US2886214A - Soap dispenser - Google Patents

Description

May 12, 1959 R E. STURMAN 2,386,214

SOAP DISPENSER Filed June 6, 195a INVEN TOR. 26 Z 30 P022227- E. .STl/RMAA/ hebra, v

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SOAP DISPENSER Robert E. Sturman,lVlinneapolis, Minn.

Application June 6, 1958, Serial No. 740,440

4--Claims. (Cl; 222-193) My invention relates to devices for mixing a treatment material such as soap, detergents orother liquefied ma terials with a flowing fluid, for example water. For convenience in this disclosure I have shown my invention as a soap dispenser and associated withthe water supply to a shower head or nozzle of ashower used for bathing.

It is the primary object of my inventionto provide means of a simple, readily installed. and conveniently controllednature whereby aliquid soap or liquefied detergent may he admixed with the water flowing to a shower head, so that the bather need'not bother with theordinary b'aror cake soap, a thing which often is a nuisance and sometimes dangerous when a wetandslickpiece of soap escapes from the hand. Another object istoprovide a soap dispenseroperative by suction created by the water flowing through a venturi tube to the shower head, or. tea mixing faucet or the like, and which willsupply a predetermined volume of the soap at a predetermined rate ofadmixture and'will then automatically shut off to clear the water for rinsing purposes, meanwhile automatically recharging itself'ready for the next use.

These and other more detailed and specific objects will be disclosed in the course of. the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig; 1 is an elevation of the upper portion of the pipe supplying water to a shower head or, nozzle, showing the pipe extending upwardly through a wall of the shower and showingmy invention as applied for supplying and mixing soap or detergent with the water.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view, taken along the line 2-2 in Fig.1 and showing the condition assumedby the parts fol-lowing'the admixture of ameasured volume of soap or detergent with the water flowing to the'shower head.

Fig: 3 is'a'viewsimilar to Fig.2 but showing the parts in-the position; assumed after the valve has beenmanually actuated to initiate the. admixture of the soap with the'waten.

Fig, 4 isan'enlargedse'ctionaldetail view illustrating one manner of'connecting a venturi tubeinto the water supply pipe andshowing th'e;suction connection to the throat of the venturi passage;

Referring now more particularlyand" by reference characters to the drawing; inFig; 1 A designates a Water supply pipe leading upwardly within a wall B for connection as at C'to a shower head or'nozzleD'of.anyconventiona form. In the structureg'li'ere shown the shower. will be located'to the'rightof the wallB and the majority of the components going tomake up'myinvention are shown as applied to and exposed atthis same side of the wall. It will be apparent, howeverthat these components may be: located at the opposite side of the wall, out of the way ofanyone using the shower, and particularly where closet space is. available immediately adjacent theshower.

My inventionzcomprisesa container or tank-'10 of any suitableshape or sizeasecured as designated at 11'to the wall. B 1' at a:.convenient: location well below the shower United States Patent 2,886,214 Patented May 12,

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head' D and provided. with a filler: opening normally closed by a plug 12 through which the container may 'be supplied with a liquid soap or detergent and water mix ture or any other treatment material which is to bemixed with the water flowing through the pipe A. If :desired the'top 13 of this container lll may be provided with an opening (not shown), large enough to accommodate an ordinary cake of soap, if it is desired to use soap andito mix the same with water in the container.

At'a level above the container 10 the pipe A is provided in any suitable way with a-venturitube or passage 14 through which the water flowing toward the nozzle-D must pass'andthis passage is of. conventional configura' tion to cause the water to first increaseiinxvelocity as. it enters the tube, resulting ina drop" in pressure at'the throatandv then to restore thewater to its normalvelocity and normal pressure after it leaves theventuri tube... As seen in Fig. 4 this venturi'tube or passageJ14 is' machined in a T-fitting 15 interposed in pipeAand having a lateral opening 16 from the throat of the venturi communicating with a suction pipe 17 extending outwardly through the wall B above the aforesaid container 10. Said suction pipe 17', outwardly of the wall'B, is screwed into a.shut'- off valve 18 of conventional formand' leadingfrom this. valve. furtherv outwardly from the Wall is the lateral branch 19 of an upright tubular valve housing 20. When the valve 13 is opened the suction created. at the throat of the venturi. 14- will communicatewith the interior. of? the valve housing 20 and as will bepresently pointed outthe suction thus present in housing 20 will. draw off a: measured charge of the liquidv soap or, detergent mixture:- from the container 10, and mix the same with the water flowing through the pipe A to the shower head D. The: shut-off valve 18 may be adjusted to regulate the rate Off flow into the venturi 14- or toshut it oflentirely aswill be understood.

An upright chamber 211s formed in the containerlfl? by the provision therein of a cylindrical wall 22 closedat its upper end 23- except for a tapped opening 24v into: which the lower end of the aforesaidvalve housing 20: is screwed, as is bestseen in'Figs. 2 and. 3. At'the lower.

end the cylindrical element 22 has. a closure 25, spaced.

some distance above the bottom 26 of the containerv 10 and provided atits center with an opening 27. in whichiisr' positioned: a foot valve-28; having upper and .lower: heads:

29 and 30which arelarger-in-diameter thanopening 27 Thestem portion of the foot valve 28,connecting the valve, heads 29--3tl isuslightly smaller thanzthe opening27, so? that when the upward movement of this valve is urnv impeded-the pressure of the soap or liquid detergentjmixa ture withinthe-container 1h may slightly unseatfthevalve:

and permitthisliquid: mixture to'seep into the. chamber?:

21. A number of radial slits 32 are provided inxthes lower endiof the cylindrical element 22I'to enable the contents of the tank 10 to work into the opening. 27 and: pass-the foot valve28.

Mountedfor vertical reciprocation withinthe' chambe 21 is. a float 33 having a cylindrical. wall 34 slightly smaller in external diameter than the diameter of. the

chamber 21 itself,.so that theliquidcontents of the. contaiuer-liil entering. through the opening 27 may work their: way between the cylindricalelementZZ and the wall 34'1 into'the'cham'ber 21' above the float. Thisditferenceiin'i diameter is very slight but any'tendency of the float .33lto bind is prevented by the fact that the nature of the-liquid" content of a, container l0 =causes it to have alubricating efiect upon the surface of the float and the chamber; The: upper and lower ends of thefioat 33 are closed as-showm and contained within the floatisa weight 35 which regn lates the buoyancy of the float fora purpose presentlydoj appear.

A control valve, designated generally at 36, is provided in the housing 20 and comprises an elongated valve stem 37 slidable upwardly and downwardly, or axially, with respect to said housing and emerging from the upper end thereof through a packing gland 38 of conventional form. A control knob 39 is secured to the upper end of the valve stem 37 and a valve head 40 is fitted to its lower end. Said valve head 40 is tapered in an upward direction to coact with the lower end of the housing 20 in order to isolate the housing 20 from the chamber 21 in the normal position of the parts or when the valve stem 37 is in its uppermost position, as it is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Said valve head 40 has a very long taper in order not to bind or wedge itself into place when closed and in addition is provided with a downwardly protruding bumper extension 41 for engagement with the upper end of the float 33, as will also be shortly described.

a Normally the float 33 rests at the bottom of chamber 21 in the position of Fig. 3 but the valve head 40 is in its upper closed position of Fig. 2. When the bather then wants to add soap to the water issuing from the shower head D the knob 39 is pressed down to open the valve formed by the valve head 40 as is clearly shown in Fig. 3. Assuming the valve 18 to be open the suction developed in the pipe 17 by the water passing the throat of the venturi 14 will draw the liquid soap from the chamber 21 and the rate of this withdrawal may be controlled by properly adjusting valve 18. As the soap is drawn into the water from the chamber 21 the float 33 will gradually rise in the chamber until the float bumps the valve extension 41 (Fig. 2) and moves the valve head 40 to its closed position again. Thus a measured charge of the soap, or other liquid detergent or material, will be drawn ofi, i.e., that volume of the soap in chamber 21 above the float 33, and at the same time an equal volume of soap be drawn by suction into the chamber below the float.

Once the float 33 has thus risen and automatically shut off the admixture of the soap with the shower water the float will begin to descend because it is so weighted and because provision is made for the soapy material below to work upward around the float and inside the wall 22 to recharge the chamber 21 above the float when the latter returns to seat in its normal, lowered position of Fig. 3. As the chamber 21 is being recharged the soap from container will flow inward through the slits 32 and then upward past the foot valve 28 which may freely open for this purpose until the float comes to rest against the upper end 27 of this valve again. The atmospheric pressure upon the relatively large body of the liquid soap in the container will ensure the recharging of chamber 21 and to provide an air supply from the ambient air the upper end of wall 22 may be somewhat loosely fitted into the top 13 of container 10 and other suitable means be provided to admit air into the upper part of the container.

In the case of the location of container 10 and associated components on the opposite side of wall B as previously mentioned then, of course, some suitably simple remote control linkage would be extended through the wall to a position convenient for operation from the shower.

It is understood that suitable modifications may be made in the structure as disclosed, provided such modifications come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Having now therefore fully illustrated and described my invention, what I claim to be new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A soap dispenser of the character described for use in association with a water pipe leading to a discharge such as a shower head, mixer faucet and the like, comprising in combination, a venturi tube disposed in association with said water pipe to develop suction as the water flows, a tube leading from the venturi tube, a container for the liquid soap, a valve having a tubular housing connected to said tube and having an axially movable valve stem, said housing communicating with the container and the container having a hollow enclosed chamber one end of which is connected to the interior of the housing, the other end of the chamber communicating with the interior of the container around said chamber and having a second valve permitting soap to flow from the container upward into the chamber, a valve head on one end of the valve stem normally closing the housing and isolating same from the chamber, a control memher on the other end of the stem to unseat the valve head and enable suction developed by said venturi tube to draw the contents of the chamber into the venturi tube for admixture with the water, a float in said chamber rising as the suction withdraws soap from the chamber until the float strikes and reseats said valve head and shuts off further passage of the soap into the venturi tube, and said float being slightly smaller than the inteiior of the chamber and weighted to descend therein as the chamber is recharged with soap from the container for the next operation.

2. In a soap dispenser of the character described for use in association with a water pipe leading to a shower head, the combination comprising, a venturi tube disposed in association with said water pipe to develop suction as the water flows, a tube leading from the venturi tube, a container for the liquid soap, a valve having an upright tubular housing connected to said tube and having an axially movable valve stem, said housing communicating with the container and the container having an upright hollow enclosed chamber the upper end of which is connected to the interior of the housing, the lower end of the chamber communicating with the interior of the container around said chamber and having a lower end valve permitting soap to flow from the con tainer upward into the chamber, a valve head on the lower end of the valve stem normally closing off the housing and isolating same from the chamber, a control member on the other end of the stem to unseat the valve head and enable suction developed by said venturi tube to draw the contents of the chamber into the venturi tube for admixture with the water, a float in said chamber rising as the suction withdraws soap from the chamher until the float strikes and reseats said valve head and shuts off further passage of the soap toward the venturi tube, and the said float being adapted then to descend in the chamber to recharge the same with soap from the container for the next operation.

3. A soap dispenser of the character described for use in association with a water pipe leading to a dis charge such as a shower head, mixer faucet and the like, comprising in combination, a venturi tube disposed in association with said water pipe to develop suction as the water flows, a tube leading from the venturi tube a manual control valve in said tube for regulating and shutting ofl flow therethrough, a container for the liquid soap, a second valve having a tubular valve housing connected to said tube and having a vertically movable valve stem, said housing communicating with the container and the container having a hollow enclosed chamber one end of which is connected to the interior of the valve housing, the other end of the chamber communicating with the interior of the container around said cham ber and having a foot valve permitting soap to flow from the container upward into the chamber, a valve head on the lower end of the valve stem normally closing the housing and isolating same from the chamber, a control knob member on the upper end of the stem operative to move the valve stem downward to unseat the valve head and enable suction developed by said venturi tube to draw the contents of the chamber into the venturi tube for admixture with the water, a float in said chamber rising as the suction withdraws soap from the chamber until the float strikes and reseats said valve head and shuts off further passage of the soap into the venturi tube, and the said float being slightly smaller than the interior of the chamber and weighted to descend therein as the chamber is recharged with soap from the container for the next operation.

4. A soap dispenser of the character described for use in association with a water pipe leading to a discharge such as a shower head, mixer faucet and the like, comprising in combination, a venturi tube disposed in association with said water pipe to develop suction as the water flows, a tube leading from the venturi tube, a

manual control valve in said tube for regulating and shutting off flow therethrough, a container for the liquid soap, a second valve having a tubular housing connected to said tube and having an axially movable valve stem, said housing communicating with the container and the container having a vertical hollow enclosed chamber the upper end of which is connected to the interior of the housing, the lower end of the chamber communicating with the interior of the container around said chamber, a foot valve in the lower end of the chamber permitting soap to flow from the container upward into the chamber, a float loosely fitted in said chamber past which the soap will flow upward to fill the upper part of the chamber with a measured charge, a valve head on the lower end of the valve stem normally closing the lower end of said housing and isolating same from the chamber, .a control member on the other end of the stem to unseat the valve head and enable suction developed by said venturi tube to draw the contents of the chamber above the float into the venturi tube for admixture with the water, said float rising in said chamber as the suction withdraws soap from the chamber until the float strikes and reseats said valve head and shuts off further passage of the soap into the venturi tube, and the said float being weighted to descend therein as the upper end of the chamber is recharged with soap from the container for the next operation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,325,242 Gordan July 27, 1943

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