Fluid sprinkling – spraying – and diffusing – Including supply holder for material – Fluid pressure discharge means
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-10
2002-01-15
Douglas, Lisa Ann (Department: 3752)
Fluid sprinkling, spraying, and diffusing
Including supply holder for material
Fluid pressure discharge means
C222S402210, C222S402220, C222S402240
Reexamination Certificate
active
06338442
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a dispenser for containing a product stored under pressure, for example a cosmetic product, and dispensing it. A product of this kind may, in particular, be in the form of, for example, a mousse or foam, a gel or a spray, for hair styling. The product may be pressurized in the container using a propellant gas which may or may not be dissolved in the product, or by means of a piston which may itself exert pressure on the product by means of compressed air.
Typically, a device of this type comprises a container containing the product under pressure. The container is equipped with a valve of the type comprising a valve body having an inlet orifice and an outlet orifice, a closure member which in response to an actuating command causes the inlet orifice to be placed in communication with the outlet orifice allowing product to be let out via at least one dispensing orifice, and a spring element for forcing the closure member into a closed position in the absence of any actuating command. The valve body is arranged inside the container to which it is secured via a valve-holder dish crimped onto a rolled-over edge of the can which is generally made of metal. In its most common form, a valve of this kind comprises a valve stem which emerges from the valve body and on which is mounted a push-button capable of allowing the valve to be actuated. Because accessibility to the dispensing orifice has to be good enough for the product to be dispensed at the desired location, the valve body being completely contained within the container means the push-button has to be designed with relatively long ducts which convey the product to the dispensing orifice which is provided, for example, on a lateral skirt of the push-button.
One of the problems associated with a design of this kind stems from the fact that when the valve is open, the ducts fill with product contained in the can, such a product being, for example, in the case of a mousse or foam, formed of a mixture of a liquid formulation, surfactants, and gas which is partially dissolved and partially in vapor form. In practice, the mousse or foam develops as it leaves the device, that is to say at the point where the user collects it.
When the user releases the pressure on the push-button, the seal is reestablished at the valve closure system and this interrupts the dispensing operation. However, at that instant there is still within the ducts a not insignificant amount of product which is not yet expanded into the form of a mousse or foam. Gradually, the dissolved gas turns into vapor and a residual mousse or foam formed at the outlet from the push-button, foams away gently, and is not collected by the user. This foaming may occur over a period of several hours. Thus, when the user wishes to use this product again, the push-button, and possibly the cap, will be soiled with the foam and this detracts from the appearance and sometimes even from the correct operation of the device.
Attempts have been made to solve this problem by closing off the product-dispensing orifice using a needle which, in the closed position, is forced to bear in leakproof fashion against the dispensing orifice. Such needles are used in particular in manually operated pump devices, in which case the needle is forced into the closed position when the pump itself returns to the closed position, for example under the action of an biasing element.
A needle-type device of this kind is described, in combination with a valve, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,584,789 in which some of the alternative embodiments envisage forming the valve body inside the push-button and, in some cases, dispensing with the presence of a valve in the container. Conventionally, the needle is moved into the open position by a tensile or pulling force exerted on the needle to cause it to withdraw from the dispensing orifice to open the orifice. In certain embodiments the tensile force is produced by pressing on a pressing surface, connected to the needle via a pivot, converting the pressing force on the pressing surface into a tensile force on the needle. In one particular embodiment the needle is stationary and therefore experiences no force, while the dispensing orifice is itself moved to uncover an annular passage. According to one feature which is common to all the alternative forms described in that document, because of the tensile force exerted on the needle along the axis of the valve body (in a movement away from the outlet orifice) or because of the movement of the dispensing orifice away from the closed end of the valve body, it is necessary to have a connecting piece which passes through an end of the valve body and is connected, on the one hand, to the needle and, on the other hand, to an actuating surface, so as to cause the needle to move axially. A moving part of this kind, passing through the end of the valve body, means that this point requires dynamic sealing of the end of the valve body, something which is particularly complex to achieve because of the movement of the connecting piece. As a result of this, practice has shown that a system of this kind is almost impossible to produce under economically and industrially viable conditions.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,650,438 describes an assembly consisting of an aerosol container equipped with a valve arranged conventionally inside the container, and the outlet of which is connected via a flexible duct to a dispensing system which is also equipped with a valve of the kind used in the container (see reference number
31
;
FIGS. 3
,
5
and
7
of U.S. Pat. No. 3650,438). The purpose of such an embodiment is to be able to dispense the product some distance from the container containing it. A configuration of this kind does not in any way solve the problems discussed with reference to the conventional devices.
Thus, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a dispenser for dispensing a product, preferably a cosmetic product, wherein the dispenser completely or partially solves the problems mentioned above with reference to the conventional devices.
In particular, one of the objects of the invention is to provide a system for dispensing a product stored under pressure, in which the volume of product which can dry out undesirably between two uses is appreciably reduced.
Another object of the invention is to provide a system of this kind which is simple, reliable and economical to produce.
Yet another object of the invention is to produce a dispenser for dispensing a product stored under pressure by means of a valve located at least partially outside of the container storing the product, and in which sealing is no more complicated to achieve than it is in the case of a traditional valve contained in the container.
It should be understood that the invention could still be practiced without performing one or more of the preferred objects and/or advantages set forth above. Still other objects will become apparent after reading the following description of the invention.
To achieve these and other advantages, and in accordance with the purposes of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the invention includes a dispenser. According to the invention, the dispenser includes a container containing the product under pressure and equipped with a valve of the type comprising a valve body, the valve being mounted fixedly on the container and exhibiting an inlet orifice and an outlet orifice, a closure member being provided for causing the inlet orifice to be placed selectively in communication with the outlet orifice and for causing product to be let out via at least one dispensing orifice in response to an actuating command, a biasing element being provided for forcing the closure member into a closed position in the absence of any actuating command, the valve body being located outside the container, and the communication between the inlet orifice and the outlet orifice being caused by pressure exerted on the closure member.
Thus, the valve body, located outside the container, allows the product-despensing
Douglas Lisa Ann
Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner L.L.P.
L'Oreal (S.A.)
LandOfFree
Dispenser for dispensing a product does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Dispenser for dispensing a product, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Dispenser for dispensing a product will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2862184