Refillable dispenser box
The refillable dispenser box addresses the complexity and high costs of existing dispensers by using a simple, rotatable design that effectively exposes or retracts the dispensing outlet, reducing manufacturing expenses.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- FR2024013150
- Authority / Receiving Office
- FR · FR
- Patent Type
- Utility models
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2023-11-29
- Filing Date
- 2024-11-28
- Publication Date
- 2025-05-30
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-11-28
AI Technical Summary
Existing dispensers with upwardly pivoting mechanisms are complex, leading to high manufacturing costs.
A refillable dispenser box with a simple structure, featuring a rotatable outer base and outer cover, a slidably coupled cup, and a bottle with a dispensing outlet, where rotation of the outer base axially positions the cup and exposes or retracts the dispensing outlet.
The solution reduces manufacturing costs by simplifying the dispenser's structure while maintaining functionality, allowing for easy refilling and bottle replacement.
Smart Images
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Abstract
Description
Title of the invention: Refillable dispenser box
[0001] The present invention relates to a refillable dispenser housing for dispensing content such as liquid content from a container that stores the content.
[0002] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Dispensers that utilize an upwardly pivoting mechanism to expose the dispensing outlet are widely available in the prior art, such as the cosmetic container disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 9,277,797. However, the structure of such dispensers is complicated, resulting in high manufacturing costs.
[0004] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0005] In view of the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art, the present invention aims to provide a refillable dispenser box whose structure is simple and which is thus capable of reducing manufacturing costs.
[0006] To this end, the present invention relates to a refillable dispenser housing comprising an outer base rotatably connected to an outer cover; a cup received within the outer base and slidably coupled thereto; the outer cover has a lower portion which extends within the outer base and forms a sleeve around an upper portion of the cup, and the lower portion of the outer cover has at least one inclined sliding groove, each of said at least one inclined sliding groove engaging with a corresponding protrusion projecting outwardly from the upper portion of the cup; a bottle inserted into the cup and having a dispensing outlet at its upper portion;rotation of the outer base relative to the outer cover simultaneously rotates the cup and causes the protrusion of the cup to move along the corresponding inclined sliding groove, thereby causing the cup to slide axially relative to the outer base between a retracted position in which the dispensing outlet of the bottle is not exposed from the outer cover and an extended position in which the dispensing outlet of the bottle protrudes outwardly from the outer cover. ;
[0007] In particular, the outer base may comprise at least one guide groove, each of said at least one guide groove engaging with a corresponding guide rib projecting outwardly from a lower portion of the cup.
[0008] In particular, the bottle can be removably inserted into the cup.
[0009] In particular, the cup may comprise at least one elastic arcuate portion which has an inwardly facing convexity, in order to retain the bottle in the cup in a removable manner.
[0010] In particular, each of the inclined sliding grooves may comprise a lower horizontal section, an inclined section and an upper horizontal section, a first end of the lower horizontal section communicating with a lower end of the inclined section, and a first end of the upper horizontal section communicating with an upper end of the inclined section.
[0011] In particular, the outer cover and the outer base may each have a tubular interior and be connected to each other.
[0012] In particular, the lower portion of the outer cover may include an annular rib for snap-fit engagement with an annular groove in an interior surface of the outer base.
[0013] In particular, the bottle may comprise a bottle body, an upper end of the bottle body being coupled to a collar in which a pump motor is disposed; the dispensing outlet being disposed in an actuator and communicating with the pump motor; the actuator cooperating with the pump motor such that actuation of the actuator activates the pump motor to pull a piston disposed in the bottle body upwardly to discharge contents stored in the bottle body via the dispensing outlet.
[0014] In particular, an upper surface of the actuator may be flush with an upper end of the outer cover in the retracted position.
[0015] In particular, a longitudinal slot may be provided at the lower part of the outer cover. Brief description of the drawings
[0016] [Fig. 1] is an exploded view of one embodiment of the present invention.
[0017] [Fig.2] is a sectional view of the embodiment of [Fig.l] at the position retracted.
[0018] [Fig.3] is a sectional view of the embodiment of [Fig.l] in the extended position.
[0019] [Fig.4] is a sectional view of the outer base of the embodiment of [Fig.l].
[0020] [Fig.5] is a sectional view of the outer cover of the embodiment of [Fig.l].
[0021] [Fig.6] is a sectional view of the bottle of the embodiment of [Fig.l]. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0022] As illustrated in Figures 1 to 6, the present embodiment of the refillable dispenser housing 10 comprises an outer base 1, an outer cover 2, a cup 3 and a bottle 4.
[0023] The outer base 1 is rotatably connected to the outer cover 2. The outer base 1 and the outer cover 2 each have a tubular interior 11, 21 respectively and are connected to each other.
[0024] The cup 3 is received within the outer base 1 and is slidably coupled thereto. In this embodiment, the outer base 1 has two peripherally spaced guide grooves 12, each of the guide grooves 12 engaging with a corresponding guide rib 33 projecting outwardly from a lower portion 34 of the cup 3, such that the cup 3 slides up and down relative to the outer base 1 along the guide grooves 12.
[0025] The outer cover 2 has a lower portion 22 which extends inside the outer base 1 and forms a sleeve around an upper portion 31 of the cup 3, and the lower portion 22 of the outer cover 2 has two peripherally spaced inclined sliding grooves 23, each of the inclined sliding grooves 23 engages with a corresponding protrusion 32 projecting outwardly from the upper portion 31 of the cup 3. Each of the inclined sliding grooves 23 comprises a lower horizontal section 231, an inclined section 232 and an upper horizontal section 233, a first end 231a of the lower horizontal section 231 communicates with a lower end 232a of the inclined section 232, and a first end 233a of the upper horizontal section 233 communicates with an upper end 232b of the inclined section 232.The lower portion 22 of the outer cover 2 has an annular rib 24 for snap-fit engagement with an annular groove 13 in an inner surface 14 of the outer base 1 to prevent the outer cover 2 from disengaging from the outer base 1. For flexibility and to facilitate assembly of the lower portion 22 of the outer cover 2 with the outer base 1, a longitudinal slot 26 is provided in the lower portion 22 of the outer cover 2.
[0026] The bottle 4 is inserted into the cup 3 and has a dispensing outlet 41 at its upper part 42. In this embodiment, the bottle 4 is removably inserted into the cup 3 in order to facilitate replacement of the bottle 4. The cup 3 has four peripherally spaced elastic arcuate parts 35 which have an inwardly facing convexity in order to removably retain the bottle 4 in the cup 3. In other embodiments not shown in the figures, the bottle 4 can be removably retained in the cup 3 by means of other retention mechanisms known in the art, such as snap-fit mounting, releasable friction fit, magnetic engagement and the like.
[0027] In this embodiment, the bottle 4 comprises a bottle body 43 formed from an upper bottle body 43a and a lower bottle cover 43b, a collar 44, a pump motor 45, an actuator 46 and a piston 47. The bottle body 43 stores cosmetic contents to be dispensed via the dispensing outlet 41. An upper end 431 of the bottle body 43 is coupled to the collar 44 in which the pump motor 45 is disposed. The dispensing outlet 41 is disposed in the actuator 46 and communicates with the pump motor 45.The actuator 46 cooperates with the pump motor 45 such that actuation of the actuator 46 by means of pressure on the actuator 46 activates the pump motor 45 to pull the plunger 47 disposed in the bottle body 43 upward to discharge contents stored in the bottle body 43 via the dispensing outlet 4L. The operation of the actuator 46, the pump motor 45 and the plunger 47 is well known in the art and therefore the details are not repeated herein. In other embodiments, the bottle body 43 may also store other contents such as medicines, disinfectants and the like in various forms such as liquid, cream, powder, gel, etc. In addition, other types of dispensing mechanisms may be used instead of the pump motor 45 and the plunger 47, such as airless pumps, sprays, etc.
[0028] The operation of the present embodiment is as follows: when the refillable dispenser housing 10 is not in use, the cup 3 is in the retracted position in which the dispensing outlet 41 of the bottle 4 is not exposed from the outer cover 2. At the retracted position, each of the two protrusions 32 of the cup 3 is at the lower horizontal section 231 of the corresponding inclined sliding groove 23, and the cup 3 rests at the lower part of the outer base 1. At this time, the upper surface 461 of the actuator 46 of the bottle 4 is flush with the upper end 25 of the outer cover 2.
[0029] When the user needs to dispense the contents of the bottle 4, he rotates the outer base 1 relative to the outer cover 2 in a first direction that corresponds to the direction toward which the inclined sliding grooves 23 are inclined upwards, which simultaneously rotates the cup 3 and causes each of the protrusions 32 of the cup 3 to move upwards along the inclined section 232 of the corresponding inclined sliding groove 23, thereby causing the cup 3 to slide axially upwards relative to the outer base 1; the user continues to rotate the outer base 1 relative to the outer cover 2 until each of the protrusions 32 reaches the upper end 232b of the inclined section 232 and slides into the upper horizontal section 233 of the corresponding inclined sliding groove 23. When each of the protrusions 32 reaches the end of the upper horizontal section 233 of the corresponding inclined sliding groove 23, no further rotation in the first direction is now possible. At this time, the cup 3 is in the extended position in which the dispensing outlet 41 of the bottle 4 projects outwardly from the outer cover 2. Pressing the actuator 46 activates the pump motor 45 to pull the piston 47 disposed in the bottle body 43 upwardly to discharge the contents stored in the bottle body 43 via the dispensing outlet 41.
[0030] Once the user has finished dispensing the contents of the bottle 4, he rotates the outer base 1 relative to the outer cover 2 in a second direction which is opposite to the first direction, and thus simultaneously rotates the cup 3 and causes each of the protrusions 32 of the cup 3 to move downward along the inclined section 232 of the corresponding inclined sliding groove 23, thereby causing the cup 3 to slide axially downward relative to the outer base 1; the user continues to rotate the outer base 1 relative to the outer cover 2 until each of the protrusions 32 reaches the lower end 232a of the inclined section 232 and slides into the lower horizontal section 231 of the corresponding inclined sliding groove 23.When each of the protrusions 32 reaches the end of the lower horizontal section 231 of the corresponding inclined sliding groove 23, no further rotation in the second direction is now possible. At this time, the cup 3 returns to the retracted position.
[0031] If the user wishes to replace the bottle 4 with another bottle, he simply rotates the outer base 1 relative to the outer cover 2 in the first direction to move the cup 3 to the extended position, then simply pulls the actuator 46 of the bottle 4 outward to overcome the retaining force of the resilient arcuate portions 35 of the cup 3 to remove the bottle 4 from the cup 3. To insert the bottle 4 into the cup 3, he simply pushes the bottle 4 into the cup 3 and the bottle 4 is held in position by the resilient arcuate portions 35.
[0032] The embodiments described above are exemplary embodiments of the present invention. It is understood that the present invention is not to be limited to the embodiments as described. All changes, modifications, substitutions, combinations and simplifications which do not depart from the principle of the present invention are to be considered as equally effective alternative configurations and are also to fall within the scope of the present invention.
Claims
Claims
1. A refillable dispenser housing (10), characterized in that it comprises: an outer base (1) rotatably connected to an outer cover (2); a cup (3) received inside the outer base (1) and slidably coupled thereto; the outer cover (2) has a lower portion (22) which extends inside the outer base (1) and forms a sleeve around an upper portion (31) of the cup (3), and the lower portion (22) of the outer cover (2) has at least one inclined sliding groove (23), each of said at least one inclined sliding groove (23) engaging with a corresponding protrusion (32) projecting outwardly from the upper portion (31) of the cup (3); a bottle (4) inserted into the cup (3) and having a dispensing outlet (41) at its upper portion (42);rotation of the outer base (1) relative to the outer cover (2) simultaneously rotates the cup (3) and causes the protrusion (32) of the cup (3) to move along the corresponding inclined sliding groove (23), thereby causing the cup (3) to slide axially relative to the outer base (1) between a retracted position in which the dispensing outlet (41) of the bottle (4) is not exposed from the outer cover (2) and an extended position in which the dispensing outlet (41) of the bottle (4) protrudes outwardly from the outer cover (2).;
2. A refillable dispenser housing (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the outer base (1) comprises at least one guide groove (12), each of said at least one guide groove (12) engaging with a corresponding guide rib (33) projecting outwardly from a lower portion (34) of the cup (3).
3. Refillable dispenser housing (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the bottle (4) is removably inserted into the cup (3).
4. Refillable dispenser housing (10) according to claim 3, characterized in that the cup (3) comprises at least one elastic arcuate portion (35) which has an inwardly facing convexity in order to retain the bottle (4) in the cup (3) in a removable manner.
5. A refillable dispenser case (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that each of the inclined sliding grooves (23) comprises a lower horizontal section (231), an inclined section (232) and an upper horizontal section (233), a first end (231a) of the lower horizontal section (231) communicating with a lower end (232a) of the inclined section (232), and a first end (233a) of the upper horizontal section (233) communicating with an upper end (232b) of the inclined section (232).
6. A refillable dispenser housing (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the outer cover (2) and the outer base (1) each have a tubular interior (21; 11) and are connected to each other.
7. A refillable dispenser housing (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the lower portion (22) of the outer cover (2) comprises an annular rib (24) for snap-fit engagement with an annular groove (13) in an inner surface (14) of the outer base (1).
8. A refillable dispenser housing (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the bottle (4) comprises a bottle body (43), an upper end (431) of the bottle body (43) is coupled to a collar (44) in which a pump motor (45) is disposed; the dispensing outlet (41) being disposed in an actuator (46) and communicating with the pump motor (45); the actuator (46) cooperating with the pump motor (45) such that an actuation of the actuator (46) activates the pump motor (45) to pull a piston (47) disposed in the bottle body (43) upwards to discharge a content stored in the bottle body (43) via the dispensing outlet (41).
9. A refillable dispenser housing (10) according to claim 8, characterized in that an upper surface (461) of the actuator (46) is flush with an upper end (25) of the outer cover (2) in the retracted position.
10. Refillable dispenser box (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that a longitudinal slot (26) is provided in the lower part (22) of the outer cover (2).