NZ208571A

NZ208571A - Measured volume dispenser for bottles;chamber filled by inversion

Info

Publication number: NZ208571A
Application number: NZ208571A
Authority: NZ
Inventors: B Cotelle
Original assignee: Colgate Palmolive Co
Priority date: 1983-06-30
Filing date: 1984-06-18
Publication date: 1986-10-08
Also published as: DK159541B; PH24877A; ES289086Y; IT1177837B; NL192136C; PT78812A; CA1259288A; NL192136B; GB8416323D0; DK304084A; DE3422964A1; PT78812B; AU568547B2; FR2548142A1; AT395356B; BE900049A; ES289086U; SE8403384L; ZW9784A1; ATA205884A

Description

<div class="application article clearfix" id="description"> 208571 Priority Date(s): ...? P.\/*.'.? Complete Specification Filed: {$J. Class: Publication Date: .... J986 P.O. Journal, No: .... £ <?" Patents Form No. 5 Number PATENTS ACT 1953 Dated COMPLETE SPECIFICATION MEASURING DEVICE FOR LIQUID PRODUCTS IN BOTTLES AND LIKE CONTAINERS ?/We COLGATE-PALMOLIVE COMPANY of 300 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, United States of America, a corporation organised under the laws of the State of Delaware, United States of America do hereby declare the invention for which bfwe pray that a Patent may be granted to jjk/us, and the method by which it is to be perfonned, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: ■ 1 - (followed by page 1a) 208571 The present invention relates to the packaging of liquid products the volume of which must be measured when using the product so that an appropriate measure of the product is employed. In this respect,it is convenient to have available a measuring device which may be incorporated in the neck of the bottle containing the liquid products or, better still, which is an integral part of the packaging, for example is unitary with the bottle cap. In this respect,there is disclosed in the U.S. patent No. 3 288 335 a measuring device for inserting in the neck of a bottle and comprising a measuring compartment which is filled upon inversion of the bottle and a reserve compartment which is fed by the measuring compartment when the bottle is put back into its normal position and communicates with the outlet orifice of the bottle, said two compartments having axes parallel to the axis of the bottle and being separate, the measuring compartment comprising two orifices communicating with the interior of the bottle, the first orifice being in the vicinity of its outlet orifice for filling and the second orifice being close to the opposite end of this compartment for discharging air 1a 208571 in the course of this filling. When the liquid reaches the level of this second orifice, the filling stops, apart from the arrival of an additional amount of liquid termed "free liquid" 5 the volume of which is a function of various variables, such as the specific weight of the liquid and the extent of the filling of the bottle. Although this free liquid re-enters the bottle when the bottle is put back into its normal position owing to the depression 10 prevailing therein, this measuring device results in a lack of precision in the measure which cannot be considered negligible. Indeed, this measure depends on the inclination of the axis of the measuring compartment relative to the 15 vertical and it is only when these two axes are strictly parallel that the precise measure is provided. An object of the invention is to overcome these drawbacks and to provide a measuring device of higher precision and also capable of being manufactured simply 20 and cheaply. The inventicnprovides a measuring device of the aforementioned type, wherein the second! orifice of the measuring compartment is disposed at the level of the connection of the two compartments in a part common 25 to the latter and is arranged in such manner as to act as an overflow for the reserve compartment which is arranged for this purpose to have an appropriate capacity 208571 relative to the measuring compartment and which thus perfects the measuring achieved in the measuring compartment. Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the ensuing detailed description 5 of some embodiments of the invention. Reference will be made for this purpose to the accompanying drawings which are given solely by way of example and in which : Figs, la, lb and lc diagrammatically illustrate a 10 measuring device according to the invention in three stages of its operation ; Figs. 2 and 3 are axial sectional views of two elements constituting, by their assembly, a practical embodiment of the measuring device according to the 15 invention ; Figs. 4 and 5 are respectively cross-sectional Views taken along lines 4-4 and 5-5 of Figs. 2 and 3 ; Fig. 6 is a partial view of a modification of the element illustrated in Fig. 3 ; 20 Figs. 7 and 8 are perspective views respectively corresponding to Figs. 2 and 3, and Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the measuring device according to the invention after assembly of the two elements of Figs. 7 and 3. 25 With reference first of all to Figs, la, lb and lc for the description of the principle and operation of the measuring device, the latter is generally designated by the 2085? reference character D and adapted to be inserted in the neck of a bottle F, for which it at the same time constitutes the cap. The device D comprises a planar cover 1 rigid with 5 a skirt 2, the assembly capping the neck of the bottle. Rigid with the cover 1 is a first tubular element or tube 3 which is connected by an inclined wall 4 to a second tubular element or tube 5 of smaller section closed at its opposite end. The tube 3 is divided by 10 a partition wall 6 which extends from the cover 1 to a point slightly within the tube 5. The partition wall 6 defines in the tube 3 a measuring compartment A which is the part of this tube which is offset relative to the tube 5. The tube 5 constitutes a reserve or storage 15 compartment B which communicates, on one hand, with the compartment A at the inner end of the partition wall 6 which forms with the wall 4 a part C common to the two compartments and, on the other hand, with the cover 1 through the second part of the tube 3,defined by the partition 20 wall 6,which forms a communication passage 6a. Formed in the cover 1 in vertical alignment with the passage 6a is an outlet orifice 7 which may be closed by a flap 8. Formed in the lateral wall of the compartment A is 25 a first orifice 9 which puts this compartment in communication with the rest of the bottle F. The orifice 9 is formed in the vicinity of the connection of the 208571 compartment A to the cover 1. A second orifice 10 puts this compartment in communication with the rest of the bottle. It is provided at the end of a tube 11 extending through the inclined wall 4 at the connec-5 tion of the latter to the tube 5 and is located at the level of the connection of the inclined wall 4 to the tube 3. Further, the partition wall 6 has an orifice 12 at a level slightly closer to the cover 1 than the orifice 10. 10 The measuring device operates in the following manner : With the flap 8 open, the bottle F is inclined with respect to its normal position so as to reach the position illustrated in Fig. la. The liquid contai-15 ned in the bottle F then enters the measuring compartment A by way of the orifice 9 and rises in this measuring compartment while expelling the air contained therein which escapes to the interior of the bottle by way of the tube 11. This rise of the liquid continues 20 until the liquid level reaches the orifice 10, apart from a slight excess of liquid constituting the liquid termed free liquid . The bottle is then returned to its normal position (Fig. lb). The liquid of the compartment A consequently 25 enters the compartment B along the partition wall 6, the relative volume of the compartments A and B being such that the level of the liquid reaches a point slightly above the connection of the inclined wall 4 to the tube 3, ie. above the orifice 10. The slight excess of liquid above the orifice 10 returns to the bottle by way of this orifice and the tube 11 which 5 thus performs the function of an overflow. This return is facilitated by the orifice 12 provided in the partition wall 6. This air inlet indeed ensures the equilibrium of the level in the compartment B and the base of the compartment A up to the level of the 10 orifice 10. The volume of the compartment B measured up to the level of the orifice 10 corresponds to the volume of the required measure while the volume of the compartment A is slightly greater,as explained before. 15 In order to obtain a sufficient precision in the volume of the measured amount of product, the intermediate chamber C interconnecting the compartments A and B has a minimum volume ; further, its shape is such that it permits an easy passage of the liquid to the 20 compartment B. At this stage, the bottle may be closed again by means of the flap 8. This measure of liguid put in reserve in the compartment B is ready for use. In order to use the liquid, the bottle f is tilted with 25 the neck downwards (Fig. lc). The measured amount of liquid stored in the compartment B flows to the exterior by way of the orifice 7. At the same time, the 208571 compartment A is again filled according to the procedure described with reference to Fig. la. Consequently, after the first utilization in the course of which the compartment B must be filled a 5 first time, the measuring device can be used directly by inverting the bottle merely once. The measuring device,the principle and mode of operation of which have just been described, provides by its measuring in two stages in the compartments A 10 and B a high precision in the dispensed measured amount of liquid. Further, it lends itself remarkably well to a simple and cheap manufacture, for example by moulding in a plastics material. Figs. 2 to 9 illustrate such a practical embodiment. 15 In order to permit an easy moulding, the measuring device is manufactured in two elements, the first being illustrated in Figs. 2, 4 and 7 and the second in Figs. 3, 5, 6 and 8. Fig. 9 shows the two assembled parts in perspective. 20 The first element comprises, first of all, the means for closing the bottle F, namely the cover 1 with its skirt 2 and its closing flap 8 pivotally mounted on the cover 1 and clipping onto a cap portion 13. The flap 8 is provided with a stopper adapted 5 to be a force fit in the orifice 7 so as to close the latter. The closing device constructed in this way may 298571 comprise,at the base of the skirt 2, a screwed portion or a clipping portion 14 provided, if required, with an orientation notch 15 which is engaged on a portion provided on the exterior of the neck of the bottle. 5 Advantageously, there is provided in the closing device an inner skirt 16 which is shorter than the outer skirt 2 and ensures a seal on the upper part of the interior of the neck. Apart from the closing device, the first element 10 comprises the cylindrical tube 3 provided with its upper orifice 9 and the partition wall 6 and its orifice 12 which may be provided, as illustrated in Fig. 7, in the form of a slot. Preferably, as shown, the partition wall 6 is curved so 15 as to enable the liquid to flow easily from the compartment A to the compartment B while this liquid is prevented from returning into the compartment A during the stage of utilization of the bottle. The inner end of the tube 3 has a clipping means 20 17 cooperative with a complementary means 17a of the second element and a system 18 for preventing rotation which also cooperates with a complementary system 18a of the second element. This second element is formed by the tube 5, the 25 inclined wall 4 and the tube 11 provided with its orifice 10, the whole being in one piece. As can be seen in Figs. 5 and 8, the tube 5 / 041 - 9 - closed at its base,is semi-cylindrical and comprises a first cylindrical wall portion 19 adapted to be in the extension of the cylindrical wall of the tube 3, and a second wall portion 20 which adjoins the tube 11 and is planar or preferably, as shown, outwardly convex and culrved so as to increase the section of the passage from the compartment A to the compartment B between this wall 20 and the partition wall 6. In a modification shown in Fig. 6, the second element may also include the first orifice 9 of the compartment A. In this case, the tube 3 is not provided with this orifice in the vicinity of its connection to the cover 1. This orifice is replaced by a tube 9a which is in one piece with the wall 4 of the second element and forms a plunger tube in the compartment A when the two elements are clipped together. It will be clear from the foregoing that the invention provides a measuring device of high precision, easy to place in position on a bottle of which it also constitutes the closing device and moreover easy to manufacture, owing to the fact that it is made in two elements which are easily mouldable and assembled. </div>

Claims

1. tVOtf f JL - 10 - What we claim is:

1 . A measuring device for liquid products packed in bottles or like containers, of the type adapted to be inserted in the neck of the bottle and comprising a measuring compartment which is filled by inversion of the bottle, and a reserve compartment fed by the measuring compartment when the bottle is placed back in its normal position and communicating with the outlet orifice of the bottle, said two compartments having axes parallel to the axis of the bottle and being separate, the measuring compartment comprising two orifices communicating with the interior of the bottle, the first said orifice being in the vicinity of the outlet orifice of the bottle for filling the measuring compartment and the second said orifice being close to the opposite end of said measuring compartment for displacing air from the measuring compartment into the bottle in the course of said filling, wherein the second orifice of the measuring compartment is disposed at the level of the connection between the two compartments in a portion common to the two compartments and is arranged in such manner as to act as an overflow for the reserve compartment which is arranged for this purpose to have an appropriate capacity relative to the measuring compartment and which thus perfects the measuring achieved in the measuring compartment. 208571 -11-

2. A measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the reserve compartment is located in vertical alignment with the outlet orifice of the bottle and separated from the latter by a communicating passageway which communicates with said bottle orifice, the measuring compartment, whose axis is laterally offset relative to the bottle outlet orifice, starts substantially at the level of the bottle outlet orifice and opens at its other end into a divergent portion of the reserve compartment forming said common portion.

3. A device according to claim 2, wherein said divergent portion is defined by an inclined wall forming a common portion of small axial extent so as to reduce the volume of said common portion, the overflow orifice being located at the level of the connection of the inclined wall to the outer wall of the measuring compartment at the end of a tube which opens at its other end into the bottle through the inclined wall.

4. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a first tubular element to which there is connected a second tubular element of smaller section, an axially extending partition wall defining in the first element the measuring compartment and the passageway and extending from the outlet orifice to a short distance inside the second element which constitutes the reserve compartment. 208571 - 12 -

5. A device according to claim 4, wherein said partition wall includes a narrow orifice or slot at a level close to the overflow orifice for balancing the pressures on each side of the partition wall.

6. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a plunger tube extends axially from the inclined wall to inside the measuring compartment where the plunger tube opens out at a level close to the bottle outlet orifice and is substituted for the first orifice of the measuring compartment.

7. A device according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the first tubular element is cylindrical, the partition wall being preferably curved with its convexity facing away from the measuring compartment, the second tubular element being semi-cylindrical and its cylindrical wall being in the extension of the wall of the first element and defining externally the communication passageway and its planar, or optionally curved wall with its concavity facing inwardly, being connected to said inclined wall with which it is rigid.

8. A device according to any one of claims 4 to 7, said device also constituting a device for closing the bottle, the first tubular element comprising a cover with the outlet orifice, a double concentric set of skirts adapted to engage therebetween the neck of the bottle, and a flap pivotally mounted on the cover and including a stopper for the outlet orifice. 206571 13

9. A device according to any one of claims 4 to 8, wherein the two tubular elements are moulded separately from a plastics material and are clipped together.

10. A measuring device substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. WEST-WALKER, McCABE per: ATTO:';f»i_Y3 f~Cr! 7. IE APPLICANT