Method for refilling a container with a dispensing pump and corresponding refill cartridge and machine

Abstract

A method for refilling a container (26) by means of a dispensing pump assembled on a neck (7), comprising the steps of: [1] positioning the container (26) on the upper right side and fluidly connecting the interior of the refill cartridge (30) with the refill liquid by means of an air passage (22) present in the pump and communicating the interior volume (8) of the container with the outside at a specific position of the piston (11) of the pump; [2] moving the piston until fluid communication is established between the interior of the refill cartridge and the internal volume (8) via the air passage; [3] increasing the pressure experienced by the liquid within the refill cartridge, thereby causing a portion of the liquid to pass into the internal volume, thereby increasing the pressure within the internal volume; [4] reducing the pressure inside the refill cartridge to a value lower than the pressure of the internal volume, thereby allowing air to pass from the internal volume through the air passageway to the interior of the refill cartridge; [5] repeating steps [3] and [4] at least once; and [6] removing the refill cartridge.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for refilling a container, the container having a neck, a base, and an interior volume, the container having a dispensing pump assembled to the neck. Preferably, the dispensing pump is assembled on the neck irreversibly, i.e., in a manner that does not anticipate a user disassembling and reassembling it on the container. The dispensing pump comprises: [a] A pump body, [a.1] a lower inlet port; [a.2] a cylindrical inner surface defining an axial direction; [a.3] a side port disposed on the medial surface; [a.4] an upper opening; a pump body defining a pump chamber therein, with an upper opening projecting from the neck, a lower inlet port inside the container, and a side port communicating an inner surface with the interior volume when the pump is in an assembled position; [b] an inlet valve disposed between the inlet port and the pump chamber, the inlet valve being adapted to allow liquid to enter the interior of the pump chamber through the inlet port and to prevent liquid from exiting the interior of the pump chamber through the inlet port; [c] a suction tube connected at one end to the inlet port and extending toward the bottom; [d] a pump piston, [d.1] A lower portion housed inside the pump body, [d.1.1] an outer surface opposite the inner surface; [d.1.2] an upper peripheral sealing lip; [d.1.3] a lower peripheral sealing lip; [d.2] a pump piston having an outlet port and an upper portion provided with a discharge means disposed between the outlet port and the pump chamber, the discharge means comprising an outlet valve adapted to allow liquid to exit the interior of the pump chamber through the outlet port and to prevent air from entering the interior of the pump chamber through the outlet port; [e] elastic means adapted to generate an axial force tending to separate the piston from the pump body; [f] a fixing means for fixing the pump to the neck; A dispensing pump, wherein during an actuation movement of the pump, the piston moves axially between an extended position and a retracted position, and when the piston is in the retracted position, the side port is disposed above the upper peripheral sealing lip and between the piston, the pump body and the fixing means, and an air passage suitable for establishing fluid communication between the outside of the container and the side port is present, and when the piston is in the extended position, the air passage is closed by the upper peripheral sealing lip.

[0002] In general, when reference is made in this specification and in the claims to a cylindrical surface, it is to be understood that this is a cylindrical surface in the broadest sense, i.e., as any surface generated from the movement of a straight line along a generating curve. However, the particular case where the cylindrical surface is a circular cylindrical surface (or a cylinder with a circular cross section) is the preferred option for the present invention.

[0003] Another object of the present invention is a refill cartridge for refilling a container, the refill cartridge being suitable for containing a liquid to be refilled into the container inside the refill cartridge, the refill cartridge comprising a side wall, a base and a top. The refill cartridge of the present invention can be empty of liquid (e.g., before being filled) or can be filled with liquid.

[0004] Finally, another object of the invention is a machine for carrying out the method according to the invention. [Background technology]

[0005] Containers (e.g., bottles) with dispensing pumps assembled to their necks are commonly used in a number of applications. In particular, containers equipped with dispensing pumps as described above are widely known. A common application is the metering of perfumes, cosmetics, hygiene, and similar products. In certain cases, it is envisioned that a user can remove the dispensing pump from the neck of the container and refill the container. However, in many cases, refilling of the container is not envisioned, and the container is therefore considered a disposable container. This is particularly true when the dispensing pump is permanently assembled to the container.

[0006] In particular, it is of interest to provide a solution that allows the refilling of these containers, in order to prevent the negative effects caused by empty containers, as well as all the accessories used in their decoration and the actual process of manufacturing them.

[0007] U.S. Patent No. 10,399,103 describes a system for refilling a container having a dispensing pump assembled thereon. To do so, the container is placed upside down, and its air passage is fluidly connected to the interior of the bottle containing the refill liquid via the filling interface, so that a liquid transfer channel is established. A second channel, i.e., a gas evacuation channel, is also established to allow the evacuation of gas contained inside the container.

[0008] US Patent No. 9,834,369 describes a method for extracting liquid from a container having a dispensing pump assembled thereon, which consists of injecting air under pressure into the container and forcing the liquid out through the dispensing pump itself, which has a system of valves that are all open when there is downstream overpressure. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0009] [Patent Document 1] U.S. Patent No. 10,399,103 [Patent Document 2] U.S. Patent No. 9,834,369 Summary of the Invention

[0010] The object of the present invention is to provide a system that allows the refilling of a container (preferably a bottle) to which a dispensing pump is assembled, comprising the following steps: [1] positioning the container so that the bottom is in a down position and fluidly connecting the interior of the refill cartridge containing the refill liquid with the air passage; [2] moving the pumping piston from the extended position, thereby opening the air passageway and establishing fluid communication between the interior of the refill cartridge and the internal volume; [3] increasing the pressure experienced by the refill liquid within the refill cartridge, thereby causing a portion of the liquid to pass into the internal volume, thereby increasing the pressure within the internal volume; [4] reducing the pressure experienced by the refill liquid inside the refill cartridge to a value lower than the pressure in the internal volume, thereby allowing a portion of the air under pressure in the internal volume to pass through the air passage into the interior of the refill cartridge; [5] repeating steps [3] and [4] at least once; [6] removing the refill cartridge.

[0011] Therefore, the method of the present invention uses the air passages present in the pump both to introduce liquid into the container and to extract air accumulated inside the container. During step [3], the liquid gradually fills the internal volume of the container, but because the container is in a "right-side-up" position, i.e., bottom-down position, and the free end of the suction tube is below the free surface of the liquid, the air in the internal volume of the container has nowhere to escape. Therefore, the pressure inside the container gradually increases, and therefore the pressure that the liquid inside the refilling cartridge experiences must also increase in order to continue flowing toward the internal volume of the container. To prevent the pressure from increasing to an undesirable value, the filling of the container is interrupted by reducing the pressure inside the refilling cartridge to a value lower than the pressure inside the container. The air inside the container can then pass through the air passage toward the interior of the refilling cartridge, thus reducing the pressure inside the container to the desired value. The steps of increasing and reducing the pressure inside the refilling cartridge are then repeated multiple times until the desired filling level is reached.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the lower part of the piston comprises: an outer surface that is cylindrical along the axial direction, faces an inner surface, and extends between an upper edge and a lower edge, the side port facing the outer surface; an upper peripheral sealing lip located at an upper portion of the outer surface; a lower peripheral sealing lip located at a lower portion of the outer surface.

[0013] In this preferred solution, during pump actuation, the piston moves axially between an extended position and a retracted position through an intermediate position, and when the piston is at any position between the extended position and the intermediate position, the side port is located between the upper peripheral sealing lip and the lower peripheral sealing lip, and when the piston is at any position between the intermediate position and the retracted position, the side port is located axially above the upper peripheral sealing lip. Between the piston, the pump body, and the fixing means, there is an air passage suitable for establishing fluid communication between the outside and the side port when the piston is at any position between the intermediate position and the retracted position. In this preferred embodiment, step [2] is specifically performed by moving the piston to any position between the intermediate position and the retracted position, thereby establishing fluid communication between the interior of the refill cartridge and the internal volume.

[0014] It should be considered that the steps shown do not necessarily have to be performed in the order shown, but rather that other orders are possible. For example, steps [1] and [2] and / or at least some of the substeps they include (positioning the container so that the bottom is in the down position, fluidly connecting the interior of the refill cartridge containing the refill liquid with the air passage, and moving the piston from the extended position to open the air passage) can be performed in several different orders and / or some of them can be performed simultaneously. Thus, the order shown is not a strict definition of the order in which the steps and substeps are performed, but rather merely an indication of the steps involved in the method according to the present invention.

[0015] Preferably, in step [3] the pressure is increased to between 0.5 and 2 bar above atmospheric pressure, which is high enough to allow refilling in fewer steps, but without subjecting the container to such high overpressure that it may break.

[0016] Advantageously, steps [3] and [4] are carried out 2 to 4 times, preferably 3 to 4 times.

[0017] Preferably, the method further comprises an evaluation step [2a] of increasing the pressure experienced by the refill liquid inside the refill cartridge to an evaluation pressure, the evaluation step being performed before steps [3] and [4] and not part of step [5]. This evaluation step [2a] is performed to ensure that the container can withstand the pressure.

[0018] Preferably, the increase or decrease in pressure experienced by the refill liquid inside the refill cartridge is performed by a compression piston, said piston being able to move within a sleeve, which is a robust and easy to maintain system.

[0019] Preferably, the evaluating step [2a] is performed by evaluating the following formula:

number

[0020] This determines the amount of air in the refill cartridge and therefore the piston travel x for the subsequent piston cycle, which is such that it does not over-pressurize the container but allows it to be pressurized close to the maximum target pressure.

[0021] Even more preferably, the method comprises the step of:

number

[0022] Even more preferably, the method comprises the step of:

number

[0023] This makes it possible to determine the amount of air in the container and therefore whether the liquid in the refill cartridge is sufficient to refill the container.

[0024] Preferably, in the method according to the invention, the refill cartridges are provided with a personalized identifier for each refill cartridge, and the method includes a verification step by the user to verify the personalized identifier of the complete refill cartridge, which verification step is performed before fluidly connecting the interior of the refill cartridge containing the refill liquid with the air passage. An advantageous alternative is presented when the method is performed by a machine comprising a personalized identifier reader and communication means suitable for establishing communication with a personalized identifier verification entity (advantageously as well as with other external databases), and the verification step is performed automatically by the machine, in which case it is particularly advantageous: [a] if the verification gives a positive result, the machine continues the refilling method and disables the personalized identifier (informing the verification entity that it has been used), and / or [b] if the verification gives a negative result, the machine interrupts the refilling method. Another advantageous alternative is presented when the verification step is performed by the user by other means, preferably a mobile phone.

[0025] Preferably, in the method according to the invention, the inlet valve is a ball valve.

[0026] Another object of the invention is a refillable cartridge of the kind described above, characterized in that it comprises an inlet with an inlet valve located in said top portion, and an outlet located in said base portion.

[0027] Preferably, the inlet valve is a three-position valve, most preferably comprising: a) a conduit defining a longitudinal axis having a first segment with a first cross-section, a second segment with a second cross-section different from the first cross-section, and a third segment with a third cross-section different from the second cross-section; and b) a stopper housed within the conduit, the stopper having a cross-section such that the valve is open when the stopper is in the first or third segment and closed when the stopper is in the second segment. Advantageously, the first and third cross-sections are polygonal, and the stopper has a circular cross-section with a diameter greater than the diameter of a circle inscribed in either of the polygonal cross-sections. It is particularly advantageous for the first and third cross-sections to be triangular. Advantageously, the second cross-section is circular, and the stopper also has a circular cross-section with a diameter greater than the diameter of the second cross-section. This type of inlet valve is inexpensive to manufacture and can be made entirely from the same material. It is very easy for the valve to pass from an open position to a closed position and then back to the open position.

[0028] Preferably, the stopper of the inlet valve is spherical.

[0029] Advantageously, the outlet comprises a perforable film. In an alternative advantageous solution, the outlet comprises an outlet valve comprising: [a] a conduit defining a longitudinal axis having a first segment with a first cross-section and a second segment with a second cross-section different from the first cross-section, the first segment facing the interior of the refill cartridge and the second segment facing the exterior of the refill cartridge; and [b] a stopper housed in the conduit, the stopper having a cross-section such that the valve is open when the stopper is in the first segment and closed when the stopper is in the second segment. In this alternative, it is advantageous for the first cross-section to be polygonal and for the stopper to have a circular cross-section, the circular cross-section having a diameter greater than the diameter of a circle inscribed in the polygonal cross-section; it is particularly advantageous for the first cross-section to be triangular. In this alternative, the second cross section is circular and the stopper advantageously has a circular cross section as well, the circular cross section of the stopper being of a diameter greater than the diameter of the second cross section.

[0030] Preferably, the stopper of the outlet valve is spherical.

[0031] In an advantageous embodiment of the refill cartridge according to the invention, the top has a weakened area defining a central region, the weakened area being shaped such that the central region has a circumference equal to the inner surface of the side wall, making it suitable for use as a piston extending along the side wall. This allows this type of refill cartridge to be used with a machine having a pressing member that presses against the central region, tears the top of the weakened area, and then forces the liquid out through the outlet. As will be seen below, another preferred embodiment consists in injecting air (or generally any gas) into the interior of the refill cartridge.

[0032] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the inlet valve and / or the outlet valve are self-closing valves. Even more preferably, the self-closing valves include a spring and a closing member, and the spring presses the closing member against the valve seat. Therefore, refill cartridges including these valves can be reused.

[0033] Preferably, the refill cartridge comprises axial stiffening means, preferably these axial stiffening means comprising a hollow column with a lateral opening, the column extending from a base to a top, the hollow column being advantageously attached to the top.

[0034] Preferably, the refill cartridge comprises radial reinforcing means, advantageously comprising a plurality of ribs extending between the side wall and the base and / or a plurality of ribs extending radially along the top.

[0035] Indeed, since these refill cartridges are exposed to high pressures, they must be held at high pressure. All this makes it convenient to reinforce the refill cartridges both axially to prevent deformation when fastened by a machine, and radially to prevent deformation due to high internal pressures during the process of refilling the container.

[0036] Preferably, the base and sidewall are a single piece and the top is a separate piece that is assembled to the sidewall, which optimizes the manufacturing process and reduces costs.

[0037] Advantageously, the refill cartridge is made entirely from one and the same polymer material, which allows the assembly to be recycled without the need to perform a separation process.

[0038] Preferably, the refill cartridges comprise a personalized identifier for each refill cartridge, which is advantageously a barcode, preferably a matrix barcode, very preferably a QR code.

[0039] The present invention may be used with a management system for managing refill cartridges including personalized identifiers according to the present invention, the management system comprising the following steps: [a] assigning a specific individualized identifier to a particular refilled cartridge during manufacture of the refilled cartridge and marking the refilled cartridge with the individualized identifier; [b] verifying the personalized identifier during the refill cartridge filling process; [c] verifying the personalized identifier of the complete refilled cartridge by the user, and preferably marking the personalized identifier after it has been used in the refilling method, and disabling the personalized identifier for future use.

[0040] Preferably, the system includes, after the deactivation step to invalidate the identifier, the additional step of notifying appropriate persons of the deactivation step that has been performed, preferably including information regarding the type of refilled cartridge, the date and location where the deactivation took place.

[0041] Finally, another object of the invention is a machine for carrying out the method according to the invention, comprising: a housing for receiving the container with its bottom facing downwards; - connection means for connecting a refill cartridge according to the invention to a bottle and establishing fluid communication between the interior of the refill cartridge and the air passage; - pressure means for increasing the pressure inside the refill cartridge above atmospheric pressure; - pressure reducing means for reducing the pressure inside the refill cartridge; - control means for automatically carrying out at least two alternating pressurization and depressurization cycles.

[0042] Preferably, the machine comprises an adjustment means for adjusting the distance between the container and the connecting means. Given that there are multiple container and dispensing pump designs on the market with different heights, the presence of the adjustment means allows the machine to be used with multiple different designs.

[0043] Advantageously, the connecting means are removable. Generally, it is important that the machine is compatible with a number of different containers having different dispensing pumps. Indeed, the dispensing pumps must always have the same elements necessary for the invention, but may differ with respect to other elements not essential to the invention. However, these differences may require that the connecting means differ in the support area with the pump (diameter, height) depending on the pump in question. It may also be appropriate for the connecting means to be compatible with different families of refill cartridges. It is therefore important to be able to provide a family of connecting means, allowing one or the other to be used depending on the container (with the corresponding pump) to be refilled.

[0044] Preferably, the connecting means comprises at its upper part an outlet opening means arranged in the base of the refill cartridge. In a preferred embodiment, the opening means comprises a needle and very preferably a foldable guard of the needle. In another preferred embodiment, the opening means comprises a rod suitable for pressing a stopper housed in a conduit arranged in the outlet of the refill cartridge.

[0045] Advantageously, the connecting means comprises at its lower part a support surface suitable for moving the piston and a closing surface supported on the pump and suitable for forming a sealed closure between the air passage and the exterior, such that the air passage is in fluid communication only with the interior of the refill cartridge.

[0046] Preferably, the connecting means further comprises an annular ring for supporting said base of said refill cartridge, the annular ring preventing the refill cartridge from collapsing when an axial force is applied to the cartridge.

[0047] Preferably, the machine comprises a reading device for reading the personalized identifier and communication means suitable for establishing communication with a validation entity of the personalized identifier.

[0048] Preferably, the control means comprises means for carrying out the evaluation step [2a], so that the machine can determine the maximum pressure to which the container can be subjected.

[0049] Preferably, the pressurizing means comprises a compression piston and a sleeve, the piston being movable within the sleeve, in which case the control means is adapted to adjust the pressure in accordance with the following formula:

number

[0050] This allows the machine to determine the amount of air in the refill cartridge and therefore also the number of cycles the piston must perform to refill the container.

[0051] Even more preferably, the control means has the following formula:

number

[0052] Even more preferably, the control means has the following formula:

number

[0053] This makes it possible to determine the amount of air in the container and therefore whether the liquid in the refill cartridge is sufficient to refill the container. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0054] Further advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed without any limiting character, in which:

[0055] [Figure 1] 1 shows a longitudinal section of a distribution pump at four positions in a pumping cycle. [Figure 2] 1 shows a longitudinal section of a distribution pump at four positions in a pumping cycle. [Figure 3] 1 shows a longitudinal section of a distribution pump at four positions in a pumping cycle. [Figure 4] 1 shows a longitudinal section of a distribution pump at four positions in a pumping cycle. [Figure 5] 1 shows a series of steps of a method according to the invention; [Figure 6] 1 shows a series of steps of a method according to the invention; [Figure 7] 1 shows a series of steps of a method according to the invention; [Figure 8] 1 shows a series of steps of a method according to the invention; [Figure 9] 1 shows a longitudinal section through the body of a first embodiment of a refill cartridge according to the invention; [Figure 10] 1 shows a perspective view of the body of a first embodiment of a refill cartridge according to the present invention; [Figure 11] 1 shows a plan view of the body of a first embodiment of a refill cartridge according to the present invention; [Figure 12] 1 shows a longitudinal section of a lid for a refill cartridge according to the invention; [Figure 13] 1 shows a cross-sectional perspective view of a lid of a refill cartridge according to the present invention. [Figure 14] 1 shows a detail of a top view of the lid of a refill cartridge according to the present invention; [Figure 15]15 shows a partial cross-sectional elevation view of the assembly formed by the body of FIGS. 9 to 11 and the lid of FIGS. 12 to 14. FIG. [Figure 16] 9 shows an enlarged view of the connection means of FIG. 8; [Figure 17] 1 shows a longitudinal section of the inlet valve of a refill cartridge according to the invention, with the rod pressing against the stopper. [Figure 18] 1 shows a longitudinal section of a connecting means connected to a refill cartridge. [Figure 19] 1 shows a longitudinal section of the inlet valve of a refill cartridge with the stopper in two positions. [Figure 20] 1 shows a longitudinal section of the inlet valve of a refill cartridge with the stopper in two positions. [Figure 21] 1 shows a longitudinal section through the body of a second embodiment of a refill cartridge according to the invention; [Figure 22] 10 shows a bottom view of a refill cartridge with a personalized identifier. [Figure 23] 1 shows a first embodiment of a machine according to the invention; [Figure 24] 1 shows a first embodiment of a machine according to the invention; [Figure 25] 1 shows a first embodiment of a machine according to the invention; [Figure 26] 1 shows a first embodiment of a machine according to the invention; [Figure 27] 2 shows a second embodiment of the machine according to the invention. [Figure 28] 1 shows a longitudinal section of another embodiment of a refill cartridge according to the invention; [Figure 29] 29 shows an enlarged view of the top and sidewall mounting area of ​​the refill cartridge of FIG. 28. [Figure 30] 29 shows a longitudinal cross section of the refill cartridge of FIG. 28 with the central region of the top in a mid-position relative to the side walls. [Figure 31]31 shows a view equivalent to that of FIG. 30, including an external pressing member that displaces the central region. [Figure 32] 1 shows a longitudinal section of a further embodiment of a refill cartridge according to the invention; [Figure 33] 33 shows the self-closing valve of the refill cartridge shown in FIG. 32. [Figure 34] 33 shows a longitudinal section of the refill cartridge of FIG. 32 connected to a container by a connecting means. [Figure 35] 4 shows a longitudinal section of another pump for a container according to the invention; [Figure 36] 36 shows the pump body of the pump shown in FIG. 35. [Figure 37] 1 shows the initial and final air volumes in the system as the container is being refilled. [Figure 38] The pressure changes during several piston cycles are shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0056] In general, the method of the present invention is carried out to refill a container having a particular type of dispensing pump, as described above. Figures 1 to 4 illustrate the operation of these pumps. Although there are several similar pump designs that differ from one another, they all share the essential elements of the present invention, as described above. The remaining details are not relevant to the present invention and therefore may differ from those shown in Figures 1 to 4. The dispensing pump: [a] A pump body 1, [a.1] a lower inlet port 2; [a.2] a cylindrical inner surface 3 defining an axial direction; [a.3] A side port 4 arranged on the inner surface 3; [a.4] upper opening 5; a pump body 1 defining a pump chamber 6 therein, the pump body having, when the pump is in an assembled position, an upper opening projecting from a neck 7 of a container 26 in which the pump is assembled, a lower inlet port 2 inside the container 26, and a side port 4 connecting an inner surface 3 with an internal volume 8 of the container 26; [b] an inlet valve 9 (which is preferably a ball valve, regardless of the remaining elements described in this pump) disposed between the inlet port 2 and the pump chamber 6 and adapted to allow liquid to enter the interior of the pump chamber 6 through the inlet port 2 and to prevent liquid from exiting the interior of the pump chamber 6 through the inlet port 2; [c] a suction tube 10 connected at one end to the inlet port 2 and extending toward the bottom 61 of the container 26; [d] Piston 11, [d.1] A lower part accommodated inside the pump body 1, [d.1.1] an outer surface 12 facing the inner surface 3, cylindrical in the axial direction, extending between an upper edge 13 and a lower edge 14, with the side port 4 facing the outer surface 12; [d.1.2] an upper peripheral sealing lip 15 disposed on top of the outer surface 12; and [d.1.3] a lower portion including a lower peripheral sealing lip 16 disposed below the outer surface 12; [d.2] a piston having an upper portion with a discharge means 17 (the assembly of all pump elements corresponding to the outflow of liquid from the pump chamber 6 to the outside is called the "discharge means") comprising an outlet port 18 and an outlet valve 19 arranged between the outlet port 18 and the pump chamber 6 and suitable for allowing liquid to exit the interior of the pump chamber 6 through the outlet port 18 and for preventing air from entering the interior of the pump chamber 6 through the outlet port 18; [e] elastic means 20 adapted to generate an axial force tending to separate the piston from the pump body 1; [f] A fixing means for fixing the pump to the neck portion 7 is provided.

[0057] During pump operation, the piston 11 moves axially between an extended position (shown in FIG. 1) and a retracted position (shown in FIG. 3) through an intermediate position (approximately as shown in FIG. 2), and when the piston 11 is at any position between the extended and intermediate positions, the side port 4 is located between the upper peripheral sealing lip 15 and the lower peripheral sealing lip 16, and when the piston 11 is at any position between the intermediate position and the retracted position, the side port 4 is located axially above the upper peripheral sealing lip 15. Between the piston 11, the pump body 1 and the fixing means is an air passage 22 suitable for establishing fluid communication between the outside and the side port 4 when the piston 11 is at any position between the intermediate position and the retracted position.

[0058] The discharge means 17 is disposed on the top of the piston 11 and comprises a cannula 23 (commonly referred to as a "stem"), a movable plug 24, and a head 25. The stem 23 is hollow, with its lower portion positioned inside the piston 11 and its upper portion protruding from the piston 11. The head 25 is assembled to the top of the stem 23. The hollow interior of the stem 23 establishes a fluid passage between the pump chamber 6 and the head 25, and the head has a passage that allows the pumped liquid to exit through the outlet port 18 to the outside. The movable plug 24 is housed inside the stem 23. The lower end of the movable plug 24 protrudes below the stem 23 and is housed inside the piston 11. The lower end of the movable plug 24 has a peripheral edge suitable for being housed in a peripheral groove present in the piston 11, and thus both elements form the outlet valve 19.

[0059] The pump is fixed to the container 26 by a fixing part 27 and a sleeve 28. These two elements form a fixing means, which fixes the pump body 1 to the bottle neck 7 in a leak-tight manner (thanks to a gasket 29), while allowing the piston 11 to move. More specifically, between the piston 11 and the fixing part 27, there is a passage that allows air to pass above the upper peripheral sealing lip 15 between the outside and an intermediate chamber located between the top of the pump body 1 and the piston 11. Thus, when the dispensing pump is in its retracted position (see FIG. 3), an air passage 22 is established that connects the inside of the container 26 to the outside. These dispensing pumps have this air passage 22, which is intended to allow air to enter the container 26, thus compensating for the vacuum created by the pumped liquid and preventing a lower pressure from developing inside the container 26. However, in the present invention, as will be explained in detail below, this air passage 22 is used to introduce liquid from a refill cartridge 30 into the inside of the container 26 and refill it. It also serves to allow the escape of air from overpressurized container 26 during refilling. Air passage 22 thus transitions to a triple function: allowing air to enter during normal use of the pump, allowing liquid to enter during the refilling process, and allowing air to exit during the refilling process. As previously mentioned, the dispensing pump depicted in this figure is merely an example of several existing pumps, and there may be detailed variations between them. What is important to the present invention is the presence of the aforementioned air passage 22 (envisioned to allow air to enter to compensate for the escape of pumped liquid), since it is this air passage 22 that is used by the present invention to refill container 26.

[0060] The sequence of steps of the method according to the invention can be seen in FIGS.

[0061] First, the container 26 is placed in its normal position, i.e. with the bottom 61 in the downward position, so that the liquid in its internal volume 8 accumulates at the bottom 61 and the free end of the suction tube 10 is positioned below the free surface of the liquid, or at least so close that, even if it is above said free surface, it will be just below said surface after refilling with a negligible amount of liquid. The head 25, which will be positioned again at the end of the refilling process, is extracted.

[0062] The interior of the refill cartridge 30, which contains the refill liquid, is fluidly connected to the air passage 22. For this purpose, connecting means 31 are used. The connecting means 31 have, at their upper part, opening means 32 for opening an outlet 33 arranged in the base 34 of the refill cartridge 30. In the example of Figures 5 to 8, the outlet 33 is a perforable film 35, and the opening means 32 comprises a needle 36 and a foldable guard 37 for the needle 36. At their lower part, the connecting means 31 has a support surface 38 suitable for supporting on the stem 23 and for pressing the piston 11 downwards, and a closing surface 39 suitable for supporting on the fixing part 27 and for forming a sealed closure, so that the air passage 22 is no longer in communication with the outside, but rather only with the interior of the refill cartridge 30.

[0063] The piston 11 is moved to any position between the intermediate position (see FIG. 2) and the retracted position (see FIG. 3), i.e., any position in which the side port 4 is axially positioned above the upper peripheral sealing lip 15 and thus the air passage 22 is in fluid communication with the interior volume 8 of the container 26. As mentioned above, there are several steps in the method according to the invention that can be performed in an order different from that described. Thus, for example, this step of moving the piston 11 is preferably performed in parallel with a fluid connection step for fluidly connecting the interior of the refill cartridge 30 with the air passage 22.

[0064] Once the fluid connection is established (see FIGS. 6 and 16), the pressure rises to the pressure experienced by the liquid inside the refill cartridge 30, causing some of the liquid to pass into the internal volume 8, thereby increasing the pressure in the internal volume 8 (the air inside the internal volume 8 has nowhere to escape, since the suction tube 10 has its free end below the free surface of the liquid). To increase the pressure experienced by the liquid inside the refill cartridge 30, air (or any other gas) can be injected into the interior of the refill cartridge 30, for example, via the inlet valve 40 of the refill cartridge 30, as shown in FIG. 7. However, other solutions are also possible, such as considering the upper part of the refill cartridge 30 as a movable plunger (see FIGS. 28 to 31). In the refill cartridge shown in FIGS. 28 to 31, the upper part 42 has a weakened area 65 defining a central region 66. This central region 66 has a circumference equal to the inner surface of the side wall 41, making it suitable for use as a piston extending along the side wall 41. FIG. 31 shows an external pressing member 67 (e.g., part of a machine according to the present invention) pressing against the central region 66, which increases the pressure of the liquid inside the refill cartridge so that the liquid exits through the outlet 33.

[0065] When container 26 is refilled with a single injection of liquid, the amount of air initially in container 26 is compressed to a very small volume, causing a significant increase in pressure inside container 26. To prevent these high pressure buildups for which the container is not designed, the method of the present invention contemplates a step in which the pressure experienced by the refill liquid inside refill cartridge 30 is reduced to a value lower than the pressure in internal volume 8, thereby allowing some of the air under pressure in internal volume 8 to pass through air passage 22 into the interior of refill cartridge 30 (see FIG. 8 ). The cycle of injecting liquid and depressurizing container 26 is then repeated multiple times until the desired fill level is reached, after which refill cartridge 30 can be disconnected.

[0066] Figures 9 to 15 show a refill cartridge 30 according to the invention. The refill cartridge 30 has a body (Figures 9 to 11) with a side wall 41 and a base 34, and a lid (Figures 12 to 14) that is assembled onto the body (see Figure 15) and thus forms the top 42 of the refill cartridge 30. Preferably, the lid is welded to the side wall. In another advantageous embodiment of the refill cartridge according to the invention, the lid is formed as a single piece with the side wall 41, and the base 34 is constructed as a separate piece that is attached (preferably by welding) to the side wall 41.

[0067] The lid of the refill cartridge 30 has an inlet with an inlet valve 40. The inlet valve 40 of the refill cartridge 30 (see Figures 12-14, 17, 19, and 20) includes: [a] a conduit 43 defining a longitudinal axis, the conduit having a first segment 44 having a first triangular cross-section, a second segment 45 having a second circular cross-section, and a third segment 46 having a third cross-section that is also triangular and equal to the first cross-section; and [b] a spherical stopper 47 housed within the conduit 43. The diameter of the stopper 47 is larger than the diameter of a circle inscribed in the triangular cross-section so that the stopper is retained in both the first and third sections except when a force greater than a predetermined value is applied. However, the diameter of the stopper 47 is small enough to leave a free passage at the apex of the triangle (see Figure 14). Thus, when the stopper 47 is in the first segment 44 or the third segment 46, the valve is open. The stopper 47 also has a diameter larger than the diameter of the circular cross section, so that the inlet valve 40 is closed when the stopper 47 is in the second segment 45. In this way, a refill cartridge 30 is produced having the stopper 47 in the first segment 44 (where the inlet valve 40 is open (see FIG. 19 )). This allows the refill cartridge 30 to be filled with liquid, after which the stopper 47 is pushed and moved toward the second segment 45, where the refill cartridge 30 is closed (see FIG. 20 ). When the container 26 is to be refilled with the liquid of the refill cartridge 30, the stopper 47 is pushed again until it reaches the third segment 46, at which point the inlet valve 40 opens again (see FIG. 17 ), allowing air (or any other gas) to be injected into the interior of the refill cartridge 30, for example, to increase the pressure therein and force the liquid out through the outlet 33. The stopper 47 can be pushed by a rod 62, as shown in FIG. 17 .

[0068] The base 34 of the refill cartridge 30 includes an outlet 33, which in the embodiments of Figures 9-11, 15, 16, 18, and 28-31 is a pierceable film 35. This pierceable film 35 is intended to be pierced by the needle 36 of the connecting means 31 described above (see Figures 6-8 and 18). The embodiment of Figure 21 shows an outlet 33 that is not a pierceable film, but rather includes an outlet valve 48 that is similar to the inlet valve 40 but has only two segments. That is, the outlet valve 48 includes: [a] a conduit 143 defining a longitudinal axis having a first segment 144 (directed toward the interior of the refill cartridge 30) with a first triangular cross-section and a second segment 145 (directed toward the exterior of the refill cartridge 30) with a second circular cross-section; and [b] a spherical stopper housed within the conduit 143. As with the inlet valve 40, the outlet valve 48 is open when the stopper is in the first segment 144 and closed when the stopper is in the second segment 145. When the refill cartridge 30 has an outlet valve 48 such as that described, the opening means does not have a needle, but rather a rod 62 equivalent to that shown in FIG.

[0069] The refilling cartridge 30 comprises axial reinforcement means 49 in the form of a hollow column 50 having a lateral opening 51. The column 50 extends from the base 34 to the top 42, thus providing reinforcement against axial stresses, particularly those applied to the refilling cartridge 30 during the refilling method. Preferably, the hollow column 50 surrounds the edge of the outlet 33 of the refilling cartridge 30. The lateral opening 51, whose origin is in the base 34, allows the liquid contained in the refilling cartridge 30 to flow in its entirety towards the outlet 33.

[0070] The refill cartridge 30 also comprises radial reinforcement means 52 in the form of ribs extending between said side wall 41 and said base 34 on the one hand and extending radially along said top 42 on the other hand.

[0071] FIG. 22 shows a refill cartridge 30 having a personalized identifier 53 .

[0072] 23 to 26 show an embodiment of the machine according to the present invention. The machine comprises a housing 54 suitable for receiving a container 26 with its bottom 61 facing downwards; connection means 31 suitable for connecting a refill cartridge 30 to the container 26, establishing fluid communication between the interior of the refill cartridge 30 and the air passage 22, and pressurizing a decompression means 55 suitable for varying the pressure inside the refill cartridge 30; and control means suitable for automatically performing at least two pressurization and decompression cycles in sequence. The machine also comprises adjustment means 56 for adjusting the distance between the container 26 and the connection means 31. In fact, the pressurization / decompression means 55 and the adjustment means 56 are mechanisms having some common elements: a servo motor 57 controls the movement of a piston 58 with its sleeve 63 along a vertical axis arranged on the housing 54. A refill cartridge holder 59 suitable for supporting the refill cartridge 30 is attached below the sleeve 63. The connection means 31 is arranged between the refill cartridge 30 and the container 26. Actuation of the servo motor 57 causes the piston+sleeve+refill cartridge holder assembly to move until the refill cartridge 30 is under pressure on the connection means 31, which in turn is on the dispensing pump. This adjusts the assembly to the height of the container 26. After this point, the piston 58, which was fixed to the sleeve 63 at the beginning of its stroke, is released and begins to travel along the sleeve 63, compressing the air therein, which is then injected into the interior of the refill cartridge 30. At a certain position, the piston 58 is stopped, and after a period allowing the pressure to stabilize, i.e., after the chamber pressure, refill cartridge pressure, and container pressure are the same, the servo motor 57 moves it upward. This causes a drop in pressure, allowing the air under pressure in the internal volume 8 of the container 26 to escape towards the interior of the refill cartridge 30, as previously described.

[0073] 27 shows another embodiment of the machine according to the invention, which in this case comprises a compressor 60 which generates air under pressure which is injected into the refill cartridge 30. A screw system 64 then performs the function of the adjustment means 56.

[0074] FIG. 32 shows another refilling cartridge 30 according to the present invention. This refilling cartridge 30 is a multi-dose refilling cartridge 30, i.e., it can be used to refill several containers 26. The refilling cartridge 30 provides an inlet valve 40 and an outlet valve 48. The inlet valve 40 and the outlet valve 48 are self-closing valves comprising a spring 70 and a closure member (see also FIGS. 33 and 34). The spring 70 presses the closure member against a valve seat, thereby closing the fluid communication between the refilling cartridge 30 and the container 26 being refilled. This refilling cartridge 30 does not have a reinforcing means, and therefore, to withstand the pressures experienced during its use, the refilling cartridge is placed on an annular ring 72 disposed on the connecting means 31. Because the base 34 of the refilling cartridge 30 is located on the annular ring 72, forces are better distributed over the refilling cartridge 30.

[0075] The container 26 may also have a different pump, such as the pump shown in FIG. 35. As can be seen in FIG. 35, this pump has a different fluid communication path. The side port 4 of the pump body is located at the top of the pump body (see also FIG. 36). The lower part of the pump piston 11 has an outer surface 12 facing the inner surface 3, an upper peripheral sealing lip 15, and a lower peripheral sealing lip 16. During the pump's operating movement, the piston 11 moves axially between an extended position and a retracted position. When the piston 11 is in the retracted position, the side port 4 is located above the upper peripheral sealing lip 15. Between the piston 11, the pump body 1, and the fixing means, there is an air passage 22 (marked by an arrow in FIG. 35) suitable for establishing fluid communication between the outside of the container 26 and the side port 4. When the piston 11 is in the extended position, the air passage 22 is closed by the upper peripheral sealing lip 15. In this case, step [2] is performed by moving the piston 11 from the extended position, thereby opening the air passage 22 and establishing fluid communication between the interior of the refill cartridge 30 and the internal volume 8.

[0076] In another embodiment of the present invention, the refilling method for refilling a container 26 further includes an evaluation step [2a] that is performed before the previously described steps [3] and [4]. Furthermore, the evaluation step [2a] is not part of the previously described step [5]. The purpose of performing this evaluation step [2a] is to determine the air volume of the refilled cartridge 30. Because the refilled cartridge 30 can be used to refill several containers 26, it is important to know the initial air volume of the refilled cartridge 30 that will be used to refill the container 26.

[0077] This refilling method is preferably carried out using a compression piston 58. However, other gas compression means can be used. In each piston cycle, the piston 58 moves the same distance x along its sleeve 63, except for the last piston movement, where the piston movement is smaller. This will be discussed later. If the piston 58 movement in each piston cycle is always the same, the equilibrium pressure of the system (piston + refill cartridge + reservoir) will remain constant in any cycle. System equilibrium is reached when there is no longer any fluid transfer from the refill cartridge 30 to the reservoir 26. Equilibrium is reached when there is no longer any fluid movement. When equilibrium is reached, all pressures (piston pressure, refill cartridge pressure, and reservoir pressure) are equal. See Figure 37.

[0078] FIG. 38 shows a graph illustrating the change in pressure over time along several piston cycles. For practical reasons, pressure is measured only in the compression chamber formed by compressing the piston 58 and sleeve 63. In each piston cycle, the pressure in the compression chamber is pushed from a specific initial value (point A on the graph), preferably atmospheric pressure, to a maximum pressure (point C on the graph) as the piston moves a distance x. After this rapid pressure increase, the piston remains in its final position. The pressure inside the compression chamber and the refill cartridge is the same. The refill in the refill cartridge 30 begins to flow into the container. Therefore, the pressure in the refill cartridge and the compression chamber slowly decreases as the refill liquid flows from the refill cartridge to the container. At the same time, the pressure in the container increases as the refill liquid flows into the container. At a certain point, the pressure in the container is equal to the pressure in the refill cartridge and the compression chamber. This moment corresponds to point D on the chart. Finally, the piston moves to its initial position (moving a retracted distance x). This causes a drop in pressure in the compression chamber and refill cartridge, allowing compressed gas in the container to flow into the refill cartridge and compression chamber. Finally, the pressure in the compression chamber, refill cartridge, and container reaches the same starting value (point A in the next cycle) as the sum of the three volumes of gas (preferably air) (compression chamber + refill cartridge + container) remains unchanged.

[0079] Since the total volume of air and liquid in the entire system (compression chamber + refill cartridge + container) is always the same and the temperature remains constant, Boyle's law can be applied.

number

[0080] It will be understood that "initial" refers to the state where the piston 58 has not yet performed its stroke (point A on the graph in FIG. 38). Thus, the initial pressure is the pressure before it begins to increase the pressure experienced by the refill liquid in the interior of the refill cartridge 30, and "final" refers to the state where the piston 58 has performed its stroke but the pressure has not yet decreased (point D on the graph shown below). Thus, the final pressure is the pressure before it decreases the pressure experienced by the refill liquid in the interior of the refill cartridge 30. See FIG. 36.

[0081] In the evaluation step [2a], the pressure experienced by the refill liquid within the refill cartridge 30 is evaluated as an evaluated pressure P ev (point B on the graph of FIG. 38). The evaluation step is performed under a rapid increase in pressure, so that the transfer of liquid from the refill cartridge to the container is negligible. Therefore, this evaluation step [2a] is performed using the following equation:

number

[0082] Additionally, the method also includes calculating the number of times or cycles that steps [3] and [4] described above must be performed to completely refill the container 30. For each cycle, the following formula is used:

number

[0083] The number of piston strokes, i.e. the number of steps [3] and [4] that need to be performed, is calculated using the following formula:

number

[0084] Once the air volume of the refill cartridge 30 has been estimated, the air volume of the container 26 can be determined. This is important because the refill cartridge 30 can be used to refill several containers 26, and the container 26 refilling process can start with a partially empty refill cartridge 30. Furthermore, it is also important to know whether the container 26 is also partially or completely empty. Thus, it is possible to determine whether the liquid in the refill cartridge 30 is sufficient to refill the container 30. The air volume of the container 26 can be determined as follows:

number

[0085] Thus, as an example, refilling a container 26 which when empty had a capacity of 113 ml with 100 ml of liquid knowing that the initial pressure is 1 bar and the final pressure is 2 bar (both absolute).

number

[0086] Therefore, cycle number 4 is a fraction, and the travel of piston 58 must be 1.1 / 7.06 = 15.5% of the previous travel. That is, piston 58 performs three strokes in the same travel, and one stroke at 15.5% of the travel. Thus, piston 58 performs a number of full strokes equal to the integer part of n, plus additional shorter strokes corresponding to the fractional component of n.

[0087] As mentioned above, the cycles or number of times steps [3] and [4] must be performed to refill the container 26 may also be determined as follows:

number

Claims

1. A method for refilling a container (26), said container (26) having a neck (7), a bottom (61) and an internal volume (8), said container (26) having a dispensing pump assembled on said neck (7), said dispensing pump comprising: [a] A pump body (1), [a.1] A lower inlet port (2); [a.2] a cylindrical inner surface (3) defining an axial direction; [a.3] a side port (4) disposed on the inner surface (3); [a.4] an upper opening (5); a pump body (1) defining a pump chamber (6) therein, the upper opening protruding from the neck (7), the lower inlet port (2) being inside the container (26), and the side port (4) connecting the inner surface (3) to the internal volume (8) when the dispensing pump is in an assembled position; [b] an inlet valve (9) disposed between the lower inlet port (2) and the pump chamber (6), suitable for allowing liquid to enter the interior of the pump chamber (6) through the lower inlet port (2) and preventing liquid from exiting the interior of the pump chamber (6) through the lower inlet port (2); [c] a suction tube (10) connected at one end to the lower inlet port (2) and extending towards the bottom (61); [d] a piston (11), [d. 1] A lower part accommodated inside the pump body (1), [d.1.1] an outer surface (12) facing the inner surface (3); [d.1.2] an upper peripheral sealing lip (15); [d.1.3] a lower peripheral sealing lip (16); [d.2] a piston having an upper portion provided with an outlet port (18) and a discharge means (17) comprising an outlet valve (19) disposed between the outlet port (18) and the pump chamber (6) suitable for allowing liquid to exit from the interior of the pump chamber (6) through the outlet port (18) and for preventing air inside the pump chamber (6) from entering through the outlet port (18); [e] elastic means (20) adapted to generate said axial force, tending to separate said piston (11) from said pump body (1); [f] fixing means for fixing the dispensing pump in the neck (7), During the working movement of the dispensing pump, the piston (11) moves along the axial direction between an extended position and a retracted position, and when the piston (11) is in the retracted position, the side port (4) is arranged above the upper peripheral sealing lip (15) and between the piston (11), the pump body (1) and the fixing means, and there is an air passage (22) suitable for establishing fluid communication between the outside of the container (26) and the side port (4), and when the piston (11) is in the extended position, the air passage (22) is closed by the upper peripheral sealing lip (15), The following steps: [1] positioning the container (26) so that the bottom (61) is in a downward position, and fluidly connecting the interior of a refill cartridge (30) containing a refill liquid with the air passage (22); [2] moving the piston (11) from the extended position, thereby opening the air passage (22) and establishing fluid communication between the interior of the refill cartridge (30) and the internal volume (8); [3] increasing the pressure experienced by the refill liquid within the refill cartridge (30), thereby forcing a portion of the liquid to pass into the internal volume (8), thereby increasing the pressure in the internal volume (8); [4] reducing the pressure experienced by the refill liquid in the interior of the refill cartridge (30) to a value lower than the pressure in the internal volume (8), thereby allowing a portion of the air under pressure in the internal volume (8) to pass through the air passage (22) into the interior of the refill cartridge (30); [5] repeating steps [3] and [4] at least once; [6] Removing the refill cartridge (30).

2. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising an evaluation step [2a] in which the pressure experienced by the refill liquid in the interior of the refill cartridge is increased to an evaluation pressure (Pev), wherein the evaluation step is performed before steps [3] and [4] and is not part of step [5].

3. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the increasing or decreasing of the pressure to which the refilling liquid is subjected in the interior of the refilling cartridge is performed by a piston (58), which is movable in a sleeve (63).

4. said evaluating step [2a] being based on the following formula: [Equation 1] (In the formula, V ｃａｒｔ is the amount of air in the refilled cartridge (m ３ ) and V ｐ is the amount of air (m ３ ) and P is the initial pressure (Pa) that the refill liquid in the interior of the refill cartridge (30) is subjected to before starting to increase pressure; P ｅｖ is the evaluation pressure (Pa), x ｅｖ is the movement of the piston (m) during the evaluation step; S is the cross-sectional area of ​​the piston (m ２ ) 4. The method of claim 3 when dependent on claim 2, characterized in that it is carried out to determine the air content of the refill cartridge according to:

5. The following formula: [Equation 2] (In the formula, n is the number of times steps [3] and [4] are performed, P is the initial pressure before the refill liquid in the interior of the refill cartridge (30) begins to increase in pressure; P' is the final pressure, which is the pressure experienced by the refill liquid in the interior of the refill cartridge (30) before reducing the pressure; Ratio is the ratio of the final air volume of the refilled container (26) to the total air volume that the refilled container contains when the container (26) is empty.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of calculating the number of times steps [3] and [4] are performed using

6. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the refilling cartridges (30) comprise an individualized identifier (53) for each refilling cartridge (30), and the method includes a verification step by a user to verify the individualized identifier (53) of the complete refilling cartridge (30), the verification step being performed before fluidly connecting the interior of the refilling cartridge (30) containing the refilling liquid by the air passage (22).

7. 7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that the method is executed by a machine comprising a reader of the personalized identifier (53) and communication means suitable for establishing communication with a validation entity of the personalized identifier (53), and the validation step is executed automatically by the machine.

8. A machine for carrying out the method of any one of claims 1 to 7, comprising: a housing (54) for receiving said container (26) with said bottom (61) facing downwards; - connection means (31) for connecting a refilling cartridge (30) to said container (26) and for establishing fluid communication between the interior of said refilling cartridge (30) and said air passage (22), said refilling cartridge (30) being for refilling a container (26) and adapted to contain within said refilling cartridge (30) a liquid to be refilled into said container (26), said refilling cartridge (30) comprising a side wall (41), a base (34), a top (42), an inlet with an inlet valve (40) arranged in said top (42), and an outlet (33) arranged in said base (34); - pressure means (55) for raising the pressure within said refilling cartridge (30) above atmospheric pressure; - pressure reducing means (55) for reducing the pressure inside said refill cartridge (30); - control means for automatically carrying out at least two alternating pressurization and depressurization cycles.

9. 9. A machine according to claim 8, characterized in that the connecting means (31) comprises, at the top of the connecting means (31), opening means (32) for an outlet (33) arranged in the base (34) of the refill cartridge (30), the opening means (32) comprising: [a] a needle (36); or [b] a rod (62) suitable for pushing a stopper housed in a conduit (143) arranged in the outlet (33).

10. 10. Machine according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the connecting means (31) comprises, at its lower part, a support surface (38) suitable for moving the piston (11) and a closing surface (39) supported on the dispensing pump and suitable for forming a sealed closure between the air passage (22) and the outside.

11. 11. Machine according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that the connecting means (31) further comprise an annular ring (72) for supporting the base (34) of the refill cartridge (30).

12. A machine according to any one of claims 8 to 11 when dependent on claim 6, characterized in that it comprises a reading device for reading the individualised identifier (53) and communication means suitable for establishing communication with a validation entity of the individualised identifier (53).

13. 13. A machine according to any one of claims 8 to 12 when dependent on claim 2, characterised in that the control means comprises means for carrying out the evaluation step [2a].

14. 14. Machine according to any one of claims 8 to 13, characterized in that the pressure means (55) comprise a piston (58) and a sleeve (63), the piston (58) being movable within the sleeve (63).

15. The control means is a control method according to the following formula: [Equation 3] (In the formula, V ｃ is the amount of air in the refilled cartridge (m ３ ) and V ｐ is the amount of air (m ３ ) and P is the initial pressure (Pa) that the refill liquid in the interior of the refill cartridge (30) is subjected to before starting to increase pressure; P ｅｖ is the evaluation pressure (Pa), x ｅｖ is the movement of the piston (m) during the evaluation step; S is the cross-sectional area of ​​the piston (m ２ ) 15. A machine according to claim 14 when dependent on claim 13, comprising means for determining the air content of the refill cartridge according to:

16. The control means is a control method according to the following formula: [Equation 4] (In the formula, n is the number of times steps [3] and [4] are performed, P is the initial pressure before the refill liquid in the interior of the refill cartridge (30) begins to increase in pressure; P' is the final pressure, which is the pressure experienced by the refill liquid in the interior of the refill cartridge (30) before reducing the pressure; 16. The machine of any one of claims 8 to 15, further comprising means for calculating the number of times steps [3] and [4] are performed using (Ratio = Ratio * ...

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