WO2025181320A1 - Pump for dispensing a fluid product - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a pump for dispensing a fluid product, comprising a pump body (14) containing a pump chamber (14a), a piston (16) sliding in the pump body (14) between a rest position and an actuating position, an elastic return member (50) for returning the pump to its rest position after each actuation, and a deformable assembly (60) for generating a pre-compression at the start of each actuation, the deformable assembly (60) comprising at least two superposed elastically deformable washers (61, 62, 63), the deformable assembly (60), during actuation, compressing axially on the basis of a threshold actuation force exerted by the user.

Description

Fluid product dispensing pump

The present invention relates to a fluid product dispensing pump.

Documents FR2343137 and FR2403465 describe a pump comprising a pump body in which a piston can move, slidably mounted on an actuating rod, the thrust force exerted on the rod by the user being transmitted to the piston by means of a spring, so that by actuating the actuating rod, a relative movement of the piston occurs with respect to the rod.

Document WO2020128269A1 describes an improved version of the above pump.

These pumps do, however, have some drawbacks. For example, they have two metal springs, which is not advantageous from a recycling point of view. In addition, they have a gland, which cooperates with the return spring and is necessary to prime the pump.

Document WO2023149022 describes a pump comprising a piston return spring formed by a deformable plastic element produced in a single piece.

Documents WO2023003387, CN216270996, FR3138655 and RU2662113 describe other devices of the state of the art.

The present invention aims to provide a fluid product dispensing pump which does not reproduce the aforementioned drawbacks.

The present invention also aims to provide a fluid product dispensing pump which improves recycling by eliminating metal springs.

The present invention also aims to provide a fluid product dispensing pump which simplifies priming.

The present invention also aims to provide a fluid product dispensing pump which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and assemble.

The present invention therefore relates to a fluid product dispensing pump comprising a pump body containing a pump chamber, a piston sliding in said pump body between a rest position and an actuation position, an elastic return member for returning said pump to its rest position after each actuation, and a deformable assembly for generating precompression at the start of each actuation, said deformable assembly comprising at least two superimposed elastically deformable washers, said deformable assembly, during actuation, compressing axially from a threshold actuation force exerted by the user.

Advantageously, each elastically deformable washer comprises a radially external part and a radially internal part, said radially external parts being, at rest, axially offset relative to said radially internal parts.

Advantageously, said elastically deformable washers are arranged in a staggered pattern, with either the radially external parts of two superimposed washers being in axial contact, or the radially internal parts of two superimposed washers being in axial contact.

Advantageously, said deformable assembly comprises three elastically deformable washers, the radially internal part of said first washer being in axial contact with the radially internal part of said second washer, and the radially external part of said second washer being in axial contact with the radially external part of said third washer.

Advantageously, said pump body comprises an upper opening closed by said piston and a lower opening closed by an inlet valve, held in place by a valve holder fixed in said pump body, said piston sliding in a sealed manner in said pump body around a hollow axial rod connected to a distribution head, said hollow axial rod being provided with an internal axial channel closed axially on the lower side and communicating with the outside by a radial orifice, said piston comprising on a radially external edge an external sealing lip to ensure sealing against said pump body, and on a radially internal edge an internal sealing lip, to seal said radial orifice in a sealed manner at rest.

Advantageously, a hollow axial insert is fixed in said hollow axial rod, said hollow axial insert comprising said radial orifice.

Advantageously, a support member is fixed to said piston and extends axially upwards, around said hollow axial insert and said hollow axial rod, said support member comprising a cylindrical axial sleeve fixed at its lower axial end to said piston, and comprising at its upper axial end a radial support plate extending radially outwards from said cylindrical axial sleeve, said radial support plate supporting said deformable assembly.

Advantageously, said elastic return member is non-metallic.

Advantageously, said elastic return member is a bellows arranged between said distribution head and a part fixed to said pump body, such as a fixing ring.

Advantageously, a fixing ring is provided for fixing said pump body to a reservoir with the interposition of a neck seal, a valve seal being provided to ensure the sealing of said fixing ring with said pump body.

Advantageously, in the rest position, an upper axial edge of said piston cooperates in a sealed manner with said valve seal.

The present invention also relates to a fluid product dispensing device comprising a dispensing head provided with a dispensing orifice, said dispensing head being assembled on a pump as described above.

Advantageously, said dispensing head cooperates with said deformable assembly during actuation.

These and other features and advantages will become more clearly apparent from the following detailed description, made with reference to the attached drawings, given as non-limiting examples, and in which:

there is a schematic cross-sectional view of a fluid product dispensing device comprising a fluid product dispensing pump according to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, in the rest position,

there is a view similar to that of the , in the actuation position,

there is a schematic perspective view of the detail of the deformable assembly generating the precompression, and

there is a schematic view of the deformable assembly of the , according to an advantageous embodiment variant.

In the description, the terms "upper", "lower", "top" and "bottom" refer to the upright position of the device shown in the figures. The terms "axial" and "radial" refer to the longitudinal central axis of the pump.

Figures 1 and 2 represent a pump according to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, which improves a pump of the prior art as described in document WO2020128269A1.

This pump comprises a pump body 14 containing a pump chamber 14a. The pump body 14 is axially open on both sides, with an upper opening advantageously closed by a piston 16 and a lower opening 29, advantageously closed by an inlet valve 20.

A fixing ring 10 is provided for fixing the pump body 14 to the neck of a tank (not shown), preferably with the interposition of a neck seal 11. A valve seal 13 ensures the sealing of the fixing ring 10 with the pump body 14.

The piston 16 slides in a sealed manner in the pump body 14, between a rest position and an actuating position, advantageously around a hollow axial rod 15 with a first internal axial channel 15a.

The first internal axial channel 15a opens axially upwards from the rod 15 to connect to a dispensing head 1 provided with a dispensing orifice 2.

The dispensing head 1 advantageously comprises a nasal tip 3 intended to be at least partially inserted into a nostril during use, as well as a radial flange 4 forming a support for the user's fingers during actuation. An insert 5 is advantageously arranged upstream of the dispensing orifice 2, on the one hand to limit the dead volume and define a low-volume expulsion channel, and on the other hand to form a spray profile (not shown) at the dispensing orifice 2 to generate a spray. This insert 5 is advantageously inserted into an axial channel 6 of the dispensing head 1, this axial channel 6 cooperating with the axial rod 15 after assembly of the dispensing head 1 on the pump. A support member 7 is fixed around the lower axial end of said axial channel 6, with a part 7a fixed to said axial channel 6, and a part 7b receiving the upper axial end of the axial rod 15, as visible in Figures 1 and 2.

Downwards, the first internal axial channel 15a is advantageously also axially open and the hollow axial rod 15 advantageously receives a hollow axial insert 17.

This hollow axial insert 17 comprises a second internal axial channel 17a which opens axially upwards into the first internal axial channel 15a of the hollow axial rod 15.

Downwardly, the second internal axial channel 17a is advantageously axially closed, and the hollow axial insert advantageously comprises a radial orifice 17b for connecting the second internal axial channel 17a with the exterior of the hollow axial insert 17.

Optionally, the rod 15 and the insert 17 could be formed from a single piece, for example by molding.

A support member 30 is fixed to the piston 16 and extends axially upwards, around said hollow axial insert 17 and said hollow axial rod 15. This support member 30 comprises a cylindrical axial sleeve 31 fixed at its lower axial end to said piston 16, and comprising at its upper axial end a radial support plate 32 extending radially outwards from said cylindrical axial sleeve 31.

An elastic return member 50, advantageously non-metallic, is provided to urge the pump towards its rest position, and return it to this rest position after each actuation. This elastic return member 50 forms the return spring of the pump.

In the example shown, this elastic return member 50 is formed by a bellows arranged between the dispensing head 1 and the fixing ring 10, which elastically biases the dispensing head towards its rest position. During actuation, this bellows 50 is compressed, so that after actuation, the compressed bellows will elastically return to its uncompressed position, driving the dispensing head 1 with it towards its rest position, which in turn returns the piston 16 to its rest position by sucking the next dose of fluid product into the pump chamber 14a.

A radially outer edge of the piston 16 advantageously forms an outer sealing lip 16a, to ensure sealing against the inner surface of the pump body 14.

An upper axial edge 16b of the piston 16 advantageously ensures at rest the seal against the valve seal 13.

The pump body 14 is advantageously closed downwards by the inlet valve 20, held in place by a valve holder 21. This inlet valve 20 closes the lower opening 29, communicating with the interior of the tank, and to which a dip tube (not shown) can be connected, in a well-known conventional manner.

The seal between the piston 16 and the hollow axial insert 17 is advantageously ensured by an internal part of the piston 16, preferably of conical shape, forming an internal sealing lip 16c.

At rest, the radial orifice 17b is advantageously in line with the internal sealing lip 16c, so as to be perfectly closed. The seal between the outside and the inside of the reservoir is therefore advantageously ensured on the one hand by the contact between the upper edge 16b of the piston 16 and the valve seal 13, and on the other hand between the internal sealing lip 16c and the hollow axial insert 17.

To achieve precompression during actuation, which in particular ensures good distribution of the entire dose without the risk of partial actuation travel, the pump comprises a deformable assembly 60. This deformable member 60 is separate from the elastic return member 50 and has the function of generating precompression at the start of actuation. On the other hand, the deformable member 60 does not act as a return spring for the pump, this function being fulfilled by the elastic return member 50.

This deformable assembly 60 comprises at least two superimposed elastically deformable washers. In the example shown in the drawings, there are three washers 61, 62, 63. These washers are assembled on top of each other during assembly of the pump.

Each washer 61, 62, 63 has a radially outer portion 61a, 62a, 63a, and a radially inner portion 61b, 62b, 63b, the radially outer portions being, at rest, axially offset relative to the radially inner portions. Thus, each deformable washer forms at rest a rounded step in cross-section which can be flattened by applying a sufficient axial force. When the application of the axial force ceases, each washer elastically returns to its rest position.

As seen in Figures 1 to 3, the washers are arranged in a staggered pattern, with either the radially outer portions of two superimposed washers being in axial contact, or the radially inner portions of two superimposed washers being in axial contact. In the example of the figures, with three superimposed washers, the radially inner portion 61b of the first washer 61 is in axial contact with the radially inner portion 62b of the second washer 62, and the radially outer portion 62a of the second washer 62 is in axial contact with the radially outer portion 63a of the third washer 63.

The washers 61, 62, 63 are disposed on the radial support plate 32 of the support member 30, with the third washer 63 disposed on the plate, the second washer 62 disposed on the third washer 63, and the first washer 61 disposed on the second washer 62.

During actuation, the support member 7 will transmit the user's actuation force to the first washer 61, and the three washers 61, 62, 63 will flatten elastically if the force exerted is sufficient to achieve this deformation of the washers, thus generating precompression.

Alternatively, the support member 7 could be omitted, and a part of the distribution head 1 could directly cooperate with the deformable assembly 60 to achieve precompression.

Thus, the deformable assembly 60 transmits to the piston 16 the actuating force exerted by the user on the rod 15, via the support member 30, and it is only when the washers 61, 62, 63 of this deformable assembly 60 deform that the rod 15 will be able to move axially in the piston 16.

Advantageously, the washers 61, 62, 63 are molded together while being connected by bridges of material 65, as visible in the . It is then sufficient to arrange the first washer 61 on one side of the second washer 62 and to arrange the third washer 63 on the other side of the second washer 62 to obtain the stack of washers forming the deformable assembly 60. During this assembly of the washers, the bridges of material 65 are preferably broken and removed from the washers, but as a variant, one could have foldable bridges of material 65.

At the start of the actuation stroke, the force exerted by the user on the dispensing head 1 will be transmitted to said deformable assembly 60, which, from a threshold force, will be able to deform by compressing. The resistance to this elastic deformation generates a resistance to actuation, and therefore a precompression, which requires the application of a threshold force to achieve actuation of the pump.

In addition, this elastic deformation of the deformable assembly 60 elastically biases the piston 16 towards its rest position, in which the internal sealing lip 16c of the piston closes the radial orifice 17b of the hollow axial insert 17. Thus, after each actuation, as soon as the user releases his pressure on the dispensing head 1, the piston 16 automatically returns to its position for closing the radial orifice 17b, thus allowing the pump chamber 14a to be loaded with a new dose of fluid product drawn from the reservoir.

A vent (not shown) may advantageously be provided in the pump body 14 to allow the replacement of the product expelled by the pump with air at each actuation.

The pump described above operates as follows. At rest, the seal inside the reservoir (not shown) is ensured by the neck seal 11 between the ring 10 and the reservoir (not shown), by the valve seal 13 between the ring 10 and the pump body 14, by the contact between the upper edge 16b of the piston 16 and the valve seal 13, and by the internal sealing lip 16c of the piston 16 against the hollow axial insert 17.

The reservoir, not shown in the drawings, and which can be any, is filled with a liquid, in particular pharmaceutical, to be distributed, in particular to be sprayed.

The fixing ring 10 may be made of plastic. It may be screwed, crimped, snapped or otherwise fixed to the tank.

The user must first prime the pump by operating it to expel the air until the pump chamber 14a is filled with liquid. During priming, the air contained in the pump chamber 14a is compressed, and it is by a mechanical stop between the valve holder 21 and the piston 16 that the insert 17 and the rod 15 can move relative to the piston 16 to open the radial orifice 17b and allow the expulsion of the compressed air. When the pump returns to the rest position, liquid is sucked into the pump chamber 14a through the lower opening 29, in a well-known manner.

Advantageously, the valve holder 21 comprises an axial sleeve 22 projecting axially upwards, the upper edge 22a of which cooperates during priming with the piston 16, in particular the internal sealing lip 16c, to move the piston 16 axially upwards, to open the radial orifice 17b and allow the expulsion of the air contained in the pump chamber 14a.

The pump therefore makes it possible to achieve reliable priming without using an additional part, such as a gland, inserted between the piston 16 and the rod 15 and/or the insert 17, as is the case in the pump of document WO2020128269A1.

After priming, the pump is ready to be used to dispense a dose of liquid with each actuation.

To achieve such actuation, the user presses axially on the dispensing head 1 to push in the rod 15. The liquid being incompressible, the piston 16 moves around the insert 17, deforming the deformable assembly 60. When the pressure is sufficient to overcome the resistance to deformation of the deformable assembly 60, the piston 16 uncovers the radial orifice 17b, allowing the liquid to be expelled from the pump chamber 14a.

The liquid is expelled rapidly through the radial orifice 17b, the second internal channel 17a and the first internal channel 15a, towards the distribution head 1 assembled on the pump.

After which, the user stops exerting pressure on the rod 15. The deformable assembly 60 immediately urges the piston 16 to return to its rest position, which ensures the closure of the radial orifice 17b, and closes the pump chamber 14a relative to the dispensing head 1. At the same time, the bellows 50 returns the dispensing head 1 to its rest position, which drives the rod 15 and the insert 17 upwards. This creates a vacuum in the pump chamber 14a, so that liquid is sucked in through the lower opening 29, lifting the valve 20, while air replaces this liquid in the reservoir, passing through the central opening of the valve seal 13 around the rod 15, and advantageously through the vent. When the upper edge 16b of the piston 16 comes into contact with the valve seal 13, the air can no longer enter, and the piston 16 is blocked, the pump has returned to its rest position and is ready for further actuation.

An advantage of the pump shown in Figures 1 and 2 is that it does not have any metal parts, which on the one hand makes the manufacturing and assembly of the pump less complex and therefore less expensive, and which on the other hand is advantageous for recycling, particularly if the tank is made of the same material as the pump, because then all the packaging goes into the same recycling stream, without disassembly or sorting.

The present invention has been described with reference to an advantageous embodiment, but it is understood that a person skilled in the art can make any modifications thereto, without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (13)

Fluid product dispensing pump comprising a pump body (14) containing a pump chamber (14a), a piston (16) sliding in said pump body (14) between a rest position and an actuation position, an elastic return member (50) for returning said pump to its rest position after each actuation, and a deformable assembly (60) for generating precompression at the start of each actuation, characterized in that said deformable assembly (60) comprises at least two superimposed elastically deformable washers (61, 62, 63), said deformable assembly (60), during actuation, compressing axially from a threshold actuation force exerted by the user. Pump according to claim 1, in which each elastically deformable washer (61, 62, 63) comprises a radially external part (61a, 62a, 63a), and a radially internal part (61b, 62b, 63b), said radially external parts being, at rest, axially offset relative to said radially internal parts. Pump according to claim 2, wherein said elastically deformable washers (61, 62, 63) are arranged in a staggered manner, with either the radially external parts of two superimposed washers being in axial contact, or the radially internal parts of two superimposed washers being in axial contact. Pump according to claim 3, wherein said deformable assembly (60) comprises three elastically deformable washers (61, 62, 63), the radially inner portion (61b) of said first washer (61) being in axial contact with the radially inner portion (62b) of said second washer (62), and the radially outer portion (62a) of said second washer (62) being in axial contact with the radially outer portion (63a) of said third washer (63). Pump according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said pump body (14) comprises an upper opening closed by said piston (16) and a lower opening (29) closed by an inlet valve (20), held in place by a valve holder (21) fixed in said pump body (14), said piston (16) sliding in a sealed manner in said pump body (14) around a hollow axial rod (15) connected to a distribution head (1), said hollow axial rod (15) being provided with an internal axial channel (15a) closed axially on the lower side and communicating with the outside by a radial orifice (17b), said piston (16) comprising on a radially external edge an external sealing lip (16a) to ensure sealing against said pump body (14), and on a radially internal edge an internal sealing lip (16c), to seal said radial orifice (17b) in a sealed manner at rest. A pump according to claim 5, wherein a hollow axial insert (17) is fixed in said hollow axial rod (15), said hollow axial insert (17) having said radial orifice (17b). Pump according to claim 6, wherein a support member (30) is fixed to said piston (16) and extends axially upwards, around said hollow axial insert (17) and said hollow axial rod (15), said support member (30) comprising a cylindrical axial sleeve (31) fixed at its lower axial end to said piston (16), and comprising at its upper axial end a radial support plate (32) extending radially outwards from said cylindrical axial sleeve (31), said radial support plate (32) supporting said deformable assembly (60). A pump according to any preceding claim, wherein said resilient return member (50) is non-metallic. Pump according to claim 8, in which said elastic return member (50) is a bellows arranged between said dispensing head (1) and a part fixed on said pump body (14), such as a fixing ring (10). Pump according to any one of the preceding claims, in which a fixing ring (10) is provided for fixing said pump body (14) on a reservoir with the interposition of a neck seal (11), a valve seal (13) being provided for ensuring the sealing of said fixing ring (10) with said pump body (14). Pump according to claim 10, wherein, in the rest position, an upper axial edge (16b) of said piston (16) cooperates in a sealed manner with said valve seal (13). Fluid product dispensing device comprising a dispensing head (1) provided with a dispensing orifice (2), said dispensing head (1) being assembled on a pump according to any one of the preceding claims. Device according to claim 12, wherein said dispensing head (1) cooperates with said deformable assembly (60) during actuation.
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