GB2422372A

GB2422372A - Gravity dispenser for fluid

Info

Publication number: GB2422372A
Application number: GB0501899A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Garry Ritchie
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-01-29
Filing date: 2005-01-29
Publication date: 2006-07-26
Also published as: WO2006079771A1; GB0501899D0

Abstract

Fluid dispenser 10 comprises: <UL ST="-"> <LI>a container unit 1 to house the fluid, said unit being conical in shape to allow the container to be used and stored in the same orientation; <LI>a dispenser base unit 2 located directly below container unit 1, formed with a passageway 7 to container unit 1, thus allowing fluid to be dispensed, and wherein the dispenser base is formed with a recess to reduce contact between the outlet of the base unit and a storage surface; <LI>a secure lid 3 forming part of the base unit 2, which when released by hinge 4 allows fluid to flow through passageway 7 in base unit 2, the lid 3 being housed in the base unit such that when it is in a closed position, the contact with a storage surface is minimised. </UL>

Description

Gravity Fuelled Fluid Dispenser This invention relates to upright fluid

dispensers/containers, mostly made from a durable moulded plastic, that house standard domestic products that take a liquid or semi liquid form that need to be effectively dispensed from said container.

Background of Invention

Dispensers that house particularly viscous fluids such as shampoo, ketchup and moisturising cream for example can be problematic with regards to dispensing said fluids especially when the fluid contents are at a low level.

such a scenario requires drastic action by the user often resulting in storing the container in an inverted position allowing the weight of the fluid under gravity to settle at the neck of the container.

Conventional fluid containers currently take the form of upright shaped bottles made from either glass or moulded plastic comprising a screw on cap or flip-top lid with a hinge often with a flow restrictor valve hosed in the neck of the container. Such systems are initially effective due to the volume of fluid in the container which provides the necessary mass to initiate the flow of fluid out of' the container. As the fluid level falls more effort is required by the user to dispense the fluid to a point where it is considered inefièctive and the container is discarded.

Previous attempts at addressing the problem of dispensing viscous fluids from containers are featured in inventions US 6,481,685 The inverted bottle holder' by Cormier, 19/I 1/2002, US RF37566E Holding device for collecting residual contents in a container' by Critca and Marszalek, 05/03/2002 and CA222503 I Ketchup Kicker' by Cremasco 02/09/1999. All these inventions depict a dedicated separate attachment that is not ained to be manufactured or sold as part of the container hence is a stand alone item that the user has to acquire.

The current invention is an improvement on current upright containers that house and dispense fluids.

Accordingly, a first object of the present invention is to provide an improved upright fluid dispenser that houses and effectively dispenses fluids of varying viscosity in a manner such that the unit as a whole can be safely stored and used in the same orientation thereby minimising any effort required to dispense the fluid.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved upright fluid dispenser that effectively dispenses fluid for varying levels of fluid in said container.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a safe, secure means of storing and dispensing fluid.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a means of dispensing fluid where the secured lid is isolated from a contact surface thereby reducing the risk of any contamination with a stored surface when kept in a stored position.

Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved fluid dispenser that can be safely stored without compromising the safety of any neighbouring objects.

According to the present invention there is provided a Gravity Fuelled Fluid [)ispenser comprising a container unit that houses the fluid to be dispensed and a dispenser base unit which provides stability for the unit as a whole when stored. The dispenser base also houses a secured lid that is connected to the dispenser base via a hinge mechanism as is well known in the art which when released allows the fluid to flow out of the container under its own weight.

Gravity Fuelled Fluid Dispenser

Brief summary of operation

in accordance with the present invention the fluid dispenser incorporates a mechanism with the intention of effectively dispensing fluids of varying viscosity out through the container without the need for external attachments or a change in orientation of said dispenser to assist fluid flow.

The container unit is usually made from glass or moulded plastic and is conical in shape to allow the fluid contained to descend under its own weight to the base. The base of the container unit forms a neck which represents the output through which the fluid will flow.

A dispenser base is situated directly under the container unit forming a secure connection to said container unit and provides a means of passage for fluid from the container unit plus provides stability when the unit as a whole is stored upright.

A secured lid is situated within the dispenser base which provides the means of release of fluid out through the neck of the container and through the middle of the dispenser base.

As the level of fluid within the container unit begins to decrease dispensing fluid efThctively will still he achieved throLigh the fluids weight acting as the force behind the flow.

Gravity Fuelled Fluid Dispenser

Description of drawings

Fig. I Shows a perspective view of the Fluid Dispenser Fig. 2 Shows a plan view of the side of the Fluid Dispenser Fig.3 Shows a sectional view of the Dispenser base unit Fig.4 Shows a detailed perspective view of the Fluid Dispenser Gravity Fuelled Fluid Dispenser

Detailed Description

It is thought that the techniques that form the basis of the present invention can be applied to cater for a wide range of containers/dispensers that need to safely store and dispense fluid fbr household applications.

For future reference the fluid dispenser relating to the current invention shown in fig. I and fig.4 will be identified as 10.

From fig. I the unit 10 comprises a container unit I, a dispenser base unit 2, a secure lid 3 and a hinge arrangement 4 that connects the dispenser base unit 2 to the secure lid 3.

In order to satisfy the main principle of the current invention the container unit I (fig.4) is inverted thereby allowing any fluid to naturally exit the container under its own weight.

In a practical arrangement the container unit I may take a conical shape to cater for fluids of particular viscosity although this may he left to the manufacturers discretion.

The container unit 1 is usually made of a flexible moulded plastic that allows the user to assist fluid flow by squeezing said unit.

The dispenser base unit 2 satisfies the requirement of the invention to allow the unit 10 to be stored and used in the same orientation. From fig 4 the dispenser base unit 2 provides a passageway 7 that links the outlet 6 of the container unit I with the secure lid 3 when in the closed position. At the same time the outlet 6 of the container unit I forms a secure fixture with the dispenser base unit 2 within the passageway 7 which may take the fbrm of a screw thread, snap on or push fit fixing, as is well known in the art, which is at the manufacturers discretion with regards to large scale production. Depending on the fluids viscosity the outlet 6 of the container unit I may well house a fluid restrictor.

The shape of the dispenser base unit 2 is conical to provide stability when the unit 10 is being stored and is designed with a recess for the purpose of weight reduction and allows the secure lid 3, when in a closed position, to be free from any contact with a surface when the unit 10 is being stored as is shown in fig3. The dispenser base unit 2 is usually made of a durable moulded plastic.

From fig 4 the secure lid 3 is a basic lever mechanism connected via a hinge arrangement 4 to the dispenser base unit 2 such that when closed the secure lid 3 engages with the outlet 6 of the container unit I to form a secure fixture which may take the form of snap on or push fit connection as is well known in the art which prevents the release of fluid from the container unit I. Fluid from the container unit 1 is released by disengaging the connection between the secure lid 3 and the outlet 6 of the container unit I by releasing the secure lid 3 in the direction indicated by the arrow A in fig3. The release of the secure lid 3 is facilitated by the hinge arrangement 4 which allows the secure lid to be released through an angle greater than 120 degrees so as not to allow the fluid flow to be obstructed. g

Claims

Gravity Fuelled Fluid Dispenser CLAIMS

1. A Fluid dispenser comprising: a container unit, to house the fluid, which is conical in shape to allow the aforementioned fluid dispenser to be stored and used in the same orientation thereby minimising any effort required to dispense the aforementioned fluid as its contents reduces within the aforementioned container, a dispenser base unit situated directly below and forms a secure fixture to the aforementioned container unit that not only provides support for the aforementioned fluid dispenser to be stored and used in the same orientation but provides a passageway to house the outlet of the aforementioned container unit allowing said container unit access for dispensing fluid; the aforementioned dispenser base is formed with a recess to eliminate any contact between the outlet of the aforementioned container unit and a storage surface, a secure lid that forms part of the aforementioned dispenser base unit when the aforementioned fluid dispenser is being stored and when released, via a hinge arrangement, allows fluid to flow from the outlet of the aforementioned container unit which is secured to the passageway of the aforementioned dispenser base unit; the aforementioned secure lid is housed within the aforementioned dispenser base unit such that when in a closed position the aforementioned secure lid is free from any surface contact thereby reducing the risk of any contamination from the aforementioned storage surface. (,

2. The fluid dispenser of claimi wherein the aforementioned container unit is connected to the aforementioned dispenser base unit via a screw thread fitting.

3. The fluid dispenser ofclaiml wherein the aforementioned container unit is connected to the aforementioned dispenser base unit via a snap on fitting.

4. The fluid dispenser of claim 1 wherein the aforementioned container unit is connected to the aforementioned dispenser base unit via a twist lock fitting.

5. The fluid dispenser ofclaiml wherein the aforementioned container unit is connected to the aforementioned dispenser base unit via a push fit fitting.

6. The fluid dispenser of claim I wherein the outlet of the aforementioned container unit supports a flow restrictor valve for handling fluids of a particular viscosity.

7. The fluid dispenser of claim I wherein the secure fixture formed between the aforementioned secure lid and the outlet of the aforementioned container unit comprises a snap on seal fitting.

8. The fluid dispenser featured claim I wherein the connection between said s' dispenser base unit and said secure lid is via a hinge arrangement which allows * said secure lid to undergo a release of over 120 degrees from its closed position. 0)

8. The fluid dispenser of claim 1 wherein the connection between the Aforementioned dispenser base unit and the aforementioned secure lid is via a hinge arrangement which allows the at orementioned secure lid to undergo a release of over 120 degrees from its closed position.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows 1. A Fluid dispenser comprising: a container unit, to house the fluid, which is conical in shape to allow said fluid dispenser to be stored and used in the same orientation thereby utilising the fluids weight to minimising any effort required to dispense said fluid as its contents reduces within said container unit, a dispenser base unit situated directly below and forms a secure fixture to said container unit that not only provides support for said fluid dispenser to he stored and used in the same orientation hut provides a passageway to house the outlet of said container unit allowing said container unit access for dispensing fluid; the aforementioned dispenser base is formed with a recess to eliminate any contact between the outlet of said container unit and a storage surface, a secure lid that forms part of said dispenser base unit when said fluid dispenser is being stored and when released, via a hinge arrangement, allows fluid to flow from the outlet of' said container unit which is secured to the passageway of said dispenser base unit; the mating part of said secure lid which engages the outlet ol said container unit is housed within the recess of said dispenser base unit such that when in a closed position the outlet of said container unit is free from any surface contact thereby reducing the risk of any contamination from said storage surface.

2. The fluid dispenser featured in claim 1 wherein said container unit maybe connected to said dispenser base unit via a screw thread fitting.

3. The fluid dispenser featured claim I wherein said container unit maybe connected to said dispenser base unit via a snap on fitting.

4. The fluid dispenser featured claim I wherein said container unit maybe connected to said dispenser base unit via a twist lock fitting.

5. The fluid dispenser featured claim I wherein said container unit is connected to said dispenser base unit via a push fit fining.

6. The fluid dispenser featured claim I wherein the outlet of said container * unit supports a flow restrictor valve for handling fluids of a particular viscosity. S* S

a. 7. The fluid dispenser featured claim I wherein the secure fixture formed between said secure lid and the outlet of said container unit comprises a snap on seal s fitting.

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