PULL ACTUATED FOAM PUMP

• US 20090294478A1
• Filed: 05/29/2009
• Published: 12/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GOJO Industries Incorporated
• Original Assignee: GOJO Industries Incorporated
• Inventors: Hayes, David D., Ciavarella, Nick E
• Granted Patent: US 8,313,008 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 222/190
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 5/14 Foam or lather making devices for shaving A45D27/02
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 11/1047 the pump being preassembled as an independent unit before being mounted on the container
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 11/1052 Actuation means locking means therefor B05B11/1059; the dispensing stroke being affected by the stored energy of a spring B05B11/109
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 11/1074 located outside pump chambers
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 11/1087 Combination of liquid and air pumps
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 11/1097 with means for sucking back the liquid or other fluent material in the nozzle after a dispensing stroke
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 7/0037 including sieves, porous members or the like

Abstract

A foam dispenser includes a refill unit and a dispenser housing. The refill unit carries foamable liquid and provides a liquid pump portion actuated to advance foamable liquid through the dispenser. The dispenser housing provides an air pump portion actuated to advance air through the dispenser. The air pump portion communicates with the liquid pump portion when the refill unit is properly placed in the housing. The liquid pump portion includes a piston housing that reciprocally receives a piston assembly to define a collapsible liquid chamber. Similarly, the air pump portion includes a piston housing that reciprocally receives a piston assembly to define a collapsible air chamber. Upon actuation of the dispenser, both the liquid chamber and the air chamber collapse and thereby feed air and liquid to an extrusion chamber, and extrude the mixture of air and liquid therein through a premix chamber and at least one mesh screen. The pump is actuated my pulling the piston assembly away from the piston housing, and this is particularly advantageous in the art of wall-mounted dispensers employing push bars typically moved horizontally toward a foam pump to actuate the same.

Claims

1. A dispenser comprising:

(a) a dispenser housing;

(b) a refill unit selectively received in said dispenser housing, said refill unit including;

(i) a container holding a liquid, said container including a neck extending from a shoulder, said container being received in said housing with said neck positioned below said shoulder;

(ii) a piston housing secured to said container at said neck and extending into said neck to provide an inner wall defining a passageway communicating with the liquid in said container at an inlet end thereof, said inlet end being positioned within said neck such that said piston housing does not extend beyond said shoulder, thus permitting liquid to occupy at least a portion of said neck;

(iii) a piston assembly received by said piston housing so as to reciprocate between a non-actuated position and an actuated position relative thereto to dispense said liquid, wherein said piston assembly does not extend beyond said shoulder, thus permitting liquid to occupy at least a portion of said neck.

2. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein said piston assembly includes:

a liquid piston that reciprocatingly fits within said passageway of said piston housing, and

a piston head extending from said liquid piston and sealingly engaging said inner wall of said piston housing.

3. The dispenser of claim 2, wherein said refill unit includes:

(iv) a liquid chamber seal between said liquid piston and said inner wall of said piston housing, wherein said liquid piston, said piston head, said inner wall and said seal define a collapsible liquid chamber having an expanded volume in said non-actuated position, wherein said piston head lies closer to said inlet end of said inner wall, and a compressed volume in said actuated position, wherein said piston head lies closer to said liquid chamber seal, said liquid chamber seal being positioned below said inlet end.

4. The dispenser of claim 3, wherein said liquid chamber seal extends from an outlet end of said inner wall of said piston housing.

5. The dispenser of claim 4, wherein said piston head sealingly engages said inner wall of said piston housing by a wiper seal extending from said piston head.

6. The dispenser of claim 5, wherein said collapsible liquid chamber is an annular chamber bound radially by the exterior surface of said liquid piston and the interior surface of said inner wall of said piston housing, and bound axially by said liquid chamber seal and said wiper seal.

7. The dispenser of claim 3, wherein said piston assembly includes a liquid passage communicating with the collapsible liquid chamber such that liquid is advance through said liquid passage upon movement of said piston head from a position closer to said inlet end of said inner wall to a position closer to said liquid chamber seal.

8. The dispenser of claim 3, where said dispenser is a foam dispenser and said liquid is a foamable liquid, the dispenser further comprising:

(c) a collapsible air chamber mounted to said dispenser housing and including an air outlet, said collapsible air chamber movable between a non-actuated position providing an expanded volume and an actuated position providing a compressed volume, with movement from the non-actuated position to the actuated position forcing air in said collapsible air chamber to exit at said air outlet.

9. The dispenser of claim 8, wherein said refill unit further includes:

(v) an extrusion chamber, said air outlet communicating with said extrusion chamber, and said refill unit is mounted to said dispenser housing such that movement of said piston assembly from said non-actuated position to said actuated position causes said collapsible air chamber to be moved from its non-actuated position to its actuated position, and further causes air exiting from said collapsible air chamber to mix with foamable liquid in said extrusion chamber.

10. The dispenser of claim 9, wherein said refill unit further includes:

(vi) a premix chamber communicating with said extrusion chamber through extrusion passages, and air and foamable liquid mixed in said extrusion chamber are advance to said premix chamber through said extrusion passages, with the advancement therethrough further mixing the air and foamable liquid to create a coarse foam.

11. The dispenser of claim 10, wherein said refill unit further includes:

(vii) a mesh screen, wherein said coarse foam is advanced through said mesh screed to create a more homogenous foam

12. A refill unit for a dispenser comprising:

a container holding liquid;

a pump secured to said container, said pump including;

a piston housing secured to said container;

a piston assembly received in said piston housing so as to reciprocate between a non-actuated position and an actuated position relative thereto, the movement from said non-actuated position to said actuated position serving to dispense said liquid at an outlet of said pump, wherein the piston assembly is moved from said non-actuate position to said actuated position by being pulled in a direction away from said container.

13. A foam dispenser comprising:

a dispenser housing including a collapsible air chamber mounted to said dispenser housing and including an air outlet, said collapsible air chamber having an expanded volume and a compressed volume;

a refill unit selectively received in said dispenser housing, said refill unit including;

a container holding liquid for dispensing,

a piston housing secured to the container and providing an inner wall defining an axial passageway having an inlet end communicating with liquid held in the container,

a piston assembly received by the piston housing so as to reciprocate between a non-actuated position and an actuated position relative thereto, said piston assembly including a liquid piston that fits within said axial passageway of said piston housing, and a piston head that extends from said liquid piston and sealingly engages the inner wall of said piston housing,

a liquid chamber seal that extends between the liquid piston and said inner wall of said piston housing, said liquid piston, said piston head, said inner wall and said seal define an annular collapsible liquid chamber having an expanded volume and a compressed volume,

a premix chamber, and

a mesh screen;

wherein positioning the refill unit in the dispenser housing forms an extrusion chamber, and said air outlet of said collapsible air chamber communicates with said extrusion chamber, said premix chamber communicates with said extrusion chamber through extrusion passages, and, when said piston assembly is moved from the non-actuated position to the actuated position,

(a) said annular collapsible liquid chamber is compressed from its expanded volume to its compressed volume, such that liquid therein is advanced to said extrusion chamber,

(b) the collapsible air chamber is compressed from its expanded volume to its compressed volume, such that air is advanced to the extrusion chamber to mix with liquid therein,

(c) air and foamable liquid mixed at the extrusion chamber are advanced to the premix chamber through the extrusion passages, with the advancement therethrough further mixing the air and foamable liquid to create a coarse foam, and

(d) said coarse foam is advanced through the mesh screen to create a more homogenous foam.