Container for Dispensing Multiple Doses of a Concentrated Liquid

Abstract

A container is provided for dispensing a liquid concentrate utilizing one or more desirable properties including a generally consistent discharge across a range of squeeze forces, a generally consistent discharge with the same force without significant dependence on the amount of liquid concentrate in the container, a substantially dripless or leak proof outlet opening, a jet that minimizes splashing when the liquid concentrate impacts a target liquid, and a jet that maximizes mixing between the liquid concentrate and the target liquid to produce a generally homogenous mixture without the use of extraneous utensils or shaking.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A container for dispensing multiple doses of a concentrated liquid comprising:
 a container body having a closed bottom end, a top end with a neck defining an outlet opening and a sidewall extending between the top and bottom ends to define an interior of the container body accessible through the outlet of the top end, the sidewall being flexible and resilient, the sidewall including opposing front and rear walls and a pair of opposing end walls extending therebetween, the opposing front and rear walls having a maximum width that is greater than a maximum width of the end walls;   a lid attached to the neck of the container body and defining an exit path aligned with the outlet opening of the container body and through which the concentrated liquid can be dispensed;   a valve supported by the lid and disposed in the exit path, the valve movable from a closed position, whereby flow of concentrated liquid through the exit path is substantially blocked when the sidewall of the container body is unsqueezed, to an open position, whereby the concentrated liquid from the interior of the container body can be dispensed in a jet when the front and rear walls of the sidewall of the container body are squeezed; and   concentrated liquid comprising:
 about 30 to about 65 percent water by weight; 
 about 15.0 to about 30.0 percent acid by weight; 
 up to about 10.0 percent buffer by weight selected from the group consisting of a potassium salt of an acid, a sodium salt of an acid, and combination thereof; and 
 about 1.0 to about 30.0 percent flavoring by weight; 
 the acid and buffer included in a ratio of about 1:1 to about 60:1, the ratio of the acid and buffer selected to provide the concentrate with at least about 5 times more acid than an otherwise identical non-buffered concentrate having the same pH, and the concentrate having a concentration such that when diluted at a ratio of about 1:75 to about 1:160 to provide a beverage, the concentrate delivers about 0.01 to 0.8 percent acid by weight of the beverage made by the concentrated liquid. 
   
     
     
         2 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the lid has a cover portion movable for selectively covering the valve. 
     
     
         3 . The container of  claim 2 , wherein a base portion of the lid has an exterior skirt with a smooth transition to the sidewall of the container body below a shoulder. 
     
     
         4 . The container of  claim 3 , wherein the cover portion of the lid has an exterior portion with a smooth transition to the exterior skirt of the base portion of the lid when the cover portion of the lid is seated on the base portion of the lid. 
     
     
         5 . The container of  claim 2 , wherein the lid includes means for providing at least two audible and/or tactile responses during movement of the cover portion of the lid toward a closed position covering the valve. 
     
     
         6 . The container of  claim 2 , wherein the cover portion of the lid has means for blocking shifting of the valve from the closed position to the open position when the cover portion is in a closed position covering the valve. 
     
     
         7 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the concentrate has a viscosity of about 1 to about 25 cP at 20° C. 
     
     
         8 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the concentrate has a concentration such that, when diluted at a ratio of about 1:75 to about 1:160 to provide a beverage, the concentrate delivers about 0.1 to about 0.3 percent acid by weight of the beverage. 
     
     
         9 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the acid and buffer are included in a ratio of about 1:1 to about 60:1, the ratio of the acid and buffer effective to provide the concentrate with at least about 5 times more acid than an otherwise identical non-buffered concentrate having the same pH. 
     
     
         10 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the container body includes about 48 cc of concentrated liquid. 
     
     
         11 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the container body includes about 60 cc of concentrated liquid. 
     
     
         12 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the concentrated liquid further comprises one or more of caffeine, vitamins, and electrolytes. 
     
     
         13 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the flavoring comprises one or more of ethanol, propylene glycol.