Selectively actuated fluid dispenser

• US 10,022,741 B2
• Filed: 08/21/2015
• Issued: 07/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NSE Products, Inc. (Nu Skin Enterprises Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: NSE Products, Inc. (Nu Skin Enterprises Incorporated)
• Inventors: Fuller, Kevin Gregory, Godbold, Oliver Brian, Wilkins, Rebecca Ann, Innes, Henry Charles, Hewett, Carl Gordon, Ansell, Iain
• Primary Examiner(s): Shaw, Benjamin R
• Application Number:
  US14/832,085
• Publication Number:
  US 20160052007A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,061 Days
• Field of Search: 2221455
• CPC Class Codes: A45D 2034/005 with a cartridge
• CPC Class Codes: A45D 2200/058 Means for mixing different substances prior to application
• CPC Class Codes: A45D 34/00 Containers or accessories specially adapted for handling liquid toiletry or cosmetic substances, e.g. perfumes
• CPC Class Codes: A45D 40/00 Casings or accessories specially adapted for storing or handling solid or pasty toiletry or cosmetic substances, e.g. shaving soaps or lipsticks features common to containers for handling powdery or liquid toiletry or cosmetic substances A45D33/00-A45D37/00; cosmetic or like preparations A61K8/00, A61Q; sample tables or the like G09F5/00
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 5/1202 dispensing dosed volume A47K5/1201 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 5/1217 Electrical control means for the dispensing mechanism
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 25/431 Straight mixing tubes with baffles or obstructions that do not cause substantial pressure drop; Baffles therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 33/841 with component receptacles fixed in a circular configuration on a horizontal table, e.g. the table being able to be indexed about a vertical axis
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/513 Flexible receptacles, e.g. bags supported by rigid containers
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/522 comprising compartments keeping the materials to be mixed separated until the mixing is initiated containers or packages for packaging two or more different materials which must be maintained separate prior to use in admixture B65D81/32
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/7164 the containers being placed in parallel before contacting the contents
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/7176 using pumps
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 11/0054 Cartridges, i.e. containers specially designed for easy attachment to or easy removal from the rest of the sprayer attachment arrangements between pump and container B05B11/1043
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 11/0078 Arrangements for separately storing several components arrangements for pumping several liquids or other fluent materials from several containers B05B11/1081
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 11/1084 each liquid or other fluent material being pumped by a separate pump
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 12/122 responsive to presence or shape of target B05B12/124 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 12/1409 the selection means being part of the discharge apparatus, e.g. part of the spray gun
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 12/1454 separate units comprising both a material container and a spray device permanently connected thereto being removably attached to a part of the spray apparatus, e.g. to a robot arm

Abstract

An apparatus includes a selectively actuated fluid system having a plurality of selected fluid reservoirs, for example replaceable cartridge-type fluid reservoirs. A first subset of the reservoirs can be selectively actuated to dispense an individual fluid from the selected reservoir. A second subset of the reservoirs can be simultaneously actuated to dispense two or more fluids in mixed form.

Claims

1. An apparatus for dispensing a flowable liquid, mixed from contents of two or more cartridges, comprising:

a first cartridge with a first flowable liquid and a first dispenser pump with an outlet;

a second cartridge with a second flowable liquid and a second dispenser pump with an outlet;

a manifold with a flow connection to the outlet of each of the first and second dispenser pumps, a mechanical connection for actuating each of the first and second dispenser pumps and a mixing flow path comprising an upper manifold section with channels converging at an intersection point that receives the first flowable liquid and second flowable liquid from the outlet of each of the first and second dispenser pumps and mixes these liquids as they travel from the intersection point along a downstream flow manifold to a manifold outlet, said downstream flow manifold including at least one bend of approximately 180°

followed by at least one static mixer;

a mix manifold cam operably engageable with the manifold to cause a pushing motion for dispenser pump action; and

a mix manifold cam driver operably connected to the mix manifold cam for moving the mix manifold cam from a home state through the pushing motion and a return to the home state, said pushing motion causing metered dispensing from each of the first and second dispenser pumps into the manifold, mixing within the converging channels and dispensing of mixed first flowable liquid and second flowable liquid from the first and second dispenser pumps at a manifold outlet.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said downstream flow manifold further includes at least one bend of greater than approximately 150°

in a direction opposite the bend of approximately 180°

.

2. An apparatus for dispensing a flowable liquid, mixed from contents of two or more cartridges, comprising:

a first cartridge with a first flowable liquid and a first dispenser pump with an outlet;

a second cartridge with a second flowable liquid and a second dispenser pump with an outlet;

a manifold with a flow connection to the outlet of each of the first and second dispenser pumps, a mechanical connection for actuating each of the first and second dispenser pumps and a mixing flow path comprising an upper manifold section with channels converging at an intersection point that receives the first flowable liquid and second flowable liquid from the outlet of each of the first and second dispenser pumps and mixes these liquids as they travel from the intersection point along a downstream flow manifold to a manifold outlet;

a mix manifold cam operably engageable with the manifold to cause a pushing motion for dispenser pump action;

a mix manifold cam driver operably connected to the mix manifold cam for moving the mix manifold cam from a home state through the pushing motion and a return to the home state, said pushing motion causing metered dispensing from each of the first and second dispenser pumps into the manifold, mixing within the converging channels and dispensing of mixed first flowable liquid and second flowable liquid from the first and second dispenser pumps at a manifold outlet; and

a dispenser actuator for initiating motion of the mix manifold cam driver from the home state through the pushing motion.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a housing with a dispensing opening, said dispenser actuator comprising a sensor for sensing the presence of a user hand or container in the dispensing opening.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising:

a cartridge cavity located above the dispenser opening, said cartridge cavity comprising;

a first volume occupied by the first cartridge and second cartridge mounted on the manifold; and

a second volume occupied by a third cartridge with a third flowable liquid and a third dispenser pump with an outlet and a fourth cartridge with a fourth flowable liquid and a fourth dispenser pump with an outlet, and

a time-of-day driver selectively operably connected to either a third dispenser pump cam or a fourth dispenser pump cam for moving a selected one of the third dispenser pump or the fourth dispenser pump from a home state through a pushing motion and a return to its home state, said pushing motion causing metered dispensing from the selected one of the third dispenser pump or fourth dispenser pump at its outlet.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising:

a dispenser actuator for initiating dispensing from one of the third dispenser pump or the fourth dispenser pump; and

dispenser controller logic, including a time of day clock, said controller logic responding to a user input requesting dispensing and a time of day to selectively actuate based on a predefined time of day criteria motion of one of the third dispenser pump cam or the fourth dispenser pump cam.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the predefined time of day criteria specify for a time of day in the morning selection of motion of one of the third dispenser pump cam or the fourth dispenser pump and for a time of the day in the night selection of motion of the other of the third dispenser pump cam or the fourth dispenser pump.

7. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising a fifth cartridge with a fifth flowable liquid and a fifth dispenser pump with an outlet, wherein the manifold has a flow connection to the outlet of the fifth dispenser pump, the mechanical connection for actuating each of the first and second dispenser pumps also actuates the fifth dispenser pump and the mixing flow path that receives flowable liquid from the outlet of each of the first and second dispenser pumps also receives flowable liquid from the outlet of the fifth dispenser pump, and by the converging channels causes mixing of flowable liquids from the outlets of the first, second and fifth dispenser pumps, as dispensed flowable liquids travel to the manifold outlet;

and wherein the mix manifold cam driver operably connected to the mix manifold cam that moves the mix manifold cam from a rest state through the pushing motion and a return to the rest state and resulting pushing motion causes metered dispensing from each of the first, second and fifth dispenser pumps into the manifold, mixing within the converging channels and dispensing of mixed flowable liquids from the first, second and fifth dispenser pumps at the manifold outlet.

8. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the mixing flow path comprises at least one static mixer.

9. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the first dispenser pump dispenses a metered amount of the first flowable liquid from an outlet of a pump outlet conduit that is determined by the distance of inward travel of the conduit.

13. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the mixing flow path comprises static mixers located in the downstream flow manifold.

10. A method for dispensing a flowable liquid, mixed from contents of two or more cartridges, comprising:

providing a first cartridge with a first flowable liquid and a first dispenser pump with an outlet;

providing a second cartridge with a second flowable liquid and a second dispenser pump with an outlet;

providing a mix manifold with a flow connection to the outlet of each of the first and second dispenser pumps, a mechanical connection for actuating each of the first and second dispenser pumps and a mixing flow path that receives flowable liquid from the outlet of each of the first and second dispenser pumps and by converging channels causes mixing, as dispensed first and second flowable liquids travel in an upper manifold section with channels converging at an intersection point and from the intersection point along a downstream flow manifold to a manifold outlet;

providing a mix manifold cam operably engageable with the manifold to cause a pushing motion;

actuating a mix manifold cam driver operably connected to the mix manifold cam for moving the manifold pusher cam from a home state through the pushing motion and a return to the home state, said pushing motion causing metered dispensing from each of the first and second dispenser pumps into the manifold, mixing within the converging channels and dispensing of mixed first and second flowable liquids from the first and second dispenser pumps at the manifold outlet; and

dispensing a selectable further flowable liquid, comprising;

providing a third cartridge with a third flowable liquid and a third dispenser pump with an outlet and a fourth cartridge with a fourth flowable liquid and a fourth dispenser pump with an outlet, and

controlling a time-of-day driver selectively operably connected to either a third dispenser pump cam or a fourth dispenser pump cam for moving a selected one of the third dispenser pump or the fourth dispenser pump from a home state through a pushing motion and a return to its home state, said pushing motion causing metered dispensing from the selected one of the third dispenser pump or fourth dispenser pump at its outlet.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

providing a dispenser actuator for initiating dispensing; and

executing dispenser controller logic, including a time of day clock, said controller logic responding to a user input requesting dispensing and a time of day to selectively actuate based on a predefined time of day criteria motion of one of the third dispenser pump cam or the fourth dispenser pump cam.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the predefined time of day criteria specify for a time of day in the morning selection of motion of one of the third dispenser pump cam or the fourth dispenser pump and for a time of the day in the night selection of motion of the other of the third dispenser pump cam or the fourth dispenser pump.

14. The method of claim 10 wherein the mixing comprises mixing using static mixers.

15. The method of claim 10 wherein the mixing within the converging channels, comprises mixing using static mixers located in the downstream flow manifold.