US3308993A - Foam-producing and foam-dispensing means - Google Patents

Description

March 14, 1967 v, BRUNO 3,308,993

FOAM-PRODUCING AND FOAM-DISPENSING MEANS Filed March 16, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR VICTOR M BRUNO V. M. BRUNO FOAM-PRODUCING AND FOAMrDISPENSING MEANS March 14, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 16, 1966 I 74 FIG. IO INVENTOR.

VICTOR M, BRUNO 3,308,993- Patented Mar. 14, 1967 3,308,993 FOAM-PRODUCING AND FoAM-nrsrnNsmo MEANS Victor M. Bruno, R0. Box 18948,

- Los Angeles, Calif. 90018 Filed Mar. 16, 1966,.Ser. No. 541,892 28 Claims. (Cl. 222-146) The present application comprises a continuation-inpart of my copending patent application, Ser. No. 445,- 060, filed Apr. .2, 1965.

Generally speaking, the present invention relates to the mixing and dispensing art and, more particularly, to a mixer and dispenser primarily intended for use in eifectively mixing air with a desired liquid whereby to produce an intimately intermixed air-liquid foam and for effectively dispensing same. In this connection, it should be noted that the word liquid is to be very broadly construed and may include single or multiple ingredients and may comprise anything from a relatively viscous or even semi-liquid material or slurry to an extremely thin liquid of very low viscosity. For example, the so-called liquid may comprise a shaving cream, which is a relatively thick and viscous material, or may comprise a relatively thin and low-viscosity liquid such as a detergent solution or various other similar liquids or combinations of liquids.

The present invention is particularly intended for use in combination or association with flexible elastically collapsible containers which are frequently made of flexible thin-walled plastic material such as polyethylene, or the like, although not specifically so limited. Such containers made in hollow longitudinal tubular configurations whereby each comprises a flexibly collapsible plastic tube closed at one end and provided with a dispensing nozzle or spout (usually threaded and carrying a correspondingly threaded closure cap) at the other end, have recently come into wide usage; and the present invention is particularly well adapted for use with such a plastic tube to effectively cause it to be capable of producing and dispensing an air-liquid foam of the type referred to above by merely repetitively squeezing and partially collapsing a portion of the plastic tube after the closure cap has been removed from the threaded dispensing nozzle thereof. Of course, it'will be understood that when the manual volume-decreasing pressure is removed from the flexible plastic tube, it expands back to its normal uncollapsed configuration because of the elasticity of the plastic material of which the tube is made. This alternate collapsing and expanding movement of the plastic tube, as a result of intermittently manually-applied pressure, quickly and easily produces and dispenses an airliquid foam which is highly desirable in the case of a shaving cream, a shampoo, and a great variety of other liquid and semi-liquid materials in the cosmetic, personal grooming, and related fields.

In other words, it can be said that such a conventional plastic tube, when provided with the additional elements which together therewith define the inventive combination of the present invention, are capable of producing foam at much lower cost than a conventional pressurized-cantype of aerosol dispenser for liquid and semi-liquid materiais. The lower cost of the above-mentioned plastictube arrangement applies to both the actual cost of the comparative containers and dispensers and to the tooling costs for producing same.

Additionally, it should be noted that the novel foamproducing and foam-dispensing means of the present invention can be very simply produced by merely inserting a very inexpensive cartridge or insertion unit into the open rear end of an entirely conventional plastic tube at the time that liquid is conventionally placed therein and prior to the permanent closure of the rear end of the tube in a conventional manner, thus adding very little cost to the finished article, both with respect to materials and with respect to the cost of assembly thereof.

However, the present invention is not limited to the arrangement described in the preceding paragraph, but may take the form of an auxiliary foam-producing and foam-dispensing attachment unit adapted to be engaged (usually threadedly engaged) to the dispensing nozzle of an entirely conventional and liquid-filled plastic tube so that liquid from said conventional plastic tube can be fed into the auxiliary foam-producing and foam-dispensing unit which, as a result of hand-pumping action of the type mentioned above, will effectively intermix a portion of the liquid with air to produce and dispense an airliquid foam combination thereof in a manner generally similar to that described above.

The important point to note is that, in the first arrangement described above, the final article is what appears to be an entirely conventional plastic tube carrying a quantity of liquid therein and yet, after the closure cap is removed therefrom, a small amount of hand-pumping action of the type mentioned above will produce and dispense a foamed combination of the liquid and air from the nozzle of the tube and this can be repeated successively and at various intervals until such time as all of the liquid has been dispensed in such foamed form, and that in the second arrangement described above, an auxiliary foam-producing and foam-dispensing unit is merely attached to an entirely conventional plastic tube of liquid and is operated for the foam-producing and foam-dispensing purposes described above. Either arrangement is extremely simple and inexpensive to produce and extremely easy to operate by a user of the device.

Additionally, it should be noted that, in certain forms of the invention, the foam may be heated by providing heating means in heat-transfer relationship with respect to the flow-path of the foam produced by the foam-producing and foam-dispensing means. Said heating means may be of an electrically energizable type, of a conductive heat-transfer type wherein hot Water or other preheated Working medium is passed therethrough for transferring heat to the foam, or may *be of a type wherein heat is produced by an exothermic chemical reaction for transferring heat to the foam, or may be of various other types capable of producing and/or transferring heat to the foam, if desired. However, this is an optional feature, and in the simpler and more inexpensive foams of the invention as referred to hereinbefore, it may -be eliminated.

With the above points in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel foam-producing and foam-dispensing means which may be produce-d by combining with'a flexible plastic container (usually a flexible plastic tube) an insertion unit which effectively converts said flexible container into both a liquid reservoir and supply means and a foam-producing and foam-dispensing means capable of combining aportion of the liquid with air into an air-liquid foam and dispensing same through a dispensing outlet or nozzle means.

'It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel foam-producing and foam-dispensing means which compises an auxiliary unit adapted for simple and easy attachment to the dispensing nozzle or outlet of a conventional liquid-filled plastic tube and which, when so attached, converts the combination thereof to a liquid reservoir and supply means and a foam-producing and foam-dispensing means for converting a portion of the liquid into an intimately mixed air-liquid foam and for dispensing same for the purposes outlined above.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel foam-producing and foam-dispensing means of ahe' character referred to above which includes a novel which would otherwise tend to exclude the desired amount of air, from said elastically compressible mixing bafiie means, which is necessary in order to produce an optimum air-liquid foam.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device of the character referred to hereinbefore wherein the actual mixing of a quantity of the liquid and a quantity of air in a manner such as to effectively produce a foam therefrom is accomplished by an elastically compressible mixing baffle means comprising a quantity of multi-cell sponge material having interconnected elastic solid portion defining a plurality of interconnected hollow communicating cells dispersed therethrough and effectively providing a plurality of interconnected baflie passageways extending therethrough, with said elastically compressible fluid-mixing baffle means being positioned within an elastically manually compressible mixing chamber means which may be said to comprise a forcing means, a pressure-applying means, or a manually operable hand-pump means for changing the interior volume thereof and effectively alternately compressing and releasing the mixing baflie means whereby to cause liquid and air within the mixing baffle means to be move-d in intimate contact through said plurality of interconnected bafile passageways whereby to effectively mix same into a foam.

It is a further object of the present invention to pro vide a novel foam-producing and foam-dispensing means of the character referred to hereinbefore, provided with heating means in association therewith for effectively heating the foam produced and dispensed there-by.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel foam-producing and foam-dispensing means which is of extremely small, simple, lightweight, easy-to-o-perate construction and which may be employed for producing an air-liquid mix from a quantity of liquid carried in a conventional flexible collapsible plastic tube.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel device of the character referred to herein generical'ly and/ or specifically, and which may include any or all of the features referred to herein either individually or in combination and which is of extremely simple, inexpensive construction requiring a minimum of tooling, production, and/ or assembly costs and which is capable of mass manufacture at a very low cost-per-unit whereby to be conducive to widespread manufacture, distribution, and use of the invention. 7

Further objects are implicit in the detailed description which follows hereinafter (which is to be considered as exemplary of, but not specifically limiting the present invention), and said objects will be apparent to persons skilled in the art after a careful study of the detailed description which follows.

For the purpose of clarifying the nature of the present invention, several exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the hereinbelow-described figures of the accompanying drawings and are described in detail hereinafter.

FIG. 1 is a view, partly in elevation and partly in vertical section, of one exemplary embodiment of the invention with the closure cap member shown in disengaged exploded relationship with respect to the dispensing nozzle means at the front end of the tube.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the bottom end of the plastic tube of FIG. 1 in its normal pro-closure open relationship.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the insert or cartridge unit of FIG. 1 shown alone and prior to insertion into mounted relationship within a conventional flexible collapsible plastic tube to produce the combination device illustrated in FIG. 1. 7

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of the mixing bafiie means of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of the plug and barrier member comprising the flow-restricting effective valve means of FIG. 1. g

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view, partly-in section, showing the rear end portion of aslightly modified insert or cartridge unit, such as the first form thereof shown independently in FIG. 3, and in this modification said carfridge unit is provided with a slightly modified rear-positioned flow-restricting effective valve means.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view similar of FIG. 1 but illustrates a further modification of the invention wherein a different type of flow-restricting effective valve means is employed from the first form thereof illustrated in FIGS. 1-5 and the second form thereof illustrated in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is an upper perspective view of the valve member of FIG. 7 and the mounting stem carried thereby.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the valve member of FIGS. 7 and 9 more clearly showing the elastically deflectable flapper valve closure element overlying the plurality of restricted-area flow apertures of the valve member itself whereby to effectively comprise a one-way valve means open only in the presence of forwardly acting differential pressure across said flapper valve closure element.

FIG. 11 is a View similar to the upper portion of FIG.1, but illustrates a modification thereof wherein the mixing chamber means portion is physically separate from the liquid reservoir and supply means portion of the plastic tube rather than comprising an integral forward part thereof as illustrated in the first form of the invention shown in FIG. 1. mixing chamber means portion effectively comprises an auxiliary element or unit adapted to be attached to the dispensing nozzle or outlet of an entirely conventional liquid-filled plastic tube, the upper end portion of which is shown fragmentarily in phantom in FIG. 11.

FIG. 12 is a View similar to FIG. 11, but illustrates a further modification of the invention additionally pro vided with auxiliary heating chamber means adapted to be fastened either to the auxiliary dispensing nozzle of the auxiliary foam-producing unit of FIG. 11 or directiy to the dispensing nozzle of the plastic tube form of the invention shown in FIG. 1, or the modification thereof shown in FIG. 7. This view is partly sectional and partly elevational in a manner calculated to provide the maximum disclosure in a single view.

The various views of the mixing baflie means shown through the figures and the various views of thesfirst' and second forms of flow-restricting effective vaive meansshown in the first form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1-5 and in the second form of the invention illus trated in FIG. 6 are, in most instances, shown in a man-' ner which does not illustrate the detail of the multiple interconnected cells thereof and the multiple interconnected baffle passeageways or through-passageways thereof, these features being illustrated fragmentarily in FIGS. 4 and 5 and in a sectional portion of FIG. 6 and being exemplary of the remaining structures of the correspond ing elements.

The exemplary first form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1-5 may be said to comprise, in part a hollow container means of flexible material, one form of which is generally designated at 20, wherein it is shown as comprising a hollow tubular longitudinal container means made of flexible plastic material such as polyethylene, although it may be made of various other suitable flexible materials. Such flexible plastic tubes are normally extruded or molded to form a thin flexible cylindrical side wall portion, such as indicated at 22, which is provided In the modification of FIG. 11, said ascents with a closed front end wall portion 24 at a front end thereof, Which may either be plastic-welded or otherwise suitably joined to the front end of the cylindrical side Wall portion 22 at the circular shoulder 26 in one form of such flexible plastic tube, or which may be integrally joined at said shoulder 26 by forming or molding the closed front end wall portion 24 at the front end of the extruded cylindrical side wall portion 22 in an integral fashion.

The rear end of the cylindrical side wall portion 22 of the tube 20 is normally initially open in the manner best shown fragmentarily at 28 in FIG. 2 and normally the hollow interior of a conventional prior art flexible plastic tube, such as that shown at 2%, is filled through said rear opening 28 to any desired extent and the adjacent portions of the cylindrical side wall 22 forming and defining said rear opening 28 or then joined together permanently to make a closed heat-sealed, or otherwise permanently fastened, junction of a flat spatulate form, as clearly shown at 30 in FIG. 1.

The opposite or front end of the tube 20 has a dispensing nozzle means or outlet 32 centrally carried by the front end wall portion 24, which is customarily provided with engaging means of a threaded type as indicated at 34 adapted to engage the corresponding cooperating engaging means 36 (also shown in the exemplary form of the invention as comprising threaded engaging means) of the closure cap member 38. Said closure cap member 38 may, in certain forms thereof, be provided with an interior gasket means or may rely upon the natural resiliency of the engaged portions of the cap member 38 and the dispensing nozzle means 32, to provide a normally perfectly sealed closing engagement thereof.

To this point, the description set forth above is applicable to conventional prior art plastic tubes of the type referred to and illustrated at 20. However, it should be noted that when such a conventional prior art plastic tube 20 is provided with the insert or cartridge member generally designated at 40, as best shown in FIG. ,3, p-ositioned and mounted within the cylindrical side wall portion 22 of the plastic tube 26 in the manner clearly shown in FIG. 1, the combination comprises one exemplary form of the novel foam-producing and foam-dispensing means of the present invention, which will now be described in detail.

When the insert or cartridge unit 40 is inserted through the open end 28 of the plastic tube 26, followed by the insertion of the liquid 42 thereinto and followed by the closing of said open end 28 and the forming thereof into the previously-mentioned spatulate sealing junction or closed rear end 30, said insert or cartridge unit 40 is forced into the forward end portion of the plastic tube 20 in a position such as is clearly shown in FIG. 1, Where it may be retained by reason of the resilient compressed engagement of said insert or cartridge unit 40 with respect to the inside surface of the side wall 22 of the plastic tube 20, or suitable cement means or other fastening means may be employed for maintaining the insert or cartridge unit 44 in its proper position within the tube 20 as clearly shown in FIG. 1.

It should be noted that the tubular container means 20 may be said to have a rear hollow container means portion 20R and a front hollow container means portion 26F, with the rear surface 44 of the insert or cartridge unit 4i) effectively defining the line of separation or demarcation between said rear and front container means portions 20R and 20F. It should also be noted that said rear hollow container means portion 20R effectively defines liquid reservoir and supply means, such as is generally designated at 46, which is adapted to contain the previouslymentioned liquid 42 therein. It should also be noted that the front hollow container means portion 20F effectively defines therein what might be termed a mixing chamber means, such asis generally designated by the reference numeral 48, having a rear end thereof (just forward of which is positioned within the mixing chamber means 48,

actually takes the form 'of an elastically compressible fluid-mixing bafile means 50 comprising a quantity of a 'muiti-cell sponge material having interconnected solid portions defining a plurality of interconnected hollow communicating cells dispersed therethrough and effectively providing a plurality of interconnected baffled passageways extending therethrough and which, in certain preferred forms thereof, are of a tortuous type having many directional changes therealong. This is best illustrated by a careful examination of FIG. 4, which comprises a greatly enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view of a small representative portion of the fluid-mixing baffle means 50 and which clearly shows a few representative ones of said plurality of interconnected hollow communicating cells at 52 defined by said interconnected solid portions 53 and which also clearly shows a representative one of said plurality of interconnected baffle passageways as indicated by the arrow designated by the reference numeral 54 in FIG. 4. It should be understood that the remainder of the baflle means 50 is of similar construction, although this is not shown in detail in FIG. 1 for reasons of drawing simplicity and clarity.

It should be noted that the portion of the cylindrical side wall 22 of the plastic tube 20 which comprises the side wall of the previously-mentioned front hollow container means portion 20F is of elastic material and is, therefore, capable of being manually collapsed whereby to reduce the interior volume of the mixing chamber means 48 positioned therewithin and to simultaneously compress and reduce the volume of the mixing bafile means 50 mentioned within the mixing chamber means 48 and, thus, may be said to comprise pressure-applying means taking the form of a manually controllably operable variable-volurne hand-pump means, generally designated by the reference numeral 56, which is manually operable by alternate forcible manual collapsing and release thereof for effectively forcing liquid (which has been supplied to said elastically compressible mixing bafiie means 50 from the liquid reservoir and supply means 46) and air (which has been supplied to said elastically compressible mixing bafile means 50 through the dispensing nozzle means 32, when open) through the previouslymentioned plurality of interconnected ibafiie passageways (a representative one of which is indicated at 54 in FIG. 4) of the fluid-mixing baflie means 50 for effectively mixing the liquid 42 with air in a manner such as to form an intimately intermixed air-liquid foam which is adapted to be dispensed through the dispensing nozzle means 32 as a result of said manual operation of the hand-pump means 56 in the manner described above.

In the exemplary first form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1-5, the insert or cartridge unit 40 is also provided at the rear end with a flow-restricting effective valve means, generally designated by the reference numeral 58, positioned in the flow-path between the liquid reservoir and supply means 46 and the mixing chamber means 43 and operable to restrict the feeding of the liquid 42 into the fluid-mixing baffle means 50 to an optimum low value such as to prevent excessive liquid saturation of the plurality of interconnected baflie passageways and cells thereof (such as best shown at 54 and 52 in FIG. 4) to 'an extent which would otherwise substantially exclude air therefrom in a manner which would prevent the optimum formation of foam in the manner described hereinfore. In other words, the effective valve means 58 acts in a manner such as to prevent complete flooding of the mixing bafl'le means 50 by the liquid 42 during repetitive manual operation of the hand-pump means 56 in the manner described hereinbefore, but yet in a manner such as to allow sufficient flow of the liquid 42 through the effective valve means 58 into the rear end of the mixing bafile means 50 to produce the optimum formation of foam as a result of manual operation of the hand-pump means 56.

It will be understood that if the complete tube 26 is stored for a considerable period of time in a horizontal position, the liquid 42 may gradually seep through the effective valve means 53 until the mixing baffle means 50 is virtually completely saturated, or very nearly so, so that when the tube 20 is picked up, the cap 38 removed, and manual operation of the hand-pump means 56 begun, an excess amount of the liquid 42 will be in the mixing baffle means 50. This will merely mean that, at the beginning of the hand-pumping operation, the foam will be slightly wetter than optimum. However, after a short period of the hand-pumping operation, sufficient foam will have been discharged through the nozzle means 32 to have reduced the saturation of the mixing bafiie means 50 to an optimum value. This is particularly so, since this initial hand-pumping operation may be done with the tube 20 in an upright position so as to minimize additional passage of liquid 42 from the reservoir means 46 through the effective valve means 58 and into the mixing baflle means 59. Furthermore, even in the event that the tube 20 is partially or wholly horizontally inclined or positioned, the same partial drying of the mixing baffle means 50 will occur during the initial phases of a handpumping operation because of the flow-restricting effect of the effective valve means 58. In either case, the net result is that the mixing baffle means 50 soon reaches an optimum condition of only partial liquid saturation for combination with air contained within the mixing baffle means 51) in a manner such as to produce foam in a highly efficient and substantially optimum manner.

The effective valve means 58 illustrated in the first form of the invention comprises a plug and barrier member of elastically compressed multi-cell elastomeric sponge ma- .terial having restricted-area flow-limiting through-passageways defined therein by multiple interconnected cells thereof which thus function in a manner such as to restrict the feeding of the liquid 42 therethrough for the liquid saturation prevention purposes outlined above. This is best illustrated in the greatly enlarged fragmentary sectional view comprising FIG. wherein a representative small cross-sectional portion of said flowrestricting plug and barrier member comprising said effective valve means 58 is shown and wherein the compressed multiple interconnected cells thereof are designated by the reference numeral 60, the interconnection solid portions are indicated at 61, and a representative one of the plurality of compressed interconnected bafile passageways thereof is indicated by the arrow designated by the reference numeral 62. It should be understood that FIG. 5 represents the cross'sectional construction of the remainder of said effective'valve means 58 and that it initially was radially larger than the cylindrical overlying mixing baffle means 50, to which it is cemented or otherwise attached, as is clearly illustrated in FIG. 3, so that when inserted into the mounted relationship shown in FIG. 1, said flowrestricting plug and barrier member comprising said effective valve means 58 is substantially resiliently radially compressed, which further enhances and increases the flow-restricting characteristics thereof and which also acts to frictionally resiliently mount and maintain the position of the entire insert or cartridge unit if) within the mixing chamber portion 48 of the tube 20.

The fluid-mixing baffle means 50 may be provided with air hole means extending thereinto and positioned in forward communication with the dispensing nozzle means 32 and effectively at least partially closed at the rear end by the flow-restricting effective valve means 58. In the exemplary first form of the invention illustrated, said air hole means takes the form of a longitudinal centrally positioned air hole core 64 substantially longitudinally coaxially positioned within the fluid-mixing baffle means 59 and the mixing chamber means 48 and having a front open end 66 substantially aligned with, and in interior communication with, the dispensing nozzle means 32 and having a rear end 68 effectively partially closed by the flow-restricting effective valve means 58, which extends thereacross.

The air hole means 64 facilitates the formation of foam 1 in two ways. First, it facilitates the introduction of air into the mixing baffle means 50 from the open dispensing nozzle means 32 and, second, it provides an auxiliary chamber for the foam to form in and to be longitudinally centrally coaxially dispensed out of through the dispensing nozzle means 32.

By varying the position of a hand holding the tube 20 so as to control where the application of intermittent tube-collapsing force is applied, control of the foaming action produced by the intermittent collapsing and expansion of the mixing baffle means 20 and corresponding control of the liquid-feeding action from the reservoir 45 through the effective valve means 58 can be varied and modified at will. Further control of the liquid feeding action can be effected by modifying the position of the tube Ztl from an upright position toward an upwardly inclined, horizontal, or depressed partially inverted position, thus controlling the effect of gravity upon the liquid-feeding action.

It should be noted that, while the form of cartridge or insert unit 40' illustrated in the first form of the invention is very effective for the purposes of the present invention, the invention is not sepcifically limited to all of the specifically-described features thereof set forth above. For example, in certain forms of the invention, the air hole means 64 may be modified or eliminated entirely. Also, in certain forms of the invention, the flow-restricting effective valve means 58 may be modified or eliminated entirely. These modifications further simplify the invention and, if the simplification warrants the loss of function which results from such simplification, such modifications may be employed in lieu of the exemplary first form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. l-S.

FIG. 6 fragmentarily illustrates a slight modification of the bottom portion of the mixing bafiie means 50* of the first form of the invention and the effective valve means 58 of the first form of the invention, and corresponding parts of this modification are designated by similar refere-ncenumerals, followed by the letter a, however.

It will be noted that in the FIG. 6' modification, the flow-restricting effective valve means 58a is not cemented or fastened to the rear of the mixing baffie means 56a in the manner of the corresponding elements of the first form of the invention, but instead comprises an integral rear portion and the multi-cell sponge material of the mixing baffle means 50a may be said to be effectively compressed so as to have a reduced ratio of effective cross-sectional area of through-passageways 62a relative to interconnected solid portions 61a thereof as compared to other regions of the mixing bafile means 50a. This is apparent from careful examination of said throughpassageways as exemplified by the one indicated by the arrow identified by the reference numeral 62a in FIG. 6. Obviously, this will tend to restrict the flow of liquid therethrough. Otherwise the FIG. 6 modification of the invention is similar to the first form of the invention of FIGS. 1-5 and no further description thereof is thought necessary.

FIGS. 7-10 illustrate a further modification of the flow-restricting effective valve means 58 of the first form of the invention, which is substantially modified in this form of the invention and which is generally designated by the reference character 58b.

In the FIGS. 7-10 modification, the flow-restricting face of the mixing baflie means valve means 58b comprises a substantially disc shaped valve member 70 having a tapered forwardly diverging skirt member 72 and having a plurality of restricted-area W apertures 74 extending through the valve member 70. Also, the valve member 70' has a forwardly extending longitudinal mounting stem 76 adapted to extend longitudinally concentrically forwardly throu-ghthe air hole 64b at the center of the mixing baffle means 50b and through the dispensing nozzle means 32b to a position exterior thereof and there being provided with nozzleabutment retaining hook means 78 adapted to maintain the valve member 70 in rear abutment with the rear sur- 50'b, as is clearly shown in FIG. 7. V

The exemplary modified from shown in FIGS. 7-10 also includes an elastically deflecta-ble disc-shaped flapper valve closure element 80 closing the front openings of the apertures 74- except in the presence of forwardlyacting differential pressure produced primarily during volume contraction of the liquid reservoir means 46b resulting from the manual squeezing thereof. Whenever such forwardly-acting differential pressure is so produced, the flapper valve closure element 80' moves away from the valve apertures 74 and allows the liquid 42b to feed forwardly into the mixing bafiie means 50b, .as fragmen-tarily indicated in FIG. 10. At other times, such forward feeding action does not occur, and, of course, reverse feeding action is prevented by the flapper valve closure element 80 and the forwardly diverging skirt 72.

In other words, the composite valve structure (includ ing the valve member 70, the skirt 72, the apertures 74, and the flapper valve closure element 88) effectively comprises a one-way valve means for allowing forward feeding action of the liquid 42b and for substantially preventing reverse flow thereof. v

It should be noted that the nozzle abutment retaining hook means 78 pulls the tapered valve member flange 72 into forcible inside contact with the corresponding portion of the side wall 22b of the plastic tube b and firmly positions and locks not only the valve member 70 in place, but also the mixing baflle means 56b.

It should be noted that, in certain forms of the modifiasoaoee cation illustrated in FIGS. 710, the flapper valve closure element 89 may be modified or eliminated entirely with the consequent loss of the one-way valve action effect produced thereby.

FIG. 11 illustrates a further modification of the invention, and portions which correspond to those of the first form of the invention are designated by similar reference numerals, followed by the letter 0, however.

In the FIG. 11 modification, it will -be noted that the mixing chamber means 48c and, indeed, the entire container means portion 20Fc and the entire hand-pump means 560, comprise an auxiliary separate attachment unit adapted to be removably attached to the dispensing nozzle 320 of a conventional liquid-filled plastic tube 200, which is shown fragmentarily in phantom in FIG. 11.

The mixing chamber 480 has a rear communication end 82 thereof which is adapted for communication with the liquid contained within the conventional plastic tube 280 and which may be said to comprise a liquid reservoir and supply means. This is accomplished by reason of the fact that said rear communication end 82 of the mixing chamber means 56c is provided with rear engaging means 84 (interiorly threaded .in the exemplary form illustrated in FIG. 11) which is controllably engageable with respect to the dispensing nozzle means 320 (which is also exteriorly threaded in the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 11) of the conventional plastic tube 20c, thus placing the mixing chamber 48c in communication with the hollow interior of the conventional plastic tube 200 so that liquid, such as that shown at 420, may be fed through the nozzle 32c into the mixing chamber 480 Where manual operation of the hand-pump means 56c will produce foam in themanner previously described in connection with the first form of the invention and will cause same to be dispensed outwardly through the auxiliary dispensing nozzle or outlet 86, which may be provided with a normally closing cap 88.

In the modification shown in FIG. 11, the rear communication end 82 of the mixing chamber 560 is also provided with a one-way valve means generally designated at 580 which allows forward fiow of liquid therethrough while preventing reverse flow therethrough. In the example illustrated, said one-Way valve means 53c comprises a ball which normally rests, under the action of gravity, on the nozzle 320 of the conventional plastic tube 200 and/ or on the rearthreaded engaging means 84 of the rear communication end 82 of the mixing chamber means 480 and is retained against loss (but in a manner which allows vertical unseating movement of the ball 90) by an apertured mounting spider 92 which is fastened over said rear threaded engaging means 84. However, a spring-biased ball check valve or other type of one-way valve may be substituted in lieu of the structure just described in certain forms of the invention.

It should be noted that the form of the invention illustrated in FIG. 11 lends itself very well to an arrangement adapted to mix with the liquid and .air in the mixing bafiie means 500 at the time that foam is produced thereby, one or more additive materials or agents which may be initially positioned in the multiple cells and/ or bafiie passageways of the mixing baffle means 50c or exterior thereof but still in the mixing chamber means 480. This type of arrangement would, of course, keep said additive material completely separated from the liquid contained within the conventional plastic tube 200 until said liquid is fed by a squeezing action of the plastic tube 200 into the mixing chamber 480 and operation of the hand-pump means 56c is manually effected for the purpose of producing a foam in the manner described hereinbefore. The additive material might be a powder, a liquid, or virtually any type of additive material or catalyst, or the like, which has an effect on the liquid contained within the conventional plastic tube 200, which is a function of time. For example, certain hair-coloring preparations normally consist of a liquid which is to be combined with a powder and which has a very short active life of only 15 to 20 minutes and which thereafter spoils and becomes unusable. Obviously, such a powder could be contained within the mixing chamber means 480 in either of the ways mentioned above and the liquid could be contained within the conventional plastic tube 20c so that they would be completely separated until just before they are mixed into a foam and dispensed for hair coloring usage. It is to be understood that this is illustrative only and is not to be construed as limiting the type of additive agents or materials, and it is further to be understood that it is possible to adapt this novel inventive concept to the other forms of the invention disclosed in this application by making appropriate modifications for effective isolation of the liquid from the additive material in keeping with the teachings of the disclosure just made above.

FIG. 12 illustrates a further modification of the invention, and portions similar to those of FIG. 11 are designated by similar reference numerals, followed by the letter d, however. In this modification, an auxiliary heating chamber means, generally indicated at 94, is provided at the rear thereof with threaded engaging means 96, which threadedly engages an auxiliary nozzle 86d, which corresponds to that shown at 86 in FIG. 11, and is provided at the front thereof with an auxiliary dispensing opening 98 through which heated foam is adapted to be dispensed.

The auxiliary heating chamber means 94 is interiorly provided with a baffled heat-transfer flow-path tube 100, which carries interior bafl'ling means 102 therein, which effectively greatly extends the flow-path through the tube 100 from the mixing chamber means 48d to the auxiliary dispensingopening 98, and said baffled heat-transfer flow- 1 l path tube 100 is provided with heating means 104 positioned in heat-transferring relationship with respect thereto for controllably heating liquid-air foam produced by the mixing bafiie means 500? and discharged through the auxiliary dispensing nozzle means 86d.

In the exemplary from illustrated in FIG. 12, said heating means 104 is of a controllably electrically energizable type and is shown somewhat diagrammatically and not in full mechanical detail, since such electrically energizable heating means are well-known in the art, and electric circuit means 106 and exterior plug means 198 provide means for electrically energizing same. It should be understood that an extension cord and/or suitable switch means may be employed, if desired, although such are not shown in FIG. 12 since they are well-known in the art.

Also, it should be noted that the entire auxiliary heating chamber means 94 need not be mounted on the auxiliary nozzle 86d of the auxiliary mixing chamber means 48d, but instead may be mounted directly on the dispensing nozzle 32 of FIG. for 3212 of FIG. 7, if desired, and the showing of FIG. 12 is intended to provide a full and complete disclosure of such an arrangement in addition to the mounting thereof on the auxiliary mixing chamber means 48d. Otherwise the modification illustrated in FIG. 12 is similar to that illustrated in FIG. 11 and, therefore, no further detailed description thereof is thought necessary or desirable.

It should be noted that the various different forms of the mixing bafiie means, such as the representative one shown at 50 in FIG. 1, may preferably be made of urethane plastic foam or sponge material, though not specifically so limited in all forms of the invention. Also, it should be noted that the exemplary flow-restricting .valve means 58 of the first form of the invention may preferably be made of a cellulosic sponge material, although not specifically so limited in all forms of the invention. Furthermore, the valve member ill and mounting stem 76 of the form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 7-10 and, in certain cases, the flapper closure member 80 thereof may be made of polyethylene material, or other functionally equivalent material. The auxiliary units shown in FIG. 11 and in FIG. 12 may similarly be made of molded polyethylene, or other functionally equivalent material, in preferred forms thereof. The bafiled heat-transfer flow-path tube 1% of the FIG. 12 form of the invention is preferably made of aluminum or other material having a high heat-transfer coelficient.

It should be understood that the figures and the specific description thereof set forth in this application are for the purpose of illustrating the present invention and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention to the precise and detailed specific structure shown in the figures and specifically described hereinbefore. Rather, the real invention is intended to include substantially equivalent constructions embodying the basic teachings and inventive concept of the present invention.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for effectively mixing air with a liquid and thereby producing an intimately intermixed air-liquid foam and for effectively dispensing same, comprising: hollow container means of flexible elastic material having a permanently closed rear end and a closed front end provided with a dispensing nozzle means, said container means comprising a rear hollow container means portion effectively defining liquid reservoir and supply means therein adapted to contain therein a quantity of a liquid which is to have at least a portion thereof effectively intimately mixed with a quantity of air to form a desired quantity of foam which is to be dispensed thereafter, said container means further comprising a front hollow container means portion effectively defining therein mixing chamber means having'a rear end thereof in communication with a front end of said liquid reservoir and supply means for forward passage of the liquid adapted to be contained within said liquid reservoir and supply means; elastically compressible fluid-mixing baflie means mounted within said mixing chamber means and substantially completely filling said mixing chamber means and extending longitudinally from a position immediately forward of said rear-positioned liquid reservoir and supply means to a position immediately behind said closed front end and extending transversely substantially completely' across said mixing chamber means whereby to substantially exteriorly fill said mixing chamber means in a manner leaving substantially no open space in the front interior cross-sectional portion of said mixing chamber means immediately behind said closed front end unoccupied by the front end of said elastically compressible fluid-mixing balile means, said elastically compressible fluid-mixing baffle means comprising a quantity of multi-cell sponge material having interconnected elastic solid portions defining a plurality of interconnected hollow communicating cells dispersed therethrough and effectively providing a plurality of interconnected baliie passageways extending therethrough, said front container means portion defining said mixing chamber means therein having a collapsible elastic wall portion adjacent to the interior of said mixing chamber means defined therein and said elastically compressible fluid-mixing baffle means mounted therein and effectively comprising a pressure-applying means taking the form of a manually controllably operable variable-volume handpump means manually operable for effectively forcing liquid, which has been supplied to said elastically compressible mixing baflle means from said liquid reservoir and supply means, and air, which has been supplied to said elastically compressible mixing baflle means through said dispensing nozzle means, through said plurality of interconnected baflie passageways of said fluid-mixing baffle passageways of said fluid-mixing baffle means for effectively mixing the liquid and air and forming an intimately intermixed air-liquid foam and for subsequently dispensing same through said dispensing nozzle means as a result of said manual operation of said variable-volume hand-pump means.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, including a flowrestricting effective valve means positioned in the flow path between said liquid reservoir and supply means and said mixing chamber means and operable to restrict the feeding of liquid from said liquid reservoir and supply means into the fluid-mixing bafile means carried within said mixing chamber means to an optimum .low value such as to prevent excessive liquid saturation of the plurality of interconnected baffle passageways of said mixing baffle means and the consequent substantial exclusion of air therefrom.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, including a flowrestricting effective valve means positioned in the flow path between said liquid reservoir and supply means and said mixing chamber means and comprising a plug and barrier member of elastically compressed multi-cell elastomeric sponge material having restricted-area flow-limiting through-passageways defined therein by multiple interconnected cells thereof operable to restrict the feeding of the liquid from said liquid reservoir and supply means into the mixing baflie means carried withinthe mixing chamber means to an optimum low value such as to prevent excessive liquid saturation of the plurality of interconnected bafile passageways of said mixing baffle means and the consequent substantial exclusion of air therefrom during repeated normal manual operation of said handpump means.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim ll, including a flowrestricting effective valve means positioned in the flow path between said liquid reservoir and supply means and said mixing chamber means and comprising a plug and barrier member of elastically compressed multi-cell elastomeric sponge material having restricted-area flowlimiting through-passageways defined therein by multiple interconnected cells thereof operable to restrict the feeding of the liquid from said liquid reservoir and supply means into the mixing baffle means carried within the mixing chamber means to an optimum low value such as to prevent excessive liquid saturation of the plurality of interconnected baille passageways of said mixing baffle means and the consequent substantial exclusion of air therefrom during repeated normal manual operation of said hand-pump means, said flow-restricting plug and barrier member of sponge material being fastened to the rear end of said fluid-mixing bame means and being resiliently radially compressibly engaged and mounted within said mixing chamber means.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, including a flowrestricting effective valve means positioned in the flow path between said liquid reservoir and supply means and said mixing chamber means and comprising a plug and barrier member of elastically compressed multi-cell elastomeric sponge material having restricted-area flowlimiting through-passageways defined therein by multiple interconnected cells thereof operable to restrict the feeding of the liquid from said liquid reservoir and supply means into the mixing bafile means carried within the mixing chamber means to an optimum low value such as to prevent excessive liquid saturation of the plurality of interconnected baflle passageways of said mixing baffle means and the consequent substantial exclusion of air therefrom during repeated normal manual operation of said hand-pump means, said flow-restricting effective valve means comprising an integral portion of the multicell sponge material'of the mixing baffle means at the rear end thereof having a reduced ratio of effective crosssectional area of said through-passageways relative to the interconnected solid portions thereof as compared to the other regions of the mixing baffle means.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, including a flowrestricting effective valve means positioned in the flow path between said liquid reservoir and supply means and said mixing chamber means and operable to restrict the feeding of liquid from said liquid reservoir and supply means into the fluid-mixing bafile means carried within said mixing chamber means to an optimum low value such as to prevent excessive liquid saturation of the pinrality of interconnected baffle passageways of said mixing baflle means and the consequent substantial exclusion of air therefrom, said flow-restricting valve means comprising an apertured valve member of flexible material provided with a plurality of restricted-area flow apertures therethrough and an elastically deflectable flapper valve closure element closing the front openings of said apertures exceptin the presence of forwardly acting differential pressure produced as a result of manually squeezing the rear hollow container means portion defining said liquid reservoir and supply means therein.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, including 'a flowrestricting effective valve means positioned in the flow path between said liquid reservoir and supply means and said mixing chamber means and operable to restrict the feeding of liquid from said liquid reservoir and supply means into the fluid-mixing bafiie means carried within said mixing chamber means to an optimum low value such as to prevent excessive liquid saturation of the plurality of interconnected baffle passageways of said mixing baflle means and the consequent substantial exclusion of air therefrom, said flow-restricting valve means comprising an apertured valve member of flexible material provided with a plurality of restricted-area flow apertures therethrough and an elastically deflectable flapper valve closure element closing the front openings of said apertures except in the presence of forwardly acting differential pressure produced as a result of manually squeezing the rear hollow container means portion defining said liquid reservoir and supply means therein, saidvalve member being provided with a longitudinal mounting stem extending vertically concentrically forwardly 14 through the center of the mixing baflle means to the dispensing nozzle means and there being provided with noz' zle abutment retaining means adapted to maintain said valve member in rear abutment with said mixing baffle means.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said fluidmixing baflle means is provided with hole means extending thereinto and in forward communication with said dispensing nozzle means.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, including a flowrestricting effective valve means positioned in the flow path between said liquid reservoir and supply means and said mixing chamber means and operable to restrict the feeding of liquid from said liquid reservoir and supply means into the fluid-mixing bafi ie means carried within said mixing chamber means to an optimum low value such as to prevent excessive liquid saturation of the plurality of interconnected bafile passageways of said mixing baffle means and the consequent substantial exclusion of air therefrom, said fluid-mixing baffle means being provided with hole means extending thereinto and forwardly in communication With said dispensing nozzle means and rearwardly effectively partially closed by said flow-restricting effective valve means.

it Apparatus as defined in claim 1, including a flowrestricting effective valve means positioned in the flow path between said liquid reservoir and supply means and said mixing chamber means and operable to restrict the feeding of liquid from said liquid reservoir and supply means into the fluid-mixing baffle means carried Within said mixing chamber means to an optimum low value such as to prevent excessive liquid saturation of the plurality of interconnected baffle passageways of said mixing bafile means and the consequent substantial exclusion of air therefrom, said fluid-mixing bafl'le means is provided with hole means extending thereinto and in forward communication with said dispensing nozzle means, said hole means comprising a longitudinal centrally positioned hole core substantially longitudinallyrcoaxially positioned within said fluid-mixing baffle means and said mixing chamber means and having a front open end substantially aligned with and in interior communication with said dispensing nozzle means and having a rear end effectively partially closed by said flow-restricting effective valve means which extends thereacross.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, including heating means mounted adpacent to said dispensing nozzle means in heat-transferring relationship with respect to intermixed air and liquid foam produced by said mixing baffie means and dispensed through said dispensing nozzle means.

12. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said front container means portion defining said mixing chamber means is physically separate from and non-integral with respect to said rear container means portion defining said liquid reservoir and supply means and is provided with controllably engageable and disengageable interlocking engaging means and communication means for effectively mechanically interlocking same together and for placing said liquid reservoir and supply means in said interior communication with said mixing chamber means.

13. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, including auxiliary heating chamber means provided with engaging means at the rear thereof controllably engageable with respect to said dispensing nozzle means and provided at the front thereof with an auxiliary dispensing opening and interiorly provide-d with a baffled heat-transfer flowpath tube provided with heating means positioned in heat-transferring relationship with respect thereto for controllably heating the intimately mixed liquid and air foam produced by said mixing baffle means and discharged through said dispensing nozzle means.

lld Apparatus as defined in claim 1, including auxiliary heating chamber means provided with engaging .7 means at the rear thereof controllably engageabie with respect to said dispensing nozzle means and provided at the front thereof with an auxiliary dispensing opening and interiorly provided with a baffled heat-transfer flowpath tube provided with heating means positioned in heat-transferring relationship with respect thereto for controllably heating the intimately mixed liquid and air foam produced by said mixing baffle means and discharged through said dispensing nozzle means, said rear engaging means and said dispensing nozzle means engaged thereby being effectively provided with one-way check valve means allowing forward flow of the dispensed mixed liquid and air foam therethrough while substantially preventing reverse flow thereof.

15. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said front container means portion defining said mixing chamber means is physically separate from and non-integral with respect to said rear container means portion defining said liquid reservoir and supply means and is provided with controllably engageable and disengageable interlocking engaging means and communication means for effectively mechanically interlocking same together and for placing said liquid reservoir and supply means in said interior communication with said mixing chamber means, said rear engaging means and communication means and said dispensing nozzle means engaged thereby being effectively provided with one-way check valve means allowing forward flow of liquid from the liquid reservoir and supply means therethrough while prevent ing reverse flow thereof.

16. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said front container means portion defining said mixing chamber means is physically separate from and non-integral with respect to said rear container means portion defining said liquid reservoir and supply means and is provided with controllably engageable and disengageable interlocking engaging means and communication means for effectively mechanically interlocking same together and for placing said liquid reservoir and supply means in said interior communication with said mixing chamber means, said rear engaging means and communication means and said dispensing nozzle means engaged thereby being effectively provided with one-way check valve means allowing forward flow of liquid from the liquid reservoir and supply means therethrough while preventing reverse flow thereof, said mixing chamber means being provided therein with an additive material for addition to and mixing with liquid and air therein during the formation of foam therefrom and prior to the dispensing of the foam through the dispensing nozzle means.

17. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, including a flow restricting effective valve means positioned in the flow path between said liquid reservoir and supply means and said mixing chamber means and operable to restrict the feeding of liquid from said liquid reservoir and supply means into the fluid-mixing bafile means carried within said mixing chamber means to an optimum low 'value such as to prevent excessive liquid saturation of the plurality of interconnected bafiie passageways of said mixing baffie means and the consequent substantial exclusion of air therefrom.

18. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, including a flowrestricting effective valve means positioned in the flow path between said liquid reservoir and supply means and said mixing chamber means and comprising a plug and barrier member of elastically compressed multi-cell elastomeric sponge material having restricted-area flowlimiting through-passageways defined therein by multiple interconnected cells thereof operable to restrict the feeding of the liquid from said liquid reservoir and supply means into the mixing bafiie means carried within the mixing chamber means to an optimum low value such as to prevent excessive liquid saturation ofthe plurality of interconnected baffle passageways of said mixing baffle means and the consequent substantial exclusion of air therefrom during repeated normal manual operation of said handpump means.

19. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, including a flowrestricting effective valve means positioned in the flow path between said liquid reservoir and supply means and said mixing chamber means and comprising a plug and barrier member of elastically compressed multi-cell elastomeric sponge material having restricted-area flow-limiting through-passageways defined therein by multiple interconnected cells thereof operable to restrict the feeding of the liquid from said liquid reservoir and supply means into the mixing baffle means carried within the mixing chamber means to an optimum low value such as to prevent excessive liquid saturation of the plurality of interconnected baffie passageways of said mixing baffie means and the consequent substantial exclusion of air therefrom during repeated normal manual operation of said handpump means, said flow-restricting plug and barrier member of sponge material being fastened to the rear end of said fluid-mixing bafiie means and being resiliently radially compressibly engaged and mounted within said mixing chamber means.

29. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, including a flowrestricting effective valve means positioned in the flow path between said liquid reservoir and supply means and said mixing chamber means and comprising a plug and barrier member of elastically compressed multicell elastomeric sponge material having restricted-area flow-limiting through-passageways defined therein by multiple interconnected celis thereof operable to restrict the feeding of the liquid from said liquid reservoir and supply means into the mixing baffle means carried within the mixing chamber means to an optimum low value such as to prevent excessive liquid saturation of the plurality of interconnected bafiie passageways of said mixing baffle means and the consequent substantial exclusion of air therefrom during repeated normal manual operation of said handpump means, said flow-restricting effective valve means comprising an integral portion of the multi-cell sponge material of the mixing baffle means at the rear end thereof having a reduced ratio of effective cross-sectional area of said through-passageways relative to the interconnected solid portions thereof as compared to the other regions of the mixing bafile means.

21. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, including a flowrestricting effective valve means positioned in the flow path between said liquid reservoir and supply means and said mixing chamber means and operable to restrict the feeding of liquid from said liquid reservoir and supply means into the fluid-mixing bafiie means carried within said mixing chamber means to an optimum low value such as to prevent excessive liquid saturation of the plurality of interconnected baffie passageways of said mixing baffle means and the consequent substantial exclusion of air therefrom, said flow-restricting valve means comprising an apertured valve member of flexible material provided with a plurality of restricted-area flow apertures therethrough and an elastically defiectable flapper valve closure element closing the front openings of said apertures except in the presence of forwardly acting differential pressure produced as a result of manually squeezing the rear hollow container means portion defining said liquid reservoir and supply means therein.

22. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, including a flowrestricting effective valve means positioned in the flow path between said liquid reservoir and supply means and said mixing chamber means and operable to restrict the feeding of liquid from said liquid reservoir and supply means into the fluid-mixing baffle means carried within said mixing chamber means to an optimum low value such as to prevent excessive liquid saturation of the 'plurality of interconnected baffle passageways of said mixing baffle means and the consequent substantial exclusion of air therefrom, said flow-restricting valve means cornprising an apertured valve member of flexible material 1. 7 provided with a plurality of restricted-area flow apertures therethrough and an elastically deflectable flapper valve closure element closing the front openings of said apertures except in the presence of forwardly acting differential pressure produced as a result of manually squeezing the rear hollow container means portion defining said liquid reservoir and supply means therein, said valve member being provided with a longitudinal mounting stem extending vertically concentrically forwardly through the center of the mixing bafi'le means to the dispensing nozzle' means and there being provided with nozzle abutment retaining means adapted to maintain said valve member in rear abutment with said mixing bafile means.

23. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein said hole means comprises a longitudinal, centrally-positioned hole core substantially longitudinally coaxially positioned within said fluid-mixing baffle means and having a front open end substantially aligned with, and in interior communication with, said dispensing nozzle means.

24, Apparatus as defined in claim 9, wherein said flowrestricting eflective valve means comprises a plug and barrier member of elastically compressed multi-cell elastomeric sponge material having restricted-area flow-limiting through-passageways defined therein by multiple interconnected cells thereof operable to restrict the feeding of the liquid from said liquid reservoir and supply means into the mixing bafiie means carried Within the mixing chamber means to an optimum low value such as to prevent said excessive liquid saturation of the plurality of interconnected bafile passageways of said mixing bafile means and said consequent substantial exclusion of air therefrom during repeated normal manual operation of said hand-pump means.

25. Apparatus as defined in claim 24, wherein said flow-restricting plug and barrier member of sponge material is fastened to the rear end of fluid-mixing bafiie means and is resiliently radially compressibly engaged and mounted within said mixing chamber means.

26. Apparatus as defined in claim 24, wherein said flowrestricting effective valve means comprises an integral portion of the multi-cell sponge material of the mixing bafile means at the rear end thereof having a'reduced ratio of eifective cross-sectional area of said through-passageways relative to the interconnected solid portions thereof as compared to the other regions of the mixing baffle means.

27. Apparatus as defined in claim 9, wherein said flowrestricting valve means comprises an apertured valve member of flexible material provided with a plurality of restricted-area flow apertures therethrough and an elastically defiectable flapper valve closure element closing the front openings of said apertures except in the presence of forwardly acting differential pressure produced as a result of manually squeezing the rear hollow container means portion defining said liquid reservoir and supply means therein.

28. Apparatus as defined in claim 27, wherein said valve member is provided with a longitudinal mounting stem extending vertically concentrically forwardly through the center of the mixing baflle means to the dispensing nozzle means and there is provided with nozzle-abutment retaining means adapted to maintain said valve member in rear abutment with said mixing bafiie means.

References Cited by the Examiner RAPHAEL M. LUPO, Primary Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. APPARATUS FOR EFFECTIVELY MIXING AIR WITH A LIQUID AND THEREBY PRODUCING AN INTIMATELY INTERMIXED AIR-LIQUID FOAM AND FOR EFFECTIVELY DISPENSING SAME, COMPRISING: HOLLOW CONTAINER MEANS OF FLEXIBLE ELASTIC MATERIAL HAVING A PERMANENTLY CLOSED REAR END AND A CLOSED FRONT END PROVIDED WITH A DISPENSING NOZZLE MEANS, SAID CONTAINER MEANS COMPRISING A REAR HOLLOW CONTAINER MEANS PORTION EFFECTIVELY DEFINING LIQUID RESERVOIR AND SUPPLY MEANS THEREIN ADAPTED TO CONTAIN THEREIN A QUANTITY OF A LIQUID WHICH IS TO HAVE AT LEAST A PORTION THEREOF EFFECTIVELY INTIMATELY MIXED WITH A QUANTITY OF AIR TO FORM A DESIRED QUANTITY OF FOAM WHICH IS TO BE DISPENSED THEREAFTER, SAID CONTAINER MEANS FURTHER COMPRISING A FRONT HOLLOW CONTAINER MEANS PORTION EFFECTIVELY DEFINING THEREIN MIXING CHAMBER MEANS HAVING A REAR END THEREOF IN COMMUNICATION WITH A FRONT END OF SAID LIQUID RESERVOIR AND SUPPLY MEANS FOR FORWARD PASSAGE OF THE LIQUID ADAPTED TO BE CONTAINED WITHIN SAID LIQUID RESERVOIR AND SUPPLY MEANS; ELASTICALLY COMPRESSIBLE FLUID-MIXING BAFFLE MEANS MOUNTED WITHIN SAID MIXING CHAMBER MEANS AND SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETELY FILLING SAID MIXING CHAMBER MEANS AND EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY FROM A POSITION IMMEDIATELY FORWARD OF SAID REAR-POSITIONED LIQUID RESERVOIR AND SUPPLY MEANS TO A POSITION IMMEDIATELY BEHIND SAID CLOSED FRONT END AND EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETELY ACROSS SAID MIXING CHAMBER MEANS WHEREBY TO SUBSTANTIALLY EXTERIORLY FILL SAID MIXING CHAMBER MEANS IN A MANNER LEAVING SUBSTANTIALLY NO OPEN SPACE IN THE FRONT INTERIOR CROSS-SECTIONAL PORTION OF SAID MIXING CHAMBER MEANS IMMEDIATELY BEHIND SAID CLOSED FRONT END UNOCCUPIED BY THE FRONT END OF SAID ELASTICALLY COMPRESSIBLE FLUID-MIXING BAFFLE MEANS, SAID ELASTICALLY COMPRESSIBLE FLUID-MIXING BAFFLE MEANS COMPRISING A QUANTITY OF MULTI-CELL SPONGE MATERIAL HAVING INTERCONNECTED ELASTIC SOLID PORTIONS DEFINING A PLURALITY OF INTERCONNECTED HOLLOW COMMUNICATING CELLS DISPERSED THERETHROUGH AND EFFECTIVELY PROVIDING A PLURALITY OF INTERCONNECTED BAFFLE PASSAGEWAYS EXTENDING THERETHROUGH, SAID FRONT CONTAINER MEANS PORTION DEFINING SAID MIXING CHAMBER MEANS THEREIN HAVING A COLLAPSIBLE ELASTIC WALL PORTION ADJACENT TO THE INTERIOR OF SAID MIXING CHAMBER MEANS DEFINED THEREIN AND SAID ELASTICALLY COMPRESSIBLE FLUID-MIXING BAFFLE MEANS MOUNTED THEREIN AND EFFECTIVELY COMPRISING A PRESSURE-APPLYING MEANS TAKING THE FORM OF A MANUALLY CONTROLLABLY OPERABLE VARIABLE-VOLUME HANDPUMP MEANS MANUALLY OPERABLE FOR EFFECTIVELY FORCING LIQUID, WHICH HAS BEEN SUPPLIED TO SAID ELASTICALLY COMPRESSIBLE MIXING BAFFLE MEANS FROM SAID LIQUID RESERVOIR AND SUPPLY MEANS, AND AIR, WHICH HAS BEEN SUPPLIED TO SAID ELASTICALLY COMPRESSIBLE MIXING BAFFLE MEANS THROUGH SAID DISPENSING NOZZLE MEANS, THROUGH SAID PLURALITY OF INTERCONNECTED BAFFLE PASSAGEWAYS OF SAID FLUID-MIXING BAFFLE PASSAGEWAYS OF SAID FLUID-MIXING BAFFLE MEANS FOR EFFECTIVELY MIXING THE LIQUID AND AIR AND FORMING AN INTIMATELY INTERMIXED AIR-LIQUID FOAM AND FOR SUBSEQUENTLY DISPENSING SAME THROUGH SAID DISPENSING NOZZLE MEANS AS A RESULT OF SAID MANUAL OPERATION OF SAID VARIABLE-VOLUME HAND-PUMP MEANS.

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