EP0457252B1

EP0457252B1 - Tamper-proof sprayer for liquids

Info

Publication number: EP0457252B1
Application number: EP91107743A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Sario Buti
Original assignee: Spray Plast SpA
Current assignee: Spray Plast SpA
Priority date: 1990-05-15
Filing date: 1991-05-14
Publication date: 1994-11-30
Anticipated expiration: 2011-05-14
Also published as: ES2067085T3; IT9021183V0; EP0457252A1; DE69105347D1; IT219553Z2; IT9021183U1; DE69105347T2

Description

The object of the present invention is a hand sprayer for liquids, as defined in the prior art portion of claim 1, having guarantees against possible tampering, which will show when the sprayer has been previously used and prevent its re-use when the liquid contained in the container onto which the nozzle is applied has been used up.
Increasingly wider use is being made of the "throwaway" type of nozzle, that is one which is not to be re-used when the liquid in the container, which is harmful in the greater part of the cases, has been used up.
Therefore there is a demand for guarantees preventing the re-use of this type of nozzle.
The solutions proposed up to now do not give a complete guarantee against possible tampering, and in any case they are far too complicated and expensive, and therefore do not comply with the demand for a product, which, considering its intended use, must be of low cost.
FR-A- 2 081 938 describes a sprayer wherein a cap covers the head of the sprayer. The cap comprises a cylindrical mantle fixed to the head and a tap attached to the mantle by an elastic tongue and closing the nozzle of the sprayer provided in front of the head. Again this solution does not give a complete guarantee against tampering.
One aim of the invention is to provide a sprayer which can be made at low cost, and which will indicate with reliability if the sprayer has been previously used.
Another aim of the invention is to provide such a sprayer, provided also with means to prevent it being taken off the container onto which it is applied, or at any rate to show that it has been taken off. These aims are achieved by the sprayer comprising the features of the characterizing portion of claim 1.
In accordance with the invention, an outer jacket or cover is fitted on the body of the sprayer, provided with means suitable for engaging permanently with complementary means borne on the body of the sprayer, in such a way as to prevent its subsequent removal.
When the outer jacket or cover is fitted onto the sprayer, a door is placed in front of the latter having a conical projection inside, which moves to close the spray nozzle. This door is hinged, for example at the top of the sprayer cover, by means of a line where the material is weakened, and is sealed to the cover by means of one or more connection bridges, to be broken the first time the door is opened and therefore when the sprayer is first used. After use the door can be re-closed, in such a way that its inside projection moves to close the spray nozzle.
Preferably the permanent engaging means between the outer cover and the body of the sprayer consist of at least one elastic fin with an end tooth, and of a corresponding stop.
To prevent the sprayer being taken off the container onto which it is fastened by means of a threaded ring, between the latter and the base of the sprayer means are foreseen, particularly, suitably shaped teeth, which allow the ring to rotate in one direction only, that is the direction for screwing it on.
Likewise, to avoid the whole sprayer rotating together with the ring, with respect to the container, and so being taken off, the body of the sprayer is made integral with the container, even in rotary motion, by the provision of reciprocal engaging means, as for example illustrated in the Italian Patent Application No. 20533 A/89 and the Italian Utility Model Application No. 22005 B/89, both in the name of the same applicant SPRAY PLAST S.r.l., or a combination of the means described in these patents, which in the first case consist of a rib and of a corresponding groove made one inside the neck of the container and the other in a tubular appendix projecting from the base of the sprayer and going round the inside of the neck of the container, and in the second case consist of pairs of indentations foreseen respectively on the neck of the container and on the said tubular appendix.
Further characteristics of the invention will be made clearer by the detailed description which follows, referring to a purely exemplary and therefore not restrictive embodiment, illustrated in the appended drawings, in which:

Figure 1: is a partially sectional side elevation view of a sprayer according to the invention, during the phase of its application onto a relative container;
Figure 2: is a front view of the sprayer in figure 1, with some parts removed.

With reference to these figures, a sprayer for liquids according to the invention is shown as a whole with 1, applied to a container 2, from which the liquid is drawn by the operation of a control lever 3, and sent out by means of a spray nozzle 4, in an already known way.
The sprayer 1 has a body 5 rising from a base 6, from the lower part of which a tubular appendix 7 projects, intended to be housed inside the neck 8 of the container 2.
The application of the sprayer 1 onto the container 2 is carried out by screwing down a threaded ring 9, foreseen outside the tubular appendix 7, on the neck 8 of the container.
On the appendix 7, near the base 6 of the sprayer, a circular peripheral flange 10 is foreseen, determining with the base 6 an annular groove 11, in which the upper edge 12 of the ring 9 is received in a fixed way.
To prevent any relative rotation between the sprayer 1 and the container 2, a groove 13 is made on the appendix 7 suitable for engaging with a rib 14, provided inside the neck 8 of the container 2, or vice versa.
Alternatively, at the bottom of the appendix 7 an indentation 13' may be made, suitable for engaging with a complementary indentation 14' foreseen inside the neck 8 of the container 2. The engaging means 13, 14 and 13' and 14' can also be foreseen in combination.
To prevent the sprayer 1 being able to be taken off the container 2 and re-used, in addition to the said means 13, 14 and/or 13', 14' which prevent the rotation of the sprayer with respect to the container, means are also foreseen which prevent the ring 9 being unscrewed. Such means consist of at least one and preferably two elastic tongues 15 projecting downwards from the base 6, facing the direction for screwing on the ring 9, and of grooves 16 foreseen on the upper edge of the ring.
In this way, the ring 9 can only be screwed down onto the neck 8 of the container 2, causing the bending of the elastic tongues 15, while any unscrewing of the ring is prevented by the same tongues 15, which would break in the event of being forced, thus showing that the sprayer had been tampered with.
An outer jacket or cover 17 is fitted onto the body 5 of the sprayer, having a door 18 at the front hinged to the cover 17 by means of an upper line 19 of weakened material, and sealed to the cover itself by means of lower connection bridges 20.
The cover 17 has two lateral body sides 21, having respective widenings 22 lower down, sliding on a pair of guide tracks 23 foreseen above the base 6 of the sprayer.
Mounting the cover 17 onto the body 5 of the sprayer is carried out by lowering it onto the base 6, in such a way that the said widenings 22 of the body sides 21 come into place in correspondence with the openings of the sliding guides 23, and then moving it towards the left with reference to figure 1, in such a way that such widenings slide and remain engaged in the corresponding guides 22.
Following on from this translation of the cover 17, a conical projection 24 foreseen inside the door 18 moves to close the spray nozzle 4, and an end tooth 27 of at least one fin 25, projecting downwards from the upper wall 26 of the cover 17 moves to engage unremovably with a corresponding projection 28, foreseen on the body 5 of the sprayer, to which a second guide projection 29 may possibly be opposed.
In this way, once the cover 17 has been fixed to the body 5 of the sprayer, it cannot be taken off it again.
The breaking of the bridges 20, which happens when the door 18 on the front is opened for the first time, shows that the sprayer has been used.
From what has been said above it can be seen that the sprayer according to the invention offers a complete guarantee against any type of tampering. Drawing off liquid from the container is, in fact, prevented by the guarantee seal, consisting of the connection bridges 20, foreseen on the door 18 of the cover 17, while the possibility of taking the sprayer 1 off the container 2 is prevented by the engaging means 13, 14 and/or 13', 14' between the sprayer and the container, and by the means 15 and 16 which prevent the ring 9 being unscrewed.
Of course the invention is not limited to the particular embodiment previously described and illustrated in the appended drawings, but many modifications in detail can be made to it by a technician in the field.

Claims

A hand pump sprayer for liquids comprising a body (5) having at the front a spray nozzle (4) covered by a door (18) with a guarantee seal, the body (5) rising from a base (6) applicable onto the mouth of a container (2) by screwing a threaded ring (9) around the neck (8) of the container, characterized in that a outer cover (17) encircling substantially all of the body (5) of the sprayer is applied thereon with engaging means (25, 27, 28) which prevent the cover (17) from being taken off once it has been applied to the body (5), said openable door (18) being hinged integrally to the front part of said cover (17).
A sprayer according to claim 1, wherein said means suitable for preventing the cover (17) from being taken off the body (5) of the sprayer consist of at least one elastic fin (25) projecting downwards from the upper wall (26) of the cover (17), or, respectively, from the body (5) of the sprayer and bearing an end tooth (27) suitable for engaging with at least one projection (28) of the body (5) or, respectively, of the cover (17).
A sprayer according to claim 2, characterized in that a second guide projection (29) is provided in front of said projection (28).
A sprayer according to any one of the previous claims, characterized in that below the body sides (21) of the cover (17) widenings are foreseen, sliding in respective guide tracks (23) foreseen above the said base (6) of the sprayer.
A sprayer according to any one of the previous claims, in which the said door (18) is hinged to the upper wall (26) of the cover (17) by means of a line (19) of weakened material.
A sprayer according to any one of the previous claims, in which the said guarantee seal of the door (18) consists of a least one connection bridge (20) between the door and the cover (17) to be broken the first time the sprayer is used.
A sprayer according to any one of the previous claims, characterized in that means suitable for preventing the ring from being unscrewed are foreseen between the said threaded ring (9) for screwing the sprayer onto the container (2) and the said base (6) of the sprayer.
A sprayer according to claim 7, in which the said means consist of at least one elastic tongue (15) projecting downwards from the base (6) and of grooves (16) foreseen on the upper edge of the ring (9).
A sprayer according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that a tubular appendix (7) projects down from the said base (6) of the sprayer intended to be housed in the neck (8) of the container (2), means (13, 14) being foreseen between the appendix (7) and the container (2), consisting of a rib and a groove or vice versa, and/or (13', 14'), consisting of complementary indentations, suitable for preventing any relative rotation between the sprayer (1) and the container (2).