FR2838313A1 - Container for holding/dispensing a fluid, especially a cosmetic, product, has cylindrical cavity in body for retractable diffuser - Google Patents

Abstract

The container/dispenser consists of a body (6) with outer surfaces (22a, 22b, 22c, 22d) with a cylindrical lengthwise cavity (20) that receives a retractable diffuser (10) with an outer cylindrical surface (30a), an opening (32) and an outlet (28). The diffuser has a system for moving it between a retracted position inside the cavity and a deployed position ready for use, including a mobile element (8) and couplings (36, 38, 40, 42) to permit rotary and lengthwise movements.

Description

possible overcharges.

  The object of the invention is a capsule intended to distribute a fluid,

  in particular a cosmetic fluid.

  It is more particularly a question of proposing a refined style and a satisfactory ergonomics allied with a simplicity and a robustness, in order to satisfy the user aesthetically, but also with the use and the purchase. To do this, the invention provides a capsule comprising: - a body having an external surface and comprising a substantially cylindrical bore extending in a longitudinal direction, said bore opening into the external surface, o - a diffuser having: an envelope surface substantially cylindrical., extending in the longitudinal direction between a first and .. a second end, an opening formed at the first end and: 5 intended to allow the passage of the fluid in the diffuser, an end surface extending to the second end substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, a dispensing orifice made in the envelope surface, - means for moving the diffuser between:, an inactive position in which it is retracted into the bore of the body and is flush with the external surface of the body , said. end surface of the diffuser extending from the exterior surface of the body, and 25. an active position in which the dispensing orifice is away from the cylindrical bore of the body, the diffuser coming

  protruding from the outer surface of the body.

  Thus, when the diffuser is in the inactive position, there is no risk of it catching and spilling product accidentally. In addition, aesthetically it integrates perfectly with the rest of the capsule by being

almost invisible.

  Preferably, the means for moving the diffuser comprise: - a connecting element movable in rotation relative to the body and movable in translation relative to the diffuser, and - coupling means for coupling the rotation of the body relative to the element connecting the translation of the diffuser relative to the body. These means are robust, easy to use and relatively inexpensive

o expensive to manufacture.

  In order to further improve the qualities of the capsule in use, said capsule also has the following characteristics: - the body has a width and a depth perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, said depth being less than the width, - the means coupling prevent rotation of the diffuser relative to the body in the longitudinal direction, and

  - the dispensing orifice is arranged along the depth.

  Thus, the diffuser is perfectly protected when it is in the inactive position and the user can collect the product near the dispensing orifice when the diffuser is in the active position, thus avoiding

smear the product body.

  The invention further relates to an assembly comprising, in addition to said capsule, a bottle having an end zone in the extension of which the capsule is mounted (linked) and having the following characteristics: - the capsule has a rotational symmetry of a portion of turn around the longitudinal direction, - the means for moving the diffuser bring said diffuser from its inactive position to its active position and vice versa by rotation of the body with respect to the bottle an integer number of times said portion of tower, - the extreme zone of the bottle has a symmetry in rotation of said portion of a tower around the longitudinal direction and a continuity of line with the capsule both in the active position and in the inactive position of the diffuser, the assembly in particular not having in these positions

  relative offset between the capsule and the bottle.

  Thus, whether the diffuser is in the active or inactive position, the capsule 0 does not create a projection capable of catching on or injuring the user. In addition, the capsule integrates perfectly with the bottle, while controlling the

  displacement of the diffuser between its position and its inactive position.

  An advantageous embodiment in accordance with the invention consists in that: the capsule is parallelepipedal, - the extreme zone of the bottle has a rectangular section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, - the body and the capsule have the same width perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and the same depth, and - the means for moving the diffuser bring said diffuser from its inactive position to its active position and vice versa by rotation of the body

  compared to the half-turn bottle.

  The invention will appear even more clearly in the description.

  which follows, made with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: - Figure 1 is a view in median section along the line marked II in Figure 2, of an assembly according to the invention with the diffuser in the active position, - Figure 2 is a perspective view of the assembly of Figure 1, - Figure 3 is a median sectional view according to Figure 1 with the diffuser in the inactive position, - Figure 4 is a perspective view of l together with the

diffuser in inactive position.

  Figures 1 to 4 illustrate an assembly 1 comprising a flexible bottle 2 intended to contain a fluid, in particular a cosmetic fluid, and a capsule 4 intended to dispense this cosmetic fluid. The capsule 4 comprises a body 6, a diffuser 10 and a connecting element, here a hoop 8. 0 The bottle 2 has an end zone 2a in the extension of which the capsule 4 is arranged. In addition, the bottle 2 has a substantially tubular neck 14 extending in a longitudinal direction 12 and

  internally defining a fluid distribution channel 24.

  The hoop 8 is carried by the neck 14 on which it is held by means of a godron 16 cooperating with an external shoulder 18 formed on the neck 14, so that the hoop is immobilized relative to the bottle 2. Here, the godron consists of three annular portions spaced from each other to facilitate their mounting by elastic deformation on the shoulder 18. The hoop 8 comprises an interior passage 26

  communicating with the fluid distribution channel 24.

  The body 6 has a substantially parallelepipedal outer shape carrying an outer surface 22. The outer surface 22 comprises an upper surface 22a and four lateral surfaces 22b, 22c and

  22d (the fourth has not been identified as not visible in the figures).

  The body 6 further comprises a cylindrical bore 20 of circular section extending in the longitudinal direction 12 between a lower end 20a located near the bottle 2 and an upper end 20b

  by which the cylindrical bore opens into the upper surface 22a.

  The hoop 8 is received in the bore 20 near the lower end 20a, inside which it pivots without translating in the longitudinal direction 12 by means of a discontinuous rib 44 inserted in an annular groove 46 formed in the bore 20 near the lower end 20a. The diffuser 10 is received in the bore at

  near the upper end 20b.

  The diffuser 10 comprises a tubular portion 30 of circular section externally carrying an envelope surface 30a and extending in the longitudinal direction 12 between a lower end 10a and an upper end 0b. At the lower end 10a, the tubular portion 30 has an opening 32 communicating with the interior passage 26 of the hoop 8. At the upper end 10b, the tubular portion 30 is closed by a plate 34 extending substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction 12 and externally carrying an upper surface 34a. In addition, the tubular portion 30 is pierced near the upper end

  b through a dispensing orifice 28.

  On the other hand, the tubular portion 30 of the diffuser has internally two helical grooves 36 in each of which slides a stud 38 carried by the hoop 8 and three longitudinal grooves 40 formed inside the bore 20 in each of which slides a stud 42 externally projecting from the lower end 10a of the

tuLular portion 30.

  The longitudinal ribs 40 extending in the longitudinal direction 12, the diffuser 10 cannot rotate relative to the body 6 in the longitudinal direction 10. Thus, when the body 6 pivots around the longitudinal direction 12, the hoop 8 remaining stationary , the pins 38 and 42 respectively slide in the helical grooves 36 and in the longitudinal grooves 40, so that the diffuser 12 describes a translation without rotation in the longitudinal direction 10 relative to the body 6 and a helical translation in this same direction by compared to the

fret 8.

  Thus, the diffuser is movable between an active position, illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, and an inactive position illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. Taking into account the pitch of the helical grooves 36, the diffuser passes from the active position to the inactive position and conversely when the capsule rotates by one

  U-turn from the hoop 8, in other words from the bottle 2.

  When the diffuser 10 is in the active position, it projects relative to the upper surface 22a. The dispensing orifice 28 is away from the body 60 and in particular from the bore 20. It is close to the lateral surface 22b and oriented towards a transverse direction 13, in order to be able to easily recover the cosmetic fluid contained in the bottle when it comes out,

  for example by squeezing the bottle 2.

  When the diffuser 10 is in the inactive position, it is fully retracted into the bore 20 and is flush with the body 6, so that the upper surface 34a of the diffuser is then in the extension of the upper surface 22a of the body 6. On the other apart, the plate 34 of the diffuser 10 carries a sealing skirt 48 which is applied against the hoop 8 when the diffuser is in the inactive position, in order to close the interior passage 2.6 and

prevent fluid from escaping.

  Furthermore, the parallelipiped body 6 has, perpendicular to the longitudinal direction 12, a rectangular section at the center of which the passage 20 is located. Consequently, the body is

  symmetrical by rotation of a half-turn in the longitudinal direction 12.

  Said rectangular section has a width L in a lateral direction 11 perpendicular to the transverse direction 13 and a depth P in the transverse direction 13. The depth of the body 6 is less than its width L. The bottle 2 present in the end zone 2a, perpendicular to the longitudinal direction 12, an outer section which is rectangular and

  identical to that of body 6 of capsule 4.

  Thus, whether the capsule 4 is in the active or inactive position, its lateral surfaces 22b, 22c, 22d are located in the extension of the end zone 2a of the bottle, without there being any drop or break in slope between the bottle 2 and the capsule 4. In other words, there is no line break between the bottle and the capsule. In addition, due to the capsule symmetry, the assembly has this characteristic both in the active position and in the inactive position.

o the diffuser.

  Of course, the invention is in no way limited to the embodiment which has just been described by way of nonlimiting example. Thus, one could provide an assembly having the shape of a pyramid trunk, for example with a triangular base, when it is in the active or inactive position. The trunk of the pyramid would be subdivided into two parts, the base part of which would correspond to the bottle and the upper part of which would correspond to the capsule. The passage from the inactive position to the active position of the diffuser would then be carried out by

  one-third or two-thirds turn rotation.

  Furthermore, one could provide for a translation of the body instead

  of its rotation to move the diffuser between its active and inactive positions.

Claims (5)

claims   1. Capsule (4) intended to dispense a fluid, in particular a cosmetic fluid, comprising: - a body (6) having an outer surface (22a, 22b, 22c, 22d) and comprising a substantially cylindrical bore (20) extending in a longitudinal direction (12), said bore opening into the outer surface (22a), - a diffuser (10) having: a substantially cylindrical envelope surface (30a) 0 extending in the longitudinal direction between a first (lOa) and a second (10b) end, an opening (32) formed at the first end and intended to allow the passage of the fluid in the diffuser, an end surface (34a) extending at the second end, a dispensing orifice (28 ) produced in the envelope surface (30a), - means (8, 36, 38, 40, 42) for moving the diffuser between: an inactive position in which it is retracted into the bore of the body and is flush with the external surface from the body, said end surface (34a) of the diffuser coming in the extension of the external surface (22a) of the body, and an active position in which the dispensing orifice is away from the cylindrical bore of the body, the diffuser coming   protruding from the outer surface of the body.   2. Capsule according to claim 1, characterized in that the means for moving the diffuser comprise: - a connecting element (8) movable in rotation relative to the body and movable in translation relative to the diffuser, and - coupling means (36, 38, 40, 42) for coupling the rotation of the body relative to the connecting element to the translation of the diffuser relative to the body. 3. Capsule according to claim 2, characterized in that: - the body has a width (L) and a depth (P) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, said depth being less than the width, and o - the coupling means ( 40, 42) prevent the diffuser from rotating relative to the body in the longitudinal direction, and   - the dispensing orifice is arranged along the depth (13).   4. Assembly (1) comprising a capsule (4) according to any one   of the preceding claims and a bottle (2) having an end zone   (2a) in the extension of which the capsule is mounted, characterized in that: - the capsule has rotational symmetry of a portion of a tower around the longitudinal direction (12), - the means for moving the diffuser bring said diffuser from its inactive position to its active position and vice versa by rotation of the body (6) relative to the bottle an integer number of times said portion of tower, - the end zone of the bottle has symmetry in rotation of said portion of tower around the longitudinal direction and a continuity of line with the capsule both in the active position and in the inactive position of the diffuser, the assembly in particular not having in these positions   relative offset between the capsule and the bottle.   5. An assembly according to claim 4, characterized in that: - the capsule is parallelepiped, - the extreme zone of the bacon has perpendicular to the longitudinal direction a rectangular section, - the body and the capsule have the same width perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (L) and the same depth (P), and - the means for moving the diffuser brings said diffuser from its inactive position to its active position and vice versa by rotation of the body by