EP0421860B1 - Dispensing device comprising at least a bottle with breakable spout - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a dispensing device comprising at least one bottle with a frangible tip. Vials with breakable tips are already known and have the notorious advantage of having closures which are, until opened by a user, hermetically very secure. A conventional type of such flasks with a breakable tip is that of glass ampoules used, for example, in the medical field or in the cosmetic field, these ampoules, the contents of which are most often liquid, being closed with a flame to of their ends.

However, such bottles are generally difficult or inconvenient to open. A user must, in fact, to obtain such an opening, break the frangible tip of the bottle by grasping it between his thumb and index finger and exerting on it a shearing force. This often results in slight local injuries on the user's fingers, in particular at the points of contact of said fingers with the tip which has been broken, contact points where the force has been exerted.

To overcome this drawback, it has been proposed, moreover, to use vials comprising caps made of plastic materials, said caps being extended by distribution tubes, the openings of which are hermetically closed by molded end pieces of a piece with these caps. To make the opening of such bottles, a user must cut said tips using a knife or scissors. However, this is impractical, since requiring the intervention of external tools.

The present invention provides, for its part, a device for distributing, in particular product liquid or viscous, comprising at least one bottle associated with a cap mounted on said bottle and movable relative thereto, said cap being provided with at least one shoulder which can come into abutment, during movement of said cap, on the sand case nozzle, associated with said bottle. In particular, such a device has the advantage over the bottles with a breakable tip already known, of allowing a user to distribute the effort, which he exerts to break said tips, over his entire hand, and d '' thus avoid the occasional efforts on his fingers.

In addition, the present invention also applies to dispensing devices comprising several separate bottles, which are secured to each other, and, the dispensing orifices of which are connected by the same dispensing head to a single ejection channel. , through which escapes a mixture of the different products contained in each of these bottles. A device of this type has been described in the patent application filed by the applicant under the number FR-89 06540 and has the advantage of allowing the storage of two incompatible products (for example, hydrogen peroxide and a reducing agent ) in two tanks made of different materials, each compatible with the product it contains.

However, until now, the bottles of these devices have, as has been explained above, caps terminated by distribution tubes closed by end caps molded in one piece with said caps. This required users, before being able to use such devices, to carry out a number of impractical manipulations since it was first necessary to disengage the dispensing head from the tubes of the bottles, then cut the ends of said bottles, using scissors or knives and finally reposition the head dispenser on said bottle. The present invention provides, for its part, a much simpler and practical opening system which is perfectly suited to such devices with multiple bottles.

The present invention therefore relates to a dispensing device comprising at least one bottle delimited by a bottom and a wall, said bottle being provided at its end opposite to its bottom with a dispensing opening closed by a breakable tip, characterized by the fact that it comprises a cap mounted on said bottle on the side of said dispensing opening, said cap being movable relative to said bottle and comprising at least one shoulder intended to entrain, during movement of the cap, said sand case nozzle for releasing the dispensing opening, said cap also comprising a discharge passage opening to the outside of the device and communicating with the dispensing opening of said bottle, for a position of the cap where said frangible end piece is released from said dispensing opening .

Advantageously, the cap is movable in rotation relative to a bottle on which it is mounted, the dispensing opening of said bottle and the frangible end-piece which is associated with it being eccentric with respect to the axis of rotation of said cap; this device comprises a support wall on a surface of which a frangible end piece is slidably driven by the shoulder of the cap which is associated with it, said surface being disposed in the vicinity of the dispensing opening associated with said frangible end piece, substantially in the same plan as this.

Preferably, a shoulder of the cap is a wall of a sheath, said sheath extending inside the cap and substantially surrounding the frangible endpiece with which it is associated. The surface the inside of the sheath can substantially match the outside shape of the frangible tip with which it is associated. The sheath can have an oblong inner cross section, said sheath being slidable relative to the frangible tip with which it is associated.

More preferably, a bottle has a neck cooperating with a capsule extending by an outlet tube closed by a breakable end; the evacuation passage of the dispensing cap comprises a chamber into which the dispensing opening of the vial opens, for a position of the cap, where the frangible endpiece associated with said dispensing opening is released therefrom, said chamber being extended by an ejection channel opening to the outside of said cap.

In an advantageous embodiment, the device comprises several vials secured to each other and the dispensing openings of which are all closed by breakable end pieces. The bottles can each have a wall, part of which is flexible and can be deformed under the manual action of a user. The device may include a cover in which the bottles fit towards their end opposite to their bottom, the bottom of said cover serving as a support wall and being traversed by recesses in which the ends of the outlet tubes of the bottles are housed. Several bottles can be associated with the same cap movable in rotation relative to said bottles, the dispensing openings of said bottles and the frangible ends, which are associated with them, being eccentric with respect to the axis of rotation of said cap. The cover may include a wall having an external shape of revolution, with which the cover cooperates to guide itself in its rotational movement.

Preferably, the device comprises a mixing chamber into which open the dispensing openings for the vials, said mixing chamber being extended on the side opposite to said openings by an ejection channel; it comprises two bottles, the two breakable tips of which close the dispensing openings, are associated one with a sheath substantially matching the external shape of said tip, the other with a sheath of oblong cross section; bottles are secured by press buttons; bottles are joined together in the vicinity of their bottom; the device comprises an overcap which fits onto the bottles in the vicinity of their bottom.

To better understand the invention, we will describe below, purely by way of illustration but not limitation, several embodiments shown in the accompanying drawing.

• la figure 1 est une vue en coupe avec arraché partiel, selon la ligne I-I de la figure 4, d'un dispositif de distribution conforme à un premier mode de réalisation de l'invention représenté dans sa position fermée, ce dispositif correspondant à une première variante de solidarisation des parties récipients des flacons ;
• la figure 2 est une vue en perspective avec arraché du dispositif de distribution de la figure 1 ;
• la figure 3 est une vue en perspective avec arraché, semblable à la figure 2, du dispositif de distribution de la figure 1 représenté dans une position ouverte ;
• la figure 4 est une vue en coupe avec arraché selon la ligne IV-IV de la figure 1 ;
• la figure 5 est une vue en coupe avec arraché semblable à la figure 4 du dispositif de distribution dans une position de la figure 1 représenté dans une position ouverte ;
• les figures 6 à 8 sont des vues en coupe avec arraché semblables aux figures 4 et 5, d'un dispositif de distribution conforme à un deuxième mode de réalisation de l'invention, représenté selon respectivement trois positions différentes ;
• la figure 9 est une vue en perspective du dispositif des figures 6 à 8 ;
• la figure 10 est une vue en perspective de la partie du récipient d'un flacon d'un dispositif de distribution, correspondant à une deuxième variante de solidarisation ;
• la figure 11 est une vue en coupe de deux parties récipients de flacon de la figure 10, assemblées entre elles ;
• la figure 12 est une vue en perspective d'une partie récipient d'un flacon correspondant à la première variante de solidarisation ;
• la figure 13 est une vue en perspective éclatée de deux parties récipients de flacons destinées à être assemblées entre elles selon une troisième variante de solidarisation.

On this drawing :

• Figure 1 is a sectional view partially broken away, along line II of Figure 4, of a dispensing device according to a first embodiment of the invention shown in its closed position, this device corresponding to a first variant of securing the container parts of the bottles;
• Figure 2 is a perspective view with cutaway of the dispensing device of Figure 1;
• Figure 3 is a broken away perspective view, similar to Figure 2, of the dispensing device of Figure 1 shown in an open position;
• Figure 4 is a sectional view with cutaway along line IV-IV of Figure 1;
• Figure 5 is a sectional view with cutaway similar to Figure 4 of the device distribution in a position of Figure 1 shown in an open position;
• Figures 6 to 8 are sectional views with cutaway similar to Figures 4 and 5, of a dispensing device according to a second embodiment of the invention, shown respectively in three different positions;
• Figure 9 is a perspective view of the device of Figures 6 to 8;
• FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the part of the container of a bottle of a dispensing device, corresponding to a second variant of attachment;
• Figure 11 is a sectional view of two container parts of the bottle of Figure 10, assembled together;
• Figure 12 is a perspective view of a container portion of a bottle corresponding to the first variant of attachment;
• Figure 13 is an exploded perspective view of two container parts of bottles intended to be assembled together according to a third variant of attachment.

It can be seen in FIGS. 1 to 5 that a dispensing device according to a first embodiment of the invention essentially comprises in combination two bottles 1 assembled together and each terminated by a dispensing tube 2 closed by a breakable end piece 3, these two distribution tubes 2 and their breakable ends 3 passing through the same connection cover 4, itself surmounted by a distribution cap 5.

Each bottle 1 essentially comprises a container part 6 delimited by a bottom and walls and having a flat wall 7, the two bottles 1 of the device being juxtaposed to each other at the level of their flat wall 7. Each container 6 is terminated, on the side opposite its bottom, by a cylindrical neck 8. The outer surface of this neck 8 cooperates with the inner surface of the sleeve of a capsule 9 mounted on said neck 8 and extended by the tube 2 of the bottle 1 to which said neck 8 corresponds, said tube 2 and said neck 8 being centered on the same axis. A neck 8 and the capsule 9, which is associated therewith, are secured to one another by means of threads 10 and 11, with which their contact surfaces are provided respectively. The two bottles 1 are molded from plastic materials, which may be different, the capsules 9 also being molded from plastic materials and forming a single piece with the tube 2 and the frangible end piece 3 with which they are associated. The walls of the containers 6, which are opposite the walls 7, have a flexible part which an operator can deform by manual pressure.

The outer wall of the connecting cover 4 is a cylindrical skirt 12 whose axis is substantially the straight line between the lines which carry the axes of the necks 8 of the two bottles 1. This skirt 12 is fitted onto the capsules 9, to which its surface inner is locally tangent, said skirt 12 being terminated at its end closest to the bottom of the bottles 1 and towards its surface tangent to the capsules 9, by an inner rim 13 inserted between the walls of the containers 6 which carry the necks 8 perpendicularly and the capsules 9. This skirt 12 is surmounted, at its other end, by a cylindrical wall 14 centered on the axis of said skirt 12 and of smaller diameter, said wall 14 and the skirt 12 being interconnected by a recess 15 perpendicular to their axis, this recess 15 coming to bear partially on the flat walls capsules 9 which carry the tubes 2. This cylindrical wall 14 is terminated by a wall 16 which forms the bottom of the cover 4 and which is perpendicular to its axis, the external surface of this bottom 16 being located substantially at the level of the distribution openings tubes 2, openings on which the breakable end pieces are mounted 3. Said tubes 2 and their breakable end pieces 3 pass through the wall 16 at the level of recesses 17 formed therein, each of these recesses 17 being annularly bordered by a sleeve 18 extending from the inner surface of the bottom 16 towards the bottom of the bottles 1 and into which the tubes 2 fit together.

The cap 5 comprises a cylindrical wall 19 which fits on the wall 14, said wall 19 having an inside diameter corresponding substantially to the outside diameter of the wall 14, said wall 14 being provided on the outside with an annular protuberance 20 with which a complementary annular recess inside the wall 19, the cap 5 and said wall 19 being free to rotate relative to the axis of the cover 4. This wall 19 is terminated at its end opposite the free end of the cap 5, by a bottom 21 parallel to the bottom 16. This bottom 21 is provided on one of its diameters with two sleeves 22 extending from said bottom 21 towards the bottom 16, and in which the breakable end pieces 3 are disposed, these sleeves 22 having internal cylindrical shapes substantially corresponding to the external shape of the end pieces 3. These two sleeves 22 are interconnected by a cylindrical wall 26 of the same height and tangential to said sheath x 22, said sleeves 22 being disposed inside the volume delimited by this cylindrical wall 26. This wall 26 is intended to cooperate with a cylindrical wall 25 of the same height extending from the bottom 16 of the cover 4, on the surface thereof which is furthest from the sleeves 18, this wall 25 being centered on the axis of the skirt 12 and having an inside diameter corresponding substantially to the outside diameter of the wall 26. The cap 5 is further extends beyond said bottom 21 by an evacuation channel 23 delimited by a wall having a frustoconical shape flaring from the bottom 21 to an end where said channel 23 opens, said channel 23 opening to its other end in a chamber 24 delimited by the bottoms 16 and 21, as well as by the wall 26. Finally, the cap 5 comprises two diametrically opposite fins 27, each fin 27 extending radially from the wall 19 towards the outside, and being substantially in the plane passing through the axes of the sleeves 22.

The two bottles 1 are joined together, on the one hand, towards their dispensing end, by the cover 4, and, on the other hand, towards their bottom by means of an overcap 28 a fitting onto a part 28 b of the walls of the containers 6, said part 28 b being slightly set back relative to the main walls of the containers 6, the external faces of the overcap 28 b being substantially in the extension of the external faces of said main walls.

The mounting of such a dispensing device is carried out in the manner which will now be described. After first filling the two bottles 1 with the desired products, which can for example be two different products, each of the container parts 6 is closed by placing the capsules 9 on their neck 8, the distribution tubes 2 of which are closed hermetically by breakable end pieces 3. Once the two bottles 1 are secured to one another towards their bottom, the cover 4 is threaded thereon, the rim 13 being inserted between the capsules 9 and the walls of the containers 6, the tubes 2 and their frangible end piece 3 being housed in the sleeves 18 and the recesses 17. The cap 5 is then positioned on said cover 4, the annular protuberance 20 cooperating with the interior recess of the complementary wall 19, in order to maintain the cap 5 and the cover 4 axially with respect to each other, the frangible end pieces 3 being housed in the sleeves 22.

Thus mounted, the device is ready to be used. To open it, a user exerts a torque on the fins 27 of the cap 5, the sleeves 22, serving as shoulders, driving in their movement the breakable end pieces 3, said end pieces 3 sliding on the surface of the bottom 16, which is in look from the bottom 21. The tubes 2 are then open and the user can, while maintaining the cap 5 in a position where the frangible end pieces 3 are not in line with the distribution openings of said tubes 2, simultaneously distribute the products contained in said tubes containers 6, by positioning, for example, the two bottles upside down, then pressing on the flexible parts of the walls of said containers 6. The two products contained in each of the two bottles 1 both flow into chamber 24, where they mix, then are discharged through the distribution channel 23 of the cap 5.

There is shown in Figures 6 to 9 a dispensing device according to a second embodiment of the invention, for which we have taken over, for the elements of this device which are found in the device according to the first mode of embodiment described, the same reference figure increased by 100.

Such a device comprises, in the same way as previously, two bottles 101 each comprising a container part 106 terminated by a neck surmounted by a capsule which is extended by a distribution tube 102 closed, before use, by a breakable end piece 103. These tubes 102 and their breakable end piece 103 pass through the bottom 116 of a cover 104 fitted on said capsules and on which is fitted a cap 105, a cylindrical inner wall 126 of which cooperates with an inner wall 125 of the cap 104. The breakable end pieces 103 are fitted into sleeves, one being referenced by 150, the other being referenced by 151, these two sleeves s 'extending from the bottom of the cap 105 to the bottom 116. The sleeve 150 is a cylindrical sleeve whose internal shape corresponds substantially to the external shape of the frangible end piece 103 with which it is associated. The sheath 151 is an oblong-shaped sheath, the central part of which is substantially diametrically opposite the sheath 150, the frangible end piece 103 with which said sheath 151 is associated being able to slide in said sheath 151 before coming into abutment on its ends which serve as shoulder.

The mounting of such a device is substantially identical to that of the device described above and in accordance with the first embodiment of the invention. Once mounted, such a device is used in the manner which will now be described. When the user exerts a pivoting torque on the fins 127 of the cap 105, he will first break the frangible end piece 103 disposed in the sheath 150. This end piece 103, once broken, will be driven by said sheath 150 in sliding on the bottom 116, while the other frangible tip 103 will remain in place on the dispensing opening of the tube 102 with which it is associated, the sleeve 151 in which it is disposed sliding relative to said tip 103, without coming to bear on the walls of it. In a second step, the interior walls of the sleeve 151 will abut on the frangible end piece 103 mounted in said sheath 151 to drive and break said end piece 103, in order to release the opening of the tube 102 on which it was mounted.

This second embodiment therefore has the advantage of allowing the two distribution tubes to be opened in two stages, the user only having to exert on the cap 105 a lower torque than if he had to break the two self-breaking tips simultaneously. 103. In addition, this also makes it possible to release the product contained in only one of the two bottles before the other, in order to treat the application surface, at first, with only one product.

In Figures 10 and 11 has been illustrated a possible variant of securing the bottles. In this variant, the bottles are secured, on the one hand, towards their dispensing end, by the cover 4 and, on the other hand, towards their bottom by means of hooks 28 d extending perpendicularly on the wall 7 containers 6 and cooperating with openings 28 c passing through said containers in their thickness. Each container 6 comprises, distributed symmetrically with respect to the plane of symmetry of the containers 6 perpendicular to their walls 7, on the one hand, an opening 28 c and on the other hand, a hook 28 d .

FIG. 13 illustrates another possible variant for securing the containers 6. In this variant, the containers 6 are connected by four press studs 28 g intended to cooperate with, for each wall 7, four female members 28 e distributed towards the four corners of said walls. Each press button has a support which is a disc, each of the two faces of this support being provided with a bead 28 f serving as a male member. The female members 28 e are, for their part, spherical caps formed in the walls 7 and provided with flanges, these caps being intended to receive and retain said beads 28 f .

Claims (18)

1. A dispensing device comprising at least one bottle (1, 101) delimited by a bottom and a side, the said bottle (1, 101) being provided at its end remote from its bottom, with a dispensing opening closed by a frangible end fitting (3, 103), characterized in that it comprises a cap (5, 105) mounted on the said bottle (1, 101) on the side of the said dispensing opening, the said cap (5, 105) being movable relative to the said bottle (1, 101) and comprising at least one shoulder (22; 150, 151) intended to entrain the said frangible end fitting (3, 103), during a displacement of the cap (5, 105) to release the dispensing opening, the said cap (5, 105) also comprising a discharge passageway (23, 24) issuing outside the device and communicating with the dispensing opening of the said bottle (1, 101) in a position of the cap (5, 105) where the said frangible end fitting (3, 103) is detached from the said dispensing opening.
2. A device according to claim 1, characterized in that the cap (5, 105) is movable in rotation relative to a bottle (1, 101) whereon it is fitted, the dispensing opening of the said bottle (1, 101) and the frangible end fitting (3, 103) associated therewith being offset relative to the axis of rotation of the said cap (5, 105).
3. A device according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises a supporting wall (16, 116) on one surface whereof a frangible end fitting (3, 103) is entrained to slide by the shoulder (22; 150, 151) of the cap (5, 105) which is associated therewith, the said surface being disposed near the dispensing opening associated with the said frangible end fitting (3, 103), substantially in the same plane as the latter.
4. A device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a shoulder of the cap (5, 105) is a side of a bushing (22; 150, 151), the said bushing (22; 150, 151) extending inside the cap (5, 105) and substantially surrounding the frangible end fitting (3, 103) wherewith it is associated
5. A device according to claim 4, characterized in that the inner surface of the bushing (22, 150) substantially conforms to the outer surface of the frangible end fitting (3, 103) wherewith it is associated.
6. A device according to claim 4, characterized in that the bushing (151) has an oblong internal cross-section, the said bushing (151) being capable of sliding relative to the frangible end fitting wherewith it is associated.
7. A device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that a bottle (1, 101) comprises a neck (8) cooperating with a capsule (9) which is extended in an outlet tube (2, 102) closed by a self-breaking end fitting (3, 103).
8. A device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the discharge passageway (23, 24; 123, 124) of the dispensing cap (5, 105) comprises a chamber (24, 124) into which there issues the dispensing opening of the bottle (1, 101), in a position of the cap where the frangible end fitting (3, 103) associated with the said dispensing opening is detached from the latter, the said chamber (24, 124) being extended in an ejection duct (23, 123) issuing outside the said cap (5, 105).
9. A device according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that it comprises several bottles (1, 101) joined to each other and whose dispensing openings are all closed by frangible end fittings (3, 103).
10. A device according to claim 9, characterized in that the bottles (1, 101) each include a side, a portion whereof is flexible and can be deformed under the manual action of a user.
11. A device according to claim 3, taken in combination with claims 7 and 9, characterized in that it comprises a cap (4, 104) wherein the bottles (1) are fitted at their ends on the opposite side to their bottoms, the top (16, 116) of the said cap (4, 104) serving as a supporting wall and being traversed by cutouts (17, 117) wherein the ends of the outlet tubes (2, 102) of the bottles are accommodated.
12. A device according to one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that several bottles (1) are associated with the same cap (5, 105) which is movable in rotation relative to the said bottles (1, 101) the dispensing openings of the said bottles (1, 101) and the frangible end fitting (3, 103) associated therewith being offset relative to the axis of rotation of the said cap (5, 105).
13. A device according to claims 11 and 12 taken in combination, characterized in that the cap (4, 104) comprises a wall (14, 25, 125) having an outer shape of revolution wherewith the cap (5, 105) cooperates so as to be guided in its rotational motion.
14. A device according to claim 8 taken in combination with one of claims 9 to 13, characterized in that it includes a mixing chamber (24, 124) into which there issue the dispensing openings of the bottles (1, 101), the said mixing chamber (24, 124) being extended on the opposite side to the said openings in an ejection duet (23, 123).
15. A device according to one of claims 9 to 14 taken in combination with claims 5 and 6, characterized in that it includes two bottles (101) whose two frangible end fittings (103) which close the dispensing openings are associated, one with a bushing (150) substantially following the outer shape of the said end fitting (103), the other with a bushing (151) with an oblong cross-section.
16. A device according to one of claims 9 to 15, characterized in that the bottles (1) are joined together by means of press studs.
17. A device according to one of claims 9 to 16, characterized in that the bottles (1, 101) are joined to each other near their bottoms.
18. A device according to claim 17, characterized in that it includes an outer cap (28) being fitted on the bottles (1, 101) near their bottom.

Images