Device for dispensing a fluid product

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for dispensing a fluid product, comprising a reservoir (10) containing a 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, and a plunger stopper (50) being movable in said reservoir (10) in order to dispense the fluid product through the dispensing opening (21) during actuation, said reservoir (10) being received in an actuating body (30), and said actuating body (30) comprising a radial ring (35) connected to said actuating body (30) by one or more breakable bridge strips (36), the radial ring (35) cooperating with a portion of the dispensing head (20) to form a precompression threshold that the user must overcome during actuation in order to break the breakable bridge strips (36) and thereby actuate the device, wherein each breakable bridge strip (36) is elastically deformable up to a breaking point so as to dampen the forces exerted thereon which are below a predetermined threshold corresponding to said breaking point.

Description

[0001] Fluid product dispensing device

[0002] The present invention relates to a fluid product dispensing device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a single-dose nasal fluid product dispensing device for dispensing a pharmaceutical fluid product into the nose of a user via a single nasal spray.

[0003] A disadvantage of existing nasal fluid dispensing devices is the risk of unwanted actuation if the device is dropped.

[0004] Documents EP0810906, US5813570, FR3116203 and

[0005] US2019126303 describes state-of-the-art devices.

[0006] The present invention aims to provide a fluid product dispensing device which does not reproduce the aforementioned drawbacks.

[0007] More particularly, the present invention aims to provide a fluid product dispensing device which avoids the risks of unwanted actuation, for example in the event of the device being dropped.

[0008] The present invention also aims to provide such a device which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and assemble.

[0009] The present invention therefore relates to a fluid product dispensing device comprising a reservoir containing fluid product and a dispensing head provided with a dispensing orifice, said reservoir being axially movable relative to said dispensing head during actuation, a piston stopper being movable in said reservoir to dispense fluid product through said dispensing orifice during actuation, said reservoir being received in an actuating body, said actuating body comprising a radial ring connected to said actuating body by one or more breakable bridges, said radial ring cooperating with a part of said dispensing head to form a precompression threshold that the user must overcome during actuation to break said breakable bridges and thus actuate the device, each breakable bridge being elastically deformable up to a breaking point,to absorb forces exerted on said breakable bridges which are less than a predetermined threshold corresponding to said breaking point.,

[0010] Advantageously, each breakable bridge comprises at least one curvature, allowing an elongation of said breakable bridge by deformation of said at least one curvature.

[0011] Advantageously, each breakable bridge has a curvature, approximately in the shape of a V.

[0012] Advantageously, each breakable bridge has two bends, approximately S-shaped.

[0013] Advantageously, each breakable bridge is of truncated cone shape, narrowing towards said actuating body.

[0014] Advantageously, each breakable bridge has a contact surface with said radial ring which is greater than the contact surface with said actuating body.

[0015] Advantageously, said reservoir is formed by a hollow, blind body, comprising a bottom and a single opening which, in the rest position, is sealed in a sealed manner by said piston stopper.

[0016] Advantageously, the device comprises a hollow insert inserted and fixed in said dispensing head, said insert comprising a piercing tip for piercing said piston stopper and thus connecting said reservoir to said dispensing orifice during actuation.

[0017] Advantageously, said drilling tip is produced separately and then assembled in said insert, in particular by force fitting or by overmolding.

[0018] Alternatively, said drilling tip is molded integrally with said insert.

[0019] Advantageously, said reservoir contains a single dose of fluid product dispensed in a single actuation.

[0020] These and other features and advantages of the present invention will appear more clearly during the following detailed description, made with reference to the attached drawings, given as non-limiting examples, and in which: Figure 1 is a schematic view in vertical cross-section of a fluid product dispensing device according to an advantageous embodiment, in the rest position, Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of an actuating body of the state of the art, Figure 3 is a schematic view in horizontal cross-section of the actuating body of Figure 2, Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of an actuating body according to a first advantageous embodiment, Figure 5 is a schematic perspective view of an actuating body according to a second advantageous embodiment,Figure 6 is a schematic perspective view of an actuating body according to a third advantageous embodiment, Figure 7 is a schematic horizontal cross-sectional view of the actuating body of Figure 4, Figure 8 is a schematic horizontal cross-sectional view of the actuating body of Figure 5, and Figure 9 is a schematic horizontal cross-sectional view of the actuating body of Figure 6.,

[0021] The terms "axial" and "radial" refer to the longitudinal central axis of the device. The terms "top", "bottom", "vertical" and "horizontal" refer to the upright position of the device shown in Figure 1.

[0022] Referring to Figure 1, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. In this embodiment, the device is a single-dose device, that is to say that the reservoir contains a single dose of fluid product dispensed in a single actuation.

[0023] In a known manner, a reservoir 10 containing fluid product to be dispensed, typically a liquid, is arranged inside a body forming a dispensing head 20. This dispensing head 20 comprises an axially oriented dispensing orifice 21. This dispensing orifice 21 is used to dispense a dose of fluid product out of said dispensing head 20 when the device is actuated by a user.

[0024] The dispensing head 20 comprises an elongated nasal tip 22 comprising at its proximal axial end said dispensing orifice 21, as well as a lateral body 24, connected to said nasal tip 22 at a radial flange 23.

[0025] A hollow insert 60 is advantageously arranged in the dispensing head 20, upstream of said dispensing orifice 21, said hollow insert 60 defining a central expulsion channel 61 and, in cooperation with the bottom wall of the dispensing head 20, a spray profile (not visible in the drawings) directly upstream of said dispensing orifice 21.

[0026] The channel 61 terminates at its lower end with a drilling tip 40. This drilling tip 40 may be molded in one piece with the insert 60. Alternatively, it could be made separately, for example from metal or another synthetic material than that of the insert, then assembled in said insert, for example by force fitting or by overmolding. The drilling tip 40 extends axially downwards beyond the elongated cylindrical body of the insert 60.

[0027] The reservoir 10 is advantageously formed by a hollow and blind body, comprising a single opening defining a neck 11 and closed by a piston-stopper 50. In the example shown, which is a single-dose unit, the reservoir 10 contains a single dose of fluid product to be dispensed by a single actuation of the device. The piston-stopper 50 is movable in the reservoir 10 between a rest position and an end-of-actuation position to dispense said fluid product through the dispensing orifice 21 during actuation.

[0028] An actuating body 30 is provided to enable the device to be actuated.

[0029] This actuating body 30 is movable relative to the dispensing head 20, said actuating body 30 supporting said reservoir 10 to move it axially relative to the dispensing head 20, in the direction of the dispensing orifice 21. The actuating body 30 comprises a bottom wall 32.

[0030] To actuate the device, the user presses axially on the actuating body 30, to move it together with the reservoir 10 axially in the dispensing head 20, thus causing the piercing of the piston-stopper 50 by the piercing tip 40 and the distribution of the dose of fluid through the dispensing orifice 21. During such actuation, the reservoir 10 is therefore pushed axially in the direction of the dispensing orifice 21, so that the piercing tip 40 will pierce the piston-stopper 50. The contents of the reservoir 10 are then connected to the dispensing orifice 21 and the user's pressure on the actuating body 30 moves the piston-stopper 50 in the reservoir 10 to ensure the distribution of the fluid product.

[0031] It should be noted that the present invention could also be applied to devices without a piercing tip suitable for piercing a piston stopper, such as for example described in documents WO2019122671, WO2021069823, W02022090675, WO2022101589, W02022208014.

[0032] The actuating body 30 comprises a radial ring 35 connected to the actuating body by one or more breakable bridges 36. This ring 35 cooperates with a portion of the dispensing head 20, in particular by snapping into a snap-in housing 25 of the dispensing head 20, to form a precompression threshold that the user must overcome during actuation to break the breakable bridges 36 and thus actuate the device. This radial ring 35 also serves as a first-use indicator.

[0033] Figures 2 and 3 show state-of-the-art breakable bridges 36, which are rigid and of constant width while having a square or rectangular shape. This well-known type of breakable bridges prevents any relative displacement between the parts connected by the breakable bridges, until the application of a predetermined threshold force causing the breakable bridges to break.

[0034] According to the invention, each breakable bridge 36 is elastically deformable up to a breaking point, to absorb forces exerted on the breakable bridges which are less than a predetermined threshold corresponding to said breaking point.

[0035] The weight and therefore the inertia of the actuating body 30 and the reservoir 10 on the one hand or of the dispensing head 20 on the other hand are insufficient to reach the breaking point of the breakable bridges 36 in the event of the device being accidentally dropped. Thus, during an accidental drop of the device, the breakable bridges 36 can deform elastically, in particular lengthen, without breaking. The present invention therefore provides safety against unwanted actuation in the event of the device being dropped.

[0036] It is only during actuation, when the user simultaneously presses on the bottom 32 of the actuation body 30 and on the radial flange 23 of the dispensing head 20, that the breakable bridges will reach their breaking point to break and allow the dispensing of the dose contained in the reservoir 10.

[0037] Advantageously, each breakable bridge 36 has a contact surface with said radial ring 35 which is greater than the contact surface with said actuating body 30. This guarantees that the breakage of the breakable bridge 36 occurs at the contact surface with the actuating body 30, to ensure reliable sliding of the actuating body 30 in the dispensing head 20 during actuation.

[0038] An advantage of the present invention is that it does not require additional movement or displacement of any part of the device: the user simply takes the device in hand and performs the conventional actuation movement. The only difference is that the breakable bridges 36 will only break after their initial elastic deformation, when the breaking point is reached.

[0039] The advantageous embodiments shown in Figures 4 to 9 will now be described in more detail below.

[0040] In the examples of Figures 4, 6, 7 and 9, each breakable bridge 36 has at least one curvature which allows the breakable bridge 36 to be lengthened by flattening each curvature. Thus, during an accidental fall, the actuating body 30 can move slightly axially relative to the dispensing head 20. This slight axial movement, corresponding to the lengthening of the breakable bridge(s) 36, is less than the stroke necessary for the needle 40 to pierce the piston stopper 50. Thus, there is no risk of unwanted actuation during such an accidental fall. In the example of Figures 4 and 7, each breakable bridge 36 has two curvatures, approximately S-shaped.

[0041] In the example of Figures 6 and 9, each breakable bridge 36 has a curvature, approximately V-shaped.

[0042] In the example of Figures 5 and 8, each breakable bridge 36 is frustoconical in shape, narrowing towards the actuating body 30. In this implementation, each breakable bridge 36 may have an improved elongation or stretching capacity compared to a breakable bridge of the state of the art, as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

[0043] Of course, other variant embodiments are also conceivable, without departing from the scope of the present invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

Claims Fluid product dispensing device comprising a reservoir (10) containing fluid product and a dispensing head (20) provided with a dispensing orifice (21), said reservoir (10) being axially movable relative to said dispensing head (20) during actuation, a piston stopper (50) being movable in said reservoir (10) to dispense fluid product through said dispensing orifice (21) during actuation, said reservoir (10) being received in an actuating body (30), said actuating body (30) comprising a radial ring (35) connected to said actuating body (30) by one or more breakable bridges (36), said radial ring (35) cooperating with a part of said dispensing head (20) to form a precompression threshold that the user must overcome during actuation to break said breakable bridges (36) and thus actuate the device,characterized in that each breakable bridge (36) is elastically deformable up to a breaking point, to absorb forces exerted on said breakable bridges (36) which are less than a predetermined threshold corresponding to said breaking point. Device according to claim 1, in which each breakable bridge (36) comprises at least one curvature, allowing an elongation of said breakable bridge (36) by deformation of said at least one curvature. Device according to claim 2, in which each breakable bridge (36) comprises a curvature, approximately V-shaped. Device according to claim 2, in which each breakable bridge (36) comprises two curvatures, approximately S-shaped., Device according to claim 1, wherein each breakable bridge (36) is frustoconical in shape, narrowing towards said actuating body (30). Device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein each breakable bridge (36) has a contact surface with said radial ring (35) which is greater than the contact surface with said actuating body (30). Device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said reservoir (10) is formed by a hollow and blind body, comprising a bottom and a single opening which, in the rest position, is sealed by said piston stopper (50).Device according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a hollow insert (60) inserted and fixed in said dispensing head (20), said insert (60) comprising a piercing tip (40) for piercing said piston stopper (50) and thus connecting said reservoir (10) to said dispensing orifice (21) upon actuation. Device according to claim 8, wherein said piercing tip (40) is produced separately and then assembled in said insert (60), in particular by force fitting or by overmolding. Device according to claim 8, wherein said piercing tip (40) is molded in one piece with said insert (60). Device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said reservoir (10) contains a single dose of fluid product dispensed in a single actuation.

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