US2613988A - Beverage dispensing device - Google Patents

Description

()ct 14, 1952 c. F. JARBEAU BEVERAGE DISPENSING DEVIC Filed May 8, 1950 FIG.7 FIG.8 FIG.9 FIG.|O

' FIVG.3 FIGQ4 //VVENTOE CHARLES f M l/P191540 29 \MM aiwm Patented Get. 14, 1952 UNITED STATES TENT FFICE;

2,613,988 BEVERAGE DISPENSING DEVICE Charles F. J arbeau, Dayton, Ohio, assignor of onehalf to Franklin E. Shankle, Mad'River Town Ship, Ohio Application May 8, 1950, Serial No. 1604329 2 Claims.

part of a beverage receptacle is not new but they main objection to sippers of this type. is that when the cap is removed and the sipper pops upwardly out of the bottle, the-lower contents of the bottle cannot be reached by'the sipper because the latter obviously must-be of shorter length than the height-of the bottle in order to be contained within the bottle. Various ways have been proposed to overcome this diificulty and in one instance a telescoping extension is provided at the upper end of the straw or sipper which is adapted to be pulled out to an extended position for holding the shank or the main portion of the straw in one hand and the extension tube in the other hand. This manipulation of the straw represents an, unsanitary condition since it requires the grasping of; the straw by the hand and that-portionofthe straw which may be so grasped might be a portion which later is immersed in the beverage and contamination mayresult.

It has been found that in'thosestrawsin which the telescoping tip is provided and which tip is extended by the hand in the-manner described, the straw as a whole pops'upwardly out-of the beverage and in order to 're'achthe bottom-'of'the bottle the straw must be forced down intothe bottle either by the r'n'o'utli' or by the-'- fingers. In any and all of these cases theuse of-a selfcontained straw isnot at all satisfactory;

The primary object of the invention is to provide a sealed-in'sipper for bottled beveragesin which the sipper is offlno' greaterlength than that of the-capped bottle, but uponremoving the cap the sipper automatically extends, its full length and the lower end remains near: the bottom of the bottle.

Another object isito: provide asealed-insipper for beverages contained in cappedpbottles. and which upon removing thenap, causes the sipper automatically to extendto'alength greater than thelengthoof the bottle, Without the use ofthe fingers, and-in which the lowerpend-of thesipper remains in practical contact withthebottomof the bottle,

Still another object is to'provide a sealed-insipper for bottled beverages which lends itself readily tovbeing-p ositioned within the bottle by ordinary capping operations;

Another objectis to provide asealed-in sipper' for bottled beverages in which the sipper is made of two telescoping parts and in which the parts automatically extend to their full length when the cap of the bottle is'removed and the; full length is considerably greater than the'lengthof the bottle.

Anotherobjectis to provide a sipper for bottled beverages in which the sipper is formed-of'two parts which slide with respect to one another and adapted to extendto a length greater than that of the bottle, the two parts being restrained',

from becoming separatedfrom one another. I

Still another object'is to provide a sealed-in sipper for'bottledbeverages in which thesipper is normally hermetically sealed atthe top but" is fr'acturable in order to open up the upper-end of the ,sipper.

A further object is to provide a two-part telescoping sipper for beverages in which the lower" part of the sipper is open and the upp r part is constituted of a hermetically sealed but fracturable portion inwhich that portion is provided with anornamentalobject.

A final object is to provide asipper for beverages formed of two parts which extend with respect to one another, the lower part being op'en' at the bottom and the upper part being closed by ahermetically sealed insert which can be removed either by asliding'fit action or byv a fracturing operation.

Other objects and featureswvill beapparentas the specification is perused in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a bottle in section with;th eupper end in elevation and: containing one; form.: of. my improved sipper; in this figure it is ashsumed that the cap has been removed and the sipper has automatically extended to its full length;

Figure 2 shows, a bottle similar to that in; v

Figurel but withthe capaffixed; and the sippe-I! collapsed to its fully foreshortened.- condition. ready to be automatically extended whenthecap- Figure 5 is an elevational view of thepuppera fragmentary portion of the improved sipper showing the iracturable tip;

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5, but with the tip of the sipper broken ofi;

Figure '7 is a modified form of the upper end of the improved sipper employing a plug form of closure;

Figure 8 shows a view similar to Figure 7 but with the end plug removed to expose the opening in the sipper; and

Figures 9 and 10 illustrate, in perspective, modified end portions of the improved sipper, depicting the manner in which these portions can be made in any suitable ornamental style.

The improved sipper for the bottle is constituted of a long tubular member 3 made preferably of plastic material or specially treated straw. The member 3 is preferably tapered over its entire length by a straight taper, i. e. continuously enlarged from the upper to the lower end, and

the bore within the member may be either of the same diameter throughout the length of the member or can become enlarged at the same rate as the outer diameter of the member. Thus, the member may have a constant wall thickness, depending on the manner in which the member is extruded or otherwise manufactured. The lower part 4 of the sipper is constituted of a material similar to the upper part and has a smaller external diameter at the upper end than at the lower end.

As shown on the drawings, the upper member is telescopically but hermetically fitted within the lower member, each having a portion 5 surrounded by or surrounding theother portion of sufficient length, even when the parts are extended, to leave a sufiiciently long sealing joint. The tapers on the parts 3, 4 are sufficiently gradual that while there is enough clearance between the parts indicated at 6 in Figure 2 when the parts-are in their contracted positions to eliminate any substantial friction, the parts are snugly fitted together to form a hermetic joint at the position 5 when the sipper is in its fully extended position. In order to facilitate the relative movements of the upper and lower parts 3, 4 from the contracted position shown in Figure 2 to the extended position shown in Figure 1, the external surface of the tube 3 and the internal surface of the tube 4 should be relatively smooth and of substantially the same configuration, i. e. rectangular, elliptical, but preferably circular.

The upper end of the tubular member 3 can be closed in any manner, although as will be pointed out herein-after, this closure must be opened when the sipper is ready for use. In case the sipper is formed of hard straw, it may be sufiicient merely to nip the end by the fingernail. However, in case the sipper is constituted of a plastic, I have found it more convenient to provide in the plastic a nicked or undercut groove indicated at 1 in Fig. 5, which readily permits the uppermost tip 8 to be broken off by the fingers. It will be understood that the notch I is not deep enough to destroy the hermetic condition at the upper end of the sipper. The material of the tube 3' can have a specific gravity which is preferably less than or not a great deal more than the specific gravity of the contained beverage so as to permit it to rise under conditions which will be explained presently.

In order to insert the sipper into a bottle filled with beverage, the cap 2 is placed over the upper end of the sipper and pressed by the usual capping machine against the lip of the bottle, at which time the upper portion of the sipper will be found to be pressed into the lower portion as shown in Fig. 2. As pointed out hereinbefore, the part 3 fits snugly with respect to the part 4 only when these parts are in their fully extended position as shown in Fig. 1. The joint between these parts can be readily broken due to the low co-efficient of friction of the material out of which the parts are made. Consequently, as the cap 2 is brought into position over the bottle to press the part 3 downward, the joint at 5 is instantly broken and then there is sufficient clearance at B to permit these parts to be readily contracted by the further operation of the capping machine. Due to the fact that the specific gravity of the material out of which the part 4 is made is greater than the specific gravity of the beverage, the part 4 will remain in its lowermost position as shown in Fig. 2, even though there is a clearance between the parts 3 and 4. In other words, the part 4 will not float upwardly along the surface of the part 3. In order to assure this anchor position of the part 4, the latter can be made of any material, plastic or otherwise. which provides the necessary weighting down effect.

It is apparent that when the support is placed in the bottle, there is a column of air contained in the upper and lower portions, since the uppermost tip 8 is sealed and there is a substantially hermetic joint between the contacting surfaces of the sipper parts. During the capping operation, when the upper portion 3 is being pressed into the lower portion, this column of air undergoes a compressing action and the air remains under compression during all of the time that the cap stays on the bottle.

While there may be some tendency for the air contained in the lower tubular member 4 to escape upwardly through the space 6 as the part 3 is being pressed downward, nevertheless the larger portion of this air will find its way into the interior of the tube 3 along with the air that was originally contained in this tube, and thus be subjected to the compressing action of the beverage as it attempts to ascend into the tube.

When the cap is removed in order to sip the contents of the bottle, the upper portion 3 of the sipper pops up immediately due to the expansion of the air column contained in the sipper. In case the material of the upper portion 3 has a specific gravity less than that of the beverage, the sipper will expand lengthwise at an even greater rate, although it is to be understood that the force which causes the portion 3 to move upwardly is in greater degree due to the release of the pressure of the air column contained within the sipper.

The part 3 will move upwardly until its lower portion contacts with the interior surface of the lower tube 4 as shown in Fig. l, at which time the upper part 3 will have projected for a considerable distance out of the bottle as indicated in Fig. 1, but with the uppermost tip still closed.

After the sipper has popped up in the manner stated, it is merely necessary to break off the upper end in order to expose the bore of the sipper. In order to facilitate a clean fracture at a predetermined point, a V-shaped groove 1 may be formed in the sipper near the top so that little or no pressure is required to fracture the element. The portion 8 that is broken off may be provided with ornamental figures, such as a horses head 9 (Fig. 9) or a horizontal star [0 (Fig. 10), and a loop H can be employed, if desired, in any of these figures so as to string these end pieces similar to beads, as a souvenir.

In Fig. 3, there is shown a modified form of sipper in which the-tubular partshave substantially thesame diameter throughout their length and are-not tapered in the manner explained hereinbefore. At the lower end of thetube. B there is" provided an outwardly flared flange-l which fits snugly but slidably within thevlower tube H. The latter is provided at its upper end with an inwardly extending neck l2 which is provided with a bore of substantially the same diameter as the external dimension of the tube 9. Thus, the tubes 9 and H telescope within one another as in the case of the structure shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and the flared portion It and the inwardly extending portion l2 have dimensions such that hermetic joints are provided at each of these two positions between the parts 9, H throughout the entire sliding movement of the parts. It is apparent that the tubular member 9 is supported at two spaced points at all times within the tubular member H, the distance between these points becoming greater as the part is moved downwardly into the part ll. Furthermore, the shape of the flared-out tip I!) can conform precisely to the internal surface of the inwardly extending lip 12 to such an extent that when the tubes are in their most extended position (after the cap has been removed) an additional hermetic'seal is obtained between these two deformed portions.

Thus, the parts 9 and H are rigidly related to one another in both the extended and compressed positions. The modification shown in Fig. 3 has some advantages over that illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 in that no tapers are required on the parts 9 and II and there is a tendency to have somewhat less friction in moving one part with respect to the other, although as stated hereinbefore, these parts can be made of a substantially frictionless plastic material. The latter can also be treated with suitable and wellknown substances which may reduce the friction to a negligible amount.

It should be further noted that the buoying efiect of the compressed column of air in the tube 9 is so strong as to cause the upper member 9 to pop out of the bottle, assuming that the part II has suificient anchoring effect to remain at the bottom of the bottle. It should be further noted that in the improved support shown in Fig. 3, the air that is trapped in the tube H is caused to enter the tube 9 under the compressing action as when the cap 2 is being placed in position, so that none of this air is lost by leakage. increased.

In Fig. 4 there is shown still another modified type of sipper at the position of the contact between the upper and lower portions. The lower element 12a is formed with a straight, tapered, inwardly extending neck portion l3 which corresponds in taper and length to a flared-out portion H; on the upper part E5 of the sipper. This structure has some advantage over the flange I0 shown in Fig. '3 in that a contacting surface is provided throughout a greater length between the upper and lower portions of the sipper, thus assuring a somewhat better hermetic seal at this position, although as has already been stated, the seal obtained between the flange ID and the neck portion [2 in Fig. 3 between the sliding and the abutting surfaces is sufficient to provide all the necessary hermetic effect at this position.

It will be understood that the upper end of Consequently, the buoyancy is the'p'art. 9 in;.Fig., 3 and. the part] 5; in. Fig. 411sterminated by-,rwfracturable closure 8- similar :to that describedf inaconnection with Figs; 5--v and 6, or of: any othersuitableztype.

Amodifiedformzof;this;terminating portion is shown inFigs; 7' and 8; A- fairly'tightlyf fitted cap or plug llirm'ay; beiinsertedinto the bore of thesipper 3 by,meansfofian extension I1. This was described in connection with the ornamental top portions 9 and [0.

While I have described the improved sipper from the standpoint of normally employing plastic materials of the proper specific gravity to permit the extensionfunction, it will be understood that other materials may be used for this purpose, such as specially treated straw or synthetic rubber, since I do not depend entirely on the specific gravity of the upper portion 3 to cause the sipper to pop up, but instead, the expansion of the air column contained within the sipper, which would force this portion upwardly even if the material out of which said portion is made does not normally have a floating effect.

It will be noted that the sipper or straw remains in a sanitary condition throughout, since the upper portion of the bore becomes exposed only when the user breaks off the terminal piece 8 or removes the plug 16. There is no necessity to grasp the straw by the hand except for this fracturing operation because the sipper automatically extends itself in a manner described hereinbefore.

It is apparent that in any and all of the sipper embodiments shown in Figs. 1 to 4, the upper sipper portions 3, 9, I5 can be readily removed from the lower portions 4, l l and In respectively and can serve as a rigid stirrer for liquor. In the sipper of Figs. 1 and 2, the upper portion is simply pressed downwardly through the tube 4 to be disengaged since the direction of the taper facilitates this operation. The other sippers can likewise be separated into their two parts so as to utilize the upper part in each case for the purpose mentioned. Conversely, the two portions of each sipper can be readily and inexpensively assembled together to obtain the telescoping ac-v tion described hereinbefore.

I am aware that the invention may be embodied in still other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and I therefore desire the present embodiment to be considered in all respects as illustrative, and not restrictive; reference being had to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: I I

1. A sipper for beverages and other liquids or semi-solids, said sipper being formed of a plurality of telescoping tubular parts hermetically and slidably fitted together, one of said parts be ing constituted of material having a specific gravity no greater than that of the beverage and the other of said parts being constituted of material having a specific gravity no less than the specific gravity of the beverage.

2. A sipper for bottled beverages, open at both ends and formed of two parts which are slidably 7 and hermetically fitted together,'one of the parts of the sipper having a specific gravity and total weight such that it remains at the bottom of the bottle and the other of said parts having av specific gravity and weight such that it tends to float upwardly through the beverage and to remain popped up out of the bottle.

CHARLES F. JARBEAU.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Dyer Aug. 8, 1911 Parlett Nov. 30, 1915 Hamilton Feb.'27, 1940 Hanson Apr. 14, 1942 Humbert Jan. 8, 1946

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