EP0547925A1 - Control device for the dispensing of a product, especially a foaming mousse product - Google Patents

Abstract

The control device (1) is intended to be integrated on a dispenser fitted with a valve (41) having a tubular connector (43), on which it is necessary to push to cause expulsion of the product. The device (1) comprises a valve (10) whose movement is substantially transverse to the axis of the connector (43); the action of the user on the pushbutton causes, on the one hand, opening of the valve (10), and on the other hand bearing on the tubular connector (43) by the intermediary of a film hinge (39); the vertical movement of the pushbutton is converted into a horizontal movement for the valve by means of an orthogonal joint. The product to be delivered always passes through a chamber which is made leaktight by the valve (10) and a flexible collar (13), so that the product, which is in particular a foaming mousse product, remains hermetically sealed in the chamber while it is not in use. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to a device for controlling the dispensing of a product, in particular a self-foaming product, intended to be integrated on a dispenser provided with a valve having a vertical tubular outlet nozzle.

Aerosol cans are now well known to the general public, and the trade offers a wide variety which may contain liquid, gaseous, self-foaming or other products; in the particular case of a self-foaming product, it is important that the product distribution control device is of course watertight but also that the dispensing nozzle does not contain, after use, a residual quantity of product which, exposed to the open air after use, would continue to foam even though the aerosol canister valve is properly closed.

To overcome this drawback, patent EP-0 031 123 proposes a control device provided with a closure system complementary to that of the valve of the aerosol can, which closure system acts at the very end of the orifice of distribution so that a possible residual quantity of product is no longer in contact with the air and that, even if it continues to foam, it remains trapped by the hermeticity of the control device. However, the arrangement of this known device is such that, on the one hand, the dispensing opening is always coaxial with the nozzle of the valve of the aerosol can, on the other hand, the sealing of the closure of the orifice of outlet may deteriorate over time because the opening / closing is ensured by the deformation of a plastic part thus weakened.

The object of the present invention is to remedy these drawbacks by proposing a device the sealing of which is reliable, and the direction of distribution of which may be perpendicular to the axis of the tubular end piece of the valve of the dispenser.

By dispenser is meant a device belonging to the assembly consisting of: any conventional aerosol; any aerosol in which the product to be dispensed is physically separated from the propellant means contained in the same reservoir, such an aerosol comprising in the container either a flexible or semi-flexible bag, or a piston; any aerosol in which the propellant means consists of an elastically retractable pocket.

According to the present invention a device for controlling the distribution of a product, in particular a self-foaming product, comprising a base provided with fixing means to be fixed to a reservoir containing said product and provided with a valve having a vertical tubular outlet outlet at push down to control the output of the product out of the tank, and comprising a hollow body in the general form of a cylindrical airlock provided with an inlet to be connected with said tubular end piece and with an outlet orifice, in the form of a valve seat, arranged on one of the two bases of the cylindrical airlock and closable by a valve coaxial with the cylinder, is characterized in that the axis of the cylindrical airlock is substantially transverse to the axis of the tubular end piece, the entry provided in the cylindrical airlock is an inlet oriented substantially transversely to the axis of the airlock, and in that said valve is movable towards the inside of the airlock, arranged inside of the airlock, and extended by a control rod which crosses horizontally the other base of the cylindrical airlock to control, or not, the opening of the exit opening of the airlock.

Thus, after use, there will always remain some product in the cylindrical airlock, but on the one hand it will of course not be in contact with the ambient air, on the other hand it will be all the better kept hermetically in the airlock the valve head will be pressed even more against the valve seat if any overpressure occurs inside the airlock.

According to a preferred embodiment, said base and said cylindrical airlock are connected by a hinge with a horizontal axis allowing a substantially vertical movement of the airlock to push, or not, the end of the valve, said control rod is connected to a button -pusher by an orthogonal articulation so that, on the one hand during a vertical downward pressure exerted on the push-button, firstly the control rod is driven horizontally and controls the opening of the valve, secondly the airlock pivots around the hinge to push in the valve tip which causes the product to be distributed through the airlock and its outlet orifice, on the other hand, when the vertical push on the push button is released, the end of the valve and the valve return to the closed position which stops the distribution of the product and tightly encloses a certain amount in the airlock.

Thus, due to the presence of the orthogonal joint, a vertical action allowing the opening of the valve of the aerosol can, also allows the horizontal opening of the airlock.

Advantageously, on the part of the airlock body situated opposite the outlet orifice, an annular bead is disposed on which the push button is clipped, which is in the form of a flexible bowl provided axially downwards with a intermediate control axis extending to said orthogonal articulation, said flexible bowl being arranged so that the intermediate control axis is guided vertically and the flexible bowl acts as a return spring when releasing a vertical thrust on the push button. Thus, the function of guiding the control push-button, and the function of the control return spring, are carried out in a particularly economical manner.

In a preferred mode, said orthogonal articulation is composed, on the one hand in the body of the airlock, by a convex surface having substantially the shape a quarter circle whose upper part comes to tangent said control rod at its exit from the base of the cylindrical airlock, on the other hand by said control rod which is made of a flexible material for, during a downward bias, come to marry the shape of said convex surface. To produce said orthogonal joint, the function of which is to transform the vertical movement of the push button into a horizontal movement of the valve stem, various more or less complex mechanical devices are possible, but the solution adopted is clearly more economical; advantageously, it allows the valve, the valve stem, the control rod, the intermediate control axis, and the flexible bowl to form a single molded plastic part, the flexible parts of which, namely the bowl and the stem command, act as a return spring. The sobriety of the means used is remarkable.

The passage of the control rod through the base of the cylindrical airlock not necessarily being hermetic, it is advantageous that said single molded part also comprises, at the connection between the valve rod and the control rod, a flange sealing in the form of a flexible lip so as to be in permanent support on the internal face of the airlock and thus seal the passage of the control rod regardless of the open or closed position of the valve. Thus, the quantity of product present in the airlock cannot escape from it either on the side of the valve or on the side of the control rod.

In a preferred embodiment, the airlock body consists of two contiguous half-shells along a substantially horizontal assembly plane and delimiting said passage of the control rod, the upper half-shell in particular consisting of the bead annular intended for the clipping of the push-button, of a passage for said intermediate control axis, of a half-lock and of the valve seat, the lower half-shell being in particular constituted by a second half-lock complementary to the previous one , of said convex surface and of said inlet to be connected with the tubular end-piece of the valve, and in that the two half-shells are assembled with one another in leaktight fashion along their assembly plane after having said single valve / push-button part therein. Here too, the solution adopted is particularly economical since each half-shell is an easily moldable part.

Advantageously, the lower half-shell is articulated on said base by means of a flexible film hinge, so that said lower half-shell and said base form only one and the same piece of molded plastic. This hinge is the most economical embodiment of the hinge with horizontal axis provided in the control device to allow to push, or not, the tip of the valve.

To fix the entire control device thus formed on the reservoir, provision may be made for the means for fixing said base to the valve to be formed by an annular internal bead of clipping arranged at the bottom of the base to be clipped. on the crimping of the valve. This arrangement is such that the same molded part constitutes the lower half-shell, the flexible hinge, the base and its means of attachment to the tank.

To better understand the object of the present invention, there will be described below, by way of purely illustrative and non-limiting example, an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawing.

• - la figure 1 et la figure la représentent en coupe des variantes très similaires l'une de l'autre d'une pièce unique faisant office de soupape/bouton-poussoir ;
• - la figure 2 représente en coupe une demi-coquille supérieure ;
• - la figure 3 représente en coupe une demi-coquille inférieure ;
• - la figure 4 représente en coupe le dispositif selon l'invention en position fermée ;
• - la figure 5 représente le dispositif de la figure 4 en position soupape ouverte ;
• - la figure 6 représente le dispositif des figures 4 et 5, en position soupape ouverte et embout enfoncé pour délivrer le produit ;
• - les figures 7 et 8 sont des vues d'ensemble de face et de profil d'un bidon aérosol muni du dispositif conforme à l'invention.

On this drawing :

• - Figure 1 and Figure show in section very similar variants of one another of a single piece acting as valve / push button;
• - Figure 2 shows in section an upper half-shell;
• - Figure 3 shows in section a lower half-shell;
• - Figure 4 shows in section the device according to the invention in the closed position;
• - Figure 5 shows the device of Figure 4 in the open valve position;
• - Figure 6 shows the device of Figures 4 and 5, in the open valve position and pressed end to deliver the product;
• - Figures 7 and 8 are general front and side views of an aerosol can fitted with the device according to the invention.

Figures 1a, 2 and 3 show the components of a device according to the invention, which elements once assembled are shown in Figure 4. Each element will first be described separately.

As can be seen in Figure 1 is a quite similar variant of the preferred form of Figure 1a; because of this great similarity the same references and the same description will be used for the two figures. This part is the single part which constitutes the valve / push button; at one end is shown the valve head 10 having a bearing surface 11 in the form of an annular shoulder. We then see the valve stem 12 and a little further a sealing collar 13. All these first elements are preferably of circular section. The valve stem 12 is rigid as well as the valve head 10 and its bearing surface 11, while the sealing collar 13 has, due to its decreasing thickness up to its maximum diameter, a certain flexibility allowing it to behave, when it is supported on a flat surface, like a suction cup. Then there is the control rod 14 whose section is for example rectangular, the thickness of the rectangle being provided suf sufficiently weak so that the control rod 14 has a certain flexibility; then comes the intermediate control axis 15 preferably of cylindrical shape and attached to the center of a flexible cup 17 whose rigid belt includes an annular bead of clipping 16. Due to the flexibility of the control rod 14, it is understood that the variants of FIG. 1 and of FIG. 1a are only two modes of molding of the same part, all the functionalities of which are preserved and it suffices to bend the control rod 14 of FIG. the same arrangement as that of FIG. 1a.

FIG. 2 represents a half-shell comprising a half-lock 22 delimited by an assembly plane 20; at one end of the half-lock is shown a valve seat 21 located on the inner face of the half-lock, the valve seat 21 being an orifice of revolution; at the other end of the half-lock is a half sealing sealing surface 26; beyond this same end of the half-lock is located a passage 25, preferably cylindrical, the axis of which is substantially perpendicular to the assembly plane 20. This cylindrical passage leads to a bowl 24 which widens up to a rod 23 clip ring.

Figure 3 shows the other half-shell with its base; the base 30 is of generally cylindrical shape open downwards, its lower end being provided with an annular bead 33 for clipping; the upper base of the cylinder is not closed and it comprises a flexible film hinge 39 disposed perpendicular to the axis of the cylinder and relatively distant from the latter; this film hinge 39 connects the base 30 to the half-shell which comprises a half-lock 38 delimited by an assembly plane 37 and one end of which is provided with a half-sealing support 36; perpendicular to this sealing support 36 is a passage 35, the thickness D of which is substantially equal to the thickness of the control rod 14 mentioned above; the half-lock 38 further comprises an inlet duct 31 which communicates with a cylindrical housing 32 coaxial with the base 30; in the figure, the assembly plane 37 is shown relatively inclined relative to the common axis of the base 30 and the housing 32 but this is not an obligation and the assembly plane 37 could as well be substantially perpendicular to this axis; therefore it can be considered that the axis of the inlet duct 31 is substantially transverse relative to the half-lock 38; beyond the passage 35 we see a convex surface in the form of an arc of a circle 34 the upper end of which comes to tangent the lower edge of the passage 35.

FIG. 4 represents the device 1 for controlling the distribution of a product according to the invention, in the closed position, mounted on a tank of the aerosol can 40 type; the aerosol can 40 is provided with a valve 41 generally fixed to the aerosol can 40 by means of a crimp 42; the valve 41 comprises a tubular end piece 43 arranged vertically and of which it is known that it is necessary to depress it to control the output of the product contained in the aerosol can.

The distribution control device 1 has been mounted as follows: the annular bead 16 has been clipped onto the annular ring 23 after introduction of the valve head 10 through the passage 25 of the upper half-shell, then the control rod 14 has been inserted in the passage 35 of the lower half-shell thus allowing the assembly plane 20 to be opposite the assembly plane 37 taking care to place the valve head 10 opposite the valve seat 21 and not to injure the sealing collar 13 resting on the one hand on the sealing half-plane 36 and on the other hand on the sealing half-plane 26. Assembly means are then provided, for example welding, to assemble the two half-shells in a sealed manner along their assembly planes.

The device 1 according to the present invention thus being constituted, its mounting on the aerosol can 40 presents no difficulty: the annular bead 33 for clipping the base 30 is snapped onto the crimping 42 of the valve 41, after checking that the tubular end piece 43 of the valve 41 is correctly housed in the housing 32 of the lower half-shell; this verification can, for example, be carried out visually since, normally, the flexible film hinge 39 must not be folded either in one direction or the other. The aerosol can 40 provided with the device 1 according to the invention is now ready to be used as shown in FIG. 4 in the standby position, that is to say a closed and sealed position.

The implementation of the device 1 is carried out in two stages controlled by a single movement, these two stages being represented respectively in FIGS. 5 and 6.

FIG. 5 shows what happens when a first push P1 is exerted on the flexible cup 17 which acts as a push button; due to the clipping of the annular bead 16 on the annular ring 23, a push P1 on the flexible cup 17 forces the intermediate control axis 15 to move downward in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the clipping; this movement drives the control rod 14 which, flexibly resting on the arc of a convex circle 34 is pulled towards the outside of the airlock through the passage 35, and carries with it the valve rod 12 as well as the valve head 10 which causes the opening of the airlock outlet.

During this movement, the sealing collar 13 remained in abutment on the two sealing half-planes 26, 36 of the airlock, the lips of the collar having slightly flared to maintain the sealing of the support. When the flexible cup 17 comes into abutment on the bowl 24, the airlock is open and the first step in the operation of the device according to the invention is completed.

In Figure 6 is shown what happens when the push P1 is continued by a push P2 exerted in the same direction; at this moment the thrust P2 acts on the integral assembly formed by the two half-shells and causes the downward folding of the film hinge 39 by pushing in the tubular end piece 43 of the valve 41, which is therefore open to let out the product contained in the aerosol can 40; during this second step, which is now complete, it is clear that the airlock outlet remained open and therefore that the product contained in the aerosol can 40 follows the path: tubular nozzle 43, entry 31 into the airlock, and exit from the airlock, the product being therefore available to the user as long as the thrust P2 is maintained.

At the end of use, the user naturally stops exerting a push on the flexible cup 17 and the device 1 returns by itself to the position of FIG. 4 because, on the one hand, the spring of the valve 41 pushes back the tubular end piece 43, which closes the valve and brings the film hinge 39 back into its horizontal position, on the other hand the flexible cup 17 acts as a return spring for pulling up the intermediate control axis 15 which causes the valve head 10 to come into leaktight support on the valve seat 21 while the sealing collar 13 remains in leaktight support on the surface 26, 36 because its flexible lips have slightly tightened. At this moment a certain quantity of product is trapped in a sealed manner in the airlock from which it cannot leave, even if it is a self-foaming gel such as an isobutane solution which, at atmospheric pressure, boils at 28 ° C by developing foam; thus the device 1 for controlling the distribution of a product, in particular self-foaming product, always remains clean due to the airtightness of the airlock.

It may be noted that if a strong and rapid push is exerted on the flexible cup 17, it is possible that the two stages of FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 take place almost simultaneously, or even in the opposite direction; it is clear that this does not prevent the proper functioning of the device according to the invention, the airlock of which will remain sealed when returning to the rest position shown in FIG. 4.

Figures 7 and 8 are front views and purely illustrative profile of an aerosol can ready for use, equipped according to the present invention. We can see the aerosol can 40 provided with the dispensing device 1 with its base 30, the valve head 10, and the periphery of the flexible bowl 17 which acts as a push button.

Claims (10)

1. Device for controlling the distribution of a product, in particular self-foaming product, comprising a base (30) provided with fixing means to be fixed on a reservoir containing said product and provided with a valve (41) having a nozzle (43 ) vertical outlet tubular to be pushed down to control the outlet of the product from the tank, and comprising a hollow body in the general form of a cylindrical airlock provided with an inlet to be connected with said tubular end piece and with an outlet orifice, in the form valve seat, arranged on one of the two bases of the cylindrical airlock and closable by a valve coaxial with the cylinder, characterized in that the axis of the cylindrical airlock is substantially transverse to the axis of the tubular end piece (43), l the entry (31) provided in the cylindrical airlock (22, 38) is an entry oriented substantially transversely with respect to the axis of the airlock, and in that said valve (10, 12) is movable towards the interior of the airlock, willing to inside the airlock (22, 38), and extended by a control rod (14) which crosses (35) horizontally the other base of the cylindrical airlock to control, or not, the opening of the outlet orifice (21) airlock. 2. A device for controlling the distribution of a product according to claim 1, characterized in that said base and said cylindrical airlock are connected by a hinge (39) allowing movement of the airlock to push, or not, the endpiece (43 ) of the valve, in that said control rod (14) is connected to a push button (17) by an orthogonal articulation (34, 14) so that, on the one hand during a push (P1, P2) vertical downwards exerted on the push button, first (P1) the control rod (14) is driven horizontally and controls the opening of the valve (21, 10), secondly (P2) the airlock pivots around the hinge (39) to push the end piece (43) of the valve (41) which causes the distribution of the product through the airlock and its outlet orifice, on the other hand, when the vertical thrust is released on the push button, valve tip and valve return to the closed position which stops dispensing of the product it and tightly encloses a certain amount thereof in the airlock (22, 38). 3. Device for controlling the distribution of a product according to claim 2, characterized in that on the part of the airlock body located opposite the outlet orifice (21), an annular bead (23) is disposed on which the push button (17) is clipped (16), which is in the form of a flexible bowl provided axially downwards with an intermediate control axis (15) extending up to said orthogonal articulation (34, 14) , said flexible bowl being arranged so that the intermediate control axis is guided vertically ment and that the flexible bowl acts as a return spring when a vertical push is released on the push button. 4. A device for controlling the distribution of a product according to claim 3, characterized in that said orthogonal articulation (34, 14) is composed on the one hand in the body of the airlock, by a convex surface (34) having substantially the shape of a quarter of a circle, the upper part of which tangents said control rod at its outlet (35) from the base of the cylindrical airlock, on the other hand by said control rod (14) which is made of a material flexible for, when stressed downwards, to conform to the shape of said convex surface. 5. A device for controlling the distribution of a product according to claim 4, characterized in that the valve (11), the valve stem (10), the control stem (12), the intermediate axis (15) of control, and the flexible bowl (17,16) constitute one and the same piece of molded plastic whose flexible parts, namely the bowl (17) and the rod (14), act as a return spring. 6. A device for controlling the distribution of a product according to claim 5, characterized in that said single molded part also comprises, at the level of the connection between the valve stem (10) and the control stem (14), a sealing lip (13) in the form of a flexible lip so as to be in permanent support on the internal face (26, 36) of the airlock and thus seal the passage (35) of the control rod (14) whatever the open or closed position of the valve. 7. Device for controlling the distribution of a product according to claim 6, characterized in that said airlock body consists of two contiguous half-shells along a substantially horizontal and delimiting assembly plane (20, 37) said passage (35) of the control rod, the upper half-shell being in particular made up of the annular bead (23) intended for clipping the push button, of a passage (25) for said intermediate control axis, of a half-lock (22) and of the valve seat (21), the lower half-shell being in particular made up of a second half-lock (38) complementary to the previous one, of said convex surface (34) and of said inlet (31 ) to be connected with the tubular end-piece (43) of the valve, and in that the two half-shells are assembled with one another in leaktight fashion along their assembly plane after having disposed said part therein single valve / push button (12, 17). 8. Device for controlling the distribution of a product according to claim 7, characterized in that said lower half-shell is articulated on said base (30) by means of a film hinge (39), so that said half lower shell and said base form a single piece of molded plastic. 9. Device for controlling the distribution of a product according to claim 8, characterized in that said means for fixing said base (30) to the valve are a bead (33) annular interior of clipping arranged in the bottom of the base for clipping onto the crimp (42) of the valve. 10. Dispenser equipped with a dispensing control device according to one of the preceding claims, and belonging to the assembly consisting of: any conventional aerosol; any aerosol in which the product to be dispensed is physically separated from the propellant means contained in the same reservoir, such an aerosol comprising in the reservoir either a flexible or semi-flexible pocket, or a piston; any aerosol in which the propellant means consists of an elastically retractable pocket.

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