EP0455552A1 - Actuating device for delivering valve - Google Patents

Abstract

This device comprises a push-button (10) forming a lever on the tubular rod (3) controlling a dispensing valve fitted to a container (1). This rod (3) defines a longitudinal axis (X-X). The push-button (10) has an external face (15) comprising a zone for the application of an operating force and comprises, on the one hand, a stud (20) butted against the end (24) of the rod (3) and, on the other hand, support means (32) capable of cooperating with complementary stop means (44) attached to the container. The said zone of application has an angular range of at least about 180 DEG and the support (32) and stop (44) means have an angular range corresponding to that of the said zone in order to together determine a support point of the said lever, located in the plane passing through the longitudinal axis (X-X) and the point of application of the operating force. This device is characterised in that the complementary stop (44) forms part of a ring (11, 111) fixed to the container. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to a device for actuating a dispensing valve fitted to a container, containing a product to be dispensed, in particular a pressurized aerosol, the valve comprising a tubular push control rod.

It is well known to use devices of this type of which an element provided with a stud acts as a lever on the dispensing valve comprising a tubular control rod.

Thus FR-A-2 113 376 describes an actuating device for regulating the distribution of a material, from a pressurized container provided with an upper opening formed by a bowl for mounting a valve, the bowl being fixed to the container opening by a crimping bead or rolled seal. This device comprises a lever in one piece provided at one end with a surface which can be engaged by an operator's finger and at the other end with a flexible clip which clips onto the bead. Between these two ends, the lever comprises a stud coming into abutment against the end of the tubular control rod of the valve. The clip and the corresponding bead part constitute the fulcrum of the lever. By its construction, the lever pivots substantially around an axis orthogonal to the longitudinal axis defined by the tubular rod. This construction has drawbacks. First of all, the area of application of the force has a small angular extent and it is advisable to apply a finger to the area provided for this purpose which is of modest size. In addition, the lever multiplier effect of the lever is limited by the very construction of the device, since the fulcrum of the lever is located approximately on the bead of the closure cup of the container while the other end preferably does not exceed the overall radial of the container for reasons of space and also to allow the establishment of a cover covering the entire device and coming to be fixed on the container. Thus, in such a device, the force to be exerted must be applied to an angularly reduced area and, moreover, it remains significant since the leverage is limited by the very construction of the device.

GB-A-1 359 152 describes a device in which the area of application of force by the user has an angular extent of 360 °, which allows the user to have a large bearing surface and choose without constraint the point where the actuation force will be exerted. In this device, the push button is constituted by a conical surface comprising on its axis a stud, which presses on the valve stem, a cylindrical skirt being integral with said conical surface and being provided with support means capable of cooperating , either outside or inside, with a stop constituted by the crimping bead of the valve bowl. Depending on the position of the actuating force on the application area, a lever system is formed, the fulcrum of which is located on the crimping bead, this fulcrum being located substantially in a plane passing through the longitudinal axis and the point of application of the force. But, in this device as in that of FR-A-2 113 376, the lever multiplying effect of the lever is determined by the construction of the container and, consequently, the force to be applied necessarily remains significant.

It has been proposed, in order to reduce the force to be applied, to reduce the force of the valve spring. But in this case the long-term tightness of the valve becomes insufficient.

The present invention relates to a device in which the force to be applied by the user to depress the valve stem can be modularly reduced, without modifying the force of the valve spring.

More specifically, the present invention consists of a device for actuating a dispensing valve fitted to a container containing a product to be dispensed, in particular a pressurized aerosol, the valve comprising a tubular control rod defining a longitudinal axis and having an end provided a dispensing orifice, the device comprising lever means for actuating the valve, these means comprising a push button, the external face of which comprises an application zone for an actuating force of the valve, the push button comprising, on the one hand, a stud abutting against the end of the rod and equipped with a dispensing nozzle and a channel connecting the dispensing orifice to said nozzle and, on the other hand, means of '' own support to cooperate with complementary abutment means linked to the container to form a fulcrum of the lever, in which said zone of application has an angular extent centered s ur said longitudinal axis of at least about 180 ° and, the support means and the abutment means have an angular extent corresponding to that of said zone to determine together, as a function of the position of the actuating force, on the application area, a fulcrum of said lever, located substantially in the plane passing through the longitudinal axis and the point of application of the force, characterized in that the abutment means are part of a ring attached to the container.

According to the invention, the support points of the lever on the ring are preferably located closer to the valve than when said fulcrum is located on the crimping bead of the valve; therefore, the force required to operate the valve is lower. You can easily choose the size of the diameter of the ring, which allows you to adjust the value of the force to be exerted; such modulation was impossible with the devices of the prior art. The ring can be attached to any type of container: one-piece container or three-piece container. In addition, it should be noted that, when the fulcrum of the lever is located on the crimping bead of the valve bowl, it is generally located at a level below the level of the top of the valve stem. Consequently, the thrust exerted by the lever is always at an angle to the axis of the valve stem and this thrust causes a lateral displacement of the top of the valve stem when it is pressed on it with the lever : the valve may thus be damaged. The ring according to the invention can easily be dimensioned so that the support points of the lever are located substantially in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the ring and passing through the end of the tubular rod.

Preferably, for a container of the type with upper opening closed by an upper bowl for mounting the valve, the bowl being fixed to the opening of the container by a crimping bead, said ring bears by a lower edge on the container and comprises a fixing means able to cooperate with a re-entrant part of the container included under said bead. This arrangement is advantageous because the bead of the container is used in the present invention only for fixing the stop means and not the fulcrum of the lever.

Thanks to the large angular extent of the area of application of the actuating force, this push-button has the advantage of a large surface of use, facilitating the control.

In a preferred embodiment, said angular extent of the application area is between approximately 180 ° and 360 °, in particular, of the order of 270 °. This large area of use improves ergonomics. Indeed, it allows to put several fingers on the push button or a single finger if desired without any particular positioning effort: the placement of the finger is natural.

Preferably, the angular extent of the support means and stop means is between approximately 180 ° and 360 ° to be in correspondence with the preferred values of the angular extent of the application area.

Advantageously, the support points formed by the support means and the complementary abutment means have, as a geometrical place, a narrow strip in an arc of a circle or circle whose angular opening is between approximately 180 ° and 360 °, and whose axis coincides with said longitudinal axis. This arrangement is preferred because the distance between any fulcrum and the end of the control rod is substantially constant, which has the effect of making the actuating force to be applied to the push button substantially constant when the point d application of this actuating force remains substantially at the same distance from the longitudinal axis. Indeed, the lengths of the lever arms used then have practically constant values. Under these conditions, the effort to be exerted, for example by a finger, will essentially depend on the distance from its area of application to the longitudinal axis but will be independent of the angular position of the area. application on the push button.

In a preferred embodiment, the support means surrounding said stop pin, comprise a cylindrical sleeve, of revolution about the longitudinal axis, having, in the vicinity of its open end towards the container, a projecting radial shoulder generally forming a circular ring whose outer contour forms a support circle capable of cooperating with the complementary stop means.

Preferably, the complementary stop means located on the ring are constituted by a flat face substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal axis and fixed in position opposite the container, this face being delimited by a circular opening coaxial with the longitudinal axis and d 'a radius greater than the outside radius of the sleeve but less than the radius of the support circle. This arrangement has the advantage of retaining the push button because the circular ring of the socket bears against the flat face in a zone close to the circular opening. The above means together determine in a very simple manner a single fulcrum when the plane of the ring is slightly inclined relative to the planar face while remaining in contact with it.

Advantageously, the circular ring is divided into several segments by interstices in order to make them slightly deformable and to facilitate, during assembly, the crossing of the coaxial circular opening by said ring.

Preferably also, the circular ring is continued by a frustoconical side face converging towards the open end of the sleeve to also facilitate the positioning and the crossing by the ring of the circular opening. coaxial.

In a preferred embodiment, the ring is in contact with said face or in the immediate vicinity thereof when the tubular stem of the valve is at rest. This arrangement allows an immediate attack of the valve by an actuating force by reducing the play of the mechanism.

In a preferred embodiment, the channel opens into a frustoconical recess of the stud, this recess overlapping the end of the rod in abutment in a connection link. This arrangement allows an inclination of the push button relative to the longitudinal axis while obtaining a sufficient connection between the end of the rod provided with a dispensing orifice, the channel and the nozzle.

In a preferred embodiment, the dispensing nozzle is formed substantially in the center of the external face of the push button and in a substantially longitudinal direction. This arrangement makes it possible to confer an angular extent of 360 ° for the area of application of the actuating force.

In another embodiment, the dispensing nozzle is formed on the stud in a substantially radial direction.

To better understand the invention, there will be described below, by way of purely illustrative and nonlimiting examples, two embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

• la figure 1 montre en coupe longitudinale, une première forme de réalisation de la présente invention ;
• la figure 2 montre une coupe transversale selon la ligne II-II de la figure 1 ;
• la figure 3 montre, semblablement à la figure 1, le dispositif alors que le bouton-poussoir a été légèrement appuyé d'un côté ;
• la figure 4 montre semblablement à la figure 3, le dispositif avec le bouton-poussoir plus fortement appuyé du même côté ;
• la figure 5 montre une seconde forme de réalisation de la présente invention ; et
• la figure 6 montre une coupe selon la ligne VI-VI de la figure 5.

In these drawings:

• Figure 1 shows in longitudinal section, a first embodiment of the present invention;
• Figure 2 shows a cross section along the line II-II of Figure 1;
• Figure 3 shows, similarly to Figure 1, the device while the push button has was lightly pressed on one side;
• Figure 4 similarly shows in Figure 3, the device with the push button pressed more strongly on the same side;
• Figure 5 shows a second embodiment of the present invention; and
• FIG. 6 shows a section along line VI-VI of FIG. 5.

Figures 1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention in which there is a container, known per se, generally designated by the reference sign 1 and containing a pressurized aerosol. This container is of the type with upper opening closed by a circular bowl 2 for mounting a distribution valve from which there is a tubular control rod 3 defining a longitudinal axis X-X. The bowl 2 is fixed to the opening of the container by a crimping bead 4. The device according to the invention comprises lever means for actuating the valve, these means comprising two separate parts. The first part is constituted by a push button indicated overall by the reference 10. The second part comprises a fixing ring on the container, indicated overall by the reference 11.

The push button 10 is a molded piece in one piece, in particular in a thermoplastic material. The push button 10 has an external face 15 of generally frustoconical shape of revolution, constituting an application zone 15 a , extending over more than 180 ° around the axis XX, for an actuating force of the valve . This face 15 is bordered at its periphery by an edge face 16 forming a cylindrical segment of revolution around the axis XX. The diameter of this cylindrical face 16 is less than that of the cylindrical container 1. The push button 10 has an internal face 17 corresponding to the face 15 and which is parallel to it. This internal face 17 of the push button defines a concave space generally opposite the container. The two faces 15 and 17 determine between them a wall 18 of generally constant thickness. The edge face 16 also corresponds to a parallel cylindrical internal face 19. The latter together determine a cylindrical wall of substantially constant thickness.

The push button 10 comprises a cylindrical stud 20 of revolution of axis XX and in one piece with the wall 18. This stud 20 has at its upper part adjacent to the wall 18 a nozzle 21 whose axis is oriented substantially in a radial direction. This nozzle 21 is connected to a longitudinal channel 22 of axis X-X which opens at the lower end of said stud. This end comprises a frustoconical recess 23 which overlaps the end 24 of the control rod in abutment in a fluid connection link. The frustoconical shape of the recess 23 allows a certain inclination of the stud 20 relative to the axis of the control rod 3. This inclination nevertheless allows a connection connection between the end 24 of the rod and the nozzle 21. preferably the stud is made of a resiliently deformable thermoplastic material to ensure good connection contact between the end of the rod and the frustoconical recess of the stud.

A generally cylindrical sleeve 30 projects into the concave part defined by the internal face 17 of the push button. This cylindrical sleeve 30 of revolution about the axis XX surrounds at least part of the stud 20 and has, in the vicinity of its open end towards the container 1, a projecting radial shoulder 31 generally forming a circular ring whose outer contour forms a support circle 32 capable of cooperating with the complementary abutment means of the ring 11. The shoulder 31 is continued by a frustoconical side face 33 converging towards the open end 34 of the sleeve 30.

The ring 11 has a first cylindrical external upper wall 35. This wall is continued by a shoulder 36, projecting radially, which is extended by a second cylindrical outer wall 37. The ring 11 is delimited by an upper circular edge 38 and a lower circular edge 39. The circular edge 39 comes to bear on a rim of the container 1. The first wall 35 is secured to an internal wall 40 to the ring 11. This wall 40 has the overall shape of a cone section converging upwards. This internal wall 40 is delimited at its upper part by a circular wall 41 comprising a circular opening 42 of axis X-X. This circular opening 42 has a radius greater than the outside radius of the sleeve 30 but less than the radius of the support circle 32. This circular wall 41 is delimited by an upper face 43 and a lower planar face 44, abutting for the shoulder 31 and the support circle 32. This lower planar face 44 is substantially orthogonal to the axis XX. The wall 40, which defines a concave space opposite the upper end of the container 1, is integral in one piece with a wall 45 in the form of a cylindrical ring which ends, towards the container, by a radial rim 46 delimiting a circular orifice 47. The radial rim 46 engages under the bead 4 to constitute the means for fixing the ring 11 to the container 1 in cooperation with the circular edge 39 of the ring 11.

The face of the edge 16 of the push button engages inside the space defined by the upper end of the wall 35 of the ring 11. In this embodiment where the container is of the type with upper opening closed by a circular bowl 2 for mounting the valve, the radius of the support circle 32 is less than the radius of the circular bowl 4. A removable cover 50 in the form of a cylindrical cap can come to cover the device, by sliding on the external cylindrical face of the wall 35 of the ring 11 .

As more particularly visible in FIG. 2, the wall 18 of the push-button 10 and a part of the socket 30 are interrupted by two radial edges which define an angular sector greater than or equal to the angular sector of the jet exiting in operation from the nozzle 21 The radial edges of the wall 18 continue downwards by two flat walls 51 and 52 which join the stud 20 and which end in a wall 53 in a circular sector substantially orthogonal to the axis XX and in one piece with the nipple 20 in an area close to its lower end. The generally circular lower end of the sleeve 30 continues in one piece with the wall 53 under the underside of the latter. In a manner not shown in Figures 1 to 4 but visible in Figure 6, the sleeve 30 and the circular ring 31 are divided into several segments by interstices. The walls 51, 52, 53 create in front of the nozzle a hollow area for the passage of the ejection cone.

The mounting of the device on the container 1 is carried out as follows. The ring 11 is placed in position on the end of the container 1 by snap-fastening of the radial rim 46 on the bead 4 in the re-entrant part of the container included under the said bead. Then the push button 10 is fixed in the circular opening 42 of the ring, making this opening 42 pass through the shoulder 31 of the sleeve 30. This crossing is facilitated by the presence of interstices on the sleeve and the shoulder 31.

Figures 3 and 4 show the operation of the device according to the present invention. An actuating force (F) is applied to the left part of the application zone 15 a of the push button. The push button 10 tilts and, on the left side, penetrates slightly inside the ring 11. The support circle 32 then comes to bear opposite to the right, on the stop constituted by the flat face 44 of abutment of the ring 11. At the same time, the stud 20 presses on the end of the control rod 3 and pushes it into the valve, which has the effect of starting the release of the product contained in the container 1. FIG. 3 shows a more significant tilting of the push button relative to the control rod 3, which has caused it to sink deeper into the valve and to open it more completely.

Figures 5 and 6 show a second embodiment of the device according to the invention. The corresponding parts of those of the previous embodiment have reference numbers increased by 100. In this embodiment, the essential difference is that the dispensing nozzle 121 is formed substantially in the center of the external face 115 of the push button 110 in the extension of channel 122 and along axis XX. The central part of the wall 118 of the push-button has a thickening, thanks to which a cylindrical recess 200 has been formed, into which the nozzle 121. opens. This cylindrical recess constitutes a small reservoir for small quantities of substance to be dispensing which could, at the end of an actuation of this valve, remain in contact with and in the vicinity of the dispensing nozzle 121, and thus, prevent any contamination of the bearing areas by this product. In this embodiment, the angular extent of the application area 115 a is 360 °.

FIG. 6 shows that in this embodiment, the sleeve 130 and the shoulder 131, forming a circular ring, have been divided into four segments by four interstices 201. The mounting of this device and its operation are in all points similar to those which have been previously described. The nozzle projects in the case where the container 101 is an aerosol can, a jet of conical shape whose axis then corresponds to the longitudinal axis X-X.

Claims (12)

Device for actuating a dispensing valve fitted to a container (1, 101) containing a product to be dispensed, in particular a pressurized aerosol, the valve comprising a tubular control rod (3, 103) defining a longitudinal axis (XX) and having one end (24, 124) provided with a dispensing orifice, the device comprising lever means for actuating the valve, these means comprising a push button (10, 110) whose external face (15, 115) comprises an application area (15 a , 115 a ) for an actuating force of the valve, the push button (10, 110) comprising, on the one hand, a stud (20, 120) abutting against the end (24, 124) of the rod and equipped with a dispensing nozzle (21, 121) and a channel (22, 122) connecting the dispensing orifice to said nozzle (21, 121) and, on the other hand, specific support means for cooperating with complementary stop means linked to the container (1, 101) to form a support point for the sink, in which said application zone (15 a , 115 a ) has an angular extent centered on said longitudinal axis (XX) of at least about 180 ° and in which the support means (32, 132) and the stop means (44, 144) have an angular extent corresponding to that of said zone (15 a, 115 a) for determining set, depending on the position of the actuating force on the area of application (15 a , 115 a ), a fulcrum of said lever, situated substantially in the plane passing through the longitudinal axis (XX) and the point of application of the force, characterized in that the abutment means (44, 144) are part of a ring (11, 111) fixed on the container (1, 101). Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the support means, surrounding said stop pin (20, 120) comprise a generally cylindrical bush (30, 130), of revolution around the longitudinal axis (XX), having, in the vicinity of its open end towards the container, a projecting radial shoulder (31, 131) generally forming a circular ring whose outer contour forms a support circle (32, 132) capable of cooperating with the stop means (44, 144). Device according to claim 2, for a container (1, 101) of the type with upper opening closed by a circular bowl (2, 102) for mounting the valve, characterized in that the radius of the support circle (32, 132) is less than the radius of said circular bowl (2, 102). Device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the points of support of the lever on the ring are situated substantially in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the ring (11, 111) and passing through the free end of the tubular rod (3, 103). Device according to one of claims 1 to 4, for a container of the upper opening type closed by a circular bowl (2, 102) for mounting the valve, the bowl (2, 102) being fixed to the opening of the container by a crimping bead (4, 104), characterized in that the ring (11, 111) is supported by a lower edge (39, 139) on the container and includes a fixing means (46, 146) suitable to cooperate with a re-entrant part of the container included under said bead (4, 104). Device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the angular extent of the support means (32, 132) and of the stop means (44, 144) is between approximately 180 ° and 360 °. Device according to Claim 6, characterized in that the support points have as geometrical location a narrow strip in an arc of circle or circle (32, 132) whose angular opening is between approximately 180 ° and 360 °, and whose axis is coincident with said longitudinal axis (X - X). Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the stop means consist of a flat stop face (44, 144) substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal axis (XX) and fixed in position opposite the container (1, 101 ), this face (44, 144) being delimited by a circular opening (42, 142) coaxial with the longitudinal axis (XX) and with a radius greater than the outside radius of the sleeve (30, 130) but less than the radius of the support circle (32, 132). Device according to one of claims 2 or 8, characterized in that the sleeve (30, 130) and / or the circular ring is divided into several segments by interstices (201). Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the circular ring of the ring (11, 111) is continued by a frustoconical side face (33, 133) converging towards the open end (34, 134) of the sleeve ( 30, 130). Device according to one of claims 2 or 10, characterized in that the ring (31, 131) is in contact with said face (44, 144) or in the immediate vicinity thereof, when the tubular rod (3 , 103) of the valve is at rest. Device according to one of Claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the said channel (22, 122) opens into a frustoconical recess (23, 123) of the stud (20, 120), this recess overlapping the end ( 24, 124) of the rod in a fluid connection link.

Images