The invention relates to a pump dispenser for providing and withdrawing liquids, in particular cleansing substances and body care products. The invention moreover relates to a replenishment system for a plurality of usage locations, with at least one pump dispenser per usage location and with a transportable storage tank for liquids for replenishing the pump dispensers. The invention furthermore relates to a filling apparatus for such a replenishment system.
A pump dispenser of the present kind accordingly comprises a bottle having a bottle bottom and a bottle opening, the bottle being used for storing and providing the liquid. Furthermore, the pump dispenser comprises a pump lid sitting on and/or in the bottle opening for metered withdrawal of the liquid. In the pump lid there are combined a metering pump with a manually operated actuation element, a lid for closing the bottle, and an output device for a metered liquid pumped out of the bottle.
Such pump dispensers have long been used both in private households and in hotels, as well as public lavatories and the like, primarily in order to provide and meter out liquid soap. In bathrooms and wellness centers of hotels, such pump dispensers are often used not only for liquid soap, but also for shower oils, hair shampoo, and other body care products such as lotions or the like. The liquid products contained therein can be dispensed as needed and withdrawn in a perfectly hygienic manner, without having to use less sustainable, individually packaged small containers for the corresponding body care products to be used once or twice.
The major benefit of dispensers for providing and withdrawing liquids, whether as metered dispensers in wall mounts or as pump dispensers of the present kind, is the possibility of replenishing the dispensing container or bottle. However, especially in hotels, where the housekeeping staff have many usage locations to take care of, the replenishing of pump dispensers of the present kind may be very time-consuming. Normally, the pump dispensers to be replenished are gathered, replenished at a central location, and then distributed once again at the usage locations, especially the hotel rooms. Alternatively, the pump dispensers are replenished as needed on site. In any case, however, the pump lid of each pump dispenser must be unscrewed from the bottle opening for the actual replenishing process, liquid from a storage tank must be placed in an intermediate container and then the pump dispenser bottle must be replenished therefrom through the opened bottle opening. This is time-consuming and tedious, holds up the housekeeping staff, and is accordingly a disliked chore. Furthermore, this replenishment process leaves room for improvement in terms of hygiene aspects, since the liquid product replenished in the pump dispensers is not handled in a closed system protected against contamination.
The present invention is therefore based on the problem of proposing a pump dispenser as well as a filling apparatus and a replenishment system for a plurality of pump dispensers of the kind mentioned above, with which the replenishing of the pump dispenser or the pump dispensers is simplified, especially in hotels and the like, and improved in terms of hygiene aspects.
This problem is solved by a pump dispenser having one or more of the features disclosed herein, by a replenishment system having one or more of the features disclosed herein, and by a filling apparatus having one or more of the features disclosed herein. Preferred embodiments of the pump dispenser; advantageous modifications of the replenishment system; and one feasible embodiment of the filling apparatus are described below and in the claims.
A pump dispenser according to the invention having a bottle and a pump lid sitting on and/or in the bottle opening, comprising a metering pump with a manually operated actuation element, a lid for closing the bottle, and an output device for a metered liquid pumped out of the bottle, is accordingly characterized in that the bottle has a replenishment opening which does not coincide with the bottle opening, but instead is arranged preferably on the bottle bottom. Such a separate replenishment opening makes it possible to replenish the pump dispenser without having to remove the pump lid. This already results in a better handling of the pump dispenser during the replenishing process and allows the replenishing of the pump dispenser to be performed with a filling apparatus specially adapted to the replenishment opening. In this way, in particular, it can be assured that the liquid cannot become contaminated during the replenishing process.
Because the separate replenishment opening makes it possible to join the pump lid firmly to the bottle, so that it cannot be removed from the bottle, even the utmost hygiene requirements can be met with the pump dispenser according to the invention. At the same time, by means of a specifically configured replenishment opening and a corresponding mating piece for a filling apparatus, it can be assured that only the liquid suitable or approved for the particular pump dispenser can be replenished. This enhances the product safety as compared to the known pump dispensers.
Finally, a suitable configuration of the replenishment opening enables an especially easy, quick, and intuitive replenishing of the pump dispenser. For this, it is advantageous when the replenishment opening is closed by a valve, which assures the tightness of the bottle both during transport, handling and storage, and during the actuating of the pump lid, and which can preferably be easily opened from the outside, for example by being configured as a check valve. When the check valve is configured as an automatically closing membrane that can be penetrated from the outside or as a duckbill valve, especially one made of silicone, the replenishing of the pump dispenser can be done by introducing a spike or filling nozzle into the check valve. This not only has the advantage that the valve is opened intuitively by introducing the spike or filling nozzle, but also assures a clean working process, since the replenishment liquid generally flows out from the refilling apparatus at the tip of the spike or the filling nozzle, and thus inside the bottle. At the same time, a check valve ensures the tightness of the bottle when the pump dispenser is put back into use after the replenishing, and this occurs advantageously in an automatic manner, i.e., it is not possible to forget about closing a valve or the replenishment opening after the replenishment process.
When the replenishment opening is situated in the bottle bottom, the pump dispenser can very easily be placed on a spike or filling nozzle for the replenishing process, in order to introduce the latter into the valve and thus into the bottle.
For the venting of the pump dispenser according to the invention during the replenishing process, the pump lid is preferably provided with a venting device. This may be formed substantially by a vent opening, being at first tightly closed with a closure. This closure can be opened by the first actuation of the pump dispenser, for example at a predetermined breaking point. This has the advantage that the user need not think about opening the vent opening during the replenishing of the pump dispenser. But it can also be provided that the closure of the vent opening is opened by an action, such as a rotating of the pump lid. This means, conversely, that the vent opening can be closed tightly once more after the replenishing of the pump dispenser.
These examples for a venting device do not rule out the possibility of other venting procedures also being provided within the scope of the present invention, for example, through a coaxial filling nozzle, through the valve of the replenishment opening, through a separate vent opening in the bottle, and so forth.
The replenishment system according to the invention for providing and withdrawing liquids at a plurality of usage locations, with at least one pump dispenser per usage location and with a transportable storage tank for liquids for the replenishing of the pump dispensers, uses pump dispensers designed according to the invention and comprises a filling apparatus, which withdraws the liquid product to be replenished from the storage tank and introduces it into the pump dispenser. This filling apparatus is provided according to the invention with a filling nozzle or spike for the replenishment openings of the bottles of the pump dispensers. With this filling nozzle or spike, as already described, a check valve configured in particular for example as an automatically closing membrane that can be penetrated from the outside or as a duckbill valve, both of them designed preferably in silicone, can be opened by simply placing the bottle on or in the filling apparatus. At the same time, the location at which the replenishing liquid emerges on the filling nozzle or spike is located inside the bottle of the pump dispenser, so that on the one hand the utmost hygiene is assured and on the other hand an accidental leakage during the replenishing process is prevented. The replenishment system according to the invention furthermore has all of the above described advantages of a pump dispenser according to the invention, of course.
The filling apparatus, which is part of the replenishment system according to the invention, preferably comprises a filling pump for the delivery of the liquid from the storage tank to the pump dispensers. This filling pump may be a mechanical pump, actuated by the user. Preferably, however, it is a motorized pump, especially an electrically operated liquid pump. When such a liquid pump is supplied with electric energy for example by means of a storage battery, a replenishment module consisting of storage tank and filling apparatus can also be transportable, alternatively to its use as a stationary, central replenishment station, for example for the housekeeping staff in a hotel, who can then move from one usage location to another in order to replenish any pump dispensers there.
The filling pump of the filling apparatus is preferably actuated by a force acting on the filling nozzle or spike and/or on a switching area surrounding or adjacent to the latter. This switching area can be configured as a plate, ring, collar, parking area, or also simply as a switching area of a switch; the latter especially when the filling pump is operated by an electric motor. A ring or a parking area which is movable and located next to the filling nozzle or spike can also serve as the actuation element of a mechanical filling pump.
The filling apparatus as such and as part of the replenishment system according to the invention is preferably configured as a functional unit which can be removed from the storage tank, yet also in particular connected to it, so that in the end it can form a transportable replenishment module together with the storage tank. The filling apparatus preferably comprises a port adapter, configured to mate with a withdrawal adapter on the storage tank. It can also be ensured here, by appropriate configuration of the respective adapter, that only approved storage tanks can be used for the replenishing of the pump dispensers of the replenishment system.
The latter can also be assured in that the filling apparatus is provided with fastening elements, which are configured for example as holding rails and which fit holding devices on the storage tank. The filling apparatus can then be placed only on approved storage tanks and be transported together with the latter to the individual usage locations of the pump dispensers. It can also be provided that the filling apparatus can only withdraw liquid from the storage tank if it is sitting properly in the holding devices of the storage tank.
Finally, a filling apparatus according to the invention for the replenishment system according to the invention is characterized by the filling nozzle or spike for the replenishment openings of the bottles of the pump dispensers and by a filling pump for the delivery of liquid from the storage tank to the pump dispensers.
One exemplary embodiment each for a pump dispenser configured according to the invention and for a replenishment system designed according to the invention and for a filling apparatus configured according to the invention will be explained and described more closely below with the aid of the enclosed drawings, in which:
According to the invention, a replenishment opening 9 is provided in a bottle bottom 8 of the bottle 1 and is closed with a check valve 10. This consists in the present instance of a silicone membrane, having a crosswise slit at the center, thereby forming four flaps, which can be penetrated by a spike or a filling nozzle from the outside. If such a spike or filling nozzle is pulled out from the check valve 10 once more, the membrane flaps will automatically close and prevent liquid from escaping from the bottle 1.
As
The switching area 15 of the filling apparatus 13 is vertically movable and when pressed upon from above puts out a signal which activates a filling pump (not shown here) in the filling apparatus 13. Since the switching area 15 is spring-loaded and pretensioned upward, the filling pump and thus the replenishment process is halted as soon as no more force is exerted from above on the switching area 15 or the filling nozzle 14 firmly connected to it.
As shown by
The transport of the replenishment module from room to room is symbolized by
As
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/EP2019/081524 | 11/15/2019 | WO |