Abstract:
An improved automatic soap dispenser structure includes a motor and a gear wheel module installed in a driving device of a soap dispenser to transmit a driving wheel and uses an eccentric wheel disposed on the driving wheel to produce an eccentric effect, characterized in that the eccentric wheel couples a link member, and the link member presses a press plate, such that when the press plate compresses a soap dispensing tube, a back plate of the press plate and a latch surface of a rear panel compress to close the upper section of the soap dispensing tube, and then the design of a protruded curved surface of the press plate and a recessed curved surface of the rear panel compress the soap dispensing tube progressively downward to produce a power-saving and smooth compressing effect.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     This invention relates an improved automatic soap dispenser structure, and more particularly to an improved soap dispenser structure having an automatic sensor for providing liquid soap, and an appropriate quantity of the liquid soap can be squeezed out from the dispenser by a power-saving driving mechanism.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0004]     The design of a soap dispenser is generally adopted and extensively used in public places for users to clean their hands, and the structure of a prior art soap dispenser usually includes a housing containing a bag of liquid soap, and one end of the bag is connected to an appropriate flexible soap dispensing tube. The soap dispensing tube adopts the design of a one-way check valve, and thus the liquid soap can be squeezed out in one direction and its backflow to the bag body can be prevented. The prior art automatic soap dispensers use a dry cell for supplying power to the dispenser and an optoelectronic infrared sensor for detecting the use conditions, so that a driving device drives the press plate to squeeze the soap dispensing tube and provide an appropriate quantity of liquid soap.  
         [0005]     Most press plates take a flat linear shape and a user can start squeezing the middle section of the soap dispensing tube. If the middle section of the soap dispensing tube is squeezed and pressed, the liquid soap in the soap dispensing tube will flow upward and downward at the same time. Since the liquid soap at the upper section of the soap dispensing tube still has a counterforce remained, therefore the automatic soap dispenser requires a larger pressing and squeezing force to press the press plate to a predetermined position. If following one discharge cycle of the quantity of soap dispensed is insufficient, then the user will need to permit the automatic soap dispenser to complete one or more additional cycles in order to obtain sufficient liquid soap.  
         [0006]     In the prior arts as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,347,724, some manufacturers install additional components, and these additional components are used together with the soap dispenser so that a user can pinch off the uppermost section of the extrusion tube, and then use the press plate to press and squeeze the middle section of the soap dispensing tube. Although such arrangement can provide sufficient liquid soap for users in one operation, the increased number of control components makes the manufacturing and assembling cost much higher. Further, although the prior art adopts the eccentric wheel, the prior art eccentric wheel is a component using a single force applying force, and some designs even require electric power for their applications which may increase the failure rate.  
         [0007]     To overcome the existing shortcomings of the prior art products and make their application more convenient and practical, the inventor of the present invention based on years of experience in related areas and aimed at the foregoing shortcomings to conduct researches and developments and maximize the practicability of the present invention, and finally invented an improved automatic soap dispenser structure.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     The primary objective of this invention is to provide an improved automatic soap dispenser structure that includes a motor and a gear wheel module installed in a driving device of a soap dispenser to drive a driving wheel and uses an eccentric wheel disposed on the driving wheel to produce an eccentric effect. The invention is characterized in that the eccentric wheel couples a link member, and the link member presses a press plate, and a back plate is protruded from the top of an external side of the press plate, and a slightly protruded curved surface is disposed at the middle section and the lower section of an external surface of the press plate.  
         [0009]     Further, the rear panel corresponds to the press plate, and a latch surface, and a latch surface is protruded from the top of a lateral side, and a slightly recessive curved surface is disposed at the middle section and the lower section of an external side of the rear panel; such that when the press plate compresses a soap dispensing tube, the back plate of the press plate and the latch surface of the rear panel compress to close the upper section of the soap dispensing tube. Since the back plate is propped onto the top of the latch surface, so that the back plate becomes an axle center. If the press plate continues squeezing the soap dispensing tube, the back plate presses and squeezes the upper end of the soap dispensing tube to form a close status and also can maintain the previous pressing and squeezing effect without using additional squeezing force. The curvature and angle of the curved surface of the back plate and the curved surface of the press plate are skillfully designed in a way corresponding to each other to achieve a discharge cycle from the upper end to the lower end of the soap dispensing tube in a fast, power-saving and smooth manner, and then the design of a protruded curved surface of the press plate and a recessed curved surface of the rear panel compress the soap dispensing tube progressively downward. As a result, the liquid soap in the whole liquid supplying tube can be compressed and squeezed out in a single compressing routine, and thus producing a power-saving and smooth compressing effect and improving the applicability of the products.  
         [0010]     Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.  
         [0011]     Referring to FIGS.  1  to  4 , the improved automatic soap dispenser structure of the present invention comprises a casing  11 , a chassis  12 , a liquid soap container  13  and a squeeze control box  2 ; wherein:  
         [0012]     The casing  11  is a hollow housing and has a rear panel  3  protruded from the internal bottom of said hollow housing, and the rear panel  3  has a latch surface  31  protruded from the upper section of the rear panel  3 , a slightly recessive curved surface  32  disposed at the middle and lower section of the rear panel  3 , and a flange  33  disposed at the bottom of the rear panel  3 .  
         [0013]     The chassis latches and covers the rear of the casing.  
         [0014]     The liquid soap container  13  is a rectangular box and has a liquid soap bag for storing an appropriate quantity of liquid soap, and has an appropriate flexible soap dispensing tube  14  disposed at the bottom of a side of the liquid soap container  13  and the liquid soap container  13  is disposed at the upper section between the casing and the chassis.  
         [0015]     Referring to  FIG. 5  for the squeeze control box  2 , a containing box  21  of the squeeze control box  2  is a rectangular box and has two partitions  22  disposed therein for partitioning the containing box  21  into three containing spaces, wherein the left and right containing spaces are provided for containing a battery module (not shown in  FIG. 5 ), and the middle space is provided for containing a press plate  4 , a driving device  4  and a link member  7 , and the two partitions  22  separately include a penetrating circular hole  23  disposed at the top of an external side of the containing box  21 .  
         [0016]     Referring to  FIGS. 5 , and  7 , the press plate  4  has an axle  41  protruded outward from both sides, a back plate  42  protruded from the upper side, and a slightly protruded curved surface  43  at the external sides of the middle section and the lower section of the press plate. Further, the lower section of the press plate  4  includes a penetrating circular hole  44 , and the press plate  4  includes two axles  41  axially connected to the circular holes  23  of the two partitions  22  in the containing box  21 .  
         [0017]     Referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the driving device  5  is a fixed plate  51  having a plurality of branch axles  541 ,  561 ,  64  for positioning the gear wheel modules. The motor  52  is mounted onto the fixed plate  51  by two screws  58  motor  52 , and the motor  52  coaxially drives a small gear wheel  53  to transmit a large gear wheel  54  and then a small gear wheel  55  coaxially connected to the large gear wheel  54  transmits another large gear wheel  56 , such that a small gear wheel  57  coaxially coupled with the large gear wheel  56  and a driving wheel  6  are engaged with each other. The driving device  5  is installed in the middle of the containing box  21  by the fixed plate  51 , and a cycle completion switch  8  is connected on the fixed plate  51  proximate to the branch axle  64 .  
         [0018]     The driving wheel  6  has an eccentric wheel  61  protruded from a side, and a small cylindrical rod  63  protruded from another side, and the small cylindrical rod  63  presses on the cycle completion switch  8  on the fixed plate  51  by the rotation of the driving wheel  6  to control and stop the motor. The driving wheel  6  includes a branch axle  64  of the fixed plate  51  axially coupled to the center of the circular hole  62 .  
         [0019]     Referring to FIGS.  5  to  7  for the link member  7 , the link member  7  has a penetrating circular hole  71  axially coupled to an eccentric wheel  61  disposed on one side of the driving wheel  6 , and a casing pipe  72  protruded from another side. The casing pipe  72  has a penetrating circular hole  73  at the center, and the link member  7  pivotally connects the link member  7  and the press plate  4  by an axle rod  45 , the circular hole  44  of the press plate  4 , and the circular hole  73  of the casing pipe  72  of the link member  7 .  
         [0020]     In the present invention, the containing box  21  of the squeeze control box  2  is fixed at the bottom of the chassis  12  and the liquid soap container  13  is disposed at the top of the containing box. The soap dispensing tube  14  is latched to the external side of the press plate  4 , and the partitions  22  of the containing box  21  install a battery module  24  each on both sides, such that the soap dispensing tube  14  is installed between the rear panel  3  and the press plate  4 . The casing  11  and the chassis  12  are combined to define the improved automatic soap dispenser structure. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0021]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the present invention;  
         [0022]      FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the present invention;  
         [0023]      FIG. 3  is a schematic view of a liquid soap container of the present invention;  
         [0024]      FIG. 4  is a schematic view of a rear panel of the present invention;  
         [0025]      FIG. 5  is a schematic view of a squeeze control box of the present invention;  
         [0026]      FIG. 6  is a schematic view of a driving device of the present invention;  
         [0027]      FIG. 7  is a schematic view of a press plate of the present invention;  
         [0028]     FIGS.  8  to  11  are schematic views of the discharge-recharge cycle of the present invention; and  
         [0029]      FIG. 12  is a schematic view of a side of a rear panel of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0030]     To make it easier for our examiner to understand the objective of the invention, its structure, innovative features, and performance, we use a preferred embodiment together with the attached drawings for the detailed description of the invention.  
         [0031]     Please refer to  FIG. 8 , the soap dispensing tube  14  is installed between the rear panel  3  and the press plate  4 , and a latch area which is an area where the dispensing tube is pinched off is defined between the latch surface  31  of the rear panel  3  and the back plate  42  of the press plate  4  and keeps an appropriate gap in between, so that the soap dispensing tube  14  is filled up with liquid soap which is in an idle status.  
         [0032]     Referring to  FIG. 9  for the liquid soap dispenser being activated by its sensor, the driving device drives the driving wheel  6  to rotate clockwise and synchronously drives the eccentric wheel  61  disposed on the driving wheel  6  clockwise, so that the eccentric wheel  61  pushes the link member  7 , and an end of the link member  7  axially coupled with the press plate  4  uses the axle  41  of the press plate  4  as the center to be pressed towards the soap dispensing tube  14 . By that time, the back plate  42  at the upper section of the press plate  4  and the latch surface  31  at the upper side of the rear panel  3  press the upper end of the soap dispensing tube  14  to define a closed status. Since the back plate  42  is propped onto the top of the latch surface  31 , so that the back plate  42  becomes another axle center. The axle  41  and the back plate  42  define dual axle centers. If the press plate  4  continues squeezing the soap dispensing tube  14 , the back plate  42  presses and squeezes the upper end of the soap dispensing tube  14  to form a close status and also can maintain the previous pressing and squeezing effect without using additional squeezing force. The curvature and angle of the curved surface  32  of the back plate  3  and the curved surface  43  of the press plate  4  are skillfully designed in a way corresponding to each other to achieve a discharge cycle from the upper end to the lower end of the soap dispensing tube in a fast, power-saving and smooth manner. As shown in  FIG. 10 , the soap dispensing tube  14  is fully closed and all liquid soap in the soap dispensing tube  14  are squeezed out. If the eccentric wheel  61  continues rotating clockwise to drive the link member  7  and the press plate  4  to move, so that the press plate  4  uses the axle  41  as the center to progressively separate the curved surface  43  from the soap dispensing tube  14  as shown in  FIG. 11 , and finally the rear panel  3  and the press plate  4  resume their idle status as shown in  FIG. 8  to refill liquid soap into the soap dispensing tube  14  and gives a very smooth pressing and squeezing process,  
         [0033]     From the assembly and implementation of the present invention, we can see the present invention has many improvements and advantages as described as follows.  
         [0034]     The rear panel  3  has a latch surface  31  protruded from the top, and the latch surface  31  has a height difference (H) with the flange  33  at the bottom of the rear panel  3  as shown in  FIG. 12 . Further, the latch surface  31  at the top side of the rear panel  3  and the back plate  42  at the top side of the press plate  4  can compress the upper end of the soap dispensing tube  14  to form a closed status. Since the back plate  42  is propped onto the top of the latch surface  31 , so that the back plate  42  becomes another axle center. The axle  41  and the back plate  42  define dual axle centers. If the press plate  4  continues squeezing the soap dispensing tube  14 , the back plate  42  presses and squeezes the upper end of the soap dispensing tube  14  to form a close status and also can maintain the previous pressing and squeezing effect without using additional squeezing force. The curvature and angle of the curved surface  32  of the back plate  3  and the curved surface  43  of the press plate  4  are skillfully designed in a way corresponding to each other to achieve a discharge cycle from the upper end to the lower end of the soap dispensing tube in a fast, power-saving and smooth manner.  
         [0035]     The curved surface  32  of the rear panel  3  and the curved surface  43  of the press plate  4  are curved surfaces in contact with each other, and the corresponding curved surfaces are pressed to produce very little friction, and thus the present invention can save power and extend the using life of the battery. In the meantime, the two corresponding curved surfaces are pressed and coupled progressively from the top ends to the bottom ends, so as to fully close the soap dispensing tube  14 , and to be capable of squeezing all liquid soap in the soap dispensing tube to the outside.  
         [0036]     The link member  7  has an end coupled to an eccentric wheel  61  of the driving wheel  6  and the other end passing through the circular hole  44  of the press plate  4  by the axle rod  45  and passing through the circular hole  73  of the casing pipe  72  of the link member  7  so as to pivotally couple the link member  7  with the press plate  4 . The curved surface  32  of the rear panel  3  and the curved surface  43  of the press plate  4  are two curved surfaces are pressed with each other and coupled progressively from the upper end to the lower end. Therefore, the squeezing force produced in a discharge cycle defines a charge-discharge cycle. Referring to  FIG. 8 , the driving wheel  6  and the eccentric wheel  61  use the branch axle  64  as the axle center. In a discharge cycle, a first action point T 1  acts the start point of the discharge routine, which is defined by 0 degree, while the end point of the discharge routine is defined by 360 degrees. The eccentric wheel  61  uses the branch axle  64  as the axle center to rotate to produce a torque, such that a motion having a smooth curved surface contact drives the link member  7 . Referring to  FIG. 9 , if the eccentric wheel  61  rotates 90 degrees clockwise from the start point of a discharge cycle, then the action of the eccentric wheel  61  will no longer be fixed to the original first action point T 1  but falls in the neighborhood near the branch axle  64 , which is the second action area T 2  as shown by the dotted lines in the figure. Therefore, the driving wheel  6  and the eccentric wheel  61  can drive the link member  7  to complete the discharge cycle in a more power-saving fashion. Referring to  FIG. 10  again, if the eccentric wheel  61  rotates 180 degrees clockwise, the eccentric wheel  6  uses a third action point T 3  to produce a torque to drive the link member  7 , so as to fully close the soap dispensing tube  14  and meet the requirement of having a larger squeezing force. Referring to  FIG. 11 , if the eccentric wheel  61  rotates 270 degrees clockwise, the action position of the eccentric wheel  61  will fall in the neighborhood near the branch axle  64 , which is the fourth action area T 4  as shown by the dotted lines in the figure. If the eccentric wheel  61  rotates 360 degrees clockwise, the discharge cycle reaches its end point as well as returns to the start point of the cycle, which is an idle status as shown in  FIG. 8 . With a smaller motor power, the present invention can produce a maximum squeezing force, give a fast and smooth rotation, extend the battery life, and provide the optimal effect by the most economic and efficient discharging cycle.  
         [0037]     By the eccentric wheel  61  and the link member  7 , the present invention improves over the prior art that only uses a single force applying point as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,347,724. In the discharge cycle of the prior art, the squeezing force is increased constantly so that the press plate can squeeze the soap dispensing tube. The prior art not only consumes much power, but also has a high failure rate of components. In addition, the squeezing effect is not as good. Unlike the prior art, the present invention has the technical characteristics advantages of the eccentric wheel  61  using the branch axle  64  as the center for its rotation and form a variable mode with the first action point T 1 , second action area T 2 , third action point T 3  and fourth action area T 4 . With the curved surface  32  of the back plate  3  and the curved surface  43  of the press plate  4 , the most power-saving operating mechanism for a discharge cycle can be accomplished.  
         [0038]     In the description above, the driving wheel  6  also can rotate counterclockwise. While the invention has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.  
         [0039]     In summation of the above description, the present invention not only has innovative improvements on its space configuration, but also maximizes the performance and enhances the performance than the conventional structure and further complies with the patent application requirements.