JP2007522933A - Fluid dispenser member - Google Patents

Abstract

  A fluid dispenser member having a dosing wall (623) shaped with an outer surface and an inner surface, the wall having a penetrating dosing opening (625) connecting the inner surface to the outer surface, the inner surface being a piston (632) 633), and the piston is suitable for moving the inside of the cylinder in contact with no gap and selectively opening the dosing opening. Forms a wall part of the fluid chamber (1), within which the fluid is selectively subjected to pressure and is characterized by an inner surface having two surface parts, an upper part (6322). And the lower part (6242), the inner diameter of the upper part is smaller than the inner diameter of the lower part, the dosing opening is formed in the upper part, and the piston is in sliding contact with the lower part in a leak-proof manner Sealed Is that flop (633) is provided, said fluid dispenser member that.

Description

  The present invention relates to a fluid dispenser member that is generally assembled to a fluid container and designed to form a fluid dispenser with the fluid container. It is typically a dispenser member that is manually driven by a user with a finger. The fluid is administered in the form of a fine drop spray stream, a constant drop, or a drop of fluid (especially in the case of viscous fluids such as cosmetic creams).

Such fluid dispenser members can be used to administer fluids of different viscosities, especially in the field of perfumes, cosmetics and even pharmaceuticals.
More specifically, the present invention relates to (but is not limited to) a type of dispenser member that may be referred to as a “pusher pump”. With respect to its name, the dispenser member has a pusher, which not only is formed with a dosing opening, but also forms a part of the fluid chamber, within which the fluid is selectively passed. It can be explained by the fact that pressure can be applied. If the dispenser member is a pump, the chamber is a pump chamber. The characteristics of such a pusher pump are particularly in the following points. In other words, the inner surface of the pusher (substantially cylindrical as an overall shape) acts as a leak-proof slide cylinder for the piston, and the piston moves in contact with the inside of the cylinder without any gaps, thereby allowing administration. The opening is selectively opened. Generally, the piston is a differential type piston and moves in response to a change in the pressure of fluid inside the chamber. The differential piston should be distinguished from the main piston that is moved by driving the pusher. That is, such a pusher pump has a differential piston and a main piston, and these pistons can move in a state where they are in contact with each other without gaps. A main cylinder for the main piston can also be formed by a pusher.

  This applies in particular to the pump described in the document WO 97/23304. The pusher has a push wall, and the pusher can be driven by applying pressure to the push wall with a finger. In addition, the pusher has a skirt that extends downwardly from the push wall. The skirt is formed with a first leak-proof sliding 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 moved away from the push wall by the force of the spring, which acts as both a return spring and a precompression spring. The differential piston slide cylinder is provided with an outlet duct, which leads to a nozzle housed in a recess formed in the skirt of the pusher. A dispensing opening is formed in the nozzle and fluid is discharged from the dispenser member through the dispensing opening. In addition, the recess formed in the skirt is provided with a vortex system that cooperates with the nozzle so that the fluid is taken into the vortex before it is discharged from the dosing opening. . The vortex system is usually made up of one or more tangential vortex channels, which are open into the vortex chamber right around the dosing opening. The vortex system is in the form of a network fitted into the recess of the skirt. The embedded network is further combined with a separate nozzle, which separates the vortex channel from the chamber. Here, the sliding cylinder of the differential piston has a cylindrical surface shape except for only the position of 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. This compresses the spring. At this time, the differential piston moves upward toward the pusher push wall. The effective sealing lip of the differential piston (the lip is in direct contact with the fluid) slides on the lower part 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 where it is discharged from the dosing opening in a vortex.

  The document WO 97/23304 document pump has five main components: a body designed to be assembled to a fluid container, a pusher, a ball forming an inlet valve member, a differential piston, And it consists of a nozzle. A main piston is formed in the main body.

  The present invention aims to simplify a dispenser member of the type described in the above prior art patent document and to reduce the number of components. Specifically, the aim is to omit a separate nozzle. Another object is to maintain a vortex system that provides a change in the amount of fluid dispensed. It is also an object of the present invention to improve the cooperation between the differential piston and the piston, more specifically the sliding contact in a leak-proof manner and establish a fluid outlet path.

To achieve these objects, the present invention is a fluid dispenser member having a dosing wall formed with an outer surface and an inner surface, the wall being provided with a through-dosing opening connecting the inner surface to the outer surface. The inner surface forms a leak-proof slide cylinder for the piston, the piston is suitable for moving the inside of the cylinder in contact with no gap and selectively opening the dosing opening, Forms a wall part of the fluid chamber, in which fluid is selectively subjected to pressure, characterized in that the inner surface extends into two surface parts, an upper part and a lower part The inner diameter of the upper part is smaller than the inner diameter of the lower part, the dosing opening is formed in the upper part, and the piston is provided with a sealing lip that is in sliding contact with the lower part in a leak-proof manner. Toi Providing the fluid dispenser member.
Such a type of dispenser may be a pusher pump type pump, but may be of any other type as long as the pusher is separated from the dispensing wall. Specifically, the administration wall can be fixed to the container, or can be installed to move relative to the pusher. In an advantageous configuration, the sliding cylinder, the dosing opening and the vortex system are formed in one piece with the dosing wall.

As an effective configuration, a fluid vortex system is formed on the upper part of the inner surface, just upstream of the dosing opening. The sliding movement of the lip at a portion shifted from the portion where the administration opening is formed is particularly effective for shaping the administration wall. Generally, the dosing wall is made of an injection molded plastic material. For this purpose, a mold consisting of a plurality of parts is used. Specifically, one of the parts forms a core for forming the inner surface of the dosing wall. In the present invention, it is necessary to form a vortex system with the core. Since the vortex system extends to form a recessed portion in the sliding cylinder, the core must be formed with a corresponding cavity insert protruding outward. In this case, in the step of removing the mold, it is necessary to forcefully remove the protruding insert while the core is being taken out. Therefore, it is necessary to extract the protruding insert from the recessed portion formed by the insert and move it along the axial length of the sliding cylinder. Since the plastic material can be creeped, there is almost no trace left on the sliding cylinder even if the protruding insert is passed by force. Here, by giving the guide wall an inner surface having a diameter larger than the inner diameter of the slide cylinder, the insert protruding from the core can be taken out through the slide cylinder without biting into the inner surface of the guide wall. it can. As a result, the force applied when the insert with the protruding core is taken out is a very small range in the axial direction of the sliding cylinder. Therefore, the risk that the slide cylinder is damaged during the extraction of the molding core is limited.
However, the present invention is not limited to the case where a vortex system is formed on the administration wall.
In another embodiment, the piston is provided with a second lip that is in sliding contact with the upper portion in a leak-proof manner.
In a variant, the piston is not in contact with the upper part.
According to another feature that can be implemented irrespective of the features associated with the lip of the piston, the piston is provided with a receiving edge in a leak-proof manner, the receiving edge receiving and contacting the receiving surface in a leak-proof manner, In the rest position, the piston is elastically pressed against the leak-proof receiving surface, and the leak-proof contact between the receiving edge and the receiving surface causes the chamber to be sealed off from the dosing opening. .
As an effective configuration, the receiving surface is frustoconical and applies a radially outward force to the receiving edge. As an effective configuration, the administration wall is formed in a pusher, the pusher has a push wall, the outer periphery of the push wall extends to form an administration wall, and the receiving surface is formed in the push wall; To do.
In another aspect, the two surface portions are cylindrical and are interconnected by a seam portion, the seam portion being a truncated cone as an effective configuration.
According to yet another feature that can be implemented independently, the dosing wall is formed by a substantially cylindrical skirt, the substantially cylindrical skirt is further provided with a guiding wall, and the guiding wall has an effective configuration. The inner surface extending substantially straight with the lower portion is formed, and the guide wall is provided with an internal fixing means so as to be received by the external holding means.
In another aspect, the sealing lip in contact with the lower portion is to be resiliently biased towards the upper portion in the rest position.

The receiving edge can be mounted without providing the lower lip so as to slide in the lower portion having a larger diameter.
An advantageous aspect of the present invention is that a fluid vortex system is also formed on the inner surface of the wall through which the dosing opening passes.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings showing embodiments of the present invention as non-limiting examples.
The dispenser member 600 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is assembled to a reservoir 650 having a main body 651, and a fluid container 5 is formed inside the main body 651. The upper end of the main body 651 is provided with an opening in the form of a neck 653, which serves to fix the dispenser member of the present invention.

  The dispenser member 600 has three components: a body 610, a pusher 620, and a piston member 630. The dispenser member further comprises spring means 640, in this example the spring means 640 is in the form of a coil spring. In a preferred configuration, the body, pusher, and piston member are made of molded plastic material. The dispenser member is designed in the form of a pump having a pump chamber 1.

  The main body 610 is provided with a fixing ring 611, and the fixing ring 611 cooperates with the neck 653 to fix the member to the reservoir 650. The ring 611 is fitted on the outside of the neck 653. In addition, a guide / holding band 614 is formed on the main body. An outer shoulder 6141 serving as an external holding means is provided at the upper end of the guide band 614. A main cylinder 617 is further formed on the main body, and the inner surface of the main cylinder 617 forms a slide surface in a leak-proof manner (the function of the slide surface will be described later). A dip tube 615 is further formed in the main body, and the dip tube 115 extends into the reservoir 650. The upper end of the dip tube 615 extends and is pointed with an inlet sleeve 616 on which an inlet valve profile or seat is formed. The inlet duct 618 passes through the dip tube 615 and the sleeve 616. Since the inlet sleeve 616 extends concentrically inside the main cylinder 617, an annular gap is formed between the inlet sleeve 616 and the main cylinder 617.

The main body 610 is symmetrical in an annular shape with respect to an axis X extending in the longitudinal direction at the center of the entrance duct 618 in the axial direction.
This is a design for a particular dispenser member in a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention. Of course, the main body may have features other than those described above without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  The pusher 620 forms a dispenser head of the dispenser member. The pusher 620 includes a push wall 621 and a peripheral skirt 622 extending downward from the outer periphery of the push wall. Therefore, the pusher 620 is an upside down cup as an overall shape, and the bottom of the cup is formed by a push wall and the cylindrical side wall is formed by a skirt. However, the shape of the skirt is not necessarily cylindrical. It can also be partly conical or rounded.

The push wall 621 has a push outer surface 6211 that can be pushed by one or more fingers. Further, the push wall 621 has an inner surface 6212. As an effective configuration, one or more receiving studs 6213 are formed on the inner surface 6212.
The skirt 622 has an administration upper side wall 623 and a guiding lower side wall 624. The administration wall 623 is connected to the outer periphery of the push wall 621 at its upper end. The administration wall 623 has an outer surface and an inner surface. The inner surface is preferably a round cylindrical shape, forming a sliding cylinder as will be described later. The inner surface is formed with two cylindrical inner surface portions 6232, 6242 interconnected via a seam portion 6243, which can be stepped or conical. The two (inner surface) parts consist of an upper part 6232 and a lower part 6242. The inner diameter of the upper part is smaller than the inner diameter of the lower part. The upper portion is connected to the push wall, more specifically to the inner surface 6212 of the push wall. An annular peripheral groove 6214 is formed at a position where the upper portion 6232 contacts the inner surface 6212. The peripheral groove 6214 is provided with a receiving surface 6213 mounted in a conical shape as an effective configuration. .

A penetrating administration opening 625 is provided in the upper part, and the penetrating administration opening 625 extends from the inner surface to the outer surface. The dispensing opening 625 can be shaped to open into the outer dispensing tray 6251.
According to an advantageous feature of the present invention, the upper portion 6232 of the dosing wall 623 is provided with a vortex system 626 by which the vortex system 626 causes the fluid to vortex (the vortex eyes are centered on the dosing opening). ). Thus, the upper part of the dosing wall 623 formed in an integrated manner with the push wall 621 and the guide wall 624 as an effective configuration has an inner surface with a through-dosing opening and provided with a vortex system. .

  The guide wall 624 extends in line with the dosing wall 621, more specifically the lower portion 6242. The boundary between the guide wall and the administration wall is not clearly defined and the lower part can be considered part of the administration wall and / or part of the guide wall. A receiving bead 6241 is provided on the outer wall of the guide wall, and the receiving bead 6241 functions to cooperate with the shoulder 6141 of the guide band 614. The guide wall 624 is concentric with the guide band 614 so as to surround it. The receiving bead 6241 allows the pusher to be secured to the main body, so that the main body can only move axially over the maximum stroke determined by the distance between the lower end of the guide wall and the fixing ring 611.

  In this embodiment, the piston member 630 has a main piston 636 and a differential piston, and the main piston 636 is engaged so as to slide in the main cylinder 617 in a leak-proof manner. The moving piston is formed with two lips 632 and 633 that slide while being in contact with the cylinder formed by the inner surface 6232 of the administration wall 623 without any gap. Two lips 632 and 633 are formed on the outer periphery of the disk 631. As an effective configuration, the piston member 630 is formed as an integrated single piece. The lips 632, 633 extend in a vertical fashion with a spacing greater than the axial length of the vortex system 626. As shown in FIG. 1, in the rest position, the upper lip 632 contacts the upper portion 6232 above the vortex system 626, while the lower lip 633 contacts the lower portion 6242 below the vortex system 626. Become. Accordingly, it is impossible for the vortex system to communicate with the interior of the pusher except in the space formed between the two lips 632, 633. This is a rest position, in which the piston member 630 is pressed against the push wall 621 by the force of the spring 640. The differential piston can be considered to be formed by a disk 631 on which two lips 632 and 633 are formed. As an effective configuration, the piston member is further provided with a receiving edge 6321, and the receiving edge 6321 is located in the vicinity of the lip 632. Since the lip is formed at the outer edge of the annular flange and the edge is formed at the inner edge of the annular flange, the edge extends concentrically with it inside the lip 632. The receiving edge 6321 functions to receive and contact in a leak-proof manner with a leakage-resistant receiving surface 6231 formed on the push wall. The edge is pushed toward the surface by the force of the spring 640, and a leak-proof contact is achieved in the rest position, as shown in FIGS. Due to the frustoconical shape of the face 6231, the edge 6321 tends to be pushed radially outward so that the lip 632 presses the lip 632 itself more strongly against the upper side portion 6232. In this way, the leakage resistance at the rest position is improved.

  Further, an axial central rod 637 is formed on the piston member 630, and the central rod 637 extends from the disk 631 so as to be away from the push wall 621. The axial rod 637 is partially engaged within an inlet sleeve 616 formed in the body 610. The rod 637 is formed with a valve profile 638 which serves to cooperate with a corresponding profile formed on the sleeve 616. In other words, the rod 637 cooperating with the sleeve forms the inlet valve of the pump chamber 1 as will be described later. Further, a piston bushing 635 is formed on the piston member 630, and a main piston 636 is formed on the lower end of the piston bushing 635. The piston bushing 635 extends concentrically with the axial rod 637 so that an annular duct is formed between them, and the duct penetrates the disk 631 through the fluid passage hole 634. It extends in.

  The body 610, the pusher 620, and the piston member 630 together form a pump chamber 1, which is between the main cylinder 617 and the sleeve 616, the piston bushing 635 and the axial rod. 637 (through hole 634) and continuously between disk 631 and the inner surface of push wall 621. That is, the upper surface and the inner surface of the disk 631 form a wall part of the pump chamber 1. In the rest position shown in FIG. 1, the piston member 630 is pressed against the push wall 621 by the spring 640 and is in contact therewith. The inlet valve formed by the cooperation of the axial rod 637 and the sleeve 616 is open. The two lips of the differential piston are in contact with the cylinder formed by the inner surface of the drive wall 623.

Further, the receiving edge is in contact with the receiving surface 6321 in a leak-proof manner. Thus, in the rest position, the pump chamber is completely isolated from the dosing opening.
When a force is applied to the push outer surface 6211 of the push wall, the pusher is moved in the axial direction with respect to the main body. Since the piston member is in contact with the push wall, the piston member is pushed by the pusher. In the first stage, the inlet valve is closed by the movement of the pusher. The axial rod 637 then fits deeper into the sleeve 616, resulting in a leak-proof sliding contact between the sleeve and the rod. Thus, the pump chamber 1 is isolated from the container 5. From that point on, pressure is applied to the fluid in the pump chamber 1. Since the fluid cannot be compressed, the overall working volume of the pump chamber is kept constant. However, the main piston 636 enters the cylinder 617, which reduces the volume of the lower portion of the chamber, and therefore requires another volume. This is possible because the differential piston moves away from the push wall 621. Thereby, the lips 632, 633 slide inside the dosing wall 623 and the leak-proof contact at the receiving edge 6321 is broken. Thus, the lip moves until the upper lip 632 reaches the vortex system 626. The fluid under pressure in the pump chamber then obtains an outlet passage through the vortex system and the dosing opening. As long as the pressure inside the chamber exceeds the force of the spring, the passage is kept open. As soon as the pressure inside the chamber falls below a certain threshold, the differential piston is pushed back by the spring to the rest position shown in the figure. Thus, the vortex system and the dosing opening are again isolated from the pump chamber.

  It should be noted that the upper lip 632 is in direct contact with the fluid while the lower lip is not in direct contact with the fluid. Thus, the upper lip slides over the upper part of the cylinder formed in the upper part (above the vortex system). The quality of the surface seen at the top is better than the quality of the surface below the upper part and just below the vortex system (this surface may be scratched by the extraction of the molding core). In addition, although the lower lip 633 slides along the lower side portion, the lower side portion is unlikely to be damaged by removal of the molding core used to form the vortex system. This is because the inner diameter of the lower surface portion is larger than the diameter of the core.

  An effective feature of the present invention is that the piston member 630 is pressed against the push wall 621, but moves away from the push wall 621 due to an increase in pressure inside the pump chamber. is there. This is made possible in particular by the fluid passage hole 634 provided through the disk 631 forming the differential piston. Thus, it can be said that the push wall forms the wall part of the pump chamber.

  Thus, combining a differential piston moving away from the push wall with a vortex system formed in the dosing wall is effective for the purpose of removing it from the mold. The upper lip 632 slides over the upper part of the sliding cylinder in a leak-proof manner, but the upper part may be damaged by removal of the molding core formed with the protruding cavity insert used to form the vortex system. Absent.

It should be further noted that the rest position is reached when the receiving bead 6241 formed on the guide wall 624 contacts the lower shoulder 6141.
It is also conceivable that the lip 632 of the differential piston is omitted, so that the differential piston is only provided with a lower lip 633 and a receiving edge. The edges guarantee static leakage resistance in the rest state, and the leakage resistance is sufficient. The lower lip ensures dynamic leakage resistance during driving. Thus, the differential piston side wall 6323 facing the dosing opening and the vortex system can remain in contact with the dosing wall except for the lower lip 633.

As soon as the receiving bead leaves the receiving surface, a passage between the chamber and the dosing opening is established. It is not necessary to provide a sealing lip in such a way that the dosing opening is formed and the upper part where the vortex system is formed as an effective configuration is rubbed.
In the present invention, the cylinder in which the lip of the differential piston slides is not likely to be damaged by the removal of the molding core, especially when a vortex system is formed on the dosing wall. This result can be obtained by the difference in diameter between the upper part and the lower part.

  Further, the pusher that slides so as to surround the band of the main body can realize a dispenser in which the diameter of the pusher is the same as or larger than the diameter of the main body and the container. The pusher may extend in line with the container, thereby providing a cylindrical appearance with the dispenser. This feature can be implemented independently of the features associated with the differential piston.

It is a vertical sectional view which shows the dispenser by which embodiment of the dispenser member of this invention was mounted in a rest position. FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial view of FIG. 1. It is the figure which expanded the detail of the dispenser member of this invention further.

Claims (10)

A fluid dispenser member (600) having a dosing wall (623) shaped with an outer surface and an inner surface, the wall being provided with a through-dosing opening (625) connecting the inner surface to the outer surface, Forming a leak-proof sliding cylinder for the pistons (632, 633), the piston moving inside the cylinder in contact with no gap, and suitable for selectively opening the dosing opening; The piston forms a wall part of the fluid chamber (1), the fluid is selectively subjected to pressure inside the fluid chamber (1),
The feature is
The inner surface extends into two surface parts, an upper part (6322) and a lower part (6242), the inner diameter of the upper part being smaller than the inner diameter of the lower part, the dosing opening being formed in the upper part, The piston is provided with a sealing lip (633) in sliding contact with the lower part in a leak-proof manner.
Said fluid dispenser member. The piston is provided with a second lip (632) in sliding contact with the upper part in a leak-proof manner;
The fluid dispenser member according to claim 1. The piston should not contact the upper part,
The fluid dispenser member according to claim 1. The piston is provided with a receiving edge (6321) in a leak-proof manner, and the receiving edge (6321) receives and contacts the receiving surface (6213) in a leak-proof manner. The chamber is hermetically isolated from the dosing opening by elastically pressed and leak-proof contact between the receiving edge and the receiving surface;
The fluid dispenser member according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The receiving surface is frustoconical, applying a radially outward force to the receiving edge,
The fluid dispenser member according to claim 4. The two surface portions are cylindrical and interconnected by a seam portion (6243), the seam portion (6243) being frustoconical as an effective configuration;
A fluid dispenser member according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The administration wall is formed by a substantially cylindrical skirt (622), the substantially cylindrical skirt (622) is further provided with a guide wall (624), and the guide wall (624) has an effective configuration. An inner surface extending substantially in line with the lower portion is formed, and an internal fixing means (6241) is provided on the guide wall so as to be received by the external holding means (6141);
The fluid dispenser member according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The administration wall is formed in a pusher, the pusher has a push wall, the outer periphery of the push wall extends to be an administration wall, and the receiving surface is formed in the push wall,
The fluid dispenser member according to claim 4 or 5. A fluid vortex system (626) is formed on the upper portion of the inner surface, just upstream of the dosing opening;
A fluid dispenser member according to any one of claims 1 to 8. The sealing lip (633) in contact with the lower part is elastically forced towards the upper part in the rest position;
The fluid dispenser member according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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