AU9747501A - Controllable directional alignment of system with spray bottle - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION: STANDARD PATENT CONTROLLABLE DIRECTIONAL ALIGNMENT OF SYSTEM WITH SPRAY BOTTLE Applicant: Brent Dankesreither; of 43 Bent Street, Northcote, Victoria, 3070 Name of Actual Inventor: Brent Dankesreither Address for Service in Australia: 43 Bent Street Northcote, Victoria, 3070 The following Statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to me: Applicant: Brent Dankesreither Dated: 2 January 2002 1 Title: Controllable Directional Alignment of System with Spray Bottle FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to pump sprays and aerosols. In particular the present invention relates to a bottle and spray assembly which enables controlled alignment and positioning of a siphon within the chamber so as to effectively utilise substantially all fluid contained within bottle while maintaining 0 the intended features of the bottle design.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION *.0 A substantial amount of art is known which is directed to dispensing of liquids from containers by means of pumping/spraying or pressure ejection. Generally, such means of dispensing liquid requires a chamber containing liquid coupled to a pump/spraying or ejection/dispersion system. The pumping mechanism per se o. ois usually fitted to the chamber by means of an intervening closure. The pump 15 includes a siphon tube which extends from the pumping/spraying or *00* ejection/dispersion mechanism so as to communicate directly with the fluid contained within the chamber.

Conventional bottle and pump dispensers and aerosols are known to suffer several disadvantages namely: 1) The siphon tube does not enable access to liquid when the bottle is in a tilted condition for dispensing. This is a particular disadvantage when a significant portion of the liquid has already been dispensed. In this condition dry spraying occurs where the mouth of the siphon is no longer in communication with the liquid. When the bottle is subsequently righted, repriming is required to enable trapped air to be expelled by means of repeated actuation of the pumping/spraying or ejection/dispersion mechanism; this frequently leads to wastage of some liquid and extra effort by the user. Also not all liquid from the container is able to be removed.

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2) The pumping mechanism and closure are juxtaposed on the bottle to freely rotate independently. While this does not itself present a disadvantage for bottles provided with such a combination closure and pumping mechanism, a problem arises when the same combination is adopted for use in refilled bottles or if the original bottle pumping mechanism is disassembled or unattached from the bottle and then reassembled or reattached to the bottle.

The problem arises because bottles are ordinarily moulded into an ergonomic design, which may incorporate finger grips, which generally require a trigger mechanism of the like to be oriented in the same place on the bottle. Orientation of this nature requires considerable manipulation by the user and often results in the siphon being oriented in a position where dry spraying will inevitably occur on spraying with low volumes of liquid.

Alternatively, it may result in the orientation being in a position where the bottle no longer fulfils its intended function (which may include attributes such as ergonomics).

Some attempts have been made and are still being made to address the problems outlined above. For example, in US Patent No. 5464129 (Ho) there is disclosed a means for completely removing all of the liquid from a container which includes a container having an integrally moulded C-clamp member along one side wall for securely retaining therewithin a dip tube element. The dip tube element is thereby directed to one end of the container which end is so tapered and narrowed to allow formation of a well of liquid adjacent to the mouth/opening of the dip tube. While problems associated with independently rotatable pump and closure noted above are not evident, this type of arrangement as in Ho is nevertheless expensive, complex and impractical to use with refilled containers. Moreover, when a user disassembles the pump/ejection system from the bottle, great difficulty is needed to be overcome gigolo to correctly align the directional spray mechanism with the correct corner of the 10 bottle (to allow maximum tilted spraying) or in line with the ergonomic design of the bottle.

Further prior art devices include that subject to US Patent No. 5875940 ooooo S- (Mayfield) which includes a moulded straw guide integral to the container defining a hollow passage through which a straw is passed. In this arrangement 15 a siphon is directed via the hollow passage to a position at the lowest point of the container base at a juncture with the side wall closest to the trigger mechanism. While this orientation allows continual submersion of the siphon within the liquid, the configuration of the bottle makes it almost impossible to adapt the spray pump and siphon to a refill bottle or to realign correctly the directional spray with the correct position of the bottle and ergonomic design once the bottle is disassembled.

Problems presented with prior art as it relates to aerosol devices mainly relate to the situation where the direction of spray is not aligned with the siphon tube.

This occurs largely because the aerosol actuator button (which normally contains the spray nozzle) is able to freely rotate about the associated valve stem. Several manufacturers of the existing art are aware of the problems this situation presents and instruct users to line up the direction of spray with the siphon tube manually prior to each use by means of an indicator "dot" painted on the aerosol can. However, the users rarely perform the required alignment because of reasons of inconvenience and the difficulty associated with the reason behind the concept. The resulting misalignment of the siphon tube with the direction of spray inevitably leads to wastage as not all of the liquid in the container is able to be removed.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to address at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art.

It is a particular object of the invention to enable continual submersion of the siphon so as to provide constant access of a pumping/spraying or ejection/dispersion mechanism to a liquid when the bottle is tilted in operating condition as well as enabling ready adaption of a pump and siphon for use in a refilled bottle or in the case where the original bottle and spray mechanism is disassembled then reassembled. A further object of the invention is to ensure that a spray-siphon-bottle is aligned in such a way as to enable optimum operability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In a first aspect of the invention, there is disclosed a bottle-spray assembly for dispensing a liquid including: 10 A bottle having a base and side wall extending therefrom adapted to hold a volume of liquid, said bottle being open at one end, said open end including a collar adapted to co-operate with a closure to seal said volume of liquid, said collar incorporating a female keyway adapted to receive a co-operating male element; A closure adapted to seal said bottle, said closure being further adapted to locate a pumping means thereon so that said pump and said closure are independently rotatable with respect to each other, said pump further including a siphon extending through said closure for communication with said liquid, said siphon being configured so that its opening is located adjacent a juncture between said base and side wall, said assembly further including said male element for mating with said female element on said collar; wherein when said male element is mated with said female keyway said pump and/or said siphon is prevented from relative rotational movement with respect to said closure.

It is understood that the present invention therefore positively locates the siphon opening at a point on or near a bottom section of the bottle to enable constant submersion in a liquid contained within the bottle even when the bottle is operated in a position displaced from vertical and the volume of liquid in the bottle is depleted. The mating male and female components prevent independent rotation of both the closure and the pump so as to orient the siphon opening within the bottle in the direction of dispensing. In this way the pump may also be readily removed from a depleted bottle and easily replaced in a refill container without the difficulties associated with the 6 prior art. Indeed, it is a further advantage of the invention that bottle/spray or ejection systems can be easily reassembled in the proper operating arrangement after disassembly.

PREFERRED ASPECTS OF THE INVENTION Preferably, the siphon is aligned with the direction of the spray. Conversely, the siphon may be aligned opposite the direction of spray. Preferably, the siphon is progressively curved so that when the male and female elements are engaged, the siphon opening (or liquid withdrawing end) is positioned adjacent the juncture between the base and depending wall of the container 10 and aligned either in the direction of or opposite to the direction of spray. In this way, it is understood that for conventional aerosol/propellant dispensing means, the siphon opening is able to be located adjacent the juncture between the base and dependent wall of a container/bottle, and aligned .i in a direction opposite to that of the direction of spray. For example, an ooooo insect repellant is often used to direct spray upwards from a horizontally angled position. It is desirable in this case to have the siphon and its withdrawing end controllable aligned in a direction opposite the direction of spray.

Preferably, the female component is a shaped element integrally attached (moulded) to an internal surface on the collar). More preferably, the female component is integrally moulded to the internal surface of the collar.

Preferably, the male component is fitted within the closure and has a complimentary geometry to co-operate with the female component.

Alternatively, the male component may be fitted on the bottle/container and the female component within the closure.

More preferably, the male component is formed integral to the siphon and has a complimentary geometry to mate with said female element. It is understood that the male component does not in any way hinder the closing action of the closure about the neck of the bottle nor interferes with the siphon tube.

Preferably, the bottle can be of any design including, but not limited to, cylindrical, ergonomic with finger grips.

10 Preferably, the pump means can be selected from conventional aerosol spray, trigger pump or push activated type systems.

ooo.oi Throughout the specification and claims, the term "pump" refers to conventional spraying mechanisms including but not limited to spray pump mechanisms, trigger spray mechanisms and pressure ejection aerosol 0 systems.

S. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1: Represents an exploded perspective view of the assembly of the invention.

Figure 2: Represents an exploded perspective view of an alternate assembly configuration.

Figure 3: Represents an exploded perspective view of a further assembly of the invention.

8 Figure 4: Represents an exploded perspective view of yet another assembly configuration of the invention.

Figure 5: Represents a possible complete assembly according to the invention.

Figure 6: Represents a conventional aerosol assembly including the alignment means of the invention and a possible embodiment of the assembly for use in traditional style pump pack mechanisms.

Figure 7: Represents an exploded view of the top section of the aerosol cannister shown in Figure 6 with a possible geometric 10 configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT WITH ooooo REFERENCE TO THE DRAWINGS With reference to Figure 1, there is disclosed by way of exploded illustration a 'magnified view of the collar and closure region of the assembly of the 15 invention At or near the top of the collar of a bottle (not shown) there is shown a section of external thread adapted to correspond to an internal threaded section on closure so as to allow sealing of fluid contents contained within the bottle. A sealing washer (18) usually made from a flexible rubber compound, is seated within the closure and is held in sealing arrangement by the male component (16) when the closure is tightened against the screw threaded collar 9 The closure has incorporated thereon, in both sealed and rotational arrangement, a pumping mechanism For ease of understanding the pump mechanism is represented as a conventional trigger spray pump (as illustrated in profile view next to the exploded view of Figure although it can be a conventional pump pack, or aerosol spray mechanism. In this conventional arrangement, the pump and the closure are independently rotatable in a horizontal plane (not shown) about a vertical axis (not shown).

The pump includes a siphon having a first longitudinal section seen best in Figure 5, extending downwardly a distance in a first direction 10 perpendicular to the horizontal rotational plane, and progressively curving (11) with a distance from the pump to create an accurate geometry. It is known in the prior art that in some similar arrangements, the trigger or pumping ooooo mechanism is able to rotate about the siphon tube so that the mouth (12) of the siphon may be oriented randomly within the bottle with respect to the 15 direction of spray. This randomness of orientation leads to problems such as "dry-spraying" which is overcome by incorporating a co-operating female and male lock fitting within the assembly. For example, in Figure 1, on the internal surface of the collar opposite the screw threaded section there is positioned a partial obstruction (13) in the bottle opening (14) creating a female keyway A male lock fitting (16) of a shape corresponding to the female keyway (15) is permanently affixed to the first longitudinal section of the siphon.

In the use of the male lock fitting, once fitted into the female keyway, maintains the siphon in a desired alignment from which it cannot be rotatably displaced. It is to be understood in this embodiment that the male component can extend below the level of the closure of the pump assembly.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention (shown in Figure where the siphon is rotatably fixed relative to the pump, a male lock fitting (16) is affixed to a portion of the inside lid surface of the closure.

It is further understood that the male lock fitting does not interfere with the internal screw thread on the closure so that the closure is readily able to cooperate with the corresponding external threaded section on the bottle; and (b)

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the sealing washer (18) may need to be modified to accommodate male/female S0...O 10 components.

go A female keyway (15) is again formed by integrally fitting an obstruction (13) to the inside surface of the collar consisting of a geometry which compliments the mating male lock fitting. Once the male component is positioned within the S" female keyway, the pump mechanism is located such that it is unable to rotate.

As a corollary the closure is freely rotatable about the pump to seal the contents of the bottle; and the liquid withdrawing end of the siphon tube is configured to be aligned with the direction of spray from the pump.

Similarly, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, it is to be understood that a range of cooperating female and male shaped members are envisaged by the invention which give rise to the siphon tube and spraying mechanism being oriented in the same or opposite direction. In this way, the siphon tube will always provide a user with access to the total volume of liquid held in the bottle using the 11 bottle's ergonomic design (if applicable) or any other inherent design features in the way intended.

As shown in Figure 5, the co-operation between the pump mechanism and the siphon arising from the mating female/male lock fitting enables access to virtually 100% volume of the fluid within the bottle when the bottle is in an operating condition. Further, when a bottle has been exhausted, the assembly of the invention can be readily removed therefrom and replaced in a refilled bottle and allows the intended ergonomic alignment of the bottle design to be maintained. This obviates costs associates with complex bottle designs including guide tubes, which provide inherent difficulties when reusing the pumping mechanism in a refill bottle.

In a further embodiment of the invention shown with reference to Figure 6, the present invention is illustrates as it applies to aerosols and traditional pump- .i pack mechanisms. It is important to note that the siphon tube and the mating male and female components can be combined in such a way that when the male and female interlocking components are engaged, the siphon opening (12) is positionable adjacent the juncture between the base and dependent wall of the container and oriented opposite (as per Figure 6) or in-line with the direction of spray (not shown) as desired.

An opposite orientation is usually the case with aerosol propellant pumping mechanisms which are used to direct spray in an upwards direction. Usually this will require tilting of the container from an upright position so as to direct spray upwards. In this condition, liquid aerosol accumulates in a bottom corner of the bottle diametrically opposite the direction of spray. The present invention therefore also envisages that the combined locking mechanism and the siphon configuration enables location of the siphon opening in a position facing opposite the direction of the spray.

An in-line orientation is usually the case with aerosol propellant pumping mechanisms which are used to direct spray in a downwards direction. Usually this will require tilting of the container from an upright position so as to direct the spray downwards. In this condition (not shown), liquid aerosol accumulates in a bottom corner of the bottle, in line with the direction of the spray. The present .ooo t:o o invention therefore also envisages that the combined locking mechanism and see@ S 10 the siphon configuration enables location of the siphon opening in a position facing in line with the direction of the spray.

Referring to Figure 7, there is further illustrated an exploded view of the top 5*O* section of the aerosol cannister of figure 6. The aerosol application in Figure 7 Sincludes the siphon tube (seen in Figure 6) and siphon valve (not shown) being S 15 connected such that the two components rotate dependently as one system.

°'"The valve stem (18) is prevented from rotating with respect to both the valve and siphon tube by being captured within a matching sleeve (20) which sleeve is pressed in the top of the aerosol can. In this embodiment, the male component (18) is of a triangular configuration (but need not be limited to this configuration) and is fitted to the valve (not shown) so as to form a stem seated proud of the valve. When the aerosol is depressed, the male stem component (18) co-operates with both the female component (19) and the sleeve (20) to ensure correct alignment of the siphon tube. In this way, the mouth (12) of the siphon tube (10) remains in full communication with the liquid (17) until the 13 bottle is virtually empty, even when spray existing nozzle (21) is directed upwardly from the horizontal.

The same embodiment can also be used (but not limited to) the alignment of the siphon tube with the direction of spray on traditional pump pack mechanisms (as represented in Figure 6).

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Claims (17)

1. A controllable directional alignment of spray system with spray bottle, comprising: a bottle having a base and side wall extending therefrom adapted to hold a volume of liquid, said bottle being open at one end, said open end including a collar adapted to co-operate with a closure to seal said volume of liquid, said collar incorporating a keyway adapted to receive co-operating element; and 10 15 a closure adapted to seal said bottle, said closure being further adapted to locate a pumping means thereon so that said pump and said closure are independently rotatable with respect to each other; said pump further including a siphon extending through said closure with communication with said liquid, said siphon being configured so that its opening is located adjacent a juncture between said base and side wall, said assembly further including said keyed element for mating with said co-operating element on said collar; wherein when said co-operating elements are mated with said keyway, said pump and/or said siphon is prevented from relative rotational movement with respect to said closure.

2. The controllable alignment system of Claim 1, with the said keyed element on the collar being female and the said co-operating element being male.

3. The controllable alignment system of Claim 1, with the said keyed element on the collar being male and the said co-operating element being female.

4. The controllable alignment system of Claims 1-3, with the siphon tube being aligned in the direction of the spray.

The controllable alignment system of Claims 1-3, with the siphon tube being aligned in the opposite direction of the spray.

6. The controllable alignment system of Claims 1-3, with the siphon tube being progressively curved so that when the co-operating elements are engaged, the siphon opening (or liquid withdrawing end) is positioned adjacent the juncture between the base and depending wall of the container.

7. The controllable alignment system of Claims 1-6, with the female keyway integrally moulded or attached to an internal surface of the collar.

S8. The controllable alignment system of Claims 1-6, with the male component fitted within the closure with the co-operating geometry to the female ooooo element.

9. The controllable alignment system of Claims 1-6, with the male component go 15 attached to the siphon tube with complementary geometry to co-operate with the female component.

10. The controllable alignment system of Claims 1-9, with the bottle chamber container being of any design including (but not limited to) cylindrical or ergonomic with finger grips.

11.The controllable alignment system of Claims 1-10, with the closure freely able to rotate about the pump to seal the contents of the bottle.

12.The controllable alignment system of Claim 1, as applied to standard aerosols, with the female element being located on the aerosol actuator and 16 the co-operating geometric male component being located on the aerosol valve stem (said valve stem being unable to independently rotate against valve and siphon tube by means of a matching sleeve pressed into the top of the aerosol can).

13.The controllable alignment system of Claim 1, as applied to standard aerosols, with the male element being located on the aerosol actuator and the co-operating geometric female component being located on the aerosol valve stem (said valve stem being unable to independently rotate against valve and siphon tube by means of a matching sleeve pressed into the top 10 of the aerosol can).

14.The controllable alignment system of Claims 12-13, with the siphon tube being progressively curved so that when the co-operating elements are engaged, the siphon opening (or liquid withdrawing end) is positioned adjacent the juncture between the base and depending wall of the container.

15 15.The controllable alignment system of Claims 12-14, with the siphon tube logo• being aligned with the direction of the spray. go.o.•

16.The controllable alignment system of Claims 12-14, with the siphon tube being aligned opposite the direction of the spray.

17.The controllable alignment system of Claims 12-14, as they would apply to non-standard aerosol dispensing systems. Dated 2 nd day of January 2002 BRENT DANKESREITHER