Bottle and filter - Patent Review 5139666

Claims

We claim:

1. A bottle and a filter for storing a liquid usable with a liquid dispenser wherein the bottle is inverted on the dispenser to provide the dispenser with a supply of filtered liquid comprising: a side wall with a first end and a second end, a bottom wall jointed to the first end of the side wall, a top wall joined to the second end of the side wall, said side wall, bottom wall, and top wall surrounding a chamber for storing liquid, a first neck joined to the top wall having a passage open to the chamber and the dispenser, a filter for removing contaminants from the liquid, said first neck having an open end, a plurality of circumferentially spaced members projected into said passage inwardly of the open end for positioning the filter in said passage operable to remove contaminants from liquid flowing from the chamber through the filter into the dispenser, said filter having a side wall spaced inwardly from the first neck and annular means engagable with the projections to prevent the filter from being moved into the chamber of the bottle, means mounted on the first neck having an inside edge surrounding and engagable with the side wall of the filter to retain the filter on said first neck with the annular means in engagement with said projections, means for allowing air to flow into the chamber of the bottle during the flow of liquid from the bottle through said filter into the dispenser, and a second neck joined to the top wall adjacent the first neck, said second neck having an opening into the chamber to allow liquid to be placed in the chamber, said second neck having means accommodating cap means to close the opening therein.

2. The bottle and filter of claim 1 wherein: the first neck is longer than the second neck.

3. The bottle and filter of claim 1 wherein: the first neck includes a generally tubular wall surrounding said passage, and the second neck includes an annular wall surrounding said opening.

4. The bottle and filter of claim 3 wherein: the tubular wall has a diameter larger than the diameter of the annular wall.

5. The bottle and filter of claim 3 including: cap means releasably connected to the annular wall to close said opening.

6. The bottle and filter of claim 5 wherein: said cap means includes counter means operable to indicate the number of times that the chamber has been filled with liquid.

7. The bottle and filter of claim 6 wherein: the counter means includes a plurality of indicia, and a pointer movable to separate indicia indicating the number of times that the chamber has been filled with liquid.

8. The bottle and filter of claim 1 wherein: the first neck has a longitudinal axis, and the second neck has a longitudinal axis extended generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the first neck.

9. The bottle of claim 8 wherein: the bottle has a central longitudinal axis, said longitudinal axes of the first neck and second neck being located on opposite sides of the central longitudinal axis of the bottle.

10. The bottle and filter of claim 1 wherein: said top wall having an annular surface portion surrounding the first and second necks for supporting said bottle when inverted in use.

11. The bottle and filter of claim 1 wherein: said top wall has a recess, said second neck being located entirely within said recess.

12. The bottle and filter of claim 1 wherein: the means for allowing air to flow into the chamber includes at least one air bleed passage open to the chamber and dispenser, said air bleed passage being closed with liquid in the dispenser and open when the level of liquid in the dispenser is below the air bleed passage thereby allowing air to flow through said air bleed passage into said chamber.

13. The bottle and filter of claim 1 wherein: said filter includes and inlet opening within the chamber, an outlet opening externally of the bottle, and liquid filtering material between the inlet and outlet openings for removing contaminants from liquid flowing through the filter.

14. The bottle and filter of claim 1 wherein: the means mounted on the first neck is a ring member releasably mounted on the first neck, said ring member having said inside edge engagable with the side wall of the filter to retain the filter on the first neck.

15. The bottle and filter of claim 14 wherein: the means for allowing air to flow into the chamber comprises at least one air bleed hole in said ring member open to the passage and dispenser to allow air to flow into the chamber of the bottle.

16. A bottle and a filter for storing a liquid usable with a liquid dispenser wherein the bottle is inverted on the dispenser to provide the dispenser with a supply of liquid, said bottle comprising: a side wall having a first end and a second end, a bottom wall jointed to the first end, a top wall joined to the second end, said side wall, bottom wall, and top wall defining a chamber for storing liquid, first means joined to the top wall having a passage open to the chamber, a filter having a side wall surrounding filtering material operable to remove contaminants from liquid flowing from the chamber through the filter into the dispenser, said first means having a passage open to the chamber and dispenser and at least one inwardly directed member located inwardly of the open end of said passage engagable with the filter to prevent the filter from moving into the chamber, means mounted on the first means having an inside edge surrounding and engagable with the side wall of the filter to retain the filter on the first means with the filter engagable with said member, means for allowing air to flow into the chamber of the bottle during the flow of liquid from the bottle through said filter into the dispenser, and second means joined to the top wall having an opening into the chamber to allow liquid to be placed in the chamber, said second means adapted to accommodate a cap to close the opening therein.

17. The bottle and filter of claim 16 wherein: the means allowing air to flow into the chamber includes at least one air bleed passage open to the chamber and dispenser, said air bleed passage being closed with liquid in the dispenser and open when the level of liquid in the dispenser is below the air bleed passage thereby allowing air to flow through said air bleed passage into said chamber.

18. The bottle and filter of claim 16 wherein: the first means includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced projections extended into said passage, said filter adapted to engage the projections to prevent the filter from being moved into the chamber.

19. The bottle and filter of claim 18 wherein: said filter has an outlet opening within the chamber, an outlet opening externally of the bottle, said filtering material located between the inlet and outlet openings for removing contaminants from liquid flowing through the filter, and an annular portion engagable with the projections to position the filter in the passage and prevent the filter from being moved into the chamber.

20. The bottle and filter of claim 21 wherein: the means for allowing air to flow into the chamber includes at least one air bleed hole in the means mounted on the first means open to the passage to allow air to flow into the chamber of the bottle.

21. The bottle and filter of claim 16 including: a cap releasably mounted on the second means to close the opening therein, and counter means on said cap operable to indicate the number of times that the chamber has been filled with liquid.

22. The bottle and filter of claim 21 wherein: the counter means includes a plurality of indicia, and a pointer movable to separate indicia indicating the number of times that the chamber has been filled with liquid.

23. The bottle and filter of claim 16 wherein: the top wall has a recess, said second means being entirely located within said recess.

24. The bottle and filter of claim 16 wherein: the first means is a first tubular neck having a longitudinal axis, and the second means is a second tubular neck having a longitudinal axis extended generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the first tubular neck.

25. The bottle and filter of claim 24 wherein: the bottle has a central longitudinal axis, said axes of the first and second necks being located on opposite sides of the central longitudinal axis of the bottle, and said top wall having a surface portion surrounding the first and second tubular necks for supporting said bottle when inverted in use.

26. A bottle for storing a liquid usable with a liquid dispenser wherein the bottle is inverted on the dispenser to provide the dispenser with a supply of liquid, said bottle comprising: a substantially cylindrical body portion having a top wall, a bottom wall and a generally circumferential side wall surrounding a chamber for storing liquid, said side wall having an upper end, said top wall joined to and extended upwardly from the upper end of said side wall, said top wall having a curved concave configuration and of decreasing diameter upwardly from said side wall and a recess in a portion thereof, said top wall providing a rigidified surface for supporting said bottle when inverted in use, said top wall terminating in a neck having a passage open to the chamber, said neck having inwardly directed projection means for engaging a liquid filter having a side wall adapted to be located in said passage and preventing the filter from being moved into the chamber, means mounted on the neck having an inside edge surrounding and engagable with the side wall of the filter adapted to retain the filter on the neck with the filter in engagement with the projection means, means for allowing air to flow into the chamber of the bottle during the flow of liquid from the bottle through said filter into the dispenser, and tubular means joined to the top wall portion located in said recess having an opening to the chamber for filling the bottle with liquid, said tubular means adapted to accommodate a cap for closing said opening.

27. The bottle of claim 26 including: a cap mounted on the tubular mans to close the opening therein, said cap including counter means operable to indicate the number of times that the chamber has been filled with liquid.

28. The bottle of claim 26 including: a filter located within the passage of the neck, said filter having an inlet end open to the chamber, an outlet end open externally of the bottle, liquid filtering material between the inlet and outlet ends for removing contaminants from liquid flowing from the chamber through the filtering material into the dispenser, and an annular portion engagable with the projection means to position the filter in the passage and prevent the filter from being moved into the chamber, and said means mounted on the neck including a member releasably mounted on the neck and engagable with the filter to retain the filter on the neck with the annular portion engagable with the projection means.

29. The bottle and filter of claim 28 wherein: the means for allowing air to flow into the chamber of the bottle includes at least one air bleed hole in said member open to the dispenser and passage to allow air to flow into the chamber of the bottle.

30. The bottle and filter of claim 28 wherein: the member is a ring member having an inside edge engagable with the side wall of the filter to retain the filter on the neck.

31. A bottle for storing a liquid usable with a liquid dispenser wherein the bottle is inverted on the dispenser to provide the dispenser with a supply of liquid, said bottle comprising: a side wall with a first end and a second end, a bottom wall jointed to the first end of the side wall, a