Means for dispensing

Abstract

A dispensing device includes a tubular body member supporting a spring-biased axially movable nozzle and also supporting a cap secured to a container, the cap initially holding a closure member in sealing relation to the container, and the nozzle member having support structure for such closure member enabling it to serve as an axially movable flow modulating element during dispensing.

Parent Case Text

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a division of my co-pending application, Ser. No. 300,505, filed Oct. 25, 1972, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,828,973.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to means for dispensing from a container wherein a dispenser regulates a portion of a container closure assembly to control the flow therefrom.

2. Prior Art

Assurance of genuineness of trademarked products that are dispensed is a matter of concern. Non-reusable sealing closures have been applied to the container to give some degree of assurance in the channels of trade between the time that the container is sealed and the time that it is to be opened by the user. Heretofore, such closures have not been used to function as part of a dispenser to control the flow of contents therefrom.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A dispensing closure assembly is provided for use on the discharge end of a storage container which includes a unitary diaphragm-like closure member held in place by a cap which is adapted to be secured to a dispenser mechanism, the dispensing mechanism or device comprising a tubular body receptive of such cap and a spring-biased axially movable nozzle therein having support means for the closure member, the cap being retractable or dilatable to enable the nozzle with its support means to control movement of the closure member, thereby controlling an annular flow of the material or product around such closure member.

Accordingly, an important object of the present invention is to overcome the disadvantages, defficiencies, inefficiencies, shortcomings, and problems in prior structures in this art and to attain important advantages and improvements in dispensing from containers for flowable products and providing assurance of product genuineness.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved means for dispensing.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for utilizing an opened container closure for controlling flow of contents from the container.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved means for utilizing container closures for interim resealing of the container in a dispenser.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide new and improved container closure means for dispenser-oriented containers.

Many other advantages, features and additional objects of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheet of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.

ON THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary vertical sectional detail view showing a device provided in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a similar view with parts broken away showing the closure member partially released for opening the container;

FIG. 3 is a top isometric view of a cap shown in FIG. 1 as used on a container prior to opening thereof; and

FIG. 4 is an underside isometric view of the cap of FIG. 3.

AS SHOWN ON THE DRAWING

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a tamper-proof cap 100, molded from a material such as polystyrene, has a thread 101, a flange 102 extending axially beyond the thread 101, the flange having a tapered portion 103 at the open end of the cap. The flange 103 is provided with a number of break-away lugs 104, three such lugs 104 being present in the disclosed device. The inner surface of each lug 104 comprises a cam surface 104a for yieldably sliding past threads or shoulders on a container during installation of the cap 100. The lugs 104 function in a ratchet-like manner, and each has a pair of rupturable connections 105, 105 at the thin edge of the tapered portion 103, the connections 105 being torsionally resilient during application of the cap 100 to a container, but are readily shearable when the cap 100 is removed from the container, thereby showing that the container has been tampered with when such connection 105 is broken. To this end, each lug 105 has a shoulder 107 which faces axially inwardly. The cap 100 has a crown disk 108 integral therewith which is rupturable and removable, there being a line of weakness or groove 109 surrounding the disk 108, a portion of which disk 108 comprises a tearout tongue 110 defined by a slit or line or weakness formed in the shape of a U-shaped groove 111 which is spanned by a transverse groove 112. A terminal portion 113 can be pressed into the cap and folded underneath whereby the tongue can be grasped and pulled to initiate tearing at the periphery of the disk 108. Such tearing is facilitated by the intersection of the line of weakness 111 with the line of weakness 109.

Initially, a container 114, here comprising a glass bottle, is filled with appropriate material such as a beverage or a beverage ingredient and at its neck, discharge end or mouth is provided a thread 115 and an annular shoulder rib 117. A closure 127 is placed on the filled bottle after which the cap 100 is applied, the threads 101 and 115 mating with each other, and the lugs 104 slipping past the threads 115 and the shoulder rib 117.

In order to initiate dispensing, the crown disk 108 is removed and the container 114 with its dispensing closure assembly 100, 127 is attached to a dispensing mechanism such as a dispenser 118. The dispenser 118 has a tubular body member 119 having a socket 119a at its base or upper end receptive of the cap 100, there being a shoulder 120 facing in an axial direction for engaging the cap 100 and thus supporting the filled container 114. The interior of the socket 119a has a fluted formation 121 complemental to a number of ribs 122 on the cap 100, and their size and spacing can constitute an identification code so that only authorized components are mated.

The tubular body member 119 has a support means or flange 123 projecting radially outwardly therefrom for overhanging a marginal portion of a supporting member around an opening 125 therein.

The closure member 127 is of unitary diaphragm-like construction and has a marginal seating flange 128 which is initially held positively against the container by a marginal portion 129 of the cap 100. When the cap 100 is installed on the container, it is turned on sufficiently tightly to hold the closure member 127 in sealable relation. However, when the crown disk 108 has been removed, the cap can be "tightened" or screwed on further, and the end of the container, and in particular a spreading shoulder 129a causes the flange 129 to dilate, the flange 129 being approximately half dilated in FIG. 2. Continued tightening brings the flange 129 onto the shoulder 129a of the container 114.

An optional gripping flange 130 is provided on the cap 100 to facilitate this movement under circumstances where the dispenser 118 is not attached.

The dispenser 118 further includes a nozzle member 131 having a dispensing bore 131a surrounded by a peripheral flange 132 which projects radially outwardly. The tubular body member 119 has a flange 134 which projects radially inwardly, and a compression spring 133 acts between the flanges 132, 134 to urge the nozzle member 131 in an axial direction, toward the container 114. The nozzle member 131 is slidable through an opening 135 in the flange 134 and the flange 132 has a sliding fluid seal in the form of an O-ring 137 whereby during dispensing, the liquid will enter the dispensing bore 131a through a funnel-like formation at the upper end thereof. Sliding movement in a downward direction is under the control of a handle portion 139, and return movement or upward movement is restricted by control means 138 for the closure member 127. The control means 138 comprises a rigid spider of vanes having a cruciform arrangement integrally connected at their lower ends to the nozzle member 131 and projecting beyond the dispensing bore 131a for extending into a frustoconical body portion 140 of the closure 127. The body portion 140, by being tapered, can provide progressively greater dispensing flow rate and also functions to center the loose closure 127 when flow is terminated. Thus the interior of the body portion 140 has an internal configuration which is at least compatible and is preferably complemental to the radial end faces of the vanes 138 which jointly define a frustoconical locus.

In operation, the crown disk 108 is first removed and then the sealed container is assembled with the dispenser 118 as shown in FIG. 1. The control means 138 engages the closure 127, and as the container 114 is rotated, the container 114, the closure member 127, the supporting means 138 along with the nozzle member 131 move axially downwardly with respect to the cap 100 and the body member 119 to a point where the cap flange 129 has dilated sufficiently to clear the sealing portion 128 of the closure member 127, thereby unlocking it. In order to dispense liquid, the handle portion 139 is then pulled downwardly whereby the supporting structure 138 and the closure member 127 move with respect to the container 114 to define an annular orifice between the marginal flange 128 and the end of the container 114 for flow of material such as liquid in an annular path around the periphery of the closure member 127 and into the dispensing bore 131a. On release of the handle portion 139, the spring 133 acts through the support means 138 to restore the closure member 127 from its open position to a closed position.

Claims

I claim as my invention:

1. A dispensing closure assembly for the discharge end of a container for use with a separate dispenser mechanism, comprising:

a. a unitary diaphragm-like closure member for being only initially attached to the container, said closure member having a peripheral margin with a free shape conforming to the mouth of the container for resealing engagement therewith, said closure member forming with the mouth an axially displaceable loose flow controlling element as soon as the initial attachment thereof has been released to provide a dispensing opening around the entire closure member, said closure member having a central body portion with a configuration adapted to the shape of axially movable support structure on the separate dispenser mechanism for engagement with the loose closure member; and

b. a cap for surrounding the closure member on the container and having means by which the cap can be secured to the separate dispenser mechanism, said cap having means by which it can be secured to the container and means to provide only the initial attachment of said closure member on the container, said cap being axially displaced to release such initial attachment means in response to its first axial displacement to enable the closure element to be thereafter positioned by the support structure.

2. A dispensing closure assembly according to claim 1 in which said body portion of said closure member has a tapered cross-section for extending into the mouth of the container for radial centering of the closure member by the container.

3. A dispensing closure assembly according to claim 2 in which said body portion has a frustoconical shape, the flat portion of which is engageable with the support structure.

4. A dispensing closure assembly according to claim 1 in which said cap has an integral portion which is a removable disk enclosing the external side of said closure member prior to dispensing.

5. A dispensing closure assembly according to claim 1 in which said initial attachment means comprises a flexible flange which, in response to axial cap movement, is dilatable to clear said closure member.

6. A dispensing closure assembly according to claim 1 in which said first-named securing means comprises an external configuration axially slidably receptive in complemental structure on the dispenser mechanism.

7. A dispensing closure assembly according to claim 6 in which said external configuration comprises a number of flutes extending in the axial direction.

8. A dispensing device including a closure assembly according to claim 1, comprising:

a. a tubular body member having a formation at one end complemental to and receptive of said first-named means on said cap; and

b. a spring-biased axially movable nozzle in the other end of said tubular body member and having support structure for engaging said loose closure member.

9. A dispensing device for use with a dispensing closure assembly secured to a container and having a loose axially movable closure member, said dispensing device comprising:

a. a tubular body member having a formation at one end for securably receiving a portion of the assembled closure assembly of complemental configuration; and

b. a spring-biased axially movable nozzle in the other end of said tubular body member and having support structure for normally supporting the loose closure member sealably against the container and for movably supporting the loose closure member in axially spaced relation to the container.

10. A dispensing device according to claim 9 in which said body member has a radially inwardly directed flange surrounding said nozzle and said nozzle has a radially outwardly directed flange between which flanges the spring is disposed to urge said support structure toward the closure member.

11. A dispensing device according to claim 9 in which the upstream end of the nozzle is flared as a funnel from the inner wall of the tubular body member to the inner wall of said nozzle.

12. A dispensing device according to claim 9 in which said support structure has a generally frustoconical external locus for receiving and centering a complemental internal configuration on the loose closure member.

13. A dispensing device according to claim 9 which includes a sliding fluid seal member acting between said nozzle and said tubular body member.

14. A dispensing device according to claim 9 in which said body member has mounting means projecting radially outwardly therefrom at said one end for a distance beyond any other portion of the dispensing device.

15. A dispensing closure assembly for the discharge end of a storage container for use with a separate dispenser mechanism, comprising:

a. a unitary diaphragm-like closure member having a periphery for sealingly engaging the container at its mouth, said closure member being a prospective axially movable flow modulating element for cooperation with the container at its mouth when spaced therefrom to provide a dispensing opening around said closure member, said closure member having a central body portion of a configuration compatible with that of axially movable support structure on the dispenser mechanism; and

b. a cap encircling said closure member and having

1. means by which it can be movably secured to the container for relative axial motion,

2. means by which it can initially hold said closure member in sealing relation to the discharge end of the container, said initial hold means comprising a flexible flange which, in response to axial cap movement, is dilatable to clear said closure member, and

3. means by which it can be secured to the dispenser mechanism.