Field of the invention

Disclosed herein is a drinking fountain. In particular, the drinking fountain comprises one or more fountain arms that are height adjustable. Also disclosed herein is a fountain arm for use as the fountain arm of the drinking fountain.

Background

Public drinking fountains must meet various and changing accessibility and disability standards which can vary based on the jurisdiction and the type of public place in which the fountains are installed.

Many jurisdictions around the world require drinking fountains to meet certain construction and physical requirements to increase their accessibility to the general public at large, including members of the public that might be physically disabled and rely on wheelchairs.

It has been discovered that many existing public drinking fountain installations do not meet certain accessibility standards. For example, a height and/or shape of the fountain arm may not be accessible to the less physically abled, particularly people in wheelchairs. Such drinking fountains may need to be replaced to meet accessibility standards, which can be cost and labour-intensive. Additionally, the fountain arm height and other accessibility standards can vary between jurisdictions and over time. These different standards can call for the manufacture of a range of different, custom fountains, and the changing nature of these standards can require fountains to be replaced intermittently.

Existing drinking fountains also suffer from a number of other disadvantages. For example, common drinking fountains often have a bowl-shaped head for collecting water dispensed from the fountain. However, such bowls are prone to trapping rubbish and other debris that might inadvertently fall in the bowl, thereby potentially clogging the fountain and/or contaminating the water thereof.

Known fountains are also prone to cross-contamination if users position their mouths too close to the drinking nozzle or spout, particularly if water that has contacted the drinker's mouth splashes back onto the nozzle.

Certain drinking fountains have additional outlets via which bottles can be filled. However, unused water dispensed from these outlets is often not effectively collected by the drinking fountain and results in water collecting on the ground beneath and around the fountain, resulting in wasted water that poses a slip hazard.

There is a need to address the above, and/or at least provide a useful alternative.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a drinking fountain having: an upwardly extending body in which is housed internal components of the fountain; and one or more fountain arms extending outwardly from the body via which water can be dispensed, wherein the or each arm is releasably fixable to the body between two or more positions to enable adjustment of a height of each fountain arm above the ground.

In embodiments of the invention, the body comprises a slot via which a respective fountain arm can be height-adjusted.

In embodiments of the invention, after a position of the fountain arm(s) is fixed relative to the body, the slot is closable via a locking means that is securable to the body. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of adjusting a height of a fountain arm of a drinking fountain according to a first aspect of the present invention, comprising: opening a body of the drinking fountain; removing a locking means from the body; unfixing the fountain arm relative to the body and moving the fountain arm to a desired height above the ground; fixing the fountain arm relative to the body; applying the locking means to the body; and closing the body of the drinking fountain.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fountain arm for use as a fountain arm of the drinking fountain according to a first aspect of the present invention, the arm comprising: a mounting end via which the arm is releasably fixable to the body of the drinking fountain; and an opposed dispensing end via which water can be dispensed, wherein a top portion of the arm is formed as an elongate drain for collecting water dispensed from the fountain.

In embodiments of the present invention, the dispensing end comprises a nozzle for, in use, dispensing water towards a drinker's mouth, and wherein the arm is configured to at least partially limit water from the drinker's mouth contacting the nozzle.

In embodiments of the present invention, the dispensing end comprises a hood for at least partially shielding the nozzle from water that has contacted the drinker's mouth.

In embodiments of the present invention, the elongate drain is at least partially covered by a mesh for preventing debris from collecting in the drain of the arm. In embodiments of the present invention, the top portion of the elongate arm is at least partially concave to facilitate drainage.

Brief description of the drawings

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a drinking fountain according to embodiments of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side perspective view of a fountain arm adjustably fixed to a drinking fountain according to embodiments of the present invention;

Figure 3 is the view of Figure 2 wherein a locking plate of the fountain has been removed to permit height adjustment of the fountain arm;

Figure 4 is a rear perspective view of the arrangement of Figure 3;

Figure 5(a) is a side perspective view of a fountain arm according to embodiments of the present invention;

Figure 5(b) is a top view of the fountain arm of Figure 5(a); and

Figure 6 is a close-up rear perspective view of a dispensing end of the fountain arm of Figure 5(a).

Detailed description

Figure 1 shows a drinking fountain 2 according to embodiments of the present invention. The fountain 2 comprises a relatively slim, upwardly extending rectangular body 4. For example, the depth of the body 4 may be no more than 100mm to reduce the footprint of the fountain 2, thereby improving the flexibility with which it can be positioned and installed in public spaces in view of accessibility requirements that the fountain 2 must be sufficiently spaced from surrounding objects and walls so there is adequate room for individuals in wheelchairs to approach and leave the fountain 2 and comfortably perform a 180 degree circulation relative thereto. In Figure 1, an upper end of the drinking fountain 2 may be provided with a display (e.g., to show or promote information) and/or a light 6 (can be solar-powered) to provide illumination in the dark. The body 4 of the fountain 2 may also comprise a central opening 8 in which a bottle can be placed to be refilled.

Extending outwardly from each side of the body 4 of the drinking fountain 2 are respective fountain arms 10 for dispensing drinking water. The fountain arms 10 comprise an elongate body 12 having a relatively narrow profile. Advantageously, the fountain arms 10 can be mounted to the body 4 of the fountain 2 to provide access to the fountain arms 10 from both sides of the fountain 2, and such that there is sufficient clearance for a person in wheelchair to approach and have their legs fit beneath the fountain arm 10 in order to drink from the fountain arm 10.

So that the present drinking fountain 2 can be adapted to different accessibility standards and requirements, the present fountain 2 is configured such that the fountain arms 10 are releasably fixable to the body 4. In the depicted embodiment, the arms 10 are adjustably fixed to the body 4 between two or more heights above the ground. To this end, and with reference to Figures 2 to 4, the sides of the body 4 comprise respective slots 32 defining a vertical height or space via which the arms 10 are adjustably mountable relative to the body 4. In use, the slots 32 are covered or closed by a locking means, such as a removable locking plate 14.

To adjust a height of the fountain arms 10, the body 4 of the drinking fountain 2 may first be opened to access internal components thereof. The locking plate 14 can also be removed to reveal the slot 32. Referring to Figure 4, it can be seen that the fountain arm 10 is screwed to a mounting plate 34 secured within an interior of the body 4. In particular, the mounting plate 34 comprises a number of spaced apart screw holes 36 via which the arm 10 can be secured. To adjust a position of the arm 10, the arm 10 can first can be unscrewed from its present position relative to the mounting plate 34, moved to a desired height, and then screwed back to the mounting plate 34 via different screw holes 36 so that the arm 10 is positioned at a different height above the ground. Associated piping can also be adjusted as necessary. The locking plate 14 can then be resecured (e.g., via screws) and the body 4 closed. In this way, the present drinking fountain 2 provides fountain arms 10 that are readily height adjustable so that the fountain 2 can be customised to suit various accessibility standards and requirements.

Figures 5(a) to 6 show a fountain arm 10 adapted to be used as the fountain arm 10 that is releasably fixable to the body 4 of the present drinking fountain 2. The fountain arm 10 comprises a narrow and elongate body 12 that is easy for people in wheelchairs to approach and drink from. To this end, an individual in a wheelchair can readily approach the present fountain arm 10 such that their legs are substantially beneath the fountain arm 10, wherein the fountain arm 10 is at the level of their torso, preferably about at chest height. The person can then operate the fountain arm 2 (e.g. via a button or touch-free sensor 16) and drink from a spout or nozzle 18 at a water dispensing end of the fountain arm 10, which end is opposed to a mounting end 30 of the arm 10 via which the arm 10 is mounted to the body 4 of the drinking fountain 2.

An upper or top portion 20 of the fountain arm 10 is formed as an elongate drain 20 configured to collect water dispensed from the fountain 2. For example, water dispensed from the nozzle 18 of the fountain arm 10 can easily be collected and drained by the arm 10 itself. Additionally, water dispensed from a side of the body 4 (e.g., operable via the button or infrared sensor 22 of Figure 2) can also be at least partially collected and drained by the elongate, oval-shaped drain 20 of the fountain arm 10, thereby reducing water splashing and collecting on the ground beneath the fountain 2. The upper surface or face of the fountain arm 10 is slightly concave to function like a basin and facilitate the flow and drainage of water landing on the fountain arm 10.

Advantageously, the elongate drain 20 does not suffer the drawback faced by bowl or basin-shaped drains wherein debris and rubbish becomes trapped. Instead, although the upper face of the present fountain arm 10 is concave to assist with drainage, the upper face is open (i.e., no relatively high basin walls) so that debris and rubbish that might fall on the fountain arm 10 can be easily brushed off or allowed to blow away.

To assist with keeping rubbish from entering the drain 20, the drain 20 may be covered by a mesh (not shown) which allows water to be drained therethrough. Advantageously, the mesh may also act to reduce splashing when water is dispensed onto the fountain arm 10.

Referring to Figure 5, it can be seen that the nozzle or water outlet 18 of the fountain arm 10 is nestled in a recess formed beneath a cover or hood 26 of the water dispensing end of the fountain arm 10. The hood 26 acts to at least partially shield the nozzle 18 from water that might otherwise splash back onto the nozzle 18 from a drinker's mouth during drinking, thereby reducing the likelihood of cross-contamination.

Many modifications of the above embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, it is envisaged that the fountain 10 may be securable between three different heights to suit common accessibility requirements of a range of jurisdictions. Of course, it is envisaged that the drinking fountain and associated arm could also be configured so that the arm is slidably adjustable relative to the arm between a range of heights.

Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" and "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps.

The reference in this specification to any prior publication (or information derived from it), or to any matter which is known, is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgment or admission or any form of suggestion that that prior publication (or information derived from it) or known matter forms part of the common general knowledge in the field of endeavour to which this specification relates.