Liquid dispensing devices

Details Liquid dispensing devices Liquid dispensing devices

1995-01-13

2001-03-20

Morris, Lesley D. (Department: 3752)

Fluid sprinkling, spraying, and diffusing

Including supply holder for material

Moving solid surface engages material to be sprayed

C222S464400

Reexamination Certificate

active

06202943

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present application relates to liquid dispensing devices, particularly spray bottles having pump actuators and aerosol liquid dispensers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The prior art has addressed a need to have the pickup end of a pickup tube track a low point within a liquid reservoir, which low point migrates about the bottom of a container as the container is tipped.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,656, issued to Kenneth A. Taschner on Jan. 20, 1970, discloses a pickup tube for use in spray dispensing apparatus employing compressed gas propellant. The pickup tube is flexible along its entire length, and includes a weighted pickup terminal end.
U.K. Pat. Application No. 2,136,057A, published on Sep. 12, 1984, shows a pickup tube providing similar function to that of Taschner. The U.K. reference disclosed tube structure comprising series connected, hollow compartments communicating through common openings. Each compartment has an expanded center portion and a constricted waist, each waist being common to adjacent compartments. Flexure at the waists is cumulative, the result being that a length including a plurality of compartments enables considerable bending ability and flexibility. Thus, the pickup tube of the U.K. reference achieves bending even though the tube is not highly flexible along a continuous wall thickness length, as is provided in Taschner. The U.K. reference also discloses a weight disposed at the pickup end of the tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,119,974, issued to Fredrick J. Mann on Jun. 9, 1992, discloses a pickup tube selectively drawing liquid from a container for subsequent dispensing selectively from a high or low location within the container, dependent upon the upright orientation thereof.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Many liquid dispensers are mass produced for sale to the general public for storage and dispensing of a myriad of liquid products. It is generally considered desirable to provide conveniences and perceived advantages in such liquid dispensers, such as the ability of the dispenser to utilize substantially all of the liquid held in a container component thereof. One approach toward this end is to provide a liquid pickup device which tracks the liquid, particularly as the point of depletion is reached.
Important elements in the design of the liquid pickup device are simplicity and cost. While materials are known which provide the degree of flexibility required in the Taschner invention, these materials must also be able to resist deterioration in the often harsh chemical environment of the liquid being stored and dispensed. This combination may result in high expense.
Similarly, to form a tube in the elongated/bellows configuration seen in U.K. reference increases cost and manufacturing steps. The complicated structure of the Mann invention also increases complexity and cost.
The present invention seeks to retain the major advantages of these inventions while mitigating complexity and, especially, material and production costs. Given the extremely competitive nature of the container industry and the very large production runs therein, the importance of even small economies to a single container will be fully appreciated.
Since most liquid dispensers are used in an upright or in a substantially upright orientation, it becomes possible to forgo the extreme flexibility shown in the U.K. and Taschner references. Instead, it is desired to provide a pickup tube which tilts or bends (i.e. sways) as the container is tipped, maintaining the pickup end near the container bottom, immersed even in shallow remaining liquid.
The prior art fails to provide a pickup tube which maintains the pickup end thereof near the bottom of the container while accommodating sway, which sway enables the pickup tube to track low points within the liquid level.
The present invention addresses this need by the provision of a variety of different pickup tube and sprayhead combinations that provide tilting motion of the pick up tube relative to the sprayhead to accommodate sway. In a preferred embodiment, a flexible connection is provided between the pickup tube and sprayhead to provide relative tilting therebetween. In another preferred embodiment, a semi-flexible pick up tube is designed or provided with a weight to enable the pickup tube to sway when tilting the spray bottle by the effect of gravity. These features enable the pickup tube to seek the lowest point in the container, and a standard inexpensive semi-flexible pickup tube can be utilized in the assemblies. Further, the flexible connection between the pickup tube and sprayhead is preferably made without modification to either the standard sprayhead or the standard pickup tube, for example with an add on item. Alternatively, the standard connector component of a standard sprayhead can be modified or replaced with a flexible connection for the pickup tube without modification of the main component of the standard sprayhead.
The pickup tube may be provided from mass produced stock material. This material is preferably selected due to, in addition to cost considerations, the ability to resist chemical attack. Moreover, the pickup tube is optionally selected to be heavier than the liquid, so that the pickup tube sways under the influence of gravity. This also includes tubing which may be less dense but becomes denser when filled with liquid.
In alternative embodiments, a separate weight is attached to the semi-flexible pickup tube.
In further alternative embodiments, attachment of the respective components may be by resilient compression or tension gripping connections, snap connectors and/or by adhesive.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a liquid dispensing device having a tilting pickup tube to accommodate sway.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a liquid dispensing device having a pickup tube connected to a dispensing unit such as a sprayhead by means of a flexible connector to allow tilting of the pickup tube relative to the sprayhead to accommodate sway.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a liquid dispensing device having a semi-flexible pickup tube provided with a weight to allow tilting or bending of the pickup tube relative to the sprayhead to accommodate sway.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a liquid dispensing device with a pickup tube maintained towards the bottom of a liquid container while enabling the pickup tube to tilt in response to gravity to accommodate sway.


REFERENCES:
patent: 179416 (1876-07-01), Kennish
patent: 1959102 (1934-05-01), Hummel
patent: 2128494 (1938-08-01), Morrow
patent: 2483661 (1949-10-01), Neas
patent: 2494837 (1950-01-01), Simmons
patent: 2530583 (1950-11-01), Nurkiewicz
patent: 2569975 (1951-10-01), Cone
patent: 2920798 (1960-01-01), Samuel
patent: 3173710 (1965-03-01), Kinnison
patent: 3247360 (1966-04-01), Ponder
patent: 3282510 (1966-11-01), Schwartz
patent: 3411648 (1968-11-01), Tichy
patent: 3547296 (1970-12-01), Greenberg
patent: 3667655 (1972-06-01), Knieriem, Jr.
patent: 4083476 (1978-04-01), Schwartz, Jr.
patent: 4158462 (1979-06-01), Coral
patent: 4273272 (1981-06-01), Blanc
patent: 4767033 (1988-08-01), Gemperle
patent: 4830235 (1989-05-01), Miller
patent: 4940152 (1990-07-01), Lin
patent: 5083686 (1992-01-01), Cady et al.
patent: 5195664 (1993-03-01), Rhea
patent: 5215227 (1993-06-01), Farner
patent: 655424 (1929-04-01), None
patent: 735659 (1955-08-01), None
patent: 317484 (1988-12-01), None

Affiliated with

Also associated with

Rating

Liquid dispensing devices does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Liquid dispensing devices, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Liquid dispensing devices will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2468912