WO1994024011A1

WO1994024011A1 - A container to facilitate tilted dispensing

Info

Publication number: WO1994024011A1
Application number: PCT/AU1994/000198
Authority: WO
Inventors: Roderick Perry
Original assignee: Roderick Perry
Priority date: 1993-04-20
Filing date: 1994-04-19
Publication date: 1994-10-27

Abstract

A container for storing and dispensing liquid is provided wherein early egress of the liquid is prevented by the formation of an airtight space (8) inside the container which maintains, by virtue of the sub-atmospheric pressure within the space (8), a stable liquid surface (11) inside an elongate neck of the container proximate the outlet (3). When the container is tilted past a critical angle, liquid drains from the surface (11) through the outlet, air entering the space (8) past a low point (12) thereby allowing egress of the liquid.

Description

A CONTAINER TO FACILITATE TILTED DISPENSING

This invention relates to a tiltable container for dispensing liquid. The container may be suitable for dispensing oil into a motor vehicle engine.

Many types of tiltable containers for dispensing liquid are known. A common problem with most prior art containers when dispensing liquid into an orifice is that the outlet of the container may not be able to be brought close to the orifice without the container being tilted well past the angle at which egress of the liquid begins. This difficulty may occur because there is no clear space around and below the orifice for manoeuvring the bulk of the container, the outlet of which is normally at the top of the container. The consequence of this problem is that liquid may not be aimed accurately at the orifice or it may dribble down the side of the container, causing spillage. As any motorist knows, the problem manifests itself in a particularly annoying form when an attempt is made to pour oil into a motor vehicle engine from the conventional four to six litre plastic container in which oil is normally sold.

A further problem with such prior art containers is that the flow of liquid tends to become disorderly through interference between the egress of liquid and the ingress of air at the outlet, the ingress of air occurring to replace the space vacated by the liquid. In conventional containers with a single outlet, this can be solved by the incorporation of additional guides inside the container near the outlet which separate the ingress of air from the egress of the liquid in an orderly manner, but these containers do nothing to solve the premature egress problem described above.

ϋS Patent 4,856,685 ("Gaffney") discloses a container having a baffle member with an aperture therein which prevents liquid from flowing out of the container until the container is tilted well past a horizontal position, the tilting being performed in either of two opposite directions, one keeping the aperture in an uppermost orientation and the other a lowermost orientation. When tilting with the aperture in the uppermost orientation, the contents of the container are prevented from flowing out by virtue of the baffle forming a dam wall. When tilting in the lowermost orientation, the contents are prevented from flowing out by the formation of an airtight space above an interior surface of the liquid, air being prevented from entering by the submerged aperture. In one embodiment the baffle member is provided for a rectangular blow moulded container by a lateral channel across the top of the container.

There are a number of separate disadvantages of the Gaffney containers.

First, the requirement that the container prevents early outflow of liquid when tipped in both directions necessitates

(i) that the container is filled to a level substantially below the baffle; and

(ii) that the angle at which outflow begins in the aperture-lowermost orientation is well past the horizontal if it is desired (as in the case of motor vehicle oil receptacles) to have a container which is mostly above the outlet before outflow begins.

Secondly, as described below the aperture is rectangular and extends across the full width of the wide rectangular container in the blow moulded example. This creates a sensitivity to sideways attitude as the container is tilted and the container must be carefully held in a symmetrical manner to prevent premature outflow of liquid. In practice, therefore, the minimum angle at which outflow begins in the aperture-lowermost orientation must also for this reason be designed to be well past the horizontal in order to compensate for asymmetrical tipping.

Thirdly, the lateral surface of the baffle which opposes the outlet renders rapid machine filling of the container difficult.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a container which overcomes one or more of the disadvantages of the prior art. In particular, there may be provided a practical container which may be designed to begin the egress of liquid at any desired tilting angle when tipped in one direction and which needs no additional guides or attachments to prevent disorderly flow from the ingress of air, being simultaneously cheap to manufacture aesthetically appealing and of a practical shape for storage.

Therefore in accordance with a broad aspect of the invention there is provided a container for storage and dispensing of liquid comprising a main body portion, an elongate neck disposed above the main body portion, and an outlet in the neck, the main body portion defining a storage chamber for storage of the liquid and having a base, a perimeter wall and a top wall, the storage chamber being closed except for communication between the chamber and outlet through the neck; the neck connecting with the chamber at one side of the container and extending upwardly and inwardly of the container above the main body portion; the arrangement being such that

(i) when the container is tilted in a direction toward said one side of the container at less than a critical angle, egress of liquid through the outlet is prevented by creation of a sub-atmospheric pressure in a space between an interior surface of the liquid and the main body portion of the container, external air being prevented from passing into the chamber of the main body portion by the formation of a secondary liquid surface inside the neck; and

(ii) when the container is tilted in said direction at greater than the critical angle, liquid drains out from the container from the secondary liquid surface through the outlet allowing external air to pass between the secondary liquid surface and an inside region of the neck at the junction with the main body portion of the container and into the storage chamber thereby relieving said sub-atmospheric pressure and enabling continued egress of the liquid.

By shaping the neck and outlet to achieve the above characteristics for tipping in said direction, an easily handled, aesthetically pleasing container is made possible which by subtle variations in styling can be designed to commence egress at any desired angle and which can be filled rapidly at least to the top wall of the container.

Preferably, an inside angled surface opposes the outlet such that during a filling operation liquid entering the container through the outlet is guided through the neck around said inside region and into the body. The inside angled surface may be provided by the neck if the neck is upwardly inclined when the container sits on the base and the outlet opens upwardly from the inclined neck.

Preferably also, said region is shaped such that the critical angle is sufficiently insensitive to sideways attitude of the container during the forwards tilting so that premature egress of the liquid is prevented in practical use. If the body is substantially wider in the sideways direction than the outlet, said sufficient insensitivity may be at least partly provided by said inside region of the neck being narrow in the sideways direction compared with the body. Alternatively or in addition, said sufficient insensitivity may be at least partly provided by said inside region of the neck curving away on both sides in the sideways direction from its nearest approach to the secondary liquid surface when viewed from a perspective through the outlet of the container held at or near the critical angle.

Preferably too, the neck forms part of one end of a handle, the other end of which joins the main body portion of the container at a point remote from the neck and the handle is constructed to prevent air entering said space from the outlet through the inside of said other end of the handle. This construction may be in the form of an internal or pinched barrier. For structural rigidity of the handle, it is advantageous for the elongate neck to extend across the top of the container past the outlet to form a carrying portion of the handle, and/or for the pinched barrier to be located remotely from the outlet. Such location may be between the carrying portion and a downwards-tending pouring portion of the handle.

For applications where the container is adapted to pour liquid into an orifice which has no or restricted access below the level of the orifice, the critical angle is preferably achieved when the container is approximately horizontal.

As further options,

(i) the container may further comprise a protrusion which acts as a fulcrum about which the container may be rested on a surface and tilted at angles less than and greater than the critical angle, thereby allowing the flow to be easily controlled; (ii) the container may be blow moulded; (iii) the container may be adapted to dispense oil into a motor vehicle engine.

In order that the invention can be more clearly ascertained, preferred embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, where

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view through the outlet and handle of a typical prior art four litre plastic oil container;

Figures 2 is a cross-sectional view through the outlet and handle of an oil container according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;

Figure 3 is a view of the container of Figure 2, tilted at less than its critical angle;

Figure 4 is a view of the oil container of Figure

2 tilted at its critical angle; and

Figure 5 illustrates the relationship of the cross-section of the outlet and the junction of the neck and body of the container when the container is viewed through the outlet.

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of an optional enhancement of the oil container of Figure 2 comprising a valve;

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of an optional enhancement of the oil container of Figure 3 comprising a fulcrum;

Referring now to Figure 1, it can be seen that the typical blow moulded prior art oil container 2 comprises an integral handle 4 which merges with the container at both ends. The handle 4 is hollow and therefore fluid, being air or liquid, may pass through it. The upper end of the handle joins the container 2 at a point sufficiently far from the outlet 3 so that the flow of liquid 1 through the outlet 3 is largely unaffected by the presence of the handle. The minimum tilting angle at which egress of liquid 1 from the container 2 through the outlet 3 occurs is considerably less than 90°. It can further be seen that the container with its hollow handle is normally designed so that airtight spaces will not form within the container when the container is gradually tilted towards the minimum tilting angle, but only if the container is tilted well past its minimum tilting angle, when the stream of outflowing liquid entirely occupies the outlet 3. The formation of an airtight space when tilting gradually is to be avoided since it causes a disorderly flow of liquid through the outlet 3 due to the ingress of air at the outlet 3. Further, since the minimum tilting angle slowly increases as the container is emptied, the angle of tilt of the container must be gradually increased in order to obtain a controllable flow of liquid.

Referring now to Figure 2, it can be seen that in a container of the preferred embodiment of the first aspect of the invention, the handle region 4 of the container has been modified in two important respects. First, pinched barriers 5 have been included in the handle 4 thereby preventing the flow of liquid or air through the handle. Second, one side of the handle is an elongate neck portion 6 which joins the body of the container in such a way that the hole of the handle is extended generally across and below the outlet 3 to form an obstruction around which the liquid must pass. The liquid is filled to a level 7 at the top of the body.

Referring now to Figure 3, an airtight space 8 is formed between an interior surface of the liquid 9 and a region 10 of the inside surface of the container when the container 2 is tilted to approximately 90°. A few bubbles may enter the container as the container is initially tipped from the vertical position. Once the container is tilted as shown the airtight space 8 prevents a secondary liquid surface 11 from rising more than a certain amount above a low point 12 of a region of the inside neck surface, whereby a sub-atmospheric pressure is created in the space 8. Because the secondary liquid surface 11 sits stably at a level which is above the low point 12, air bubbles cannot enter the space 4 from above the secondary liquid surface 11, since bubbles do not spontaneously fall in a liquid. As the container 2 is tilted further, the point of contact 13 of the secondary liquid surface with the outer inside neck surface slowly approaches the outlet 3 and ultimately a small amount of liquid drains from the outlet, simultaneously bringing the level of the secondary liquid surface 11 and the low point 12 closer together.

Referring now to Figure 4 where the container of Figure 2 is tilted at the critical angle, the secondary liquid surface 11 intersects both the outer part of the inside neck surface near the outlet and the said region of the inside neck surface at a tangent, thereby liquid barely drains from the outlet 3 and external air may pass between the secondary liquid surface 11 and the low point 12 as bubbles. As the container is tilted at or past the critical angle, bubbles increasingly pass into the space 8 by this route and allow continued egress of the liquid through the outlet 3. Pinched barriers 5 in the blow moulded container 2 allow the airtight space 8 to form, preventing air from entering via the handle 4. It can be seen that when the container 2 is tilted at an angle slightly greater than the critical angle, a major portion of the liquid will flow from the outlet 3 without any further significant tilting. Furthermore, since the external air enters the secondary liquid surface 11 at a point 12 sufficiently remote from the outlet 3, turbulence of the liquid flow and consequent disorderly egress of liquid due to the ingress of the external air is minimised. In this way the formation of an airtight space inside the container is used to an advantage to provide both a large minimum tilting angle at which liquid begins to egress and an orderly liquid flow.

Slight changes in the design of the neck and outlet can provide variations in the critical angle. For some blow moulded containers, flexing of the walls of the container may occur which tends to increase the height of the secondary liquid surface 11 above the low point 12 before egress begins, thereby slightly affecting the critical angle. This height may be reduced if desired by designing the neck such that the area of the secondary liquid surface is as large as practicable, or the flexing may be reduced by adding bracing to the perimeter walls.

Referring further to Figure 2, it can be seen that machine filling of the container is facilitated by the angled surface which opposes the outlet and guides liquid around the neck and into the body. If on the other hand a flat surface opposes the outlet, as described by the baffle disclosed in Gaffney, liquid entering the outlet in a filling operation would tend to splash back towards the outlet when encountering the obstruction and hinder the filling operation.

From Figure 5 where the relationship of the cross-section of the outlet and the junction of the neck and body of the container near the low point 12 is shown, can be seen that the region of the inside neck surface proximate the low point 12 is shaped as part of the tapered neck of the container. The cross-sectional shape of the container in the vicinity of the region of the inside neck surface is therefore generally curved. This has the advantage that if the container is tipped in a slightly asymmetrical way such that its sideways attitude is not exactly vertical, the critical angle is not significantly altered so that premature egress of liquid is prevented.

The outer edges of the cross-section are turned "downward", ie. away from the outlet. The line A-A shows the liquid level when the container is tilted symmetrically at less than the critical angle and the line B-B shows the liquid level when the container is tilted at the same forwards angle but asymmetrically with a non-vertical sideways attitude. The surface of the region curves away from its nearest approach 12a to the secondary liquid surface A-A. The respective effective low points are labelled 12a and 12b and it can be seen that since the line B-B does not intersect the cross-section 13 of the outlet, or the cross- section 14 of the neck-body junction, the critical angle is not substantially affected and the container still retains the liquid. Further advantage may be gained if the cross- section 14 is relatively narrow, ie. generally comparable in breadth with the outlet cross-section 13. If (as in the baffle of Gaffney) the cross-section 14 is broad and rectangular such that the effective low point 12b does not turn away from the outlet, then clearly the sensitivity to sideways attitude is worsened. Optimal cooperating shapes of the cross-section 13 and 14 can be envisaged with the shape of opposing tear-drops.

Referring to Figure 6, a manually operated valve 15 may be inserted into a single barrier 5 whereby an opening operation of the valve will allow air to enter the container via the handle 4, thereby allowing regulation of the rate of egress of liquid or egress of liquid at less than the critical angle if desired.

In a further optional modification and referring to Figure 7, a protrusion which acts as a fulcrum 16, may be added to a side of the container to allow tilting about the fulcrum on a surface at angles above and below the critical angle, thereby enhancing and retarding the flow of liquid in a easily controllable manner.

Further modifications may be made to the invention as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art of container design. In particular, the invention may be applicable to any situation where liquid is required to be controllably poured from a container at a desired tilting angle. These and other modifications may be made without departing from the ambit of the invention, the nature of which is to be determined from the foregoing description, the drawings and the claims.

Claims

1. A container for storage and dispensing of liquid comprising a main body portion, an elongate neck disposed above the main body portion, and an outlet in the neck, the main body portion defining a storage chamber for storage of the liquid and having a base, a perimeter wall and a top wall, the storage chamber being closed except for communication between the chamber and outlet through the neck; the neck connecting with the chamber at one side of the container and extending upwardly and inwardly of the container above the main body portion; the arrangement being such that

2. A container as claimed in claim 1 wherein an inside angled surface opposes the outlet such that during a filling operation liquid entering the container through the outlet is guided through the neck around said inside region and into the body.

3. A container as claimed in claim 2 wherein the neck is upwardly inclined when the container sits on the base and the outlet opens upwardly from the inclined neck thereby providing the inside angled surface.

4. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the neck is generally of rounded tubular formation.

5. A container as claimed in claim 4 wherein the tubular formation of the neck tapers inwardly in the upwards direction.

6. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein said inside region of the neck is shaped such that the critical angle is sufficiently insensitive to sideways attitude of the container during the forwards tilting that premature egress of the liquid is prevented in practical use.

7. A container as claimed in claim 6 wherein said sufficient insensitivity is at least partly provided by said inside region of the neck curving away on both sides in the sideways direction from its nearest approach to the secondary liquid surface when viewed from a perspective through the outlet of the container held at or near the critical angle.

8. A container as claimed in claim 6 or 7 wherein the body is substantially wider in the sideways direction than the outlet and said sufficient insensitivity is at least partly provided by said inside region of the neck being narrow in the sideways direction compared with the body.

9. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the neck forms part of one end of a handle, the other end of which joins the main body portion at a point remote from said neck and the handle is constructed to prevent air entering said space from the outlet through the inside of said other end of the handle.

10. A container as claimed in claim 9 wherein the elongate neck extends across the top of the container past the outlet to form a carrying portion of the handle.

11. A container as claimed in claim 9 or claim 10 wherein said construction of the handle is provided by an internal or pinched barrier.

12. A container as claimed in claim 11 when appended to claim 10 wherein the pinched barrier is located between the carrying portion of the handle and a downwards-tending pouring portion of the handle.

13. A container as claimed in claim 11 wherein the pinched barrier is located remotely from the outlet.

14. A container as claimed in claim 11 further comprising a valve in said barrier which by manual operation can allow external air to enter the space, thereby enabling regulation of the rate of egress of the liquid.

15. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to

14 further comprising a protrusion on one side of the container which provides a fulcrum about which the container may be tilted while being supported on a surface between angles above and below the critical angle, thereby facilitating control over the egress of liquid.

16. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to

15 wherein the critical angle occurs when the container is held approximately horizontally.

17. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 16 constructed from plastic by blow moulding.

18. A container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 17, when filled at least to the top wall of the container and intended to dispense the liquid solely by tilting in said direction.

19. A container for dispensing liquid substantially as herein described with reference to any of Figures 2 to 7.