Liquid dispenser having compressible liquid store

Abstract

Cream dispenser for topically dispensing liquid onto the skin of a user including a liquid store, a discharge head that has a discharge opening and a hinged lid to protect the discharge opening. The dispenser has a multi-part design of the discharge head in order to limit, in a haptically satisfactory way, the movability of a release button of the discharge head and a special relative arrangement of the locking edges on the discharge head and on the hinged lid opposite a joint of the hinged lid in order to prevent the sharp-edged locking edges from coming into contact with the skin while cream is being discharged onto the skin.

Claims

1. A cream dispenser for topically dispensing liquids on the skin of a user, the cream dispenser comprising: a liquid reservoir having an outlet port; a delivery head, the delivery head comprising: an outlet duct; a delivery opening at an end of the outlet duct; an end wall penetrated by the outlet duct and having an annular contact face surrounding the delivery opening, the delivery opening being provided in the end wall; and a hinged lid, the hinged lid having a closed state, the hinged lid in the closed state being positioned to close the delivery opening, the hinged lid having an outermost periphery, a cover wall bordered by the outermost periphery, the cover wall having an internal side, the internal side comprising a bulged closure face disposed in facing relation with the annular contact face of the end wall in the closed state of the hinged lid, the bulged closure face comprising a smooth and curved contoured surface free of steps and cracks, the contoured surface having a surface area larger than a cross-sectional area of the delivery opening and occupying at least 80% of a total surface area of the internal side of the cover wall, the contoured surface of the bulged closure face in the closed state of the hinged lid bearing on the annular contact face of the end wall.

2. The cream dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cream dispenser has a longitudinal dimension and the liquid reservoir includes an outlet port, the delivery head further comprising: an outlet valve having a valve pressure chamber, the outlet valve being openable via internal pressure in the valve pressure chamber; and an internal component and an external component including the end wall, the internal component comprising a connector port extending longitudinally along the cream dispenser and connected to the outlet port, the internal component having a valve face disposed opposite an entry portion of the outlet duct, wherein the valve face and the entry portion of the outlet duct conjointly form the outlet valve and are mutually adapted such that the outlet valve is openable and closable by repositioning the valve face and the outlet duct relative to one another, the internal component and the external component, along an encircling fastening region on an internal side of a casing wall of the external component, being fixedly connected to one another such that a common interior space is formed, the common interior space forming the valve pressure chamber.

3. The cream dispenser as claimed in claim 2, wherein the hinged lid on one side thereof is provided with an articulation and opposite thereto is configured so as to have a first latching edge for fixing the hinged lid in the closed state on the external component, the external component including a release button having a second latching edge, the second latching edge, when the hinged lid is in the closed state, latching with the first latching edge and by depressing the release button being releasable from the first latching edge, and the encircling fastening region is disposed so as to be level with the release button such that the release button when activated is moved in a direction of the encircling fastening region.

4. The cream dispenser as claimed in claim 3, wherein the internal component comprises an annular portion which extends transversely to the longitudinal dimension of the cream dispenser, an external circumference of the annular portion in the encircling fastening region being fixedly and tightly connected to the external component.

5. The cream dispenser as claimed in claim 4, wherein: the internal component comprises a material more rigid than a material of the external component; and/or the internal component, adjacent the annular portion thereof, has a wall thickness greater than a wall thickness of the end wall of the external component, the end wall and the internal component together delimiting the valve pressure chamber.

6. The cream dispenser as claimed in claim 4, wherein the internal component has a substantially flat area portion, the connector port projecting from one side of the flat area portion and an external region of the flat area portion forming the annular portion, and the flat area portion is provided with the valve face and at least one liquid passage.

7. The cream dispenser as claimed in claim 3, wherein the release button comprises a release tongue elastically molded on one side of the external component, the second latching edge being provided on a distal end of the release tongue, the release button being separated from the casing wall of the external component by a slot.

8. The cream dispenser as claimed in claim 3, wherein the hinged lid is shaped so as to bear with bias on the end wall, or the articulation is configured, such that the release button is placed under tension in the closed state and the hinged lid springs open when pressure is exerted on the release button.

9. The cream dispenser as claimed in claim 8, wherein the contoured surface of the bulged closure face is convexly-curved in a direction of the delivery opening and, in the closed state, bears with bias on the end wall.

10. The cream dispenser as claimed in claim 3, wherein the release button extends longitudinally on both sides of the encircling fastening region.

11. The cream dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the contoured surface of the bulged closure face has a curvature radius between 4 cm and 25 cm.

12. The cream dispenser as claimed in claim 11, wherein the curvature radius of the contoured surface of the bulged closure face is between 6 cm and 15 cm.

13. The cream dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cream dispenser has a longitudinal dimension and the annular contact face in a radial direction has a width of less than 0.8 mm.

14. The cream dispenser as claimed in claim 13, wherein the width of the annular contact face is less than 0.4 mm.

15. The cream dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the surface area of the contoured surface of the bulged closure face is at least 20% larger than the cross-sectional area of the delivery opening.

16. The cream dispenser as claimed in claim 15, wherein the surface area of the contoured surface of the bulged closure face is at least 40% larger than the cross-sectional area of the delivery opening.

17. The cream dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the hinged lid in the closed state bears with bias on the end wall; and the hinged lid is shaped in such a manner and provided with an articulation of such a type that said hinged lid, proceeding from the closed state when said hinged lid is released, springs to a position in which the hinged lid is completely released from the end wall.

18. The cream dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the contoured surface of the bulged closure face extends up to the outermost periphery of the hinged lid.

19. A cream dispenser for dispensing a liquid topically onto the skin of a user, said cream dispenser comprising: a liquid reservoir including an outlet port for discharging the liquid; a delivery head attached to said liquid reservoir, said delivery head comprising: a base disposed adjacent said liquid reservoir; an end wall connected to said base, said end wall having an outlet duct and a delivery opening at a downstream end thereof, said end wall having an annular contact surface disposed in surrounding relation with said delivery opening; and a hinged lid pivotably movable relative to said end wall between a closed state and an opened state, said hinged lid in the closed state being disposed adjacent said end wall and in the open state being spaced from said end wall, said hinged lid having an external side and an internal side facing opposite said external side, said internal side comprising a closure face, said closure face having a surface disposed in opposed and facing relation with said end wall in the closed state of said hinged lid, said surface of said closure face being convexly curved in a direction towards said end wall and being smooth and free of steps, said surface of said closure face in the closed state of said hinged lid bearing directly on said annular contact face of said end wall to close off said delivery opening.

20. The cream dispenser as claimed in claim 19, wherein said hinged lid has an outermost periphery and a cover wall bordered by said outermost periphery, said internal side of said hinged lid being formed on said cover wall, said surface of said closure face having a surface area larger than a cross-sectional area of said delivery opening and occupying a majority of a total surface area of said internal surface of said cover wall.

21. The cream dispenser as claimed in claim 19, wherein said hinged lid has a cover wall and an outer peripheral wall oriented transversely to said cover wall and fixed to an outer peripheral edge thereof, said internal side of said hinged lid being formed on said cover wall and said surface of said closure face extends up to an internal surface of said outer peripheral wall.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Further advantages and aspects of the invention are derived from the claims and from the description hereunder of preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention that will be explained hereunder by means of the figures in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a cream dispenser according to the invention in an overall illustration;

(3) FIG. 2 shows an exploded illustration of the cream dispenser according to FIG. 1;

(4) FIGS. 3 and 3A show the cream dispenser in a sectional illustration with the lid opened;

(5) FIG. 4 shows the cream dispenser in a sectional illustration with the lid closed;

(6) FIGS. 5A and 5B show the interaction of a hinged lid of the cream dispenser and an end face which surrounds the delivery opening for the purpose of closing the delivery opening; and

(7) FIGS. 6 and 7 show variations of the cream dispenser of FIGS. 1 to 5B, the variations differing from the preceding design in terms of the design of the hinged lid and the closure face provided thereon.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

(8) The figures highlight the construction of a cream dispenser according to the invention.

(9) FIG. 1 shows the cream dispenser 10 in the shipped state. The cream dispenser 10 comprises a liquid reservoir 12 which presently is configured as a tube and thus is provided for activation by manually impinging the external faces with pressure. In principle, however, other concepts are also conceivable, for example having a repositionable piston which at the end side is pushed into the liquid reservoir in order to convey liquid out of the latter.

(10) A delivery head 20 is attached to the liquid reservoir 12, for example by means of a threaded connection or a snap-fit connection. The delivery head comprises a base which when in operation remains so as to be substantially immovable in relation to the liquid reservoir, and a hinged lid 60 which in the closed state covers a delivery opening 44 and can be unlatched and opened by means of a release button 48.

(11) FIG. 2 shows the individual component parts of the cream dispenser 10. The liquid dispenser 12 in the state of FIG. 2 is still situated in the unfilled state and at the lower end thereof that is opposite an outlet port 14 is therefore not yet closed.

(12) As is highlighted in FIG. 2, the delivery head 20 has two components 30, 40, specifically an internal component 30 and an external component 40. The internal component herein is configured so as to have thicker walls and/or from a stiffer material, forming the less deformable one of the two components 30, 40.

(13) The internal component 30 in the assembled state is fixedly connected to the external component 40. The internal component 30 furthermore has a connector port 32 which is configured for coupling to the outlet port 14 of the liquid dispenser 12 by means of a threaded connection or a snap-fit connection. The outlet port 14 in the illustrations is illustrated in a simplified manner, without a thread or a snap-fit edge.

(14) The detailed construction of the delivery head and of the two components 30, 40 can be derived from the following figures.

(15) FIGS. 3 and 3A show the delivery head 20 in the ready-to-use opened state. It can be seen that the external component 40 has a casing wall 46 which at the end side is adjoined by an end wall 49. This end wall 49 is penetrated by the outlet duct 42 which opens into the delivery opening 44. The end wall 49 is configured externally so as to be almost flat and is only slightly concavely bulged. The external side is externally free of elevations or depressions such that cream that has previously been delivered to the end wall can herewith be applied from here to the skin.

(16) The casing wall 46 in the region of the release button 48 is provided with a slot 47 which separates the release button 48 laterally and toward the top from the surrounding wall and thus permits the release button 48 to move freely.

(17) The internal component 30 is connected to the external component 40 in order to conjointly form a valve pressure chamber 52. To this end, an outer periphery in the region of the external circumference 36A of an annular portion 36 of the internal component 30 latches into a groove on the internal side of the casing wall 46 of the external component 40. This contact region forms the fastening region 46A in the context of the invention. The connection between the external component 40 and the internal component 30 in the fastening region 46A according to the intended use is non-releasable and tight. Liquid from the liquid reservoir that reaches the valve pressure chamber 52 by way of liquid passages 33 in the internal component 30 can thus exit only through the delivery opening 44.

(18) The outlet duct 42 which penetrates the end wall 49, as well as a valve face 34 on a frustoconical elevation which is provided so as to be centric on the internal component 30, conjointly form an outlet valve 50 which is closed on account of the slightly biased shape of the end wall 49 in the resting position. When liquid in the liquid reservoir 12 is impinged with pressure, in particular by compressing the tube, the pressurized liquid reaches the valve pressure chamber 52 and leads to the end wall 49 being deformed toward the outside. The outlet valve 50 is opened on account thereof, and the liquid can reach the external side of the end wall 49. The application directly onto the skin can take place from there once a sufficient amount of liquid has been delivered to the end wall 49.

(19) As has already been mentioned, the delivery head 20 comprises a hinged lid 60. The latter, in the design described here, is configured as an integral part of the external component and is linked to the latter by means of an integrally configured articulation 62 in the manner of an integral hinge. Alternatively however, a design in multiple parts is also possible.

(20) The hinged lid 60 comprises a slightly concavely bulged cover wall 64, the internal side of the latter being configured so as to be larger than the end wall 49 of the delivery head. The internal side of the cover wall 64 is surrounded by a casing wall 61 and on the inner side thereof does not have any elevations which go beyond the bulged basic shape of the cover wall 64. This leads to remnants of cream being able to be easily removed here.

(21) The release button 48 which has already been described is provided for opening the hinged lid 60. In the closed state which is illustrated in FIG. 4, a latching edge 48A at the distal upper end of the release button latches with a corresponding latching edge 66 on the hinged lid 60. Since the lid in the region of the cover wall 64 thereof is biased, the latching action in the closed state is rather strong, and there is no risk of any unintentional depressing of the release button 48 and of opening the hinged lid. However, this is readily possible in a manner which is pleasant in haptic terms when the release button 48 is manually and intentionally activated. The release button 48 is cut out on three sides by the slots 47 and can thus be easily depressed. Any excessive depressing action of the release button 48 is thus avoided in that the release button 48 externally impacts the fastening region 46A in the manner highlighted by the dashed lines in FIG. 3A.

(22) The hinged lid 60 springs open as soon as the latching edges 48A, 66 have been disengaged on account of the depressing action. On account of the bias in the region of the cover wall 64 as well as on account of a suitably biased design of the articulation, the opened state of FIG. 3, in which the hinged lid 60 is pivoted by approximately 180°, can be achieved solely by pressure on the release button 48.

(23) FIG. 3 herein highlights the relative disposal of the latching edges 48A, 66, on the one hand, and of the articulation 62, on the other hand. In terms of the direction of main extent 2 and the closed state, the articulation 62 is disposed so as to be significantly closer to the liquid reservoir 12, thus further down in the perspective of FIG. 3, than the latching edges 48A, 66. The offset, which (in terms of the direction of main extent) presently is approximately 6 mm, leads to the latching edge 66 in the opened state being spaced apart from the plane of the external side of the end wall 49 by more than double this amount, which is approximately 13 mm.

(24) This enables the cream which previously has been delivered to the external side to be applied to the skin without the risk of the rather sharp-edged latching edge 66 contacting the skin.

(25) The hinged lid 60, which in the closed state is under tension, by means of an internal side which forms a closure face 65 closes the delivery opening 44. This will be explained once again in more detail by means of FIGS. 5A and 5B. The internal side of the cover wall 64 in its entirety up to the lateral casing wall 61 forms a bulged closure face 65 having a largely uniform curvature radius of approximately 12 cm. The cover wall 64 has a uniform wall thickness and is also bulged in an approximately uniform manner on the entire external face 67 which is opposite the closure face 65.

(26) In the closed state of FIG. 5A, the closure face 65 bears on a comparatively small annular contact face 43 on the end wall 49 which is penetrated by the delivery opening 44, in addition to the outlet valve 50 thus preventing the exit of liquid. In particular, neither an unintentional compression of the tube 12 nor an increase in the pressure in the valve pressure chamber 52 can lead to liquid exiting through the delivery opening 44, since the outlet valve 50 is pushed to the closed position thereof by the closure face 65 of the cover wall 64 which is under tension.

(27) The design of the cover wall 64 having a uniform wall thickness as well as having a bulged closure face 65, the latter forming the entire internal side of the cover wall 64, is considered advantageous in order for the desired closing tension to be achieved and for easy cleaning of the internal side to be enabled.

(28) However, alternative designs in which the bulged closure face 65 only forms a centric central region of the internal side of the cover wall 64 and externally is surrounded by an annular region which is planar, for example, or bulged in the reverse manner, are also conceivable. FIGS. 6 and 7 show such designs.

(29) Such a planar annular region 68 which forms the external region of the cover wall 64 and extends across approximately 45% of the radius is provided in the design of FIG. 6. The bulged closure face 65 is provided only internally in terms of the planar annular region 68, the bulged closure face 65 in a corresponding manner having a somewhat smaller curvature radius than the closure face of the preceding design. The curvature radius in this design is approximately 7 cm. While the cleaning of the internal side formed by the closure face 65 and the annular region 68 is not quite as easy as in the preceding design, the design according to FIG. 6 in technical terms is also advantageous in comparison to known solutions.

(30) In the design of FIG. 7, the internal side of the cover wall 64 is shaped like in the design of FIG. 6. Deviating from the latter design, however, no uniform wall thickness is provided here. The external side of the cover wall 64 that is opposite the closure face 65 is configured so as to be planar in this design. When the hinged lid 60 is closed and bears on the end wall 49 in the region of an annular contact face 43, this leads to a deformation primarily taking place in the thinner annular region 68 which surrounds the closure face 65.