FR3102465A1 - PACKAGING AND DISTRIBUTION DEVICE FOR A PRODUCT WITH BOTTLE AND PRIMING COVER - Google Patents

Abstract

The device for packaging and dispensing a product (3) comprises a container (1), a dispensing accessory (18) comprising a tip with a flexible portion incorporating one or more metering chambers (8). The product (3) in the container is expelled outwards when the chambers (8) are compressed without air being able to enter the container (1) via the nozzle. A non-return valve (13) allows the product (3) to enter the chambers (8) when they are no longer used but opposes the return of the product (3) into the container when said chambers (8) are used. A set of renewal (4, 5) and filtration of the air entering the container (1) after the delivery of a portion of the product (3) is provided with an outlet. A cover (9) comprising at least one flexible part (17) makes it possible to create an overpressure in the container (1) by compressing air in an area adjacent to the outlet in order to facilitate priming of the device. abstract: Figure 2

Description

PACKAGING AND DISTRIBUTION DEVICE FOR A PRODUCT WITH BOTTLE AND PRIMING CAP

The present invention relates to the technical field of packaging, and more specifically to that of the packaging and distribution of a liquid, semi-fluid or suspension product intended to be stored under sterile conditions, without the addition of preservatives, and distributed in portions or in doses, in particular in drops, using a dispenser assembly.

The subject of the invention is more particularly a device for packaging and dispensing a product, and which comprises a container intended to contain the product to be dispensed using an accessory with which the container is fitted, said accessory comprising a tip.

Packaging devices of conventional structure are known which make it possible to preserve and dispense a product in the form of doses or calibrated drops or in any other form, while maintaining its cleanliness or its sterility throughout the duration of its use.

These devices are used in particular in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food fields, and for some more particularly in the ophthalmological field.

Such a device is described in the patent EP1773676 which provides for a location for a filter whose purpose is to make sterile the air entering the bottle in order to compensate for the depression created by the distribution of a portion of product; this filter can be placed either in the bottom of the bottle or in the mouthpiece.

This patent also describes a valve associated with the filter and operating in such a way that it can let air into the bottle and prevent any air or liquid from leaving the bottle.

Such a device as described in this patent makes it possible to obtain an accurate dosage. The dispenser accessory is fitted with a dosing chamber which, when activated, allows doses of product to be delivered through a nozzle. This tip is made up of two parts, one rigid and the other flexible, the elastic flexible part putting pressure on the metering chamber delimited by said two parts. A product dispensing assembly composed of the elastic end of the flexible part of the nozzle in cooperation with the end of the rigid part of said nozzle allows the product to be expelled towards the outside when the chamber is compressed but does not does not allow air to enter inside the container when said chamber is no longer stressed.

These devices include a non-return valve which allows the supply of the chambers when the pressure on the flexible part ceases and a depression is created in the chamber by the elastic return of the said flexible part to its initial position. This valve prevents the return of the product into the bottle when the chamber is used.

The major drawback of this type of device lies in the difficulty of priming it in order to obtain the first dose.

There is no difficulty in obtaining successive doses of product when it is present in the chambers because the compression of the latter by the pressure buttons acts on a liquid whose physical property is to be incompressible.

On the other hand, before obtaining the first dose of product, it is necessary to replace the air present in the dosing chamber with product. Unlike liquid, air is compressible and the pressure obtained in the chambers by action on the flexible part is low and may not open the elastic end of the tip sufficiently to evacuate a large quantity of air.

Under these conditions, a small part of the air is expelled from the chambers and is only replaced by a small quantity of product, thus forcing the user to press the device many times before obtaining the first dose.

The priming of the device is all the more difficult to control since it depends on the pressure necessary to open the elastic dispenser tip and since this pressure itself depends on the relative dimensions of the flexible part of said tip and the rigid part. with which it cooperates. However, these dimensions are subject to the manufacturing tolerances of the parts and have differences depending on the manufacturing batches.

This drawback may lead the user to consider that the device is defective.

The main purpose of the invention is to allow regular priming of the device.

More generally, the object of the invention is to remedy the drawbacks of similar devices of the state of the art and to propose such a device which is better suited to the various requirements of practice than the known devices.

SUMMARY

In order to improve the situation, according to the invention a device for packaging and dispensing a product, generally liquid, semi-fluid or in suspension, comprising:
- a container intended to contain the product to be packaged and distributed
- a dispensing accessory comprising a tip provided with a flexible part and allowing the product to be dispensed, at least one metering chamber being provided in the tip;
- an assembly for renewing and filtering the air entering the container after the delivery of a portion of the product, said assembly comprising a filter and a non-return valve;
- A conduit communicating with an interior volume of the container, preferably belonging to the air renewal and filtration assembly; And
- a cap ;
with the particularity that the tip is actuated by the flexible part and allows the product to be expelled to the outside when said at least one chamber filled with product is compressed but does not allow air to enter the interior of the container when said at least one chamber is no longer stressed, a non-return valve allowing the product to enter said chamber when it is no longer stressed but opposing the return of the product into the container when said chamber is stressed , and being characterized in that the cover comprises at least one flexible part making it possible to put the container under overpressure, via an air circulation in the said conduit, whereby the cover constitutes a cover for priming the device facilitating the whole first filling of said chamber with product.

A space inside the cover can be subjected to the overpressure effect, for example by using the pressure exerted by the fingers of the user when he apprehends the cover in order to remove it (at least during a first use). The duct opens into this space.

The duct can optionally emerge laterally, optionally close to a zone for fixing the cover on the dispenser accessory.

In a variant, the duct can emerge axially (in the direction of a longitudinal axis of the device).

According to one feature, the tip may include or be composed of two parts, one rigid and the other flexible, the flexible part pressing on metering chambers delimited by said two parts, the end of said flexible part cooperating with the end of said rigid part, allowing the product to be expelled outwards when the chambers are compressed but not allowing air to enter inside the container when said chambers are no longer stressed.

In various embodiments of the device according to the invention, it is also possible to resort to one or more of the following arrangements:
- the cover, when it is mounted on the bottle and before any use of the device, is designed and arranged to tightly envelop a space which can communicate with an external outlet of the conduit.
- the cover has a flexible part over all or part of the circumference which can be deformed inwards by simple finger pressure,
- The cover is provided with an annular-shaped skirt, cooperating in a sealed manner with a projection on the outer face of an annular wall of the rigid part.
- The cover is provided with a skirt comprising a circular recess allowing the circulation of air towards an external outlet of the duct.
- the cover is provided with a rigid inner part making it possible to limit the movement of the flexible part.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention emerge from the description given below, with reference to the appended drawings, which represent, by way of non-limiting examples, embodiments and implementations of the object of the invention. In these drawings:

is a schematic view in axial section of an example of a device in accordance with the invention when it is not stressed, representing a container in which the product to be dispensed is located, an accessory comprising an endpiece composed of two parts the one rigid and the other flexible, the metering chambers delimited by said two parts, the end of said flexible part which cooperates with the end of said rigid part allowing the product to be expelled towards the outside when the chambers are compressed but not allowing air to enter the interior of the container when said chambers are no longer in demand, a non-return valve allowing the product to enter the chambers when they are no longer in demand but opposing the return of the product in the container when the chambers are used, an air renewal and filtration assembly comprising a filter and a non-return valve positioned in the rigid part of the said accessory, and a cover provided with a flexible wall or part of a wall, d a skirt, one part of which allows communication with an external outlet of the duct and another part cooperating in a sealed manner with the dispensing nozzle and delimiting a closed space of variable volume;

is a schematic view in axial section of a device according to FIG. 1, showing the cover when it has been stressed;

is a schematic view in axial section of a device according to FIG. 1 when the cap has been completely detached from the dispensing accessory,

is a schematic view in axial section of a device according to FIG. 3, when the flexible part has been stressed and then released, the non-return valve is open and the metering chambers are filled with the product to be dispensed.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The device as shown in Figure 1 is in the configuration available to the user before any use.

Dosing chambers 8 are empty of product 3 and cover 9 has not been manipulated.

The end of the skirt 15 of the cover 9 is in tight contact with the outer wall 16 of the rigid part 6 thus delimiting a closed space 12.

During its first use, the device operates as follows.

As shown in Figure 2, the user exerts lateral pressure on the flexible wall 17 of the cover along the arrows A, A'.

The lateral displacement of the flexible wall 17 of the cowl leads to a reduction in the volume of the space 12 and an overpressure is created. This overpressure forces the air initially contained in this space 12 to escape through the passage 10 provided between the skirt 15 of the cover and the outer wall 16 of the rigid part 6 of the distributor end piece 18 then of the duct 14 of the rigid part 6, then through filter 4 along arrow B and allows it to open valve 5 to arrive in part 2 free of liquid 3.

An overpressure is then created in this free space 2 of the container 1.

The value of this overpressure depends on the relative values of the volumes of the free space 2 and the variation in the volume of the space 12 inside the cover before and after the displacement of the flexible wall 17.

This overpressure can therefore be determined according to the desired use, by choosing the relative positions of the flexible wall 17 and the rigid part 11 which limits the movement of said flexible wall 17.

Figure 3 shows the device when the cover 9 is completely removed and it is ready for first use.

The overpressure created in space 2 by the previous action on the flexible wall 17 of the cover 9 is exerted on the surface of the liquid 3 along the arrows C and C'.

The device is then ready for use.

Figure 4 shows the device when the flexible part 7 has been stressed along the arrows E and E' in order to compress the metering chambers 8, then when the stress on said flexible part 7 having ceased, the latter has resumed its initial position according to the arrows F and F'.

The elastic return of this flexible part 7 to its initial position after the expulsion of the air previously contained in the chambers 8, creates a suction in the said metering chambers 8 which is added to the excess pressure existing in the free space 2 .

The combination of this suction and this overpressure causes the non-return valve 13 to open and allows the metering chambers 8 to be filled with the liquid 3.

The air initially present in the metering chambers 8 has thus been replaced by the product 3 and the device has been primed with the help of an overpressure, more easily than with the only suction created by the elastic return of the flexible part 7.

After the creation of this overpressure in the space 12 allowing easy priming of the device during its first use, and the distribution of a dose of product 3 by compression of the chambers 8, the cover is put back in place by the user by depression on the dispenser tip 18.

It should be noted that during subsequent use of the device, after the cover has been put back in place on the dispensing nozzle 18, the user will again apprehend the flexible part 17 of the cover 9 to remove it and a new overpressure will be created.

This overpressure is not necessarily necessary since the device having been initiated by the replacement of the air in the metering chambers 8 by liquid, the distribution of the following doses will be done easily by the simple compression of the metering chambers 8 then filled incompressible liquid.

One can easily imagine a configuration of the flexible wall such that it remains in the position obtained after the initial stress either by its shape or its design itself or by a retaining system provided on the rigid part 11.

It can also be noted that when the cover 9 is put back in place after a first use in an intermediate position, the end of the skirt 15 of the cover comes into leaktight contact with the outer part 16 of the rigid part 6 thus delimiting a space 12 closed.

After complete depression of the cover 9 the volume of the space 12 has thus decreased and an overpressure is created which has the effect of introducing air inside the bottle 1 and creating an overpressure.

This overpressure is not necessarily necessary.

The value of this overpressure can be adjusted by adjusting the length of overlap between the inner end of the skirt 15 of the cowl 9 and the outer part 16 of the rigid part 6 until the overpressure is negligible.

On the other hand one could imagine an entirely rigid cover 9 without flexible wall 17 and create an overpressure in the bottle 1 by depression of the cover before the first use.

To do this, the assembly consisting of the cover 9 and the distributor nozzle 18 would have to include an unscrewing system requiring the cover 9 to be pushed in beforehand.

Other embodiments are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus, it is possible to use a device comprising only one metering chamber, or one or more metering chambers of any shape, such as for example that described in patent EP1773676, or not comprising a filter intended to sterilize the air entering the the recipient,

Also, the cover 9 can be screwed onto a threaded portion of the device, in a variant.

Claims (4)

Device for packaging and dispensing a product (3), generally liquid, semi-fluid or in suspension, comprising:
- a container (1) intended to contain the product (3) to be packaged and distributed;
- a dispensing accessory (18) comprising a tip provided with a flexible part (7) and allowing the product (3) to be dispensed, at least one metering chamber (8) being provided in the tip;
- an assembly (4, 5) for renewing and filtering the air entering the container (1) after the delivery of a portion of the product (3), said assembly comprising a filter (4) and a non-return valve (5 );
- a duct (14) communicating with an interior volume of the container, preferably belonging to the assembly (4, 5) for renewing and filtering the air; And
- a cover (9);
the tip being actuated by the flexible part (7) and allowing the product (3) to be expelled outwards when said at least one chamber (8) filled with product is compressed but not allowing air to enter inside the container (1) when said at least one chamber (8) is no longer stressed, a non-return valve (13) allowing the product (3) to enter said chamber (8) when it is not is more stressed but opposing the return of the product (3) into the container (1) when said chamber (8) is stressed, and characterized in that the cover (9) comprises at least one flexible part (17) making it possible to put the container (1) under overpressure, via an air circulation in the said conduit (14), whereby the cap (9) constitutes a priming cap of the device facilitating the very first filling of the said chamber ( 8) into product. Device according to Claim 1, in which the cover (9) is designed and arranged to envelope in a sealed manner a space (12) adjacent to an external outlet of the duct (14), the flexible part of the cover (9) being able to be stressed, preferably in a lateral direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the device, between a first mounting position and a second priming position in which the movement of the flexible part (17) of the cover (9) reduces the size of the space (12) so as to create an overpressure in the container (1), the air of said space (12) being compressed in the second position by the sealing effect of the cap which is maintained during the passage of the first position to second position. Device according to Claim 1 or 2, in which the flexible part (17) of the cover (9) does not return to its initial position after a first stress. Device according to Claim 1, 2 or 3, in which two parts are provided in the end piece, one rigid (6) and the other flexible to form the said flexible part (7), the flexible part (7) pressing on the at least one metering chamber (8) delimited by said two parts, one end of said flexible part (7) cooperating with one end of said rigid part (6).