FI58300B - SKUMDISPENSERINGSANORDNING FOER SKUMNINGSBAR VAETSKA OCH LUFT - Google Patents

Description

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Patent · och refisterstyrelsen 'AmiMcm utiafd och uti.ikrifun pubUnrad 30.09.80 ^ (32) (33) (31) Requested «Tuoikeu * —B **» nl pr <orit «t 03.0U.75 03.OU.75 USA (US) 56U700, 56U701 (71) (72) Hershel Earl Wright, 12 Eighth Drive, Decatur, Illinois 62521, USA (US) (7U) Ruska & Co (5U) Foam dispenser for foamable liquid and air -Skdispenseringsanordning för skumningsbar vätska octska This invention relates to a foam dispensing device for a liquid and air to be foamed, the device having a flexible wall, a drain hole and a porous member separating the area of the drain hole from the interior of the container, and a conduit communicating with the container interior and the porous member.

Many products, such as cleansers, beauty and skin care products "and foodstuffs, are suitable for emptying in the form of foam from a suitable hand dispenser. Overpressure dispensers are known, but the relatively high pressure used means that the container must be relatively strong, expensive and inconvenient for the user. In addition, the disadvantage of such overpressure dispensers is that the gas used to form and defoam the foam cannot be refilled, thus limiting the life of the dispenser.

For this reason, flexible flotation device containers have been developed that operate by manual compression to provide the required pressure. However, such containers, known from U.S. Patents 3,222,993 and 3,228,222, can operate in only one position, usually upright. A flotation tank that can be used in the upside down position is disclosed and described in U.S. Patent 3 ^ 22 993 · 2 58300

Although some of these devices produce good foam, the limitation is that the bottle should not be shaken before use or that it will not withstand repeated use. Shaking or repeated use of the foam dispenser and consequent suction of air inside will form foam in the bottle, especially at the outlet. This causes an interruption in the flotation process and insufficient foam.

The object of the invention is to provide a flotation tank which does not have the above-mentioned drawbacks, i.e. a tank which can be used in any position and regardless of the shaking or use which has just taken place.

The container according to the invention is characterized in that the interior of the container communicates with the outside air via a valve which allows air to flow only inwards into the container, and that the line is formed and the valve operates so that the flow of one of said substances from the container through the line is porous. to the member when the container is pressurized, while the flow of said second substance is directed directly from the interior of the container to the porous member.

In this case, the air enters the tank from the outside of the tank through said valve and does not have to pass through the porous member, so that foaming of the liquid inside the tank is prevented. When the container is compressed, the valve closes automatically instead, and both the liquid to be foamed and the air are forced through the porous member, whereby the desired formation of foam takes place.

When the container is held upright during compression, fluid flows through the conduit, while air flows directly through the porous member. When the tank is held upside down, liquid and air flow in reverse, but foam formation is equally effective.

According to the invention, it is preferred that the mouth of the line inside the container is surrounded by a bag which separates the two substances. The bag ensures that the flow of air through the line is not obstructed, even if the container is shaken.

The invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

Fig. 1 shows a longitudinal section of a foam dispensing container according to the invention, Fig. 2 shows the container of Fig. 1 when compressed in a vertical position, Fig. 3 shows a container of Fig. 1 when pressed upside down, Fig. 4 shows a longitudinal section of a foam dispensing container according to another embodiment of the invention; 4 containers when squeezed upside down.

Figure 1 schematically shows a flexible flotation container 12 having a porous member 14 and a tube 16, one end of which extends into the solution 18 to be frothed. The opposite end of the tube 16 extends through the porous member 14. In the embodiment shown, the tube is made of two parts 20 and 22 in order to simplify the manufacture, but of course the tube can also be one piece.

The portion of the tube 16 extending through the porous member 14 is provided with at least one opening 26 which opens into the porous member 14 and another opening 28 which opens into the outlet area 30 of the container 12 through the valve 24. The valve in this case is a ball 32 supported by a group of protrusions 34 on the inner surface of the tube 16. The valve regulates the flow of medium, either air or foamable solution, through either orifice 26 or orifice 28.

The operation of the flotation device 10 is best illustrated by means of Figures 2 and 3. Figure 1 shows the flotation device in a vertical position, bottom down. Compressing the container 10 forces the fluid to be foamed up along the tube 16. The ball 32 then rises, closing the opening 28. As a result, the solution 18 to be foamed is directed through the opening 26 to the porous member 14. At the same time, pressure forces air in the container from flowing from the top 36 to the porous member 14 where it mixes with the foamable solution 18. In this case, foam 38 is formed which discharges from the outlet area 30. After the pressure is released, i.e. after the fingers are removed or loosened, the ball 32 returns down against the protrusions 34, allowing air to flow into the container through the opening 28. This results in a fairly rapid return of the container to its original shape.

Figure 3 shows the flotation device 10 in an inverted position. The end of line 16, which previously extended to the solution 18 to be foamed, now extends into the air space above the solution. The porous member 14, which in Figure 2 was in contact with the air space above the solution 18 to be foamed, is now in direct contact with the solution to be foamed. Squeezing the tank forces air along line 16. The ball 32 lands, closing the opening 28, which causes air to pass through the opening 26 into the porous member and mix with the foamable solution 18, which is forced into the porous member 14. This generates foam 38 which flows out through the outlet area 30. Although the flow paths have been changed by inverting the container 10, the net result is the same, i.e., the mixture of air and foam solution under pressure in the porous member 14 produces uniform foam which flows out of the container regardless of the position of the container during use.

The valve required is such that it closes the line opening 28 which leads to the outlet of the container when the container is pressurized, regardless of the position of the container. In this case, a medium, either a solution to be foamed or air, is directed from the tube to the porous member through an opening at the porous member. In addition, the valve device must operate so that the opening 28 opens so that air can enter the tank when the compression is stopped. The preferred device is a ball 32 that operates as described and shown in Figures 1-3, but it is apparent that any valve device that operates as described is within the scope of the invention. A further advantage of the ball 32 is that the valve closes when the container is turned upside down.

The porous material can be any material having a plurality of tortuous channels to form a mixture of foamable solution and air. Although the porous member-forming material may be quite recyclable, a more or less incompressible or rigid material is more preferred so that the channels are not compressed. The non-compressible porous material may be a porous volcanic glass material, a sintered glass of the type used in filters, or an uncompressed plastic such as porous polyethylene, polypropylene, or the like.

For the best possible operation of the foam distributor, the porosity and / or rigidity of the porous member 1¾ is very important. The porous member receives air or foamable solution directly from the container, depending on the position of the container during compression. In this case, the porosity must be such that either air or liquid passes through the porous member at a uniform and as good a speed as possible, so that no or no leakage of the solution to be foamed occurs before compression with the container upside down. Rigid porous materials work more efficiently because they have no appreciable compression, which would tend to impair the passage of the medium, and in particular the solution to be foamed. In some cases, it may be desirable to make the porous member so as to provide the best possible foam yield in a particular position of the container. The porous member can best be made to form a foam, for example, when the solution to be foamed is forced through the porous member with the container upside down.

The tube 16 may be made of any suitable material that is resistant to the solution to be foamed, and the cross-sectional shape of the tube may be of any shape. It is preferred that the tube extends through the porous member, but it is clear that the device operates as described, although the tube does not extend completely through the porous member, as long as the distance between the mouth of the tube leading to the outlet area and the upper surface of the porous member is not so large that without suction into the tank is greatly prevented.

The container itself may likewise be made of any suitable material capable of containing the material to be foamed and the air. When the container is compressed by hand, a material that is flexible and elastic, such as many plastics currently known, is preferred.

Figures 4 and 5 show another embodiment, otherwise reminiscent of the devices shown in Figures 1-3, except that the liquid and air in the container are separated by a bag 116. The bag surrounds the wire 114 and is attached to it.

The operation of this foam dispenser is shown in Figure 5, which shows the container upside down and in which the container is manually compressed. The valve ball 124 abuts the opening 120, with air 126 from the bag being directed through the openings 118 to the porous member 112. The foam-forming solution 128 is in direct contact with the porous member 112. When the container is compressed, air is also compressed into the porous member at the same time as the solution. This produces foam 132.

When manual compression is stopped, the ball 124 disengages from the opening 120, allowing air to be drawn into the bag 116. This also occurs when the container is upside down.

The bag 116 serves to isolate air from the solution to be foamed. As a result, the pipe is not stained by the foam generated inside the tank. If the container is shaken before use, it will not block air supply through the tube. Foaming of the liquid inside the bottle would normally result in discontinuous and poor foaming.

Claims (2)

6 58300 The bag must be flexible to allow filling and emptying. Any substance that meets this requirement and is compatible with the solution to be foamed can be used as a bag substance. Most preferred is that the tube 114 extends inside the bag. This prevents any condensable liquid from entering the bag from the bag into the tube with the container upside down during foam formation. Such a liquid would otherwise tend to accumulate around the discharge opening when the bag is emptied. Note that the tank works in the same way even if the bag contains foamable liquid and the air is in the tank outside the bag. A foam dispensing device for a liquid and air to be foamed, the device having a flexible wall, a drain hole (30, 130) and a porous member (14, 112) separating the area of the drain hole from the interior of the container (12, 110), and a line (16, 114), communicating with the interior of the container and the porous member, characterized in that the interior of the container communicates with the outside air through a valve (24) which allows air to flow only inwards into the container and that the line (16, 114) is formed and operated, that the flow of one said substance from the interior of the container through the conduit is directed to the porous member when the container is pressurized, while the flow of the other said substance is directed directly from the interior of the container to the porous member. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the mouth of the line (114) in the interior of the container is surrounded by a bag (116) separating said two substances.