WO2001030668A1 - Extemporaneous product dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention concerns a fluid product dispenser comprising a dispensing member (3) two reservoirs (1, 2) separated by a partition (21). The invention is characterised in that displacing means (33) are provided to move the dispensing member (3) towards the partition (21) to cause it to collapse, thereby enabling the contents of the two reservoirs to be mixed before being dispensed.

Description

 Distributor of mix of extemporaneous product.

The present invention relates to a dispenser for distributing a mixture of fluid product in an extemporaneous manner, that is to say that the mixture of the various constituents of the fluid product are mixed just before they can be used by the distributor to deliver a dose of said mixture. . The distributor comprises a distribution member, such as a pump, a valve or even a plug, as well as two reservoirs separated from each other by a common partition.

The user of this dispenser, before first use, must carry out an operation aimed at mixing the two products contained in the two tanks by breaking or removing the common partition. The rupture of this common partition can be carried out in various ways.

Document US 4,821,923 proposes for example an extemporaneous mixing distributor comprising a first tank in the form of a bottle with a threaded neck, a second tank engaged in the neck of the first tank, and a pump mounted in the second tank and communicating with the first tank via a dip tube.

In the initial state, the second tank is already in place inside the neck of the first tank, and the two tanks are isolated from each other by a breakable wall. This breakable wall is integral with the dip tube. Moreover, the second tank and the dip tube are made in one piece from molded plastic. The breakable wall defines a zone of least resistance favoring breakage at this location. The second reservoir closes the first reservoir, and a plug seals the second reservoir by threaded pπse on the threaded neck of the first reservoir. The pump is then not in place on the distributor. The distributor is therefore sold with the pump separately. This requires special packaging. In addition, there is a risk of dirtying or damaging the pump when handling it.

The first tank contains one product and the second tank contains another product. It is easily understood that the two products can mix after rupture of the breakable wall.

When the user wants to make the extemporaneous mixing, he must first remove the cap from the threaded neck of the first tank. Thus, the second tank is wide open and there is a risk of spilling the product contained in the second tank. In addition, there is a risk of deteπoration of the product in contact with air. To break the wall, the user uses the pump by inserting the lower end of the pump into the dip tube still attached to the second tank. The initial pressure has the effect of securing the pump to the upper end of the dip tube. A higher subsequent pressure has the effect of breaking the wall and thus providing a communication passage between the two tanks. The product stored in the second tank can then flow into the first tank around the dip tube which is then only integral with the pump, and no longer from the second tank.

A final operation consists in mounting a fixing ring on the threaded neck of the first tank in order to fix the pump on the second tank. In the document dispenser, the pump is used to divide the partition that separates the two tanks. However, it is the user's hand which acts directly on the pump by pushing it inside the second tank.

The risk of spilling the product contained in the second open tank is all the greater as the rupture of the breakable wall generates a jerk which makes the pump and the tanks suddenly move.

In addition, the user can damage the pump, the dip tube or even one of the tanks by improper handling, for example a too strong push on the pump.

The present invention aims to remedy the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art by defining an extemporaneous mixture dispenser whose use is simplified and without risk of deterioration of the dispenser and loss or alteration of product.

According to the invention, there are provided displacement means for moving the dispensing member toward the partition to cause it to give way and thus allow, before dispensing, the mixing of the contents of the two tanks. Advantageously, the dispensing member extends inside one of the two reservoirs, said reservoir comprising a wall forming said partition. The dispensing member is therefore already in place in one of the two tanks, but not in its final position which will only be reached when the common partition has been removed or will be destroyed by the dispensing member during its movement. According to another characteristic, the dispensing member is fixed to one of the two tanks by fixing means and movable relative to this tank between an initial position where the partition separates the two tanks and a final position where the partition has failed under the pressure of the dispensing member. Preferably, the two tanks are fixedly mounted relative to each other. The distribution member is thus movable relative to the two reservoirs which form an inseparable entity.

According to an advantageous characteristic, the displacement means are formed by said fixing means. According to another advantageous characteristic, the reservoirs are hermetically sealed in the initial position, in the final position and during the movement of the dispensing member between these two positions. Thus, the user only has to act on the fixing means to move the dispensing member without risk of losing the product.

According to one embodiment, the two initial and final positions are snap positions. Advantageously, the fixing means comprise a fixing ring cooperating by snap-fastening with one of the two reservoirs between these two positions. The technique of snap-fitting a dispensing member using a ring on a reservoir is a completely conventional technique, except that in the present invention, there are two snap-in positions, namely an initial and a finale. As a variant, the two initial and final positions are screwing positions.

Advantageously, the fixing means comprise a fixing ring cooperating by screwing with one of the two tanks between these two positions. Again, this is a completely conventional technique and the final position can for example be reached at the end of screwing. According to another characteristic, a tank called the second tank seals the other tank said to be the first tank. Advantageously, the dispensing member sealingly seals the second reservoir forming the partition.

In order to guarantee perfect sealing during the displacement of the dispensing member, the latter comprises a sealing lip mounted slidingly against a cylindrical internal wall of the second reservoir. Thus, the dispenser is perfectly sealed in the initial position as well as during the movement of the dispensing member.

According to a practical embodiment, the dispensing member is snapped on or screwed onto the first reservoir. On the other hand, the second tank is mounted squeezing inside the first tank. According to a preferred embodiment, the distribution member comprises a dip tube which extends in a reservoir in the direction of the partition so as to cause the partition to yield by displacement of the distribution member towards the partition.

The invention will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings which give two embodiments of the present invention by way of non-limiting example. In the drawings, FIGS. 1a and 1b are views in vertical cross section through a dispenser according to the invention in the initial position and in the final position respectively, and - FIGS. 2a and 2b are views similar to those of FIGS. for a distributor according to a second embodiment of the invention.

The extemporaneous mixing distributor according to the invention comprises three essential constituent elements, namely a first tank 1, a second tank 2 and a setting member 3. The first tank 1 can be made of glass or plastic and comprises a body 10 defining an internal volume intended to contain a first fluid product PI. The first reservorr 1 forms at its upper end a neck 11 which forms the snap-fastening profiles 111, 112 or screwing profiles 110.

The second reserve 2, which can be made of plastic, extends inside the first tank 1, so that it is partially surrounded by the fluid PI. The second reservorr 2 comprises a body 20 closed at its lower end by a partition 21. At its upper end, the body 20 of the second tank 2 forms a flange 22 which extends radially towards the exterior. The second reservoir 2 is engaged in the metering of the first reservoir 1 with a tight contact of the body 20 of the second reservoir 2 against the internal wall of the neck 11 of the first reservoir 1. The final position of the second reservorr 2 has the interior of the first tank 1 is reached when the radial flange 22 abuts against the upper surface of the neck 11 of the first tank 1. The tight contact between the body 20 and the neck 11 is perfectly sealed so that the second tank 2 hermetically seals the first tank 1. The second reservoir 2 contains a second fluid product P2, separated from the first fluid product PI by the common partition 21.

According to the invention, the common partition 21 can be pierced, torn or separated from the body 20 so as to bring the products PI and P2 into contact to produce a mixture of these products. The partition 21 can be completely separated from the body 20 but can also remain attached to the body for example by a bridge of material providing a form of hinge. Partial or total removal of the partition 21 is preferred to piercing or tearing it in order to achieve a larger passage between the reservoir 1 and the reservoir 2 to favor and improve the mixing of the products PI and P2.

According to the invention, the distπbution member 3 is used to cause the common partition 21 to yield. To do this, the distπbution member 3 can be moved in the direction of the common partition 21 between an initial position in which the partition separates the two tanks 1 and 2, and a final position in which the partition has yielded under the pressure of the dispensing member. The distribution member 3 can therefore move translatively in the direction of the partition 21 Advantageously, the distribution member 3 is provided with a dip tube 32, the end of which serves as a pushing or piercing member which comes into contact with the partition 21 to make it yield. It is also possible to provide a thrust member in the form of a rigid rod or else of a tube which extends next to or around the dip tube.

The dispensing member, which can be a pump, a valve, or even a plug, is fixed to one of the two tanks, in this case the first tank 1, using fixing means, here in the form of a ring 33. The ring 33 which may or may not form an integral part of the distribution member 3 cooperates with the profiled neck 11 of the first reservoir 1, either by snap-fastening, as shown in FIGS. 1 a and 1 b, or by screwing , as shown in Figures 2a and 2b. In the first embodiment shown in Figures la and lb, the neck 11 of the first reservorr 1 forms two snap grooves 111 and 112, while the ring forms a snap profile 330. In the initial position corresponding to the FIG. 1a, the latching profile 330 of the ring 33 is engaged in the first latching groove 111 of the neck 11. By pressing on the ring 33, it is possible to cause the latching profile 330 to come out of the groove 111 and coming to be polled in the second groove 112 in the neck 11. During this movement, the dip tube 32 moves translatively towards the partition 21 so as to cause it to yield, as shown in FIG. 1b .

In the valve shown in FIGS. 2a and 2b, the principle is the same with a screw fixing. To do this, the neck 11 of the first tank 1 is formed with an external thread 110 while the ring 33 forms an internal thread 333 in taken with the threaded neck 11. In the position shown in FIG. 2a, the ring 33 is not fully screwed onto the neck 11 and the end of the dip tube remains remote or just in contact with the partition 21 without the give up. By screwing the ring 33 on the neck 11, the dip tube 32 moves translatively towards the partition 21 until it yields, which corresponds to the position shown in FIG. 2b. The final position can for example be reached when the ring 33 is screwed fully onto the threaded neck 11

We have already seen that the seal between the two reservoirs 1 and 2 is achieved by the tightening contact of the body 20 against the internal wall of the neck 11. In order to guarantee a perfect seal between the dispensing member 3 and the reservoirs, the fixing ring 33 form also a sealing lip in the form of a skirt 331 which comes into leaktight sliding contact against a cylindrical part of the internal wall of the body 20 of the second tank 2. The sealing of the dispenser is thus guaranteed in the initial position, in final position but also when moving the pump body to reach the final position. This avoids any risk of product loss when mixing the products.

A characteristic of the invention is to maintain the tightness of the dispenser during the mixing operation, and this can be done with displacement means specific to the distributor, for example by using fixing means to move the member. distribution in order to break the partition separating the two tanks. In the examples above, it is the fixing ring which moves with the dispensing member on the neck of one of the tanks. One can also imagine that the ring could allow the displacement alone of the dispensing member in the ring which remains fixed on the tank. In this case also, the fixing means form displacement means for the dispensing member. Thanks to the invention, the user can perform the mixing of the two products PI and P2 at the last moment just before acknowledging the distributor, simply by acting on the ring 33 either by pushing in the case of snap-fastening, or by rotation in the case of screwing.

Claims

Claims: 1.- Fluid product distributor comprising a distribution member (3) and two reservoirs (1, 2) separated by a partition (21), characterized in that displacement means (33) are provided for displacing the distribution member (3) to the partition (21) to make it yield and thus allow, before distribution, the mixing of the contents of the two tanks. 2. A fluid dispenser according to claim 1, in which the dispensing member (3) extends inside one of the two reservoirs (2), said reservoir (2) comprising a wall forming said partition. (21). 3. A fluid dispenser according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the dispensing member (3) is fixed to one of the two tanks (1) by fixing means (33) and movable relative thereto between an initial position where the partition separates the two tanks and a final position where the partition has given way under pressure from the dispensing member. 4. A fluid dispenser according to claim 3, wherein the displacement means are formed for said fixing means (33). 5. A fluid dispenser according to claims 3 or 4, wherein the reservoirs are hermetically sealed in the initial position, in the final position and during the movement of the dispensing member between these two positions. 6. A fluid dispenser according to claim 4, wherein the fixing means comprise a fixing ring (33) cooperating by bundling with one of the two reservoirs (1) between an initial position and a final latching position. 7. A fluid dispenser according to claim 4, wherein the fixing means comprise a fixing ring (33) cooperating by screwing with one of the two reservoirs (1) between an initial position and a final screwing position. 8. A fluid dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a tank said second tank (2) seals the other tank said first tank (1). 9. A fluid dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the second reservoir (2) is tightly mounted inside the first reservoir (1). 10. A fluid dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the dispensing member (3) comprises a dip tube (32) which extends in a reservoir (2) in the direction of the partition (21 ) in such a way as to divide the partition by displacement of the distπbution member towards the partition. 11. A fluid dispenser according to claim 9, wherein the dispensing member (3) sealingly seal the second reservoir (2) forming the partition (21), the dispensing member (3) comprising a lip. sealing (331) slidingly mounted against a cylindrical internal wall of the second tank (2).