Fluid refilling equipment

Abstract

A device for refilling a fluid substance in a container, comprising: a first connecting element; a bag-like element made of a deformable material, comprising at least a first portion, a neck, a connecting portion between the neck and the first portion, and a flange; a pump; and an annular nut element suitable for connecting the pump and the bag-like element to the first connecting element. The first connecting element comprises: a body, the upper and lower parts of which define a tubular through-seat suitable for receiving the neck and at least partially receiving the pump when the pump is inserted into the neck; the upper part comprises an upper opening defined by a wall; the lower part of the first connecting element comprises a lower opening and first means for removably connecting the refilling device to the container, the lower part of the first connecting element comprising second connecting means for removably connecting a protective element to the first connecting element before the refilling device is associated with the container.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for refilling a fluid substance. Background Art

[0002] As is known, fluid substances in liquid and pasty form are enclosed in containers and dispensed from these containers by manually actuating a pump mounted on the mouth of the respective container. Activation of the pump causes a predetermined amount of the fluid substance to be drawn from the container. If the container is rigid, a vacuum is created inside the container, which prevents further extraction and dispensing of the substance if air is not provided to enter the container (usually occurring in the contact and sliding areas of the pump on the pump body) or if the container does not include a bottom that can move in a sealed manner along the inner cylindrical surface of the container.

[0003] However, the latter system for compensating the volume of the container for a reduction in its internal volume and maintaining a constant internal pressure is rather laborious and expensive.

[0004] An alternative system is provided for introducing the fluid to be dispensed into a bag made of a deformable and flexible material, which in turn comprises a neck connected to a dispensing pump. After filling, the bag is introduced by the pump into an external airtight container.

[0005] Furthermore, systems using bags are generally used in "airless" type systems.

[0006] Such devices are shown, for example, in Japanese patent applications JP 05 031790 and JP 05 031791. In these documents, the bag has a neck from which a flange projects laterally, which, in use, rests against the edge of a void in the neck of an outer container.

[0007] Document US2004 / 0112921 also discloses associating a pump with the neck of the bag by means of a ring nut element which is screwed onto the neck of the external container. In this way, the pump is kept sealed against a flange projecting from the neck of the bag by the ring nut, while providing a passage for air to flow from the outside into the space between the outer surface of the bag and the inner surface of the container, thereby allowing the bag to contract as the amount of fluid substance dispensed by the pump increases.

[0008] In these devices, after dispensing the fluid, the ring nut holding the pump is unscrewed from the neck of the container and removed, while the bag remains inside. If the bag is housed in a glass container, this can be problematic for proper handling of the device, as the two components must be handled separately. Furthermore, manually removing the bag from the outer container can be difficult.

[0009] A solution to this problem is exemplified in patents EP 2 243 557 and EP 3 037 174, in which dispensing devices provide means for connecting a bag and a pump to one or more connecting elements, which in turn are connected to the neck of a rigid container suitable for containing the bag. These means allow, after the substance contained in the bag has been completely dispensed, the connecting elements to be removed from the neck of the container and, at the same time, the bag from the external container. In these devices for filling a bag with a substance to be dispensed, when the bag is empty, it must be associated with the connecting elements, then inserted into the rigid container and then filled with the substance to be dispensed. The bag can only be filled once it has been inserted into the rigid container.

[0010] US2011 / 024452 teaches a device for dispensing a fluid substance, comprising an outer container adapted to accommodate a refill, the refill comprising a deformable bag-like member, containing the fluid substance to be dispensed, and housed in a protective element. The upper portion of the protective element comprises a stepped portion adapted to rest on an upper free edge of the outer container and form a support surface for an upper flange of the deformable bag-like member; and a portion for blocking a connecting element of the refill, wherein when the connecting element of the refill is blocked by the end portion, the connecting element of the refill can abut against the stepped portion of the upper portion of the protective element to block the flange of the bag-like member, thereby connecting the pump to the refill and the refill to the outer container. Summary of the Invention

[0011] The object of the present invention is to provide a refilling device suitable for use in combination with a containing and dispensing device of known type, which refilling device allows a predetermined amount of fluid substance to be dispensed to be filled into a bag in an alternative manner to that described in the prior art and without the bag being inserted into an associated container, but which device also allows the bag to be removed from the container after said substance contained in the bag has been dispensed.

[0012] Another object of the present invention is to provide a refilling device that is easy to manufacture and reliable and safe to use.

[0013] Yet another object is to provide a refilling device that is more sustainable from an environmental and ecological point of view and that allows partial reuse of at least some of its components.

[0014] These and other objects are achieved by providing a refilling device according to the technical teachings of embodiments of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the description of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment of a device for containing and dispensing a fluid substance, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0016] Figure 1 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a refilling device according to the invention when it is associated with a container,

[0017] Figure 2A 、 Figure 2B Shown Figure 1 Schematic perspective views of a first component of a container taken from two different angles,

[0018] Figure 3A and Figure 3B The schematic cross-sectional view of the first part of the container and the Figure 3A The enlarged schematic diagram of the detail indicated by the arrow W1,

[0019] Figure 4A 、 Figure 4B shows a schematic perspective view of a first component of a refilling device, taken from two different angles,

[0020] Figure 4C shows a schematic cross-sectional view of some components of a refilling device as they are associated with a container (the container is only partially shown);

[0021] Figure 4D and Figure 4E Shown Figure 4A sectional schematic diagrams of the lower part of the first component, taken at two different positions,

[0022] Figure 5 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a second part of a refilling device associated with a conventional pump for dispensing fluid substances,

[0023] Figure 6A 、 Figure 6B Two schematic cross-sectional views of some parts of the device are shown at different scales as they relate to one another and to a container (which is only partially shown);

[0024] Figure 7 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the refilling device when it is associated with a container,

[0025] Figure 8 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the refilling device when it is removed from the container,

[0026] Figure 9A 、 Figure 9B 、 Figure 9CA schematic cross-sectional view of the refilling device is shown. Figure 9A An enlarged view of the detail indicated by the arrow W2, and when the protection element is also associated with the refilling device Figure 2A and Figure 2B A second view of the details,

[0027] Figure 10A 、 Figure 10B Shown Figure 1 A schematic cross-sectional view of another component of the refilling device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] With reference to the above figures, they show a refilling device 100 for a fluid substance of a container 1 having an opening 1A ( Figure 3A ), the refilling device comprising:

[0029] - A first connecting element 104 comprising:

[0030] -First connecting device 108D ( Figure 4A ) for removably connecting the refill device to the container at the opening 1A,

[0031] - a bag 105 made of a deformable material, which is filled with a predetermined amount of the

[0032] Fluid substances and including:

[0033] at least one first portion 105E filled with said substance to be dispensed and adapted to be housed within said cavity 2 of the container and in turn delimiting a cavity 105C adapted to contain said fluid substance,

[0034] a neck 105A offset from the end of said first portion 105E of the container and having an opening 105B for accessing said cavity 105C of said first portion 105E of the bag,

[0035] - a connecting portion 105F between the neck and the first portion 105E ( Figure 4C ),

[0036] - and a flange 105D which, at said opening 105B of the neck, is transverse to

[0037] said neck portion of the bag extending;

[0038] a pump 106 which can be manually actuated to extract a fluid substance from the bag 105 and to supply it to the outside, wherein the pump 106 is at least partially housed in the neck 105A of the bag 105;

[0039] an annular nut element 107 connected to the first connecting element 104 , for example in a snap-fit manner, and suitable for connecting the pump 106 and the bag 105 to the first connecting element 104 ;

[0040] - wherein the first connecting element 104 comprises:

[0041] - a body 108 (having an upper portion 108H and a lower portion 108K) Figure 4A ), the upper and lower parts defining a tubular through-seat 108C suitable for housing at least partially, and preferably completely, the neck 105A of the bag 105 and at least partially the pump 106 when it is inserted into the neck;

[0042] - wherein the upper portion 108H includes an upper opening 108A, an upper connecting device 108G and a lower connecting device 108F ( Figure 4A ), the upper opening is defined by wall 108E for holding ( Figure 4C ) at least a portion of the flange 105D of the neck 105A of the bag-like member 105; the upper connecting means and the lower connecting means are adapted to be connected with the upper opposing connecting means 107B and the lower opposing connecting means 107C ( Figure 10A ) cooperates to stably constrain the first connecting element 104 and the ring nut element 107 to each other, so that the ring nut element 107: when the ring nut element is connected to the first connecting element 104 and the pump 106, the ring nut element also constrains the first connecting element 104 and the at least a portion of the flange 105D to each other; and when the first connecting element 104 is released from the container 1, the bag-like part remains stably connected to the refilling device and the assembly formed by the first connecting element 104, the ring nut element 107 and the pump 106

[0043] association;

[0044] - the lower portion 108K of the first connection element 104 comprises a lower opening 108B and said first connection means 108D for removably connecting said refilling device to said container at said opening 1A, said first connection means 108D being adapted to engage with first opposing connection means 3 ( Figure 1 ) to removably connect the body 108 of the first connecting element 104 to the container;

[0045] - and wherein said lower portion 108K of the first connecting element 104 comprises a second connecting means 108S ( Figure 4D ) for attaching the protective element 116 ( Figure 9A 、 Figure 9B ) is removably connected to the first connecting element 104, and the protective element is suitable for protecting the bag-like member 105 containing fluid substance.

[0046] It should be noted that in the context of the present invention, the expression transversely extending flange is used to denote a flange extending in relation to the longitudinal axis X1 ( Figure 1 ) flanges extending in non-parallel directions.

[0047] Preferably, the openings 108A and 108B of both the upper portion 108H and the lower portion 108K have maximum lateral dimensions D3 and D4 that are different from each other, wherein the upper opening 108A has a lateral dimension D3 that is smaller than the lateral dimension D4 of the lower opening 108B.

[0048] Preferably, the transverse dimension D1 of the opening 1A of the container ( Figure 3A ) is greater than or equal to the maximum transverse dimension D7 of the bag-like member 105 ( Figure 4C ), so as to allow at least the first part 105E of the bag 105 containing the substance to be inserted into the container 1, and to allow the first connecting element 104 to be connected to the container 1, or to connect the container to the first connecting element, so as to allow the first part 105E of the bag 105 ( Figure 8 ) after the first part 105E of the bag-like part 105 has been emptied of the substance to be dispensed and after the first connecting element 104 is disconnected from the container 1, wherein when the first part 105E of the bag-like part 105 is inserted into the container 1 and the first part 105E of the bag-like part 105 is removed from the container 1, they remain stably constrained to the first connecting element 104, at least the bag-like part 105, the annular nut element 107 and the pump 106.

[0049] Preferably, the means 3 for removably connecting the first connection element 104 to the container at the opening 1A comprises: a second connection element 9 having a first connection member 9A ( Figure 3B ), the first connecting member is adapted to be connected to an opposing connecting member 1C ( Figure 3B ) is adapted to stably connect the second connecting element to the upper edge of the container 1; and the second connecting member 9K ( Figure 2A ), the second connecting member is adapted to be connected to the opposing connecting member 108L ( Figure 4A) to removably connect the first connecting element to the second connecting element 9 and finally to the container 1 in a removable manner.

[0050] In more detail, the second connecting element 9 is preferably provided with an annular body 9C ( Figure 3B ), the annular body has an outermost wall 9D, the outermost wall includes a first connecting member 9A, the first connecting member includes, for example, a stepped portion 9E at the inner face of the outer wall 9D, the stepped portion being suitable for being arranged with a container 1 ( Figure 3B ) with a corresponding step 1E in the outer face of the upper edge of the ).

[0051] The steps 9E and 1E are congruent so that by pushing the second connection element 9 in a coaxial and downward manner along the neck of the container 1 , the two steps are stably coupled to each other, thereby constraining the two components and preventing mutual axial movement.

[0052] Internally, the body 9C has a wall 9F adapted to abut against the upper face 1F (100°) of the rim of the container when the steps 9E and 1E are coupled to each other. Figure 3B ).

[0053] The second connection member 9K is, for example, provided at the upper face 9I of the body 9C and is, for example, adapted to be connected to the opposing connection member 108L ( Figure 4A ) to obtain a removable connection, for example of the bayonet type. To this end, for example, the opposing connecting member 108L has two arcuate protrusions adapted to penetrate corresponding openings 9G ( Figure 2A 、 Figure 2B ) and rotates in a track 9H provided below the upper surface 9I, thereby removably connecting the first connecting element and the second connecting element to each other.

[0054] Advantageously, the opposing connecting member 108L has an end portion 108L′ ( Figure 4B ), which end portion is adapted to penetrate (eg with a slight interference) into the stroke end seat 9H' ( Figure 2B ) so that there is at least partial locking of the connection of the two parts and, on the other hand, the end of the stroke can be felt when the first connection element 104 is manually associated to the second connection element 9 (for example in the case of a refilling device associated with a container, as described below).

[0055] Preferably, the container 1 has a neck 1K ( Figure 3B ), the outer surface of the neck has a stepped portion 1E for stable connection with the second connecting element 9.

[0056] As discussed below, after the substance contained in the bag 105 has been completely dispensed, the assembly formed by the container 1 and the second connecting element 9 can be reused, and this allows the device to have advantages in terms of environmental sustainability.

[0057] The volume of the container is greater than the volume of the full bag.

[0058] The bag 105 is preferably made of a thermoplastic material, such as PP, PE, LDPE, HDPE, but it is also possible to provide a bag made of another deformable material suitable for containing fluid substances, such as, for example, aluminum-plastic coated paper, or a bag made of a multilayer material, such as PP+PA, PP+EVOH, PE+PA, PE+EVOH, which in any case is of conventional type for a person skilled in the art.

[0059] As described above, the first connecting element 104 includes a tubular body 108 having an upper portion 108H ( Figure 4A ) and a lower portion 108K defining a tubular through seat 108C ( Figure 4C ), the tubular through-seat being suitable for housing at least partially, and preferably completely, the neck 105A of the bag 105 and at least partially the pump 106. When associated with the second connection element 9, the tubular body is preferably coaxial with the longitudinal axis X1 of the container of the bag of the second connection element.

[0060] Lower connecting device 108F ( Figure 4A ) is adapted to engage with the lower opposing connection means 107C ( Figure 5 ) cooperates, the lower connecting device allows the first connecting element 104 and the annular nut element 107 to stably constrain each other in the axial direction, and the lower connecting device includes a stepped portion 108J ( Figure 4C ), the step being, for example, at the outer face of the tubular wall of the upper portion 108H of the body 108, adapted to mate with a corresponding step 107J ( Figure 5 and Figure 10A ) snap fit, the corresponding step portion is provided on the inner surface of the tubular body 107A of the ring nut ( Figure 10A ) and in the lower opening 107F of the body 107A ( Figure 3B ) at the location. Steps 108J and 107J are coincident so that - by pushing the ring nut coaxially and downwardly along the first connecting element 104 - the steps are coupled to each other, stably constraining the two components and preventing mutual axial movement (e.g. Figure 6A shown).

[0061] Upper connecting device 108G ( Figure 4A ) is adapted to engage with the upper opposing connection means 107B ( Figure 5 ) cooperates to connect the first connecting element 104 and the annular nut element 107 to each other in a rotatable manner to prevent mutual rotation, and the upper connecting device includes a gear tooth portion 108Q ( Figure 4A ), which gear teeth are for example at the outer face of the tubular wall of the upper portion 108H of the body 108, the gear teeth being adapted to engage with the correspondingly opposed gear teeth 107L ( Figure 5 and Figure 10A ) are matched, and the opposing gear teeth are arranged on the inner surface ( Figure 10A The gear teeth 108Q and 107L are matched so that by pushing the ring nut coaxially and downwardly along the first connecting element 104, the two gear teeth engage with each other, stably constraining the two components and preventing relative rotation.

[0062] The lower portion 108K of the tubular body 108 of the first connecting element 104 ( Figure 4A ) forms a ring-shaped appendage 108W ( Figure 4A ), which forms a protruding step relative to the upper portion 108H of the body 108. As described above, the two arc-shaped protrusions 108L for removably connecting the first connecting element 104 and the second connecting element 9 are offset from the appendage and angularly spaced from each other. The lower portion 108K—at its lower end—has a central annular notch, an outermost annular flat surface 8R disposed between the notch and the annular appendage 108L, and a lower tubular wall 108T.

[0063] When the second connection element 9 is connected to the container 1, the annular flat surface 108R is adapted to abut against the flange 9E ( Figure 3B ). Moreover, as will be described below, this surface is also suitable for facilitating the automatic filling of bags, since, when a bag is associated solely with the first connection element 104, this surface can rest against the resting surface 115A of the station for filling bags ( Figure 9C )(exist Figure 4E and Figure 9C A portion of this rest surface is schematically shown in FIG.

[0064] The middle annular notch forms a seat for inserting the protective element 116 ( Figure 9A ), the protective element has a thickness S1 that is substantially equal to the transverse dimension D8 ( Figure 4D ), thereby forcing the upper edge of the second container 116 into the gap.

[0065] The inner tubular wall 108T is suitable for stabilizing the position of the bag 105 when it is associated with the first connecting element 104 and ensures the coaxiality of the bag and the element 104, and when the bag 105 is merely placed on the element 104 and is not yet stably constrained on the element 104 by the ring nut 107. For this purpose, the tubular wall 108T is preferably dimensioned so that its end portion is aligned with at least one upper section T1 ( Figure 4C ) contacts and surrounds the upper section, and the first portion is configured to be immediately below the portion 105F of the bag-like member for connection to the neck 105A.

[0066] The tubular wall 108T also defines the maximum overall transverse dimension that the bag 105 may have when fully filled with the substance to be dispensed. Figure 4C As shown, the inner diameter of the tubular wall 108T must be greater than or equal to the maximum transverse diameter D7 of the bag 105 when fully filled with the substance to be dispensed and less than or equal to the minimum diameter D1 of the opening of the container 1 .

[0067] Along the outer face of the inner tubular wall, the inner tubular wall 108T has a plurality of vertical reliefs 108U ( Figure 4A ), these relief portions are adapted to allow external air to flow into space S5 ( Figure 1 ), the space is formed between the outer face of the bag 105 and the inner face of the container 1. If a vacuum pump is used, this air circulation is necessary because it allows the bag 105 to collapse as the substance contained therein is dispensed.

[0068] The release 108U also allows air to flow out of the container when the bag 105 is inserted into the container (as described below). The connecting element also has a through hole 108V ( Figure 4B ), these through holes are designed to increase the circulation of air from the inside of the container to the outside when the bag is inserted, and also to allow the bag to collapse if the pump is of the vacuum type.

[0069] Since there is no airtight connection between the ring nut 107 and the first connecting element 104, additional air exchange occurs, considering that the step 107J of the ring nut 107 does not extend over the entire circumference of the outer wall of the ring nut but only over an arc of the circumference.

[0070] As mentioned above, the ring nut element 107 has means 107D suitable for stably connecting the pump 106 to the ring nut, which means include, for example, an annular flange 107M ( Figure 10B), the annular flange deviates from the inner surface of the tubular wall 107E of the annular nut element 107, and the innermost gap edge 107N of the annular flange 107M is suitable for snap-fitting into the annular notch 106B ( Figure 5 ), stably connect the pump to the ring nut. The annular notch 106B of the body of the pump 106 is surrounded by an annular flange 106C ( Figure 6B ) is defined as follows, the annular flange having a lower annular flat surface 106D, which is adapted to abut against the flange 105D of the neck 105A of the bag-like member 105 and stably lock the flange of the neck of the bag-like member to the first connecting element 104 when the pump is stably connected to the annular nut element 107 and when the annular nut element is stably connected to the first connecting element 104, so that the assembly including the pump 106, the annular nut element 107, the bag-like member and the first connecting element 104 is an assembly in which the parts are stably connected to each other. The assembly can then be removably connected to the container by connecting the first connecting element 104 to the second connecting element 9, as shown in the above figure (and as shown in the figure). Figure 6A and Figure 6B shown).

[0071] The annular nut 107 is further provided with a vertical abutment 107K at the annular flange 107M ( Figure 10A ), the vertical abutment is suitable for supporting and further improving the connection between the pump and the ring nut.

[0072] The pump 106 is of a conventional type to those skilled in the art and will not be described in detail below.

[0073] Preferably, the pump is of the vacuum type and is, for example, adapted to generate a maximum vacuum in the bag 105 of between about 400 and 800 mbar (relative to ambient pressure), and more preferably a maximum vacuum of about 600 mbar in the bag. Within this maximum pressure range, the bag 105 is fully deformed or collapsed, and the fluid substance contained in the bag is dispensed. Thus, in this context, the expression "deformable bag" is used to indicate that the walls of the bag have fully collapsed at the pressure values generated by the pump.

[0074] In the case of a vacuum pump, a sealing member 120 is preferably provided between the annular flange 106C of the pump and the flange 105D of the neck 105A of the bag 105. Figure 6B ), which ensures an airtight connection between the pump and the bag.

[0075] The apparatus also includes an upper rod 106F connected to the pump 106 ( Figure 6A) for dispensing and actuating the pump; and a float 111 ( Figure 1 ). For those skilled in the art, both the member 110 and the float 111 are of conventional type and will not be described in detail below.

[0076] The device further comprises a conventional cover 112 adapted to cover the still exposed portion of the device arranged above the second connection element 9. Preferably, the inner tubular surface 112A ( Figure 6A ) and the outer surface 107H of the ring nut 107 ( Figure 10A ) are in contact, and the cover rests at its lower portion against the lower shoulder 107I of the ring nut and the flat upper face 9I of the second connecting element 9 ( Figure 2A )(like Figure 6A shown).

[0077] The fluid substance to be dispensed may be of any type, but is preferably in the form of a cream, gel, powder, serum or the like.

[0078] In the context of the present invention, the expression of stable constraint is used to indicate the following constraint, that is, when constrained to each other, when these elements are subjected to the common force of handling the device in the various steps of use and / or loading and / or removal, they will not separate from each other (as will be shown in detail below). For example, when the first connecting element 104 is separated and moved away from the second connecting element 9 and thus away from the container, the ring nut 107 and the first connecting element 104 will not be released from each other, and the bag-like part 105 will not be released from the ring nut 107 and the first connecting element 104. Therefore, by moving the ring nut element 107 away from the container 1, the bag-like part 105 is also automatically removed from the container. Obviously, although the bag-like part can be separated from the ring nut element and the first connecting element, this operation requires applying a significantly larger appropriate force to the bag-like part, which is much larger than the force usually acting on the bag-like part during the above-mentioned operation. Similar remarks should also apply to the stable connection of the pump 106 to the ring nut 107 for stably connecting the ring nut 107 to the first connecting element 104 and for stably connecting the second connecting element 9 to the neck 1K of the container 1 .

[0079] Preferably, all components of the device are coaxial with the longitudinal axis X1 of the device, and this facilitates assembly of the components of the device.

[0080] Furthermore, preferably, also to facilitate assembly, all components of the device, in particular the first and second connecting elements, the ring nut and the pump, are symmetrical in shape relative to a common central axis of symmetry X1 and more preferably have a circular cross section.

[0081] According to the invention, associated with the container 1 and the second connecting element 9 is a refilling device 100 ( Figure 7 ), the refilling device comprises: a bag 105 which has been filled with a predetermined amount of substance to be dispensed; and a first connecting element 104; a ring nut 107; a pump 106; and a member 110 for actuating the pump and dispensing the substance.

[0082] The refilling device 100 is associated with the container 1 by inserting the portion 105E of the bag 105 into the cavity 2 of the container 1 until the first connection element 104 abuts the second connection element 9 and the two elements are connected to each other by respective removable connection means 9A, 108D (in the embodiment shown, of the bayonet type).

[0083] In order to facilitate the insertion of the bag 105 filled with the substance to be dispensed into the seat 2 of the container 1, the volume of the seat is preferably greater than the volume of the portion 105E of the bag to be inserted into the seat. During the final bag insertion step, due to the fact that the connection between the ring nut 107 and the first connecting element 104 is not a sealed connection, the air present in the seat 2 of the container can further flow out and pass through the through hole 108V provided in the first connecting element 104 and the gap formed by the release portion 108U.

[0084] When the refilling device is inserted into the container 1 , a device for containing and dispensing fluids is obtained which is equivalent to a device in which the bag is filled when it is inserted into the container and is not yet stably constrained to the pump by the ring nut element.

[0085] After the fluid substance has been completely dispensed, the bag 105 together with the first connecting element 104, the ring nut 107 and the pump 106 can be easily removed from the container 1 (e.g. Figure 8 ). For example, to this end, the first connecting element 104 is slightly rotated in order to open the connecting means 9A, 108D (of the bayonet type in the embodiment shown) and to be able to separate the first connecting element from the second connecting element 9 by pulling upwards on the assembly comprising the empty bag 105, the first connecting element 104, the ring nut 107, the pump 106, and the dispensing and actuating member 110, which are stably connected to one another. After the empty bag and the associated components have been removed, the container 1 can be used again by associating it with a new refilling device 100. In this way, the container can be reused an unlimited number of times, which is a significant advantage from the perspective of environmental and ecological sustainability.

[0086] like Figure 9AAs shown, the refill device 100 comprises a protective element 116 adapted to protect a portion 105V (105V) of the bag 105 filled with the substance to be dispensed and protruding from the first connecting element 104 at a lower portion. Figure 9A ) for protection. To this end, the height of the element 116 is equal to or slightly greater than H5 of the protruding portion.

[0087] Preferably, in order to facilitate the insertion of the bag 105 into the protective element 106 , the protective element is open at the lower portion and is therefore tubular in shape.

[0088] Preferably, for recycling purposes, the protective element is made of a paper material, for example, including at least one paper layer; or of a metal, such as a tin strip; or of a plastic material, for example, a recyclable plastic material, such as PET-PP-PE. Preferably, the protective element has a thickness S1 between 0.2 mm and 2 mm, more preferably equal to about 1 mm.

[0089] As mentioned above, the protection element 116 is connected to the first connection element 104 in a removable manner. To this end, preferably the middle annular notch ( Figure 9C ) forms a seat for inserting the upper edge of the protection element 116 ( Figure 9B ), the protective element has a thickness S1 substantially equal to the transverse dimension D8 of the notch of the first connecting element 104 ( Figure 4D ) so that the upper edge of the second container 116 is forcibly inserted into the notch. In this case, in order to improve the stability of the protection element 116, the portion 108T of the first connecting element is in contact with the inner surface of the upper section of the protection element 116 (such as Figure 9B shown).

[0090] In addition, preferably, the maximum lateral dimension D101 ( Figure 9A ) is smaller than the maximum transverse dimension D100 of the lower portion 108K of the connecting element 104 ( Figure 9A ) to facilitate the operation of filling the bag, because the lower outer edge 108R ( Figure 9C 、 Figure 9B ) remains outside the protection element.

[0091] In order to use the refilling device, it is necessary to remove the protective element 116 and thus insert the refilling device into the container 1 , as described above.

[0092] The sole purpose of the protective element 116 is therefore to protect the bag 105 (usually made of a material of limited thickness and therefore relatively fragile) during storage and transport of the refill device, and preferably also during loading of the bag.

[0093] As described above, by associating the empty bag 105 with the first connecting element 104 and thus associating the first connecting element and the bag with the filling station 115 (at Figure 9C The bag-like member 105 is loaded therein.

[0094] Thus, as described above, the bag is filled by associating the pump and the ring nut with the bag and the first connecting element.

[0095] Finally, it should be noted that the embodiments described so far are provided by way of non-limiting examples and that many variations falling within the same inventive concept may be provided, the same also applying, for example, to the stabilizing and / or removable connection devices described so far, which variations may differ from those shown so far and in any case are conventional for a person skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A refilling device (100) for a fluid substance of a container (1), said container having an opening for accessing a cavity of said container, said refilling device comprising: - a first connecting element (104), comprising: - first connecting means (108D) for removably connecting the refilling device to the container at the opening of the cavity of the container, - a bag-like element (105) made of a deformable material, said bag-like element being filled with a predetermined amount of said fluid substance and comprising: - at least one first portion (105E) filled with said fluid substance to be dispensed and adapted to be housed in the cavity of said container and which in turn delimits a cavity adapted to contain said fluid substance, a neck (105A) offset from the end of the first portion (105E) of the bag (105) and having an opening for accessing the cavity of the first portion (105E) of the bag, - a connecting portion (105F) between said neck and said first portion (105E), - and a flange (105D) extending transversely to the neck of the bag at the opening of the neck; a pump (106) that can be manually actuated to extract the fluid substance from the bag (105) and supply it to the outside, wherein the pump (106) is at least partially housed in the neck (105A) of the bag (105); an annular nut element (107) connected to the first connecting element (104) and adapted to connect the pump (106) and the bag (105) to the first connecting element (104); - wherein the first connecting element (104) comprises: a body having an upper portion (108H) and a lower portion (108K), said upper and lower portions defining a tubular through-seat (108C) suitable for at least partially housing said neck (105A) of said bag (105) and at least partially housing said pump (106) when said pump is inserted into said neck; - wherein the upper portion (108H) comprises an upper opening (108A), an upper connecting device (108G) and a lower connecting device (108F), the upper opening being delimited by a wall (108E) for receiving at least a portion of the flange (105D) of the neck (105A) of the bag-like member (105), the upper connecting device and the lower connecting device being adapted to cooperate with the upper opposing connecting device (107B) and the lower opposing connecting device (107C) provided in the annular nut element (107) for coupling the first connecting element (104) and the annular nut element (107) stably constrain one another so that: - when the ring nut element is connected to the first connecting element (104) and the pump (106), the ring nut element also constrains the first connecting element (104) and the at least one portion of the flange (105D) to one another; and so that when the first connecting element (104) is released from the container (1), the bag-like member remains stably associated with the refilling device and the assembly formed by the first connecting element (104), the ring nut element (107) and the pump (106); - the lower portion (108K) of the first connecting element (104) comprises a lower opening (108B) and first connecting means (108D) for removably connecting the refilling device to the container at the opening of the cavity of the container, the first connecting means (108D) being suitable for cooperating with first opposing connecting means (3) provided at the opening of the cavity of the container (1) in order to removably connect the body of the first connecting element (104) to the container; - and, the lower portion (108K) of the first connecting element (104) comprises a second connecting means (108S) for removably connecting a protective element (116) to the first connecting element (104) before the refilling device is associated with the container, the protective element being suitable for protecting the bag (105) containing the fluid substance.

2. The refilling device (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that The protection element (116) is a tubular element that is open at a lower portion and is sized to completely cover the side wall of the bag (105) when the protection element (116) is associated with the first connection element (104).

3. The refilling device (100) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The lower part (108K) of the tubular body of the first connecting element (104) includes an annular appendage (108W) protruding relative to the upper part (108H) of the body of the first connecting element (104), and both the first connecting device (108D) and the second connecting device (108S) are arranged on the annular appendage (108W).

4. The refilling device (100) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The first connection means (108D) is arranged at a distance from the longitudinal axis (X1) of the first connection element, the distance being greater than the distance of the second connection means from the longitudinal axis (X1).

5. The refilling device (100) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The lower portion (108K) of the first connecting element (104) terminates at the lower portion in a tubular wall (108T) which is dimensioned to come into contact with at least one upper section (T1) of the bag (105) when the bag (105) is connected to the first connecting element so as to stabilize the position of the bag (105).

6. The refilling device (100) according to claim 5, characterized in that The first connecting device (108D) and the second connecting device are arranged above the tubular wall (108T).

7. The refilling device (100) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The second connection device comprises an annular notch adapted to define a seat for inserting the upper edge of the protective element (116), the upper edge having a thickness (S1) identical to a transverse dimension (D8) of the annular notch, so as to forcibly insert the upper edge of the protective element (116) into the annular notch.

8. The refilling device (100) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The lower portion (108K) has an annular flat surface (108R) outside the second connection means (108S) for the protection element (116), which is suitable both for facilitating connection with the container (1) and for the filling operation of the bag.

9. The refilling device (100) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The first connecting device (108D) comprises at least one protruding element (108L), which is arranged at the outermost side relative to the surface of the body of the first connecting element (104) and the surface of the lower part (108K), so as to connect the first connecting element (104) with the corresponding opening (9G) of the second connecting element (9) in a removable manner, thereby obtaining a snap-on shape connection, wherein the second connecting element (9) is stably associated with the container at the opening of the cavity of the container (1).

10. The refilling device (100) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The first connecting element (104) comprises: a lower connecting device (108F) of the first connecting element (104), the lower connecting device being adapted to cooperate with a lower opposing connecting device (107C) provided in the annular nut element (107), for stably constraining the first connecting element (104) and the annular nut element (107) axially to each other, and the lower connecting device comprising a stepped portion (108J), the stepped portion being adapted to be snap-fitted with a corresponding stepped portion (107J) of the annular nut element (107). The corresponding step portion is arranged in the inner surface of the tubular body of the ring nut element and at the lower opening (107F) of the tubular body of the ring nut element; wherein the step portion (108J) and the corresponding step portion (107J) are matched so that the step portion (108J) and the corresponding step portion (107J) are coupled to each other by pushing the ring nut element coaxially and downwardly along the first connecting element (104) to stably constrain the first connecting element (104) and the ring nut elements and prevent mutual axial movement; and an upper connecting device (108G) of the first connecting element, the upper connecting device is suitable for cooperating with an upper opposing connecting device (107B) provided in the annular nut element (107), the upper connecting device is suitable for connecting the first connecting element (104) and the annular nut element (107) to each other, thereby preventing mutual rotation, and the upper connecting device includes a gear tooth portion (108Q), the gear tooth portion is suitable for cooperating with a corresponding opposing gear of the annular nut element (107). The tooth portion (107L) cooperates, and the opposing gear tooth portion is arranged in the inner surface of the tubular body of the annular nut element. The gear tooth portion (108Q) and the corresponding opposing gear tooth portion (107L) are matched, so that the gear tooth portion (108Q) and the corresponding opposing gear tooth portion (107L) are engaged with each other by pushing the annular nut element in a coaxial and downward manner along the first connecting element (104) to stably constrain the first connecting element (104) and the annular nut element and prevent them from rotating with each other.

11. The refilling device (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that The annular nut element (107) is connected to the first connecting element (104) in a snap-fit manner.

12. The refilling device (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that The tubular through-seat (108C) is adapted to completely house the neck (105A) of the bag-like member (105).

13. The refilling device (100) according to claim 5, characterized in that The upper section (T1) of the bag comprises a portion of the bag immediately below a connection portion (105F) of the bag for connection to the neck (105A).

14. The refilling device (100) according to claim 8, characterized in that The first connecting device (108D) is arranged outside relative to the annular flat surface (108R).

15. The refilling device (100) according to claim 10, characterized in that The step (108J) is at the outer surface of the tubular wall of the upper portion (108H).

16. The refilling device (100) according to claim 10, characterized in that The gear teeth (108Q) are at the exterior face of the tubular wall of the upper portion (108H).

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