Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
  • A61M11/00—Sprayers or atomisers specially adapted for therapeutic purposes
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
  • A61M15/00—Inhalators
  • A61M15/0001—Details of inhalators; Constructional features thereof
  • A61M15/0021—Mouthpieces therefor
  • A61M15/0025—Mouthpieces therefor with caps
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B05—SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
  • B05B—SPRAYING APPARATUS; ATOMISING APPARATUS; NOZZLES
  • B05B11/00—Single-unit hand-held apparatus in which flow of contents is produced by the muscular force of the operator at the moment of use
  • B05B11/0005—Components or details
  • B05B11/0027—Means for neutralising the actuation of the sprayer ; Means for preventing access to the sprayer actuation means
  • B05B11/0032—Manually actuated means located downstream the discharge nozzle for closing or covering it, e.g. shutters

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a protective cover for a dispensing head of a fluid dispenser, in particular of the nasal spray type, as well as such a dispensing head and a fluid dispenser comprising such a protective cap.
• This type of removable cover when it is placed in the closed position, sealingly closes the dispensing orifice with the aid of a shutter element fixed to the bottom of the cover. It may be a deformable pad or elastomeric stopper, of material different from that of the cover and fixed on the bottom wall of the cover. The closure by the plug or stopper is directly at or inside the orifice, which ensures a good seal. But after several successive uses of the dispenser, there is a risk of irreversible deformation of this type of buffer or elastomeric plug, resulting in unreliable sealing. In addition, the dimensions of the shutter element must be adapted precisely to each type of dispensing orifice.
• the hood itself must be precisely adapted to the dimensions of the dispensing head, and its manufacture therefore requires precise dimensional control to allow a perfect sealing cooperation between the closure element and the orifice.
• product may evaporate, with the risk of incomplete dose distribution at the next actuation.
• Product can also dry inside the dispensing head which can plug the orifice and make dispensing the product difficult or impossible.
• the introduction of the hood on the head can be difficult, if not impossible, if the dimensions are not precisely adapted.
• the documents EP-0 131 501, WO 2007/009872 and EP-0 775 530 disclose other devices of the state of the art, comprising protective caps simply removably nested on the dispensing head at their level. lower edge.
• the present invention aims to provide a protective cover which does not have the aforementioned drawbacks.
• the present invention aims to provide a protective cover which ensures a better seal, with an improved service life of the dispensing device.
• the present invention also aims to provide a protective cover that is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and assemble.
• the present invention also aims to provide a protective cover that easily adapts to the dispensing heads of existing dispensers, and which does not require any modification of the dispensing head, offering better dimensional compensation.
• the present invention therefore relates to a protective cover, intended to cover in a closed position a dispensing head of a fluid dispenser, said head comprising an end wall incorporating a dispensing orifice and a side wall, said cover comprising inside at least one sealing profile which, in the closed position, cooperates sealingly with the side wall of the head, close to said dispensing orifice.
• said at least one sealing profile is disposed projecting on a lateral inner wall and / or bottom of the cover.
• said at least one sealing profile in the closed position, is deformed and / or compressed in a sealed manner against the dispensing head.
• said at least one sealing profile comprises at least one lip and / or a bead and / or a tongue and / or a flange and / or a ring.
• a side wall of the cover has an at least partially conical shape.
• it is made of a substantially rigid plastic material.
• it comprises fixing means for holding it firmly on the dispensing head.
• the present invention also relates to a dispensing head of a fluid dispenser, characterized in that it comprises a cap as described above.
• the dispensing head comprises a nasal pusher having an axial central distribution orifice made in the end wall of said dispensing head, said cap being made in the form of a hollow sleeve attached around said nasal pusher, said bonnet having an annular sealing profile projecting from its side inner wall, and which cooperates sealingly, with the side wall of the dispensing head in the closed position.
• the dispensing head comprises a nasal pusher having an axial central distribution orifice made in the end wall of said dispensing head, said cap being made in the form of a hollow sleeve attached around said nasal pusher, said bonnet having an annular sealing profile projecting from its bottom wall, and which cooperates sealingly, with the side wall of the dispensing head in the closed position.
• the present invention also relates to a fluid dispenser, comprising a product reservoir and a dispensing member such as a pump or a valve, characterized in that it comprises a dispensing head as described above.
• FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of a protective cover according to a first embodiment of the invention, in the closed position on a nasal dispensing head,
• FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial view of the cover of FIG. 1,
• FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view in longitudinal section of a protective cover according to a second embodiment of the invention, in the closed position on a nasal dispensing head,
• FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial view of the cover of FIG. 3.
• the present invention covers a protective cover and a dispensing head and a fluid dispenser comprising such a protective cover.
• the protective cover according to the invention applies to any type of distributor, the latter will not be described in detail below.
• Figures 1 to 4 show schematically a protective cover 5 according to the invention, covering a dispensing head 4, preferably having the shape of a nasal spray pusher adapted to spray a spray into a nostril.
• the cover 5 of the invention is not limited to the protection of this type of pusher.
• the hood of the invention is in fact applied to any type of dispensing head comprising a product dispensing orifice capable of evaporating and / or drying and / or plugging the dispensing orifice.
• the pusher 4 comprises in its axial end wall 40 an axial distribution port 401.
• a bearing surface 44 for actuating the distributor can be provided, as well as means for connection 7 of the head 4 on a dispensing member, such as a pump or a valve (not shown).
• a dispensing member such as a pump or a valve (not shown).
• the head comprises in the expulsion channel leading to the orifice 401 an internal nozzle or insert 8 to limit the dead volume and create a spray through the orifice 401.
• the dispensing head thus has an end wall 40, which incorporates the dispensing orifice 401, and a side wall 42.
• This wall lateral 42 may itself comprise an edge side wall 420 located near the end wall 40 and a base side wall 421 located at the base of the pusher, close to the bearing surface 6.
• a removable protective cover 5 is shown in its closed position in the figures, in the form of a hollow sleeve.
• the cover comprises a lateral inner wall 52 and an axial bottom wall 50.
• the cover according to the invention may comprise a lateral wall 52 of at least partially conical shape, and therefore particularly well adaptable to different types of pushers.
• the cover 5 is made in the form of an elongated hollow sleeve, it can of course have any other suitable shape.
• the cover may also comprise, as represented in FIGS. 1 and 3, fastening means 521 on its lateral wall 52, to hold it securely in the closed position on the dispensing head 4.
• the fastening means of the cover on the head 4 may have any suitable form.
• the cover can be fixed by snapping or screwed on a thread provided on the pusher.
• the cover can be attached to the head 4 or to another element of the dispenser, such as for example a fixing ring or the product container (not shown).
• the fixing means 521 according to the two embodiments described can cooperate with the pusher 4 at its base side wall 421, as can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 3.
• the hood according to the invention comprises at least one sealing profile 500, 520 which is arranged projecting on one of its walls. internal, near said dispensing orifice.
• the profile is advantageously made integrally with the cover, for example during the molding thereof, which allows all possible forms for said at least one sealing profile.
• the hood according to the invention may be formed of a single piece, preferably a substantially rigid plastic material, which allows both to cooperate with the head tightly, and to be handled easily, reliably and safely by the user.
• the cover comprises inside at least one sealing profile 520 disposed projecting on a lateral internal wall 52.
• Said at least one sealing profile 520 is positioned so that in the closed position, it cooperates sealingly with the head, at its side edge wall 420, not far from the dispensing orifice 401.
• the sealing profile is in the form of a double annular sealing bead 520 projecting from the lateral inner wall 52 of the cover 5.
• the sealing profile could comprise a single annular bead instead of two.
• the cover may comprise several other sealing beads to ensure optimum sealing of the device. These sealing beads 520, in the closed position, are deformed and / or sealed against the edge side wall 420 of the dispensing head, located towards the upper end of the pusher, close to the orifice.
• the sealing profile represented by a double annular bead in Figures 1 and 2, could of course be replaced by or further comprise at least one lip, a tongue, a flange, a ring, or any other form projecting from an inner wall of the hood, and capable in the closed position of sealingly cooperate with the edge side wall 420 of the pusher 4.
• the dispensing orifice 401 of the nasal pusher 4 is formed at the bottom of a kind of bowl 402 provided in the end wall of the head 4.
• This embodiment corresponds to a head typical nasal distribution.
• the cover engages around the nasal pusher until its bottom wall 50 bears on the end wall 40 of the head 4, insofar as the respective dimensions of the cover 5 and of the head 4 allow it, as is the case in Figures 1 and 2.
• the bottom wall 50 may also not come into contact of the end wall 40 of the head, as long as the sealing profile 520 sealingly engages with the edge side wall 420 of the head in the closed position.
• the cover of the invention makes it possible to easily compare the dimensional tolerances, creating a greater or lesser volume of air as a function of these. Sealing being performed on the lateral side of the head, there is no longer any obligation to provide a hood very precisely adapted to the head, and the manufacture of the hood becomes simpler and less expensive.
• FIGS. 3 and 4 show a second embodiment of the invention wherein the hood sealing profile is different.
• the other elements, corresponding to the same numerical references as in FIGS. 1 and 2, will therefore not be explained again.
• the cover 5 comprises a sealing profile in the form of an annular sealing flange or sleeve 500 projecting from its bottom wall 50, and which cooperates in a leaktight manner with the wall lateral edge 420 of the head 4 in the closed position.
• the annular flange 500 is integral with the cover and may have a decreasing thickness from the bottom wall 50 of the cover.
• Figure 4 which shows an enlarged detail of Figure 3, the flange 500 is thicker at its base 510 than at its free end 520.
• the shape of this annular flange allows both a good strength and good resistance at its base 510, and good flexibility and good sealing capacity at its free end 520.
• the free end 520 of the annular sealing flange 500 fits around the axial end of the pusher.
• the annular flange cooperates sealingly with the wall 4.
• the bottom wall of the cover 50 does not bear against the end wall 40 of the head 4. Only the flange 500 bears against the edge side wall 420 of the head.
• Fixing means 521 of the hood to the head similar to those of the first embodiment may also be provided.
• the present invention thus provides a sealed protective cover of the dispensing orifice of a fluid dispenser, which is easy to set up and remove, which ensures sealing of the orifice in the closed position even after many uses, and simultaneously prevents any evaporation or drying of the product at said dispensing orifice in this closed position.
• the shape of the cover, as well as the shape, the position and the number of the (s) profile (s) of sealing can be any.
• the sealing profile (s) are not necessarily made integrally with the cover, but may for example be molded (s) or the like.

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• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• Anesthesiology (AREA)
• Biomedical Technology (AREA)
• Heart & Thoracic Surgery (AREA)
• Hematology (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Pulmonology (AREA)
• Bioinformatics & Cheminformatics (AREA)
• Closures For Containers (AREA)
• Containers And Packaging Bodies Having A Special Means To Remove Contents (AREA)
• Medical Preparation Storing Or Oral Administration Devices (AREA)
• Infusion, Injection, And Reservoir Apparatuses (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=38874992

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Families Citing this family (8)

Family Cites Families (12)

• 2007
  • 2007-05-22 FR FR0755198A patent/FR2916429B1/fr active Active
• 2008
  • 2008-05-19 US US12/600,942 patent/US20100276457A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2008-05-19 CN CN200880016817.0A patent/CN101678182A/zh active Pending
  • 2008-05-19 EP EP08805809A patent/EP2148711A2/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2008-05-19 WO PCT/FR2008/050863 patent/WO2008142357A2/fr active Application Filing
  • 2008-05-19 JP JP2010508884A patent/JP2010527855A/ja not_active Withdrawn

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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