Drink bottles, or drink containers with cap assemblies that include a drink spout. In some embodiments, the drink spout is pivotally coupled to a base of the cap assembly. In some embodiments, the drink spouts include mouthpieces, including self-sealing and/or bite-actuated mouthpieces. In some embodiments, the cap assembly includes a handle, which may include at least one guard for the drink spout and/or mouthpiece. In some embodiments, the drink containers include a manual on/off valve. In some embodiments, the dispensing spout includes a mount for the mouthpiece and/or cooperates with the cap to provide a manual on/off valve to selectively restrict flow of drink fluid from the drink container regardless of the drink spout's and/or mouthpiece's configuration. In some embodiments, the drink containers include a drink tube extending from external of the drink containers and/or an air return system.
1. A drink container, comprising:
a fluid container having a neck with an opening and having an internal compartment sized to hold a volume of potable drink fluid;
a cap assembly removably coupled to the fluid container to cover the opening, wherein the cap assembly defines a fluid conduit through which drink fluid may selectively flow from the fluid container and through the cap assembly to a user, wherein the fluid conduit includes an inlet through which drink fluid from the fluid container may enter the fluid conduit, and a dispensing outlet through which drink fluid in the fluid conduit may be dispensed from the cap assembly to a user, and further wherein the cap assembly comprises:
a cap assembly base removably coupled to the neck of the fluid container, wherein the cap assembly base is configured to be selectively and repeatedly decoupled from and re-coupled to the neck of the fluid container;
a manual on/off valve having a closed configuration, in which the manual on/off valve obstructs the fluid conduit to restrict drink fluid from flowing between the inlet and the dispensing outlet, and an open configuration, in which the manual on/off valve permits drink fluid to flow through the fluid conduit from the inlet to the dispensing outlet;
a drink spout that defines at least a portion of the fluid conduit, wherein the drink spout is pivotally coupled to the cap assembly base and adapted to be selectively pivoted within a range of positions relative to the cap assembly base through pivotal movement of the drink spout relative to the cap assembly base, wherein the range of positions includes at least a stowed position and a dispensing position, wherein the drink spout defines at least a portion of the manual on/off valve, wherein when the drink spout is in the stowed position, the manual on/off valve is in the closed configuration, and wherein when the drink spout is in the dispensing position, the manual on/off valve is in the open configuration; and
a resilient mouthpiece removably mounted on the drink spout and having a dispensing face, which includes the dispensing outlet, and a mouthpiece base that is shaped to restrict rotation of the resilient mouthpiece on the drink spout; wherein when the drink spout is in the dispensing position, the dispensing outlet is positioned further away from the cap assembly base than when the drink spout is in the stowed position, wherein the resilient mouthpiece is more resilient than the drink spout and is adapted to resiliently compress responsive to compressive forces applied to the resilient mouthpiece by a user's teeth; wherein the fluid conduit includes a crimpable region that is adapted to be selectively crimped to restrict drink fluid from flowing therethrough to the mouthpiece, and further wherein the drink spout is adapted to selectively engage the crimpable region to apply crimping forces thereto and thereby configure the manual on/off valve to the closed configuration as the drink spout is pivoted from the dispensing position to the stowed position.
2. The drink container of claim 1 , wherein the dispensing face of the resilient mouthpiece includes an opening that extends through the dispensing face, and wherein the opening defines the dispensing outlet.
3. The drink container of claim 2 , wherein the dispensing face includes opposed lips between which the opening extends, wherein the resilient mouthpiece includes opposed bite regions that are configured to be urged toward each other to urge the lips to move away from each other to increase the size of the opening.
4. The drink container of claim 2 , wherein the resilient mouthpiece includes opposed bite regions, wherein the dispensing face includes opposed lips between which the opening extends, and further wherein when a user applies compressive forces to the opposed bite regions, the lips are urged away from each other to enlarge the opening.
5. The drink container of claim 4 , wherein the opposed lips seal against each other when the opposed bite regions are not urged toward each other.
6. The drink container of claim 2 , wherein the resilient mouthpiece base has an end distal the dispensing face that has a contoured configuration and which does not extend at a constant distance from the dispensing face, wherein the end of the mouthpiece base includes a pair of projecting regions that are separated by a pair of concave regions, and further wherein the drink spout includes a complementary pair of concave regions and a pair of projecting regions that engage the pair of projecting regions and the pair of concave regions of the mouthpiece base to restrict rotation of the resilient mouthpiece on the drink spout.
7. The drink container of claim 1 , wherein the dispensing face of the resilient mouthpiece includes an opening that extends through the dispensing face, wherein the opening defines the dispensing outlet and is defined by a slit, and wherein the resilient mouthpiece has different outer dimensions transverse and parallel to the slit.
8. The drink container of claim 1 , wherein the resilient mouthpiece defines an internal chamber through which drink fluid flows to the dispensing outlet, wherein the internal chamber has sidewalls that define a hexagonal cross-sectional shape to the internal chamber proximate the dispensing face.
9. The drink container of claim 1 , wherein the cap assembly defines a pair of lateral guards that extend on opposed sides of the resilient mouthpiece when the manual on/off valve is in the closed configuration.
10. The drink container of claim 1 , wherein the cap assembly further includes a handle that projects in a fixed orientation from the cap assembly base, wherein the handle includes a guard that is adapted to cover at least a portion of the dispensing outlet of the dispensing face when the drink spout is in the stowed position.
11. The drink container of claim 10 , wherein the cap assembly base includes a pair of opposed sockets, wherein the drink spout includes a pair of lateral projections that are received into the sockets for rotation within the sockets as the drink spout is pivoted within the range of positions about an axis defined by the pair of lateral projections as the pair of lateral projections rotate within the pair of sockets in the cap assembly base, and further wherein the handle is secured to the cap assembly base in a position that obstructs removal of the pair of lateral projections from the sockets.
12. The drink container of claim 1 , wherein the cap assembly further comprises an air return assembly adapted to selectively permit air from external the drink container to enter the internal compartment of the fluid container other than through the dispensing outlet of the resilient mouthpiece, and further wherein the drink spout extends over the air return assembly when the drink spout is in the stowed position and does not extend over the air return assembly when the drink spout is in the dispensing position.
13. The drink container of claim 1 , wherein the drink spout further includes a projecting flange that extends away from the portion of the fluid conduit that is defined by the drink spout and which provides a lever arm that is configured to be engaged by a user's finger to pivot the drink spout from the stowed position to the dispensing position.
14. A drink container, comprising:
a fluid container having a neck with an opening and having an internal compartment sized to hold a volume of potable drink fluid;
a cap assembly removably coupled to the fluid container to cover the opening, wherein the cap assembly defines a fluid conduit for drink fluid to flow from the fluid container and through the cap assembly to a user, wherein the fluid conduit includes an inlet through which drink fluid from the fluid container may enter the fluid conduit, and a dispensing outlet through which drink fluid in the fluid conduit may be dispensed from the cap assembly to a user, and further wherein the cap assembly comprises:
a cap assembly base removably coupled to the neck of the fluid container, wherein the cap assembly base is configured to be selectively and repeatedly decoupled from and re-coupled to the neck of the fluid container;
a resilient mouthpiece pivotal relative to the cap assembly base and including the dispensing outlet, wherein the resilient mouthpiece is configured to be selectively pivoted between a stowed position and a dispensing position, and further wherein when the resilient mouthpiece is in the dispensing position, the dispensing outlet is positioned further away from the cap assembly base than when the resilient mouthpiece is in the stowed position, wherein the resilient mouthpiece is adapted to resiliently compress responsive to compressive forces applied to the resilient mouthpiece by a user's teeth;
a manual on/off valve having a closed configuration, in which the manual on/off valve obstructs the fluid conduit to restrict drink fluid from flowing between the inlet and the dispensing outlet, and an open configuration, in which the manual on/off valve permits drink fluid to flow through the fluid conduit from the inlet to the dispensing outlet;
a pair of lateral guards that extend on opposed sides of the resilient mouthpiece when the manual on/off valve is in the closed configuration and when the resilient mouthpiece is in the stowed position; and
a dust cover extending between the pair of lateral guards and positioned to protect the dispensing outlet of the resilient mouthpiece by extending across at least a portion of the dispensing outlet of the resilient mouthpiece when the resilient mouthpiece is in the stowed position, wherein when the resilient mouthpiece is pivoted from the stowed position to the dispensing position, the resilient mouthpiece pivots away from the dust cover.
15. The drink container of claim 14 , wherein the manual on/off valve includes a flexible tube that defines at least a portion of the fluid conduit, wherein when the manual on/off valve is in the closed configuration, the tube is crimped to obstruct the flow of drink fluid through the fluid conduit, and wherein when the manual on/off valve is in the open configuration, the tube is not crimped and does not obstruct the flow of drink fluid through the fluid conduit.
16. The drink container of claim 14 , wherein the cap assembly further includes a pivotal mount to which the resilient mouthpiece is mounted, wherein the pivotal mount includes a pair of lateral projections, wherein the cap assembly base defines a pair of sockets into which the pair of lateral projections extend, and wherein the resilient mouthpiece is pivotal about an axis defined by the pair of lateral projections as the pair of lateral projections rotate within the pair of sockets.
17. The drink container of claim 14 , wherein the cap assembly further comprises a handle that extends in a fixed orientation from the cap assembly base and, with the cap assembly base, defines a closed loop with an aperture through which a user's finger may be inserted to carry the drink container, wherein the handle and the cap assembly base each define a portion of the closed loop.
18. The drink container of claim 17 , wherein the handle defines the pair of lateral guards.
19. The drink container of claim 14 , wherein the cap assembly further includes a pivotal mount to which the resilient mouthpiece is mounted, wherein the resilient mouthpiece includes a mouthpiece base with an end distal the dispensing outlet that has a contoured configuration that does not extend at a constant distance from the dispensing outlet, wherein the end of the resilient mouthpiece base includes a projecting region and a concave region, wherein the projecting region of the end of the mouthpiece base extends a greater distance away from the dispensing outlet than the concave region of the end of the mouthpiece base and further wherein the pivotal mount is configured to engage the projecting region and the concave region of the mouthpiece base to restrict rotation of the resilient mouthpiece on the pivotal mount.
20. The drink container of claim 14 , wherein the cap assembly further comprises an air return assembly adapted to selectively permit air from external the drink container to enter the internal compartment of the fluid container other than through the dispensing outlet of the resilient mouthpiece, and further wherein the resilient mouthpiece extends at least partially over the air return assembly when the on/off valve is in the closed configuration and does not extend over the air return assembly when the on/off valve is in the open configuration.
21. The drink container of claim 14 , wherein the resilient mouthpiece includes a dispensing face that defines the dispensing outlet, wherein the resilient mouthpiece includes opposed bite regions, wherein the dispensing face includes opposed lips between which the opening extends, and further wherein when a user applies compressive forces to the opposed bite regions, the lips are urged away from each other to enlarge the opening.
22. The drink container of claim 21 , wherein the opposed lips seal against each other when the opposed bite regions are not urged toward each other.
23. The drink container of claim 14 , wherein the cap assembly further comprises a handle that extends in a fixed orientation from the cap assembly base and defines at least a portion of the pair of lateral guards, and further wherein the dust cover projects above an upper surface of the cap assembly base.
24. The drink container of claim 16 , wherein the cap assembly base further comprises a handle that extends from the cap assembly base, and further wherein the handle is secured to the cap assembly base in a position that obstructs removal of the lateral projections from the sockets.
25. A drink container, comprising:
a fluid container having a neck with an opening and having an internal compartment sized to hold a volume of potable drink fluid;
a cap assembly removably coupled to the fluid container to cover the opening, wherein the cap assembly defines a fluid conduit through which drink fluid may selectively flow from the fluid container and through the cap assembly to a user, wherein the fluid conduit includes an inlet through which drink fluid from the fluid container may enter the fluid conduit, and a dispensing outlet through which drink fluid in the fluid conduit may be dispensed from the cap assembly to a user, and further wherein the cap assembly comprises:
a cap assembly base removably coupled to the neck of the fluid container, wherein the cap assembly base is configured to be selectively and repeatedly decoupled from and re-coupled to the neck of the fluid container;
a manual on/off valve having a closed configuration, in which the manual on/off valve obstructs the fluid conduit to restrict drink fluid from flowing between the inlet and the dispensing outlet, and an open configuration, in which the manual on/off valve permits drink fluid to flow through the fluid conduit from the inlet to the dispensing outlet;
a drink spout that defines at least a portion of the fluid conduit, wherein the drink spout is pivotally coupled to the cap assembly base and adapted to be selectively pivoted within a range of positions relative to the cap assembly base through pivotal movement of the drink spout relative to the cap assembly base, wherein the range of positions includes at least a stowed position and a dispensing position, wherein the drink spout defines at least a portion of the manual on/off valve, wherein when the drink spout is in the stowed position, the manual on/off valve is in the closed configuration, and wherein when the drink spout is in the dispensing position, the manual on/off valve is in the open configuration; and
a resilient mouthpiece removably mounted on the drink spout and having a dispensing face, which includes the dispensing outlet, and a mouthpiece base that is shaped to restrict rotation of the resilient mouthpiece on the drink spout; wherein when the drink spout is in the dispensing position, the dispensing outlet is positioned further away from the cap assembly base than when the drink spout is in the stowed position, wherein the resilient mouthpiece is more resilient than the drink spout and is adapted to resiliently compress responsive to compressive forces applied to the resilient mouthpiece by a user's teeth; wherein the resilient mouthpiece defines an internal chamber through which drink fluid flows to the dispensing outlet, wherein the internal chamber has sidewalls that define a hexagonal cross-sectional shape to the internal chamber proximate the dispensing face.
26. The drink container of claim 25 , wherein the dispensing face of the resilient mouthpiece includes an opening that extends through the dispensing face, and wherein the opening defines the dispensing outlet.
27. The drink container of claim 26 , wherein the dispensing face includes opposed lips between which the opening extends, wherein the resilient mouthpiece includes opposed bite regions that are configured to be urged toward each other to urge the lips to move away from each other to increase the size of the opening.
28. The drink container of claim 26 , wherein the resilient mouthpiece includes opposed bite regions, wherein the dispensing face includes opposed lips between which the opening extends, and further wherein when a user applies compressive forces to the opposed bite regions, the lips are urged away from each other to enlarge the opening.
29. The drink container of claim 28 , wherein the opposed lips seal against each other when the opposed bite regions are not urged toward each other.
30. The drink container of claim 26 , wherein the resilient mouthpiece base has an end distal the dispensing face that has a contoured configuration and which does not extend at a constant distance from the dispensing face, wherein the end of the mouthpiece base includes a pair of projecting regions that are separated by a pair of concave regions, and further wherein the drink spout includes a complementary pair of concave regions and a pair of projecting regions that engage the pair of projecting regions and the pair of concave regions of the mouthpiece base to restrict rotation of the resilient mouthpiece on the drink spout.
31. The drink container of claim 25 , wherein the dispensing face of the resilient mouthpiece includes an opening that extends through the dispensing face, wherein the opening defines the dispensing outlet and is defined by a slit, and wherein the resilient mouthpiece has different outer dimensions transverse and parallel to the slit.
32. The drink container of claim 25 , wherein the cap assembly defines a pair of lateral guards that extend on opposed sides of the resilient mouthpiece when the manual on/off valve is in the closed configuration.
33. The drink container of claim 25 , wherein the cap assembly further includes a handle that projects in a fixed orientation from the cap assembly base, wherein the handle includes a guard that is adapted to cover at least a portion of the dispensing outlet of the dispensing face when the drink spout is in the stowed position.
34. The drink container of claim 33 , wherein the cap assembly base includes a pair of opposed sockets, wherein the drink spout includes a pair of lateral projections that are received into the sockets for rotation within the sockets as the drink spout is pivoted within the range of positions about an axis defined by the pair of lateral projections as the pair of lateral projections rotate within the pair of sockets in the cap assembly base, and further wherein the handle is secured to the cap assembly base in a position that obstructs removal of the pair of lateral projections from the sockets.
35. The drink container of claim 25 , wherein the cap assembly further comprises an air return assembly adapted to selectively permit air from external the drink container to enter the internal compartment of the fluid container other than through the dispensing outlet of the resilient mouthpiece, and further wherein the drink spout extends over the air return assembly when the drink spout is in the stowed position and does not extend over the air return assembly when the drink spout is in the dispensing position.
36. The drink container of claim 25 , wherein the drink spout further includes a projecting flange that extends away from the portion of the fluid conduit that is defined by the drink spout and which provides a lever arm that is configured to be engaged by a user's finger to pivot the drink spout from the stowed position to the dispensing position.