Abstract:
A device for packaging and dispensing a product such as a cosmetic product. A preferred example of the device includes a container forming a holder for the product, and a dispensing element surmounting the container. A dip tube is provided for supplying product to the dispensing element, with the dip tube being connected to the dispensing element by a first end. In addition, a body is able to slide along the dip tube. Further, the dip tube includes, at a distance from its first end, an element forming a stop piece for the body in such a way as to limit the movement of the body along the dip tube.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This document claims priority to French Application Number 05 51050, filed Apr. 25, 2005 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/675,890, filed Apr. 29, 2005, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to a device that makes it possible to package and dispense a product designed to be shaken before being dispensed. The invention is particularly advantageous with a product that includes at least two mutually immiscible phases.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
     Discussion of Background  
       [0003]     Particularly in the cosmetic sector, some products are composed of at least two mutually immiscible phases having different densities. Examples are certain fragrances, hair care products, skin care products and the like. Before being dispensed, such products are preferably shaken in order to mix them as homogeneously as possible. In order to mix them, the user shakes the device in all directions, but it is not always easy by this means alone to achieve a homogeneous mixture.  
         [0004]     EP1005915 discloses the use of a ball in a container for mixing the product contained in the container before dispensing it. The ball is free inside the container and therefore when the container is shaken it strikes the walls of the container.  
         [0005]     U.S. Pat. No. 6,170,711 describes a product packaging and dispensing assembly that includes a product dispensing member having a dip tube. A magnetic component is provided in the dispensing member, as close as possible to the dispensing orifice, to expose the product to a magnetic field before it is dispensed. The magnetic component may be in the form of for example a cylinder or sphere surrounding the tube, around which it can slide freely. The magnetic component floats on the upper surface of the liquid so as to remain as close as possible to the dispensing member.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     There is a need to provide a device for packaging and dispensing a product, particularly a product comprising two mutually immiscible phases, which will enable the product to be mixed with ease before it is dispensed.  
         [0007]     There is also a need to provide such a device that is easy to assembly. There is also a need to provide such a device having improved aesthetic qualities.  
         [0008]     According to the invention, these objects can be achieved by a device for packaging and dispensing a product such as a cosmetic product. According to a preferred example, such a device includes a container forming a holder for the product, with a dispensing element surmounting the container. A dip tube is provided for supplying product to the dispensing element, with the dip tube being connected to the dispensing element by a first end. In addition, a body is able to slide along the dip tube. Further, the dip tube includes, at a distance from its first end, an element forming a stop piece for the body in such a way as to limit the movement of the body along the dip tube.  
         [0009]     The body that moves along the dip tube enables the product to be mixed when the device is shaken before the product is dispensed. Since the body is held on the dip tube, there is no risk of the moving body damaging the container when it is being shaken even if the material used for the moving body is relatively hard and the material for the container is more fragile.  
         [0010]     According to an example of an embodiment, the element forming the stop piece limits the travel of the moving body along the dip tube when the device is shaken. Moreover, during assembly of the device, the element forming the stop piece can enable the moving body, which has been fitted onto the dip tube, to be kept in place before the dip tube is attached to the dispensing element. The dispensing element fitted with the dip tube and moving body can easily be handled with little or no risk of the moving body being lost, in particular before it is delivered on a container filling line.  
         [0011]     By way of example, the element forming the stop piece can be situated at a second end of the dip tube, remote from the first end. This arrangement will maximize the length of travel of the moving body and can optimize the stirring of the product.  
         [0012]     The moving body may be, for example, cylindrical, spherical or olive-shaped. It may of course have any other shape.  
         [0013]     The moving body can be made in one piece or, alternatively, be made up of several pieces assembled together around the dip tube.  
         [0014]     Also by way of example, the moving body can be made of a material selected from plastics, pressed glass, stainless steel and zamak. The material can also be plastic-coated.  
         [0015]     The dispensing element can be, for example, a pump, and the pump may be mounted on the container, for example by snap-fastening, screwing or crimping.  
         [0016]     The dispensing element may be surmounted by a push-button, which optionally can include a release arrangement, for example, in the form of a nozzle. Alternatively, the push-button may have a simple product outlet orifice. It may for example be in the form of a spout, at the end of which an outlet orifice is formed.  
         [0017]     According to an example, the container may be made of a transparent material so that the product contained in the container can be seen from the outside. The container may for example by made of glass. By selecting the color of the product, and in particular of the different phases, if any, and the color of the moving body, a dispensing device having an attractive aesthetic appearance can be obtained from a transparent container.  
         [0018]     Also by way of example, the container may contain a product composed of at least two mutually immiscible phases having different densities, with at least one of the phases being liquid. For example, the product may include a liquid phase and a particulate phase whose density is different from that of the liquid phase. The particulate phase may be in the form of a powder, microcapsules or nanocapsules, pigments, fillers or nacres. Alternatively, by way of example, the product may comprise an aqueous liquid phase and an oily liquid phase.  
         [0019]     The device is particularly useful for packaging and dispensing a cosmetic product such as a fragrance.  
         [0020]     As should be apparent, the invention can provide a number of advantageous features and benefits. It is to be understood that, in practicing the invention, an embodiment can be constructed to include one or more features or benefits of embodiments disclosed herein but not others. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the preferred embodiments discussed herein are provided as examples and are not to be construed as limiting, particularly since embodiments can be formed to practice the invention that do not include each of the features of the disclosed examples.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0021]     In addition to the features discussed above, a number of other features or advantages will become apparent from the description herein of non-restrictive illustrative embodiments described with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:  
         [0022]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of one embodiment of a packaging and dispensing assembly according to the invention; and  
         [0023]      FIG. 2  is a cross section through the device seen in  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0024]     Turning now to the drawings, examples of embodiments of the invention will now be described. The example illustrated in  FIG. 1  includes a container  10  in the form of a bottle, which may be of glass, with the bottle being surmounted by a dispensing element  20  and a push-button  30  for operating the dispensing element  20  in such a way as to dispense the product through a dispensing orifice  32 .  
         [0025]     The container  10  contains a fluid product to be dispensed, such as a more or less viscous liquid product. Examples of such products include a cosmetic product such as a fragrance, a sun-screen product, a hair care product, or a moisturizing product for the skin.  
         [0026]     The product preferably includes at least two phases that are not permanently miscible with each other.  
         [0027]     The products in the container may, for example, be two immiscible oily phases having different densities; an oily phase and an aqueous phase; or an oily phase and a hydroalcoholic phase. Thus, because of the density difference between the two immiscible phases, the heavy phase will sink to the bottom of the container, while the light phase will float on top of the heavy phase. The rate of phase separation can depend on the density difference between the two phases. When the contents of the container are shaken, a more or less homogeneous “mixture” of the two phases forms as a dispersion, suspension or emulsion. When this is left to stand, the phases “unmix” or separate because of the difference between their densities.  
         [0028]     Another possibility is a liquid phase and a particulate (e.g. solid) phase. The particles may be heavier or lighter than the liquid phase. Such particles may be in the form, for example, of a powder, microcapsules or nanocapsules, pigments, fillers or nacres.  
         [0029]     The two phases may be separated, either for aesthetic reasons (two different colors) or for reasons of incompatibility of the compounds of each of the phases.  
         [0030]     In the illustrated preferred example, the container containing the product is elongated along an axis X. It has a side wall  11  with one end closed by a base  12  and the other end  13  terminating in an open neck to which the dispensing element  20  is fitted. In the illustrated example, the cross section of the container is circular, approximately constant throughout the axial height of the container, and narrowing to the neck at the top  13  in such a way as to form a shoulder. In the example illustrated, the cross section of the container has a small diameter compared with its axial height and forms a container having a tubular shape. The container may of course be of any other shape, and have any other section.  
         [0031]     According to one example, the container is transparent so that the product contained inside it, and in particular the two phases separated at rest, can be seen. By selecting the colors of the different phases and that of the moving part, an attractive aesthetic effect can be obtained from an ordinary transparent container. Alternately, a portion of the container could be transparent. A portion or all of the container could also be partially transparent (e.g., translucent).  
         [0032]     The dispensing element  20  which surmounts the container is in the form of a pump. The push-button  30  designed to operate the pump includes a release arrangement or outlet arrangement in the form of a nozzle  31  which defines the dispensing orifice  32 . Other release/outlet arrangements may be used. Examples include a grille or other outlet orifice, a frit, an applicator end piece, etc.  
         [0033]     The pump  20  may be mounted on the container  10 , or on an intermediate mounting part, for example by crimping, screwing or force-fitting. The pump  20 , which is not shown in detail in the figures, includes a pump body into which feeds a first end  41  of a dip tube  40  designed to carry the product from the container to the pump.  
         [0034]     As can be seen in  FIG. 1 , the dip tube  40  extends from the pump  20  approximately along the axis X. In the illustrated example, the dip tube  40  includes, remote from the end  41  fixed to the dispensing head, an open free end  42  through which the product contained in the container can be sucked up into the pump body.  
         [0035]     A moving body  50  is fitted around the dip tube in a sliding fit so as to move the product and encourage the phases of the product to mix together. The moving body  50  is advantageously made of a much denser material than the product P to be dispensed. The reason for this is that the greater the difference between the density of the body and that of the product, the more quickly the body will move through the product to mix the different phases.  
         [0036]     The moving body  50  may for example be a cylinder of revolution with a central opening to allow it to sit around the dip tube. The moving body is made in one piece. It may alternatively be made from two or more parts connected together.  
         [0037]     In accordance with the invention, the moving body could also be of any other shape. The body may for example be spherical, olive-shaped, helical, a torroid, star-shaped, etc. If desired, the shape of the container may then be chosen to suit that of the body, so for example a container may be chosen with a cross section of the same shape as that of the body. The central hole may also be other than circular in shape. For example, a shape that contributes to the desired aesthetic effect can preferably be chosen.  
         [0038]     To keep the sliding body on the tube, a stop piece  60  is provided. In the illustrated example, the stop piece is preferably provided at the end  42  of the tube situated towards the base of the container.  
         [0039]     In the example illustrated, the stop piece  60  is a separate component, for example, force-fitted onto the dip tube at its end  42 .  
         [0040]     Alternatively the stop piece may be integral with the dip tube. In particular, it may be formed by an increase in the thickness of the wall of the tube.  
         [0041]     In the example illustrated, the stop piece  60  is located at the end of the tube situated towards the base of the container. The stop piece may also be formed at a distance from the ends of the tube. However, it is preferable to give the sliding body the greatest possible distance to move.  
         [0042]     In one particular illustrative embodiment, by way of example, the container has an axial height of approximately 13 cm and a diameter of approximately 2 cm. The outside diameter of the dip tube is approximately equal to 1.6 mm. The stop piece  60  has an outside diameter of approximately 4 mm. The moving body has an outside diameter approximately equal to 7 mm and an axial height approximately equal to 12 mm. The moving body is made of PCTA.  
         [0043]     Also, according to an example, the product to be dispensed is a fragrance containing two immiscible phases or components of different densities. The heavier phase or component is colorless and the lighter phase is colored. Thus, the components have different color properties. Alternately, the components could have two different colors or two different color densities to provide different color properties. The dip tube and the stop piece are also transparent so as to pass almost unnoticed, while the moving body is colored. Thus, at rest, when the two phases are separated, a colored product can be seen in the top of the container and a colorless product in the bottom. In this position, the moving body is resting on the stop piece, towards the base of the container, so that the eye sees a colored body in the middle of a colorless product. Since the dip tube and the stop piece are colorless, the impression given is of a moving body floating inside the container, because the stop piece is raised somewhat above the base of the container.  
         [0044]     By way of example, when assembling the device, the tube  40  with the moving body  50  sitting on it is force-fitted to the pump body, equipped with the push-button, while the moving body is retained by the stop piece  60 .  
         [0045]     Such a pre-assembled assembly described in the preceding paragraph can easily be delivered on the container filling line with no risk of losing the moving body which is held in place on the dip tube. Once the container has been filled with the product, the pre-assembled assembly can be fixed to the container neck after first inserting the tube down inside the container.  
         [0046]     To dispense the product, the user shakes the device by, for example, turning the head first up then down several times, until the two phases are mixed. He can then dispense the product in the conventional way, operating the pump by means of the push-button.  
         [0047]     In the above detailed description, reference has been made to preferred embodiments of the invention. Clearly, variants may be made to this without departing from the invention as claimed below. Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.