Abstract:
A fluid dispenser comprising:  
     a fluid reservoir ( 1; 1 ′) provided with an opening ( 10; 10 ′), the opening being formed by a neck ( 10 ) having a top end ( 12 ) and an inside wall defining a narrow aperture segment ( 111 ) in the vicinity of the top end, and a recessed segment ( 112 ) which extends below the narrow aperture segment;  
     a dispensing member ( 2 ) provided with a body ( 20 ); and  
     a fixing member ( 3; 3 ′) for fixing said body in the opening;  
     said fixing member being provided with a skirt ( 31; 31 ′) serving to come into engagement in the opening, and with a sleeve ( 32 ) serving to come into engagement around the body;  
     said fluid dispenser being characterized in that the body forms a cam segment ( 204 ) for deforming the skirt outwards into pressed contact with the opening, the skirt ( 31 ) having a sealing zone ( 313 ) which, in the final position, comes into leaktight contact with the narrow aperture segment ( 111 ), and a fixing zone ( 314 ) which, in the final position, comes into tight-fitting contact with the recessed segment ( 112 ).

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. 60/429,542, filed Nov. 29, 2002, and priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a)-(d) of French patent application No. FR-02.12415, filed Oct. 7, 2002. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a fluid dispenser comprising a fluid reservoir provided with an opening, a dispensing member provided with a body, and a fixing member for fixing said body in the opening. This type of dispenser is in frequent use in the fields of perfumes, cosmetics, or indeed pharmaceuticals, for dispensing fluids such as perfumes, lotions, creams, gels, and pharmaceutical substances in liquid or even in powder form.  
           [0003]    Various techniques exist for fixing a dispensing member in the opening of a reservoir. Therefore, various types of fixing member exist that co-operate either with the inside of the opening or with the outside of the opening. For example, crimp-on rings or screw-on rings have long been known. Those two techniques make it possible to fix the dispensing member to the outside of the opening. Fixing members using snap-fastening or locking onto the outside of the opening are also known. A well-known configuration implements a ring forming an external skirt provided internally with fastening heads or with a continuous fastening bead. The skirt can be continuous or split to form tabs separated by slots. In addition, the opening is in the form of a neck defining an outside wall provided with a reinforcement defined at its bottom by an inwardly extending shoulder. The fastening heads or the fastening bead serve(s) to come into engagement with the inwardly-extending shoulder and the skirt is then locked in position by a trim band that surrounds the skirt. A variant even makes provision to use the bottom edge of the trim band to deform the bottom portion of the skirt by material creep so as to deform it inwards under the reinforced portion of the neck.  
           [0004]    Yet other types of fixing member exist that make it possible to fix the dispensing member to the inside of the opening. For example, mention may be made of a very simple technique consisting in engaging the fixing member by force or even in engaging the dispensing member directly by force into the opening in the manner of a stopper. More elaborate techniques provide one or more recesses in the inside wall of the opening that serve to receive projecting portions of the fixing member. Internal snap-fastening is then performed. With such a technique, it is necessary to push relatively strongly on the fixing member or even sometimes on the dispensing member in order to drive the fixing member into the opening. In addition, driving or force-fitting the fixing member into the opening increases in the pressure inside the reservoir, which may be problematic when the reservoir has a very small capacity.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    An object of the invention is to remedy the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art by defining a fixing member for fixing to the inside of the opening that requires almost no thrust force to be exerted on the fixing member and that does not increase in the pressure inside the reservoir. In addition, fixing is very secure.  
           [0006]    To achieve these objects, the present invention provides a fluid dispenser comprising a fluid reservoir provided with an opening, the opening being formed by a neck having a top end and an inside wall defining a narrow aperture segment in the vicinity of the top end, and a recessed segment which extends below the narrow aperture segment, a dispensing member provided with a body and a fixing member for fixing said body in the opening, said fixing member being provided with a skirt serving to come into engagement in the opening, and with a sleeve serving to come into engagement around the body, said fluid dispenser being characterized in that the body forms a cam segment for deforming the skirt outwards into pressed contact with the opening, the skirt having a sealing zone which, in the final position, comes into leaktight contact with the narrow aperture segment, and a fixing zone which, in the final position, comes into tight-fitting contact with the recessed segment. Thus, the fixing body serves as a tool for bringing the skirt into the final assembled position. It should be noted that the skirt co-operates with the opening where it is in pressed contact, and it preferably does not extend below the opening into the reservoir. When the opening is formed by a neck defining an inside wall, the skirt co-operates with said inside wall and does not extend below the neck where the neck is connected to the body of the reservoir.  
           [0007]    Advantageously, the body has a large-diameter segment on which the sleeve comes into leaktight engagement in the final assembled position.  
           [0008]    Advantageously, the body has an intermediate segment situated above the cam segment and below the large-diameter segment, the skirt coming into tight-fitting engagement with said intermediate segment in the final assembled position, the sleeve being in engagement with said intermediate segment before the skirt comes into engagement with the cam segment.  
           [0009]    Advantageously, the body has a small-diameter segment situated below the cam segment, the skirt being in engagement with the small-diameter segment when the sleeve is in engagement with the intermediate segment. Thus, the sleeve is initially engaged and held temporarily in position at the intermediate segment of the body, and it is then moved along the body so as to engage over the large-diameter segment, with which it defines leaktight tight-fitting engagement corresponding to the final assembled position. In addition, the skirt is initially engaged over the body at the small-diameter segment, and it is then moved along the body by going over the cam segment to reach the final assembled position in engagement with the intermediate segment. Naturally, it can be imagined that the cam segment and the intermediate segment may form a single shaped-section segment, e.g. shaped frustoconically.  
           [0010]    In a variant, the opening has a substantially cylindrical inside wall. In which case, the portion of the skirt that comes into pressed contact with the cylindrical inside wall of the opening performs both sealing and fixing.  
           [0011]    In an embodiment, the skirt forms tabs separated by slots. In which case, the tabs formed by the skirt guarantee fixing only, sealing being provided by the top portion of the skirt which is not split but which is nevertheless deformed against the inside wall of the opening.  
           [0012]    In another aspect of the invention, the body forms a top collar under which the sleeve comes into abutment in the final position.  
           [0013]    According to another characteristic of the invention, the sleeve has an inside wall that forms a holding bead adapted to come into tight-fitting engagement with the intermediate segment to hold the fixing member in place on the body when it is inserted into the neck, before it reaches its final assembled position.  
           [0014]    In addition, the skirt may have an inside wall provided with a cam bead serving to come into engagement with the cam segment.  
           [0015]    In another aspect, the skirt is provided with a bottom lip in contact with the body. In which case, the skirt may be in contact with the intermediate segment via the cam bead and via the bottom lip only.  
           [0016]    According to another characteristic, the fixing member is provided with an abutment flange serving to come freely into contact with the opening without being force-fitted. Thus, the dispensing member may be pre-engaged into the fixing member with the sleeve situated at the intermediate segment and the skirt at the small-diameter segment. This sub-assembly is then easy to insert into the opening without leaktight contact or friction until the abutment flange comes into abutment on the opening. Thus, no increase in pressure in generated inside the reservoir. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0017]    The invention is described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings which show two embodiments of the of the invention by way of non-limiting example.  
         [0018]    In the figures:  
         [0019]    FIGS.  1  to  3  show three successive steps in assembling a first embodiment of a dispenser of the invention;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a detail of FIG. 3; and  
         [0021]    FIGS.  1  to  7  are views similar to FIGS.  1  to  3  for a second embodiment of the invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0022]    Reference is made firstly to FIGS.  1  to  4  to explain the first embodiment of the invention. The dispenser shown in fragmentary manner is made up of three component elements, namely a reservoir  1  forming a neck  10  which defines an opening that communicates with the inside of the reservoir, a dispenser member  2  which may be a pump or a valve, and a fixing member  3  making it possible to fix the dispensing member  2  to the neck  10 .  
         [0023]    In the first embodiment, the reservoir  1  may typically be a reservoir made of glass and used as a bottle, in particular in the field of perfumes. The neck  10  of the reservoir has an annular top end wall  12  which may advantageously be provided with a sealing profile  122 . The neck  10  further has an inside wall  11  which is connected to the end wall  12  via an inlet bevel  121 . Below the inlet bevel  121 , the inside wall  11  forms a narrow aperture segment  111  which may advantageously be cylindrical. Below the narrow aperture segment  111 , the inside wall  11  forms a recessed segment  112  whose inside diameter is larger than the inside diameter of the narrow aperture segment  111 . Below the recessed segment  112 , the inside wall  111  forms a rounded segment  113  which connects to the inside wall of the shoulder that makes it possible to connect the neck  10  to the body of the reservoir (not shown). The inner diameter of segment  113  is smaller than that the segment  112 , and advantageously also smaller than that of segment  111 . This is an entirely conventional design for a neck of a reservoir made of blown glass.  
         [0024]    The dispensing member  2  comprises a body  20  inside which an actuating rod  21  can be moved by pressing on a pusher  22  mounted at the top end of the rod  21 . At its bottom end, the body  20  defines an inlet sleeve  201  which defines an inlet making it possible to put the inside of the reservoir into communication with the inside of the body  20 . Above the sleeve  201 , the body forms a transition segment  202  which flares outwards frustoconically and/or cylindrically. Above the transition segment  202 , the body forms a small-diameter cylindrical segment  203 . The segment  203  connects upwards to a cam segment  204  which, in this example, is frustoconical by flaring outwards and upwards. Beyond the cam segment  204 , the body forms a cylindrical intermediate segment  205 . Above the segment  205 , the body forms a junction segment  206  which, in this example, flares frustoconically outwards and upwards. Above the junction segment  206 , the body forms a large-diameter segment  207  which is advantageously cylindrical in shape. Finally, above the large-diameter segment  207 , the body forms a top collar  208  which projects outwards. To sum up, the body  20  forms three cylindrical main segments  203 ,  205 , and  207  having increasing diameters and connected together via a junction segment  206  or via a cam segment  204 .  
         [0025]    In this example, the fixing member  3  is in the form of a ring provided with a skirt  31  at its bottom, with a sleeve  32  at its top portion, and with an abutment flange  33  which extends radially outwards where the sleeve  32  connects to the skirt  31 .  
         [0026]    The skirt  31  may be fully continuous, but preferably it is split at least over a portion of its height so as to define an uninterrupted top margin  313  from which tabs  314  extend that are separated by slots  315  as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, or  3 . Where it forms the tabs  314 , the skirt defines an outside wall forming an outer bulge  312 . The diameter of the skirt at the bulge  312  is larger than the diameter of the skirt at the continuous top margin  313 . Below the bulge  312 , the skirt tapers substantially frustoconically. Also at the tabs  314 , the skirt  31  defines an inside wall forming a lip  316  at its bottom end. In addition, the inside wall of the skirt  31  forms a bead  311  which may, for example, be in the form of a series of protuberances formed on respective ones of the tabs  314  and disposed along a circular line. The same applies for the lip  316  which may also be in the form of a series of reinforcements disposed at the bottom ends of the tabs  314 . Naturally, it is also possible to use a continuous skirt with a continuous lip  316  and a continuous bead  311 . The bead  311  has a cam function as is described below.  
         [0027]    The sleeve  32  has a free annular top end  322  and an inside wall that defines a holding bead  321 .  
         [0028]    In addition, the abutment flange  33  advantageously forms an annular recess  331  serving to receive the sealing profile  122  formed by the top end wall  12  of the neck  10 .  
         [0029]    Reference is made below to FIG. 1 to explain how the fixing ring  3  is initially engaged over the body  20  prior to fitting the ring into the neck  10 . The sleeve  32  is engaged on the intermediate segment  205  of the body  20 . The holding bead  321  is in tight-fitting engagement with the intermediate segment  205 . Therefore, the inside diameter of the bead  321  is slightly smaller than the outside diameter of the segment  205 , while the remainder of the inside wall of the sleeve  32  may have an inside diameter slightly larger than the outside diameter of the segment  205 . Thus, the sleeve  32  is in contact with the segment  205  at the holding bead  321  only. The skirt  31  which starts below the abutment flange  33  extends partially at the intermediate segment  205 , but also at the cam segment  204  and at the small-diameter segment  203 . It can be seen in FIG. 1 that the tabs  314  formed by the skirt extend fully at the cam segment  204  and at the small-diameter segment  203 . The cam bead  311  is situated at the cam segment  204  without coming into contact therewith. The bottom lip  313  comes into advantageously non-tightly-fitting contact with the small-diameter segment  203 . Only the continuous top margin  313  is situated at the intermediate segment  205 , without coming into contact with the segment  205 . The inside wall of the top margin  313  extends in alignment with the inside wall of the sleeve  32  which is in contact with the intermediate segment  205  only at the holding bead  321 . It is in this initial pre-assembly position that the fixing ring  3  is engaged over the body  20  of the dispensing member.  
         [0030]    The dispensing member  2  with its fixing ring thus forms a temporary single unit that is engaged into the neck  10  so as to cause the skirt  31  to penetrate into the neck  10  until the abutment flange  33  comes to rest on the top end  12  of the neck. Preferably, the maximum outside diameter of the skirt  31 , situated at the outer bulge  312 , is equal to or slightly smaller than the minimum inside diameter of the neck situated at the narrow aperture segment  111 . As a result, the skirt  31  can be engaged into the neck  10  without excessive friction and without excessive force. However, it can also be imagined that the bulge  312  of the skirt  31  has an outside diameter that is very slightly larger than the inside diameter of the narrow aperture segment so that the skirt can be engaged with very small pressure into the neck  10 . In any event, the force necessary for engaging the skirt into the neck must not be larger than the holding force exerted by the holding bead  321  at the intermediate segment  205 . It is necessary for the fixing member  3  to maintain its initial position as shown in FIG. 1 until the skirt  31  is engaged in the neck  10  with the abutment flange  33  in abutment on the neck  10 . This is shown in FIG. 2.  
         [0031]    The third assembly step consists in exerting a thrust force F on the dispensing member, i.e. on its pusher or on the collar  208 . As soon as the force becomes larger than the holding force exerted by the bead  321 , the pump body  20  moves inside the fixing ring  3 . In a first stage, the cam bead  311  comes into contact with the cam surface  204  of the body  20 . This deforms or expands the skirt outwards so that it comes into pressed contact against the inside wall of the neck  10 . Naturally, the cam action performed by the surface  204  causes the outside diameter of the skirt  31  to expand. Given that the cam bead  311  is situated substantially where the tabs  314  connect to the top margin  313 , both the top margin  313  and the tabs  314  are subjected to deformation by expansion. It should be noted that the bottom lip  316  is still situated at the small-diameter segment  203 . By continuing to exert the thrust force F on the dispensing member, its body  20  continuous to move inside the fixing ring  3 . The sleeve  32  then starts to engage with tight-fitting leaktight contact on the large-diameter segment of the body  20 . It is therefore preferable for the inside diameter of the sleeve  32  to be slightly smaller than the outside diameter of the large-diameter segment  207 . At the same time as the sleeve  32  is continuing to engage over the large-diameter segment  207 , the lip  316  initially situated at the small-diameter segment  203  moves over the cam segment  204  to reach the intermediate segment  205 . The lip  316  going from the small-diameter segment  203  to the intermediate segment  205  also generates deformation of the skirt by expansion, thereby further increasing the outside diameter of the skirt, particularly at its bulge  312 . The final position is reached when the top end  322  of the sleeve  32  comes into abutment under the collar  208 , as shown in FIG. 3 and in FIG. 4.  
         [0032]    It can be observed that only the sleeve  32  is engaged at the large-diameter segment  207  while forming cylindrical sealing. The skirt  31  is entirely situated at the intermediate segment  205 . It can also be observed that the inside wall of the skirt  31  is in contact with the segment  205  at the cam bead  311  and at the bottom lip  316  only. Everywhere else, a gap remains between the skirt and the intermediate segment  205 . By means of the cam bead  311  and of the bottom lip  316 , the skirt expands outwards to come into leaktight and tight-fitting contact with the inside wall  11  of the neck in two stages, namely an initial stage during which the cam bead  311  comes into engagement with the cam segment  204  so as finally to reach the level of the intermediate segment  205 , and a second stage during which the lip  316  follows the same path. The cam bead  311  thus causes the skirt to expand mainly at its top margin  313  and at the top ends of its tabs  314 , while the lip  316  mainly causes the bottom ends of the tabs to expand. It can easily be understood that the bulge  312  that is situated between the bead  311  and the lip  316  is subjected to expansion in two successive stages generated by the cam bead  311  and then the lip  316  rising over the cam segment  204  to reach the intermediate segment  205 . In addition, since the top margin  313  is continuous and comes into tight-fitting contact with the narrow aperture segment  111 , said margin defines an annular or cylindrical sealing zone. The expanded tabs  314  can perform only a holding and locking function.  
         [0033]    Reference is made below to FIGS.  5  to  7  which show a variant embodiment in which the dispensing member  2  may be strictly identical to the dispensing member of FIGS.  1  to  4 . The body  20  may be staggered in the same way, or at least provided with a small-diameter segment, a cam segment, an intermediate segment, and then a large-diameter segment.  
         [0034]    In this example, the reservoir  1 ′ has a neck  10 ′ having an inside wall  11  which is substantially cylindrical over its entire height. The top end wall of the neck  10 ′ may be identical to the top end wall of the preceding embodiment. There is therefore no recessed portion at the inside wall  11 ′ of the neck  10 ′ The fixing member  3 ′ may have a top sleeve  32  and an abutment flange  33  that are strictly identical to the top sleeve and the abutment flange of the preceding embodiment. Conversely, the skirt  31 ′ differs from the skirt of the preceding embodiment in that it has an outside wall that is substantially cylindrical and an inside wall that forms a top cam shoulder  311 ′ situated just below the cam segment  204  in the initial pre-assembly position. This can be seen in FIGS. 5 and 6. The cam shoulder  311 ′ acts in the same way as the cam bead  311  of the preceding embodiment. The skirt  31 ′ may be engaged inside the neck  10 ′ without exerting considerable force. For example, the outside diameter of the skirt  31 ′ is slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the inside wall  11 ′ of the neck  10 ′. Thus, the skirt  31 ′ can be inserted into the neck  10 ′ until the abutment flange  33  comes into abutment on the top end of the neck  10 ′. This is shown in FIG. 6. The cam shoulder  311 ′ is then always situated below the cam segment  204 . When pressure is exerted on the dispensing member  2 , the cam shoulder  311 ′ comes into engagement with the cam segment  204  and then rises onto the intermediate segment  205 . This causes the skirt  31 ′ to expand, thereby generating leaktight tight-fitting contact with the inside wall  11 ″. By continuing to push the dispensing member  2  into the fixing member  3 ′, it is possible to cause the sleeve  32  to rise over the large-diameter segment  207  as in the preceding embodiment until it comes into abutment via its top end under the collar  208  of the body  20 . Since the skirt  31 ′ is also provided with a bottom lip  316 , said lip also rises over the cam segment  204  to reach the intermediate segment  205 . The lip  316  rising also generates expansion which improves or supplements the leaktight tight-fitting engagement of the skirt  31 ′ against the wall  11 ′.  
         [0035]    In this embodiment, the fixing and sealing of the fixing member  3 ′ is achieved merely by leaktight tight-fitting cylinder-on-cylinder contact. In the preceding embodiment, the recessed portion  112  formed by the inside wall  11  of the neck  10  also performs fastening or locking below the narrow aperture segment  111 . This is facilitated by the presence of the peripheral bulge  312 .