WO2008061219A1

WO2008061219A1 - Container and foam dispenser

Info

Publication number: WO2008061219A1
Application number: PCT/US2007/084934
Authority: WO
Inventors: Salvatore Nicholas Del're; Scott Joseph Reeves
Original assignee: Colgate Palmolive Co
Current assignee: Colgate Palmolive Co
Priority date: 2006-11-17
Filing date: 2007-11-16
Publication date: 2008-05-22
Anticipated expiration: 2009-05-17

Abstract

A container and foam dispenser (10) to produce a foam product when the container is inverted and squeezed comprises a container with flexible walls with a neck for the attachment of a closure and a foam dispenser (10). The foam dispenser comprises a mixing chamber section (14) having a dip tube (12) extending from a lower end connected to the mixing chamber section (14) by an air aperture (19). The dip tube (12) admits air to the mixing chamber section (14). A foamable liquid (24) / air aperture (19) extends from the upper end of the mixing chamber section (14) to a screen (22) to produce a foam product! The mixing chamber section (14) has at least one foamable liquid aperture (24) for admitting foamable liquid into the mixing chamber section (14). The area of the at least one foamable liquid aperture (24) is coordinated with the viscosity of the foamable liquid.

Description

TITLE OF THE INVENTION

CONTAINER AND FOAM DISPENSER

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of United States Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/866,309 filed November 17, 2006, the contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a pressurized container and foam dispenser wherein upon the container being inverted and pressurized by squeezing or otherwise the foam dispenser will dispense a foam product from a foamable liquid. More particularly this invention relates to a foam dispenser mechanism which when a container is inverted, and pressurized by squeezing, will admit air through a dip tube into a mixing chamber, and foamable product directly into the mixing chamber, to produce the foam product.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A foam product is a mixture of a liquid and a gas, such as air. These can be produced from either a pressurized aerosol container, or through the use of a manually operated foam producing foam dispenser mechanism mounted on a container, or using a squeeze container with the foam producing foam dispenser mechanism located in-line with the exit of the container. The container pressurized by squeezing can dispense the foam from the container in an upright orientation or in an inverted orientation. The foam producing squeeze pressurized containers of the present invention are of the inverted type. A dip tube usually is the air conduit to the foam dispenser and at least one aperture in a mixing chamber admits the foamable liquid to a mixing chamber to form the foam.

The present container and foam dispenser can be used for the delivery of a wide range of products. These include personal care products such as liquid hand soaps, shampoos and other hair care products, shower and bath soaps; household care products such as dish detergents, floor and wall cleaning, and tile cleaning; as well as for cleaning interior and exterior furniture, vehicles, and other objects. As long as the composition contains a surfactant it will be foamable and can be delivered using the present foam dispenser.

Upright squeeze foam containers are illustrated by U.S. Patent 4,027,789 and U.S. Patent Application 2006/0138171. In each of these references the foamable liquid is drawn up through the dip tube with air drawn into the mixing chamber in an upper part of the foam dispenser mechanism. Each utilizes a mixing element in the mixing chamber to mix the foamable liquid and air. The air and the foamable liquid are mixed and then dispensed as a foam. U.S. Patent 3,937,364 discloses a squeeze foam container which can be used in an upright or an air/ foamable liquid inverted orientation. However there is required a foam producing element in a mixing chamber. The inverted foam producing container embodiments are illustrated by U.S. Patent 3,422,993; U.S. Patent 5,037,006 and U.S. Patent 5,310,093. U.S. Patent 3,422,993 discloses the use of a porous material in a mixing chamber to cause the air/ liquid mixture to create the foam. Air can be drawn in through the nozzle or through the dip tube depending on the embodiment. However both embodiments require the use of a porous material in the mixing chamber. In U.S. Patent 5,037,006 the air is drawn in through the dip tube but a set of three separated screens is needed to create the foam. Prior to the screens there also is a mixing chamber to mix air and the foamable liquid. In U.S. Patent 5,310,093 there is a foam dispenser unit located in the closure. There is a mixing chamber with a flapper valve and a plurality of upwardly projecting fingers which deliver the foamable liquid to this chamber. There is no screen. Air is delivered through other openings. The flapper valve assists in creating pressure in the container. The upwardly projecting fingers and the admitted air produce the foam.

The present container and foam dispenser provide a less complex, and less costly, container and foam dispenser than the systems of the prior art. Multiple screens are not needed. Also a porous or other material is not needed in a mixing chamber. A mixing chamber devoid of any foam producing elements is utilized. The structure has a minimal number of parts to be produced and to be assembled and can be adjusted to produce foams from a range of foamable liquids.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a container and foam dispenser for delivering a foam product comprising a container having an enclosed body section and a neck with a neck aperture. A foam dispenser mechanism is fitted into the neck aperture, the foam dispenser mechanism mixing a foamable liquid composition with air to produce a foam. The foam dispenser mechanism comprises a mixing chamber section having an upper end and a lower end. A dip tube extends from a lower end of the mixing chamber section with an air aperture connecting the dip tube to the mixing chamber section. A screen support in a screen retainer section closes the upper end of the mixing chamber section. A foamable liquid/ air aperture extends through the screen support and into the screen retainer section to deliver a mixed foamable liquid/ air to the screen. A valved closure usually will deliver the foam from the screen retainer section to the exterior. The mixing chamber section has at least one foamable liquid aperture to admit the foamable liquid into the mixing chamber section. The at least one foamable liquid aperture is of a predetermined size coordinated to the viscosity of the foamable liquid.

In order to form the foam the container is inverted and squeezed. Air is admitted to the mixing chamber section through the dip tube and the foamable liquid through the at least one foamable liquid aperture in the mixing chamber. In a preferred embodiment there are a plurality of mixing chamber foamable liquid apertures. The foamable liquid and air undergo a turbulent shear force mixing in the mixing chamber and are flowed through the screen to produce the foam which then exits the foam dispenser. The air and the foamable liquid are admitted to the mixing chamber section at an angle, one to the other, resulting in the turbulent flow. The angle will be from about 30 degrees to about 150 degrees. The foamable liquid apertures also will be located in about the lower half of the mixing chamber section, and preferably in about the lower third.

The mixing chamber has a volume of about Ice. to about 20cc. and preferably a volume of about 2cc. to about lOcc. The at least one foamable liquid aperture has a cross-sectional area of about .01 sq.cm to about 1.5 sq.cm. The screen is flexible and has a mesh of about 50 microns to about 300 microns, and preferably about 75 to 150 microns. The foamable liquids will have a viscosity of about 5cps to about 150cps. A closure is at the upper end of the mixing chamber of the foam dispenser with the closure having means to attach the closure to the neck of the container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the foam dispenser mechanism.

Figure 2 is an exploded view of the foam dispenser mechanism of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the foam dispenser mechanism mixing chamber section along line 3-3.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional of the foam dispenser mechanism mixing chamber section of Figure 2 along line 4-4.

Figure 5 is a top plan view of a screen assembly seal ring.

Figure 6 is a top plan view of the screen.

Figure 7 is a cross-section view of the screen support.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the foam dispenser mechanism assembled in a container and dispensing a foam product.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the preferred embodiments illustrated by the drawings. However, it is to be understood that modifications can be made to these preferred embodiments and yet be within the concept of the present invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the foam dispenser 10. The foam dispenser is comprised of the primary sections of the dip tube 12, mixing chamber section 14, and screen retainer section 16 with screen 22. The mixing chamber section 14 will have one or more foamable liquid apertures 24 for admitting the foamable liquid into the mixing chamber section. Air will enter the mixing chamber through the dip tube 12 and air aperture 19 of dip tube fitment 18. The screen 22 is a part of screen assembly 21 and which is supported on the upper surface 28 of mixing chamber section 14 and is held in place within screen retainer section 16 by an interference or snap fit. This can be an undercut in the wall of screen retainer section 16 at the upper surface 28 or one or more projections from this wall above upper surface 28. Figure 2 shows the structure of this foam producing foam dispenser in more detail in an exploded view. Here it is shown that the dip tube fits into the dip tube fitment 18 located on the bottom of mixing chamber section 14. The screen 22 is a part of screen assembly 21. This is comprised of screen support 27, screen 22 and seal ring 26. The three parts of the screen assembly are sonic welded together to form the screen assembly 21. Also shown in Figure 2 is a closure 30. This closure 30 has a skirt 32 for attachment to the neck of a container and a push/ pull spout 34. The spout is open in an up position and closed in a down position.

The mixing chamber section 14 is a hollow chamber devoid of any inner parts for the mixing of the air and the foamable liquid. This is illustrated in Figure 3 which shows mixing chamber section 14 in cross-section with two foamable liquid apertures 24, bottom wall 17 and air aperture 19 in the bottom wall. However, there can be one foamable liquid aperture having the cross-sectional area of the two apertures. There is no need for an inner structure in the mixing chamber section 14. Figure 4 shows the mixing chamber section 14 along with screen retainer section 16 in a vertical cross- section. This latter view shows a foamable liquid aperture 24, an air aperture 19and a screen retainer section 16 along with screen assembly 21 and upper surface 28. This upper surface 28 supports the screen assembly 21 which is held at its periphery by an undercut in the inner surface of the wall of screen retainer 16. It also can be held in place using one or more projections on the inner wall of the screen retainer 16 just above the upper surface 28. Figure 5 is a top plan view of the seal ring 26 of the screen assembly 21. Figure 6 is a top plan view of the screen 22. Figure 7 is a top plan view of the screen support 23 showing the support surface 27 and foamable liquid/ air aperture 25. The screen assembly 21 rests on surface 28 of screen retainer 16.

Figure 8 shows the foam dispenser 10 in a container 38 with the container delivering a foam product 40 from the liquid product 42 in the container. This foam dispenser 10 and the container 38 are adapted to deliver the foam product 40 when the container 38 is inverted. The space 44 in the container is an air space. Upon the container 38 being inverted, and squeezed, some of the foamable liquid 42 enters the mixing chamber through foamable liquid apertures 24. Air enters the mixing chamber through the dip tube 12 and air aperture 19. The air and the liquid 42 are mixed in mixing chamber section 14 and flowed through screen 22 to fully form the foam 40. The foam 40 then exits through push/ pull nozzle 34. The now foamed product 40 can now be used for many purposes. In the present instance it would be used to clean dishware and kitchen utensils.

The dip tube 12 can be of any commercially available internal and external diameter. This can range from about 5 mm to about 20mm. The dip tube fitment 18 functions to hold the dip tube in place. The dip tube 12 fits into the fitment 18. The volume of the mixing chamber section 14 will be sufficient to hold the amount of liquid 42 and air for dispensing the amount of foam 40 that is usually desired for a cleaning operation. The diameter will to a degree be controlled by the diameter of the container neck. The volume of the mixing chamber will range from about Ice to about 20cc and preferably about 2cc to about lOcc. The air aperture 19 to the mixing chamber 14 from the dip tube fitment 18 will have a diameter of about .2cm to about .6cm. The foamable liquid/ air aperture 25 in screen support 23 will likewise be about .2cm to about .6cm. The foamable liquid apertures 24 in the mixing chamber section 14 will have a cross-sectional area of about .Olsq. cm to about 1.5 sq. cm. The particular cross-sectional area will depend on the viscosity of the foamable liquid. The foamable liquid apertures 24 are at an angle of about 30 degrees to about 150 degrees to air aperture! 9 in fitment 18. An angle of 90 degrees has been found to be quite effective. In addition the foamable liquid apertures 24 will be located in the lower half of the mixing chamber 14, and preferably in the lower third close to air aperture 19. The objective is to form a turbulent, shear force flow of the air and the foamable liquid in the mixing chamber section 14. In Figure 8 the mixture of foamable liquid 42 and air will flow through this foamable liquid/ air aperture 25 with a force sufficient entrain the air 44 into the liquid 42 to form foam 40. The mixing chamber section 14 will form an intimate liquid air mixture, but the mixture must then be further be atomized by the screen to form the liquid/ air foam. It will be dispensed through spout 34. In this embodiment the composition is a dishwashing composition.

The components of the foam dispenser are usually formed by injection molding from thermoplastics such as polyethylenes and polypropylenes. Other thermoplastics can be used. The screen 22 can be a metal or polymeric screen. Polymeric screens are preferred since there will be less of a chance of an interaction of the liquid that is to form the foam and the screen material. Useful screen materials are nvlons and polyesters. However polymeric screens of polyethylenes and polypropylcnes can be used. The screen mesh will to a degree be dependent on the rheology of the liquid to be converted to a foam. The mesh of the screen 22 will usually be between about 50 microns and 300 microns. The diameter of the screen 22 will be dependent to a degree on the diameter of the mixing chamber section 14. The thickness of the screen 22 will be in the range of about .02 mm to about .2mm. It is preferred that the screen 22 be able to flex during operation to form a foam. In order to enhance flex the screen is only retained in place at its periphery.

The foamable liquid 42 can be essentially any liquid that contains a surfactant and which can entrain air or another gas 44 to form a foam 40. The foamable composition 42 will contain other ingredients depending on the product and its uses. Foamable liquid hand soaps are sold under the trademark FOAMWORKS. Dishwashing compositions also can be used in the form of a foam as is shown more specifically in Figure 8. The surfactants that can be used for include anionic and zwitterionic surfactants but could contain nonionic or cationic surfactants. The compositions also may contain an organic acid such as lactic acid, but could contain citric, acetic, glutaric and other organic acids. Such compositions may also contain organic solvents such as ethyl alcohol and dipropylene glycol methyl ether to modify the viscosity, but could use a salt such as sodium chloride or sodium sulfate to help attain low viscosity. These compositions also will contain the usual aesthetic ingredients such as perfume, color, quality control agents , chelating agents, preservatives and hydrotropes. The presence of a surfactant makes a composition such as liquid hand soap, dishwashing detergent or related product foamable. The dishwashing composition 42 shown in Figure 8 will have a viscosity of about 5 cps to about 150cps, and preferably about 40cps to80cps. However, other foamable liquids can have a higher viscosity.

Claims

We Claim:

1. A container and foam dispenser for delivering a foam product comprising a container having an enclosed body section and a neck with a neck aperture, a foam dispenser fitted into the neck aperture, the foam dispenser mixing a foamable liquid with air to produce a foam, the foam dispenser comprising a mixing chamber section having an upper end and a lower end, a dip tube extending from a lower end of the mixing chamber, an air aperture connecting the dip tube to the mixing chamber, a foamable liquid/ air aperture extending from the upper end of the mixing chamber to a screen, the mixing chamber having at least one foamable liquid aperture of a predetermined size coordinated to the viscosity of the foamable liquid.

2. A container and foam dispenser as in claim 1 wherein the mixing chamber is devoid of any materials to assist in producing the foams.

3. A container and foam dispenser as in claiml wherein air is admitted to the mixing chamber section through the dip tube and the foamable liquid through the at least one foamable liquid aperture.

4. A container and foam dispenser as in claim 1 wherein there are a plurality of foamable liquid apertures.

5. A container and foam dispenser as in claim 1 wherein the ratio of the cross- sectional area of the plurality of foamable liquid apertures the area is about .01 sq. cm to about lsq.cm for a foamable liquid having a viscosity of about 5cps to about 150cps.

6. A container and foam dispenser as in claim 1 wherein the mixing chamber section has a volume to produce a given volume of foam.

7. A container and foam dispenser as in claim 6 wherein the mixing chamber section has a volume of about Ice. to about 20cc.

8. A container and foam dispenser as in claim 1 wherein the screen has a mesh of about 50 microns to about 300 microns for a foamable liquid having a viscosity of about 5cps to about 150cps.

9. A container and foam dispenser as in claim 1 wherein the air aperture is at an angle of about 30 degrees to about 150 degrees to the foamable liquid aperture in the mixing chamber section.

10. A container and foam dispenser as in claim 1 wherein the container body flexes under an external pressure to reduce the volume of the container and to thereby force air and foamable liquid into the mixing chamber in a turbulent shear flow to intimately mix the air and the foamable liquid and then to flow this intimate mixture through a screen to produce the foam product.

11. A foam dispenser for delivering a foam product from a container the foam dispenser mixing a foamable composition with air to produce a foam, the foam dispenser comprising a mixing chamber section having an upper end and a lower end, a dip tube extending from a lower end of the mixing chamber section, an air aperture connecting the dip tube to the mixing chamber, a foamable liquid aperture extending from the upper end of the mixing chamber to a screen, the mixing chamber section having at least one aperture of a predetermined size to admit foamable liquid and coordinated to the viscosity of the foamable liquid.

12. A foam dispenser as in claim 11 wherein the mixing chamber section is devoid of any materials to assist in producing the foams.

13. A foam dispenser as in claimll wherein air is admitted to the mixing chamber section through the dip tube and the foamable liquid through the at least one foamable liquid aperture.

14. A foam dispenser as in claim 11 wherein there are a plurality of foamable liquid apertures.

15. A foam dispenser as in claim 11 wherein the ratio of the cross-sectional area of the plurality of foamable liquid apertures is about .Olsq.cm to about 1.5 sq.cm for a foamable liquid having a viscosity of about 5cps to about 150cps.

16. A foam dispenser as in claim 11 wherein the mixing chamber section has a volume to produce a given volume of foam.

17. A foam dispenser as in claim 16 wherein the mixing chamber section has a volume of about Ice. to about 20cc.

18. A foam dispenser as in claim 11 wherein the screen has a mesh of about 50 microns to about 300 microns for a foamable liquid having a viscosity of about 5cps to about ISOcps.

19. A foam dispenser as in claim 11 wherein the air aperture is at an angle of about 30 degrees to about 150 degrees to the foamable liquid aperture in the mixing chamber section.

20. A foam dispenser as in claim 11 wherein the container body flexes under an external pressure to reduce the volume of the container and to thereby force air and foamable liquid into the mixing chamber in a turbulent shear flow to intimately mix the air and the foamable liquid and then to flow this intimate mixture through a screen to produce the foam product.