Water container

1. Technical Field

The disclosure generally relates to water containers, and particularly to a water container having a function of preventing water spilling out when pouring the water.

2. Description of Related Art

Water can be poured from a bottle to a cup to drink. In a static environment, the water usually will not spill out of the cup. However, while pouring water in a moving environment such as on a train or in a car, the water may easily spill out of the cup.

Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.

Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a water container, according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the water container in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the water container in FIG. 1 along line III.

FIG. 4 is similar to FIG. 3 , but showing a valve assembly of the water container opened.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a water container 100 , according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. Referring to FIG. 2 , the water container 100 includes a bottle body 10 , a cup body 20 , a valve assembly 30 , and a latching member 40 . The bottle body 10 is configured to contain water. The cup body 20 clips onto the bottle body 10 . The valve assembly 30 is secured to the bottle body 10 to control the flow of water from the bottle body 10 or prevent water flowing from the bottle body 10 . The latching member 40 is secured to the bottle body 10 and also latches the cup body 20 to the bottle body 10 .

Referring to FIG. 3 , the bottle body 10 includes a water containing chamber 12 configured to contain the water and a bottle mouth 14 formed at an end of the bottle body 10 . The bottle mouth 14 communicates with the water containing chamber 12 and water from the water containing chamber 12 flows out through the bottle mouth 14 . The bottle body 10 defines a ring-shaped securing slot 16 around an outer peripheral wall of the bottle body 10 adjacent to the bottle mouth 14 . The securing slot 16 supports and holds the latching member 40 .

The cup body 20 includes a water holding chamber 22 and a flange 24 protruding from an outer peripheral wall of the cup body 20 . The flange 24 engages with the latching member 40 so that the cup body 20 can be latched to the bottle body 10 .

The valve assembly 30 includes a bottom case 32 , an upper case 34 , a ball 36 and an elastic member 38 . The bottom case 32 includes a first side wall 322 and a bottom wall 324 . The first side wall 322 is substantially a cylinder protruding from a peripheral edge of the bottom wall 324 . The first side wall 322 and the bottom wall 324 form a receiving cavity 326 configured to receive the ball 36 and the elastic member 38 . The first side wall 322 includes a plurality of guiding rails 3222 protruding from an inner surface from the first side wall 322 and equally spaced with each other. The guiding rails 3222 guide the ball 36 in the receiving cavity 326 . Every two adjacent guiding rails 3222 define a water flowing channel 3224 therebetween. The bottom wall 324 defines a through opening 3242 (see FIG. 3 ) in a center portion of the bottom wall 324 .

The upper case 34 is substantially similar to the bottom case 32 and includes a second side wall 342 and an upper wall 344 . The second side wall 342 is substantially a hollow cylinder protruding from a peripheral edge of the upper wall 344 . The second side wall 342 defines a plurality of latching slots 3422 corresponding to the guiding rails 3222 . The latching slots 3422 latch with the guiding plates 3222 and support the upper case 34 on the bottom case 32 . The upper wall 344 defines a plurality of holes 3442 .

The ball 36 and the elastic member 38 are received in the receiving cavity 326 . The elastic member 38 is pressed between the upper wall 344 and the ball 36 and biases the ball 36 towards sealing the opening 3242 so that by default the valve assembly 30 is closed to stop the water flowing from the opening 3242 . To pour the water from the bottle body 10 to the cup body 20 the ball 36 is depressed into the receiving cavity 326 against the force of spring 38 to unseal the opening 3242 so that the valve assembly 30 is opened to allow the flow of water from the opening 3242 .

The latching member 40 includes a latching ring 42 and two opposite latching arms 44 perpendicularly extending down from one side of the latching ring 42 . The latching ring 42 is elastic and includes two opposite latching sections 422 and two opposite operating sections 424 . The latching sections 422 latch into the securing slot 16 . Each operating section 424 defines a spacing 50 between the bottle body 422 and the latching ring 42 . Each latching arm 44 is positioned on one of the latching sections 422 . Each latching arm 44 defines a first latching slot 442 and a second latching slot 444 . The two first latching slots 442 are opposite and far away from the latching ring 42 . The two second latching slots 444 are opposite and adjacent to the latching ring 42 . Either the first latching slots 442 or the second latching slots 444 may engage with the flange 24 so that the cup body 20 is latched to the bottle body 10 .

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 , to assemble the valve assembly 30 , the ball 36 and the elastic member 38 are received in the receiving cavity 326 . The guiding rails 3222 are latched into the latching slots 3422 so that the elastic member 38 is pressed between the upper wall 344 and the ball 36 . The pressed elastic member 38 biases the ball 36 towards sealing the opening 3242 .

To assemble the water container 100 , the first side wall 322 of the assembled valve assembly 30 is sleeved around the bottle mouth 14 by threads (not shown) so that the valve assembly 30 is secured to the bottle mouth 14 . The latching ring 42 is latched into the securing slot 16 with the latching arms 44 facing the bottle mouth 14 . The cup body 20 covers the bottle mouth 14 , with the flange 24 latched to the first latching slots 442 so that the cup body 20 is assembled to the bottle body 10 .

In use, to pour water from the bottle body 10 , the cup body 20 is located below the bottle body 10 . The cup body 20 is pressed toward the bottle body 10 so that the flange 24 disengages from the first latching slots 442 and engages with the second latching slots 444 . During the movement, the base of the cup body 20 biases the ball 36 , and the ball 36 slides into the receiving cavity 326 along the guiding rails 3222 . The elastic member 38 is further compressed and gap 35 (i.e. a portion of the opening 3242 ) appears between the ball 36 and the bottom wall 324 . The water in the bottle body 10 can flow through the holes 3442 , the channels 3224 , and the gap 35 , and finally into the cup body 20 . To remove the cup body 20 from the bottle body 10 for drinking, the operating sections 424 can be pressed by an external force along directions A as shown in FIG. 1 to disengage the latching arms 44 from the flange 24 . Meanwhile, the elastic member 38 will restore the ball 36 towards sealing the opening 3242 again.

During the process of pouring water, the water can flow only into the cup body 20 , which is itself sealed to the bottle body 10 , so that water will not spill out of the cup body 20 .

The cup body 20 and the valve assembly 30 can be removed from the bottle body 10 , and water can be poured out of the bottle body 10 directly through the bottle mouth 14 .

It is believed that the exemplary embodiments and their advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the examples hereinbefore described merely being preferred or exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.