Soap dispensing system

• US 4,391,309 A
• Filed: 04/16/1981
• Issued: 07/05/1983
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/1981
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Steiner Corporation
• Original Assignee: Steiner Corporation
• Inventors: Steiner, Robert L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bell, Jr., Houston S.
• Application Number:
  US06/255,035
• Time in Patent Office: 810 Days
• Field of Search: 141/1, 141/2, 141/18, 141/19, 141/311 R, 141/114, 141/329, 141/330, 141/286, 141/346-366, 141/94, 141/95, 222/81, 222/82, 222/88, 222/207, 222/325, 222/154-139, 220/203, 220/266, 215/311
• US Class Current: 141/18
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 5/1208 by means of a flexible dispensing chamber

Abstract

A liquid soap dispensing system includes a closed soap container having a manually actuated dispensing pump carried therebeneath, the container being separated by a partition into a lower soap reservoir and an upper refill compartment, the latter adapted to enclose therein a removable refill cartridge and having a downwardly extending refill will with a plurality of keys upstanding from the bottom thereof. The cartridge has an outlet neck, the outer bottom surface of which has a like plurality of slots. The neck is closed by a pierceable membrane recessed therein and adapted to be received into the well so that a cartridge opening member pierces the membrane to accommodate free flow of liquid soap from the cartridge to the reservoir. The cartridge is entirely closed to define the liquid level in the reservoir at the bottom of the neck, and a drain hole in the reservoir wall above the bottom of the neck but below the tops of the keys prevents bootleg cartridges from being used in the soap dispenser. A slot in the wall of the refill compartment prevents the accumulation of free liquid soap therein.

Claims

1. A system for dispensing liquid soap comprising a closed wall structure defining a container, partition means separating said container into a lower liquid soap reservoir and an upper refill compartment, dispensing means carried by said container for dispensing liquid soap from said reservoir, a refill aperture in said partition means providing communication between said reservoir and said refill compartment, a refill cartridge containing liquid soap and having an outlet, and slot and key mechanism carried by the end of said refill cartridge outlet and said container for maintaining said cartridge in a predetermined refill configuration and in communication with said refill aperture, said refill cartridge being removably enclosed within said refill compartment in a refill configuration with the end of said refill cartridge outlet disposed for cooperation with said refill aperture to permit flow of liquid soap from said refill cartridge to said reservoir thereby to refill said reservoir.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said cartridge is imperforate except at the outlet thereof, thereby to provide a sealed dispensing system wherein the liquid level in said reservoir never rises above the refill cartridge outlet.

3. The system of claim 2, and further comprising a drain hole in said upper refill compartment to cause bulk liquid soap poured thereinto a flow therefrom, and a drain hole in said lower liquid soap reservoir vertically spaced above the cartridge outlet when said cartridge is in the refill configuration thereof.

4. A system for dispensing liquid soap comprising a closed wall structure defining a container, partition means separating said container into a lower liquid soap reservoir and an upper refill compartment, dispensing means carried by said container for dispensing liquid soap from said reservoir, a refill well extending downwardly from said partition means having a refill aperture therein providing communication between said reservoir and said refill compartment, and a refill cartridge containing liquid soap and having an outwardly extending neck defining an outlet, one of said refill well and the bottom of said neck having a key extending therefrom and the other having a slot therein shaped to receive said key, said refill cartridge being removably enclosed within said refill compartment in a refill configuration with the bottom of said neck disposed for cooperation with said refill well and with said key in said slot to permit flow of liquid soap from said refill cartridge to said reservoir thereby to refill said reservoir.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein said refill well has the refill aperture in the bottom thereof and said refill cartridge being imperforate except at the outlet thereof.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein said key extends from the inner surface of said refill well.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the bottom of said refill cartridge neck has a slot therein shaped to receive the said key.

8. The system of claim 6, and further comprising a drain hole in said upper refill compartment to cause bulk liquid soap poured thereinto to flow therefrom, and a drain hole in said lower liquid soap reservoir vertically located above the inner bottom surface of said refill well and below the top surface of said keys.

9. The system of claim 4, wherein there is an even number of keys and an even number of slots.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein said even number of keys extends from the inner bottom surface of said refill well and said even number of slots are on the bottom of said refill cartridge neck.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein two of said keys are diametrically opposed on said inner bottom surface of said refill well and there are slots in registry therewith on the bottom of said neck.

12. A system for dispensing liquid soap comprising a closed wall structure defining a container, partition means separating said container into a lower liquid soap reservoir and an upper refill compartment, dispensing means carried by said container for dispensing liquid soap from said reservoir, a refill well extending downwardly from said partition means having a refill aperture therein providing communication between said reservoir and said refill compartment, the inner bottom surface of said refill well having a key extending upwardly therefrom, and a refill cartridge containing liquid soap and having an outwardly extending neck defining a tubular outlet the outer bottom surface thereof forming a slot shaped to receive said key, said refill cartridge being removably enclosed within said refill compartment in a refill configuration with said key in said slot to permit flow of liquid soap from said refill cartridge to said reservoir thereby to refill said reservoir.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein said cartridge is imperforate except at the outlet thereof, thereby to provide a sealed dispensing system wherein the liquid level in said reservoir never rises above the bottom of said neck.

14. The system of claim 13 and further comprising a drain hole in said upper refill compartment to cause bulk liquid soap poured thereinto to flow therefrom, and a drain hole in said lower liquid soap reservoir vertically spaced above the inner bottom surface of said refill well and below the top surface of said key extending upwardly therefrom.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein there are three keys.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein there are two diametrically opposed keys.

17. A system for dispensing liquid soap comprising a closed wall structure defining a container, partition means separating said container into a lower liquid soap reservoir and an upper refill compartment, dispensing means carried by said container for dispensing liquid soap from said reservoir, a refill well extending downwardly from said partition means having a portion of the inner bottom surface thereof forming a key and having a refill aperture therein providing communication between said reservoir and said refill compartment, an upwardly extending cartridge opening member in said refill well having the outer peripheral surface thereof spaced from the inner surface of said well and connected thereto by said key extending therebetween, and a refill cartridge containing liquid soap and having an outwardly extending neck with the outer bottom surface thereof having a slot therein shaped complementary to said key and defining an outlet having a closure member therein, said refill cartridge being removably enclosed within said refill compartment in a refill configuration with said neck disposed in the space between said cartridge opening member and the inner surface of said refill well with said key in said slot and said closure member opened by contact with said cartridge opening member to permit flow of liquid soap from said refill cartridge to said reservoir thereby to refill said reservoir.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein said cartridge is imperforate except at the outlet thereof, thereby to provide a sealed dispensing system wherein the liquid level in said reservoir never rises above the bottom of said neck.

19. The system of claim 18 and further comprising a drain hole in said upper refill compartment to cause bulk liquid soap poured thereinto to flow therefrom, and a drain hole in said lower liquid soap reservoir vertically spaced above the inner bottom surface of said refill well and below the top surface of said key extending upwardly therefrom.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein said cartridge opening member is a piercing member and said closure member is a pierceable membrane, said piercing member being tubular and defining said refill aperture.

21. A liquid soap dispenser comprising a closed wall structure defining a container, partition means separating said container into a lower liquid soap reservoir and an upper refill compartment, dispensing means carried by said container for dispensing liquid soap from said reservoir, and a refill well extending downwardly from said partition means having a portion of the inner bottom surface thereof forming a key and having a refill aperture therein providing communication between said reservoir and said refill compartment.

22. The dispenser of claim 21, wherein a plurality of keys extend from the inner surface of said refill well.

23. The dispenser of claim 21, wherein said keys are diametrically opposed.

24. The dispenser of claim 21, wherein there is an odd number of keys.

25. The dispenser of claim 21, and further comprising a drain hole in said upper refill compartment to cause bulk liquid soap poured thereinto to flow therefrom, and a drain hole in said lower liquid soap reservoir vertically located above the refill aperture in said refill well and below the top of said key.

26. A liquid soap dispenser comprising a closed wall structure defining a container, partition means separating said container into a lower liquid soap reservoir and an upper refill compartment, dispensing means carried by said container for dispensing liquid soap from said reservoir, a refill well extending downwardly from said partition means having a portion of the inner bottom surface thereof forming a key and having a refill aperture therein providing communication between said reservoir and said refill compartment, and an upwardly extending cartridge opening member in said refill well having the outer peripheral surface thereof spaced from the longitudinally extending inner surface of said well and connected thereto by said key.

27. The dispenser of claim 26, wherein a plurality of keys extend from the inner bottom surface of said refill well.

28. The dispenser of claim 26, and further comprising a drain hole in said upper refill compartment to cause bulk liquid soap poured thereinto a flow therefrom, and a drain hole in said lower liquid soap reservoir vertically located above the refill aperture in said refill well and below the top of said key.

29. A refill cartridge comprising a vessel in the shape of a polyhedron having parallel top and bottom walls and a plurality of planar side walls substantially normal to said top and bottom walls, and a neck extending outwardly from said bottom wall with the outer bottom surface of said neck having a slot therein.

30. The refill cartridge of claim 29, wherein there are two diametrically opposed slots in the outer bottom surface of said neck.

31. The refill cartridge of claim 30, wherein there are three slots in the bottom surface of said neck.

32. A refill cartridge comprising a semirigid vessel generally in the shape of a polyhedron having parallel top and bottom walls and a plurality of planar side walls substantially normal to said top and bottom walls, a quantity of liquid soap in said vessel, a neck defining an outlet extending from said bottom wall having at least one slot in the outer bottom surface thereof, and a closure member in said neck retaining said liquid soap in said vessel.

33. The refill cartridge of claim 32 wherein there are two diametrically opposed slots in the outer bottom surface of said neck.

34. The refill cartridge of claim 32 wherein there are three slots in the outer bottom surface of said neck.

35. The refill cartridge of claim 32, wherein said closure member is a pierceable membrane.