EP0755880A1 - Dispensing means for a pressurised product and container provided with such means - Google Patents

Abstract

The distributor for a product maintained under pressure in a container comprises a cap (3) on the container having a valve with a control rod (21). The cap has in its lower part a tubular skirt (4) having at its base an annular bulge (5) projecting radially inwards which is fixed by clipping in an annular groove (6) in the upper part. The cap has in its upper part a movable applicator (7) flexibly connected to the skirt by a ring (8) with several flexible tabs. The applicator is protected by a cap (9) which is held by friction on the skirt. This cap has an air vent (12) in its upper part. A tubular ferrule in the cap engages with the control rod and forms with it a passage for the product. A piece (28) outside and connected to the ferrule prevents incursion of the control rod into the annular space (29) externally bordering the ferrule so as to oppose straining of the cap when the control rod is inclined.

Description

The present invention relates to a device for dispensing a product stored under pressure in a container provided with a control rod valve, in particular but not exclusively a valve with opening by lateral thrust on a tiltable control rod, and more specifically a device of the type comprising a snap-on cap on the container, provided with a tubular endpiece to be engaged on the control rod to form with the latter a product passage channel.

The annular space externally bordering the tip of the caps of the known dispensing devices is empty of material for the sake of economy and, until now, the mounting of the caps has been carried out by means of machines having to respect a very alignment precise fitting of the end cap and the control rod prior to snapping on the cover, to avoid the risk of fixing the latter with the control rod not engaged in the end piece and extending obliquely outside of it ci in the aforementioned annular space, which it is of course essential to avoid because this could lead to a rupture of the control rod or to the emptying of the container.

European patent application 0 037 903 discloses a device for dispensing a product stored under pressure in a container, comprising a cap to snap onto the container. The latter is provided with a control rod valve, opening by axial thrust on the control rod. The control rod is fixed to the body of the container by means of a cup. The device comprises a nozzle to be engaged on the control rod and forming with the latter a product passage channel. This tip has a cylindrical portion below sliding on a boss formed in the center of the cup. The nozzle can only be lowered onto the control rod if, beforehand, the lower cylindrical part of the nozzle has been engaged on the boss of the cup. Such a device requires on the one hand a special conformation of the cup carrying the control rod and on the other hand applies exclusively to a container provided with a control rod with opening by axial thrust.

The present invention relates to a new device in which the mounting of the cap is facilitated and can be carried out safely even by an inexperienced operator.

It achieves this by the fact that the cap has at least one bearing disposed outside the end piece and capable of preventing occupation by the control rod of the annular space externally bordering the end piece, in order to s oppose the snap of the cap when the control rod is in the inclined position.

Thanks to the invention, less precise and therefore less expensive machines can be used for mounting the caps on the containers, since the possibility of snapping the cap with the control rod out of the end piece is eliminated.

The Applicant has found that the additional cost caused by the presence of material in the annular space externally bordering the end piece was a posteriori largely offset by the gain in productivity provided by the invention.

In addition, in the event of accidental disassembly of the cover by a user, the latter can easily reassemble it without risking to slam it with the control rod not inserted in the end piece.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, said bearing surface is produced by means of an insert on the end piece, capable of preventing occupation by the control rod of the annular region externally bordering the end piece.

In another particular embodiment of the invention, the cap has several bearing surfaces in the form of fins extending the end piece radially outward.

Advantageously, each bearing forms a structure for guiding the control rod towards the end piece.

The invention also relates to a container equipped with a dispensing device as mentioned above.

• la figure 1 est une vue en coupe axiale, schématique, d'un récipient équipé d'une coiffe conforme à un premier exemple de réalisation de l'invention,
• la figure 2 est une vue en coupe axiale, schématique, d'un récipient équipé d'une coiffe conforme à un deuxième exemple de réalisation de l'invention,
• la figure 3 représente isolément l'embout de la coiffe de la figure 2,
• la figure 4 est une section selon le trait de coupe IV/IV de la figure 3,
• la figure 5 est une vue, analogue à la figure 3, représentant l'embout d'une coiffe conforme à un troisième exemple de réalisation de l'invention,
• les figures 6 à 8 correspondent à différentes orientations relatives d'une coiffe conforme à l'invention et du récipient associé, lors de tentatives de mise en place de celle-ci, et
• les figures 9 à 11 illustrent la possibilité de claquer une coiffe connue avec la tige de commande hors de l'embout lors du remontage de la coiffe par un utilisateur non expérimenté.

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will appear on reading the detailed description which follows, of three nonlimiting exemplary embodiments of the invention, and on examining the appended drawing in which:

• FIG. 1 is a schematic view in axial section of a container equipped with a cap according to a first embodiment of the invention,
• FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view in axial section of a container fitted with a cap according to a second embodiment of the invention,
• FIG. 3 represents the tip of the cap of FIG. 2 in isolation,
• FIG. 4 is a section along the section line IV / IV of FIG. 3,
• FIG. 5 is a view, similar to FIG. 3, showing the tip of a cap according to a third embodiment of the invention,
• FIGS. 6 to 8 correspond to different relative orientations of a cap according to the invention and of the associated container, when attempts are made to set it up, and
• Figures 9 to 11 illustrate the possibility of snapping a known cap with the control rod out of the nozzle during reassembly of the cap by an inexperienced user.

There is shown in Figure 1 a device 1 according to the invention, used for the distribution of a product, such as a deodorant, stored under pressure in a container 2 known in itself, of the aerosol can type.

The device 1 comprises a cap 3 provided in a manner known per se at its lower part with a tubular skirt 4 generally symmetrical about revolution about an axis X contained in the section plane of FIG. 1, comprising at its base a bulge annular 5 radially projecting inwardly, to be fixed by snap-fastening, that is to say snap-fastening, in an annular groove 6 formed in the upper part, in the shape of a warhead, of the container.

The cover 3 has at its upper part a movable applicator 7 for dispensing the product, connected to the tubular skirt 4 by a flexible connection, constituted in the example described by a crown 8 perforated to form several flexible tongues.

The applicator 7 can be protected, in the absence of use of the device 1, by a cover 9 to be engaged on the upper end of the tubular skirt 4. The cover 9 is retained by friction or by snapping on the tubular skirt 4 and rests, when it is in place on the cover 3, by its lower end edge 11 on an external shoulder formed by a recess 10 of the tubular skirt 4. The cover 9 is crossed at its upper part by a ventilation vent 12, and its external lateral surface is located in the extension of the external surface of the tubular skirt 4 when it is in place on the latter.

The applicator 7 comprises an applicator member 13 intended in the example described to come into contact with the skin and consisting of a slightly deformable and porous pad, obtained by sintering, fixed on a support part 14. The latter comprises a tubular central wall 15 of axis X, connected at its top to a transverse wall 16 slightly curved upwards, and extended at its lower part by an annular wall 17 plane and perpendicular to the axis X.

The annular wall 17 is connected at its periphery to a tubular wall 18 of axis X, about halfway up thereof. The tubular walls 15 and 18 are coaxial and define between them an annular groove 19 open upwards and the bottom of which corresponds to the annular wall 17. The applicator member 13 has, in axial section in a cutting plane containing l axis X, the shape of an inverted U, the branches of which, engaged in the annular groove 19, meet by covering the transverse wall 16.

The tubular wall 18 is connected to the tubular skirt 4 by the aforementioned ring 8. The latter extends at rest perpendicular to the axis X, and it is fixed by its radially external edge on an internal shoulder formed by the recess 10 and by its radially internal edge on the lower end edge of the tubular wall 18 .

The container 2 is provided at its upper end with a valve cup 20 fixed by crimping in an opening of the container and crossed in its center by a tilting control rod 21. The orientation of the latter depends on the opening or the closing of a valve integrated into the container, known in itself, and also called a lateral deformation valve. The control rod 21 is, for its part located outside the container, cylindrical of revolution around an axis coincident with the axis X when it is at rest, in the closed position of the valve, and it is engaged with clamping in a nozzle 22 integral with the support portion 14. It is crossed axially by a outlet channel for the product to be dispensed, opening onto its upper end edge 23. The control rod 21 causes the valve to open when it is tilted in a position obliquely to the axis X, by a force exerted on its side transverse to the axis X, for example following the movement in contact with the skin of the user of the applicator member 13 and the deformation of the crown 8 which results therefrom.

The end piece 22 is connected at its upper end to the transverse wall 16 and it is internally stepped to define a maximum position for insertion of the control rod 21. The bottom 24 of the end piece 22 is crossed by an orifice 25 forming jet breaker for the passage of the product to be dispensed. The upper surface of the transverse wall 16 is hollowed out radially, in a manner known per se, at 26, for the distribution on the internal face of the applicator member 13 of the product leaving the orifice 25, with a view to achieving a distribution. uniform product.

A part 28 is attached in the annular groove 29 formed between the end piece 22 and the tubular wall 15. This part 28 can be fixed by any means known to those skilled in the art, by snap-fastening for example and has two coaxial walls 30, 31 joined at their lower end by a wall 32 concave towards the container 2. The wall 30, radially innermost, is internally stepped and has two surfaces 33, 34 cylindrical of revolution around an axis of symmetry coincident with the axis X when the control rod is at rest, and joined by a shoulder 35 perpendicular to this axis of symmetry. The surface 33 is applied to the radially external surface of the end piece 22 and the shoulder 35 is located in contact with the lower end edge thereof. The surface 34 extends downwards the internal surface of the end piece 22 in contact with the control rod 21. The wall 31 is applied to its upper part by its radially external surface 36 on the tubular wall 15 and extends axially at its lower part below the annular wall 17 as shown in FIG. 1. The lower end edge of the wall 31 is referenced 37. The wall 32 forms an angle of approximately 78 ° with the axis X in the vicinity from its radially innermost edge. Those skilled in the art will note that the part 28, by its shape, is easy to mold into a plastic material such as polypropylene and that the lower part of the end piece 22, into which the control rod 21 is inserted, is also easy to mold since it does not have an undercut.

When the cap 3 is in place on the container 2, the lower edge of the annular bulge 5 extends in a circle centered on the axis X. One of the two intersections of this circle is indicated by O with the plane of section of FIG. 1. Reference K has the arc of a circle of larger diameter whose center is O and which intersects the edge 38 formed at the junction of the lower end edge 37 and the surface 36. The circle with a smaller center diameter O intersecting the edge 39 formed at the junction of the external cylindrical surface of the control rod 21 and its upper end edge 23 is referenced C. It will be noted in FIG. 1 that the radius of the circle K is greater than that of circle C so that a rotational movement of the cap 3 around a geometric axis of rotation passing through the point O and perpendicular to the section plane of FIG. 1 is not likely to lead to a fixing the cover 3 with the control rod 21 not engaged in the end piece 22, as will be explained below.

There is shown in Figures 2 to 4 a dispensing device 1 'according to a second embodiment of the invention.

In the following description, the same reference numbers will be assigned to elements identical to those of the previous embodiment, and which may therefore not be described again in detail.

The device 1 'differs mainly from the previous one by the support part 14' of the application member 13. The control rod 21 is engaged at its upper end in a nozzle 40 forming an integral part of the support part 14 ', greater length than the end piece 22 previously described and extended radially outwards by fins 41 replacing the insert 28 of the previous embodiment. The fins 41 came integrally with the end piece 40 and are arranged in a star around the latter as shown in FIG. 4. In the example described, the end piece 40 is bordered by twenty fins 41 distributed equally around the axis X and forming an angle of 18 ° between them.

The thickness and the angular spacing of the fins 41 are chosen so as to prevent the control rod 21 from interfering between two adjoining fins and preventing it from occupying the annular space situated between the end piece 40 and the tubular wall 15.

The lower free edge 42 of each fin 41 has, in a cutting plane containing the axis X, a rounded shape, convex towards the outside, as shown in FIG. 3, and the set of fins 41 constitutes a structure of guiding the control rod 21 converging towards the end piece 40. The latter is internally chamfered to form a conical mouthpiece inclined about 35 ° on the X axis. Each fin 41 extends radially between the end piece 40 and the wall 15 and protruding form, by its radially outermost lower end 41a, below the annular wall 17, as shown in FIG. 3. The radially outermost surface of the lower part of the fins 41 is referenced 43 and we have referenced 44 each edge defined at the junction of an edge 42 with this surface 43.

It will be noted on examining FIG. 2 that the circle K of center O and of larger diameter containing an edge 44 has a radius greater than that of circle C.

FIG. 5 shows a variant 14 "of embodiment of the support part 14 'previously described.

This embodiment differs from the previous one by the geometry of the end piece 40 "and that of the fins 41". The latter have a lower free edge 42 "no longer rounded as in the previous embodiment but plan and perpendicular to the axis X. The end piece 40" extends axially over the entire height of the fins 41 "and is internally chamfered at its lower end to define a conical surface intended for centering the control rod 21 during assembly of the cover, making an angle of about 15 ° with the axis X.

43 "is the radially outermost surface of the fins 41", projecting under the annular wall 17, and 44 "is referenced each edge defined at the junction of this lateral surface 43" with an edge 42 ".

The height of the fins 41 "is chosen so that the circle K of larger diameter having O for origin and containing an edge 44" includes the circle C defined as above.

We will now discuss the installation on a container 2 of the device 1 'described with reference to Figures 2 to 4. Of course, the installation of the devices according to the alternative embodiments of Figures 1 and 5 is similar.

There are shown in Figures 6 to 8 various relative positions of the cap 3 'of the device 1' relative to the container 2. We will usefully compare these figures in Figures 9 to 11 which illustrate the possibility, when using a conforming cap in the prior art, to fix the latter with a bad positioning of the control rod following, for example, an accidental detachment of the cap and its repositioning on the container by an inexperienced user.

Accidental detachment of the cap can occur if the user tries for example to remove the protective cover while the latter is connected to the cap by strips serving as a tamper-evident indicator. The invention avoids the risk of the cap being reassembled by the user with tilting of the latter around a geometric axis of rotation containing the point of contact of the lower end of the cap with the annular groove. of the container as shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, the user mistakenly believing that he can automatically bring the end piece to the control rod at the end of this tilting. This movement leads, in known devices, to the breakdown of the cap with the control rod outside the end piece, because the circle C defined as above has a radius greater than the circle K, so that the end piece E of the cover abuts against the side of the control rod 21 and inclines it as shown in FIG. 10. Access to the annular region A externally bordering the end piece E is possible, in known devices, so that the user can, by pressing enough on the cover, snap it on the container despite the fact that the control rod 21 is not engaged in the nozzle E. The latter is then in an open position of the valve which leads when the container is emptied.

On the contrary, thanks to the invention, it is impossible to fix the cover with the control rod in the inclined opening position of the valve. If an inexperienced user attempts to reassemble the cap 3 'by tilting around a geometric axis of rotation containing the point O defined above and perpendicular to the cutting plane of Figures 6 to 8, the fins 41 prohibit the occupation by the control rod 21 of the annular space formed between the end piece 40 and the tubular wall 15, and the path of the edge 44 furthest from the above-mentioned geometric axis of rotation does not intersect the side of the control rod 21, so that the latter remains oriented as shown in Figure 6 in its rest position coaxial with the axis X, in which it has the best resistance to oppose the establishment of the cap.

If the user nevertheless manages, by wanting to replace the cap on the container, to tilt the control rod 21 outwards as shown in FIG. 7, the fins 41, which occupy the annular space surrounding the end piece 40, oppose a descent of the cap on the container making it possible to snap the annular bulge 5 into the annular groove 6.

When the user does not try to replace the cap by tilting as has just been described but rather seeks to engage it by a translational movement parallel to the X axis as shown in Figure 8, the fins 41 constitute a guide structure which facilitates the introduction of the control rod 21 into the end piece.

Finally, the invention makes it possible, by eliminating the risk of a breakdown of the cap with the control rod outside the end piece, to benefit on the one hand from increased security for mounting the cap on the container, and d 'on the other hand increase productivity thanks to the wider tolerances it allows for the relative positioning of the end piece and the control rod before the cap is snapped, without hampering the maneuverability of the applicator for the actuation of the valve.

The use of an insert 28 as described with reference to FIG. 1 is preferred when it is desired to make few modifications to existing parts and to the molds used to manufacture them.

Of course, various modifications to the embodiments which have just been described can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

In particular, the valve can be opened by depressing the control rod.

Claims (9)

Device for dispensing a product stored under pressure in a container, this device comprising a snap-on cap on the container, the latter being provided with a control rod valve, the cap comprising a tubular endpiece to be engaged on the rod control and forming with the latter a product passage channel, characterized in that the cap (3; 3 ') has at least one bearing surface (28; 41; 41 ") disposed outside the end piece and able to prohibit the occupation by the control rod (21) of the annular space externally bordering the end piece (22; 40; 40 "), in order to oppose the snapping of the cap (3; 3 ') when the control rod (21) is in an inclined position. Device according to Claim 1, characterized in that the said bearing surface is produced by means of a part (28) attached to the end piece (22), capable of preventing occupation by the control rod (21) of the region annular (29) externally bordering the end piece. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the cap has several bearing surfaces in the form of fins (41; 41 ") extending the end piece (40; 40") radially outwards. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that the lower free edge (42) of the fins (41) is convex towards the outside. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that each bearing forms a guide structure (32; 41) from the control rod (21) towards the end piece (22; 40). Device according to claim 3, characterized in that the lower free edge (42 ") of said fins (41") is plane. Device according to any one of Claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the end piece (22; 40; 40 ") is an integral part of a part (14; 14 ';14") for supporting a member application (13) connected by a flexible connection (8) to the rest of the cap. Device according to any one of Claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the valve is open by lateral thrust on the control rod. Container containing a product stored under pressure, characterized in that it is equipped with a dispensing device (1; 1 ') according to any one of the preceding claims.

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