The present invention relates to dispensing in general and more particularly to an improved bottle and pump and the combination thereof which can be used to dispense liquids, for example, as an atomized spray or a similar dispensing device for non pressurized packages.
Conventionally, small pumps are mounted on glass bottles by means of what is known as a ferrule or mounting cup. An example of such a pump is that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,559, assigned to the assignee of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 thereof, the upper portion of the pump body is crimped into the mounting cup 6. The mounting cup 6 may then crimped onto the bottle which contains a lip at the end of a neck. This requires a gasket 7 and the aluminum ferrule 6.
There have been attempts to mount a pump directly to a bottle in a manner which eliminates the gasket and aluminum ferrule. However, any such attachment method must solve two problems: it has to provide means of sealing (formerly done by the gasket) and means of retention (formerly done by the ferrule). These have not been easy to solve without increased expense. The glass internal dimensions, i.e., inside the neck, vary greatly because of the unpredictable distribution of glass during blow molding operation. Thus, attempts that have been made require very expensive glass manufactured with much closer tolerances than those obtained in a conventional blow molding process.
Thus, there is a need for a bottle and a pump with which it is possible to simply be able to press a pump into the neck of a blow molded bottle in a reliable manner with good retention and sealing. Such will not only reduce cost but also open new package design opportunities.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds