60/049,619, filed June 13, 1997.

FIELD OF USE This invention relates generally to the storage and dispensing of liquids, and more specifically to flow control and drip control from dispensing nozzles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A popular manner of packaging and temporarily storing liquid consumer products is to contain the products in a rigid, yet compressible (typically plastic)

bottle outfitted with a dispensing nozzle that allows for the dispensing of liquid in the form of a stream of individual droplets in response to compressing (e.g., squeezing) the side walls of the container. A few examples of products dispensed in such containers, simply to familiarize the reader with the containers of concern, are contact lens solutions, beverage sweeteners, eye drops and nose drops. A typical way of dispensing the liquid from such containers is to fully or partly invert the container so that the nozzle is at the lowest point of the container, and/or such that liquid in the container approaches the nozzle outlet, and then squeeze the bottle with selected force to dispense the liquid from the nozzle in either a stream or droplet form. Typically, the container is then "righted", for example to move the nozzle outlet to a high point of the container, to continue temporary storage of the liquid.

A problem has been recognized when attempting to use a bottle of this type in a situation where the container is continually inverted while in temporary storage and awaiting dispensing of the liquid. A goal of such storage is, for example, to hold the container in an inverted position while awaiting the periodic dispensing of liquid. It has been noticed that during such inverted storage, the dispensing nozzle of some of these temporary storage/dispensing containers will slowly drip or leak from the nozzle while in this inverted storage position, resulting in the loss of product between occurrences of intentional dispensing of the liquid.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly described, the present invention comprises a liquid dispensing system having as its major components a liquid storage container defining a reservoir with compressible side walls, and a flow control nozzle uniquely constructed to minimize and/or retard the dripping tendency of a liquid dispensing nozzle when the container is in an inverted position (with the nozzle outlet being the lowermost point of the container), while at the same time providing for substantial draining of liquid from the reservoir when this container is maintained in the inverted position.

In one sense, the apparatus of the present invention includes an elongated liquid expelling passage having a first and a second outlet leg segment which, with the container in the inverted position (and sufficient pressure applied to the container side walls), collects fluid into the first leg segment from a point within the reservoir, channels it in a substantially vertical upward direction, and then routes the liquid into the second leg segment in a substantially vertical downward direction to eventually expel the liquid from the nozzle passage which is at the lowermost point of the container (when in the inverted position).

Preferably, an inlet end of the liquid expelling passage is located as closely as possible to (for example, adjacent) the wall or other segment of the reservoir lowermost when the container is in the inverted position.

In a retrofit embodiment, the present invention includes a method and apparatus which inserts into the pre-existing nozzle of a liquid dispensing container (such as but not limited to a squeeze bottle and nozzle) a conduit member which is routed within the container reservoir to accomplish the effect of the above- mentioned liquid expelling passage.

A counter-mounted embodiment of the system of the present invention includes a support structure on which is supported one or more dispensing containers oriented in a fully inverted position.

Without the mechanism of the "System," known dispensing bottles cannot be held permanently in an inverted position without "accidentally" dripping. This situation is caused by the air pressure inside the bottle increasing as it is warmed by the air surrounding the bottle. This rising pressure forces out drops of liquid through the tip.

A benefit of using the "Drip Controlling Liquid Dispensing System" is that after intentionally squeezing out the desired number of drops, compression is released which draws air into the system through the tip and creates an "airlock" inside the conduit member ofthe "System." With the system in use, to cause an "accidental" drip, the surrounding temperature must rise significantly to cause enough air pressure change to push fluid the additional distance through the

airlock and out the tip, as opposed to simple expulsion from the nozzle. This greatly increases the resistance to "accidental drips" caused by temperature fluctuation.

The primary object of the present invention is therefore to retard the dripping tendency of a nozzle in a liquid dispensing container when the container is maintained in an inverted position.

Another object of the present invention is to retard the dripping tendency of a nozzle associated with a liquid dispensing container while at the same time providing for substantial draining of the reservoir when the container is maintained in an inverted position.

These and yet other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after review of the hereinafter set forth Brief Description of the Drawings, Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment, and the Claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 a is a side view of a Drip Controlling Liquid Dispenser in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein the container component is shown as having transparent walls such that the internal components are not shown in dashed lines.

Fig. 1b is an alternate embodiment ofthe invention showing the conduit assembly having a U-shape.

Fig. ic is an alternate embodiment of the invention showing the conduit assembly with a large loop segment supported by a conduit assembly support.

Fig. id is a view of the conduit assembly support below and in operational relation to the large loop segment.

Fig. 2 is a separated component view of a Drip Controlling Liquid Dispenser in accordance with the present invention, showing one embodiment associated with, for example, a retrofitting assembly of the present invention to pre-existing nozzles and containers.

Fig. 3 is a side view of a Drip Controlling Liquid Dispenser in accordance with the present invention, showing a counter-mounted container embodiment.

Fig. 4 is a front view of a container-mounted embodiment of the system of the present invention, showing a multiple container embodiment.

Fig. 5 is a side view of another embodiment of counter-mounted Drip Controlling Liquid Dispenser System.

Fig. 6 is a front view of the embodiment of the Drip Controlling Liquid Dispenser System of Fig. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now in greater detail to the drawings, in which like numerals represent like components throughout the several views, Fig. 1 shows the Drip Controlling Liquid Dispenser 10 in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, as including a liquid storage container 12 having a cylindrical body portion 14 formed of a compressible, cylindrical side wall 15, a closed first end wall 16, and outlet end 17. The container 12 defines a reservoir 19 within the body portion 14 and a mouth 20 (or port 20) through which liquid is introduced into and expelled from the reservoir. Mounted, preferably in a removable fashion, at the mouth 20 of the container 12 is a liquid dispensing nozzle 25 which is, preferably, removably inserted in liquid-tight manner in the mouth. The nozzle 25 has an elongated snout 26 through which is pierced a nozzle passage 27 through which liquid may pass from the reservoir 10 to the environment. Preferably, the nozzle 25 includes a plug segment formed mostly of a cylindrical mounting wall 28 for extending into the mouth 20 of the container 12 to support the nozzle in the mouth.

That which has been previously described with respect to the container 12 and nozzle 25 constitutes a plug segment formed mostly of a prior art dispensing system. Without limitations, one example of such a prior art system, which will comprise the basic container and nozzle components of the present invention is a squeeze bottle type container made of polyethylene and a tip, also made of

polyethylene, and sometimes referred to as a control dropper tip, pierced (for example, with a 0.020 needle) to form the nozzle passage 27.

The present invention further includes a conduit assembly 32 which is mounted inside the container 12. The conduit assembly 32 includes an elongated, hollow conduit body 33 through which is defined a continuous conduit passage open at both ends ofthe conduit body 33. Preferably, the conduit body 33 is an elongated, flexible, plastic tube which is bent back on itself such that it has second leg segment 35a extending substantially vertically upward from said snout 26, and first leg segment 35b extending substantially downward from a loop segment 36, running adjacent one another, and being generally parallel (for example, as shown, with a loop segment 36 formed intermediate a first 37b and second end 37a of the conduit body). In the case of such rigid tubing, slip rings and bands are often not utilized. In the preferred embodiment, retaining elements 41, such as, for example, slip rings or elastic bands are slipped over the adjacent leg segments 35a, 35b to hold them, at least loosely, in their relative adjacent positions. The conduit body 33 is alternatively, be made from rigid tubing.

The conduit assembly 32 is, alternately, be embodied in several different shapes, such as those illustrated in Figs. la-ld. Fig. la shows a loop segment 36, while Fig. 1b shows a simple U-shaped loop segment 42. The U-shaped segment of Fig. ib is, acceptably, made with the leg segments 35 and 36 molded together, for example, with the two leg segments molded from a single piece of plastic with a plastic "web" therebetween. Such unified construction greatly simplifies manufacture of the present invention, and is thus believed to be the most economical embodiment of the present invention.

Figs. ic and id show a large rounded loop segment 43 almost comprising the entire conduit assembly 32. The rounded loop segment 43 is embodied as supported by a conduit assembly shape support 48 which fits upon the conduit assembly 32 at its upper curve, as shown by arrow 49 in Fig. id. The conduit assembly shape support 48 prevents kinks from forming in the length of the conduit assembly 32.

As illustrated in Fig. 2, a support member 45 is mounted at the outlet end 17 of the container 12 and supports the conduit assembly 32 within the container.

As seen, the conduit 32 further includes outlet first end 37a, held by the support member 45, and inlet second end 37b which is maintained, preferably, adjacent the outlet end 17 ofthe container, and, more preferably, adjacent the mouth 20. The support member 45 is seen in this preferred embodiment as being a generally solid plate 46 (disk shaped because of the preferred cylindrical shape of the container mouth 20) having a centrally located passage 47 passing completely through the plate 46. Preferably, the central passage 47 of the support member 45 is sized at a diameter corresponding generally to the diameter ofthe conduit leg segment 35 a in order that the leg segment fits snugly in and through the central passage to hold the conduit in place generally as shown.

In one preferred embodiment, the support member 45 is held in position at the outlet end 17 ofthe container 12 by the nozzle 25. That is, the outer diameter of the plate 46 of the support member 45 is sized to match the internal dimension of the cylindrical mounting wall 28 of the nozzle. The support member 45 is placed inside the nozzle mounting wall 28 a sufficient distance and sufficiently tight to hold the support member in place within the nozzle. The conduit assembly 32 is then mounted to the support member, with the outlet first end 37a held in the support member passage 47. The nozzle 25 is then inserted in its engaged position into the mouth 20 of the container 12 such that the conduit assembly 32 is supported within the reservoir 19 of the container 12 with the outlet first end 37a in fluid communication with the nozzle passage 27 and the inlet second end 37b of the conduit body 33 positioned within the reservoir 19 adjacent the mount 20 and the leg segments 35a and 35b protruding upward, into the reservoir 19 with the loop segment 36 displaced axially along the cylindrical body portion 14 from the outlet end 17. In preferred embodiments, the loop segment 36 protrudes, at its furthest point 39, more than halfway along the axial length of the body portion from the outlet end 17, and is substantially vertically over the nozzle 25.

In one example of a workable embodiment of the present invention, the cylindrical body portion 14 ofthe container 12 extends approximately two and one-half inches ("L") from the first end wall 16 to the outlet end 17; and the loop segment 36 extends at its furthest most point a distance oftwo inches ("D") from the outlet end 17.

In alternate embodiments, the conduit body 33 is a rigid conduit, rather than a flexible conduit, formed generally in the shapes shown in Figs. la-ld.

Furthermore, whereas it is preferred the leg segments 35a, 35b be held adjacent and generally parallel to one another, in other embodiments, the flexible (or rigid) is not retained with the leg segments parallel to one another by the retaining elements (or otherwise).

Based upon the dispensation of fluid through the conduit body, it should be apparent that the present invention includes a method of dispensing liquid using the conduit assembly 32 in a prior art or existing compressible container in the manner disclosed herein.

Fig. 3 depicts, in a basic embodiment, the present inventive combination of a counter-mounted embodiment of the Drip Controlling Liquid Dispenser 11. The embodiment is a combination of the Drip Controlling Liquid Dispenser 11 of the previous embodiment mounted to a support structure 50 in a ready-to-use orientation. The ready-to-use orientation is seen as the fully inverted position where the cylindrical body portion 14 is oriented with its elongated axis in a vertical position and the nozzle snout 26 is at the lowermost point of the dispenser 10 and the closed first end wall 16 is substantially vertically aligned with the nozzle snout 26.

The support structure 50 is seen as including a base member 51, upright support member 52, upper container engagement member 53 and lower container engagement member 54. The upper engagement member 53 is formed with a container accepting aperture (not seen) through which the dispenser 10 is inserted.

The aperture is, understandably, of larger diameter than the outer diameter of the container 12. The lower container engagement member 54 also includes an

aperture (not seen), which aperture of the lower engagement member 54 is in vertical alignment with the aperture in the upper engagement member 53. The aperture in the lower engagement member 54 is, understandably, of lesser diameter than the diameter of the container 12 in order that the container will not slide through the lower aperture, yet the lower aperture is of larger diameter than the nozzle snout 26 such that the snout will extend into and, preferably, through the lower engagement member 54.

In the preferred embodiments depicted herein, it is noticed that the container 12 includes an elongated neck segment 58; and, preferably, the aperture in the lower engagement member 54 is of larger diameter than the neck 58 of the container 12, whereby the container is nestled into the lower engagement member with the container shoulders 59 supporting the container against the engagement member 54 with the neck and nozzle extending into and through the lower aperture.

Fig. 4 depicts a multiple dispenser system wherein a plurality of drip controlling liquid dispensers 10 are supported on the support structure, each in a manner similar to that described with respect to the one container in the previous paragraph.

Figs. 5 and 6 show an alternative embodiment of the support structure of the multiple dispenser system. The support structure 61 is a single piece of folded plastic including integral folded base member 63 and container engagement member 62. The support structure 61 is illustrated as supporting three containers 10 slidably fitted into the container engagement member 62 in the inverted position.

In accordance with the preferred embodiments, with the Drip Controlling Liquid Dispenser 10 held in an inverted (partly or fully) position, either by the human hand or by the support structure 50, the dispensing of liquid from the container 12 using the present inventive method is accomplished by compressing the side walls 15, whereby liquid is collected at the conduit inlet end 37b, channeled in a vertical direction along leg segment 35b re-routed at the loop

segment 39 to change the vertical direction and channeled in the vertically downward direction through leg segment 35a to the conduit outlet end 37a where the channeled fluid is placed in communication with the nozzle passage 27 through which the fluid is expelled from the container. This apparatus and method of dispensing is used to retard the unintended dripping of liquid from the nozzle 25 when the container is retained in the inverted position (for example, by the support structure) for extended periods of time.

Accordingly, a method of using the present invention, as embodied herein, is provided. A person dispenses liquid from the drip controlling liquid dispenser 10 by squeezing the container 12 when it is in the inverted position, thus collecting fluid into the first leg segment 35b from a point within the reservoir 19, channeling the fluid in a substantially vertical direction, routing the liquid into the second leg segment 35a through the loop segment 36, and expelling the liquid from the nozzle passage 27. Prior to squeezing the container 12, the liquid dispenser 10 may be either held by the person, or resting in an inverted position on a support structure 56, as shown in Figs. 3-6.

While the embodiments of the present invention which have been disclosed herein are the preferred forms, other embodiments of the apparatus, method, and combination of the present invention will suggest themselves to persons skilled in the art in view of this disclosure. Therefore, it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected in the form and arrangement of the elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.