PUMP ASSEMBLY WITH SHIELD

Abstract

Disclosed is a pump assembly having slidingly engaged upper and lower sleeves, and a pump having an inlet and outlet ends and a pump chamber therebetween. Movement of the lower sleeve towards the upper sleeve causes the pump chamber to reduce in volume. The outlet end of the pump has a shoulder between a first diameter portion and an outlet nozzle extending downwardly from the shoulder and having a second diameter smaller than the first diameter portion. The lower end of the lower sleeve includes a shield extending from a lowermost rim upwards and inwards to terminate at an orifice that is larger than the second diameter but smaller than the first diameter portion. The shoulder supporting against a lip of the orifice and the outlet nozzle extending through the orifice to terminate at a dispersion location within the shield at a distance L from the orifice.

Claims

1. A pump assembly for dispensing a fluid from a fluid container, the pump assembly comprising an upper sleeve and a lower sleeve, slidingly engaged together and a pump having an inlet end, an outlet end and a pump chamber, the pump being retained within the sleeves with the inlet end located at an upper end of the upper sleeve and the outlet end located at a lower end of the lower sleeve, whereby movement of the lower sleeve towards the upper sleeve from an extended position to a compressed position causes the pump chamber to reduce in volume, wherein: the outlet end of the pump has a shoulder between a first diameter portion and an outlet nozzle, the outlet nozzle extending downwardly from the shoulder and having a second diameter smaller than the first diameter portion; the lower end of the lower sleeve comprises a shield for narrowing a spray angle of fluid exiting the outlet end of the pump, the shield extending from a lowermost rim upwards and inwards to terminate at an orifice, the orifice being larger than the second diameter but smaller than the first diameter portion and the shield forming a domed continuous surface that does not have any openings through which liquid or droplets might penetrate, whereby the shoulder supports against a lip of the orifice and the outlet nozzle extends through the orifice to terminate at a dispersion location within the shield at a distance L from the orifice, and wherein the domed continuous surface has a height of between 5 mm and 20 mm between the rim and the orifice.

2. A pump assembly according to claim 1 wherein the domed continuous surface is paraboloid, preferably with a diameter at the rim in the range 10 mm to 25 mm, optionally between 15 mm and 20 mm.

3. A pump assembly according to claim 1, wherein the domed continuous surface has a height of between 5 mm and 12 mm between the rim and the orifice.

4. A pump assembly according to claim 1 wherein the outlet nozzle has a length of between 2 mm and 10 mm from the shoulder, preferably between 3 mm and 6 mm.

5. A pump assembly according to any preceding claimclaim 1 wherein the orifice has a diameter in the range from 3 mm to 10 mm, optionally between 6 mm and 8 mm.

6. A pump assembly according to claim 1, wherein the shield has a wall thickness of between 0.8 mm and 1.6 mm, preferably between 1 mm and 1.3 mm and optionally no thicker than the wall thickness of the lower sleeve.

7. A pump assembly of claim 1 wherein a spray angle S defined between a line from a centre of the dispersion location to the rim and an axis of the nozzle is between 20 degrees and 70 degrees, preferably between 35 degrees and 55 degrees.

8. A pump assembly according to claim 1 wherein the lower sleeve is retained to the upper sleeve by a snap-on connection.

9. A pump assembly of claim 1 wherein the lower sleeve is rotatable with respect to the upper sleeve in the extended position to prevent actuation of the pump.

10. A pump assembly of claim 1 wherein the sleeves are made from one or more plastic materials of the following list: PP, PET, PE, PVC, PA, POM, ABS, PC or PS, preferably HDPE.

11. A pump assembly of claim 1 wherein an overlapping portion of the lower sleeve surrounds the upper sleeve.

12. A pump assembly of claim 1 wherein a diameter of the lower sleeve is greater than a diameter of the rim of the shield, preferably between 20 mm and 50 mm, optionally between 25 mm and 35 mm.

13. A pump assembly of claim 1 wherein the lower sleeve comprises a monolithic structure.

14. A pump assembly of claim 1 wherein the pump comprises a plastomer spring located within the pump chamber.

15. A pump assembly of claim 1 wherein the pump chamber is collapsible and preferably comprises a plastomer material that exerts a restoring force on collapse.

16. A disposable fluid dispensing package, comprising a pump assembly according to claim 1, sealingly connected to a collapsible product container.

17. The disposable fluid dispensing package of claim 16, comprising a quantity of a liquid or gel product contained within the collapsible product container.

18. A method of preventing emission of stray droplets in a fluid dispenser, the method comprising providing a pump assembly according to claim 1, and capturing the droplets using the shield.

19. A dispenser comprising the disposable fluid dispensing package of claim 16.

20. The dispenser according to claim 19, comprising a housing and an actuator, wherein the housing and/or the actuator extends downwards in use at least as far as the lowermost rim of the shield and/or no portion of the actuator or housing is within a line of sight of the dispersion location.

Description

BRIEF DECRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] The features and advantages of the present disclosure will be appreciated upon reference to the following drawings of a number of exemplary embodiments, in which:

[0034] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an example of a dispensing system;

[0035] FIG. 2 shows the dispensing system of FIG. 1 in an open configuration;

[0036] FIG. 3 shows an example of a disposable container and pump assembly in side view;

[0037] FIGS. 4A and 4B show partial cross-sectional views of the pump of FIG. 1 in operation;

[0038] FIG. 5 shows a pump assembly in exploded perspective view;

[0039] FIG. 6 shows a cutaway view the lower sleeve of FIG. 5; and

[0040] FIG. 7 shows a cross section view of the assembled pump assembly of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

[0041] The disclosure will be described with reference to a working position wherein the terms upper sleeve and lower sleeve are used in the context of their relative locations when in use. The lower sleeve is the sleeve at a furthest distance from the fluid container when attached to the fluid container. The lower sleeve therefore is a sliding sleeve and the upper sleeve is a stationary sleeve, relative to the dispenser when installed.

[0042] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a dispensing system 1 in which the presently disclosed pump assembly as claimed in the appended claims may be installed. The dispensing system 1 includes a reusable dispenser 100 of the type used in washrooms and the like available under the name Tork from Essity Hygiene and Health. The dispenser 100 is described in greater detail in WO2011/133085, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. It will be understood that this embodiment is merely exemplary and illustrative, and that the current disclosure may also be implemented in other dispensing systems.

[0043] The dispenser 100 includes a rear shell 110 and a front shell 112 that engage together to form a closed housing 116 that can be secured using a lock 118. The housing 116 is affixed to a wall or other surface by a bracket portion 120. At a lower side of the housing 116 is an actuator 124, by which the dispensing system 1 may be manually operated to dispense a dose of cleaning or sanitizing fluid or the like. The operation, as will be further described below, is described in the context of a manual actuator but the disclosure is equally applicable to automatic actuation e.g. using a motor and sensor.

[0044] FIG. 2 shows in perspective view the dispenser 100 with the housing 116 in the open configuration and with a disposable container 200 and pump assembly 300 contained therein. The container 200 is a 1000 ml collapsible container of the type described in WO2011/ 133085 and also in WO2009/104992, the contents of which are also incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. The container 200 is of generally cylindrical form and is made of polyethylene. The skilled person will understand that other volumes, shapes and materials are equally applicable and that the container 200 may be adapted according to the shape of the dispenser 100 and according to the fluid to be dispensed.

[0045] The pump assembly 300 has an outer configuration that corresponds substantially to that described in WO2011/133085. This allows the pump assembly 300 to be used interchangeably with existing dispensers 100. Nevertheless, the interior configuration of the pump assembly 300 may be distinct from both the pump of WO2011/133085 and that of WO2009/104992.

[0046] FIG. 3 shows the disposable container 200 and pump assembly 300 in side view. As can be seen, the container 200 includes two portions. A hard, rear portion 210 and a soft, front portion 212. Both portions 210, 212 are made of the same material but having different thicknesses. As the container 200 empties, the front portion 210 collapses into the rear portion as liquid is dispensed by the pump assembly 300. This construction avoids the problem with a build-up of vacuum within the container 200. The skilled person will understand that although this is an example for the form of the container, other types of reservoir may also be used in the context of the present disclosure, including but not limited to bags, pouches, cylinders and the like, both closed and opened to the atmosphere. The container may be filled with soap, detergent, disinfectant, hand sanitizer, alcohol-based sanitizer, skincare formulation, lotion, moisturizer or any other appropriate fluid and even medicaments. In most cases, the fluid will be aqueous, although the skilled person will understand that other substances may be used where appropriate, including oils, solvents, alcohols and the like. Furthermore, although reference will be made in the following to liquids, the dispenser 1 may also dispense fluids such as gels, including dispersions, suspensions or particulates.

[0047] At the lower side of the container 200, there is provided a rigid neck 214 provided with a connecting flange 216. The connecting flange 216 engages with an upper sleeve 310 of the pump assembly 300 in a snap connection. The pump assembly 300 also includes a lower sleeve 312, which terminates at lower end 318. The lower sleeve 312 carries an actuating flange 314 and the upper sleeve has an upper end with a locating flange 316. Both the sleeves 310, 312 may be injection moulded of HDPE although the skilled person will be well aware that other relatively rigid, mouldable materials may be used. In use, as will be described in further detail below, the lower sleeve 312 is displaceable by a distance D with respect to the upper sleeve 310 in order to perform a single pumping action.

[0048] FIGS. 4A and 4B show partial cross-sectional views through the dispenser 100 of FIG. 1, illustrating the pump assembly 300 in operation. According to FIG. 4A, the locating flange 316 is engaged by a locating groove 130 on the rear shell 110. The actuator 124 is pivoted at pivot 132 to the front shell 112 and includes an engagement portion 134 that engages beneath the actuating flange 314. The pump assembly 300 including the lower sleeve 312 is out of the line of sight of an operator by being concealed by the actuator 124.

[0049] FIG. 4B shows the position of the pump assembly 300 once a user has exerted a force P on actuator 124. In this view, the actuator 124 has rotated anti-clockwise about the pivot 132, causing the engagement portion 134 to act against the actuating flange 314 with a force F, causing it to move upwards. Thus far, the dispensing system 1 and its operation is essentially the same as that of the existing system known from WO2011/133085.

[0050] FIG. 5 shows the pump assembly 300 in exploded perspective view illustrating the upper sleeve 310, the lower sleeve 312, spring 400 and pump body 500, all axially aligned along axis A. The pump assembly is thus formed from just four components. The spring 400 is provided with integrally formed inlet valve 402 and outlet valve 404. The pump body 500 has an inlet end 502, an outlet end 504, a pump chamber 506 and an outlet nozzle 512. The spring 400 and pump body 500 are formed of plastomer material and are generally as described in WO 2017050390, the contents of which are also incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0051] The upper sleeve 310 is provided on its outer surface with three axially extending guides 342. The lower sleeve 312 is provided with three axially extending L-shaped slots 344 through its outer surface. The lower sleeve 312 is slightly larger in diameter than the upper sleeve 310 and encircles it. The axial guides 340 on the outer surface of the upper sleeve 310 are arranged to engage within respective slots 344 in the lower sleeve. The L-shape provides a locking mechanism whereby rotating the lower sleeve 312 causes the guide 342 to move into the horizontal arm of the L-shaped slot, thereby preventing axial movement of the lower sleeve 312 with respect to the upper sleeve 310. This prevents activation of the pump assembly 300 when the lower sleeve 312 is in this locked position, maintaining the pump body 500 in an uncompressed state e.g. during shipment and storage, prior to use. The guides 342 also prevent the lower sleeve 312 from being removed from its position around the upper sleeve 310 whereby the pump body 500 is retained within the sleeves 310, 312.

[0052] The pump assembly 300 can be assembled by moving all the components shown in FIG. 5 together by encompassing the spring 400 within the pump 500, and both between the upper sleeve 310 which sleeve then slides into lower sleeve 312 and is retained by engaging axial guides 342 within the slots 344 in a snap-on connection. Once connected the sleeves 310, 312 cannot easily be separated. The consequent pump assembly 300 can then be attached to a fluid container or a dispenser housing at the socket 330, details of the socket are not described in the present disclosure but may be chosen according to the housing or container with which the pump assembly 300 may be applied.

[0053] FIG. 6 shows a cutaway view through the lower sleeve 312 cut along line VI-VI of FIG. 5. The actuating flange 314 extends outwards from the lower sleeve body at the upper part. The L-shaped slots 344 are clearly shown.

[0054] In this view, it can be seen that the lower end 318 of the outer sleeve 312 terminates at a lowermost rim 350. The rim 350 is annular and continuous and marks the beginning of a shield 352 that extends upwards and inwards to terminate at an orifice 354 having a lip 358. The shield 352 between the rim 350 and the orifice 354 forms a domed continuous surface 356 of generally paraboloid shape.

[0055] FIG. 7 shows a cross section through the pump assembly 300 of FIG. 5 in its assembled state.

[0056] The pump 500 is located within the upper sleeve 310. The lower sleeve 312 encircles the upper sleeve 310. The actuating flange 314 extends outwardly and can abut the locating flange 316 when the pump chamber 506 is maximally compressed. The outlet end 504 of the pump 500 has a first diameter portion 508, which forms a shoulder 510 extending inwards to the nozzle 512, which has a smaller diameter than the first diameter portion 508. The nozzle 512 extends downwards from the shoulder 510.

[0057] As can be seen, the nozzle 512 protrudes through the orifice 354 of the shield 352 and extends downwards to end at a dispersion location 514. This is the point at which a fluid, in use, will exit the nozzle 512 and no longer be thereby constrained. It is located at a distance L from the orifice 354. The orifice 354 is larger than the nozzle 512 but smaller than the first diameter portion 508 so that the shoulder 510 can support stably against the lip 358.

[0058] As can also be seen in this view, the nozzle 512 is recessed within the shield 352 and set back from the lowermost rim 350. The position of the dispersion location 514 is such that a line drawn from a centre of the dispersion location 514 to the rim 350 forms an angle S with the axis of the nozzle. This is referred to here as the spray angle. In the illustrated embodiment, the length of the nozzle 512 is approximately 5 mm and its internal diameter at the dispersion location is around 4 mm. The distance L is around 4 mm, the shield has a diameter at the rim of around 17 mm and a depth to the orifice of around 10 mm. The spray angle S as defined above is around 45 degrees, although due to the diameter of the nozzle outlet, spray may be encountered up to around 53 degrees.

[0059] Operation of the pump assembly 300 and the dispensing system 1, will now be explained with reference to the figures, in particular, FIGS. 4a, 4b and FIG. 7.

[0060] As noted above, FIGS. 4A and 4B show how engagement of actuator 124 by a user causes the engagement portion 134 to act against the actuating flange 314 exerting a force F.

[0061] The force F causes the actuating flange 314 to lift and the lower sleeve 312 to move upwards with respect to the upper sleeve 310. This force is transmitted from the lower sleeve 312, via the lowermost rim 350 and the shield 352 to the orifice 354. The lip 358 engages against the shoulder 510, causing the outlet end 504 to move upwards together with the lower sleeve 312. The inlet end 502 of the pump body 500 is prevented from moving upwards by its engagement with the socket 330 of the upper sleeve 310.

[0062] The movement of the lower sleeve 312 with respect to the upper sleeve 310 causes an axial force to be applied to the pump body 500. This force causes the pump chamber 506 to collapse and fluid to be ejected through the nozzle 512. Reverse flow of fluid through the inlet end 502 is prevented by the inlet valve 402.

[0063] When the pump assembly 300 is in the fully compressed state on completion of an actuation stroke, the lower sleeve 312 has moved upwards a distance D with respect to the initial position and the actuating flange 314 has entered into abutment with the locating flange 316. In this position, pump chamber 506 and spring 400 have collapsed to a maximum extent.

[0064] It will be noted that although reference is given to fully compressed and collapsed conditions, this need not be the case and operation of the pump assembly 300 may take place over just a portion of the full range of movement of the respective components. The resilient nature of the plastomer pump chamber 506 and the spring 400 cause these elements to return towards their initial position by exerting a net restoring force to move the outer sleeve 312 back downwards to its initial extended position.

[0065] The force F required to collapse the pump chamber 506 is relatively high, being in practice more than 20 N. It is also not constant, due to the manner in which the pump chamber collapses. During the life cycle of a pump assembly, this fluctuating force may be repeated many times. As all of the force is to be transmitted through the shield 352 to the shoulder 510 of the pump 500, it is important that the structure is adequate to withstand it without damage. Nevertheless, excess materials are undesirable, since the pump assembly 300 is intended to be single use and may therefore be as economical as possible. The domed continuous surface 356 of the shield 352 ensures the most efficient use of materials for this structure. In the illustrated embodiment, the thickness of the shield is just 1 mm and is substantially uniform, making it better suited to injection moulding. It is also substantially the same thickness of the lower shield and is otherwise unsupported except at its connection at the lowermost rim 318.

[0066] During operation of the dispensing system 1, fluid is ejected through the nozzle 512 over the full area of the dispersion location 514. Depending on the nature of the fluid being dispensed, it may exit as a narrow-focused beam or jet, having a width similar to the internal diameter of the nozzle 512. It is however the case that certain fluids have a tendency to spread out sideways and do not form a narrow beam or jet. Additionally, any caking of the fluid around the edges of the nozzle 512 may cause deflection of parts of the fluid in a lateral direction. In a worst case, droplets and spray can be deflected by at least 90 degrees and exit in a direction perpendicular to the axis A of the nozzle 512.

[0067] As a result of the shield 352 extending forwards of the dispersion location 514, any droplets that are emitted sideways will be caught on the domed continuous surface 356. Only fluid and droplets that depart from the nozzle 512 within the spray angle S will exit the dispenser 100. Importantly, it should be noted that in FIG. 4b, the lower sleeve 312 has moved upwards with respect to the actuator 124 and the dispenser housing 116. In the absence of the shield 352, stray droplets exiting in this position at the end of the stroke D would have a tendency to collect on adjacent surfaces, especially those of the rear shell 110 and the actuator 124. By ensuring that these surfaces are not in a line of sight with any portion of the dispersion location i.e. well outside of the spray angle S, a build-up of undesirable droplets and spray can be avoided. It is noted that in the view according to FIG. 4b, it may appear that part of the actuator 124 passes beneath the nozzle 512 and shield 352 but the skilled person familiar with the referenced dispensers will be aware that the actuator 124 is provide with a cut-out portion at this location, allowing free passage of the dispensed fluid.

[0068] Thus, the present disclosure has been described by reference to the embodiments discussed above. Furthermore, terms for components used herein should be given a broad interpretation that also encompasses equivalent functions and features. Descriptive terms should also be given the broadest possible interpretation; e.g. the term comprising as used in this specification means consisting at least in part of such that interpreting each statement in this specification that includes the term comprising, features other than that or those prefaced by the term may also be present. Related terms such as comprise and comprises are to be interpreted in the same manner. The present description refers to embodiments with particular combinations of features, however, it is envisaged that further combinations and cross-combinations of compatible features between embodiments will be possible without departing from the scope of the claims.