Spring-loaded actuator cap

ES 2 315 917 T3

DESCRIPTION

Actuator cap or capsule and product replacement for a housing.

Background of the invention

1. Invention field

The present invention relates generally to actuator apparatus, and more particularly to actuator caps or capsules that are placed on containers and are used to dispense products from the containers.

2. Description of the background of the invention

Various apparatus have been developed to dispense product from a product container or reservoir. In Patent No. 5,287,998 to Smrt et al. An actuator coupled to a container and including a passageway extending axially therethrough is disclosed for discharging product. The actuator includes a pair of wings that extend transversely from the actuator. The container can be moved axially within a device such that the wings abut against a surface defining a passage, thereby discharging product through the passage.

A spray bottle handle used with a nasal spray bottle is described in US Patent 6,386,397 to Brotspies et al. The handle is attached to a reciprocating nozzle of the spray bottle, and the arms extend downwardly along the spray bottle. The arms include finger tabs, which provide an ergonomic means for reciprocating the nozzle to dispense product from the spray bottle.

A disc-shaped actuator attached to a nozzle of a container is described in US Patent No. 3,318,492 to Haas. A user can depress the actuator with the finger, to dispense product from the container.

In US Patent No. 6,340,103 to Scheindel et al., A handle is described which extends along a body of the container. When a user pulls the handle toward the body of the container, a portion of the handle pushes down on a nozzle portion of the container to dispense product from the container.

A container having a tubular pump reciprocating in the vertical direction is disclosed in US Patent No. 4,138,039 to Micallef. A cap or capsule is coupled to the container and includes an actuator button that extends from a side wall of the cap or capsule. Movement of the actuator button in the direction towards the side wall of the cap or capsule is converted into reciprocating movement in the perpendicular direction of the pump.

Devices having a product container disposed at a first end of a rod and having a trigger mechanism at a second end of the rod have been described in other patents, in which a user can remotely operate the container. Discharging product from that distance can be advantageous for many purposes, such as gaining access to hard-to-reach places, or perhaps dumping an insecticide onto a hornet's hive without having to be too close to the hive yourself. A device is disclosed in US Patent No. 5,518,148 to Smrt in which an actuator rod has a trigger at a first end and a container at a second end. Pulling the trigger moves the actuator rod longitudinally, such that the second end of the rod moves a toggle lever which, in turn, moves an additional rod that actuates a valve in the container. In US Pat. No. 6,551,001 to Aberegg et al., Assigned to the assignee of the present application and the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a cleaning device having a trigger at a first end of a rod and a cleaning head with crankpin and a container at a second end of the rod. Pulling the trigger moves a pivot joint, which in turn actuates a valve in the container, thereby discharging product from the container onto the surface to be cleaned by the crankpin cleaning head.

An air freshener container inserted into a mortise is disclosed in US Patent No. 5,358,147 to Adams et al., Assigned to and also incorporated herein by reference. The mortise includes a nozzle that is attached to a valve stem of the container. The combination of the container and the mortise is placed inside a housing. When a user wishes to spray air freshener into ambient air, the user pushes the housing, which in turn pushes the mortise and valve stem, to dispense the air freshener out of the housing.

Document US 3 404 814 presents an arrangement in Fig. 11 for actuating a valve in an aerosol can consisting of a pair of frusto-conical half-shells, arranged one on each side of a central button mounted on the stem of The valve. The half-shells are connected to the button by connecting strips that are mounted towards the top of the shell and connect to the bottom of the button. When the shells are squeezed together, that movement is transmitted to the button causing it to move downwards and actuation of the valve. This document forms the basis for the pre-characterization portion of claim 1 which follows.

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Document US 3 888 392 presents an actuator cap or capsule with a pair of hinged wings on the edge of the cam and which are generally in the shape of a right triangle, with the upper edge positioned to press down on a push button actuator. the hollow valve.

In document US 3 946 911 there is presented an actuator cap or capsule with an inverted T-shaped actuating member mounted on the valve of the canister and generally triangular fin-shaped elements that form an upper section of the cap or capsule, which press down on the T-shaped actuator member when squeezed together. These actuation sections of the cap or capsule are hinged at the midpoint, enabling them to hinge inwardly on the valve actuator. The pre-characterization part of claim 1 is based on this document.

Invention Compendium

According to a first aspect, the invention provides an actuator cap or capsule as defined in claim 1. The invention also includes a product refill, according to claim 9 below, and a system comprising a refill of product and a product refill according to claim 10 which follows, in which the discharge port is at an angle of less than 90 ° with the axial center line of the cap or capsule.

Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the detailed description that follows.

Brief description of the drawings

Fig. 1 is an exploded isometric perspective view of a container and actuator cap or capsule;

Fig. 2 is an exploded isometric perspective view of a housing within which the container and actuator cap or capsule of Fig. 1 can be placed;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation view showing a rod and trigger mechanism in combination with the housing of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken generally along lines 4-4 of Fig. 3, further illustrating the container and actuator cap or capsule of Fig. 1 in elevation and in section, respectively. .

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to that of Fig. 5, but in which an actuation position is shown;

Fig. 7 is an isometric perspective view of the actuator cap or capsule of Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view of the actuator cap or capsule of Fig. 1.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken generally along lines 9-9 of Fig .:

FIG. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary isometric perspective view of a component of the cap or actuator capsule of FIG. 1;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged sectional view taken generally along lines 11-11 of Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is an enlarged sectional view of an alternative component to that shown in Fig. 10;

Fig. 13 is a complete sectional view of an alternative actuator cap or capsule:

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary isometric perspective view of the actuator cap or capsule of Fig. 13 secured to a product container;

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary isometric perspective view of a housing within which the actuator cap or capsule and container of Figs. 13 and 14; Y

FIG. 16 is a sectional view taken generally along lines 16-16 of FIG. 15 and including a fragmentary elevational view of the actuator cap or capsule of FIG. 13.

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Detailed description of the preferred embodiments

Referring to Fig. 1, a container 50 has a valve stem 52 and a main body 56 containing product. Valve stem 52 could be either a vertically depressed valve stem, or a tilt valve stem. As will be appreciated hereinafter, if a tilt valve stem is used, such a stem could also alternatively be vertically depressed without tilt, to dispense product therethrough. It should be noted that valve stem 52 could be replaced by any suitable apparatus that can be moved to release product from container 50. An actuator cap or capsule 60 is coupled to container 50. A housing is illustrated in Fig. 2. 63 into which container 50 and actuator cap or capsule 60 can be placed. Container 50 and actuator cap or capsule 60 are a product refill for housing 63. It is to be noted that the product refill may include additional components (not shown) in addition to the container 50 and the actuator cap or cap 60, such as a sleeve (not shown) disposed around the container 50. The actuator cap or cap 60 has a base portion 64 and a movable portion 66 which is capable of being axially flexed toward the mounting end 62. Referring to Fig. 4, the actuator cap or capsule 60 includes any suitable center adapter 80 secured to valve stem 52. Housing 63 has a discharge opening 82, through which product stored within container 50 can be dispensed. With reference to Figs. 3 and 4, by relatively moving container 50 and housing 63 such that container 50 is moved toward discharge opening 82, movable portion 66 is flexed, thereby actuating valve stem 52, as described herein in the following, causing product to be released from container 50 and dispensed from housing 63. A rod and trigger mechanism 84 can be used to move container 50 within housing 63. Mechanism 84 includes a hollow tube 86 with a handle assembly 88 at a first end 90 of tube 86, and a second end 92 of tube 86 can be secured within a sleeve 94 of housing 63, in any suitable manner, such as by welding, or by appropriately screwing the sleeve 94 and end 92. Pulling a trigger 96 of handle assembly 88 advances a push rod 100 disposed within tube 86, against an interior surface 102 of container 50, thereby advancing container 50 toward discharge opening 82. If necessary or desirable, one end 104 of push rod 100 can be shaped and / or engaged with a plate (not shown) or other member to distribute forces more evenly across bottom surface 102 of container 50. Furthermore, if desired, instead of moving container 50 relative to housing 63, using the trigger and rod mechanism 84, one could move container 50 and / or housing 63 relative to each other, to hand, to dispense product.

Housing 63 includes a decreasing cross-sectional wall 108, tapering to discharge opening 82. Discharge opening 82 has a cross-section larger than radius R (FIG. 1) of container 50. With Referring back to FIG. 2, housing 63 may include first and second wall portions 114, 116, which may be joined together to house container 50 and actuator cap or cap 60. Wall portion 114 may include three bayonet slots 118a-118c disposed at one end 120 of portion 114 and spaced equal to 120 degrees from each other. To join the parts 114, 116, the user inserts pins 124 carried by one end 126 of the part 116 into the slots 118a-118c, and causes relative rotation of the parts 114, 116 to seat the pins 124 within the regions recessed 130a-130c of the grooves 118.

Any one of the portions 114, 116 may include protrusions 136 such as guide fins 138 having edges 140 abutting the outer surface of the container 50 to center the container 50 within the housing 63. Any of the portions 114, 116 It may include elongated openings or windows 144 that allow a user to view container 50 when container 50 is disposed within housing 63. Housing portions 114, 116 may include three of windows 144 spaced 120 degrees apart. An advantage of the windows 144 is that a user could view any written or graphic addresses provided on the container 50. Referring to FIG. 5, a main region 150 of the wall portions 114 and 116 may have an interior cross section C1 of a size of approximately 66 mm, and therefore I test the product refill, which comprises the container 50 and the actuator cap or capsule 60 , it could have a cross section of a size up to about 66mm. In this regard, although a range of sizes is available for container 50, it may be desired to provide a container that is maximally sized (i.e., C1), or close to it, to achieve maximum useful life of container 50, given the available space within the enclosure 63.

Referring to FIG. 7, the cross-section of the actuator cap or capsule 60 decreases in size along an axial dimension defined between the mounting end 62 for mounting in the container 50, and a second end 154 opposite the container. same. Actuator cap or capsule 60 provides a useful centering function in that the one or more peripheral surfaces 156a-156f of cap or capsule 60 maintain a discharge point 160 of actuator cap or capsule 60 in a centered position relative to to the discharge opening 82, thereby minimizing the potential for impingement of the product against a surface 164 of the tapering wall 108. Surfaces 156 can be tapered. With reference to Fig. 6, a length L is defined between a longitudinal center line C (Fig. 5) of the cap or capsule 60 and a peripheral surface 168 of the movable part 66. The length L is selected relative to the interior dimensions of the wall 108 tapering such that the contacting surfaces 168 are disposed in interfering relationship with the tapering wall 108. It is to be appreciated that the actuator cap or capsule 60 and / or the movable portion 66 are dimensioned to have an interference relationship with the tapering wall 108. The length L can have any suitable value, such as one greater than about one one-fourth (25%) of a maximum diameter of the product refill, or equal to or greater than one-third (33%) of the maximum diameter of the product refill, if the maximum diameter is

ES 2 315 917 T3 defined by container 50, actuator cap or capsule 60, or some other component of the product refill. The length L may be greater than one fourth (25%) of a maximum diameter D of the cap or capsule 60, measured at the mounting end 62. The length L could be equal to or greater than one third of the maximum diameter D Of course, the length L can alternatively be expressed in relation to the size of the container 50. Contact surface 168 may be part of a tapering wall 169 generally complementary to the shape of tapering wall 108. Alternatively, contact surfaces 168 may be formed by a radial wall 170.

For the housing 63, any suitable cross-sectional size S (Fig. 5) could be selected for the discharge opening 82, such as a cross-sectional size of about 34 mm, and suitable values ​​of L could be between about 18mm and about 33mm, to provide the above-described interference ratio. A preferred value for L may be about 25mm. It should be noted that although the tapered wall 108 of housing 63 has been illustrated as symmetrical about longitudinal center line C of housing 63, wall 108 could have been made asymmetrical, of greater cross-section in one plane than another, and the shape of the actuator cap or capsule 60 could have been made complementary to it, to serve as a keying function to orient container 50 relative to housing 63 in a particular angular orientation. This could be advantageous for a number of reasons, such as where the product is discharged in an asymmetric pattern.

With reference to Figs. 5, 6, and 9, the movable portion 66 is flexibly connected to the base portion 64 in any suitable manner that allows the movable portion 66 to move axially relative to the base portion. For example, a circumferential flexure member 174, such as a breast 175, could connect the parts 64, 66. The flex member 174 could be formed of a different material than the parts 64, 66, or be of the same material. . Flexion member 174 could simply be an active joint in which flexion member 174 is essentially a thinner wall than portions 64 and 66, and therefore flexible. By moving the container 50 and discharge opening 82 relatively toward each other, as described above, the surfaces 168 are caused to engage the tapered wall 108 of the housing, as illustrated in FIG. Fig. 5. With reference to Fig. 6, another force acting on container 50 in the direction of discharge opening 82 causes movable portion 66 of cap or capsule 60 to move axially toward container 50 around flex member 174. Flex member 174 can move axially toward container 50. be provided with an elastic load. In this regard, flex member 174 may elastically stretch or, alternatively, may bend or roll a wall portion 176 of base portion 64 to the position shown in FIG. 6, to accommodate movement of the portion. movable 66 relative to base portion 64. Movement of movable portion 66 moves valve stem 52 into container 50, such that product is dispensed from container 63. Dispensing takes place when a sufficient force acts on the container 50 to sufficiently move the movable part 66 and consequently the central adapter 80, bringing them to the position of actuation thereof. For dispensing to take place, the force must be sufficient to overcome resistance to movement of valve stem 52 and any resistance to movement of flexure member 174.

Center adapter 80, secured to valve stem 52, includes nozzle member 190 having a tapering surface 192 to facilitate insertion of valve stem 52 therein. While in Fig. 11 the adapter 80 is shown with the integrally molded nozzle member 190, in Fig. 12 it is shown that a nozzle and adapter 193, 194, respectively, molded separately are possible. Nozzle 193 snaps into adapter 194. Nozzle 193 includes inner and outer circumferential walls 195a, 195b, which can be connected by one or more posts 196. Nozzle 193 includes circumferential flange 197 abutting on one surface. circumferential 198 of adapter 194, and a shoulder surface 190 of nozzle 193 abutting a wall 200 of adapter 194. Referring to Fig. 9, the movable portion 66 includes a circumferential wall 201 that houses the center adapter 80. Referring also to Fig. 8, first to fourth rigid belts 202a-202d connect the circumferential wall 201 with the center adapter 80, such that central adapter 80 is movable with insert 66. Of course, other designs (not shown) within the scope of the present invention (inventions) will be apparent to those skilled in the art, in which the central adapter 80 is not connected to the movable part 66, but is instead connected to the base 64 part. In accordance with such an alternative design, the center adapter 80 would be flexibly connected, in any suitable way, to the base portion 64, and movement of the movable portion 66 would cause a surface of the movable portion 66 to contact the base portion. center adapter 80 and move it. Alternatively, center adapter 80 may even be a separate piece from actuator cap or capsule 60, connected only to valve stem 52. In accordance with such a design, a suitable projection or other actuating surface (not shown) of movable portion 66 would contact center adapter 80 to displace it.

Referring to FIG. 7, any suitable cover (not shown) could be attached to actuator cap or capsule 60 at the dotted line position 222 to shield movable portion 66, thereby preventing inadvertent dispensing of product during transport. Cap or capsule 60 includes a shoulder 224 that can be modified as necessary to secure a cover thereto. With reference to Fig. 9, the actuator cap or capsule 60 may include an inwardly tapering circumferential flange 226 and a plurality of inwardly directed cords 228 spaced apart. As illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, flange 226 and cords 228 snap onto a flange 230 of container 50.

Sufficient movement of the central adapter 80 to an actuation position thereof, displaces the valve stem 52 into the container 50, such that product is dispensed from the container 50 through a

ES 2 315 917 T3 spray tip 240 of nozzle member 190 and out of housing 63. Also referring to Fig. 8, it is to be noted that flexing member 174 provides flexibility around the entire circumference thereof, allowing a substantially axial reciprocating movement of the movable portion 66 and, consequently, of the valve stem 52, instead of the tilting movement. If the flexing member 174 had been made flexible about only half the circumference thereof, then it could result in a skew deflection of the movable portion 66m, potentially increasing the probability of product dumping against the tapering wall. 108. Although flex member 174 has been generally depicted and described as circumferential, it is within the scope of the present invention (inventions) to modify flex member 174 to include one or more voids such that flex member 174 does not connect the movable part 66 around the entire circumference thereof, but only connect the movable part 66 to the base part 64 at bending points 174a and 174b (Fig. 8). Points 174a, 174b could be circumferentially spaced as necessary to achieve non-tilt deflection of movable portion 66, such as by spacing points 174a, 174b at 90 degrees, 120 degrees, or 180 degrees.

In Figs. 13 and 14 illustrate an alternative actuator cap or capsule 300 in which structures that are common have been assigned the same reference numerals. The cap or capsule 300 includes an adapter 302 having a spray tip 304 that directs the discharge of the product in the direction of an arrow A. Aside from the adapter 302, the cap or capsule 300 may otherwise be similar or identical to that of the cap. cap or capsule 60. A discharge angle B from the axial center line C can be any suitable value, less than 90 degrees, such as 15, 20 or 45 degrees. Referring to FIG. 15, a housing 320 may be provided for the cap or capsule 300 and the housing 320 includes a wall 322 that covers a portion of the discharge opening 82. If it is a question of using a cap or actuator capsule that discharges product axially along the center line C, instead of forming an angle with it, such product would impinge against the wall 322. In the design of the components of Figs . 13-16, any suitable structures may be provided to orient container 50 and cap or capsule 300 in a particular angular orientation relative to housing 63. For example, in Fig. 14 Container 50 is shown to include a locating key 324, such as rib 330 that is radially aligned with spray tip 304 to orient container 50 and actuator cap or capsule 300 within housing 320. In Fig. 16 A slot 340 is shown which receives rib 330 to align container 50 and cap or capsule 300 such that spray tip 304 discharges product out of housing 320 rather than against wall 322. It is within the scope of the Invention (inventions) alternatively providing a suitable key in actuator cap or capsule 300 and a corresponding slot (not shown) for same in housing 320. Furthermore, the product refill could alternatively be provided with a particular shape corresponding to a particular internal shape of the housing 320, such that the product refill can only be dispensed into the housing 320 with a particular angular orientation.

The actuator cap or capsule embodiments described herein may be designed to reduce the likelihood of inadvertent dispensing that could result from a user inadvertently shaking or shaking the housing 63 with the container 50 disposed therein. In this regard, flex member 174 can be designed with a suitable degree of elastic load to act against axial movement of movable portion 66, and a manufacturer can increase or decrease that resistance as desired for a particular cover or cap design. actuator capsule.

The resistance of the flexing member 174 to movement provides a reaction force against the forces directing the container 50 toward the discharge opening 82, such that that reaction force must be overcome before dispensing can occur. That reactive force is advantageous in that low levels of force may be insufficient to overcome the same to dispense product from housing 63. For example, such low force levels may occur due to a user shaking the housing 63 while walking or manipulating the housing 63, or it may occur when a user shaking the housing 63 to mix the contents of the container 50. Such agitation it could be because the cap or capsule 60 is in a condition in which only the movable part 66 moves slightly, but to a lesser extent than for the actuation position thereof. Ideally, the reaction force provided by the flexing member prevents inadvertent dispensing until such time as the user intentionally applies sufficient force, such as when the user intentionally pulls the trigger 96 illustrated in Fig. 3, to intentionally dispense product. , while inadvertent dispensing is avoided.

The above embodiments can provide one or more of the following advantages.

First, since the contact surfaces 168 have a sufficiently large value of L, the surfaces 168 have an interference relationship with the tapering wall 108, and consequently the actuator cap or capsule 60 is usable with the housing 63 , despite the large discharge opening 82. (As noted above, the cross-sectional size of the discharge opening 82 is larger than the radius R of the container). Containers lacking a contact surface of length L are not usable with the housing 63. This may be useful, as containers lacking contact surfaces 168 of length L may not be designed for use with the housing 63, or housing 63 may not be marketed for use with a particular product container that lacks contact surfaces 168. For example, the housing 63 may be marketed for use with a container of a specific type of insecticide having the actuator cap or capsule 60. Another advantage of the large discharge opening 82 and the large L value is that avoid contact near discharge point 160. Since the tapering wall 108 contacts contact surfaces 169 at distance L (or greater) from the valve stem bore 52, the potential for plugging is minimized.

ES 2 315 917 T3 or product shock. This feature could be especially advantageous for some products that fan while discharging from container 50, as the product reaches further from container 50. The large cross-sectional size of discharge opening 82 would accommodate such fanning while minimizing the shock or potential deposit of product on it. In this regard, with reference to Fig. 9, the circumferential wall 201 may be constructed with a shorter axial dimension than that shown, such that the spray tip 240 is located closer to the radial surface 170 of the cap or capsule 60, and therefore is located closest to discharge opening 82 of housing 63. Another advantage of the large discharge opening 82 is that the tapered wall surface 164 108 could potentially be easier to access manually, for cleaning, than with other types of housing.

The product stored within the container body 56 could be any of a variety of products, such as an air freshener, an insect control agent, a hair spray, a cleaning agent, a buffing agent, a fragrance, or any other product stored in a container. In addition, the product can be put under pressure by a suitable propellant disposed within the container 50.

Referring to Fig. 9, sample dimensions are provided in Table 1 below for an example in accordance with the present invention. The dimensions given in the following are not to be understood as limiting, and are only examples. (All dimensions are in millimeters, unless otherwise specified).

TABLE 1

<td>Reference</td><td>Dimension</td>

<td>D</td><td> 65,5</td>

<td>L</td><td> 18</td>

From Fig. 9 it should be apparent that D refers to the maximum diameter of the cap or capsule 60, and Table 1 shows that L may have a value greater than one quarter of the maximum diameter D.

Sample dimensions are given in Table 2 for a second example, in accordance with the present invention.

TABLE 2

<td>Reference</td><td>Diameter</td>

<td>D</td><td> 65,6</td>

<td>L</td><td> 23,2</td>

It is shown in Table 2 that L can have a value of approximately one third of the maximum diameter of the cap or capsule 60. Therefore, assuming that the diameter D is 65.5 mm, approximately one third of that diameter can vary between about 20mm and about 25mm. L can also be greater than one third of D. It should be noted that other values ​​of D greater or less than 65.5 mm are possible.

The value of D of the cap or capsule 60 may be the same, similar, or substantially different to the diameter of the container 50. Referring to Fig. 1, the value of L relative to the diameter of the container 50 may be greater than one A quarter of the diameter of the container 50 may be approximately one-third the diameter of the container 50, or it may have other values ​​relative to the diameter of the container 50. In either case, a maximum lateral dimension through the product refill cannot exceed the size C1 of the internal cross-section of the housing 63, and L can have any suitable value, such as greater than about a quarter (25%) of that maximum lateral dimension.

Industrial applicability

The embodiments set forth above are useful for dispensing a variety of products, such as insecticides, cleaning products, air treatment products (eg, air fresheners), or other products.

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To those skilled in the art, numerous modifications of the present invention will be apparent in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, this description is to be understood as merely an illustrative example of the concepts of the invention disclosed herein, and is presented in order to enable those skilled in the art to materialize and use the invention, and to teach the best way to put it into practice. Exclusive rights are reserved for all modifications that fall within the scope of the accompanying claims.