Pressure-compensated liquid dispenser
First Claim
1. A fluid-dispensing system including:
- A) a container forming a reservoir for a pressurized fluid; and
B) at least one flow controller, each of which comprises;
i) a conduit forming a flow-resistant passage that communicates with the interior of the reservoir;
ii) an electric valve operable by application of control signals thereto to control fluid flow through the conduit; and
iii) a transit-chamber assembly forming a transit chamber into which the conduit provides fluid communication from the reservoir'"'"'s interior when the valve is open, the transit chamber having a transit-chamber outlet resiliently expandable in response to pressure so as to reduce the transit-chamber pressure'"'"'s dependence on the pressure in the reservoir.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An automatic soap dispenser (10) includes a disposable soap container including a dispensing mechanism (20) in which walls of an interior chamber (56) cooperate with a diaphragm (62) and a plunger (66) to form a transit chamber (64), which is resiliently expandable against the force of a spring (80). When a solenoid (58) permits the diaphragm (62) to move away from the outlet of a passage (50) in a flow path from the interior of a pressurized reservoir (18) to the expandable transit chamber (64), travel of the plunger (66) permits the transit chamber (64)'"'"'s pressure-relieving outlet opening to expand so that the pressure within the transit chamber (64) is determined predominantly by the force of the spring (80) rather than by the pressure within the reservoir (18). The velocity of the liquid dispensed from the transit chamber (64) through the dispensing mechanism'"'"'s spout (16) is therefore relatively independent of the pressure within the reservoir (18).
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Citations
54 Claims
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1. A fluid-dispensing system including:
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A) a container forming a reservoir for a pressurized fluid; and B) at least one flow controller, each of which comprises; i) a conduit forming a flow-resistant passage that communicates with the interior of the reservoir; ii) an electric valve operable by application of control signals thereto to control fluid flow through the conduit; and iii) a transit-chamber assembly forming a transit chamber into which the conduit provides fluid communication from the reservoir'"'"'s interior when the valve is open, the transit chamber having a transit-chamber outlet resiliently expandable in response to pressure so as to reduce the transit-chamber pressure'"'"'s dependence on the pressure in the reservoir. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A fluid-dispensing system comprising:
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A) a container forming a liquid reservoir that contains a liquid and a pressurized gas; and B) a plurality of flow controllers, each of which comprises; i) a conduit that so communicates with the interior of the reservoir that the pressurized gas tends to urge the liquid through the conduit; ii) an electric valve operable by application of control signals thereto to switch between an open state, in which the valve permits fluid flow through the conduit, and a closed state, in which it prevents fluid flow through the conduit; and iii) a sensor circuit operable to sense the presence of objects in a target region and apply control signals to control flow of liquid through the conduit in response to at least one predetermined characteristic of the sensed object. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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47. A fluid-dispensing system comprising:
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A) a container forming a liquid reservoir that contains a liquid and a pressurized gas; B) at least one flow controller, each of which comprises; i) a conduit that so communicates with the interior of the reservoir that the pressurized gas tends to urge the liquid through the conduit; ii) an electric valve operable by application of control signals thereto to switch between an open state, in which the valve permits fluid flow through the conduit, and a closed state, in which it prevents fluid flow through the conduit; and iii) a sensor circuit operable to sense the presence of objects in a target region and apply control signals to control flow of liquid through the conduit in response to at least one predetermined characteristic of the sensed object; and C) a pressurized-gas source external to the liquid reservoir and so communicating with the reservoir interior as to supply the pressurized gas that tends to urge the liquid through the conduit. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54)
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Specification