Fluid product dispenser with collapsible reservoir and tensioning means therefor

Abstract

A dispenser for dispensing a fluid product includes an assembly of a collapsible reservoir and a pump, a housing for removably accommodating the assembly, and means for actuating the pump. The housing includes a tensioning element, or tensioning means, which is configured to counteract, or negate, compression of the collapsible reservoir as fluid is removed from the collapsible reservoir. By counteracting compression of the collapsible reservoir, the tensioning element, or tensioning means, may prevent trapping of fluid product in the collapsible reservoir.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims priority pursuant to the Paris Convention to European Patent Application 06075257.3, filed Feb. 7, 2006, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein, in its entirety, by this reference. This application also claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 771,483, filed Feb. 9, 2006, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein, in its entirety, by this reference.FIELD OF INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to a dispenser for dispensing a fluid product and, more specifically, to a dispenser that includes a reservoir and an associated tensioning means for counteracting contraction of the reservoir when the reservoir is at least partially filled. BACKGROUND OF RELATED ART [0003] Fluid product dispensers with collapsible reservoirs and pumps for drawing fluid from the collapsible reservoirs and dispensing the fluid are well known. An example of such a fluid product dispenser i...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0024] The pump may include a liquid inlet valve for admitting liquid product into the pump from the reservoir, the influx of liquid product through the valve occurring along a flow axis; and the housing comprises clamping means for clamping the pump in a given posture, whereby the pump is thus postured by the clamping means that the flow axis is substantially horizontal. When the pump is actuated so as to dispense fluid, the liquid inlet valve may shut tightly so as to minimize migration of liquid product from the pump back into the reservoir. In the case of a liquid product containing a suspended granulate solid, a build-up of granulates within the liquid inlet valve (e.g., between a ball bearing / flap member / top hat member and a corresponding valve seat, or in the throat of a duckbill valve) can prevent the valve from shutting properly, and this can result in the creation of a substantial dead volume upstream of the valve. However, by ensuring that the flow axis into the valve is substantially horizontal, such an accumulation of granulates in the valve may be minimized. It is believed that if a buoyancy imbalance arises and granulates start to precipitate out of suspension, they will either sink downward (parallel to the direction of gravity) or float upward (anti-parallel to the direction of gravity). In the event of a vertical flow axis through the valve, a sinking effect would tend to cause a forward accumulation of granulates at the entrance side of the valve, whereas a floating effect would tend to cause a similar backward accumulation at the exit side of the valve, either of which would eventually lead to incorrect operation (jamming) of the valve. However, by arranging the flow axis to be horizontal (or, at least, substantially horizontal), the component of gravity along the flow axis is zero (or, at least, substantially zero), thus, it is currently believed, avoiding the accumulation effects described above.

[0025] As indicated in the opening paragraph, when the assembly of reservoir and pump is accommodated in the housing, the pump is located at the underside of the reservoir. For example, a throat may be provided at (or proximal to) the lowest point of the reservoir, and this throat may be connected to the liquid inlet valve of the pump (see previous paragraph) using a duct; see, e.g., the abovementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,732,853. The inventor has observed that, in the case of viscous liquid products as alluded to above, the distance H between the liquid inlet valve of the pump and the point at which the pump is attached to the reservoir is preferably kept as short as possible; for example, in the previous sentence, said duct is ideally kept as short as possible (without sacrificing practicality). In this manner, pressure loss in the head H is kept to a minimum, so that the ability of the pump to suck liquid product out of the reservoir is optimized. This helps achieve a further reduction in the amount of liquid product trapped in the reservoir.

Problems solved by technology

However, despite this contraction effect, a certain amount of liquid product nevertheless tends to get trapped in the reservoir, particularly along folds, seams and / or gussets that may be present in the reservoir, or in internal corners; such product is essentially wasted, since it is discarded with the old reservoir once a new reservoir is loaded into the housing.

This wastage problem can become particularly significant in the case of relatively viscous liquid products such as thick soap or detergent solutions, especially those containing a suspended granulate solid; liquid products containing such a granulate solid often contain chemicals that deliberately increase their viscosity, so as to prevent the particles of the granulate solid from settling or floating out of homogeneous suspension.

The trapping of liquid product within collapsible reservoirs is somewhat undesirable for a number of reasons.

For example, the liquid products concerned often contain relatively expensive chemicals, e.g., to keep them aseptic, prevent clotting, maintain the correct buoyancy level for suspended granulates, effectively dissolve various types of dirt, etc.

Wasted liquid product can therefore translate to relatively significant sums of wasted money.

As another example of the undesirability of wasted liquid product within a collapsible reservoir, the presence of substantial quantities of trapped liquid product in a depleted reservoir will generally mean that that reservoir will have to be treated as chemical refuse rather than as simple plastic residue.

This obviously puts a greater potential strain on the environment.

As a result, more elaborate disposal procedures are necessary, with an attendant increase in costs.

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