Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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DEVICE FOR DISPENSING MATERIAL
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to devices for dispensing material, particularly
high
viscosity material including, but not limited to, oral care substances such as
denture adhesives.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Dispensers that are difficult to operate can be of concern to consumers,
particularly those
with limited manual dexterity and/or eyesight. Although a product may be
excellent, if it is in a
dispenser that is hard to operate, a consumer may settle for another product
that is in an easier to
operate dispenser.
Many products are dispensed through pressurized containers. One example of a
pressurized dispensing system is the bag-in-can system. In such a system, a
valve, such as a tilt
action valve, is sealed on a can, which contains a bag. Inside the bag is the
product to be
dispensed, and outside of the bag but within the can is a propellant. The user
moves an actuator
that is attached to the valve, which causes the valve to open. When the valve
opens, the
propellant pushes against the bag, forcing the product out of the bag and
through the valve. A
nozzle on top of the actuator may control the spread of the dispensed product.
Other pressurized
containers include the bag-on-valve system or a piston-in-can system.
One challenge of these pressurized container systems for consumers can be the
ergonomics of holding the can while pressing the actuator. Certain strength
and motor control is
required, especially if the product needs to be dispensed in a very controlled
manner. In addition,
many actuators may be manipulated in any direction to open a tilt action
valve, causing
unpredictability as to what direction the product will be dispensed. All of
these difficulties are
especially acute if the user has limited vision and/or manual dexterity.
Therefore, there remains a need for dispensing devices, including pressurized
container
systems with tilt action valves, that are easy to operate and that offer
controlled dispensing of the
product. There remains a need for such devices to have actuators that are
simple for the user to
manipulate. There remains a need for such devices to be able to dispense very
viscous material,
while not requiring strenuous effort on the part of the user.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a device for dispensing material, particularly
high
viscosity material including, but not limited to, oral care substances such as
denture adhesives.
The present invention relates to a device for dispensing material comprising a
pressurized
container assembly, a tilt action valve, and a two-piece actuator, including a
lower piece and an
upper piece, where the upper piece has a discharge nozzle orifice and also a
portion to be moved
by a user in the single direction of the discharge orifice to open the tilt
action valve and discharge
the material in the single direction.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying figures show non-limiting embodiments of devices for
dispensing
material that incorporate various aspects of the present invention.
FIGS. 1 and 2 are plan views of devices according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-section of an embodiment of the device of the
present
invention.
FIG. 4 is an exploded isometric view of an embodiment of the device of the
present
invention.
FIGS. 5 and 6 are side views of one embodiment of the device shown at rest and
then
while dispensing a material, respectively.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
While the specification concludes with claims that particularly point out and
distinctly
claim the invention, it is believed the present invention will be better
understood from the
following description.
Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 show two views of one embodiment of
the
device of the present invention. FIG. 3 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional
view of one
embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, the device comprises a can 1,
or outer chamber,
with a flexible bag 2, or inner chamber, inside the can. Inside the bag is a
material to be
dispensed (not shown). A valve assembly 3 is crimped onto the top of the can.
A header, or
actuator 4, is a molded part of the valve assembly that snaps onto the crimped
valve assembly.
The actuator has an upper piece 5 complementary to a lower piece 6. The upper
piece has a
nozzle 7 that has a discharge orifice 8. The upper piece also has a portion to
be pressed by a user
9. The valve, which may be a tilt action valve, has a stem 10 protruding
upwards from the can.
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The lower piece of the actuator has a slot 11 through which the upper piece
extends. The upper
piece then fits over and communicates with the stem of the valve.
FIG. 4 depicts an exploded isometric view of an embodiment of the device. The
device
comprises a can 1, a valve assembly with a valve stem 10, and a two-part
actuator with an upper
piece 5 and a lower piece 6. The upper piece has a nozzle 7 that has a
discharge orifice 8. The
upper piece also has a portion to be pressed by a user 9. The upper piece 5 of
the actuator fits
over and communicates with the stem of the valve 10. The lower piece of the
actuator has a slot
11 through which the valve stem 10 protrudes. As can be seen, the valve stem,
due to the slot,
may move in only one direction.
The pressurized container assembly may be one of many known in the art. In
some
embodiments, a bag-in-can aerosol assembly may be used, similar to that known
in the art. For
example, US patent 3,393,842, issued July 23, 1968 to Bruce et al. and US
patent 6,196,275,
issued March 6, 2001 to Yazawa et al. disclose bag-in-can aerosol assemblies
of the type that
may be used in the present invention. Another pressurized container assembly
that may be used
in the present device is the bag-on-valve assembly, in which the bag
containing the material to be
dispensed is connected directly on the valve. For example, US 7,523,767,
issued April 28, 2009
to Pericard offers disclosure and examples of bag-on-valve assemblies. Other
embodiments may
comprise a piston can assembly, also known as bag-in-piston or piston-in-can
assembly, for
example, as disclosed in US 2007/0184010, published August 9, 2007. In other
embodiments,
the pressurized container assembly may be a tube-in-sleeve assembly, for
example those
disclosed in US Publication Nos. 2011-0260082 filed April 13, 2011 and 2011-
0259923 filed
April 22, 2011. Those with ordinary skill in the art would understand that any
of these or other
pressurized container assemblies may be used in the present device.
One type of valve assembly that may be used with pressurized dispensing
systems, such
as the bag-in-can assembly, may be a tilt action valve. In general, the tilt
action valve of the
present invention may be similar to those known in the art. For example, US
patent 4,824,075,
issued April 25, 1989 to Holzboog and US patent 5,785,301, issued July 28,
1998 to Scheindel
disclose tilt action valves of the type that may be used in the present
invention. Other examples
of valves and valve systems are disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No.
2010/0133301 to Chan
et al., published on June 3, 2010, along with those disclosed in U.S. Patent
Publication No.
2010/0133295 to Chan et al., published on June 3, 2010.
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Some embodiments may comprise a high delivery rate tilt action valve, which
allows for
dispensing of high viscosity materials. One of ordinary skill in the art would
be familiar with
valves that are considered high delivery rate valves.
High viscosity materials may include, but are not limited to, denture
adhesives such as
those described in U.S. published applications 2007/0185233, to Rajaiah et
al., published August
9, 2007 and 2009/0239972, to Rajaiah et al., published September 24, 2009. In
some
embodiments, the viscosity of the material to be dispensed by the present
invention is greater
than about 300 Pa-s. In other embodiments, the viscosity may be greater than
about 400 Pa-s,
greater than about 500 Pa-s, or greater than about 600 Pa-s. In some
embodiments, the viscosity
may be any combination of the range from about 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, or 600
Pa-s to about
400, 500, 600, 1000, 2000, 4000, or 6000 Pa-s. In some embodiments, the
viscosity of the
material to be dispensed from the present invention may be from about 300 Pa-s
to about 6000
Pa-s, in other embodiments from about 300 Pa-s to about 3000 Pa-s, in other
embodiments from
about 400 Pa-s to about 2000 Pa-s, and in still other embodiments from about
500 Pa-s to about
1000 Pa-s. (Viscosities are measured by the test method disclosed in US
published application
2009/0239972).
The present invention also comprises an actuator. The actuator of the present
invention
has two pieces, an upper piece and a lower piece. One purpose for the actuator
to be two pieces,
rather than just one, is to restrict the movement of the tilt action valve to
a single direction. As
can be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the upper piece 5 fits into the lower piece 6
via a slot 11 in the
lower piece. When the user moves the upper piece to dispense the material in
the device, the
upper piece and the valve stem move through a predetermined and set path
within the slot of the
lower piece. Given the configuration of the nozzle 7, the material contained
in the device will be
dispensed in the direction that the upper piece is pushed. That is, the
material will be dispensed
in the direction of the nozzle orifice on the upper piece of the actuator.
Another advantage of the two-piece actuators of the present invention is that
replacement
is possible for just the upper piece. A common problem in dispensing devices
is the clogging of
the nozzle and actuator in general that can make the remaining material
unusable. Should the
material become clogged, a possible solution may be to replace just the upper
piece of the
actuator, allowing the lower piece and its connections to the rest of the
device to remain
unaltered.
There are several benefits to limiting the dispersion of the material to a
single direction.
The single direction of dispersion gives a specific orientation for the user.
It is clear to the user
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how to hold the device and how to move the actuator, and it is also easy for
the user to control
and direct the material being dispensed. The present invention can require
less strength and/or
motor control than a device that dispenses in numerous directions.
Additionally, a user of the
present invention may dispense material while easily viewing the area that it
is being dispensed
into. In some embodiments, the angle between the can and either the length of
the nozzle or the
direction of the dispensed material may be small, from about 10 degrees to
about 90 degrees, in
some embodiments from about 30 degrees to about 70 degrees, further aiding
visibility and
control for the user. A user may also hold the device and dispense the
material easily with just
one hand. This may be especially useful if the material to be dispensed, for
example, is a denture
adhesive, whereby the user could hold the denture in one hand and apply the
denture adhesive
onto the denture with the present device. Also, the small angle created
between the length of the
can and either the length of the nozzle or the direction of the dispensed
material allows a user to
dispense the material in a downward direction without tilting the can very
much or not at all.
The present invention, as it relates to dispensing a denture adhesive, and
more particularly
a high-viscosity denture adhesive, is especially advantageous. Denture
adhesives have typically
been contained in tubes and dispensed by the user simply squeezing the tube.
But such denture
adhesives are known to have difficulties such as oozing and erosion. Some
newer formulas for
denture adhesives have higher viscosities, offering consumers the benefits of
minimizing the
oozing and/or erosion difficulties. But these higher viscosity denture
adhesives could be difficult
to dispense from a tube, meaning they necessitate new dispensing solutions.
The present
invention offers not only a solution to the increased force required to
dispense a higher viscosity
material from a container, but also provides benefits critical to the needs of
denture adhesive
users. For example, the advantages of the restriction of movement to a single
direction or a
limited range of directions, the small angle between the can and the dispensed
material that aids
visibility, and the one-handed operation all allow dispensing with less
strength and/or motor
coordination. The combined benefits of the two-piece actuator of the present
devices provides
intuitiveness and helps to overcome limited dexterity and eyesight.
Other advantages of the present invention include that the portion of the
upper piece to be
moved by the user, that is, the actuator button, may be off-center. The button
may also be
relatively large, having a surface area of any combination in the range of
about 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5,
3.0, 3.5, or 4.0 square centimeters to about 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, or
5.0 square centimeters.
The large surface area may make it easier for a user to move the actuator
button because the user
may use a finger or a thumb, or even multiple fingers and/or thumb to move the
actuator button.
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The nozzle portion of the upper piece of the actuator comprises a discharge
nozzle orifice.
In some embodiments, the nozzle length, shape, and profile are designed to
allow the material to
be dispensed in narrow crevices. The nozzle length and shape of the nozzle may
also contribute
to good visibility of the nozzle tip as the user dispenses the material. In
general, the entire two-
piece actuator may have an outer surface that decreases in cross-section from
the lower piece
toward the discharge nozzle orifice.
FIGS. 1 and 2 show two plan views of a particular embodiment of the present
invention.
Both figures show a can 1 and a two-part actuator mechanism, comprising a
lower piece 5 and an
upper piece 6. The particular embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, and some
embodiments in general,
may comprise a cap or cover 12 for the device. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the
cover may fit
over the two-piece actuator. The cover may attach to the can. In some
embodiments, the cover
may be intimate with the nozzle tip to reduce the risk of the tip becoming
blocked during storage.
The cover may also ensure that the valve is held firmly in the off, or non-
dispensing, position.
FIGS. 5 and 6 show one particular embodiment of the dispensing device at rest
and then
as it is dispensing a material, respectively. More specifically, the two
figures show two positions
that the upper piece of the actuator 5 may be in. The direction that the upper
piece moves from
FIG. 5 to FIG. 6 is the sole direction that the upper piece may move, due to
the configuration of
the actuator, that is, due to the limited motion of the upper piece relative
to the lower piece. In
this embodiment, to dispense the material contained in the can 1, the upper
piece is moved by the
user pressing a portion 9 of the upper piece, and the material is dispensed
from the discharge
nozzle orifice 8 in the direction that the actuator is moved by the user.
As seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, the two-piece actuator mechanism has a longitudinal
axis 14
along the length of the lower and upper pieces. When the actuator is connected
to a pressurized
container assembly, the longitudinal axis 14 can be understood to run along
the length of the
container. The upper piece of the actuator 5, when moved by the user, may be
pivotable about a
single axis that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. The pivot motion
may be seen in FIGS.
5 and 6, which shows one embodiment of before and after motion for the upper
piece. Therefore,
in some embodiments, the upper piece may pivot about only one axis, resulting
in a single
available motion for the upper piece, the nozzle, and consequently, the
dispensed material. Thus,
the material will be dispensed in an expected and controllable location.
As can be seen in FIG. 4, the upper piece may have an extending portion 13
that fits into
the slot 11 of the lower piece 6. The stem 10 of a tilt action valve 3 may
protrude through the
slot of the lower piece in the opposite direction from the upper piece
extending portion and fit
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inside the upper piece extending portion. Because the slot restricts the
motion possible for the
valve stem and consequently the upper piece, the upper piece may pivot in a
single direction. As
the upper piece pivots, that is, as there is relative motion between the upper
and lower pieces, the
valve is opened, allowing the material to dispense from the container 1 having
an inner chamber
with the material to be dispensed therein and an outer chamber with propellant
therein. The
material may be dispensed through the valve and out the discharge nozzle 7.
While restriction of the upper piece to movement in a single direction aids in
the
simplicity and ease of use for the present invention, some embodiments of the
present invention
may be able to dispense a material in a slightly wider zone. In some
embodiments, the entire
actuator may be pivotable about the longitudinal axis within a sector
subtending 90 degrees.
Within this 90 degrees, the upper piece may be pivotable about any axis
perpendicular to the
longitudinal axis. In effect, this allows the user to dispense the material
within a sector of 90
degrees. Thus, the user still has the ease and predictability of a restricted
direction for the
dispensed material, but there is a greater range.
The dimensions and values disclosed herein are not to be understood as being
strictly
limited to the exact numerical values recited. Instead, unless otherwise
specified, each such
dimension is intended to mean both the recited value and a functionally
equivalent range
surrounding that value. For example, a dimension disclosed as "40 mm" is
intended to mean
"about 40 mm."All documents cited in the Detailed Description of the Invention
not to be construed as an
admission that it is prior art with respect to the present invention. To the
extent that any meaning
or definition of a term in this written document conflicts with any meaning or
definition of the
term in a document cited herein, the meaning or definition assigned to the
term in this written
document shall govern.
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated
and
described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes
and modifications
may be made without departing from the invention described herein. It is to be
understood that
the scope of the claims is not limited to the specific components, methods,
conditions, devices, or
parameters described herein, and that the terminology used herein is not
intended to be limiting
of the claimed invention. It is therefore intended to cover in the appended
claims all such
changes and modifications that are within the invention described herein.
