The present invention relates to a fluid substance dispensing device.
In particular, it relates to a device for dispensing a fluid substance housed inside a deformable bag coupled, in a sealed manner, to a manual dispensing pump, preferably of the hermetic variety.
Commonly known devices for dispensing fluid substances by means of a manual pump are made entirely of plastic. Therefore the environmental impact thereof is significant.
Furthermore, costs for purchasing and moulding virgin or partially recycled plastic are high, and therefore commonly known devices are expensive. Especially when ‘environmental taxes’ are applied to the use of plastic.
The object of the present invention is to provide a device for dispensing a fluid substance which is more environmentally compatible than commonly known devices.
This and other objects are achieved by means of a device produced according to the technical teachings of the claims annexed hereto.
Advantageously, a device for dispensing a fluid substance according to the invention can be less expensive than commonly known devices.
Further features and advantages of the innovation will become clearer in the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the device, illustrated—by way of a non-limiting example—in the drawings annexed hereto, in which:
With reference to the figures stated, reference number 1 is used to denote, as a whole, a fluid substance dispensing device.
In this wording, a ‘fluid substance’ means a liquid or cream product designed for cosmetic or medical purposes, such as a hand cream, foundation, body cream, face cream, serum, gel, anti-ageing cream, etc.
The device for dispensing a fluid substance F, housed inside a deformable bag 3, comprises a manually operated pump 2 which is preferably hermetic.
The pump may be of the type commonly known as ‘airless’, which prevents the entry of external air during the operation thereof. The said pump is coupled, in a sealed manner, to a deformable bag 3.
Therefore, when the fluid substance is dispensed by the pump, a vacuum is created inside the bag 3, which makes the bag deform as the fluid substance is dispensed.
The deformable bag 3 is housed inside a container 4.
The container 4 is formed of a collar 5 made of conventional plastic material coupled to a tubular element 6 formed from a paper or cardboard-based material.
The collar can be formed from a thermoplastic polymer material and can be injection-moulded. Materials suitable for making the collar comprise: PE, PE PCR, HDPE, HDPE PCR, PP, PP PCR, PA, CELLULOSE-BASED PLASTIC, WOOD FIBRE PLASTIC, etc.
The paper-based (or rather cellulose-based) or paperboard-based (or cardboard-based) material can be made of virgin or recycled paper. Advantageously, it can be formed from a single sheet which as been rolled several times to lend it a certain rigidity.
The tubular element can be made of multilayer cardboard and can have a thickness of between 1 mm and 4 mm. It can also be covered with an additional layer of coloured and/or decorated paper or paperboard glued on.
The tubular element has a bottom 7.
The bottom 7 can be an element made as one piece together with the tubular element and as such is also made of paper-based material.
The bottom 7 can also be made as a separate piece from the tubular element, fastened thereto for example by glue or simply by interference-fit with the internal diameters of the tubular element, or the bottom 7 may have reflanging that encloses the edge of the tubular element.
In the event that the bottom is a separate element from the tubular element 6, the said bottom can be made of the same material as the tubular element, of a further cellulose- or cardboard-based material, or of conventional materials such as plastic or aluminium.
In the event that the bottom is made of a material which is different (in recyclability terms) from that of the tubular element 6, the said bottom can be configured to be uncoupled from the tubular element 6 when the device has to be recycled. Regarding this, the bottom 7 may feature a surface or a handgrip (not shown) to enable manual extraction or uncoupling from the tubular element.
As can be seen in
The collar 5 features ribs N made on one of the surfaces thereof that comes into contact with an internal wall of the tubular element 6. Specifically, a plurality of ribs N are present. In this description a plurality of ribs N, means more than two ribs.
The ribs can be made on a tubular skirt that extends from the collar 5 towards the inside of the tubular element.
To improve the seal between the tubular element and the collar, the skirt 5G can extend to a height of between ⅛ and ¼ of the tubular element 6.
The ribs N ensure a perfect fastening between the tubular element and the collar. In practice, the ribs N are impressed into the cardboard (during the insertion of the collar into the tubular element), improving the fastening between the collar and the tubular element and torsionally coupling the cardboard and the said collar.
The ribs may be parallel with respect to an axis A of the tubular element 6, as shown in
The ribs N can also be inclined with respect to an axis A of the tubular element (as shown in
Furthermore, slots 19 can be featured which improve the deformability of the skirt 5G, thereby facilitating the insertion thereof into the tubular element.
Slots 19 may be present even if the plurality of ribs N are parallel to an axis A of the tubular element 6.
For example, at least two slots 19 may be formed on the tubular element 6, possibly on its skirt 5G.
On the skirt 5G, at one of the free ends thereof, a positioning element I can be featured which facilitates the centring with the tubular element.
The tubular element 6 can feature a sunken area 6A which fits into an annular groove 8 made in the collar 5. The sunken area is clearly visible in
The tubular element can also not feature the sunken area 6A and therefore can be equipped with a wall with an essentially constant thickness. Also in this case, however, the groove 8 into which the end of the tubular element fits may be present.
In
In this way, the coupling can be even more solid.
It must be said that the presence of the inclined surface can be envisaged in both the solution in
A collar such as that shown in
In this case, the pump 2 can feature (see
A sealing gasket G can be interposed between the pump 2 and the bag 3.
As can be seen in
An intermediate element 13 can be screwed onto the thread 12, as shown in
Although
Essentially, a flange 3A of the deformable bag 3 can be placed on the element 13, and the intermediate element 13 can feature an undercut 9 (which in this case is on the free edge thereof) for snap-coupling the element 10 locking the pump 2, in a similar way to that described for
It should be noted that, instead of the thread, the collar in
To end the description, it should be noted that the collar 5 can feature an air passageway P in communication with the interior of the tubular element 2. Furthermore, the end of the collar 5 and/or of the intermediate element 13 may feature a cog C that allows the passage of air into the tubular element 2.
It is clear how the solution shown is environmentally compatible, as a cellulose-based material is used for the construction of a major, extensive part of the dispensing device.
For the same reasons, the device according to the invention may be produced more cheaply than a conventional plastic bottle, especially in places where an ‘environmental tax’ is applied to the use of plastic.
It should also be noted that by firmly rotating or pulling the collar and the tubular element, the two elements can be separated, for a more effective waste sorting.
It goes without saying that, from the same viewpoint, the presence of a bottom 7 which is also made of cardboard or a cellulose-based material is very advantageous.
Various embodiments of the innovation have been disclosed herein, but further embodiments may also be conceived using the same innovative concept.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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102020000027618 | Nov 2020 | IT | national |