Abstract:
A dispenser ( 1 ) is provided for unlocking the stroke with two first and second handles ( 44, 45 ) configured separate from the actuator handle ( 5 ) for actuating the pump stroke. For unlocking, the first handle ( 44 ) firstly needs to be actuated in a first release direction ( 46 ). Thereafter only an actuation in a second release direction ( 47 ) is possible with the second handle ( 45 ). It is not until after this second actuation that an unlocked position is attained, which permits implementation of the pump stroke. For the second motion ( 47 ) a restrain drag ( 43 ) is furthermore provided which can only be defeated by increasing the associated actuating force.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The invention relates to a media dispenser comprising an actuator which communicates a driving force for controlling a function. For this purpose the actuator needs to be set in motion, namely by introducing a specific force for unlocking it.  
           [0002]    The actuating force and the release force, where necessary codirectional, may be introduced manually or by drive means, such as a spring. With the actuator or the release means a stroke, such as a rotating or linear stroke, is also to be effected. The stroke may be a control movement for a valve and/or a driving movement for pressurizing the medium and also for other functions.  
           [0003]    To ensure that the actuator cannot be moved accidentally in initiating the associated function, it is attempted to hamper and drag actuation positively or non-positively. For example, specific movement sequences or force inputs may be employed for this purpose. It is often the case that children or other unauthorized persons must not be able to actuate delivery or other functions of the dispenser.  
         OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    An object of this invention is to provide a dispenser by which disadvantages of known configurations are avoided. Another object is to enable that one or more differing actuator impressions can be adequately hampered to restrict the circle of users. Still further objects are to achieve that the dispenser is compact, uncomplicated to handle and easy to assemble.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    According to the invention the actuator is assigned means which in or for setting them in motion require a sequence of motions to translate the actuator from one position into another and to unlock it thereby. Although these motions may be oriented parallel or codirectional, they differ expediently from each other or from the stroke direction, however, so that in the absence of a particular manipulation skill or sufficient force no unlocking is possible. Release may be reversible or non-reversible, depending on whether a return into the locked position is provided or not.  
           [0006]    It is particular expedient when the unlocking means are provided for releasing a positive lock. In the case of a non-positive lock it is expedient for its release that a first unlocking motion, followed by a second unlocking motion and in conclusion an actuating motion needs to be executed via the stroke. Each of the motions may be a pivoting, rotary or linear motion. Each of the motions has a direction departing from the two other motions, e.g. a radial direction, a rotary direction or a linear direction parallel to the associated rotational axis.  
           [0007]    Due to the configuration in accordance with the invention it is possible to provide on one of the two units to be interlocked a locking element having separate first and second locking members spaced from each other and thus blocking the two unlocking motions independent of each other and counter the associated directions. If one of these locking members is released the other remains locking nevertheless. Only after the first locking member and the associated counter member have been disengaged and then moved away from each other sufficiently also the lock for the second locking member is released, after which the actuator can be moved via the stroke.  
           [0008]    Irrespective of the positive lock as described, e.g. in a locking action solely by changing mechanical resistances during the stroke or when the locking action is provided by only one of the cited positively acting locking members, it is also of advantage to provide a support body comprising two walls or shells freely protruding counter the stroke direction. Between these support body walls a protuberance or shell, particularly the locking element of the first unit, can be moved. The protuberance is surrounded by the outer support shell in every position, an end wall in the shape of a flat ring being provided for this purpose on the outer support shell. The two shells may be integral or composed of separate components, it being particular the outer shell of the support body that consists of two layers. With this support body the casing of a valve or pump can be firmly secured to a support suitable as a helve to be enclosed by the users hand on discharging the medium and possibly being a bottle or some other hollow body. The width or radial extent of the support is larger than that of the dispenser or each of its units.  
           [0009]    The aspects in accordance with the invention are suitable for both a reversible stroke actuation and for a once-only stroke actuation with no return stroke or a return stroke significantly shorter than the actuating stroke. In the first case the start or rest position is reattained on the return stroke and medium primed into a metering chamber of the receptacle. In the second case the metering housing contains the complete volume of medium stored so that the reservoir and the pump chamber are formed by the same space. The medium can flow through an actuator plunger to the medium outlet or the same as in a hypodermic syringe emerge directly from the cylinder opposite the plunger, the cylinder then forming the medium outlet.  
           [0010]    The features of the invention also read from the description and the drawings and may represent advantageous aspects patentable in their own right. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]    Example embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail in the following and illustrated in the drawings in which:  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a partial section view of the dispenser in accordance with the invention in the rest position,  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is a cross-section through the dispenser as shown in FIG. 1, and  
         [0014]    [0014]FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a further aspect as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0015]    The dispenser  1  is made of plastics or injection-molded parts and is devised for being held and actuated simultaneously single-handedly. It has two units  2 ,  3 , namely the actuator unit  2  as the first unit and the supporting unit  3  as the second unit. Unit  2  comprises at a cap-shaped head  50 , the medium outlet  4  open to the atmosphere as well as a handle or pressure face  5  and an outlet duct  6  porting into medium outlet  4 . Outlet duct  6  traverses a stud or fastener  7  for axial assembly on a ram. Stud  7  is spacedly surrounded by a wall, a protuberance or an outermost head shell  8  of head. Shell  8  translates at its outermost end into an end wall  9  of head  50 . Protruding beyond shell  8  radial outwards is solely outlet  4 . Parts  5  or  7  to  9  are formed by the one-part head  50  which also bounds outlet  4  and duct  6 .  
         [0016]    All components are located in the center axis  10  of the dispenser  1  to which axis  11  of outlet  4  is oriented transverse or at right angles. The stroke  14 , serving discharge of the medium and to be driven by finger pressure against handle  5 , is oriented parallel to axis  10  in direction  12  whilst the return stroke is in the opposite direction  13 . On the stroke the unit  2  travels into unit  3  and the dispenser  1  is shortened. The dispenser  1  with unit  3  is fixedly secured to a support  15 , such as a reservoir bottle of glass, and includes one or more pumps  16 . The casing  17  of the medium pump  16  protrudes into support  15  against which it is tensioned together with unit  3 . Shiftingly mounted in casing  17  is a valve or piston unit  18  slideable in directions  12 ,  13 . The ram  19  of unit  18  protrudes from the casing  17  and is fixedly secured in stud  7 . Provided in casing  17  are valves, such as an inlet valve for filling the pump, respectively an outlet valve for discharging the medium into the outlet duct  6 . Both valve bodies of the outlet valve may be arranged on unit  18  through which the medium flows from the metering or pump chamber into duct  6 .  
         [0017]    Unit  3  includes for its fastening to support  15  a cap-shaped support body  20  with an outermost shell or first support body wall  21  and three inner shells  22 ,  23 ,  24  which also form support body walls. Wall  21  protrudes beyond the remaining walls  22  to  24  in both directions  12 ,  13  and is maximally 1.5 mm thick. The innermost wall  22  centers casing  17  with axis  10 . Wall  22  is surrounded over its full length and with radial spacing by shell  23  which adjoins the inner circumferential face of wall  21  or is minimally spaced away therefrom by a gap. Shell  23  protrudes in direction  13  slightly beyond wall  22 . Both walls  22 ,  23  connect in direction  12  to shell  24  which is comparitively thicker. Shell  24  has the same outer width as shell  23  and has an inner width which is at least as large as or larger than the outer width of wall  22 .  
         [0018]    Wall  22  has at the inner circumference and spaced from shell  24  a shoulder  25  which tensions casing  17  axially against support  15 . The free end of shell  24  forms an end face or shoulder  26  transversely adjoining the inner circumference of wall  21  and eventually supporting against a counter face of support  15 . At its inner circumference shell  24  comprises a fastener  27 , such as a thread, a radially resilient snapper, or the like, by which support body  20  engages support  15  positively locked against being pulled off. Walls  21  to  24  are formed by separate components  28 ,  29 , namely wall  21  by the one-part component  28  and walls  22  to  24  by the one-part component  29 . Head shell  8  permanently engages between walls  21 ,  23  and  22  and is axially spaced from shell  24  at the stroke end.  
         [0019]    To unlock unit  2  for stroke actuation, motions differing in or increasing in resistance may be employed sequentially in direction  12  as may be produced by a return spring. It is particularly advantageous, however, when unlocking means  30  are provided for a positively acting lock  31 . Means  30  comprise manual release means  32  for releasing lock  31 . Lock  31  comprises a locking element  33  on unit  2  and a counter element  34  on unit  3 . Locking element  33  is in one part with head  50 , namely provided exclusively on shell  8 . Counter element  34  is in one part with support body  20  and formed by walls  21 ,  22  which like the entire support body  20  could be in one part. Locking element  33  has two axially and radially staggered first and second locking members  35 ,  37 . Counter element  34  has correspondingly staggered first and second counter members  36 ,  38 .  
         [0020]    First locking member  35  is an opening in shell  8  and first counter member  36  is a cam engaging member  35  with zero clearance or by a clamping action. Second locking member  37  is an axial cam, rib, key or web on the inner circumference of shell  8  and second counter member  38  is an end face. Member  35  has two locking faces  39  facing each other and providing flanks of the opening. The flanks converge at an acute angle toward axis  10 . Second locking face  40  is the end face of member  37 . Locking faces  39 ,  40  are positionally fixed relative to each other and the associated faces of counter members  36 ,  38  are movable relative to each other only transverse to axis  10 . It is, however, also conceivable to manually rotate counter members  36  with wall  21  relative to second counter member  38  and walls  22  to  24 .  
         [0021]    Counter member  38  forms on a ring sector of less than 80°, 90° or 45° an annular face  41  providing the counter face or counter shoulder. Face  41  adjoins the outer circumference of wall  22  and is set back from the free end face thereof. Thus an outer circumferential face of wall  22  protrudes transversely beyond face  41 . At both ends of the circumference this circumferential face translates transversely into abutting faces for the flanks of member  37 . Furthermore, face  41  adjoins the end of a slide rail  42  or groove, the one flank of which forms the one abutting face. Rail  42 —as evident in FIG. 3—is provided on the outer circumference of wall  22  and is spaced from shoulder  25  in direction  13 . As soon as member  37  engages inside rail  42  the head  50  is positively and without motion play prevented from rotating relative to each of parts  17 ,  20  to  29  of unit  3 . The inner circumference of shell  8  is then closely guided on the outer circumference of wall  22 .  
         [0022]    In rest position the locking face  40  is supported by face  41  with zero clearance whilst the flanks of member  37  contact the abutting face remote from rail  42 . First counter member  36  engages inside first locking member  35  with zero clearance about axis  10  and in a light clamping fit. When member  36  is moved radially outwards in a first manual motion in first release direction  46  the associated lock is released. Thus head  50  is free to rotate relative to the support body in the second release direction  47  of the second manual motion in a mode that member  37  reaches a position covering rail  42  when it is in contact with the other abutting face. It is not until then, at the end of the second manual motion, that head  50  is able to be shifted in direction  12  relative to unit  3  over stroke  14  in direction  12 . After a first angle of rotation the rotational motion  47  is hampered by a catch or restrain drag  43  formed by a jut of the circumferential face adjoining face  41  transversely. The cam jut extends up to rail  42 . The radially inner edge face of member  37  slides with increased friction on this jut. This edge face supports with enhanced radial tension against the circumferential face of the jut due to resilient widening of shell  8 .  
         [0023]    Provided for the two individual locks are separate handles  44 ,  45 . First handle  44  is provided on unit  3 , namely on support body  20  or wall  21 . Handle  44  and wall  21  are commonly in one part. Second handle  45  is provided on unit  2  or on head  50 , namely formed by the outer circumference thereof at a location where head  50  is freely exposed alongside handle  44  or axially adjacent to handle  44 . Handle  44  extends about axis  10  over a partial angle of max. 70°, is a plate perpendicularly transverse to axis  10  and connects to an annular end wall  48  of wall  21  via a shell sector  49 . Sector  49  is radially offset inwards relative to shell  21  and extends over the same angle as handle  44 . The disk shaped end wall  48  directly connects circumferentially, entirely, directly and thus substantially dust-tight to the outer circumference of shell  8 ; this applying likewise to the connection of shell  8  with wall  22 .  
         [0024]    Jutting from the inner circumference is shell sector  49 . Sector  49  likewise closely surrounds the outer circumference of shell  8  with its full length and thus totally conceales members  36 ,  35  from the exterior. Correspondingly members  37 ,  38  are dust-tightly covered toward the outside by wall  21 . Members  35 ,  36  are located in the middle of the length of shell  8 . Thus handle  44  is located axially directly adjacent to a stud  51  protruding radially beyond shell  8 . The end of stud  51  includes medium outlet  4 . Stud  51  is indicated in FIG. 2 dot-dashed in two rotational positions. As evident from FIG. 2 members  35 ,  37  are mutually spaced about axis  10  by an arc angle smaller or greater than 90° by 30°. The axial spacing between locking faces  39 ,  40  is greater than stroke  14 . Shell  8  contacts only walls  22 ,  49 , but not walls  21 ,  23 ,  24 . Handle  44  and sector  49  are commonly pivotably connected to end wall  48  in a hinge axis due to it being inherently deformable. The hinge axis is oriented tangentially to axis  10 . Also sector  49  is able to back springingly and inherently deform. Member  36  is located nearer to handle  44  than to the hinge. When handle  44  oriented parallel to handle  5  is urged in direction  12  it is pivoted with member  36  in direction  46 .  
         [0025]    Members and arrangements  35  to  45  are arranged multiply or paired, namely in each case two like members being distributed about axis  10  or opposing each other in a common axial plane. In the locked position as shown in FIG. 2 the stud  51  is located, as viewed axially, spacedly between two handles  44 , namely in the axial plane of members  37  and thus nearer to the one handle  44 . To this extent FIG. 1 shows a location of head  50  which is turned relative to member  35 . Both handles  44  then require to be pressed simultaneously. This is the only way to disengage both members  36  and to allow head  50  to be rotated in direction  47  up to abutting by gripping handle  45 . Stud  51  is thereby moved from the more proximate handle  44  to a location spaced from the more remote handle  44 . Thereby and on the stroke members  36  slide with pressure tension on the outer circumference of shell  8  to thus be kept released. The stroke  14  is then implemented up to abutment by pressing handle  5 , namely until handle  5  is spaced from handles  44  in direction  12  and is fully located between these handles  44 . The users finger then seizes handle  5  between handles  44  and sectors  49  parallel to stud  50 .  
         [0026]    On stroke the piston unit  18  is synchroneously shifted and the pump chamber in casing  17  is constricted so that the medium is pressurized, the outlet valve is opened and the medium flows from the pump chamber through ram  19  pressurized into duct  6 . On release of handle  5  the return stroke occurs automatically on which the outlet valve is closed, the pump chamber is expanded and the medium is resucked via a riser duct  52  from the bottom of the reservoir into the pump chamber. When head  50  is then rotated opposite to direction  47  the members  37  are distanced from the rails  42  up to abutment. In this position members  36  automatically jump into members  35 . Thus the locked rest position is reattained.  
         [0027]    Stud  7  protrudes permanently into casing  17  assembled from a longer casing part  53  and a cover  54  located in wall  22 . Part  53  and cover  54  may commonly be in one part. Cover  54  is in tight contact with the inner circumference of wall  22  and has a radially protruding annularly disk shaped flange  55  against which shoulder  25  is tensioned. Support  15  has outside of the support body  20  a bulged flask  56  and a narrow neck  57 . Neck  57  is located fully in support body  20  and comprises at the outer circumference the counter member for fastener  27 . Tensioned against the annular end face of neck  57  is handle  44  with a washer or seal interposed and sealingly supporting against the outer circumference of casing  17 . Adjoining the counter member neck  57  forms a ring shoulder  58  contacting shoulder  26 . Contacting a further ring face offset in direction  12 , namely the end face of wall  21  is a further annular shoulder  59 . Shoulder  59  is formed by the transition between flask  56  and neck  57  to thus reliably seal the space within wall  21 . However, it is just as conceivable to provide at the outer circumference of neck  57  an annular recess into which the end of wall  21  can be curved radially inwards like a crimp ring.  
         [0028]    Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4 it is evident that the first locking member  35  is the cam protruding from the outer circumference of head shell  8 . The first counter member is a recess in the inner circumference of end wall  48  at which body  20  ends. Member  35  has only one abutting face so that head  50  is capable of being rotated out of the locked position counter direction  47  when the abutting face for second locking member  37  is omitted. Handle  44  is provided on head  50  and formed by a corresponding sector  49  of shell  8 . Sector  49  is separated from the remaining shell  8  on both sides by slots  60 , freely protrudes in direction  12  and is thus to be urged against axis  10  to release locking member  35 . Slots  60  may also be grooves which adjoin by their flanks the outer circumference of shell  8 , but extend only over a portion of the thickness of shell  8 . In this case, pressing handles  44  diminishes the curvature of sector  49  with widening of the grooves and release of member  35 . Member  35  is located in the middle of sector  49  as shown in FIG. 4. Not shown in FIG. 3 is the body part  53  protruding entirely into support  15 .  
         [0029]    The dispenser  1  as described is configured for dispensing pasty lotions emerging from outlet  4  as a line or blobwise. Outlet  4  may also be oriented parallel to axis  10 . Outlet  4  may also be coaxial with axis  10  and face away from body  20 . Outlet  4  may further form an atomizer nozzle which includes a swirl chamber. All features of all embodiments may be provided in a single embodiment, and thus all passages of the description apply for all embodiments. The features and effects may be provided precisely as described, or merely substantially or approximately so and may also greatly deviate therefrom depending on requirements.