EP1414714B1 - Fluid product dispenser - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a fluid dispenser comprising a variable volume reservoir by displacement of a movable wall in order to reduce the volume of the tank and a dispensing orifice. Wall mobile can move either by means of deformation or by means of a waterproof sliding. In the first case, it is the tank or at least one part of the tank which undergoes a deformation, hence the use of a material soft deformable and / or elastic, and in the second case, we speak rather of piston-follower systems in which a piston moves within a barrel cylindrical so as to gradually reduce the useful volume of the tank. In both cases, the volume of the tank decreases as the product fluid is extracted. The fluid product is never in contact with air at the inside of the tank which improves the conservation of the product, in particular when it is sensitive to oxidation or deterioration on contact with air.

In dispensers with deformable reservoir, one can for example quote those whose deformation of the tank is carried out by manual crushing: then commonly speaks of "squeezze bottle". It's directly the hand of the user who serves as means of crushing the tank. On the other hand, in piston-follower systems, the piston-follower goes back into the container either automatically under the effect of the depression created in the container after each actuation of the distributor, either by means of a spring which solicits the piston in the direction of a reduction of the internal volume of the container.

The present invention aims to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art by proposing a distributor equipped with actuating means which act on the movable wall of the dispenser.

EP-0 869 080, on which the preamble of claim 1 is based, describes a dispenser comprising a pocket flexible made in the form of a helical bellows. The turns formed by the outer wall of the bellows are threadedly engaged in a rotating skirt forming a single ring net. Thus, by turning the skirt, the helical turns of the bellows are gradually accumulated in the manner of an accordion. For allow almost total emptying of the pocket, the unique ring-shaped net of the skirt is in the upper part of the pocket, so that the ring net is initially engaged with the highest turn of the bellows and then comes gradually mesh with the lower turns as you turn the skirt freely on herself. In short, we use here the flexibility of the bellows to allow it to be crushed and we also come to use the resistance of the Helical turns to advance the bellows on the other side of the single net. The bag must therefore simultaneously be deformable and rigid, because without deformation, the bellows can not be crushed, and without rigidity, the turns helicals do not stay in contact with the single net. Moreover, because single net is located in the upper part of the submarine, the bottom of the tank is free and only follow. So the bottom must be rigid. In sum, the bellows must be both rigid and flexible. This dual requirement is antagonistic and therefore very difficult to achieve in practice.

The present invention aims to overcome this disadvantage of the art earlier by defining a simpler dispenser.

For this purpose, the actuating means are rotary and comprise a thread engaged with the reservoir. Threading may include multiple threads distinct. Advantageously, the reservoir comprises one or more flanges of movable displacement of the movable wall and engaged in the thread. So, by rotation of the actuating means, the movable wall moves translatively in the sense of a reduction of the useful volume of the tank. It should be noted that the actuating means act directly on the bottom of the tank which constitutes the mobile wall, contrary to the aforementioned European which the bottom of the tank is pulled up.

According to one embodiment, the dispenser comprises a body, the rotary actuating means being rotatably mounted in said body without perform translational movement with respect to said body. Ways actuators thus rotate freely in the body by raising the mobile wall to reduce the volume of the tank. Advantageously, the body forms part of the tank.

According to one characteristic of the invention, the reservoir comprises a bellows in sealed engagement with the body, said bellows forming the movable wall. Advantageously, the bellows comprises a watertight fastening collar in engagement with a connecting sleeve formed by the body. Thus, the bellows is of a part fixedly connected to the body and is on the other hand in threaded engagement with the means actuating. According to a practical embodiment, the movable wall is connected to the fixing collar by a deformable wall. In addition, the orifice distribution can be formed in the body.

According to another aspect of the invention, the actuating means form a background for the distributor.

According to another characteristic, the actuating means comprise a peripheral gripping device capable of driving the means actuating in free rotation in the body. We can thus maintain the body with one hand and rotate the actuating means with the other hand.

The invention will now be more fully described with reference to attached drawing giving by way of non-limiting example an embodiment of the invention.

• la figure 1 est une vue schématique en perspective d'un distributeur selon l'invention,
• la figure 2 est une vue éclatée en perspective du distributeur de la figure 1, et
• la figure 3 est une vue en coupe transversale à travers le distributeur des figures 1 et 2.

In the figures:

• FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a dispenser according to the invention,
• FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the dispenser of FIG. 1, and
• Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view through the dispenser of Figures 1 and 2.

The fluid dispenser of the invention essentially comprises three constituent elements, namely a bellows 1, actuating means 2 and a body or shell 3.

The bellows 1 is a one-piece piece for example made in a deformable flexible material such as an elastomer or a thermoplastic elastomer. It has good deformability properties in good areas accurate. The bellows 1 comprises a substantially rigid bottom wall 11. This bottom wall 11 can be perfectly flat, but it can also be convex as shown in FIG.

It can indeed be seen in this FIG. 3 that the bottom wall 11 forms a a kind of dome or upside-down bucket that protrudes upwards. On its periphery outside, the bottom wall 11 defines at least one displacement flange 13 substantially rigid. In the figures, there are three flanges 13.

The bellows 1 also forms a fastening collar 15 which is also substantially rigid. This fastening collar 15 may for example define a sealed snap-in housing 16 for cooperating with an organ complementary as will be seen below. Bellows 1 also includes a deformable wall 14 which connects the fixing collar 15 to the bottom wall 11. The deformability of the wall 14 may for example be obtained by a thickness bottom wall relative to that of the bottom wall 11 or the collar of 15. Thus, it is possible to bring the wall 11 of the fastening collar 15 by deformation of the wall 14. More precisely, it is possible to see in Figures 2 and 3 that the deformable wall 14 forms a fold adapted to increase if pressure is exerted to bring the collar closer to 13. This is precisely this deformable wall 14 which gives the name to the piece since it gives it a bellows function. We can of course imagine other ways to make a deformable part. The bellows 1 can for example to be replaced by a flexible pouch attached to a pocket holder fulfilling the function of the fastening collar 15. The bottom wall 11 can be replaced by a plate on which comes to rest the flexible pouch. The flanges 13, can be formed by the periphery of the plate supporting the flexible pouch. We can still imagine other forms of such as with a follower piston displaceable in a sliding cylinder.

In the embodiment of the figures, the actuating means 2 comprise an internally threaded bushing 20 so as to form one or several threads or internal threads. 21. As can be seen in Figure 3, 13 bellows displacement flanges are threadedly engaged with these threads 21. Underneath the threaded bushing 20, the actuating means define an actuating and gripping element 23 that the user can to enter to drive the means for actuating in rotation. optionally, the actuating means 2 form a bottom 22 which advantageously serves to bottom to the distributor. On the outer wall of the threaded bushing 20, there is formed a continuous cord or several protruding bead segments 24 extending over part or all of the periphery of the sleeve 20. It is easy to understand that a rotation of the actuating means 2, while the bellows 1 is held fixed, causes a movement of the flanges 13 inside the threaded bush 20.

The body 3 of the dispenser forms a kind of outer shell which confers in large part the aesthetic appearance to the distributor. Body 3 includes a peripheral skirt 33 inside which is disposed the sleeve 20 of actuating means 2. In the embodiment of the figures, the skirt 33 is formed internally with an annular housing 34 in which are received the protruding bead segments 24 formed outside the threaded bushing 20. The engagement of the cord segments 24 in the housing 34 ensures the maintenance rotating the sleeve 20 in the skirt 33. Thus, the actuating means 2 can rotate freely in the skirt 33 but can not be released. The rotation is free, since the cord segments 24 and the housing 34 are perfectly circular and not spiral.

Above the skirt 33, the body 3 forms a plate 31 in which is formed a hole which serves as a dispensing orifice 32 for the dispenser. A connecting sleeve 35 extends under the plate 31 around the orifice of distribution 32. This connection sleeve has a fastening profile in taken with the airtight fastener 15 of the bellows 1. Thus, the bellows 1 is fixedly connected even in rotation with the body 3. As a result, the bellows 1 and the body 3 together form a reservoir 12 of variable volume since the movable wall 11 can move towards the plate 31 by deformation of the wall 14. This is precisely the case in the figures when one rotates the actuating means 2 holding the body 3 static. The user can for example grab the body 3 with the left hand and rotate the actuating means 2 of the right hand by grasping at the level of its actuating and gripping element 23. This has the effect of the displacement flanges 13 in the internal threads of the sleeve 20. The wall mobile 11 then returns to the plate 31 by reducing the useful volume of the reservoir 12. The fluid product stored inside the reservoir 12 is then discharged through the dispensing orifice 32 so that it can be collected by the user on the board 31.

The reservoir 12 is here formed by the assembly of the bellows 1 and the body 3. However, we can imagine other embodiments in which the reservoir 12 is formed by a single piece, for example a flexible bag of which the opening defines the dispensing orifice 32. In this case, the plate 31 does not serve as support surface and receiving surface to recover the fluid product.

Optionally, the body 3 can be formed with a cover 36 which is integrally connected by a material bridge 37 to the rest of the body 3. This material bridge 37 and makes a pivoting joint to make rotate the lid 36 relative to the skirt 33 and the plate 31. The lid 36 defines on its underside a shutter pin 38 adapted to be housed sealingly in the dispensing orifice 32 to seal it hermetically. This is the case when the lid 36 is folded down on the tray 31.

Thanks to the dispenser of the invention, it is possible to obtain a dose of fluid product whose volume is directly proportional to the quantity of rotation of the actuating means.

Claims (9)

1. A fluid dispenser comprising:

   a reservoir (12) whose volume can be varied by moving a moving wall (11; 11') so as to reduce the volume of the reservoir;

   a dispensing orifice (32); and

   actuator means (2; 2') for moving the moving wall (11; 11') of the reservoir;

   the actuator means being rotatably mounted and being provided with a thread (21) in engagement with the reservoir, said fluid dispenser being characterized in that the reservoir (12) is provided with at least one displacement tab (13) integral with or secured to the moving wall (11) and in engagement in the thread (21).
2. A dispenser according to claim 1, having a body (3), the rotatably mounted actuator means (2) being mounted to rotate in said body (3) without moving in translation relative to said body.
3. A dispenser according to claim 2, in which the body (3) forms a portion (31) of the reservoir (12).
4. A dispenser according to claim 3, in which the reservoir (12) is provided with a bellows (1) in leaktight engagement with the body (3), said bellows (1) forming the moving wall (11).
5. A dispenser according to claim 4, in which the bellows (1) is provided with a leaktight fixing collar (15) in engagement with a connection sleeve (35) formed by the body (3).
6. A dispenser according to any one of claims 2 to 5, in which the dispensing orifice (31) is formed in the body (3).
7. A dispenser according to claim 5 or 6, in which the moving wall (11) is connected to the fixing collar (15) via a deformable wall (14).
8. A dispenser according to any preceding claim, in which the actuator means (2) form an end wall (22) for the dispenser.
9. A dispenser according to any preceding claim, in which the actuator means (2) are provided with a peripheral grip member (23) suitable for turning the actuator means freely inside the body.

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