Pouring spout

Claim 1

A pouring spout for pouring liquid from an enclosed container having a discharge opening therein, said spout comprising: a body section including a bottom wall, a sidewall and an open top, said body section sealingly locatable within said discharge opening and having an aperture of lesser diameter than said body section extending through said bottom wall for providing an opening into the container when said body section is sealingly located within said discharge opening; an upstanding annular flange integral with said body and surrounding said aperture and defining with the sidewall of the body section a trough, a pouring tube passing through said aperture in said body section so that, when said body section is sealingly located within said discharge opening, said pouring tube is movable through said aperture in said body section from a fully retracted position wherein said pouring tube is located mainly within the container to a fully extended position wherein said pouring tube is located mainly outside the container, the arrangement being such that a liquid tight seal is maintained around said aperture in said body section for all positions of movement of said pouring tube between said fully retracted position and said fully extended position; vent means passing through said body section and communicating with said trough so as to allow air to pass from the outside to the inside of the container when said body section is sealingly located within said discharge opening; said vent means comprising an opening in the bottom of said trough, a hollow vent member communicating with said opening and depending from the bottom of said trough, an outlet tube connected to said hollow vent member, a vent tube fitted over said outlet tube, said vent member, outlet tube and said vent tube being disposed wholly within said container when said pouring spout is assembled therewith, said trough receiving any liquid trapped in said vent means which would normally spill when said container is tilted for a pouring operation, closure means for forming a liquid tight seal across said discharge opening when said pouring tube is in said fully retracted position and the container is not required for a pouring operation so that, in operation, said closure means is removed from said discharge opening and said pouring tube is moved from said fully retracted position to said fully extended position whereupon the container may be tilted to allow liquid to pass therefrom through said pouring tube under the pressure of air entering the container through said vent means, said pouring spout being readily removable from one container and used for connection to another container.