EP0450687B1 - Dual liquid dispensing system - Google Patents

Dual liquid dispensing system Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0450687B1
EP0450687B1 EP91200599A EP91200599A EP0450687B1 EP 0450687 B1 EP0450687 B1 EP 0450687B1 EP 91200599 A EP91200599 A EP 91200599A EP 91200599 A EP91200599 A EP 91200599A EP 0450687 B1 EP0450687 B1 EP 0450687B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
switch
reservoir
dispensing system
pump
over
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP91200599A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0450687A1 (en
Inventor
Gerrit Klaas Bunschoten
Lambertus Gerardus P. Van Der Heyden
Robert Ernst C.H. Tiepel
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Unilever PLC
Unilever NV
Original Assignee
Unilever PLC
Unilever NV
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Unilever PLC, Unilever NV filed Critical Unilever PLC
Publication of EP0450687A1 publication Critical patent/EP0450687A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0450687B1 publication Critical patent/EP0450687B1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
    • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B67D1/00—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught
    • B67D1/08—Details
    • B67D1/12—Flow or pressure control devices or systems, e.g. valves, gas pressure control, level control in storage containers
    • B67D1/1245—Change-over devices, i.e. connecting a flow line from an empty container to a full one
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47K—SANITARY EQUIPMENT NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; TOILET ACCESSORIES
    • A47K5/00—Holders or dispensers for soap, toothpaste, or the like
    • A47K5/06—Dispensers for soap
    • A47K5/12—Dispensers for soap for liquid or pasty soap

Definitions

  • the present invention is concerned with a dispenser of the kind for delivering aliquots of a liquid product from a reservoir by means of a pump which is manually operable.
  • a dispenser of the kind for delivering aliquots of a liquid product from a reservoir by means of a pump which is manually operable.
  • Such dispensers are often used in washrooms, etc. for dispensing small amounts of a liquid soap product for hand washing purposes.
  • the US-patent 4,256,242 discloses a liquid soap dispenser comprising a housing, a collapsible bag for holding the liquid soap product and an operating lever or handle for actuating controlled amounts of soap from the bag.
  • the collapsible bag is connected to an outlet by means of a flexible conduit which comprises a pump.
  • dispensers offer hygiene and ease of handling for the user.
  • one problem with this kind of dispensers resides in the fact that only a small amount of liquid soap may be dispensed at a time, due to the limited capacity of the pump.
  • the amount is usually not more than 0.5 to 1 ml.
  • WO-A-89/03803 which corresponds to the preamble of claim 1 (Scott Paper Company) discloses a dispenser having two disposable liquid cartridges, that can only dispense from one cartridge at a time. When the user observes that the first cartridge is empty, he can switch-over to the second cartridge. This kind of dispenser requires action from the user and may also lead to waste of product if the switching-over to the second cartridge is carried out before the first is fully exhausted.
  • the dual dispensing system for delivering aliquots of a liquid product comprising a housing, two collapsible reservoirs for the liquid product, each reservoir being connected to a pump which can be manually operated via actuating means, whereby there are provided means to switch-over from one pump to the other pump when the liquid product in the first reservoir is exhausted, and vice versa, characterised in that the switch-over means comprise two switch bars such that the switch-over means is automatically actuated by the vacuum which is created in a reservoir when it is fully collapsed.
  • the dispensing system according to the invention preferably comprises visual indicating means to indicate that a switch-over has occurred.
  • the pumps may be of any suitable kind, but bellow-type pumps are preferred. They may have a capacity of from about 0.1 to 10 ml, preferably from about 1 to 5 ml.
  • FIGS 1 A,B and C show three schematic cross-sectional views of the dual dispensing system of the invention.
  • the dual dispenser of the invention features a housing 1 surrounding two separate collapsible reservoirs 2,3 for holding the liquid soap product. Although there are two reservoirs, only one of them is operative at a time. In the depicted situation this is reservoir 2.
  • Each reservoir is connected to its own pump 4,5 which is preferably a bellow-type pump.
  • the bellow-type pumps are preferred because they are very compact and they can be used for larger volumes of up to 10 ml and more.
  • Each of the pumps is also provided with an outlet nozzle 11,12 through which the liquid soap is to be dispensed.
  • FIGS 2 A,B and C In Figures 2 A,B and C is shown what happens upon pressing the operating lever or press bar 13 which is situated at the front of the dispenser, as indicated by the arrow.
  • the press bar is mounted on a hinge 14.
  • the action of the press bar 13 is transferred on to a push rod 10 which is movable in a horizontal direction and acts against a spring.
  • Attached to the push rod 10 there are provided two switch bars 8,9 which can be pivoted around two vertical axes 15,16 and which are kept apart by a spring means 17.
  • a notch in one of the switch bars fits into either one of two holes in the other switch bar, thus constituting a bi-stable ensemble.
  • the ensemble of the switch bars is at all times preferably in one of two possible states, corresponding to the states in which either one of the reservoirs is engaged for dispensing liquid soap.
  • liquid soap it is to be understood that the dispenser is in fact suitable for any liquid, gel or paste-like product, for cleaning or sanitizing purposes or even for other products like food products, for instance mayonnaise, all within the scope of the present invention.
  • This process may be repeated until the liquid soap product in reservoir 3 has run out and a switch-over to reservoir 2 occurs, analogous to the way described above for the switch-over from reservoir 2 to 3. If the empty reservoir 2 has been replaced in the mean time by a new reservoir, the supply of liquid soap from the dispenser is never interrupted. Because the switch-over occurs automatically, the user does not have to draw the attention of an operator if the liquid soap in one of the reservoirs runs out.
  • the dispenser of the invention has a much lower probability to be empty at a particular moment in time, than the conventional liquid soap dispensers.
  • the dispenser may be equipped with visual indicating means to indicate that a switch-over has occurred. The operator will then be able to determine whether one of the reservoirs has run out of liquid soap without having to open the dispenser.
  • the indicating means may comprise two arms, each being connected to one of the tilting tables 6,7. As shown above, a tilting table will remain in the upward position when the corresponding reservoir is empty.
  • the arms comprise a signalling part which is visible from the outside when the tilting table is in its upward position, and when one of the reservoirs is empty. When the empty reservoir is replaced by a new one, the corresponding tilting table is moved into its downward position and the signalling part will automatically disappear.

Landscapes

  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Public Health (AREA)
  • Devices For Dispensing Beverages (AREA)
  • Containers And Packaging Bodies Having A Special Means To Remove Contents (AREA)
  • Medicines Containing Antibodies Or Antigens For Use As Internal Diagnostic Agents (AREA)
  • Filling Of Jars Or Cans And Processes For Cleaning And Sealing Jars (AREA)
  • Reciprocating Pumps (AREA)
EP91200599A 1990-04-03 1991-03-19 Dual liquid dispensing system Expired - Lifetime EP0450687B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB909007441A GB9007441D0 (en) 1990-04-03 1990-04-03 Dispenser for liquid product
GB9007441 1990-04-03

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0450687A1 EP0450687A1 (en) 1991-10-09
EP0450687B1 true EP0450687B1 (en) 1993-07-28

Family

ID=10673759

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP91200599A Expired - Lifetime EP0450687B1 (en) 1990-04-03 1991-03-19 Dual liquid dispensing system

Country Status (10)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0450687B1 (sv)
AU (1) AU629115B2 (sv)
CA (1) CA2038836C (sv)
DE (1) DE69100193T2 (sv)
ES (1) ES2043426T3 (sv)
FI (1) FI93920C (sv)
GB (1) GB9007441D0 (sv)
NO (1) NO911276L (sv)
NZ (1) NZ237623A (sv)
ZA (1) ZA912463B (sv)

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE102004038232B4 (de) 2004-08-05 2010-03-25 Evonik Stockhausen Gmbh Spender, insbesondere Dosierspender
CA2567671C (en) * 2006-11-09 2013-12-24 Gotohti.Com Inc. Vacuum switch multi reservoir dispenser

Family Cites Families (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4493435A (en) * 1982-11-10 1985-01-15 Product Research And Development Liquid dispensing system and automatic selector therefor
AU603018B2 (en) * 1987-10-19 1990-11-01 Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc. Dual liquid cartridge dispenser

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0450687A1 (en) 1991-10-09
NO911276L (no) 1991-10-04
CA2038836C (en) 1993-01-05
CA2038836A1 (en) 1991-10-04
GB9007441D0 (en) 1990-05-30
FI93920C (sv) 1995-06-26
NO911276D0 (no) 1991-04-02
FI93920B (sv) 1995-03-15
AU629115B2 (en) 1992-09-24
AU7395391A (en) 1991-10-10
ES2043426T3 (es) 1993-12-16
FI911417A0 (sv) 1991-03-25
DE69100193D1 (de) 1993-09-02
NZ237623A (en) 1993-07-27
FI911417A (sv) 1991-10-04
DE69100193T2 (de) 1993-11-11
ZA912463B (en) 1992-12-30

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