JP6869945B2 - Foam cartridge, refill unit, foam dispenser, and foam dispenser system - Google Patents

Description

This application was filed on July 15, 2015, in US Non-Provisional Application No. 62 / 192,837, entitled "Improved Foam Cartridges, Pumps, Refill Units, and Foam Dispensers Using them." Claim priority and interests, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

The present invention generally relates to a foam pump, a foam dispenser refill unit, and a foam dispenser system, and more particularly to a foam pump, a refill unit, and a foam dispenser having an improved foam cartridge.

Liquid dispenser systems, such as liquid soap and disinfectant dispensers, provide the user with a predetermined amount of liquid by operating the dispenser. Further, it may be desirable to dispense the foamy liquid, for example by injecting air into the liquid to produce a foamy mixture of the liquid and bubbles. Some liquids, such as alcohol-based liquids, are difficult to foam and require strengthening of mixing. A pump for generating bubbles can form bubbles by pumping a mixture of liquid and air through a foam cartridge. Conventional foam pumps and foam cartridges are available in US Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0054323, entitled "Foam Dispenser with Horizontal Pump, Refill Unit, and Integrated Air Compressor," filed March 9, 2013. No. 8,955,718, US Pat. No. 8,955,718, filed March 18, 2013, entitled "Foam Pumps with Air Motion and Adjustable Output Foam Pumps," filed July 3, 2013. US Pat. No. 8,763,863 entitled "Branched Foam Pumps, Dispensers and Refill Units" and US Patents filed January 24, 2008 entitled "Foam Pumps with Improved Piston Structure" No. 7,850,049, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Typical embodiments of foam dispensers, refill units for foam dispensers, and foam cartridges are disclosed herein. A typical foam cartridge for a foam pump includes a housing having a constant inner diameter, a first foam stage arranged in the housing, and a second foam stage arranged in the housing. The first foaming stage is separated from the second foaming stage. The first foam stage has at least two different types of mixed media and the second foam stage has at least two different types of mixed media.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood with reference to the following description and accompanying drawings.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a typical dispenser having a refill unit. It is sectional drawing of the foam pump and the refilling unit of a typical dispenser. It is sectional drawing of a typical foam cartridge.

FIG. 1 shows a typical embodiment of the foam dispenser 100. The cross-sectional view of FIG. 1 is a cut-out housing 102 to show a foam pump 120 having a foam outlet 130, a container 116, and an actuating device 140. The dispenser 100 includes a disposable refill unit 110. The disposable refill unit 110 includes a container 116, a foam pump 120, and a foam outlet 130. The dispenser 100 may be a wall mount system, a countertop mount system, a non-mountable portable system that can be moved from place to place, or another type of dispenser system.

The container 116 forms a liquid tank that houses a dispenseable supply of effervescent liquid in the disposable refill unit 110. In various embodiments, the liquid contained may be, for example, a disinfectant, a cleaning agent, a disinfectant, or some other dispenseable liquid. In a typical disposable refill unit 110, the container 116 is a foldable container and can be made from a thin plastic or flexible bag-like material. In other embodiments, the container 116 may be a non-foldable container and may be made of, for example, a thicker plastic than a foldable container. Non-foldable containers typically include vents (not shown) for venting the container.

It is advantageous for container 116 to be refillable, replaceable, or both refillable and replaceable. If the liquid stored in the container 116 of the attached disposable refill unit 110 is exhausted, or if the attached refill unit 110 fails, the attached refill unit 110 is removed from the dispenser 100. Can be removed. The empty or failed disposable refill unit 110 may then be replaced with a new disposable refill unit 110. The refill unit 110 is any means such as an unlockable locking mechanism, a quarter turn connection, a threaded connection, a flange and fastener connection, a tightening connection, or any other reusable connection. Can be fixed in the dispenser 100.

The refill unit 110 includes a foam pump 120 that communicates fluid with the container 116. The foam pump 120 can be fixed to the container 116 by any means such as screw connection, welding connection, quarter rotation connection, snap fitting connection, tightening connection, connection by flange and fastener. The foam pump 120 pumps liquid and air through the foam outlet portion, and dispenses thick foam through the outlet nozzle 134 of the pump.

Since there are many different types of foam pumps that can be used in the dispenser 100, the foam pump 120 is shown comprehensively. For example, US Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0367419, entitled "Effervescent Cartridges, Pumps, Refill Units, and Foam Dispensers Utilizing These," filed June 13, 2004, and December 3, 2008. The foam pump disclosed in US Pat. No. 8,272,539, entitled "Inclined Slot Foam Dispenser," filed in, may be used in Dispenser 100.

In one embodiment, the air pump and liquid pump of the foam pump 120 are housed in the pump housing 121. In another embodiment, the foam pump 120 includes a separate air pump and liquid pump. In this embodiment, both the liquid pump and the air pump may be part of the refill unit 110. In other embodiments, the liquid pump may be part of the refill unit 110 and may be discarded if the liquid from the container 116 is exhausted. On the other hand, the air pump (not shown) may be attached to the dispenser 100 and is not discarded. The concept of having a foam pump with a liquid pump portion separable from the air pump portion was filed on July 3, 2013, entitled "Branched Foam Pumps, Dispensers and Refill Units", US Pat. No. 8, It is referred to as the "split pump" illustrated and described in No. 763,863 and is incorporated herein by reference as a whole.

The foam outlet 130 communicates with the premix chamber 122 of the foam pump 120. The foam medium 132 is held in the foam outlet 130. The foam medium 132 produces bubbles from any foamable liquid. Some embodiments are particularly well suited for promoting the foaming of alcohol-containing effervescent liquids. For example, the foam medium 132 is longer than a conventional foam cartridge and includes a plurality of spaced foam stages (see FIGS. 2 and 3) that produce thick foam. In some embodiments, bubbles are produced by increasing working speed and pressure.

The dispenser 100 includes one or more actuating devices 140. As used herein, an actuating device or actuating member or actuating mechanism comprises one or more components that transfer liquid, air and / or foam to the dispenser 100.

Since there are many different types of pump actuators that can be used in the dispenser 100, the actuator 140 is shown comprehensively. The actuating device 140 of the dispenser 100 may be any type of actuating device, eg, a manual lever, a manual tension rod, a manual push rod, a manually rotatable crank, an electrically activated activator, or a foam pump 120 (liquid pump section and It may be any other means for operating (including one or both of the air pumps). The electronic actuator can further include a sensor (not shown) for providing a hands-free dispenser system with non-contact operation.

During the operation of the dispenser 100, the liquid is drawn from the container 116 by the foam pump 120 through the liquid inlet 126 and pumped into the premix chamber 122. At the same time, air is drawn into the foam pump 120 through the air inlet 124 and pumped into the premix chamber 122 to mix with the liquid. The mixture of air and liquid is pushed into the foam outlet 130 through the foam medium 132 and the thick foam is dispensed from the outlet nozzle 134. The foam medium 132 includes two foam stages, each containing a combination of at least two mixed media that produce high quality foam, such as sieves, porous members, sponges, baffles and the like. The opening 115 of the bottom plate 103 of the housing 102 causes the bubbles discharged from the nozzle 126 to be discharged from the housing 102 so that the user can use them.

FIG. 2 shows a typical embodiment of a foam dispenser 200 including a foam pump 230 attached to a container 212 to form a typical refill unit 210. The effervescent liquid is stored in the container 212 and mixed with the air in the foam pump 230 to produce a thick foam dispensed from the pump outlet 227. In the illustrated embodiment, the foam pump 230 includes a piston pump with a liquid chamber and an air chamber that operate at the same time that the pump 230 operates. The foam pump 230 may be any type of pump suitable for pumping and mixing liquid and air to produce foam.

The inside of the container 212 forms a liquid tank 220 that holds an effervescent liquid. The neck 214 of the container 212 is housed in the collar 238 of the foam pump 230. In the illustrated embodiment, the container 212 is fixed to the foam pump 230 with a screw connection, but the container 212 is, for example, snap-fitted, friction-fitted, quarter-rotated, and fastened to a flange. It can be fixed to the foam pump 230 by any means such as a tool connection, a tightening connection, etc. (actually, a one-time connection is preferable).

The foam pump 230 includes a pump housing 231, a piston assembly 240, a foam outlet 260 and a spring 241. The pump housing 231 includes an annular outer housing 232, an annular inner housing 234, an end lid 236 and a collar 238. The end lid 236 of the pump housing 231 is arranged close to the container to form the closed ends of the annular outer housing 232 and inner housing 234. The piston assembly 240 includes a piston body 242, an outer hole 243, an inner piston body 244, an inner hole 245, an outlet portion 246, and an outlet hole 247. In the illustrated embodiment, the inner piston body 244 is shown as a separate component, but may be integrally formed as part of the piston body 242. The spring 241 engages the shoulder 248 inside the pump outlet 246 of the piston assembly 240 with the inside of the end lid 238 of the pump housing 231.

The pump housing 231 and the piston assembly 240 form a cylindrical liquid pump chamber 222 and an annular air pump chamber 224. The liquid pump chamber 222 is formed at least partially by an inner annular housing 234, an end lid 236, and an inner piston body 244. The air pump chamber 224 is at least partially formed by an annular outer housing 232, an end lid 236, a piston body 242, and an outer hole 243. The premix chamber 226 is in the central hole 245. The liquid pump inlet 221 of the end lid 236 communicates fluidly with the liquid tank 220 and the liquid pump chamber 222. The liquid pump outlet 223 communicates with the liquid pump chamber 222 and the premix chamber 226. The air pump chamber 224 is arranged so as to communicate with the premix chamber 226 by the opening 225. The pump outlet 246 and the foam outlet 260 form a premix chamber 226 and a pump outlet 227 that communicates fluid with the atmosphere.

The piston assembly 240 is slidably engaged with the pump housing 231. As the piston 240 in the housing 231 moves between the filled state and the released state, the volumes of the liquid pump chamber 222 and the air pump chamber 224 expand and contract. The piston 240 can be actuated manually or by an actuating device. As used herein, an actuating device or actuating member or actuating mechanism comprises one or more components that transfer liquid, air or foam to the dispenser 200. By operating the piston 240 upward, the piston 240 changes from the filled state to the released state and compresses the spring 241. When the upward motive force is removed, the spring 241 returns the piston 240 to a filled state, inflating the liquid chamber 222 and the air chamber 224, thereby filling the pump 230. The piston 240 can be moved by any means, such as an electric low actuating device, a mechanical actuating device, a pneumatic actuating device, and the like.

The annular air pump chamber 224 has a larger volume than the cylindrical liquid pump chamber 222. Therefore, by the operation of the piston 240, a larger amount of air than the liquid is pumped through the foam pump 230. By adjusting the dimensions (for example, diameter) of the air pump chamber 224 and the liquid pump chamber 222, the flow velocity ratio of air and liquid can be adjusted. The flow rate of air may be, for example, about 1 to about 20 times the flow rate of the liquid, preferably about 10 times the flow rate of the liquid.

The liquid inlet valve 250 is arranged at the liquid inlet 221 of the end lid 236 of the pump housing 231. The liquid inlet valve 250 is a one-way valve arranged so as to prevent the flow from flowing into the liquid pump chamber 222 through the liquid pump inlet 221 and flowing out from the liquid pump chamber 222. The liquid outlet valve 252 is arranged at the end of the internal piston main body 244. The liquid outlet valve 252 causes the flow to flow out from the liquid pump chamber 222 through the liquid pump outlet 223 and flows into the liquid pump chamber 222. It is a one-way valve arranged to prevent it. In some embodiments, the liquid inlet valve 250 and the liquid outlet valve 252 may be any type of one-way valve, eg, a ball spring valve, a wiper valve, a poppet valve, a flapper valve, an umbrella valve, a slit. Examples include valves, mushroom valves, and duck bill (duck beak) valves.

The liquid pump seal 254 on the surface of the inner piston body 244 seals the inner pump housing 234 in order to prevent liquid from leaking from the liquid pump chamber 222 during charging and discharging of the pump 230. The liquid pump seal 254 is illustrated as an integrally molded wiper seal, but may be any type of suitable seal, such as an O-ring or elastic washer.

The air pump seal 256 on the piston body 242 seals the outer pump housing 232. The air pump seal 256 seals the air pump chamber 224 during the discharge operating cycle, but allows air to enter the air pump chamber 224 during the filling cycle. Therefore, the air pump seal 256 operates as a one-way valve arranged to prevent air from flowing into the air pump chamber 224 and outflowing from the air pump chamber 224. In some other embodiments, the foam pump 230 may include a separate unidirectional air inlet valve (not shown) that fluidly connects the air pump chamber 224 to the atmosphere. The air pump seal 256 of the embodiment including a separate one-way air inlet valve (not shown) may be any suitable seal, such as an O-ring, elastic washer, integrally molded wiper seal, or, for example. Lubricating oil such as grease can be mentioned.

The bubble outlet 260 includes a central hole 264 that is attached to the outlet portion 246 of the piston assembly 240 and communicates with the outlet hole 247 that together forms the pump outlet 227. The nozzle 262 of the foam outlet 260 makes it possible to dispense the foam generated at the foam outlet 260 to the user. The bubble outlet 260 can be fixed to the piston body 240 by any means such as a quarter rotation connection, a flange and fastener connection, a tightening connection, and a friction fitting connection. In some embodiments, the foam outlet 260 may be welded or adhered to the piston body 240, or may be formed integrally with the piston body 240.

The foam cartridge 270 containing the first foam medium 272 and the second foam medium 274 is held in the pump outlet 227. Each of the first foam stage 272 and the second foam stage 274 includes a combination of at least two mixed media, such as at least two combinations of a sieve, a porous member, a sponge, a baffle plate, and the like. The first foaming stage 272 and the second foaming stage 274 are separated by a gap 276. In some embodiments, the clearance is approximately equal to about 10% to about 50% of the inner diameter of the pump outlet 227.

The dustproof lid 280 is attached to the pump housing 230 to conceal and protect the outlet portion of the dispenser 200, and is removed before attaching the refill unit 210 to the dispenser 200.

During the operation of the dispenser 200, the piston assembly 240 of the foam pump 230 is moved from the discharge position to the filling position by the spring 241. The effervescent liquid flows from the liquid tank 220 through the liquid pump inlet 221 and the liquid pump inlet valve 250 into the liquid pump chamber 222 as the liquid pump chamber 222 expands. At the same time, air flows through the air pump chamber seal 256 to the air pump chamber 224. When the dispenser 200 is activated, the piston 240 moves from the filling position to the discharging position and pushes the liquid from the liquid pump chamber 222 through the liquid pump outlet valve 252 and the liquid pump outlet 223 into the premix chamber 226. At the same time, air is extruded from the air pump chamber 224 through the opening 225 into the premix chamber 226 and mixed with the effervescent liquid. The mixture of air and liquid in the premix chamber 226 exits the premix chamber 226 and flows through the foam cartridge 270, producing a thick foam at the pump outlet 227.

The dispenser 200 is operated at high speed and high pressure in order to generate a thick foam in a short time. The actuating device (not shown) moves the piston at about 1.5-4 inches (3.81-10.16 cm) / sec. When operated at this high speed, the dispenser 200 produces about 5 ml to about 19.5 ml of foam in about 0.2 to about 0.5 seconds. After pumping, before the air-liquid mixture flows through the foam cartridge, the pressure in the air-liquid mixture ranges from about 4 psig to about 12 psig. Unlike the foam cartridge 260, conventional foam cartridges are unable to produce a thick, uniform foam from an alcohol-containing effervescent liquid at these flow rates and pressures.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a typical foam cartridge 300 arranged at the foam outlet 301 of the foam dispenser 200. To more clearly show the components of the foam cartridge 300, FIG. 3 schematically shows the foam outlet 301. The foam cartridge 300 includes a first foam stage 310 and a second foam stage 320 separated by a gap 330. The mixture of air and liquid enters the foam cartridge 300 at the inlet 302 and is dispensed as thick foam from the outlet 304 while moving in the flow direction 306. The first foaming stage 310 includes a coarse sieve 312, a sponge 314, and a fine sieve 316. The second foaming stage 320 includes a sponge 322 and a fine sieve 324. The coarse sieve 312 may be a filter medium having about 40 to about 80 threads / inch (2.54 cm) threads. The fine sieves 316 and 324 may be filter media with about 80 to about 200 threads / inch (2.54 cm) threads. The sponges 314 and 322 may be porous media of about 10 holes / inch (2.54 cm) to about 100 holes / inch (2.54 cm).

The foam cartridge 300 promotes mixing of air and liquid, and is particularly useful for liquids that do not foam easily, such as liquids containing alcohol and liquids discharged from a high-pressure, high-speed foam pump. Higher operating speeds reduce the time required to dispense a certain amount of foam into the user's hands, increasing the pressure and speed of air and liquid in the pump. For example, the high speed of 1.5-4 inches (3.81-10.16 cm) / sec of a dispenser allows the pressure in the mixture of air and liquid to be in the range of about 4 psig to about 12 psig. A pump operating at this rate can dispense about 5 ml to about 19.5 ml in about 0.2 to about 0.5 seconds. Reducing the time to dispense foam is especially important for health care workers who are time demanding and time consuming.

Each stage 310, 320 of the foam cartridge reduces the pressure of the air-liquid mixture exiting the foam pump so that more stable bubbles are formed at the outlet 304 of the cartridge 300 when the foaming liquid containing alcohol is used. to enable. Since the air bubbles formed in the alcohol-based effervescent liquid have low surface tension, the air bubbles cannot be maintained at the same pressure as the air bubbles formed in the soap liquid, so that the pressure of the liquid-air mixture should be reduced. Promotes the formation of thick foam from alcohol-based effervescent liquids.

The mixture of air and liquid entering the first foam stage 310 passes through a coarse sieve 312 to make the size of bubbles in the mixture more uniform. The bubbles then pass through the sponge 314 and are continuously reformed. The fine sieve 316 makes the bubbles smaller and finer. The gap 330 between the first foam stage 310 and the second foam stage 320 sufficiently forms bubbles coming out of the fine sieve 316 before entering the second stage 320. The gap 330 may be about 10% of the inner diameter of the foam cartridge 300, or may be about 10% to about 50% of the inner diameter of the foam cartridge 300. The bubbles formed by the first foaming stage 310 flow through the second foaming stage 320 and are continuously modified by the sponge 322. Finally, the fine sieve 324 ensures that the bubbles coming out of the foam cartridge 300 are small and uniform and are reliably dispensed from the foam cartridge 300 as thick bubbles.

Although the embodiments described above illustrate and illustrate wall-mounted dispensers and countertop-mounted dispensers, foam cartridges work very well with countertop-mounted dispensers. A typical embodiment was filed on March 26, 2007 and is illustrated and described in US Pat. No. 8,544,698 entitled "Foam Dispenser with Stationary Dispenser Tube" (all of which). Is incorporated herein).

The present invention is illustrated by the description of embodiments, the embodiments being described in considerable detail, but the applicant limits the scope of the appended claims to such details, or in any form. Not intended to be. Additional benefits and modifications will be understood by those skilled in the art. Moreover, the elements described in one embodiment can be adopted in other embodiments. Therefore, the invention is, in a broader sense, not limited to the particular details, representative equipment and examples shown and described. Therefore, it may depart from these details without departing from the spirit and scope of the applicant's general concept of invention.

Claims (17)

A housing with a constant inner diameter,
A first foaming stage arranged in the housing and having at least two different types of mixed media, and a second foaming stage arranged in the housing and having at least two different types of mixed media.
A foam cartridge for a foam pump, wherein the second foam stage is separated from the first foam stage. The housing includes a first portion and a second portion, the first foam stage is arranged in the first portion, and the second foam stage is arranged in the second portion. The foam cartridge according to claim 1. The foam cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the second foam stage is separated from the first foam stage at intervals of about 10% of the inner diameter of the housing to about 50% of the inner diameter of the housing. .. The first foaming stage contains at least two mixed media selected from a coarse sieve, a sponge, and a fine sieve, and the second foaming stage is at least selected from a coarse sieve, a sponge, and a fine sieve. Containing two mixed media, the coarse sieve has about 40 to about 80 threads per inch (2.54 cm) and the fine sieve has about 80 to about 200 threads per inch (2.54 cm). The foam cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the sponge has about 10 to about 100 holes per inch (2.54 cm). The foam cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the mixing medium comprises at least one fine sieve and one coarse sieve. Container for holding effervescent liquid,
Liquid pump,
Air pump,
The foam cartridge comprises an outlet nozzle and a foam cartridge, wherein the foam cartridge comprises a first foam stage having two or more different types of mixing media and a second foam stage having two or more different types of mixing media. A refill unit for a foam dispenser in which the second foam stage is separated from the first foam stage. The second foaming stage is separated from the first foaming stage at intervals of about 10% of the outer diameter of the first foaming stage to about 50% of the outer diameter of the first foaming stage. The refill unit according to claim 6. The first foaming stage contains at least two mixed media selected from a coarse sieve, a sponge, and a fine sieve, and the second foaming stage is selected from a coarse sieve, a sponge, and a fine sieve. Containing at least two mixed media, the coarse sieve has about 40-about 80 threads per inch (2.54 cm) and the fine sieve has about 80-about 200 threads per inch (2.54 cm). The refill unit according to claim 6, wherein the refill unit has a thread of a book and the sponge has about 10 to about 100 holes per inch (2.54 cm). It ’s a foam dispenser,
With the housing
The foam dispenser includes a container and a refill unit containing a pump fixed to the container.
The pump includes an outlet nozzle and a foam cartridge.
The foam cartridge comprises the first foam stage having two or more different types of mixing media and the second foam stage having two or more different types of mixing media.
A foam dispenser in which the second foam stage is separated from the first foam stage. The foam dispenser according to claim 9, wherein the foam dispenser is a wall-mounted dispenser. The foam dispenser according to claim 9, wherein the foam dispenser is a countertop-mounted dispenser. A foam dispensing system comprising an actuating device for dispensing foam and a dispenser housing having a cage for accommodating a container and a refilling unit having a pump fixed to the container, wherein the refilling unit. Includes a first foaming stage with two or more different types of mixed media and a second foaming stage with two or more different types of mixed media.
A foam dispensing system in which the second foaming stage is separated from the first foaming stage. Housing,
First mixed medium,
Includes a second mixed medium and a third mixed medium
With a first foaming stage having at least two different types of mixed media,
Fourth mixed medium,
Including a fifth mixed medium,
It has a second foaming stage with at least two different types of mixed media and
A foam cartridge for a foam pump , wherein the second foam stage is separated from the first foam stage. The foam cartridge according to claim 13, wherein the first and third mixing media are sieves. The foam cartridge according to claim 13, wherein the second mixing medium is a sponge. The foam cartridge according to claim 13 , wherein the fourth mixing medium is a sponge. The foam cartridge according to claim 13 , wherein the fifth mixing medium is a sieve.

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