EP2279795A1 - System for dispensing a fluid product - Google Patents

Abstract

The system has a push button (2) comprising a body with an endpiece (15) arranged around an insert (16) to form a distribution chamber. The insert has an inner chamber (24) emerging in an orifice in a front end of the insert. The inner chamber is in communication with a piston chamber (26) formed between the body and a sleeve (5). The piston chamber has a volume variable according to position of the push button with respect to the sleeve so as to inject/suck air into/from the inner chamber and into/from a central part of a spraying zone over a distribution/suction course of the push button.

Description

The invention relates to a system for dispensing a fluid product comprising a device for sampling under pressure of said product, a sleeve and a push button for actuating said device which is mounted in translation relative to the sleeve on a dispensing stroke. / aspiration of the product. The invention also relates to a dispensing bottle comprising such a dispensing system.

In a particular application, the dispensing system is intended to equip bottles used in perfumery, in cosmetics or for pharmaceutical treatments. Indeed, this type of bottle contains a product which is returned under pressure by a pump or a manually operated valve by means of a push button which is arranged to allow the product to be sprayed.

Such push buttons may include a body on which a tip is disposed around an insert so as to form a dispensing chamber between said tip and said insert. In particular, the distribution chamber is in upstream communication with a supply duct mounted on a pipe for supplying the pressurized product, said chamber comprising a downstream part provided with at least one distribution channel of the product in a zone of spray which is provided opposite the front end of the insert.

In one embodiment, the dispensing chamber comprises a vortex chamber in which the spray zone is formed. In particular, the vortex chamber is arranged to form an aerosol with the product by rotating it very rapidly to give it speed. Thus, by providing that the swirl chamber is extended at its center by a dispensing orifice, the product can escape at high speed by splitting into fine droplets forming the aerosol.

In another embodiment, the distribution channels of the chamber are each convergent towards an outlet orifice, said convergent channels being arranged to allow the impaction in the spray zone of the jets of liquid distributed by said orifices. Thus, during impaction jets distributed at high speed, it forms an aerosol without using a swirl chamber.

However, the embodiments according to the prior art do not make it possible to guarantee the production of an aerosol of optimum quality, especially with regard to the fineness of the droplets comprising it. In addition, the kinetic energy of the product at the level of the spray zone is relatively low, which limits the speed as well as the dispensing distance of the aerosol relative to the push button.

Furthermore, at the end of distribution, the product remains present in the vicinity of the spraying zone, said product residue can then flow between two distributions on the outside of the push button.

The invention aims to improve the prior art by proposing in particular a system for dispensing, at greater speed and at a greater distance from the push button, an aerosol formed by fine droplets, while avoiding that a remainder of product can flow between two distributions on said push button so in particular to limit the risk of contamination of said product.

For this purpose, and according to a first aspect, the invention proposes a system for dispensing a fluid product comprising a device for sampling under pressure of said product and a sleeve, said system further comprising a push button for actuating said device which is mounted in translation relative to the sleeve over a dispensing / suction stroke of the product, said push button comprising a body on which a nozzle is disposed around an insert so as to form a dispensing chamber between said nozzle and said insert, said distribution chamber being in upstream communication with a supply duct mounted on a tube for feeding the product under pressure, said chamber comprising a downstream part provided with at least one product distribution channel in a spray zone which is expected facing the front end of the insert, the insert having an internal chamber which opens into an orifice formed in the front end of said insert facing the central part of the spray zone, said internal chamber being in communication with a piston chamber which is formed between the body of the push button and the sleeve, said piston chamber having a variable volume depending on the position of the push button relative to the sleeve so as to inject air into - respectively to aspirate air from - the inner chamber and therefore the central portion of the spray zone on the distribution stroke - suction respectively - of said push button.

According to a second aspect, the invention proposes a dispensing bottle of a fluid product comprising a container for packaging said product and such a dispensing system which is mounted on the reservoir so as to allow the dispensing of said product by actuation of the push button. .

• les figures 1 sont des vues partielles en coupe longitudinale d'un système de distribution selon l'invention qui est monté sur le col d'un flacon, dans lesquelles le bouton poussoir est respectivement dans un état au repos (figure 1a) et en fin de course de distribution (figure 1b) ;
• la figure 2 est une vue en coupe longitudinale du bouton poussoir du système de distribution selon les figures 1 ;
• la figure 3 est une vue en perspective du bouton poussoir selon la figure 2;
• la figure 4 est une vue en perspective de l'insert du bouton poussoir selon la figure 2.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the description which follows, made with reference to the appended figures, in which:

• the figures 1 are partial views in longitudinal section of a dispensing system according to the invention which is mounted on the neck of a bottle, in which the push button is respectively in a state at rest ( figure 1a ) and at the end of the distribution run ( figure 1b );
• the figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the pushbutton of the distribution system according to the figures 1 ;
• the figure 3 is a perspective view of the push button according to the figure 2 ;
• the figure 4 is a perspective view of the insert of the push button according to the figure 2 .

In relation to the figures, a system for dispensing a pressurized fluid product is described below, said product being of any kind, especially used in perfumery, in cosmetics or for pharmaceutical treatments.

The dispensing system comprises a sampling device 1 under liquid pressure which is manually actuated by means of a pushbutton 2. In particular, the sampling device 1 may comprise a pump as shown in FIGS. figures 1 or a valve in the case where the liquid is packaged under pressure.

In relation to figures 1 , the push button 2 is mounted on a feed tube 3 of the pressurized product coming from the pump 1, the dispensing system being mounted on the neck 4 of a bottle comprising a product conditioning tank so as to feed the push button 2 with said product under pressure.

To ensure the positioning and attachment of the pump 1 on the neck 4, the dispensing system further comprises a sleeve 5 which can be made integrally ductile material, especially polyolefin plastic material. In particular, the push button 2 is mounted in translation relative to the sleeve 5 on a dispensing / suction stroke of the product.

In the upper part, the sleeve 5 has a chimney 6 in which are positioned means for securing the pump 1. In the embodiment shown, an association armature 7 of the pump 1 is formed in the chimney 6 to make said pump secured to the sleeve 5.

As a variant not shown, the sleeve 5 can be integrated in the body of the pump 1, for example by forming a stent for said pump. In this embodiment, the sleeve 5 may be devoid of means for fixing the pump 1 on the neck 4, said pump can then be directly sealed inside said neck.

In the embodiment shown, the association armature 7 comprises an orifice 8 in which the pump 1 is mounted with the delivery tube 3 which extends in the chimney 6, said armature further comprising a latching groove 9 of a bead 10 formed on the body of the pump 1.

The sleeve 5 also has a lower skirt 11 which extends axially from one piece under the chimney 6, said skirt being provided with means for fixing said sleeve on the neck 4 of the bottle. In the embodiment shown, the skirt 11 is provided with an internal screw thread to enable it to be screwed onto the threaded neck 4 of the bottle. Alternatively, the skirt 11 may be deformable between a mounting configuration in which said skirt is positionable around the neck 4 and a clamping configuration of said skirt around said neck to secure.

In relation to the figure 2 , the push button 2 comprises a body having an annular skirt 12 surrounding a housing 13 for mounting on the feed tube 3 of the pressurized product. Furthermore, the push button 2 comprises an upper zone 14 allowing the user to exert a digital support on said push button in order to be able to move it axially on its dispensing stroke to actuate the sampling device 1, the return of the button pusher 2 on its suction stroke being conventionally performed by an elastic return means.

The push button 2 also comprises a tip 15 which is disposed around an insert 16 so as to form a distribution chamber 17 between said tip and said insert. In particular, the distribution chamber 17 is formed at the interface between an inner wall of the nozzle 15 and an outer wall of the insert 16, a hollow recess being formed on at least one of said walls so as to be closed by the other wall delimiting said chamber.

In the embodiment shown, the body of the push button 2 has a housing 18 in which the insert 16 is arranged to allow lateral spraying of the product relative to the body of said push button. More specifically, the skirt 12 is carried by a disc 19 of the body of the button pusher 2, said disc lower delimiting the upper housing 18 in which the insert 16 is disposed.

As shown in the figures, the insert 16 can be associated sealingly in the housing 18. Alternatively, it may be integral with the body of the push button 2. In addition, the outer wall of the tip 15 has an anchor rod 15a in the wall of the housing 18 so as to allow the sealed association of said tip in said housing. Alternatively, especially in the case of a nosepiece, the tip 15 may be formed around the insert 16.

The distribution chamber 17 is in upstream communication with a supply conduit 20 which opens into the housing 13 for mounting on the feed tube 3 of the pressurized product. In the embodiment shown, the supply duct 20 comprises an upstream portion 20a coaxial with the housing 13 and a downstream portion 20b formed around the insert 16.

The distribution chamber 17 comprises a downstream part provided with at least one distribution channel 21 of the product in a spraying zone 22 which is provided opposite the front end 23 of the insert 16. In particular, in the zone 22, an aerosol of the product is formed to be dispensed in front of the front end 23 of the insert 16.

The insert 16 also has an internal chamber 24 which opens into an orifice 25 formed in the front end 23 of said insert facing the central part of the spraying zone 22. In the embodiment shown, the insert 16 presents a bore in which the inner chamber 24 is formed, said bore opening into the orifice 25 formed in the front end 23.

Furthermore, the inner chamber 24 is in communication with a piston chamber 26 which is formed between the body of the push button 2 and the sleeve 5, said piston chamber having a variable volume depending on the position of the pushbutton 2 relative to the sleeve 5 so as to inject the air in - respectively sucking air from - the inner chamber 24 and therefore the central portion of the spray zone 22 on the distribution stroke - suction respectively - of said push button.

Thus, by injecting air into the central part of the spraying zone 22 through the orifice 25 facing said part, it is possible to form an aerosol formed of fine droplets, said aerosol being moreover aerial since it is blown at its center away from the body of the push button 2. In addition, the suction conferred makes it possible to sniff in the inner chamber 24 the remaining product which is disposed in the spray zone 22 at the end of distribution .

In particular, the internal chamber 24 can be convergent toward the orifice 25 so as to allow an acceleration of the air flow injected into the spraying area 22. In the figures, the bore has a frustoconical front portion 24a which opens into the front orifice 25.

In the embodiment shown, the skirt 12 is slidably mounted in the chimney 6 so as to form the piston chamber 26 between said skirt and said chamber. Thus, the volume of the piston chamber 26 decreases - respectively increases - on the distribution stroke - suction respectively - of the push button 2. More specifically, the piston chamber 26 is delimited, tightly, laterally by the skirt 12 and the chimney 6 to have a variable axial dimension, superiorly by the disk 19 and inferiorly by the association armature 7 in the orifice 8 of which the pump 1 is associated tightly.

Furthermore, the communication between the internal chamber 24 and the piston chamber 26 is carried out via an orifice 27 provided in the disc 19, said orifice communicating with the rear opening 28 of the bore in which the chamber internal 24 is formed. To do this, the bottom of the housing 18 is provided with an inclined face 29 forming a space for communication between the orifice 27 and the rear opening 28.

The sealing of the piston chamber 26 is achieved by providing that the lower end portion of the skirt 12 has a sealing ring 30 which is sealingly mounted against the chimney 6. In the embodiment shown, the chimney 6 has an upper chamfer 31 for engagement of the rod 30 in leaktight sliding in the chimney 6, said engagement being able to induce a radial clamping of the rod 30 against said chimney so as to make the conferred sealing more reliable. In particular, the outer diameter of the rod 30 may be slightly greater than the inside diameter of the chimney 6, said chimney being then placed in elastic stress on the rod 30 during its engagement.

The embodiment shown provides that, when the pushbutton 2 is in its idle state ( figure 1a ), the piston chamber 26 is open. To do this, the distribution / suction stroke may be provided slightly longer than the sliding stroke of the rod 30 in the chimney 6, so as to leave an open passage 32 in the rest position.

According to an embodiment not shown, the distribution chamber 17 comprises a swirl chamber in which the spraying area 22 is formed, said chamber being provided with a dispensing orifice which is coaxial with the orifice 25 of the internal chamber 24. in addition to rotating the product, the aerosol is formed by blowing the product through the dispensing orifice.

In the embodiment shown, the distribution chamber 17 comprises distribution channels 21 each converging towards an outlet orifice 21a, said convergent channels being arranged to allow impaction in the central part of the spray zone 22 of the jets of product distributed by said orifices.

In relation to the figure 4 , the insert 16 has a base 34 of tight association in the housing 18 on which extends a rod 35 around which the distribution chamber 17 is formed. In addition, the downstream part 20b of feed duct 20 opens at the junction between the base 34 and the rod 35, said downstream portion of said feed duct being formed around said rod.

The distribution chamber 17 presents, successively in communication, upstream channels 36, downstream channels 37 and distribution channels 21, said upstream and downstream channels extend longitudinally forming a section respectively upstream and downstream of the product flow in the In particular, the upstream and downstream sections correspond to the sum of the sections of the respectively upstream 36 and downstream 37 channels.

In one embodiment, the downstream section may be smaller than the size of the upstream section. Thus, the speed of the product increases from upstream to downstream so as to feed the convergent channels 21 with a flow of product whose speed is important.

The rod 35 shown comprises grooves 38 which are closed by the inner wall of revolution of the nozzle 15 so as to form the channels 36, 37, 21. In particular, the rod 35 has a distal tip 39 of reduced diameter, on which the downstream section is formed, the inner wall of the end piece 15 having a complementary geometry to allow the tight fitting of said endpiece around the rod 35.

In addition, the downstream end of each groove 38 has a frustoconical geometry which is arranged to form a distribution channel 21. The distribution channels 21, for example three in number, are very small, for example about 60 μm wide. and depth 70 μm for a device for sampling a dose of 100 μl under a pressure of 5 bar.

More specifically, the tip 15 has a seat 40 in which the front end 23 of the insert 16 is disposed in abutment, said seat and said end each having a frustoconical geometry so as to form the distribution channels 21 and the orifices output 21a between said geometries.

In addition, to further increase the speed of product jets distributed through the outlet ports 21a, it can be provided that the distribution channels 21 have a decreasing section from upstream to downstream.

Furthermore, the tip 15 shown comprises a front extension 41 in the rear portion of which the seat 40 is formed. The extension 41 has a bore 42 which is coaxial with the bore 24 and its orifice 25, at least a portion of the spray zone 22 being housed in said bore. In particular, the extension 41 protrudes from the housing 18 and the body of the pushbutton 2 ( figure 3 ).

Thus, it is possible to mechanically protect the distribution chamber 17, especially at the distribution channels 21, without affecting the distribution since the product disposed in the bore 42 is firstly blown when it is sprayed and on the other hand, sniffed at the end of distribution.

As a variant not shown, the tip 15 is disposed around the insert 16 while being adjacent to the push button 2, for example in the case where the upstream portion 20a is aligned with the downstream portion 20b for a spray nozzle.

Claims (15)

A fluid product dispensing system comprising a device (1) for pressure sampling said product and a sleeve (5), said system further comprising a push button (2) for actuating said device which is mounted in translation relative to to the sleeve (5) on a dispensing / suction stroke of the product, said push button comprising a body on which a tip (15) is arranged around an insert (16) so as to form a distribution chamber (17) between said nozzle and said insert, said dispensing chamber being in upstream communication with a supply duct (20) mounted on a supply tube (3) of the pressurized product, said chamber comprising a downstream part provided with at least one distribution channel (21) of the product in a spray zone (22) which is provided opposite the front end (23) of the insert (16), said system being characterized in that the insert (16) has an internal chamber (24) which opens into an orifice (25) formed in the front end (23) of said insert facing the central part of the spray zone (22), said internal chamber being in communication with a piston chamber (26) which is formed between the body of the push button (2) and the sleeve (5), said piston chamber having a variable volume depending on the position of the push button (2) relative to the sleeve (5) so as to inject air in - respectively sucking air from - the inner chamber (24) and therefore the central portion of the spraying zone (22) on the distribution stroke - suction respectively - of said push button. Dispensing system according to claim 1, characterized in that the push button (2) has a rest state in which the piston chamber (26) is open. Dispensing system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the body of the push button (2) has a skirt (12) which is slidably mounted in an upper chimney (6) of the sleeve (5), the piston chamber (26) being formed between said skirt and said chimney so as to decrease - respectively increase - volume on the distribution stroke - suction respectively - of said push button. Dispensing system according to claim 3, characterized in that the lower end portion of the skirt (12) has a sealing ring (30) which is sealingly slidably mounted against the chimney (6). Dispensing system according to claim 4, characterized in that the chimney (6) has an upper chamfer (31) for engaging the rod (30) in leaktight sliding in said chimney. Dispensing system according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that the skirt (12) is carried by a disc (19) of the body of the push button (2), said disc being provided with an orifice (27). ) of placing the piston chamber (26) in communication with the internal chamber (24). Dispensing system according to claim 6, characterized in that the disc (19) below delimits an upper housing (18) in which the insert (16) is disposed, the end piece (15) being associated in said housing. Dispensing system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the insert (16) has a bore in which the internal chamber (24) is formed, said bore opening into the hole (25) formed in the front end (23). Dispensing system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the distribution chamber (17) comprises a swirl chamber in which the spraying zone (22) is formed, said chamber being provided with an orifice of distribution which is coaxial with the orifice (25) of the inner chamber (24). Dispensing system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the distribution chamber (17) comprises distribution channels (21) each converging towards an outlet orifice (21a), said convergent channels being arranged to allow the impaction in the central part of the spray zone (22) of the jets of product distributed by said orifices. Dispensing system according to claim 10, characterized in that the distribution chamber (17) has, in communication with each other, upstream channels (36), downstream channels (37) and distribution channels (21) converging, said channels upstream and downstream extending longitudinally forming a section respectively upstream and downstream of the product flow in the distribution chamber (17), said downstream section being smaller than the dimension of said upstream section. Dispensing system according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that the tip (15) has a seat (40) in which the front end (23) of the insert (16) is arranged in abutment, said seat and said end each having a frustoconical geometry, said geometries being arranged to form the distribution channels (21) and the outlets (21 a) therebetween. Dispensing system according to claim 12, characterized in that the tip (15) has a front extension (41) in the rear part of which the seat (40) is formed, said extension having a bore (42) in which at least a part of the spray zone (22) is housed. Dispensing system according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the distribution chamber (17) is formed at the interface between an inner wall of the nozzle (15) and an outer wall of the insert (16), an indentation being formed on at least one of said walls so as to be closed by the other wall delimiting said chamber. Fluid dispensing bottle comprising a container for packaging said product and a dispensing system according to any one of claims 1 to 14 which is mounted on the reservoir so as to allow the dispensing of said product by actuation of the push button ( 2).

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