Abstract:
An automatic dispenser for dispensing a liquid such as a cleaning or disinfecting liquid to a fixture. The dispenser includes a housing with a reservoir. A removable container of liquid is installed in the housing such that the liquid flows by gravity through the opening in the container into the reservoir. A pinch valve controls the flow of liquid from the reservoir and provides for a reliable dispensing system aided by gravity.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/849,056 filed on Oct. 3, 2006, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to automatic liquid dispensers. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Automatic liquid dispensers are used in many applications. One example is the dispensing of cleaning detergents into bathroom fixtures. Typically, a self-contained unit having a reservoir for storage of the liquid and having a battery operated pump is used. A common type of dispenser utilizes a piston-type pump to draw liquid from the reservoir into a conveying tube. There are some drawbacks related to these type of dispensers. Piston-type pumps are prone to losing prime which renders the pump inoperative. Also, the amount of liquid that is drawn from the reservoir will vary depending on the level of the liquid in the reservoir. When the reservoir is full there is less suction required to dispense the liquid, whereas when the reservoir is low it is more difficult to pull the liquid from the reservoir. What is needed is an automatic dispenser that dispenses a consistent quantity of liquid and is more reliable than piston-type pumps. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The present invention meets the above-described need by providing a dispenser having a battery operated pinch valve that allows a liquid to be conveyed from a reservoir by means of the force of gravity. A bottle containing a charge of liquid for the reservoir with a presealed opening is disposed on the reservoir tray. The automatic dispenser is controlled by an electrical circuit that, in addition to providing timed operation of the pinch valve, provides an on/off switch and warning lights for low levels of liquid or low battery conditions. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]    The invention is illustrated in the drawings in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the figures of which: 
           [0006]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a typical application for the automatic dispenser of the present invention; 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  is a top plan view of the base of the present invention; 
           [0008]      FIG. 3A  is a top plan view of the automatic dispenser of the present invention; 
           [0009]      FIG. 3B  is a detailed view of a portion of the dispenser; 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a top plan view of the cover of the present invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is a top plan view of the control panel of the present invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  is a detailed view of the valve according to the present invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 7A  is a side elevational view of the reservoir tray of the present invention; 
           [0014]      FIG. 7B  is a top plan view of a cover; 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  is a side elevational view of the bottle of the present invention; and, 
           [0016]      FIG. 9  is a bottom plan view of the bottle of  FIG. 8 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0017]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , a typical application for the automatic dispenser  10  of the present invention is for dispensing liquid cleaning detergents through a conduit  11  to a fixture  13  such as a toilet or urinal. As shown, the liquid detergents are typically gravity fed from the outlet of the dispenser  10  to the fixture  13 . The conduit  11  may feed directly to the fixture  13  or a plumbed connection as shown by dashed lines  12  may be utilized. The dispenser  10  dispenses liquids automatically on a predetermined, periodic basis as will be described in greater detail below. The dispenser  10  may be molded from any suitable plastic material such as polypropylene or the like or it may be formed from other suitable materials as will be evident to those of ordinary skill in the art based on this disclosure. 
         [0018]    Turning to  FIG. 2 , the base  16  of the dispenser  10  includes a bottom wall  17 , an upstanding outer wall  18 , and several dividing walls  15  that define compartments within the base  16 . A compartment  20  for placement of batteries  19  is shown on the left hand side of the figure. The base  16  also includes an outlet  22  where the liquid passes out of the dispenser  10 . Above the outlet  22 , a compartment  25  provides a space for a reservoir tray  28  ( FIG. 3 ) and a bottle  31  ( FIG. 3 ) of liquid detergent. A compartment  34  provides a space for receiving a valve  37  ( FIG. 3 ). At the top of the base  16 , there is a compartment  40  that receives a control panel  43  (best shown in  FIG. 5 ). 
         [0019]    In  FIG. 3A , the dispenser  10  is shown with the liquid dispensing components installed. At the bottom of the dispenser  10  the outlet  22  has a tube stub  46  for connecting to tubing  11  ( FIG. 1 ). The valve  37  is located above the outlet  22 . As shown, the valve  37  may be a pinch valve having an aperture  38  for receiving flexible tubing  48 . The valve  37  may be normally closed such that the tubing  48  is pinched to prevent flow. On a predetermined periodic basis, the pinch valve  37  is actuated by the electrical circuit such that the valve  37  opens to allow flow of liquid detergent to pass through the tubing  48  via the force of gravity. A detailed view of the pinch valve  37  is shown in  FIG. 6 . The pinch valve  37  has an aperture  38  located at a distal end. The aperture  38  is closed by means of a pinching mechanism that moves back and forth to open and close the aperture  38  which restricts the flow of the liquid detergent through the tubing  48 . 
         [0020]    The reservoir tray  28  is positioned above the pinch valve  37 . As best shown in  FIG. 7A , the reservoir tray  28  has side walls  51  and a bottom wall  55  sized to receive a charge of liquid detergent from the bottle  31 . The tray  28  has a outlet  58  where liquid detergent flows via gravity to the valve  37 . The tray  28  may also include an upstanding piercing member  61 . The piercing member  61  is designed to pierce a seal formed by frangible substrate  64  ( FIG. 9 ) located at the opening  67  ( FIG. 8 ) on the bottle  31  ( FIG. 8 ). In order to install the bottle  31  in the dispenser  10 , the bottle  31  is inverted and the pre-sealed opening  67  is pushed down onto the piercing member  61  causing the substrate  64  to break which allows liquid detergent from inside the bottle  31  to flow into the reservoir tray  28 . The bottle  31  may be constructed of a molded plastic material or other suitable material for storing the liquid detergent. The opening of the bottle  31  by means of the piercing member  61  does not require any pouring or measuring of the liquid detergent and is designed so as to not require any contact with the liquid detergent by the maintenance personnel. Alternatively, a cap on the bottle can be removed and then the bottle  31  can be inverted and positioned above the tray. 
         [0021]    As shown in  FIG. 7B , the tray  28  may be provided with a cover  107  having a curved opening  110 . 
         [0022]    Returning to  FIG. 3A , the bottle  31  is shown installed above the reservoir tray  28 . At the top of the figure, the control panel  43  is shown with an on-off switch  73 , a low battery indicator light  76  and a low liquid indicator light  79 . The low liquid level indication may be based on elapsed time or a level sensor could be installed in the reservoir tray  23  as will be evident to those of ordinary skill in the art based on this disclosure. The control panel  43  is shown in greater detail in  FIG. 5 . The valve  37  and indicator lights  76 ,  79  may be powered by batteries  19  ( FIG. 1 ). The electrical circuit for providing power to the control system, for time-based opening of the valve  37 , and for the indicator lights  76 ,  79  is not detailed herein as it it will be evident to those of ordinary skill in the art based on this disclosure. Turning to  FIG. 3B , the reservoir tray  28  is shown with liquid detergent  29  contained therein. The outlet  58  of the tray  28  is connected to tubing  48  that is flexible and positioned such that flow inside the tubing  48  can be stopped by means of the pinch valve  37 . The tubing  48  has an end portion  101  that terminates inside an open cup  104 . The break in the line allows ambient air surrounding the cup  104  to enter the system to eliminate problems with siphoning or venturi effects caused by pressure differences. Also, the open system design provides a pathway for fragrance from the liquid  29  to leave the dispenser  10 , via the vents  107  ( FIG. 4 ) in the cover  83  of the unit, to provide a fragrance in the area surrounding the automatic dispenser  10 . The liquid  29  may have viscosity in the range of 1.6-1.9 cps (centipoise) for best results. 
         [0023]    In  FIG. 4 , an outer cover  83  is shown. The outer cover  83  pivotally attaches to the base  16  such that it can be pivoted downward to provide access to the inside of the base  16 . A window  86  may be covered with a transparent material such that the indicator lights  76 ,  79  may be viewed therethrough. 
         [0024]    While the invention has been described in connection with certain embodiments, it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the particular forms set forth, but, on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.