EP1171367A1

EP1171367A1 - Fixing element for dispensing a liquid product and dispenser comprising said element

Info

Publication number: EP1171367A1
Application number: EP00912718A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Firmin Garcia; stéphane Beranger
Original assignee: Valois SAS
Current assignee: Aptar France SAS
Priority date: 1999-04-16
Filing date: 2000-03-20
Publication date: 2002-01-16
Anticipated expiration: 2020-03-20
Also published as: FR2792295B1; WO2000063095A1; US6527149B1; WO2000063094A1; ES2199794T3; DE60003414D1; EP1171367B1; DE60003414T2; FR2792295A1

Abstract

A dispenser for a liquid product comprising a receptacle (1) containing a liquid product, whereby said receptacle is provided with a neck (10) which defines an inner wall (11), a dispensing element (2) such as a pump or a valve and a fixing element (3; 2) which is used to fix the dispensing element (2) on the neck (10) of the receptacle (1), whereby the fixing element cooperates with the inner wall of the neck, said inner wall of the neck is formed by at least one recess (12) which extends on at least part of the periphery of the neck, and the fixing element comprises locking means(32; 22) which can be accommodated in the recess (12) of the inner wall of the neck, whereby the fixing element comprises a skirt (30; 20) which can be engaged inside the neck of the receptacle and the locking means comprise an outer radial protuberance (32; 22) which can be accommodated in the recess of the inner wall of the neck. The invention is characterised in that the locking means also comprise a locking ring (4; 20; 61) which is forcibly engaged inside the skirt as far as the recess (12) of the inner wall of the neck.

Description

Fixing member for a fluid dispenser and dispenser comprising such a member.

The present invention relates to a fluid dispenser comprising a container formed with a neck, a dispensing member such as a pump or a valve. A fixing member is provided for fixing the pump or the valve to the neck of the container. This is a completely classic design for a distributor in the field of perfumery, cosmetics or even pharmacy. The actuation of this type of distributor is effected by pressure using a finger on a pusher which moves an actuating rod inside the body of the pump or of the valve. As a result, a continuous dose or stream of fluid is dispensed.

Numerous techniques already exist in the prior art for fixing a pump or a valve to the neck of a container. The most commonly used techniques are snap-fastening, crimping and screwing. For this, a fixing member is used which is often in the form of a ring or a spinner which cooperates with the external wall of the container neck. The latter is generally provided with a thickened rim which extends over a certain height of the neck or may also be provided with an external thread intended to cooperate with an internal thread formed inside the fixing member. To maintain the pump or the valve, the fixing member is provided with a housing in which the pump or the valve is often received by snap-fastening. Thus, 1 fixing member makes the transition between the pump or the valve and the neck of the container. Since the fixing member cooperates, in the devices of the prior art, with the external wall of the neck of the container, it follows that the fixing member must have a relatively large diameter, which sometimes harms the aesthetics of the distributor, particularly in the field of perfumery.

There are already devices of the prior art which solve this problem. We can for example cite the document US Pat. No. 5,277,340 which describes a dispenser in which the pump is fixed with the aid of a fixing ring which cooperates with the internal wall of the neck of the reservoir. To do this, the neck of the reservoir is formed, at its internal wall, with a recess in which a sleeve formed by the fixing ring is housed. This sleeve has an elasticity so that the sleeve can be constrained and can then relax inside the recess formed in the inner wall of the neck of the tank. It is thus possible to fix a pump inside a tank without the fixing ring being visible from the outside.

Mention may also be made of document US Pat. No. 3,937,366 which describes a dispenser in which the pump is also fixed with the aid of a fixing ring inside a tank neck. In a similar manner to the document cited above, the internal wall of the neck defines a groove in which a bead of the fixing ring engages.

These devices of the prior art have the drawback, however, that the snap-fastening inside the neck is not perfectly stable, nor safe if the pump is pulled.

The present invention therefore aims to remedy this drawback of the prior art by defining a dispenser for which the internal snap-fastening of the fixing ring is perfectly stable.

To do this, the present invention provides a fluid dispenser comprising: a container containing the fluid, said container comprising a neck defining an internal wall, a dispensing member such as a pump or a valve, and a fixing member to fix the dispensing member on the neck of the container, the fixing member cooperates with the inner wall of the neck, said inner wall of the neck is formed with at least one recess which extends over at least part of the periphery of the neck, and the fixing member comprises latching means capable of being housed in said recess of the internal wall of the neck, said fixing member comprising a skirt intended to be engaged in the neck of the container, the means of snap-fastening comprising an external radial projection capable of being received in said recess of the internal wall of the neck, the snap-fastening means further comprise a locking ring engaged in force in the j up to the level of the recess in the inner wall of the cervix.

The locking ring which must of course be made of a rigid non-deformable material, can be constituted by an added element, but also by an element of the dispensing member. The locking ring can be formed by the body of the dispensing member, by an attached ring, but also by a ferrule engaged in force in the body of the dispensing member. As for the fixing member, it can be formed by a fixing ring independent of the dispensing member, but it can also be formed by the body of the dispensing member itself. In the latter case, the locking ring must be formed by the ferrule engaged in the body of the dispensing member. It is particularly advantageous to use this ferrule, since it is a particularly rigid element which is not subject to deformations. In general, this ferrule defines the rest position of the piston, that is to say its top dead center. When the fixing member is formed by a separate fixing ring, it is advantageous for the body of the dispensing member to be slidably mounted with friction in the skirt. Indeed, it is then possible during assembly of the dispenser to first engage the fixing ring in the neck so as to accommodate the radial projection in the recess, then to engage the dispensing member in the ring so as to position the ferrule at the level of the projection so as to block the snap-fastening of the fixing ring in the recess formed in the internal wall of the neck of the reservoir. It will thus be possible to deliver the dispensing member with the body partially engaged in the fixing member. It will then suffice for the person responsible for filling and mounting the dispensing member to proceed in the manner indicated above.

According to another advantageous characteristic of the invention, the fixing member forms a housing in which a nozzle is received. It is also possible that the fixing member forms channels and a swirl chamber. Likewise, the fixing member can form an outlet channel for the fluid product. This eliminates the need for an additional room to fulfill these functions. This also results in a simplification of the body of the dispensing member.

According to another characteristic, the fixing member is capped with a covering band. Preferably, when the fixing member forms a housing for a nozzle, the covering hoop is pierced with a hole at the level of the nozzle.

According to another characteristic, the fixing member comprises an external collar intended to come into abutment on the upper edge of the neck, with possible interposition of a seal. The invention will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, giving by way of nonlimiting example several embodiments of the invention. In the drawings: FIG. 1 is a view in vertical cross section through a dispenser produced according to a first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a view in cross section through a second embodiment, FIG. 2a is a view in section of the upper part of the fixing member according to an alternative embodiment, FIGS. 3a, 3b and 3c are views of the dispenser of FIG. 2 during different assembly steps, and - FIGS. 4 and 5 are cross-sectional views of two other embodiments.

In all embodiments, the dispenser comprises a container 1 defining a neck 10. The internal wall 11 of the neck 10 is formed with at least one recess 12 which extends peripherally.

The dispenser also includes a pump 2 defining a body 20 and a pusher 51 for actuating the pump. We chose a pump to illustrate the present invention but we could also have used a valve.

In the dispenser of Figure 1, the body 20 defines a thickened flange 21 in snap engagement in a fixing ring 3 which cooperates with the inner wall 11 of the neck for fixing the pump in the neck. The ring 3 comprises a skirt 30 which extends in contact with the internal wall 11 of the neck 10. According to the invention, the external wall of the skirt 30 is formed with at least one external radial projection 32 capable of being housed in the recess 12 formed in the internal wall 11 of the neck 10. To limit engagement and fix its position of the skirt 30 inside the neck 10, the ring 3 is formed with a flange 31 adapted to come into abutment on the upper end of the neck 10.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the skirt 30 is connected to a bush 33 so as to define between them a cylindrical annular housing 34. The bush 33 further defines a snap-in housing for the flange 21 of the body 20. According to the invention, a locking ring 4 is forcibly engaged in the housing 34 up to the level of the projection 32 formed by the skirt 30 as can be seen on the right of FIG. 1. This locking ring 4 produced in a rigid, non-deformable material definitively blocks the snap-fastening of the ring of the fixing inside the neck 10 of the container 1. For the mounting of this distributor, proceed as follows. We start by engaging the fixing ring 3 inside the neck 10 until the projection 32 is snapped into the recess 12. We then forcefully engage the locking ring 4 inside the housing 34 until at the level of the projection 32. The fixing of the pump 2 is then final.

We will now refer to Figures 2, 3a, 3b and 3c, to explain a second embodiment of the invention. It is still a pump comprising a body 20 in which slides a piston 4 mounted on an actuating rod 5 which is capped with a plunger 51 on which one presses to move the piston inside the body 20 For fixing the pump in the neck 11 of a container 1, there is also provided a fixing member 3 in the form of a ring formed with a skirt 30 and a flange 31 adapted to come into abutment on the upper end of the neck 10. The skirt 30 extends around the body 20 which it hugs tightly and tightly.

As in the previous embodiment of Figure 1, the inner wall 11 of the neck 1 is formed with a recess 12, and the skirt 30 is formed on its outer wall with at least one projection or a boss 32 housed in the inside the recess 12.

In this embodiment, the pump comprises a ferrule 6 which is forcibly engaged in the body 20. This ferrule 6 is formed with a ring 61, a stop collar 63 and a cuff 62. It is the ring 61 which is forcibly engaged in the body 20 until the flange stop 63 comes to bear on the upper end of the body and more precisely on a shoulder formed by the body 20. As for the cuff 62, it serves as a part of the guide means for the actuating rod 5 and on the other hand a sealed sliding surface for the outlet valve 7 which is in the form of a differential piston biased by a spring 52 which serves both to return spring and precompression spring.

According to the invention, the ferrule 6, or more precisely the ring 61 of the ferrule 6, serves as a locking ring to block the snapping of the boss 32 in the recess 12 of the neck 10. In fact, the ferrule 6 is a rigid relative piece and its ring 61 has a relatively large wall thickness (fig. 2), so that it is not subject to deformation while the body 20 of the pump is often made of a more flexible plastic material and thinner which deforms. This is why the pump body 20 is not alone sufficient to block the snap-fastening of the ring 3 in the neck 10. In certain cases, it will however be possible to produce a pump body 20 sufficiently rigid so that one can do without the ferrule 6 for the final blocking. Such an embodiment is shown in FIG. 5.

We see in Figure 2 that the ring 61 extends down to the level of the boss 32 engaged in the recess 12. The lower end of the ring 61 also serves as a stop surface for the piston 4 in position of rest, that is to say at top dead center where the pump chamber has its maximum volume.

In this embodiment, the pump is with fixed spray, that is to say that the nozzle 8 is not mounted on the plunger 51 but on a fixed member of the pump. In this case, it is the fixing ring 3 which forms a housing 34 in which the nozzle 8 is mounted. The fixing ring 3 can also form channels and a swirl chamber 36 as well as an outlet duct 35 which communicates with the swirl channels 36.

The mounting of the nozzle on this fixing member, and more generally on any fixing member, whether it cooperates with the internal or external wall of the neck, or with any fixed member, is an advantageous characteristic which can be implemented regardless of whether the fixing member is snapped into the neck of the container. One can for example imagine a conventional fixing ring to be screwed on an externally threaded neck and of which a part (of the ring) forms a housing for receiving a nozzle, which defines a fixed distribution orifice. On the other hand, one should not be limited to mounting a nozzle on the fixing member, but also provide for the case where a dispensing orifice 36 is directly formed by the fixing member, as can be seen. in Figure 2a. In sum, the formation of the dispensing orifice or the mounting of a nozzle on any fixing member also constitutes an advantageous characteristic of the present invention. The fixing ring 3 also forms with the pump body 20 a delivery channel 23 which communicates the pump chamber with the nozzle when the outlet valve 7 has opened. Advantageously, the fixing ring 3 is capped with a covering 9 which extends with a cylindrical skirt 90 on the neck 10 to mask it. At its upper end, the covering 9 forms a re-entrant flap 91 which defines an opening in which the pusher 51 can move. In addition, the skirt 90 is formed with a hole 92 at the level of the nozzle 8.

Reference will now be made to FIGS. 3a, 3b and 3c to explain the process of mounting such a dispenser. At the outlet of the production line, the distribution member 2 and the fixing ring 3 are in the configuration shown in the 3a, the pump body 20 is only partially engaged in the skirt 30 of the ring 3 so that the ferrule 6 is not yet located at the boss 22. It is in this configuration that one introduces the fixing ring into the neck 10 of the container. The assembly is inserted into the neck 10 until the boss 32 is received in the recess 12 formed in the internal wall of the neck 10, as shown in FIG. 3b. The ferrule 6 is still not yet at the level of the boss 32. The penetration of the boss inside the neck is possible, because the fixing ring and the pump body are deformable which is not the case for the ferrule 6. The last step consists in sliding the body 20 inside the skirt 30 until the ferrule 6 reaches the level of the boss 32. The final locking of the boss in the recess 12 is then carried out. It should be noted, in this embodiment, that the sliding of the pump body inside the skirt 30 of the ring 3 is tight and sealed so as to form and isolate the discharge channel 23 which extends laterally between the body 20 and the skirt 30. According to another embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the fixing member inside the neck 10 is directly produced by the body 20 of the pump 2 which forms on its outer wall a boss 22 adapted to be housed in the recess 12 of the neck 10. Again, use is made of the ferrule 6, and more particularly of the ring 61, to permanently block the boss 2 in the recess 12. For the mounting, we can proceed in a similar way to that described above. We can start to engage the pump body 20 inside the neck 10 so as to accommodate the boss 22 in the recess 12, then we forcefully engage the ferrule 6 inside the body 20 so as to bring the ring 61 at the level of the boss 62.

In another embodiment shown in FIG. 5, a fixing ring 3 is used, but the blocking ring is directly produced by the body 20 of the pump which is produced in a material sufficiently rigid to definitively block the boss 32 in recess 12.

In all the embodiments described, a ring is used, whether it is formed by a separate ring 4, the ferrule 6 or the pump body 20, to block the snap-fastening of a ring 3 or of the body 20 inside the neck 10 of the container formed with a recess 12.

Claims

Claims:

1.- Fluid product dispenser comprising: a container (1) containing the fluid product, said container comprising a neck (10) defining an internal wall (11), a dispensing member (2) such as a pump or a valve , and - a fixing member (3; 2) for fixing the dispensing member (2) on the neck

(10) of the container (1), the fixing member cooperates with the internal wall of the neck, said internal wall of the neck is formed with at least one recess (12) which extends over at least part of the periphery of the neck, and the fixing member comprises latching means (32; 22) capable of being housed in said recess (12) of the inner wall of the neck, said fixing member comprising a skirt (30; 20) intended to be engaged in the neck of the container, the latching means comprising an external radial projection (32; 22) capable of being received in said recess of the internal wall of the neck, characterized in that the latching means further comprise a locking ring (4; 20; 61) forcibly engaged in the skirt up to the level of the recess (12) of the internal wall of the neck.

2. A dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the dispensing member (2) comprises a body (20), the fixing member being formed by said body.

3. A dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the locking ring is formed by an element (20, 61) of the dispensing member (2).

4. A dispenser according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the dispensing member comprises a body (20) which extends in contact with the skirt (30) at its radial projection (32), the ring of blockage being formed by said body (20).

5. A dispenser according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the dispensing member comprises a body (20) which extends in contact with the skirt (30) at its radial projection (32), the ring of blocking (61) being formed by a ferrule (6) forcibly engaged in the body of the dispensing member.

6. A dispenser according to claim 5, wherein the ferrule (6) defines the top dead center of the dispensing member.

.- A dispenser according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the body (20) of the dispensing member is slidably mounted with friction in the skirt (30).

8. Dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the fixing member (3) forms a dispensing orifice (36).

9. A dispenser according to any one of claims 1 to 7, in which the fixing member (3) forms a housing (34) in which a nozzle (8) is received.

10. A dispenser according to claim 9, in which the fixing member (3) forms channels and a swirl chamber (36).

11. Dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the fixing member (3) forms an outlet channel (35) for the fluid product.

12. A dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the fixing member (3) is capped with a covering band (9).

13. A dispenser according to claim 12, wherein the fixing member (3) forms a housing (34) for a nozzle (8), the covering hoop (9) being pierced with a hole (92) at the sprinkler level.

14. Dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the fixing member (3) comprises an external collar (31) intended to come into abutment on the upper edge of the neck, with possible interposition of a seal.

15.- A method of mounting a fluid dispenser comprising: a container (1) containing the fluid, said container comprising a neck (10) defining an internal wall (11), a dispensing member (2) such that '' a pump or a valve, and a fixing member (3, 2) for fixing the dispensing member (2) on the neck (10) of the container (1), the fixing member cooperates with the internal wall of the neck, said inner wall of the neck is formed with at least one recess (12) which extends over at least part of the periphery of the neck, and the fixing member comprises latching means (32; 22) capable to be housed in said recess (12) of the internal wall of the neck, said fixing member comprising a skirt (30; 20) intended to be engaged in the neck of the container, the latching means comprising an external radial projection (32 ; 22) able to be housed in said recess of the internal wall of the neck, the latching means further comprise a locking ring (4; 61; 20) forcibly engaged in the skirt (30; 20) up to the level of the recess (12) of the internal wall of the neck, the method comprising the steps of: engaging the fixing member in the neck of the container so as to accommodate the radial projection in the recess of the neck, then engaging the distribution locking ring in the fixing member so as to position the ring at the level of the projection engaged in the recess.