Soap dispensing units with anti-drip valve

• US 8,678,244 B2
• Filed: 03/02/2012
• Issued: 03/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Simplehuman LLC
• Original Assignee: Simplehuman LLC
• Inventors: Yang, Frank, Wolbert, David, Sandor, Joseph, Cardenas, Orlando
• Primary Examiner(s): Nicolas, Frederick C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zadeh, Bob
• Application Number:
  US13/411,373
• Publication Number:
  US 20120248150A1
• Time in Patent Office: 753 Days
• Field of Search: 222/63, 222/424, 222/385, 222/333, 222/181.3, 222/372, 222/571, 222/478, 222/494, 222/1, 137/511, 137/455, 137/843, 137/844
• US Class Current: 222/333
• 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: B05B 12/122 responsive to presence or shape of target B05B12/124 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 9/0861 the motor being electric
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 9/0866 the pump being a gear, centrifugal or screw-type pump

Abstract

A soap dispenser can be configured to dispense an amount of liquid soap, for example, upon detecting the presence of an object. Certain embodiments of the dispenser include a housing, reservoir, pump, and nozzle. In some embodiments, the dispenser includes a bypass passage, which can facilitate priming of the pump. In certain embodiments, the dispenser is configured to inhibit or avoid the formation of an air bubble that could obstruct the liquid soap from entering the pump. In some embodiments, the pump includes engaging gears, which can include a plurality of teeth with substantially pointed tips. In certain embodiments, the nozzle comprises a one-way valve, such as a duckbill valve. Some embodiments of the one-way valve are shaped or otherwise configured to provide certain biases to the valve, which can, for example, facilitate rapid opening and closing of the valve.

Claims

1. A portable soap dispenser, comprising:

a housing;

a reservoir that is configured to store a volume of liquid soap;

a fluid passage comprising an inlet and an outlet;

a motor configured to a drive a pump in fluid communication with the reservoir, the pump configured to encourage a flow of the liquid soap into the inlet and out of the outlet of the fluid passage;

a staging chamber in fluid communication with and upstream of the pump, the staging chamber configured to receive a primed volume of the liquid soap, to retain the primed volume of the liquid soap when the motor is not driving the pump, and to dispense at least a portion of the primed volume of the liquid soap to the pump when the motor is driving the pump; and

a nozzle in fluid communication with the outlet of the fluid passage, the nozzle being supported by the housing and projecting outward from the housing so as to be at least partly visible to an observer outside of the dispenser;

wherein the nozzle comprises a flange and a duckbill valve, the flange being configured to mate with an annular surface of the housing, thereby forming a generally liquid tight seal therebetween, the duckbill valve including a first deflectable member and a second deflectable member with a slit therebetween, the first deflectable member and the second deflectable member being biased toward each other, thereby inhibiting the liquid soap from being dispensed from the dispenser until the bias has been overcome.

2. The portable soap dispenser of claim 1, further comprising the liquid soap.

3. The portable soap dispenser of claim 1, wherein the first and second deflectable members, when viewed along the slit, form a generally hourglass shape.

4. The portable soap dispenser of claim 3, wherein the first and second deflectable members are configured such that the generally hourglass shape increases the bias between the first and second deflectable members.

5. The portable soap dispenser of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second deflectable members further comprises a notch generally aligned with the slit, the notch configured to facilitate overcoming the bias of the first and second deflectable members.

6. The portable soap dispenser of claim 1, wherein the nozzle further comprises an indentation and the fluid passage further comprises a protrusion, the indentation being configured to receive at least a portion of the protrusion, thereby orienting the nozzle with respect to the fluid passage.

7. The portable soap dispenser of claim 6, wherein the fluid passage further comprises an angled member and the housing further comprises a recess, the recess being configured to receive at least a portion of the angled member, thereby orienting the fluid passage and the nozzle with respect to the housing.

8. The portable soap dispenser of claim 1, wherein the dispenser comprises a front and a back with a front-to-back axis therebetween, the nozzle being positioned at or near the front of the dispenser and the slit being oriented substantially perpendicular to the front-to-back axis.

9. The portable soap dispenser of claim 1, wherein after an amount of the liquid soap has been dispensed, the pump is configured to temporarily reverse the flow of the liquid soap, thereby drawing an amount of the liquid soap in the nozzle toward the outlet of the fluid passage and facilitating closure of the duckbill valve.

10. The portable soap dispenser of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises a body portion and an upper portion cantilevered from the body portion, the body portion including the reservoir, the nozzle projecting downwardly from an end of the upper portion.

11. The portable soap dispenser of claim 1, further comprising a vent in fluid communication with the volume of liquid soap in the reservoir, the vent being configured to allow air to pass therethrough.

12. The portable soap dispenser of claim 1, further comprising a pump body comprising the staging chamber and the pump.

13. The portable soap dispenser of claim 12, wherein the pump body further comprises a second chamber, the chamber and the second chamber together forming an overall figure-eight shape.

14. The portable soap dispenser of claim 12, wherein the pump body further comprises an upper member having an opening that is in fluid communication with the chamber and with the reservoir, the opening being narrower than the chamber.

15. The portable soap dispenser of claim 14, wherein the opening is generally triangular in shape.

16. A soap dispenser, comprising:

a housing;

a reservoir that is configured to store a volume of viscous liquid soap;

a fluid passage comprising an inlet and an outlet;

a motor disposed in the housing;

a pump mechanism configured to be driven by the motor, the pump mechanism disposed in a pump body;

a staging chamber in fluid communication with the pump mechanism and the reservoir, the staging chamber positioned between the reservoir and the pump mechanism; and

a pump body aperture in fluid communication with the reservoir and the staging chamber, the pump body aperture being configured such that surface tension of the viscous liquid soap is overcome by the force of gravity, thereby facilitating a flow of the viscous liquid soap into the staging chamber;

wherein the staging chamber is configured to receive a primed volume of the viscous liquid soap, to retain the primed volume of the viscous liquid soap for a period of time in which the dispenser is not dispensing the viscous liquid soap, and to dispense at least a portion of the primed volume of the viscous liquid soap to the pump mechanism during a priming operation of the dispenser.

17. The soap dispenser of claim 16, wherein the pump body aperture is configured to inhibit trapping of an air bubble within the staging chamber that impedes the viscous liquid soap from flowing through the pump body aperture and into the staging chamber.

18. The soap dispenser of claim 16, further comprising the viscous liquid soap.

19. The soap dispenser of claim 16, wherein:

the pump mechanism further comprises a pump outlet having a centerline; and

the pump body aperture further comprises a first dimension and a second dimension, the second dimension being generally parallel with the centerline and the first dimension being substantially perpendicular to the centerline, the first dimension being greater than the second dimension.

20. The soap dispenser of claim 16, further comprising a flexible cushion configured to inhibit noise emitted by the pump mechanism from being transmitted into the ambient environment, the flexible cushion comprising a void configured to correspond with the pump body aperture.

21. The soap dispenser of claim 16, wherein the pump body aperture is connected directly with the reservoir.

22. The soap dispenser of claim 16, wherein some or all of the reservoir is positioned at a higher elevation than the pump body aperture.

23. The soap dispenser of claim 16, further comprising a vent in fluid communication with the volume of liquid soap in the reservoir, the vent being configured to allow air to pass therethrough.

24. The soap dispenser of claim 16, wherein the pump body comprises the staging chamber.

25. The soap dispenser of claim 24, wherein the pump body further comprises a second chamber, the chamber and the second chamber together forming an overall figure-eight shape.

26. The soap dispenser of claim 24, wherein the pump body further comprises an upper body member and a lower body member configured to mate, thereby forming the pump body.

27. A soap dispenser, comprising:

a housing;

a reservoir configured to store a volume of liquid soap;

a fluid passage comprising a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet;

a pump body comprising a pump inlet and a pump outlet;

a gear pump assembly positioned in the pump body, the gear pump assembly comprising a first gear and a second gear, each of the first and second gears comprising a plurality of teeth, each of the teeth having a tip with a substantially pointed peak;

a motor positioned in the housing, the motor configured to rotate the first gear, the first gear being configured to matingly engage the second gear such that rotation of the first gear results in rotation of the second gear, the first and second gears thereby cooperating to encourage a flow of the liquid soap into the pump body via the pump inlet and out of the pump body via the pump outlet; and

a staging chamber in fluid communication with the gear pump, the staging chamber configured to receive a primed volume of the liquid soap, to retain the primed volume of the liquid soap for a period of time, and to dispense at least a portion of the primed volume of the liquid soap to the gear pump during operation of the motor.

28. The soap dispenser of claim 27, wherein the substantially pointed peak comprises a tip radius, the tip radius being less than or equal to about 0.5 mm.

29. The soap dispenser of claim 27, wherein each of the first and second gears comprise a root intermediate adjacent pairs of the teeth, the tip radius being less than or equal to about 1/20 of the root radius.

30. The soap dispenser of claim 27, wherein each of the teeth comprise a tooth width and a tip width, at least one of the teeth having a tip width that is less than or equal to about 1/10 of the tooth width.

31. The soap dispenser of claim 27, wherein the first and second gears are substantially identical.

32. The soap dispenser of claim 27, further comprising a duckbill valve in fluid communication with the pump outlet, the duckbill valve being supported by the housing and projecting outward from the housing so as to be at least partly visible to an observer outside of the dispenser.

33. The soap dispenser of claim 27, further comprising a vent in fluid communication with the reservoir, the vent being configured to allow air to pass therethrough.