Dispensing device and methods

Details Dispensing device and methods Dispensing device and methods

2001-11-26

2002-08-13

Doerrler, William C. (Department: 3754)

Dispensing

With discharge assistant

With material discharge guide on container side of discharge...

C222S321500, C222S377000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06431408

ABSTRACT:

The present invention relates to a device for dispensing of a product, such as a cosmetic or care product, for example. In particular, the device may be useful for the metered dispensing of a product, for example, for makeup, care, and/or cleaning of the skin, hair, fingernails, and/or toenails. Such metered dispensing may be especially desirable when using products for hair care or for hair regrowth, for example.
Existing devices for dispensing may comprise a retaining member delimiting a metering cavity configured to be filled, for example, by completely or partly inverting the device. The dispensing of the product may be by means of a pump that typically is actuated while the device is in the head-up position. The device may be, for example, equipped with a pump for dispensing the product contained in the metering cavity, with the dispensing being performed with the pump situated above the free surface of the liquid in the container containing the product that is to be dispensed.
EP 0 626 321 discloses an assembly equipped with a pump and a retention member comprising a bottom and a side wall. The retention member has an outside diameter that is smaller than the inside diameter of the neck of the container. The retention member also comprises, in one embodiment, flexible tabs that stretch out toward the neck of the container in a direction that makes an angle with the vertical. Spaces between the tabs allow the retention member to become filled with product to be dispensed.
Conventional metered dispensing devices may not permit adequate filling of the retention member, particularly when nearing the end of use of the contents of the device. In such cases, a substantial variation in the degree of filling of the retaining member may be observed. Such variation may be according to the way in which the container is moved from its totally or partly inverted position to its dispensing (i.e., upright) position.
Hence, it may be desirable to provide an assembly for the metered dispensing of a product that solves all or some of the disadvantages of the devices described above. In particular, it may be desirable to provide a device that allows better repeatability of the level of filling of the metering cavity and does so substantially until the last use of the device.
Another desirable aspect is a device in which the degree of filling of the metering cavity may be independent of the action used to fill the metering cavity. Preferably, such devices will be relatively simple and reliable to use and economical to produce.
It should be understood that the invention could be practiced without performing one or more of the preferred objects and/or advantages described above. Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description which follows.
As embodied and broadly described herein, one aspect of the invention includes a device for dispensing a product, the device comprising a container defining an opening. The container may be configured to contain a product. The device may further comprise a retaining element mounted at least partially in the opening and defining a cavity configured to contain an amount of the product for dispensing. A separating member may separate a first region of the container from a second region of the container. The first region may be configured so that the product resides therein when the device is in an upright position and the second region may be disposed adjacent the opening. The device may further comprise at least one first passage defined by the retaining element, the at least one first passage having a position that defines a maximum amount of product capable of being contained in the cavity. The device also may comprise at least one second passage defined by the retaining element, the at least one second passage being in flow communication with the second region of the container and configured to permit passage of at least some product from the second region into the cavity. The separating member may permit one-way flow of product from the first region to the second region when the device is at least partially inverted from its upright position.
At least one third passage also may be defined between the container and the separation member when the device is at least partially inverted. The third passage may permit the flow of product from the first region to the second region.
The separation member may slope downward in a direction toward the second passage.
The separation member may comprise an elastically deformable diaphragm and may define a peripheral edge that extends substantially to an interior surface portion of the container. The diaphragm may be made of a material chosen from thermoplastic elastomers and crosslinked elastomers. The diaphragm may also be made of a material chosen from silicones, natural lattices, synthetic latices, EPDMs, polyurethanes, blends of polypropylene and SIBS, blends of polypropylene and SEBS, blends of polypropylene and EPDM, very-low-density polyethylenes, blends based on polyester glycols, blends based on polyether glycols, and flexible polyvinyl chlorides.
The separation member may have a thickness that decreases toward the peripheral edge. Such a configuration may make it easier for the separation member to be fitted in the container and also may facilitate the opening and closing (i.e., forming) of the at least one third passage. Moreover, the separation member may be inclined in a downward direction toward the retaining element. For example, the separation member may form an angle ranging from approximately 60 degrees to approximately 90 degrees with a longitudinal axis of the device. This characteristic of the separation member may encourage all or some of the product located in the second region of the container to be conducted toward the metering cavity.
A portion of the separation member may be configured to contact another interior surface portion of the container when the device is in an upright position and may be configured to move away from the other interior surface portion when the device is at least partially inverted. The portion of the separation member may be configured to move away from the other interior surface portion in response to pressure of the product. The portion of the separation member that is configured to come into contact with the other interior surface portion of the container may comprise an annular portion radially separated from the peripheral edge of the separation member. The other interior surface portion may be a shoulder defined by the container. The shoulder may make it possible to maintain the separation member at a desired height in the container. It also may provide a certain amount of sealing between the separation member and the interior surface portion of the container without the need to use a separation member having a peripheral edge that presses with excessive friction against the interior surface portion in order to hold it in place. Such excessive friction may hinder the separation member from easily moving away from the inner surface of the container when the device is placed in the at least partly inverted position.
In an exemplary embodiment, the portion of the separation member configured to come into contact with the interior surface portion of the container may lie at a distance ranging from approximately 0.5 mm to approximately 3 mm away from the peripheral edge, for example. Such a configuration may allow for a substantial sealing, at least to product flow, of the first region from the second region when the device is in the upright position, regardless of the tolerances used during its manufacture.
According to an aspect, the retaining element and the separation member may be molded together as a single piece.
The retaining element may comprise a tubular member having a closed end defining a bottom of the cavity when the device is in an upright position and having an end opposite the closed end being mounted proximate an edge of the opening of the container. The end opposite the closed end may define an opening. A pump as

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