Abstract:
A dispenser for dispensing different quantities of chemical concentrate into a stream of fluid from a concentrate container wherein the container has a pressure relief vent, and the dispenser provides an air vent when it is operated. In a preferred manner, the dispenser and cap are integrally connected with the pressure relief vent located in the cap. The dispenser is capable of dispensing a wide variety of chemical products with minimal concern for the type of chemical product and pressures generated in the container.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS, IF ANY  
       [0001]     None.  
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
       [0002]     None.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     The field of the invention is dispensers for chemical concentrates, and particularly the dispensing of chemical concentrates, from a container, which can cause an increase in pressure in the container.  
         [0004]     Dispensers of the type concerned with in this invention are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,708,901, which teachings are incorporated herein. The dispensing apparatus disclosed in this patent can control the flow of carrier liquid and chemical product in a precise and controlled manner. However, there are instances where the chemical product which is stored in the container from which the chemical product is dispensed can cause an increase in pressure. If the contents of the container are not vented, a problem can arise.  
         [0005]     Vented type dispensers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,638,550 and No. 3,157,360. Venting systems for containers are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,602 and No. 6,196,409.  
         [0006]     The prior art does not provide a venting of excess pressure from a container which is employed in conjunction with a dispenser employing an eductor. Neither does the prior art provide such a venting of excess pressure from a dispenser which includes an air vent passage that is closed when the dispenser is not in operation.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     The present invention provides a dispenser for dispensing different quantities of chemical concentrate into a stream of fluid from a concentrate container at different flow rates. It includes a body member having a through bore with an inlet end adapted to be connected to a source of pressurized liquid at one end and an outlet at the opposite end. A product passage and a vent passage communicate with the through bore. An eductor is mounted in the through bore. A cap member is connected to the body member and a vent member is connected to the cap member.  
         [0008]     In a preferred embodiment, the vent member is gas pervious and liquid impervious.  
         [0009]     In one aspect, the vent passage is constructed and arranged to be in a closed position when the product passage is closed.  
         [0010]     In another aspect, the eductor is both slideable and rotatable, and the dispenser includes a trigger member constructed and arranged to slide the eductor and open the vent passage and includes a seal constructed and arranged to seal both the product passage and the vent passage.  
         [0011]     In another preferred embodiment, the eductor is composed of first and second parts, only one of which is rotatable and the first part of the eductor is rotatable and extends from the body member.  
         [0012]     In yet another preferred embodiment, a valve member is positioned in the through bore for regulating the flow or water through the through bore and the eductor.  
         [0013]     In yet another aspect, the dispenser includes a trigger member connected to the body member and eductor to cause slideable movement of the eductor with the trigger member including a latching mechanism and an essentially flat thumb engaging portion.  
         [0014]     A general object of certain embodiments of the invention is to provide a dispensing apparatus which can dispense a wide variety of chemical products.  
         [0015]     Another object of certain embodiments of the invention is to provide a dispenser in conjunction with a container wherein the container and the dispensing apparatus are vented.  
         [0016]     Still another object of certain embodiments of the invention is to provide a dispenser which is connected to a container wherein excess pressure in the container is vented.  
         [0017]     Yet another object of certain embodiments of the invention is to provide a combined dispenser and container which is economical to produce and is dispensable as well as recyclable.  
         [0018]     Yet another object of certain embodiments of the invention is to provide a dispenser which can effect a mixing of chemical and concentrate into a stream of water at different concentrations and dispense the mixed concentrate at controlled flow rates. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0019]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the dispenser of this invention in conjunction with a container;  
         [0020]      FIG. 2  is a view in side elevation of the dispenser shown in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0021]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of the dispenser shown in  FIG. 1  illustrating a vent;  
         [0022]      FIG. 4  is a bottom view of the dispenser shown in  FIG. 1  illustrating the vent as well as an air passage and the passage for a dip tube;  
         [0023]      FIG. 5  is an exploded view of the component parts of the dispenser;  
         [0024]      FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of the dispenser in a closed position;  
         [0025]      FIG. 7  is a view similar to  FIG. 4  showing the dispenser in a low flow condition;  
         [0026]      FIG. 8  is a view similar to  FIG. 4  showing the dispenser in a high flow condition;  
         [0027]      FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view illustrating an indexing of an eductor in the dispenser;  
         [0028]      FIG. 10  is a fragmentary view of the dispenser housing illustrating the eductor contact surfaces for limiting the movement thereof;  
         [0029]      FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional view of the dilution adjustment member utilized in the dispenser; and  
         [0030]      FIG. 12  is a cross-sectional view of a component of a flow control device employed in the dispenser. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0031]     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the dispenser generally  10  has a body member  12  with a container connector  14  for connection to a container or bottle  16 . A preferred connector system is more fully described in commonly owned patent application U.S. Ser. No. 10/037,569 filed Nov. 9, 2001 which teachings are incorporated herein by reference. At one end of the body member  12  is a hose attachment  18  for supplying pressurized water to the dispenser. A handle  17  is provided below attachment  18 . At the other end there is the spout  22  and a nozzle  20  for dispensing a mixed chemical solution. A flexible tube  15  extends between nozzle  20  and spout  22 .  
         [0032]     As seen in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , there is a nipple  6  which provides connection to a dip tube  19  and an air or vent passage  25 . The purpose of these is described later. There is also a vent member  7  which is of the liquid impervious but gas pervious type. It is available from W.L. Gore &amp; Associates GmbH. The purpose is to allow gas to escape from container  16  when it is filled with a disinfectant cleaner which contains hydrogen peroxide. Oxygen gas can evolve and cause a problem with undesired expansion of the container  16 . In the instance where chlorine bleach is employed, the evolved gas would be chlorine. Vent member  7  with the micro-porous member  9  is press fitted into the body member  12  by means of collar  5 . Vent passageway  7   a  exits to the outside of body member  12  between the ribs  35  as indicated in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0033]     As stated previously, the container connector  14  for connecting the body member  12  to the container  16  is more fully described in patent application U.S. Ser. No. 10/037,569. It includes a fastening member  3  with threads  4  for connection to the threads  2  on the bottle neck  1 . A gasket  8  is preferably placed between the top of the bottle neck  1  and the body member  12 .  
         [0034]     Referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the dispenser  10  includes an eductor generally  11  composed of the first or outer eductor part  24  with a diverging passage  24   a  and an inner second eductor part  26  with a converging passage  26   a . They are slideably connected in body member  12  with seals  52  and  56  providing a fluid tight contact. A valve assembly  28  for controlling the flow of water through the dispenser  10  is also slideably housed in body member  12  and is in contact with eductor part  26 . The hose attachment  18  is rotatably connected to body member  12  by the snap fitment  34 . A back flow preventer  30  is positioned in hose attachment  18  and has a seal  32  for contact with body member  12 . At the opposite end of body member  12 , the nozzle  20  is attached to eductor part  24 .  
         [0035]     An annular groove  36  is provided in the eductor part  24  and accommodates a head portion  38  of the trigger  40  with flange portions such as shown at  42  on the trigger  40  having shafts (not shown) for extending into bores such as  44 . A latch member  46  extends upwardly from the member  12  for fitment through the passage  48  of the trigger  40 .  
         [0036]     A dilution adjustment member  50  is connected to the eductor part  24  by means of the splines  47 . This is shown in  FIG. 11 . It has L-shaped passages  90 - 94  for introducing chemical concentrate into the gap  27  between eductor parts  24  and  26 . These passages  90 - 94  have different diameters or widths for metering different concentrations of chemical concentrate. In some instances there are no passages to provide a rinse function. A dip tube  19  is connected to body member  12  and extends into container  16  for siphoning chemical concentrate into the bore  13  of body member  12  by way of passage  21 . The nipple  19  depicted in  FIG. 3  is not shown in  FIGS. 4-8 , nor is the gasket  8 . A seal member  23  is placed between dilution adjustment member  50  and body member  12 . A vent passage  25  connects container  16  and bore  13 . The adjustment member  50  is positioned inside eductor  26 . A spring  54  biases eductor part  26  as well as eductor part  24  toward the head portion  38  of trigger  40 .  
         [0037]     A quad O-ring  60  is attached in groove  57  of valve head portion  58 . It serves as a flow control element as later explained. A valve member  28  with passages  33  has a head portion  58  with groove  59 . A seal  66  is seated in groove  59  of head portion  58  and another seal  64  is placed on collar  62 . A gasket  67  is provided for cap  68  and a hose seal is provided at  69 .  
         [0038]     Referring to  FIG. 10 , it is seen that body member  12  has a surface  79  for contact with contact member  29  of eductor  24  as well as a grooves  81  and  82  for the purpose of linearly positioning the eductors  24  and  26  and accordingly valve assembly when trigger  40  is depressed. A keyway  70  is disposed in body member  12  for accommodating a key member  76  (see  FIG. 11 ) in eductor part  26  for allowing sliding but non-rotatable connection in body member  12 . A second opposing keyway  80  is also disposed in body member  12  in conjunction with key member  84 .  
         [0039]     Referring to  FIG. 9 , there is shown the eductor  24  with notches  77 . These accommodate the projections  75  on arms  72  and  73  extending from body member  12 . This provides an indexing function in conjunction with the orientation of dilution adjustment member  50  and passage  21 .  
       Operation  
       [0040]     A better understanding of the dispenser will be had by a description of its operation. Referring to  FIG. 6 , the dispenser is shown in a closed position. A source of pressurized water, such as a hose, will have been connected to hose attachment  18 . In this instance, seal  66  on valve head  58  is seated against collar  62  and seal  64  against valve seat portion  65 . Accordingly, no water can pass between these two components and into bore  13 . This sealing effect is assisted by the flow of water in through the attachment  18 , against the valve components  58  and  62 . The spring  54  and force of water also positions the head  31  of eductor part  24  away from body contact surface  79 .  
         [0041]     Referring now to  FIG. 7 , trigger  40  has been moved toward body member  12  with the result that eductor head  31  is contacting surface  79  of body member  12 . Valve portion  58  has moved toward the attachment  18  and seal  66  no longer engages collar  62 . In this position, water can flow between the two component parts as there are grooves  63  placed in the collar  62  to allow such flow into bore  13 . This is a low flow condition. In this position, the quad O-ring  60  serves as a flow control element, in that, with increased pressure and flow of water, the ring will expand and partially fill the grooves  63 . This maintains a consistent flow rate despite variations in the pressure of the inlet water supply. Water can then pass through passages  33  and into passage  26   a  of eductor part  26 .  
         [0042]     In order to initiate a high flow condition, the trigger  40  is moved further toward body member  12 . This is shown in  FIG. 8 . In this position, not only has seal  66  moved away from collar  62 , but collar  62  also has moved away from valve seat portion  65 . In this position, water cannot only flow from between head portion  58  and the grooves  63  in the collar  62 , but also between the collar  62  and the valve seat portion  65 . It should be pointed out that in this high flow position, trigger  40  can now become engaged with latch  46  if desired so that it can be held in the high flow condition. Referring again to  FIG. 10 , the contact member  29  of eductor part  24  will now engage the grooves such as  81  or  82  so as to allow the eductor parts  26  and  24  to be moved further inwardly into the body  12 .  
         [0043]     During the previously described flow conditions through the dispenser  10  such as when in the high or low flow condition, the concentrate will be drawn upwardly from the container  16  such as through the dip tube  19 . However, as noted previously in  FIG. 6 , there is a seal member  23  positioned over the passage  21  so that no product can be drawn up from the container  16 . At the same time, seal  23  also closes vent passage  25 . As seen in both  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the seal member  23  has moved away from both the product and vent passages  21  and  25 , respectively. In this position, drawn product is allowed to enter into one of the five passages  90 ,  91 ,  92 ,  93  and  94  of dilution adjustment member  50  as seen in  FIG. 10 . Concentrate is thereby siphoned into gap  27  and mixed with water flowing through passage  26   a  and  24   a . A reduced pressure is caused by the water converging in passage  26   a  and diverging in passage  24   a.    
         [0044]     The orientation of the various passages  90 - 94  with the opening  23   a  in seal  23  is facilitated by the indexing shown in  FIG. 9 .  
         [0045]     The mixed solution will then exit through nozzle  20 , down through the tube  15  positioned in the spout  22 . Tube  15  in this instance is flexible so as to allow the eductor  24  to move inwardly and outwardly from the body member  12 . With product passing through tube  15  and spout  22 , this is the position which is utilized when filling a bucket or a bottle. As previously described a low flow condition would be utilized for filling a bottle while the high flow condition would be utilized to fill a large vessel such as a bucket. The spout  22  provides for the dispenser to be hung on a bucket. If desired, a hose (not shown) can be connected to spout  22  for filling purposes such as a “scrubber washer” or when the dispenser is mounted to a wall. Dispenser  10  can easily be converted to a spray unit by the replacement of the nozzle  20  and the attachment of a conventional spray head (not shown). Also stated previously, the concentration of the solution can be easily adjusted by the rotation of the eductor  24  in conjunction with the dilution adjustment member  50 . The low and high flow condition in combination with the dilution adjustment member obviates the use of multiple dispenser heads.  
         [0046]     It will thus be seen that there is now provided a very versatile dispenser which can be utilized in not only a high and a low flow condition but also can be adjusted to vary the concentration of mixed solution. The dispenser  10  is produced economically so that once it is captively connected to a container, it is disposable.  
         [0047]     It will also be seen that a good hand feel is provided by dispenser  10 . This is accomplished by placement of the handle  17  beneath body member  12  and outwardly from trigger  40  to allow placement of a thumb on trigger  40 .  
         [0048]     It will be seen that there is now provided a very versatile dispenser  10  which can be utilized with both chemical concentrates which produce pressure build up in the container  16  and those that do not. Any excess pressures are relieved through the vent member  7 . It should be noted that vent  7  is always in a gas open position even though the air vent passage  25  is closed as seen in  FIG. 6 . The dispenser can also be utilized not only in a high and low flow condition, but also can be adjusted to vary the concentration of mixed solution. The dispenser  10  is produced economically so that once it is captively connected to a container, it is disposable and/or recyclable. As indicated in the drawings, most of the components are composed of a molded plastic with polypropylene being preferred. This affords a living hinge feature for latch member  46  in trigger passage  48 .  
         [0049]     The dispenser  10  with the venting feature has been described in conjunction with the dispenser described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,708,901. This venting feature is also operable with the “Improved Multiple Function Dispenser” described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/658,496 filed Sep. 9, 2003.  
         [0050]     The dispenser  10  has been preferably described in conjunction with a latching feature for the trigger  40 . It is obvious that this is not an essential feature that can be eliminated. Neither is it essential that a back flow preventer be employed in the unit itself. This could be accomplished upstream in a supply line. Further, while the spout  22  offers the advantage of a hose attachment such as with the barbs  100 , this could be eliminated although it does further offer the advantage of a bucket attachment. Neither is it essential that the container connector  14  provides a captive use of the dispenser with the container. The dispenser  10  could be utilized with a refillable container. While dilution adjustment member  50  has been shown to have five passages, the number can vary from a single passage to as many as can be practically manufactured. In some instances, it may be desirable to limit the dispenser for flow through a single passageway. This could be accomplished by placement of a pin through body member  12  and a groove in eductor part  24 . All such and other modifications within the spirit of the invention are meant to be within a scope as defined by the appended claims.