US20070164054A1

US20070164054A1 - Fluid dispensing mechanism for fluid dispenser

Info

Publication number: US20070164054A1
Application number: US11/306,941
Authority: US
Inventors: Hsiu-Hung Shu
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-01-17
Filing date: 2006-01-17
Publication date: 2007-07-19

Abstract

A fluid dispensing mechanism used in a fluid dispenser is disclosed, which includes a housing, a pump set formed of a pump body and a piston tube and mounted inside the housing, a valve set formed of a valve tube, a valve stem, a flow guide, a spring, and a steel ball and coupled to the piston tube of the pump set, and a button for pressing by the user to drive the valve set to move the piston tube in the pump body to pump a predetermined amount of fluid soap out of a fluid soap container for output through the valve set for use.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fluid dispenser and more particularly to a fluid dispensing mechanism for use in a fluid dispenser to squeeze a fluid out of the fluid dispenser.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
A fluid soap dispenser used in a toilet or bathroom is known to comprise a housing, a flow valve mounted in the bottom side of the housing, and a lever pivotally mounted in the bottom side of the housing and coupled to the flow valve. After installation of a fluid soap container in the top side of the housing, the user can operate the lever to drive the flow valve, causing a predetermined amount of fluid soap to flow out of the fluid soap container and the flow valve for use.
Conventional fluid soap dispensers using a flow valve commonly have a complicated structure. Some conventional fluid soap dispensers convert fluid soap into bubbles for output. Some other conventional fluid soap dispensers directly supply fluid soap for use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been accomplished to provide a fluid dispensing mechanism for fluid dispenser, which has a simple structure, and is convenient to use. According to the present invention, the fluid dispensing mechanism comprises a housing, a pump set, a valve set, and a button. The structure of this fluid dispensing mechanism is simple. After installation of the fluid dispensing mechanism in a fluid dispenser, the user can press the button, causing the valve set to output a predetermined amount of fluid soap.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a fluid dispensing mechanism according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an elevational assembly view of the fluid dispensing mechanism according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is another elevational view of the fluid dispensing mechanism according to the present invention, with the cap disconnected from the button.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the fluid dispensing mechanism according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view showing an operation status of the fluid dispensing mechanism according to the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view showing another operation status of the fluid dispensing mechanism according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1˜4, a fluid dispensing mechanism in accordance with the present invention comprises a housing 1, a pump set 2, a valve set 3, and a button 4.
The housing 1 comprises an upper barrel 11, a lower barrel 12, and a cap 13. The upper barrel 11 has a tubular center hub 111 and a peripheral flange 113 extending around the periphery. The center hub 111 has a top opening 112. Further, a gasket ring 114 is provided at the bottom side of the upper barrel 11. The lower barrel 12 is a hollow member having the top side thereof bonded to the bottom wall of the peripheral flange 113 of the upper barrel 11, a bottom center through hole 121, and a bottom coupling flange 122 downwardly extending from the bottom wall around the bottom center through hole 121 for the mounting of the cap 13.
The pump set 2 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, comprises a pump body 21 and a piston tube 22. The pump body 21 is a hollow member having a forwardly extending center tube 211 for the mounting of the valve set 3, and a valve port 212 at the top (distal) end of the center tube 211. The piston tube 22 has a top piston skirt 221, which has a U-shaped cross section and is compressible in the pump body 21, a
-shaped gasket 222 mounted on the inside, and a bottom outlet 223. The pump set 2 is mounted in the housing 1 with the center tube 211 inserted through the top opening 112 of the center hub 111 to the outside of the upper barrel 11 of the housing 1. After installation of the pump set 2 in the housing 1, the bottom end of the piston tube 22 extends out of the bottom side of the housing 1 through the bottom center through hole 121 of the lower barrel 12.
The valve set 3, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, is comprised of a valve tube 31, a valve stem 32, a flow guide 33, a spring 34, and a steel ball 35. The valve tube 31 is a double open-end tube having a conical valve port 311 formed in the bottom end and a plurality of supporting lugs 312 arranged around the periphery. The valve tube 31 is downwardly inserted into the piston skirt 221 inside the piston tube 22 to force the supporting lugs 312 against then
-shaped gasket 222 in the piston tube 22. The valve stem 32 is axially movably inserted through the valve tube 31, having a barbed front tip 321 suspending in the center tube 211 of the pump body 21 and a conical head 322 for controlling the passage of the conical valve port 311 of the valve tube 31. The flow guide 33 is a double open-end tube mounted inside the pump body 21, having a top rim 331, a plurality of longitudinal slots 332 spaced around the periphery, and an annular bottom inside flange 333 hooked up with the barbed front tip 321 of the valve stem 32. The spring 34 is a compression spring vertically sleeved onto the valve stem 32 and the flow guide 33, having the bottom end stopped against the top side of the valve tube 31 and the top end stopped against the top rim 331 of the flow guide 33. The steel ball 35 is mounted in the top side of the flow guide 33 corresponding to the valve port 212 of the pump body 21.
The button 4, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, comprises a tubular shank 41 connected to the bottom end of the piston tube 22, a button head 42, a tubular neck 45 connected between the tubular shank 41 and the button head 42, a nozzle hole 43 cut through the top and bottom sides of the button head 42 at the center in fluid communication with the inside space of the tubular neck 45 and the tubular shank 41, and a barrel-like skirt 44 extended from the connection area between the tubular shank 41 and the tubular neck 45 and inserted into the bottom center through hole 121 of the lower barrel 12 of the housing 1. The user can press the button head 42 to move the piston tube 22 axially, driving the valve set 3 to suck in and force out a predetermined amount of a fluid, for example, a liquid detergent.
The aforesaid housing 1, pump set 2, flow-control valve set 3 and button 4 are assembled, thereby forming a fluid dispensing mechanism that can be installed in a fluid dispenser for dispensing a fluid at a predetermined amount each time the button 4 is pressed.
Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the fluid dispensing mechanism is installed in a fluid dispenser, keeping the neck 45 of the button 4 in engagement with the dispensing control lever 50, and then a fluid (e.g. a liquid detergent) container 60 is attached to the housing 1. When the fluid dispenser is not operated as shown in FIG. 5, the spring 34 holds down the valve tube 31 of the valve set 3, keeping the conical head 322 of the valve stem 32 in blocking the valve port 311 of the conical valve tube 31. At this time, the steel ball 35 is kept away from the valve port 212 of the pump body 21, allowing a predetermined amount of the fluid to pass out of the fluid container 60 into the center tube 211 of the pump body 21 for further dispensing.
When the user presses the button head 42 to lift the dispensing control lever 50 as shown in FIG. 6, the piston tube 22 of the pump set 2 and the valve tube 31 of the valve set 3 are synchronously moved upwards to compress the inside space of the center tube 211 of the pump body 21 and to force the steel ball 35 against the valve port 212, preventing a reverse flow of the fluid. During up stroke of the valve tube 31, the conical valve port 311 of the valve tube 31 is opened from the conical head 322 of the valve stem 32, allowing the accumulated fluid to flow out of the pump body 21 and the bottom outlet 223 of the piston tube 22 to the outside of the button 4 via the nozzle hole 43 for use.
As indicated above, the liquid squeezer of the invention accurately controls the dispensing amount of the fluid. The liquid squeezer has a simple structure that is easy and inexpensive to manufacture.
A prototype of fluid dispensing mechanism has been constructed with the features of FIGS. 1˜6. The fluid dispensing mechanism functions smoothly to provide all of the features discussed earlier.
Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A fluid dispensing mechanism comprising:

a housing;

a pump set mounted in said housing, said pump set comprising a pump body and a piston tube, said pump body being a hollow member having a forwardly extending center tube extending out of said housing for the mounting of a valve set and a valve port at a top end of said center tube, said piston tube having a top piston skirt, which is compressible in said pump body, and a bottom outlet;

a valve set, said valve set comprising a valve tube inserted into said piston tube of said pump set, said valve tube having a conical valve port formed in a bottom end thereof and a plurality of supporting lugs arranged around the periphery thereof, a valve stem axially movably inserted through said valve tube, said valve stem having a barbed front tip suspended in the center tube of said pump body and a conical head for controlling the passage of the conical valve port of said valve tube, a flow guide mounted inside said pump body, said flow guide having a top rim, a plurality of longitudinal slots spaced around the periphery thereof, and an annular bottom inside flange hooked up with the barbed front tip of said valve stem, a spring member vertically sleeved onto said valve stem and said flow guide, said spring member having a bottom end stopped against a top side of said valve tube and a top end stopped against the top rim of said flow guide, and a steel ball mounted in a top side of said flow guide corresponding to the valve port of said pump body; and

a button for pressing by the user to move said piston tube axially to further drive said valve set to suck in and force out a predetermined amount of a fluid, said button comprising a tubular shank connected to a bottom end of said piston tube, said tubular shank having a bottom nozzle hole for output of the fluid passing out of said valve set.

2. The fluid dispensing mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein said housing comprises an upper barrel, a lower barrel, and a cap, said upper barrel having a tubular center hub, a peripheral flange extending around the periphery thereof, and a gasket ring secured to a bottom side thereof, said center hub having a top opening for the passing of the center tube of said pump body, said lower barrel being a hollow member having a top side thereof bonded to a bottom wall of the peripheral flange of said upper barrel, a bottom center through hole, and a bottom coupling flange downwardly extending from a bottom wall thereof around said bottom center through hole for the mounting of said cap.

3. The fluid dispensing mechanism as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a gasket sealed between a bottom end of said piston tube and the lugs of said valve tube.

4. The fluid dispensing mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein said button further comprises a button head, a tubular neck connected between said tubular shank and said button head for coupling to a lever in a fluid dispenser, and a barrel-like skirt extended from the connection area between said tubular shank and said tubular neck and inserted into said housing; said nozzle hole of said button extends through top and bottom sides of said button head in fluid communication with the inside space of said tubular neck and said tubular shank.