The present invention relates to a device for withdrawing and dispensing a viscous product, without taking in air.
It finds application in pharmaceutical or cosmetic products, but also food products, for particularly greasy and pasty products such as mayonnaise for example.
The high viscosity of all these products has the disadvantage of causing a reduction in the release rate of the bottle when emptying the bottle. It is known that these products can be drained of their content using a pump of the airless type associated with the bottle, without taking in air. It is necessary to use either airless bottles with pistons or airless bottles using a pouch. In fact, these systems make it possible to release viscous products more effectively. In certain cases, for products with high viscosity packaged in tall bottles, the pouch systems can lose their release performance and can require a dip tube, which has the effect of considerably slowing the operation of the pump. Indeed, when the pouch is full of product, a traditional dip tube absorbs the product by its lower end, but the pressure drop is then high.
The solution would be to increase the diameter of the dip tube. The problem would remain the same because the volume of product and air to be carried, having increased, would also increase the number of priming strokes.
It is also necessary to take into account the fact that, in the presence of a viscous product, during assembly of the pumping member associated with the dip tube, the air caught inside it creates a blockage which is more difficult to overcome during first actuations if the viscosity of the product is higher.
One could consider solving this problem by having a shorter tube, therefore having a smaller air blockage, thus reducing pressure losses because there is less air to be removed.
But in this case, when finishing using the product, a short tube would not be able to absorb the residual product in the bottom of the pouch. Indeed, by gravity, the product has a tendency to remain in the bottom of the pouch, while the walls thereof collapse at mid-height, preventing the product from rising up to the pump.
According to a first phase of the inventive approach, it was sought to combine the advantage of the short tube to prime the product rapidly and the long tube to collect the product over the entire height of the pouch.
To this end, the invention relates to a device for withdrawing and dispensing a viscous product, without taking in air, including on the one hand a pumping member positioned, by its base, at the open end of a rigid container associated with a flexible internal retractable pouch, designed to receive the product, and on the other hand a dip tube connected by its upper end to a corresponding portion of the pumping member and of which the free lower end is submerged in the product.
The dip tube is characterized in that it consists of:
The present invention also relates to the characteristics which will be revealed during the description that follows, and which should be considered in isolation or according to all their technically possible combinations.
This description, given by way of a non-limiting example, will make it easier to understand how the invention can be implemented with reference to the appended drawings wherein:
The withdrawal and dispensing device 1, globally designated in the figures, includes on the one hand a pumping device (3) positioned, by its base (8) at the open end (4) of a rigid container (5) associated with an internal retractable flexible pouch (6) designed to receive the product (2), and on the other hand to a dip tube (7) connected by its upper end (7a) to a corresponding portion (3a) of the pumping member, so that the upper end (7a) is partially submerged in the product (2) and the free lower end (7b) is totally submerged in the product (2).
According to the invention, the dip tube (7) consists of:
This allows rapid priming, due to the first short portion with a closed circumference, and a good release rate due to the second portion with an open slotted circumference.
The opening angle of the longitudinal slot (9) of the second lower open portion (7B) of the tube (7) represents a circular sector of which the apex angle (α) is comprised between 45 and 120°.
Initially, it is 90°.
The width “a” of the slot is optimized so that it allows the product to enter easily into the tube through the slot, without however allowing the introduction of the pouch by aspiration at the end of the release.
Tests have demonstrated that, with a tube having a closed circumference, 88% release is obtained, while with the tube partially open according to the invention, 97% release is obtained, with the same highly viscous product.
According to a first embodiment (
According to a second embodiment (
According to a third embodiment, shown in
The second portion (7B) includes a second reinforcing ring (72), symmetric with respect to a transverse plane. The presence of the second reinforcing ring (72) is not functional, but rather makes it possible to avoid orienting the second portion during assembly with the pump (3). Each end of the second portion (7B) is identical and can be pressed on over the first portion (7A).
As shown in
In variants that are not shown, the second portion (7B) includes several reinforcing rings at each end.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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1357085 | Jul 2013 | FR | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2014/065007 | 7/14/2014 | WO | 00 |