Patent Application
20080061165
Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear on reading the following description made with reference to the appended drawings in which:
In the figures, the same reference numbers indicate identical or similar elements.
The dispenser 1 comprises a reservoir 3 inside which the fluid product is placed. The reservoir 3 may comprise a bottom and a generally cylindrical wall which extends about an axis 4 perpendicular to the bottom. The reservoir 3 has an opening 5 provided at the opposite end from the bottom and delimited, for example, by a tubular neck 6 which extends substantially coaxially with the axis 4 of the reservoir 3.
A dispensing device 7 mounted in the opening 5 of the reservoir 3 is suitable for drawing off the fluid product inside the reservoir 3 and delivering it under pressure to the outside.
In the rest of the description, the terms “bottom” or “lower” and “top” or “upper” will be understood with reference to the orientation of the reservoir 3 resting on the bottom. The terms “upstream” and “downstream” will be understood with reference to the direction of travel of the fluid product from the reservoir to the outside.
The dispensing device 7 may comprise a tubular body 8 that extends along an axis 9 and a hollow stem 10 mounted in the open top end of the body 8. The stem 10 can be moved partly inside the body 8 in translation along the axis 9. The bottom end, also open, of the body 8 is in fluidic communication with the reservoir 3, for example by means of a tubular wall of attachment 11 receiving a dip tube 12 by sleeve-fitting.
In particular examples, the dispensing device 7 may be actuated manually. The dispensing device 7 may be a valve mounted on the reservoir 3, that is then pressurized, and in which the stem 10 comprises at least one closable orifice that can be placed in fluidic communication with the inside of the body 8. As a variant, the dispensing device 7 may be a pump comprising a compression chamber delimited by an inlet valve close to the bottom end of the body 8, an outlet valve and a piston fixedly attached to the base of the stem 10 and able to be moved in a sealed manner inside the body 8.
The dispensing device 7 is attached coaxially to the neck 6 of the reservoir 3. The free bottom end of the dip tube 12 resting close to the bottom of the reservoir 3 so as to place the stem 10, whose top edge protrudes relative to the opening 5 of the reservoir 3, in fluidic communication with the reservoir 3. The stem 10 may therefore deliver the fluid product under a pressure, for example greater than 2 bar.
In other embodiments not shown, it would be possible to make provision for the reservoir 3 to have a bottom opening 5 and for the dispensing device 7 to operate in a reverse manner, that is to say with the stem 10 that extends downwards. In this case, the dip tube 12 is replaced by an appropriate drawing-off device.
In the embodiment shown, a fastening member fastens the dispensing device 7 to the reservoir 3. For example, in
In order to actuate the dispensing device 7 by moving the stem 10 inside the body 8, a dispensing member, for example in the form of a push button 17, may be mounted on the top end of the stem 10.
The push button 17 comprises a generally cylindrical body that extends along an axis 18. The body has a top actuation wall 19 which extends substantially radially relative to the axis 18 of the push button 17 and from the edge of which a lateral skirt 20 extends along the axis 18 of the push button 17.
In the vicinity of the actuation wall 19, the body of the push button 17 may comprise a cylindrical housing 21 along an axis 22 generally perpendicular to the axis 18 of the push button 17, made in the lateral skirt 20, open towards the outside and having an abutment surface. In particular, inside the housing 21, a cylindrical post 23 may extend coaxially with the axis 22 of the housing 21 so as to form inside the cylindrical housing 21 a substantially annular space 24. The post 23 has a downstream end surface 27 forming the abutment surface that extends generally perpendicularly to the axis 22 of the housing 21.
The push button 17 also comprises a supply channel in fluidic communication with the stem 10. The supply channel may comprise, for example, an axial sleeve 25 that extends from the actuation wall 19 inside the skirt 20 along the axis 18 of the body, and a radial passageway 26 that is generally perpendicular to the axis 18 of the body and whose upstream and downstream ends lead respectively into the axial sleeve 25 and into the annular space 24 of the housing 21.
The bottom end of the axial sleeve 25 may be attached, for example by sleeve-fitting, to the top end of the stem 10. An annular protrusion may be provided on the inner wall of the axial sleeve 25 in order to improve the attachment and/or the seal of the push button 17 on the stem 10.
The supply channel makes it possible to supply the housing 21 with pressurized fluid product delivered via the stem 10.
In other embodiments, it is however possible to provide that the axis 22 of the housing 21 and the supply channel are parallel, while being or not being indistinguishable from the axis 18 of the dispensing member in order to allow an axial dispensing of the fluid product. In addition, the dispensing member may form an end-piece mounted on a dispensing device 7 or directly on the reservoir 3.
To allow the pressurized fluid product to come out in the form of a spray 2 consisting of fine individual droplets, a spray nozzle 28 is placed in the housing 21.
In particular, the spray nozzle 28 comprises a transverse wall 29 that has an upstream face 33 and a downstream face 34.
The spray nozzle 28 also comprises an outlet orifice 30 that extends across the transverse wall 29 between an upstream end and a downstream end arranged on the downstream face of the transverse wall 29 and through which the spray nozzle 28 leads to the outside of the dispenser 1.
The outlet orifice 30 is delimited by a lateral surface 35 of revolution about an axis of revolution A substantially perpendicular to the transverse wall 29.
The lateral surface 35 of the outlet orifice 30 therefore has a segment generated by rotation of a generatrix about the axis of revolution A, along a closed directing curve. The lateral surface 35 may however have a succession of such adjacent segments, similar or different, in which succession, for two respectively upstream and downstream adjacent segments, the outlet section of the upstream segment forms the inlet section of the downstream segment. Each segment may be straight, the generatrix being substantially rectilinear, or curved, the generatrix having a continuous curvature.
To carry the pressurized fluid product from the annular space 24 of the housing 21 to the outlet orifice 30, the spray nozzle 28 comprises at least one supply duct 36 that extends in a plane perpendicular to the axis of revolution A between an upstream end, in fluidic communication with the radial passageway 26 by means of the annular space 24, and a downstream end. Each supply duct 36 extends tangentially relative to the lateral surface 35 of the outlet orifice 30 and the downstream end of each supply duct 36 leads directly into the lateral surface 35 of the outlet orifice 30.
Each supply duct 36 may be delimited by a bottom surface 38 and an internal lateral edge 39 and an external lateral edge 40 substantially perpendicular to the bottom surface 38. Provision may be made for the lateral edges 39, 40 to converge toward each other from the upstream end to the downstream end of the supply duct 36. The lateral edges 39, 40 may, for example, converge toward each other with an angle of convergence lying between 10° and 30°, particularly 20°.
In particular, the external lateral edge 40 may be substantially rectilinear and be connected tangentially to the lateral surface 35 of the outlet orifice 30. And the internal lateral edge 39, also substantially rectilinear, may be connected to the lateral surface 35 of the outlet orifice 30 while being inclined relative to a direction parallel to the external lateral edge 40.
In a first embodiment shown in
Furthermore, in
As a variant shown in
In a second embodiment represented in
The outlet orifice 30 may pass through the boss 37 so as to extend between the downstream face 34 of the transverse wall 29 and the upstream end provided at a distance from the transverse surface. The boss 37 then has an internal surface that belongs to the lateral surface 35 of the outlet orifice 30.
The boss 37 may comprise a single groove delimiting the single supply duct 36. The bottom surface 38 of the supply duct 36 may be substantially coplanar with the transverse surface of the transverse wall 29. In this manner, the downstream end of the supply duct 36 leads to the vicinity of the upstream end of the outlet orifice 30 and the upstream end of the supply duct 36 leads into the peripheral chamber 32.
As a variant, the boss 37 may comprise several grooves each delimiting a supply duct 36.
The spray nozzle 28 described above, having no swirl chamber, makes it possible to limit the surfaces of contact of the fluid product with the spray nozzle 28 and to reduce the dimensions of the space requirement of the spray nozzle 28.
According to particular dispositions, it is possible to provide, as an example, that the spray nozzle 28 has the following dimensions, without being limited thereto:
the distance between the upstream and downstream ends of the supply duct 36 may lie between 0.15 mm and 0.7 mm,
the outlet orifice 30 may have a diameter lying between 300 μm and 800 μm and a length, measured along the axis of revolution A, lying between 0.45 mm and 1.10 mm,
the downstream end of the supply duct 36 may have a height, measured along the axis of revolution A, lying between 0.25 mm and 0.60 mm and a width, measured perpendicularly to the axis of revolution A and in its narrowest portion, lying between 0.10 mm and 0.20 mm.
As a variant, provision is made for the lateral surface 35 of the outlet orifice 30 to be convergent from the upstream end to the downstream end. The lateral surface 35 of the outlet orifice 30 then has a cross section relative to the axis of revolution that reduces from the upstream end to the downstream end which makes it possible in particular to reduce the size of the droplets of the spray 2.
In particular, in
According to another variant, the lateral surface 35 of the outlet orifice 30 may be divergent from the upstream end to the downstream end. The outlet orifice 30 then has a cross section relative to the axis of revolution A that increases from the upstream end to the downstream end which makes it possible in particular to reduce the spray angle α of the spray 2.
In particular, in
In addition, to allow the formation of a spray 2 in the form of a cone having circular sections over its whole length and a uniform distribution of the droplets in each of the said sections, it is possible to provide that the closed directing curve of the segment or segments of the lateral surface 35 of the outlet orifice 30 is an ellipse so that the lateral surface 35 has an elliptical section.
Actually, the single supply duct produces a dissymmetrical supply of the fluid product in the outlet orifice 30, which may generate a dynamic imbalance of the fluid product made to rotate in the outlet orifice 30. Such an imbalance risks causing a non-uniform distribution of the pressure and speed of the fluid product in the outlet orifice 30 which results in the formation of a spray 2 of non-circular and non-uniform section. The disposition according to which the lateral surface 35 of the outlet orifice 30 has an elliptical section, as shown in
This arrangement may however be used in order to create or accentuate the dynamic imbalance and produce a spray 2 of elliptical section suitable for dispensing fluid product such as make-up foundations or other make-up products. As a variant, the supply duct may extend tangentially to the lateral surface to the vicinity of the small axis of the ellipse.
The spray nozzle 28 may form a fitted element that is sleeve-fitted into the housing 21. The transverse wall 29 may then comprise a lateral wall of association 31 that extends to the vicinity of the periphery of the transverse wall 29 substantially perpendicularly to the transverse wall 29.
The wall of association 31 of the spray nozzle 28 is sleeve-fitted inside the cylindrical housing 21 parallel to the axis 22 of the housing 21, the transverse wall 29 coming opposite the abutment surface 27. One or more flanges may be provided between the external periphery of the wall of association 31 and the housing 21 in order to improve the fastening and/or the seal of the spray nozzle 28 in the housing 21.
The transverse wall 29 of the spray nozzle 28 may then delimit the housing 21 towards the outside and come into contact with the abutment surface 27 so that the abutment surface 27 closes the supply duct 36 opposite the bottom surface 38.
In particular, in the first embodiment, the transverse surface of the transverse wall 29 may come into contact with the abutment surface 27. And in the second embodiment, the boss 37 may come into contact with the abutment surface 27. In this second embodiment, the peripheral chamber 32 extends, in the spray nozzle 28, the annular space 24 of the housing 21.
The space of the housing of the dispensing member with which the upstream end of the supply duct 36 is in fluidic communication is not limited to the embodiment described above. In particular, this space may be obtained by a different embodiment and/or arrangement of the elements comprising the dispensing member or of other elements.
For example, as a variant, it is possible to provide that the spray nozzle 28 is made in one piece with the body of the dispensing member 17, the abutment surface 27 being fitted, for example by the insertion of a fitted post in the housing 21. This prevents the risks of expelling the spray nozzle 28 when spraying the fluid product.
Therefore, when a user presses on the top actuation wall 19 of the push button 17, the stem 10 moved downwards delivers the pressurized fluid product to the axial sleeve 25 and the radial passageway 26 of the supply channel to the annular space 24 of the housing 21.
The upstream end of the supply duct 36 is supplied with pressurized fluid product, which fluid product is then carried along tangentially into the outlet orifice 30 via the said supply duct 36. The fluid product may be made to rotate in the outlet orifice 30 and come out of the dispenser 1 in the form of the spray 2 consisting of fine individual droplets and with a generally conical shape with the desired spray angle α, for example equal to 80° or less.
The spray nozzle 28 as described above may be used to spray any type of fluid product, for example a viscous fluid product, having a viscosity greater than 0.001 Pa·s. Provision is also made for the spray nozzle 28 to be able to be used to spray a fluid product that has a viscosity equal to 10 Pa·s or less.
The fluid product placed inside the reservoir 3 may therefore have a viscosity in the range given above.
The use of the spray nozzle 28 according to the embodiments described above makes it possible, due to the removal of spaces in which the fluid product can stagnate, to obtain the desired spray 2 from the beginning to the end of the actuation of the dispenser and right throughout the use of the dispenser 1.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06 07960 | Sep 2006 | FR | national |
