Child-resistant latch for trigger sprayer

Abstract: The invention discloses a removable latch means (19) for use with a trigger actuated pump sprayer (10), the sprayer having a pump body (13) which includes a pump cylinder (18), a pump piston reciprocable within said cylinder (18) for therewith defining a variable volume pump chamber, a trigger lever (16) pivotally mounted on said pump body (13) and having tongue means (17) engageable with said piston for reciprocation thereof upon manual trigger actuation. Such latch means achieves the object to enable rendering a sprayer childresitant by a body with a body portion (21) extending between an underside (20) of said lever (16) and a confronting portion of said pump body (13) in abutting engagement therewith for preventing trigger actuation, said body having a spring biased clamp (24) integrally with said body portion (21) and engaging said tongue means (17) for removably securing said latch means to the sprayer (10). Tne invention further discloses a pump sprayer rendered child-proof latch means (19) removably engaged therewith, thus preventing trigger actuation by acting as an obstacle against trigger actuation.

Description: This invention relates to a removable latch means for use with a trigger actuated pump sprayer according to the precharacterizing part of claim 1. This invention further relates to a pump sprayer according to the precharacterizing part of claim 10. As the use of trigger actuated pump sprayers become more widespread, the need arises to provide a simple and economical yet effective lock for immobilizing trigger actuation to render the dispensing package child-resistant especially when dispensing toxic liquids such as oven cleaners, and dispensing poisonous products such as insecticides. It is desirable to render such trigger sprayer child-resistant by requiring at least two different unlocking operations. Designs are known for locking the pump into an inoperative position, the unlocking requiring a two-step process incapable of being readily carried out by the child. Many of these child-resistant devices for trigger sprayers, however, require a retooling of one or more parts of the sprayer to accomodate the lock, which is capital intensive. Besides, the redesigned part or parts of the sprayer to accomodate the child-resistant lock could result in added assembly costs. EP-B-0,484,002 shows a trigger sprayer for mounting to the neck of a container containing a fluid to be dispensed through actuation of a trigger. US-A-4,441,633 shows a locking device for a child resistant trigger pump. The elongate device is snap fitted by a slotted ring element to a container closure on the body, and by a projecting arm on the opposite side of the ring element disposed in alignement with the trigger for locking the pump by preventing trigger actuation. Rotation of the locking device about the axis of the ring moves its arm out of alignment with the trigger and renders the trigger actuable. US-A-4,558,821 teaches two different embodiments of trigger operated sprayers. In a first embodiment, it is possible to latch a trigger with a pump body by bringing into engagement an end of a support member integrally attached to a lower end portion of the sprayer body with a projection of the trigger. In a second embodiment, latching is effected by a support member which can be snapped either with a trigger in a locking configuration or with a recess in a non-locking configuration. US-A-4,946,074 teaches a cross-shaped safety means removable from the pump head, which can be brought in a locking configuration by abutting the ends of an elongate portion against the rear side of a trigger and of a confronting pump body, while a projecting wing abuts against a tongue of the trigger and the opposing wing serves as pull tab. A weakening in the elongate portion allows safety means to bend when being pulled. The safety means is mainly supported by an inwardly extending detent. It is the object of the invention to provide a removable latch means according to the precharacterizing part of claim 1 that enables to safely latch the trigger with the pump body as well as being easily removable and reinstallable, and to provide a pump sprayer according to the precharacterizing part of claim 10 that is child-resistant in a convenient manner. This object is achieved by the features of the characterizing clause of claim 1 and of claim 10, respectively. The removable latch means prevents trigger actuation by acting like a brace against trigger pull. It can be selectively added to sprayers of dangerous products, thus enabling the sprayer to be provided with a means for rendering a sprayer child-proof even when already purchased. On the other hand, customers that do not have a need for child-resistant sprayers can remove the latch like a clamp to subsequently keep the sprayer in permanent condition of readiness for use. Preferably the latch means is made of molded plastic wich is of low cost and allows to manufacture the latch in a unitary construction. The body portion may be in the form of a flat plate having opposed bearing flanges abutting against the pump body and the underside of the trigger lever. The spring biased clamp may be in the form of a pair of lever arms respectively located on opposite sides of the latch body portion, resilient bridge members interconnecting the arms with the body portion between opposite ends of the arms, and the lever arms defining opposing jaws on one side of the bridge members for engaging the tongue. The lever arms define opposing handles which when pressed together force the jaws to open. The jaws may have detents at the free end thereof for engaging the tongue of the lever, and the body portion of the clamp may have a projection extending into abutting engagement with an underside of the tongue for stabilizing the clamp when in place. The pump sprayer provided with a latch means according to the invention is child-resistant in that a two-step mechanism is required to allow dispersing the fluid, thus avoiding nuisible dispersion when such pump sprayer is handled by a child. An embodiment of the invention will subsequently be described in more detail with reference to the appended drawings. Fig. 1 shows a side elevational view, partly in section, of a trigger sprayer provided with the present invention. Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the latch means according to the invention. Fig. 3 shows a sectional view taken substantially along line 3-3 of Fig. 1. Turning now to the drawings wherein like reference characters refer to like and corresponding parts throughout the several views, a trigger actuated sprayer of known construction, generally designated 10 in Fig. 1, has a closure 11 for mounting the sprayer to the neck of a container 12 of the product to be sprayed. The trigger sprayer may be structured for operation, e.g. essentially the same as in EP-B-0 484 002. The sprayer includes a pump body 13 to which the closure is rotatably mounted, the pump body being surrounded by a shroud 14 and having a nozzle cap 15 rotatable about its nozzle end (not shown), the nozzle cap having a discharge orifice (not shown) through which liquid product is pumped from the container. Pumping is effected by the provision of a trigger lever 16 pivotally mounted to the pump body in some normal manner, the lever having a tongue or tup 17 which engages the pump piston, more clearly shown in aforementioned EP-B-0 484 002, for reciprocating the same within pump cylinder 18 to therewith define a variable volume pump chamber (not shown). The removable latch according to the invention, generally designated 19, is installed in place in Fig. 1 for locking the trigger lever against actuation and for rendering the sprayer child-resistant, and is shown in more detail in perspective in Fig. 2. Latch 19 has a body of plastic molded unitary construction comprising a body portion 21 which may be in the form of a flat plate 21 which, as shown in Fig. 1, extends between underside 20 of the trigger lever and a confronting portion of the pump body such as cylinder 18. Plate 21 has a forward flange 22 integrally molded therewith and complementary in shape with that of underside 20 of the lever. Plate 21 also has an integrally molded rear flange 23 complementary in slope to that of the end edge of pump cylinder 18. In the locked position of the trigger of Fig. 1, flanges 22 and 23 are in abutting engagement with the underside of the trigger lever and with the outer edge of the pump cylinder. The flanges may help to stabilize the latch while in place, and further act similar to guide rails for easier positioning of the latch 19. According to the invention, the latch is removably secured to tongue 17 by the provision of an integrally molded spring biased clamp 24. It should be pointed out that tongue 17 is typically structured as having a pair of opposing triangular shaped side walls 25 and an intervening web 26. The tips of side walls 25 bear against the outer edge the pump piston, and the web 26 typically extends slightly into the hollow piston for stabilizing this abutting engagement. The spring-biased clamp 24 may be in the form of a pair of lever arms 27, 28 respectively located on opposite sides of body portion 21, resilient bridge members 29 interconnecting the arms with portion 21 between opposite ends of the arms. The levers define opposing jaws 31, 32 which may have detents 33 at the free ends thereof for engaging tongue 17 at the upper edges of side walls 25 (see Fig. 3). The detents, as more clearly shown in Fig. 2, have sloping inner edges complementary to that of the sloping edges of side walls 25. Furthermore, the lever arms define opposing handles 34 located on the side of the bridge members opposite the side at which the jaws are located. Also, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, plate 21 has a projection or extension 35 lying in the same plane and extending into abutting engagement with the underside of web 26 when the latch is assembled in place. In the assembled condition, the jaws 31, 32 resiliently engage side walls 25 of the tongue, while the detents 33 engage the upper edges of the side walls 25, and projection 35 abuts against the underside of web 26 of the tongue. And, flanges 22 and 23 respectively bear against the underside of the trigger lever and the outer edge of the pump cylinder, such that the latch according to the invention is stabilized when latched in place and functions to prevent trigger actuation. Projection 35 and flanges 22, 23 cooperate to stiffen the latch 19 to resist deforming or slipping, even if a greater force is applied to the lever, e.g. by a child. To unlock the trigger, handles 34 are pressed together by applying a finger force in the direction of the arrows shown in Fig. 3. The resilient bridge members 29 act as fulcrums permitting jaws 31 and 32 to open by spreading apart, as shown in phantom outline in Fig. 3. Detents 33 of the jaws therefore disengage from side walls 25 of the tongue permitting latch 19 to be pulled downwardly away from the pump sprayer while continuing to apply inward finger pressure against handles 34. The latch according to the invention is of plastic molded one-piece construction which is easy and economical to manufacture. And, the latch, being removable, is adaptable for use with a standard trigger sprayer without the need to redesign any parts thereof to accomodate the latch. The modifications and variations of the present invention that a skilled person would consider to make in the light of the above embodiment and teachings, e.g. modification in materials, shape, dimensions, proportions or use, should be understood to be comprised in the disclosure of the invention as specifically described.

Claims: A removable latch means for use with a trigger actuated pump sprayer (10), the sprayer having a pump body (13) which includes a pump cylinder (18), a pump piston reciprocable within said cylinder (18) for therewith defining a variable volume pump chamber, a trigger lever (16) pivotally mounted on said pump body (13) and having tongue means (17) engageable with said piston for reciprocation thereof upon manual trigger actuation, said latch means comprising a body with a body portion (21) extending between an underside (20) of said lever (16) and a confronting portion of said pump body (13) in abutting engagement therewith for preventing trigger actuation, said body having a spring biased clamp (24) integrally with said body portion (21) for removably securing said latch means to the sprayer (10), characterized in that said body portion (21) comprises opposed bearing flanges (22, 23) for lying in abutting engagement with said underside (20) of said lever (16) and with said confronting portion of said pump body (13) when said latch means is secured to the sprayer (10), that said spring biased clamp (24) is capable of engaging said tongue means (17) of said lever (16), and that said spring biased clamp (24) protrudes from said body portion (21) spaced apart from said flanges (22, 23). The latch means according to claim 1, wherein said body portion comprises a flat plate lying substantially perpendicular to said flanges (22, 23). The latch means according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said spring biased clamp (24) comprises a pair of lever arms (27, 28) respectively on opposing sides of said body portion (21), resilient bridge members (29) interconnecting said arms (27, 28) with said body portion (21) between opposite ends of said arms (27, 28), said lever arms (27, 28) defining opposing jaws (31, 32) on one side of said bridge members (29) for engaging said tongue means (17), and said lever arms (27, 28) defining opposing handles (34) on a side of said bridge members (29) opposite said one side, said handles (34) when pressed together forcing said jaws (31, 32) to open. The latch means according to claim 2, wherein said spring biased clamp (24) comprises a pair of lever arms (27, 28) respectively on opposing sides of said plate, resilient bridge members (29) interconnecting said arms (27, 28) with said plate between opposite ends of said arms (27, 28), said lever arms (27, 28) defining opposing jaws (31, 32) on one side of said bridge members (29) for engaging said tongue means (17), and said lever arms (27, 28) defining opposing handles (34) on a side of said bridge members (29) opposite said one side, said handles (34) when pressed together forcing said jaws (31, 32) to open. The latch means according to claim 4, wherein said lever arms (27, 28) lie substantially parallel to said plate, said bridge members (29) extending perpendicular to said plate, and said jaws (31, 32) having detents (33) for engaging the tongue means (17). The latch means according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said clamp (24) includes jaws (31, 32) on opposing sides of said body portion (21), said jaws (31, 32) having detents engaging said tongue means (17). The latch means according to claim 6, wherein said clamp (24) further includes handles (34) integral with said jaws (31, 32), said handles (34) operating to open said jaws (31, 32) when pressed together. The latch means according to claim 6, wherein said body portion (21) has a projection (35) extending into abutting engagement with an underside of said tongue means (17) as said detents (33) engage said tongue means (17). The latch means according to one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the body is plastic molded and of unitary construction. Pump sprayer, having a pump body (13) which includes a pump cylinder (18), a pump piston reciprocable within said cylinder (18) for therewith defining a variable volume pump chamber, a trigger lever (16) pivotally mounted on said pump body (13) and having tongue means (17) engageable with said piston for reciprocation thereof upon manual trigger actuation, characterized by a latch means (19) according to one of claims 1 to 9 being removably engaged therewith, thus preventing trigger actuation by acting as an obstacle against trigger actuation.

Inventors: BLAUERT KARL-HEINZ, VOLLMERHAUS ARNO, BLAUERT, KARL-HEINZ, VOLLMERHAUS, ARNO
Applicants: CALMAR ALBERT GMBH, CALMAR-ALBERT GMBH
Application year: 1996
Main classification: B05B11
IPC codes: B05B11