A pump for dispensing fluid includes a dome portion for storing the fluid received through a pump inlet. The dome portion is movable between a compressed state and an uncompressed state. The pump includes a flexible membrane having a first pliability when a first voltage is applied and a second pliability when a second voltage is applied. The pump includes a first biasing device that applies a first force in a first direction to the flexible membrane. The flexible membrane moves the dome portion from the uncompressed state to the compressed state. The pump includes a second biasing device that applies a second force in a second direction to the dome portion to move the dome portion from the compressed state to the uncompressed state when the flexible membrane has the second pliability. Alternatively, the dome portion moves in the second direction in response to a gravitational force.

Patent
   RE48010
Priority
Sep 20 2013
Filed
May 21 2018
Issued
May 26 2020
Expiry
Sep 18 2034
Assg.orig
Entity
Large
0
33
currently ok
14. A pump for dispensing fluid from a fluid reservoir of a dispenser, the pump comprising:
a pump inlet through which the fluid is received from the fluid reservoir;
a dome portion for storing the fluid received through the pump inlet, the dome portion movable between a compressed state and an uncompressed state;
a flexible membrane operatively associated with the dome portion, the flexible membrane having a first pliability when a first voltage is applied to the flexible membrane and having a second pliability when a second voltage is applied to the flexible membrane, the flexible membrane having a first side, which faces the dome portion, and a second side;
a first biasing device positioned on the second side of the flexible membrane and configured to apply a first force in a first direction to the flexible membrane, the flexible membrane configured to flex in the first direction in response to the first force when the flexible membrane has the first pliability, the first biasing device configured to move the dome portion from the uncompressed state to the compressed state when the flexible membrane has the first pliability; and
a pump outlet through which the fluid is dispensed when the dome portion is in the compressed state.
1. A pump for dispensing fluid from a fluid reservoir of a dispenser, the pump comprising:
a pump inlet through which the fluid is received from the fluid reservoir;
a dome portion for storing the fluid received through the pump inlet, the dome portion movable between a compressed state and an uncompressed state and defining an internal chamber within which the fluid received through the pump inlet is stored;
a flexible membrane operatively associated with the dome portion, the flexible membrane having a first pliability when a first voltage is applied to the flexible membrane and having a second pliability when a second voltage is applied to the flexible membrane;
a first biasing device configured to apply a first force in a first direction to the flexible membrane, the flexible membrane configured to flex in the first direction in response to the first force when the flexible membrane has the first pliability, the first biasing device configured to move the dome portion from the uncompressed state to the compressed state when the flexible membrane has the first pliability;
a second biasing device disposed within the internal chamber, the second biasing device configured to apply a second force in a second direction to the dome portion to move the dome portion from the compressed state to the uncompressed state when the flexible membrane has the second pliability; and
a pump outlet through which the fluid is dispensed when the dome portion is in the compressed state, the second biasing device encircling the pump outlet.
9. A pump for dispensing fluid from a fluid reservoir of a dispenser, the pump comprising:
a pump inlet through which the fluid is received from the fluid reservoir;
a dome portion for storing the fluid received through the pump inlet, the dome portion movable between a compressed state and an uncompressed state;
a flexible membrane operatively associated with the dome portion, the flexible membrane having a first pliability when a first voltage is applied to the flexible membrane and having a second pliability when a second voltage is applied to the flexible membrane, the flexible membrane having a first side, which faces the dome portion, and a second side;
a support structure positioned on the second side of the flexible membrane, the support structure having a first support side, that engages the second side of the flexible membrane, and a second support side;
a first biasing device that engages the second support side of the support structure such that the first biasing device is spaced apart from the flexible membrane, the first biasing device configured to apply a first force in a first direction to the support structure, the flexible membrane configured to flex in the first direction in response to the first force on the support structure when the flexible membrane has the first pliability, the first biasing device configured to move the dome portion from the uncompressed state to the compressed state when the flexible membrane has the first pliability; and
a pump outlet through which the fluid is dispensed when the dome portion is in the compressed state.
2. The pump of claim 1, wherein the flexible membrane is configured to apply a third force to the first biasing device to move the first biasing device in the second direction when the flexible membrane has the second pliability.
3. The pump of claim 1, wherein the second direction is substantially opposite the first direction.
4. The pump of claim 1, comprising a first shaft that attaches the flexible membrane to the dome portion, the first shaft extending between the flexible membrane and the dome portion.
5. The pump of claim 1, comprising a second shaft that attaches the first biasing device to the flexible membrane, the second shaft extending between the flexible membrane and the first biasing device.
6. The pump of claim 1, wherein the second biasing device is configured to engage an inner surface of a dome wall of the dome portion to apply the second force in the second direction to the dome portion.
7. The pump of claim 1, wherein the second biasing device comprises a spring.
8. The pump of claim 1, comprising a direct current (DC) voltage source for applying at least one of the first voltage or the second voltage to the flexible membrane.
10. The pump of claim 9, wherein the flexible membrane is configured to apply a third second force to the first biasing device to move the first biasing device in a second direction when the flexible membrane has the second pliability.
11. The pump of claim 10, wherein the second direction is substantially opposite the first direction.
12. The pump of claim 9, comprising a first shaft that attaches the flexible membrane to the dome portion, the first shaft extending between the flexible membrane and the dome portion.
13. The pump of claim 9, comprising a direct current (DC) voltage source for applying at least one of the first voltage or the second voltage to the flexible membrane.
15. The pump of claim 14, wherein the flexible membrane comprises at least two dielectric layers in electrical communication with one another.
16. The pump of claim 14, wherein the flexible membrane comprises at least two active regions defined by a pattern of electrodes to which voltage can be applied independently.
17. The pump of claim 14, wherein the flexible membrane has a pliability between about the first pliability and the second pliability when a voltage applied to the flexible membrane is in a range between about the first voltage and the second voltage.
18. The pump of claim 1, the flexible membrane having a first side, which faces the dome portion, and a second side, which faces the first biasing device.
19. The pump of claim 18, comprising a first support structure positioned on the second side of the flexible membrane between the flexible membrane and the first biasing device.
20. The pump of claim 19, comprising a second support structure positioned on the first side of the flexible membrane between the flexible membrane and the dome portion.
21. The pump of claim 20, comprising a first shaft that attaches the first support structure and the second support structure, the first shaft extending through a membrane opening defined within the flexible membrane.
22. The pump of claim 9, comprising a second biasing device disposed within an internal chamber of the dome portion.
23. The pump of claim 14, wherein the first biasing device is spaced apart from the flexible membrane.

This application is a While the examples of FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate the second dispenser 500 as not comprising a second biasing device (e.g., the second biasing device 380), the second dispenser 500 is not so limited. Rather, in In some examples, the dome portion 318 of the second dispenser 500 may comprise the second biasing device 380. As such, the second biasing device 380, in addition to the gravitational force of the Earth, can together assist moving the dome portion 318 along the compression axis 600 from the compressed state to the uncompressed state.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing at least some of the claims.

Various operations of embodiments are provided herein. The order in which some or all of the operations described should not be construed to imply that these operations are necessarily order dependent. Alternative ordering will be appreciated having the benefit of this description. Further, it will be understood that not all operations are necessarily present in each embodiment provided herein. Also, it will be understood that not all operations are necessary in some embodiments.

Many modifications may be made to the instant disclosure without departing from the scope or spirit of the claimed subject matter. Unless specified otherwise, “first,” “second,” or the like are not intended to imply a temporal aspect, a spatial aspect, an ordering, etc. Rather, such terms are merely used as identifiers, names, etc. for features, elements, items, etc. For example, a first component and a second component correspond to component A and component B or two different or two identical components or the same component.

Moreover, “exemplary” is used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, illustration, etc., and not necessarily as advantageous. As used in this application, “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or”. In addition, “a” and “an” as used in this application are to be construed to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form. Also, at least one of A and B or the like means A or B or both A and B. Furthermore, to the extent that “includes”, “having”, “has”, “with”, or variants thereof are used in either the detailed description or the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to “comprising”.

Also, although the disclosure has been illustrated and described with respect to one or more implementations, equivalent alterations and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art based upon a reading and understanding of this specification and the annexed drawings. The disclosure includes all such modifications and alterations and is limited only by the scope of the following claims. In particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described components (e.g., elements, resources, etc.), the terms used to describe such components are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any component which performs the specified function of the described component (e.g., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure. In addition, while a particular feature of the disclosure may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.

Ciavarella, Nick Ermanno, Proper, Scott Theodore, York, Alexander, Dunn, Jason Thomas

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Executed onAssignorAssigneeConveyanceFrameReelDoc
Oct 29 2010GOJO Industries, IncPNC Bank, National AssociationSECURITY INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS 0512280667 pdf
May 21 2018GOJO Industries, Inc.(assignment on the face of the patent)
Oct 26 2023GOJO Industries, IncSILVER POINT FINANCE, LLC, AS COLLATERAL AGENTSECURITY INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS 0653820587 pdf
Oct 26 2023GOJO Industries, IncPNC Bank, National AssociationSECURITY INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS 0653690253 pdf
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