Patent Application
20230219109
The invention relates to a head for dispensing a fluid product. The invention also relates to a bottle of fluid product equipped with such a dispensing head.
In the context of the invention, the fluid product may be any cosmetic product, including any pharmaceutical lotion or other product.
The bottles of fluid product typically comprise a tank for the fluid product with a rigid neck at the upper portion delimiting an opening into which the system for dispensing the fluid product is inserted.
The dispensing system comprises a pump that can be operated by a user by means of a pusher. When the user exerts a pressure on the pusher, a dose of the product is dispensed from a dispensing orifice of a nozzle fitted in said pusher.
Typically, the dispensing orifice is permanently open. The product remaining in a communication channel between the pusher and the pump between two uses, i.e. when the pump is at rest, is therefore in contact with the external environment even before it is dispensed. It can therefore dry out or become contaminated with microbial agents.
More recently, nozzles have been proposed that comprise a slot as the dispensing orifice of the product, the opening of which depends on the pressure exerted by the product leaving the pump.
In such a configuration, the slot cannot be perfectly sealed, as it would not be possible to prime the pump and expel the air contained in the pump and the head of the tank during the first use. This is because in the presence of air, the increase of the pressure in the air following the operating of the pump is too small to open the slot so that the air would never be able to escape and the pump to be primed. Because of this deliberately imperfect sealing, such a configuration delays drying out but does not completely eliminate it.
Nozzles have also been proposed that are mechanically controlled to open upon operating. Such nozzles are, for example, equipped with a link mechanism comprising a needle configured to obstruct the dispensing orifice of the product when the device is at rest and to perform a retracting movement upon operating of the pusher, thereby allowing fluid to be dispensed through the orifice. However, this type of nozzles is more complex in design with a large number of components and therefore more expensive. In addition, this severely limits the design possibilities for the pusher.
The invention allows to overcome the above disadvantages and provides a dispensing head for the fluid product in which the opening of the nozzle is not dependent on the pressure exerted by the product coming from the pump and the tank, which is simple in design, requires a limited number of components and is inexpensive. In this regard, the invention proposes a dispensing head for the fluid product, a manually operable pusher, said pusher being configured to move between a high position and a low position, a dispensing nozzle for the product made of a material of elastic material.
The dispensing head is configured so that, when the pusher is moved between the high position and the low position, the nozzle passes from a closed position in which said nozzle is sealed to an open position allowing the dispensing of said product by deformation of said nozzle under the effect of a stress exerted by the support or of a release of a stress exerted by the pusher.
Thus, the opening of the nozzle of the invention does not depend on the pressure exerted by the product to be dispensed but on the stress exerted by a support on said nozzle or on a release of a stress exerted by the pusher during the movement of said pusher between the high position and the low position. The nozzle can therefore be closed completely tightly, even without affecting the priming. In addition, the nozzle can remain completely sealed, in particular between two uses of the device, since the elastic material of which it is made allows it to return to its initial, i.e. resting, configuration after the product has been dispensed. The inside of said nozzle and the product contained in the bottle are thus protected from contamination. Furthermore, the nozzle according to the invention is simple to manufacture since its opening is “activated” by simply bringing the nozzle into contact with the support and the resulting stress or release of a stress exerted by the pusher. The design of the nozzle of the invention is therefore simple and its design possibilities are therefore varied with limited cost.
In addition, as the fluid product is more specifically a lotion, it is desirable that it is dispensed before being compressed and/or pressurised. This is because the lotion may have a fragile formula which could, when put under pressure, degrade. The nozzle according to the invention allows to protect the lotion, whatever its formula, since the opening of said nozzle is mechanically controlled, it does not involve pressurisation.
According to various characteristics of the invention which may be taken together or separately:
The invention further relates to a bottle for dispensing a fluid product comprising a tank in which a product is intended to be packaged and a neck equipped with a dispensing head as described above.
Further objects, characteristics and advantages of the invention will become clearer in the following description, made with reference to the attached figures, in which:
With reference to
Said dispensing head is intended to equip a bottle, not shown, configured to contain the product to be dispensed. The bottle can be oriented either “head down” or “head up”. Thus, the terms “upper” or “lower” should not be considered as limiting. The figures correspond to a head up configuration.
The fluid product may be any cosmetic, pharmaceutical product or other product that can be usefully preserved in the bottle. The fluid can be in direct contact with a tank in the bottle. However, the fluid may be contained in a flexible pouch located within said tank so that it is not in contact with the tank but with said flexible pouch.
The tank can be either rigid or deformable. However, the tank comprises, at the level of an upper portion, a neck and an opening formed in said neck. The neck is preferably rigid.
The dispensing head 2 is preferably equipped with a dispensing pump 3.
The dispensing pump 3 comprises, in the illustrated example, a dosing chamber and a sprinkler adapted to move within the dosing chamber.
The dispensing head 2 comprises a support 4, a manually operable pusher 5 and an elastic nozzle 10 which will be described in more detail below. Advantageously, the support 4 serves to support the pump 3. It is tubular in shape, in particular of revolution. It extends along a central longitudinal axis X corresponding to a median axis of the bottle. In addition, the support 4 may be used to maintain the dispensing pump 3 immobile at the level of a neck of the tank by means of an attachment system. Preferably, the attachment system may comprise removable attachment means allowing an easy dismounting and re-mounting of the dispensing head at the level of said neck, for example by unscrewing/screwing and/or snapping in. Said support 4 may be in the form of a ring on which a band 40 is mounted. Alternatively, the support 4 may be in the form of a ring only, i.e. without a trim band 40, as shown in
The pusher 5 is mounted so that it can move axially in relation to the support 4. It leads to the sprinkler on which it is able to abut. In addition, an empty interior volume 42 used for hosting the pusher 5 is reserved within the support 4. In
The pusher 5 is configured to pass from the high position PH to a low position PB. In the low position PB, the pusher 5 is fully inserted into the empty volume 42. The pusher 5 does protrude with respect to the upper rim 41 of the band 40, but to a lesser extent (shown in
The movement of the pusher 5 from the high position PH to the low position PB allows to activate the pump 3 by means of the sprinkler so that the pump 3 is primed or the product is dispensed. In other words, this movement results in the operating of the dispensing head 1. Means may be provided to lock the rotation of the pusher 5 as we shall see below.
The nozzle 10 for dispensing the product is in fluidic communication with the pump 3 by means of an outlet conduit 51 of the pusher 5. The pusher 5 comprises a housing 52 for receiving the nozzle 10. The reception housing 52 is suitably sized to allow for forced insertion of said nozzle 10 into said reception housing 52. In the illustrated example of embodiment, the reception housing 52 is substantially tubular in shape and complementary to a peripheral border 26 of a recessed segment 25 of the nozzle 10. In such a configuration, when the nozzle 10 is forcibly inserted into the reception housing 52, the peripheral border 26 is pressed against an inner lateral surface of said reception housing 52. Here, a rear face 27 is spaced from a bottom of the reception housing 52.
The nozzle 10 is not completely recessed in the reception housing 52. In fact, only the recessed segment 25 is completely inserted into the reception housing 52. The nozzle 10 protrudes with respect to an outer lateral surface 50 of the pusher. More specifically, the nozzle 10 comprises a segment 11 projecting with respect to the outer surface 50. The recessed segment 25 is located upstream of the projecting segment 11 in the direction of the flow of the product. As best illustrated in
The nozzle 10 comprises a passage conduit 28 for the fluid located in the extension of the conduit 51 of the pusher 5. Here it is rectangular in cross-section, with the long sides of said conduit 28 oriented along the axis X.
b illustrate a first embodiment of the invention which will be described in the following sections.
With reference now to
The more the pusher 5 is moved towards the support 4, the greater the stress exerted by the support 4. In other words, when the pusher 5 is in the high position PH, the stress is zero and the nozzle 10 is in the closed position, and when the pusher 5 reaches the low position PB, the stress increases as the pusher 5 is pressed against the support 4 and the nozzle 10 passes to the open position. The nozzle 10 opens when it is in contact with the support 4. A continuous pressure can be exerted on the pusher 5 to increase an opening section of the nozzle 10. However, the opening occurs the instant after the contact of said nozzle 10 with the support 4.
Advantageously, the dispensing nozzle 10 comprises a means 14, referred to as movable, capable of causing the nozzle to pass from the closed position to the open position. The means 14 is referred to as movable because, although it has a stationary position in relation to the pusher 5, the axial movements of the pusher 5 along the axis X necessarily induce changes in its relative position in relation to the support 4, which is stationary in use.
In the illustrated example of embodiment, the means 14 referred to as movable consists of a boss. The boss 14 has a curved shape. It protrudes along the axis X from a lower wall of the conduit 28 of the nozzle, at its protruding segment. It is therefore turned towards the support 4. In other words, it protrudes in a direction substantially identical to the direction of movement of the pusher 5. In a preferred embodiment, the boss 14 is integral with the nozzle 10. In other words, the boss 14 is in one part with said nozzle 10, which has the advantage of simplifying the manufacturing method of the dispensing head 2, since the nozzle 10 can be moulded in a single part. According to another embodiment of the invention not shown, the boss 14 may be located below and in contact with the nozzle 10, i.e. may not be integral with the nozzle, without being of the same material. Alternatively, the boss 14, again without being integral with the nozzle 10, can be made of the same material as the latter.
In either of the above embodiments, the boss 14 is positioned on the side of the nozzle 10 facing the support 4, in particular on the upper rim 41 of said band 40. Thus, when the pusher 5 is moved from the high position PH (configuration illustrated in
In this regard, it may also be noted that a projecting extension of the nozzle 10 may correspond substantially to a width of the upper rim 41. In other words, the radial extension of said boss 14 (with respect to the axis X) may correspond substantially to a width of the upper rim 41. However, this is not mandatory, the most important thing being that the abutment surface 14a is of sufficient size as shown in
Particularly advantageously, the nozzle 10 comprises a flexible web 15 pinched between the boss 14 and an upper peripheral border 16a of the nozzle 10. Indeed, the boss 14, the flexible web 15 and the upper peripheral border 16a are located one above the other in that order along the axis X. The web 15 is also located side by side with lateral peripheral borders 16b, 16c which extend on either side of said web 15. The upper 16a and lateral 16b, 16c borders together form a peripheral border 16 of the nozzle 10. The web 15 is substantially plane and thin, while the peripheral border 16 forms a thick edge extending back to the pusher.
The web 15 is configured to deform. This is because the web 15 is thinner than the boss 14 and the upper peripheral border 16a. It has a reduced thickness compared to a thickness of the boss 14 and a thickness of the peripheral border 16a. The thinness of the web 15 confers it flexibility. In any case, the web 15 is softer than the boss 14 and the upper peripheral border 16a. Thus, when the pusher 5 is moved from the high position PH (configuration illustrated in
The flexible web 15 comprises a slot 17 extending in a direction substantially identical to a direction of movement of the pusher 5. As shown in
Because of its configuration on the flexible web 15, the slot 17 is cause to deform with said flexible web. More precisely, said slot 17 is configured to deform, along a circumferential direction, to allow the nozzle 10 to pass from the closed position to the open position under the effect of a force transmitted by the boss 14. The slot 17 necessarily deforms in a circumferential direction, as illustrated in
The elasticity of the nozzle 10, i.e. its capacity to deform under the effect of the stress exerted by the support 4, is therefore essential in the scope of the present invention. Advantageously, the nozzle 10 is preferably made of a thermoplastic elastomer material. Preferably, this material has a shore hardness of between 15 and 90 shore A. The elastic material of which the nozzle 10 is made allows the slot 17 to remain completely sealed, in particular between two uses of the device, when it is not subjected to any stress (
According to another embodiment of the invention, not illustrated, the support 4 may further comprise a means, referred to as stationary, capable of causing the nozzle 10 to pass from the closed position to the open position. The stationary means has a similar if not identical function to the boss 14 by being placed opposite the nozzle along the axis X. However, unlike the boss 14, the stationary means extends from the support 4. Specifically, it extends from the peripheral rim 41, so its relative position does not change.
Preferably, the stationary means consists of a boss. The boss can be integral with the support 4. In other words, the boss is in one single part with the support 4.
When combined, the boss located on the support is intended to cooperate with the boss 14. In this respect, it may therefore take any appropriate form to allow such cooperation. Thus, when the pusher 5 is moved from the high position PH (configuration shown in
In this respect, the pusher 5 and the pump support 4 are preferably configured so that the pusher 5 is locked in rotation relative to said pump support 4. This configuration has the advantage to allow that the nozzle 10 always remains opposite the boss of the support 4.
With reference to
Advantageously, the flexible legs 31a, 31b are separated by a distance d′ less than a distance d″ separating the housings 18a, 18b. In other words, the spacing between the flexible legs 31a, 31b is less than the spacing between the housings 18a, 18b. Thus, when the flexible legs 31a, 31b are inserted into the lateral housings 18a, 18b, they exert a force directed towards the centre of the dispensing portion (illustrated by arrows oriented towards the conduit 28 in
The distances d′ and d″ must therefore be chosen so as to allow the insertion of the flexible legs 31a, 31b into the housings 18a, 18b while allowing said flexible legs to exert a stress on the slot 17. Indeed, a difference, A, that is too great between d′ and d″ will not allow the insertion of the flexible legs, while a difference A that is too small will not allow the flexible legs to exert sufficient stress on the slot.
In addition, the elastic member 30 preferably comprises a conduit 32 allowing the passage of the fluid between the communication channel 51 of the pusher and the conduit 28 of the dispensing portion. The conduit 32 of the elastic member extends in the extension of the conduit 28.
The elastic member 30 may also comprise a peripheral border 33 allowing to prevent any clearance between the dispensing portion and said elastic member. In this regard, the peripheral border 33 is configured so as to take on a rim of the dispensing portion. In the cross-sectional plane shown in
c illustrate a dispensing head 2 according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
With reference to
As illustrated in
In addition, the dispensing head 2 advantageously comprises an insert 6. The insert 6 is made of a more rigid material than the nozzle 10. When at rest, the insert 6 exerts a stress on the nozzle 10 in the opposite direction to the stress exerted by the pusher 5. This is due, on the one hand, to the positioning of the insert 6 in relation to the pusher 5 and the nozzle 10 and, on the other, to the configuration of the insert 6 itself.
In this respect, the insert 6 advantageously comprises a plurality of elastically deformable legs 60. At rest, at least one of said legs 60, in this case all of said legs, exerts a stress on the nozzle 10 in the opposite direction to the stress exerted by the tongue 54 of the pusher, by resting against an internal face of an upper wall 56 of the pusher 5. These two opposing stresses allow the nozzle 10 to be sealed. Indeed, as is better illustrated in
In the example of embodiment shown in
Each of the spacers 61 is positioned so that the two legs 60 which it ensures the connection exert a stress on the nozzle 10 in the opposite direction to the stress exerted by the tongue 54. The segments 61 of material are positioned on the insert 6 so that the legs 60 each exert a stress at locations substantially the same distance apart with respect to a plane of symmetry of the insert 6 passing through the central axis X of the dispensing head 2. This allows to ensure that the stresses exerted on the nozzle 10 are evenly distributed. Thanks to such an arrangement, the lips of the slot 17 are evenly plated along its entire length.
In
Preferably, the pusher 5 also comprises rest abutments 55 on which the insert 6 can be supported by a lower edge of a peripheral wall. Preferably, at rest, the pump is in an abutment position and does not exert any upward force on the insert 6. Under the effect of the legs 60 cooperating with the wall 56, the insert 6 is pressed against the rest abutments 55. The abutments 56 define an inner volume of the pusher 5 in which the insert 6 can displace axially. The peripheral wall of the insert 6 extends axially from the upper wall of said insert. It is offset radially outwards with respect to the legs 60.
Preferably, the pusher 5 comprises ribs 57 for angular positioning of the insert 6. Said ribs extend from the inner lateral flanks of the pusher 5 and cooperate with axially oriented gorges 58 provided at the level of an external face of the peripheral wall of said insert 6. Said ribs 57 and said gorges 58 allow the insert 6 to be guided relative to the pusher 5 during their relative axial movement. Preferably, said gorges 58 have an abutment surface 59 extending radially outwards so as to cooperate with a lower edge of the ribs 57 when the pusher 5 is operated, the insert 6 then being locked in an high position after the legs 60 have been bent.
When the user applies a pressure to the pusher, i.e. presses on an external surface of the upper wall 56, the pusher 5 displaces to the low position PB. As the free ends of the legs 60 are bent outwards and are located against the upper wall 56 of the pusher and, at the same time, the other ends of the legs 60 are connected to the spacers 61, each pair of legs 60 will deform from a substantially V-shape, as described above, to a more flattened V-shape. The V-shape is referred to be flatter than the original V-shape because the free ends of the flatter V-shape are even further away from the spacers 61 than in the original V-shape configuration.
Thanks to such a configuration, when the user exerts a pressure on the pusher 5, the legs 60 deform elastically so that the insert 6 moves closer to the upper wall 56 of the pusher 5, according to a relative axial movement of the insert 6 with respect to the pusher 5. The nozzle 10 thus lifts off the tongue 54, in particular its upper surface 54a, and the slot 17 opens, in the absence of the now vanished stresses. Her lips are no longer pressed together.
It should be noted that the deformation of the legs 60 and the deactivation of the stress or stresses exerted by said legs is also due to the fact that their stiffness constant is appropriately selected in relation to a spring 35 of the pump 3. This is because the pump spring 35 has a stiffness constant chosen so that when the pusher 5 is operated, the force exerted by the legs 60 is less than the force exerted by the pump spring 35. At rest, as no stress is exerted on the pusher 5 and the pump is in abutment, the insert 6, by means of legs 60, exerts a downward stress on the nozzle 10 while the tongue 54 exerts an upward stress, in the manner of a pinch. On the other hand, when the pusher 5 is operated, the force exerted by said pump spring 35 is greater than that exerted by the legs 60 and the insert 6 moves closer to the upper wall 56 of the pusher 5. At the same time, the pump spring 35 has a suitable stiffness to keep its ability to compress and allow the pump 3 to be operated in order to dispense the product once the slot 17 is open.
In any case, by ceasing to press the pusher 5, the insert 6 returns to its original configuration, which allows the nozzle 10 to be closed mechanically. The opening and the closing of the nozzle 10, in particular of the slot 17, is not dependent on the pressure exerted by the fluid but on the mechanical stresses exerted on the nozzle 10.
When the nozzle 10 is lifted off with respect to the tongue 54, which remains light, the seal is favoured by the shape of the nozzle 10, which is provided extending on the surface in front of the tongue 54, under the slot 17.
The configurations shown in the cited figures are only possible examples, in no way limiting, of the invention which, on the contrary, encompasses the variations of shapes and designs within the reach of the person skilled in the art.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| FR2005730 | May 2020 | FR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2021/063854 | 5/25/2021 | WO |
