DISPENSING DEVICE COMPRISING FOAM-FORMING ASSEMBLY AND CONTAINER WITH PREDETERMINED PROPERTIES

Abstract

 Dispensing device comprising a manually compressible container for storing a liquid and air, and a foam-forming assembly. The foam-forming assembly comprises a housing having an air passage ending in an air mouth and a liquid passage ending in a liquid mouth, the air and liquid mouths being adjacent to each other and being further adjacent to an entrance of a dispensing passage, and a valve body which, in a rest position, covers the mouths of the liquid and air passages in a sealing manner and which, in a dispensing position, opens the mouths of the liquid and air passages. The container has a middle section with predetermined properties for being manually compressible to create the pressure to cause the valve body to move: a generally oval shape of which the axes have a length ratio ranging from 1:1.2 to 1:3.0; and manufactured in PP or HDPE with a wall thickness ranging from 0.6 to 1.0 mm.

Description

Technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to a dispensing device comprising a container and a foam-forming assembly.

Background art

[0002] Dispensing devices comprising a container and a foam-forming assembly, the latter generally being of the type comprising a valve body which closes off both the air passage and the liquid passage and gives way under pressure by manual compression of the container, are known from WO 2007086730 A2, WO 2007086731 A1, WO 2007086732 A1, WO 2008072949 A2, WO 2012138220 A1 and WO 2014044833 A1.

Disclosure of the invention

[0003] It is an aim of this invention to provide a dispensing device comprising a foam-forming assembly of the said type and a container optimized for use with such a foam-forming assembly.

[0004] According to the present invention, the aforementioned aim is achieved with the dispensing device showing the technical characteristics of the first claim. In particular, the middle section of the container has predetermined properties for achieving a desired compressibility and a desired resiliency (or spring back capacity). The desired compressibility means that the container is manually compressible to create the desired pressure to cause the valve body to move from the rest position into the dispensing position and to deliver a desired quantity of foam. The desired resiliency means that the container returns or springs back into its original form upon release of the manual compression force, and this preferably in a short time. To this end the middle section has, according to the invention, at least the following predetermined properties:

the middle section has, in cross-section, a generally oval shape having a short axis of symmetry and a long axis of symmetry which are transverse to each other and have a length ratio ranging from 1:1.2 to 1:3.0;

the middle section is manufactured in PP (polypropylene) or HDPE (high density polyethylene) and has a wall thickness ranging from 0.6 to 1.0 mm.

[0005] From research, the inventors have found that a container of which the middle section, also called the "squeeze section" has at least these properties, a suitable amount of foam can be dispensed with a single squeeze, without requiring too much manual compressive force and with a short spring back time. Of course, the amount of foam dispensed and the spring back time will depend a.o. on the force and the extent to which the user compresses the container, but the inventors have found that with these parameters a squeeze action which can be considered normal will result in 20-50 ml of dispensed foam with a spring back time of 1 to 5 s.

[0006] In embodiments according to the present invention, a preferred range for the ratio short axis to long axis is from 1:1.3 to 1:2.0.

[0007] In embodiments according to the present invention, a preferred range for the wall thickness is from 0.7 to 0.9 mm.

[0008] In embodiments according to the present invention, the container's height ranges from 70 to 250 cm and/or the container has an internal volume ranging from 150 to 500 ml. In use, the container may be filled with a liquid and air, such that the liquid takes up 60 to 80% of the internal volume.

[0009] In embodiments according to the present invention, the container is a moulded body entirely manufactured in PP or HDPE.

[0010] In embodiments according to the present invention, the dispensing device is adapted for use in an orientation wherein the container is located above the foam-forming assembly.

Brief description of the drawings

[0011] The invention will be further elucidated by means of the following description and the appended drawings.

Figure 1 shows a cross-section of part of a dispensing device according to the invention.

Figures 2-5 show different views of a first embodiment of a container for a dispensing device according to the invention.

Figures 6-9 show different views of a second embodiment of a container for a dispensing device according to the invention.

Figures 10-13 show different views of a third embodiment of a container for a dispensing device according to the invention.

Modes for carrying out the invention

[0012] The present invention will be described with respect to particular embodiments and with reference to certain drawings but the invention is not limited thereto but only by the claims. The drawings described are only schematic and are non-limiting. In the drawings, the size of some of the elements may be exaggerated and not drawn on scale for illustrative purposes. The dimensions and the relative dimensions do not necessarily correspond to actual reductions to practice of the invention.

[0013] Furthermore, the terms first, second, third and the like in the description and in the claims, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a sequential or chronological order. The terms are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and the embodiments of the invention can operate in other sequences than described or illustrated herein.

[0014] Moreover, the terms top, bottom, over, under and the like in the description and the claims are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing relative positions. The terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and the embodiments of the invention described herein can operate in other orientations than described or illustrated herein.

[0015] The term "comprising", used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being restricted to the means listed thereafter; it does not exclude other elements or steps. It needs to be interpreted as specifying the presence of the stated features, integers, steps or components as referred to, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps or components, or groups thereof. Thus, the scope of the expression "a device comprising means A and B" should not be limited to devices consisting only of components A and B. It means that with respect to the present invention, the only relevant components of the device are A and B.

[0016] Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of a dispensing device according to the invention, in particular the neck portion of the container and the foam forming assembly mounted thereon are shown. The dispensing device is denoted overall by reference numeral 1. The dispensing device 1 is of the squeeze foamer type. Such a squeeze foamer is provided for dispensing a foam through a dispensing opening as a result of a container being squeezed by hand. After it has been squeezed, the container will return to the original state by the elasticity of the container itself, for which the container has predetermined properties as described herein.

[0017] The foam which can be formed using the dispensing device 1 may be suitable for various different uses, such as, for example, as soap, shampoo, shaving foam, washing-up liquid, sun-tan lotion, after-sun lotion, washing liquid, skincare products and the like.

[0018] The dispensing device is shown in figure 1 in the rest position, that is to say that the container is not being squeezed. The illustrated squeeze foamer is intended for being held in a hand during delivery of the foam. The dispensing device is designed to be used in the position as shown in Figure 1, i.e. with the dispensing opening pointing substantially downwards.

[0019] The dispensing device 1 comprises a manually compressible container 2 containing a liquid and air. The container has an opening 2a on which a foam-forming assembly is fitted. According to the invention, the container is optimized for use with foam-forming assemblies of the type comprising: a housing having an air passage ending in an air mouth and a liquid passage ending in a liquid mouth, the air and liquid mouths being adjacent to each other and being further adjacent to an entrance of a dispensing passage which ends in a dispensing opening for dispensing the foam, and a valve body which, in a rest position, covers the mouths of the liquid and air passages in a sealing manner in order to prevent a flow from the liquid passage and the air passage to the dispensing passage and which, in a dispensing position, opens the mouths of the liquid and air passages to the entrance of the dispensing passage in order to allow mixing of air and liquid to take place in the dispensing passage, the valve body being configured to move from the rest position into the dispensing position under the influence of a pressure which is built up in the container upon application of said manual force.

[0020] In the following, with reference to Fig. 1, an embodiment of such a foam-forming assembly is described. Other embodiments of such foam-forming assemblies are described in WO 2007086730 A2, WO 2007086731 A1, WO 2007086732 A1, WO 2008072949 A2, WO 2012138220 A1 and WO 2014044833 A1, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

[0021] The foam-forming assembly shown in Fig. 1 is substantially circular-symmetrical with respect to a longitudinal axis of symmetry A-A. The foam-forming assembly comprises a housing with a first housing part 3, a second housing part 4 and a third housing part 5. The third housing part 5 is attached to the container 2 by means of a threaded connection. The first housing part 3 and the second housing part 4 are clamped in a sealing manner between the container 2 and the third housing part 5. Alternatively, the third housing part 5 may be attached by means of a snap connection, a welded connection, an airtight seal or another suitable connection on or in the container 2.

[0022] The foam-forming assembly comprises a substantially conical valve body 6 which is clamped near clamping section 6a between the second housing part 4 and the third housing part 5. The valve body 6 is made from a flexible, preferably elastic material. Silicone, such as for example Liquid Silicone Rubber (LSR), has proved to be a particularly suitable material for the valve body 6, although other materials are also possible.

[0023] In the shown position of the dispensing device, the air is, relative to the liquid, situated at the top of the container 2, i.e. in an upper region of the container 2. The liquid and air can be turned into a foam by means of the foam-forming-assembly, which is dispensed through a dispensing opening 7 in the cap 8. The cap is shown in closed position. For dispensing of foam the cap may be displaced in downwards direction with respect to the foam-forming assembly to open the dispensing opening 7. Any other suitable means to open and close the dispensing opening, for example a flip top may also be applied.

[0024] The foam-forming assembly comprises a liquid passage 9 and an air passage 12. The liquid passage runs from the lower interior of the container to an annular mouth 10 of the liquid passage formed by three outlet openings 11 defined by the second housing part 4. The first housing part 3 comprises a cylindrical central part to be sealingly placed in a cylindrical part of the second housing part 4 to form a central liquid passage substantially on the longitudinal axis of the foam-forming assembly. The first housing part 3 comprises an opening 9a which is part of the liquid passage 9.

[0025] The air passage 12 runs from an air inlet 13 to an annular mouth 14 of the air passage. The annular mouth 14 of the air passage 12 is formed by a single annular opening. As an alternative the annular mouth may be formed by one or more openings arranged in a circle. The air inlet 13 is a tube-shaped part on the first housing part 3 on which an air inlet tube 15 is arranged to connect an upper region of the interior of the container with the air inlet 13.

[0026] The mouth 14 of the air passage 12 is arranged on a first circle. The mouth 10 of the liquid passage 9 and entry ports of the dispensing passage 16 are arranged on a second circle. The first circle and the second circle are arranged concentrically and adjacent to each other.

[0027] The annular mouth 10 of the liquid passage and annular mouth 14 of the air passage are arranged concentrically with respect to the longitudinal axis A-A. Due to the annular mouths 10, 14, the liquid and air are distributed over a circular and relatively large surface area, resulting in a relatively good mixing.

[0028] In the rest position shown in Figure 1, the annular mouths 10, 14 of the liquid passage and air passage are sealed by the valve body 6. An annular arcuate section of the valve body 6 extends into the mouth 14 of the air passage 12. At the location of the multiple outlet openings 11 of the annular mouth 9 of the liquid passage 10 the valve body 6 comprises a substantially tube-shaped part. An inner surface of this tube-shaped part of the valve body sealingly covers the outlet openings 11 in the at rest position of the dispensing device 1. The arcuate section and the tube shaped part provide a proper sealing of the mouths 10, 14.

[0029] During dispensing, i.e. when the container 2 of the dispensing device 2 is depressed, the valve body 6 opens the mouth 10 of the liquid passage and the mouth 14 of the air passage with respect to three entry ports, i.e. inlet openings, of a dispensing passage 16. The dispensing passage 16 ends in the dispensing opening 7. Upon depression of the container, liquid flows from the mouth 10 of the liquid passage 9 and air flows from the mouth 14 of the air passage 12 into the entry ports of the dispensing passage in order to allow mixing of air and liquid to form a foam in the dispensing passage, and to dispense the formed foam via the dispensing opening 7.

[0030] The dispensing passage 16 runs from the entry ports through the central part of the valve body 6 to the dispensing opening 7. In the dispensing passage 16 a sieve element 13 is arranged with two sieves 13a and a constriction 13b between the two sieves 13a.

[0031] Generally, the air passage 12 comprises one or more air ducts which bring the air in the container in fluid communication with the mouth 14 of the air passage 12 which, in the rest position, is covered by the valve body 6. The liquid passage correspondingly contains one or more liquid ducts which bring the liquid in the container in fluid communication with the mouth 10 of the liquid passage 9 which, in the rest position, is covered by the valve body 6.

[0032] The valve body 6 is sealingly clamped between the second housing part 4 and the third housing part 5. In order, in the rest position, to achieve a better sealing of the valve body 6 on the mouths 10, 14 of the liquid passage 9 and air passage 12, the valve body 6 may be fitted with some axial pretension between the second housing part 4 and the third housing part 5.

[0033] The foam-forming assembly comprises an air inlet channel 20 to introduce air into the container 2. During actuation of the squeeze foamer, the container of the squeeze foamer is pressed in to dispense air and liquid from the container. After dispensing a quantity of foam, the container should return to its original state due to flexibility of the container itself and/or restoring means. The air inlet channel 2 is provided to introduce air into the container 2 to replace the air and liquid dispensed during the dispensing of the foam.

[0034] In the following, with reference to Figs. 2-13, embodiments of containers according to the invention will be described. As mentioned before, these containers are optimized for use with the foam-forming assemblies of the type described above.

[0035] With reference to Figs. 2-5, a first embodiment of a container 30 is described. The container has a bottom section 31, a top section 33 and a middle section 32 in between the top and bottom sections. The middle section or squeeze section 32 is the part which intended for being squeezed by hand and has a generally continuous shape from top to bottom, although this is not essential. The top section 33 is the part extending from the neck 34 or opening for fitting the foam-forming assembly down to the so-called "shoulder" of the container. The bottom section 31 is located opposite the top section 33 and is the part closing off this opposite end. The height of the middle section, H₃₀, is more than half of the total height of the container.

[0036] The container 30 has as a whole a generally oval shape, as can be seen from the top view of Fig. 3, with a long axis of symmetry X₃₀ which is here also the length of the container and a short axis of symmetry Y₃₀ which is here also the width of the container. The ratio short axis (here 4.5 cm) to long axis (here 6 cm) is 1:1.333.

[0037] The container 30 is entirely manufactured in PP with a wall thickness W₃₀ of about 0.7 mm at the middle section 32. The container's height is 9.5 cm and it has an internal volume of 150 ml, which is intended for containing 100 ml of liquid upon sale.

[0038] With reference to Figs. 6-9, a second embodiment of a container 40 is described. The container has a bottom section 41, a top section 43 and a middle section 42 in between the top and bottom sections. The middle section or squeeze section 42 is the part which intended for being squeezed by hand and has a generally continuous shape from top to bottom, although this is not essential. The top section 43 is the part extending from the neck 44 or opening for fitting the foam-forming assembly down to the so-called "shoulder" of the container. The bottom section 41 is located opposite the top section 43 and is the part closing off this opposite end. The height of the middle section, H₄₀, is more than half of the total height of the container.

[0039] The container 40 has as a whole a generally oval shape, as can be seen from the top view of Fig. 7, with a long axis of symmetry X₄₀ which is here also the length of the container and a short axis of symmetry Y₄₀ which is here also the width of the container. The ratio short axis (here 4.5 cm) to long axis (here 6 cm) is 1:1.333.

[0040] The container 40 is entirely manufactured in PP with a wall thickness W₄₀ of about 0.7 mm at the middle section 42. The container's height is 14.5 cm and it has an internal volume of 250 ml, which is intended for containing 200 ml of liquid upon sale.

[0041] With reference to Figs. 10-13, a third embodiment of a container 50 is described. The container has a bottom section 51, a top section 53 and a middle section 52 in between the top and bottom sections. The middle section or squeeze section 52 is the part which intended for being squeezed by hand and has in this embodiment an ergonomic shape which varies from top to bottom and has flattened side parts 55 for facilitating holding of the container. The top section 53 is the part extending from the neck 54 or opening for fitting the foam-forming assembly down to the so-called "shoulder" of the container. The bottom section 51 is located opposite the top section 53 and is the part closing off this opposite end. The height of the middle section, H₅₀, is more than half of the total height of the container.

[0042] The container 50 has as a whole a generally oval shape, as can be seen from the Figures. In this embodiment, due to the flattened side portions 55, the oval shape varies along the height of the container. As a result, here also the long axis of symmetry X₅₀ and the short axis of symmetry Y₅₀ vary along the height of the container. Throughout the entire middle section 52, the ratio of the two varies between about 1:1.7 and 1:1.9. Fig. 11 shows a cross-section at the narrowest part of the middle section 52, i.e. where the flattened side portions 55 are at their maximum.

[0043] The container 50 is entirely manufactured in HDPE with a wall thickness of about 0.9 mm at the middle section 52. The container's height is 17.1 cm and it has an internal volume of 400 ml, which is intended for containing 300 ml of liquid upon sale.

Claims

1. A dispensing device for dispensing a foam, comprising:

a manually compressible container for storing a liquid and air, the container comprising a bottom section, a top section and a middle section in between the top and bottom sections, the middle section extending over at least half of the container's height and being provided to be compressed by manual force; and

a foam-forming assembly for forming a foam, the foam-forming assembly being attached in or on an opening in the top or bottom section of the container, the foam-forming assembly comprising:

a housing having an air passage ending in an air mouth and a liquid passage ending in a liquid mouth, the air and liquid mouths being adjacent to each other and being further adjacent to an entrance of a dispensing passage which ends in a dispensing opening for dispensing the foam, and

a valve body which, in a rest position, covers the mouths of the liquid and air passages in a sealing manner in order to prevent a flow from the liquid passage and the air passage to the dispensing passage and which, in a dispensing position, opens the mouths of the liquid and air passages to the entrance of the dispensing passage in order to allow mixing of air and liquid to take place in the dispensing passage, the valve body being configured to move from the rest position into the dispensing position under the influence of a pressure which is built up in the container upon application of said manual force;

wherein the middle section of the container has predetermined properties for being manually compressible to create the pressure to cause the valve body to move from the rest position into the dispensing position and for being resilient to spring back into its original form upon release;
characterised in that the predetermined properties comprise:

the middle section has, in cross-section, a generally oval shape having a short axis of symmetry and a long axis of symmetry which are transverse to each other and have a length ratio ranging from 1:1.2 to 1:3.0;

the middle section is manufactured in PP or HDPE and has a wall thickness ranging from 0.6 to 1.0 mm.

2. The dispensing device according to claim 1, wherein the ratio short axis to long axis ranges from 1:1.3 to 1:2.0.

3. The dispensing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the wall thickness ranges from 0.7 to 0.9 mm.

4. The dispensing device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the container's height ranges from 70 to 250 mm.

5. The dispensing device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the container has an internal volume ranging from 150 to 500 ml.

6. The dispensing device according to claim 5, wherein the container is filled with a liquid and air, such that the liquid takes up 60 to 80% of the internal volume.

7. The dispensing device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the container is a moulded body entirely manufactured in PP or HDPE.

8. The dispensing device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the device is adapted for use in an orientation wherein the container is located above the foam-forming assembly.

Drawing