WO2000007739A1 - Fluid product dispensing device adapted to avoid all contamination of the product the container - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention concerns a fluid product dispensing device, comprising a container (10) containing the product to be dispensed, and a dispensing member (20), such as a pump, for dispensing the product. The invention is characterised in that said device further comprises: a ventilation (60) for compensating at least partially the volume of product dispensed each time the device is actuated; and a flexible bag (50) fixed around said dispensing member (20), said ventilation (60) being connected with said flexible bag (50) inside, such that the bacteria contained in the ventilating air do not contact the product contained in the container (10).

Description

 FLUID PRODUCT DISPENSING DEVICE SUITABLE FOR AVOIDING CONTAMINATION OF THE PRODUCT CONTAINED IN THE CONTAINER.

The present invention relates to a device for dispensing a fluid product, and more particularly such a device adapted to avoid any contamination of the product contained in the container. It is well known, in particular in the field of pharmacy, cosmetics, or perfumery, to produce devices for dispensing a fluid product comprising a reservoir containing the product, generally a liquid, and a pump fixed on said reservoir. . Generally, to avoid contamination of the product contained inside the tank, the pump works without air intake, but in this case there is the problem of the vacuum created inside the tank, especially at the end of emptying . In addition, the use of an airless pump implies very high sealing requirements, especially in terms of the attachment of the pump to the tank.

To solve the problem of depression, it has in particular been proposed to provide an air vent between the reservoir and the exterior of the device, with the interposition of a filter to filter the contaminating agents, in particular bacteria. Devices of this type are described in particular in documents EP-0 189 549 and EP-0 800 869. The main drawback of this type of device is that it involves the manufacture and the installation of the filter between said tank and venting, which considerably complicates the manufacture and assembly of the device, with a negative effect on the final cost. In addition, this type of system is not always easily adaptable to the standard pumps usually used.

Another solution has been proposed in document EP-0 771 734. In this document, it has been proposed to produce all or part of the reservoir containing the product in a material permeable to air. The main disadvantage of this device is that it involves the manufacture of a specific tank with suitable materials, which increases considerably the cost of said tank, and above all does not allow the use of tanks of any type or any material, especially those which are widely used today In addition, the use of an airless pump is mandatory

Yet another solution is disclosed in document WO 94/25371, which provides for using an airless pump or valve with an aerosol container provided with an air intake connected by a flap to a swelling bag disposed in the container. This device is complicated to manufacture, and in particular involves the use of a particular non-standard container. In addition, it is not adaptable to a device comprising a dip tube extending to the bottom of the container. Other devices are also known, comprising either follower pistons in the container, or a flexible bag containing the product to be dispensed. These devices are however complicated to manufacture, and filling is not easy. The object of the present invention is to provide a device for dispensing a fluid product which does not have the abovementioned drawbacks.

The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a device for dispensing a fluid product making it possible to at least partially balance the vacuum inside the tank without risking contamination of the product remaining in the tank and without any complication in manufacturing and assembly. of the device, consequently limiting its cost. The present invention also aims to provide such a fluid dispensing device which operates with a non-airless pump, that is to say a pump with air intake.

The present invention also aims to provide a fluid dispensing device which functions effectively with all types of pump or valve, from tank and fixing ring, especially those called standard type.

The present invention also aims to provide such a fluid product dispensing device which prevents any alteration of the product contained in the tank while ensuring perfect distribution of all of the product contained in the tank.

The present invention therefore relates to a device for dispensing a fluid product, comprising a container containing the product to be dispensed, and a dispensing member, such as a pump, for dispensing said product, said device further comprising:

- a vent to at least partially compensate for the volume of product dispensed each time the device is actuated, and a flexible bag fixed around said dispensing member, said vent being connected with the interior of said flexible bag, so that contaminating agents, such as bacteria, contained in the venting air, do not come into contact with the product contained in the container.

Preferably, said dispensing member is a pump operating with air intake, said venting being carried out at the level of the pump or of its attachment to the container.

Preferably, said pocket is, in the initial state, disposed along the dispensing member, near the latter, said pocket being on each actuation of the device progressively inflated by the venting air. Advantageously, said pocket is elastic.

Preferably, said pocket is fixed to the neck of the container.

Advantageously, said pocket comprises an annular flange disposed on the neck of the container. Advantageously, said flange forms the neck seal of the device. Advantageously, the bottom of said pocket is crossed by a dip tube of the dispensing member, the junction between said pocket and said dip tube being sealed. According to a particular embodiment of the invention, said pocket is impermeable to the product, but permeable to air, said pocket being adapted to filter any contaminating agent, such as bacteria, contained in the air which passes through the walls of the pocket towards 1 inside the tank. This advantageous implementation makes it possible to guarantee a distribution of the entire product contained in the tank. Indeed, because the pocket works like a lung, it allows to balance the depression created during the actuation of the pump until the distribution of the last drop of product.

Preferably, said pocket is made of a soft plastic material.

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will appear more clearly in the following detailed description of the present invention, given by way of nonlimiting example, with reference to FIG. 1 attached, which represents a schematic view in cross section of a fluid dispenser device according to an advantageous embodiment of the invention. With reference to this FIG. 1, the fluid dispenser device conventionally comprises a container 10, which can be of any shape and material, and a dispenser member 20, such as a pump, mounted on the neck 11 of said container 10 by means of a fixing ring 30, which may also be of any suitable type. In the example shown in Figure 1, the ring is crimped, but it is obvious that a snap-on, screwable ring or any other equivalent type of fixing ring could be used. Likewise, the pump 20 shown in the figure can be replaced by any type of pump making it possible to selectively distribute the product contained in the container 10.

Preferably, this pump 20 operates with air intake, that is to say that the pump 20 is not an airless pump. As a result, the sealing requirements, in particular at the level of the fixing of the pump 20 to the neck 11 of the container 10, are not as high as with an airless pump operating without air intake and therefore having to prevent any penetration of air into the container 10. According to the invention, the device for dispensing the fluid product of the invention comprises a vent 60 which is adapted to at least partially compensate for the volume of product dispensed on each actuation of the device. If the pump 20 operates with air intake, this venting 60 is preferably carried out at the level of the pump itself or at the level of its attachment to the container 10. In the example shown in FIG. 1 , this venting 60 is carried out between the body of the pump 20 and the fixing ring 30 of this pump on the container. Thus, on each actuation of the pump 20, air enters the atmosphere towards the interior of the device by said venting 60, to at least partially compensate for the volume of product dispensed.

To avoid any contamination of the product remaining inside the container 10, the present invention provides for having a flexible bag 50 around the pump 20, said venting 60 connecting the atmosphere inside said bag flexible 50. This flexible pocket 50 is adapted to prevent any contaminating agent, such as in particular bacteria, from penetrating inside the reservoir 10, thus preventing any contact of these bacteria with the product contained in said reservoir. Thus, on each actuation of the device, the volume of product dispensed creates a vacuum inside the tank 10, said vacuum causing inflation, expansion or an expansion of the pocket 50 inside said tank to at least partially compensate for this depression

According to a first embodiment of the invention, said flexible bag 50 is airtight and product tight so that as the product contained in the reservoir 10 is dispensed, said bag 50 inflates with inside the tank 10 to gradually occupy an increasingly large volume inside said tank. In this case, the capacity to compensate for the volume of product dispensed is determined by certain parameters of said flexible bag such as its size or its elasticity.

Advantageously, said flexible bag 50 is in the initial state disposed against the body of the pump 20, preferably over a major part of the height of the reservoir 10 and is adapted to extend or gradually expand towards the walls of the tank 10. Advantageously, said flexible pocket has one or more folds 52 which facilitate its radial expansion. Preferably, as shown in the example of Figure 1, the pocket 50 extends substantially to the bottom of the tank 10, or it is crossed by. dip tube 25 of the pump 20, the junction between said pocket 50 and said dip tube 25 being sealed. At the other end, said pocket 50 is preferably fixed to the neck 1 of the container. To do this, it advantageously comprises an annular flange 55 which is placed on the upper surface of the neck 11 between the latter and the neck gasket 5 of the fluid dispenser device. Advantageously, said annular flange 55 of the pocket can even directly form said neck seal of the device.

This implementation of the invention, as shown in FIG. 1, makes it possible to compensate for the depression created inside the reservoir during the distribution of the product, this compensation not being however more complete at the end of the emptying of the tank, said flexible bag 50 being unable to fill the entire interior volume of the tank. However, this is not a problem since the pump 20 can operate perfectly with a slight vacuum, which is the case with most standard pumps.

In a second embodiment of the present invention, the flexible bag 50 is made in a product-tight but air-permeable manner. In this case, the wall of the flexible bag 50 is adapted to retain and therefore prevent the passage of any contaminating agent, such as bacteria contained in the venting air, towards the interior of the reservoir 10. Thus, all contact between the product remaining inside the tank 10 and contaminating agents is prevented. In this alternative embodiment, the bag 50 functions like a lung, that is to say that it inflates after the distribution of a dose of product, then it deflates as the air contained in the pocket passes through its walls towards the interior of the reservoir 10. In this way, the depression created on each actuation of the device can be completely compensated until the distribution of the last drop of product. The vacuum compensation speed will of course depend on the material used to make the flexible bag 50, and in particular on its air permeability. These parameters will be chosen according to the desired use of the device depending on whether the device is to be used at intervals more or less spaced in time. Preferably, the material used to make the flexible pouch is a soft plastic material, which can be of different types, provided that it is impermeable to the product, breathable, and that it prevents the passage of bacteria. towards the inside of the tank 10.

The fluid dispenser device according to the invention therefore has in particular the following important advantages: any contamination of the product remaining in the device is prevented by the presence of the flexible bag; the problems linked to the strong vacuum created inside the tank, in particular at the end of emptying, with airless pumps are resolved; the use of a pump operating with air intake makes it possible to limit the requirements for sealing, in particular at the level of the fixing of the pump to the container; the use of a flexible pocket integral with the pump allows its adaptation to any type of container, to any type of pump and to any type of fixing ring, which greatly limits the costs because it is no longer necessary to make one or more component parts of the device in a specific way (special pump with filter, special container with valve, etc.); the establishment of the flexible bag around the pump body allows its assembly together with the pump, which significantly simplifies the device assembly process, in particular compared to those in which filters must be put in place; indeed the flexible bag 50 can firstly be fixed around the pump body 20, then the conditioning of the reservoir can be done in sterile phase at atmospheric pressure, then the unit formed of the pump body, the flexible bag and the fixing ring can be placed on the neck of the container and fixed in a non-removable manner. The machines for assembling the device during the packaging of the product must therefore not be modified compared to the machines used for standard devices, which implies a minimum manufacturing and assembly cost. Various modifications can be made to the invention by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

Claims: 1.- Device for dispensing a fluid product, comprising a container (10) containing the product to be dispensed, and a dispensing member (20), such as a pump, for dispensing said product, characterized in that said device comprises in further: a vent (60) to at least partially compensate for the volume of product dispensed each time the device is actuated, and a flexible bag (50) fixed around said dispensing member (20), said venting free air (60) being connected with the interior of said flexible bag (50), so that contaminating agents, such as bacteria, contained in the venting air, do not come into contact with the product contained in the container (10). 2. A dispensing device according to claim 1, wherein said dispensing member (20) is a pump operating with air intake, said venting (60) being produced at the level of the pump (20) or of its attachment to the container (10). 3. A dispensing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said pocket (50) is, in the initial state, disposed along the dispensing member (20), close to the latter, said pocket (50) being on each actuation of the device progressively inflated by the venting air. 4. Dispensing device according to any one of the preceding claims, in which said pocket (50) is elastic. 5. Dispensing device according to any one of the preceding claims, in which said pocket (50) is fixed to the neck (11) of the container (10). 6. A dispensing device according to claim 5, wherein said pocket (50) comprises an annular flange (55) disposed on the neck (11) of the container (10). 7. A dispensing device according to claim 6, wherein said flange (55) forms the neck seal of the device. 8. Dispensing device according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the bottom (51) of said pocket (50) is crossed by a dip tube (25) of the dispensing member (20), the junction between said pocket (50) and said dip tube (25) being sealed. 9. A dispensing device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said pocket (50) is impermeable to the product, but permeable to air, said pocket (50) being adapted to filter any contaminating agent, such as bacteria, contained in the air which passes through the walls of the pocket (50) towards inside the tank (10). 10. Dispensing device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said pocket (50) is made of a soft plastic material.