The present invention relates to fluid delivery devices for adding fluids, in particular gases such as oxygen, to a liquid. Such a delivery device is useful for beverages, particularly for beverages that have to be made up just before consumption.

Free-standing devices have been known for a long time for adding carbon dioxide to a drink shortly before

consumption, in order to make the drink fizzy and give it additional taste. See for instance US 5022565 by Kineret

Engineering or US 2092596 by Sparklets Ltd. Such devices are scarcely portable and are therefore normally used only in the home. This is not a problem in that pressure-containing plastic bottles (or cans) are cheap and widely available, so that carbonated drinks can be carried around.

GB 2314066 (BOC) shows a drinks container having a cap and a capsule or pellet of adsorbent material. When the user turns the cap, a connection opens a valve on the capsule and releases the gas (carbon dioxide) from the adsorbent

material, carbonating and cooling the drink. The cap can then be removed to drink as normal. The pellet lies in the bottom of the bottle, which raises questions of reliability and may not be convenient in terms of assembly.

WO 2016/097473 by Limonade OY ("Easysoda") describes a disposable injection device to be fitted to a bottle of water. The two-part cap allows the user to turn the outer cap and break a seal, injecting CO2 and flavouring into the water. The cap is removed when the user wants to take a drink and replaced to close the bottle. Then the cap

assembly is thrown away and the bottle refilled with water ready for a new cap. This is obviously somewhat inconvenient when one is out and about.

In some drinks the gas, or other ingredient, has to be introduced just before consumption. One such application is for the creation of "nanobubbles " of oxygen for boosting performance in sports or for medical purposes. Such bubbles or particles are the subject of a patent application,

WO 2017/013397 Al by Oxford University Innovation Limited. They are formed by a reaction in water and can then be directly absorbed into the bloodstream after being drunk. However, the solution is only stable for 20 minutes or so. It should be noted that the nanobubtales formed are quite different from a mere solution of oxygen, such as is shown in US 5378480 (R Carieri) . The present invention aims to provide a system for such injection that is easily portable and preferably cheap enough to be disposable. It is also desirable that, once the injection has taken place, no complicated operation is required of the user in order to drink from the bottle or container.

According to the invention there is provided a injection device, to be attached to or incorporated in an opening in a beverage container, comprising a body to be fitted to the beverage container, the body including a base and a cap fitted to the base, the body being adapted to hold a

pressurised canister in such a way as to allow a user to release its contents into the beverage when required by moving the cap so as to move the canister with respect to the body, the body further including a mouthpiece and a passage leading from the container opening to the mouthpiece.

The device can be attached to the neck of a bottle- shaped container, preferably permanently so that the user cannot detach it and risk escape of the pressurised oxygen. Unlike known devices, permanent attachment is possible because of the presence of the mouthpiece in the cap. The entire assembly is thus easy to operate and disposable.

Preferably the attachment is such as not to interfere with the outline of the container, including any closure a simple container would have. In general this means that the canister is held so that it is at least partly inside the outline of the container. Movement of the canister can be direct, if the canister is exposed, or indirect, where the user presses or turns a part of the device body. Because the canister is held in a specially adapted body, operation by the user can be rendered simple and reliable, and also there are no food safety issues because the canister itself need not come into contact with the beverage.

The body of the injection device can be in two or more parts movable with respect to each other, one part, the base, being attached to the container and holding the canister, and the other part (cap) incorporating the mouthpiece. If the container is a bottle, the body can advantageously be fitted to the neck of the bottle. There can be a rupturable seal in the base allowing the beverage to be drunk after the

injection has taken place. In some embodiments of this kind, movement by the user in a first stage opens the canister to release its contents into the beverage and in a second stage opens the seal.

The movement can for practical purposes involve turning the cap by about a third of a revolution with respect to the base, which by way of a thread or cam drives the canister down and opens its internal valve to release the contents into the beverage. Further movement in the same direction can then open the seal so that the beverage can be dispensed by the user.

In one preferred version there is a third, cup-shaped, part between the cap and the base, travelling up and down on rotation of cap with respect to base, so as to open or close the passage, closure occurring when the inverted cup descends onto the open upper end of the base. Thus the cap itself does not have to move up and down.

Preferably the device enables one to reclose the

mouthpiece, and to this end the device can contain a sliding seal that is likewise actuated by rotating the cap. For a better understanding of the invention, embodiments will now be described by way of example with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

Figures 1(a) to (c) show a fluid-delivery or injection device representing a first prior proposal, disassembled and assembled;

Figure 2(a) and 2(b) show a second proposal, with the canister in the bottom of the bottle, before and after activation;

Figure 3 is a view of a fluid-delivery device

representing an embodiment of the invention, before opening;

Figure 4 is a cross-section of the device;

Figure 5 is a similar cross-section part-way through the opening process;

Figure 6 shows the cross-section at the end of the

opening process;

Figure 7 is a partial sectional detail from below

showing the opening of the beverage channel;

Figure 8 shows a section through the cap in the opened configuration;

Figure 9 shows such a section after the first stage of opening;

Figure 10 shows the section at completion of opening;

Figures 11(a) to (c) show a variant of the embodiment of Figure 3;

Figures 12 (a) and (b) show a view and a section of a second embodiment;

Figure 13 shows a detail of the base of the second

embodiment ;

Figure 14 shows a detail of the piston;

Figure 15 is a section of the device showing open and closed configurations; and

Figure 16 shows the sequence of operations in the two- stage opening process. Figure 1(a) shows a container in the form of a bottle 1 with an injection device 10a, representing a proposal

illustrating a concept behind the invention, fitted to the neck 2 of the bottle. This may be done using the standard screw thread on the neck. The injection device has a main body 20 designed to hold a standard canister 100 for

pressurised gas in such a way that the canister can slide up and down in the body; the top part 18 of the body acts as the cap for the bottle and screws down onto the thread, with the bulk of the canister sitting inside the neck of the bottle. The assembly is thus an easily portable container no bigger than a normal bottle.

The bottom of the injection device 10 extends downwardly as a fairly wide tube or straw 104, which might be half to three-quarters the height of the bottle. The nozzle 102 of the canister fits into the top of the tube when depressed. The body 20 has an opening 21 at the top, exposing the base of the canister. The straw 104 in this embodiment comes pre- filled with the concentrate that forms the nanobubbles that surround or contain the oxygen once the reaction has taken place .

Figures 1(b) and (c) are sections showing the injection device 10 in use, located essentially inside the bottle 1, so that the outline of the bottle is the same as if it had a simple cap. The diagrams also show the tube or straw 104 in more detail. The cylindrical canister 100 sits inside the correspondingly cylindrical body 20, and is held in place before use by engagement of a groove 108 in the cylinder with a corresponding lip near the top of the body. The nozzle 102 of the canister fits into a bushing at the top of the straw. In the top, which has a slightly smaller diameter than the rest of the straw, is a piston 8, and at the bottom end is a seal 105. The straw is filled with the concentrate of the nanobubble-forming substance, so that the injection device 10 is self-contained and can be stored before assembly into a bottle. A long needle 9 extends from the piston 8 to just above the seal 105. To use the device, the user first presses the canister down, via the aperture 21, overcoming the fit of the lip in the groove 108. This releases the nozzle so that the oxygen is injected into the straw 104. This release pushes the piston 8, which in turn urges the needle 9 down through the seal, puncturing it as shown in Figure 1(c). The concentrate can then be injected into the drink, usually water, by the oxygen pressure. A reaction then takes place in the liquid so that nanobubbles are formed, incorporating the oxygen. After a few seconds the reaction is complete and the solution is ready to drink. For this, the user unscrews the cap with the straw and discards it, or screws it back on. However, the liquid is only effective for about twenty minutes.

Figures 2 (a) and 2 (b) show a version, again as

background, where the canister 100a, here somewhat more squat in form than in the first embodiment, but still held by virtue of a groove 108a, is in the bottom of the bottle. The body 20a of the injection device is press-fitted to the bottom of the bottle, protruding inwardly through a hole in the base of the bottle so that the canister is located within the outline of the bottle. The body 20a again leaves the base of the canister exposed, so that the user can press the canister up, breaking a seal 105a, and expel its contents into the liquid. Here the liquid must be a pre-mixed

solution or suspension, because the nozzle 102 injects directly into it, but a pre-filled tube could be incorporated as in Figures 1 and 2. This version is convenient for the user because the bottle cap is just a normal cap, but it demands a special bottle, which makes manufacturing less convenient .

The previous two embodiments have the disadvantage that the user must hold the canister depressed for a certain time to ensure that it is completely emptied. If the canister is not held for long enough, it might not inject the whole load of oxygen into the drink, reducing its effectiveness.

Embodiments in which the canister is pressed indirectly by a cam mechanism can overcome this problem. Figure 3 shows a view of the fluidic delivery or

injector device 10b fitted to a bottle 1. As in Figure 1, the injector device also functions as the cap of the bottle and has two main parts, a base 20b fitted to the top of the bottle 1 and a cap 40 mounted on the base. The cap has a moulded part in its upper rim, with a hole 41 acting as a mouthpiece. As shown in the section of Figure 4, the

base 20b is fixed by a shoulder 22 to the lip 3 of the bottle. The lid could be fixed in any other suitable way, e.g. screwed on. The lip 3 forms a tapered section of the bottle so that the base 20 can surround it and, by way of a skirt 24, match the contour of the bottle, though this is not necessary.

A central cylindrical section 28 of the base 20 sits inside the rim 3 of the bottle. As in the first embodiment, it holds the forward part of a pressurised canister 100 of standard type having a depressible nozzle 102 facing the interior of the bottle, the lower end of the canister being inside the bottle rim. The canister can slide up and down inside the cylindrical section. Between the cylindrical section 28 and the skirt 24 is an intermediate section 26 with an inward-facing cam or thread 27 engaging with a corresponding thread 42 of the cap 40.

The cap 40 similarly has a central cylindrical

section 44 bearing the thread 42 and in this embodiment sitting on the outside of the cylindrical section 28 of the base. The top part (with the bottle upright) of the cap has a roof or lid 50 bearing against the base of the inverted canister 100. The lid 50 has a moulded cup part 52 gripping the base of the canister 100, and an outer skirt 46, which again matches the general contour of the bottle and has indentations, as seen in Figure 3, to facilitate grip. In fact, the bottle shape is generally in the form of a rounded equilateral triangle (which is what gives rise to the apparently asymmetric shape in Figure 4) .

Near the top of the cylindrical section 28 of the base is a further thread or cam 60; this is involved in opening and closing the mouthpiece and its function will be explained later. Between the mouthpiece cam 60 and the rest of the cylindrical section is an 0-ring seal 55 to prevent liquid exiting anywhere other than the mouthpiece. The bottom end of the cylindrical section 28 of the base tapers down in the form of a spigot 34 which surrounds and holds the nozzle 102 of the canister 100 and connects it to a dip tube 104a extending towards the bottom of the bottle. In a wall or floor part 30 between the cylindrical section 28 and the spigot 34 there is at least one weakened part 32 forming a door, the function of which will be explained later. It may also be noted that the inner cylindrical section 28 of the base 20 leaves space around the canister, so that there is communication from the lower end, around the door 32, to the upper end and the interior of the cap 40.

Operation

When the user wants to open the drink, he turns the cap 40, bringing about a two-stage operation, though this need not be evident to the user: in the first, the canister is pushed down, while its nozzle 102 is held, so that its contents (oxygen) are released into the liquid into the bottle, but the bottle is sealed from the mouthpiece because a seal, described below, is still intact. In the second, a communication is established between the contents of the bottle and the mouthpiece, by breaking the seal as the canister is pushed further down. The process will now be explained in detail.

First-stage rotation:

The user turns the cap 40 so that it travels down the thread 27 on the base. The lid 50 of the cap thus presses the canister 100 downwards to inject oxygen into the drink, which may be water. Note that, at this stage, shown in

Figure 5, the water is still sealed within the bottle with no access to the lid or canister. To this end, the gap between the canister 100 and the breaking or hinging doors has to be set suitably. This can be done by the doors 32 having upper projections as shown to set the length of travel. Second-stage rotation:

Continuing to rotate the cap 40 lowers it further and presses the canister 100 downwards to break open the

doors 32, as shown in Figure 6; there are three such doors 32 spaced around the wall part 30, as shown in more detail in Figure 7. This opens communication from the bottle past the canister to the mouthpiece, to be described. In the

embodiment shown, the drink now contains the oxygen

nanobubbles or micro particles but is not pressurised, the pressure in the canister having been reduced or dissipated once the particles are formed and distributed. The end of travel can be dictated either by the front of the canister abutting the wall 30 of the base, or by the bottom of the cylindrical section 44 of the cap resting against a

shoulder 29 on the outside of the cylindrical section of the base, or both.

Although this intermediate configuration would be suitable if the drink were always to be consumed immediately, it is normally desirable for the user to be able to seal the container again once opened. To this end, the injector cap includes a further mechanism, namely a sliding mouth seal 70, shown in Figure 8. This seal, which is in the form of a small block, travels on the upper rim of the base

cylinder 28, constrained by a projection (not shown) sitting in the upper thread or groove 60 of the base. This groove, which has a broad chevron shape, extends about a third of the way round the circumference of the cylinder section 28. The block 70 has a stem 72 on its upper side, designed to enter into and seal the internal end 41a of the bore 41 forming the mouthpiece. The block 70 can travel up and down with respect to the cap 40 but is constrained [by means not shown] to follow any rotation of the cap, so that the stem 72 is always aligned with the bore 41a. The action of this seal mechanism is as follows, referring to the two stages as described previously:

First-stage rotation: Initial rotation lowers the lid, as explained above, to inject oxygen. At the same time, the mouth seal rotates and slides up the ramp of the groove 60 to seal the mouth

aperture. This is achieved before the hinge doors 32 are broken open. This stage is shown in Figure 9.

Second-stage rotation:

Continued rotation lowers the cap 40 further to break open the doors 32. At the same time, the mouth seal 70 continues to rotate with the cap and travels down the ramp again at the same rate as the lid rotates downwards, so as to maintain the sealed position of the valve. At this point, the hinge doors are fully opened and the liquid is allowed to travel into the lid. This stage is shown in Figure 10. Only when the lid is rotated fully back to its original position does the mouth seal open so that the liquid can be drunk.

Screwing the lid back down seals the bottle again.

There can further be some form of tamper evidence, not illustrated, to show whether the cap has been rotated and therefore the oxygen injected. This could be in the form of a snap-out part of the cap mouldings, which stops rotation. It could be a shrink-wrap sleeve that needs to be removed at the top. It could even be as simple as a label that sticks across the two lid elements that is broken or torn if the lid is rotated. The embodiment just described has breaking doors, but this sealing feature could be just a foil or other seal that is pierced by the downward movement.

A further variant is shown in Figures 11 {a) to (c) .

This is similar to the previous embodiment but also

incorporates a locking feature 23 on the base 20. This is a press part that the user can push in in order to allow the cap to rotate from its first position to its second position. This delays the action so that there is enough time for the oxygen to be injected completely. Figures 12-16 illustrate a further embodiment in which the cap turns in order to oxygenate the water and then turns further to open the bottle for drinking, like the embodiment of Figures 3-11, but here the cap remains on a level, rather than rising and falling, and an internal piston acts on the canister of oxygen. As shown in Figure 12, the assembly includes a

bottle 201 to which the injection device 210 is attached.

The attachment is by way of a flange which holds the

components together so that the user cannot pull them apart in normal use, or without destroying the bottle. Thus the entire bottle is disposable. The permanent attachment also represents a safety feature in that the pressurised container should not be exposed.

The lower part of the device 210 is a generally

cylindrical base body 220 with an upstanding central

cylindrical section of smaller diameter, housing the

canister 100. This base is held on to the lip of the

bottle 201 by a flange or bead, the rigidity of the materials making it virtually impossible to separate the two. The lower part of the base 220 is again in the form of a tube or spigot 234, in which the valve of the canister is located, and from which protrudes the straw or vial 204 containing the nanobubble-forming oxygen concentrate as before. The

base 220 contains a generally annular passage or liquid channel 229, to be described later. Mounted on the exterior of the narrower central

cylindrical section of the base 220 is a likewise cylindrical drive core 280. This part has the shape of an inverted cup, with a hole in the centre of the base. It has a flange at the bottom rim which engages with a thread or cam 222 on the exterior of the base body, shown in more detail in Figure 13. The drive core 280 is here made of PP, as indeed are most of the other parts, but any suitably resilient material can be considered. The base body in fact has two channel guides, a lower one which is planar and level, and an upper one which is inclined in the manner of a thread. The drive core has one or more internal drive beads engaging in these channels, and it also has external anti-rotation ribs engaging the cap. A piston 250, shown in more detail in Figure 14, sits on top of the canister 100. It has a tapering top section or nose 251, which resides in or protrudes through the opening in the "base" of the cup-shaped drive core 280, while the main part slides in the narrower upper section of the base body 220. Surrounding the nose section is a series of cams or ramps 252, which engage with a downwardly protruding asymmetrically-rimmed cylinder 245 of a cap 244, similar to the cap 40 of the previous embodiment. Both the above parts 280 and 250 are prevented by keying arrangements from rotating with respect to the base body 220. Surrounding both them and the narrower section of the base is the cap 244. This cap is held by a bead 242 on to the base body 220 by way of a flange 227. Thus the cap can rotate with respect to the base.

The closed and open configurations of the bottle are shown in section in Figure 15. Before the bottle is used, the canister 100 is in the upper position, with the

piston 250 against the asymmetrical tube 245 of the lid. The drive core 280 is in the lower position, its "base" sealing against a soft sealing rim 221 of the base body 220.

Rotation of the cap moves the canister into the lower

position, whereupon it discharges and the reaction begins. However, the drive core 280 is still sealing the passage 229, In the fully open configuration the drive core is moved to the upper position, (right-hand side in Figure 15) , releasing the annular passage 229 so that the oxygenated liquid 300 can flow into the upper part of the cap and out of the

mouthpiece 241 once the plug 260 is removed. Figure 16 shows the full sequence, as follows.

Stage 1 - Priming the pack (injecting the oxygen and solution)

The cap 244 is rotated 120 degrees clockwise; this rotation is indicated by the arrow, which relates to the cap (not the base) . During this rotation the cap engages a feature on the drive core 280 so that drive core moves with the rotation of the cap 244. The drive core 280 is held down throughout this rotation maintaining the seal as the end of passage 229. During the rotation the drive core 280 rides over a feature on the body and transfers itself from the lower channel imposing planar rotation to one that gives rise to rotation and elevation. Once the feature has been

overridden, the drive core 280 cannot return to the planar rotation channel.

During the rotation of the cap 244 the cams of the tube 245 press against and lower the piston 250 which in turn compresses the canister releasing the oxygen into the vial which, under pressure, opens and releases both the solution and oxygen into the water. Once the piston 250 has been lowered it will not return - it continues to hold the

canister down and the cams do not re-engage.

The user then shakes the pack for 30 seconds (Step 2) to activate the oxygen. By this stage the bottle is no longer pressurised .

Stage 2 - Opening the pack.

After shaking, the cap 244 is rotated anti-clockwise to open the pack. The drive core 280 is captured by the second channel of the body 220, which allows for planar rotation and elevation. Thus As the drive core 280 rotates it lifts off the seal at the end of the passage 229, exposing the liquid (Step 4) . However, the drive core is still sealed on its outer faces by a tight fit, to prevent leakage between the drive core 280 and the cap 244 as it travels between the open and closed positions. When fully open, the drive core 280 presses against the underside of the cap 244 with a sealing feature to seal and complete the passage through which the water will travel to the cap mouthpiece 241.

To close the pack the cap 244 is rotated clockwise 120 degrees again. The drive core remains in the second channel, so any further rotation will only open and close the seal at the end of the passage 229 (Step 5) . The shape of the bottle can also be seen in these drawings, the generally triangular outline helping the user complete the full required rotation. It is significant that, as with the previous embodiment, there is a two-stage opening process: the first stage discharges the oxygen

nanoconcentrate, with the oxygen gas, into the liquid in the bottle, and the second stage opens the communication with the mouthpiece once the reaction has taken place. Thereafter the container can be closed again, though with current technology the effectiveness of the oxygen nanoparticles only lasts about twenty minutes.

As can be seen in Figure 12, the vial has a valve at the end in the form of a flap that is broken through or opened when the pressure in the canister is released. There may be an anti-tamper mechanism, not shown, on the cap.

The system is designed to inject oxygen-laden particles or bubbles at the point of use, but is not restricted to such an application.

Reference numerals:

1 Bottle 40 Cap 201 Bottle

3 Lip Mouthpiece 204 Tube/vial

5 Shoulder 42 Thread 220 Base body

7 Dip tube 44 Cylindrical section 221 Seal

8 Piston 46 Skirt 222 Thread/cam

9 Needle 227 Flange

18 Upper part 50 Roof/lid 229 Passage

20, 20a, 20b Base/body 52 Cup 234 Spigot

22 Shoulder 55 O-ring 241 Mouthpiece

23 Lock 60 Upper thread 242

24 Skirt 70 Seal block 244 Cap

27 Thread 72 Stem 250 Piston

28 Cylindrical section 251 Nose

29 Shoulder 100 Canister 252 Cam

30 Wall 102 Nozzie 260 Plug

32 Door 104 Straw/tube 280 Drive core

34 Spigot 105, 105a Seal 300 Liquid