FOAM DISPENSER
The present disclosure relates generally to a standing foam dispenser, and more particularly, to a foam dispenser with a nozzle assembly having a disposable nozzle adapted for easy removal and replacement.
This application is a Non-Provisional Patent Application and claims the benefit of and the priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/354,540, filed Jun. 14, 2010, entitled FOAM DISPENSER, which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSUREThe present disclosure relates generally to a standing foam dispenser, and more particularly, to a foam dispenser with a nozzle assembly having a disposable nozzle adapted for easy removal and replacement.
BACKGROUNDOn Mar. 29, 2005, International Patent Applications were filed claiming priority from two Provisional Patent Applications Nos. 60/556,883 filed on Mar. 29, 2004, and 61/114,078 filed on Nov. 13, 2008 respectively. These Applications were titled Self Contained Foam Dispenser (Application No. PCT/IL2005/000356), Foam Dispenser Nozzle (Application No. PCT/IL2005/000355), and Apparatus and Method for Packaging (Application No. PCT/IL2009/001070) respectively. These Non-Provisional Patent Applications are incorporated herein fully by reference, U.S. Provisional Patent Applications Nos. 60/556,883, and 61/114,078 are also incorporated herein fully by reference.
Foam materials are commonly used in packaging and other industries. The foam is generated by mixing two chemical components which harden within about 10 to 30 seconds from the time of mixture, thus creating a rigid casing protection for an item located into the rigidifying foam. The foam then acts as packing material absorbing shocks during transportation.
In many cases, a foam dispensing device, such as a gun, is used to generate the foam at packaging sites. The item to be shipped is manually placed inside a large container such as a box, and the empty space between the inside of the box and the item is filled with the expanding foam confined by a plastic bag. The foam technology can be used alternatively to other known packaging technologies such as small packing chips, a sheet of bubble wrap, or other lose packing material. U.S. Pat. No. 4,262,848 (“Chabria”), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,204 (“Fiin”) describe the use of foam guns to produce the packaging foam. Both these references are hereby incorporated by reference. These guns generally include pumps, one to control the flow of each of the two chemical components to be mixed to form the packaging foam to precise and required amounts to achieve the proper mix. The chemical compounds forming the foam can also be heated using heating coils to achieve a better mix or to change the time for hardening of the foam.
In other foam producing devices, instead of using a pump driven by a motor, the device uses pressurized air or gas in vessels. One reference describing the use of pressure driven foam components from storage vessels is U.S. Pat. No. 3,178,157 (“Cole”) incorporated herein fully by reference. In another reference, namely U.S. Pat. No. 5,348,392 (“Bouquet et al.”) also using pressure driven storage vessels, separate pressurized receptacles are pierced and the components mix in a mixing chamber and expelled in a passageway. Using such a technology to produce the mixture results in difficulties to control the proportion of each of the chemicals at the mixing point.
One disadvantage of rapidly hardening foam, is the inherent clogging and hardening of any portion of the mixture that has not been expelled from the device. In devices designed for repetitive use where the flow of chemical compounds is not continuous, passageways and mixing chambers will clog. Disposable systems using volumetric control mixing technology can often be cost prohibitive when the mixing technology must be discarded. In International Patent Application No. PCT/IL2005/000356, a hand-held device is shown with an improved mixing and foam quality for intermittent use. As shown in this reference reproduced herein as
PCT/IL2005/000356 teaches the use of a hand held foam making device where small rigid tubes are used along with a gear pump where the volume is pushed out by rotating two cams. The device can be opened and the mixing chamber is part of a nozzle system. PCT/IL2005/00355 also incorporated herein by reference teaches specific embodiments of a foam dispensing nozzle II that may be used in the system shown at
The hardening foam for packing has a plurality of commercial application, one of which is packaging and shipping of fragile items. In one embodiment, two flexible plastic bags are used to confine the solidifying foam as it expands and hardens. In an empty box, a first bag is filled with a pre-determined volume of expanding foam. The bag is rested in the bottom of the box and the fragile item is placed in the foam as it hardens. To complete protection, a second bag may be used cover the upper portion of the fragile item not covered by the expanding foam of the first bag.
Application No. PCT/IL2005/000355 is directly more specifically to several possible technologies of nozzles that may be used to squeeze out from the mixing chamber any foam before it solidifies in place. As described in these references, this technology allows for the use of the mixing nozzle up to 50, 100, or even 200 times before it must be replaced. As this type of nozzle becomes clogged with use, the flow of liquid is difficult to control and the resulting foam bags can vary in volume. Further, when a new nozzle must be inserted, the system must be flushed or cleaned and some of the liquids may be in contact with the user. What is needed is a system designed for simple replacement of a mixing nozzle, as well as a system with a nozzle having a very small geometry to limit the costs and waste associated with use of multiple nozzles over time.
What is needed is a new generation of foam dispenser system where a foam producing device can be improved so it no longer requires long and complex periods of maintenance to repair, unclog, or change a nozzle assembly. What is also needed is a foam producing device and system capable of adaptation for use of multiple simplified plastic bag interfaces for allowing a user to use individual bags, not rolled bags of different sizes and shapes. Further, what is needed is a foam dispenser with a pump assembly with a nozzle assembly that may he adapted for different uses in a commercial environment.
Certain embodiments are shown in the drawings, However, it is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the arrangements and instrumentality shown in the attached drawings.
For the purposes of promoting and understanding the principles disclosed herein, reference is now made to the preferred embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language is used to describe the same. It is nevertheless understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is hereby intended. Such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated devices and such further applications of the principles disclosed and illustrated herein are contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which this disclosure relates.
The standing foam dispenser 1 shown at
While the dispenser 1 is shown with a head portion 3, a base portion 2, and a stand 4, one of ordinary skill will understand that these different constituents/elements may be changed or modified based on the nature of the dispenser to be used. For example, in a wall mounted dispenser, there may be no need for a stand and a base, if the dispenser is a hand held gun, there may be a need for an additional table-top base where the gun may be clipped in. The terms base 2, head 3, and stand 4 while shown with one specific embodiment, may be made according to a wide range of possible designs known to one of ordinary skill in the art.
The automated system of the dispenser 1, as is generally known can operate using an autonomous power source like a battery, infrared waves, or a solar power cell. The dispenser automated system can also be connected via a plug to a local power network.
The base portion 2 shown at
The knob 11 as shown is located on a curved design element 12 made in the molding 13 of the base portion 2. Other structural elements can be placed on the base portion 2 such as, for example, feet 14 to increase stability on a base lip 19, ribs or angles 15 to enhance the rigidity of the base portion 2. The base portion 2 as shown also includes a back opening 16 for sliding in one end of the stand 4. In one embodiment, the base 2 is a plastic molded thin shell designed for the specific type of dispenser 1. In an industrial environment, the base can be made to sustain great weight and shocks and may be made of a material capable with a strong resistance to fracture and deformation. For example, a dispenser 1 can be designed with a base 2 slid into a ground opening (not shown) so the door 9 is at the same height as the floor and the knob or control is also accessible from the top portion 17 of the base. A support 20 is used to rigidify the base 2 and also to serve as holder of the door 9 in the open configuration.
At
The face panel portion 30 also includes a rounded bottom lip 35 to allow manual access to a user of the dispenser 1 to the pump assembly 100 as shown at
The pump in the casing can also be manually activated via a button or using the software interface and the LCD screen 6. These automated features are not shown as the manual version of the dispenser 1 is shown. On the head portion 3 as shown with greater detail at
The nozzle 201 contains a mixing chamber and is designed to be compact and of simple technology for easy removal from the nozzle casing 202 and the pump 100 and allow for possible discard. The use of a nozzle casing 202 allows for the discard of only the nozzle 201 by replacing the nozzle 201 in the existing nozzle casing 202 before the nozzle assembly 200 is connected back in place.
The nozzle casing 202 is illustrated for one type of nozzle 201 in the opened configuration at
The use of a nozzle casing 202 allows to minimize the piece that contains the mixing chamber that ultimately is subject to clogging and must be discarded during a maintenance. The nozzle casing 202 as shown is made with two interlocking pieces 203, 204 surrounding the nozzle 201. What is contemplated is the use of any type of casing including a single piece casing, a clipped in casing, a multi-piece casing, or even a deformable rubber casing in which the nozzle 201 can be adapted to be mounted on a pump assembly 100. At
The nozzle assembly 200 includes a top end 210 for adaptation to a pump assembly 100 and a bag interface end 211 at the opposite end of the top end 210. The top end 210 includes on the casing 202 tabs 261 and ledges 212 that are slid into mating openings 111 on the pump assembly 100 on which it is placed as shown at
An upper portion 213 of the nozzle 201 can be rounded or have a geometry designed to better adapt to a sealing member (not shown) to prevent the release of chemical products as they are directed down into the upper portion 213 of the nozzle 201, or instead of a sealing member, the bottom surface 103 of the pump assembly 100 as shown for example at
The tab 261 is shown in the shape of a polygonal volume with angled lateral faces 214 designed to push upwards and centers against element 164 in
Having described in full the dispenser 1 as shown at
The pump assembly 100 of
What is also contemplated is a method for replacing a detachable nozzle 100 on a foam dispenser 1, the method comprises the steps of connecting a first detachable nozzle assembly 200 to a pump assembly 100, using the foam dispenser 1 to dispense foam, remove the first detachable nozzle assembly 200 from the pump assembly 200, discarding the first detachable nozzle assembly 100, and attaching a second detachable nozzle assembly 200 to the pump assembly 100. In a subsequent embodiment, the method further includes the step of pushing a handle 140 on the pump assembly 100 past a holding tab 141 until a pair of tabs 261 on the top end of the nozzle 200 are released.
It is understood that the preceding detailed description of some examples and embodiments of the present invention may allow numerous changes to the disclosed embodiments in accordance with the disclosure made herein without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. The preceding description, therefore, is not meant to limit the scope of the invention but to provide sufficient disclosure to one of ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention without undue burden.
Claims
1. A detachable nozzle assembly for a foam dispenser, comprising:
- a nozzle having a top end with two passages each for receiving one of two different products, a bag interface end opposite to the top end for releasing a mixture made from the two different products, and a mixing chamber between the top end and the bag interface end, wherein the top end is adapted for connecting onto a pump assembly, and wherein the bag interface end is adapted for mating to a bag.
2. The detachable nozzle assembly of claim 1, wherein the top end includes a guide tubes inserted into the passages,
3. The detachable nozzle assembly of claim 1, wherein the nozzle is encased in a nozzle casing.
4. The detachable nozzle assembly of claim 3, wherein the nozzle casing is made of mating pieces held by a fixation means, and includes tabs and ledges for mating it mating openings on the pump assembly.
5. The detachable nozzle assembly of claim 4, wherein the tabs include angled lateral faces.
6. A foam dispenser, comprising:
- a head portion with a face panel and a back panel connected to the face panel, a pump assembly adapted to the head portion with a connecting mechanism for a detachable nozzle assembly, and a detachable nozzle assembly comprising a nozzle having a top end with two passages each for receiving one of two different products, e bag interface end opposite to the top end for releasing a mixture made from the two different products, and a mixing chamber between the top end and the bag interface end, wherein the top end is adapted for connecting onto a pump assembly, and wherein the bag interface end is adapted for mating to a bag.
7. The foam dispenser of claim 6, wherein the connecting mechanism includes a handle with a handle support and a back support for holding tabs on the detachable nozzle assembly.
8. The foam dispenser of claim 6, wherein the connecting mechanism includes a connecting ring with a push bar and an indicator for alignment of the top end of the nozzle.
9. The foam dispenser of claim 6, further comprising a base portion connected to the head portion with a stand, and wherein the base portion comprises a heating element,
10. The foam dispenser of claim 9, further comprising a CPU connected to a screen to operate the dispenser.
11. The foam dispenser of claim 6, wherein the top end includes a guide tubes inserted into the passages.
12. The foam dispenser of claim 6, wherein the nozzle is encased in a nozzle casing,
13. The foam dispenser of claim 12, wherein the nozzle casing is made of mating pieces held by a fixation means, and includes tabs and ledges for mating it mating openings on the pump assembly.
14. The foam dispenser of claim 13, wherein the tabs include angled lateral faces.
15. The foam dispenser of claim 6, wherein the dispenser is either a standing dispenser or a gun dispenser.
16. A method for replacing a nozzle on a foam dispenser having a head portion with a face panel and a back panel connected to the face panel, and a pump assembly adapted to the head portion with a connecting mechanism for a detachable nozzle assembly, the method comprises the steps of: connecting a first detachable nozzle assembly to a pump assembly, using the foam dispenser to dispense foam, remove the first detachable nozzle assembly from the pump assembly, discarding the first detachable nozzle assembly, and attaching a second detachable nozzle assembly to the pump assembly, wherein the detachable nozzle assembly includes a nozzle having a top end with two passages each for receiving one of two different products, a bag interface end opposite to the top end for releasing a mixture made from the two different products, and a mixing chamber between the top end and the bag interface end, wherein the top end is adapted for connecting onto a pump assembly, and wherein the bag interface end is adapted for mating to a bag.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the step of connecting the first detachable nozzle assembly includes the steps of pushing a handle on the pump assembly past a holding tab until a pair of tabs on the top end of the nozzle are released.
Type: Application
Filed: May 6, 2013
Publication Date: Sep 19, 2013
Applicant: Ivex Protection Packaging, Inc. (Bridgeview, IL)
Inventor: Alexandre Pie (Laval)
Application Number: 13/887,644
International Classification: B65D 33/00 (20060101);