EP3969186A1

EP3969186A1 - Device for dispensing a fluid product

Info

Publication number: EP3969186A1
Application number: EP20740693.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Charles CAZZOLA; Sébastien MICHAUX
Original assignee: Aptar France SAS
Current assignee: Aptar France SAS
Priority date: 2019-05-14
Filing date: 2020-05-11
Publication date: 2022-03-23
Also published as: FR3095968B1; JP2022533077A; US20220219181A1; BR112021021723A2; FR3095968A1; WO2020229762A1; CN114080277A; CN114080277B

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for dispensing a fluid product, comprising a body (101) containing a tank (100), a pump mounted on the tank (100), and a dispensing tip (110), the pump dispensing the fluid product at a pressure (P) of at least 15 bars, advantageously of at least 20 bars, the dispensing tip (110) comprising a micro-hole nozzle (200) comprising a plurality of dispensing openings or holes, said holes in the nozzle (200) having a diameter smaller than 5 µm, in particular smaller than 2 µm.

Description

Fluid dispenser device

The present invention relates to a fluid dispenser device comprising a spray nozzle provided with several dispensing orifices and a pump for dispensing metered quantities of fluid. More particularly, the pump is a precompression pump in which the distribution of the fluid product is carried out at a high pressure of at least 15 bars. The present invention also relates to the method of assembling such a pump.

Fluid dispensing devices comprising dispensing nozzles provided with a plurality of dispensing orifices or holes are known in particular from documents EP1878507 and WO2018100321. In these documents, the diameter of the holes is generally between 8 and 20 μm. In document EP1878507, the nozzle is associated with a precompression pump delivering the fluid to the nozzle at a pressure below 7 bars. In document WO2018100321, the nozzle is associated either with a pump whose pressure is between 2 and 7 bars, or with a pressurized valve operating with a propellant gas whose pressure is between 6 and 13 bars. Depending on the configuration of the nozzle, in particular for holes with a diameter of less than 5 μm, these pressures may prove to be insufficient to ensure optimum operation of the device. Furthermore, it may be desirable to use a precompression pump in order to avoid the propellant gases from the valves, which are potentially harmful to the user and / or the environment. Documents EP1698399, WO2015194962 and

WO2018219798 describe other examples of micro-hole nozzles.

Documents WO2014125216, W00102100, WO8704373 and EP0265270 disclose pumps in which the distribution of the fluid product is independent of the speed and / or actuation force of the user. When the pump is actuated, a spring is compressed under the effect of the pressure created inside the pump chamber, said spring being released at the end of actuation after opening an outlet valve, so that the dose of product contained in the pump chamber is expelled by said spring, independently of the user's actuation speed. Typically, these pumps deliver a pressure of around 6-7 bar.

Documents US5497944 and US2004164186 describe pumps without propellants capable of generating pressures of between 50 and 600 bars. These pumps are of very particular structures, and in particular very different from the standard pumps generally used in fluid product dispensers. Document EP0761246 describes a device using a pump or a valve operating with a propellant, capable of generating a pressure of 2 to 20 bars.

The object of the present invention is to provide a device and a pump which do not reproduce the aforementioned drawbacks.

A particular object of the present invention is to provide a fluid dispenser device making it possible to associate a manually actuated precompression pump delivering a high pressure with a dispensing nozzle provided with several dispensing orifices.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a pump which delivers the fluid product at a higher pressure compared to traditional pumps.

The present invention also aims to provide such a pump which is simple and easy to manufacture and to assemble, and reliable in its use.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such a pump which ensures complete and reproducible distribution of the contents of the pump chamber on each actuation, regardless of the user's actuation speed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of assembling such a pump which makes it possible to improve the reliability of the pump during storage and in use, in particular by improving the integrity of parts subjected to high pressure during of actuation.

The present invention therefore relates to a fluid dispenser device, comprising a body containing a reservoir, a pump mounted on said reservoir, and a dispensing nozzle, said pump comprising a pump body in which a piston slides, said piston sliding in a pump chamber defined in said pump body between an inlet valve and an outlet valve, a sleeve axially extending said pump body downwards, said sleeve having a reduced diameter with respect to said pump body, said sleeve receiving a spring and cooperating with an inlet valve element such that in the rest position, said inlet valve element cooperates in a non-sealed manner with said sleeve, and during actuation, said inlet valve element slides in a sealed manner in said sleeve by compressing said spring, said pump distributing said fluid at a pressure P of at least 15 bars, advantageously of at least 20 bars, said dispensing nozzle comprising a micro-hole nozzle comprising a plurality of dispensing orifices or holes, said holes of said nozzle having a diameter less than 5 μm, in particular less than 2 μm.

Advantageously, a filter is interposed between the outlet of said pump and said micro-hole nozzle.

Advantageously, said reservoir is without air intake.

Advantageously, said reservoir contains a flexible bag containing said fluid product.

Advantageously, said body comprises a lateral actuation arm, for actuating said pump by lateral actuation.

Advantageously, said piston is integral with an actuating rod on which the user presses manually to actuate the pump.

These characteristics and advantages and others of the present invention will emerge more clearly from the following detailed description, made with reference to the accompanying drawings given by way of non-limiting examples, in which:

- Figure 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a pump according to the prior art, in the rest position,

- Figure 2 is a partial schematic view in cross section of the pump of Figure 1 during assembly of the top piston, - Figure 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a fluid dispenser device according to an advantageous embodiment,

- Figure 4 is an enlarged detail view in cross section of a part of the pump shown in Figure 3,

- Figure 5 is an enlarged perspective detail view of another part of the pump shown in Figure 3,

- Figures 6 to 9 are schematic cross-sectional views of a pump according to a first advantageous embodiment, respectively in the rest position, at the start of the actuation stroke, during the actuation stroke and at the end of actuation stroke,

- Figures 10 and 11 are schematic cross-sectional views of a pump according to an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, respectively in the rest position and at the end of the actuation stroke,

- Figures 12 and 13 are partial schematic views in cross section of the pump of Figure 6, respectively during and at the end of assembly of the top piston, and

- Figure 14 is a partial schematic view in cross section of the pump of Figure 6 during assembly of the low piston.

The various aspects of the present invention will be described with reference to several variant embodiments. It is understood, however, that the present invention is not limited by the embodiments shown in the drawings.

Figures 1 and 2 illustrate a pump of the prior art, according to document WO2014125216.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, this pump of the prior art comprises a pump body 3 in which slides a piston 1 integral with an actuating rod 2 on which the user presses to actuate the pump. The piston 1 slides in a pump chamber 5 defined in the pump body 3 between an inlet valve 1 1 and an outlet valve 12. A ring of fixing 4, for example crimpable, screwable or snap-on, allows the pump to be fixed to a reservoir.

The inlet valve 11, open in the rest position of the pump, as shown in Figure 1, is formed by an inlet valve element 10 movable in the pump body 3 during actuation of the pump and adapted to cooperate with a part of the pump body 3 at the start of actuation of the pump to close said inlet valve 11. Said inlet valve element 10 is produced in the form of a hollow cylinder closed on one side by a bottom wall, the edge of the open end of said hollow cylinder cooperating in a sealed manner from the start of actuation. of the pump with a cylinder 9 of the pump body 3 to close the inlet valve 1 1. A spring 20 rests on the one hand on a bottom wall of the inlet valve element 10 and on the other hand on a part of the pump body 3.

The outlet valve 12 comprises an outlet valve element 39, advantageously formed by the lower lip of the piston 1, and is made in such a way that, when the pump is actuated, it is only open at the end. actuation of the pump to allow the expulsion of the product contained in the pump chamber. This opening is made at the level of passage means formed at the level of a radial internal shoulder 40 of the pump body. The objective of said passage means 40 is to form at least one fluid passage when the outlet valve element 39, which during the entire actuating stroke of the pump cooperates in a sealed manner with the pump body 3, comes at the end of the actuation stroke at said passage means 40.

The expulsion of the product contained in the pump chamber 5 is carried out independently of the actuation speed exerted by the user. To do this, the inlet valve element 10 cooperates with the spring 20 which, upon actuation of the pump, is compressed by the movement of the inlet valve element 10 under the effect of the pressure. pressure created in the pump chamber. At the end of the pump actuation stroke, when the outlet valve 12 is open, said compressed spring 20 will be suddenly released, so that the product contained in the pump chamber is expelled through of said spring. Advantageously, said spring 20 of the inlet valve 11 also acts as a pump return spring, thus returning the piston 1 to its rest position after expulsion of the product.

The pump of Figures 1 and 2 therefore comprises two pistons, on the one hand the piston 1, part of which defines the outlet valve, and on the other hand the inlet valve element 10 defining the inlet valve, and which upon actuation acts as a piston against the outer surface of cylinder 9 of pump body 3.

In figure 2, we see that during assembly, the two pistons are assembled in the body from above. Thus, the lower lip 39 of the piston 1, which forms an outlet valve element, abuts against the inlet of the pump body 3, which can weaken this lip. The lip 39 being oriented axially downwards in the position of FIG. 2, it is necessarily the radially outer end part which produces the seal which comes into contact with the pump body during assembly. Depending on the force with which this part is assembled in the pump body, its integrity may be impaired, which risks reducing its sealing capacities, in particular at high pressures.

Likewise, the inlet valve element 10 is also assembled around the sleeve 9 with its sealing lip which strikes the upper edge of said sleeve. Here too, there is a risk of damaging the sealing surface of this lip, and therefore of impairing the sealing performance of said inlet valve element.

This pump of the prior art shown in Figures 1 and 2 typically delivers a pressure of about 7 bars. This pressure P is equal to the force F of the spring divided by the surface S on which it is applied, according to the formula P = F / S. In the example of the pump of Figures 1 and 2, the spring 20 typically has a force F of 13 N, and the surface S, which corresponds to the outer diameter of the sleeve 9 around which the valve element 10 will slide during the actuation is typically 18.8 mm ² (the external diameter of the sleeve 9 being typically 4.9 mm). The pressure P is therefore approx. 7 bars. By modifying the spring 20, for example by using a spring with a force of 25 N, a pressure of approx. 13 bars. However, this is unlikely for several reasons. On the one hand, because of its dimensions, the actuation of such a 25 N spring in the pump of FIG. 1 could become difficult, in particular for elderly or weak users. On the other hand, such an increase in pressure would run the risk of not being supported by the two pistons, the sealing lips of which are liable to be damaged during assembly of the pump (see above). The risks of leaks and malfunction would be too great, preventing reliable distribution of complete doses of fluid on each actuation.

A subject of the present invention is in particular a precompression pump adapted to deliver a pressure of at least 15 bars, advantageously of at least 20 bars.

To do this, the pump of the prior art of Figures 1 and 2 is modified both structurally and functionally as will be described below. Identical or similar parts are identified in Figures 3 to 14 by the same reference numerals.

As in the pump of Figures 1 and 2, the pump according to the invention comprises a pump body 3 in which slides a piston 1 integral with an actuating rod 2 on which the user presses to actuate the pump. The piston 1 slides in a pump chamber 5 defined in the pump body 3 between an inlet valve 1 1 and an outlet valve 12. A fixing ring 4, for example crimpable, screwable or snap-on, makes it possible to fix the pump on a tank.

The side wall of the pump chamber 5 is reinforced by inserting a sleeve 50 into the pump body 3. This sleeve 50 may be integral, for example in one piece, with the fixing ring 4. This sleeve 50 thus forms a double wall in the pump chamber 5, which makes it possible to avoid deformation of the internal side wall of the pump chamber 5 because of the high pressure created by the pump during actuation. This sleeve 50 comprises the radial shoulder which defines the outlet valve 40. Advantageously, as can be seen in FIG. 4, to avoid any leaks between the sleeve 50 and the pump body 3, a sealed weld 55 is provided, for example by ultrasound, preferably between two radial flanges respectively of said pump body 3 and of said fixing ring 4 which incorporates the sleeve 50.

Likewise, the sleeve 9, which cooperates with the inlet valve element 10, axially extends the pump body 3 downwards in the orientation of Figures 6 to 14 and contains said inlet valve element 10 and said spring 20. The inlet valve member 10 is solid and has peripheral sealing lips which extend radially outward. In the rest position, visible in particular in Figure 6, these sealing lips do not cooperate in a sealed manner with the sleeve 9, so that the inlet valve 11 is open. During actuation, the valve element 10 will slide axially in the sleeve 9 by compressing the spring 20. This sliding is carried out in a sealed manner, the sealing lips of the valve element 10 cooperating in a sealed manner with the sleeve 9.

The sleeve 9 has a reduced diameter compared to the pump body 3. It advantageously comprises external reinforcing ribs 90, visible in particular in Figures 5 and 7 to 9. This implementation of the sleeve 9 allows its radial dimensions to be reduced, typically with an internal diameter smaller than the external diameter of the sleeve 9 of the pump of FIG. 1. Thus, for example, the sleeve 9 of the pump of FIG. 6 could have a diameter of less than 4.2 mm, advantageously less than 4 mm, preferably 3.9 mm.

The piston 1 and the outlet valve member 39 could be made as a single piece, but preferably, as shown in Figures 3 and 6 to 14, the outlet valve member 39 is formed in one piece. separate which is fixed in the piston 1. This fixing can be done by press-fitting, snapping, screwing, or any other suitable fixing. The sealing lips of the piston 1 and the outlet valve member 39 face in the same direction, downward in the position of Figure 6. One of the characteristics of the pump according to the invention is the assembly of the piston 1 and the outlet valve element 39 in the sleeve 50. Unlike the pump of Figures 1 and 2, this assembly is done from below, as visible in Figures 12 and 13. Thus, the sealing lips are not weakened by this assembly, said lips being oriented in the opposite direction to the direction of assembly. In this way, the elastic deformation of the sealing lips is not achieved by frontal contact of the radially outer surface of the lips against the sleeve 50 of the pump chamber 5, but on the contrary, the lips are progressively deformed radially towards the end. 'interior, so that the sealing surfaces are not subjected to any sudden stress which could impair their sealing capacity.

The inlet valve member 10 has sealing lips oriented in the opposite direction to the sealing lips of the piston 1 and the outlet valve member 39. As seen in Figure 14, said valve member d The inlet 10 is assembled into the sleeve 9 of the pump body from above. In this way, its sealing lips are not damaged during assembly either.

The pump according to the invention therefore substantially improves the sealing capacities of the various sealed parts, namely the piston 1, the outlet valve element 39 and the inlet valve element 10.

Thus, it becomes possible to use a spring having a greater force, typically at least 20 N, advantageously 25 N.

With an internal diameter of the sleeve 9 of 3.9 mm, ie a surface area of 12 mm ² , and a spring of 20 N, a pressure P of approximately 16.5 bars is obtained. With a 25 N spring, the pressure rises to approximately 21 bars.

Thus, the present invention makes it possible to provide a pre-compression pump of standard type but capable of distributing the fluid product at a pressure of at least 15 bars, advantageously around 20 bars, which is much higher than traditional standard pumps and even higher than valves operating with propellant gas. The actuation force of such a pump with a spring at 25 N and the surface S of 12 mm ² is less than 60 N, advantageously about 50 N, which remains acceptable.

The present invention also provides an advantageous assembly method. This assembly process comprises the following steps:

- provide the piston 1 integral with the actuating rod 2;

- Provide the pump body 3 comprising the pump chamber 5;

- Provide the sleeve 50, advantageously integral with the fixing ring 4;

- providing the outlet valve element 39 which slides when actuated in a sealed manner in the pump chamber 5;

- providing the inlet valve element 10 sliding in the sleeve 9 of the pump body 3, said sleeve 9 having a reduced diameter;

- provide the spring 20.

The method further comprises the following steps:

- fix the outlet valve element 39 in the piston 1;

- Inserting the piston 1 and the outlet valve element 39 into the sleeve 50, said insertion being performed from below, in the direction of flow of the fluid during its expulsion;

- inserting the spring 20 and the inlet valve element 10 into the sleeve 9 of reduced diameter, said insertion being made from above, in the direction opposite to the flow of the fluid during its expulsion, so as to wedging the spring 20 between the bottom of the sleeve 9 and the inlet valve member 10;

- Inserting the sleeve 50 into the pump body 3, said insertion being made from above, in the direction opposite to the flow of the fluid during its expulsion.

Optionally, the step of inserting the spring 20 and the inlet valve member 10 into the sleeve 9 of reduced diameter can be performed before the step of inserting the piston 1 and the outlet valve member 39 in the sleeve 50.

The operation of the pump is illustrated in Figures 6 to 9. The rest position is visible in Figure 6, with the inlet valve 1 1 open and the outlet valve 12 closed.

At the start of actuation, visible in Figure 7, the inlet valve 11 closes, by sealed cooperation between the lips of the inlet valve element 10 and the internal cylindrical surface of the sleeve 9, while the outlet valve 12 remains closed. The spring 20 is compressed under the effect of the inlet valve element 10 which slides in the sleeve 9. The sleeve 9 having a reduced diameter with respect to the sleeve 50 arranged in the pump body 3, and the fluid contained in the pump chamber 5 being incompressible, this compression of the spring 20 occurs relatively easily, despite the high force of said spring 20.

When approaching the end of actuation, as shown in Figure 8, the outlet valve member 39 approaches the shoulder 40 of the outlet valve, to open the latter.

FIG. 9 illustrates the actuated position, with the outlet valve open and therefore the contents of the pump chamber 5 which are expelled under the effect of the spring 20 which expands. The fluid product is then expelled with a pressure of at least 15 bars, advantageously of at least 20 bars.

Figures 10 and 11 show an alternative embodiment, in which a second spring 80 is provided to assist the user in his actuation force, in order to reduce the latter. In this variant, the second spring 80 is advantageously arranged around the piston 1 to urge it towards its actuated position. The second spring 80 therefore acts against the spring 20, and therefore its force must be less than that of the spring 20.

With such a second spring 80, one could consider using an even more powerful spring 20, for example with a force F greater than 30 N, advantageously even greater than 35 N, for example 38 N, which, for a surface S of 12 mm ² , would make it possible to achieve pressures P greater than 25 bars, advantageously greater than 30 bars, for example 32 bars.

Advantageously, the piston 1 may be integral with an outer sleeve 2 'assembled around the actuating rod 2, itself integral with the outlet valve element 39. This implementation could also be adapted to the variant of Figures 6 to 9.

The present invention also relates to a fluid dispenser device comprising a pump as described above, associated with a spray nozzle comprising a plurality of dispensing orifices.

The use of a micro-hole nozzle, such as for example that described in document WO2018100321, can depending on the design of the nozzle, and in particular if the micro-holes have a diameter less than 5 μm, or even less than 2 μm, require a fluid arriving at high pressure, typically greater than 15 bars. The present invention makes it possible to guarantee a pressure of at least 15 bars, advantageously of at least 20 bars, and this without using propellant gas.

As can be seen in FIG. 3, the device comprises a body 101 containing a reservoir 100, on which a pump as described above is mounted, by means of the fixing ring 4.

The reservoir 100 is preferably without air intake. Advantageously, a deformable bag 105 is fixed inside said reservoir 100, said bag containing the fluid product and deforming as the doses dispensed. Preferably, the filling of the bag can be carried out under vacuum. This implementation guarantees the delivery of almost all of the product contained in the pocket, it allows actuation of the device in any orientation, and it avoids any risk of contamination of the fluid product contained in the pocket. As an alternative to the pocket, one could also use a follower piston in the reservoir 100.

Optionally, one could also use a device operating with an air intake, in which case a filter would be advantageously provided to filter the ventilation air.

A micro-hole nozzle 200, the operation of which will not be more fully described below, but which can be of any known type, such as described for example in documents EP1878507, WO2018100321, EP1698399, WO2015194962 or WO2018219798, is arranged in a dispensing nozzle 1 10 fixed to the body 101. This distribution nozzle 1 10 can be for example a mouthpiece. Typically, the fluid expelled by the pump strikes a plate pierced with a plurality of micro-holes, which generates the atomization of the fluid.

The microholes of the nozzle 200 have a diameter of less than 5 µm, preferably less than 2 µm.

Advantageously, a filter 150 is interposed between the outlet of the pump and the nozzle 200. This filter serves to filter the impurities which could be transported by the fluid when it passes through the various plastic parts. Indeed, there is always a risk that particles are generated during the manufacturing and assembly processes, with the risk of plugging the micro-holes of the nozzle.

Advantageously, the body 101 comprises a lateral actuation arm 160, which enables the pump to be actuated by a lateral actuation.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiments shown in the drawings, and the scope of the invention is on the contrary defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A fluid dispenser device, comprising a body (101) containing a reservoir (100), a pump mounted on said reservoir (100), and a dispensing nozzle (1 10), said pump comprising a pump body ( 3) in which a piston (1) slides, said piston (1) sliding in a pump chamber (5) defined in said pump body (3) between an inlet valve (1 1) and an outlet valve ( 12), a sleeve (9) axially extending said pump body (3) downwards, said sleeve (9) having a reduced diameter with respect to said pump body (3), said sleeve (9) receiving a spring (20) ) and cooperating with an inlet valve element (10) such that in the rest position, said inlet valve element (10) cooperates non-sealingly with said sleeve (9), and when upon actuation, said inlet valve member (10) sealingly slides in said sleeve (9) by compressing said spring (20), characterized in that said pump d istributes said fluid at a pressure (P) of at least 15 bars, advantageously at least 20 bars, said dispensing nozzle (1 10) comprising a micro-hole nozzle (200) comprising a plurality of orifices or distribution holes, said holes of said nozzle (200) having a diameter less than 5 μm, in particular less than 2 μm.

2. Device according to claim 1, wherein a filter (150) is interposed between the outlet of said pump and said micro-hole nozzle (200).

3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said reservoir (100) is without air intake.

4. Device according to claim 3, wherein said reservoir (100) contains a flexible bag (105) containing said fluid.

5. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said body (101) comprises a lateral actuation arm (160), for actuating said pump by lateral actuation.

6. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said piston (1) is integral with an actuating rod (2) on which the user presses manually to actuate the pump.