Abstract:
A liquid dispenser having a replaceable liquid reservoir is provided. The dispenser may comprise a reusable body or shell, a reusable pump mechanism and a replaceable insert. The insert includes a liquid reservoir and an integral fitment.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    This disclosure relates to dispenser for liquids and other flowable substances. More particularly, this disclosure relates to a dispenser having a reusable outer shell and pump and a replaceable or refillable liquid reservoir. 
         [0003]    Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    Traditional dispensers for liquid personal care products are typically one-time use, disposable dispensers. Once the contents are used the dispensers is discarded. Another disadvantage of disposable dispensers, especially in the personal care field, is that it can be difficult to obtain complete product evacuation from the dispenser. 
         [0005]    Refillable-type dispensers, such as those used to pump hand soap, generally are refilled from a larger container to fill the smaller refillable dispenser. Although refilling is more economical for consumers, it can be messy and difficult. 
         [0006]    The present disclosure is designed to solve the problems described above. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The present disclosure relates to a liquid dispenser having a replaceable liquid reservoir. The dispenser may comprise a reusable body or shell, a reusable pump mechanism and a replaceable insert including the liquid reservoir and an integral fitment. 
         [0008]    The reusable shell may comprise a bottom defining an opening for receiving a disposable insert, a sidewall extending upwardly from the bottom and a top wall terminating in a neck. The shell defines an interior space, and the neck defines an opening that may have a non-cylindrical inner bore. 
         [0009]    The reusable pump may comprise a pump head defining a dispensing opening and mounted to a spring loaded plunger. The plunger is configured to move in reciprocating fashion within an outer tube. The outer tube is connected in stationary relationship to an intake tube. A threaded cap is affixed to the outer tube and has internals threads for threadably mounting the pump to a disposable insert. The intake tube extends into the interior space of the shell and terminate in an intake opening. 
         [0010]    The disposable insert may comprise a product reservoir for holding liquid product. The reservoir defines a top opening for receiving a rigid fitment. The fitment comprises a substantially cylindrical, threaded portion having external threads for mating with the pump cap. 
         [0011]    The fitment preferably includes an anti-rotation member affixed to a lower end of the threaded portion. The anti-rotation member nests within the neck of the shell and has an outer surface having a non-circular cross sectional shape that matches the non-circular cross-sectional inner bore of the neck. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]      FIG. 1  is a top perspective view of a dispenser according to the disclosure. 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a top plan view of the dispenser of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the dispenser of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the dispenser of  FIG. 2  taken along line  4 - 4 . 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a partial side cutaway view of the dispenser of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0017]    While the invention described herein may be embodied in many forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail one or more embodiments with the understanding that this disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the disclosure to the illustrated embodiments. 
         [0018]    Turning to the drawings, there is shown in the figures one embodiment of a refillable dispenser  10  according to the disclosure.  FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the dispenser  10 ,  FIG. 2  is a top view of the dispenser  10 , and  FIG. 3  is a side view of the dispenser  10 . 
         [0019]    The dispenser  10  comprises a reusable shell  12 , a reusable pump  14  and a disposable or refillable insert  16 . As explained in more detail below, the insert  16  comprises a product reservoir  44  and a fitment  46  extending from the top of the product reservoir  44 . The insert  16  fits inside the shell  10  with the fitment  46  extending through a top opening  28  in the shell  12 , and may be affixed to the pump  14  by a threaded connection with the pump cap  40 . In the figures the pump cap  40  is raised, that is, not connected to the fitment  46 , in order to better show the insert  16  and, in particular, the fitment  46  which forms part of the insert  16 . 
         [0020]    The reusable shell  12  preferably is a rigid structure and may be injection molded from any suitable material, such as polypropylene. The shell  12  functions as the permanent exterior structure. The shell  12  may comprise a base or bottom  18  defining an opening  20  for receiving the insert  16 , a substantially cylindrical sidewall  22  extending upwardly from the bottom  18  and defining an interior space  24 , and a top wall  26  that terminates in a neck  27  that defines a top opening  28 . The top wall  26  may be shaped like a truncated cone as shown in the figures or may be any suitably aesthetically pleasing shape. The neck  27  may define an inner bore that preferably is non-cylindrical to prevent the insert  16  from rotating as explained below. 
         [0021]      FIG. 4  is a side cutaway view of the dispenser  10 . The pump  14  may be reused with the shell  12  and may be of conventional design. For example and without limitation, the pump  14  may comprise a pump head  30 , a spring loaded plunger  34 , an outer tube  35 , an intake tube  36  and a threaded cap  40 . The pump head  30  may define a dispensing opening  32  and is mounted on the spring loaded plunger  34 . The plunger  34  moves in reciprocating fashion within the outer tube  35  between an up position and a down position and is biased in the up position by a spring  37 . The outer tube  35  is connected in stationary relationship to the intake tube  36 . In the assembled dispenser  10 , the intake tube  36  extends into the interior space  24  of the shell  12  and terminates in an intake opening  38 . The cap  40  may be affixed to the outer tube  35  and may have internals threads  42  for threadably mounting the pump  14  to the insert  16  as explained below. 
         [0022]    The disposable insert  16  may comprise a product reservoir  44  for holding liquid product  50  and a fitment  46 . The product reservoir  44  may be either a thin blown molded component or a bag-like pouch made of flexible material and has a top opening  45  for receiving the fitment  46 . The thin material for the product reservoir  44  allows for improved product evacuation. The fitment  46  may be permanently affixed to the product reservoir  44  and may comprise a substantially cylindrical, threaded portion  48  having external threads  52  for threadably mating with the pump cap  40 . 
         [0023]      FIG. 5  is a partial side cutaway view of the dispenser  10 . The fitment  46  may include an anti-rotation member  54  affixed to the lower end of the threaded portion  48 . The anti-rotation member  54  nests within the shell neck  27  and preferably has an outer surface having a non-circular cross sectional shape that matches the non-circular cross-sectional shape of the inside of the shell neck  27  to prevent the fitment  46  from rotating with respect to the shell  12 . 
         [0024]    The fitment  46  may include a snap ring  56  that forms a snap fit with the shell neck  27  when the fitment  14  is inserted upwardly into the shell  12  and through the shell neck  27  to provide a secure connection between the shell  12 , the pump  14  and the insert  16 . 
       Refilling the Dispenser 
       [0025]    To refill the dispenser  10 , the consumer first removes the old insert  16 . This may be done by unscrewing the pump cap  40  from the fitment  46 , then pulling the insert  16 , including the fitment  46  and the now empty product reservoir  44 , through the opening in the bottom  18  of the shell  12 . A new insert  16  can then be inserted through the opening in the bottom  18  of the shell  12  until the fitment  46  extends through the top opening  28  in the shell  12 . The pump cap  40  can then be screwed onto the new fitment  46 . 
         [0026]    During both removal of the old insert  16  and installation of the new insert  16  the fitment  46  is prevented from rotating by the anti-rotation member  54 . More specifically, the fitment  46  is prevented from rotating by the cooperation of the non-cylindrical anti-rotation member  54  and the non-cylindrical shell neck  27 . 
       INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY 
       [0027]    The refillable dispenser  10  may find applicability in, among other markets, the personal care and household product markets and the restaurant market. The dispenser  10  may be used to dispense such products as light duty liquids, beauty products, laundry products, lawn and garden care products, and bulk food service products. 
         [0028]    It is understood that the embodiments of the invention described above are only particular examples which serve to illustrate the principles of the invention. Modifications and alternative embodiments of the invention are contemplated which do not depart from the scope of the invention as defined by the foregoing teachings and appended claims. It is intended that the claims cover all such modifications and alternative embodiments that fall within their scope.