JPH0220509B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a dosage dispensing device, i.e. a dispensing device capable of dispensing precise dosages of highly viscous products such as pastes, creams, toothpastes or liquid soaps.

A dosing device for viscous products, previously known, for example from FR 1 596 074, comprises a substantially rigid body containing the product to be dispensed, an outlet hole for said product, and a dispensing device for viscous products. and manually actuated means for dispensing the object. This means consists of a piston moving within the body. A drive rack rod extending through the piston and integral with the push button allows the push button to be moved in reciprocal translation within the body. The grip connection piece attached to the piston makes it easy.
Make it move forward, but not return. The push button is pushed back in the return direction by a spring applied to the underside of the push button.

The piston of the device described in FR 1,596,074 has a central part consisting of a radial strip which rests on a recess in the rack. These radial strips are believed to ensure a seal between the piston and the rack. However, since these strips also have a gripping function, they cannot perform a sealing action accurately. The reason for this is that the paste product placed in the barrel tends to escape through the central part of the piston each time the push button is actuated, as each strip is then dislodged from the recess in the rack. Under these conditions, when the piston reaches the end of its travel, some amount of product is not dispensed. Furthermore, the paste product is practically not protected from air, which adversely affects its proper storage.

The purpose of the present invention is to eliminate these obstacles. For this purpose, according to the invention, a piston is provided which is positively associated with the rack during its forward movement and which ensures sealing by different means at different height positions of the rack.

It is also an object of the invention to create a dosing device of the type described above which is simple, practical, reliable and particularly of small dimensions.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide such a device which is of a particularly uncomplicated design and of sufficiently low cost to be disposable.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a dispenser which can be assembled in mass production by providing a structure for inserting the piston and rack from both ends of the body and then filling the body with a viscous product. The goal is to provide equipment.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to (a) provide a dispensing device, consisting of a molded part, with an open end and an internal partition 12 with a central passageway 13 provided near the other end; (b) a substantially rigid body 2 forming a compartment for receiving a viscous product; (c) a mounting base 5, 28 suitable for being mounted on one end; (c) a toothed rack 19 provided on the other end of the body for displacing between a first position and a second position; (d) a manually operable push button 14, 39 formed integrally with the rack passing through the central passage 13; a shaped piston 20 mounted to slide in frictional contact and leakage-proof along the body; a skirt 27 connected to the cylindrical wall 21 of the piston by a wall 23b;
adjacent to said rack 19 and said piston 20
a sealing lip 27a formed integrally with the piston; a resilient gripping link flap 24 tapering towards the end and adapted to engage the teeth of said rack and molded integrally with said piston;
and activating the gripping linkage flap to transmit movement of the rack from the first position to the second position to the piston, the rack being connected to the other end of the body. When moving towards the rack, the rack is flexible so as to move over the teeth of the rack, allowing the piston to be inserted through the open end of the body and the rack into the piston through the other end of the body and the central passage 13;
The object of the present invention is to provide a dispensing device for viscous products, in which the piston is dimensioned.

According to a preferred construction of the sealing lip according to the invention, the piston is provided with a central skirt through which it passes easily, and the peripheral edge of said skirt on the side of the compartment in which the viscous product is located is contracted to form the sealing lip. It is designed to do so.

According to the preferred structure of the grip-linking lip,
This gripping link lip is formed by the ends of elastic flaps, the other ends of which are integral with the ends of the skirt or with the portion of the skirt supported by the piston. Preferably, the ends of two elastic flaps or grip link flaps opposite each other along the diameter of the piston form two grip link lips, so that the driving force by the rack 19 of the drive rod 18 is applied to the center of the piston. This prevents the piston from moving unbalanced, i.e., from getting stuck in the body during movement. In this case, it is advantageous if the two elastic flaps forming the gripping lip are fixed by means of two diametrically opposed skirt parts.

As is well known, the circumference of the piston is provided with at least one lip which ensures a tight seal between the piston and the inner wall of the cylindrical body. The piston can slide frictionally within the body. According to the particular construction of the piston, the piston has a cylindrical wall 2 in its top part.
1, and two skirts 23, 23 provided at the bottom part thereof and facing each other along the diameter,
The cylindrical wall 21 is provided with two peripheral lips 22a, 22b which ensure a tight seal between the body 2 and the piston 20, each said skirt being formed by a cylindrical skirt portion 23a located in an extension of the cylindrical wall 21. and a wall 23b inclined toward the rack 19. The two inclined walls 23b described above are connected to each other by a wall 25 perpendicular to the piston axis. This wall 25 includes a rack passageway 26, a central hole defined by a skirt 27 which supports a sealing lip 27a.

The rack has at least one symmetry with respect to one plane, preferably rotationally symmetric.

According to an advantageous feature of the invention, the spring is integrally formed on the push button and on the rack.

A dispensing device according to a particularly advantageous variant of the invention comprises:
It consists of the following four molded parts (1), (2), (3), and (4) made of plastic material. (1) an open end and an internal partition 12 located near the other end at a distance from the other end and defining a central passageway 13 for the rack;
a cylindrical body 2 having (2) an integrally formed hinged closure member (with a mounting base 5 and Consisting of a hinge 10 and a cap 9)
(3) a push-button 14, which has an integral elastic strip forming a return spring 17 and is supported on the wall of the fuselage 2, which emerges from the fuselage but is slidable within the fuselage; a push-button-rack unit consisting of an axial rack 19 having one end passing through the central passage 13 and terminating in the push-button 14; (4) a piston 20 of the particular construction described above; is configured.

According to a modification of the closure member which closes off the open end of the body opposite the push button, a mounting bottom 28 is provided with an end fitting 31 with a discharge hole. This discharge hole can be closed by a cap 34, which serves to ensure a stable support for the dispensing device.

In an advantageous variant of the invention, it is advantageous to provide a cuttable peripheral strip attached to the push button, preferably at the level of the push button and the body.
This strip prevents the push button from moving in the release or forward direction unless the push button is pressed hard enough to break the strip.

Embodiments of the dosage dispensing device of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The toothpaste dispensing device 1, which is made of only four molded parts as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, is therefore particularly inexpensive to manufacture and assemble.

The dispensing device 1 comprises a cylindrical body 2 having a projection 3 in a recess at its lower end which is fitted by engaging with a peripheral groove 4 of a mounting base 5 with a gripping action.
It is equipped with The mounting base 5 is provided with an end fitting forming a discharge hole 6 and a peripheral wall 7 forming a peripheral groove 4 and surrounding the end of the fuselage 2. Also fuselage 2
An internal sealing lip 8 is pressed inside. The mounting bottom 5 has a movable cup-shaped cap 9.
It is connected to. The cap 9 is pivotally connected to the bottom 5 by a film-like hinge 10 located in a diametrically opposite area to an end fitting defining a discharge hole 6 located eccentrically in the bottom 5. . The mounting bottom 5, cap 9 and hinge 10 are integrally molded as a unit. The cap 9 may be provided with an external gripping projection 11 on the opposite side of the hinge 10, which allows the user to easily grasp the cap 9 and pivot the cap 9 about the hinge 10 to open the discharge hole 6. The cap 9 has a skirt 9a formed therein which fits over the discharge hole 6.

The internal partition 12 is arranged near the upper end of the cylindrical body 2. The internal partition 12 has the shape of a conical trapezoidal funnel with walls that taper towards the inside of the cylindrical body 2. A central passage 13 is formed in the internal partition 12 . The internal partition 12 is provided between the internal partition 12 and the mounting bottom 5 and divides the cylindrical body 2 into two compartments, a large compartment for storing toothpaste and a small compartment opening toward the top. . In this small section the push button 14 made of plastic material slides frictionlessly. Furthermore, a circular rib 12a is formed on the internal partition 12 near the cylindrical wall of the body 2. push button 14
is plate-shaped, and its periphery 15 is guided by the inner surface near the upper end of the body 2. The push button 14 is provided with a circular strip 16 on its periphery 15. The strip 16 rests against the end of the body 2 and unless sufficient force is applied to the push button to break the strip 16 and separate it from the push button 14.
The push button 14 is prevented from being pushed into the body 2.

The side of the push button 14 facing the funnel-shaped internal partition 12 is protected by a return spring 17 obtained by molding together with the push button 14.
It is kept at a certain distance from the internal partition 12.

The return spring 17 is connected to the internal partition 12 and the rib 1.
2a and is formed by two diametrically opposed elastic strips which tend to push the push button 14 back out of the body 2, ie towards the top. These elastic strips are attached to the central area of the flat wall of the push button 14.

The push button 14 has a drive rod 18 which extends axially through the central passage 13 of the internal partition 12 with a clearance and is integral with the flat wall of the push button 14 . The drive rod 18 is arranged along the axis of the dispensing device 1 and extends close to the lower end of the cylindrical body 2. The drive rod 18 is provided with a rotationally symmetrical rack 19. The rack 19 is formed by alternating grooves and flanges. The first tooth 19a of the rack 19 faces towards the top through the central passage 13 of the internal partition 12.
It is clear that it has a shape that prevents it from slipping out. The teeth 19a are beveled, and the central passage 13 of the internal partition 12 is also beveled to allow the introduction of the rack 19 through the central passage 13 of the internal partition 12 and prevent its escape during assembly due to deformation. It is preferable to The teeth 19a thus fix the top position of the push button 14, which is pushed back upwards by the action of the return spring 17.

A piston 20 formed by a cylindrical wall 21 slides within the body 2 with friction. The cylindrical wall 21 has an inner wall of the body 2 and a piston 2 at its top portion.
Two peripheral lips 2 designed to seal between 0
2a, 22b are formed, and in the bottom part there are two mounting skirts 23, 2 which are opposed to each other along the diameter, respectively supporting gripping linkage flaps 24, which will be described later.
3 is formed.

Each mounting skirt 23 is actually a cylindrical wall 21
A cylindrical skirt portion 23 located at an extension of the
a and a wall 23b which slopes inwardly in the direction of the rack 19 and joins at the bottom to the bottom of the skirt portion 23a.
It is formed by two walls 23b, 23
b are connected to each other at their top portions by a wall 25 perpendicular to the piston axis. The wall 25 is
To facilitate the introduction of the drive rod 18 with the rack 19, the top portion on the side of the internal partition 12 is provided with a central hole or rack passageway 26 defined by a generally cylindrical skirt 27 that flares slightly. A trapezoidal circular sealing lip 27a is formed in the lower portion of the skirt 27 to seal between the piston 20 and the rack 19.

The gripping flaps 24 are formed by elastic strips with free ends that can cooperate with respective notches in the racks 19. Each gripping flap 24 slopes toward the top to form a gripping lip. This lip-like part is a sealing lip-like part 27a.
Although it is close to the sealing lip 27a, it is not the same as the sealing lip 27a.

To assemble the dispensing device 1, the drive rod 18 of the push-button-rack unit is first introduced through the central passage 13 formed in the funnel-shaped internal partition 12 so that the first tooth 19a is inserted into the body 2. The pushbutton-rack unit is placed in position by lowering the drive rod 18 until it is positioned at the rear of the central passageway 13. The piston 20 is then introduced through the free hole in the body 2 and pushed by an elongated tool until it occupies a high position near the internal partition 12. Next, the body 2 is filled with toothpaste and the bottom 5 and cap 9 are attached.

When the user wishes to dispense the toothpaste contained within the barrel 2, the cap 9 is pivoted about the hinge 10 to open the discharge hole 6 in the end fitting. After oriented the fuselage 2 in the desired direction, the user only has to press the push button 14 against the spring 17 and move the rack 19 in the direction of the discharge hole 6 of the end fitting. This forward movement of rack 19 causes rack 1
Grasping link flap 2 that is applied to one of the teeth of 9
4 along rack 19. Each gripping linkage flap 24 carries with it a piston 20 and thus moves the piston 20 with it during the entire forward movement of the rack 19, through the discharge hole 6 of the end fitting. The pushbutton 14 and therefore the piston 20 release an amount of toothpaste corresponding to the distance moved. When the user stops the drive,
The push button 14 is tensioned by the return spring 17 and returns to its initial position, carrying with it the rack 19 of the drive rod 18 with which it is integrated.

The piston 20 also has peripheral lips 22a, 2
2b remains in its new lowered position due to friction. As a result, the rack 19 is moved along the central hole of the piston 20. This movement is permitted by the gripping flap 24 which offers no resistance to the return movement of the rack 19 and push button 14. Thus, when the rack 19 returns to its top position, the gripping link flap 24 no longer falls into the same recess in the tooth set of the rack, but into a recess at a greater distance from the push button 14.
The user then returns the cap 9 to the dispensing device 1.

In this way, by successively applying pressure to the push button 14, a virtually constant amount of each separate paste can be dispensed until the piston 20 reaches its lowest end position close to the bottom 5. Due to the sealing action existing at the height of the sealing lip 27a between the piston 20 and the rack 19, the paste put into the body 2 is prevented from escaping from the center of the piston 20.
Of course, all or virtually all of the product contained therein is dispensed in successive predetermined portions upon reaching the lowermost position of the piston 20. Furthermore, the paste product remains constantly protected from air due to the constant contact of the piston 20;
Excellent preservation of the product is facilitated.

The dispensing device according to the invention according to the variant shown in FIG.
It is similar to FIG. 2, except that the body 2 is closed with its bottom part and that the pushbutton 14 is obtained by a variant of the invention.

The lower end of the fuselage 2 has a funnel-shaped mounting bottom 2.
It is closed by 8. The conical wall 29 of the mounting base 28 is extended by a cylindrical wall 30 along its outer edge and defines in its center a threaded end fitting 31 forming a toothbrushing discharge hole. An annular groove 32 is formed on the outside of the cylindrical wall 30. A peripheral retaining ring 33 formed on the inner wall of the body 2 is fitted into the groove 32.

The hollow hole 31 at the end is closed by a cap 34 formed by a bottom 35 which supports the dispensing device 1 in a suspended position. Attached to the bottom part 35 are three coaxial skirts. Outer skirt 36
acts as a cover and is for this purpose an extension of the cylindrical wall of the fuselage 2. The user manipulates the skirt 36 to screw back the cap 34. A short inner skirt 37 is formed to ensure a tight seal and for this purpose enters the discharge hole of the end fitting 31 during tightening. The intermediate skirt 38 is formed with a female thread that is screwed into the male thread provided on the end fitting 31.

In the variant shown in FIG.
9 is formed by a plate-like body 40 having a cylindrical edge wall 40 a and a bottom wall 40 b arranged laterally within the top hole of the fuselage 2 . Plate body 40 if necessary
It may be surrounded by a removable cap 41 having an outer skirt 41a surrounding a cylindrical edge wall 40a. The return spring is formed by an elastic strip 42 attached to the bottom wall 40b near its periphery. The ends of each strip are formed with folds 42a to facilitate support by the internal partition wall 12 forming a funnel shape.

Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to its embodiments, it is obvious that the present invention can be modified in various ways without departing from its spirit.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the dispensing device according to the invention with its cap in the open position; FIG. 2 is an enlarged axial sectional view of the dispensing device of FIG. 1 in the used position; FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the piston of the dispensing device of FIGS. 1 to 3; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the piston of the dispensing device of FIGS. 1...dispensing device, 2...body, 6...discharge hole,
14...Push button, 17...Return spring, 19
... Rack, 20 ... Piston, 24 ... Grasp-related flap, 27a ... Lip-shaped part.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1 (a) Consisting of a molded part, comprising one open end and an internal partition 12 with a central passageway 13 provided near the other end, the viscosity generation to be distributed. (b) a mounting base 5, 28 forming a discharge hole for said viscous product and adapted to be attached to an open end of said body; (c) the rack is provided at the other end of the body and extends through the central passage 13 so as to displace the toothed rack 19 between a first position and a second position; integrally formed manually operable pushbuttons 14, 39; (d) frictional contact along the body from the internal partition 12 to the open end of the body 2 to prevent leakage; a shaped piston 20 slidably mounted on the piston, the cylindrical wall of the piston being defined by a wall 23b tapering towards the other end of the body; a skirt 27 connected to the piston 21;
adjacent to said rack 19 and said piston 20
a sealing lip 27a formed integrally with the piston; a resilient gripping link flap 24 tapering towards the end and adapted to engage the teeth of said rack and molded integrally with said piston;
and activating the gripping linkage flap to transmit movement of the rack from the first position to the second position to the piston, the rack being connected to the other end of the body. When moving towards the rack, the rack is flexible so as to move over the teeth of the rack, allowing the piston to be inserted through the open end of the body and the rack into the piston through the other end of the body and the central passage 13;
A dispensing device for viscous products, wherein the piston is dimensioned. 2 the piston 20 is provided at its center;
A substantially cylindrical skirt 27 forming the rack passageway 26 is provided, the skirt having a tapered surface facing the compartment of the body containing the viscous product and forming the sealing lip 27a. A dispensing device for viscous products according to claim 1, which is provided with an edge. 3. The cylindrical wall 21 is provided with a surface facing the inside of the body 2, and this surface has first and second holes for sealing between the body 2 and the piston 20.
peripheral lips 22a, 22b are provided, one end of the piston 20 being a first surface and the opposite end of the piston being a second surface; The lips 22a, 22b are connected to the second
The viscous product according to claim 2, wherein the skirt 27 is provided closer to the first surface than the first surface, and the skirt 27 is provided closer to the second surface than the first surface. dispensing device. 4 said piston 20 having a mounting skirt 23 and provided with a plurality of said gripping connection lips, each said gripping connection lip being formed by a first end of said gripping connection flap 24; Dispensing device for viscous products according to claim 1, characterized in that the second end of the flap (24) is integral with the mounting skirt (23). 5. The mounting skirt 23 is comprised of two mounting skirt parts 23a, 23a, the mounting skirt parts 23a, 23a being diametrically opposed to each other.
5. Dispensing device for viscous products according to claim 4, characterized in that the two diametrically opposed gripping linkage flaps (24) are supported by means. 6 a peripheral lip 2 around the piston 20 for sealing between the piston and the inner wall of the body 2;
Claim 1, in which 2a and 22b are provided,
Dispensing device for viscous products according to any one of paragraphs 2, 4 and 5. 7. A spring 17, 42 is provided, which spring is constituted by a plurality of elastic strips supported by the push button 14, 39 and arranged on the lateral side of the rack.
Dispensing device for viscous products according to any one of clauses 4 and 5. 8 springs 17 and 42 are provided, the springs are supported by the internal partition 12 provided adjacent to the other end of the body 2, and the internal partition 12 is provided with:
Claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the central passageway (13) is provided for receiving the rack (19), and the internal partition is trapezoidal and tapered in the direction of the one open end of the body. Dispensing device for viscous products according to any one of clauses 4 and 5. 9 The body 2 is provided with a cylindrical side wall and an inner annular rib 12a serving as a stop for the springs 17, 42 for the rack.
9. A dispensing device for viscous products as claimed in claim 8, in which said internal partition (12) is provided adjacent to a cylindrical side wall of said internal partition (12).