Fluid cosmetic dispenser

• US 20060018704A1
• Filed: 07/19/2005
• Published: 01/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Conopco (Unilever PLC)
• Original Assignee: Conopco (Unilever PLC)
• Inventors: Baines, Roger Anthony, Tavares da Silva, Reginaldo Alexandre, Haigh, Paul, Somers, Mark Geoffrey, Pay, Paul Nicholas
• Granted Patent: US 7,674,061 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 401/213
• CPC Class Codes: A45D 34/04 Appliances specially adapted for applying liquid, e.g. using roller or ball
• CPC Class Codes: A45D 34/041 using a roller, a disc or a ball

Abstract

In cosmetic dispensers for fluids, such as for example deodorants or antiperspirants comprising a bottle, a flow regulator in a housing mounted on the bottle and a cap rotatably mounted on the bottle or particularly onto the flow regulator housing, there is a risk that the housing can part from the bottle or be moved out of alignment by fitting or removal of the cap. This problem can be ameliorated or eliminated by employing a plurality of sets of anti-rotation elements at or adjacent to the mouth of the bottle around its periphery, each set comprising a peg and a socket. Preferably, the housing is bifurcated inward of the flow regulator, one wall extending within the bottle and the other wall extending out side the wall, and desirably the bottle wall is of reduced wall thickness in the overlap so that the exterior of the bottle surface and housing surface can be flush at their line of contact.

Claims

1. A dispenser for a cosmetic fluid comprising:

a bottle for a fluid having a side-wall defining a mouth and having an exterior face and an interior face

a flow regulating outlet mounted on the mouth of the bottle comprising a housing having an inward end in fluid communication with the mouth of the bottle, an opposed outward end and a side-wall, extending between the inward end and the outward end and having an interior that is adapted to retain a flow regulator,

the side-wall of the housing and the side-wall of the bottle each being provided with means for mounting the housing on the bottle at or adjacent to the inward end of the housing and

a cap for the outward end of the housing removably mountable on the housing or bottle, in which the side-wall of the housing overlaps axially with the bottle side-wall, either internally or externally, to create an overlap zone and the means for mounting the housing on the bottle comprises a plurality of opposed sets of anti-rotation elements positioned in the overlap zone peripherally around the mouth of the bottle, each set comprising a lug mounted on one of the housing side-wall and bottle side-wall and a socket defined by the other of the housing side-wall and bottle side-wall.

2. A dispenser according to claim 1 in which the exterior of the housing and the exterior of the bottle are flush.

3. A dispenser according to claim 2 in which the housing side-wall extends outside the bottle and the bottle side-wall has a reduced thickness adjacent to the mouth.

4. A dispenser according to claim 1 in which the housing side-wall is bifurcated, having an inner wall within the bottle and an outer wall outside the bottle.

5. A dispenser according to claim 1 in which the bottle side-wall is non-cylindrical at its line of contact with the inward end of the housing side-wall.

6. A dispenser according to claim 1 in which the set of anti-rotation elements comprise an outward-facing peg and an inward-facing socket.

7. A dispenser according to claim 1 in which the socket comprises an axial slot or channel into which the peg can be slid whilst mounting the housing on the bottle.

8. A dispenser according to claim 7 in which the peg comprises an axially-extending flange.

9. A dispenser according to claim 7 in which the peg comprises a pair of axially extending flanges.

10. A dispenser according to claim 7, in which the housing side-wall is bifurcated and the peg links the inner and outer walls.

11. A dispenser according to claim 1 in which the set of anti-rotation elements comprises a slot cut axially into the mouth of the bottle.

12. A dispenser according to claim 7 in which the peg depends from the ledge.

13. A dispenser according to claim 1 in which at least three sets of anti-rotations elements are employed.

14. A dispenser according to claim 1 in which the sets of elements are symmetrically positioned around the mouth of the bottle.

15. A dispenser according to claim 1 in which the cap is mountable on the housing or bottle by means of a plurality of sets of locking means that engage by rotation of the cap around the housing or bottle, each set preferably comprising a bayonet that engages with a retaining lug.

16. A dispenser according to claim 15 in which successive sets of locking means are distanced progressively closer to the outward end of the housing or bottle.

17. A dispenser according to claim 15 in which the number of sets of anti-rotation elements is the same as the number of sets of locking means.

18. A dispenser according to claim 17 in which each set of anti-rotation elements is aligned axially with a set of locking means.

19. A dispenser according to claim 1 in which the housing comprises a spider mounted within the housing intermediate between the flow regulator and the inward end.

20. A dispenser according to claim 1 in which the housing is mounted on the bottle by co-operating peripheral snap-fitting beads or bead and groove.

21. A dispenser according to claim 19 in which the spider is mounted between the flow regulator and the ledge.

22. A dispenser according to claim 1 in which the flow regulator comprises a spherical ball that defines with the interior surface of the housing a channel through which fluid can flow when the cap has been removed.

23. A dispenser according to claim 1 in which the bottle mouth has a diameter in the range of from 20 to 50 mm.

24. A dispenser according to claim 1 in which the outward end of the housing has a circular lateral exterior cross section and the inward end of the housing has an asymmetric exterior cross section.

25. A dispenser according to claim 1 in which the housing which can enable a sensor on an assembly device to recognise the orientation of the housing relative to the bottle has at least one alignment recognition marker.

26. A dispenser according to claim 25 in which the marker comprises a skirt subtending a minor arc and extending below the inward end of the housing.

27. A dispenser according to claim 25 in which two recognition markers are spaced symmetrically on either side of one set of anti-rotation elements.

28. A dispenser according to claim 27 in which the two recognition markers exhibit mirror symmetry axially.

29. A dispenser according to claim 1 in which the housing is moulded from a thermoplastics material.

30. A dispenser according to claim 29 in which the thermoplastics material is low density polyethylene.

31. A dispenser according to claim 1 in which the bottle is moulded from thermoplastics material.

32. A dispenser according to claim 1 in which the cap enables the dispenser to stand stably in an invert orientation.

33. A dispenser according to claim 32 in which the bottle moulding denies the dispenser from standing stably in an upright orientation.

34. A dispenser according to claim 1 in which the cap is mounted on the housing.

35. A dispenser for a fluid comprising a bottle, a flow regulator mounted on the bottle and cap mountable on the flow regulator or bottle employing one or more novel features or novel combination of features described and/or illustrated herein.