Device for dispensing a fluid product

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for dispensing a fluid product, comprising a reservoir (10) containing the fluid product and a dispensing head (20) provided with a dispensing opening (21), said reservoir (10) being axially movable relative to said dispensing head (20) during actuation, the invention relates to a device (10) for dispensing a fluid product through a dispensing opening (21) and a plunger (50) movable in said reservoir (10) for dispensing the fluid product through the dispensing opening (21) during actuation, said reservoir (10) being received in an actuation body (30) and said actuation body (30) comprising a radial ring (35) connected to said actuation body (30) by one or more breakable bridging strips (36), the radial ring (35) cooperates with a portion of the dispensing head (20) to form a pre-compression threshold that a user must overcome during actuation in order to break the breakable bridging strips (36) and thereby actuate the device, where each breakable bridging strip (36) is elastically deformable up to a breaking point, and where the breakable bridging strips (36) are elastically deformable up to the breaking point. The breakable bridging strips (36) are arranged so as to dampen forces exerted on each breakable bridging strip (36) below a predetermined threshold corresponding to said breaking point.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for dispensing a fluid product. More particularly, the present invention relates to a single-dose device for nasal dispensing of a fluid product for dispensing a pharmaceutical fluid product into the nose of a user by means of a single nasal spray.

[0002] A disadvantage of existing devices for nasal dispensing of fluid products is the risk of unintended activation if the device is dropped.

[0003] Documents EP0810906, US5813570, FR3116203 and US2019126303 describe devices of the prior art.

[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide a device for dispensing a fluid product that does not have the above-mentioned disadvantages.

[0005] More particularly, an object of the present invention is to provide a device for dispensing a fluid product that avoids any risk of unintended activation, for example in the event of the device being dropped.

[0006] Another object of the invention is to provide such a device which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and assemble.

[0007] The invention thus provides a device for dispensing a fluid product, comprising a reservoir containing the fluid product and a dispensing head provided with a dispensing orifice, the reservoir being movable axially relative to the dispensing head during actuation, the bung / piston being movable in the reservoir so as to dispense the fluid product through the dispensing orifice during actuation, the reservoir being housed in an actuating body comprising a radial ring connected to the actuating body by one or more breakable bridges, the radial ring cooperating with a portion of the dispensing head so as to form a pre-compression threshold that the user must overcome during actuation in order to break the breakable bridges and thus actuate the device, each breakable bridge being elastically deformable up to a breaking point in order to damp forces exerted on the breakable bridge that are less than a predetermined threshold corresponding to the breaking point.

[0008] Advantageously, each breakable bridge comprises at least one bend, said at least one bend allowing said breakable bridge to be elongated by deformation of said at least one bend.

[0009] Advantageously, each breakable bridge comprises a generally V-shaped bend.

[0010] Advantageously, each breakable bridge has two bends of a generally S-shape.

[0011] Advantageously, each breakable bridge has a frustoconical shape narrowing in the direction of said actuating body.

[0012] Advantageously, each breakable bridge has a larger contact surface with the radial ring than with the actuating body.

[0013] Advantageously, said reservoir is formed by a hollow and blind body comprising a bottom and a single opening which is sealed in the rest position by said bung / piston.

[0014] Advantageously, the device comprises a hollow insert inserted and fixed in the dispensing head, the insert bearing a piercing tip to pierce the bung / piston during actuation and thus connect the reservoir to the dispensing orifice.

[0015] Advantageously, the piercing tip is produced separately and then assembled in the insert, in particular by force fit or by overmolding.

[0016] In a variant, the piercing tip is molded integrally with the inserter.

[0017] Advantageously, the reservoir contains a single dose of fluid product to be dispensed in a single actuation.

[0018] These and other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will appear more clearly from the following detailed description given by way of non-limiting example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0019] Figure 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view of a device for dispensing a fluid product in a rest position according to an advantageous embodiment;

[0020] Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of an actuating body of the prior art;

[0021] Figure 3 yes Figure 2 A schematic horizontal cross-sectional view of an actuating body;

[0022] Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of an actuating body according to a first advantageous embodiment;

[0023] Figure 5 is a schematic perspective view of an actuating body according to an advantageous second embodiment;

[0024] Figure 6 is a schematic perspective view of an actuating body according to a third advantageous embodiment;

[0025] Figure 7 yes Figure 4 A schematic horizontal cross-sectional view of an actuating body;

[0026] Figure 8 yes Figure 5 a schematic horizontal cross-sectional view of an actuating body of ; and

[0027] Figure 9 yes Figure 6 Schematic horizontal cross-sectional view of the actuating body.

[0028] The terms "axial" and "radial" are relative to the longitudinal center axis of the device. The terms "top", "bottom", "vertical" and "horizontal" refer to Figure 1 The device is shown in the upright position.

[0029] Reference Figure 1 , shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the device is a single-dose device, that is to say the reservoir contains a single dose of fluid product dispensed in a single actuation.

[0030] In a known manner, a reservoir 10 containing a fluid product to be dispensed, generally liquid, is arranged inside a body forming a dispenser head 20. The dispenser head 20 comprises an axially oriented dispenser orifice 21. The dispenser orifice 21 is intended to dispense a dose of fluid from said dispenser head 20 when the device is actuated by the user.

[0031] The dispensing head 20 comprises an extended nose 22 comprising said dispensing orifice 21 at its proximal axial end, and a lateral body 24 connected to said nose 22 at a radial flange 23 .

[0032] Advantageously arranged in the dispensing head 20 upstream of said dispensing orifice 21 is a hollow insert 60 which defines a central discharge channel and which, in conjunction with the bottom wall of the dispensing head 20 , forms a spray profile (not visible in the drawings) just upstream of said dispensing orifice 21 .

[0033] The channel 61 terminates at its bottom end in a piercing tip 40. This piercing tip 40 can be molded integrally with the insert 60. Alternatively, this piercing tip 40 can be made separately, for example, from a metal or synthetic material different from that of the insert, and then assembled into the insert, for example, by force fit or by overmolding. The piercing tip 40 extends axially downward beyond the elongated cylindrical body of the insert 60.

[0034] The reservoir 10 is advantageously formed of a blind hollow body comprising a single opening defining a neck 11 and closed by a stopper / piston 50. In the illustrated single-dose example, the reservoir 10 contains a single dose of fluid to be dispensed by a single actuation of the device. The stopper / piston 50 can be displaced in the reservoir 10 between a rest position and an actuated end position in order to dispense the fluid through the dispensing orifice 21 during actuation.

[0035] An actuation body 30 is provided to enable actuation of the device.

[0036] This actuating body 31 is movable relative to the dispenser head 20 , said actuating body 31 supporting said reservoir 10 so as to move said reservoir 10 axially relative to the dispenser head 20 towards the dispenser orifice 21 . The actuating body 30 comprises a bottom wall 32 .

[0037] To activate the device, the user axially presses the actuation body 30 so as to move the actuation body 30 axially, together with the reservoir 10, in the dispenser head 20, thereby causing the piercing tip 40 to pierce the bung / piston 50 and dispense a dose of fluid through the dispenser orifice 21. During this actuation, the reservoir 10 is thus pushed axially towards the dispenser orifice 21, causing the piercing tip 40 to pierce the bung / piston 50. The contents of the reservoir 10 are thus connected to the dispenser orifice 21, and the user presses the actuation body 30 to move the bung 50 in the reservoir 10 in order to dispense the fluid product.

[0038] It should be noted that the present invention can also be applied to devices that do not have a piercing tip suitable for piercing the stopper / piston, as described for example in documents WO2019122671, WO2021069823, WO2022090675, WO2022101589, WO2022208014.

[0039] The actuation body 30 comprises a radial ring 35 connected to the actuation body by one or more breakable bridges 36. This ring 35 cooperates with a portion of the dispenser head 20, in particular by snap-fitting into a snap-fit housing 25 of the dispenser head 20, to form a pre-compression threshold that the user must overcome during actuation in order to break the breakable bridges 36 and thus actuate the device. This radial ring 35 also serves as an anti-tamper device.

[0040] Figure 2 and Figure 3 A prior art breakable bridge 36 is shown that is rigid and has a constant width by having a square or rectangular shape. Known breakable bridges of this type prevent any relative movement between the components connected by the breakable bridge until the application of a predetermined threshold force causes the breakable bridge to break.

[0041] According to the invention, each breakable bridge 36 is elastically deformable up to a breaking point in order to damp forces exerted on the breakable bridge that are less than a predetermined threshold value corresponding to said breaking point.

[0042] The weight and therefore inertia of the actuator body 30 on the one hand and the weight and therefore inertia of the reservoir 10 on the other hand, or the weight and therefore inertia of the dispensing head 20 on the other hand, are not sufficient to reach the breaking point of the breakable bridge 36 in the event of an accidental drop of the device. Therefore, during an accidental drop of the device, the breakable bridge 36 can be elastically deformed, in particular extended, without breaking. Thus, the present invention ensures perfect safety against unintended actuation in the event of a drop of the device.

[0043] Only during actuation when the user simultaneously presses the bottom 32 of the actuation body 30 and the radial flange 23 of the dispenser head 20 , will the breakable bridges reach their breaking point to break and allow the dose contained in the reservoir 10 to be dispensed.

[0044] Advantageously, each breakable bridge 36 has a larger contact surface with the radial ring 35 than with the actuating body 30. This ensures that the breakable bridge 36 breaks at the contact surface with the actuating body 30, ensuring reliable sliding of the actuating body 30 in the dispenser head 20 during actuation.

[0045] An advantage of the present invention is that it does not require additional movement or displacement of a part of the device: the user simply takes the device in his hand and performs a conventional actuation movement. The only difference is that, when the breaking point is reached, the breakable bridge 36 will break only after its initial elastic deformation.

[0046] It will now be described in more detail below Figures 4 to 9 An advantageous embodiment is shown in FIG.

[0047] exist Figure 4 、 Figure 6 、 Figure 7 and Figure 9 In the example of FIG, each breakable bridge 36 has at least one bend that allows the breakable bridge 36 to be extended by flattening each bend. Thus, during an accidental drop, the actuation body 30 can move slightly axially relative to the dispenser head 20. This slight axial displacement, corresponding to the extension of one or more breakable bridges 36, is less than the stroke required by the needle 40 to pierce the stopper / piston 50. Consequently, there is no risk of unintended actuation during such an accidental drop.

[0048] exist Figure 4 and Figure 7 In the example shown in FIG, each breakable bridge 36 includes two bends in a generally S-shaped form.

[0049] exist Figure 6 and Figure 9 In the example shown in FIG, each breakable bridge 36 includes a generally V-shaped bend.

[0050] exist Figure 5 and Figure 8 In the example of FIG. 3 , each breakable bridge 36 has a truncated cone shape that narrows in the direction of the actuating body 30. In this embodiment, each breakable bridge 36 is connected to the actuating body 30 in the embodiment of FIG. Figure 2 and Figure 3 The breakable bridges of the prior art shown in can have improved elongation or stretching capabilities compared to those of the prior art.

[0051] Naturally, other variant embodiments can also be envisaged without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A device for dispensing a fluid product, comprising a reservoir (10) containing the fluid product and a dispensing head (20) provided with a dispensing orifice (21), the reservoir (10) being movable axially relative to the dispensing head (20) during actuation, a plug / piston (50) being movable in the reservoir (10) so as to dispense the fluid product through the dispensing orifice (21) during actuation, the reservoir (10) being housed in an actuating body (30), the actuating body (30) comprising a radial ring (35) connected to the actuating body (30) by one or more breakable bridges (36), the radial ring (35) cooperating with a portion of the dispensing head (20) so as to form a pre-compression threshold that a user must overcome during actuation in order to break the breakable bridge (36) and thus actuate the device, characterised in that Each breakable bridge (36) is elastically deformable to a breaking point so as to damp a force exerted on the breakable bridge (36) that is less than a predetermined threshold value corresponding to the breaking point.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein Each breakable bridge (36) includes at least one bend that allows the breakable bridge (36) to extend through deformation of the at least one bend.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein Each breakable bridge (36) includes a generally V-shaped bend.

4. The device according to claim 2, wherein Each breakable bridge (36) includes two bends in a generally S-shaped configuration.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein Each breakable bridge (36) has a frustoconical shape that narrows in the direction of the actuating body (30).

6. The device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein Each breakable bridge (36) has a larger contact surface with the radial ring (35) than with the actuating body (30).

7. The device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein The reservoir (10) is formed by a hollow and blind body comprising a bottom and a single opening which is sealed in the rest position by the bung / piston (50).

8. The device according to any of the preceding claims, comprising a hollow insert (60) inserted and fixed in the dispensing head (20), the insert (60) supporting a piercing tip (40) to pierce the stopper / piston (50) during actuation and thus connect the reservoir (10) to the dispensing orifice (21).

9. The device according to claim 8, wherein The piercing tip (40) is manufactured separately and then assembled in the insert (60), in particular by force fit or by overmolding.

10. The device according to claim 8, wherein The piercing tip (40) is integrally molded with the insert (60).

11. The device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein The reservoir (10) contains a single dose of fluid product to be dispensed in a single actuation.

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