GB2483453A

GB2483453A - Container retainer

Info

Publication number: GB2483453A
Application number: GB1014883.1A
Authority: GB
Inventors: William Peter Herring; James Moore
Original assignee: Hornbeam Ivy Ltd
Current assignee: Hornbeam Ivy Ltd
Priority date: 2010-09-07
Filing date: 2010-09-07
Publication date: 2012-03-14
Anticipated expiration: 2030-09-07
Also published as: GB201014883D0; GB2483453B

Abstract

The invention relates to a container retainer 5 for a wall-mounted dispenser (1 figure 1) for dispensing liquids such as soap from a container 3. The container retainer comprises a body part 11 having an aperture 13 which receives a neck of the container 3, and a retaining mechanism 17 for releasably securing the neck of the container in the aperture 13. The retaining mechanism17 comprises an elongate member 19 which intersects the aperture 13 along part of a side 25. The elongate member 19 may have a varying cross-sectional shape along its elongate length which causes the extent to which the side 25 of the elongate member 19 extends into the aperture 13 to change as it is moved along is elongate length relative to the aperture 13. A pump system (7 figure 4) may be connected to the container retainer to dispense liquid from the container 3.

Description

CONTAINER RETAINER

The present invention relates to the mounting of containers on walls. For example, the present invention may be used in a wall-mounted dispenser for dispensing liquids such as soap from a container.

Pump dispensers for dispensing liquid products are known. Such pump dispensers typically have a dispenser pump with a variable-volume pump chamber mounted on a container of liquid product. Some pump dispensers are designed to be mounted on a wall, for example above a sink in a public convenience or a hospital. Mounting the pump dispenser on a wall has the advantages of reducing clutter around the sink area and of improving hygiene, for example by reducing handling of the dispenser and by preventing it from being knocked into the sink or onto the floor.

With a wall-mounted pump dispenser, the pumping mechanism is typically a fixed feature, while the container of liquid, e.g. a bottle or a sachet, is removable to allow it to be refilled or replaced when empty. One method of connecting the container of liquid to the pumping mechanism is to provide corresponding screw threads on a neck of the container and an aperture of the pumping mechanism. This arrangement enables the container and the pumping mechanism to be brought into interlocking engagement by screwing the container into the aperture of the pumping mechanism.

However, rotating the container can be time consuming and difficult to achieve in cramped locations.

A second method of retaining a container of liquid in a pump dispenser is to provide a screw through a sidewall of an aperture of the pumping mechanism which overlaps a neck of the container. The screw can be tightened to apply pressure to the neck of the container, thereby preventing the container from moving. This arrangement may be more appropriate than the previous arrangement in cramped locations. However, it can be time consuming and/or difficult to turn the screw to a sufficient tightness to prevent slip of the container.

At its most general, the present invention provides a container retainer suitable for mounting a container on a wall which allows for quick and easy mounting and dismounting of the container. For example, the container retainer may be part of a wall mounted liquid dispenser, e.g. for dispensing soap from a container.

According to one aspect of the invention, there may be provided a container retainer for mounting a container on a wall. The container retainer comprises a body part having an aperture suitable for receiving a neck of the container.

The container retainer further comprises a retaining mechanism suitable for releasably securing a neck of the container in the aperture of the body part: The retaining mechanism comprises an elongate member which intersects the aperture along part of a side of the elongate member, the elongate member having a cross-sectional shape which varies along an elongate length of the elongate member and being moveable along its elongate length so as to vary an extent to which the side of the elongate member extends into the aperture. The container retainer further comprises a mounting portion connected to the body part for mounting the container retainer on a wall.

Thus, the size of the opening of the aperture may be varied by moving the elongate member along its elongate length. The neck of a container may be secured in the aperture by reducing the size of the opening to less than a diameter of a screw thread on the neck of the container.

Alternatively, the size of the opening may be reduced so that the neck of the container is gripped between the side of the elongate member and a side of the aperture.

The container retainer of the above aspect may have any one or, to the extent that they are compatible, any combination of the following optional features.

The elongate member may be aligned parallel to a tangent to an edge of the aperture at the intersection between the elongate member and the aperture.

The elongate member may be moveable between a retaining configuration in which the extent to which the is side of the elongate member extends into the aperture is a maximum and a non-retaining configuration in which the extent to which the side of the elongate member extends into the aperture is a minimum. Thus, in the retaining configuration the extent to which the side of the elongate member extends into the aperture may be sufficient to bring the elongate member into contact with the neck of the container. This contact may be directly between the elongate member and a side of the neck of the container and/or between the elongate member and an underside of a screw thread on the neck of the container.

The elongate member may have one or more outwardly projecting fins along part of its length which are suitable for meshing with a screw thread on the neck of the container when the elongate member is in the retaining configuration. This may enable the neck of the container to be more securely retained in the aperture.

The elongate member may be resiliently biased towards the retaining configuration. Thus, the neck of the container may be received in the aperture by moving the elongate member to the non-retaining position against the action of the resilient biasing. Subsequently, the resilient biasing may automatically and quickly return the elongate member to the retaining configuration in which the neck of the bottle is secured in the aperture. Thus, quick and easy connection of the container may be achieved.

The resilient biasing may be provided by a spring adjacent to a first end of the elongate member. The elongate menber may be moved to the non-retaining configuration by moving it to compress the spring, which will then provide a restoring force which urges the elongate member back towards the retaining configuration.

The body part may have a cavity in which the spring and the elongate member are housed and wherein the cavity intersects an edge of the aperture along part of the extent of the cavity. Thus, the retaining mechanism is securely housed in the body part.

A second end of the elongate member may extend from the body part so that a user may manually move the elongate member into the non-retaining position by applying a force to the second end. This may facilitate quick and easy manual connection of the container to the container retainer.

The elongate member may be wider at the first end and narrower over a section of its elongate length between the first and second ends. Thus, in the retaining configuration the elongate member may be positioned so that the wider first end extends into the aperture. In the non-retaining configuration, the elongate member may be positioned so that the narrower section intersects the aperture.

One or more outwardly projecting fins which are suitable for meshing with a screw thread on a neck of a container may be disposed on the wider first end of the elongate member. Thus, in the retaining configuration, in which the wider first end extends into the aperture, the projecting fins may mesh with a screw thread on the neck of a container, thereby securing the neck of the container in the aperture.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there may be provided a liquid dispenser suitable for wall mounting. The liquid dispenser comprises a container retainer according to the first aspect of the invention and a pump system connected to the container retainer, the pump system being arranged to dispense liquid from a container retained by the container retainer. Thus, a container of liquid may be quickly and easily connected to the liquid dispenser, where the liquid can then be dispensed by the pump system.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there may be provided a kit of parts for constructing a liquid dispenser. The kit of parts comprises a container retainer according to the first aspect of the invention and a pump system which is attachable to the container retainer and which is suitable for dispensing liquid from a container retained by the container retainer.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows schematically a side view of a liquid dispenser according to the second aspect of the invention; Figure 2 shows an isometric view of a liquid dispenser according to the second aspect of the invention; Figure 3 shows schematically a front view of a liquid S dispenser according to the second aspect of the invention; Figure 4 shows schematically a top view of a liquid dispenser according to the second aspect of the invention.

Figure 5 shows schematically a cross-section along line B-B of the liquid dispenser shown in Figure 3; Figure 6 shows schematically a cross-section along line A-A of the liquid dispenser shown Figure 3; A liquid dispenser 1, as illustrated in Figures 1 to 4, comprises a container retainer 5 and a pump system 7 connected to the container retainer. The container retainer 5, which is discussed in more detail below, has the dual purposes of attaching a container 3 to the liquid dispenser 1 and of mounting the liquid dispenser 1 on a wall. The pump system 7, also discussed in more detail below, is arranged to dispense liquid from a container 3 retained by the container retainer 5, e.g. a bottle.

The container retainer 5, which is shown in more detail in Figure 5, comprises a body part 11 that has an aperture 13 suitable for receiving a neck of a container 3 which is to be connected to the liquid dispenser 1. The container retainer 5 further comprises a retaining mechanism 17 for releasably securing a neck of the container 3 in the aperture 13. The retaining mechanism 17 comprises an elongate member 19 which intersects the aperture 13 along part of a side 25 of the elongate member 19. The elongate member 19 has a cross-sectional shape that varies along an elongate length of the elongate member 19. In this embodiment, the elongate member 19 is wider at a first end and narrower over a section of its elongate length between the first end and a second end.

The elongate member 19 is aligned parallel to a tangent to an edge of the aperture 13 at the intersection between the elongate member 19 and the aperture 13. The elongate member 19 is movable along its elongate length so as to vary an extent to which the side 25 of the elongate member 19 extends into the aperture 13, i.e. as the elongate member 19 is moved along its elongate length the cross-section of the elongate member 19 at the region of intersection between the elongate member 19 and the aperture 13 varies.

The elongate member 19 is movable between a retaining configuration in which the wider first end of the elongate member 19 is positioned at the region of intersection and a non-retaining configuration in which the narrower section of the elongate member 19 is positioned at the region of intersection. In the non-retaining configuration, the elongate member 19 does not significantly restrict access to the aperture 13. Thus, the neck of a container 3 can readily be inserted into, or removed from, the aperture 13. In the retaining configuration, the side 25 of the elongate member 19 extends into and restricts access to the aperture 13.

In the retaining configuration, the side 25 of the elongate member 19 may directly contact the side of the neck of a container 3 in the aperture 13 with sufficient pressure to retain the bottle 3. However, the retaining mechanism is particularly suited to retaining a container 3 which has a screw thread disposed on an outer-surface of its neck. In the retaining configuration, the side 25 of the elongate member 19 may push underneath the screw thread on the neck of the container 3. The neck of the container 3 is thus prevented from being removed from the aperture 13 while the elongate member 19 is in the retaining configuration. Alternatively, the side of the elongate member 19 may have one or more outwardly projecting fins along part of its length which are suitable for meshing with the screw thread on the neck of the container 3 when the elongate member 19 is in the retaining configuration.

In this embodiment, the outwardly projecting fins may be disposed on the wider first end of the elongate member 19.

The elongate member 19 is resiliently biased towards the retaining configuration, i.e. the position where the wider first end of the elongate member 19 is at the intersection with the aperture 13, by a spring 21 positioned adjacent to the first end of the elongate member 19. The elongate member 19 and the spring 21 are housed in a cavity 23 of the body part 11, except for a second end of the elongate member 19 which extends from the body part 11.

At rest, the spring 21 resiliently biases the elongate member 19 towards the retaining configuration in which the neck of the container 3 is secured in the aperture 13. The elongate member 19 is retained in the cavity 23 by an end cap 9 positioned over the second end of the elongate member 19.

To release a container 3 from the container retainer 5, a force is manually applied to the end cap 9 to displace the elongate member 19 towards its first end, thereby compressing the spring 21 and bringing the narrower section of the elongate member 19 to the intersection region between the elongate member 19 and the aperture 13 (the non-retaining configuration) . The narrower section of the elongate member 19 does not significantly restrict access to the aperture 13, enabling the neck of a container to be inserted into, or removed from, the aperture 13. Once the neck of a container has been inserted into the aperture 13, the force manually applied to the end cap 9 is removed.

The compressed spring 21 then automatically and rapidly urges the elongate member 19 back towards the retaining configuration in which the wider first end of the elongate member 19 is located at the region of intersection between the elongate member 19 and the aperture 13. The neck of the container 3 is thus rapidly secured in the aperture 13.

The container retainer 5 also comprises a mounting portion 15 connected to the body part 11 for mounting the liquid dispenser 1 on a wall. In this embodiment, the mounting portion 15 is arranged to clip onto a corresponding mounting section already attached to a wall.

However, the mounting portion may instead be directly attachable to a wall by known attachment means, e.g. adhesive, a nail, a screw or such-like.

The pump system 7, which is shown schematically in Figure 6, is a conventional pump system. The pump system 7 comprises a variable-volume pumping chamber 29, the volume of which can be varied by a moveable plunger 31. The moveable plunger 31 is rigidly connected to an outlet nozzle 33 of the pump system 7. A downward force applied to the outlet nozzle 33 depresses the plunger 31 and reduces the volume of the pumping chamber 29. As the pumping chamber 29 is compressed, an inlet ball valve 35 located at a lower end of the pumping chamber 29 prevents liquid in the pumping chamber 29 from returning to the container 3. An outlet ball valve 37 located at an upper end of the pumping chamber 29 allows the liquid under pressure to exit the pumping chamber 29 to be dispensed from the outlet nozzle 33. When the downward force is removed from the outlet nozzle 33, a spring 39 located in the pumping chamber 29 urges the plunger 31 to return to its extended position. As the plunger 31 returns to the extended position the pumping chamber 29 expands and the pressure in the pumping chamber 29 falls. The inlet ball valve allows liquid to be sucked from the container 3 into the pumping chamber 29 as it expands, thereby refilling the pumping chamber in readiness for the next pump action.