FR2838723A1 - Liquid product dosing pump comprises housing and dip tube, extending axially along housing longitudinal axis extending towards bottom of reservoir on which pump is assembled, bent at angle to axis once pump is assembled - Google Patents

Abstract

The laterally actuated dosing pump comprises a pump housing (10), with a longitudinal axis (A), and a dip tube (90) connected to the housing and extending towards the bottom of a reservoir on which the pump is assembled. The rigid dip tube extends axially along the longitudinal axis before the pump is assembled on the reservoir and comprises a bending zone (95) allowing it to be bent at an angle to the axis once the pump has been assembled. An Independent claim is included for a fluid distribution device comprising the pump.

Description

: ^ lot (23) lacking said limiting effect material (22).

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  The present invention relates to a fluid dispensing pump with manual actuation, as well as a product dispensing device.

fluid comprising such a pump.

  To dispense in a metered manner a fluid product contained in a reservoir, it is known to use a fluid dispensing pump, which is assembled on said reservoir, and by means of which the content is distributed

  to said reservoir by dispensing a dose on each actuation of the pump.

  To ensure a distribution of the major part of the product contained in the reservoir, it is generally provided, at least in the devices used in an upright position, a dip tube extending to the bottom of the reservoir. In order to ensure optimal emptying when the end of the product is reached, it is often planned to arrange the lower end of the dip tube at a lateral edge of the bottom of the tank, so that with a low inclination to said reservoir, we can practically distribute the entire product through the

  is a dip tube. To achieve this, two solutions are generally adopted.

  According to a first solution, the dip tube is flexible and slightly longer in the axial direction than the depth of the reservoir, so that when the pump is assembled on the container, the lower end of the dip tube abuts against this bottom of the tank and by its flexibility, is bent or folded in the direction of a lower edge lateral to said tank. However, this implementation is not always possible, especially when the dip tube is made in one piece with a part extending inside the pump body, this

  which implies that this dip tube cannot be made of flexible material.

  On the other hand, the use of flexible dip tubes can in certain assembly systems be a drawback, in particular when the diameters of the opening of the tank are very small, and the assembly rates are high. This may have the consequence that the dip tube does not penetrate inside the tank during this assembly. Another solution adopted for placing the lower end of the dip tube at a lower lateral edge of the reservoir consists in directly assembling an inclined dip tube on the pump, then assembling this pump with said inclined dip tube

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  inside the tank. This implementation, however, presents a major drawback, namely that it complicates the assembly operation on the reservoir, since this assembly can no longer be carried out simply axially in

  due to the inclination of the dip tube.

  The object of the present invention is to provide a distribution pump for

  fluid product which does not reproduce the above-mentioned drawbacks.

  In particular, the present invention aims to provide a fluid dispensing pump which guarantees optimal emptying of the contents of the reservoir on which the pump is assembled, despite the use of a tube.

o substantially rigid plunger.

  The present invention also aims to provide such a fluid dispensing pump which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and assemble. In particular, the object of the present invention is to provide such a pump s for dispensing a fluid product which avoids any risk of malfunction when the pump is assembled on the reservoir containing the product to be dispensed. The present invention therefore relates to a fluid dispensing pump with manual actuation, comprising a pump body having a longitudinal axis, and a dip tube connected to said pump body and intended to extend towards the bottom of a reservoir on which said pump is assembled, characterized in that said dip tube is substantially rigid and extends axially along the longitudinal axis of the pump before assembly of the pump on the reservoir, said dip tube comprising means for folding or d 'tilt so that after assembly, said dip tube makes an angle with

led * longitudinal axis of the pump.

  According to a first embodiment of the present invention, said folding or tilting means comprise a folding zone carried out on the

  dip tube, near the pump body.

  o Advantageously, said folding zone is formed by a wall portion

  thinner than said dip tube.

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  Advantageously, the dip tube comprises a radial annular flange cooperating inside the pump body with an annular bottom wall of the pump body, said dip tube being assembled in said pump body by the interior of the pump body. , and said radial flange supporting the spring of

s the pump.

  Advantageously, the dip tube comprises a hollow axial tube extending from said radial annular flange towards the interior of the pump body. Advantageously, said dip tube, said radial annular flange and

  o said axial wind tube made in one piece.

  According to a second embodiment of the present invention, said folding or tilting means comprise a connected tilting ball joint

  sealingly to a receiving part of the pump body.

  Advantageously, said tilting ball joint and said receiving part

  i5 respectively have a substantially spherical shape.

  Advantageously, said tilt ball joint to said dip tube is assembled, in particular snapped, in said receiving part of the pump body. Advantageously, during the assembly of the pump on a reservoir, where the end of the dip tube abuts against the bottom of the reservoir, which

  actuates said folding or tilting means.

  The present invention also relates to a dispensing device

  of fluid product comprising a pump as defined above.

  Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention

  will appear more clearly during the following detailed description of two

  embodiments thereof, made with reference to the accompanying drawings, given at

  titles of nonlimiting examples, and in which: - Figure 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a fluid dispensing pump according to a first embodiment of the present invention, before assembly of said pump in a tank;

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  - Figure 2 is a view similar to that of Figure 1, after assembly of the pump in a tank; - Figure 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the present invention, before assembly of the pump in a reservoir; and Figure 4 is a figure similar to that of Figure 3, after

  pump assembly in a tank.

  The figures represent two embodiments of the invention

  o applied to the same type of pump which will be described below. It is understood that the present invention can be applied to any pump tail, and the range of

  The invention is not limited to the examples shown in the drawings.

  With reference to the drawings, the pump comprises a pump body 10 having a longitudinal axis A. The pump body 10 extends inside a reservoir 2, of which only the neck is shown diagrammatically in FIGS. 2 and 3 , by means of a dip tube 90. The pump can be assembled on the reservoir by means of a fixing ring 1 which can be any, and in particular screwable, crimpable or snap-on. Generally, a neck seal is interposed between the fixing ring 1 and the neck of the reservoir 2. The pump represented in the drawings comprises a first piston 50 connected, preferably in a single piece, to an actuating rod 60, which is preferably hollow and which incorporates an expulsion channel 61. The user exerts an axial force on said actuating rod 60, for example by means of a pusher or a dispensing head (not shown). The pump shown in the drawings further comprises a second piston 55 which slides in a part of the pump body having a reduced diameter. A pump chamber 20 is defined between an inlet valve 30 and an outlet valve 40. A return spring 70 is provided in the pump to automatically bias the pump towards its rest position, and bring it back to this position after each actuation. In addition, a stop element, such as a ferrule 80, is assembled in the upper edge of the body of

  pump 10 to define the rest position of the pump.

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  According to the invention, the dip tube 90 is substantially rigid and axially extends along the longitudinal axis A of the pump before assembly of the pump on the reservoir. The position before assembly is shown in Figures 1 and 3. The fact that the dip tube is rigid and that it extends along the longitudinal axis A of the pump facilitates assembly, and eliminates any risk malfunction of the pump assembly machine on the reservoir, especially when the mouth of the reservoir is small. To ensure optimum drainage of the product contained in the reservoir, it is desirable that the lower end 99 of the dip tube 90 be positioned, or after assembly, at a lower lateral edge of the reservoir. To do this, the substantially rigid dip tube 90 comprises folding or tilting means 95 adapted to bend or tilt the dip tube 9 0 after its assembly in the tank, so that said dip tube 90 makes an angle.

  with said longitudinal axis A, as shown in Figures 2 and 4.

  s Figures 1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the invention.

  In this first embodiment, the folding or tilting means 95 are produced in the form of a folding zone 95. This can advantageously be formed on the dip tube by means of a wall portion of smaller thickness at said dip tube. Preferably, this bending zone 95 is arranged close to the pump body 10, so that the inclination or the folding of the dip tube 90 takes place as close as possible to said pump body 10. In the example of embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, the dip tube 90 is produced in a single piece with a radial annular flange 91 and a hollow axial tube 92. The radial annular flange 91 cooperates inside the

  pump body 10 with an annular bottom wall of this pump body 10.

  Wile can support the spring 70 of the pump. The hollow axial tube 92 extends along the longitudinal axis from said radial annular flange 91 towards the interior of the pump body 10, and is advantageously intended to be connected to the inlet valve 30 of the chamber. pump 20. The fact that this dip tube is o made in one piece with this radial annular flange 91 and this hollow axial tube 92 implies that the dip tube can be substantially rigid. Indeed, a

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  both the radial annular flange 91 and the hollow axial tube 92 must be rigid, so that it is not possible to produce with the same material and in a single piece a dip tube 90 which would be flexible. The present invention, according to this first embodiment of Figures 1 and 2, therefore allows to realize s such a rigid mold dip tube, while allowing optimal emptying of the tank by providing this folding zone 95 which allows the dip tube , during the assembly in the tank, to fold so that the lower end 99 comes to be positioned at the level of a lateral edge lower than said tank. This is advantageously obtained during assembly of the pump in the tank or by a stop between the lower end 99 and the bottom of the tank. As with flexible dip tubes, it suffices that the dip tube 90 is slightly longer than the depth of the reservoir, so that at the end of assembly of the pump in the reservoir, the latter abuts on the bottom of the reservoir, which activates the folding zone 95 and deflects the dip tube 90 relative to the longitudinal axis A. s The mold dip tube shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is assembled from inside the pump body 10, that is to say that it is introduced into the pump body by the upper edge of the latter, then positioned in abutment against the annular bottom wall 11 of the pump body, the return spring 70 of the pump then being has on said radial annular flange 91 the dip tube. This assembly of the dip tube from the inside of the pump body is also simplified and made more reliable by the use of a rigid stetendent dip tube.

longitudinally before assembly.

  Figures 3 and 4 show a second embodiment of the present invention. This second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the dip tube is no longer assembled by the interior of the

  pump body 10, but is connected to the pump body from the outside thereof.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the folding or tilting means 95 of the dip tube 90 comprise a tilting ball 95 which is connected to

  sealingly to a receiving part 15 of the pump body 10.

  Advantageously, to ensure reliable pivoting of the dip tube 90 relative to the longitudinal axis A of the pump, the tilt ball 95 and the part

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  reception 15 respectively have a substantially spherical shape.

  Advantageously, the ball 95 is snapped into the interior of the receiving part 15, which ensures its maintenance as well as the tightness of the connection. In a similar manner to the first embodiment described above, the dip tube has a length slightly greater than the depth of the reservoir, and during assembly, the lower end 99 of the dip tube 90 abuts against the bottom of the reservoir, which causes the pivoting of said dip tube at its tilting ball joint 95. In the example of FIGS. 3 and 4, the length of the dip tube has been truncated, and it is understood that this can be

  io any and must adapt to the depth of the tank, in a conventional manner.

  The present invention therefore makes it possible to provide a fluid dispensing pump comprising a dip tube which is both rigid, which facilitates its assembly on the one hand in the pump body and on the other hand in the reservoir, and which on the other hand is adapted to fold automatically during assembly to position against a lower lateral edge of the tank

  to thus promote an optimal emptying of it.

  Although the present invention has been described with reference to two particular embodiments thereof, it is understood that a person skilled in the art can make any modifications without departing from the scope of the present invention as

  o as defined by the appended claims.

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Claims (9)

claims   1.- Fluid dispensing pump with lateral actuation, comprising a pump body (10) having a longitudinal axis (A), and a dip tube (90) connected to said pump body (10) and intended for s extend towards the bottom of a reservoir on which said pump is assembled, characterized in that said dip tube (90) is substantially rigid and extends axially along the longitudinal axis (A) of the pump before assembly of the pump on the reservoir, said dip tube (90) comprising folding or tilting means (95) so that after assembly, said dip tube (90) makes an angle with said axis longitudinal (A) of the pump.   2. A pump according to claim 1, in which said folding or tilting means (95) comprise a folding zone (95) produced on   the dip tube (90), near the pump body (10).   s 3.- pump according to claim 2, wherein said folding zone (95) is formed by a wall portion of smaller thickness at said dip tube (90).   4.- Pump according to any one of the preceding claims,   wherein the dip tube (90) has a radial annular flange o (91) cooperating inside the pump body (10) with an annular bottom wall (11) of the pump body (10), said tube plunger (90) being assembled in said pump body (10) through the interior of the pump body (10), and said radial flange (91) supporting the spring (70) of the pump. 5.- Pump according to claim 4, wherein the dip tube (90) comprises a hollow axial tube (92) stetendant from said flange   radial annular (91) towards the interior of the pump body (10).   6.- Pump according to claim 5, wherein said dip tube (90), said radial annular flange (91) and said axial tube (92) wind realized in one piece. 9 2838723   7.- Pump according to claim 1, wherein said folding or tilting means (95) comprise a tilting ball (95) connected in a sealed manner to a receiving part (15) of the body of pump (10).   8.- Pump according to claim 7, wherein said tilting ball joint (95) and said receiving part (15) comprise   respectively a substantially spherical form.   9.- Pump according to claim 7 or 8, wherein said tilt ball joint (95) to said dip tube (9 0) is assembled, in particular   o snapped into said receiving part (15) of the pump body (10).   10.- Pump according to any one of the preceding claims,   in which, during the assembly of the pump on a reservoir, the end (99) of the dip tube (90) abuts against the bottom of the reservoir, which   actuates said folding or tilting means (95).   11.- Fluid product distribution device, characterized in that it   comprises a pump according to any one of the claims preceding. * * *