JP2007515285A - Fluid dispenser member - Google Patents

Abstract

A fluid dispenser member designed to be combined with a fluid reservoir (50), the chamber (1) within which fluid is subjected to pressure, comprising an inlet valve (161, 38) and an outlet In addition, the main piston (133), which is in leak-proof slide contact with the chamber, the administration opening (25), and the inside of the main cylinder (242) and changes the volume of the chamber, is driven, whereby the main piston A pusher (20) that causes relative movement between the main cylinder and the main cylinder, and a differential piston (31, 32, 32) that is in leakproof sliding contact with the interior of the pusher and selectively opens the outlet of the chamber. 33), and is characterized by further comprising stroke limiting means (28, 39) for limiting the stroke of the differential piston within the pusher, the stroke limiting means being It said fluid dispenser member in that provided is referred to between the Ssha a differential piston.

Description

  The present invention relates to a fluid dispenser member that, as a general design, is combined with a fluid reservoir to form a fluid dispenser therewith. This is a type of dispenser member that is typically driven manually by a user using a finger. The fluid is administered in the form of a fine droplet spray, a continuous trickle, or a mass of fluid (especially in the case of viscous fluids such as cosmetic creams). Such fluid dispenser members are used in particular in the field of perfumes, cosmetics, especially medicines, and can dispense fluids of varying viscosity.

  More specifically, the present invention relates to a dispenser member of the type referred to as a “pusher pump”. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The above name is explained by the fact that the pusher of the dispenser member not only forms the dosing opening, but also forms part of the fluid chamber in which the fluid is selectively pressurized. can do. If the dispenser member is a pump, the chamber is a pump chamber. The peculiarities of such pusher pumps lie in the following facts. That is, the inner surface of the pusher (the overall shape of the surface is substantially cylindrical) acts as a leak-proof slide cylinder for the piston, and the piston moves in a leak-proof contact with the inside of the cylinder. The fact is that the dosing opening is thereby selectively opened. Normally, the piston here is a differential type piston that moves in response to a change in pressure of fluid in the chamber. The differential piston should be distinguished from the main piston which is moved by driving the pusher. That is, such a pusher pump includes a differential piston and a main piston, and these pistons can move in respective cylinders in a leak-proof contact state. The main cylinder for the main piston can also be formed by a pusher.

  This is especially true for the pumps described in the patent document: WO 97/23304. The pusher has a push wall, and pressure is applied to the push wall with a finger for the purpose of driving the pusher. Further, the pusher has a skirt extending downward from the push wall. The skirt forms a first leak-proof slide cylinder for the differential piston and a second main cylinder for the main piston of the pump. The differential piston is separated from the main piston. The differential piston is pushed by the spring in a direction away from the push wall, which acts as both a return spring and a precompression spring. The slide cylinder for the differential piston has an outlet duct that leads to a nozzle housed in a recess formed in the pusher skirt. The nozzle is formed with a dispensing opening through which fluid is discharged from the dispenser member. In addition, the recess formed in the skirt has a vortex system. The system cooperates with the nozzle to flow fluid that is in vortex motion at a stage prior to being released through the dosing opening. The vortex system is made in conventional fashion from one or more tangential vortex channels that open into the vortex chamber, which is precisely centered at the dosing opening. The vortex system takes the form of a concave network that is a recess inside the skirt. The concave network is thus combined with a separate nozzle, which will separate the vortex channel from the chamber. Thus, the slide cylinder of the differential piston is in the form of a cylindrical surface interrupted only by the outlet channel. When the pusher is pushed, the main piston rises inside the main cylinder of the pusher, whereby the differential piston is moved in a manner that slides inside the differential cylinder in a leak-proof manner. As a result, the spring is compressed. Then, the differential piston moves upward toward the pusher push wall. The active sealing lip of the differential piston (which directly contacts the fluid) slides in the lower portion of the cylinder located below the outlet channel. As soon as the differential piston reaches the outlet duct, the fluid under pressure in the chamber is pumped out of the chamber through the duct and reaches the nozzle. Then, after being swirled there, it is discharged via the administration opening.

Patent Document: The pump in WO 97/23304 has five basic components: a body designed to be combined with a fluid reservoir, a pusher, a ball forming an inlet valve member, a differential piston, and Nozzle). A main piston is formed in the main body.
In the prior art document, the differential piston is pressed against the body by a return and pre-compression spring, thereby forming a rest abutment with respect to the differential piston. As the pressure rises in the chamber, the differential piston leaves the contact point on the body and moves upward toward the dosing wall, thereby opening the outlet duct opening to the nozzle. Thus, the rest position of the differential piston is directly dependent on the body.

  The object of the present invention is to define a dispenser member in which the movement of the differential piston is not affected by the body at all.

  To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a fluid dispenser member designed to be combined with a fluid reservoir, in which a fluid is subjected to pressure, an inlet valve and an outlet. The main opening of the main cylinder that changes the volume of the chamber and is driven between the main piston and the main cylinder. And a differential piston that is in leak-proof sliding contact with the interior of the pusher and that selectively opens the outlet of the chamber. And a stroke limiting means for limiting the stroke of the differential piston at the point, wherein the stroke limiting means is provided between the pusher and the differential piston. Cormorant wherein a fluid dispenser member.

  The connection of the differential piston to the pusher is thus in the form that its movement depends only on the interaction with the pusher and no longer on it with the body. In this way, the pusher and the differential piston together form an independent entity and can be mounted on the body with a single operation. The differential piston in the above prior art document does not actually depend on the pusher or the main body, and therefore the assembly of the pump is relatively complicated. With the differential piston housed inside the pusher, the assembly of the dispenser member is much simpler.

  Also, in an advantageous embodiment, the pusher has a push wall that can be pressed to drive the pusher along the drive shaft and a substantially cylindrical peripheral skirt, and the differential piston comprises: It is assumed that the slide cylinder formed by the inner surface of the skirt is in a leak-proof slide contact state. The stroke limiting means has a holding member formed on the push wall and a fastening member formed on the differential piston, and the fastening member is engaged with the holding member, so that the shaft of the differential piston is It is effective that the moving range of the direction can be a limited stroke between the high contact position and the low contact position. The retaining member includes at least one retaining profile, and the retaining member includes at least one retaining head, the head being adapted to engage with the at least one retaining profile in a low contact position. Is effective. In addition, it is effective that the push wall has a push outer surface and an inner surface, and the fastening member is in contact with the inner surface on the upper side.

Thereby, the stroke limiting means is formed at the position of the push wall by the differential piston and the pusher.
In an advantageous embodiment, the differential piston has a disk formed with an outer peripheral edge formed with at least one sealing lip in leak-tight sealing contact with the cylinder of the skirt, and the fastening member is Suppose that it extends from the disc in the direction of the push wall. Also, it is effective that the differential piston has an axial rod, and the rod cooperates with the valve seat to form the inlet valve with both.

As another aspect of the present invention, the differential piston is pushed by spring means formed integrally with the pusher. Further, it is effective that the spring means is made of an elastically deformable tab.
As another aspect of the present invention, the dispenser member has a return spring that pushes the pusher into the rest position, and the spring is formed integrally with the pusher.

The invention will be described in more detail in the following part with reference to the accompanying drawings which show embodiments of the invention as non-limiting examples.
The embodiment of the dispenser member of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is shown in a form combined with a container 50, and the container is formed with an opening in the form of a neck 53, and the neck is effective. As a typical configuration, the outer surface has a fixing profile. The container 50 forms the fluid reservoir 5 therein.

The dispenser member is composed of three components (ie, the main body 10, the pusher 20, and the piston member 30). All three parts can be manufactured from plastic material by injection molding.
The main body 10 has a fixing ring 11 that cooperates with the neck 53 of the container 50. More precisely, the ring 11 is engaged with the neck 53. The body 10 can also be provided with a self-sealing lip 12 in sealing contact with the inner wall of the neck 53. The guide band 14 may have a shape that extends in a straight line with the fixing ring 11. At its top end, the ring 14 is provided with an inwardly extending rim 141 whose function will be described below. The main body 10 is also provided with a bushing 13 which extends within the guide band 14 so that the centers of the two coincide. Thereby, an annular space is created between the band 14 and the bushing 13. A main piston 133 is formed on the upper end of the bushing 13 in the form of a sealing lip. The body 10 is further provided with an inlet sleeve 16 which extends within the bushing 13 so that the centers of the two coincide. A valve profile or valve seat 161 is formed at the upper end of the sleeve 16. In addition, a dip tube 15 extending into the container 50 is formed in an integrated form with the main body 10. Inside the dip tube is formed an inlet duct 18 that extends into the inlet sleeve 16.

  The pusher 20 has a push wall 21 and a peripheral skirt 22. The skirt 22 is connected to the push wall 20 at its outer peripheral edge. The push wall 21 has a push outer surface 211 and an inner surface 212. The push wall 21 and the skirt 22 are shaped like an upside down cup. The end wall of the cup is formed by the push wall 21 and the cylindrical side wall is formed by the skirt 22. It has become. The push wall 21 is provided with spring means in the form of elastically deformable tabs or blades 27 extending from the inner surface 212. In addition, the push wall 21 is also provided with a holding member 28 extending from the inner surface 212. The holding member 28 includes at least one holding profile 281 having a holding edge facing the inner surface 212. As a practical form, the holding member may be formed on the outside of a column extending downward from the push wall 21 and provided with a plurality of holding profiles.

The skirt 22 includes an administration wall 23 and a guide wall 24.
The administration wall 23 is connected to the outer peripheral portion of the push wall 21 via its upper end. The guide wall 24 is connected to the lower end of the administration wall 23 via its upper end. The administration wall 23 includes an outer surface and an inner surface 232. The inner surface is at least partially cylindrical and forms a leak-proof slide cylinder. The inner wall 232 is provided with a vortex system 26 having a concave network formed on the cylindrical surface 232 as an effective configuration. The vortex system consists of one or more vortex channels and a vortex chamber. Furthermore, the administration wall 23 is provided with an administration opening that extends through the wall from the inner surface to the outer surface. The dispensing opening 25 is centered with respect to the vortex system 26.

  The guide wall 24 is fitted in an annular space formed between the guide band 14 and the bushing 13. A shoulder 241 is formed on the guide wall, and the shoulder works in contact with the lower side of the rim 141 extending inward of the band 14. As an effective configuration, the inner surface 242 of the guide wall 24 forms a main cylinder, and the main piston 133 can move in a leak-proof contact state inside the cylinder. The guide wall 24 is pressed by a spring 40, which presses the shoulder 241 against the inwardly extending rim 141. As an effective configuration, the spring 40 can be made to be aligned with the guide wall 24 integrally with the pusher. With such a configuration, the main piston 133 can slide within the pusher (more strictly speaking, inside the guide wall 24 that forms the main cylinder 242 inside).

  In this example, the piston member 30 forms a differential piston that is combined with a moving inlet valve member. The piston member 30 has a disk 31, and two sealing lips 32 and 33 are formed on the outer peripheral edge of the disk. The disk 31 and its two lips together form a differential piston. In the rest position shown in FIG. 1, the upper lip 32 is located above the vortex system, while the lower lip 33 is located below the vortex system. For this reason, the vortex system cannot communicate with the inside of the pusher. In addition, the disk 31 is formed with an annular recess 311 that serves to accommodate the free end of the elastically deformable tab 27 formed on the push wall. Further, a fastening member 39 is formed on the piston member 30, and the member 39 extends from the disk 31 toward the push wall 21. The fastening member 39 includes a fastening head 392, and the head is located at the end of the tab 391. The fastening head 392 is fitted between the holding profile 281 formed on the holding member 28 and the inner wall 212. Such a configuration allows the head to move only over a limited stroke between the holding profile and the inner surface of the push wall. However, when the elastically deformable tab 27 pushes the piston member 30 away from the push wall 21, the fastening head 392 is brought into engagement with the holding profile 281. Further, the fastening head 392 can be brought into contact with the inner surface 212 by bending the elastically deformable tab 27. Thus, there is a stroke limiting means in the form of a holding member cooperating with the fastening member.

  In this way, the piston member 30 can move in the axial direction over a limited stroke while being confined in the pusher. However, the elastically deformable tab 27 pushes the piston member into the rest position, where the fastening head is engaged with the holding profile. In addition, sealing lips 32, 33 are placed on both sides of the vortex system and separate it from the surroundings. This corresponds to the rest position shown in FIG.

In addition, the piston member 30 is further formed with an axial central rod 37 having an inlet valve profile 38 at the lower end, which profile cooperates with a corresponding profile 161 inside the sleeve 16. Thus, both form an inlet valve. In the rest position, the inlet valve is open.
Thus, a pump chamber 1 is created between the body, the pusher and the piston member. The pump chamber 1 is separated from the outside by a lower lip 33, but communicates with the reservoir via an open inlet valve.

  It is possible to apply pressure to the outer push surface 211 of the push wall 21 starting from the rest position shown in FIG. If it does so, a pusher and a piston member will move with respect to a main body. In the first stage, the inlet valve is closed because the axial rod 37 enters deeper into the sleeve 16 to achieve a slide leakproof contact condition. At that stage, the pump chamber 1 is separated from the outside. Thereafter, the pressure received by the fluid in the pump chamber increases, whereby the piston member 30 is moved toward the push wall 21 against the pulling force applied from the elastic tab 27. Thus, the lower lip 33 moves upward and eventually reaches the vortex system 26. The fluid then finds an exit passage through the vortex system and further through the dosing opening. This driving position is shown in FIG. In order to reach this position, the pressure in the pump chamber needs to be greater than the stiffness of the elastically deformable tab 27. That is, the tab acts as a pre-compression spring. The piston member 30 can move in the direction of the push wall 21 until the fastening head 392 is in contact with the inner surface 212. This position is shown in FIG. 2, but the lower sealing lip 33 of the differential piston is in the position of the vortex system. As soon as the pressure in the chamber drops again, the piston member 30 can again move in the direction away from the push wall 21 under the driving force from the elastic tab 27. Eventually, the piston member 30 returns to the rest position shown in FIG.

  In the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the container 50, the main body 10, and the piston member 30 can be the same as those in FIGS. The pusher 20 has an administration wall 23 and a guide wall 24, and the wall 24 forms a main cylinder for the main piston 133 therein. An elastically deformable tab 27 and a holding member 28 are also formed on the push wall 21. The movement of the piston member inside the pusher 20 can be the same as that of the embodiment in FIGS. However, the inner surface of the dosing wall 23 is not formed in a form with a vortex system, it has only a direct duct 25 and no dosing opening is formed. The pusher 20 here is combined with a cap 60 that covers the push wall 21 and the drive wall 23. As an example, the pusher can be force fitted into the cap. The cap 60 has an outer peripheral ring 63, extends in a shape surrounding the administration wall 23 in a state where the centers coincide with each other, and is in a clamp contact state therewith. The ring 63 is formed with a dispensing opening 65. Furthermore, the outer surface of the dosing wall 23 is formed in such a way that it comprises a vortex system 26 centered on the dosing opening 65.

  While the piston member 30 is confined in the pusher, the movement in the axial direction is given freedom in a limited range. It should also be noted that the precompression spring is formed in an integrated form with the pusher. In addition, confining the piston member and limiting its movement is accomplished entirely by the pusher and piston member, and no additional parts are required.

1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a first embodiment of a dispenser member combined with a fluid reservoir (only a portion is shown) in a resting state. FIG. It is a figure similar to FIG. 1, and is a figure in a drive position. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 1, 2 which shows another embodiment of this invention in a rest position. FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 and is a view at a driving position.

Claims (10)

A fluid dispenser member designed to be combined with a fluid reservoir (50) comprising:
A chamber (1) within which fluid is subjected to pressure, said chamber comprising an inlet valve (161, 38) and an outlet;
An administration opening (25);
A main piston (133) that is in leak-proof slide contact with the interior of the main cylinder (242) and changes the volume of the chamber;
A pusher (20) that, when driven, causes a relative movement between the main piston and the main cylinder; and
A differential piston (31, 32, 33) that is in leak-proof slide contact with the interior of the pusher and selectively opens the outlet of the chamber;
The feature is
Stroke limiting means (28, 39) for limiting the stroke of the differential piston within the pusher is further provided, the stroke limiting means being provided between the pusher and the differential piston.
Said fluid dispenser member. The pusher has a push wall (21) that can be pressed to drive the pusher along the drive axis (X), and a substantially cylindrical peripheral skirt (22). In a leak-proof slide contact with the slide cylinder formed by the inner surface (232) of the
The fluid dispenser member according to claim 1. The stroke limiting means has a holding member (28) formed on the push wall and a fastening member (39) formed on the differential piston, and the difference between the fastening member and the holding member is engaged. The axial movement range of the moving piston can be limited stroke between the high contact position and the low contact position;
The fluid dispenser member according to claim 2. The retaining member (28) comprises at least one retaining profile (281), the fastening member (39) comprises at least one fastening head (392), said head being in said low contact position said at least one one Suitable for entering into a retention profile,
The fluid dispenser member according to claim 3. The push wall has a push outer surface (211) and an inner surface (212), and the fastening member (39) is in contact with the inner surface on the upper side,
The fluid dispenser member according to claim 3 or 4. The differential piston has a disc (31) with an outer peripheral edge formed with at least one sealing lip (32, 33) in leak-tight sealing contact with the cylinder of the skirt, and the fastening member from the disc Extending in the direction of the push wall,
The fluid dispenser member according to any one of claims 3 to 5. The differential piston has an axial rod (37) which cooperates with the valve seat (161) to form the inlet valve together;
The fluid dispenser member according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The differential piston is pushed by spring means (27) formed integrally with the pusher;
The fluid dispenser member according to any one of claims 1 to 7. The spring means comprises an elastically deformable tab (27);
The fluid dispenser member according to claim 8. A return spring (244) for pushing the pusher into the rest position, said spring being formed in one piece with the pusher;
The fluid dispenser member according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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