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EP-4041459-B1 - CONTAINERS FOR FRAGRANCES

EP4041459B1EP 4041459 B1EP4041459 B1EP 4041459B1EP-4041459-B1

Inventors

  • EDWARDS, MICHAEL

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20200629

Claims (10)

  1. . A container unit (102) including a plurality of container sub-portions (104) within the container unit (102) and defining a plurality of fragrance liquid substance containing chambers for containing respective fragrance liquid substances, each container sub-portion (104) including an outlet (118), the container unit (102) further including a conduit device (114) serving to connect each of the outlets (118) of the respective sub-portions (104) to a mist-dispensing outlet nozzle (106), the conduit device (114) including respective sub-portion conduit parts (116) and an air pumping device conduit (112), respective sub-portion controllable liquid displacement devices (120) in each sub-portion conduit part (116) and controllable to vary flow rate therethrough to transport selected desired amounts of the fragrance liquid substances from one or more of the sub-portions (104), an air pumping device (108) connected to the outlet nozzle (106) by way of the pumping device conduit (112), a spray actuator for dispensing air from the air pumping device mixed with one or more of the fragrance liquid substances in the desired amounts and selected from one or more of the respective sub-portions (104), and a source of energy connected to said air pumping device (108) and said respective sub-portion controllable liquid displacement devices (120) to form an output mist dispensed from the outlet nozzle (106).
  2. . A container unit (102) according to claim 1, wherein the respective sub container controllable liquid displacement devices (120) are piezoelectric pumping devices.
  3. . A container unit (102) according to claim 2, where in the piezoelectric pumping devices (120) are piezoelectric diaphragm micropumps.
  4. . A container unit (102) according to any preceding claim, wherein the air pumping device (108) not only serves to expel the output mist from the outlet nozzle (106) in a first period of a spray cycle when respective sub-container controllable liquid displacement devices (120) allow flow of their respective fragrance liquid substances from the respective sub-portion (104), but also to purge the conduit device (114) of any residual fragrance liquid substance in the conduit device during a second period of the spray cycle which immediately follows the first period.
  5. . A container unit (102) according to claim 2 or claims 3 or 4 as appended to claim 2, wherein piezoelectric pumping devices (120) are controllable with a pump controller
  6. . A container unit (102) according to claim 5, wherein the pump controller is a computer software program in the memory of a computer device.
  7. . A method of spraying fragrance liquid from a container unit (102) including a plurality of container sub-portions (104) within the container unit (102) and defining a plurality of fragrance liquid substance containing chambers for containing respective liquid fragrance substances, each container sub-portion (104) including an outlet (118), the container unit (102) further including a conduit device (114) serving to connect each of the outlets (118) of the respective sub-portions (104) to a mist-dispensing outlet nozzle (106), the conduit device (114) including respective sub-portion conduit parts (116) and an air pumping device conduit (112), the method comprising controlling respective sub-portion controllable liquid displacement devices (120) in each sub-portion conduit parts (116) to vary flow rate therethrough and transport selected desired amounts of the liquid fragrance substances in each sub-portion (104), operating by way of a spray actuator an air pumping device (108) connected to the outlet nozzle (106) by way of the pumping device conduit (112) and for dispensing in the form of an output mist a mixture of air and one or more of the selected liquid fragrance substances in the desired amounts and selected from one or more of the respective sub-portions (104), wherein a source of energy is connected to said fluid displacing device (108) and said respective sub-portion controllable liquid displacement devices (120).
  8. . A method according to claim 7, wherein the source of energy provides energy to the air pumping device not only to expel the output mist from the outlet nozzle (106) in a first period of a spray cycle when respective sub container controllable liquid displacement devices (120) allow flow of their respective liquid fragrance substances from the respective sub-portion (104), but also to purge the conduit device (114) of any residual liquid fragrance substance in the conduit device (114) during a second period of the spray cycle which immediately follows the first period.
  9. . A method according to claims 7 or 8, wherein the respective sub-portion controllable liquid displacement devices (120) are piezoelectric pumping devices and further comprising operating individual piezoelectric pumping devices for the variable control of the amount of liquid substance expelled from each sub-portion (104).
  10. . A method according to claim 9, and further comprising detecting a flow of liquid through the piezoelectric pumping devices (120) to detect an empty sub-portion (104).

Description

This invention relates to a container and particularly to a container for fragrances which are sprayed. See for example GB1122519. According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a container unit according to claim 1. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of spraying liquid from a container unit according to claim 7. Owing to this aspect, an automatic, precisely controlled pumping mechanism for a spray device can be provided. Advantageously, the respective sub-container controllable liquid displacement devices are piezoelectric pumping devices. The air pumping device is arranged such that the source of energy provides energy to the air pumping device not only to expel a liquid spray from an outlet nozzle in a first period of a spray cycle when respective sub-container controllable liquid displacement devices allow flow of their respective liquid substances from the respective sub-portion, but also to purge the conduit device of any residual liquid substance in the conduit device during a second period of the spray cycle which immediately follows the first period. In this way, the desired liquid or liquid mixture can be sprayed without being contaminated by a liquid or liquid mixture previously emitted from the container unit. In order that the present invention can be completely understood, reference will now be made, by way of example only, to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a fragrance container comprising container sub- portions,Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the container of Figure 1 with sub-portions removed from a base including a pumping device and a conduit device,Figure 3 shows a perspective view of a container sub-portion,Figure 4 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a releasable connection mechanism between the sub-portion and a conduit device, andFigure 5 shows a schematic view of an alternative fragrance container comprising container sub-portions. Referring to Figure 1 , a container unit 2 comprises a plurality of container sub portions 4, four such container sub-portions being shown, which form substantially equal chambers in which fragrant liquids, preferably different to each other, are stored, a base portion 6 to which the container sub-portions are connected, a spray actuator 8 having an outlet nozzle 8a and a connection means 10 for recharging an internal electrochemical battery. Referring to Figure 2, the base portion 6 has mounted thereto a conduit device 12, in the form of a suitably narrow tube in an open loop form, which connects all of the container sub-portions 4 with a pumping device 14 (also mounted to the base portion 6) at one end region of the conduit device 12 and the spray actuator 8 at the opposite end region of the conduit device 12. At the regions where each container sub-portion makes a fluid connection to the base portion 6 on the inside of the open loop, there is, in one preferred embodiment, a releasable connection mechanism 16. Operation of the releasable connection mechanism 16 transfers each sub-portion 4, independently of each other, from a disengaged position to an engaged position. In the disengaged position an outlet 18 of each sub-potion 4 (see Figure 3) is not in fluid communication with the conduit device 12 and so no liquid enters the conduit device 12 if the spray actuator 8 is activated. Conversely, in the engaged position, the outlet 18 of each sub-potion 4 is in fluid communication with the conduit device 12 and so liquid does enter the conduit device 12 if the spray actuator 8 is activated. The nature of the releasable connecting mechanism can take any suitable form and is preferably of the type that is spring-biased similar to that of retractable pens or the like. The releasable connecting mechanism 16 can be either manually operated or automatically operated by way of an electrochemical battery 20 and rotary or linear actuators (not shown). Referring to Figure 4, the outlet 18 of each sub-portion 4 includes a first valve device which when the sub-portion 4 is in its disengaged position is closed to prevent the liquid contents of the sub-portion 4 from entering the conduit device 12. When the sub-portion 4 is transferred into the engaged position, the conduit device 12 acts upon the first valve device to open the first valve device and so establish fluid communication between the sub-portion 4 and the conduit device 12 by way of a second valve device which is in the form of a variable flow valve device 22. Once the spray actuator 8 is operated, one or more liquid substances from the sub-portions 4 in the engaged position exit the sub-portions via the respective outlets 18 and respective flow control devices in the form of variable flow valve devices 22 and enter the conduit device 12 from where they are sprayed through the outlet nozzle 8a into the surrounding atmosphere. Internally of each sub-portion 4, there is advantageously a