EP1583613B1 - Fluid product dispensing device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a fluid dispenser device, such as a pump, for mounting on a reservoir neck containing fluid. The function of such a dispensing device is to take fluid from the inside of the reservoir and to dispense it, advantageously in a metered manner, at a dispensing head which may be in the form of a pusher. equipped with a nozzle. Such dispensing devices or pumps are frequently used in the field of perfumery, cosmetics or even pharmacy.

A conventional pump of the prior art may comprise a chamber provided with an inlet valve and an outlet valve and defining a sealed sliding cylinder within which a piston defining a lip can slide sealingly. The pump may also include an actuating rod on which the piston is slidably mounted. In addition, the pump may comprise a support flange intended to bear against the neck of the reservoir. This flange can even be used to attach the pump to the tank neck. On the other hand, the pump may further comprise a shell against which the piston is resiliently biased to the rest position. Of course, the rest position corresponds to that where the outlet valve is sealed. In general, the piston is mounted on an actuating rod defining a central channel through which the fluid product pressurized in the chamber is discharged when the outlet valve is open.

Conventionally, the pump is mounted inside the tank neck with the piston sliding cylinder fully inscribed inside the neck. In general, the perfume or pharmaceutical bottle necks have a relatively small diameter, so that the sealed slide cylinder must extend over a relatively large height to define an acceptable chamber volume. This has the effect of lengthening the pump which then extends with its lower end to below the neck, that is to say inside the tank.

The document WO 97/05 043 describes all the features defined in the preamble of claim 1.

The present invention aims to overcome this disadvantage of the prior art by defining a less elongated configuration pump whose chamber volume is not related to the internal diameter of the tank neck.

To achieve this object, the present invention provides that the sealed slide cylinder is located above the bearing flange, so that it is not insertable into a reservoir neck. Thus, it is possible to overcome the limitation imposed by the inner diameter of the neck. Since the inner diameter of the slide cylinder can then be much larger than the inside diameter of the neck, it is possible to have a considerable chamber volume for a reduced cylinder height. As a result, the stroke of the pump, i.e. the actuating rod and the piston can be very short, without limiting the volume of the chamber. Advantageously, the sliding cylinder defines a lower abutment end located substantially at the same level as the support flange. This means that the entire slide cylinder is located out of the tank neck.

The invention is defined by the features of independent claim 1. Other aspects are defined in the dependent claims.

According to another feature which is not necessarily related to the arrangement of the sliding cylinder out of the tank, the piston is provided with guide means for keeping it in line within the chamber. Advantageously, the guiding means comprise an upper guiding sleeve engaged in a passage opening formed by the ferrule. On the other hand, the guide means may comprise a lower guide sleeve engaged in a socket defining a lower portion of the chamber. This is particularly advantageous when the actuating rod is located out of contact with the ferrule. The upper sleeve may advantageously surround the actuating rod. Indeed, in a conventional pump, the ferrule, which closes the pump, defines the top dead center of the piston. It also defines a central opening through which slides the actuating rod. As a result, the actuating rod and the piston are held perfectly in the axis due to the distance between the piston and the actuating rod. In the configuration of the present invention, in which the rod is not in contact with the ferrule, it is still necessary to maintain the actuating rod and the piston in the axis, and this is achieved by providing one or preferably two guide sleeves respectively engaged in the ferrule and in a socket disposed within the chamber. It is obvious that this characteristic related to the guidance of the actuating rod and the piston can be implemented in any pump, which is not necessarily provided with a sealed sliding cylinder located above the support flange. However, guidance of the actuator rod and the piston is preferably used with this cylinder configuration out of the neck because the piston stroke is relatively small due to the relatively large diameter of the slide cylinder. Thus, the upper and lower sleeves do not need to be overly extended to provide their guiding function.

Advantageously, the sleeve defines the lower part of the chamber and defines a lower end serving as a stop for the inlet valve in the open position.

According to another aspect of the invention, a pre-compression spring located outside the chamber is supported between the rod and the piston to bias the outlet valve in the closed position. On the other hand, a return spring located outside the chamber can bear between the rod and the ferrule to bias the piston in the rest position. Thus, the fluid product inside the chamber does not come into contact with the springs which are generally made of metal.

According to another characteristic of the invention, a return spring located outside the chamber is supported between the rod and the ferrule to bias the piston in the rest position. Thus, the ferrule can be held together with the support flange on the tank neck by means of any fixing ring, which can be a ring to screw, snap or crimp.

In another aspect, the slide cylinder is formed by a body, the bearing flange being formed by a ring engaged around the body. Thus, the pump body is clamped between the ring forming the flange and the ferrule.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the chamber defines an upper part situated above the support flange, and a lower part situated below the flange, the sliding cylinder being situated at the level of the part high. Indeed, it is not necessary that the entire volume of the pump chamber is located above the flange, it is sufficient that the sliding cylinder of the piston is located above this flange. However, it is preferable that the lower part of the chamber is substantially or completely emptied when the piston reaches its lower position in the sliding cylinder.

The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings giving by way of non-limiting example an embodiment of the invention.

• la figure 1 est une vue en section transversale verticale à travers un dispositif de distribution selon l'invention en position de repos, et
• la figure 2 est une vue similaire à celle de la figure 1 en position actionnée.

In the figures:

• the figure 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view through a dispensing device according to the invention in the rest position, and
• the figure 2 is a view similar to that of the figure 1 in the actuated position.

The fluid dispenser according to the invention shown in the figures 1 and 2 is a pump. It comprises a body 1 which advantageously has a symmetry of revolution. The body comprises a lower portion defining an inlet 11 for the fluid product. This inlet 11 is further provided with a sleeve 111 defining at its upper end an inlet valve seat 112. This seat 112 cooperates with a movable member 2 of inlet valve which is in the form of a bucket reversed whose bottom 21 is profiled so as to cooperate with the valve seat 112 to make a sealed contact. The movable member 2 also comprises an outer skirt 22 which concentrically surrounds the sleeve 111. At its lower end, the skirt 22 forms a stop flange 23 which extends radially outwards. It may also be noted that the shape of the abutment flange 23 corresponds substantially to the shape of the lower part of the body 1 so that there is not a large volume between the flange 23 and the body 1. 11, the body forms a first barrel 12 which is cylindrical here but which may have other shapes, for example staggered. This was 12 ends at its upper end by a shoulder 13 which protrudes outwardly. A sleeve 3 is disposed inside the barrel 12 and extends over a large part of its height. This socket 3 comprises an upper flap 31 which protrudes outwards and which comes to rest on the shoulder 13 formed by the body. On the other hand, the sleeve 3 defines a lower end 32 which serves as an abutment surface against which the abutment flange 23 of the movable member 2 of the inlet valve can selectively abut when the valve is open. The stop end 32 thus defines the stroke of the movable member 2 inside the body 1. In other words, the movable member 2 is trapped in the body 1 because the sleeve 3 prevents it. extraction. During assembly, the movable member 2 is first inserted into the body, then the sleeve 3 is fitted inside the barrel 12. Beyond the outer shoulder 13, the body 1 defines a second barrel 14 which defines a sealed sliding cylinder as will be seen hereinafter.

A ring 4 is mounted around the body 1 at the level of the first barrel 12. This ring 4 comprises a substantially cylindrical portion 41 defining a lower end 411 which comes into contact with the barrel 12. At its upper end, the substantially cylindrical portion 41 comes The ring 4 also comprises a bearing flange 42 which extends outwardly from the upper end of the substantially cylindrical portion 41. It may be noted that there is still a gap between the substantially cylindrical portion 41 and the shank 12. It is advantageous to use this space to allow deformation of the substantially cylindrical portion 41 without interfering with the shank 12. The support flange 42 defines a lower face intended to come in contact with a portion of a tank, preferably the upper end of the neck of the tank. Thus, the substantially cylindrical portion 41 is intended to extend inside the neck of the reservoir and may advantageously come into tight contact with this inner wall. Due to the space between the portion 41 and the shank 12, it is possible to slightly deform the portion 41 inwardly without coming into contact or deforming the shank 12.

A shell 5 is engaged around the second shank 14, preferably with a tight contact providing a solid attachment. This shell 5 comprises a collar 52 which extends radially outwardly. This flange is disposed in contact with the bearing flange 42 formed by the ring 4. From this flange 52, the shell forms a turret 54 of substantially cylindrical shape. This turret 54 comes into contact with the outer wall of the drum 14, and this contact advantageously provides the attachment of the shell 5 to the body 1. This turret 54 is extended at its upper end by a first reentrant flap 55 which comes into contact with the upper end of the second barrel 14. Beyond this first reentrant flap 55, the ferrule forms a second annular flap 56 of annular shape defining a central passage opening. The inside diameter of this passage opening is smaller than the inside diameter of the second barrel 14. Thus, the second inside flap 56 of the ferrule 5 reduces the opening towards the inside of the body 1.

A vent passage 154 is advantageously formed between the body 1 and the shell 5 and between the body 1 and the ring 4. This passage is shown in the form of a thickened line, but in practice the passage may be formed by a bleeding made in the body 1. At its lower end, the passage is selectively closed by the lower end 411 of the ring which can be elastically deformable to allow air entry and prevent fluid output. At its upper end, the passage is closed by a conical sealing contact between the flap 55 and the lip foot 62. In the actuated position, this contact is broken and outside air can enter the passage passing through the passing through the second flap 56 and leave the passage by lifting the end 411 of the ring.

A piston 6 is partially disposed inside the body 1. This piston 6 defines a lip foot 62 which ends with a sealing lip 61 intended to slide in a sealed manner inside the barrel 14, thus defining a internal cylinder sliding tight. This sealing lip 61 can move in this sealing cylinder over a certain stroke limited below by the outer shoulder 13 and upper by the second reentrant flap 56. Thus, the shoulder 13 defines the bottom dead center of the piston then that the second reentrant flap 56 of the shell 5 defines the top dead center of the piston. Since the shoulder 13 serves as a stop for the bearing flange 42 which is intended to come into contact with the upper end of a tank neck, the second barrel 14, and of this makes the inner sliding cylinder tight, is located above the flange 42, and thus above the neck or the tank opening once the pump mounted on the tank. This is a first interesting feature of the invention. Indeed, because the sealed sliding cylinder of the piston is located outside the tank neck, its diameter is not dependent on the internal diameter of the neck. It is thus possible to make a pump at least a part of the pump chamber is located outside the neck. This is precisely the case of the pump of the present invention which defines an upper chamber 15 at the second barrel 14 and a lower chamber 15 'at the first barrel 12. The upper chamber 15 and the lower chamber 15' together form the pump chamber. The internal diameter of the lower chamber 15 'is obviously dependent on the internal diameter of the neck or the opening of the tank since the pump is introduced and remains engaged in the opening or neck once mounted on the reservoir. On the other hand, the upper chamber 15 is not at all limited or even influenced by the diameter of the opening or neck of the reservoir. It is thus possible to considerably increase the volume of the pump chamber by increasing the diameter of the second barrel 14. It is also possible to produce a pump having a very low stroke. It may also be noted that the sliding cylinder defined by the second drum 14 is entirely located above the flange 42, so that the entire sliding cylinder is located outside the neck or the opening of the reservoir.

According to another characteristic of the invention, which can be implemented independently of the feature related to the fact that the sliding cylinder of the piston is located outside the tank neck, that is to say above the flange d 42, the piston 6 is provided with guide means which allow to maintain the piston 6 in the axis of revolution of the body 1. In other words, these guide means allow the piston 6 to move perfectly This guiding means is here in the form of two sleeves, namely a lower sleeve 63 and an upper sleeve 65. The lower sleeve 63 is designed and arranged in such a way that slide without sealing inside the socket 3 engaged inside the first shaft 12 of the body 1. It is important that there is no sealing contact between the lower sleeve 63 and the sleeve 3 so that the upper chamber 15 communicates with the lower chamber 15 ' . To do this, it is possible to make the lower sleeve 63 with an external diameter smaller than the internal diameter of the sleeve 3. It is also conceivable to provide the outer wall of the lower sleeve 63 with longitudinal grooves that allow communication between the chambers 15 and 15 '. As for the upper sleeve 65, it is designed and arranged so that it slides inside the passage opening defined by the second reentrant flap 56 of the shell 5. The upper sleeve 65 can even slide in a sealed manner inside the ferrule. The sleeves 63 and 65 obviously have a height sufficient to allow sliding over the entire height of the stroke of the piston 61 inside the second barrel 14. Referring to FIG. figure 1 it can be seen that the lip 61 of the piston in the rest position, that is to say in abutment against the second reentrant flap 56, is relatively distant from the sleeve 3 inside which the lower part of the piston is engaged. sleeve 63. This ensures good retention in the axis of the piston 6 inside the body 1. On the other hand, with reference to the figure 2 it can be seen that the lip 61 of the piston 6, when abutting against the shoulder 13, is relatively remote from the second reentrant flap 56 inside which the upper sleeve 65 is engaged. Again, this ensures good maintenance in the axis of the piston 6 inside the body 1. However, one could dispense with the upper sleeve 65, since the lower sleeve 63 is then fully engaged inside the sleeve 3, thus defining together a non-sealed cylindrical contact over a considerable height. Thus, the lower sleeve 63 alone can provide the guide function in the axis of the piston 6 inside the body 1. The piston 6 also defines an inner sleeve 68 which defines a lower end 67 serving as a movable member outlet valve.

This sleeve 68 is engaged on an actuating rod 7 on which it can slide in a limited manner. In the rest position, the lower end 67 of the sleeve is in sealing contact on an outlet valve seat 76 which is formed by a head 71 of the actuating rod 7. This head 71 preferably has a lower profile corresponding to that of the bottom 21 of the cup formed by the movable outlet valve member 2, so as to reduce the dead volume of the lower chamber 15 'in the actuated position of the pump as shown in FIG. figure 2 . This head 71 is also formed with a central pin 72. For practical reasons of manufacture and assembly, the actuating rod 7 is here made in two parts, namely the head 71 and a corolla 74. The corolla 74 defines a central passage 73 inside which is engaged the pin 72 of the head 71. However, the pin 72 does not fill the entire passage 73, so that there remains one or more peripheral channels located around the pin 72 The corolla 74 also comprises a crenellated lower end thus defining with the head 71 side windows 75 which are closed externally by the lower lip 67 formed by the sleeve 68 as shown in FIG. figure 1 . This corresponds to the rest position of the pump. On the other hand, in the actuated position as represented on the figure 2 the windows 75 are disengaged so that the channel (es) 73 can communicate with the interior of the chamber through the unobstructed windows 75. Thus, the fluid product contained inside the chamber 15, 15 'and pressurized by the piston 6, can thus escape through the actuating rod 7 when the sleeve 68 has moved on the rod under the effect of the pressure prevailing inside the chamber. This is a conventional design for an actuating rod equipped with a free piston together forming the outlet valve. Such an arrangement may for example be described in the document FR 2,765,638 . The corolla 74 also forms a cap 79 which is provided externally with a flap 78 facing downwards.

This flap 78 serves as a support for a return spring 81 which is also engaged with the flange 52 of the ferrule 5. This return spring 81 makes it possible to return the actuating rod 7 to a rest position, as represented on the figure 1 . This spring 81 can also be used to return the sleeve 68 to the closed position of the outlet valve as shown in FIG. figure 1 . However, it is also possible to provide the pump with a spring pre-compression 82 which acts between the cap 79 and the piston 6. The precompression spring 82 may for example be housed inside the upper sleeve 65 around the sleeve 68. This spring 82 makes it possible to return the sleeve 68 to the closed position of the outlet valve as soon as the pressure inside the chamber falls below the force exerted by the spring 82. It should be noted that the spring or springs are located outside the pump chamber. There is thus no contact between the fluid and the springs which are most often made of steel.

The upper end of the corolla 74 forms a housing 749 intended to cooperate with a pusher 9 advantageously comprising a fixing sleeve 92 forcibly engaged in the housing 749. The pusher can rest on the cap 79 and on the flap 78 with a crown 96. The pusher defines a connecting pipe 91 in communication with the channels 73 and an outlet channel 93 which leads to a nozzle 94 defining a dispensing orifice 95.

It may also be noted that in this pump according to the invention the actuating rod 7 is guided neither by the body 1 nor by the shell 5. The only part with which it is in contact is the piston 6 which slides to it. In this way, it is particularly advantageous but not essential to combine the sliding cylinder located outside the neck with means for guiding the piston. But one can also equip a piston guide means without the sliding cylinder is located outside the neck. It may be noted that the upper sleeve extends concentrically around the actuating rod.

Thanks to the invention, there is a pump whose height can be reduced so that the lower end of the body 1 extends only inside the neck without protruding inside the tank. This can be particularly interesting for an aesthetic purpose. In addition, the height of the pump above the neck can also be reduced since it is sufficient to increase the diameter of the barrel 14 to both increase the volume of the chamber and reduce the stroke of the piston.

Claims (13)

1. A fluid dispenser device, comprising:

   - a chamber (15, 15') provided with an inlet valve (2, 112) and with an outlet valve (67, 76), and defining a sealed slide cylinder (14);

   - a piston (6) disposed inside the chamber and including a lip (61) capable of sliding in sealed manner in said slide cylinder (14);

   - an actuator rod (7) on which the piston (6) is slidably mounted;

   - a bearing flange (42) for coming to bear against a reservoir neck; and

   - a ferrule (5) against which the piston (6) is resiliently urged in the rest position;

   said device being characterized in that said chamber comprises a top portion (15) and a bottom portion (15'), the sealed slide cylinder (14) being situated above the bearing flange (42), at the top portion, so that it cannot be inserted into a reservoir neck, and in that the bottom portion (15') is situated below the flange (42), so as to be inserted into the reservoir neck.
2. A fluid dispenser device according to claim 1, in which the slide cylinder (14) defines a bottom abutment end (13) situated substantially at the bearing flange.
3. A fluid dispenser device according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which the piston (6) is provided with guide means (63, 65) for holding it on the axis inside the chamber.
4. A fluid dispenser device according to claim 3, in which the guide means include a top guide sleeve (65) engaged in a through hole formed by the ferrule (5).
5. A fluid dispenser device according to any preceding claim, in which said rod is not in contact with the ferrule.
6. A fluid dispenser device according to claim 4, in which the top sleeve (65) surrounds the actuator rod (7).
7. A fluid dispenser device according to claim 3 or claim 4, in which the guide means include a bottom guide sleeve (63) engaged in a bushing (3) defining a bottom portion (15') of the chamber.
8. A fluid dispenser device according to claim 7, in which the bushing (3) defines a bottom end (32) serving as an abutment for the inlet valve (2) in the open position.
9. A fluid dispenser device according to claim 5, in which a precompression spring (82), situated outside the chamber, bears between the rod (7) and the piston (6) so as to urge the outlet valve (67, 76) into the closed position.
10. A fluid dispenser device according to claim 5, in which a return spring (81), situated outside the chamber, bears between the rod (7) and the ferrule (5) so as to urge the piston (6) into the rest position.
11. A fluid dispenser device according to any preceding claim, in which the slide cylinder (14) is formed by a body, the bearing flange (42) being formed by a ring (4) engaged around the body (1).
12. A fluid dispenser device according to any preceding claim, including a pushbutton (9) forming a fastener sleeve (92), the actuator rod (7) defining a housing (749), the sleeve being engaged in the housing.
13. A fluid dispenser device according to any preceding claim, including a vent passage (154) that is closed in the rest position by a cone-shaped sealing contact.

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