Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B05—SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
  • B05B—SPRAYING APPARATUS; ATOMISING APPARATUS; NOZZLES
  • B05B11/00—Single-unit hand-held apparatus in which flow of contents is produced by the muscular force of the operator at the moment of use
  • B05B11/0005—Components or details
  • B05B11/0037—Containers
  • B05B11/0056—Containers with an additional opening for filling or refilling
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B05—SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
  • B05B—SPRAYING APPARATUS; ATOMISING APPARATUS; NOZZLES
  • B05B11/00—Single-unit hand-held apparatus in which flow of contents is produced by the muscular force of the operator at the moment of use
  • B05B11/0005—Components or details
  • B05B11/0037—Containers
  • B05B11/0039—Containers associated with means for compensating the pressure difference between the ambient pressure and the pressure inside the container, e.g. pressure relief means

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a refillable fluid dispenser comprising a dispensing head comprising a dispensing member (pump or valve for example), a reservoir of variable volume and a filling valve connected to the reservoir.
• a dispensing head comprising a dispensing member (pump or valve for example)
• a reservoir of variable volume comprising a filling valve connected to the reservoir.
• the preferred field of application of the present invention is that of perfumery, cosmetics or even pharmacy.
• This type of rechargeable dispenser is often referred to as a “nomadic” dispenser. It usually has a small reservoir of around 10 ml at most.
• the connecting rod detaches from the sliding member so that the filling valve can return to its closed rest position.
• the reservoir of the refillable dispenser is then filled with fluid again, and the user can use it by simply pressing the pump pusher, in a very traditional manner.
• the refillable dispenser of EP1588775 is refillable by pulling, that is to say by grasping the dispenser refillable and pulling it upwards away from the source vial, and finally detach it.
• the gestures necessary for recharging this dispenser are not intuitive or obvious.
• it is necessary to keep the nomadic bottle resting on the pump of the source bottle in order to keep the top valve of the pump of the source bottle in the open position. This antagonistic gesture of maintaining support towards the source vial and stretching the syringe upwards is not ergonomic and can lead to degrading the nomad's filling process.
• refillable dispenser of this document is that it is possible to use the refillable dispenser while it is mounted on the source bottle, due to the direct connection between the pump and the rod. connection without passing through the refillable dispenser tank.
• Document EP2335833 describes a refillable dispenser comprising a reservoir in the form of a bellows, a filling valve, a pump and a tigelle for expelling the air from the bellows through the actuated pump.
• the air is evacuated from the reservoir by reducing its volume by pressing on a wall (bottom of the bellows) and the product is sucked through the filling valve while increasing the volume of the reservoir.
• the two operations are not simultaneous. Normally, the user does not have to use the tab, as the bellows should retract on its own without allowing air to enter.
• the air evacuation is an exceptional purging operation, in the event that air has entered the bellows during filling.
• the bellows is arranged in a fixed shell, the bottom of which is provided with a housing for the rod and with a passage hole to reach the bellows with the rod.
• the user can not know that the shell contains a bellows and an arbor, the function of which is not obvious at all.
• the valve filling is arranged laterally and remains permanently visible. This gives this dispenser a particularly unsightly technical aspect.
• the object of the present invention is to define a refillable dispenser whose refill gestures are simpler, more intuitive or more obvious to an uninformed user. Another object of the present invention is to be able to refill the refillable dispenser using a standard source bottle equipped with a conventional valve stem, unlike the source bottle of document EP1588775. Yet another object of the present invention is to seek a variable volume reservoir architecture which generates or imposes a different handling gesture. Another object is to do without the mobile piston, which is a source of leakage.
• a refillable fluid dispenser comprising:
• a distribution head comprising a distribution member, such as a pump or a valve,
• a filling valve connected to the reservoir, the filling valve opening and closing in response to a pressure variation of the fluid
• the tank comprising:
• vent valve allowing air to escape from the tank when the elastically deformable wall is deformed from the rest position, the filling valve opening and the vent valve closing when the wall elastically deformable returns elastically to its rest position, thus creating a vacuum in the tank
• the reservoir being placed in a removable case, which hides the elastically deformable wall as well as the filling and venting valves.
• the case thus prevents accidental actuation of the elastically deformable wall.
• unsightly technical elements, such as valves, as well as the elastically deformable wall are hidden, thus giving the dispenser a classic appearance with a dispensing head mounted on a conventional reservoir.
• the removable case of the invention allows the user to intuitively understand that the deformable wall must be actuated in order to fill the reservoir.
• the vent valve of the invention is separate from the pump.
• the reservoir works like a real pump.
• the reservoir comprises, near the vent valve, a floating shutter which floats on the surface of the fluid product and which closes the passage of fluid to the vent valve, when the reservoir is filled with product. fluid.
• a floating shutter which floats on the surface of the fluid product and which closes the passage of fluid to the vent valve, when the reservoir is filled with product. fluid.
• the distributor is logically reloaded in a vertical position with the distribution head at the top and the ventilation valve at the bottom. Therefore, when the reservoir reaches its maximum fill, the floating shutter is pushed against a sealed seat, so that the fluid can no longer reach the vent valve. It is therefore possible that the elastically deformable wall does not regain its rest position when the reservoir is completely filled. It will only regain it when the user activates the dispensing head pump, allowing communication between the reservoir and the outside.
• the displacement of the elastically deformable wall, between the rest position and the depressed position can define a pumping volume which corresponds to more than 1/5 of the maximum volume of the reservoir, advantageously 1/4, and preferably 1/3 of the maximum volume of the reservoir, so that the reservoir is filled with three to five actuations of the elastically deformable wall.
• the tank can then be recharged quickly.
• the ventilation valve is separate from the pump and is mounted on a rigid part of the tank.
• the elastically deformable wall is disposed axially between the filling valve and the ventilation valve.
• the filling valve is located at the bottom of the tank, opposite the pump.
• the reservoir then has a conventional elongated configuration.
• the reservoir may comprise two rigid parts connected by a flexible part forming the elastically deformable wall.
• the filling valve and the ventilation valve are respectively mounted on the two rigid parts.
• the reservoir may comprise a one-piece body on which are mounted the filling valve and the ventilation valve.
• the one-piece body can form the elastically deformable wall.
• the one-piece body can comprise at least one window which is covered by a flexible membrane forming the elastically deformable wall.
• the filling valve defines a valve displacement axis and the elastically deformable wall defines a wall displacement axis, the axes possibly being substantially perpendicular or parallel.
• the elastically deformable wall may be in the form of a bellows.
• Figure 1 is a perspective view of a refillable dispenser according to a first embodiment of the invention
• Figure 2 is a view similar to that of Figure 1, with the cover removed,
• Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 with the case removed,
• Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the dispenser of the previous figures, with the case and the cover not shown,
• Figure 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view through the dispenser of Figure 4,
• Figures 6a to 6f show different consecutive steps allowing the filling of the dispenser of Figures 4 and 5,
• FIGs 7a to 7f also aim to illustrate different stages of filling the dispenser of Figures 4 and 5,
• Figure 8a shows the upper part of Figure 5 in an enlarged manner, with the tank empty
• Figure 8b is a view similar to that of Figure 8a with the tank filled
• Figure 9a is a very enlarged view of the ventilation valve in the closed rest position
• Figure 9b is a view similar to that of Figure 9a with the vent valve in the open position
• Figure 9c is a view similar to Figures 9a and 9b, with the reservoir filled,
• Figures 10 to 12 respectively show three other embodiments for a refillable dispenser according to the invention.
• the refillable dispenser comprises a dispensing head T and a reservoir R1 which are associated together to form the dispenser.
• the head distribution T can be a completely conventional distribution head with a distribution member P, such as for example a pump, a valve or even a distribution valve.
• a distribution member P such as for example a pump, a valve or even a distribution valve.
• a pump or a valve it comprises a body defining a fluid inlet which is provided with a dip tube Pt.
• the pump or valve also comprises an actuating rod (not shown) on which A push-button B is mounted. By depressing push-button B, fluid is pressurized in a chamber defined inside the body.
• the push-button B can define a dispensing orifice B1 through which the fluid product discharged out of the chamber is dispensed in the form of spray, jet or drops.
• a fixing member F which holds the body fixedly and which hangs on a neck 11 of the reservoir R1.
• the dispenser is also equipped with a case E which surrounds the reservoir R1 and with a cover K which covers the push button B and the fixing ring F.
• the cover K is removably mounted on the case E.
• the dispenser can be completely extracted from the case E and from the cover K.
• the present invention is located at the reservoir R1 which will now be explained in detail.
• the reservoir R1 comprises a filling valve C by which the reservoir can be filled or recharged.
• This filling valve C is arranged at the level of the bottom of the tank. It comprises a movable valve member C1 which rests in a sealed manner at rest on a valve seat.
• the filling valve C is a hydraulic or differential valve, in that it opens with the pressure of the product, and not mechanically.
• the filling valve C is preferably placed in the lower part of the reservoir R1.
• the tank R1 also includes a vent valve V which allows the air present in the tank R1 to escape, to make room for the fluid product sucked into the reservoir through the filling valve C.
• the vent valve V comprises a movable valve member, which may be substantially similar or identical to the movable member C1 of the filling valve C. At rest, the ventilation valve V is closed.
• the reservoir R1 can also include a floating shutter O which makes it possible to close the passage of fluid to the vent valve V. It will be described in more detail below.
• the reservoir R1 comprises a rigid one-piece body 10 of substantially tubular shape.
• the one-piece body 10 forms a neck 11 which internally receives the distribution member P and externally the fixing ring F.
• the one-piece body 10 is closed by the filling valve C.
• the one-piece body 10 also forms the seat for the vent valve V and the shutter seat for the floating shutter O.
• the one-piece body 10 also includes one or more window (s) 14.
• the one-piece body 10 comprises two opposing windows 14, the diameter of which may correspond to one third or one quarter of the axial height of the body 10. Each window 14 may extend substantially over half of the periphery of the tubular body 10.
• the reservoir R1 also comprises an elastically deformable membrane 16 which surrounds at least part of the one-piece body 10, at the level of the windows 14.
• the elastically deformable membrane 16 can for example be molded onto the rigid one-piece body 10.
• the two windows 14 are covered by a part of the membrane 16 and can be deformed towards the inside of the reservoir so as to reduce its useful volume.
• the membrane parts 16 covering the windows 14 form elastically deformable walls 17 which can be brought together, for example by grasping them between the thumb and forefinger, while the three other fingers of the hand can grip the bottom of the tank R1.
• This provides a reservoir R1 of variable volume by actuation or depression of its elastically deformable walls 17.
• the depression of the walls 17 has the effect of expelling air through the vent valve. V, then to bring in air through the filling valve C when the walls 17 return to their initial rest position.
• the pumping volume defined by the deformable actuating walls 17 between their initial rest positions and their fully depressed positions may correspond to a fifth of the total volume of the reservoir R1, or even to a quarter of the volume, and even to a third of the volume.
• the reservoir R1 behaves like a pump with an inlet or filling valve C and an outlet or ventilation valve V and an actuator in the form of two elastically deformable walls 17.
• a source S is needed, which can be in the form of a conventional dispenser, preferably having a reservoir of greater capacity than that of the reservoir R1.
• This source S comprises a push button Bs by which it is possible to actuate the pump Sp of the source S and thus dispense fluid.
• the first step consists in removing the push button Bs from the source S in order to release or unmask the valve stem S1, as visible in FIG. 6b.
• the second step consists in returning the distributor D1 to the source S by engaging the valve rod S1 at the inlet of the filling valve C, as shown in FIG.
• the next step is to push in the valve stem S1 from the source S using the fill valve C from the distributor D1. This has the effect of injecting a dose of fluid product into the reservoir R1 through the actuating rod S1.
• the volume of fluid injected into the reservoir R1 can have the effect of expelling a substantially corresponding dose of air through the vent valve V. Since the actuating rod S1 remains depressed, the source S remains in communication. with the reservoir R1, however with the filling valve C which has returned to its closed rest position.
• the next step is to push in the elastically deformable walls 17 of the reservoir R1, while the distributor D1 is still pressed on the rod S1 actuation of the source S.
• the depression of the walls 17 has the effect of reducing the useful volume of the reservoir R1, and consequently expel the air that it contains through the vent valve V which is forced to open state.
• the filling valve C is for its part locked in the closed state by the overpressure prevailing in the reservoir R1.
• the last step consists of releasing the pressure exerted on the walls 17, as shown in FIG. 6f, which has the effect of creating a vacuum inside the reservoir R1, which closes the vent valve V and opens the valve. filling C.
• the fluid from the source S can thus be sucked into the reservoir R1.
• the product sucked comes directly from the reservoir of the source S and is conveyed through the dip tube and the pump which is maintained with its outlet valve in the open state.
• the quantity of fluid sucked into the reservoir may correspond to a fifth, a quarter, or even a third of the maximum volume of the reservoir R1.
• the reservoir R1 can be filled.
• the distributor can then be removed from the source S and be replaced in its case E and capped with its cover K.
• As for the source S, its push button Bs can be replaced on the valve stem S1.
• Figures 7a to 7f make it possible to understand more precisely the dynamic behavior of the filling C and venting valves V as well as of the valve stem S1 of the source S.
• Figure 7a corresponds to FIG. 6c: the filling valve C is attached to the valve rod or actuating rod S1 of the source S without pushing it.
• the source S pump Sp is at rest, as are the filling S and venting V valves, closed in the idle state.
• Figure 7b corresponds to Figure 6d.
• the actuating rod F1 has just been depressed by pressing the filling valve C.
• a dose of fluid delivered by the pump Sp pushes the movable member C1 of the filling valve C to the open state.
• the fluid product can thus penetrate inside the reservoir R1.
• the axis of displacement Y of the elastically deformable walls 17 is perpendicular to the axis of displacement X of the valve stem S1 and of the filling valve C. This is particularly advantageous, since the user can of a one hand press the distributor D on the valve stem S1 and actuate the walls 17 using his thumb and his index finger.
• the reservoir R1 is not yet filled. Its upper part is therefore filled with air, so that the shutter O is subjected to gravity. It communicates with the vent valve V via a small chamber 13 which forms upstream a seat 130 for the floating ball O. Downstream, it forms one or more outlet passage (s) 120 which are bordered by an annular seat 12 against which the vent valve V comes into sealed contact in the rest position, as shown in FIG. 9a.
• the air is expelled around the floating ball O, since it does not rest on its seat 130, through the chamber 13, then through the passages 120, to push back the vent valve V by moving away from its seat 12. This is shown in FIG. 9b. This is what happens when the reservoir R1 is not completely filled.
• the floating shutter O is an optional feature of the invention, but makes it possible to fill the reservoir R1 entirely without risk of leakage through the vent valve V. Of course, it is possible and even frequent for the floating shutter O comes into tight contact with its seat 130, while the walls 17 have not returned to their initial rest positions. They will thus remain depressed until the first actuation of push button B which will allow air to enter the interior of the tank through the distribution member P.
• Figures 10, 11 and 12 show three other embodiments for a tank according to the invention.
• the dispensing head can be strictly identical to that of the first embodiment.
• the reservoir R2 comprises two rigid parts 20 and 21 of substantially tubular shape.
• the upper part 21 is a part forming the neck on which the dispensing head T is mounted.
• the upper part 21 also receives the vent valve V and forms its seat.
• the lower part 20 receives the filling valve C.
• the lower 20 and upper 21 parts are connected together by a sleeve 22 which is made of an elastically deformable material.
• This sleeve 22 comprises two sealed connection end pieces 23 and 24, connected respectively to the upper part 21 and to the lower part 20. Between these two connection end pieces 23 and 24, the sleeve 22 forms an elastically deformable wall 27, for example under the shape of a bulb of revolution.
• the user has not even oriented the dispenser D2 to optimally press on the wall 27, given that the latter is of revolution.
• the axis of displacement Y of the wall 27 is perpendicular to the axis longitudinal X of the distributor D2 which coincides with the axis of movement of the push-button B and of the filling valve C.
• the reservoir R3 of Figure 1 1 comprises a one-piece body 30 of generally cylindrical shape, which forms at its upper end a neck 31 for mounting the dispensing head T. Below the neck 31, the one-piece body 30 forms a seat 32 for the vent valve V, as well as a seat 33 for the floating shutter O. Then, the one-piece body 30 forms a long flexible tube which will serve as an elastically deformable wall 37.
• the filling valve C is mounted at the free lower end of this flexible tube.
• the elastically deformable wall 37 extends over most of the height of the reservoir R3, so that the user does not need to be extremely precise in applying his pressure in order to fill.
• the reservoir The Y axis of movement of wall 37 is also perpendicular to the X axis of movement of push button B and filling valve C.
• the reservoir R4 of FIG. 12 also comprises two rigid parts 40 and 41 which may be identical or similar to those of the reservoir R2 of FIG. 10.
• the upper part 41 forms a neck and receives the vent valve V.
• the lower part 40 receives the filling valve C.
• the two rigid parts 40 and 41 are connected together by a bellows 42 forming two sealed connection end pieces 43 and 44, respectively for the upper rigid part 41 and the lower rigid part 40.
• This bellows 42 forms an elastically deformable wall 47, the displacement axis of which coincides with the X axis. In other words, the two rigid parts 40 and 41 move towards / away when the wall 47 is deformed.
• the reservoir of the refillable dispenser comprises an elastically deformable wall which makes it possible to vary the useful volume of the reservoir, so as to first expel the air it contains in order then to suck the fluid product from 'a source.
• the dispenser is protected inside a case, which prevents or avoids any accidental actuation of the elastically deformable wall and which also hides the filling valve and the vent valve.
• the floating shutter O is advantageous, but not essential. It can be noted that all the reservoirs have a conventional elongated configuration with the vent valve at the neck, the filling valve at the bottom level and the deformable wall disposed axially between the two valves.

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• Containers And Packaging Bodies Having A Special Means To Remove Contents (AREA)
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Priority Applications (4)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

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Family

ID=68342953

Family Applications (1)

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Citations (4)

Family Cites Families (5)

• 2019
  • 2019-04-11 FR FR1903892A patent/FR3094895B1/fr active Active
• 2020
  • 2020-04-10 EP EP20725787.4A patent/EP3953054B1/de active Active
  • 2020-04-10 CN CN202080027951.1A patent/CN114072239B/zh active Active
  • 2020-04-10 BR BR112021019098A patent/BR112021019098A2/pt unknown
  • 2020-04-10 WO PCT/FR2020/000111 patent/WO2020208319A1/fr unknown
  • 2020-04-10 ES ES20725787T patent/ES2949677T3/es active Active

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