Realex Corporation

John M Ford

Donald D Foster

Wallace F Magers

John W McDonald

David G Moore

John J Palmisano

The actuating lever of the dispenser has a rigid valve flap integral therewith which covers the spout outlet to close the same when the actuating lever is in its normal, undepressed position but which then lifts off the outlet to open the same when the lever is depressed in a pumping stroke. One embodiment employs a reciprocable pumping piston at one end of the dispenser body and a free-floating take-up piston at the opposite end of the body which responds to the evacuationof material within the pump chamber to take up the space otherwise occupied by the evacuated product. Another embodiment utilizes a pumping piston which starts at the lower end of the dispenser body and is progressively drawn up toward the opposite end during successive pumping strokes by a rod connected to the actuating lever.

Pasty product dispenser having combination actuator and outlet valve

Dispensing head

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

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

The plunger of the pump has an axial lock by which the plunger can be locked down in its fully depressed position during periods of non-use and a rotary lock for preventing inadvertent rotation of the plunger out of its locked down mode. The rotary lock includes a pair of yieldably spreadable arms which circle the collar of the pump and latch against one another in overlapping, embracing relationship so that the lock is held tightly on the collar against rotation relative thereto. A locking bar integral with the arms and of essentially rigid construction projects up out of the plane of curvature of the arms and has a saddle-like notch at its uppermost tip which complementally receives a portion of the spout associated with the discharge head of the plunger, thereby rendering the plunger rotatively immobile relative to the collar. If desired, hinge lines which permit the arms to flex toward and away from one another during installation and removal of the rotary lock from the pump may be intentionally designed to be in a sufficiently weakened condition as to permit at least one of the arms to be torn free from the remainder of the lock in order to release the latter from the pump. Mating teeth of optional configurations may be provided on the interior portions of the arms and the exterior of the pump collar to promote tight retention of the lock on the collar.

Plunger lock for manual dispensing pump

Dispensing container for liquids

The plunger may be locked down after a full depression stroke so that the overall height of the pump assembly and the container with which it is associated can be significantly reduced. A special valve component loosely encircling the plunger and slidable with friction along the interior surface of the barrel is initially positioned during factory assembly in a closed position covering vents in the sidewall of the barrel, thereby blocking the undesirable ingress of liquid into the barrel above the piston should the container be laid on its side during shipment or other handling. Upon the first unlocking upstroke of the plunger to its extended position, a shoulder on the plunger lifts the valve to an open position so the vents can function properly to introduce ambient air into the container replacing pumped-out product. The valve remains stored in its open position until such time as the plunger is once again locked down beyond the limit of its normal depression stroke, this action causing a second shoulder on the plunger to push the valve back down to its closed position.

Growing community of inventors

Lee's Summit, MO, United States of America

John M Ford