Patent attributes
Bottled water or other liquid is supplied via a bottle connector 5 for releasable sealing engagement with a neck formed on the bottle, and a transfer tube 6 to a reservoir 7 wherein the water may be cooled. The bottle connector 5, the transfer tube 6 and the reservoir 7 are all moulded of a plastics material containing silver bound in a ceramic ion exchange resin so that the silver ions (Ag+) are slowly released to prevent microbial growth on the surface of the components. The bottle connector may include a feed tube 21 or a dip tube which also releases silver ions. Furthermore, the transfer tube 6 may be connected to the reservoir 7 via a reservoir connector 29 which may incorporate a draw tube 31 and one or more outlet tubes 14, 36, e.g. leading to a discharge outlet, all of which release silver ions.
