EP0279714A1 - Refillable bottle - Google Patents

Abstract

The refill (6) is held by two half-shells (1, 3), joining in a substantially median plane, a base (2) being integral with the lower part of the first half-shell (1), the second half-shell (3) comprising a means (4) securing it to the base (2) or to the first half-shell (1), whilst still enabling it to tilt around the refill in order to close up against the first half-shell (1), a means (3b, 15) making it possible to secure the two half-shells (1, 3) close to the neck of the refill (6) in the upper part of the bottle. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to a refillable bottle usable in particular for perfumery products.

It is known that a certain number of products are marketed in bottles which must have a luxurious character and which are therefore of a high cost price. As such packaging is often of small capacity, either because of the high price of the product, or because of the use which is made of it, we have already thought of making bottles which give the packaging its luxurious character and which receive a refill inside which contains the product sold.

In this way, during the first purchase, the user purchases the bottle containing the refill and when the product contained in the refill has been consumed, he need only buy a second refill which is of a lower price because that it does not need to be luxurious in any way. It then suffices to place the new refill inside the bottle to find the product identical to that of the first purchase.

Refill bottles also have the advantage of allowing refills to be stored in a smaller volume than that which would be required by storing the corresponding full bottles.

The present invention relates to a refillable bottle which has the advantage of being of limited cost and making it possible to easily confer on the bottle the aesthetic appearance and the luxurious character which are sought after.

The present invention relates to a refill bottle, characterized in that the refill is held by two half-shells connecting along a substantially median plane, a base being integral with the lower part of the first half-shell, the second half-shell comprising a means which makes it integral with the base or the first half-shell while allowing it to switch around the refill to come and close against the first half-shell, a means making it possible to secure the two half-shells near the neck of the refill, at the top of the bottle.

In a first embodiment of the invention the two half-shells are secured in the vicinity of the neck of the refill by a latching device, a projecting part secured to a half-shell engaging elastically by force in a recess of corresponding shape practiced in the other half-shell.

According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the two half-shells are secured at the level of the neck of the refill by an internally threaded sleeve which engages simultaneously around male threads made partly on a half-shell and partly on the other half-shell to ensure the maintenance of the latter.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the half-shell which supports the base comprises, below the lower part of the refill, a recess in which an extension situated at the lower part of the can be engaged. another half-shell.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the refill comprises at its lower part an extension which engages in a recess of corresponding shape made in the base so as to ensure lateral positioning of the refill with respect to the two half shells.

This positioning is useful because the methods of manufacturing refills which are made of glass are such that significant manufacturing tolerances must be accepted, which can cause equally significant clearances between the half-shells and the refill.

The extension which is arranged at the lower part of the refill makes it possible to limit the consequences of these games.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, a slightly deformable compensating member is placed, at least at certain points on the periphery of the refill, which makes it possible to make up for the play of variable importance which may exist between the half-shells and recharging.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, this compensating member is constituted by a plastic strap which has a Greek-shaped profile of small amplitude, which allows it to deform elastically to compensate for the play existing between the half -shells and refill.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the compensating member has at its lower part two extensions also made of plastic which engage in a correspondingly shaped orifice made in the base so as to correctly position the lower part of the recharge.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the half-shells maintain the refill by pressing against it by their peripheries and not by their bottoms, which makes it possible to accept large tolerances for the thickness of the refill. In addition, this characteristic makes it possible to open the bottoms of the half-shells to reveal the refill as well as the product that it contains.

Finally, it will be understood that the half-shells and the base can be decorated and provided with accessories such as handles to give the packaging its aesthetic and luxurious character.

Similarly, one can fix on the neck of the refill or on the threaded ring which holds the upper part of the two half-shells, a stopper or a cover which completes the aesthetic character of the half-shells and the base.

According to the invention, the two half-shells are connected substantially along the middle of the thickness of the bottle, but it is not essential for the two half-shells to be identical, one of which may for example be thinner over most of its section.

In order to better understand the invention will now be described by way of illustration and without any limitation, an embodiment taken as an example and shown in the accompanying drawing.

• - la figure 1 est une vue en élévation d'un premier mode de réalisation de l'invention,
• - la figure 2 est une vue en coupe selon II-II de la figure 1,
• - la figure 3 est une vue de dessus de la figure 1,
• - la figure 4 est une vue à plus grande échelle de la partie centrale de la figure 3,
• - la figure 5 est une vue en coupe partielle selon V-V de la figure 3,
• - la figure 6 est une vue en élévation d'un second mode de réalisation de l'invention,
• - la figure 7 est une vue de gauche de la figure 6 sur laquelle la bague qui réunie les deux parties supérieures des deux demi-­coquilles est dévissée et est représentée avec arrachement partiel,
• - la figure 8 est une vue de dessus de la figure 6,
• - la figure 9 est une vue perspective du compensateur,
• - la figure 10 est une vue en élévation de la recharge munie du compensateur de la figure 9.

On this drawing :

• FIG. 1 is an elevation view of a first embodiment of the invention,
• FIG. 2 is a sectional view along II-II of FIG. 1,
• FIG. 3 is a top view of FIG. 1,
• FIG. 4 is a view on a larger scale of the central part of FIG. 3,
• FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view along VV of FIG. 3,
• FIG. 6 is an elevation view of a second embodiment of the invention,
• FIG. 7 is a left view of FIG. 6 on which the ring which joins the two upper parts of the two half-shells is unscrewed and is shown with partial cutaway,
• FIG. 8 is a top view of FIG. 6,
• FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the compensator,
• FIG. 10 is an elevation view of the refill provided with the compensator of FIG. 9.

We see in Figures 1 to 4 which relate to a first embodiment of the invention, the first half-shell 1 which is integral with the base 2, as well as the second half-shell 3 which is provided at its lower part with an extension 4 which engages in a recess 5 of corresponding shape which is formed in the base 2.

Also seen in Figures 2 and 5, the refill 6 which is constituted by a glass container which has, in this case, a substantially parallelepiped shape and which is provided at its upper part with a neck 7 provided with a thread on which engages a threaded plug 8. As can be seen in FIG. 3, the half-shells 1 and 3 each have at their upper part a notch 9 in the form of a semicircle to allow the neck 7 of the recharge.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 3 and 4, the half-shell 1 comprises, in the vicinity of the notch 9, two pins 10 which can engage elastically in orifices 11 of corresponding shape made in the upper part of the half-shell 3.

The dimensions of the studs 10 and of the recesses 11 as well as the characteristics of the material which make up the half-shells are such that when the studs 10 are engaged in the recesses 11, the two shells are held together in the vicinity of the neck 7.

This engagement is such that one can, by exerting traction, disengage the pins 10 from the recesses 11 and separate the two half-shells to have access to the refill.

In accordance with a preferred characteristic of the invention, the refill 6 is held in the half-shells by their peripheries 1 a and 3 a which rest on the periphery of the refill, a clearance 12 remaining between the side walls 7 a of the refill and the bottoms of the half-shells 1 and 3.

With this embodiment, it ensures correct maintenance of the refill inside the half-shells, despite the dimensional tolerances that are inherent in the manufacture of the glass refill.

This characteristic also has the advantage of being able to make openings in the bottoms of the half-shells so as to allow the refill and its contents to be seen, without said openings interfering in any way with the fixing of the half-shells and the maintenance of recharging.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 5, the half-shell 3 is subject to its lower part by two extensions 4 which engage in two recesses 5 of the base 2, on either side of a recess 13 made in the base, to receive a boss 14 made at the bottom of the refill 6.

This boss 14 has the advantage, by engaging in the recess 13 of the base, of correctly positioning the refill 6 inside the two half-shells.

To mount the refill in the half-shells, it is sufficient, after having separated the latter, to place the refill 6 inside the half-shell 1 by engaging the boss 14 in the recess 13, after which , the extension 4 of the half-shell 3 is engaged in the recess 5 of the base, and the half-shell 3 is folded against the refill in order to engage the pins 10 in the recesses 11.

Found in Figures 6 to 10, which represent another embodiment of the invention, the half-shell 1 which is integral with the base 2 and which maintains the refill 6 using the second half-shell 3 which is provided at its lower part with an extension 4 which engages in the recess 5 of the base.

The bottom of each half-shell is provided with a circular opening which lets see the refill and its contents.

In this embodiment, as can be seen in FIGS. 7 and 8, the half-shell 1 has a greater thickness than the half-shell 3, so that these two half-shells do not completely connect in the median plane of the bottle, but along line 14 which corresponds to a purely aesthetic edge which is symmetrically on the half-shell 1.

The half-shell 1 is extended at its upper part by a male half-thread 1 b and the half-shell 3 is extended at its upper part by a corresponding male half-thread 3 b .

The two half-shells are joined together using a threaded sleeve 15 which engages on the external thread formed by the two half-threads 1b and 3b . The external surface of the sleeve 15 receives the cover 16 which is shown in FIG. 6 and which can have any external shape.

In this embodiment, the refill 6 has at its upper part its own plug, or even a spraying device, which have not been shown in the drawing.

FIG. 9 shows a compensator according to a preferred embodiment of the invention which makes it possible to fill the variable clearance which exists between the periphery of the half-shells 1 and 3 and the periphery of the refill 6 according to the tolerances of manufacturing.

This compensator 16 has a generally cylindrical shape. It has at its upper part an orifice 17 ensuring the passage of the neck 7 of the refill. It also has at its lower part a second orifice 18 in which is housed a boss of corresponding shape made at the bottom of the refill 6 so as to correctly position the compensator 16 on the periphery of the refill.

The compensator 16 finally comprises on its lower part two fins 19 which are intended to come to bear against the walls 13 of the recess made in the base 2 to ensure the correct positioning of the lower part of the refill with respect to the half shell 1.

Finally, as is clearly seen in Figure 10, the compensator has on its periphery side view a general shape of a Greek, the parts 16a of the compensating bearing against the periphery of the refill 6, so that portions 16 b deviate slightly to be able to get involved elastically against the internal walls located at the periphery of the half-shells 1 and 3.

It can be seen that, in accordance with this preferred embodiment of the invention, the refill 6 is maintained by its periphery using the half-shells 1 and 3, the compensator 16 ensuring both the correct positioning of the refill by compared to the half-shell 1, thanks to the tongues 19 which engage in the orifice 13 of the base and to the orifice 18 which receives a boss of corresponding shape located on the refill 6, while achieving elastic compensation for the play of variable size which, due to machining tolerances, must exist between the periphery of the half-shells and the refill.

The assembly of the bottle according to the invention is carried out in a particular simple and rapid manner.

First of all, the compensator 16 is placed around the refill 6 by first engaging the neck 7 in the orifice 17 and introducing the corresponding boss in the lower recess 18.

After which, the tongues 19 are engaged in the recess 13 of the foot by tilting the refill which is then folded back inside the half-shell 1. Then the lower extension 4 of the half-shell is engaged 3 in the orifice 5 of the base and the half-shell 3 is folded back against the half-shell 1 in order to finally secure the two half-shells 1 and 3 together using the threaded sleeve 15 which engages simultaneously on the half-threads 1 b and 3 b .

A decorative cover can advantageously be placed removably on the threaded sleeve 15.

It is understood that the embodiments which have been described above have been given only by way of illustration and without any limiting character of the scope of the invention.

In particular, it is clear that the half-shells can have different shapes from those which have been shown, as can the refill.

Finally, the assembly of the half-shells can be carried out with means different from those which have been shown.

Claims (11)

1. Refill bottle, characterized in that the refill (6) is held by two half-shells (1,3) connecting along a substantially median plane, a base (2) being integral with the lower part of the first half-shell (1), the second half-shell (3) comprising a means (4) which makes it integral with the base (2) or the first half-shell (1) while allowing it to tilt around the refill to close against the first half-shell (1), a means (10,11; 1b, 3b, 15) for securing the two half-shells (1,3) in the vicinity of the neck (7) of the refill (6) at the top of the bottle. 2. Bottle according to claim 1, characterized in that the refill (6) is held between the half-shells (1,3) in that the peripheral walls (1 a, 3 a) of the half shells (1 , 3) bear against the periphery of the refill. 3. Bottle according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the two half-shells (1,3) are subject to the vicinity of the neck (7) of the refill (6) by a latching device, part projecting (10) integral with a half-shell engaging elastically by force in a recess (11) of corresponding shape made in the other half-shell. 4. Bottle according to any one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the two half-shells (1,3) are secured at the neck (7) of the refill (6) by a sleeve (15) internally threaded which engages simultaneously around male threads ( 1b , 3b ) made partly on a half-shell (1) and partly on the other half-shell (3) to ensure the maintenance of the latter. 5. Bottle according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the half-shell (1) which supports the base (2) comprises below the lower part of the refill, a recess (5) in which can come and engage an extension (4) located at the bottom of the other half-shell (3). 6. Bottle according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the refill (6) has at its lower part an extension (14,19) which engages in a recess of corresponding shape (13) made in the base (2) so as to ensure lateral positioning of the refill relative to the two half-shells. 7. Bottle according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a compensating member (16) slightly deformable is placed between the half-shells (1,3) and the refill (6) to make up for the play of variable importance which exists between the two half-shells and the refill. 8. Bottle according to claim 7, characterized in that the compensating member (16) consists of a plastic strap which is located on the periphery of the refill (6). 9. Bottle according to claim 8, characterized in that the compensating member (16) has a Greek-shaped profile of small amplitude, certain parts (16 a ) of the compensator applying to the refill (6) while other parts (16 b ) are applied against the side walls of the half-shells. 10. Bottle according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that the refill (6) has at its lower part a boss which is introduced into a recess (18) of corresponding shape made in the compensating member ( 16). 11. Bottle according to any one of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that the compensating member (16) has at the lower part of the refill two tongues (19) which engage in an orifice (13) of the base (2) to ensure correct positioning of the refill (6).

Images