LIQUID DISPENSER WITH TWO LIQUID RESERVOIRS

Abstract

A liquid dispenser for dispensing a cosmetic or pharmaceutical liquid produced by mixing two starting liquids. The liquid dispenser has at least two liquid reservoirs for holding the two starting liquids and a discharge opening, and at least one pump device by which liquid can be delivered from the liquid reservoirs to the discharge opening. The dispenser has one intake opening for removing the liquid, via the at least one pump device, at one end of each liquid reservoir, and one intake tube extending from the intake opening to a bottom end of each liquid reservoir. Further, one filling opening is provided at the bottom end of each of the liquid reservoirs.

Claims

1. A liquid dispenser for dispensing a cosmetic or pharmaceutical liquid produced by mixing at least two starting liquids, comprising: at least two liquid reservoirs for holding the starting liquids, wherein the liquid reservoirs extend in a main direction of extent of the liquid dispenser and are separated from each other by a partition wall; at least one discharge opening and at least one pump device by which liquid can be delivered from the liquid reservoirs to the discharge opening; a respective intake opening for removing the liquid via the at least one pump device disposed at a top end of each of the liquid reservoirs; a respective intake tube extending from the intake opening to a bottom end of each liquid reservoir; and respective filling opening provided in a base region at the bottom end of each of the liquid reservoirs.

2. The liquid dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the liquid reservoirs have in the base region a reservoir base provided with a respective filling opening.

3. The liquid dispenser according to claim 2, wherein the reservoir bases each have at least one holding geometry via which a bottom end of the respective intake tube is kept away from the respective filling opening.

4. The liquid dispenser according to claim 3, wherein the holding geometries each have a supporting wall surrounding the respective filling opening.

5. The liquid dispenser according to claim 2, wherein the reservoir bases are each provided with oblique guide surfaces at least in some places, by virtue of which the intake tubes can be pushed away from the respective filling opening during the installation of the liquid dispenser.

6. The liquid dispenser according to claim 1, further comprising barrier sections arranged inside the respective liquid reservoirs flush with the respective filling openings and blocking the respective intake tube from entering the filling openings during the installation of the liquid dispenser, the barrier sections being disposed in the base region of the liquid reservoirs.

7. The liquid dispenser according to claim 6, with at least one of the following additional features: the barrier sections are formed by inserts which are separate from a reservoir base component and are fastened to the reservoir base component; and/or the barrier sections have, on an upward facing side, a shape which deviates from a plane shape; and/or the barrier sections have, on an upward facing side, a shape in the manner of a plane which is oblique relative to the main direction of extent.

8. The liquid dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the filling openings are each temporarily closed by a stopper in a state before filling.

9. The liquid dispenser according to claim 1, with at least one of the following further features: the intake openings are arranged offset relative to the filling openings with respect to the main direction of extent; and/or the intake tubes are essentially straight, so as to be offset relative to the filling openings, corresponding to the intake opening.

10. The liquid dispenser according to claim 1, wherein at least in the base region, situated opposite the at least one pump device of the liquid reservoir, a second of the two liquid reservoirs surrounds a first of the two liquid reservoirs, and the partition wall is formed in the base region as an annular partition wall surrounding a first filling opening of the first liquid reservoir, the annular partition wall being surrounded by a second filling opening of the second liquid reservoir.

11. The liquid dispenser according to claim 10, wherein at least in an upper region of the liquid reservoirs, the liquid reservoirs are arranged next to each other such that the liquid reservoirs each adjoin a common outer wall and a non-annular partition wall originating from the outer wall, and the liquid dispenser further includes a transfer wall structure between the base region and the upper region, the transfer wall structure merging the non-annular partition wall into the annular partition wall.

12. The liquid dispenser according to claim 1, wherein at least one lower subsection of the intake tube is firmly connected to a reservoir base component.

13. The liquid dispenser according to claim 12, further including guide surfaces on the lower subsection of the intake tube for guided placement of the lower subsection onto the intake opening.

14. The liquid dispenser according to claim 1, with at least one of the following further features: the liquid dispenser has a push actuator displaceable relative to the liquid reservoirs, wherein the at least one pump device is configured to deliver liquid from the liquid reservoirs to the discharge opening by virtue of displacement of the push actuator relative to the liquid reservoirs; and/or liquid dispenser has two pump devices; and/or the liquid dispenser has a main reservoir body which, in a single piece, forms at least partially an outer wall of both liquid reservoirs and at least partially the partition wall separating the liquid reservoirs; and/or in a filled state, the filling openings are closed; and/or the liquid dispenser comprises two pump devices each associated with one of the two liquid reservoirs, wherein the respective intake opening to which the respective intake tube is attached is provided on an intake nozzle of the pump devices; and/or at least one intake tube is spaced apart from the intake opening by supporting means.

15. A method for producing and filling a liquid dispenser with two liquid reservoirs, the method comprising: providing a liquid dispenser with two filling openings each provided in a base region of respective liquid reservoirs; filling the liquid reservoirs while the liquid dispenser is oriented so that the filling openings face upwards; and carrying out the filling with at least one filling head having at least two filling nozzles entering the filling openings simultaneously or one after the other and dispensing liquid there and hence filling the liquid reservoirs.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the filling is carried out after at least one reservoir base component, in which the at least one filling opening is provided, has been attached to a main reservoir body, wherein at least one intake tube of the liquid reservoir has been pushed away from the at least one filling opening by the reservoir base component in the course of the attachment.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein a second of the liquid reservoirs surrounds a first of the liquid reservoirs at least in the base region of the liquid reservoirs, wherein for this purpose a partition wall is configured at least in some places as an annular partition wall which annular partition wall surrounds a first filling opening of the first liquid reservoir and which annular partition wall is surrounded by a second filling opening of the second liquid reservoir, and the filling is carried out by a filling head having an inner filling nozzle and an outer filling nozzle, wherein the inner filling nozzle is arranged inside the outer filling nozzle.

18. The method according to claim 15, with at least one of the following additional features: the liquid is dispensed through an outlet opening provided in a side of the filling nozzle; and/or the filling nozzle has a displacement geometry at a far end face on which an intake tube slides when entering the filling opening.

19. The liquid dispenser according to claim 2, with at least one of the following additional features: the reservoir bases of the two liquid reservoirs are formed by a common one-piece reservoir base component; and/or the reservoir bases are formed by at least one reservoir base component formed by a component separate from a main reservoir body; and/or the reservoir base component is connected to a main reservoir body by being adhesively bonded or welded or via a press-fit connection.

20. The liquid dispenser according to claim 8, with at least one of the following additional features: the stoppers can be pushed into the respective liquid reservoir from outside; and/or the stoppers are designed as a single piece with at least one reservoir base component.

21. The liquid dispenser according to claim 12, wherein the lower subsection of the intake tube is integrally connected to the reservoir base component.

22. The liquid reservoir according to claim 13, with at least one of the following additional features: the guide surfaces are provided on a plurality of individual ribs in the form of lead-in slopes; and/or the guide surfaces form a funnel structure.

23. The method according to claim 17, wherein the inner filling nozzle is separated from a liquid-guidance region of the outer filling nozzle by a double-shell intermediate wall, an outer shell of the intermediate wall is arranged outside the annular partition wall during the filling and an inner shell of the intermediate wall is arranged inside the annular partition wall during the filling.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] Further advantages and aspects of the invention can be found in the claims and the following description of preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention which are explained below with the aid of the Figures.

[0043] FIG. 1 shows a first exemplary embodiment of a liquid dispenser according to the invention in an overall view.

[0044] FIGS. 2A-2C show the liquid dispenser in FIG. 1 during filling.

[0045] FIG. 3 shows a liquid dispenser according to a second exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[0046] FIGS. 4A to 4C show a third exemplary embodiment in an overall view and the sequence during filling.

[0047] FIGS. 5A to 5D show the installation and filling of a liquid dispenser according to a fourth exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[0048] FIGS. 6A to 6D show a liquid dispenser according to a fifth exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[0049] FIGS. 7A to 7D show a liquid dispenser according to a sixth exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[0050] FIGS. 8A to 8D show the filling process of a dispenser with two liquid reservoirs together with a specially designed filling head.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

[0051] FIG. 1 shows a liquid dispenser 10 which is designed to dispense a liquid which is produced from two starting liquids by being mixed in the course of the discharging. The liquid dispenser 10 is oriented along a main direction of extent 2 and has at its top end a discharge opening 22 through which liquid can be dispensed. This liquid is supplied to the discharge opening 22 through a discharge duct 18. The discharge duct 18 is fed by two pump devices 30.

[0052] In order to activate the pump devices 30, the liquid dispenser has a push actuator 12 which acts on piston components 34 of both pump devices 30 and therefore activates them simultaneously. As a result, liquid is pushed in the direction of the discharge opening 22 from the pump chambers of the pump devices.

[0053] The pump devices 30 are designed to deliver liquid from two elongated liquid reservoirs 40. They are each fastened by means of an upper pump housing part 32B to an intermediate wall closing the liquid dispenser 40 at the top. The pump devices 30 extend with a lower pump housing component 32A into the liquid reservoirs 40. Respective intake openings 38 are provided at the bottom end of the pump devices 30, wherein an intake tube 42, which extends into a base region of the liquid reservoirs 40, is in each case attached to these intake openings 38. The purpose of these intake tubes 42 is to draw liquid from the bottom end of the liquid reservoirs such that the dispenser 10 can be used in the orientation illustrated in FIG. 1 and liquid can be discharged.

[0054] The liquid reservoirs 40 are delimited primarily by a main reservoir body 14 which predominantly forms both an outer wall 43 and a partition wall 41. A reservoir base 50 is provided at the bottom end of the liquid dispenser 10 in order to close the main reservoir body 14, wherein it is formed in the present case by a separately produced reservoir base component 16 which is connected to the main reservoir body 14, for example, by means of a welded connection, a press-fit connection or an adhesively bonded connection.

[0055] The reservoir base 50 has two filling openings 60 which, in the state in FIG. 1, are already closed by means of a stopper component 70. The reservoir base 50 furthermore has a holding geometry 58, in particular formed by supporting walls 58A which extend so far upwards that the intake tubes 42 can consequently be kept away from the filling openings 60. It can be clearly seen in FIG. 1 that the intake tubes 42 are pushed away from the filling openings 60 by the supporting walls 58A. Oblique guide surfaces 56 on the reservoir base 50 ensure that the intake tubes 42 are pushed away from the filling openings 60 during installation.

[0056] This design of the reservoir base which is capable of ensuring the position of the bottom ends of the intake tubes serves to facilitate the filling of the liquid dispenser 10.

[0057] The filling process is illustrated in FIGS. 2A to 2C. As is clear from FIG. 2A, in the case of a liquid dispenser 10 according to the invention, the filling process takes place in a position in which the discharge opening 22 faces downwards and the filling openings 60 on the base face upwards. FIG. 2A shows the liquid dispenser 10 in this orientation with filling nozzles 210, which are part of a common filling head 200, already inside. The filling nozzles 210 project through the filling openings 60 into the liquid reservoirs 40, wherein fixing the position of the intake tubes 42 by means of the supporting walls 58A means that they do not obstruct the filling process.

[0058] FIG. 2B shows the filled state of the liquid reservoirs 40. Once this state has been achieved, the filling head 200 is withdrawn and stopper components 70 are pushed into the filling openings 60. The filling openings 60 are preferably circular such that reliable sealing can be obtained by pressing in the stopper components 70. It is considered to be advantageous if the liquid reservoirs can be closed after filling using simple installation techniques, in particular without adhesive bonding or welding of components. This reduces the effort required to close the liquid reservoirs 40 at the filling point.

[0059] In the state in FIG. 2C, the liquid dispenser 10 is completed and filled and thus in a state in which it is ready to be sold.

[0060] FIG. 3 shows another design of a liquid dispenser 10. As is also the case for the other already described designs of the liquid dispenser 10, the discharge mechanism with the two pump devices 30 and the discharge duct 18 which leads to the discharge opening 22 is in each case unchanged. In the design in FIG. 3, as distinct from the design in FIGS. 1 and 2, it is not provided that the reservoir base 50 keeps the intake tubes 42 away from the filling openings 60 in a mechanical fashion. Instead, it is provided that the filling openings 60 are arranged so that they are offset relative to the intake openings 38 of the pump devices 30 with respect to the main direction of extent 2. If intake tubes with a sufficient inherent stability are used, it can in this way be ensured that the filling nozzles 210 do not collide with the intake tubes 42 during the filling of the liquid reservoirs 40.

[0061] The design in FIGS. 4A to 4C is in turn very similar to that in FIGS. 1 to 2C. A distinctive feature consists in the filling openings 60 being closed by temporary stoppers 51 before the liquid reservoirs 40 are filled. The latter are connected to the reservoir base component 16 by means of a film hinge in the exemplary embodiment in FIGS. 4A to 4C.

[0062] The stoppers 51 ensure that the interior of the liquid reservoirs 40 is insulated with respect to the surroundings during the handling of the still empty liquid dispensers 10 and hence can be kept sterile.

[0063] Only when the filling head 200 enters the filling openings 60 with the filling nozzles 210 during filling in the manner illustrated in FIG. 4B are the temporary stoppers 51 pushed out of the filling openings 60 and does the filling then begin.

[0064] After the filling has ended, other stopper components 70 are inserted into the filling openings in the manner illustrated in FIG. 4C. Even though two separate stopper components 70 are used in the Figure, it is also possible for a common stopper component 70 to close both filling openings 60, corresponding to FIG. 1.

[0065] FIGS. 5A to 5D show a further structure of a dispenser 10. It is provided here that the reservoir base 50 is provided in the region of the filling openings 60 with barrier sections 52 which cover the filling openings 60 and which have a tapering shape on their upper side. In the present case, the barrier sections 52 are provided as separate inserts 54 which are inserted into the filling openings 60 of the reservoir base component 16 in particular in clamping fashion. A one-piece design would, however, alternatively also be possible.

[0066] FIG. 5A illustrates the installation process. The reservoir base component 16 with the already inserted inserts 54 is moved from below onto the main reservoir body 14 with the already installed pump devices 30. The intake tubes 42 thus come into contact with the barrier sections 52 and are displaced to one side by the latter such that the arrangement of the suction tubes 42 according to FIG. 5B finally results.

[0067] It can alternatively also be provided that the reservoir base component 16 is already fastened on the main reservoir body 14 before the installation of the pump devices 30, for example by press-fitting, welding or adhesive bonding, and that, when the pump devices 30 with the intake tubes 42 already attached thereto are inserted, the barrier sections 52 correspondingly push the intake tubes to one side.

[0068] FIGS. 5C and 5D illustrate the filling process. As illustrated in FIG. 5C, two filling nozzles of a filling head 200 again enter the filling openings 60, wherein the inserts 54 arranged here do not interfere with the entrance of the filling nozzles and the introduction of the respective liquids. Alternatively, it can also be provided that the filling nozzles push the inserts 54 into the liquid reservoirs 40 and thus separate them from the reservoir base component 16.

[0069] In the design in FIGS. 6A to 6D, the liquid dispenser 10 has the distinctive feature that the liquid reservoirs 40 are arranged next to each other in an upper region such that they each bear against an outer wall 43 of the main reservoir body 14. However, the configuration is different in a lower region in which the filling openings 60A, 60B are also provided. Here, the liquid reservoir 40A surrounds the liquid reservoir 40B. The partition wall 41A, which in the upper part subdivides the cross-section of the main reservoir body 14 centrally into two regions, merges in the lower region of the liquid dispenser 10 into an annular partition wall 41B. As can be seen in FIG. 6A and in particular in FIG. 6B, this results in concentric filling openings 60A and 60B being formed.

[0070] FIG. 6C shows the filling process in such a configuration. A filling head 200 is used which has an inner filling nozzle 210A and an outer filling nozzle 210B. An intermediate wall 212 between the respective liquid-guidance regions has an inner shell 212A and an outer shell 212B, wherein, during the filling, the inner shell 212A is arranged inside the partition wall 41B and the outer shell 212B outside the partition wall 41B.

[0071] An essential advantage found here is that the rotational position of the liquid dispenser 10 has no relevance during the filling. A complex orienting process can therefore be omitted.

[0072] As illustrated in FIG. 6D, the liquid reservoirs 40A, 40B are closed after filling by a common stopper component 70 which has a shape which is adapted to the arrangement of the filling openings 60A, 60B.

[0073] In the design in FIGS. 7A to 7D, a further significantly modified concept is provided. It is provided here that the reservoir base component 16 is already provided with the intake tubes 42 before it is attached to the main reservoir body 14. As can be seen in FIGS. 7A and 7B, these intake tubes are a fixed and preferably integral part of the reservoir base component 16. They have lateral outlets 45 at their bottom end. In order to obtain stability and to simplify installation, they are each provided with four circumferentially distributed individual ribs 46 on which guide surfaces 47, oriented in a funnel shape, are provided.

[0074] As shown in FIG. 7C, the intake tubes 42 are thus not yet installed at the time of the filling of the liquid reservoirs 40. The liquid reservoirs 40 are first filled with liquid in the manner illustrated in FIG. 7C. Only then is the reservoir base component 16 with the intake tubes 42 connected to the main reservoir body 14, for example, by means of a press-fit connection, an adhesively bonded connection or a welded connection.

[0075] FIGS. 8A to 8D illustrate a further possibility for advantageous filling of the liquid reservoirs 40. In this variant, as illustrated in FIG. 8A, initially there is no guarantee at all that the intake tubes 42 are kept away from the filling openings 60.

[0076] However, special filling nozzles 210 are used here. These two filling nozzles 210 are provided at their far end with a displacement geometry 216, in the present case with a tip which tapers downwards with respect to FIG. 8C. When these filling nozzles 210 enter the filling openings 60, in so doing they push the intake tubes 42 to one side. The liquid reservoirs 40 are then filled via outlet openings 214 provided on the sides of the filling nozzles 210. As soon as the filling is finished, the filling openings are closed via a common stopper component 70 in the already described fashion.