Pump Assembly Carrying Rasp

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016256015-A1
Application number	US-201514839672-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Aug 28, 2015
Priority date	Aug 29, 2014
Publication date	Sep 8, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A pump assembly for generating and dispensing of particles of a solid material with or without dispensing of a fluid. The pump assembly preferably includes a fluid pump which in a cycle of operation draws the fluid through a fluid inlet and dispenses the fluid out a fluid outlet. The pump assembly carries a block of the solid material coalesced together and a rasp member, which during the cycle of operation, moves relative the rasp in engagement with the block whereby the rasp member disengages particles of the solid material from the block which particles drop under gravity downwardly adjacent the fluid outlet, for example, onto a user's hand as in the case that the fluid is a hand cleaning fluid and the solid is a solid soap.

First claim

We claim:

1 . A pump assembly for dispensing of a fluid and of particles of a solid material comprising:
a fluid pump which in a cycle of operation draws the fluid through a fluid inlet and dispenses the fluid out a fluid outlet, a block of the solid material coalesced together, a rasp member, which during the cycle of operation, moves relative the rasp in engagement with the block whereby the rasp member disengages particles of the solid material from the block which particles drop under gravity downwardly adjacent the fluid outlet.

2 . A pump assembly as claimed in claim 1 including:
a pump housing body,
the fluid pump including a pump member mounted to the body for movement relative the body in the cycle of operation to draw and dispense the fluid, and
the rasp member mounted to the body for movement relative the body in the cycle of operation to disengage the particles.

3 . A pump assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the block is biased into engaging contact with the rasp member to assist in the rasp member disengaging the particles from the block.

4 . A pump assembly as claimed in claim 3 wherein the pump member and the rasp member are mechanically linked such that in a cycle of operation with movement of the pump member relative the body to dispense the fluid, the rasp member moves relative the body to disengage the particles.

5 . A pump assembly as claimed in claim 2 wherein the pump member and the rasp member are mechanically linked by a linkage mechanism which is selectable to be in a coupled condition in which in a cycle of operation with movement of the pump member relative the body to dispense the fluid there is movement of the rasp member relative the body to disengage the particles or an uncoupled condition in which in a cycle of operation with movement of the pump member relative the body dispense the fluid there is not movement of the rasp member relative the body to disengage the particles.

6 . A pump assembly as claimed in claim 2 wherein the pump member is mounted to the body for reciprocal movement relative the body parallel to an axis in the cycle of operation to draw and dispense the fluid.

7 . A pump assembly as claimed in claim 6 wherein the rasp member is carried on the pump member for movement coaxially with the pump member axially relative the block with the rasp member.

8 . A pump assembly as claimed in claim 6 wherein the rasp member comprises a rasp surface directed radially relative the pump member, the block having a radially directed surface biased radially into engagement with the rasp surface, the rasp member coupled to the pump member for movement of the rasp surface axially with the piston relative the block while in engagement with the radially directed surface of the block.

9 . A pump assembly as claimed in claim 6 wherein the block comprises a plurality of segments arranged circumferentially spaced about the axis in a circle about the rasp member,
a circumferential band of resilient material encircling the segments and biasing each segment to move radially into engaging contact with the rasp member.

10 . A pump assembly as claimed in claim 9 wherein the body engages each segment to guide each segment in sliding radially into engaging contact with the rasp member.

11 . A pump assembly as claimed in claim 10 wherein the body carrying a solid material cage enclosing the block separated from the fluid, the cage including a solid material discharge tube guiding the particles discharged from the block by the rasp member to a solid material discharge outlet proximate the fluid outlet while maintaining the particles separated from the fluid until exiting from the solid material discharge outlet.

12 . A pump assembly as claimed in claim 6 wherein the rasp member comprises a resilient finger member having a first end and a distal end, the finger member coupled to the pump member at a first end to move axially with the pump member, the finger member extending from the first end axially away from the first end and radially outwardly from the piston to the distal end to present a rasp surface which moves radially relative the piston with movement of the pump member axially, the rasp surface biased axially into engagement with an axially directed surface of the block opposed thereto.

13 . A pump assembly as claimed in claim 9 wherein the fluid pump is a piston pump, the body carries a piston chamber disposed coaxially about a pump axis, the chamber having a closed axially inner end and an open outer end, the pump member comprising a piston coaxially slidable received in the chamber with an outer end of the piston extending outwardly of the open outer end of the chamber to a discharge outlet at the outer end of the piston, the piston coaxially slidable along the axis within the piston between an extended position and a retracted position and movable in the cycle of operation between the extended position and the retracted position to draw the fluid in the inlet and to discharge the fluid out the discharge outlet.

14 . A pump assembly as claimed in claim 9 wherein the fluid pump is a diaphragm pump, the pump member comprising a plunger member reciprocally slidable along the axis in the cycle of operation, the diaphragm pump including a resilient diaphragm member defining a variable volume diaphragm chamber, reciprocal movement of the plunger member along the axis deflecting the diaphragm to changing the volume of the diaphragm chamber thereby drawing fluid into the fluid pump and discharging the fluid from the fluid pump.

15 . A dispenser for dispensing of a fluid and particles of a solid material comprising:
a reservoir containing the fluid, a pump which in a cycle of operation draws the fluid from the reservoir into the chamber and dispenses the fluid out an outlet, a block of the solid material coalesced together, a rasp, which during the cycle of operation of the pump, moves relative the block in engagement with the block whereby the rasp erodes the block by disengaging the particles from the block, a particle discharge chute receiving the particles disengaged from the block and directing the particles under gravity downwardly to a particle exitway adjacent the outlet.

16 . A dispenser as claimed in claim 15 including:
a dispenser housing;
a pump actuator movable relative the housing in the cycle of operation to activate the pump to draw and dispense the fluid,
a rasp actuator movable relative the housing in the cycle of operation to move the rasp member relative the housing to disengage the particles, and
a driven member for movement relative the housing in the cycle of operation either manually or by a motor,
the driven member mechanically coupled to the pump actuator and the rasp actuator whereby movement of the driven member in the cycle of operation moves the pump actuator relative the housing to displace the fluid and moves the rasp actuator relative the housing to move the rasp member relative the body to disengage the particles.

17 . A dispenser for simultaneous dispensing of a fluid and particles of a solid material comprising:
a reservoir containing the fluid, a piston pump having a piston chamber-forming body forming a chamber therein and a piston-forming element reciprocally coaxially slidable in the chamber for movement between a retracted position and an extended position relative the piston chamber-forming body, the piston element and the piston chamber-forming element are coaxially reciprocally slidable about an axis, wherein in a cycle of operation the pump draws the f

Assignees

• Op Hygiene Ip Gmbh

Inventors

• Ophardt Heiner
• Jones Andrew
• Shi Zhenchun

Classifications

• A47K5/1207

  Dispensing from the bottom of the dispenser with a vertical piston · CPC title

• F04B23/028

  the pump being mounted on top of the reservoir · CPC title

• B05B11/0078

  Arrangements for separately storing several components (arrangements for pumping several liquids or other fluent materials from several containers B05B11/1081) · CPC title

• C11D17/00

  Detergent materials or soaps characterised by their shape or physical properties (shaping soap C11D13/14) · CPC title

• F04B43/02

  having plate-like flexible members, e.g. diaphragms (F04B43/14 takes precedence) · CPC title