US 7240808 B2
According to the invention, a dosing dispenser of simple construction, for the dosing of components held in a reservoir section by at least one pump unit connected thereto and an adjuster element, which may be pivoted about a horizontal axis by a handle for operation of a pump piston of the pump unit and about a vertical axis for adjustment of the amount ratios of the components may be produced. The pump piston comprises at least one guide for a non-tipping and/or non-rotating mounting in the upper region thereof. A particularly stable operation of the pump piston may thus be guaranteed.
1. A dosage dispenser for dosing components which are contained in a receptacle section, comprising two pump units connected to said section and an adjusting element which is pivotable about a vertical axis for actuating a pump plunger of each of the pump units by means of a handle about a horizontal pivoting axis and for setting the quantity ratio of the component with a housing head, the receptacle section further comprising at least two guide means adapted to guide and stabilize each pump plunger at its respective upper region for tilt-proof mounting, wherein at least one of the at least two guide means is disposed between the two pump units.
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1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a dosage dispenser according to the preamble of claim 1.
2. Description of the Related Art
Dosage dispensers are known from EP 0 755 721 A2 and DE 198 18 434 in which the mixing ratio of two pasty or fluid components can be adjusted in a continuous manner. Such a dosage dispenser can be used advantageously as a dispenser for sun lotion in order to mix two sun lotion components with a sun lotion factor of 1 and of 25 for example, so that the sun lotion factor can be set in a continuous manner in the region of 1 to 25. Said dosage dispenser represents a substantial improvement for the consumer because the consumer can choose the sun lotion factor pending on the insulation and the acclimatization of the skin and the consumer does not have to carry several containers with different sun lotion factors around with him.
Even in the further development of the proposed solution according to WO 00/09270 (especially
The known dosage dispensers have principally proven their worth in practice. However, the pump units or their pump plungers can be subjected to considerable tilting and/or twisting moments when actuated with the pressed-down adjusting element, so that they can get “jammed” in their respective pump unit.
In contrast to this, the invention is based on the object of providing a dosage dispenser which in combination with a simple constructional configuration ensures a secure guidance of the pump plunger.
This object is achieved by a dosage dispenser in accordance with the features of claim 1. Preferred embodiments are the subject matter of the sub-claims.
In comparison with the dosage dispensers as described above, the solution in accordance with the invention has a substantially simpler and more stable configuration because the pump unit comprises in its upper region a guide means which is resistant to tilting and twisted, and especially comprises a collar formed thereon. This arrangement allows the guidance of the pump plunger to be executed in a substantially more stable manner than the configurations as described above and the number of movable components can be reduced. Preferably, the collar is formed integrally with the respective pump plunger. In particular, it is configured as an injection-molded part.
An especially advantageous aspect is that a guide rail is provided radially each on the inside and outside for guiding the pump plunger of the dosage dispenser, which guide rail can also be formed in an integral manner on the mixing unit. An especially exact guidance of the pump plunger is thus achieved when it is actuated. The proposed dosage dispenser can be mounted in an especially simple and stable manner and comes with a low overall height.
A preferred embodiment of the invention is explained below by reference to the enclosed drawings
The adjusting element 3 is provided in the illustrated embodiment with an annular or disk-like configuration, so that said adjusting element 3 is rotatable about a vertical axis and is further pivotable about the pivoting axis 4 which is arranged approximately transversally thereto. The adjusting element 3 rests with its lower side on the two pump units 6 (which means more precisely at a contact point 16′ each in the form of a rounded tip), so that by pressing down the adjusting element 3 about the pivoting axis 4 a pumping stroke can be introduced upon the respective piston plunger 6′. This pivoting or pressing down of the adjusting element 3 about its pivoting axis 4 occurs through a handle 7 which can be actuated by hand and which is provided at the edge of a housing head 8 which is held on the housing 2 and in which a delivery or mixing nozzle 5 for the mixture is arranged.
As is shown in
If the adjusting element 3 is pressed downwardly or deflected by pressing down the handle 7, it performs a pivoting movement about the pivoting axis 4, so that only the pump head of the pump unit 6 which is on the left side in
When the adjusting element 3 is turned by 90°, an alignment of the pivoting axis 4 is obtained in which the same extends at a parallel distance to the connecting line of the two pump units 6. If based on this position the adjusting element 3 is pressed downwardly, the two pump units 6 are pushed downwardly by the same path, so that both pumps have an identical stroke or a conveying volume of 50% of the total output quantity. The mixture then contains the same parts if the two components from the receptacle sections 10. In the case of respective intermediate positions of the adjusting element 3 and its pivoting axis 4, respective intermediate conditions are obtained between the strokes or conveying volumes of pumps 6, so that they are continuously adjustable for each component between 0%:100% and 100%:0%.
Since during the actuating stroke it is possible that lateral forces may act upon the pump plunger 6′, at least one guide means and preferably two guide means 12 and 12′ are provided for the mounting of the same to protect it from tilting or twisting, as is shown in an enlarged view in
As is shown in particular in
As is shown in the figures, the dosage dispenser 1 can be provided with a short axial length, which thus leads to an especially compact design. The individual components, and especially the adjusting element 3, the housing head 8, the mixing unit 11 and the housing 2, are preferably produced by injection molding and are mutually joined by latching or snap-on connections (e.g. 20), which thus allows obtaining simple mounting.
In the described embodiment, the components from the receptacle sections 10 are delivered to a common central delivery channel 9. In principle the individual components could also be guided separate from each other to the delivery or mixing nozzle 5, so that thorough mixing does not occur there yet. The mixing nozzle 5 can preferably emerge in the radial direction or even centrally from the face surface of the housing head 8.