A dual-chamber dispenser

Technical Field

The invention relates to a dispenser for dispensing fluids, e.g., liquids, and more specifically to a multiple-chamber dispenser, such as a dual-chamber dispenser.

Background

Dispensers are widely used in dispensing fluids, such as liquids, e.g., cosmetic preparations. Due to the properties of some fluids, which contain two or more components, it may be desirable to store the various components of a fluid in separated chambers of a dispenser. The components are dispensed by the dispenser and then mixed into the fluid just before use.

A dual-chamber dispenser is known in the art, which is useful in dispensing different liquids from two separated chambers of the dispenser. However it is difficult to ensure that the amounts of liquids dispensed by the two chambers are identical with each other.

Thus there is still a need for a multiple-chamber dispenser which is able to dispense different liquids in an accuracy manner.

Summary of Invention

An object of the invention is to provide a novel multiple-chamber dispenser, in particular a dual-chamber dispenser, which is able to always discharge the same amount of fluids from its individual chambers. According to an embodiment, a dual-chamber dispenser includes an inner shell, an outer shell, an engine, a gear box mounted to the inner shell at a bottom side thereof, two chambers positioned side by side within the inner shell, each containing a certain amount of fluid, two actuators for dispensing the respective fluids contained in the individual chambers, a top cap mounted onto the inner shell and a dispenser base for supporting the outer shell. The inner shell is movable relative to the outer shell, the engine is configured to cooperate with the gear box such that the rotation of the engine is transferred into the gear box, and the gear box is configured to cooperate with the two actuators such that the two actuators are vertically moved simultaneously when the engine is rotated. With such arrangement, the same amount of fluid can be discharged from the individual chambers each time when the top cap is pushed down.

In an embodiment, the engine includes an engine top, an engine base, a spring mounted between the engine top and the engine base, and an engine gear fixed to the engine top at a top side thereof. The engine top is positioned inside the engine base such that the engine top is movable relative to the engine base in an up-down direction by means of the spring. Preferably the spring is a coil spring with one end being mounted to a bottom side of the engine base and the other end abutting against a top side of the engine top.

Also, in an embodiment, the engine top includes a body portion, a groove disposed adjacent a bottom side of the body portion, and a rectangular opening centrally disposed in a top surface of the body portion. The groove extends circumferentially and is divided into four identical parts, each part extending over an angle of 90 degrees and consisting of a first groove segment, a second groove segment and a third groove segment which are continuous with each other. The first groove segment extends upwardly from the lowest point to the highest point of the part in an inclined manner, the second groove segment extends vertically downwardly from the highest point of the part to an intermediate point located between the highest and lowest points of the part, and the third groove segment extends downwardly from the intermediate point to the lowest point of an adjacent part in an inclined manner, so that the three groove segments form a zigzag-like shape.

Further, in an embodiment, the engine base includes a body portion, four sliders disposed on an inner wall of the body portion, and two lugs. Preferably the sliders are evenly circumferentially distributed. The lugs are diametrically opposite to each other. The outer shell is also supported onto the lugs.

Furthermore, in an embodiment, the gear box includes a housing, and two transmission gears mounted within the housing and meshed with the engine gear. Preferably, the two transmission gears are identical to each other. With such an arrangement, the same amount of fluids can be discharged from the individual chambers.

Alternatively, the two transmission gears are different from each other. With such an arrangement, different amount of fluids can be discharged from the individual chambers.

Furthermore, in an embodiment, each of the two actuators includes a piston sealingly fitted within a respective chamber, and a putter fixed to the piston at a bottom side thereof and having a screw portion in the form of a male thread, and wherein each of the transmission gears has a threaded through hole which is engaged with the male thread of the respective putter. In this way, the actuators can be moved vertically when the transmission gears are rotated.

Moreover, in an embodiment, the gear box includes two openings at a top side thereof through which openings the screw portions of the putters are respectively inserted.

Moreover, in an embodiment, there is provided a protrusion at each widthwise side near a top edge of the inner shell so as to be engaged with the outer shell. Accordingly, there is provided a corresponding limiter notch at each widthwise side near a top edge of the outer shell.

Moreover, in an embodiment, the top cap has a body portion and a dispenser outlet. Also, there are provided in the top cap two curved fluid passages, each of which passages extends from the dispenser outlet and is terminated at a respective recess. Accordingly, each of the chambers has a cylindrical body portion defining the hollow interior of the chamber, and a hollow boss projecting from the top surface of the body portion, the recess being in fluid communication with the interior of an associated chamber. In this way, the fluid contained inside the interior of the chamber can be discharged to the dispenser outlet via a respective fluid passage of the top cap.

Besides, according to an embodiment, the dispenser base has a body portion and two catch hooks for engaging the outer shell.

Brief Description of Drawings

For better understanding, the invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the Figures showing in the Drawings in which:

Fig. 1A is a top view of a dual-chamber dispenser according to an embodiment of the invention;

Fig. IB is a front view of the dual-chamber dispenser shown in Fig. 1A in which interior components are not shown;

Fig. 1C is a sectional view of the dual-chamber dispenser taken along line A-A in Fig. 1A;

Fig. 2A is a perspective view of a coil spring of an engine of the dual-chamber dispenser shown in Fig. 1C;

Fig. 2B is a plan view of the coil as shown in Fig. 2A;

Fig. 3 A is a perspective view of an engine top of the engine as shown in Fig. 1C;

Fig. 3B is a plan view of the engine top as shown in Fig. 3A;

Fig. 4A is a perspective view of an engine base of the engine as shown in Fig. 1C;

Fig. 4B is a plan view of the engine top as shown in Fig. 4A;

Fig. 5A is a perspective view of a transmission gear of the gear box as shown in Fig. 1C;

Fig. 5B is a plan view of the transmission gear as shown in Fig. 5A;

Fig. 6A is a perspective view of the gear box of the dual-chamber dispenser as shown in Fig. 1C;

Fig. 6B is a front view of the gear box as shown in Fig. 6A;

Fig. 7 A is a perspective view of an inner shell of the dual-chamber dispenser as shown in Fig. 1A;

Fig. 7B is a top view of the inner shell as shown in Fig. 7A;

Fig. 8 A is a perspective view of an outer shell of the dual-chamber dispenser as shown in Fig. 1A;

Fig. 8B is a bottom view of the outer shell as shown in Fig. 8A;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a chamber of the dual-chamber dispenser as shown in Fig. 1A;

Fig. 10A is a perspective view of a putter of the actuator of the dual-chamber dispenser as shown in Fig. 1C; Fig. 10B is a perspective view of a piston of the actuator of the dual-chamber dispenser as shown in Fig. 1C;

Fig. 11A is a perspective view of a top cap of the dual-chamber dispenser as shown in Fig. 1A;

Fig. 1 IB is a front view of the top cap as shown in Fig. 11A;

Fig. 11C is a bottom view of the top cap as shown in Fig. 11 A; and

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of a dispenser base of the dual-chamber dispenser as shown in Fig. 1C.

Detailed Description

In the context of the invention, for the sake of conveniences, directional terms, such as “top”, “bottom” or the like are used with reference to the orientations depicted in the figures.

Figs. 1A, IB and 1C are schematic views of a dual-chamber dispenser 1 according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in Fig. 1C, the dual-chamber dispenser 1 includes an inner shell 10, an outer shell 20, an engine 30, a gear box 40 mounted to the inner shell 10 at a bottom side thereof, two chambers 50 positioned side by side within the inner shell 10, each containing a certain amount of fluid, two actuators 60 for dispensing the fluids contained in the respective chambers 50, a top cap 70 mounted onto the inner shell 10 and a dispenser base 80 for supporting the outer shell 20. The inner shell 10 is movable relative to the outer shell 20. The engine 30 is configured to cooperate with the gear box 40 such that the rotation of the engine 30 is transferred into the gear box 40. The gear box 40 is configured to cooperate with the two actuators 60 such that the two actuators 60 are vertically moved simultaneously when the engine is rotated. Thus the same amount of fluids can be discharged from the two individual chambers 50. In particular, the engine 30 includes an engine top 31, an engine base 32, a spring 33 mounted between the engine top 31 and the engine base 32, and an engine gear 34 fixed to the engine top 31 at a top side thereof. The engine top 31 is positioned inside the engine base 32. The spring 33 is a coil spring with one end being mounted to a bottom side of the engine base 32 and the other end abutting against a top side of the engine top 31 so that the engine top 31 is movable relative to the engine base 32 in an up-down direction by means of the coil spring 33.

Figs. 2A-2B are schematic views of the coil spring 33.

Fig. 3A is a schematic view of the engine top 31 in the form of a hollow cylindrical shaped body, which includes a body portion 31a, and a groove 31b disposed adjacent a bottom side of the body portion 31a. The gear 34 is centrally positioned onto the body portion 31a. As shown in Fig. 3B, the groove 31b extends circumferentially and is divided into four identical parts, each part extending over an angle of 90 degrees and consisting of a first groove segment 3 Ibl, a second groove segment 31b2 and a third groove segment 31b3 which are continuous with each other. The first groove segment 3 Ibl extends upwardly from the lowest point to the highest point of the part in an inclined manner, the second groove segment 3 lb2 extends vertically downwardly from the highest point of the part to an intermediate point located between the highest and lowest points of the part, and the third groove segment 31b3 extends downwardly from the intermediate point to the lowest point of an adjacent part in an inclined manner, so that the three groove segments form a zigzag-like shape.

Fig. 4A is a schematic view of the engine base 32 also in the form of a hollow cylindrical shaped body, which includes a body portion 32a, four sliders 32b disposed on an inner wall of the body portion, and two lugs 32c. The sliders 32b are evenly circumferentially distributed (see Fig. 4B), so that they can slide along the respective parts of the groove 31b of the engine top 31, whereby the engine top 31 is rotated. The lugs 32c are diametrically opposite to each other. When assembling, the outer shell 20 is supported onto the lugs 32c at a bottom side thereof.

Figs. 5A and 5B are schematic views of the gear box 40, which includes two identical transmission gears 41 each having a threaded through hole 41a (see Figs 6A-6B), and a housing 42 for accommodating the gears 41. Also, the gear box 40 includes two openings 43 at a top side thereof. When assembling, the transmission gears 41 are meshed with the engine gear 34 so that the rotation of the engine 30 is transferred into the gear box 40. Meanwhile, the putters 61 are inserted through the gear box 40 via the respective openings 43 and meshed with the respective transmission gears 41 so that the actuators 60 can be moved up and down within the inner shell 10 depending on the rotation direction of the engine 30.

Moreover, there is provided a positioning protrusion 44 at each widthwise side near a top edge of housing 42. When assembling, the positioning protrusions 44 are engaged with the respective positioning notches 13 of the inner shell 10, so that the gear box 40 can be fixed in place.

Fig. 7 A is a schematic view of the inner shell 10 in the form of a hollow rounded rectangular cylindrical shaped body, illustrating that there is provided a protrusion 11 at each widthwise side near a top edge of the inner shell 10. The protrusion 11 extends in a width direction of the inner shell 10. Also, as shown in Fig. 7B, the inner shell 10 has two openings 12 near a top side thereof, through which two respective chambers 50 extend, which will be described later. Further there is provided a positioning notch 13 at each widthwise side at a bottom edge of the inner shell 10. When assembling, the protrusion 11 abuts against a respective limiter notch 21 of the outer shell 20, which will be described below in detail, so that the movement of the inner shell 10 relative to the outer shell 20 can be guided by the engagement between the protrusion 11 and the limiter notch 21. The protrusion 11 may be chamfered for a better guide. Meanwhile, the limiter notch 21 serves as a stop for limiting the movement of the inner shell 10 relative to the outer shell 20. Moreover, the gear box 40 can be fixed in place by the engagement between the positioning notches 13 and the positioning protrusions 44.

Fig. 8A is a schematic view of the outer shell 20 also in the form of a hollow rounded rectangular cylindrical shaped body, illustrating that there is provided a rectangular limiter notch 21 at each widthwise side near a top edge of the outer shell 20. As discussed above, the limiter notches 21 are engaged with the respective protrusions 11 when assembling. Also, as shown in Fig. 8B, the outer shell 10 has an opening 22 at a bottom side thereof through which the engine 30 extends so as to rest against the dispenser base 80. Further, there is provided a snap slot 23 at each widthwise side near a bottom edge of the outer shell 20. During use, the upper and lower limits of the movement of the inner shell 10 relative to the outer shell 20 are defined by the top and bottom edges of the limiter notches 21, respectively..

Fig. 9 is a schematic view of the chamber 50. As shown in Fig. 9, the chamber 50 has a cylindrical body portion 51 defining the hollow interior of the chamber 50, and a hollow boss 52 projecting from the top surface of the body portion 51. When assembling, the boss 52 is preferably sealedly received in a respective recess 74 of the top cap 70, which will be described below in detail, so that the interior of the chamber 50 is in fluid communication with a respective fluid passage 73 of the top cap 70.

Figs. 10A and 10B are schematic perspective views of the putter 61 and the piston 62 of the actuator 60, respectively. As shown in Fig. 10A, the putter 61 has a screw portion, which is in the form of a male thread. The piston 62 is sealingly fitted within the respective chamber 50 and the putter 61 is inserted through the gear box 40 via the opening 43 and meshed with the respective transmission gear 41 so that the actuator 60 can be vertically moved when the engine 30 is rotated.

The putter 61 may be flexible and thus stay bent in the dispenser 1 when the piston 62 is in the lower dead point. As the putter 61 is gone through the gear box 40 and its screw portion meshed with the respective transmission gear 41, the putter 61 becomes straight. In this way, for a given stroke, the height of the dispenser 1 can be designed to be lower than conventional dispensers.

Fig. 11 A is a schematic view of the top cap 70. As shown in Fig. 11A, the top cap 70 has a body portion 71 and a dispenser outlet 72. The body portion 71 is of a rounded rectangular plate shape. The dispenser outlet 72 is aligned with a top surface of the body portion 71 and located centrally in a length direction of the body portion 71, as shown in Fig. 11B. Also, as shown in Fig. 11C, there are provided in the top cap 70 two curved fluid passages 73, each of which extends from the dispenser outlet 72 and is terminated at a respective recess 74, the recess 74 being in fluid communication with an associated chamber 50. In this case, the fluid passages 73 meet at the dispenser outlet 72 so as form a V shape.

Fig. 12 is a schematic view of the dispenser base 80. As shown in Fig. io 12, the dispenser base 80 has a body portion 81 and two catch hooks 82 for engaging the outer shell 20. The body portion 81 is of a rounded rectangular plate shape. The catch hooks 82 are disposed on a top surface of the body portion 81 such that they are located adjacent opposite edges of the body portion in a length direction and centrally in a width direction of the body portion. When assembling, the outer shell 20 is placed onto the dispenser base 80 such that the catch hooks 82 are engaged with the snap slots 23 of the outer shell 20 at a bottom side thereof.

During use, once the top cap 70 is pushed down, the engine top 31 will be moved downwardly from the original height position (i.e., the lowest point of each groove part due to the coil spring 33) and at the same time rotated by an angle of 90 degrees in an anti-clockwise direction due to the sliding movement of the sliders 32b along the groove 31b, and the engine gear 34 which is fixed with the engine top 31 will also be rotated by an angle of 90 degrees. The transmission gears 41 of the gear box 40 which are meshed with the engine gear 34 should also be rotated by a certain angle, which depends on the gear ratio between the transmission gears 41 and the engine gear 34. In an example, the angle may also be 90 degrees. Moreover, due to the fact that the transmission gears 41 are meshed with the respective putters 61 of the actuators 60, which are in turn fixed to the respective pistons 62 so as to translate the rotation movement of the transmission gears 41 into a vertical movement of the putters, the putters 61 will be simultaneously moved upwardly by a certain distance. The pistons 62 of the two actuators 60 will also be moved upwardly by the same distance, thereby discharging the same amount of fluids from the individual chambers 50. Thus the dual-chamber dispenser has always a 1: 1 outcome by volume each time when the top cap 70 is pushed down.

After releasing the top cap 70, the engine top 31 will move back to the original height position due to the coil spring 33 while further rotating in the anti-clockwise direction. With the third groove segment being shorter than the first groove segment, the rotation angle during the return movement direction may be less than that during the pushing down movement. Thus the actuators 60 will be gradually moved upwardly till all the fluids contained in the individual chambers 50 are dispensed.

The embodiment of the invention as discussed above exemplifies a dual-chamber dispenser. However it will be understood that the invention can also be applied to a multiple-chamber dispenser having more than two chambers which are actuated by their respective actuators, each of the actuators being activated by a respective gear of the gear box.

The invention has been described above by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings which represent a single embodiment of the invention. It will be understood that many different embodiments of the invention exist, and that all of these embodiments fall within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

List of Reference Signs

I dispenser

10 inner shell

I I guide protrusion

12 bottom opening

13 positioning notch

20 outer shell

21 limiter notch

22 bottom opening

23 snap slot

30 engine 31 engine top 31a body portion 31b groove

3 Ibl a first groove segment 31b2 a second groove segment 31b3 a third groove segment

32 engine base 32a body portion 32b slider

32c lug

33 coil spring

34 engine gear

40 gear box

41 transmission gear

41a threaded through hole

42 housing

43 opening

44 positioning protrusion

50 chamber

51 body portion

52 boss

60 actuator

61 putter

62 piston

70 top cap

71 body portion

72 dispenser outlet

73 fluid passage

74 recess

80 dispenser base 81 body portion

82 catch hook