Pump device for a dosing device
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- ADA COSMETICS INT GMBH
- Filing Date
- 2024-01-16
- Publication Date
- 2026-08-07
Smart Images
Figure CN122535464A_ABST
Abstract
Description
[0001] This invention relates to a pump device for a metering dispenser, as described in the preamble of claim 1, for providing and dispensing liquid, particularly a substance with detergent activity or a personal care product. Furthermore, the invention relates to a metering dispenser having such a pump device and a wall-mounted metering dispenser having such a device. The pump device enables the metered dispensing of the liquid from the metering dispenser, and the pump device is fitted into the neck of a bottle body for storing and dispensing the liquid, thereby allowing the liquid to be metered directly from the bottle body.
[0002] A pump device of the present type includes at least: a pump body having a cylinder, a piston movable within the cylinder, the piston having a pump channel and an inlet, the pump channel extending in a hollow piston rod, the inlet being located in the cylinder-side end region of the piston and leading into the pump channel; further comprising a pump head fixedly or integrally disposed on the piston at a position opposite to the cylinder-side end of the piston, the pump head for driving the piston; an output channel having an output port, the output channel being disposed on the pump head and communicating with the pump channel; an elastic element disposed between the pump head and the pump body, the elastic element being directly or indirectly supported by the pump body; and a suction pipe leading into the cylinder via a check valve and for the liquid. Additionally, the pump device includes a screw-in sleeve that secures the pump body to a bottleneck, the screw-in sleeve having internal threads for screwing onto the bottleneck.
[0003] As is known by way of the applicant’s DE 10 2021 126 805 A1, pump heads of the present type also end up having a guide flange oriented downward toward the pump body, the guide flange being guided within a guide sleeve during pumping motion, the guide sleeve being coaxially integrally formed with, fixed to or fitted onto the screw sleeve.
[0004] Metering dispensers with pumps have long been widely used in various forms in the restrooms of private homes, hotels, restaurants, and similar establishments, primarily for providing and dispensing liquid soap in measured quantities.
[0005] In hotel bathrooms and wellness areas, these dispensers are typically used not only for soaps and hand sanitizers, but also for bath oils, shampoos, and other personal care products (such as lotions or similar products). Liquid products stored in the dispenser can be dispensed quantitatively and hygienically as needed, eliminating the need for individually packaged corresponding personal care products, which are less sustainable and intended for single or two-use applications. Simultaneously, a defined volume of liquid product can be stored to extend the usage time (typically several days) until the dispenser is refilled or until it or its bottle must be replaced.
[0006] For use in hotels, metering dispensers with pumps are often used as part of wall-mounted metering dispensers, in which case the metering dispenser is held in place by a wall mount and the wall mount itself is mounted on a building facility, typically a wall, but can also be, for example, a furniture component, a dedicated holder, or a bracket.
[0007] A pump assembly for a metering dispenser, which is a commercially available pre-built component and can be secured to the neck of the dispenser bottle via a screw-on sleeve, is traditionally designed as a suction piston pump. A distinguishing feature of the current type of pump assembly is that the pump head has a guide flange. Furthermore, a guide sleeve is provided, which is coaxially integrally formed to, or coaxially fixed to, or fitted onto the screw-on sleeve, and guides the guide flange of the pump head during pumping motion.
[0008] This feature offers a significant advantage in terms of the hygiene of metering dispensers, as the simple implementation of traditional metering dispensers is designed with the piston rod, equipped with the pump head, exposed and accessible upwards from the pump body or screw-on sleeve in the unloaded state. However, metering dispensers are typically used with wet hands, allowing water to reach the pump head from the wet hand, flow along the piston rod from the pump head or drip directly onto the piston rod, and subsequently, during the pump stroke, immerse the piston rod into the neck of the dispenser, potentially entering the liquid stored in the bottle or the liquid to be dispensed. This should be avoided for hygiene reasons.
[0009] The guide flange on the pump head essentially prevents water that might be contaminated when using a metering dispenser from falling from the user's hand onto the pump head, from where it flows down the piston rod, because water can hardly reach the piston rod from the guide flange.
[0010] However, despite the presence of the guide flange, water from the surrounding environment can still potentially enter the interior of the dispenser's bottle. In particular, water from the user's wet hands can still enter the dispenser's bottle. That is, this can happen if water flows downwards from the guide flange on the outside and enters the interior of the guide sleeve along with the guide flange during the pump stroke, unless the guide sleeve effectively removes water from the guide flange—which is practically impossible to completely achieve. In this way, although the extent is significantly less than with conventional designs, potentially contaminated water can still enter the area of the screw-on sleeve, which, of course, implies the risk that this water could eventually enter the interior of the dispenser's bottle.
[0011] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to further improve the pump device described in the preamble of embodiment 1, so as to better meet the hygiene requirements of the metering dispenser compared with the present invention, by more effectively preventing potentially contaminated water from entering the liquid to be dispensed from the external area of the metering dispenser or from entering the interior of the metering dispenser bottle through the bottleneck.
[0012] The objective is achieved by a pump device having the features of Scheme 1.
[0013] Preferred designs and improvements of the pump device according to the present invention are described in Schemes 2 to 11.
[0014] The subject of embodiment 12 is a metering dispenser having a pump device according to the invention, while embodiment 13 relates to a wall-mounted metering dispenser having a pump device according to the invention.
[0015] Therefore, the pump device according to the invention, as is known per se, comprises: a pump body having a cylinder; a piston movable within the cylinder, the piston having a pump passage and an inlet, the pump passage extending in a hollow piston rod, the inlet being disposed in the cylinder-side end region of the piston and opening into the pump passage; furthermore, a pump head fixedly or integrally disposed on the piston at a position opposite to the cylinder-side end of the piston, the pump head for driving the piston; an output channel having an output port, the output channel being disposed on the pump head and communicating with the pump passage; and an elastic element provided with... The pump assembly comprises a resilient element positioned between the pump head and the pump body, directly or indirectly supported on one side by the pump head and on the other side by the pump body; and a suction pipe that extends into the cylinder via a check valve and is used for the liquid. Furthermore, the pump assembly includes a screw-in sleeve that secures the pump body to the bottleneck, the sleeve having internal threads for screwing into the bottleneck, and the pump head having a guide flange oriented downward toward the pump body, the guide flange being guided within the guide sleeve during pumping motion. The guide sleeve is coaxially integrally formed to the screw-in sleeve, or also fixed to the screw-in sleeve, or fitted onto the screw-in sleeve. To achieve the foregoing objectives, in the pump assembly according to the invention, a channel is provided between the screw-in sleeve and the guide sleeve for discharging liquid that may enter the guide sleeve between the guide flange and the guide sleeve.
[0016] Using the channel provided according to the invention, water entering the interior of the guide sleeve can be discharged outward, so that the water cannot accumulate in the bottleneck area and cannot ultimately enter the interior of the bottle in this way.
[0017] Advantageously, the channel is installed such that any water that may enter can be directly discharged through it. This is easier to achieve if the guide flange of the pump head is radially far from the piston rod. In this case, during the pump stroke, the water entering from the guide flange flows downward inside the guide sleeve and cannot directly reach the piston rod from there. Therefore, advantageously, the channel according to the invention is located inside the guide sleeve, particularly between the guide sleeve and the screw-in sleeve.
[0018] Preferably, the guide sleeve is coaxially mounted on the screw-in sleeve, and preferably, the guide sleeve is designed as a separate component and fitted onto the screw-in sleeve. Preferably, the guide sleeve has dimensions such that it not only guides the guide flange of the pump head but also covers the screw-in sleeve, the elastic element, and the piston rod, which would otherwise be externally accessible in the intermediate space between the guide flange and the screw-in sleeve. Therefore, this design of the guide sleeve also prevents external water from flowing directly to the piston rod without first flowing downwards from the pump head.
[0019] Preferably, the guide sleeve designed in this way is particularly preferably shaped to narrow in the end region oriented toward the pump head. This allows the guide flange of the pump head to be constructed relatively narrow; therefore, the guide flange does not need to have a radial extension dimension substantially equivalent to the outer diameter of the screw-in sleeve, but can be constructed to be narrower. In particular, this results in a smaller lever effect in the event of pump head tilting and jamming, so that even when the pump head is subjected to forces not only from above but also from the sides and there is a risk of tilting and jamming in the guide sleeve, the pump head can still be easily moved into the guide sleeve when operating the pump assembly.
[0020] Advantageously, the channel according to the invention extends substantially vertically, thereby utilizing gravity to allow water that enters from the outer region along with the guide flange to be re-exported through the channel as quickly as possible.
[0021] The guide sleeve is coaxially mounted to the screw-in sleeve, and preferably, the guide sleeve is designed as a separate component. Particularly preferably, in the area where the guide sleeve covers the screw-in sleeve, the guide sleeve has vertical ribs on its inner surface. These ribs are embedded in the knurled structure of the screw-in sleeve, and on the one hand, the ribs form a form-locking engagement with the knurled structure of the screw-in sleeve, and on the other hand, they form the channels. These ribs thus fulfill a dual function, and advantageously, the form-locking engagement between the guide sleeve and the screw-in sleeve prevents possible rotation of the guide sleeve.
[0022] If the screw-in sleeve narrows towards the pump head to form the pump neck, another advantage is gained. Specifically, the pump neck guides the elastic element, but additionally prevents any water that might enter from reaching the piston rod area. Meanwhile, the screw-in sleeve can integrally narrow to form the pump neck, but the pump neck can also be mounted as a separate component to the screw-in sleeve. The only important point is that there is no seam between the pump neck and the screw-in sleeve, through which any water that might be present could enter.
[0023] Particularly advantageously, the pump neck, the narrowed end region of the guide sleeve, and the guide flange, which are connected to the screw-in sleeve, are arranged coaxially, and their radial extension dimensions are matched such that an annular space is formed between the pump neck and the guide sleeve in the axial projection, within which the guide flange can move when the pump is driven. In this case, the narrowed end region of the guide sleeve and the pump neck are arranged axially spaced apart, such that the end region and the pump neck complement each other in guiding the guide flange.
[0024] In an embodiment of the pump device according to the invention having a pump neck, particularly preferably, a shoulder forms the transition from the screw-on sleeve to the pump neck; more preferably, a shoulder that slopes downwards radially outwards forms the transition from the screw-on sleeve to the pump neck, allowing any water that may enter to be discharged outwards due to gravity on the shoulder. In this case, suitably, the channel according to the invention extends from the shoulder all the way to the lower end of the screw-on sleeve to ensure reliable outward discharge of water, wherein the shoulder forms the transition from the screw-on sleeve to the pump neck.
[0025] Particularly preferably, when the screw-on sleeve is screwed onto the bottleneck, the inner surface of the shoulder, oriented toward the bottleneck, secures the pump body to the bottleneck. The pump neck may have a radial extension dimension slightly smaller than that of the pump body, such that the shoulder acquires a protruding feature relative to the pump body, the protrusion preventing the pump body from potentially detaching from the bottleneck.
[0026] Finally, in the pump device according to the invention, particularly preferably, the entire pump device's connecting elastic element is made of plastic; that is, no steel helical springs are used as conventionally employed. This also contributes to improved hygienic performance of the pump device according to the invention, and further brings advantages in manufacturing technology and cost savings in manufacturing.
[0027] Embodiments of the pump device designed according to the present invention will now be described and explained in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings are merely exemplary and do not limit the scope of the invention, but may still contain features according to the invention. The figures show: Figure 1 : A sectional view of the pump device constructed according to the present invention in a side view; Figure 2 : Figure 1 A top view from below of the guide sleeve of the pump unit; Figure 3 : with supplementary content Figure 1 .
[0028] Figure 1A side sectional view of a pump device for a metering dispenser is shown. The pump device is designed according to the present invention and is capable of being inserted into the neck of a bottle (not shown) for storing and dispensing liquid, and the pump device is used to meter the liquid, specifically a substance with detergent activity or a care product for body care, thereby forming the metering dispenser together with the bottle.
[0029] Figure 1 The pump assembly shown includes a pump body 1 with a cylinder 2, within which a piston 3 can move. A check valve 4 is provided on the lower side of the cylinder 2, which, during the pump stroke, closes or opens the suction pipe 5 leading into the cylinder 2 depending on the stage of motion.
[0030] The piston 3 has a hollow piston rod 6, which, currently, due to manufacturing limitations, comprises two individual components. The hollow piston rod 6 forms a pump channel 7 within it, which communicates with the inner cavity of the cylinder 2 via an inlet 8. The inlet 8 includes multiple openings, and... Figure 1 In the state shown, pump passage 7 is closed by piston ring 9.
[0031] The piston rod 6 is mounted on the pump head 10 at its end opposite to the cylinder 2. The pump passage 7 continues in the pump head 10 and leads into the output passage 11 having an output port 12. The pump head 10 includes three integral parts: an operating surface 13 for user operation, an output nozzle 14 for discharging liquid at the output port 12, and a guide flange 15 forming an annular space 16 for accommodating an elastic element 17.
[0032] The elastic element 17 surrounds the hollow piston rod 6 and supports the cylinder head 18 fixed to the pump body 1, thereby pre-tightening the pump head 10 and the pump body 1.
[0033] Furthermore, the pump body 1 is fixed with a screw-in sleeve 19 having an internal thread 20. The screw-in sleeve 19 can be screwed onto the external thread of the bottle neck (not shown) to fix the pump assembly to the bottle body of the dispensing device. For this purpose, the screw-in sleeve 19 securely holds the overhanging upper edge 22 of the pump body 1 by a surrounding protrusion 21 and presses the upper edge against a seal 23, which fits against the bottle neck (not shown) to provide a seal.
[0034] The screw-in sleeve 19 narrows and transitions into the pump neck 24 in its upper region. A guide sleeve 25, having a narrowed end region 26 oriented toward the pump head 10, is fitted and ultimately installed onto the screw-in sleeve 19. The guide sleeve 25 has vertically oriented ribs 27 in its contact area with the screw-in sleeve 19. These ribs 27 form a form-locking action with the knurled structure 31 of the screw-in sleeve 19 and also form vertical channels 28 for draining any water that may enter the intermediate space between the guide sleeve 25 and the pump neck 24.
[0035] Figure 2 The bottom view of guide sleeve 25 is shown. Figure 2 The arrangement of the ribs 27 and channels 28 is shown.
[0036] In addition, such as Figure 1 As further shown, the piston rod 6 also has an operating ring 29 that drives the piston ring 9 downward during the pumping motion. However, due to the corresponding clearance, this may occur with a delay when the piston 3 sinks, thus delaying the driving of the piston ring 9, at which point the piston ring disengages from the cylinder-side end of the piston 3 and exposes the inlet 8.
[0037] When the user presses the operating surface 13, the pump head 10 moves downward toward the pump body 1 against the restoring force of the elastic element 17, thereby causing the piston 3 to move downward in the cylinder 2 via the piston rod 6. Due to the delayed action of the piston ring 9 mentioned above, the piston ring 9 exposes the inlet 8 into the pump channel 7, thereby forcing the liquid squeezed out of the cylinder 2 by the submerged piston 3 through the pump channel 7 into the output channel 11, and outputting the liquid at the output port 12 of the output nozzle 14. The output dosage is determined based on the amount of liquid squeezed out of the cylinder 2 by the piston stroke. At this time, the check valve 4, in the current case, includes a spherical, elastically movable diaphragm, which prevents liquid from the cylinder 2 from being forced into the suction pipe 5.
[0038] When the user releases the pump head 10, the pump head 10 moves upward due to the restoring force of the elastic element 17. At this time, the piston ring 9 is again delayed in motion, thereby closing the inlet 8 and preventing the liquid remaining in the pump passage 7 and the output passage 11 from flowing back into the cylinder 2. The negative pressure generated during the return stroke of the piston 3 opens the check valve 4, allowing liquid to flow from the bottle (not shown) into the cylinder 2 via the suction pipe 5.
[0039] During the pump stroke, the pump head 10 and the piston 3, which is associated with the piston rod 6, are guided by the guide flange 15 within the narrowed end region 26 of the guide sleeve 25. Further along the pump stroke, the pump neck 24 also performs a guiding function, as the narrowed end region 26 of the guide sleeve 25 and the pump neck 24 form an annular space in the axial projection, within which the guide flange 15 can move guided. The pump neck 24 simultaneously stabilizes the elastic element 17 and radially covers it outwards. During the pump stroke, the narrowed end region 26 of the guide sleeve 25 scrapes away and deflects potentially contaminated water flowing downwards outside the guide flange 15 of the pump head 10 from external areas (particularly from the user's wet hands).
[0040] To prevent, under any circumstances, liquid from the surrounding environment of the metering dispenser or pump unit (e.g., which may still enter the guide sleeve 25) from entering the screw-on sleeve 19 and potentially entering the bottle body from there. Figure 3 As shown, the pump neck 24 formed by the screw-in sleeve 19 ensures that incoming liquid cannot even reach the elastic element 17 and the pump body 1. Furthermore, to further prevent liquid that might enter the guide sleeve 25 from accumulating at the shoulder 30 of the screw-in sleeve 19, a channel 28 provided between the screw-in sleeve 19 and the guide sleeve 25 achieves the following effect: the liquid is discharged outwards due to gravity, as in… Figure 3 As illustrated by arrow 32 in the diagram.
[0041] Therefore, the pump device according to the invention, as shown in the accompanying drawings, meets the highest hygiene requirements. The pump device, including its elastic element, is manufactured from the same plastic material, and the pump device according to the current embodiment is advantageously manufactured from a sustainability perspective; for example, corrosion problems are eliminated for the elastic element.
[0042] List of reference numerals
Claims
1. A pump device for a metering dispenser, the metering dispenser being used to provide and dispense liquid, particularly, the liquid being a detergent-active substance or a care product for body care. in, The pump device can be fitted into the neck of a bottle for storing and supplying the liquid, and the pump device is used to dispense the liquid in a metered manner. The pump device includes at least: a pump body (1) having a cylinder (2); a piston (3) movable within the cylinder (2), the piston (3) having a pump channel (7) and an inlet (8), the pump channel (7) extending in a hollow piston rod (6), the inlet (8) being located at the cylinder-side end region of the piston (3), the inlet (8) leading into the pump channel (7); and a pump head (10) fixedly or integrally formed on the piston (3), located at the cylinder-side end of the piston (3) opposite to the piston (3). At the location, the pump head (10) is used to drive the piston (3); the output channel (11) has an output port (12), the output channel (11) is disposed at the pump head (10) and is in communication with the pump channel (7); the elastic element (17) is disposed between the pump head (10) and the pump body (1), the elastic element (17) is directly or indirectly supported by the pump body (1); the suction pipe (5) is connected to the cylinder (2) via the check valve (4) and is used for the liquid. Furthermore, the pump assembly also has a screw-in sleeve (19) that secures the pump body (1) to the bottleneck, the screw-in sleeve (19) having an internal thread (20) for screwing onto the bottleneck. Furthermore, the pump head (10) has a guide flange (15) oriented downward toward the pump body (1), the guide flange (15) being guided in the guide sleeve (25) during the pumping motion, the guide sleeve (25) being coaxially integrally formed to the screw sleeve (19) or fixed to the screw sleeve (19) or fitted onto the screw sleeve (19). Its features are, A channel (28) is provided between the screw-on sleeve (19) and the guide sleeve (25) for discharging liquid that may be contaminated and may enter the guide sleeve (25) between the guide flange (15) and the guide sleeve (25).
2. The pump device according to claim 1, in, Preferably, the guide sleeve (25) is a separate component, coaxially mounted on the screw-on sleeve (19), and the guide sleeve (25) is used to guide the guide flange (15) of the pump head (10) and to cover the screw-on sleeve (19). In the intermediate space between the guide flange (15) and the screw-on sleeve (19), the guide sleeve (25) is also used to cover the elastic element (17) and the piston rod (6).
3. The pump device according to claim 2, in, The guide sleeve (25) narrows in the end region (26) oriented toward the pump head (10).
4. The pump device according to any one of claims 2 or 3, in, The channel (28) extends substantially vertically.
5. The pump device according to claim 4, in, In the area covered by the guide sleeve (25) and the screw-on sleeve (19), the guide sleeve (25) has vertical ribs (27) on its inner surface. The ribs (27) are embedded in the knurled structure (31) of the screw-on sleeve (19), and the ribs (27) form a form-locking with the knurled structure (31) of the screw-on sleeve (19) on the one hand, and form the channel (28) on the other hand.
6. The pump device according to at least one of claims 1 to 5, in, The screw-on sleeve (19) is configured as a single piece or in multiple pieces, and the screw-on sleeve (19) narrows toward the pump head (10) to form a pump neck (24) for covering and / or guiding the elastic element (17).
7. The pump device according to claims 3 and 6, in, Viewed along the direction toward the pump head (10), the narrowed end region (26) of the guide sleeve (25) is axially positioned above the pump neck (24). Furthermore, the radial extension dimensions of the coaxially arranged guide flange (15), guide sleeve (25) and pump neck (24) are matched with each other, so that an annular space is formed between the pump neck (24) and the guide sleeve (25) in the axial projection, and the guide flange (15) can move in the annular space when the pump device is operated.
8. The pump device according to any one of claims 6 or 7, in, The shoulder (30) forms a transition from the screw-on sleeve (19) to the pump neck (24).
9. The pump device according to claim 8, in, When the screw-on sleeve (19) is screwed onto the bottleneck, the inner surface of the shoulder (30) oriented toward the bottleneck secures the pump body (1) to the bottleneck.
10. The pump device according to any one of claims 8 or 9, in, The channel (28) extends from the shoulder (30) to the lower end of the screw sleeve (19), the shoulder (30) forming a transition from the screw sleeve (19) to the pump neck (24).
11. The pump device according to at least one of claims 1 to 10, in, The pump assembly, together with the elastic element (17), is made of plastic.
12. A metering dispenser for providing and dispensing liquid, particularly, the liquid being a detergent-active substance or a care product for body care, the metering dispenser having a bottle for storing and dispensing the liquid and a pump device according to at least one of claims 1 to 11, the pump device being for metering the dispensing of the liquid and being fixedly or replaceably disposed at the neck of the bottle.
13. A wall-mounted metering dispenser, the wall-mounted metering dispenser having the metering dispenser according to claim 12 and a wall-mounting bracket, the wall-mounting bracket being used for removably mounting the wall-mounted metering dispenser to a building facility, particularly, the wall-mounting bracket being used for removably mounting the wall-mounted metering dispenser to a wall.
Citation Information
Patent Citations
Wall-mounted dispenser
DE102021126805A1