Pouring device with deformable spouts

Abstract

A pouring device includes a container, a stiffening member with first and second stiffening portions having respective terminating ends spaced from each other. The first and second stiffening portions are coupled to the container with a deformable region of the container being positioned between the terminating ends of the first and second stiffening portions. The deformable region can be more resilient than the stiffening member to form a pour spout at least in part from the deformable region upon application of a force to the container toward opposing sides of the deformable region.

Description

BACKGROUND [0001] 1. Technical Field [0002] The present disclosure generally relates to holding and pouring tools, and more particularly, to containers configured to receive, hold, and pour contents, such as liquids. [0003] 2. Description of the Related Art [0004] Transferring liquid from one container to another and dispensing liquid from a container are important to many applications. [0005] For example, in cooking applications, recipes, such as food and beverage recipes, require a number of ingredients in different proportions. To communicate these proportions, recipes typically refer to a measuring standard, one of the most prominent being a unit cup or a fraction thereof. Frequently, recipes refer to required or recommended quantities of both liquid and solid ingredients based on the number or fraction of cups of the ingredients. Commonly used containers to hold and pour the ingredients include conventional measuring cups, which are generally cylindrically shaped and made from ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The patent describes a pouring device that includes a container with a pliable mouth portion and a stiffening member with two stiffening portions that are positioned between the mouth portion and the container. The device also has a handle that can be gripped by a user. The stiffening member can be made from a single piece of material that includes the handle. The device can also have pinch point indicators that can be used to form the pour spout by applying force to the indicators. Additionally, the device can have a claw member that is coupled to the container and can be used to deform the unreinforced portion of the container to form the pour spout. The claw member can have stiffer properties than the container."

Problems solved by technology

Therefore, they are space-consuming and prone to spillage, resulting in waste and variations from preferred proportions of ingredients.

In laboratory applications, beakers are used, which are typically made of glass or rigid plastics, and therefore suffer from the same drawbacks as the measuring cups discussed above.

Spills in such applications can be especially detrimental because laboratory experiments commonly require exact amounts of chemicals, and some chemicals can be harmful when they come in contact with the user's skin or the environment.

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