Metering bottle

• US 5,031,802 A
• Filed: 02/13/1990
• Issued: 07/16/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: L'Oreal SA
• Original Assignee: L'Oreal SA
• Inventors: Joulia, Gerard
• Primary Examiner(s): Huppert, Michael S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Huson, Gregory L.
• Application Number:
  US07/479,245
• Time in Patent Office: 518 Days
• Field of Search: 222/205, 222/207, 222/209, 222/211, 222/214, 222/382, 222/383, 222/405
• US Class Current: 222/205
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 47/063 with flexible parts
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 11/08 of the diaphragm or bellows type

Abstract

The metering bottle for dispensing a dose of liquid when the cap of the bottle is removed. When the cap is fully on the bottle, it keeps a bellows compressed. When the cap is removed, the bellows is allowed to expand and the resulting suction causes a dose of liquid from the bottle to be sucked into the bellows via a plunger tube which sticks into the liquid and via an opening into the bellows chamber. A one-way valve at the opening into the bellows chamber then prevents the dose of liquid in the bellows chamber from flowing back into the bottle. When the dose of liquid is used and the bellows chamber is empty of liquid, the lid can be replaced. When the lid is replaced the bellows is collapsed. The air in the bellows chamber is then forced back through an air microhole in the one-way valve into the bottle.

Claims

1. A metering bottle for holding a supply of liquid and for dispensing doses of the liquid, each dose being a predetermined amount of the liquid, comprising:

collapsible bellows means, having a predetermined volume when uncollapsed, for holding a dose of the liquid;

reservoir means for holding the supply of the liquid, said reservoir means including a neck surrounding said bellows means, said reservoir means including passage means for dispensing the liquid;

pressure operated one-way valve means disposed in said passage means between the bellows means and the reservoir means, for allowing the liquid to pass from the reservoir means into the bellows means through said passage means when the pressure in the bellows means is less than the pressure in the reservoir means; and

removable cap means engageable with said neck and having means for operating the bellows means, the operating means holding the bellows means collapsed when the cap means is engaged on said neck to close said valve means in said passage means, the bellows means becoming uncollapsed while the cap means is being removed from the bellows means such that a suction is developed by the bellows means, the suction being a vacuum predetermined by the volume of the bellows means, the uncollapsing of said bellows means making the pressure in the bellows means less than the pressure in the reservoir means so that the bellows means is filled through the one-way valve means with a dose of the liquid, wherein said bellows means has an open end, said operating means of said removable cap means is equipped with a push element which extends down from the inside of the cap means, the push element having a semi-spherical face for engaging said open end of said bellows means, for collapsing the bellows means, and for forming a water-tight seal with said open end of said bellows means.

2. The metering bottle of claim 1 wherein:

the pressure operated one-way valve means further comprises an air microhole between the reservoir means and the bellows means,

wherein placing the cap means onto the uncollapsed bellows means when the bellows means does not contain liquid and then moving the cap means to the closed position causes a predetermined increase in pressure in said bellows means, the predetermined increase in pressure in the bellows means being dissipated into the reservoir means through the air microhole.

3. The metering bottle of claim 1 wherein:

the pressure operated one-way valve means comprises;

a ball of a first diameter; and

a vertical conduit containing the ball, said conduit having opposite ends each having an opening, one of said openings being adjacent said reservoir means and being closable by said ball, the inside length of the conduit being longer than the diameter of the ball so that the ball is free to move up and down inside the conduit, the opening in the bottom end of the conduit leading to the reservoir means, the opening in the top end of the conduit leading to the bellows means.

4. The metering bottle of claim 1 wherein said passage means includes a hollow plunger tube which extends to the bottom of the reservoir means.

5. The metering bottle of claim 1 wherein said neck is cylindrical in shape, the metering bottle further comprising:

a cup-like cylindrical capsule, the outer diameter of the cylindrical capsule fitting water-tight into the cylindrical neck of the reservoir means, the bellows means being located inside the capsule, the bottom of the capsule incorporating the one-way valve means.

6. The metering bottle of claim 5 wherein the bellows means takes the form of a vertically oriented cylindrical body having an axis through opposited ends, one of said ends of the bellows means engaging the semi-spherical face of the push element of the cap means, the other of said ends of the bellows means engaging the inside of the bottom of the capsule, the bellows means having an accordion shape and being collapsible in a direction parallel to said axis.

7. The metering bottle of claim 5 wherein the outer surface of the cylindrical neck of the reservoir means and the inner surface of the cap means are equipped with complementary threads so that the cap means can be unscrewed from and screwed onto the reservoir means.