Patent Application
20190060930
Embodiments of the invention relate to pumps systems and engines used to assemble such pump systems, including pump engines having adjustable outputs and interchangeable parts for creating different outputs.
Pumps and pump systems are frequently used to dispense flowable products, including personal and beauty care products. For example, makeup, lotions, creams, and other beauty care products are frequently packaged with a pump to facilitate the dispensing of the product, to control the dose of the product, or both. In addition, some brands will offer a complete line of products to be used together. Often times, the brand-owner desires to maintain a common brand image across the branded product offerings, requiring similar looking pumps and pump systems having different outputs. While pumps and pump systems having the same aesthetics but different dosing capabilities may be made, such pump systems often require completely different parts or pump engines associated with the aesthetics to produce different dosage capabilities. Thus, to have a family of similar looking pump systems with different dosage capabilities, it is often necessary to manufacture several different pump systems or pump engines, each of which have multiple parts. In order to make all of the parts, multiple tools are required to produce the parts for each size—or dosage—of pump system. The increased capital for such duplicative parts can be costly.
To reduce costs, some manufactures may provide a standard closure and pump head and then attach different pump engines thereto, wherein each of the pump engines provides a different output. In this manner, a common aesthetic look may be provided while offering different outputs for the various branded products. Typically, each of the pump engines may include an accumulator, a spring, and a piston system consisting of a piston stem and a piston seal. For different engines, each of the parts is a different size. Thus, for a first output, the accumulator, piston stem, and piston seal will have a first size and for a second output they will have a second, different size. Tools or molds for each size of component are used to manufacture the components and often times different assembly lines are required for the different engine sizes. The requirement for multiple tools and separate assembly lines increases the costs associated with making each pump.
Furthermore, in many cases brand owners are looking for smaller runs of a pump system for their niche products or for products that do not have the market share of some of their larger products. When multiple sizes are required with smaller runs for products having smaller market share, the relative costs to produce the smaller runs increases due to labor costs, changeovers in manufacturing, and other factors.
As a result of the costs associated with offering pump systems with variable output options, it may be difficult and prohibitively expensive to manufacture pump systems that may be tailored for differing outputs. Thus, a more cost-effective solution to providing pump systems and pump engines with different outputs is desirable.
Pump systems according to some embodiments of the invention include pump engines having a single part that may be customized for a desired output such that the same tools, assembly lines, and other manufacturing processes may be used to manufacture pump systems having different outputs. For example, a pump system may include a closure attached to a container, a pump head moveable relative to the closure for pumping a pump engine and delivering a product, and a pump engine attached to the closure and in fluid communication with the pump head. The pump engine may include an accumulator, a valve for controlling flow of a product into an interior of the accumulator, a piston stem, a piston seal seated on an interior portion of the accumulator and attached to the piston stem, an output cylinder attached to the accumulator and within which a portion of the piston stem extends, and a spring acting on both the piston stem and the output cylinder. In various embodiments of the invention, the output cylinder may include one or more output stops configured to stop movement of the piston stem during the stroke of the pump system. An output cylinder may be customized with a output stop at a desired location to provide a desired dose from the pump engine. More particularly, if a first dosage is required, an output cylinder having an output stop at a first location may be assembled as part of the pump engine; if a second dose is required, an output cylinder having an output stop at a second location may be assembled as part of the pump engine. Thus, pump engines and pump systems having different dosages may be made utilizing all of the same parts except for the output cylinder which may be customized for a particular dose.
According to some embodiments of the invention, an output cylinder may include venting features providing a vent path for an assembled pump system utilizing the output cylinder. Such pump systems may be used as atmospheric pumps. In other embodiments, vent features may not be included in the pump engine such that the pump engine may be used in a pump system intended to pump product from an airless system.
According to still other embodiments of the invention, an output cylinder may be color coordinated with respect to the output capability provided by the output stop in the output cylinder. Color coordination may also be used to designate whether or not the output cylinder is a venting version or non-venting version. For example, a first output with a venting feature may be colored red, a second output with a venting feature may be colored blue and a second output without a venting feature may be colored green. The color coordination allows an operator on the manufacturing floor to quickly identify the necessary output cylinder to be used for assembly processes.
While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming particular embodiments of the present invention, various embodiments of the invention can be more readily understood and appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art from the following descriptions of various embodiments of the invention when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
A pump system 100 according to various embodiments of the invention is illustrated in
A pump engine 200 that may be used with a pump system 100 according to various embodiments of the invention may include an accumulator 210, a valve 220, a piston 230, an output cylinder 240, a spring 290 and a piston stem 260 as illustrated in
An accumulator 210 according to various embodiments of the invention may include a first opening 211 at one end thereof and a second opening 212 at an opposite end thereof. A valve seat 213 may be positioned between the first opening 211 and second opening 212. The valve seat 213 may include a plurality of fingers 219 as illustrated in
According to some embodiments of the invention, the accumulator 210 may include a retaining ring 215 portion about a circumference of the second opening 212. For instance, in some embodiments, a retaining ring 215 may include a lip projecting outwardly from the walls of the accumulator 210 at or near the second opening 212 as illustrated in
In other embodiments of the invention, an accumulator 210 may include other connection features about the second opening 212 thereof. For instance, snap beads or other formations extending off of the rim of the second opening 212 may be configured to mate with another part of a pump engine 200 and to retain the accumulator 210 therewith. In other embodiments, the accumulator 210 may include a receiving channel or indentation about the rim of the second opening 212 to accept a snap-bead or other connection feature associated with another component of a pump engine 200. In still other embodiments, an accumulator 210 may include threads allowing the accumulator 210 to be screwed onto another part of a pump engine 200.
According to some embodiments of the invention a valve 220 may include a ball valve having a ball 222 retained within the accumulator 210 adjacent a valve seat 213 as illustrated in
A piston seal 230 according to various embodiments of the invention may include a conventional piston seal 230 used with pump systems and configured to fit within and seal against the accumulator 210. In some other embodiments of the invention, a piston seal 230 may include a body having a top flange 231 and a bottom flange 232 extending outwardly from a central portion of the body as illustrated in
A piston stem 260 according to various embodiments of the invention may include a conventional piston stem 260 capable of mating with a piston seal 230 to form a piston of the pump engine 200. In some embodiments, a piston stem 260 may include a fluid lock 262 at one end of the piston stem 260 and an output opening 264 at an opposite end of the piston stem 260 as illustrated in
A piston stem 260 may also include one or more piston stem flanges 269 as illustrated in
According to various embodiments of the invention, the piston stem 260 is moveably connected to the piston seal 230 as illustrated in
According to some embodiments of the invention, the movement of the fluid lock 262 relative to the piston seal 230 creates a vacuum within the product chamber 214. For example, as illustrated in
According to various embodiments of the invention, a fluid lock 262 and positioning of the one or more openings 268 relative to the fluid lock 262 may be adjusted in combination with the configuration of a piston seal 230 relative to the fluid lock 262 such that a desired suck-back volume is accomplished. For instance, the shape and size of the fluid lock 262 extending into the product chamber 214 may be configured to create a vacuum or void space that pulls, draws-back, or sucks back a desired amount of product upon release of a force on the pump system. In this manner, the amount of product subject to the suck-back can be controlled or designed by altering the shape and size of the fluid lock 262 and the amount of time that the one or more openings 268 remain open on a return stroke following actuation of the pump system 100. For example, in some embodiments of the invention a suck-back volume of between about 6 .mu·l and about 9 .mu·l. In other embodiments of the invention, a suck-back volume of between about 7 .mu·l and about 8.5 .mu·l may be desirable.
As product is sucked-back during a return stroke of the pump system 100, product at the tip of the dispenser head 140 is pulled back into the dispenser head 140 and the fluid flow path therein. The suck-back feature is advantageous because it pulls product that would otherwise drip out of the end of the dispenser head 140 back into the pump system 100, possibly creating a cleaner dispensing experience for a user. In addition, retraction or suck-back of product into the dispenser head 140 may prevent product from drying out around the outlet of the dispenser head 140 and forming a crust at the tip, again, possibly providing a cleaner and better dispensing experience for a user.
An output cylinder 240 according to certain embodiments of the invention is illustrated in
According to various embodiments of the invention, an output stop 254 may be configured to stop movement of a piston stem 260 in a pump engine 200 configuration or in a pump system 100. As illustrated in
According to various embodiments of the invention, the output of a pump engine 200 may be altered by changing the position of the output stop 254 within the output cylinder 240. Thus, one part of the pump engine 200 may be changed to alter the amount of product pumped from a pump engine 200: the output cylinder 240. A pump engine 200 may be assembled with any one of a plurality of output cylinders 240 having different output stop 254 locations to achieve a desired output for the pump engine 200. For example, as illustrated in
In some embodiments of the invention, the output cylinder 240 may be color coded to reflect the output that is achievable utilizing the output cylinder 240 in a pump engine 200 or pump system 100. For instance, a first output may be color coded red, a second output color coded blue, and a third output color coded yellow. On the manufacturing floor or at the manufacturing location, the color coding may allow operators to more easily identify the proper output cylinder 240 to be assembled for a given run of pump engines 200 or pump systems 100. Thus, if a pump engine 200 having a desired first output is required, an operator may load the output cylinders 240 color coded red into the assembly machine for that assembly run. Likewise, if a third output is desired for an assembly run, an operator could change the output cylinders 240 to those color coded yellow. Similarly, an operator working with the assembly of a pump system 100 with a desired first output would be able to select the appropriate pump engine 200 assemblies to use based on the color of the output cylinder 240 of the pump engine 200.
According to various embodiments of the invention, pump engines 200 having different outputs may be easily assembled from common components in the manufacturing environment. The ability to utilize the same accumulator 210, piston seal 230, piston stem 260, and spring 290 along with a custom output cylinder 240 to manufacture piston engines 200 having different outputs is advantageous in part because the common components may be run at higher cavitation rates, thereby reducing the cost of those parts. Furthermore, as in the example above, the only parts that need to be changed on an assembly line to vary the output of the final pump are the output cylinders 240. In addition, smaller runs for particular output pump systems 100 are justifiable because smaller tools capable of producing only the output cylinder 240 do not require the capital investment required for larger tooling. This flexibility also allows for different output options to be easily manufactured and assembled without the costs of capitalizing an entire line for a particular pump system 100.
An output cylinder 240 according to various embodiments of the invention may also include one or more retaining flanges 248 about an exterior portion of the cylinder wall 250 as illustrated in
An output cylinder 240 according to various embodiments of the invention may also include a plug seal wall 244 extending off of the base wall 241 in a direction opposite that of the cylinder wall 250 as illustrated in
According to some embodiments of the invention, an output cylinder 240 may also include a latch wall 246 extending off of the base wall 241 in the same direction as the plug seal wall 244 as illustrated in
Some embodiments of the invention may be used with airless pump systems where no air is allowed back into a container 900 of the pump system 100. In such instances, the attachment or seal between the accumulator 210 and output cylinder 240 is such that no air can pass through the attachment. In other instances, an atmospheric pump system may be desired. In those cases, the output cylinder 240 may include one or more air paths or vent paths on an interior surface of the latch wall 246 and through the retention lip 247 such that air may pass through an interior of the output cylinder 240, around the accumulator 210 and output cylinder 240 connection, and into a container 900 to which a closure 110 is attached.
A spring 290 according to various embodiments of the invention may include any conventional spring used with pump engines or pump systems. In addition, leaf-springs, plastic springs, and other types of springs may be incorporated with various embodiments of the invention.
A head 140 according to various embodiments of the invention may include a conventional pump head 140 that may be snap-fit or otherwise connected to a closure 110 such that the head 140 is in fluid communication with the piston stem 260. In some embodiments of the invention, a fluid flow path may be defined in the head 140 and a portion of a feature in the head 140 defining the fluid flow path may fit over an end of the piston stem 260 adjacent the second opening 212. In some embodiments, a portion of the head 140 may rest on the piston stem flange 269 and may apply force to the piston stem 260 during actuation of the head 140 by a user.
In some embodiments of the invention, a head 140 may also include an orifice at an output end of the fluid flow path. An orifice cup, valve, seal, or other feature conventionally used with pumps and sprayers may be inserted into the orifice to control or define an output from the pump system 100.
In further embodiments of the invention, a head 140 and closure 110 may include mating features configured to provide a locking capability for a pump system 100. For example, an interior portion of the head 140 may include ribs extending inwardly and a closure 110 may include posts upon which those ribs may rest in a locked position—preventing movement of the head 140—and open areas in which the ribs may move during actuation without hinderance of the posts. Rotation of the head 140 may move the ribs into and out of a locked position or a position in which the ribs and posts align or do not align.
Conventional gaskets 190 may be used with various embodiments of the invention.
Conventional containers 900 may be used with various embodiments of the invention. In some embodiments, a container 900 may include a threaded closure system for mating with a closure 110 and in other embodiments a container 900 may include a snap-fit, bayonet, or permanent snap closure system allowing the container 900 and closure 110 to attach to each other.
A pump engine 200 according to certain embodiments of the invention may be assembled prior to assembly with a pump system 100. For example, in some embodiments of the invention, a pump engine 200 may be assembled in a first location and then shipped or transported to a second location for final assembly with at least some of the pump system 100 components. Assembly of a pump engine 200 according to certain embodiments of the invention involves the assembly of the components illustrated in
In some embodiments of the invention, a pump engine 200 may be assembled using the following method: a spring 290 may be inserted into an interior of the output cylinder 240; a piston stem 260 may be inserted through the output cylinder 240 to secure the spring between the output cylinder 240 and a piston stem flange 269 such that the fluid lock 262 of the piston stem 260 extends through an opening in the output cylinder 240; a piston seal 230 is press fit over the fluid lock 262 to connect the piston stem 260 to the piston seal 230; a ball 22 is inserted into an accumulator 210; and the accumulator 210 is snap-fit into the output cylinder 240. When the fluid lock 262 of the piston stem 260 is forced through the opening in the piston seal 230, it cannot be pulled back through the piston seal 230, thereby retaining the piston seal 230, output cylinder 240, spring 290, and piston stem 260 in an assembled state such that it may be fitted to and connected with an accumulator 210 having a valve 200 assembled therewith. The final assembly results in a pump engine 200 according to various embodiments of the invention.
In some embodiments of the invention, a pump system 100 may be assembled using the following method: a pump engine 200 may be snap-fit to a closure 110; a pump head 140 may be snap-fit onto the closure such that it is in fluid communication with the piston stem 260 of the pump engine 200; a clip tube 180 may be optionally assembled to the first opening 211 of the accumulator 210 of the pump engine 200; a gasket 190 may be assembled inside the closure 110; and the closure 110 may be attached to a container 900. Alternatively, the closure 110, head 140, and clip tube 180 may be assembled with the pump engine 200 and transported or shipped to a filling location where it may be assembled to a container 900 on, or as part of, a conventional fill line or filling process.
While various embodiments of the invention have been described with respect to a pump or pump dispenser, it is understood that a pump engine 200 or output cylinder 240 according to embodiments of the invention could be incorporated into a fine-mist sprayer, trigger sprayer, or other device to provide optional outputs for such devices.
While various embodiments of the invention are described herein, it is understood that the particular embodiments defined by the appended claims are not to be limited by particular details set forth in the description, as many apparent variations thereof are contemplated. Rather, embodiments of the invention are limited only by the appended claims, which include within their scope all equivalent devices or methods which operate according to the principles of the embodiments of the invention described.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/297,668, filed Oct. 19, 2016, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/991,131, filed Jan. 8, 2016, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 15297668 | Oct 2016 | US |
| Child | 16175091 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 14991131 | Jan 2016 | US |
| Child | 15297668 | US |
