EP1626907A2

EP1626907A2 - Fluid product dispenser unit

Info

Publication number: EP1626907A2
Application number: EP04742625A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Alex Milian; Fabienne Uguen
Original assignee: Valois SAS
Current assignee: Aptar France SAS
Priority date: 2003-05-07
Filing date: 2004-05-03
Publication date: 2006-02-22
Also published as: WO2004101378A3; WO2004101378A2; FR2854616A1; CN1835869A; FR2854616B1; BRPI0410086A

Abstract

A fluid distribution unit comprising a fluid product dispenser (1) comprising a fluid product reservoir (11) and a dispensing orifice (12), and a case (2) wherein the fluid product dispenser (1) is slidingly mounted, characterized in that the case (2) is deformable between a position in which it receives the dispenser wherein it maintains the dispenser (1) inside the case, and a dispensing position for the dispenser wherein the dispenser (1) can be extracted from the case (2) by means of gravity.

Description

Fluid product distribution assembly

The present invention relates to a fluid dispenser assembly, and in particular such an assembly comprising a fluid dispenser and a case in which said fluid dispenser is slidably mounted. By fluid product is meant any substance or liquid product, pasty or even powdery, capable of being applied to an application surface or of being distributed in the atmosphere in any way. This type of distribution set is particularly encountered in the field of perfumery, cosmetics or even pharmacy. In particular in the field of perfume samples, it is known to provide a covering, such as a case, for the sample, in order to allow in particular the registration of the brand -of perfume or other information of interest. user. Indeed, the dimensions of the samples, in particular when they are of approximately cylindrical shape, are often insufficient to allow such advertising information.

The object of the present invention is to provide such a distribution assembly which is particularly simple and inexpensive to manufacture and assemble.

The present invention also aims to provide such a dispensing assembly which is very easy to use and can be reused several times.

The present invention also aims to provide such a dispensing assembly which can be used with one hand.

The present invention therefore relates to a fluid dispenser assembly comprising a fluid dispenser comprising a fluid reservoir and a dispensing orifice, and a case in which the fluid dispenser is slidably mounted, the case being deformable between a position for receiving the dispenser, in which it maintains said dispenser inside said case, and a position for dispensing the dispenser, in which said dispenser can be extracted from said case, in particular by gravity.

Advantageously, in the receiving position, the dispenser is held in the case by friction. Advantageously, the case is deformed from its receiving position to its dispensing position by application of a compressive force on two opposite lateral edges, in particular longitudinal, of said case.

Advantageously, said case comprises stop means for limiting the sliding of the dispenser in the case, and thus defining the receiving position.

Advantageously, said stop means are formed integrally with said case, by folding and / or cutting at least a part of said case.

According to a first alternative embodiment, said case is formed by two sheets glued to each other at their respective lateral edges, and defining between said glued edges a housing receiving the dispenser.

According to a second alternative embodiment, said case is formed by folding and gluing a one-piece sheet, and defining between the fold and the gluing a housing receiving the dispenser. Advantageously, in the receiving position, said housing has, in a thickness direction, dimensions substantially identical to the corresponding dimensions of the dispenser, and, in a transverse direction, dimensions greater than the corresponding dimensions of the dispenser, so that the walls of said housing, in said thickness direction, cooperate with said distributor to maintain it in said housing, in particular by friction.

Advantageously, in the dispensing position, when the user applies a compressive force to the lateral edges of the case in said transverse direction, the housing has, in said thickness direction and in said transverse direction, dimensions greater than the dimensions distributor. Advantageously, said distributor is substantially cylindrical and comprises a reservoir, a pump and a distribution head comprising the distribution orifice.

Other advantageous characteristics of the present invention will appear more clearly during the following detailed description of two embodiments, given with reference to the accompanying drawings, given by way of nonlimiting examples, and in which: FIG. 1 is a schematic partially perspective view of a dispensing assembly according to a first embodiment of the present invention, in the receiving position, and showing in dotted lines the dispenser inserted inside the case, FIG. 2 is a schematic view in plan view of the assembly of FIG. 1, FIGS. 3 and 4 are schematic cross-sectional views along the section line AA in FIG. 2, showing the assembly respectively in the receiving position and in the dispensing position, the Figure 5 is schematic view from below of a distribution assembly according to the first embodiment of the present invention, showing a variant of the means FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view showing a second embodiment of the present invention, the dispenser being shown in dotted lines, FIG. 7 is a schematic view in cross section along the section line AA in FIG. 6 , similar to that of FIG. 3, and showing the second embodiment in the receiving position, and FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view of the case according to the second embodiment before it is assembled, and showing in particular another variant of the stop means.

The present invention will be described below with reference to two particular embodiments thereof, but it is understood that other variants are also possible. In particular, the external shapes of the dispenser and of the case are given for information only and can be produced in any desirable form. With particular reference to Figures 1 and 2, the present invention covers a dispensing assembly comprising on the one hand a fluid dispenser 1, and on the other hand a case 2 in which said dispenser is inserted in a removable manner, the dispenser 1 is slidably mounted between a receiving position, shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in which the dispenser is inside the case, and a dispensing position, in which the dispenser is removed from the case and can be used by the user. The dispenser 1 shown in the figures is of approximately cylindrical shape, and comprises a reservoir 11 on which is mounted a spray pump (not shown), as well as a dispensing head 13 comprising a dispensing orifice 12. Optionally, a cover protective cover 14 can be assembled around said head 13. When the user wishes to dispense a dose of product contained in the reservoir 11, he withdraws said protective cover 14, and exerts an axial pressure on the dispensing head 13, which activates the pump and expels a dose of product in the form of a spray through the dispensing orifice 12. After dispensing, the user can replace the protective cover 14 in place around the dispensing head 13. Of course, the present invention applies to all types of fluid dispenser, and in particular, the present invention could be applied to dispensers not having a cylindrical shape e.

According to the invention, the dispensing assembly further comprises a case 2 in which the dispenser can be inserted in a removable manner. More specifically, the case 2 is deformable between the receiving position, in which it maintains the dispenser 1 inside said case 2, and a dispensing position of the dispenser, in which the dispenser 1 can be extracted from said case 2. Preferably, the deformation of the case 2 between the receiving position and the dispensing position is obtained by applying a compressive force to two opposite lateral edges 21, 22 of said case 2. Preferably, these are the two edges of the case. The drawings schematically show the direction of application of this compressive force F allowing the case to be deformed between its positions of reception and distribution. The case 2 preferably has an approximately rectangular shape, with dimensions greater than that of the dispenser, so that in the receiving position, the dispenser 1 is completely inserted inside the case 2. Of course, one could also consider a case 2 which would be smaller than the dispenser 1, said dispenser then protruding from said case 1, even in the receiving position.

Figures 1 and 2 have been shown with side edges 21, 22 of the case of non-rectilinear shape. This is to illustrate the alternative embodiments in which the case 1 can take any exterior shape, for example shapes corresponding to perfume bottles of which the dispenser 1 is a sample. Between the lateral edges 21 and 22, the case 2 defines a housing 30 which is intended to receive said distributor 1.

Figures 3 and 4, which are views along the section line AA of Figure 2, respectively in the receiving position and distribution, show more clearly the deformation of said case 2 between these two positions. Referring to Figure 3, we see that in the receiving position, the distributor 1, and in particular the reservoir 11 is held inside the housing 30 by contact with the walls of the housing 30 in a direction, which we will call thickness direction. In this thickness direction, the housing 30 therefore has dimensions substantially identical to the dimensions of the dispenser. In a transverse direction, approximately perpendicular to said thickness direction, and which corresponds to the direction of application of the compressive force F, it can be seen that the housing 30 has the dimensions greater than the corresponding dimensions of the dispenser 1. Thus, when the user exerts the compression force on the two opposite lateral edges 21, 22 of the case, the housing 30 can deform by reducing its dimensions in the transverse direction, and simultaneously by increasing its dimensions in the thickness direction, as shown by the arrows B in FIG. 4. Thus, in the dispensing position, the housing 30 of the case 2 has the dimensions greater than the dimensions of the dispenser 1 both in the thickness direction and in the transverse direction. The dispenser 1 is then no longer retained by the walls of said housing 30, it can be extracted from said case, for example by gravity. Advantageously, the dispenser is held in the receiving position inside the housing 30 of the case 2 by friction between the corresponding walls of said housing 30 and said dispenser. When the user wishes to use the dispenser, he exerts his compression pressure on the lateral edges of the case, and turns the case 2 over, so that the dispenser 1 can fall out of the case by gravity. Of course, it is conceivable that a contact exists between the housing 30 and the dispenser 1, even in the dispensing position. In certain variant embodiments, it could also be imagined that the user exerts traction on the dispenser simultaneously with the compression force on the case, to facilitate extraction of the dispenser. In this case, however, the user must use both hands to extract the dispenser from the case, which is not the case in the example described above.

Advantageously, the case 2 comprises stop means 25 intended to limit the insertion of the dispenser 1 inside the case 2, and thus to define the receiving position. These abutment means 25 are preferably made on the side opposite to the insertion orifice of the housing 30, either by fixing, in particular gluing, a bottom wall, or in a single piece by folding and / or cutting a part of case 2.

Referring to Figure 5, which shows the first embodiment, the case 2 is formed by two sheets 23, 24 glued to each other at their respective lateral edges 23a, 24a respectively 23b, 24b. Between said glued edges, the two sheets 23, 24 define the housing 30 which receives the dispenser 1. In FIG. 5, there is shown schematically the abutment means 25 formed by a bottom wall glued respectively to the two sheets 23, 24, and which therefore cooperates in the receiving position with the bottom of the dispenser 1.

FIGS. 6 to 8 show a second embodiment, in which the case is produced from a single monobloc sheet 29. This monobloc sheet 29 is folded and then glued, thus defining a fold 29b and a gluing 29a. Advantageously, a flap 26 is provided for making said bonding 29a. The housing 30 for receiving the dispenser is defined between said fold 29b, forming one of the lateral edges 21, and the bonding 29a forming the other lateral edge 22. Advantageously, the single-piece sheet 29 can also include a folding extension 25, which is folded from the single-piece sheet 29 to form the abutment means 25. Advantageously, each part of the sheet 29, on either side of the fold 29b, may include such an extension 25, as shown in Figure 8. The two extensions 25 then come, after assembly of the case, overlap to form the bottom of the housing 30, as shown in Figure 6. This setting implemented allows very simple abutment means 25 limiting the insertion of the dispenser inside the case 2. This implementation avoids complex operations requiring to bring an additional part to the construction of the case. Thus, in the example shown in Figures 6 to 8, the case is formed from a single piece 29 by folding and gluing. Alternatively, one could also provide a cutting optionally associated with a folding to form the stop means. Of course, various modifications are possible for a person skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

claims

1.- Fluid product distribution assembly comprising:

a fluid product distributor (1) comprising a fluid product reservoir (11) and a dispensing orifice (12), and

- a case (2) in which the fluid dispenser (1) is slidably mounted, characterized in that the case (2) is deformable between a position for receiving the dispenser, in which it maintains said dispenser (1) inside said case (2), and a dispenser dispensing position, in which said dispenser (1) can be extracted from said case (2), in particular by gravity.

2. A dispensing assembly according to claim 1, wherein, in the receiving position, the dispenser (1) is held in the case (2) by friction.

3. A dispensing assembly according to claim 1 or 2, in which the case (2) is deformed from its receiving position to its dispensing position by application of a compressive force (F) on two opposite lateral edges. (21, 22), in particular longitudinal, of said case (2).

4. Dispensing assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, in which said case (2) comprises stop means (25) to limit the sliding of the dispenser (1) in the case (2), and thus define the receiving position.

5. A dispensing assembly according to claim 4, in which said stop means (25) are formed in a single piece with said case (2), by folding and / or cutting at least one part (25) of said case. (2).

6. A dispensing assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, in which said case (2) is formed by two sheets (23, 24) glued to each other at their respective lateral edges (23a, 24a; 23b, 24b), and defining between said glued edges a

30 housing (30) receiving the distributor (1).

7. A dispensing assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said case (2) is formed by folding and gluing a single piece sheet (29), and defining between the fold (29b) and the gluing (29a) a housing (30) receiving the distributor (1).

8. A dispensing assembly according to claim 6 or 7, in which, in the receiving position, said housing (30) has, in a thickness direction, dimensions substantially identical to the corresponding dimensions of the dispenser (1), and, in a transverse direction, of dimensions greater than the corresponding dimensions of the distributor (1), so that the walls of said housing (30), in said thickness direction, cooperate with said distributor (1) to hold it in said housing (30 ), in particular by friction.

9. A dispensing assembly according to claim 8, wherein, in the dispensing position, when the user applies a compressive force (F) on the lateral edges (21, 22) of the case (2) in said direction transverse, the housing (30) has, in said thickness direction and in said transverse direction, dimensions greater than the corresponding dimensions of the dispenser (1).

10. A dispensing assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said dispenser (1) is substantially cylindrical and comprises a reservoir (11), a pump and a dispensing head (13) comprising the dispensing orifice ( 12).