Abstract
A dosing dispenser for dosing of at least one material component respectively received in a receiving compartment. In a dosing dispenser for the discharge of material components that has a double-walled structure of the pump unit, a ventilation path is provided leading from the outer environment to the receiving compartment through the pump unit.
Claims
1. A dosing dispenser for dosing of at least one material component received in a receiving compartment by means of a pump unit, having a housing at which the at least one receiving compartment is arranged and which has at least one cylindrical recess corresponding to the receiving compartment, in which a pump cylinder of a pump housing of the pump unit engages, the pump piston of which being slidably arranged in the pump cylinder for the purpose of an intake stroke, wherein by the up and down movement of the pump cylinder the discharged material from the respective receiving compartment is sucked and led to an applicator having an outlet, wherein the cylindrical walls of the cylindrical receptacle and of the pump cylinder form a double-wall structure of an inner and outer wall between which an annular channel for the material discharge from the pump cylinder to the outlet is built, the annular channel being limited by extensions, wherein the dosing dispenser has a ventilation path both in the housing and in the pump housing inserted in the housing, the ventilation path respectively connecting a receiving compartment of the dispenser with the outer environment.
2. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the dosing dispenser has a sealing device separating the ventilation path with respect to the material supply from the receiving compartment to the outlet having the applicator.
3. The dispenser according to claim 2, wherein the ventilation path has at least one opening both in the inner and outer walls of the double-wall structure, the openings being fluid-conducting mutually aligned, wherein the sealing device is arranged in the area of the aligned openings between the cylindrical walls of the double-wall structure of the pump cylinder and the receptacle, and seals the ventilation path delimited by the aligned openings with respect to the annular channel.
4. The dispenser according to claim 3, wherein the sealing device is formed by a raised plane sealing shoulder disposed on the outer surface of the pump cylinder, the shoulder being in sealing contact with the inner surface of the cylindrical receptacle and sealingly bridging both aligned openings.
5. The dispenser according to claim 3, wherein the sealing device, preferably the sealing shoulder, is provided at its sealing surface with a sealing means.
6. The dispenser according to claim 5, wherein the sealing means is formed by a sealing ring, preferably an O-ring, arranged on the sealing shoulder and encircling the opening, by sealing webs arranged or formed at least at the sealing shoulder, which are ultra-welded with the mating surface, by a sealing covering, preferably a rubber coating, or by a sealing adhesive bonding of sealing shoulder and mating surface.
7. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein one of the extensions is arranged in the area of the aligned openings and provided with an appropriately aligned opening.
8. The dispenser according to claim 7, wherein the extensions are formed by axially extending webs arranged at a distance from each other, wherein one of the axial webs is aligned with the openings and either integrally formed with the sealing shoulder or chambered each on both sides by the sealing shoulder.
9. The dispenser according to claim 3, wherein the pump piston has two axially spaced, annular sealing webs that bridge and seal the ventilation opening of the cylindrical receptacle in their rest position, raised toward the applicator of the piston, the annular sealing webs releasing, in position lowered to the bottom of the pump cylinder, the ventilation opening and thereby the ventilation path.
10. The dispenser according to claim 9, wherein the pump piston is provided at its free front end preferably with a conical widening and the sealing webs are provided at the conical widening of the piston.
11. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the ventilation opening is arranged outside of the pump cylinder, preferably laterally offset from the pump cylinder in the pump housing, preferably in its bottom, and a valve device is provided in the ventilation path, preferably below the ventilation opening, for sealing, in particular, against material discharge due to leaking, wherein the valve device blocking the ventilation path opens the ventilation path preferably during the intake stroke of the pump piston and closes the ventilation path during the compression stroke for material discharge.
12. The dispenser according to claim 11, wherein the valve device is disposed between the pump housing and the housing, preferably between the bottom of the pump housing and the bottom of the housing, forming between each other a preferably circular chamber for receiving the valve device.
13. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the ventilation opening opens into the chamber through the bottom of the pump housing and a channel discharges preferably laterally from the chamber, the channel forming part of the ventilation path and leading to an opening in the bottom of the housing, that leads into a receiving compartment for its ventilation.
14. The dispenser according to claim 11, wherein the chamber is sealed to the outside except for the opening forming part of the ventilation path.
15. The dispenser according to claim 14, wherein the peripheral sealing webs are provided in the bottom of the pump housing and/or of the housing to seal the chamber preferably by ultra-welding.
16. The dispenser according to claim 15, wherein the webs define and preferably encircle the recesses in the bottom of the pump housing and/or of the housing and the channel discharging from the chamber, wherein the sealing webs are preferably provided both at the underside of the bottom of the pump housing and at the top side of the bottom of the housing and wherein the sealing webs are connected by heat fusion with the respective opposite bottom or the sealing webs.
17. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the valve device has a sealing disc that is disposed in the chamber and formed of flexible material, that in locking position abuts the pump housing at the opening of the bottom and is deflected in the open position, particularly during of the intake stroke of the piston, downward in direction of the bottom of the housing in order to allow for the ventilation.
18. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the path for the material discharge leads to the tower-like outlet via the pump cylinder, openings arranged at the lower end of the pump cylinder, and via the annular channel between pump cylinder and cylindrical receptacle.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the general description of the invention given above and the detailed description of the drawings given below, serve to explain the principles of these inventions.
[0019] FIG. 1 is a sectional view through a dosing dispenser, that is formed for the purpose of dosing of two material components having two receiving compartments;
[0020] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the upper area of FIG. 1 with housing and pump housing inserted therein,
[0021] FIG. 3 is a sectional view along line H-H in FIG. 1,
[0022] FIG. 4 is a sectional view along line J-J in FIG. 1,
[0023] FIG. 5a is a plan view onto the dosing dispenser according to FIG. 1,
[0024] FIG. 5b is a partial view of the dosing dispenser along line K-K in FIG. 5a in the scale of 2:1 as well as top left an enlarged representation of a detail of FIG. 5a or a valve device,
[0025] FIG. 6 is an enlarged representation of a part of the pump unit,
[0026] FIG. 7 is a sectional representation of the upper portions from FIG. 1 of the housing with pump housing inserted therein in perspective representation,
[0027] FIG. 8 is a side view of the pump housing,
[0028] FIG. 9 is a plan view auf the pump housing,
[0029] FIG. 10a is a perspective representation of the pump housing, seen from below,
[0030] FIG. 10b is a perspective representation of the pump housing, seen from above,
[0031] FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the pump housing along line B-B in FIG. 9,
[0032] FIG. 12 is a sectional view of the pump housing along section line C-C of FIG. 9,
[0033] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the housing for the receptacle of the pump housing, in a view seen from above,
[0034] FIG. 14 is a side view of the housing represented in FIG. 13,
[0035] FIG. 15 is a sectional view of the housing along line A-A of FIG. 14
[0036] FIG. 16 is a plan view onto the housing,
[0037] FIG. 17 is a representation of an alternative embodiment to FIGS. 2 to 16 in a sectional representation of a part of the upper area of the unit of housing with pump housing inserted therein according to FIG. 1 (in sectional view),
[0038] FIG. 18 is a perspective representation of the pump housing of FIG. 17,
[0039] FIG. 19 is a side view of the pump housing of FIG. 18,
[0040] FIG. 20 is a perspective representation of the housing for the receptacle of the pump housing in a view from below,
[0041] FIG. 21 is a plan view onto the housing,
[0042] FIG. 22 is a sectional view along line A-A of FIG. 21, and
[0043] FIG. 23 is a side view of the pump piston according to FIG. 17.
[0044] It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale. In certain instances, details that are not necessary for an understanding of the invention or that render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It should be understood, of course, that the invention is not necessarily limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0045] FIG. 1 shows a section through a dosing dispenser for dispensing materials, preferably cosmetics and similar viscous materials, in the represented embodiment for the discharge of two materials. FIG. 1 shows the basic structure of such a dosing dispenser that is in principle prior art, where, as stated already at the beginning, reference can be made to DE 202 07 029 U1, DE 202 08 173 U1 and DE 20 2007 018 065 U1. Thus, the basic structure arises also from the German patent application P 10 2018 109 815.4, which is why the following description is able to concentrate significantly on the further structural development of the invention of this type of a dosing dispenser.
[0046] FIG. 1 shows a partial view through such a dosing dispenser. The dispenser has a central housing 2 at which in the represented embodiment two receiving compartments 4a, 4b are arranged, that are formed in bottle-shape in the represented embodiment, but may generally represent containers, bags and the like. A definition is not intended here. The housing 2 has at least one cylindrical receptacle 6. In the represented embodiment it has two cylindrical receptacles 6 because of two receiving compartments by which hoses 8 reaching via an extension 7 arranged below into each receiving compartment 4a, 4b are attached. The housing 2 has a pump housing 10 inserted therein, which in this case is provided with two pump cylinders 12 that are inserted into the corresponding cylindrical receptacles 6 of the housing 2 leaving free an annular gap that is formed between the cylindrical receptacle 6 and the pump cylinder 12, respectively. The gap can be seen in the enlarged partial view of FIG. 6 and is denoted there by 14. This annular gap 14 is not visible from the sectional view in FIG. 1 because this section is taken through axial webs described further below, the webs bridging the annular gap between pump cylinder 12 and cylindrical receptacle 6 and arranged at the distance from each other. These axial webs can also be formed as extensions.
[0047] Corresponding pistons 16 correspond to the pump cylinders 12, wherein a compression spring 18 is preferably arranged between piston 16 and the bottom of the cylindrical pump cylinder 12, respectively. The compression spring 18 brings the piston after completed downstroke again toward the upper position according to FIG. 1. In addition, the pump housing 10 comprises centrally a tower-like or columnar outlet 20, for example, which is divided in two by a centrally disposed web wall in the represented embodiment, wherein the outlet 20 leads to a known applicator that is not represented in the drawings. Finally, the material discharge takes place to the outside via the outlet 20 and the applicator arranged thereupon, such as on the skin, hand or hair of the user, depending on the orientation of the dosing dispenser. For the purpose of material discharge, the two pistons 16 are pushed first downward toward the bottom of the two pump cylinders 12 and are finally raised into the position represented in FIG. 1, whereby a suction pressure is created and material is led thereby via the two hoses 8 into both chambers of the two pump cylinders 12. By a subsequent downstroke of both pistons 16, the material present in the pump cylinder is led through openings 22 located at the bottom of the pump cylinder 12, which are represented in FIG. 3, into the annular channel 14 and from there toward the outlet 20 for material discharge, wherein this principle is due to the special construction of the dosing dispenser corresponding to the aforementioned documents. Between the pump cylinder 12 and the corresponding hose 8 there is located a valve 24 in each case. This does not have to be described in detail.
[0048] In constructions according to the state of the art, since a corresponding negative pressure is established due to pump actuation stroke by stroke in the receiving compartments, respectively, the receiving compartments have, for example, ventilation openings or valves so that the corresponding negative pressure may be reduced by ventilation of the receiving compartments. This is of significance for the mode of operation of the dosing dispenser, but entails the risk; however, that due to leakage and the like material may also escape from the dispenser. There are plastic components used throughout in the dosing dispenser. Because of tolerance, in the upper area with respect to the housing and the pump housing inserted therein leaks and therefore leakages of material may happen, in particular during the compression stroke of the piston, which can be disadvantageous and extremely unpleasant for the manipulation and the handling of the dosing dispenser.
[0049] In the embodiment of a dosing dispenser described in the following, a further development of the ventilation is carried out that is described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 16. FIG. 3 shows a section along line H-H through the upper area of the dosing dispenser formed of the housing 2 and the pump housing 10. The two pump cylinders 12 can be seen opposite to each other aligned with the corresponding receiving compartments. In addition, FIG. 3 shows also spaced extensions which are preferably formed as axial webs 26. The extensions are each formed at a distance around the pump cylinder 12 and bridge the annular channel 14 between pump cylinder 12 and cylindrical receptacle 6 as well. In this respect, i.e. with respect to FIG. 3 and the opposite arrangement of the two pump cylinders 12 offset by 90, circular chambers 28 can be seen also from FIG. 4. The circular chambers 28 are again oppositely arranged and receive the valve device still to be described in the following. These chambers 28 can be seen best from the enlarged representation in FIG. 5b. The chambers 28 are formed between the pump housing 12 and the housing 2 at the bottom 30 of the pump housing and at the bottom 32 of the housing 2, which are front-end walls. In the represented embodiment, each chamber 28 is conveniently formed by a circular recess 34 in the bottom 30 of the pump housing 10, wherein in each chamber 28 a valve device 37, described below in greater detail (FIG. 5b), is incorporated. Only the left chamber is represented in FIG. 5b. Each chamber 28 is connected via a ventilation opening 36 with the outer environment which can be seen, by the way, from FIG. 2 and FIG. 12 as well. Corresponding to FIG. 3, a channel 38, forming a part of the ventilation path leading to the respective receiving compartment, passes from the chamber side wall from both chambers 28 to the outside (cf. for example FIG. 3 or FIG. 4). The channel 38 communicates with an opening 40 (FIG. 3 and particularly FIG. 13) passing through the bottom wall 32 of the housing 2 and is in fluid communication, respectively, with the corresponding receiving compartment 4a or 4b arranged below. The channel 38 thus forms part of the ventilation path leading from the opening 36 in the front-end bottom 30 of the pump housing via the chamber 28 and the channels 38 to the openings 40 (FIG. 13) and thereby to the corresponding compartments 4a, 4b for the purpose of ventilation. The valve device 37, seen particularly in FIG. 5b, is formed in the represented embodiment (purely by way of example) by an annular disc 44 preferably of rubber. The annular disc 44 represents a sealing disc and, corresponding to the representation in FIG. 5b, is in rest position at the underside of the bottom 30 of the pump housing 10 and seals here, as seen in FIG. 5b, the ventilation opening 36 so that in this state no ambient air can reach the respective receiving compartment via the ventilation path. Within the chamber 28, the sealing ring 44 is centered preferably in each case by a centrally arranged pin 46 at the lower bottom 32 of the housing (cf., for example, FIG. 13). Around the pin 46, an annular abutment shoulder 48 extends, as can be seen, for example, from FIG. 5b (enlarged representation top left) and FIG. 13. The chamber 28 is sealed all around to the outside except for the connection with the ventilation opening and the lateral outlet channel 38. For this purpose, sealing webs are preferably provided in the area of the contact portion between the bottom of the pump housing 2 and/or of the housing 10. By ultra-welding a heat fusion of these sealing webs is achieved and thereby a frictional connection takes place in the bottom area or in the contact portion between the two bottoms, respectively, whereby a sealing is achieved in a suitable manner. If necessary, the sealing webs alone may already provide for a corresponding sealing to the outside of the chamber 28. Of course, other suitable sealing measures are also convenient and are included within the scope of the invention.
[0050] In the embodiment according to FIGS. 1 to 16, the material supply from the pump cylinder 12 to the outlet 20 is carried out via the openings 22 placed at the bottom of the pump cylinder (FIGS. 3, 9 and 10a) to the annular channel (FIGS. 3, 6) and from there via another channel 50, seen from FIG. 6, to the central outlet 20. Due to tolerance-caused deviations, leakages cannot be excluded in these mass-produced articles. Therefore, leakage toward the ventilation path, particularly in the area of the annular chamber 14 to the outlet 20, may happen with the result, that material from the receiving compartments 4a, 4b can also reach the outside via the ventilation opening. According to the invention, this is prevented by the intermediate valve device 36. In the position as seen in FIG. 5b, neither a ventilation from the outside via the ventilation opening 37 nor a material discharge is possible due to the sealing disc 44 applied thereto, so that in this position a leakage will be prevented in any case. For the purpose of ventilation, the sealing disc 44, which is preferably made of rubber or a similar resilient material, deforms downward against and for engagement with the annular shoulder 48. The deformation particularly happens if suction pressure is produced by the ascent of the piston, which then causes lifting of the valve disc 44 downward, so that an influx of air is possible via the ventilation opening 36 from the outer environment in the direction of the receiving compartments. Due to the prevailing negative pressure, in this state, i.e. when the ventilation path is opened by the valve device, a leakage-induced material discharge is not possible via the ventilation opening. After completion of the intake stroke, however, the valve disc 44 closes again and is again at the ventilation opening 36, so that a lock is achieved. In this state, material cannot reach the outside, so that in this respect the sealing disc 44 acts as a valve disc with blocking function.
[0051] Here, the chamber 28 is appropriately hermetically sealed, which can take pace via the webs described above. According to the embodiment represented in the figures, protruding sealing webs are formed for this purpose, according to FIG. 5b at the peripheral edge of the chamber 28 or the recess 34, respectively, downward in direction on the bottom 32 of the housing 2. Furthermore for this purpose, in the represented embodiment, sealing webs 54 are, although not necessarily, conveniently arranged at the bottom 32 of the housing 2. The sealing webs 54 are arranged next to each other and preferably contact each other and can fuse by ultra-welding and hence by hot-melt bond, whereby the chamber 28 is hermetically closed to the outside. In this case, access to the ventilation opening 36 and to the channel 38 is only free from the respective chamber.
[0052] In this way, a free ventilation of the internal spaces of the compartments is achieved after each pumping stroke. Furthermore it is assured that no material can escape to the outside due to leakage, which otherwise could lead to contamination.
[0053] Another alternative embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 17 to 23, wherein the same reference numerals are used for same components. In this embodiment, the ventilation is carried out via the sides of the piston 16, i.e. along the outer periphery of the piston 16. Here, the ventilation path passes via mutually aligned openings 60, 62 (cf. FIG. 17) in the pump cylinder 12 and the cylindrical receptacle 6, whereby air from the outer environment, bypassing the piston 16 at a corresponding piston position, gets via the aligned openings 60, 62 into the interior receiving compartments suspended at the housing 2 (not apparent from FIG. 17) for the purpose of ventilation to cancel the negative pressure.
[0054] The piston 16 also seen in FIG. 23 has preferably at its free front-end two ring-like sealing webs 64 and 66 arranged to one another in the distance, the distance of which is selected, such that these sealing rings 64, 66 bridge the mutually aligned openings 60, 62 in the double wall structure and block thereby in the position seen from FIG. 17 the openings 60, 62 and, consequently, block the ventilation path in direction to the receiving compartments. However, if the piston 16 is pressed down for the purpose of material discharge via the annular channels 14 and the outlet 20 (not represented in FIG. 17), the piston 16 passes by the openings 60, 62 with its sealing rings and releases these, such that ventilation is possible from the outer environment via the outer circumference of the piston 16. For this purpose, the piston 16 is conveniently provided at its free end with a conical widening 68 on which the sealing webs 64, 66 are formed, as is apparent from FIG. 23. Due to this conveniently conical widening of the free end of the piston 16, the piston section located behind is reduced in circumference so that in the manner described above, ambient air reaches the openings 60, 62, bypassing the piston, and thereby reaches the interior of the receiving compartments 4a, 4b. Regarding the possibility of leakage, the entire area between the outer surface of the pump cylinder 12 and the inner surface of the cylindrical receptacle 6 is critical, since leaks arise there due to tolerances and a corresponding material discharge may appear and the ventilation path and the path for the material supply to the outlet 20 may cross. Therefore, according to the embodiment of FIG. 17 and following figures a sealing device is provided at this interface, which is an alternative to the sealing device formed by the valve device 36 in the preceding embodiment. The sealing device is formed appropriately in the represented embodiment by a raised sealing shoulder 72 according to FIGS. 18 and 19. The sealing shoulder is formed at the inner surface of the cylindrical receptacle 6, preferably at the interface in the area of the two openings 60, 62 in the cylinder walls of the pump housing 10 and the housing 2 of the double wall structure, but which can also be formed alternatively at the outer surface of the pump cylinder 12. The sealing shoulder seals the gap in the walls between the two mutually aligned openings 60 and 62 in the area of the interface of the double wall structure.
[0055] From FIGS. 18 and 19, the extensions in form of exemplary axial webs 26 are also seen. The extensions bridge the annular channel between the walls of the double wall structure of the pump cylinder 12 and the cylindrical receptacle 6, which are formed in the embodiment represented with the sealing shoulder 72 in the opening portion. Depending on the respective embodiment, these extensions or webs 26 may penetrate through the sealing shoulder 72 or may also be integrally formed with the sealing shoulder, which is convenient as well. In this way the seal is concentrated on the raised sealing shoulder 72 that may appropriately be processed precisely in order to be able to meet their sealing function.
[0056] Here, it is expedient to provide this sealing shoulder with additional sealing measures. For this purpose, a rubber coating or similar sealing covering or seal coating, respectively, an adhesive bonding, an O-ring disposed around the opening, applied on the of the sealing shoulder 72, a peripheral sealing web, such as an ultrasonic welding and the like, is suitable, for example, in order to provide a corresponding beneficial sealing means. In this way, a perfect sealing is achieved against any leakage via the supply of material from the receiving compartment to the outlet 20.
[0057] While various embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, it is apparent that modifications and alterations of those embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art. It is to be expressly understood that such modifications and alterations are within the scope and spirit of the present invention, as set forth in the following claims. Further, it is to be understood that the invention(s) described herein is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the preceding description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of including, comprising, or having and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items.
