Refillable dispenser and cartridge

Dispensing – With cutter and/or punch – To form dispensing opening in container

Reexamination Certificate

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Details

C222S095000, C222S105000, C222S212000, C222S372000, C222S386500, C222S481500

Reexamination Certificate

active

06364163

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to dispensers, and more particularly to flexible dispensers that permit dispensing of material through deformation and displacing the dispensed material with fluid that enters an expansible bladder within the dispenser.
2. Prior Art
A dispenser is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,319,837 to Mueller, issued May 16, 1967, entitled “Dispensing Device.” A bladder within a flexible container receives displacement fluid such as air that flows into the bladder after contents of the container have been dispensed by squeezing the container and then allowing the container to return to its original volume. The container employs one way valves to assure that displacement fluid only enters the bladder, in effect maintaining the contents adjacent the container so that the container is always “full” until empty. A disadvantage of this dispenser is that the manner in which the bladder expands is not controlled, resulting in possible trapping of the contents remote from the outlet, which is then difficult to dispense. Another dispenser is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,132 to Mueller et al., issued Dec. 16, 1980, and entitled “Apparatus For Facilitating Inflow Through Closure Threads of Dispenser.” That dispenser includes a tube in a flexible container and through which displacement fluid such as air flows to inflate the bladder and displace material dispensed from the container. That construction provides some, but only limited control of bladder expansion.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a flexible and resilient container, a support post preferably supported in the container, a cartridge disposed in the container and containing fluid material to be dispensed, the cartridge including an expansible bladder preferably connected to a collar member, the collar member being slidably disposed on the post, a first flow restrictor for allowing flow of air only from outside the container into an interior of the bladder, and a second flow restrictor for allowing flow of material only from within an interior portion of the container external to the bladder to outside the container.
More specifically, the collar member is connected to the bladder and is adapted for movement toward a fluid dispensing end portion of the container. The bladder sealingly surrounds the first flow restrictor. An end cap is fastened to the container for closing off an opening at a displacement fluid receiving end portion of the container. In a preferred aspect of the invention, the cartridge includes a piston which is connected to or formed integrally with the collar member. The piston is preferably formed of a flexible material and is adapted for movement in the container.
The cartridge is sealed at a fluid dispensing end portion to prevent the material that is filled into the cartridge from leaking out during shipping and handling. The cartridge is preferably cylindrical shaped. A “lower” section of the cartridge is folded into an “upper” section or body portion of the cartridge. The collar and the lower section of the cartridge (e.g., the bladder) are disposed in the upper section such that when the cartridge is filled with the material to be dispensed, the collar is located adjacent the bottom of the upper section and the bladder preferably forms a loop that extends from the collar member substantially halfway along the side wall of the upper section. It will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that relational terms such as “upper” and “lower” are used for improving understanding of the invention and should not be construed as necessary limitations thereof. The upper and lower sections of the cartridge may be formed of material having the same flexibility or thickness. Alternatively, to improve handling of the cartridge, the upper section of the cartridge may be formed of a less flexible or thicker material than the lower section of the cartridge.
The end cap is removably fastened to the container to provide an air tight seal of the cartridge in the container. The end cap is fastened, such as by threads, to the displacement fluid receiving end portion of the container. The first flow restrictor that allows only displacement fluid to enter the container and act upon the interior of the bladder, is preferably disposed in the end cap. The end cap may include a recess for receiving the post. A cutting element for breaking the seal of the cartridge may be supported in the container. A stop member that prevents axial movement of the support post, may also be supported in the container.
The first flow restrictor includes a first passageway through the container, preferably through the end cap, that communicates with the interior of the bladder, and a first check valve that cooperates with the first passageway. The structure of the second flow restrictor may be adapted to suit the viscosity of the fluid material to be dispensed from the container. When the fluid to be dispensed is sufficiently viscous, the second flow restrictor may be merely a dispensing passageway through the container that communicates with an interior portion of the container external to the bladder. In that case, the viscous material itself inhibits foreign material, including displacement fluid, from undesirably entering the container through the second passageway. On the other hand, when a less viscous material is to be dispensed from the container, the second flow restrictor preferably includes a second check valve cooperating with the second passageway to inhibit foreign material from undesirably entering the container through the second passageway.
A preferred embodiment of the invention is directed to a cartridge for refilling the fluid dispenser. The cartridge includes a body portion and the expansible bladder extending therefrom. The collar member is connected to the bladder. The support post may be supported by the cartridge before it is loaded into the container. Alternatively, the post may be supported in the container rather than in the cartridge, or inserted into the bottom of the sealed cartridge, in which cases in addition to the seal at the fluid discharge end of the cartridge a seal may be disposed over an aperture in the collar member that receives the support post.
When it is desired to dispense material, the container and, in turn, the cartridge are flexed along their side walls. Internal pressure within the container forces the material through the second flow restrictor and out of the container through the second passageway. When flexing pressure on the container is removed, the side walls of the container and cartridge return to their original shape. The second check valve prevents displacement fluid such as air from entering the container through the dispensing passageway and ambient pressure outside the container overcomes the bias of the first check valve and ambient fluid (e.g., air) enters the bladder. Frictional forces between, for example, the piston and the post, resist the movement of the piston along the post. Displacement fluid that has entered the bladder then flows past the piston into the loop of the bladder, and initially inflates the loop of the bladder and urges it toward the second passageway, maintaining the loop above the piston. The forces of the displacement fluid active within the bladder and on the piston continually maintain the piston adjacent the material to be dispensed.
With the above arrangements, the loop of the bladder, being positioned above the piston as the bladder expands, avoids random expansion and entanglement of the bladder and formation of pockets of material in the container, trapped alongside by the bladder, rather than displaced toward the dispensing passageway. Movement of the piston toward the second passageway neatly controls the bladder expansion and decreases the size of the loop as the material in the container is depleted. This assures not only that the dispenser is in effect always “full,” regardless of the orientation of the container, but also that essentially the entire cont

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