Patent Application
20230355044
The present disclosure relates to a dispenser system such as a wall mount dispenser or a counter mount dispenser.
A variety of bathroom soap wall mount dispensers allow dispensing of liquid cleansers, alcohol such as hand sanitizer, hand soap and body soap. A variety of different United States patents have discussed dispensing, cartridge, for example in U.S. Pat. No. 8,348,105 to Wong, entitled Compact Automatic Homogenized Liquid Detergent Dispensing Device issued Jan. 8, 2003 provides a method for pumping liquid from a soap cartridge.
A counter mount dispensing system is in U.S. Pat. No. 7,752,087 to Rodenbaugh dated Jul. 13, 2010 entitled Product Dispensing System.
The disclosures of the cited references are incorporated herein by reference.
A wall mounted dispenser has a base. A rear mount is formed on the base and the rear mount is configured to attach to a wall. A front cover is configured to fit over the base. The modular socket is formed in the base. The pump housing is configured to fit in the modular socket as a module. The pump is mounted inside the pump housing. A liquid container bracket retains a bracket socket. The liquid container bracket is mounted to the pump housing. A nozzle bracket retains a nozzle. The nozzle bracket is mounted to the pump housing. The nozzle is connected to the pump by an exit tubing. A liquid container removably connects to the bracket socket. Liquid in the liquid container flows through the bracket socket and then to an inlet tubing. The inlet tubing is then connected to the pump.
The base further includes a cover hinge, wherein the front cover is hinge mounted to the cover hinge, wherein the cover hinge is located at a lower edge of the base, wherein the cover hinge receives the front cover. The modular socket further includes a first socket retainer. The modular socket further includes a second socket retainer. The battery tray opening is formed on the pump housing. A battery tray is mounted to the battery tray opening. A motherboard can receive a controller. The controller is electrically connected to a first sensor and a second sensor. The first sensor and the second sensor comprise a sensor assembly. The sensor assembly is mounted to the nozzle bracket. The sensor assembly is electrically connected to the controller and the sensor triggers operation of the motor.
The modular socket further includes a base clip for retaining the pump housing. The base clip is formed as a leaf spring. The leaf spring has a lower engaging edge that engages the pump housing along an engagement edge. The leaf spring is configured to be snap engaged but then releasable when a user depresses the leaf spring. The base clip formed as a leaf spring is plastic injection molded integrally with the base. The pump is retained to the pump housing when the liquid container is removed.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid dispenser that does not require a pump connected to the liquid cartridge.
The liquid container has a liquid container lower wall. The liquid container lower wall has a liquid container outlet opening. The outlet valve gate controls a flow of the liquid from the liquid container. The outlet valve gate has a gate body. The gate body has an engaged position and a retracted position. The container adapter mounts to the liquid container outlet opening. The container adapter includes a container adapter outside sidewall and a container adapter inside sidewall joined at an adapter bend section. The gate body is configured to slide along the container adapter inside sidewall of the container adapter. An O-ring seal is mounted to the gate body. The O-ring seal engages a gate valve engagement of the container adapter at a gate valve guide that extends from the adapter shoulder. The gate body further includes a gate body base that abuts the socket shoulder of the bracket socket. The bracket socket further includes a socket well formed between a socket outside sidewall and a socket inside sidewall. The socket well retains a reservoir of liquid.
The following call out list of elements can be a useful guide in referencing the element numbers of the drawings.
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A liquid container 30 holds liquid 34 in a hollow portion 35 of the liquid container 30. The liquid container 30 is underneath the front cover latch 26. The liquid container 30 can be a flexible plastic container that fits in the front cover 21. The liquid container 30 has outlet threads 33 that retain an outlet valve gate 36. The outlet valve gate 36 is mounted to the liquid container outlet opening 31 and the outlet valve gate 36 controls liquid 34 flowing through the liquid container outlet opening 31. The outlet valve gate ring 38 biases the outlet valve gate 36 to a closed position when the liquid container 30 is removed from the liquid container bracket 32. The outlet valve gate gasket 39 seals the outlet valve gate 36 against the liquid container outlet opening 31.
The liquid container bracket 32 has a bracket socket 44. The bracket socket receives the liquid container outlet opening 31. The valve gate pushing stem 70 pushes the outlet valve gate 36 into open position and biases against the outlet of valve gate spring 38. The valve gate pushing stem 70 is hollow and connects to the inlet tubing 45. The liquid passes through the valve gate pushing stem 70 and into the inlet tubing 45 after a user loads the liquid container 30 into the liquid container bracket 32. The inlet tubing passes to a pump 40 which then pumps the liquid to an outlet tubing or exit tubing 46. The pump 40 is mounted to a pump housing base 61. The pump housing base 61 has a nozzle bracket 56. The nozzle bracket 56 retains the nozzle 47. Soap or a liquid such as alcohol can be dispensed to the user from the nozzle 47. The pump housing 60 includes the pump housing base 61 and retains the pump 40, liquid container bracket 32, and the nozzle bracket 46. The pump housing 60 modularly attaches to the base 22 at a base retainer 71. The base retainer 71 can be formed as a base clip. The pump housing 60 also has a sensor assembly 50 for sensing the user.
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The motor 41 in the pump 40 has motor electrical contacts 48. The motor electrical contacts are connected to the motherboard 57 and the controller 58. The controller 58 is configured to dispense liquid by activating the motor electrical contacts 48 when the controller 58 receives an input signal from the sensor assembly 50. The sensor assembly 50 is mounted in the nozzle mount 55. The nozzle mount 55 has a sensor board mount 54 which receives the sensor board 53. The sensor board mount 54 is formed as a slot with two small circular openings at the bottom of the slot. The first sensor 51 and the second sensor 52 peeks through the two small circular openings at the bottom of the slot. The sensor assembly 50 including the sensor board 53 is electrically connected to the motherboard 57 which has the controller 58.
The nozzle 47 also fits in a nozzle mount 55. The nozzle mount 55 is also formed as a slot with an opening at the bottom for the liquid outlet 29. The upwardly extending sidewalls of the nozzle mount 55 and the upwardly extending sidewalls of the sensor board mount 54 retain the nozzle is a rigid configuration to the first sensor 51 and the second sensor 52.
The pump bracket 62 can have a concave shape with a lower mounting opening and an upper left mounting opening for connecting and retaining the pump 42 the pump housing base 61. The pump housing base 61 has a lower bracket mount 68 and an upper bracket mount 69. Both the lower bracket mount and the upper bracket mount can be formed as integrally plastic injection molded screw studs for receiving three screws each in a triangular configuration. The indicator light 66 can be illuminated by an LED that is mounted to the motherboard 57.
The pump housing cover 63 fits with the pump housing base 61 to enclose the pump 40, tubing, pair of brackets and battery tray 64. The battery tray 64 fits into a battery tray opening 65. The battery tray opening 65 can have electrical contacts for transmitting electrical power to the controller 58. The pump housing 60 also has a round circular opening for the bracket socket 44.
Once the pump housing 60 is completely assembled with all of the parts, it becomes a modular unit. For repair and replacement, the pump housing module can fit onto a first socket retainer 17 and a second socket retainer 18. Optionally, a mounting bracket 59 can mount the pump housing 60 to the modular socket 16. The modular socket 60 is formed to receive the pump housing 60. As an added securing feature, the base retainer 71 formed as a base clip can be formed as a resilient plastic leaf spring that has a downwardly extending engaging edge that engages the pump housing 60 one the pump housing 60 snaps onto the plastic leaf spring downwardly extending engaging edge 73. For releasing the pump housing 60, a user can depress the base retainer 71. Thus, the pump housing 60 can be modularly removed and replaced without tools except for the key 11 which fits into the key opening 13.
The modular socket 16 further includes a base retainer 71 such as a base clip for retaining the pump housing. The base clip is formed as a leaf spring 72. The leaf spring has a lower engaging edge 73 that engages the pump housing along an engagement edge. The leaf spring 72 is configured to be snap engaged but then releasable when a user depresses the leaf spring. The base clip can be formed as a leaf spring 72 that is plastic injection molded and integrally formed with the base when the injected plastic is resilient and flexible. The leaf spring 72 can be mounted in a leaf spring slot 74 that is formed on the base 22.
The liquid container is preferably disposable. The liquid container is not connected to the pump. The liquid container is pumpless and provides foam liquid via a liquid flow 200 of soap or sanitizer fluid.
As seen in
The bracket socket 44 is adapted to receive the container adapter 37. The socket extension wall 170 extends upwardly from the socket shoulder 171. The socket shoulder 171 rises above a socket well 172. The socket outside sidewall 173 and the socket inside sidewall 274 bound the outside and the inside of the container adapter 37. The socket well bottom 174 retains a small reservoir of liquid that leaks whenever the bracket socket 44 receives a new container adapter 37 such as during liquid container changes. The liquid container does not have a pump and is changed as a cartridge. The socket well 172 sends surplus liquid to the socket opening 175 as the socket well 172 is lower than a socket upper edge 176 of the socket outside sidewall 173. The socket well gap 179 is formed between the socket well bottom 174 and the container adapter 37.
The socket extension wall 170 terminates at a socket opening 175 where the extension flow channel 178 receives a full of liquid from the container 30 and passes it to the inlet tubing 45 that is connected to the socket passage 100. The socket upper edge 176 has a larger diameter than the socket opening 175. The tubing flow channel 177 communicates with the extension flow channel 178. The extension flow channel 178 can be formed on a sidewall of the outlet valve gate such as at an outlet valve gate rectangular opening. The vertical dimensions of
As seen in
The gate body 85 is preferably integrally formed with the gate body base 86, the gate head extension 88 and the gate stopper arm 82 as part of one outlet valve gate 36. The spring channel 84 retains the helical spring, namely the outlet valve gate spring 38 so that the gate body base 86 is biased away from the adapter shoulder 92. When the O-ring seal 88 is biased into the seated position, the O-ring seal 88 engages the gate valve engagement edge 94. The gate body channel 87 receives liquid from the outlet valve gate opening 80. The gate body 85 has a cylindrical hollow central portion that forms the gate body channel 87.
The spring channel 84 formed by the cave body 85 and the gate body base 86, circumscribe the gate body channel 87. The O-ring seal 88 acts as a gasket that engages to the gate valve guide 93. The gate valve guide 93 is formed as a short tubular member. The base inside corner 89 of the gate body base 86 defines a lower portion of the spring channel 84.
The container adapter 30 has a container adapter outside sidewall 90 that connects to a container adapter inside sidewall 91 at an adapter bend section 95. The liquid container outlet opening 31 receives the container adapter inside sidewall 91. The adapter inside thread 96 engages the container thread 33 and the adapter bend section 95 provides a clipping force that biases the container thread 33 to the adapter inside thread 96. The adapter shoulder 92 extends inwardly from the container adapter inside sidewall 91, and the gate valve guide 93 extends upwardly from an inside edge of the adapter shoulder 92. The gate valve guide 93 has a gate valve engagement edge 94. The gate valve engagement edge 94 engages the O-ring seal 88.
The adapter shoulder 92 forms a right angle bend that encloses the outlet valve gate spring 38 in the spring channel 84. The spring channel 84 is bounded at an upper edge by the adapter shoulder 92 and at a lower edge by the gate body base 86. The spring channel 84 is bounded at an outer edge by the container adapter inside sidewall 91 and at an inside edge by the gate body 85. The adapter bend section 95 retains the annular gasket 39. As the gate body 85 slides up and down in the spring channel 84 and the gate valve guide 93, the gate opens and closes.
The adapter outside sidewall step 97 engages the container neck ring 98 and may provide a retaining force to prevent the container adapter 37 from loosening its threads. The gate valve engagement edge 94 is preferably slightly beveled. The O-ring seal 88 is preferably resilient and pliable such that it conforms to the slightly beveled surface of the gate valve engagement edge 94 to provide a seal when the soap container cartridge is not engaged to the bracket socket 44. Preferably, the gate valve guide 93 forms a tight seal with the gate body 85 to prevent any leaking. The container lower wall 99 of the container 30 is horizontal in orientation.
The present invention is a continuation in part of copending parent non-provisional United States utility patent application entitled Wall Mount Dispenser by inventor Peter BAI Ser. No. 18/308,515 having a filing date of Apr. 27, 2023 the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 18308515 | Apr 2023 | US |
| Child | 18353811 | US | |
| Parent | 17587690 | Jan 2022 | US |
| Child | 18308515 | US | |
| Parent | 16740146 | Jan 2020 | US |
| Child | 17587690 | US | |
| Parent | 16559234 | Sep 2019 | US |
| Child | 16740146 | US |
