Dispensing – With lock or fastening seal – Inhibiting actuation of discharge assistant
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-28
2001-07-10
Shaver, Kevin (Department: 3554)
Dispensing
With lock or fastening seal
Inhibiting actuation of discharge assistant
C222S320000, C222S321600
Reexamination Certificate
active
06257454
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a dispenser for media. These are particularly liquid, but may also be or contain a paste, a powder, a gas or the like. Thus the media are flowable or trickling or non-flowable. The dispenser is held and actuated single-handedly. All or almost all components, particularly the exposed components, are injection-molded or made from plastics.
The dispenser may resuck medium from a reservoir during a working or stroke cycle or may contain, in a separate reservoir chamber, serval premeasured doses of the medium to be discharged in sequence. Preferably the dispenser is made for a single unidirectional stroke or medium discharge and then emptied. To prevent aging, chemical change or contamination of the medium the reservoir chamber is closed, not only tightly against the presence of germicides but also the medium is maintained in contact with only materials which avoid either chemical reactions with the medium or a physical change by contact with the medium. This is difficult to achieve with usual thermoplastic or other plastics materials such as polythene or with elastomers such as rubber, chlorinated or bromobutyl rubber.
The dispenser may be accidentally actuated by external forces when prevented from actuation merely by friction, e.g. by a catch. This applies irrespective of whether the reservoir chamber is closed or not by a stopper or the like such as pump piston which is primarily separate from a piston rod and then connected thereto. Even positive prevention of actuation may be accidentally released e.g. by mutual rotary motion of the two dispenser units.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to provide a dispenser avoiding the disadvantages of prior art designs or of the kind as described above. A further object is to ensure reliable enclosure of the medium during its shelflife by closing off the reservoir chamber or by preventing accidental actuation. Another object is to alert a user concerning any prior use or operation of the dispenser. Still a further object is to achieve simple design and ease of use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention locking means are provided which either maintain the reservoir chamber sealingly closed or prevent any relative motion thereof in a discharge mode. A movement for releasing the lock is expediently provided. In the vicinity of the locking or sealing face releasing lock motion is linear or parallel to the plane of the reservoir outlet. It may also be an arc or pivot motion. The securing or locking member can remain connected to the dispenser in its released position or can be totally removable to thus clearly signal prior use of the dispenser.
The locking member is also suitable to fixedly lock the medium reservoir to one of the dispenser units. Thus these components form a preassembled module which is then assembled to the other dispenser unit by an axial or linear motion. The locking member may be released solely by being pulled, but also by being pushed. Pushing may release a catch securing the locking member against release motions or may render a handle accessible which is initially not accessible. Thereafter, the locking member may be fully released by gripping the handle.
The reservoir may be firmly seated or movable on the corresponding unit and may be moved relative to this unit during insertion and release of the locking member or during discharge actuation.
The locking member is tensioned directly relative to the reservoir by two opposing or remote strain faces. One of these strain faces may engage the reservoir only indirectly, namely via a spacer. The strain faces then act on separate bodies which are mutually movable both in the release direction and in the tensioning direction oriented transverse thereto for straining the one relative to the other. If the strain faces are fixedly interconnected with respect to the release or tensioning direction, the spacer may be omitted and their support may be provided directly by the housing of the associated dispenser unit and by the reservoir.
The locking member is located between the reservoir outlet and the pump piston or piston rod. The piston may also be provided within the reservoir chamber as an additional closure plug which seals by radial pressure and thus not like the locking member by axial pressure. Particularly when the locking member is provided only for locking manual actuation its locking position may also be secured with respect to the associated unit by a snap connector or a nominal rupture connection. Then the locking member can be translated into the release position solely by untieing or breaking this connection on commencement of the motion of the discharge actuator.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3828982 (1974-08-01), Steigerwald
patent: 4203534 (1980-05-01), Mar
patent: 4384660 (1983-05-01), Palmisano et al.
patent: 4582228 (1986-04-01), Diamond et al.
patent: 4934568 (1990-06-01), Fuchs
patent: 5282551 (1994-02-01), Pierson
patent: 5427280 (1995-06-01), Fuchs
patent: 5813570 (1998-09-01), Fuchs et al.
patent: 3706963 A1 (1987-03-01), None
patent: 3927708 A1 (1989-08-01), None
patent: 4400605 A1 (1994-01-01), None
Bui Thach H
Ing. Erich Pfeiffer GmbH
Quarles & Brady LLP
Shaver Kevin
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