Self Contained Foam Dispenser

Abstract

A self-contained foam dispensing device includes a casing, a mixing chamber, a port adapted to receive one or more containers including a plurality of chemicals in a plurality of compartments and a flow generator adapted to induce flow of chemicals from the compartments toward a mixing chamber, the flow generator being located between the mixing chamber and the port. When the one or more containers are in the port the one or more containers move with movement of the casing.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The present application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of U.S. provisional application 60 / 556,883, titled “Hand-Held Dispenser”, filed Mar. 29, 2004, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to foam dispensers and particularly to hand held foam dispensers.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Foam materials are commonly used for packaging. The foam is generally generated by mixing two chemical components, which harden within about 10-30 seconds. In many cases, a foam dispensing gun is used to generate the foam at the packaging site. U.S. Pat. No. 4,262,848 to Chabria and U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,204 to Fiin, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference, describe such guns which are connected through tubes to large containers including the chemicals used in forming the foam. The dispensing gun generally includes a pair of pumps which pump the chemicals out of the c...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010]A general aspect of some embodiments of the invention relates to a self-contained foam dispensing device, i.e., a dispensing device having chemical containers mounted on or included in the device, which provides high quality foam mixing. The dispensing device optionally allows intermittent use in small amounts over a relatively long period, with reduced waste and / or reduced element replacement costs. Optionally, the compact dispensing device is hand-held, along with foam chemical containers.

[0011]An aspect of some embodiments of the invention relates to a self-contained dispensing device for generating foam, which includes at least one pump, or other flow generator, located between the chemical containers and a mixing chamber of the device. The pump between the chemical containers and the mixing chamber provides more accurate and / or efficient operation, than provided by pressure units for pushing chemicals out of their containers, located behind the containers. In addition, using a pump between the containers and the mixing chamber allows use of non-rigid containers such as plastic bags or elastic bags. Having the pump between the containers and the mixing chamber also allows for a more compact dispensing device and allows simpler replacement of the pump and the mixing chamber in cases of problems. In some embodiments of the invention, the pump is connected to a nozzle defining the mixing chamber.

Problems solved by technology

The above hand-held apparatus are generally inaccurate in the proportions of chemicals they mix and provide a low quality foam mix.

As foam materials harden within a short time, remnants of the foam may harden within the dispensing apparatus and clog flow passageways.

In addition, a delivery conduit is required in medical applications but not in packaging applications.

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