GB2301812A

GB2301812A - Apparatus for supplying liquid soap to a foaming device

Info

Publication number: GB2301812A
Application number: GB9611727A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Paul Meyer
Original assignee: STEINER CO INT SA
Current assignee: STEINER CO INT SA
Priority date: 1995-06-08
Filing date: 1996-06-05
Publication date: 1996-12-18
Also published as: IT1282730B1; ITMI961005A0; FR2735004A1; ITMI961005A1; FR2735004B1; GB9611727D0

Abstract

The apparatus for supplying liquid soap (27) to a foaming device (33) includes an equalising container (3) provided with two interconnected chambers (5 and 7). The chamber (7) is connected to the surrounding air by an aperture (58), and it also accommodates the proportioning container (12), a valve (55) being disposed on the underside of said container. The upper end of the chamber (5) is always closed in an airtight manner, so that the soap (27) situated therein can only flow into the second chamber (7) up to the height h 2 . The volume of the upper region (81) in the proportioning container (12) remains constant within extremely narrow limits. This permits the ratio of soap and air, which are mixed together in the foaming device (33), to be likewise constant within narrow limits.

Description

APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING LIOUID SOAP TO A FOAMING DEVICE The present invention relates to an apparatus for supplying liquid soap to a foaming device in accordance with the preamble of claim 1.

Soap dispensers of said type are known and serve to deliver foam to the hand of a person in portions.

Such soap dispensers are very economical in their use of soap, and the soap is already finely distributed after being applied to the hand, so that the operation of washing hands is very pleasant, and the soap can be prevented from dripping, since this is often the case with liquid soap dispensers.

A soap dispenser is described in EP-A-0557243 which mainly includes, in addition to the supply container, an upside-down bottle, an equalising container and a proportioning container. The quantity of soap required for the portion of foam is removed from the proportioning container. Such container permits the quantity of foam to be measured very accurately, since a prescribed level of soap in the proportioning container can be maintained very accurately and, more especially, a small volume of air can be compressed during the foamproducing process. This process is satisfactorily successful there with the above-mentioned means, and a foam is produced with a permanently constant consistency.

The object of the present invention is now to provide an apparatus for supplying liquid soap, which has few component parts and can be manufactured economically.

According to the present invention there is provided an apparatus for supplying liquid soap to a foaming device in a soap dispenser, having a supply container (21), an equalising container (3) and a proportioning container (12), the supply container (21) being disposed above the equalising container (3) and being connected thereto, characterised by the feature that the equalising container (3) includes two chambers (5 and 7), which are interconnected by a connecting aperture (9), and wherein the lower end of the proportioning container (12) is connected to the second chamber (7), which has a smaller height (H2) than the height (H1) of the first chamber (5).

The apparatus manufactured according to the invention can be produced from few component parts and injection-moulded in plastics material. The proportioning container, which is installed in the equalising container or is connected thereto, can be assembled without any tools. The volume of soap in the equalising container remains constant for as long as soap can keep flowing from the supply container, and the level of soap at the beginning of each foam-forming process is always identical irrespective of the degree of filling of the equalising container and of the supply container and irrespective of the prevailing air pressure.

The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view through the foam dispenser in the initial position; Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view through a foam dispenser at the end of the foam-producing process; Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the foam dispenser, with the lateral wall of the housing removed; and Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view through a closed valve prior to a new supply container being mounted.

Only the component parts of the apparatus important to the understanding of this invention are illustrated in the drawings. The pumps or bellows, required for the foam-producing process, and the actuating mechanism therefor have only been schematically illustrated for better clarity. The foaming device is illustrated as a rectangle, and a possible embodiment for such a foaming device is illustrated and described in Swiss Patent Specification No. 545232.

A foam dispenser with reference numeral 1 is illustrated, which includes an L-shaped equalising container 3 and is divided into two chambers 5 and 7.

The two chambers 5 and 7 are interconnected by a connecting aperture 9. The connecting aperture 9 is situated in the region of the base 11 of the equalising container 3, and the end S of said aperture, which is situated at a spacing a from the base 11, defines the level h2 in the second chamber 7. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the base 11 of the equalising container 3 is manufactured as a separate component part and connected to the equalising container 3 at its lower end.

At the upper end of the first chamber 5, a valve 13 is inserted in a bore 14 and has a circular valve cover 15 with a sealing ring 16 spaced therefrom and mounted internally of the chamber 5, said ring being urgeable towards the filler pipe 19 by means of a spring 17 and sealing said pipe (see also the enlarged view of Figure 4). The filler pipe 19 is configured as a cylindrical tube having an internal thread and is intended to accommodate and securely retain the threaded neck 23 of a supply container 21. When the neck 23 has been completely screwed in position, there is an airtight connection between the supply container 21 and the equalising container 3.When the supply container 21 is completely inserted or screwed in position, the end face 25 of said container urges the valve cover 15 downwardly in opposition to the force of the spring 17 and establishes a connection between the interior of the supply container 21 and the first chamber 5 of the equalising container 3 through a connecting aperture 18 in the valve cover 15. If the supply container 21 is unscrewed from the valve 13 after it has become empty, the spring 17 raises the valve cover 15 upwardly, and the bore 14 is sealed in an airtight manner by the sealing ring 16 before the supply container 21 rises from the valve 13.

Liquid soap 27, which is poured into the supply container 21, can flow from the supply container 21 into the equalising container 3. A diaphragm 29 may also be inserted into the bottle neck 23 and be pierced, slipped in position or urged aside during insertion into the filler pipe 19, so that soap 27 can flow from the supply container 21 only at the time when there is an airtight connection between the supply container 21 and the filler pipe 19. Such diaphragms 29 and corresponding mandrels 31 are known from prior art relating to soap dispensers. In consequence, there is no fuller description.

The height H1 of the chamber 5 is substantially greater than the height H2 of the chamber 7. A supply volume is determined by the height H1 of the chamber 5 and is available for the further production of foam when the supply container 21 is empty. The height H2 lies in the range of between approx. 10 and 20 millimetres and produces a very small length for the path of the soap 27 to a foaming device 33.

The proportioning container 12 is secured by its upper end in the top 35 of the chamber 7 or is part thereof.

At least one expansion bellows pump 39 is provided on the rear side of the chamber 5 of the equalising container 3, which preferably has a rectangular cross-section and extends over the entire width of the housing 37 accommodating the soap dispenser 1. The rear side of the pump 39 is in contact with a compressor plate 41; the front side has an aperture in which a tube 43 is inserted, which tube communicates with a central tube 45. If two pumps 39 are provided (as illustrated in the Figures), both pumps are connected to the central tube 45. One end of the central tube 45 is connected to the surrounding air (atmosphere) by a non-return valve 47. The valve 47 serves to supply the pump 39 with air again after the compression process.

A second valve 49 is inserted in a pressure line 51, which connects the central tube 45 to the proportioning container 12. Furthermore, the pressure line 51 is also connected to the foaming device 33. The second valve 49 is disposed in the opposite direction and prevents the backflow of air during the filling of the pump 39.

A riser tube 53, which extends into the proportioning container 12, likewise extends from said proportioning container to the foaming device 33. The lower end of the riser tube 53 extends to within a few millimetres from the base of the proportioning container 12. An inlet valve 55 is inserted in the base of the proportioning container 12, which valve is configured as a ball valve in the illustrated case and permits soap 27 to enter the proportioning container 12, provided that the pressure in the proportioning container 12 is less than in the upper region 57 of the chamber 7. A dispensing tube 59 communicates with the foaming device 33, and the end of said tube is situated on the underside of the housing 37.

A blowout pump 61, e.g. in the form of a bellows, is disposed above the chamber 7 of the equalising container 3, and the rear side of said pump abuts against a second compressor plate 63. The front side of the pump 61 is fixed and connected to a discharge line 65, which communicates with two valves 67 and 69. The valve 69 permits air to be drawn inwardly and communicates with the atmosphere; the valve 67 is inserted in the opposite direction and prevents air from passing from a blowout line 71, which terminates in the upper portion of the dispensing tube 59.

The expansion bellows pumps 39 and the pump 61 are compressible and expandable (Figures 2 and 3) with an actuating lever 73, which protrudes from the lower end of the housing 37 and is pivotable about an axis A.

In the embodiment, the lines for air and soap are configured as tubes or hoses, which interconnect the individual component parts. Alternatively, the lines could also be accommodated in a block 75, which is disposed above the chamber 7 of the equalising container 3 (shown by dash-dot lines in Figure 1).

The equalising container is preferably made from one or more plastics material injection-moulded component parts.

The apparatus and its mode of operation are explained more fully hereinafter. This explanation is based on a new apparatus (foam dispenser 1), on which a supply container 21 is mounted for the first time in the form of a plastics material bottle, and the equalising container (3) and proportioning container (12) of said apparatus are filled with soap 27 for a first time.

The structure of the housing 37 is known from prior art, and the front cover 76 of said housing is pivoted forwardly (in a clockwise direction), so that the new supply container 21 can be screwed onto the valve 13 upside-down. The diaphragm 29 prevents soap 27 from being able to emerge from the supply container 21 before the neck of said container is screwed in position in the filler pipe 19 - after a few rotations of the supply container 21 about its own axis. During the screwing-in process, the diaphragm 29 is urged into the supply container 21 by the mandrel 31, and the valve cover 15 is simultaneously displaced downwardly in opposition to the force of the spring 17. A connection between the upper region 77 of the chamber 5 is only established when the valve 13 is in its lowered position.Until this time, a seal 79 in the lower valve portion and the seal 16 prevent air from passing to the chamber 5 through the bore 14.

Soap 27 now flows from the supply container 21 into the chamber 5 and also, through the connecting aperture 9, into the chamber 7 of the equalising container 3. The soap 27 may also flow into the proportioning container 12 from below through the inlet valve 55 and rise in said container, namely to the level h2, which is also set in the chamber 7. The air in the proportioning container 12 is discharged through the foaming device 33, which still does not contain any soap 27. The level h2 rises to the height of the end S of the connecting aperture 9 and remains there, because an additional flow of soap 27 is stopped due to a lack of an equalisation of volume by air in the supply container 21. This prerequisite exists so long as the container 21 has a rigid configuration per se and does not collapse. The foam dispenser 1 is now ready to dispense.

The actuating lever 73, which is not illustrated in Figure 1 for better clarity, is drawn from the inoperative position, as seen in Figure 3, into the end position shown in Figure 2 for the removal of a portion of foam. Because of the pivotal movement of the actuating lever 73, which occurs in an anti-clockwise direction, the two expansion bellows pumps 39 are squeezed together by the compressor plate 41, which is pivotally mounted on the plate-like actuating lever 73.

The pump 61 is simultaneously drawn from its initially squeezed together position by the second compressor plate 63, which is likewise pivotally mounted on the actuating lever 73. The air, which is required to fill the pump 61, is drawn-in from the surrounding atmosphere by the automatically opening valve 69. The second valve 67, which is disposed in the discharge line 65, is closed by the reduced pressure in the discharge line 65, and no air can be drawn-in through the dispensing tube 59.

When the two expansion bellows pumps 39 are squeezed together, the air which is initially situated therein is conducted into the central tube 45 through the tubes 43 and passes from there into the pressure line 51 by means of the valve 49, which opens as a result of excessive pressure. A portion of the air arriving from the expansion bellows pumps 39 is conducted into the upper region 81 of the proportioning container 12, and the other portion is conducted into the foaming device 33. The increase in the pressure in the upper region 81 of the proportioning container 12 urges the soap 27 situated therein upwardly into the foaming device 33 through the riser tube 53. During the increase in pressure in the proportioning container 12, the inlet valve 55 prevents the backflow of soap 27 into the equalising container 3.The soap 27, which is introduced through the riser tube 53, is mixed in the foaming device 33 in known manner with the air from the two expansion bellows pumps 39, such air having been conducted from the pressure line 51, to form a finepored foam, which leaves the soap dispenser 1 through the dispensing tube 59 and is conducted directly into the hand of a person using the actuating lever 73 and situated beneath the dispensing tube 59. At the end of the pivotal movement of the actuating lever 73, said lever is released and pivoted back into the initial position by a spring 83, which is tensioned during the soap-dispensing process. The pump 61 is compressed during the backward pivotal movement, and its content is blown into the upper portion of the dispensing tube 59 through the blowout line 71. Foam residues, which have remained behind in the dispensing tube 59, are completely blown-out by this blast of air.

The cross-section of the second chamber 7 is at least ten times greater than the cross-section of the riser tube 53. The same ratio applies to the crosssections of the chamber 7 and the proportioning container 12.

Whilst the actuating lever 73 returns to the initial position, the two expansion bellows pumps 39 are filled again by ambient air, which may enter through the valve 47. The valve 49 in the pressure line 51 simultaneously prevents air from being able to pass from the proportioning container 12 and the foaming device 33 into the central tube 45 and, hence, into the two expansion bellows pumps 39. A smaller pressure is now set again in the proportioning container 12 and, since the level of the soap internally of the proportioning container 12 has dropped because of the removal of soap 27, an equalisation with the soap level h2 in the chamber 7 occurs.Because of the removal of soap 27 from the chamber 7, the level of said chamber also drops, and air passes from the upper region 57, which is connected to the surrounding air (atmosphere) through an aperture 58, through the connecting aperture 9 to the chamber 7 and from there, through the valve 13, into the container 21 until the initial level h2 is reached. The soap foam dispenser 1 is now ready again to deliver a new portion of foam when the actuating lever 73 is pivoted.

When there is no longer any soap 27 in the supply container 21 and no new container has yet been mounted, the level of soap in the chamber 5 of the proportioning container 3 drops. Foam can be produced until the equalising container 3 is virtually empty.

The level at which the soap lies in the chamber 5 is immaterial when the supply container 21 is replaced. As soon as the container 21 is in fact unscrewed from the filler pipe 19, the valve 13 closes the aperture 14, and the column of soap present in the chamber 5 cannot be discharged into the chamber 7, which is connected to the atmosphere.

Claims

1. An apparatus for supplying liquid soap (27) to a foaming device (33) in a soap dispenser (1), having a supply container (21), an equalising container (3) and a proportioning container (12), the supply container (21) being disposed above the equalising container (3) and being connected thereto, characterised by the feature that the equalising container (3) includes two chambers (5 and 7), which are interconnected by a connecting aperture (9), and wherein the lower end of the proportioning container (12) is connected to the second chamber (7), which has a smaller height (H2) than the height (H1) of the first chamber (5).

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second chamber (7) has an aperture (58) opening to the atmosphere at its upper end.

3. An apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 or 2, wherein a valve (13) is inserted between the supply container (21) and the equalising container (3) and is open while the supply container (21) is mounted.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the valve (13) is opened in opposition to the force of a spring (17) while the supply container (21) is mounted and is closed when the supply container (21) is displaced.

5. An apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the equalising container (3) has an L-shaped cross-section, and the connecting aperture (9) lies between the two chambers (5,7) in the region of the container base (11), the level (h2) of the soap (27) in the second chamber (7) and in the proportioning container (12) being determined by the vertical position of the end (S) of the aperture (9).

6. An apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the proportioning container (12) has an inlet valve (55) in the region of its base, said valve being configured and intended to close the inlet aperture during the foam-forming process.

7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the proportioning container (12) extends from above into the second chamber (7) of the equalising container (3) or is flange-mounted laterally on said container and connected thereto.

8. An apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the cross-section of a riser tube (53), which extends into the proportioning container (12) and leads to the foaming device (33), is at least ten times smaller than the cross-section of the proportioning container (12).

9. An apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the foaming device (33), the valves (47,49,67,69) and the lines (43,45,51,71) are disposed in a common block (75), which is mountable on the chamber (7).

10. An apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the equalising container (3), provided with the chambers (5,7), is formed from one or more plastics material injection-moulded component parts, which have been joined together.

11. An apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.