Patent Publication Number: US-6702157-B1

Title: Self-aligning pump assembly

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to a manually actuated dispensing pump assembly, and more particularly to such an assembly designed for mounting to an eccentric container neck opening of a container liquid to be pumped by the dispenser to effect proper orientation of the assembly in only one position. 
     Many liquid containers beyond a certain size have an integral handle for ease in handling the container and in pouring out its contents. The handle may be hollow for establishing a vent path extending from an opening within the container neck to a head space above the liquid in the container. This vent allows air to ingress from the pour spout as product is dispensed to prevent the intermittent venting of air through the product itself. The standard non-vented jug creates surging of the dispensed product as air enters through the product to replace the dispensed product volume in the container. This results in splashing of the product that is detrimental to the user especially when pouring a strong caustic liquid such as a laundry bleach. 
     It has become desirable to mount a liquid pump dispenser to such a vented container for especially commercial applications that require a dosed amount for a volume of water to achieve a regulatory concentration used to disinfect restaurant kitchens, and the like. However, the vent feature in the container opening prevents the pump cylinder, also known as the accumulator body of the pump, from centering in the threaded container opening. Consequently, the pump is forced into an eccentric orientation relative to the threaded opening, such that the pump cannot be properly threaded onto the container to achieve a sealed fit. 
     The need therefore arises to provide a self-aligning and anti-rotational pump assembly which will permit the assembly to be mounted within the eccentric container neck opening to assure a complete 360 degree contact of the pump flange to the threaded neck finish of the container when mounting the assembly in place. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a manually actuated pump dispenser assembly designed specifically to be mounted within an offset opening within the neck of a liquid container so as to be self-aligned without rotation to assure a full 360 degree contact between the pump body flange which supports the threaded closure, and the outer edge of the container neck to avoid any leakage after the closure is torqued down over the container neck finish. 
     In accordance with the invention, the flange on the pump cylinder or accumulator which supports the threaded closure is eccentric relative to the pump cylinder and presents a portion of greatest extension from the pump cylinder from which a positioning leg depends for preventing relative rotation of the assembly as the leg extends into the vent opening located within the container neck opening. Means such as a skirt on the portion of the eccentric flange which extends greatest from the pump cylinder, is designed to interfere with the thread mounting of the assembly in positions other than the proper orientation of the assembly relative to the eccentric container neck opening. The skirt is arcuate and is associated with the positioning leg such that if an attempt is made to mount the assembly to the container without anchoring the positioning leg in the vent opening, the arcuate skirt interferes with the container neck and prevents the torquing down of the closure on the neck. 
     Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the pump dispenser assembly of the invention shown mounted on a container; 
     FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the pump dispenser assembly of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a view at a slightly enlarged scale taken substantially along the line  3 — 3  of FIG. 2; and 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view at an enlarged scale illustrating the self-aligning and anti-rotational feature of the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Turning now to the drawings wherein like reference characters refer to like and corresponding parts throughout the several views, the pump assembly according to the invention is generally designated  10  in FIG. 1 as shown mounted via its internally threaded closure  11  to a container  12  of liquid to be pumped. The container is of molded plastic construction having a handle  13  which is hollow defining a vent path (not shown) extending from within the container to a vent port  14  as shown in FIG. 4 as terminating in a shelf  15  molded within container neck  16  externally threaded as at  17 . The container is of the type initially designed to be capped by a closure cap (not shown) internally threaded for threaded engagement with the threaded container neck. The container neck normally comprises a pouring spout having an opening  18  comprising a constricted neck opening which lies eccentric to the central axis of the container neck by reason of shelf  15  projecting into the container neck opening. 
     The vent provided by hollow handle  13  allows air to ingress from the pour spout as product is dispensed to prevent the intermittent venting of air through the product itself as would normally be the case without provision of aid for venting. The standard non-vented container creates surging of the dispensed product as air enters through the product to replace the dispensed product of volume in the container. The subsequent splashing of the product is detrimental to the user especially when the liquid being poured is a strong caustic liquid such as a laundry bleach. 
     The pump dispenser assembly according to the invention is generally of a well-known variety such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,128,018, but forms no part of the invention. The dispenser is to be mounted to container  12  for possible commercial application requiring a dosed amount for a volume of water to achieve a regulatory concentration used to disinfect restaurant kitchens, and the like. The vent feature of the container at its container neck opening, however, prevents the accumulator body  19  of the dispenser, in the form of a pump cylinder, from centering in the threaded container neck opening  18  which is eccentric relative to the container neck. Consequently, the pump will be forced into an eccentric orientation relative to the container neck such that the pump dispenser assembly cannot be threaded onto the container to achieve a sealed fit. 
     The pump dispenser which incorporates the self-aligning feature of the invention is shown in detail in FIG. 2 as comprising a pump piston  21  reciprocable against the force of a piston return spring  22  within pump cylinder  19  to therewith define a variable volume pump chamber  23 . An inlet ball check valve  24  is seated and caged within a lower throat section of the pump cylinder for valving product into the pump chamber during each piston return stroke through inlet  25  from the container via a dip tube  26  suspended from the accumulator and extending below the level of the liquid in the container as in any normal manner. 
     The pump dispenser assembly further comprises a hollow plunger stem  27  connected to the pump piston and mounted within a sleeve  28  for relative reciprocation, the sleeve being mounted on the upper end of the pump cylinder. The plunger head mounted on the upper end of the hollow stem may comprise a dispenser spout  29  defining a discharge passage  31 , and an outlet ball check valve  32  being seated and caged within an upper end of the plunger stem for valving product, upon pump priming, from the pump chamber through the spout discharge during each piston pressure stroke. 
     In accordance with the invention, pump cylinder  19  has an eccentric circular flange  33  thereon having an axis non-coincident with the central axis of cylinder  19 . Flange  33  supports closure  11 , and has a diameter substantially the same as the outer diameter of container neck  16  so that, when the pump assembly is fully and appropriately mounted on the container, flange  33  contacts upper free edge  34  of the container neck to establish a tight seal between the pump assembly and the container. 
     Eccentric circular flange  33  presents a portion  35  of greatest extent from the pump cylinder given that flange  33  is offset from the pump cylinder axis. That portion  35  of greatest extent has a depending positioning leg  36  of a sufficient extent as to protrude into vent port  14  for properly positioning the pump assembly in the correct relative rotative position with the container. When the positioning lug extends into vent portion  14 , flange  13  is coincident with container neck  16 , and pump cylinder  19  is coincident with neck opening  18 . Closure  11  may then be torqued down over the container neck without interference so as to assure that flange  33  seals completely around edge  34  of the container neck to avoid leakage during pumping and handling of the container. 
     It has been noted, however, that with only a positioning leg depending from flange  33 , it is possible for the user to incorrectly position the pump assembly relative to the container by extending leg  36  into neck opening  18  just beyond either end of shelf  15  and still manage to thread the closure down over the container neck without knowledge by the user of the improper location of the pump. With such an improper orientation, however, flange  33  does not provide continuous ( 360  degree) contact with rim  34  of the container neck thereby resulting in leakage of product on tilting of the container. If the container has a caustic substance such as a laundry detergent in it, this presents a most undesirous and even hazardous condition. 
     Therefore, means such as an arcuate skirt  37  is provided depending from flange  33  of a curved extent which may be substantially the same as to overly shelf  15  in the proper position of the pump assembly. However, arcuate skirt  37  is designed such that should the pump assembly be oriented improperly with positioning leg  36  extending through some portion of neck opening  18  without extending through vent opening  14 , arcuate skirt  37 , which has an axis coincident with the axis of flange  33 , will bear against edge  34  of the container neck in such a mis-oriented position so as to positively interfere with the torquing down of the closure on to the container neck. This will immediately remind the user that the pump assembly needs to be re-oriented into a proper position such that leg  36  is coincident with and extends into vent port  14  in order to properly mount the pump assembly in place. Arcuate skirt  37  is sufficiently shallow so as not to bear against shelf  15  in the proper installation of the pump assembly when the closure  11  is tightly threaded down over the container neck. 
     From the foregoing, it can be seen that a simple and economic yet highly effective self-aligning and anti-rotational means has been provided for the proper positioning of a manually actuated dispenser pump assembly relative to the constricted pour opening of a container of the type having a container vent built into the carrying handle for its initial intended use. Venting via the carrying handle is defeated when the pump assembly according to the invention is mounted in the place, although the pump has a standard vent port  38  located in the wall of pump cylinder  19  which is closed by pump piston  21 , as shown in FIG. 2, in the at rest position of the pump. During each piston compression stroke, vent port  38  is exposed to the atmosphere via spacing between sleeve  28  and plunger stem  27  as in any normal manner for venting the inside of a container with air. 
     The positioning leg  36  depending from eccentric circular flange  33  extends into vent port  14  to both prevent relative rotation of the pump assembly to that of the container as well as to properly orient the pump assembly relative thereto. Closure  11  can in such position be tightly torqued down over the container neck with there being continuous 360 degree contact of rim  34  of the container neck by flange  33  which supports the closure. And, in any attempt to mis-orient the pump assembly relative to the container neck, as by extending the positioning leg to one side or the other of shelf  15 , arcuate skirt  37  prevents the pump assembly from entering sufficiently deeply into the container to allow the closure threads to engage the bottle neck finish thereby preventing the user from torquing down the pump on the container until the pump has been rotated to its proper orientation. Skirt  37  extends a predetermined distance circumferentially on both sides of positioning leg  36 . The skirt prevents the closure threads from engaging the container threads when the pump is inserted into the opening with the positioning leg being oriented such that the distal end of the positioning leg will not enter into the vent port  14 . The user is thus cued to rotate the pump to the proper orientation at which position the pump will drop into the desired engagement with the container and the closure can be torqued down onto the container neck. 
     Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are made possible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.