Patent Application
20240417144
The invention relates to a cap for a cartridge and a cartridge for use in appliances with automatic dosing function.
Cartridges for automatic dosing machines typically have a rigid outer side and a connection portion with an outlet valve for connecting to the machine to automatically dose a portion of the contents into the machine. These types of cartridges typically have a check valve somewhere on the cartridge body that allows air exchange between the inside of the cartridge and the environment. Check valves are necessary for a correct discharge of the contents of the cartridge as they prevent building of a vacuum inside the cartridge during the discharge process. On the other hand, outlet valves have to allow easy and controllable discharge of the contents of the cartridge with desirably no unwanted leakage of the contents through the outlet valves when the cartridge is not in use.
However, simple check valves although efficient for air exchange result in leakage of the contents of the cartridge which is inconvenient for the user and wasteful. CN111270480A discloses a one-way air-permeable structure which includes an air-permeable element, a switch element and a power part. This results in a complex structure of the check valve with a number of elements made of different materials.
In order to provide an external liquid storage box with better sealing performance and easy replacement, CN108998931A discloses an external liquid storage box comprising a box body and a flow guiding structure arranged on a liquid outlet of the box body. On the other hand, CN112900012A discloses a detergent box comprising a liquid storage box, a breathable one-way valve and a liquid extraction connector assembly, wherein the top of the liquid storage box is provided with the breathable one-way valve or a breathable film assembly.
US2015/0336719 A1 discloses a container and closure combination, for the containment of fluids and extraction therefrom by way of an extraction tube. The container comprises a closed volume with an opening configured to close the opening of the container; the closure is provided with an aperture such that the closure, upon fitment to the container opening, cannot be removed therefrom. The aperture of the closure comprises a unitary elastic unidirectional valve member that can operate in a first, closed condition, to prevent a flow of fluid from the container; and a second, operational condition, with an extraction tube sealingly engaged with respect to the valve, to permit an extraction of fluid from the container through the tube.
To prevent leakage of the liquid, the cartridge solutions proposed offer complex structure of the outlet valves and/or check valves which are costly due to presence of metallic parts and/springs, difficult to produce and problematic to recycle due to the presence of different materials. Furthermore, the liquid at the bottom of the cartridge cannot be fully extracted resulting in an undesirable waste of the product.
According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a cap for a cartridge comprises fastening means for fastening the cap to a cartridge opening and a valve configured to control liquid flow from inside the cartridge through the cartridge opening and the cap under negative pressure. The valve is a deformable ball which covers one or more flow openings in a non-deformed state (NS) and deforms to allow flow through the one or more flow openings in the deformed state (DS).
Such a cap provides a simple yet effective way of controlling liquid flow from a cartridge. The use of a deformable ball which covers one or more flow openings in a non-deformed state (NS) and deforms to allow flow through the one or more flow openings in the deformed state (DS) minimizes or prevents leakage out of the cartridge and then allows for an easy flow or dose out of the cartridge under negative pressure.
Preferably, the cap comprises a cap opening that is bound by an edge of the opening. The valve is placed over, within or adjacent to the cap opening such that it functionally controls flow through the cap opening. The cap opening may be circular or another shape, and the edge of the opening may extend from the cap towards the inside of the container.
Throughout this application the following directions are used: the axis passing through the center of the cap is a central axis (C), the direction perpendicular to the central axis is a radial direction (R), and the longitudinal direction (X) is the direction along the cartridge and parallel to the central axis (C) of the cap.
The cap may further comprise a pressure ring for securing one or more valve parts. Outer edges of the valve may be placed over the edge of the opening and the pressure ring is then placed over the portion of the valve sitting on the edge of the opening to ensure that the valve remains securely in place despite being subject to pressure and flow. The pressure ring may be, for example, a gasket, a rubber band, a silicon band or the similar.
The fastening means may comprise one or more of a thread, groove, shoulder or other connecting part. The fastening means may be an integral part of the cartridge (e.g., by moulding, printing and/or machining), or may be made separate and connected later, for example, by adhesive, tight fit, etc. The fastening means can provide a simple and easy way of connecting the cap with valve.
The valve is in a form of a deformable ball which covers one or more flow openings in a non-deformed state (NS) and deforms to allow flow through the one or more flow openings in the deformed state. The one or more flow openings extend in the radial direction (R) from the central axis of the cap (C).
The ball may be placed in a ball space which comprises flow openings. The ball space may be an integral part of the cap, or formed separately and connected. The valve may comprise a closing ring and/or other features configured to confine the ball within a ball space. Preferably, the ball can comprise silicone or rubber. Such materials are resilient, allowing numerous cycles of ball deformation and long life span of the valve.
The ball may deform through compressive forces. Optionally, the compressive forces may be induced by the injection pin or other part of the cleaning appliance. This can provide a simple yet effective method for preventing or allowing flow through the valve and cap.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a cartridge comprising a rigid outer body, a flexible inner body at least partially inside the outer body, a cartridge opening, and a cap for the cartridge comprising fastening means for fastening the cap to the cartridge opening; and a valve configured to control liquid flow from inside the cartridge through the cartridge opening and the cap under negative pressure, wherein the valve consists of one of the following: i) a silicon cross piece, ii) a duckbill valve, iii) a deformable ball which covers one or more flow openings in a non-deformed state (NS) and deforms to allow flow through the one or more flow openings in the deformed state (DS).
Such a container or cartridge with a rigid outer body and flexible inner body provides a simple and effective way to store liquid contents inside a cartridge without leaking and ensure that most or all of the contents are able to be dispensed from the cartridge through use. Using a rigid outer body allows for easy handling, storage and connection to cleaning appliances, while the flexible inner body provides for no leakage while allowing controlled flow out of the container.
The valve of the cap may extend at least partially over the cartridge opening to control liquid flow from the flexible inner body through the cartridge opening and the cap.
The valve may consist of a silicon cross piece extending over a cap opening which aligns with the cartridge opening when the cap is connected to a cartridge. Optionally, the silicon cross piece comprises a valve body and two slits, crossing each other perpendicularly such that at least four flaps are formed. The flaps abut each other and form a seal when the cartridge is not used. Under the negative pressure, the flaps can open to allow liquid flow through the valve. This simple valve structure offers good flow control from the cartridge to the cleaning appliance using minimal parts. Furthermore, due to its simple design the valve can be easily (dis) connected to the cap and/or replaced together with the cap. It is also easy and inexpensive to manufacture such a valve, and can easily be replaced when needed.
Preferably, the valve consists of a duckbill valve. The duckbill valve comprises first and second flaps which extend from an outer edge of the cap opening towards the central axis (C) of the cap opening.
The first and second flaps can meet at the central axis of the cap opening to form a seal. The duckbill valve offers good sealing properties using a minimal number of parts. No metallic parts and/or springs are used resulting in an economical valve solution which is easy to recycle.
Alternatively or additionally, the first and second flaps are configured to open upon receiving compressive forces to form a liquid conduit from the cartridge through the cap. Optionally, the compressive forces may be induced by the injection pin or other part of the cleaning appliance. The injection pin may be part of the negative pressure device. Optionally, the injection pin may have hollow body to allow flow of the liquid from the cartridge to the cleaning appliance.
Preferably, the duckbill valve comprises silicone or rubber. Such materials offer good flexibility needed for opening of the valve while providing sufficient strength needed to seal the valve and prevent leakage.
Lastly, the valve may be in a form of a deformable ball which covers one or more flow openings in a non-deformed state (NS) and deforms to allow flow through the one or more flow openings in the deformed state. The one or more flow openings extend in the radial direction (R) from the central axis of the cap (C).
The ball may be placed in a ball space which comprises flow openings. The ball space may be an integral part of the cap, or formed separately and connected. The valve may comprise a closing ring and/or other features configured to confine the ball within a ball space. Preferably, the ball can comprise silicone or rubber. Such materials are resilient, allowing numerous cycles of ball deformation and long life span of the valve.
The ball may deform through compressive forces. Optionally, the compressive forces may be induced by the injection pin or other part of the cleaning appliance. This can provide a simple yet effective method for preventing or allowing flow through the valve and cap.
The skilled person will appreciate that except where mutually exclusive, a feature or parameter described in relation to any one of the above aspects may be applied to any other aspect. Furthermore, except where mutually exclusive, any feature or parameter described herein may be applied to any aspect and/or combined with any other feature or parameter described herein.
Except in the examples, or where otherwise explicitly indicated, all numbers in this description indicating amounts of material or conditions of reaction, physical properties of materials and/or use may optionally be understood as modified by the word “about”.
It should be noted that in specifying any ranges of values, any particular upper value can be associated with any particular lower value.
For the avoidance of doubt, the word “comprising” is intended to mean “including” but not necessarily “consisting of” or “composed of”. In other words, the listed steps or options need not be exhaustive.
The disclosure of the invention as found herein is to be considered to cover all embodiments as found in the claims as being multiply dependent upon each other irrespective of the fact that claims may be found without multiple dependency or redundancy.
Where a feature is disclosed with respect to a particular aspect of the invention (for example a composition of the invention), such disclosure is also to be considered to apply to any other aspect of the invention (for example a method of the invention) mutatis mutandis.
We note that in this application terms “container” and “cartridge” are not meant to be mutually exclusive or limiting but instead can be used interchangeably.
The container typically takes a form of a cartridge that is suitable to be the inserted into a cleaning appliance, preferably, a cleaning appliance with an automatic dosing function of the cleaning product. Suitable cleaning appliances could be, for example, a washing machine, a dishwasher, a mop or other cleaning device.
The cartridge comprises a rigid outer body, and a flexible inner body inside the outer body. The outer body may have a shape of a prism, a cylinder, or any other shape suitable for inserting into the cleaning appliance. The outer body comprises a base, plurality of side faces, and an outer body opening. The inner body comprises an inner body opening and a cleaning product space configured to accommodate an amount of the cleaning product.
The outer body opening may be aligned with the inner body opening to allow discharge of the cleaning product from the cleaning product space. The inner body and the outer body may be connected around their respective openings by connection means such as one or more of the following: an adhesive, welding, stitching, mechanical means, or similar. The cartridge can have a cap placed on the base of the outer body. The cap can include means for control of the cleaning product flow. The cap may be mounted onto the outer body by fastening means, such as threads, a tight fit, latch, or similar. Additionally, cap or cover could be used for storage and/or transport.
The inner body can be additionally fixed to the outer body by one or more linear connections connecting an outside surface of the inner body to an inside surface of the outer body. These can be in the longitudinal direction and/or around the sides (e.g., radially). In some examples, the linear connections can be in a form of one long connection extending along the length of the outer body or series of short/point connections along the body, for example, on each side face. This can be achieved by an adhesive, welding, stitching, mechanical means, or the similar.
The connection between the cartridge and a cleaning appliance can be formed by coupling a connecting insert on the cap to a negative pressure device, which could be part of the cleaning appliance or separate. The connection can be air-tight to allow correct discharge of the cleaning product. This connection can be through threads, a tight fit or any other means which could secure the two parts together.
The cap can further comprise a cap opening which allows liquid to flow through the cap. In this manner a liquid conduit is formed between the cartridge and the cleaning appliance. Under the negative pressure, for example generated by the negative pressure device of the cleaning appliance, the cleaning product can be discharged from the cleaning product space within the inner body, through the cap opening and the negative pressure device into the cleaning appliance.
Before use, the cartridge inner body is stretched to maximize volume of the cleaning product space, and the inner body almost completely coincides with the outer body of the cartridge. When the cartridge is in use, the cleaning product is periodically discharged from the cartridge. As the cleaning product is discharged, the volume of the cleaning product space decreases and the inner body separates from the outer body except around the one or more linear connections. At the same time, a volume of an unused space inside the (rigid) outer body and outside the flexible inner body increases. The unused space fills with air as the cleaning product is discharged and the inner body, and as such the inner body decreases in volume. The volume of the cleaning product space and the volume of the unused space together always add to a volume of the outer body. Consequently, as the volume of cleaning product space is decreased when the cleaning product is discharged, the volume of the unused space increases. The outer body can have one or more air openings, for example, away from the linear connections or other means that allow pressure leveling between the unused space and the environment. When the cleaning product has been mostly or completely used, the cleaning product space is minimized, while the volume of the unused space is maximized.
By using a flexible inner body inside the outer body, the cartridge is able to hold and empty the contents almost completely without the need for complicated air valves (and leakage there through). As described in the background, past cartridges typically only had a rigid outside, which required an air valve for emptying. Liquid would sometimes leak out that valve. By instead using a flexible inner body, only a simple air hole is needed in the outer body, and no contents leak as they are completely contained in the inner body. The flexibility of inner body allows for more complete emptying of the contents of cartridge, resulting in less waste. The use of one or more linear connections provides a simple way of ensuring that inner body empties in a way that contents will not remain stuck or trapped inside. Thus, forming cartridge of an outer body and a flexible inner body with aligned outlets provides a simpler cartridge which is easier to manufacture (due to no complicated air valves), does not leak and is able to more completely use all the contents within.
In order to control the liquid flow from the cartridge and prevent the spilling of the cleaning product when the cartridge is not connected to the cleaning appliance, a valve may be placed on or in the cap. The valve can have the form of a silicon cross piece, a duckbill valve or a deformable ball. Preferably, the valve is placed over the cap opening.
The silicon cross piece may have four flaps formed by two perpendicular slits extending through the center of the silicon cross piece. However, in other configurations different number and positions of the flaps are conceivable. The flaps may extend in a radial direction from a central axis of the cap opening towards an edge of the opening. The silicon cross piece may be placed around the edge of the opening and fastened to the cap by a pressure ring. Under the negative pressure, the flaps may open to form a liquid conduit between the cleaning product space and the cleaning appliance.
The silicon cross-valve provides a simple design with minimal parts which can control the flow of the contents of the cartridge. The valve is able to keep the contents within the cartridge with little to no leakage when not in use, and then allow for easy and simple flow through the valve when connected to a negative pressure device.
Preferably, the cap comprises the duckbill valve. The duckbill valve may be placed over the cap opening and fastened to the edge of the opening by the pressure ring. The duckbill valve comprises two flaps which form a seal around the central axis of the cap when the cartridge is not in use to prevent spillage of the cleaning product. Duckbill flaps may be formed of silicone or rubber.
The seal may be opened by an injection pin of the negative pressure device to form the liquid conduit between the cleaning product space and the cleaning appliance. The contents then may flow from inside the cartridge out the valve and cap for use.
The duckbill valve forms a simple yet secure valve at the opening of cartridge which can minimize or prevent any contents from escaping from the cartridge until desired. The duckbill valve can easily be opened by a negative pressure device with a pin or other flow channel to allow for dosing out of the cartridge. This valve is made with minimal parts and is robust and easy to manufacture and use.
The cap may have a deformable ball placed in the center of the cap and one or more flow openings that extend radially around a ball space. The ball may sit within the ball space and a closing ring may be placed around the cap opening such that the ball stays within the ball space and cannot escape. The flow openings allow passage of the cleaning product from the cleaning product space into the ball space and out of cartridge. When the cartridge is not in use, the ball (in its natural state) covers openings, forming a seal that prevents spillage or flow of the cleaning product out of the cartridge.
When in use, the cartridge may be connected to the negative pressure device via the cap. The injection pin may be arranged to apply a force and deform the ball. The ball is configured to be deformed such that it moves away from the closing ring, and allows for flow through the flow openings. Consequently, the liquid conduit is formed from the cleaning product space, through the flow openings and the ball space, to the cleaning appliance.
The ball may be formed of a compressible material which reverts back into its original shape after the compressive force is removed (to seal off openings again). Such suitable materials can be, for example silicone or rubber.
The ball valve provides a simple but effective way to prevent flow and leakage in a cartridge until it is ready for use. The use of a compressible ball allows for sealing in a non-use state and a simple compression of that ball (e.g., by a pin) allows for flow out of cartridge. This simple but effective valve is formed with minimal parts and is therefore robust and easy to manufacture and use.
As discussed in the background, past cartridges required complicated outlet valves to ensure that liquid could exit the outlet when needed, but not leak out when not in use. Such valves typically included a number of metal parts, springs, etc. Instead, the valves described in this application provide very simple, yet effective designs for ensuring that the contents of a cartridge does not leak, but is able to exit the container when connected to the proper device. None require metallic parts or springs, which typically means less degradation and therefore a longer useable life for the valve and cartridge. Additionally, this can result in an easier and less costly manufacturing process for the valves.
The invention will now be further described with reference to the following non-limiting embodiments and with reference to the drawings. The drawings are only schematic and are not limiting. In the drawings, the size, shape and placement of some of the elements may be exaggerated and not drawn to scale for illustration purposes. The dimensions and the relative dimensions do not correspond to actual reductions to practice of the invention.
The cartridge 10 comprises a rigid outer body 12, and a flexible inner body 14 inside the outer body 12. The outer body 12 shown has a shape of a prism with a rectangular base 11, four side faces 15 and an outer body opening 36. The inner body 14 has an inner body opening 34 and is configured to accommodate an amount of the cleaning product in a cleaning product space 16.
As shown in
The cap 50 further comprises a cap opening 54 which allows liquid to flow through the cap 50. In this manner a liquid conduit 24 is formed between the cartridge 10 and the cleaning appliance 200. Under negative pressure, the cleaning product 42 is discharged from the cleaning product space 16, through the cap opening 54 and the negative pressure device 44 into the cleaning appliance 200, as shown by the flow arrows in
Three different working stages of the cartridge 10 are shown in
In order to control the liquid flow from the cartridge 10 and prevent the spilling of the cleaning product 42 when the cartridge 10 is not connected to the cleaning appliance 200, a valve 60 is placed on or in the cap 50, and over the cap opening 54. The valve 60 can have the form of a silicon cross piece 70 (
When in use, the cartridge 10 is connected to the negative pressure device 44 via the cap 50, as illustrated in
While the invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments and examples, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CN2021/132349 | Nov 2021 | WO | international |
| 21215242.5 | Dec 2021 | EP | regional |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2022/081870 | 11/15/2022 | WO |
