WO2005007301A1

WO2005007301A1 - Fluid product dispenser

Info

Publication number: WO2005007301A1
Application number: PCT/FR2004/001753
Authority: WO
Inventors: Laurent Decottignies
Original assignee: Airlessystems
Priority date: 2003-07-10
Filing date: 2004-07-06
Publication date: 2005-01-27
Also published as: FR2857339A1

Abstract

The invention concerns a fluid product dispenser comprising: a fluid product container (1; 1'; 1'') including a container body (11, 12, 13; 11', 12', 13'; 11', 12', 13') containing the fluid product and an opening through which the fluid product can be extracted from the body, said body having a base wall (11; 11'; 11''), at least one side wall (12; 12'; 12'') and a top wall (13; 13'; 13''), the opening (144) of the container extending in an outlet plane (P) substantially perpendicular to the base and top walls and substantially parallel to said at least one side wall; a dispensing member (2) mounted in the container opening for drawing therein the fluid product, said dispensing member defining an actuating axis (Y); a dispensing orifice (52) through which the fluid product dispensed by the dispensing member exits from the dispenser; a control member (4) mobile along said actuating axis (Y) to actuate the dispensing member (2) and thereby deliver fluid product towards the dispensing orifice (52). The invention is characterized in that the container is a variable volume container without air uptake selected among the group consisting of flexible pouches, pressure-piston systems and deformable cans.

Description

Fluid dispenser

The present invention relates to a fluid dispenser comprising a fluid reservoir forming a reservoir body containing fluid and an opening through which fluid can be extracted from the body, said body having a bottom wall, at least one wall side and an upper wall. A distribution member is mounted in

F opening of the reservoir for withdrawing fluid therefrom, said dispensing member defining an actuation axis. A dispensing orifice is provided through which the fluid product dispensed by the dispensing member leaves the dispenser. The dispenser also includes a control member that can be moved along said actuation axis to actuate the dispensing member and thus deliver fluid to the dispensing orifice. This type of dispenser is frequently used in the fields of perfumery, cosmetics or even pharmacy to distribute fluid, liquid or powdery products. Generally, the dispensing member is a pump or a valve and its actuation axis merges with the axis of movement of the actuation rod of the dispensing member. Indeed, in a conventional pump or valve, an actuating rod moves axially back and forth inside a body defining a distribution chamber. By depressing the actuating rod, fluid is dispensed by the pump or the valve. In a conventional dispenser, the opening of the reservoir extends in an outlet plane which extends parallel to the bottom and upper walls and perpendicular to the side walls. Generally, when the fluid reservoir consists of a bottle or a container, the bottom of which serves as a support surface for placing the dispenser upright, the outlet plane defined by the opening extends horizontally so that the axis d actuation of the dispensing member extends vertically. The object of the present invention is to define a fluid dispenser having a different arrangement of the various constituent elements of the tank and dispenser. Thus, according to a characteristic of the invention, the outlet plane defined by the opening of the reservoir extends substantially perpendicular to the bottom and upper walls and substantially parallel to the side walls. In other words, if the bottom and top walls extend horizontally, the outlet plane of the opening extends vertically. We can then say that the dispensing member is arranged in a supine manner. Advantageously, the reservoir body defines a longitudinal axis passing through the bottom and upper walls, said outlet plane being parallel to said longitudinal axis. This is another way of defining the orientation or the arrangement of the dispensing member with respect to the reservoir. We can also say that the actuation axis is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the tank. According to another aspect of the invention, the fluid dispenser comprises a bottom defining a stability plane on which the dispenser stands upright with the longitudinal axis and the outlet plane perpendicular to the plane of the bottom. Advantageously, the actuation axis is parallel to the plane of stability. According to another characteristic of the invention, the reservoir is a reservoir without variable volume air intake chosen from the group formed by flexible bags, piston-follower systems and deformable cans. According to a particular embodiment, the reservoir is a follower piston system comprising a cylindrical barrel forming the side wall and a follower piston forming a movable bottom engaged in leaktight sliding in the barrel, the follower piston being able to move along an axis of movement, the outlet plane being parallel to the axis of movement. According to a variant definition, the reservoir is a follower piston system comprising a cylindrical drum forming the side wall and a follower piston forming a movable bottom engaged in leaktight sliding in the barrel, the follower piston being able to move according to a displacement axis, the actuation axis being perpendicular to the displacement axis. As a variant, said at least one side wall of the reservoir is deformable along a crushing axis perpendicular to the outlet plane and parallel to the actuation axis. This applies more particularly in the case of tanks in the form of flexible bags or deformable cans in which the side walls of the tank tend to approach as its volume decreases. According to another characteristic of the invention, the reservoir and the dispensing member are arranged in an outer shell provided with the control member and supporting the dispensing orifice, said shell comprising a bottom defining a plane of stability allowing the dispenser to stand upright, the dispensing orifice being located at said bottom. According to another aspect, the dispensing member is a pump comprising a pump body fixedly mounted in the opening and an actuating rod movable in the body along the actuation axis. According to yet another aspect of the invention, the reservoir comprises a neck forming two sections of conduit which connect substantially at right angles. This arrangement at a right angle makes it possible precisely to be able to arrange the dispensing member with its actuating axis in a lying manner relative to the bottom of the tank or even to the bottom of the dispenser. The neck preferably extends from the upper wall of the tank body. The invention will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings which give, by way of nonlimiting examples, several embodiments of the invention. In the figures: - Figure 1 is a vertical cross-section view through a fluid dispenser according to a first embodiment of the invention, - Figure 2 is a view similar to that of Figure 1 for a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a view similar to the previous views for a third embodiment of the invention, and - Figure 4 shows a fourth embodiment of the invention. The four embodiments shown in Figures 1 to 4 differ only in the type of reservoir used and the location of the dispenser orifice. In the four embodiments, a dispensing member 2, which is here a pump, is mounted on a fluid reservoir. An outlet conduit 5 connects the outlet of the pump to a dispensing orifice 52 at the level of which the fluid product leaves the dispenser. Similarly, in the four embodiments, the dispenser comprises an actuating or control member 4 which is used to actuate the dispensing member. In addition, the reservoir, the dispensing member (pump or valve), and the dispensing conduit 5 can be arranged or contained inside an outer shell 6 which supports, defines or leaves the actuating member. accessible. The actuating member 4 can be produced in a single piece with a part of the shell 6. In FIGS. 1 to 4, the various distributors have been shown in the upright position. It can then be noted that the dispensing member 2 is disposed of lying down. The actuation or control member 4 extends laterally, so that it is necessary to exert a horizontal thrust along an axis Y to move the actuation member 4 and thus actuate the pump 2. In reference now in Figure 1 to describe in detail the first embodiment of the invention. For the other embodiments, only the different characteristics will be described. In FIG. 1, the reservoir 1 forms a reservoir body 10 defined by a side wall 12, a bottom wall 11 and an upper wall 13. A useful volume is thus defined which is intended to contain fluid. The reservoir 1 is of a particular type, since it is a piston-follower system. This piston-follower system is characterized by the fact that the side wall 12 defines a cylindrical barrel and that the bottom 11 is constituted by a piston-follower which moves with sliding sliding inside the cylindrical barrel. The upper wall 13 can be made rigidly like the cylindrical barrel. This is a reservoir without air intake of variable volume since the follower piston 11 rises inside the cylindrical barrel 12 as fluid is extracted from the reservoir. The follower piston 11 can for example be produced with a disc 110 on the periphery of which is formed a lip 111 intended to be sealed in the cylindrical barrel 12. The reservoir 1 comprises according to the invention a neck portion 14 which s 'extends from the upper wall at a passage 131. This neck portion 14 forms two sections of conduit 140a and 140b which extend substantially at right angles. It can also be said that the neck portion 14 forms a right angle bend. The first section of conduit 140a is partially defined by a wall

141 which extends substantially in the extension of the side wall 12 on the right side, when looking at FIG. 1. The first section of conduit 140a extends adjacent to the tank body from which it is separated by the passage 131. The wall 141 extends substantially vertically. The second duct section 140b is partially defined by a horizontal wall 142 which extends substantially perpendicular to the wall 141. This second duct section 140b is extended by an outlet duct section 140c defined by a cylindrical section 143. The free end of the cylindrical section 143 defines an edge which forms an opening 144 towards the outside. This edge or opening 144 is preferably of annular shape and extends in an outlet plane P which is here arranged vertically. It can be noted, by looking at FIG. 1, that the body of the reservoir formed by the bottom walls 11, side 12 and top 13, defines a longitudinal axis X which extends vertically. It can also be noted that the bottom wall constituted by the follower piston 11 extends substantially horizontally, as does the upper wall 13. On the other hand, the wall 12 forming the cylindrical barrel extends substantially vertically. It can thus be said that the outlet plane P formed by the opening 144 of the neck portion 14 extends perpendicular to the bottom 11 and to the axis X and parallel to the side wall 12. The distribution member which is here a pump 2 comprises a pump body 20 defining a support flange 21 which comes to bear on the edge 144 defining the opening of the neck section 14. The pump 2 also comprises an actuating rod 23 which extends inside the pump body 20. This rod 23 can move axially back and forth according to an actuating axis Y. The actuating rod 23 also defines a delivery channel through which the fluid product discharged by the pump leaves the rod. It can be seen in FIG. 1 that the actuation axis Y extends perpendicularly to the outlet plane P. It can also be noted that the actuation axis Y is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis X of the body of tank. The actuation axis Y extends horizontally. This is an advantageous characteristic of the invention since a distributor is thus obtained whose axis of actuation of the pump is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the reservoir. This allows lateral actuation of the pump without having to use a deflection or force transmission system. The pump extends into the opening of the reservoir, with the actuation axis Y which coincides with the axis of the opening. The pump is mounted directly on the opening. According to an optional but advantageous characteristic of the invention, the dispenser comprises an outer shell 6 which encloses the reservoir 1 as well as the pump 2. This shell 6 supports or defines a dispensing orifice 52 which is connected to the actuating rod 23 of the pump 2 via an elbow sleeve 3 and a distribution duct 5. The elbow sleeve 3 forms a first connection section 32 connected to the actuating rod 23 and a second connection section 34 connected at one end 53 of the distribution duct 5. This distribution duct 5 can advantageously be flexible or flexible. The outer shell 6 includes a bottom 61 at which the dispensing orifice 52 opens. This bottom 61 serves or forms a stability plane on which the dispenser can stand upright stably. Consequently, the dispensing orifice 52 opens onto the bottom of the dispenser and is therefore closed by the surface on which the dispenser rests in the upright position. The outer shell 6 also comprises side walls 64 at the level of which is arranged or formed the control member 4. This control member 4 may be in the form of a tongue or an arm articulated around an axis 41. The end piece 43 of the control arm can be arranged in contact with or in the immediate vicinity of the sleeve 3 mounted on the actuating rod 23. The control member can thus be moved by pivoting, but because of its large length, its free end 43 moves along a horizontal axis which can be merged with the actuation axis Y of the pump 2. The outer shell 6 also includes an upper wall 63. Thus, by exerting horizontal lateral pressure on the actuating member 4 substantially at its free end 43, this control member moves in the direction of the sleeve 3 which has the effect of displacing it and thus driving the actuating rod 23 inside the pump body 20. As a result, a dose of fluid is pumped by the pump 2 through the actuating rod 23 and the distribution conduit 5 to the level of the distribution orifice 52 Of course, a di effective distribution is only possible when the fluid dispenser is lifted from its support where it rests at the bottom 61 of the shell 6. It can thus also be noted that the actuation axis Y extends horizontally, while like the bottom 61 of the shell 6. Another possible definition is that the outlet plane P extends perpendicular to the bottom 61. The embodiment of FIG. 2 implements another type of tank which is here designated by the reference numeral the. However, the reservoir body 10 is produced from a flexible pocket which can be formed using two flexible sheets welded together on their periphery. The bottom 11 ′ can be produced by a fold of the same sheet folded back on itself. The side walls 12 ′ can be formed by welds of the sheets or of the sheet on itself. Likewise, the upper wall 13 ′ can be formed by welding the two sheets together. It is also a reservoir without variable volume air intake since the two sheets constituting the reservoir body will tend to approach each other by crushing as fluid is extract from the tank. The sheets are brought together along a horizontal axis parallel to the actuation axis Y. This flexible pocket is associated with a neck portion 14 'which has a structure similar to that of the embodiment of FIG. 1. The neck portion 14' is arranged between the two sheets at the level of the upper wall of the tank body . The neck portion 14 'forms two sections of conduit which extend substantially perpendicularly. As in the previous embodiment, the neck section 14 'defines an edge or opening 144 which extends in a vertical exit plane. The pump 2 is thus held in the neck portion 14 ′ in a horizontal or horizontal manner, with its actuation axis Y extending horizontally. The actuating rod 23 of the pump is also equipped with a deflection sleeve 3 to which is connected a flexible distribution conduit 5 which opens at a nozzle 51 which forms a spray orifice 52. Such a nozzle with or without swirling means can also be implemented in the other embodiments. However, the spray orifice 52 is here arranged at the level of the upper wall 63 of the external shell 6. The actuating member 4 may be identical to that of the first embodiment. In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the distributor implements another type of reservoir V which is here presented in the form of a flexible collapsible container, advantageously produced by blowing. The bottom 11 'can be substantially rigid as well as the upper wall 13'. However, the side wall

12 ′ of the container is deformable so that it can be crushed on itself in the same manner as the flexible pouch in FIG. 2. The neck portion 14 can be identical to that of the embodiment of FIG. 1. The pump 2 is maintained in the same lying manner as in the previous embodiments. Again, this is a reservoir without variable volume air intake. These types of reservoir naturally allow better conservation of the fluid stored in the reservoir, since it is not in contact with air. In FIG. 4, the dispenser comprises a reservoir identical to that of the embodiment of FIG. 2. However, the dispensing orifice 52 opens out at the side wall 64 of the rigid external shell 6. The pump 2 is also held horizontally in the neck portion 14 '. An advantageous characteristic of the invention lies in the fact that the dispensing member 2 is held horizontally relative to a reservoir with a vertical longitudinal axis, and this advantageously inside a dispenser comprising a bottom or base which allows keep the dispenser upright with the pump down. Lateral actuation of the dispensing member is thus possible without a transmission mechanism.

Claims

claims

1.- Fluid product dispenser comprising: - a fluid product reservoir (1; l '; 1 ") comprising a reservoir body (11, 12, 13; 11', 12 ', 13'; 11", 12 " , 13 ") containing fluid and an opening (144) through which fluid can be extracted from the body, said body having a bottom wall (11; 11 '; 11"), at least one side wall (12; 12 '; 12 ") and an upper wall (13; 13'; 13"), the opening (144) of the reservoir extending in an outlet plane (P) substantially perpendicular to the bottom and upper walls and substantially parallel to said at least one side wall, - a dispensing member (2) mounted in the opening of the reservoir for withdrawing fluid therefrom, said dispensing member defining an actuation axis (Y), - a dispensing orifice ( 52) by which the fluid dispensed by the dispensing member leaves the dispenser, - a control member (4) movable along said axis of action nment (Y) for actuating the dispensing member (2) and thus forcing fluid product towards the dispensing orifice (52), characterized in that the reservoir is a reservoir without variable volume air intake chosen from the group formed of flexible bags, piston-follower systems and deformable cans.

2. A dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the reservoir body defines a longitudinal axis (X) passing through the bottom and upper walls, said outlet plane (P) being parallel to said longitudinal axis, the actuation axis (Y) being perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (X).

3. A dispenser according to claim 1 or 2, comprising a bottom

(61) defining a stability plane on which the distributor stands upright with the longitudinal axis (X) and the outlet plane (P) perpendicular to the bottom plane, the actuation axis being parallel to the stability plane.

4. Dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the reservoir (1) is a piston-follower system. comprising a cylindrical barrel (12) forming the side wall and a follower piston (11) forming a movable bottom engaged in leaktight sliding in the barrel, the follower piston being able to move along an axis of movement (X), exit plane (P) being parallel to the displacement axis.

5. Dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the reservoir (1) is a follower piston system comprising a cylindrical barrel (12) forming the side wall and a follower piston (11) forming a movable bottom. engaged in leaktight sliding in the barrel, the follower piston being able to move along an axis of movement (X), the actuating axis (Y) being perpendicular to the axis of movement.

6. A dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one side wall (12 '; 12 ") of the reservoir is deformable along a crushing axis perpendicular to the outlet plane (P) and parallel to the 'actuation axis (Y).

7. A dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, the reservoir and the dispensing member are arranged in an outer shell (6) provided with the control member (4) and supporting the dispensing orifice (52). , said shell comprising a bottom (61) defining a plane of stability allowing the dispenser to stand upright, the dispensing orifice being located at said bottom.

8. A dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the dispensing member is a pump (2) comprising a pump body (20) fixedly mounted in the opening (144) and an actuating rod ( 23) movable in the body according to the actuation axis.

9. A dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the reservoir comprises a neck (14; 14 ') forming two sections of conduit (141, 142) which connect substantially at right angles.