1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of decanting a liquid present in a first container into an empty bottle. In particular, the present invention provides a device for recharging a liquid product, such as a perfume.
The present invention also provides the use of such a recharging device for filling a bottle from another, so-called recharging bottle.
2. Description of the Related
ArtA number of products are sold in bottles having a luxurious character. These bottles have numerous aesthetic motifs that are relatively difficult to manufacture, for example, and may moreover be produced in noble materials, thus increasing their cost. The luxurious character of a bottle adds value to the contents, which are also costly, and enhances the image of the product. This is the case with perfume bottles in particular. Accordingly, the use of a refilling bottle of less value than the product it contains makes it possible to refill and to reuse a luxurious bottle which, because of its quality, is generally perceived as a non-disposable object.
It may also be useful to decant a product from a relatively basic bottle (refill) into a more luxurious bottle or one that is more presentable in order to address an environmental concern, for example if the refill can be recycled, or to address economic concerns.
Perfume bottles are typically constituted of a container having a threaded neck onto which a spray head is screwed. Similarly, refill bottles generally comprise a container having a threaded neck onto which a threaded stopper is screwed.
A simple way recharge or fill an empty perfume bottle is to unscrew the atomizer head and to decant the contents of the refill manually, after unscrewing the stopper.
This has drawbacks, however. Given that the neck of said refillable dispenser is typically small, some manual skill or dexterity is required to effect the decanting or transfer of perfume from a refill bottle to the perfume bottle. Except for the highly skilled person, the usual consequences of decanting are on the one hand a loss of the product contained in the refill, often a costly perfume, and on the other hand a risk of soiling of the clothes or hands, with the attendant risk of the tenacious or durable odour associated with such an operation, the product or perfume having been able to spill and impregnate a fabric.
In the prior art, in addition to manual decanting, there are also known devices in the form of funnels. A funnel is a conical instrument, terminated by a tube, that is used to pour not only a liquid, but also a powder, a granulate or a paste, for example into a container with a smaller opening. The funnel is generally in glass, plastic or metal.
The documents GB 2 396 318, JP 2007/182255 and JP2004/306982 describe improved funnels. For example, the first document describes a funnel device including flotation means for blocking the cone of the funnel in order to prevent the product overflowing during decanting.
However, with such funnel devices, the user may be splashed by drops of the product to be recharged during decanting, the consequence of which is to cause loss of product and soiling of the user.
The document FR 2 867 761 describes a device for recharging a container provided with a threaded neck comprising: a) a first container intended to contain a product to be transferred into the second container, b) cooperation means intended to connect said first and second containers, c) means for shutting off the second container, and d) means for transferring the product contained in the first container to the second container. This device enables the transfer from a full (refill) bottle to an empty bottle to be filled with the same capacity as the refill. Thus if liquid remains in the bottle to be filled, the refill cannot be completely emptied into the bottle. Consequently, on uncoupling the refill from the bottle, the liquid still present in the refill will overflow, which will lead to losses.
An object of the present invention is to propose a new recharging device that avoids some or all of the problems referred to above.
To this end, the invention provides a device for recharging a bottle with liquid, characterized in that it comprises:
a refill containing the liquid, and
a decanting system, adapted selectively to pass the liquid from the refill to the bottle,
said decanting system comprising:
a) a first part fixed to the refill, and comprising a first liquid passage and a first air passage, in communication with the refill,
b) a second part connected to the first part, and intended to be fixed to the bottle, said second part comprising a second liquid passage and a second air passage intended to communicate with the bottle,
the first part and the second part being constrained to move together in translation and free to rotate between a so-called open configuration, in which said first and second liquid and air passages, respectively, are aligned, thus providing for the passage of liquid and air between the refill and the bottle, and a so-called closed configuration, in which said first and second liquid and air passages, respectively, are not aligned, thus preventing the passage of liquid and air between the refill and the bottle.
The features of the device of the invention give it the advantage of being an alternative to the funnel that prevents spilling the liquid. Moreover, the liquid is never in contact with the user. Moreover, the recharging device is anti-overflow. Also, the flow is stopped automatically when the bottle to be filled is full, i.e. when the air conduit is blocked by the liquid.
Said second passages preferably have the same length and the length of the first liquid passage is less than the length of the first air passage, thus simultaneously ensuring the passage of liquid from the refill to the bottle and the passage of air from the bottle to the refill in the open configuration of the recharging device. Because said second passages are the same length, in an open configuration of the device, when the liquid level in the bottle has reached the lower end of these passages, the flow of air and of liquid is simply stopped. Accordingly, as a function of the shape of the bottle to be filled, said second passages will be longer or shorter. For example, if the bottle to be filled is long and thin, the second passages will be relatively long so as to discharge inside the bottle at the level where the user wishes the liquid to stop. If the bottle to be refilled is wide and flat, the second passages will be shorter, so as to enable convenient refilling of the bottle.
The second part advantageously comprises at least one thread for screwing the recharging device to the bottle and unscrewing it.
The first part preferably comprises at least one gadroon adapted, in the closed configuration of said device, to cooperate with at least one retractable lug present on the second part, so that, during screwing, the first part drives rotation of said second part.
Locking means are advantageously disposed in an area of the second part intended to be in contact with the upper end of the bottle, in such a manner as to stop the rotation of the second part relative to the bottle when the upper end of the bottle reaches the locking means.
The first part preferably comprises at least one screwing abutment adapted to cooperate with at least one first abutment present on the second part to block rotation of the first part when the screwing abutment comes into contact with said first abutment, the first and second air and liquid passages, respectively, being disposed in such a manner as to be aligned when the screwing abutment comes into contact with the first abutment of the second part, the screwing abutment being disposed at a different level from the at least one gadroon.
In particular, the first part comprises at least one unscrewing abutment adapted to cooperate with at least one second abutment present on the second part so that, during unscrewing and once the unscrewing abutment is in contact with the second abutment, rotation of the first part drives rotation of the second part.
The second part is preferably constrained to move in translation with the first part by clipping means.
The second part advantageously comprises a receiving space comprising the thread and shutting off means extending at least inside said receiving space, said shutting off means being adapted to be nested inside a neck of the bottle and comprising said second passages to enable, in the open configuration, the passage of liquid and air into the bottle.
In particular, the first part comprises a first receiving area having a thread into which is screwed a threaded neck present on the refill.
The first part preferably comprises anti-unscrewing means for preventing disassembly of the refill and said first part.
The first part preferably comprises a second receiving area adjacent said first receiving area along the longitudinal axis of said first part, characterized in that said first liquid passage lies in the second receiving area, and said first air passage lies both in the first receiving area and the second receiving area.
In said second receiving area, said first air passage and said first liquid passage are advantageously surrounded by an air manifold adapted, in a closed configuration, to communicate with said second air passage and said second liquid passage.
The present invention further consists in the use of a refilling device as described above to fill at least one bottle with a liquid.
The invention will be better understood and other objects, details, features and advantages thereof will become more clearly apparent in the course of the following description of one particular embodiment of the invention, given by way of nonlimiting illustration only and with reference to the appended drawings.
In the drawings:
As indicated above, and referring to
The refill container 2 is commonly a glass or plastic bottle or cylindrical tube filled with a liquid 23, such as perfume. The refill container 2 has a threaded neck 2a. It generally also has a relatively large capacity so as to be able to fill a plurality of empty perfume bottles 3.
The decanting system 1 is disposed on the neck 2a of the refill container 2. It is composed of two main parts: a first external part 5, which is substantially cylindrical, and a second internal part 4, which is also substantially cylindrical and partially inserted in the external part 5 in a coaxial manner, the two internal part 4 and external part 5 being constrained to move together in translation. The neck 2a of the refill container 2 is fixed to the decanting system 1 via the external part 5. As described hereinafter, the decanting system 1 also comprises at least one seal 30, 40, preferably two seals.
The external part 5 that is shown in
The first receiving area 18 is a substantially cylindrical refill receiving area that comprises two portions, a first portion that extends in a first direction along the axis X from the transverse plate 5a and a second portion that extends in the same direction as the first and starting therefrom. This second portion has a wider section to receive the shoulder of the refill container 2 while the first portion includes a thread 8 that serves to screw the neck 2a of the refill container 2 to the external part 5. Between the transverse plate 5a and the neck 2a there is preferably disposed a seal 40. Furthermore, at the level of the interior wall of the end of the external part 5 connected to the refill container 2, anti-unscrewing means 35 prevent removal of the refill container 2 from the decanting system 1 once the latter is mounted. The fact that the device 100 is not demountable enables tracking of the product (perfume) contained in the refill container 2.
The second reception area area 17, also of substantially cylindrical shape, also comprises two portions: a first portion 33 that extends from the transverse plate 5a along the axis X in a second direction opposite the first direction mentioned above, and a second portion 34 which extends from and in the same direction as the first portion 33. The first portion 33 comprises in the wall of the external part 5 clipping means (groove 14) for clipping it to the internal part 4. The second portion 34 comprises at its end at the greatest distance from the plate 5a, first two diametrically opposite first and second gadroons 20a, 20b, then two diametrically opposite abutments 22 each including a screwing abutment 22a and an unscrewing abutment 22b (
Furthermore, the external part 5 comprises two passages, a liquid passage 11 and an air passage 12. The liquid passage 11 extends from the orifice 5b in the transverse plate 5a into the second reception area area 17 of the internal part 4 and in particular as far as the end of the first portion 33 of this second reception area 17. This air passage extends from the orifice 5a, on either side of the plate 5a, both into the first receiving area area 18 and into the second reception area 17, and in particular into the first portion of the first receiving area 18 and into the first portion 33 of the second reception area 17. Thus the air passage 12 is longer than the passage 11 adapted to have a liquid passed through it. These two passages 11 and 12 are arranged so that their first ends discharge inside the neck 2a of the refill container 2 and their second ends discharge in line with shutting off means 7, also having two passages 9, 10, disposed on the internal part 4.
The external part 5 also includes a cylindrical wall 16 disposed around the passages 11, 12 and that extends from the transverse plate 5a, partially into the first portion 33 of the second reception area 17 of the internal portion. This wall 16 is adapted to cooperate with another cylindrical wall 15 disposed in the internal part 4 in order to form an air manifold 26 for the decanting system 1.
As shown in
The first portion 32 extends from the transverse plate 4a into the first portion 33 of the second reception area 17 of the internal portion. The external wall of the internal part 4 nests in the internal wall of the portion 33 of the part 5 and is fixed via the clipping action of the rib 13 and groove 14. As stated above, the internal part 4 comprises a cylindrical wall 15. This wall 15 extends from the plate 4a into the portion 32 in such a manner as to surround the cylindrical wall 16 of the external part 5. Thus an air manifold 26 is formed. As may be seen in
The second portion 31 comprises in its internal wall a thread 6 adapted to cooperate with the neck 3a and enabling the bottle 3 to be screwed onto the recharging device 100. Between the neck 3a and the plate 4a there is disposed a seal 30 (of washer shape) in order to provide a seal between the bottle and the decanting system 1. As
In
The first operation to be effected by the user (see
During this action, the external part 5 drives rotation of the internal part 4. Referring to
At the end of screwing the recharging device 100 onto the perfume bottle 3, the elastomer seal 30 (labelled in
The user continues to turn the external part 5 around the internal part until the first abutment 22a of the external part abuts against a first abutment 21a of the internal part (rotation of ¼ turn—
Liquid can thus flow from the refill container 2 to the perfume bottle 3 to be filled (
When, as shown in
Once the bottle 3 has been filled (
During unscrewing, the decanting system 1 moves away from the liquid level 25, thus unblocking the air passage 9. Accordingly, in the closed position, the two passages 9 and 10 situated in the internal part 4 and the air that is present communicate via the air manifold 26. The liquid stagnating in the liquid passage 10 is therefore released by gravity, so purging the device 100. There is no risk of drops flowing out when the bottle 3 and the refill container 2 are uncoupled.
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11 52039 | Mar 2011 | FR | national |
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Entry |
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French Search Report, dated Dec. 20, 2011, from corresponding French application. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20120234432 A1 | Sep 2012 | US |