Patent ID: 7178701
Filing Date: 2007-02-20
Classification: B05B

Abstract:
1. Metering pump designed to be mounted on various receptacles, in particular receptacles containing liquid to creamy cosmetic or pharmaceutical products, and comprising a pump body ( 1 ) made from a rigid or semi-rigid material which can be adapted to fit the receptacle R, bounded in its internal part by an annular side wall ( 100 ) and by a front-end face ( 101 ) incorporating a filling orifice ( 25 ) which communicates with the interior of the receptacle, and enclosing a metering chamber ( 32 ) as well as elastically deformable control means which can be operated from the outside so as to be displaced in succession between a dispensing position and a non-operating position to enable a dose of product to be ejected from the metering chamber ( 32 ) towards the exterior through an ejection orifice ( 11 ) and then transfer a new dose of product from the receptacle towards the metering chamber ( 32 ) and so on, the control means being automatically returned from the dispensing position to the non-operating position when not subjected to any external constraint with a view to creating a vacuum pressure to enable a dose of product to be sucked towards the metering chamber ( 32 ), said metering pump being characterised in that the control means are provided in the form of a push button ( 2 ) of a rigid or semi-rigid material, a plunger ( 3 ) made from a flexible thermoplastic material designed to slide relative to the push button ( 2 ) and relative to the pump body ( 1 ) whilst remaining in permanent contact with these two elements, as well as an annular valve ( 4 ) made from an elastically deformable material in the form of a cylindrical ring ( 18 ), one of the front-end faces of which is closed by an essentially circular, stretchable closing membrane ( 20 ) which is permanently supported against the push button ( 2 ), this membrane ( 20 ) projecting onto the periphery of the cylindrical ring ( 18 ) to define a flange ( 21 ) which moves into abutment with the side wall ( 100 ) of the pump body ( 1 ) so as to close off the filling orifice ( 25 ), the control means being displaced between the non-operating position and the dispensing position in two stages, namely a first stage on the one hand, during which the push button ( 2 ) slides inside the pump body relative to the plunger ( 3 ) and the metering chamber ( 32 ) is isolated from the ejection orifice ( 11 ), and a second stage on the other hand, during which the push button ( 2 ) and the plunger ( 3 ) slide as a unit inside the pump body ( 1 ) and a dispensing orifice ( 42 ) permitting communication with the metering chamber ( 32 ), thereby uncovering the ejection orifice ( 11 ).