Coating implements with material supply – Including means to apply material-moving force – Manually engageable resilient wall or wall portion
Reexamination Certificate
2001-01-12
2002-09-10
Huson, Gregory (Department: 3751)
Coating implements with material supply
Including means to apply material-moving force
Manually engageable resilient wall or wall portion
C401S214000, C401S264000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06447194
ABSTRACT:
In general, the present invention relates to a packaging and dispensing device equipped with a dispensing adapter for dispensing products, and more particularly, a dispenser for dispensing a cosmetic product, a pharmaceutical product, or a dermatological product. For example, the dispenser can be used to dispense a shampoo, a gel, a makeup product, a care product, or a body lotion.
In the field of cosmetics, emphasis is placed on researching new series of movements for dispensing and/or applying a product.
Among the criteria to be considered in the process of developing new packaging and dispensing features are the practicality, the cleanliness, the comfort (particularly upon application), the economy of production and possibly the enjoyment of the feature.
Numerous solutions have been proposed, with greater or lesser commercial success, for the packaging and dispensing of such products. Some of these solutions having prohibitive drawbacks, particularly with regard to their cost or their ease of use.
One possible aspect of the present invention provides a packaging and dispensing unit which allows clean and easy dispensing of the product.
Another possible aspect of the invention provides a packaging and dispensing unit equipped to allow good preservation of the product contained in the container.
Yet another possible aspect provides a packaging and dispensing unit which is economical to produce, simple to use and which provides easier control over the amount of product dispensed.
Yet another possible aspect of the invention provides a packaging and dispensing dispenser which has characteristics for applying the product to a surface.
Still other possible aspects will become apparent in the description which follows. It should be understood that the invention could be practiced without achieving one or more of the above-mentioned aspects or the aspects described in the following.
According to an embodiment of the invention, a dispenser is disclosed for packaging and dispensing of a product, particularly a cosmetic product. The dispenser comprises a container containing the product, the container comprising a body with deformable walls, preferably elastically deformable walls, one end of which is closed by a bottom and the other end of which delimits an opening on which a dispensing adapter is mounted. The dispensing adapter comprises an inlet orifice intended to be placed in communication with the container and an outlet orifice forming a seat capable of receiving a closure in a sealed position, the closure being connected to the dispensing adapter via a mount. Elastically deformable means are provided for, in response to force exerted directly on the closure externally to the dispensing adapter, allowing the closure to move away from the seat so as to at least partially uncover the outlet orifice and thus allow the product out, the closure returning in a sealed manner on the seat by elastic return of the elastically deformable means when the stress ceases to be applied.
The term “sealed position” denotes at least sealing against flow of the product. As will be seen later, it is possible to provide a microleakage between the closure and the seat, so as to allow air intake when the closure is in the sealed position.
Thus, the closure can play a part in preserving the product and allow cleaner dispensing of product. Furthermore, the opening of the outlet orifice can be controlled and brought about by mechanical stress exerted from the outside of the dispensing adapter or under the thrust of the product. This allows for better control over the dispensing of the product, particularly when the issue is one of dispensing to a localized area. In addition, the user can control the rate at which the product leaves the container by exerting greater or lesser pressure on the deformable walls of the container.
The sealing of the closure on the seat may depend on the viscosity of the product. Thus, the conditions for obtaining a seal may not be the same for a composition of low viscosity as they are for a composition of high viscosity. The seal may be adjusted by altering the elastic return force exerted by the mount.
Optionally, the elastically deformable means include at least one part of the mount. The elastic deformation may be from elastic elongation or bending, and may involve all or part of the mount. For example, in the case of a portion which deforms in elastic elongation, that portion may be made of elastomeric material. In the case of a portion which deforms by bending, that portion may be made using non-elastomeric thermoplastics, for example polypropylenes. The deforming portion can then be configured to have elastic bending properties. According to another embodiment, the elastic means may include auxiliary means, for example a spring.
In another embodiment of the invention, the closure is designed to be able to move away from the seat in response to the movement of the closure in engagement on a surface capable of receiving the product to be dispensed, for example, in a movement roughly parallel to the surface. By moving the closure to press against a surface intended to take the dispensed product, the closure is forced to move away from its seat. One example of a surface is a hand. In the case of where the closure is formed in the shape of a ball or sphere, the orifice is uncovered by causing the ball to roll against the hollow of the hand. This forces the ball to fully or partially cross the edge delimiting the seat into which the outlet orifice opens. As a result, the outlet orifice is uncovered in full or in part, allowing the product contained in the container to flow under the effect of its weight and/or under the effect of pressure which may be exerted on the walls of the container. The amount dispensed can thus be controlled more precisely. Furthermore, the closure can then be used to massage the surface onto which the product is to be applied to encourage the product to penetrate.
Optionally, the closure is moved off its seat using a finger of the hand holding the container, while the product may be pressurized via the flexible walls of the container using the other hand if desired.
The closure may be configured in some form other than the form of a ball, so long as the shape can allow sealing of outlet orifice, and also allow a mechanical stress to be exerted on the closure from outside the adapter. In addition, the shape of the closure should allow the closure to move with respect to the seat to at least partially uncover the orifice in response to the force.
Alternatively, and aside from the possibility of moving the closure from outside the adapter, it is possible to cause the closure to move in response to a pressure exerted on the inside of the adapter by the product that is to be dispensed. In the embodiment where the closure is in the form of a ball, the product may flow all around the ball between the ball and the seat delimited by the outlet orifice. This arrangement allows the user to choose between at least two modes of dispensing the product.
In yet another embodiment, the closure comprises at least one portion of a spherical surface, and the seat is formed in the shape of a depression into which the outlet orifice opens. The form of the seat may be chosen so that the seat, in combination with the closure, makes a seal against the product, particularly over an annular zone of the outlet orifice. As mentioned previously, the closure may be formed as a complete sphere. The surface delimited by the seat and on which the closure presses can depend on the desired sealing and on the desired ease of opening. For example, in the case of a closure in the form of a ball, the seat can be produced in the form of a hemispherical cap with the corresponding dimensions to allow the ball to be moved off its seat when stressed externally. Alternatively, in the case of a closure in the form of a ball, the seat may be of frustoconical shape. The seat is formed of an annular free edge delimiting the outlet orifice of the adapter, the cross-section of the free edge can be cho
deVore Peter
Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner L.L.P.
Huson Gregory
L'Oreal (S.A.)
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