EP0472580B1

EP0472580B1 - Hand pump sprayer for liquids

Info

Publication number: EP0472580B1
Application number: EP90907373A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Sario Buti
Original assignee: Spray Plast SpA
Current assignee: Spray Plast SpA
Priority date: 1989-05-17
Filing date: 1990-05-11
Publication date: 1994-11-23
Anticipated expiration: 2010-05-11
Also published as: AU5646190A; WO1990014167A1; EP0472580A1

Abstract

A hand pump sprayer for liquids applicable on a container (2) by screwing on with a threaded ring nut (6) round the neck (7) of the container, engaging means (14, 15; 14', 15') being foreseen on the body of the sprayer (1) and on the container (2), to prevent any relative rotation between these elements.

Description

The object of the present invention is a hand pump sprayer for liquids, comprising a threaded ring nut for screwing onto the neck of a container, from which the liquid is drawn and sprayed through a spray nozzle.
The type of engagement between sprayer and container, by means of a threaded nut ring on the sprayer, causes drawbacks both during and after the sprayer is applied to the container.
The applicant has found that these drawbacks can be ascribed mainly to the fact that there is no a constraint in the rotary motion between the sprayer and the container.
In fact, the relative rotation between the sprayer and the container renders the operation of fixing the ring nut to the automatic machine delicate, and limits the maximum working speed of the same, to avoid frequent jamming and the expense resulting from the machine being at a standstill.
These drawbacks are increased by the fact that sprayers normally have their centre of gravity shifted with respect to the axis of the container, and therefore when they are applied to the container, they often tend to be tilted with respect to the axis of the container, making it impossible to screw down the ring nut.
When the sprayer is applied to the container, it becomes practically integral with the outer ring nut, and therefore any rotations of the sprayer, due for example to vibrations during transport or handling by purchasers at sales points, produce loosening of the ring nut, with obvious drawbacks.
US-A-4 434 917 discloses a trigger-actuated atomizer which is attached to a flattened container, against rotation, oriented in registration with the plane in which the container is flattened. According to some embodiments described in this reference the attachement against rotation is achieved by auxiliary engaging means, separate from the container and the body of the atomizer. According to a further embodiment the engaging means are made of a channel-shaped member extending downwardly from the atomizer body to engage with an outer projection of the container provided under its neck.
A drawback of this known solution is that said engaging means, placed at the side opposite the trigger, make the atomizer cumbersome and thus the handling and triggering operation uncomfortable. Further, since said engaging means are placed outside the fixing ring nut, they hamper the screwing of the ring nut making the automatic mounting of the atomizer onto the container difficult or even impossible.
The aim of the invention is precisely to eliminate the above drawbacks, by avoiding, through the adoption of simple and economic means, which do not hamper the automatic screwing of the ring nut, any relative rotation between the sprayer and the container.
Said aim is reached by inserting engaging means between the container and the sprayer, respectively placed inside the neck of the container and on a tubular appendage protruding from below the base of the sprayer and suitable to be housed in the neck of the container.
According to a first embodiment of this invention, said engaging means are formed by a beading placed inside the neck of the container, parallel to the axis of the same, and by a corresponding groove made on said tubular appendage, integral with the body of the sprayer.
Instead of the groove, a simple slit, suitable for receiving the beading on the container, can be foreseen on the tubular appendage of the sprayer.
Obviously the positions of said engaging means can also be inverted.
In this way any relative rotation between the sprayer and the container is prevented, and axial guiding means are obtained, which prevent any inclinations of the sprayer with respect to the axis of the container, before the ring nut is fixed.
According to a further embodiment of the invention, said engaging means are formed by a notching made inside the neck of the container and by a complementary notching made below said tubular appendage.
Said notchings can be continuous or discontinuous.
Practically one or more teeth protruding from below the tubular base and corresponding notches inside the neck of the container can be foreseen, or, vice versa, one or more teeth vertically and upwardly protruding from inside the neck of the container and corresponding notches on the inferior edge of the tubular appendage.
Even accordingly to this further embodiment, any relative rotation between the sprayer and the container is prevented, and jointing means are obtained, which prevent possible inclinations of the sprayer with respect to the axis of the container before fixing the ring nut.
Further characteristics of the invention will be made clearer from the detailed description which follows, which refers to its purely exemplary and therefore not restrictive embodiments, shown in the enclosed drawings, in which:

figure 1: is a partly sectional side elevation of a sprayer applied to a container, only partially shown, according to a first embodiment of the invention;
figure 2: is a section taken along the line II-II of figure 1;
figure 3: is a partly sectional side elevation of a sprayer applied to a container, only partially shown, according to a second embodiment of the invention;
figure 4: is a middle section, enlarged with respect to figure 3, showing the engaging means between the container and the body of the sprayer.

In the enclosed figures the same reference numbers for both embodiments will be used.
In the embodiment according to figures 3 and 4 primed reference numbers are used only for the engaging means between sprayer and container.
With reference to said figures, a hand pump sprayer, is shown as a whole with reference number 1. It is applied to a container 2, from which the liquid is drawn by a dip tube 3 by operating a control lever 4, and sent out through a spray nozzle 5.
The sprayer 1 is applied to the container 2 by screwing on with a threaded ring nut 6 onto the neck 7 of the container.
Below the base 8 of the sprayer, a tubular appendage 9 is foreseen, intended to house inside the neck 7 of the container.
A circular peripheral flange 10 is foreseen on the appendage 9, near the base 8 of the sprayer, determining with the base 8 an annular groove 11, into which the upper edge 12 of the ring nut 6 is held fixed.
In order to prevent any relative rotation between the sprayer 1 and the container 2, according to the embodiment of figures 1 and 2, a substantially U-shaped groove (figure 2) is made on the appendage 9, suitable for engaging with a beading 15, foreseen inside the neck 7 of the container 2.
Obviously, the positions of the groove 14 and the beading 15 can be inverted, just as a simple slit can be foreseen on the tubular appendage 9, instead of the groove 14.
The groove 14 and the beading 15 are linear and positioned parallel to the axis of the container 2.
The engaging elements 14 and 15 between the sprayer 1 and the container 2 also constitute guiding means for maintaining the sprayer in a perfectly upright position on the container, before the ring nut 6 is fixed.
According to the embodiment shown in figures 3 and 4 and in order to prevent relative rotations between sprayer and container, a notching 14' is made below appendage 9, which is suitable for engaging with a complementary notching 15', foreseen inside the neck 7 of container 2, as it can be better seen in figure 4.
Notchings 14' and 15' can clearly be continuous or discontinuous and can practically be reduced to one or more teeth and corresponding grooves.

Claims

A container in combination with a hand pump sprayer (1) for liquids applicable on the mouth of the container (2) by screwing down with a threaded ring nut (6) round the neck (7) of the container, complementary engaging means (14, 15; 14', 15') being provided for preventing relative rotations between the sprayer (1) and the container (2), characterized in that said engaging means (14, 15; 14', 15') are respectively positioned on a tubular appendage (9), protruding from below the base (8) of the sprayer (1) and inside the neck (7) of the container, wherein said tubular appendage (9) is intended to be housed.
A combination according to claim 1, characterized in that said engaging means (14, 15) are respectively formed by a groove and a beading, or vice versa, parallel to the axis of the container (2).
A combination according to claim 1, characterized in that said engaging means (14, 15) are respectively formed of a slit made on the tubular appendage (9) and of a beading foreseen inside the neck (7) of the container (2).
A combination according to claim 1, characterized in that said engaging means (14', 15') are formed by vertical complementary notchings respectively made on the lower edge of the tubular appendage (9) and on the inside perimeter of the neck (7) of the container.
A combination according to claim 4, characterized in that said notchings (14', 15') are discontinuous.
A combination according to claim 1, characterized in that said engaging means (14', 15') are formed by one or more teeth (14'), vertically protruding from the lower edge of the tubular appendage (9), and by corresponding notches (15') made inside the neck of the container, or vice versa.
A combination according to anyone of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that both said complementary engaging means (14, 15) and (14', 15') are foreseen in combination.
A combination according to claim 1 and any of the claims from 2 to 7, characterized by a circular peripheral flange (10) on the appendage (9), determining, with the base (8) of the sprayer (1), an annular groove (11), suitable for receiving the upper edge (12) of the ring nut (6).