Realex Corporation

Calmar Inc.

Other

Donald D Foster

David G Moore

Robert N Hills

Wallace F Magers

John M Ford

Phil L Nelson

John J Palmisano

Philip L Nelson

An elastomeric piston member of a product dispenser for semi-viscous liquids includes integrally molded priming valve structure as well as check valve structure. The priming valve comprises a number of generally flat, triangular segments arranged around the periphery of an outlet conduit leading from a pumping chamber, and during a pumping stroke of the piston member, outermost tips of each segment deflect laterally to allow discharge of products from the chamber. The triangular segments are molded in an open or spaced apart orientation to facilitate manufacture, and are biased by ribs of a discharge spout toward a closed, inclined orientation in contact with adjacent segments once the dispenser is assembled.

Elastomeric valve and piston structure for product dispenser

A relatively small product dispenser for cosmetics such as creams and lotions and adapted to be carried in a handbag or purse has a locking ring which is rotatable to a first orientation that prevents depression of an actuator and which is also rotatable a second orientation enabling actuator movement. The locking ring is coupled to a closure element in such a fashion that the element covers a discharge opening of the dispenser when the actuator is locked in position in order to retard the drying and consequent hardening of any products remaining within a passageway adjacent the discharge opening. As the locking ring is turned to its second orientation enabling the actuator to be depressed, the closure element moves away from the discharge opening to permit full flow of products therethrough.

Product dispenser with shiftable closure blade

A dispenser for lotions, creams and the like has an annular collar in the form of a rotatable cam ring which may be turned to rock an actuator toward a dispensing, open position or toward a closed, non-dispending position. The cam ring has cam tracks that support the actuator when in its open, dispensing position so that finger pressure exerted on the actuator to pump products from the dispenser does not inadvertently rock the actuator toward its closed position. In preferred forms of the invention, a wall section formed as part of a shroud surrounding the actuator is yieldably biased in an inwardly direction, and snaps over the outlet of the actuator to close the outlet channel once the actuator has been pivoted toward its closed, non-dispensing position.

Product dispenser having actuator locking collar and shroud

The actuating lever of the dispenser has an integral valve flap which covers the discharge outlet of the dispenser when the lever is in its standby position, and in order to augment the sealing capabilities of such flap during shipment or storage prior to customer acquisition and use of the dispenser, a disposable sealing tape is provided which is factory-installed so as to overlie the outlet between the latter and the covering valve flap. The tape is provided with a layer of adhesive to promote retention of the tape in sealing relationship with the outlet, and a tab portion of the tape extends from the outlet and is adhered to adjacent portions of the dispenser in such a manner as to facilitate grasping and removal by the user. An overcap enclosing the otherwise exposed actuating lever and discharge spout has internal structure depending from a top wall thereof which bears resiliently against the actuator flap to press the latter tightly against the tape and promote retention thereof in covering relationship to the outlet.

Shipping seal for viscous product dispenser

An economical, non-clogging apparatus for dispensing premeasured amounts of liquid from a container placed on a shelf is provided which contains no spring, has a secure shipping mode, permits one-handed operation, has few moving parts, and avoids liquid wastage by preventing inadvertent removal of the rotatable outer cap. In preferred forms, the apparatus includes a tubular, stationary member received partly within the container's outlet neck a tubular, movable member coupled with and received partly within the stationary member, and a stem co-axially received within the movable member and coupled with the stationary member. These components cooperatively define a measuring chamber, an inlet opening, and an outlet aperture. Counterclockwise rotation of the movable member causes the stem to move from its shipping position and open the inlet opening, thereby filling the chamber with liquid while maintaining the outlet in a closed position; clockwise rotation of the movable member causes the inlet to close and the outlet aperture to open, thereby dispensing the premeasured liquid. The apparatus hereof can be used on a wide variety of containers and liquids such as bottles of household liquid detergent or large containers of industrial chemicals.

Unit dose liquid dispenser having precise dosage capabilities

The actuating lever of the dispenser has an outlet valve flap integral therewith which moves in a shearing action across the outlet of the discharge spout as the actuator is returned to its standby position such that the returning valve flap cleanly slices through the bead of viscous product adhering to the spout and this fully separates the dispensed bead of product from that remaining behind in the spout. A lost-motion action permits the valve flap to uncover the spout outlet before further depression of the actuating lever shifts the pumping piston through its dispensing stroke to force product out the spout.

Viscous product dispenser having externally located, dispensed product

The dispensing pump has an actuator button which is depressible immediately alongside of the stationary discharge spout of the pump so that, when the button is fully extended in its standby position, its upper surface is approximately flush with the upper end extremity of the spout. A locking cover on the button may be slid into a closed position at this time covering the open end of the spout to both seal the latter and securely lock the button against accidental depression. An alternative embodiment provides a discharge passage within the button itself which may be opened and closed by appropriate positioning of a slide cover carried by the button.

Orifice cover slide actuator lock for viscous product dispenser

The atmospheric pressure-operated take-up piston of the dispenser is provided with releasable locking structure which retains the piston prior to first intentional actuation of the dispenser against jarring movements tending to pressurize the contents and promote leakage during shipment and storage. Once the piston has been intentionally unlocked from its starting position at one end of the dispenser, it is free to travel under the influence of atmospheric pressure to take up space left vacant by discharged product. Several different forms of structure means for the take-up piston are disclosed.

Take-up piston shipping lock for viscous product dispensers

Serrations on the upper end of the pump body are disposed for interlocking engagement with depending portions of the pump collar so that when the plunger is rotated in a counterclockwise direction to unlock the same from the collar in preparation for reciprocal operation, the collar is held securely by the body against rotation to assure unlocking. The serrations take the form of a plurality of equally circumferentially spaced ramps which are inclined in the direction of locking rotation of the plunger to thereby permit the collar to yieldably override the serrations when the locked plunger and collar are rotated as a unit in the locking direction relative to the body to orient a spout of the plunger in a desired location for factory packaging efficiency.

Dispensing pump having collar-to-body anti-rotation interlock

The plunger of the pump has a radially extending lug near its upper end which can be inserted down into a notch in the stationary pump collar when the plunger is fully depressed, so that when the plunger is then rotated in a clockwise direction relative to the collar, the lug is brought under an overhanging ledge on the collar to releasably lock the plunger in its fully depressed position. In order to deter unlocking, the lug of the plunger and the interior wall of the collar are provided with mutually interengageable structures that permit the lug to be rotated substantially without significant resistance into a final or fully locked up position against a shoulder beneath the ledge but to be held in such fully locked up position against unlocking movement unless substantial, counterclockwise-directed force is applied. Interengaging ramp surfaces on the collar and the lug slide against one another during movement of the lug into its locked up position, while abrupt, blocking surfaces thereafter oppose one another to prevent unlocking rotation unless significant force is applied to override the blocking action. The underside of the retaining ledge of the collar is also provided with a depending abutment adjacent the notch which lies in the path of travel of the lug during attempted unlocking rotation to thereby block access of the lug to the notch unless the plunger is first depressed a sufficient amount to permit passage of the lug under the abutment.

Tamper deterring unlocking restricter for down locking pump dispensers

When the reciprocable plunger of the pump is locked down in its fully depressed position, the lowermost tip of the plunger maintains the inlet ball check valve of the pump forcefully pressed against its seat to prevent leakage. Spindly legs on the hollow plunger adjacent the tip thereof define inlet orifices for the discharge passage of the plunger during operation and provide a spring-like action for generating the ball hold down force. As the tip engages the ball valve and the plunger is rotated slightly during the lock down, the lowermost cylindrical portion of the plunger is centered on the ball and held against rotation by the resilient legs and a trio of guiding projections arranged in the lower end of the pump chamber about the cylindrical portion. Consequently, the legs have a tendency to wind up torsionally as well as bow resiliently outwardly to thereby compound the resistance of the plunger to unseating movement by the ball.

Down-locking dispensing pump with guided check valve hold-down structure

The pump is clamped to the top wall of a container closure by a pair of opposed, upper and lower clamping surfaces on the pump body which position the body to project down into the container. The lower clamping surface takes the form of a circular flange which is integral with the pump body and which is itself normally clamped between the top wall of the closure and the upper edge of the neck of the container when the neck is only slightly larger than the pump body, thereby preventing rotation of the body when the pump plunger is rotated to either lock or unlock the same from a fully depressed, stored position. When the pump is used on a large closure having a wide neck whose upper edge therefore fails to clamp against the pump flange, the pump body will nonetheless be held immobile by a series of flat surfaces therearound which matingly interlock with complimentally configured flat edges in the closure opening through which the pump body extends.

Dispensing pump for containers with large closures

A one-time use, disposable, plastic-molded locking clip is provided for retaining the depressible plunger of a dispensing pump in a fully extended position during shipment or otherwise. The clip may be snapped onto the plunger after the latter has been fully assembled, yet once installed, the snapped together portions of the clip are not readily detectable nor accessible so that the clip may not be removed without destroying the same by tearing a twist tab therefrom. The generally C-shaped jaws of the clip embrace the plunger immediately below the head thereof in order to block depression, and such jaws forceably interlock with each other into a complete loop so that the clip may be installed upon pumps devoid of structure which would assist in locking the clip in place. Mating hooks of the interlocking components on the jaws are so oriented that the resistive force from the plunger tending to spread apart the embracing jaws of the clip simply tends to tighten the interengagement of the hooks as the jaws pull against each other at their outer ends.

Tamper-proof clip for uplocking plungers of pump dispensers

The collar of the pump clamps the top wall of a closure against an underlying, external flange on the pump body, and although the collar is always a fixed, predetermined distance from the flange, a variety of closures with differing top wall thicknesses may be accommodated by the collar because of the yieldable nature of an integrally depending element at a lower periphery of the collar that makes the actual clamping engagement of the collar with the closure. Such element may be defined by an annular series of separate, deflectable segments around the periphery of the collar or by a continuous annular surface capable of deflecting away from the lip but maintaining forcible engagement with the top wall of the closure at all times.

Size-compensating collar in a pump dispenser

When the plunger is fully depressed, radially projecting lugs carried by the plunger adjacent its normally upper end may be received within corresponding notches in a collar through which the plunger reciprocates, whereupon rotation of the plunger in a clockwise direction moves the lugs under overhanging shoulders of the collar so as to prevent extension of the plunger until it is intentionally unlocked from the collar. A total of three lugs are utilized so as to provide three-point, stabilized retention of the plunger in its locked-down condition, and one of the lugs and its corresponding notch is smaller than the other two so that the plunger can be locked only when it is in a certain, predetermined rotative position relative to the collar aligning the down-sized lug and notch. Each of the shoulders is provided with a lower, lug-engaging, inclined surface which bears against its corresponding lug with progressively increasing force for fluid-tight sealing purposes as the plunger is rotated into a fully locked condition, there being abutments associated with the shoulders blocking movement of the lugs beyond positions corresponding to the fully locked and rotated position of the plunger.

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Kingsville, MO, United States of America

Donald D Foster