The present invention is directed to finger-type pump dispensers for liquid products such as body lotions, and more particularly to improvements in the inlet valve and/or the outlet valve construction in pump dispensers of this type.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,371 discloses a finger-type pump dispenser for liquid products such as body lotions. A pump chamber includes a cylinder, and a piston slidable within the cylinder and having an outlet passage extending through the piston. A spring is disposed within the chamber to urge the piston to an extended position. An inlet opening at a lower end of the chamber receives product to be dispensed. An inlet valve ball cooperates with a valve seat at the inlet opening of the chamber to permit entry of product into the chamber as the piston is extended by the spring, but to prevent exit of product from the chamber through the inlet opening as the piston is manually depressed against the spring. An outlet valve ball is carried by the piston within the outlet passage to permit discharge of product from the chamber as the piston is manually depressed against the spring, but to prevent entry of air into the chamber through the outlet passage as the piston is extended by the spring. It is a general object of the present invention to provide improvements in construction of the inlet valve and/or the outlet valve in pump dispensers of this type.
The present invention embodies a number of different aspects, which may be used separately from or more preferably in combination with each other.
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, a pump dispenser for liquid products includes a pump chamber having a cylinder, and a piston slidable within the cylinder with an outlet passage extending through the piston. A spring within the chamber urges the piston to an extended position. An inlet opening is disposed at an end of the chamber for receiving product to be dispensed. An inlet check valve is positioned at the inlet opening to permit entry of product into the chamber as the piston is extended by the spring, but to prevent exit of product from the chamber through the inlet opening as the piston is depressed against the spring. An outlet check valve is carried by the piston within the outlet passage to permit discharge of product from the chamber through the piston outlet passage as the piston is depressed against the spring. The outlet check valve includes a concave valve body of flexible resilient construction opening away from the chamber and having an external periphery in radial surface-to-surface resilient sealing contact with an opposing inwardly radially facing wall surface of the outlet passage surrounding the valve.
A pump dispenser for liquid products in accordance with a second aspect of the invention includes a pump chamber with a cylinder, and a piston slidable within the cylinder and having an outlet passage extending through the piston. An inlet opening at an end of the chamber receives product to be dispensed, and a spring is disposed within the chamber urging the piston to an extended position. An inlet check valve at the inlet opening permits entry of product into the chamber as the piston is extended by the spring, but prevents exit of product from the chamber through the inlet opening as the piston is depressed against the spring. An outlet check valve is carried by the piston within the outlet passage to permit discharge of product from the chamber through the piston outlet passage as the piston is depressed against the spring. At least one of the inlet and outlet check valves is in the form of a valve cartridge assembly disposed in the outlet passage. The valve cartridge assembly includes a collar having a valve seat surface and a valve element captured within the collar for sealing engagement with the valve seat surface. In accordance with one embodiment of this aspect of the invention, the outlet check valve includes a concave outlet valve of flexible resilient construction that is molded into the collar. In another embodiment of this aspect of the invention, the outlet check valve comprises a valve ball that is captured within the collar and cooperates with a valve ball seat at one end of the collar.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, a pump dispenser for liquid products includes a pump chamber having a cylinder, and a piston slidable within the cylinder and having an outlet passage extending through the piston. An inlet opening at an end of the chamber receives product to be dispensed, and a spring within the chamber urges the piston to an extended position. An inlet check valve at the inlet opening permits entry of product into the chamber as the piston is extended by the spring, but prevents exit of product from the chamber through the inlet opening as the piston is depressed against the spring. An outlet check valve is carried by the piston within the outlet passage to permit discharge of product from the chamber through the piston outlet passage as the piston is depressed against the spring. The inlet valve includes a concave valve body of flexible resilient construction opening into the chamber and having a periphery in radial surface-to-surface resilient sealing contact with an opposing radially inwardly facing surface of the inlet opening.
A pump dispenser for liquid products in accordance with another aspect of the invention includes a pump chamber with a cylinder, and a piston slidable within the cylinder and having an outlet passage extending through the piston. An inlet opening at an end of the chamber receives product to be dispensed, and a spring within the chamber urges the piston to an extended position. An inlet check valve at the inlet opening permits entry of product into the chamber through the inlet opening as the piston is extended by the spring, but prevents exit of product from the chamber through the inlet opening as the piston is depressed against the spring. An outlet check valve is carried by the piston within the outlet passage to permit discharge of product from the chamber through the piston outlet passage as the piston is depressed against the spring. The outlet check valve is of flexible resilient construction and is molded onto the body of the piston.
A pump dispenser for liquid products in accordance with a further aspect of the invention includes a pump chamber having a cylinder, and a piston slidable within the cylinder and having an outlet passage extending through the piston. An inlet opening at an end of the chamber receives product to be dispensed, and a spring within the chamber urges the piston to an extended position. An inlet check valve at the inlet opening permits entry of product into the chamber through the inlet opening as the piston is extended by the spring, but prevents exit of product from the chamber through the inlet opening as the piston is depressed the spring. An outlet check valve is carried by the piston within the outlet passage to permit discharge of product from the chamber through the piston outlet passage as the piston is depressed against the spring. The inlet valve includes a valve ball and a valve seat at the inlet opening. The outlet valve is of flexible resilient construction, and has a finger extending into the chamber for engaging the inlet valve ball and holding the inlet valve ball against the seat in a fully depressed position of the piston against the spring.
A pump dispenser for liquid products in accordance with another aspect of the invention includes a pump chamber with a cylinder, and a piston slidable within the cylinder and having an outlet passage extending the piston. An inlet opening at an end of the chamber receives product to be dispensed, and a spring within the chamber urges the piston to an extended position. An inlet check valve at the inlet opening permits entry of product into the chamber through the inlet opening as the piston is extended by the spring, but prevents exit of product from the chamber through the inlet opening as the piston is depressed against the spring. An outlet check valve is carried by the piston within the outlet passage to permit discharge of product from the chamber through the piston outlet passage as the piston is depressed against the spring. The outlet valve includes a collar for surrounding the inlet valve ball in the fully depressed position of the piston against the spring, both to hold the valve ball in position against its seat and to reduce the open volume of the chamber.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention, together with additional objects, features and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description, the appended claims and the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a sectioned elevational view of a package that includes a pump dispenser in accordance with one presently preferred embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the outlet check valve in the dispenser of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 3—3 in FIG. 2 showing the valve within the dispenser piston;
FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a modified embodiment to the outlet check valve illustrated in FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 5—5 in FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a sectioned elevational view of a pump dispenser illustrating a modification to the inlet valve arrangement in FIG. 1;
FIG. 7 is a sectioned elevational view of the inlet valve in the dispenser of FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is a fragmentary partially sectioned perspective view of the lower portion of the piston in the dispenser of FIG. 1, but with another modified embodiment of the outlet check valve;
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the outlet check valve of FIG. 8;
FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 10—10 in FIG. 9;
FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 11—11 in FIG. 10;
FIG. 12 is a fragmentary partially sectioned perspective view similar to that of FIG. 8 but showing another modified embodiment of the outlet check valve in accordance with present invention;
FIG. 13 is a fragmentary sectional view that illustrates a modification to the embodiment of FIG. 12;
FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the outlet valve and seal in the embodiment of FIG. 13;
FIG. 15 is a fragmentary partially sectioned perspective view similar to that of FIG. 6 but showing another modified embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the outlet check valve in the embodiment of FIG. 15;
FIG. 17 is perspective view of a modification to the outlet check valve of FIGS. 15 and 16;
FIG. 18 is a fragmentary partially sectioned perspective view of an outlet check valve in accordance with another modified embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 19 is a fragmentary perspective view of the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 18;
FIG. 20 is a perspective view that illustrates yet another outlet check valve arrangement in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 21 is a top plan view of the outlet valve collar in the embodiment of FIG. 20;
FIGS. 22 and 23 are sectional views taken substantially along the respective lines 22—22 and 23—23 in FIG. 21; and
FIG. 24 is a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale of the portion of FIG. 22 within the area 24.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 illustrates a package 30 in accordance with one presently preferred embodiment of the invention as comprising a container 32 having a body 33 for holding a liquid product to be dispensed and a finish 34 surrounding and defining an outlet opening. Finish 34 has one or more external threads or beads 36 for securing a closure. A pump dispenser 38 is secured to finish 34 of container 32 by a closure 40. Pump dispenser 38 includes a cylinder 42 suspended within the container finish, and a piston 44 slidably disposed within cylinder 42. Piston 44 has a nozzle 46 with an internal passage for dispensing product. Nozzle 46 may be integral with piston 44 as shown, or may be separately formed and assembled to the piston. A pump chamber 48 is defined between cylinder 42 and the lower end of piston 44. (Descriptive words such as “upper” and “lower” are employed by way of description and not limitation with reference to the upright orientation of the pump dispenser and package illustrated in the drawings. Descriptive words such as “radial” and “axial” are employed by way of description and not limitation with reference to the central axis of pump dispenser 38, which is preferably coaxial with cylinder 42 and container finish 34.) Cylinder 42 has an inlet opening 50 that extends from the lower end of chamber 48 and connects to a dip tube 52 for drawing liquid product from within container body 33. An inlet check valve 54 is defined by a valve ball 56 and an opposed valve seat 58 surrounding inlet opening 50. A coil spring 60 is captured in compression within chamber 48 between the lower end of cylinder 42 and an opposing portion of piston 44. An outlet check valve 62 is disposed within outlet passage 64 of piston 38. In general, as piston 44 is moved downwardly into cylinder 42 and chamber 48 against the force of spring 60, liquid product within chamber 48 flows upwardly past outlet valve 62 into outlet passage 64 of piston 44. In the meantime, valve ball 56 of inlet valve 54 is held against seat 58 to prevent egress of fluid from chamber 48 into inlet opening 50 and dip tube 52. When pump piston 44 is released, the piston is returned to its extended position under the force of spring 60. This movement of piston 44 draws liquid into chamber 48 through dip tube 52 and inlet opening 50. In the meantime, outlet valve 62 prevents ingress of air and back-flow of liquid from outlet passage 62. FIG. 1 (and FIGS. 6, 15 and 18–19) shows the piston in the fully depressed position into chamber 48 against spring 60. This is the position in which the package is shipped and stored. Coil spring 60 is contoured to hold valve ball 56 against seat 58 in the fully depressed position of piston 44, so that package 30 can be inverted during shipping and storage without loss of product from the container body.
FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate outlet check valve 62 in accordance with the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 1. Check valve 62 includes an upwardly concave tulip-shaped valve body 66 of flexible resilient construction. Valve body 66 has a rounded convex outer surface 68 and a concave inner surface 70. Surfaces 68, 70 are such that the cross sectional thickness of valve body 66 decreases or tapers from the center of the valve body radially outwardly to a minimum thickness at the outer peripheral edge of the valve body. Valve body 66 is integral with a base 72, which includes four radially extending legs 74 in the embodiment of FIGS. 2–3. The areas between radial legs 74 are open to permit passage of liquid product between legs 74 and then upwardly past valve body 66. The outer edges of legs 74 rest on a shoulder 76 within piston 44 facing in the direction of chamber 48 (FIG. 1). Valve 62 is held against shoulder 76 by the force of coil spring 60, which engages the undersurface of base 72. Valve 62, including valve body 66 and base 72, is of integrally molded flexible resilient construction, preferably plastic such as polyethylene. The outer periphery 78 of valve body 66 is in radial surface-to-surface contact with the surrounding radially inwardly facing surface, preferably a cylindrical inner surface, of outlet passage 64 in piston 44. As piston 44 is depressed into chamber 48 (FIG. 1), fluid flowing from chamber 48 past valve legs 74 pushes periphery 78 of valve body 66 radially inwardly, and the liquid passes the valve body into outlet passage 64. When the force of such fluid flow is removed, periphery 78 of valve body 66 returns to sealing engagement with the opposed surface of passage 64 to prevent return of such fluid to chamber 48. It will be noted in FIG. 3 that periphery 78 of valve body 66 is in opposed radial sealing contact with the inner surface of passage 64 over a substantial axial dimension, as distinguished from line contact around the outer edge of the valve body. This configuration of valve 62 provides improved sealing engagement with the surrounding seating surface of outlet passage 64.
FIGS. 4–5 illustrate a modified outlet check valve 80. Check valve 80 differs from check valve 62 (FIGS. 2 and 3) primarily in that base 82 of valve 80 is in the form of a circular disk having as plurality of openings 84 extending through the disk for permitting flow of fluid through the base.
FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate a pump dispenser 86 that includes a modified inlet valve 88. (Reference numerals in FIGS. 6–7, and in FIGS. 8–20, that are identical to reference numerals employed in earlier figures indicate identical or closely related components.) Inlet valve 88 in FIGS. 6 and 7 comprises an upwardly concave tulip-shaped valve body 90 having an axially extending base 92 terminating in an enlarged lug 94. Lug 94 is press fitted through an opening in a bridge 96 (FIG. 6) that extends across inlet opening 50 at the lower end of cylinder 42. Lug 94 and base 92 are molded integrally with body 90 of valve 88, again of flexible resilient material, preferably plastic. The periphery of valve body 90 is in opposed sealing surface-to-surface contact with the surrounding surface of inlet opening 50. The cross sectional thickness of valve body 90 decreases outwardly from the center, to a minimum thickness at peripheral edge 91. Depression of piston 44 into chamber 48 improves the sealing of valve body 90 with inlet passage 50 to prevent reverse flow of fluid through inlet opening 50. On the other hand, as piston 44 is extended from chamber 48 under the force of spring 60, liquid product is free to flow past inlet valve 88 into chamber 48. The use of tulip-shaped inlet valve 88 in place of valve ball 56 and ball seat 58 in FIG. 1 not only eliminates the ball from the assembly together with the requirement for an accurately molded ball seat, but also allows the package to be inverted and remain sealed at the inlet and outlet valves while using a simple coil spring 98 in place of the contoured coil spring 60 in FIG. 1. Although the surfaces surrounding tulip-shaped valves 62, 88 preferably are cylindrical, flexible resiliency of the valve bodies accommodates minor variations from the preferred cylindrical contour without loss of sealing function.
FIGS. 8–11 illustrate a modification to the embodiment of FIG. 1, in which the outlet valve takes the form of a cartridge subassembly 100. Valve cartridge subassembly 100 includes a flexible resilient tulip-type valve 102 molded into a surrounding collar 104. Collar 104 has an axially extending cylindrical wall 106 with a pair of diametrically opposed openings 108. A flange 110 extends radially outwardly from wall 106, preferably from one end of the wall. Flange 110 has an axially facing circumferentially continuous bead 112 for opposed axial sealing engagement with shoulder 76 (FIG. 1) of piston 44, and a radially outwardly facing circumferentially continuous bead 114 for radial sealing against the opposing surface of piston 44. Valve 102 includes a valve body having a conical inner portion 116 and a cylindrical outer portion 118. Valve 102 also includes a base portion 120 with arms that extend into openings 108 in collar wall 106 to lock valve 102 in position within the collar. The cross sectional thickness of valve inner portion 116 decreases from the center to the periphery of the valve, while cylindrical outer valve portion 118 is of uniform thickness. Collar 104 completely encloses valve 106. Valve cartridge subassembly 100 has the advantage that the subassembly can be handled by automated assembly equipment without damaging the relatively soft material of the valve body. The inner surface geometry of collar 104 can be readily controlled for enhanced sealing performance. Valve cartridge subassembly 100 may be held in position within piston 44 by the force of spring 60 (or spring 98). Alternatively, flange 110 can be press fitted within the outlet passage of the piston to form a valve cartridge/piston subassembly during the assembly operation. Tulip-type inlet valve 88 (FIGS. 6–7) may also be provided in the form of a valve cartridge subassembly.
FIG. 12 illustrates a pump dispenser 122 in which outlet valve 124 is molded into the open lower end of pump piston 44. The lower end of the pump piston is provided with a pair of diametrically opposed openings, as with openings 108 in FIGS. 8–11, and valve 124 is molded into the lower end of the piston and locked within these openings. This embodiment not only protects valve 124 during storage and handling, but also eliminates the separate collar and subassembly in the embodiment of FIGS. 8–11. Inlet tulip-type valve 88 (FIGS. 6–7) may be likewise molded into opening 50. FIGS. 13 and 14 illustrate a pump dispenser 126 in which outlet valve 128 is molded into the lower end of piston 44, as in the embodiment of FIG. 12. However, a pair of legs 130 extend upwardly from the outer ends of valve anchor legs 120, molded through the piston openings, to an annular sealing ring 132 that extends around the outer periphery of piston 44. Sealing ring 132 is in opposed sliding sealing engagement in assembly with the inner surface of cylinder 42 to provide improved sealing against the inner cylinder surface. Valve 128 is shown in FIG. 14 separately from the lower end of the piston for purposes of illustration only, it being understood that valve 128 preferably, but not necessarily, is molded onto the lower end of the piston and not provided as a separate part in accordance with this aspect of the invention. In each of the embodiments of FIGS. 8–14, the valve is of integrally molded flexible resilient construction, preferably plastic, as previously discussed.
FIGS. 15 and 16 illustrate a pump dispenser 134 in accordance with another aspect of the invention. Outlet check valve 136 in the embodiment of FIGS. 15 and 16 includes a tulip-shaped valve body 66 and a base 82 similar to valve 80 in FIGS. 4 and 5. A bead 137 extends around the periphery of base 82 for sealing engagement with the opposed inner surface of piston 44. A finger 138 extends from the undersurface of base 82 coaxially with base 82 and valve body 66. In the fully depressed position of piston 44 within cylinder 42, finger 138 engages inlet valve ball 56 and holds the valve ball against its seat 58. Thus, spring 98 may be of less expensive construction than the contoured spring 60 of FIG. 1. FIG. 17 illustrates an outlet valve 140 that is a modification to valve 136 in FIGS. 15 and 16. Struts 142 extend from the undersurface of valve base 82 to finger 138 for strengthening the finger against bending when in opposed engagement with inlet valve ball 56 (FIG. 15). Valves 136 and 140 are of integrally molded flexible resilient construction, preferably plastic.
FIGS. 18 and 19 illustrate a pump dispenser 144 having an outlet check valve 146. Valve 146 includes a valve body 62 having a circular base 82 with through-passages 84. A finger 138 extends from the undersurface of base 82 for engagement with inlet valve ball 56 as in FIG. 15. An annular cylindrical collar 148 also extends from the undersurface of valve base 82 surrounding valve ball 56 and valve seat 58. The dual purposes of collar 148 are to help hold valve ball 56 in position against seat 58 when the package is inverted, and to reduce the open internal volume of pump chamber 48 when the piston is fully depressed. This helps reduce the amount of air within the pump chamber that must be displaced by liquid to prime the pump.
FIGS. 20–24 illustrates a pump dispenser 150 that includes an outlet valve 152 in the form of a cartridge subassembly having a valve ball 154 and an integrally molded one-piece plastic collar 156. Collar 156 includes an annular base portion 164 from which a plurality of circumferentially spaced legs 166 axially extend. Axial fluid flow passages 160 are formed between legs 166. Each leg 166 has a radially inwardly extending lug or finger 162, which are collectively disposed in plane perpendicular to the axis of the collar, and which collectively form a stop to capture ball 154 within the collar. A valve seat 158 is formed around the lower end of collar base portion 164. A rib 168 extends axially along each leg 166 into base portion 164, and projects radially inwardly into the collar. The radially inner edges of ribs 168 are on a surface of revolution of greater diameter than the diameter of ball 154 to prevent ball 154 from blocking passages 160. It will be noted in FIGS. 22 and 23 that fingers 162 are spaced from the upper end of collar 156 to provide a recessed area for locating ball 154 prior to snapping the ball into the collar. Fingers 162 have angulated upper surfaces to cam the legs of the collar radially outwardly during insertion of the ball, resiliency of the legs returning the legs to their initial positions to capture the ball. Collar 156 includes a radially extending flange 165 with a radial seal for sealing against the opposing radial surface of chamber 48, as previously described. Flange 165 seats against the opposing axially facing surface of piston 44. Outlet valve cartridge subassembly 152 can be press fitted into outlet passage 64 of piston 44, or may be held in position by spring 60. When pump piston 44 is pushed downwardly, fluid forces ball 154 off of seat 158, so that the fluid can flow past the ball and through passages 160 to the outlet. Ribs 168 prevent ball 154 from blocking the passages. When the pump is released, the vacuum within the pump chamber pulls ball 154 against set 158 so that fluid can be drawn into the pump chamber through the inlet valve. Inlet ball-type valve 54 (FIG. 1) may also be provided as a cartridge subassembly.
There have thus been disclosed several embodiments of a pump dispenser for liquid products that fully satisfy all of the objects and aims previously set forth. The invention has been disclosed in connection with a number of presently preferred embodiments, and additional modifications and variations have been discussed. Other modification and variations will readily suggest themselves to persons of ordinary skill in the art. The invention is intended to embrace all such modifications and variations as fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims.
Patent Grant
7032783
