EP2004333B1 - Fluid product dispensing pump - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a fluid dispenser pump and a fluid dispenser device comprising such a pump.

Fluid dispensing pumps are well known in the state of the art, in particular for dispensing fluid, liquid or pasty products in the fields of cosmetics, perfumery or pharmacy. They generally comprise a piston sliding in a pump body, more particularly in a pump chamber provided in this pump body, and adapted to dispense a dose of fluid product with each actuation of the pump. The pump chamber generally comprises an inlet valve to enable the dose of product expelled to be defined at each actuation. Moreover, especially with pharmaceutical products, some pumps sometimes incorporate shutters at the dispensing orifice, to prevent contamination of the product between two actuations.

A problem with this type of pump is priming. Indeed, before the first actuation of the pump, the pump chamber is filled with air, and it is therefore necessary to expel this air completely to allow filling of said pump chamber with fluid and allow dosing accurate and reproducible with each actuation of the pump. Priming is made all the more complicated as the pump has a shutter. It is difficult to expel the air contained in the pump chamber out of it, in particular because of the presence of said shutter.

Another problem that may arise with fluid dispensing pumps is the quality of the spray, when it is a spray pump. Indeed, particularly when there is a shutter provided at the dispensing orifice, the quality and characteristics of the spray at the time of expulsion are dependent on said shutter. However, most of these shutters being displaced by the pressure of the product created during actuation, actuations with intensities or axial forces may cause changes in the characteristics of the spray. In particular in pumps in which the shutter moves axially away from the dispensing orifice during the actuation of the pump, excessive displacement of said shutter may cause a loss of quality of the spray, and therefore a poor dose distribution.

Another problem that can also arise with fluid dispensing pumps concerns the risk of blockage of the pump. In particular, this risk can occur with vacuum pumps operating without external air intake if the vacuum in the product tank exceeds that which the pump or metering chamber is able to generate when the pump returns to its rest position after an actuation. The inlet valve of the pump chamber can then become blocked and thus block the pump as a whole. In this case, the natural suction power of the pump is insufficient to counter the depression of the tank, if this vacuum level is not systematically retransmitted to the pump chamber after each actuation. However, as a pump is used, some of its constituent parts, generally made of plastic more or less rigid, may deform naturally under the effect of depression and are likely to cause this. relative disadvantageous increase of the depression in the tank compared to that of the pump chamber.

The document FR-2 862 009 discloses a pump according to the preamble of claim 1.

The present invention aims to provide a fluid dispensing pump that does not reproduce the aforementioned drawbacks.

More particularly, the present invention aims to provide a fluid dispensing pump which avoids any risk of blockage of the pump, in particular by avoiding an excessive increase in the vacuum in the tank relative to that in the pump chamber.

The present invention also aims to provide a fluid dispensing pump that allows a safe and reliable priming in a simple and inexpensive way.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a fluid dispenser pump which guarantees a spray spray each time the pump is actuated, regardless of the force that the user exerts on it when it is actuated.

The present invention also aims to provide a fluid dispenser pump that is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and assemble.

The present invention therefore relates to a fluid dispenser pump as described in claim 1. Advantageous embodiments are described in the dependent claims.

The present invention also relates to a fluid dispenser device comprising a fluid reservoir and a pump as described above.

• la figure 1 est une vue schématique en section transversale d'un dispositif de distribution de produit fluide comportant une pompe selon un mode de réalisation avantageux de la présente invention, en position actionnée ; et
• la figure 2 est une vue de détail agrandie de la partie A de la figure 1.

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will emerge more clearly in the course of the following detailed description thereof, made with reference to the accompanying drawings, given as non-limiting examples, and in which:

• the figure 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a fluid dispenser device having a pump according to an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, in an actuated position; and
• the figure 2 is an enlarged detail view of part A of the figure 1 .

With reference to the figures, the dispensing pump according to the present invention comprises a pump body 10 in which at least a first piston 72 slides between a rest position and an actuated position (shown in the figures). This first piston 72 partially defines a pump chamber 20 and the actuation of the pump causes the dispensing of a dose of product contained in the pump chamber 20 through a dispensing orifice 45, preferably formed in a pump head. Distribution 40. The pump may advantageously comprise a shutter 38, disposed directly upstream of the dispensing orifice 45, and cooperating with it by being displaceable and / or deformable between a closed position of the dispensing orifice 45 and an open position thereof. The pump chamber 20 comprises an inlet valve 70, which may be in the form of a ball 75 forming a valve element and cooperating with a valve seat 71. The valve element 75 is shown in the form of a ball, but it could be realized in a different way. The pump body 10 is preferably formed of a one-piece piece with the shutter 38, inside thereof. Advantageously, the piston 72 and the valve seat 71 are integral with a hollow rod 118 which may also incorporate a fixing ring 15 adapted to fix the pump on a reservoir 60 containing the fluid, advantageously with the interposition of a gasket. 65. The hollow rod 118 defines a channel 18 extending towards the tank 60. A dip tube 218, intended to extend to the bottom of the reservoir 60 to distribute all the product it contains, can also be connected or made in one piece with said hollow rod 118.

Advantageously, the pump has only one spring 50 adapted to return the first piston 72 to its rest position and the shutter 38 to its closed position after each actuation. This spring 50 is advantageously out of contact with the fluid, which eliminates any risk of alteration of the fluid in question. Advantageously, the shutter 38 slides axially between its open and closed positions in a sleeve 150 provided in the bottom of the actuating head 40. A spraying profile (not shown) is preferably made in said sleeve to enable a swirling of the product at the time of its expulsion, to form a spray.

Advantageously, said shutter 38 comprises at least one second piston 34 cooperating sealingly with the dispensing head 40, in all positions. Advantageously, the shutter 38 comprises a second piston 34 making it possible to isolate the spring 50 and a third piston 35 defining the pump chamber 20.

A bypass passage 74 is provided between the channel 18 and the pump chamber 20, upstream of the inlet valve 70. This bypass passage 74 makes it possible on the one hand to connect the pump chamber 20 to the channel 18 during the priming the pump. In particular, this bypass passage 74 can be made in the form of a lateral bore made in the valve seat 71 upstream of the valve member 75. The valve seat 71 is then advantageously arranged upstream of the first piston. 72, which slides in a sealed manner in said pump body 10, the latter comprising at least one opening 32 adapted to cooperate with said first piston 72 during priming. It is found that when the user actuates the pump for the first time and that it contains air in the pump chamber 20, the air is compressed, which closes the inlet valve 70 by pressing the ball 75 against the valve seat 71. Since the air is compressible, the first piston 72 can slide in the pump body 10 without the shutter 38 moving relative to the dispensing head 40. piston 72 arrives at the opening 32 of the pump body 10, a passage is created between the pump chamber 20 and the bypass passage 74, which allows to expel the air contained in the pump chamber 20 to the channel 18 and therefore in the tank 60. After priming, when the pump is returned to its rest position, fluid is sucked into the pump chamber 20. Thereafter, the first piston 72 can not more reach said opening 32 of the pump body during normal operation of the pump, that is to say during the dispensing of the product, but only at the end of the actuation, in the actuated position of the first piston 72. Said valve input 70 then operates in a conventional manner to close upon actuation and open when the pump is returned to its rest position.

According to the invention, the bypass passage 74 also makes it possible to connect the pump chamber 20 to the channel 18 and therefore to the reservoir 60, when the first piston 72 reaches its actuated position. This makes it possible to balance the pressures in the pump chamber 20 and in the reservoir 60, and thus prevents the relative increase of the vacuum in the tank relative to that in the pump chamber, which would otherwise risk blocking the pump. by preventing the opening of the inlet valve 70 of the pump chamber.

Advantageously, passage means 200 are provided to ensure the connection between the pump chamber 20 and the bypass passage 74, in the actuated position of the first piston 72. These passage means may comprise one or more grooves and / or ribs, and more generally any type of profile. Preferably, these passage means 200 are formed on the outer surface of the inner rod 118 whose upper end forms the first piston 72. Advantageously, these passage means 200 are provided between the bypass passage 74 and said at least one opening 32 of the pump body 10. The presence of these passage means 200 prevents clogging or plugging of the passage due for example to the natural deformation of certain components of the pump, which can occur under the effect of the depression generated at each actuation. Connecting pump chamber 20 with reservoir 60 at the end of each actuation to prevent a relative increase of the depression in the tank relative to that of the pump chamber, the tendency to deformation of some parts of the pump is also limited. The present invention therefore provides a pump that does not present a risk of blockage.

The bypass passage 74 provided upstream of the inlet valve 70 of the pump chamber 20 thus provides a dual function, namely on the one hand an air discharge passage during priming, and secondly a balancing passage of the pressures between the pump chamber and the reservoir after each actuation, to ensure proper operation of the pump.

The invention has been described with reference to a particular embodiment thereof, but it is understood that various modifications could be made thereto. In particular, the plunger tube 218 could be made integrally with the fixing element 15 which fixes the pump on the reservoir 60 and / or with the hollow rod 118. Similarly, the shapes of the shutter 38, the body 10 of the pump, the first piston 72, the inlet valve 70 of the pump chamber 20 or the other elements could be made differently if necessary. Other modifications are also conceivable for those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (16)

1. A fluid dispenser pump comprising: a pump body (10); a pump chamber (20); at least a first piston (72) that slides in said pump chamber (20) between a rest position and an actuated position so as to dispense the fluid; and a dispenser orifice (45); said pump chamber including an inlet valve (70) that separates the pump chamber (20) from a channel (18) that extends towards a fluid reservoir (60), a bypass (74) being provided between said channel (18) and said pump chamber (20), said bypass (74) being disposed upstream from said inlet valve (70), the pump being characterized in that said bypass connects the pump chamber (20) to the reservoir (60) when the piston (72) is in its actuated position, each time the pump is actuated, to enable pressure to be equalized between the pump chamber (20) and the reservoir (60).
2. A pump according to claim 1, in which the inlet valve (70) comprises both a valve member (75) and a valve seat (71) that is secured to the first piston (72), said first piston (72) sliding in leaktight manner in said pump body (10), said pump body (10) including at least one opening (32) that co-operates with the first piston (72) in its actuated position so as to open said bypass (74).
3. A pump according to any preceding claim, in which said pump includes a dispenser head (40) that incorporates said dispenser orifice (45).
4. A pump according to any preceding claim, including a plug (38) that is displaceable and/or deformable between a closed position of the dispenser orifice (45) and an open position of the dispenser orifice (45).
5. A pump according to claim 4, in which said plug (38) includes at least a second piston (34, 35) that co-operates in leaktight manner with the head (40), in any position.
6. A pump according to claim 4 or claim 5, in which the pump body (10) is made integrally with said plug (38).
7. A pump according to any one of claims 4 to 6, in which said plug (38) is urged resiliently, in particular by a spring (50), towards its closed position, and is moved and/or deformed towards its open position by the pressure of the fluid contained in the pump chamber (20).
8. A pump according to claim 2, in which the valve member (75) is a ball.
9. A pump according to any preceding claim, in which a single spring (50) urges said first piston (72) towards its rest position, and said plug (38) towards its closed position.
10. A pump according to claim 9, in which said spring (50) does not come into any contact with the fluid.
11. A pump according to any preceding claim, in which said first piston (72) and said valve seat (71) are made integrally with a fastener element (15), such as a snap-fastenable, crimpable, or screw-fastenable ring, that is adapter to fasten said pump on a fluid réservoir (60).
12. A pump according to any preceding claim, in which said first piston (72) is secured to a hollow rod (118) that forms, at least in part, said channel (18), said inlet valve (70), and said bypass (74).
13. A pump according to claim 12, in which said hollow rod (118) is connected to a dip tube (218) that extends into said reservoir (60).
14. A pump according to claim 12 or claim 13, in which said hollow rod includes, in or on its outside surface, between said bypass (74) and said first piston (72), passage means (200) that guarantee a connection between the pump chamber (20) and the bypass (74) when the first piston (72) is in its actuated position, regardless of the deformation of the components of the pump under the effect of the suction generated on each actuation.
15. A pump according to claim 14, in which said passage means (200) comprise at least one groove and/or spline.
16. A fluid dispenser device including a fluid reservoir (60), said device being characterized in that it further includes a pump according to any preceding claim.

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