Abstract:
The present invention is a fluid product dispenser comprising a distribution orifice and a variable volume reservoir that varies by displacement of a mobile wall in order to reduce the volume of the reservoir. The dispenser is provided with actuation means to move the mobile wall of the reservoir. Advantageously, the actuation means are rotary and comprise a thread that is engaged with the reservoir.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of pending U.S. provisional patent application Serial No. 60/317,927, filed Sep. 10, 2001, and priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a)-(d) of French patent application No. FR-01.09666, filed Jul. 19, 2001. 
     
    
     
       TECHNICAL FIELD  
         [0002]    This invention relates to a fluid product dispenser comprising a reservoir with a volume that can be varied by displacement of a mobile wall in order to reduce the volume of the reservoir and a distribution orifice. The mobile wall may be moved either by means of a deformation or a sealed slide. In the first case, the reservoir or at least part of the reservoir is deformed, which is why a deformable and/or elastic flexible material is used, and in the second case piston-follower systems are used in which a piston moves inside a cylindrical barrel in order to gradually reduce the useful volume of the reservoir. In both cases, the volume of the reservoir reduces as the fluid product is extracted from it. The fluid product is thus never in contact with air inside the reservoir, which improves conservation of the product, particularly when it is sensitive to oxidation or deterioration in contact with air.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Examples of dispensers with a deformable reservoir include dispensers in which the deformation is made by manual compression, that are called “squeeze bottles”. The user&#39;s hand compresses the reservoir directly. On the other hand in piston-follower systems, the piston-follower rises in the receptacle either automatically under the effect of the negative pressure created in the receptacle when the dispenser is activated, or by means of a spring that pushes the piston so that the internal volume of the receptacle is reduced.  
           [0004]    The purpose of this invention is to overcome the above mentioned disadvantages with prior art by proposing a dispenser provided with actuation means that act on the mobile wall of the dispenser.  
           [0005]    The European application EP-0 869 080 describes a dispenser comprising an helical bellows. The outer wall of the bellows forming the helical thread engages a rotative skirt provided with an inner annular rib. So, the free rotation of the skirt causes the helical threads to be progressively gathered in the manner of an accordion.  
           [0006]    The single annular rib of the skirt is located at the top of the bellows, so that the rib initially engages the uppermost thread of the bellows and engages progressively the below threads as the skirt is rotated. The threads of the bellows have to be both flexible to allow the gathering of the bellows and rigid to permit the threaded engagement with the annular rib of the skirt. However, the bottom of the bellows is free and has therefore to be also rigid. Such a bellows is not easy to manufacture, since it has to be both flexible and rigid.  
           [0007]    The present invention overcomes all these drawbacks in defining a simpler dispenser.  
           [0008]    In this purpose, actuation means are rotary and comprise a thread that is engaged with the reservoir. Several distinct threads may be provided. Advantageously, the reservoir comprises one or several displacement flanges fixed to the mobile wall and that engage in the thread. Thus, by rotation of the actuation means, the mobile wall moves in translation and tends to reduce the useful volume of the reservoir. It is to be noticed that the actuation means directly acts on the bottom of the reservoir, whereas in the previously commented European application, the bottom of the reservoir is pulled and not pushed.  
           [0009]    According to one embodiment, the dispenser comprises a body, the rotating actuation means being fitted free to rotate in the said body without making any translation displacement with respect to the said body. The actuation means thus turn freely in the body forcing the mobile wall upwards to reduce the volume of the reservoir. Advantageously, the body forms a part of the reservoir.  
           [0010]    According to one characteristic of the invention, the reservoir comprises bellows in a leak tight contact with the body, the said bellows forming the mobile wall. Advantageously, the bellows comprises a leak tight attachment collar connected with a connection sleeve formed by the body. Thus, the bellows is fixed firstly to the body and secondly is engaged by threading with actuation means. According to one practical embodiment, the mobile wall is connected to the attachment collar through a deformable wall. The distribution orifice may also be formed in the body.  
           [0011]    According to another aspect of the invention, the actuation means form a bottom for the dispenser.  
           [0012]    According to another characteristic, the actuation means comprise a peripheral gripping device capable of moving the actuation means in free rotation in the body. Thus, the body can be held in place with one hand and the actuation means can be rotated with the other hand. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]    The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the attached drawing showing one embodiment of the invention as a non-limitative example.  
         [0014]    In the figures:  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 1 is a perspective diagrammatic view of a dispenser according to the invention,  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the dispenser in FIG. 1, and  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view through the dispenser in FIGS. 1 and 2. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0018]    The fluid product dispenser according to the invention comprises essentially three components, namely a bellows  1 , actuation means  2  and a body or casing  3 .  
         [0019]    The bellows  1  is a single piece part, for example made from a deformable flexible material such as an elastomer or an elastomer thermoplastic. It has good deformability properties in specific areas. The bellows  1  comprises a bottom wall  11  that is almost rigid. This bottom wall  11  may be perfectly plane, but it may also be convex as shown in FIG. 3.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 3 shows that the bottom wall  11  forms a sort of dome or inverted dish that projects upwards. The bottom wall  11  around its external periphery defines at least one displacement flange  13  that is almost rigid. The figures show three flanges  13 .  
         [0021]    Bellows  1  also forms an attachment collar  15  that is also almost rigid. For example, this attachment collar  15  may define a leak tight click fit housing  16  that will cooperate with a complementary device as can be seen below. The bellows  1  also comprises a deformable wall  14  that connects the attachment collar  15  to the bottom wall  11 . For example, the wall  14  may be made deformable by the wall being thinner than the bottom wall  11  or the attachment collar  15 . Thus, the wall  11  can be moved closer to the attachment collar  15  in translation by deformation of the wall  14 . More precisely, it can be seen in figures that the deformable wall  14  forms a fold that will be accentuated if pressure is exerted tending to bring the collar  15  closer to the flanges  13 . This deformable wall  14  is the wall that justifies the name of the part, since this is the part that performs the bellows function. Obviously, other means of making a deformable part could be imagined. For example, the bellows  1  could be replaced by a flexible pouch fixed on a pouch support performing the function of the attachment collar  15 . The bottom wall  11  may be replaced by a plate on which the flexible pouch is supported. The displacement flanges  13  may be formed by the periphery of the plate supporting the flexible pouch. Other embodiments, such as a piston-follower that can be moved in a sliding cylinder, could also be imagined.  
         [0022]    In the embodiment shown in figures, the actuation means  2  comprise a bushing threaded on the inside  20  to form one or several internal threads  21 . As can be seen in FIG. 3, the displacement flanges  13  of the bellows are engaged by threading with these internal threads  21 . Below the threaded bushing  20 , the actuation means define an actuation and gripping element  23  that the user can grip to rotate the actuation means. Optionally, the actuation means  2  form a bottom  22  that will advantageously act as a bottom for the dispenser. A continuous strip or several segments of projecting strip  24  will be formed on the outer wall of the threaded bushing  20 , extending over some or all of the periphery of the bushing  20 . It is easy to see that rotation of the actuation means  2 , while the bellows  1  is fixed, will cause displacement on the flanges  13  inside the threaded bushing  20 .  
         [0023]    The body  3  of the dispenser forms a sort of outer casing that contributes largely to the aesthetic appearance of the dispenser. The body  3  comprises a peripheral skirt  33  inside which the bushing  20  of the actuation means  2  are arranged. In the embodiment shown in figures, the skirt  33  is formed on the inside with an annular housing  34  which contains the segments of the projecting strip  24  formed on the outside of the threaded bushing  20 . The segments of the strip  24  are engaged in the housing  34  to prevent the bushing  20  from rotating in the skirt  33 . Thus, actuation means  2  can rotate freely within the skirt  33  but cannot come free of it. Rotation takes place freely, since the segments of the strip  24  and the housing  34  are perfectly circular and are not spiral.  
         [0024]    Above the skirt  33 , the body  3  forms a tray  31  in which a hole is formed that acts as the distribution orifice  32  for the dispenser. A connection sleeve  35  extends under the tray  31  around the distribution orifice  32 . This connection sleeve has an attachment profile that engages with the leak tight attachment collar  15  of the bellows  1 . Thus, the bellows  1  is fixed to the body  3 , and is not free to rotate independently of it. Consequently, the assembly consisting of the bellows  1  and the body  3  form a reservoir  12  with a variable volume, given that the mobile wall  11  can move in the direction of the tray  31  by deformation of the wall  14 . This is exactly what happens when the actuation means  2  are rotated while keeping the body  3  motionless. For example, the user can grip the body  3  with his left hand and use his right hand to rotate the actuation means  2 , gripping them at the actuation and gripping element  23 . The effect is to lift the displacement flanges  13  in the internal threads of the bushing  20 . The mobile wall  11  then moves up towards the tray  31  to reduce the useful volume of the reservoir  12 . The fluid product stored inside the reservoir  12  is then forced through the distribution orifice  32  so that the user can collect it on the tray  31 .  
         [0025]    In this case, the reservoir  12  is formed by assembling the bellows  1  and the body  3 . However, it would be possible to imagine other embodiments in which the reservoir  12  is formed from a single piece, for example a flexible pouch in which the opening defines the distribution orifice  32 . In this case, the tray  31  will only act as a contact surface and a reception surface to recover the fluid product.  
         [0026]    Optionally, the body  3  may be formed with a cover  36  that is connected in a single piece through a material bridge  37  to the rest of the body  3 . This material bridge  37  thus forms a pivoting hinge by which the cover  36  can be pivoted with respect to the skirt  33  and the tray  31 . The lower face of the cover  36  defines a suitably shaped closing needle  38  that fits into the distribution orifice  32  in a sealed manner to hermetically close it. This is the case when the cover  36  is folded over onto the plate  31 .  
         [0027]    With the dispenser according to the invention, it is possible to obtain a dose of fluid product with a volume that is directly proportional to the rotation of the actuation means.