Dispenser for fluid media
Patent Information
- Application Number
- EP2023817999
- Authority / Receiving Office
- EP · EP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2022-12-16
- Filing Date
- 2023-12-04
- Publication Date
- 2025-10-22
AI Technical Summary
Existing dispensers for fluid media lack efficient space management during storage and use, compromising user access and storage efficiency, as they often require manual operation with limited space for hand intervention and protrude excessively during use, leading to storage challenges.
A dispenser design where the tubular dispensing section is movable between a space-saving storage position and a use position, allowing it to extend outward for better user access while retracting for compact storage, with manual or motor-driven operation options, and featuring a self-locking mechanism for secure positioning.
Enhances user access and storage efficiency by providing ample space for hand intervention during use and compact storage, preventing collisions and space wastage, while ensuring reliable operation through secure positioning mechanisms.
Smart Images
Figure 1.1
Abstract
Description
[0001]Applicant: Bode Chemie GmbH Melanchthonstraße 27 22525 Hamburg 17032346WO 01.12.2023 ALA / JMR Title: Dispenser for fluid media Description The invention relates to a dispenser for a fluid medium, in particular cleaning fluid, soap, disinfectant, cream, with a receptacle for the fluid medium and with a, in particular manually operable, pumping or conveying device for conveying the fluid medium from the receptacle in the direction of a tubular dispensing section with a dispensing opening, wherein the tubular dispensing section is received on a coupling body. Such dispensers are well known. Typically, the pumping or conveying device is manually operated and its pumping or conveying pressure is generated manually. However, dispensers are also previously known in which the generation of the pumping or conveying pressure of the pumping or conveying device is motorized and, in particular, initiated by sensors. It proves to be expedient ifIn the area of the dispensing opening of the tubular dispensing section, i.e. typically in the area below the dispensing opening, there is sufficient free space available for the user to reach in with one or both hands in order to be able to receive the liquid medium dispensed from the receiving opening. Therefore, the housing walls of the receiving container are typically bevelled in this area and thus set back in the access direction, or the tubular dispensing section is arranged significantly above the receiving container in the operating position of the dispenser. Furthermore, freely accessible space can be created by the tubular dispensing section extending significantly outwards from a longitudinal center axis of the dispenser and in particular from the coupling body. The present invention is based on the object of developing a dispenser of the type mentioned at the outset in such a way that, on the one hand, good and comfortable access tothe dispenser is provided for receiving the medium to be dispensed, wherein, on the other hand, the manufacture, packaging and storage of the dispenser should be able to be realized in an economical manner. This object is achieved in a dispenser of the type mentioned in accordance with the invention in that the tubular dispensing section is displaceable back and forth in a first direction with respect to the coupling body between a space-saving storage position and a use position. Because the tubular dispensing section is displaceable, it can be displaced into a use position for dispensing the medium, in which position it extends further outwards from a center or centre of the dispenser, so that the dispensing opening is positioned further away from the centre of the dispenser in order to provide more space for one hand or both hands of the user. Because the tubular dispensing section can also be moved into a space-saving storage positioncan be moved, the aspect of an overall space-saving arrangement of the dispenser including its assembled components is taken into account. According to one embodiment of the invention, the dispenser is designed such that the pumping or conveying device is manually operable and its pumping or conveying pressure is generated by a user exerting a single or repeated pressing or pivoting movement from above, in particular on the coupling body or another actuating element directly or indirectly connected to the pumping or conveying device, with the result that the liquid medium is fed to the tubular dispensing section or is guided through the tubular dispensing section and dispensed to the user through its dispensing opening, in particular that the pumping or conveying device is formed by a displacement pump. According to a further embodiment of the invention, the dispenser can be designed such that the pumpingor conveying device is motor-driven, so that its pumping or conveying pressure is generated by a motor. It proves to be particularly advantageous if the tubular dispensing section, in the use position, projects in the first direction beyond a boundary surface that laterally surrounds the dispenser in the stowed position and, in the stowed position, is accommodated within a space delimited by the laterally enclosing boundary surface. It is then set back with respect to the laterally enclosing boundary surface. This allows the dispenser to be stowed in a space-saving manner and, in particular, it can be inserted into a packaging container or other receiving space without the tubular dispensing section protruding laterally in an obstructive manner and therefore requiring more storage space or colliding with other objects or threatening to get caught. This laterally enclosing boundary surface can, for example, be a surface or planewhich delimits an outer wall of the receptacle or theoretically continues in the direction of the tubular dispensing section. In the stowed position, the tubular dispensing section is then always accommodated within the space delimited by the laterally enclosing boundary surface. When the tubular dispensing section is displaced from the stowed position into the use position, it penetrates this imaginary laterally enclosing boundary surface and thus protrudes from the boundary surface in the first direction. The first direction is typically approximately horizontal, although this does not necessarily have to be the case. It would also be conceivable for the tubular dispensing section to extend obliquely or vertically upwards or downwards in the operating position of the dispenser. The said first direction, along which the tubular dispensing section is displaceable, does not necessarily have to be exactly linear; it caneven if the tubular dispensing section has a slightly curved, circular arc, the lines run along this circular arc. It is advantageous if the laterally enclosing boundary surface extends orthogonally to a flat surface that borders or tangentially borders the dispenser from below, in particular to a base area of the dispenser. In this case, this boundary surface that borders the dispenser laterally can, for example, represent the sides of a cuboid or can be cylindrical. When the dispenser is viewed from above orthogonally to this flat surface, all of the dispenser's components, including its tubular dispensing section, are accommodated in the space-saving stowed position within the volume formed by the laterally enclosing boundary surface. In the use position, however, the tubular dispensing section projects beyond the laterally enclosing boundary surface, as already explained above.The displaceable arrangement of the tubular dispensing section in the coupling body can be realized in any desired manner, for example by a sliding seat receptacle in the coupling body which is open at the edge and can in particular be covered by additional mounting elements. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is proposed that the tubular dispensing section is displaceably received in a through-opening in the coupling body and, in the space-saving stowed position, protrudes beyond the coupling body on both sides of the coupling body in the first direction. A particularly preferred development of the dispenser is characterized in that the tubular dispensing section has a supply opening for the fluid medium which opens in particular transversely to its longitudinal extent and that the supply opening in the use position of the tubular dispensing section fluidically communicates with the pumping or conveying device and in thespace-saving storage position is fluidically separated from the pumping or conveying device. This can be achieved by the supply opening in the tubular dispensing section, in the position of use, coming into alignment with a fluid supply opening of the pumping or conveying device, which opens into the coupling body, in particular into the sliding seat receptacle or into the through-opening. In this way, fluidic communication or fluidic separation can be brought about by a displacement of the tubular dispensing section with respect to this fluid supply opening of the pumping or conveying device and / or with respect to the coupling body. It also proves advantageous if the tubular dispensing section is accommodated in the coupling body in a non-rotatable manner. With a non-rotatable arrangement of the tubular dispensing section in the coupling body, the supply opening of the tubular dispensing section can be positioned as intended and itThere is no risk of this intended position being inadvertently departed from by twisting. For this purpose, it is advantageous if the tubular dispensing section is curved in an arc and / or has a non-circular outer circumference and / or that the tubular dispensing section is accommodated in or on the coupling body in a longitudinally displaceable manner via longitudinal guide means extending in the first direction, in particular webs, ribs, grooves. With regard to pleasant and reliable operation, it is advantageous if the tubular dispensing section can be positioned in a self-locking manner in the use position and / or in the stowed position with respect to the coupling body, in particular via clamp-locking inhibiting means and / or via positive-locking means, in particular catches or ridges, whose inhibiting effect can be overcome by further force application. In this way, the user is provided with a haptic and tactilea properly intended position of the tubular dispensing section in the stowed position or in the position of use. In addition, there is a lower risk that the respective position of the tubular dispensing section will be inadvertently changed. Furthermore, it proves advantageous if the coupling body can be plugged onto a delivery pipe or a delivery nozzle of the pumping or conveying device, which in the use situation extends, in particular vertically. Furthermore, it proves advantageous if the coupling body, in particular together with a delivery pipe or a delivery nozzle of the pumping or conveying device, is rotatable and thereby the dispenser and its pumping or conveying device can be activated for pumping or conveying operation. It can also prove advantageous if the tubular dispensing section can be placed against a stop on the coupling body in the position of use. This also allows aquick and reliable preparation of the dispenser for its intended use. It is conceivable that the tubular dispensing section has a projection extending transversely to the first direction at an end opposite the dispensing opening, which projection acts as a positioning end stop in the use position. This projection can in particular be formed integrally with the tubular dispensing section. Furthermore, it proves advantageous if the coupling body has a recess formed in particular complementary to the projection. In this way, the terminal projection can be moved slightly further into the coupling body until it reaches its end position with respect to the coupling body. In this way, a maximum projection of the tubular dispensing section can be achieved. Further features, advantages and details of the dispenser according to the invention can be found in the appended patent claims and the drawings.Illustration and subsequent description of a preferred embodiment of the invention. The drawing shows: Figure 1 a side view of a first embodiment of the dispenser according to the invention in a use position; Figure 2 a side view of the dispenser according to Figure 1 in a space-saving stowed position; Figure 3 a perspective partial view of the dispenser according to Figures 1 and 2 in the stowed position; Figure 4 a view of the dispenser according to Figure 1 from above; Figure 5 a view of the dispenser according to Figure 2 from above; Figure 6 a longitudinal sectional view of the dispenser according to Figure 1; Figure 7 a longitudinal sectional view of the dispenser according to Figure 2; Figure 8 a slightly perspective side view of a dispenser in the use position according to a further embodiment of the invention; Figure 9 a view of the dispenser according to Figure 8 in the stowed position; Figure 10 a further perspective view of the dispenser according to Figure 9; Figure 11 a view of the dispenser according to Figure 8 from above;and Figure 12 shows a view of the dispenser according to Figure 9 from above. Figures 1 to 7 show a first embodiment of a dispenser 2 for a fluid medium designed according to the invention. The dispenser comprises a receptacle 4 for the fluid medium and, in the case shown as an example, a manually operated pumping or conveying device 6 with a tubular dispensing section 8 with a dispensing opening 10 for dispensing the fluid medium, typically onto the palm of a user's hand. The tubular dispensing section 8 is received on a coupling body 12 communicating with the pumping or conveying device 6. The coupling body 12 is plugged onto a pipe or connecting piece 14, oriented vertically, of the pumping or conveying device 6. The coupling body 12 holds the tubular dispensing section 8 displaceable back and forth in a first direction 16, which is slightly curved here, between a direction shown in Figure 1Use position and a space-saving storage position of the dispenser 2 shown in Figure 2. In the use position, the tubular dispensing section 8 projects to the side with its maximum length from a center of the dispenser, shown here by a dash-dotted line 18. As a result, a maximum space 20 is realized vertically below the dispensing opening 10 and the tubular section 8, into which the user can reach with his hand to receive the medium dispensed from the tubular dispensing section 8. In the storage position of the dispenser shown in Figure 2, the tubular dispensing section 8, however, is pushed back with respect to the coupling body 12 and is preferably arranged symmetrically to the center of the dispenser and to the coupling body 12, so that it no longer protrudes beyond a boundary surface 22 that laterally surrounds the dispenser in the storage position. This boundary surface 22 is shown in Figures 1 and 2 by way of example asContinuation of an outer side 24 of the receptacle 4 in the vertically upward direction. In the embodiment of Figures 1-7, four such flat boundary surfaces 22 are conceivable (depending on where the tubular dispensing section is provided), each extending orthogonally to a flat surface 25 delimiting or tangent to the dispenser from below, in particular to a storage area of the dispenser. In this embodiment, they delimit a cuboid-shaped receiving space for the dispenser in its stowed position. In the preferred and exemplary case of the embodiment according to Figures 1 to 7, the tubular section 8 has a feed opening 26 for the fluid medium opening transversely to its longitudinal extent. It can be seen from the figures that this feed opening 26 communicates fluidically with the pumping or conveying device 6 in the use position of the tubular dispensing section or the dispenser and in the space-savingThe tubular output section 8 is arranged in a stowed position and is fluidically separated from the pumping or conveying device 6. By moving the tubular output section 8 along the first direction 16, the feed opening 26 can be brought into alignment with a further upstream feed opening 28 of the coupling body 12 or the conveying nozzle 14 of the pumping or conveying device 6, or can be separated from it by moving the tubular output section 8 into the stowed position (best seen in Figures 6, 7). Because the tubular output section 8 is arranged on the coupling body 12 so that it is longitudinally displaceable but non-rotatable with respect to the coupling body 12, the feed opening 26 also remains in its intended orientation, here downwards as intended. The tubular output section 8 furthermore has a projection 30 at its rear end that extends transversely to the first direction 16. This projection 30 forms an end stop and is in theIn the use position, the tubular dispensing section 8 can be placed against an axial stop 32 which is formed on the coupling body 12 (Figures 6, 7). This defines a proper end position of the tubular dispensing section 8 in the use position of the dispenser. It is further advantageous that the coupling body 12 has a recess 34 designed such that the tubular dispensing section 8 can be retracted with its terminal projection 30 into the coupling body 12 and can reach the end position shown in Figure 6. This results in a maximum projection of the tubular section 8 at the opposite end, where the dispensing opening 10 is located. It is further advantageous if the tubular dispensing section 8 can be positioned in a self-locking manner with respect to the coupling body 12 in the use position and / or in the stowed position. For this purpose, the clamping and / or positive locking devices mentioned at the beginningMeans 36 may be formed on the tubular dispensing section 8 and / or on the coupling body 12. Figures 8 to 12 illustrate a further embodiment of a dispenser 2 designed according to the invention, wherein corresponding reference numerals are used for its components. In this embodiment, the tubular dispensing section is movable back and forth along a precisely linearly extending first direction 16 between the use position and the stowed position. It is received in a longitudinally displaceable manner in an upwardly open, linearly extending receiving opening 38 delimited by the coupling body 12. The respective coupling body 12 of the two embodiments is preferably a plastic injection-molded part, which can be formed in one piece or in multiple pieces. In the latter case, the parts are expediently clipped or locked together, depending on the geometry, before or after the arrangement of the tubular dispensing section 8, whereinOther joining methods are also conceivable. The inventive design of the dispenser 2 allows, on the one hand, the space in the area below the dispensing opening 10 of the tubular dispensing section 8 to be maximized by having the tubular dispensing section 8 protrude beyond the laterally enclosing boundary surface 22 of the dispenser in the use position, and, on the other hand, the dispenser can be brought into a space-saving stowed position by having the tubular dispensing section 8 recede behind the laterally enclosing boundary surface 22 of the dispenser in its stowed position.
Claims
Patent claims 1. Dispenser (2) for a fluid medium, in particular cleaning fluid, soap, disinfectant, cream, with a receiving container (4) for the fluid medium and with a pumping or conveying device (6), in particular a manually operable one, for conveying the fluid medium from the receiving container (4) in the direction of a tubular dispensing section (8) with a dispensing opening (10), wherein the tubular dispensing section (8) is received on a coupling body (12), characterized in that the tubular dispensing section (8) is displaceable back and forth in a first direction (16) with respect to the coupling body (12) between a space-saving stowage position and a use position.
2. Dispenser (2) according to claim 1, characterized in that the pumping or conveying device (6) is manually operable and its pumping or conveying deviceDelivery pressure is generated in that a user exerts a single or repeated pressing movement or pivoting movement from above, in particular on the coupling body (12) or another actuating element directly or indirectly connected to the pumping or delivery device, with the result that the liquid medium is fed to the tubular discharge section (8) or guided through the tubular discharge section (8) and through its discharge opening. (10) is dispensed to the user, in particular that the pumping or conveying device (6) is formed by a displacement pump.
3. Dispenser (2) according to claim 1, characterized in that the pumping or conveying device is motor-driven, so that its pumping or conveying pressure is generated by a motor.
4. Dispenser (2) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the tubular dispensing section (8), in the use position, projects in the first direction (16) beyond a boundary surface (22) that laterally surrounds the dispenser in the stowed position and, in the stowed position, is accommodated within a space delimited by the laterally enclosing boundary surface (22).
5. Dispenser (2) according to claim 4, characterized in that the laterally enclosing boundary surface (22) extends orthogonally to a flat surface (25) that delimits or is tangent to the dispenser from below, in particular to a base surface of the dispenser.Dispenser (2) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the tubular dispensing section (8) is slidably received in a through opening in the coupling body (12) and in the space-saving. In the stowed position, the coupling body (12) protrudes beyond the coupling body (12) in the first direction (16) on both sides.
7. Dispenser according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the tubular dispensing section (8) has a supply opening (26) for the fluid medium, opening in particular transversely to its longitudinal extent, and that the supply opening (26) communicates fluidically with the pumping or conveying device (6) in the use position of the tubular dispensing section (8) and is fluidically separated from the pumping or conveying device (6) in the space-saving stowed position.
8. Dispenser according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the tubular dispensing section (8) is non-rotatably received in the coupling body (12). 9.Dispenser according to claim 8, characterized in that the tubular dispensing section (8) has a non-circular outer circumference and / or is curved in an arcuate manner and / or that the tubular dispensing section (8) is received in or on the coupling body (12) in a longitudinally displaceable manner via longitudinal guide means extending in the first direction (16), in particular webs, ribs, grooves.
10. Dispenser according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the. The tubular dispensing section (8) can be positioned in a self-locking manner in the use position and / or in the stowed position relative to the coupling body (12), in particular via clamp-locking means (36) and / or via positive-locking means (36), in particular catches or ridges, whose locking effect can be overcome by applying further force.
11. Dispenser according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the coupling body (12) can be plugged onto a delivery pipe or a delivery nozzle (14) of the pumping or conveying device (6), which in the use situation extends, in particular vertically. 12.Dispenser according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the coupling body (12), in particular together with a delivery pipe or a delivery nozzle (14) of the pumping or conveying device, is rotatable, and thereby the dispenser and its pumping or conveying device can be activated for pumping or conveying operation (6).
13. Dispenser according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the tubular dispensing section (8) can be placed against a stop (32) on the coupling body (12) in the use position.
14. Dispenser according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the tubular dispensing section (8) has, at an end opposite the dispensing opening (10), a projection (30) extending transversely to the first direction (16), which acts as a positioning end stop in the use position.
15. Dispenser according to claim 14, characterized in that the coupling body (12) has a recess (34) that is particularly complementary to the projection (30).