FR2713205A1 - Spray distributor cap. - Google Patents

Abstract

This spray-type dispenser cap 10 for squeeze bottle dispensers comprises a body 12 on which is fixedly mounted a blanking plug 22, and a sliding opening-closing member 26 movable on the blanking cap 22, between positions of. filling and distribution. The closure cap 22 has grooves 50 on its periphery, which together with the opening-closing element 26 form multiple distribution passages which are either closed or open depending on the position of the opening-closing element 26. The cap 10 operates in a simple mode: push to close, pull to open.

Description

SPRAYER DISTRIBUTOR CAP

  The invention relates to closing caps for manual dispensers. The following United States patents are a sample of the known prior art for dispenser caps:

2,998,902 3,326,426 3,216,630

3,572,559 3,276,640 3,599,845

  US-A-2 998 902 describes a cap provided with a plug 32 which cooperates with the walls of an element of

push and pull closure.

  US-A-3,326,426 shows a cap having a closure tab and a channel 20 which cooperates with the push and pull element

  to form a single dispenser orifice.

  US-A-3,216,630 shows a push and pull cap 16 provided with a central hole, and a body having a shutter pin 30. The cap member 16 is movable between a shutter position in the factory, a closed position with the consumer, and

  an open distribution position.

  Other push and pull caps are shown in the

  U.S. patents US-A-3,599,845 and 3,276,640.

  Although some of the above devices have been marketed, there is still a need for a simple push and pull cap which can give special dispensing characteristics to the product to be dispensed. An object of the present invention is to provide a cap of the improved sprayer or sprayer type for bottles with manual compression, which will confer a spraying characteristic.

  unique to the liquid dispensed, the cap being particularly simple.

  Another object is to provide an improved cap which can be

  mass produced economically.

  Yet another object is to provide an improved cap which is

  particularly easy to use for the consumer.

  Another object is to provide an improved cap which is

resistant and safe.

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  Yet another object is to provide an improved cap which

resists leaks.

  Another object is to provide an improved cap which allows

  obtain a specialized divergent distribution characteristic.

  Another object is to provide an improved cap which minimizes

capillary problems.

  These objects are achieved by providing a cap body which can be attached to a dispensing bottle and which has a tubular orifice and a plug in the orifice. A sliding mounted opening-closing member can move between shutter and dispensing positions. The opening-closing element has a dispensing opening in which the shutter plug is arranged and fitted tightly. A plurality of dispensing passages in the obturator plug cooperate with walls of the opening-closing element to form small orifices through

  to which distribution in the form of vaporization of the product takes place.

  The opening-closing element can be moved manually between its dispensing and closing positions. The distributed spray pattern includes multiple globally adjacent individual jets which

  are substantially parallel or divergent.

  In other words, the sprayer-type dispenser cap for a manual dispenser with a squeezable bottle according to the invention comprises a body part provided with means for fixing it to the neck of the dispensing bottle, said body part having a tubular orifice. through which the product is intended to flow out and out of the bottle, said body part further having a closure cap provided with an outer bearing surface and means for mounting the closure cap on said tubular orifice in the path for the flow of said product, an opening-closing element sliding on said tubular orifice and bearing means movably mounting the opening-closing element sliding in axial movement on the tubular orifice, said opening element - sliding closure moving there between a lowered shutter position and an elevated dispensing position, said opening-closing element co smoother presenting a dispensing opening with a delimiting wall, the stopper

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  obturator being disposed in said opening and being in contact with it, the obturator plug having a plurality of dispensing passages on its outer bearing surface, cooperating with the wall delimiting the dispensing opening of the opening-closing element sliding5 to form small orifices carrying out the multi-jet spraying of the product when the sliding opening-closing element is in its raised dispensing position; the plug is characterized in that the bearing means comprise stop means which prevent the axial movement towards the outside of the opening-closing element IO sliding beyond its elevated dispensing position, and which at all moment maintain contact between the outer bearing surface of the

  blanking plug and the delimiting wall of the opening element -

  sliding closure so as to preserve the characteristic of

  multi-spray spray of the cap when the opening element

  sliding closure is arranged in its elevated dispensing position.

  Advantageously, the mounting means for the obturator plug comprise two diametrically opposite tabs arranged obliquely upward and extending between the tubular orifice part of

  the cap body part and the blanking plug.

  Advantageously, the outer bearing surface of the obturator plug comprises a smooth part arranged on the axially inner part of the obturator cap, and the distribution passages in the outer bearing part of the obturator cap are arranged on the

  axially outer part of the blanking plug.

  Advantageously, said stop means comprise cooperating retaining beads on the tubular orifice of the cap body part and on the sliding opening-closing element retaining the latter against an untimely removal of the part.

cap body.

  Advantageously, said stop means comprise cooperating sealing beads on the tubular orifice of the body part of the cap and on the sliding opening-closing element, preventing product leakage between the tubular orifice and the element

sliding opening-closing.

  Advantageously, said tubular orifice has an outer surface and said sliding opening-closing element has a

  wall with an interior surface, one of the sealing beads being disposed on the exterior surface of the tubular orifice and the other of the sealing beads being disposed on the interior surface of the wall of the opening member -sliding closure.

  Advantageously, said shutter plug has an upper end, and said sliding opening-closing element has an upper surface, the upper end of the shutter plug Io projecting by a limited distance above the upper surface of the element d sliding opening-closing when the latter is in its

high distribution position.

  Advantageously, said shutter plug has an upper end, and said sliding opening-closing element has an upper surface, the upper end of the shutter plug.

  protruding above the upper surface of the opening element-

  sliding closure when the latter is in its elevated dispensing position, externally forming open channels which are not surrounded by the walls of the dispensing passages of the plug, said channels imparting a characteristic of divergence to the

liquid flowing through them.

  Advantageously, said stop means comprise cooperating beads on the tubular orifice of the cap body part and on the sliding opening-closing element respectively, said beads coming into contact with each other and

  defining the high distribution position of the opening element-

  sliding closure, said plug having an upper end which protrudes axially above all the parts of the sliding opening-closing element while these beads

cooperants are in contact.

  Advantageously, the bearing means comprise stop means which, at all times, maintain the upper surface of the opening-closing element sliding axially below the visible upper surface which is surrounded by the peripheral edge of the plug. , so as to preserve the characteristic of

  multi-spray spray of the cap when the opening element

  sliding closure is arranged in its elevated dispensing position. Other characteristics or advantages will appear below.

  In the figures: Figure 1 is a top view of an improved cap. Figure 2 is a partially front view and partially in

axial torque of the same cap.

  Figure 3 is a top view of a cap body of a

modified cap.

  FIG. 4 is an axial section of the cap of FIG. 3, the opening-closing element being in a deployed dispensing position, and

  Figure 5 is a bottom view of the opening element-

  closing. The improved cap 10 includes a cap body 12

  having an annular wall 14 and a transverse upper wall 16.

  The side wall 14 has threads 18 so as to cooperate with the

  threaded neck of a squeeze bottle.

  The body 12 has a vertically rising tubular orifice 20

  on which a sealing plug 22, FIG. 2, or 22a, FIG. 4 is fixed.

  The plug 22 or 22a is arranged on the flow path of the product to be dispensed, and is mounted by opposite support lugs 24 which have come from molding. The invention provides an improved opening-closing element 26 which controls the opening and closing of the orifice 20 and cooperates with the closure plugs 22 or 22a to give a characteristic

  multi-jet analogous to a spray jet, to the product to be dispensed.

  The open-close member acts as a push and pull cap and has the shape of an inverted cup. The upper wall 28 of the opening-closing element 26 has a dispensing opening 30 which can be selectively closed by the closure plugs 22 or 22a when the element 26 is in the closed closure position of the figure. 2, in which the walls of the opening 30 seal the lower cylindrical part 32 of the plug

  shutter 22. The part 32 constitutes a smooth sealing surface.

  The opening-closing element 26 has a conical upper surface 34 and a conical lower surface 36 provided with pockets 37, FIG. 5, which surfaces intersect along a circular intersection line 38 constituting a graspable edge by which the element opening-closing 26 can be easily moved manually. The opening-closing element 26 has a cylindrical inner bearing surface 39 and a conical subsurface which is reinforced by radial ribs 44. On the outer surface of the orifice 20 is formed an annular bead 46 which can come in sliding contact with the cylindrical inner surface of the opening-closing element 26, and forms a seal with it both during storage and during distribution. A secondary bead 48 on the lower edge of the opening-closing element 26 forms a sliding seal with the cylindrical outer surface of the orifice 20. The two beads 46, 48 also come into contact with one another in the position of Figure 4, to form abutment shoulders which keep the element captive

open-close 26.

  The improved combination of the closure plug 22 (or 22a) and the dispensing opening 30 of the opening-closing element 26 makes it possible to give the spray characteristic unique to the product to be dispensed. For spray dispensing, the closure element 22 in FIG. 1 or 22a in FIG. 3 has a plurality of grooves 50 or 50a arranged axially, close together and external, which, with the cylindrical wall opening 30 of the 'opening-closing element 26, form multiple passages arranged circumferentially through which passes the liquid to be dispensed. The grooves 50 and 50a are spaced differently. When the liquid leaves passing through the upper end of the shutter plug 22 or 22a, it takes the form of jets

  individual co-extensive, either parallel or slightly divergent.

  When the opening-closing element 26 is in its dispensing position, the shutter plug 22a protrudes a short, limited distance above the upper surface of the element. This slight overshoot contributes to the desired spraying effect, and minimizes the effects of capillary action at the point of exit of the individual jets. It is believed that capillarity would cause drops or other deformations in the jets

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  outgoing. Such a slight overhang forms open external channels of limited length which are not surrounded by the walls of the opening 30. This absence of confinement causes the individual jets to diverge from one another in a conical pattern. alternatively, the grooves 50 or 50a can be made so as to diverge at the outer end of the shutter plug, to give even more divergence. The delivery rate is controlled by the user as a function of the force applied to the compressible bottle. The present cap is extremely simple, mainly involving only two molded plastic components. Operation is simple, requiring only a simple movement to push or pull. The spraying characteristic is automatically given without the need to rotate or more precisely position the opening-closing element 26. On the contrary, the user simply pulls the opening-closing element 26 towards the outside

  until the beads 46, 48 come into contact with each other.

  The disclosed embodiment represents a significant advance

  and an improvement in distributor caps.

  Variations and modifications are possible without deviating from

the spirit of the invention.

Claims (10)

  1. Sprayer-type dispenser cap for a manual dispenser with a compressible bottle, comprising a body part (12) provided with means (18) for fixing it to the neck of the dispensing bottle, said body part (12) having a tubular orifice ( 20) through which the product is intended to flow and exit from the bottle, said body part (12) further having a sealing plug (22) provided with an external bearing surface and means (24) for mounting the blanking plug o (22) on said tubular orifice (20) in the flow path of said product, an opening-closing element (26) sliding on said tubular orifice (20) and bearing means (39) movably mounting the sliding opening-closing element (26) in axial movement on the tubular orifice (20), said sliding opening-closing element (26) moving there between a lowered closed position and a high distribution position, said sliding opening-closing element (26) having a dispensing opening (30) with a delimiting wall (28), the shutter plug (22) being disposed in said opening (30) and being in contact with it, the plug obturator (22) having a plurality of dispensing passages (50) on its outer bearing surface, cooperating with the delimiting wall (28) of the dispensing opening of the sliding opening-closing element to form small orifices performing the multi-jet spraying of the product when the sliding opening-closing element (26) is in its elevated dispensing position, characterized in that the bearing means (39) include stop means (46,48) which prevent the axial displacement towards the outside of the sliding closing-opening element (26) beyond its elevated dispensing position, and which at all times maintain contact between the external bearing surface lower (32) of the plug (22) and the delimiting wall (28) of the sliding opening-closing element (26) so as to preserve the spray characteristic of the cap when the opening element -sliding closure (26) is arranged in its raised position of distribution.   2. Distributor cap according to claim 1, characterized in that the mounting means (24) for the obturator cap (22) comprise   two diametrically opposite tabs (24) arranged obliquely upwards and extending between the tubular orifice part (20) of the part of the cap body (12) and the sealing plug (22).   3. Distributor cap according to claim 1, characterized in that the outer bearing surface (32) of the obturator cap (22) comprises a smooth part (32) disposed on the axially inner part of the obturator cap (22), and in that that the dispensing passages in the outer bearing part (32) of the shutter plug (22) are arranged   on the axially outer part of the blanking plug (22).   4. Dispenser cap according to claim 1, characterized in that said stop means (46,48) comprise cooperating retaining beads (46,48) on the tubular orifice (20) of the cap body part (12 ) and on the sliding opening-closing element (26), retaining the latter against an untimely removal of the part cap body (12).   5. Distributor cap according to claim 1, characterized in that said stop means (46,48) comprise cooperating sealing beads (46,48) on the tubular orifice (20) of the body part of the cap ( 12) and on the sliding opening-closing element (26), preventing product leakage between the tubular orifice (20) and the element   sliding opening-closing (26).   6. Distributor cap according to claim 5, characterized in that said tubular orifice (20) has an outer surface and in that said sliding opening-closing element (26) has a wall with an inner surface, one ( 46) of the sealing beads being disposed on the outer surface of the tubular orifice (20) and the other (48) of the sealing beads being disposed on the inner surface of the   wall of the sliding opening-closing element (26).   7. Distributor cap according to claim 1, characterized in that said obturator cap (22) has an upper end, and in that said sliding opening-closing element (26) has an upper surface, the upper end of the cap. shutter (22) protruding a limited distance above the upper surface of 2713205   the sliding opening-closing element (26) when the latter is in its raised dispensing position. 8. Dispenser cap according to claim 1, characterized in that said obturator cap (22) has an upper end, and in that said sliding opening-closing element (26) has an upper surface, the upper end the blanking plug (22)   protruding above the upper surface of the opening element-   sliding closure (26) when the latter is in its elevated dispensing position, externally forming open channels which are not surrounded by the walls of the dispensing passages of the plug (22), said channels imparting a divergence characteristic to the liquid running through them.   9. Distributor cap according to claim 1, characterized in that said abutment means (46,48) comprise cooperating beads (46,48) on the tubular orifice (20) of the cap body part (12) and on the sliding opening-closing element (26) respectively, said beads (46,48) coming into contact with each other and defining the elevated position of distribution of the sliding opening-closing element ( 26), said obturator plug having an upper end which protrudes axially above all the parts of the sliding opening-closing element (26) while these beads   cooperants (46,48) are in contact.   10. Dispenser cap according to claim 1, characterized in that the bearing means (39) comprise stop means (46,48) which, at all times, hold the upper surface of the sliding opening-closing element (26) axially below the visible upper surface which is surrounded by the peripheral edge of the plug (22), so as to preserve the spray characteristic of the cap when the opening-sliding member   (26) is arranged in its elevated dispensing position.