초록 ▼

A mounting adapter and related bottle cap are provided for use in a bottled water cooler having an upwardly open reservoir for receiving a supply of water from a bottle mounted over the reservoir in an inverted orientation to permit water downflow from the bottle to the reservoir. The mounting adapt

A mounting adapter and related bottle cap are provided for use in a bottled water cooler having an upwardly open reservoir for receiving a supply of water from a bottle mounted over the reservoir in an inverted orientation to permit water downflow from the bottle to the reservoir. The mounting adapter comprises a compact housing for press-fit installation into an upper region of the reservoir, wherein the adapter housing carries an outer seal ring for sealing engagement with an inner wall surface of the reservoir. An upstanding feed tube or probe carried by the adapter housing includes separate air and water flow passages as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,413,152, and has an upper tip end shaped for opening and closing a valved bottle cap mounted on the neck of a water-containing bottle supported in an inverted position over the reservoir. The bottle cap may be constructed, e.g., according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,232,125, with an outer skirt adapted for reusable snap-fit mounting onto and removal from the necks of successive water bottles mounted on the cooler. The adapter housing includes handle ports formed in an upper segment thereof for facilitated mounting of the adapter into and removal from a cooler reservoir. In addition, a lower end of the dual flow path feed tube includes a radially outwardly extending baffle disk to assist in isolating the separated air and water flows during air-water exchange between the cooler reservoir and the overlying inverted water bottle.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A mounting adapter for mounting on an upwardly open water reservoir of a bottled water cooler, said mounting adapter comprising:an adapter body including an upstanding feed tube for engaging and opening a bottle cap carried on the neck of a water bottle;a seal member carr

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A mounting adapter for mounting on an upwardly open water reservoir of a bottled water cooler, said mounting adapter comprising:an adapter body including an upstanding feed tube for engaging and opening a bottle cap carried on the neck of a water bottle;a seal member carried by said adapter body for sealingly engaging an interior wall surface of the cooler reservoir upon slide-fit installation of said adapter body into the cooler reservoir;at least one support member carried by said adapter body for vertically supporting and suspending said adapter body from the cooler reservoir when said adapter body is slide-fit installed therein; andat least one handle member formed by said adapter body and positioned for manual grasping from above to facilitate slide-fit installation and lift-out removal of said adapter body relative to the cooler reservoir, said at least one handle member defining a radially outwardly open handle port extending through said adapter body between said seal member and support member.