GB2280714A - Container with integral pressurising pump - Google Patents

Abstract

A container for dispensing liquid comprising a main chamber (3) for storing the liquid contents of the container, a dispensing chamber (4) in fluid communication with the main chamber for holding a volume of liquid to be dispensed and an integral pump for forcing air through a one-way valve (10) to pressurise the liquid held in the dispensing chamber. The contents of the dispensing chamber (4) are delivered by manual operation of a release valve mechanism (11). Re-filling of the dispensing chamber is achieved by inventing the container to enable liquid to flow thereinto through a one-way valve (5). In a second embodiment the dispensing chamber is divided into air and liquid chambers by a partition having a further one-way valve. <IMAGE>

Description

CONTAINER The present invention relates to containers and more specifically to containers for dispensing a liquid which is pressurised by an integral pump.

The principle of manually pressurising a liquid held in a container to dispense that liquid is known.

However, the problem with this type of container is that pressurising the liquid can take considerable physical effort on behalf of the user and further a considerable period of time; the problem being particularly pronounced with containers which are intended to hold a relatively large volume of liquid.

The present invention seeks to overcome this problem by providing a container for dispensing liquid in which a measured or predetermined volume of liquid within the container is pressurised by an integral pump.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a container for dispensing liquid comprising a main chamber for storing the liquid contents of the container, a dispensing chamber in fluid communication with the main chamber for holding a volume of liquid to be dispensed and an integral pump for pressurising the liquid held in the dispensing chamber.

By providing a separate dispensing chamber, it is possible to avoid the previous necessity to pressurise the entire liquid contents of the container prior to dispensing.

Preferably, the container further comprises an air chamber in fluid communication with the dispensing chamber. The air chamber serves to provide a reservoir of air with which the liquid held in the dispensing chamber can be pressurised thereby increasing the efficiency of the pressurising operation.

For compactness and thus for ease of storage the pump forms an integral part of the container. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the base of the container forms the integral pump. Such a construction of container promotes easy operation for the user.

Preferably, the dispensing chamber of the container is recharged automatically with liquid during storage. Thus, advantageously, the container always has a volume of liquid held in the dispensing chamber ready to be dispensed.

Specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a side view of a container according to a first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view through part of the container of Figure 1; Figures 2a, 2b and 2c show in more detail the construction of the one-way valves employed in the container of Figure 1; Figure 3 shows the container of Figure 2 with the pump operable to pressurise liquid to be dispensed; Figure 4 shows the container of Figure 3 with the release valve open to permit the pressurised liquid to be dispensed; Figure 5 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view through part of a second embodiment according to the present invention; and Figure 6 shows the container of the above embodiments in use.

Figure 1 shows a container having a generally ellipsoidal body 1 and a frustoconical base 2 which permits the container to be stored on its base. The base 2 is a screw fit on the body 1 and thus permits the container to be refilled once empty. A seal 19 is provided to ensure liquid tight engagement between the base 2 and the body 1. The precise shape of the container is largely immaterial to its function.

However, the shape of the container shown in the accompanying Figures provides a number of advantages and more particularly makes its operation more effective as will be described hereinafter with reference to Figures 2 to 5.

As can be seen in Figure 2, the container body 1 comprises a main chamber 3 in fluid communication with a dispensing chamber 4 which forms part of the base 2 via a one-way gravity feed valve 5. The main chamber 3 essentially serves as a storage chamber for the liquid contents of the container.

The frustoconical base 2 comprises an axially inwardly projecting annular flange 6 which is a sliding fit within a recess 7 formed between an annular flange 8 of the container body 1 and the wall of the dispensing chamber 4. The annular flanges 6,8 of the base 2 and body 1 respectively are of approximately equal length. Thus, the base 2 is a slide fit over the dispensing chamber 4. For storage purposes, the flange 6 is preferably wholly retained within recess 7 such that the flange 6 abuts the wall of the container body. In this way, the container is made longitudinally compact and therefore more convenient to store. Lips 9 on flange 6 and on base 2 serve to prevent the base from disengaging from the container body during the pumping operation.

Storage of the container on its base 2 permits liquid to flow from the main chamber 3 to the dispensing chamber 4 through a communication port 20 via the one-way gravity feed valve 5.

Valve 5 is closed when the container is inverted ready for use and is held closed by the weight of captive liquid present in the dispensing chamber 4 thereby preventing the liquid from returning to the main chamber 3.

As shown in more detail in Figures 2a and 2c, valve 5 comprises a captive disc 21 which rests over the communication port 20 between the main chamber 3 and dispensing chamber 4 when the container is inverted for use. In this position the valve 5 is thus closed thereby preventing captive liquid form returning to chamber 3. As shown in Figures 2a and 2b, when the container is stored on its base the disc 21 disengages from port 20 and rests on a plurality of lugs 22 provided on a valve seat 23. The disc is retained in this position and thus valve 5 opens by the weight of liquid stored in chamber 3. A plurality of apertures 24 through the valve seat 23 permits liquid to flow through the port 20 from chamber 3 to dispensing chamber 4 thereby automatically recharging the chamber 4 with liquid during storage.

With the container held in its inverted position (i.e. with the base uppermost such that the valve 5 is closed), the liquid in the dispensing chamber 4 can be pressurised by manually pumping the base 2 up and down thereby forcing air through a one-way valve 10 disposed at one end of the dispensing chamber 4, as shown in Figure 3. The one-way valve 10 is only open during the pumping operation. Ordinarily, the valve 10 is held closed either by the weight of liquid within the dispensing chamber 4 or by the pressure created within chamber 4 following the pumping operation. Valve 10 is generally similar in construction to valve 5 described above.

Referring now to Figure 4, once the captive liquid has been pressurised, the liquid can then be dispensed by the manual operation of a release mechanism shown generally as 11.

The release mechanism 11 comprises a cavity 25 which houses a release valve comprising valve seat 26 and an arcuate membrane 12 secured at its periphery to the cavity walls. Liquid to be dispensed enters the cavity 25 via outlet 14 of dispensing chamber 4. A dispensing conduit 15 extends through membrane 12 into the cavity 25.

In the non-operative state i.e. when the release valve is closed, the valve seat 26 bears against the membrane 12 thereby interrupting the flow of liquid form the outlet 14 to the dispensing conduit 15 as can be seen in Figure 3.

Manual depression of trigger 13 operates an actuating rod 27 to urge the valve seat 26 out of the engagement with membrane 12 and simultaneously abutment 28 of actuating rod 27 bears against arcuate membrane 12 causing it to flex and straighten as shown in Figure 4. In this way the release valve is opened and liquid is permitted to enter the dispensing conduit 15 and thus to be dispensed under the pressure created in the dispensing chamber 4.

Once the trigger 13 is released, the pressure exerted by the liquid urges membrane 12 forwardly, bearing on abutment 28 and urging actuating rod 27 forwardly, and bringing the valve seat 26 back into the engagement with membrane 12.

Liquid can be dispensed from the container either as a jet or as a fine spray depending on the type of nozzle fitted to the end of the dispensing conduit 15 which in turn depends upon the contents of the container and its intended use.

Figure 5 shows a second embodiment of container which is generally similar to the container described above in relation to Figures 1 to 4. However, in this embodiment the base 2 further comprises a third chamber 16 in fluid communication with the dispensing chamber 2 via a one-way valve 17. One-way valve 17 is functionally similar to one-way valve 5 described above. The third chamber is also provided at one end with a one-way valve 18 which permits air to enter chamber 16. Thus chamber 16 contains air only.

In use, pumping of the base 2 forces air through valve 18 into chamber 16 and through valve 17 into the dispensing chamber 4 thereby pressurising the captive liquid in that chamber. Dispensing of the liquid is accomplished by a similar release mechanism as to that described above in relation to Figures 3 and 4. By trapping air in the third chamber 16 the efficiency of the base 2 as a pump to pressurise the captive liquid is increased by making available a greater volume of air for this pressurising purpose, since even when the dispensing chamber 4 is full of liquid, air can be pressurised in the third chamber 16.

In both embodiments described above, the dispensing chamber 4 can be constructed to hold either a predetermined volume of liquid or be calibrated so that the volume of liquid held in the dispensing chamber can be quantified. In the latter case, the dispensing chamber can be formed of a transparent material. The ability to pressurise and thus to dispense a measured or predetermined volume of liquid permits the container to be used in a variety of fields. For example, the container of the present invention has utility in the health care field where measured doses are typically required. The container can also be employed usefully in the cosmetics and beauty care industries, for example, for dispensing hair spray, and in domestic and industrial agriculture.

It will be apparent that various modifications and alterations can be easily made to the containers described above. For example, the pump need not form part of the base as is described but may be integral with another part of the container. In addition, the container may be of a disposable type in which case the dispensing chamber 2 and optionally the third chamber 16 may form part of the container body 1.

Claims (9)

CLAIMS:

1. A container for dispensing liquid comprising a main chamber for storing the liquid contents of the container, a dispensing chamber in fluid communication with the main chamber for holding a volume of liquid to be dispensed and an integral pump for pressuring the liquid held in the dispensing chamber.

2. A container according to claim 1, further comprising an air chamber in fluid communication with the dispensing chamber for providing a reservoir of air with which the liquid held in the dispensing chamber is pressurised.

3. A container according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the container comprises a base which forms the integral pump.

4. A container according to claim 3, wherein the dispensing chamber is recharged automatically with liquid when the container is stored on its base.

5. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a one-way gravity feed valve disposed intermediate the main chamber and dispensing chamber for selectively permitting liquid to flow from the main chamber into the dispensing chamber.

6. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the dispensing chamber comprises a one-way valve for permitting air to enter the dispensing chamber thereby pressurising the liquid held in that chamber.

7. A container according to claim 2 wherein the air chamber comprises a one-way valve for permitting air to enter the air chamber.

8. A container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 4 and 6 of the accompanying drawings.

9. A container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings.