engagement with the upper duckbill valve portion and the lower end skirt wall portion extending fully about the lower duckbill valve portion, the lower duckbill valve portion having a normally closed exit aperture opened when the air pressure within the lower duckbill valve portion is above a duckbill valve opening pressure, downward movement of the actuator after the lower end skirt wall portion is in fluid tight sealing engagement with the lower lid wall further collapses the bellows and further increases the pressure of the trapped air in the bellows, when the pressure of the trapped air in the bellows is above the duckbill valve opening pressure, the exit aperture opens and completes a fluid passageway for the trapped air in the bellows to pass into the beverage cavity through the lower lid wall aperture.

14 more elements

An airpot beverage dispenser for dispensing a beverage, comprising:

a container body with a body upper end portion and a beverage cavity for holding the beverage;
a lid attachable to the body upper end portion, the lid having an upwardly open lid chamber and a lid lower wall having a lid lower wall aperture;
a spout for dispensing the beverage contained in the beverage cavity, the spout having a spout conduit with a lower end portion positioned within the beverage cavity;
a bellows positioned at least partially within the lid chamber, the bellows having a first bellows aperture and a second bellows aperture, the bellows being downwardly collapsible;
a bellows valve closing the first bellows aperture when the bellows is being downwardly collapsed to trap air in the bellows;
an actuator downwardly movable to apply a downward force on the bellows to progressively downwardly collapse the bellows to increase the pressure of the trapped air in the bellows;
and
a valve assembly including:
a skirt valve portion having a skirt wall with an upper end skirt wall portion and a flexible lower end skirt wall portion, the lower end skirt wall portion defining a skirt wall aperture, downward movement of the actuator moving the lower end skirt wall portion into fluid tight sealing engagement with the lid lower wall with the lower end skirt wall portion extending about the lid lower wall aperture;
and
a duckbill valve portion having an upper duckbill valve portion and a lower duckbill valve portion, the upper duckbill valve portion being in fluid communication with the second bellows aperture, the upper end skirt wall portion being in fluid tight sealing engagement with the upper duckbill valve portion and the lower end skirt wall portion extending about the lower duckbill valve portion, the lower duckbill valve portion having a normally closed exit aperture opened when the air pressure within the lower duckbill valve portion is above a duckbill valve opening pressure, downward movement of the actuator after the lower end skirt wall portion is in fluid tight sealing engagement with the lid lower wall further collapses the bellows and further increases the pressure of the trapped air in the bellows, when the pressure of the trapped air in the bellows is above the duckbill valve opening pressure, the exit aperture opens and completes a fluid passageway for the trapped air in the bellows to pass into the beverage cavity through the lid lower wall aperture.

8 more elements

An airpot beverage dispenser for dispensing a beverage, comprising:

a container body with a body upper end portion and a beverage cavity for holding the beverage;
a lid attachable to the body upper end portion, the lid having an upwardly open lid chamber with a lid lower wall having a lid lower wall aperture;
a spout for dispensing the beverage contained in the beverage cavity, the spout having a spout conduit with a lower end portion positioned within the beverage cavity;
a bellows positioned at least partially within the lid chamber, the bellows having a bellows aperture, the bellows being downwardly collapsible;
an actuator downwardly movable to apply a downward force on the bellows to progressively downwardly collapse the bellows to increase the pressure of the trapped air in the bellows;
and
a valve assembly including:
a skirt valve portion having a skirt wall with an upper end skirt wall portion and a flexible lower end skirt wall portion, the lower end skirt wall portion defining a skirt wall aperture, downward movement of the actuator moving the lower end skirt wall portion into fluid tight sealing engagement with the lid lower wall with the lower end skirt wall portion extending about the lid lower wall aperture;
and
a duckbill valve portion in fluid communication with the bellows aperture, the upper end skirt wall portion being in fluid tight sealing engagement with the duckbill valve portion and the lower end skirt wall portion extending about the duckbill valve portion, the duckbill valve portion having a normally closed exit aperture opened when the air pressure within the duckbill valve portion is above a duckbill valve opening pressure, downward movement of the actuator after the lower end skirt wall portion is in fluid tight sealing engagement with the lid lower wall further collapses the bellows and further increases the pressure of the trapped air in the bellows, when the pressure of the trapped air in the bellows is above the duckbill valve opening pressure, the exit aperture opens and completes a fluid passageway for the trapped air in the bellows to pass into the beverage cavity through the lid lower wall aperture.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 17/190,278Filed 2 Mar 2021
Granted: 15 Mar 2022
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification11 codes

B05B 11/104
Pressure accumulation pumps, i.e. pumps comprising a pressure accumulation chamber: the outlet valve being opened by pressure after a defined…
A47J 41/0033
The stopper incorporating a dispensing device, i.e. the fluid being dispensed through the stopper: comprising a pumping system
B05B 11/1047
The pump chamber being arranged substantially coaxially to the neck of the container: the pump being preassembled as an independent unit before…
B05B 11/1059
Components or details: means for locking a pump or its actuation means in a fixed position