Pump for fitting to a receptacle, the pump including an elastically deformable membrane outside the pump chamber

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6619513
  • Patent Number
    6,619,513
  • Date Filed
    Monday, December 10, 2001
    22 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, September 16, 2003
    21 years ago
Abstract
The invention relates to a pump for fitting to a receptacle, the pump comprising a pump body and a moving assembly movable relative to the body, having a piston that bears in leakproof manner against the body and that co-operates therewith to define a pump chamber of variable volume. The pump also has, outside the pump chamber, an elastically deformable membrane arranged to return the moving assembly into its initial position after delivering a quantity of substance. The moving assembly has a rod with an internal passage for delivering the substance contained in the pump chamber, said internal passage opening out into the pump chamber via at least one outlet orifice and the pump having a piston that is movable relative to the rod between a pre-compression position in which it closes the outlet orifice(s) and a delivery position in which it releases said orifice(s), the piston being moved from its pre-compression position to its delivery position under drive from the pressure of the substance inside the pump chamber.
Description




The present invention relates to a pump for fitting to a receptacle, the pump comprising a pump body and an assembly that is movable relative to the body, the assembly comprising a piston bearing in leakproof manner against the body and co-operating therewith to define a pump chamber of variable volume.




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




French patent No. 2 708 314 discloses such a pump that also includes an elastically deformable membrane outside the pump chamber and arranged to return the moving assembly into its initial position after delivering a quantity of substance.




That pump causes the substance contained in the pump chamber to be delivered as soon as the pressure in the chamber begins to increase due to the moving assembly moving downwards.




OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




There exists a need to have a pump of the pre-compression type enabling substance to be delivered at some predetermined minimum pressure, that can be manufactured at relatively low cost, that is agreeable to use, and that operates reliably.




The present invention seeks specifically to satisfy that need.




In the pump of the invention, the moving assembly comprises a rod possessing an internal passage for delivering the substance contained in the pump chamber, the internal passage opening out into the pump chamber via at least one orifice, and the piston is movable relative to the rod between a pre-compression position in which it closes said outlet orifice(s) and a delivery position in which it releases said orifice(s), the piston being moved from its pre-compression position to its delivery position under the effect of the pressure of substance inside the pump chamber.




In a preferred embodiment, the pump chamber communicates with the inside of the receptacle via a duct which is closed by the moving assembly at the beginning of its stroke for delivering a quantity of substance.




Advantageously, the moving assembly is shaped to engage in leakproof manner in the above-mentioned duct so as to close it.




Advantageously, the membrane comprises a sealing skirt that, at rest, bears in leakproof manner via one face against a corresponding bearing surface of the moving assembly to close an air intake passage formed between the membrane and the moving assembly, said sealing skirt being suitable for moving away from said bearing surface when suction is applied to its opposite face in such a manner as to enable air to enter into the receptacle.




This particular embodiment ensures that substance will not leak out through the air intake passage in the event of a reduction in the pressure outside the receptacle, e.g. due to being transported in an airplane.




The air intake passage is open only when the inside of the receptacle is at a pressure that is lower than the pressure that exists outside it.




Advantageously, the moving assembly has an annular rib to which the membrane is secured, said rib being provided with at least one slot for enabling air to be taken in.




In a particular embodiment, an air intake hole is made through the pump body, said air intake hole being separated from the inside of the pump body by the piston when the moving assembly is in its initial position, the piston enabling communication to take place between the air intake hole and the inside of the pump body above the piston when the moving assembly has moved over a predetermined stroke inside the pump body to reduce the volume of the pump chamber.




This prevents the substance contained in the receptacle from reaching the space that lies between the piston and the membrane, while the pump is at rest.




The piston is preferably fitted onto the rod.




In a particular embodiment, the piston is urged into its pre-compression position by a spring.




Still in a particular embodiment, the piston is arranged to deform elastically so as to release the outlet orifice(s).




In which case, advantageously, the piston has an annular sealing wall suitable for bearing against the pump body and against the rod so as to isolate the outlet orifice(s) of the pump chamber while the chamber is being filled, and an elastically deformable return wall bearing against the rod and suitable for deforming elastically to enable the annular sealing wall to be moved and to enable communication to be established between said outlet orifice(s) and the pump chamber while delivering a quantity of substance.




Advantageously, said return wall is deformed under the effect of the pressure of the substance inside the pump chamber.




The axial section of the piston can be generally λ- or Σ- or X-shaped, for example.




Preferably, the above-mentioned return wall of the piston bears against a shoulder on the rod.




In a particular embodiment, the moving assembly has an end acting as a barb snap-fastened in a housing of the pump body.




The invention also provides a receptacle fitted with a pump as defined above.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




The invention will be better understood on reading the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments, and on examining the accompanying drawings, in which:





FIG. 1

is a diagrammatic axial section view of a pump, shown for the purpose of making certain features of the invention easier to understand;





FIGS. 2 and 3

show different stages in the operation of the

FIG. 1

pump;





FIG. 4

is a diagrammatic axial section view of a pump constituting a first embodiment of the invention;





FIG. 5

is a diagrammatic axial section view of a pump constituting a second embodiment of the invention;





FIG. 6

shows the piston of

FIG. 5

after it has deformed;





FIG. 7

is a diagrammatic axial section view of a pump constituting a third embodiment of the invention;





FIG. 8

shows the piston of

FIG. 7

after it has deformed;





FIG. 9

is a diagrammatic axial section view of a pump constituting a fourth embodiment of the invention; and





FIG. 10

shows the piston of

FIG. 9

after it has deformed.











MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTION




The pump


10


shown in

FIG. 1

is for mounting on a receptacle R of which only the neck C is shown.




The pump


10


comprises a pump body


11


and an assembly


20


that is movable relative to the pump body


11


along an axis X.




The body


11


has a wall


12


that is circularly cylindrical about the axis X, being provided at its top end with a rim


13


for engaging the neck C of the receptacle R.




The bottom end of the wall


12


is connected to a bottom wall


14


having an orifice


15


passing through its center.




A duct


16


that is circularly cylindrical about the axis X is connected to the top face of the bottom wall


14


.




An endpiece


18


that is likewise circularly cylindrical about the axis X is connected to the bottom face of the bottom wall


14


for receiving a dip tube (not shown) extending to the bottom of the receptacle R when the pump


10


is intended for use with the receptacle oriented so that the pump is at the top.




An air intake hole


17


is made through the wall


12


, about half-way along it.




The moving assembly


20


comprises a hollow rod


21


about the axis X, defining an internal passage


22


through which the substance is delivered.




The moving assembly


20


also includes a piston


30


, the piston having an annular wall


31


extending substantially perpendicularly to the axis X, and being extended downwards by a tubular wall


32


, top and bottom annular sealing lips


33


and


34


being formed respectively where the walls


31


and


32


join and at the bottom end of the wall


32


.




The lips


33


and


34


bear in leakproof manner against the inside surface of the wall


12


.




Beneath the level of the wall


31


of the piston


30


, the rod


21


has a bottom portion


24


with an outside surface


24




a


which is circularly cylindrical about the axis X and which presents a diameter that corresponds to the inside diameter of the duct


16


.




The internal passage


22


opens out to the surface


24




a


via a radial orifice


26


.




The bottom portion


24


is extended downwards by a fastening portion


27


that acts as a barb, whose tip


28


presents a shoulder


29


that, at rest, bears against the bottom face of the bottom wall


14


around the orifice


15


, as shown in FIG.


1


.




An elastically deformable membrane


50


has a central portion


52


engaged on the rod


21


.




Above the wall


31


of the piston


30


, the rod has an annular rib


40


whose bottom portion forms a downwardly open notch


41


serving to retain the central portion


52


of the membrane


50


.




The membrane can be made of a material selected from the following list: nitrile elastomer; silicone elastomer, BUNA™; vulcanized elastomers; and thermoplastic elastomers.




The piston can be made of a material selected from the following list: low density polyethylene (LDPE); ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA); ethylene maleic anhydride (EMA); and SANTOPRENE™.




The intermediate portion


23


of the rod


21


which extends between the rib


40


and the wall


31


of the piston is of a diameter which is slightly greater than that of the rod above the rib


40


.




The rib has a radial slot


42


which extends downwards over a fraction of the height of the central portion


52


of the membrane, thereby forming a passage


43


.




The thickness of the passage


43


corresponds to the difference between the outside diameter of the rod


21


above the rib


40


and its outside diameter in its intermediate portion


23


.




The top portion


51


of the membrane


50


is shaped to engage on the top end


19


of the wall


12


above the rim


13


.




The central portion


52


of the membrane


50


is shaped to engage in the notch


41


via its top end, and at its bottom end it has a sealing skirt


53


whose own bottom end bears via a face


53




b


against the outside surface


23




a


of the intermediate portion


23


of the rod


21


beneath the bottom end of the passage


43


, thereby closing the passage.




When the membrane


50


is at rest, the space


61


situated inside the wall


12


between the piston and the membrane is isolated from the outside.




The central portion


52


of the membrane


50


is connected to the top portion


51


by an upwardly diverging, substantially conical sloping wall


55


.




The piston


30


co-operates with the pump body


11


beneath the wall


31


to define a pump chamber


60


.




At its top end, the rod


21


has a housing


25


whose bottom serves as a seat for a ball


70


so as to constitute a check valve.




The rod


21


is engaged in a conventional pushbutton (not shown) which also serves to retain the ball


70


in the housing


25


.




To assemble the pump


10


, the membrane


50


is engaged on the rod


21


from the top so as to position the central portion


52


in the notch


51


of the rib


40


.




The moving assembly


20


fitted with the membrane


50


is then engaged from the top in the body of the pump


11


until the bottom end


28


of the fastening portion


27


passes through the orifice


15


by elastic deformation.




The membrane


50


is then under a small amount of tension, such that the shoulder


29


is caused to bear against the bottom face of the bottom wall


14


, as shown in FIG.


1


.




The air intake hole


17


is situated between the annular lips


33


and


34


of the piston


30


and is thus isolated from the inside of the pump body.




The pump operates as follows.




It is assumed that the pump chamber


60


is full of substance.




To deliver a quantity of the substance, the user moves the moving assembly


20


downwards.




The outside surface


24




a


of the bottom portion


24


of the rod


21


rapidly comes to bear against the inside surface of the duct


16


, thereby isolating the pump chamber


60


from the orifice


15


, as shown in FIG.


2


.




As the downward movement of the piston


30


continues, the substance contained in the pump chamber


60


is compressed and expelled through the outlet orifice


26


so as to rise along the internal passage


22


in the hollow rod


21


, with the ball


70


lifting under the effect of the pressure of the substance, and enabling the substance to reach the pushbutton and thus be collected by the user.




The membrane


50


stretches and stores energy elastically, thereby making it possible, when the user releases the pushbutton, to return the moving assembly


20


into its initial position.




During the downward movement of the piston


30


, the top sealing lip


33


moves to below the level of the air intake hole


17


.




If pressure inside the receptacle R is lower than pressure outside, then this applies suction through the air intake hole


17


on the outside face


53




a


of the sealing skirt


53


.




The inside face


53




b


of the skirt


53


is subject to atmospheric pressure via the passage


43


and the pressure difference on opposite sides of the skirt


53


causes it to lift off the surface


23




a


of the rod


21


. Air can thus be taken in, as shown in FIG.


3


.




When the user releases the pushbutton, the moving assembly


20


rises under drive from the membrane


50


which tends to return to its initial shape.




The ball


70


is then pressed against the bottom of the housing


25


and prevents air being taken in via the internal passage


22


.




Suction is established in the pump chamber


60


and when the bottom portion


24


of the rod


21


leaves the duct


16


, a quantity of substance is sucked in through the orifice


15


.





FIG. 4

shows a pump


110


of the invention comprising a pump body


11


and a membrane


50


that are identical to those of the pump


10


described above.




The pump


110


has a moving assembly


120


which comprises a hollow rod


121


and a piston


130


.




The moving assembly


120


differs from the moving assembly


20


in that there is no check valve with a ball


70


and in that the piston


130


is not integrally molded with the rod


121


but is in the form of an element fitted to the rod


121


and can move relative thereto.




The bottom portion


24


and the portion of the rod for securing the membrane


50


are identical to those of the rod


21


.




Immediately above its bottom portion


54


, the rod


121


has an annular groove


122


defined at the top by a shoulder


123


and at the bottom by a shoulder


124


.




The bottom of the groove


122


is circularly cylindrical about the axis X, and is of smaller diameter than the bottom portion


24


.




The internal passage


22


opens out via a plurality of radial orifices


126


into the bottom of the groove


122


close to the shoulder


124


.




The piston


130


has a disk-shaped central portion


131


provided at its periphery with two annular sealing lips, an upwardly-directed top lip


132


and a downwardly-directed bottom lip


133


, which lips bear in leakproof manner against the inside surface of the wall


12


.




The central wall


131


of the piston


130


slides along the axis X in leakproof manner against the bottom of the groove


122


.




A helical return spring


137


that works in compression bears at its top end against the shoulder


123


and at its bottom end against the top face of the central portion


131


to urge the piston


130


to move downwards.




When the pump is at rest, i.e. in the configuration shown in

FIG. 4

, the piston


130


bears against the shoulder


124


, with the central portion


131


closing the orifices


126


and with the sealing lips


132


and


133


bearing against the wall


12


respectively above and below the air intake hole


17


.




The pump


110


operates as follows.




When the user moves the moving assembly


120


downwards, the bottom portion


24


of the rod


121


bears against the inside surface of the duct


16


, thereby isolating the pump chamber


60


from the orifice


15


.




As the downward movement of the moving assembly


120


continues, the pressure of the substance contained in the pump chamber


60


increases until it becomes sufficient to move the piston


130


against the bias of the return spring


137


.




The pump


110


is said to be a pre-compression pump since the substance contained in the pump chamber


60


cannot leave it in order to be delivered until the pressure in the pump chamber


60


exceeds a predetermined limit.




Thus, the pump


110


enables the substance to be delivered at some predetermined minimum pressure, which is advantageous when the pushbutton is fitted with a spray nozzle.




As soon as the top sealing lip


132


comes below the level of the air intake hole


17


, air intake can take place by lifting the sealing skirt


53


in the same manner as for the above-described pump


10


.




When the user releases the pushbutton, the moving assembly


120


rises under drive from the membrane


50


, with the piston


130


closing the orifices


126


so that air is prevented from being sucked into the pump chamber


60


.




The pump


210


of the invention and shown in

FIG. 5

is of the pre-compression type like the pump of

FIG. 4

, and differs therefrom solely by the fact that the moving assembly


220


has a deformable piston


230


instead of the piston


130


and its return spring


137


.




In axial section, the piston


230


is generally λ-shaped, with a bottom annular wall formed by two portions


231


and


232


bearing via their respective free ends


232


and


233


on the inside surface of the wall


12


and against the bottom of the groove


122


.




The top portion of the piston


230


has an elastically deformable wall


234


whose top end bears against the shoulder


123


and whose bottom end connects with the junction between the portions


231


and


236


.




At rest, the end


233


of the piston


230


bears against the shoulder


124


and isolates the orifices


126


from the pump chamber


60


.




When the moving assembly


220


is moved down inside the pump body


11


and the bottom portion


24


bears against the inside surface of the duct


16


, the pressure in the pump chamber increases and deforms the piston


230


, as shown in FIG.


6


.




The end


233


of the portion


231


moves above the orifices


126


and as a result the substance contained in the pump chamber


60


can reach the internal passage


22


of the rod


121


.




The deformable piston can be made to have various shapes without going beyond the ambit of the present invention.




By way of example,

FIGS. 7 and 8

show two variants of the pump


310


and


410


comprising movable assemblies


320


and


420


in which the piston is not λ-shaped, but is respectively Σ-shaped or X-shaped.




The Σ-shaped piston


330


of the pump


310


has a central portion


331


that is >-shaped with top and bottom ends


332


and


333


connected to two respective portions


334


and


335


. At rest, the top and bottom ends


332


and


333


bear respectively against the shoulders


123


and


124


.




The free ends of the portions


334


and


335


bear against the inside surface of the wall


12


respectively above and below the air intake hole


17


when the pump is at rest, as shown in FIG.


7


.




When the pressure in the pump chamber


60


increases, the piston


330


deforms with the central portion


331


tending to flatten as shown in FIG.


8


.




Above a certain pressure, the deformation is sufficient for the bottom end


333


to bear against the rod


121


above the outlet orifices


126


, thereby allowing the substance to reach the internal passage


22


.




The X-shaped piston


430


in

FIGS. 9 and 10

has two bottom portions


432


and


431


whose respective ends bear against the rod


121


and against the wall


12


, and it has two top portions


433


and


434


which bear respectively against the shoulder


123


and the wall


12


.




At rest, the portions


431


and


434


bear against the wall


12


respectively below and above the air intake hole


17


.




The portion


432


bears against the shoulder


124


.




When the pressure in the pump chamber


60


increases, the piston


430


deforms with the portions


431


,


432


,


433


, and


434


tending to become arcuate.




Above a certain pressure inside the pump chamber


60


, the outlet orifices


126


are uncovered, as shown in FIG.


10


.




Naturally, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above.




In particular, the piston can be given other shapes.



Claims
  • 1. A pump comprising:a pump body; a moving member that is movable relative to said body, wherein said moving member has a piston that co-operates with the pump body to define a pump chamber of variable volume; and an elastically deformable membrane configured to return the moving member into an initial position after a stroke of said moving member for delivering a substance, the membrane comprising a sealing skirt, wherein said sealing skirt has a first surface bearing, at rest, in leakproof manner against a corresponding surface of the moving member, wherein said sealing skirt is suitable for moving away from said corresponding surface of the moving member when a suction is applied to a second surface of the sealing skirt opposite to said first surface, in such a manner as to form an air intake passage between the sealing skirt and the moving member.
  • 2. A pump according to claim 1, wherein said air intake passage communicates with a receptacle in which a product is sucked by the pump.
  • 3. A pump according to claim 1, wherein the moving member has an annular rib and said membrane is secured to said rib.
  • 4. A pump according to claim 3, wherein said rib is provided with at least one slot and said air intake passage communicates with said slot.
  • 5. A pump according to claim 1, wherein the moving member comprises a rod provided with an internal passage for delivering a substance contained in the pump chamber, the internal passage opening out into the pump chamber via at least one orifice; andwherein the piston is movable relative to the rod between a pre-compression position in which it closes said at least one orifice and a delivery position in which the piston releases said at least one orifice, the piston being moved from the pre-compression position to the delivery position under the effect of the pressure of the substance inside the pump chamber.
  • 6. A pump according to claim 5, wherein the piston is configured to deform elastically so as to release the at least one orifice.
  • 7. A pump according to claim 6, wherein the piston has an annular sealing wall suitable for bearing against the pump body and against the rod so as to isolate the at least one orifice while the chamber is being filled, and an elastically deformable return wall bearing against the rod and suitable for deforming elastically to enable the annular sealing wall to be moved and to enable communication to be established between said at least one orifice and the pump chamber while delivering a quantity of substance.
  • 8. A pump according to claim 7, wherein said return wall is deformed under the effect of the pressure of the substance inside the pump chamber.
  • 9. A pump according to claim 8, wherein an axial section of the piston is generally λ-shaped.
  • 10. A pump according to claim 8, wherein an axial section of the piston is generally Σ-shaped.
  • 11. A pump according to claim 8, wherein an axial section of the piston is generally X-shaped.
  • 12. A pump according to claim 8, wherein the return wall of the piston bears against a shoulder on the rod.
  • 13. A pump according to claim 5, wherein the piston is urged into the pre-compression position by a spring.
  • 14. A pump according to claim 1, wherein the piston is fitted on a rod of the moving member.
  • 15. A pump according to claim 1, wherein the pump chamber communicates with a receptacle via a duct; andwherein said moving member is configured to close said duct during part of a stroke for delivering a quantity of substance.
  • 16. A pump according to claim 15, wherein the moving member is configured to engage in leakproof manner in said duct during part of said stroke.
  • 17. A pump according to claim 1, wherein said pump body has an air intake hole;wherein said air intake hole is isolated from a space inside said pump body above the piston by the piston when the moving member is in said initial position; and wherein the piston is configured to enable communication to take place between the air intake hole and said space when the moving member has moved over a predetermined stroke inside the pump body to reduce the volume of the pump chamber.
  • 18. A pump according to claim 1, wherein the moving member has an end snap-fastened in an opening of the pump body.
  • 19. A pump according to claim 1, wherein the membrane is made of a material selected from nitrile elastomer, silicone elastomer, BUNA™, vulcanized elastomer, and thermoplastic elastomer.
  • 20. A pump according to claim 1, wherein the piston is made of a material selected from LDPE, EVA, EMA, and SANTOPRENE™.
  • 21. A receptacle fitted with a pump as defined in claim 1.
  • 22. A pump according to claim 1, wherein said membrane is outside the pump chamber such that a substance to be pumped does not contact any portion of the membrane.
  • 23. A pump comprising:a pump body; a moving member that is movable relative to said pump body, wherein said moving member has a piston that co-operates with the pump body to define a pump chamber of variable volume; and an elastically deformable membrane outside the pump chamber such that a substance to be pumped does not contact any portion of the membrane and arranged to return the moving member into an initial position after a stroke of said moving member for delivering a substance, said membrane being configured to elongate when the volume of the pump chamber decreases, wherein said pump has a duct through which said pump chamber communicates with a receptacle, said duct and said moving member being configured so that said duct is closed by the moving member during part of said stroke.
  • 24. A pump according to claim 23, wherein said pump body has a bottom wall; andwherein said duct has a cylindrical wall connected to a face of said bottom wall.
  • 25. A pump according to claim 23, wherein the membrane comprises a sealing skirt that, at rest, bears in leakproof manner via a first surface against a corresponding surface of the moving member to close an air intake passage between the membrane and the moving member, said sealing skirt being suitable for moving away from said surface when suction is applied to a second surface opposite to said first surface in such a manner as to enable air to enter into the receptacle via said air intake passage.
  • 26. A pump according to claim 25, wherein the moving member has an annular rib to which the membrane is secured, said rib being provided with at least one slot.
  • 27. A pump according to claim 23, wherein the moving member comprises a rod possessing an internal passage for delivering the substance contained in the pump chamber, the internal passage opening out into the pump chamber via at least one orifice; andwherein the piston is movable relative to the rod between a pre-compression position in which the piston closes said at least one orifice, the piston being moved from the pre-compression position to a delivery position under the effect of the pressure of substance inside the pump chamber.
  • 28. A pump according to claim 27, wherein the piston is arranged to deform elastically so as to release the at least one orifice when the piston is in said delivery position.
  • 29. A pump according to claim 28, wherein the piston has an annular sealing wall suitable for bearing against the pump body and against the rod so as to close the at least one orifice while the chamber is being filled, and an elastically deformable return wall bearing against the rod and suitable for deforming elastically to enable the annular sealing wall to be moved and to enable communication to be established between said at least one orifice and the pump chamber while delivering a quantity of substance.
  • 30. A pump according to claim 29, wherein said return wall is deformed under the effect of the pressure of the substance inside the pump chamber.
  • 31. A pump according to claim 29, wherein an axial section of the piston is generally λ-shaped.
  • 32. A pump according to claim 29, wherein an axial section of the piston is generally Σ-shaped.
  • 33. A pump according to claim 29, wherein an axial section of the piston is generally X-shaped.
  • 34. A pump according to claim 29, wherein the return wall of the piston bears against a shoulder on the rod.
  • 35. A pump according to claim 27, wherein the piston is urged into the pre-compression position by a spring.
  • 36. A pump according to claim 23, wherein the piston is fitted on a rod of said moving member.
  • 37. A pump according to claim 23, wherein the membrane is made of a material selected from nitrile elastomer, silicone elastomer, BUNA™, vulcanized elastomer, and thermoplastic elastomer.
  • 38. A pump according to claim 23, wherein the piston is made of a material selected from LDPE, EVA, EMA, and SANTOPRENE™.
  • 39. A receptacle fitted with a pump as defined in claim 23.
  • 40. A pump according to claim 23, wherein the moving member is configured to engage in leakproof manner in said duct.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
99 13346 Oct 1999 FR
Parent Case Info

This is a Division of application Ser. No. 09/694,352 filed Oct. 24, 2000. The entire disclosure of the prior application(s) is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

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