Camel back

• US 5,060,833 A
• Filed: 08/24/1990
• Issued: 10/29/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: CamelBak Products LLC (Vista Outdoor Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Fastrak Systems, Inc.
• Inventors: Edison, James M., Henderson, Arthur D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sholl, Linda J.
• Application Number:
  US07/574,576
• Time in Patent Office: 431 Days
• Field of Search: 224/148, 224/209, 224/214, 224/901, 128/207.18, 128/207.13, 128/205.22, 128/202.15, 222/175, 222/213, 251/342, 215/1 A, 215/312, 215/315
• US Class Current: 224/148.2
• CPC Class Codes: A45F 3/16 Water-bottles; Mess-tins; Cups
• CPC Class Codes: A45F 5/00 Holders or carriers for hand articles; Holders or carriers for use while travelling or camping

Abstract

A water system that allows a bicyclist to drink liquids anytime he desires. The system has a collapsible container of water or other liquid stored within a flexible back pack that is removably secured at a location between the shoulders of the bicyclist. A resilient mouthpiece adapted to be held in the mouth of the bicyclist is connected to the container by a length of tubing. The mouthpiece is a valve device and has a cylindrical sidewall that forms a chamber. A spring biased valve element located inside the chamber normally prevents flow therethrough. When the opposed sidewalls of the chamber are compressed between the teeth, liquid flows through the mouthpiece. This allows the mouthpiece to be held securely between the lips and whenever the sidewalls are compressed by the teeth, fluid flows from the container, through the tubing and into the mouth of the bicyclist.

Claims

1. A liquid delivery system for a bicyclist, said system includes a back pack that forms an enclosure made of flexible material and having an outer wall surface spaced from an inner wall surface;

the outer and inner wall surfaces have a periphery that is connected to form said enclosure, attachment means for mounting the inner wall to the back of a bicyclist at a location between the shoulders;

a liquid container having flexible sidewalls, said container is located within said enclosure and thereby elevated above the bicyclist'"'"'s mouth when the bicyclist is in a normal riding position;

a flow line having opposed ends, a valve device in the form of a resilient annular mouthpiece of a size to be held in the bicyclist'"'"'s mouth, said mouthpiece has an inlet end and an outlet, one end of said flow line is connected to said inlet end of said mouthpiece and the other end of said flow line is connected to said liquid container to receive flow therefrom;

a passageway formed through said mouthpiece, a medial length of said passageway enlarges into a chamber having opposed ends, said resilient annular mouthpiece has a medial length that includes a circumferentially extending chamber forming wall within which said chamber is formed, the chamber forming wall is deformed towards said passageway when clamped between the teeth;

a valve seat at one end of said chamber through which liquid can flow to said outlet, an annular shoulder at the other end of said chamber through which flow from said one end of said flow line can flow into said inlet end of said mouthpiece and into said chamber;

a valve element in said chamber, a spring means for biasing said valve element, one end of said spring means engages said shoulder at said chamber end that is opposed to the valve seat, and the other end of said spring means engages said valve element and thereby normally biases the valve element into engagement with said valve seat;

said valve element is reciprocatingly received within said chamber and is unseated from said valve seat in response to opposed sidewalls of the medial part of said mouthpiece being deformed towards one another;

whereby said mouthpiece is compressed between the teeth, and the opposed sidewalls of the mouthpiece are deformed and forces the valve element and the valve seat away from one another and thereby opens the valve device to permit liquid to flow by gravity from said liquid container, through said flow line, into the inlet of the mouthpiece, through the chamber, through the valve seat, and through the outlet of said mouthpiece where the liquid is made available to the bicyclist.

2. The system of claim 1 and further including a container of compressed oxygen stored in said pack;

a regulator, a flow control, a conduit, and means connecting said regulator, conduit, and flow control to enable one to inhale the oxygen that flows from the container.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said enclosure upwardly opens and includes a closure means by which the opening can be closed, said container has a top and bottom, a filler neck at the bottom thereof and a marginal end of the flow line extends into the top of the container and terminates adjacent to the filler neck.

4. A liquid delivery system for a bicyclist, said system includes a backpack made of flexible material and having an outer wall surface spaced from an inner wall surface;

the outer and inner wall surfaces have a periphery that is connected to form an enclosure therewithin;

a container for storing liquid therewithin, said container is stored within the enclosure of the backpack;

attachment means for mounting the inner wall of the backpack to the back of a bicyclist at a location between the shoulders of the bicyclist that provides a hydrostatic head between said container and the mouth of the bicyclist when the bicyclist is in a normal riding position;

a flow line having opposed ends, a mouthpiece having an inlet and an outlet and is adapted to be held in the mouth and between the teeth, means connecting one end of said flow line to the inlet of the mouthpiece and the other end of the flow line to said container of liquid;

said mouthpiece is in the form of an elongated member having a medial length thereof formed by a circumferentially extending resilient wall that is deformable when held between the teeth an bitten, a passageway formed through said mouthpiece;

a valve chamber formed in a marginal length of said passageway at a location that coincides with said medial length of said mouthpiece;

a valve device contained within said chamber;

an annular valve seat at one end of said chamber opposed to a shoulder at the other end of said chamber, a valve element within said chamber, biasing means between said valve element and said shoulder for biasing said valve element against said annular valve seat to normally preclude flow therethrough;

said valve element is forced to move away from said valve seat when opposed sidewalls of said mouthpiece are compressed between the bicyclist'"'"'s teeth to deform the mouthpiece and thereby deform the resilient wall and force the valve element off the valve seat and thereby allow liquid flow to occur from said container of liquid, through the flow line, and through the mouthpiece where the liquid is made available to the bicyclist.