GB2289506A

GB2289506A - Dispenser for air fresheners and cleaners

Info

Publication number: GB2289506A
Application number: GB9510325A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Nick Buckenham
Original assignee: SELF SERVE HYGIENE Ltd
Current assignee: SELF SERVE HYGIENE Ltd
Priority date: 1994-05-20
Filing date: 1995-05-22
Publication date: 1995-11-22
Anticipated expiration: 2015-05-22
Also published as: GB2289506B; GB9510325D0

Abstract

A liquid dispenser includes a container 26 and a pump mechanism 20 which extends downwardly in the container, the pump mechanism comprising fixed cylinder 54 with an outlet leading to a conduit 63 which extends upwardly and out through the top of the container to a dispensing nozzle 18 and a hollow piston 55 arranged for reciprocation in the cylinder. The piston has an open lower end for the entry of liquid from the container and an upper end controlled by a one-way valve. The piston is reciprocated by operating means including wire members 53 extending downwardly through the container and coupled to pins 60 on the piston. In the embodiment shown the wires 53 are coupled to a lever 50 operated by a push member 16, but in a second embodiment a different operating arrangement suitable for door operation is disclosed. A colour ring 34 may be provided which floats on the liquid to indicate the level of liquid remaining in the dispenser, the pump mechanism extending through the ring. <IMAGE>

Description

THE DISPENSING OF LIOUIDS This invention relates to the dispensing of liquids such as air fresheners and cleaners.

When such items are used commercially, there is a need for quick and efficient checking to seek that they are operating effectively, whilst at the same time they need to operate over a long period without having to be refilled.

Generally speaking the container for the air freshener or cleaner will not be an attractive item and so it will need to be enclosed within a suitable outer casing for the item. However, as noted above, when someone whose job is to inspect toilets and the like comes to look, they need to be able to tell quickly and easily whether there is sufficient air freshener or cleaner left and whether replacement is necessary.

According to the invention there is provided within the liquid container a coloured ring of material which will float in the liquid, that ring being of a size such that its outside diameter is just smaller than the container section itself, the container being attached to apparatus for dispensing liquid within the container, and including pump means which extend down through the ring towards the base of the container, and an outer housing for the apparatus which encloses, or substantially encloses the pump means and the container, and which has a small aperture through which the coloured ring becomes visible once the liquid in the container is exhausted or nearly exhausted, since the ring will then become aligned with the small aperture in the cover and be visible therethrough.

The ring can for example, be of a plastics material and be brightly coloured, e.g. orange or red, which will contrast with the liquid in the container, and the container should be clear or at least highly translucent so that the ring is visible therethrough.

With such an arrangement it is very quick and easy for service personnel when they are checking the condition of the toilet at regular intervals to check to see if the coloured ring is visible, without having to disturb the overall apparatus itself.

However, the moment they can see that the ring is visible they will know that they will need, either that time or the next time, to change the liquid container for a freshly filled container.

In such apparatus we have found that it is desirable that the pump means operate such that the actual pump itself is positioned in the lowermost part of the container, which extends for example down through the ring, with the outlet from the pump extending upwardly through the ring and to a dispensing nozzle. In addition, the mechanism for activating the pump will need to comprise one or more members which extend down centrally through the ring and to operate the pump mechanism.

According to another aspect of the invention therefore, there is provided apparatus for dispensing a liquid including a container, a pump mechanism which extends downwardly in the container, the pump mechanism comprising a cylinder with an outlet leading to a conduit which extends upwardly and out through the top of the container to a dispensing nozzle and a hollow piston open at its lower end to receive fresh liquid from the container and closed at its upper end with a one-way valve, which is capable of reciprocating within the cylinder itself provided with a one-way outlet valve, and operating means including members extending downwardly through the container into contact with the piston for reciprocating it up and down to cause pumping of liquid to the nozzle.

Such apparatus is very simple and has a positive pumping action which can be used for dispensing a discrete amount of liquid either as a spray or as an atomised spray in the case of say an air freshener. The pump mechanism can also be very simple and is conveniently made of synthetic plastics material whilst the one-way valves can conveniently be small balls which seat on circular orifices. Such an arrangement can therefore be very simple and cheap to manufacture and be reliable in operation.

Preferably the actuating mechanism consists of one or more members which extend down into contact with the piston and exert a push-pull force on this to cause the reciprocation of the piston and therefore the pumping act which can either be a gentle action when a spray of liquid is required, or a sudden high speed high pressure action if an atomised spray is required.

Preferably the piston is integrally moulded with a U-shaped saddle member to which the actuating members can be attached.

Also the mechanism can be small and convenient, and can conveniently extend down through the marker ring which can be provided as explained above to indicate when the liquid in the container is substantially exhausted.

According to one embodiment of the invention, these features are incorporated into a device to provide a spray of cleansing and antiseptic liquid for say a toilet seat. Thus the overall mechanism might be mounted adjacent a toilet, and a manually operated push member provided, which the user can depress and which is connected to the actuating mechanism to cause a pumping action by means of the pump mechanism as the operating member is pressed. The resulting spray of liquid can be collected on a pad of paper or the like and wiped over a toilet seat to ensure cleanliness and hygiene. With such an arrangement the push member can be connected to the operating mechanism by a crank so that depression of the push member causes the piston to be raised and therefore pump a small supply of liquid to the outlet nozzle and suitable spring means are provided to restore the push member and piston to their rest conditions when the push member is released.

According to another embodiment the overall apparatus is supplied for use with an air freshener and is arranged to be affixed to or adjacent a door of say a toilet, and to provide an atomised spray of air freshener either when a door to the toilet is opened or closed, or both. Such apparatus therefore has means which are displaced by movement of the door relative to its frame, such means moving an energy store mechanism to a first position where energy is stored in those means by the initial movement of the contact mechanism, the contact mechanism being allowed to move further if necessary, under the action of its own resilient return means once the energy storage mechanism has been thus cocked so as to accommodate further movement of the door. The energy storage means are held in the cocked position until the contact member has returned to or near its initial rest position, whereupon the energy storage mechanism snaps back to its initial rest position, and is connected to the actuating member for the pump, whereby a sudden high speed high pressure movement of the pump occurs so ejecting an atomised spray of air freshener.

With such an arrangement, the user of a toilet is provided with a pleasantly renewed smell of the air freshener each time a user enters the toiler.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an upright section through a toilet seat cleaner dispenser; Figure 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional detail showing the pumping mechanism in that dispenser; Figure 3 is a front elevation of the dispenser with the cover in its open position; Figure 4 is a diagram showing an air freshener device attached to a door to dispense an air freshening spray when a door is opened; Figures 5 to 8 are a series of enlarged details showing the operation of the mechanism to pump a spray of fluid from the air freshener device shown in Figure 4; and Figure 9 is a diagram showing a modified arrangement for an air freshener device which dispenses an air freshening spray when the door is closed.

Turning first to the dispenser 10 shown in Figures 1 to 3, this includes a metal backing plate 11 to which is hingedly attached about a rod 12 an outer plastics material cover 14. At the top of the dispenser is a push member 16 for dispensing liquid which is dispensed through a nozzle 18 on the front of the cover 14.

The cover 14 has an integral springy arm 14a which engages with a hole 11a in a forwardly projecting portion lib of the metal frame 11, so that it can be snap fitted into place and hold the cover 14 in the closed position.

A pumping mechanism 20 is supported at the bottom end of an upright leg 22 forming part of a support mechanism 24 for a container 26 for the toilet cleaning liquid. That container is made of transparent material and has a screw thread 30 which screws into a corresponding thread on the support 24 to hold the container in place.

Within the container is a distinctive coloured ring 34 of plastics material. This may for example be orange coloured so as to be readily visible as a contrast to any cleaning liquid to be held in the container. It is arranged to float on that cleaning liquid. Through the front of the cover 14 is provided a small hole or slit 35 and when the container is empty the ring 34 will rest against the bottom of the container 26 and at that time, and only at that time, will it be visible through the small hole or slit 35 in the cover so as to signify that the container is empty.

The push member 16 is hinged about the rod 12 and has an integral downward projection 40. This engages a crank 42 which is pivotally mounted about a pair of projecting studs 44 which engage in corresponding holes in upright support legs 46 forming part of the support 24. The crank includes one arm 48 which is engaged by the projection 40 when the push member 16 is depressed, causing the crank to rotate so raising the end of its other arm 50. A spring 51 urges both the push member 16 and the crank 42 to their rest positions.

Attached to that other arm is a wire stirrup 52 having two downwardly extending legs 53 which connect to the pump mechanism 20 and cause it to operate.

The pump mechanism is shown in more detail in Figure 2 and comprises an outer cylinder 54 attached to the downwardly extending leg 22 and a piston 55 is slidably received within that cylinder. The piston 55 is hollow and has a bore 56 extending through it into communication with the cylinder and is shaped at its inner end in a part conical shape so that a sealing ball 57 can normally rest on it.

Integrally formed with the piston is a saddle 58 for having two arms 59 which extend alongside the cylinder and integrally formed with those arms at their upper ends are a pair of outwardly projecting pins 60. The lower ends of the wire legs 53 are bent round those pins to attach the saddle to the stirrup.

The cylinder 54 has a narrowing 61 near its top which forms a sealing seat for a second ball 62 and at its upper end the cylinder is joined to a length of tubing 63. The tubing is not shown continuously in Figure 1 but it extends from the cylinder eventually to the nozzle 18.

A pair of holes 65 are provided in the support 24 to enable the overall dispenser 10 to be screwed to a wall or other support near to a toilet.

In addition, the support 24 has on either side an outwardly projecting lug 66. Air freshening tabs can be attached to these so that a pleasant aroma can be provided in the area of the toilet.

In operation a full container 26 is screwed into place and the cover 14 closed. Then when a user wishes to clean a toilet they take a pad of paper or the like, and press the push member 16.

The projection 40 on this depresses the arm 48 of the crank 42 causing it to pivot and raise the stirrup 52. This in turn raises the piston 55 within the cylinder 54 of the pump. As a result liquid is urged past the ball 62 whilst the ball 57 seals the bore 56 in the hole 56 and the liquid is forced into the tubing 63 and dispensed through the nozzle 18.

The user then can wipe the toilet seat and throw away the wet pad.

When the press button is released the spring 51 restores it to its upper position and also restores the crank to its rest position with the result that the stirrup is pressed downwardly taking the piston with it. The ball 62 now seals the constriction 61 in the cylinder 54 whilst the low pressure in the cylinder causes the ball 57 to lift off the bore 55 and fresh liquid is then able to enter the cylinder as the piston 55 is moved downwardly. The dispenser is now ready for re-use.

The air freshening device 100 shown in Figure 4 is attached to a door 102. The device has an outer cover 103 and within the device is a container 104 of air freshening liquid shown in outline and within that container is a coloured ring 106. This ring 106 acts in exactly the same manner as the ring 34 in the container 26 shown in Figure 1 and the outer cover 103 of the air freshener has a small opening or slit 108 through which this ring 106 is visible once all of the air freshening liquid in the container 104 has been dispensed, so giving a ready indication that a fresh supply of liquid needs to be provided.

On the door jamb 110 which surrounds the door 102 is provided a bracket 112 and this engages with an operating mechanism 104 which will be described in due course. When the door shuts, the operating mechanism is cocked and when the door opens, i.e. moved to the left in the sense shown in Figure 4, the operating mechanism is released and causes device 100 to provide a high pressure supply of liquid which is dispensed as an aerosol through a nozzle 120. As will be appreciated, when the door is again shut the operating mechanism again becomes cocked so that again as soon as the door is opened then the operating mechanism is released from the projection 112 and again a spray of liquid can be fired from the nozzle 120.

Within the air freshening dispenser 100 is provided a pump member (not shown in Figure 4) which is in exactly the same form as the mechanism 20 shown in Figure 2. This pump is supported on the lower end of a leg (not shown) exactly equivalent to the leg 22 shown in Figure 1 and is operated by means of the two arms 53 of a stirrup 52 which again is like the stirrup 52 shown in Figure 1. No further explanation of the construction and operation of that pumping mechanism is therefore felt to be necessary.

The operating mechanism 104 however for the air freshening dispenser 100 is shown in more detail in Figures 5 to 8.

This comprises a contact member 122 which is pivotally mounted about a pivot pin 124 mounted on a support 126. At its upper end, that contact member has an enlargement 127 which, as shown in Figure 4, engages with the bracket 112. Also mounted about the pivot pin 24 is a cocking member 130. This has an elongated slot 132 to receive the pin 124 and in addition it also supports the wire stirrup 52.

At its outer end, the cocking member 130 has an enlargement 131 which is slidably received in a radial slot 132 in the support 26. The slot is centred on the pin 124 and has an enlargement 136 at its lower end in the sense viewed in Figure 5.

The contact member 122 includes radial abutment arms 138 which bear against the outer end of the cocking member 130 and in addition it is attached to a coil spring 140 fixed to the support to urge the contact member in an anti-clockwise sense. Finally the contact member 122 also includes a small abutment 142 at its lower end.

The cocking member 130 includes a small spigot 144 in which one end of a spring 146 is received. The other end of the spring 146 is received in a spigot 148 integrally formed in the support 126.

The initial rest position is shown in Figure 5. There the contact member 122 is held by means of the spring 140 to its most clockwise position and in addition the cocking member 130 is in an approximately horizontal position with the wire stirrup 52 in a raised position. The projections 131 on the end of the cocking member 130 are at the upper limiting end of the radial slot 132.

When the abutment member 122 contacts the bracket 112 on the door 102 it is displaced in a anti-clockwise direction to the piston shown in Figure 6. At the same time the radial arms 138 press on the end of the cocking member 130 and cause this to rotate also in an anti-clockwise sense. Its projections 131 therefore slide along the radial slot 132.

Continued movement in this sense as the door shuts to the position shown in Figure 4 brings one to the situation shown in Figure 7 where the contact member 122 is now at its most anticlockwise position. The contact arms 138 have moved the cocking member 130 also in an anti-clockwise sense, until the projections 131 reach the enlargement 136 of the slot 132. At that stage they are able to leave the radial line of the slot and enter the enlargement 136. The spring 146 urges the cocking member to slide relative the pivot pin 124 so that the projections 131 enter the enlargement 136 of the radial slot and allow the cocking member to move radially inwardly under the effect of the spring 146.

Also as a result the wire stirrup 52 has now moved to its lowermost position and referring back to Figure 2 this means that the piston has now been withdrawn and the cylinder is primed with liquid.

When the door is next opened, the contact member 122 is able to move back in a clockwise sense in the way shown in Figure 8 by virtue of the pull exerted on it by the spring 140. However, initially the cocking member is left in its cocked position shown in Figure 7. Thus the spring 148 urges the cocking member so that the projections 131 are held in the enlargement 136 of the slot 132, and the cocking member remains in this position, despite the initial movement of the contact member 122. However, once the position shown in Figure 8 is reached, the abutment 142 will now engage the underside of the cocking member 130 and this will force the cocking member to slide radially outwardly relative the pin 124 so that its projections 131 suddenly become released from the enlargement 136 of the slot 132. Then under the effect of the strong spring 146 the cocking member 130 is able quite suddenly to return to its rest position shown in Figure 5. By moving suddenly under the force of the spring 146 this causes the pump to operate very rapidly and provides a high pressure supply of liquid which leaves the nozzle 120 as an atomised spray. The contact member 122 and the cocking member 130 return to their rest positions shown in Figure 5 whilst the door is open. As soon as the door again shuts, then the contact member 122 contacts the bracket 112 again and the mechanism is brought to its cocked prime position shown in Figure 7 ready to dispense another supply of air freshener the next time the door is opened.

The modified arrangement shown in Figure 9 enables the air freshening device 200 to dispense air freshener when a door 202 is closed.

The device 200 is identical to the device 100 except that the orientation of the operating mechanism 104 is reversed and the contact member 222 is of modified shape and has a sideways projecting pin 222a. Also attached to the door jamb 110 is a modified bracket 212. This is in the form of a thin upright metal plate with an inclined cam portion 214 and an upright slot 216 extending from its lower edge, the slot having an upright contact edge 218.

As the door closes, the operating mechanism is in its cocked position and so the contact member 222 is oriented to the left in the sense viewed in Figure 9. The pin 222a contacts the edge 218 of the slot 216 and continued closing of the door moves the member 222 to the right and after sufficient movement the mechanism 104 will eventually cause the pump to spray air freshener. The pin 222a slides up and down against the edge 218 as required and in the closed position of the door the pin 222a will be retained within the slot 216.

As the door is opened, the pin 222a is initially retained in the slot 216 and so drawn back to the left in the sense viewed in Figure 9, causing the mechanism 104 to cock again. Eventually after sufficient movement of the door and once the mechanism 104 has been fully cocked, the pin 222a has moved sufficiently far towards the lower end of the slot 216 to be released therefrom.

The mechanism 104 is therefore now cocked and retains this condition whilst the door remains open.

In the event of the operating mechanism 104 not remaining in its cocked position whilst the door 202 is open, the pin 222a will engage the cam surface 214 as the door closes and will, when the door shuts, enter the slot 216 ready to cock the mechanism 104, when the door opens next.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. Apparatus for dispensing a liquid including a container, a pump mechanism which extends downwardly in the container, the pump mechanism comprising a cylinder with an outlet leading to a conduit which extends upwardly and out through the top of the container to a dispensing nozzle and a hollow piston open at its lower end to receive fresh liquid from the container and closed at its upper end with a one-way valve, which is capable of reciprocating within the cylinder itself provided with a one-way outlet valve, and operating means including members extending downwardly through the container into contact with the piston for reciprocating it up and down to cause pumping of liquid to the nozzle.

2. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 in which the actuating mechanism consists of one or more members which extend down into contact with the piston and exert a push-pull force on this to cause the reciprocation of the piston.

3. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 2 in which the pumping act is a gentle action to give a spray of liquid.

4. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 2 in which the pumping act is a sudden high speed high pressure action to give an atomised spray.

5. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim in which the piston is integrally moulded with a U-shaped saddle member to which the actuating members are attached.

6. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim in which a coloured ring of material which will float in the liquid is positioned within the containers, that ring being of a size such that its outside diameter is just smaller than the container section itself, and the pump means extending down through the ring towards the base of the container.

7. Apparatus for dispensing a liquid comprising a liquid container within which a coloured ring of material which will float in the liquid is positioned, that ring being of a size such that its outside diameter is just smaller than the container section itself, the container being attached to apparatus for dispensing liquid within the container, and including pump means which extend down through the ring towards the base of the container, and an outer housing for the apparatus which encloses, or substantially encloses the pump means and the container, and which has a small aperture through which the coloured ring becomes visible once the liquid in the container is exhausted or nearly exhausted, since the ring will then become aligned with the small aperture in the cover and be visible therethrough.

8. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 6 or Claim 7 in which the ring is of a plastics material and is brightly coloured to contrast with the liquid in the container, the container being clear or at least highly translucent so that the ring is visible therethrough.

9. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim for providing a spray of cleansing and antiseptic liquid for say a toilet seat, a manually operated push member being provided which the user can depress and which is connected to the actuating mechanism to cause a pumping action by means of the pump mechanism as the operating member is pressed.

10. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 9 in which the push member is connected to the operating mechanism by a crank so that depression of the push member causes the piston to be raised and therefore pump a small supply of liquid to the outlet nozzle, spring means being provided to restore the push member and piston to their rest conditions when the push member is released.

11. Apparatus as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 8 for use with an air freshener, the apparatus being arranged to be affixed to or adjacent a door to provide an atomised spray of air freshener either when a door is opened or closed, or both.

12. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 11 which has means which are displaced by movement of the door relative to its frame, such means moving an energy store mechanism to a first position where energy is stored in those means by the initial movement of the contact mechanism, the contact mechanism being allowed to move further if necessary, under the action of its own resilient return means once the energy storage mechanism has been thus cocked so as to accommodate further movement of the door, the energy storage means being held in the cocked position until the contact member has returned to or near its initial rest position, whereupon the energy storage mechanism snaps back to its initial rest position, and is connected to the actuating member for the pump, whereby a sudden high speed high pressure movement of the pump occurs so ejecting an atomised spray of air freshener.

13. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 12 in which the energy storage means include a cocking member operatively attached to the pump means movable between relaxed position and a cocked position, and mounted about a centre for rotating movement and limited radial movement, an end to the cocking member movable in a radial slot with an enlarged end, the said end being constrained to move along the slot to rotate the cocking member from the relaxed position until the enlarged end is reached when the cocking member moves radially with the end entering the enlarged slot and holding the cocking member in its cocked position, the cocking member being engaged by the contact member to move it from its relaxed position to its cocked position as the contact member is displaced by movement of the door and also being engaged by the contact member at or near its initial rest position to move the cocking member radially to release it from the enlarged end, spring means being provided to urge the cocking member from its cocked to its released positions.

14. A liquid dispenser substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 or, Figures 4 to 8, or Figures 4 to 8 as modified by Figure 9 of the accompanying drawings.