DE69804997T2 - APPLICATION DEVICE - Google Patents

Abstract

An applicator system, for use in delivering a flowable composition, comprising a container (12) including an inner collapsible layer distinct from an outer deformable layer, the inner collapsible layer (24) defining a reservoir, and the outer deformable layer (10) being separated from the inner collapsible layer by a buffer zone (32); a dispenser (72) including a first passageway (54, 84) distinct from a second passageway, the first passageway being in communication with the buffer zone and the second passageway (86) being in communication with the reservoir (24); and valve means (96, 98) operable to control entry of air into the buffer zone through the first passageway and exit of flowable composition from the reservoir through the second passageway; wherein the valve means is of unitary construction.

Description

The invention relates to application systems with which a flowable composition can be dispensed from a container with any orientation of the container.

An application system that can dispense in any orientation is disclosed in JP 7-022951U. The generic term is known from US-5,615,803A.

Such an application system, which is hereinafter referred to as an application system of the type described, is provided with the following:

- a container having an inner deformable layer, different from an outer deformable layer, forming a container, wherein the outer deformable layer is separated from the inner deformable layer by a buffer zone;

- a dispensing device with a first channel different from a second channel which is in communication with the buffer zone, the second channel being in communication with the container; and

- a valve device operable to control the entry of air into the buffer zone through the first channel and the exit of the flowable composition from the container through the second channel (86).

However, a unidirectional flap valve is provided to control the inlet of air into the buffer zone through the first channel, and a physically separate unidirectional flap valve is provided to control the outlet of the flowable composition from the container through the second channel.

It would be commercially desirable if an application system of the type described could be simplified to enable assembly to be simplified and thus manufacturing to be made more efficient.

Such a simplification is achieved by the invention, according to which an application system of the type described is characterized in that the valve device is of one-piece construction.

It would be possible for the container to be a peel-off container in which the inner crushable layer progressively peels away from the outer deformable layer, but alternatively the inner crushable layer could consist of a flexible bag.

Preferably, an inlet part of the valve device controlling the first channel is a flap valve.

To avoid dependence on a single air inlet which may be obstructed by some of the flowable composition dripping down the outside of the dispenser, the first channel may have a plurality of circumferentially spaced air inlets and the flapper valve may be annular.

Preferably, an outlet portion of the valve means controlling the second channel consists of a four-lobe valve - such a valve opens from the center rather than from the side and is thus able to achieve a more uniform flow during the exit of the flowable composition from the container.

It should be noted that the assembly is particularly simple if the valve device is connected to the dispenser by a sliding fit.

Even more specifically, the four-leaf valve can form a sliding seat within the second channel.

It should also be noted that the assembly of the dispenser with the container can be simplified if the dispenser forms a simple direct or indirect sliding fit with the container.

In one arrangement, the dispenser forms a sliding fit within an insert which forms a sliding fit within the neck of the container, the insert having an annular channel surrounding a tubular member having at least one opening forming part of the first channel, the tubular member being in contact with the valve means and forming part of the second channel.

An application system according to the invention will now be described in more detail by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a cap, a bottle, a flexible pouch, a holding tube, an insert, a valve, a spout, a sponge pad, a comb housing and a comb - all of which are components of a hair coloring kit embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing the cap attached to the bottle;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the insert;

Fig. 4 is a schematic sectional view perpendicular to the sectional view of Fig. 2 and showing a dye container coupled to the insert to allow dye in the dye container to be added to the flexible bag;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the spout attached to the bottle;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged partial sectional view of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 5, but showing the sponge pad attached to the muzzle;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing the comb housing attached to the bottle with the comb attached thereto;

Fig. 10 is a sectional view of Fig. 9 and

Fig. 11 and 12 are sectional views of the comb and the comb housing, respectively, before assembly thereof.

The accompanying drawings illustrate a hair dye kit embodying all aspects of the invention; the various aspects of the invention for which protection is sought in the present and several contemporaneous patent applications relate to a dispensing system and various applicators and applicators for use when adding a flowable composition.

Although the flowable composition is preferably a hair dye composition, no aspect of the invention is limited to such a specific flowable composition. Other examples of flowable compositions are: medicines, e.g. for small animal treatment; foodstuffs, e.g. cake mixes; cleaning liquids for e.g. clothing or carpets; cosmetics, e.g. body lotions or moisturizers; adhesives or lubricants.

Using a hair dye composition can be problematic.

One problem is that the hair dye composition may need to be prepared from two or more components immediately before use. This means that the components must be stored separately in such a way that a user can mix them when needed. Typically, one of the components is hydrogen peroxide and the other is a dye. However, the user must not be exposed to any danger or possibility of contamination when adding the dye to the hydrogen peroxide.

Another problem is that it may be necessary to apply the hair dye composition to the hair through an applicator at any angle. If the applicator is fed by a simple squeeze bottle, it is ready for use in any orientation when the squeeze bottle is full. However, as the squeeze bottle progressively empties, it turns out that the applicator is no longer ready for immediate use in any orientation, but it may first be necessary to prepare it so as to cancel the effect of any suck-back of the hair dye composition. This makes it difficult to control the application of the hair dye composition, particularly to the hairline, while avoiding soiling of the skin.

The present hair dye kit not only allows the hair dye composition to be prepared immediately before use, but it also has application devices fed by a user-controlled dispensing system in which the hair dye composition is dispensed by a mechanically generated pressure difference (not an aerosol) in such a way that it can be applied in any orientation of the dispensing system. is always ready for output.

Donation at any orientation is possible for the entire hair dye composition - which can be over 90% or even 95% of the prepared hair dye composition.

The present hair dye kit also allows the hair dye composition to be dispensed in user-regulated amounts through applicators to specific areas to achieve even color distribution with minimal waste.

Even with careful handling, no applicator is equally suitable for applying a hair dye composition to the roots, the hairline and the main volume of the head hair. Therefore, it is common to provide applicators of various types selected from a line, a surface and a brush/comb applicator. The line applicator may be a spout with a single outlet and the surface applicator may be made of porous material with a plurality of outlets. The brush/comb applicator may have multiple outlets for dispensing a hair dye composition which is thus divided by a plurality of elongated dividing elements. As would be expected, the elongated dividing elements may resemble the bristles of a brush or the teeth of a comb. All of the various types of applicators are brought into fluid communication with a container for the hair dye composition.

Special advantages of this hair dye kit are the following:

(a) only a selected one of the three applicators of different types is exposed to use during use so that during handling of the hair there is no risk of waste of hair dye composition which would remain in or on the other applicators;

(b) a surface applicator within the three applicators of different types consists of a foam or sponge material with a resiliently compressible porous structure to provide improved spreading of the hair dye composition; and

(c) in a brush/comb applicator within the three applicators of different types, at least two of the outlets of the same are formed in respective ones of their elongated partition elements to provide improved distribution of the hair dye composition.

Other specific advantages of the hair dye kit according to the invention are that a one-piece valve simultaneously performs the dual function of controlling the entry and exit of the hair dye composition, a holder for elongate dividers is attached to a housing by at least one hook, the hook being releasable from a position remote from the hair dye composition; and, while a line applicator is attached to a container, a brush/comb applicator can be positioned above it, still allowing direct attachment to the container.

Before describing a surface applicator with reference to Figures 7 and 8 and describing a brush/comb applicator with reference to Figures 9 to 12, a dispensing system with a line applicator will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 6.

A bottle 10 may be formed with a hollow body 12 which is of substantially oval cross-section and closed at its lower end but has an open neck 14 at its upper end. The neck may be provided with an external thread 16. The neck 14 may also be provided with a pair of opposing lugs 18, only one of which is shown in Figure 1. Each of the lugs 18 preferably has a space 20 towards which a bevel 22 converges for a purpose described later.

At least the body 12 may be made of an elastically deformable plastic material so that the bottle 10 can quickly recover its shape when released from a crushed state. The plastic material may be low density polyethylene, linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) or polypropylene, and it may be transparent. If the plastic material is not transparent, it is preferably translucent, and it may be colored, but this need not be the case.

A flexible bag 24 may be made from two superimposed layers 26 of the same shape which are welded around most of their common periphery to form a side-welded bag having an upper opening 28 and a lower V-shaped edge 30. The bag 24 forms a container for a first material, such as hydrogen peroxide, and should therefore provide a good moisture barrier. Each of the layers 26 may be made of laminated, metallized material and preferably comprise the following three layers: LLDPE as a sealant/adhesive/metallized PET (polyethyl terephthalate).

The bag 24 is insertable into the bottle 10 through the neck 14 to form a container having an outer deformable layer (body 12) and an inner crushable layer (layers 26) separated from each other by a buffer zone 32, as shown in Figure 4.

As also shown in Figure 4, a support tube 34 may be inserted into the bag 24 through the opening 28. The tube 34 may have a number of holes 36 along its length and may form at least one partially rigid channel with an open cross-section. The lower end 38 of the tube 34 may be open or closed. This lower end 38 of the tube 34 may be in contact with the bag 24 - alternatively, the lower end 38 of the tube 34 may be close to, but not in contact with, the V-shaped edge 30 of the bag 24. The upper end of the tube 34 may be attached to an insert 40 by any suitable means or means and may be a simple sliding fit in the insert 40.

The insert 40 can be partially inserted into the bag 24 through the opening 28 and it can also be partially inserted into the bottle 10 through the neck 14. Preferably, the insert is permanently secured in a fluid-tight manner to the layers 26 around the opening 28, e.g. by heat or ultrasonic welding. The insert 40 and the bag 24 can alternatively be of one-piece construction. The insert 40 is preferably fixedly secured to the neck 14 by a simple slide fit or any other suitable method or device, but it could be removable by a user to achieve a refillable system.

As shown in Figures 2, 4 and 6, the insert 40 may be made of a one-piece molded plastics material having a tubular member 42 defining an opening and extending centrally with respect to a side wall 44, a transverse wall 46 and a pair of opposed lower sections 28.

The side wall 44 is provided with an outwardly extending flange 50 on its upper end to limit insertion of the insert 40 into the bottle 10 and with an inwardly directed rib 52 at a position substantially midway between the flange 50 and the transverse wall 46. The transverse wall 46 is shown with a plurality of holes 54 therethrough to connect the buffer zone 32 to an annular channel 56 formed between the tubular member 42 and the side wall 44, thereby enclosing the tubular member 42. The opposing lower portions 48 are shown as hollow to prevent sinking during molding and thereby to facilitate fluid-tight connection of the insert 40 to the bag 24.

The lower end of the tubular member 42 may be recessed inwardly to receive the upper end of the tube 34, and the upper end of the tubular member 42 may be tapered inwardly.

Typically, the pouch 24 is supplied to a user already partially filled with a first material, such as hydrogen peroxide. Therefore, it is necessary for the first material to escape through the tube 34 and the tubular member 42. There could be a removable, clip-on top cap to close the upper end of the tubular member 42. Alternatively, the upper end of the tubular member 42 could be closed by a rupturable film seal. Preferably, however, a removable cap 58 is provided, as shown in Figure 2.

The cap 28, which again may be a one-piece molded plastic part, may include a plug seal 60 for sealing the upper end of the tubular member 42. A retaining portion 62 of the cap 58 may provide an airtight fit to the neck 14 of the bottle 10. However, there are advantages in providing the retaining portion 62 of the cap 58 as a non-airtight fit. For example, there may be an internal thread 64 which is a breathable screw fit to the external thread 16 on the neck 14 of the bottle 10 to provide an air passage from the annular channel 56 to the atmosphere.

One advantage is that when the hydrogen peroxide in the bag 24 becomes unstable and produces oxygen, the bag 24 can undergo expansion, with air in the buffer zone 32 escaping through the holes 54 in the insert 40 and then between the threads 16 and 64.

Another advantage is that if the buffer zone 32 is subjected to an undesirable pressure change, e.g. as a result of air travel, air can again escape from or enter the buffer zone 32 through the path indicated above.

The hair dye kit described so far allows a user to prepare a hair dye composition or other flowable composition immediately before use. In practice, at least a second material is added to the first material in the container. If the container was supplied empty, or if it was emptied during a previous use, it would of course first be necessary to add some first material to the first container. In any case, the initially separated materials must be capable of being mixed.

As shown schematically in Figure 4, the second material may be housed in a completely independent container 66. If the first material is hydrogen peroxide, it is likely that the second material is a colorant. Since colorants can be sensitive to oxygen, the container 66 may be required to provide an excellent oxygen barrier.

Furthermore, if the colorant is in the form of, for example, a gel, cream or paste, it might be necessary for the container 66 to be plastically deformable so that a user can squeeze the colorant out of it. On the other hand, if the colorant is in the form of a liquid, it might be possible for the same to escape from the container 66 under the influence of gravity.

If the container 66 is elastically deformable, the bag 24 is preferably inflated with air above the first material - if the container 66 is not elastically deformable, fluid is preferably withdrawn from the bag 24.

The user may be supplied with multiple containers 66, each of which may contain a different material, such as a different shade of hair dye, with the intention that one or more containers 66 may be emptied into the container to produce a particular flowable composition, such as a hair dye composition of a specifically selected shade.

It is desirable that the container 66, or each of the containers 66, have a long nozzle 68 that can extend completely through the tubular member 42 into the tube 34. This can result in good coupling in that the container 66 is less likely to separate from the bottle 11, even if the user uses both hands to squeeze the container 66. This can also promote good mixing in that the contents of the container 66 can be squirted directly into the contents of the bag 24 from a close distance. Of course, it is necessary that the container 66 be opened before the long nozzle 68 is inserted into the tubular member 42, and opening can be accomplished by breaking, cutting or twisting off the tip 70 of the nozzle (shown in phantom in Figure 4).

It should be noted that as the second material is emptied from the receptacle 66 into the bag 24, the volume of air in the bag 24 above the first material becomes progressively smaller, assisting in allowing any such compressed air to escape to prevent the bag 24 from expanding.

If the nozzle 68 is loosely fitted in the tubular member 42, the compressed air will escape through this loose fit. Alternatively, one or more wedges could be formed along the length of the nozzle 68, and/or one or more air escape prongs could be formed on the dye container adjacent the base of the nozzle 68. Depending on the type of the second material in the container 66, and the dimensions, the compressed air could be forced up through the second material to form an air pocket in the container 66 that expands as the air pocket in the bag 24 contracts.

Even if the bag 24 expands, air in the buffer zone 32 could escape through the holes 54 in the transverse wall 46 of the insert 40, as already described.

After sufficient second material has been added to the first material, the container 66 is removed from the bottle 10 and either discarded or resealed and stored for future use. As alternatives to adding the second material to the first by decanting, the second material may be contained in a container formed with or located within the bag 24 and which is tearable, e.g. by squeezing the body 12 of the bottle 10, or which otherwise allows the second material to be added to the first.

When the second material has been added to the first, they are preferably mixed in this state by shaking the bottle 10. It would be possible for the user to avoid escape of the contents of the bottle 24 by placing a gloved finger on the upper end of the tubular member 42 while shaking. However, it may be more convenient for the user to replace the cap 58 so that the stopper seal 60 closes the upper end of the tubular member 42. In any event, the tube 34 acts to retain the bag 24 while the bottle 10 is shaken and/or inverted and this aids mixing by allowing the contents of the bag 24 to move more freely than the latter. It is believed that optimal mixing occurs when shaking occurs when approximately 10% of the volume of the bag 24 remains as excess space. When the bag 24 and the body 12 of the bottle 10 are both translucent, it is possible to visually check whether mixing is complete or not.

To provide for dispensing the flowable composition made from the first and second materials, or more specifically, the hair coloring composition made from hydrogen peroxide and the colorant, the insert 40 is again exposed to allow a spout 72 to be attached thereto, as shown in Figures 5 and 6.

The snout 72 may again be a one-piece plastic molding, now having a cylindrical portion 74 leading to a dome-shaped portion 76 which in turn leads to a tapered portion 78. The lower end of the cylindrical portion 74 is provided with an outwardly directed rib 80. The upper end of the cylindrical portion 74 is formed adjacent to a shoulder 82 formed by the dome-shaped portion 76. Extending through the dome-shaped portion 76 are one or more, such as three, air inlets 84 which may be evenly spaced around the dome-shaped portion 76. The tapered portion 78 is provided with an elongated channel 86 which gradually narrows along its length from a larger lower end to a single outlet 88 at a narrow upper end. On the inside of the tapered portion 78, near the larger lower end of the channel 86, an annular recess 90 is formed. An annular rib 92 is formed on the outer surface of the tapered portion 78 near the narrow upper end of the channel 86.

A valve element 94 made of a silicone polymer and having a one-piece construction can be attached to the snout 72.

Preferably, the valve element 94 has an inlet portion in the form of an annular flap valve 96 which acts as a unidirectional check valve to control the entry of air through the air inlets 84.

Preferably, the valve element 94 also includes an outlet portion in the form of a central four-lobe valve 98 which acts as a unidirectional check valve to control the exit of the hair coloring composition through the channel 86. A four-lobe valve 98 is preferred because it opens from the center rather than the side, thus providing a more even flow of hair coloring composition therethrough. However, as alternatives to a four-lobe valve 98, the outlet portion of the valve element 94 could be a flapper valve, an umbrella valve, or a duckbill valve.

The flap valve 96 and the four-leaf valve 98 can be connected by an intermediate part with a sealing transverse wall 100 and a frustoconical positioning wall 102, the outer surface of which has an annular rib 104.

The valve element 94 is easily secured to the snout 92 by pushing the four-leaf valve 98 into the channel 86 until the annular rib 104 on the valve element 94 engages the annular recess 90 in the snout 72.

The snout 72 is then secured to the insert 40 simply by pushing the cylindrical portion 74 thereof into the annular channel 56 of the insert 40 until the rib 80 on the cylindrical portion 74 snaps over the rib 52 on the insert 40 with an audible or at least tactile click, at which time the shoulder 82 of the snout 72 abuts the flange 50 of the insert 40 and the sealing wall 100 of the valve element 94 is brought into sealing engagement with the upper end of the tubular element 42 of the insert 40.

In an alternative construction, the snout 72 can be secured to the insert 40 by a screw fit instead of the sliding fit mentioned above.

The bottle 10 may be shaken after the spout 72 is attached to the insert 40 to mix or remix the flowable composition.

In order to dispense the hair dye composition from the bag 24 to the outlet 88 in the spout 72, from where it is dispensed in a line to, for example, the roots of the head hair, the body 12 of the bottle 10 is squeezed by the user. This compresses the air in the buffer zone 72, but the compressed air cannot escape through the fluid channel with the holes 54, the annular channel 56 and the air inlets 84 because the flap valve 96 acts to close the air inlets 84. Instead, the compressed air acts to partially compress the bag 24 so that some hair coloring composition is forced out of the bag 24 through the fluid channel comprising the tube 34, the tubular member 42, the frustoconical positioning wall 102 and the four-lobe valve 98 which opens to allow the hair coloring composition to pass through. When the user stops squeezing the body 12 of the bottle 10, the bottle 10 quickly regains its shape so that the buffer zone 32 expands. The four-lobe valve 98 closes to prevent the hair coloring composition from being sucked back beyond it and the bag 24 maintains its partially compressed state. Instead, air is drawn into the buffer zone 32 via the flap valve 96, which opens to admit air through the air inlets 84.

The squeezing of the body 12 of the bottle 10 is repeated by the user with the pressure and frequency considered appropriate according to the circumstances.

It should be noted that the holes 36 in the tube 34 can prevent hair coloring composition from becoming entrapped as the bag 24 is progressively squeezed to bring the layers 26 of the bag 24 into contact with one another, and the tube 34 can itself be squeezed to allow flowable composition to be dispensed therein.

When the hair dye composition is dispensed, the user can see through the at least translucent body 12 that the bag 24 collapses. This provides security to a user who fears that the hair dye composition will run out without warning.

Although the container for the first material may be a side-sealed bag as described above, it could take other forms - e.g. an inner crushable layer distinct from an outer deformable layer would also be formed by an inverted half-bag bottle or a release bottle, the latter preferably progressively detaching from the neck, or by means of a pressure-inflated bag integrally molded with the insert.

Furthermore, although the valve element may be of one-piece construction but of dual function as described above, it could take other forms - for example, there could be separate valves to control the outlet of the hair dye composition and the inlet of air, the latter of which could be a simple air hole in the body of the bottle which the user closes with a finger.

Referring now to Figures 7 and 8, there is shown a surface applicator 106 removably mounted on the outlet 88 of the spout 72. More particularly, the surface applicator 106 may comprise a pad 108 made of a foam or sponge material having a resiliently compressible, porous structure. Such a structure not only provides a plurality of outlets, but also allows hair coloring composition exiting the outlet 88 to pass through the pad 108 and, with careful manipulation, can be evenly distributed along the hairline. The pad 108 may be located at or near the top of a carrier 110, with the lower half of the carrier 110 being frustoconical in the direction from a narrower top end to a larger bottom end. The inside of the lower half of the carrier 110 may be formed with an annular recess 112 for releasably engaging the annular rib 92 on the snout 72 when the carrier 110 is slid onto the snout 72. The carrier 110 and the snout 72 may be mutually configured to prevent relative rotation. The pad 108 may have a curved surface to facilitate accurate application, with the curved surface extending only partially around the periphery of the upper half of the carrier 110. When the pad 108 is made of plastic material and the carrier 110 is also made of plastic material, the pad 108 may be attached to the carrier 110 using an adhesive. Of course, if the original surface applicator 108 is not designed to be cleaned and reused, a range of surface applicators 106 could be provided which are similar to one another if they are intended to be disposable, or which are different if they are intended to be interchangeable.

As shown in Figures 9-12, a brush/comb applicator 114 could be removably mounted in place of the surface applicator 106 at the outlet 88 of the spout 72, this brush/comb applicator 114 having a housing 116 and a detachable unit 118.

The brush/comb applicator 114 could form a screw or a snap fit to the neck 14.

The housing 116 is another one-piece molded plastic part to form, as viewed from above, an opening 120, a tapered open chamber 122 having a series of slotted ribs 124 on the opposing major side walls, a guide tube 126 providing open communication into the chamber 122 from a chamber 128, a slot 130 at the upper end of the chamber 128, an internal thread 132 near the lower end of the chamber 128, and a pair of opposing lugs 134 at the lower end of the chamber 128.

The internal thread 132 can preferably be removed from a forming tool without screwing.

The housing 116 forms a releasable screw fit to the bottle 10 through the internal thread 132 in the chamber 128 which engages the external thread 16 on the neck 14. As the housing 116 is progressively unscrewed, the outlet 88 of the spout 72 enters the guide tube 126. Finally, the lugs 134 run along the slopes 22 of the lugs 18 and then snap into the spaces 20 of the lugs 18. The snapping may result in an audible or at least tactile click to indicate that the housing 116 has been fully screwed onto the bottle 10. In this final position, when the lugs 18 and 132 are engaged, the chamber 122 opens in the direction of the Main axis of the body 12 which, as will be recalled, is of substantially oval cross-section.

The detachable unit 118, which is the final component of the present hair dye kit, may again be made as a one-piece molded part from a plastic material such as polypropylene, with an additive such as silicone to provide a low coefficient of friction.

The detachable unit 118 may be at least partially translucent to indicate to a user that flowable composition is about to be dispensed.

The unit 118 includes a holder 136 that is substantially planar and gradually widens from a narrower upper end to a wider lower end. The narrower upper end includes a resiliently deflectable hook 138 extending therefrom with a barbed front end 138a. The wider lower end includes a rigid hook 140 extending therefrom with a barbed front end 140a. The periphery of the holder 136 is formed with a skirt 142 that has a complementary contour to the opening of the chamber 122. A plurality of elongated dividing elements, such as substantially rigid teeth 144, project from the holder 136 in a direction opposite to the resiliently deflectable hook 138, the rigid hook 140, and the skirt 142. A plurality of outlets 146 for the flowable composition may extend through the holder 136.

As shown most clearly in Figure 9, the teeth 144 may be arranged in two rows. The teeth 144 may, but need not, be of substantially triangular contour with different transverse dimensions as viewed from the ends of the two rows. The transverse dimensions of the teeth 144 may increase progressively from the narrower upper end of the holder 136 to the wider lower end thereof. Moreover, the teeth 144 of the different rows may be offset with respect to one another and may again be of substantially triangular contour but now of substantially equal thickness as viewed from the sides of the two rows.

As most clearly shown in Fig. 11, at least two, but possibly all, of the outlets 146 extend further through the respective ends of the teeth 144. However, it may be desirable that one or more of the outlets 146 do not extend through the teeth 144. For example, at least one outlet 146 may be positioned in the holder 136 between adjacent teeth 144. At least two, possibly all, of the outlets 146 that extend through the teeth 144 may merge into orifices 148 at the free ends of the teeth 144.

In fact, although it is convenient to note that the mouths 148 are located at the free ends of the teeth 144, these mouths 148 may be slightly recessed from the free ends of the teeth 144, in part to avoid direct application to the scalp, and in part as a result of a preferred molding technique known as the passing face shut off technique, which allows the mouths 148 to be formed by a simple two-part mold without the aid of side pins.

To assemble the unit 118 with the housing 116, it is merely necessary to position the barbed front end 140a of the rigid hook 140 in the slot 130 and then twist it. This brings the free edge of the skirt 142 into engagement with the slotted ridges 124 and also deflects the barbed front end 138a of the hook 138 to allow the hook 138 to enter the opening 120. The unit 118 is then fully secured to the housing 116 when the barbed front end 138a of the hook 138 protrudes from the opening 120 to snap engage the material of the housing 116 around the opening 120.

To remove the unit 118 from the housing 116, the reverse procedure is followed. The hook 138 is detachable by finger pressure. Alternatively, it may be possible to release the hook 138 by rolling the housing 116 over a hard surface in such a way that it pushes the barbed front end 138a of the hook 138 back into the opening 120. Note that the release of the hook 138 occurs away from the orifices 148.

One reason for removing the unit 118 from the housing 116 may be to facilitate cleaning of any residual hair coloring composition.

Another reason for removing the unit 118 from the housing 116 may be to allow replacement by another unit 118 of a different type. For example, it may be desirable to remove the substantially rigid It is also possible to replace teeth 144 which form a comb-shaped construction with either a brush-like construction having a number of resiliently flexible bristles or a sponge-shaped construction or indeed another comb-shaped construction having teeth and/or mouths of different dimensions and/or different configurations. This may facilitate thorough disposal of dispensed hair dye composition in different situations, such as with different hair lengths or hair types.

The dimensions, positions and shapes of the orifices 148 can be changed, in different units 118, depending on the fluidity of the hair dye composition or when different dyeing results are required, such as root coverage, highlighting or lightening.

Generally speaking, it is essential to the entire present disclosure that the first container in which the first material is to be stored can be constructed to contain the bottle when assembled with any of the other applicators or a combination thereof.

As another general point relevant to the entire present disclosure, the flowable composition may exhibit pseudoplastic flow behavior, which here means that the viscosity of the flowable composition decreases when it is sheared, while then, when the shearing action is removed, the internal structure of the flowable composition (which was responsible for the original viscosity) very quickly rebuilds, resulting in an increase in viscosity to approximately the original viscosity.

The flowable composition could exhibit the above-mentioned pseudoplastic flow behavior within a range of shear stress rate from 0.01 s⁻¹ to 10,000 s⁻¹, which is the most likely shear stress rate encountered when the flowable composition is a hair dye composition.

An example of a suitable flowable composition could have a viscosity of not less than 0.01 Pa·s (preferably not less than 0.15 Pa·s) measured at a shear stress rate of 2000 s⁻¹ and of not more than 5 Pa·s (preferably not more than 1.4 Pa·s) measured at a shear stress rate of 10 s⁻¹.

Claims (10)

1. An application system for use in dispensing a flowable composition, comprising: - a container (10) having an inner deformable layer (26) different from an outer deformable layer (12) forming a container, the outer deformable layer (12) being separated from the inner deformable layer (26) by a buffer zone (32); - a dispensing device with a first channel, different from a second channel (86), which is in communication with the buffer zone (32), the second channel (86) being in communication with the container; and - a valve device (96) operable to control the entry of air through the first channel into the buffer zone (32) and the exit of the flowable composition through the second channel (86) from the container; characterized in that the valve device (94) has a one-piece construction. 2. Application system according to claim 1, wherein the inner compressible layer (26) comprises a flexible bag (24). 3. Application system according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein an inlet part of the valve device (94) controlling the first channel is a flap valve (96). 4. Application system according to claim 3, wherein the first channel has a plurality of circumferentially spaced air inlets (84) and the flap valve (96) is annular. 5. Application system according to one of the preceding claims, in which an outlet part of the valve device (94) controlling the second channel (86) is a four-leaf valve (98). 6. Application system according to one of the preceding claims, in which the valve device (94) forms a sliding fit with the dispenser device. 7. Application system according to one of the preceding claims, in which the dispensing device forms a sliding fit to an insert (40) which forms a sliding fit within the neck of the container (10). 8. Application system according to one of the preceding claims, in which the insert (40) has an annular channel (56) surrounding a tubular element (42) which has at least one opening which forms part of the first channel, and wherein the tubular element (42) is in contact with the valve device (94) and forms part of the second channel (86). 9. Application system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the flowable composition is a hair dye composition. 10. Use of an application system according to any one of the preceding claims for dispensing a hair coloring composition to the hair.