WO2001083117A1

WO2001083117A1 - Fluid product dispensing device

Info

Publication number: WO2001083117A1
Application number: PCT/FR2001/001301
Authority: WO
Inventors: Pascal Bruna; Nicolas Marc; Hervé Pacaud
Original assignee: Valois S.A.
Priority date: 2000-05-03
Filing date: 2001-04-27
Publication date: 2001-11-08
Also published as: FR2808514B1; FR2808514A1

Abstract

The invention concerns a device for dispensing fluid product comprising a product reservoir (10) and a pump (20), said reservoir (10) being formed in one single piece with part (25) of the pump (20), thereby sealingly fixing said pump (20) on said reservoir (10), said pump (20) including a pump body (21), a piston (22) mobile in said pump body (21), and a ferrule (25) to define an extreme position of said piston (22). The invention is characterised in that said ferrule (25) forms one single piece with said reservoir (10).

Description

Fluid product dispensing device

The present invention relates to a fluid dispensing device, and more particularly to a product fluid wherein the pump dispensing device is assembled on the tank without joints or fixing ring or capsule, and a method ^'assembly of such a device.

Conventionally, to fix a dispensing member such as a pump to a reservoir, it is generally necessary to use a snap-on, screwable fixing ring or a crimping cap. This step is generally carried out at the end of the assembly process, it is therefore at the manufacturer of the product to be distributed that this assembly of the pump is carried out on the tank. In particular, when a crimp cap is used, this can cause the creation of metallic particles during crimping. Similarly, the obligation to interpose a seal between the pump and the reservoir can pose problems for the manufacturer of the product to be dispensed, which is not generally the manufacturer of the dispensing device. A seal also poses problems of contact with the product, in particular because of the extractables which can alter the product.

It has been proposed to make the tank in one piece with a part of the pump to remove the fixing ring. Documents US-3 161 330, EPrO 753 353,

US-4 234 127 and EP-0 753 351 disclose such systems. These systems have the disadvantage that the pump assembly machine must be modified to allow this assembly.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a device for dispensing a fluid product which does not have the abovementioned drawbacks.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a device for dispensing a fluid product in which the fixing of the fixing member to the reservoir is carried out without ring or fixing capsule and without joint.

The present invention also aims to provide an improved fluid dispenser device for assembly, of which it is not necessary to modify the pump assembly machine.

The present invention also aims to provide a fluid dispenser device, for which a pre-assembled device, that is to say in which the pump is assembled on the reservoir, can be delivered to the manufacturer of the fluid product to be dispensed. , which facilitates the final filling of the device at this manufacturer of fluid product. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a fluid dispenser which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and assemble.

The present invention therefore relates to a device for dispensing a fluid product comprising a product reservoir and a pump, said reservoir being formed in a single piece with a part of said pump, thus ensuring the tight fixing of said pump on said reservoir, said pump comprising a pump body, a piston displaceable in said pump body, and a ferrule to define an end position of said piston, characterized in that said ferrule forms a single piece with said reservoir. Advantageously, said ferrule is molded onto said reservoir to form a single piece. As a variant, it can be snapped on and / or welded in a non-removable manner on the tank.

Advantageously, the ferrule is overmolded, snapped on and / or welded to said reservoir after assembly of the pump body in the ferrule. Preferably, the reservoir has an opening for filling and / or the intake of vent air.

Advantageously, the bottom of the tank is open, to allow it to be filled after assembly of the pump on the tank, said bottom being closed by a plug, in particular snap-on, after filling the tank. Advantageously, said plug incorporates a vent hole, preferably associated with a filter adapted to filter the vent air.

The present invention also relates to a method of assembling and filling a fluid dispenser device comprising a reservoir of product having an open bottom, a plug and a dispenser member, such as a metering pump, comprising a pump body, a piston displaceable in said pump body and a ferrule to define an end position of said piston, said method comprising the steps of: assembling the piston in the pump body, assembling the pump body in the ferrule , - overmolding the reservoir on the shell, filling the reservoir through the open bottom with the fluid, and closing said bottom of the reservoir with said plug. Other characteristics and advantages will appear more clearly during the following detailed description of a particular embodiment of the invention, given by way of nonlimiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

- Figure 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a fluid dispenser device according to an embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of part B of FIG. 1.

Referring to the figures, the fluid dispenser device according to the invention comprises a reservoir 10 and a dispenser member 20, such as a metering pump intended to be mounted on said reservoir. According to the invention, this assembly is carried out without using a fixing ring or capsule such as a crimping capsule or a screwable or snap-on ring, and without using a seal generally necessary for sealing between the reservoir and the pump. The reservoir 10 is in particular intended to contain several doses of product which will be distributed successively using the pump.

In known manner, the pump 20 comprises a pump body 21 in which slides a piston 22 in a sealed manner urged by an actuating rod 23, a ferrule 25 being disposed in the upper end of the pump body 21 to define the position end of the piston 22, in this case its rest position.

According to the invention, the reservoir 10 is made in one piece with said ferrule 25.

With reference to the figures, which show an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the reservoir 10 is molded onto the ferrule 25. In this case, the assembly process consists in first assembling the pump 20, that is that is to say placing the piston 22 in the pump body 21, possibly with the prior installation of an outlet valve 28, then fixing the ferrule 25 on the pump body 21, to finally overmold the reservoir 10 on ferrule 25 at the end of assembly.

As a variant, it is also possible to envisage a non-removable snap-fastening between the shell and the tank, and / or any other type of fixing, such as bonding or welding. Likewise, the part 25 of the pump which is made in one piece with the reservoir is not necessarily the shell, but may be any part integral with said shell. The embodiment shown in the figures provides the advantage that it is not necessary to modify the pump assembly machine, this assembly being identical to the mounting of a standard pump.

Advantageously, the reservoir 10 comprises an open bottom 15 which allows the filling of the reservoir by the bottom, the device (pump + reservoir) being already completely assembled. This is an important advantage for the manufacturer of the fluid to be dispensed, which is often different from the manufacturer of the fluid dispenser. Indeed, in this case, the device already arrives completely assembled except for the bottom 15 of the tank which is open. The reservoir then only has to be filled and the bottom 15 closed with an appropriate plug 17, which does not require complicated assembly tools. The plug 17 can advantageously be snapped onto the reservoir 10 after filling.

Advantageously, the plug 17 can incorporate the vent hole of the device in which case a filter 16 is preferably provided to filter the vent air and prevent contamination of the product contained in the tank.

It is understood that various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention which is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

Claims:

1.- Fluid product distribution device comprising a product reservoir (10) and a pump (20), said reservoir (10) being formed in a single piece with a part (25) of said pump (20), thus ensuring sealing of said pump (20) on said reservoir (10), said pump (20) comprising a pump body (21), a piston (22) movable in said pump body (21), and a ferrule (25 ) to define an end position of said piston (22), characterized in that said ferrule (25) forms a single piece with said reservoir (10).

2. A dispensing device according to claim 1, wherein said ferrule (25) is overmolded on said reservoir (10) to form a single piece.

3. A dispensing device according to claim 1, wherein said ferrule (25) is snapped and / or welded in a non-removable manner on the tank (10).

4. Dispensing device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the ferrule (25) is overmolded, snapped on and / or overmolded on said reservoir (10) after assembly of the ferrule (25) on the pump body (21) .

5. Distribution device according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the reservoir (10) has an opening (15) for filling and / or the intake of vent air.

6. A dispensing device according to claim 5, in which the bottom (15) of the tank is open, to allow it to be replaced after assembly of the pump on the tank, said bottom being closed by a plug (17), in particular snap-on, after filling the tank.

7. A dispensing device according to claim 6, wherein said plug (17) incorporates a vent hole, preferably associated with a filter (16) adapted to filter the vent air.

8.- Method of assembling and filling a fluid product dispensing device comprising a product reservoir (10) having an open bottom (15), a plug (17) and a pump (20), comprising a body pump (21), a piston (22) movable in said pump body (21) and a ferrule (25) to define an end position of said piston (2), characterized in that said method comprises the steps of: assemble the piston (22) in the pump body (21), assemble the ferrule (25) on the pump body (21), - overmold the reservoir (10) on the ferrule (25), remphr the tank (10) through the open bottom (15) with the fluid, and close said bottom (15) of the tank (10) with said cap (17).