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EP-4161706-B1 - DISPENSING DEVICE FOR MULTIPHASE LIQUIDS

EP4161706B1EP 4161706 B1EP4161706 B1EP 4161706B1EP-4161706-B1

Inventors

  • APPERTI, Barbara
  • MAPELLI, Paolo

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20210531

Claims (13)

  1. Dispensing device (1) for multiphase liquids comprising: - a closed casing (2) defining at least one chamber (20) configured to contain one or more substances, - a multiphase liquid (3) including at least: - a first component (30) housed within said chamber (20), and - a second component (31) housed within said chamber (20), of different and immiscible density with respect to said first component (30) so as to form, at least when said multiphase liquid (3) is at rest, an interface surface (32) which delimits said components (30,31), - a dispenser (4) being a pump dispenser and therefore comprising a pump manually activable, and including: - one or more cannulas (40) defining a first direction of extension (4a) skewed with respect to the ground when said device (1) is in use in such as to access said multiphase liquid (3), and - an expulsion mechanism (41) arranged on the top of said casing (2) with respect to the ground at least when said device (1) is in use, operatively connected to said cannula (40) and configured to pump said multiphase liquid (3) from said chamber (20) outwards, and characterized by that - said one or more cannulas (40) comprise globally a plurality of first accesses (5) arranged on planes spaced along said first extension direction (4a) in such that at least two of said first accesses (5) are separated from said interface surface (32) and said expulsion mechanism (41) simultaneously pumps said first component (30) and said second component (31).
  2. Device (1) according to claim 1, wherein a cannula (40) comprising at least a first part (400) extending within said chamber (20), at least partially along a first extension direction (4a) skewed relative to the ground when said device (1) is in use in such a way as to access said multiphase liquid (3) and said first section (400) comprises a plurality of first accesses (5) distributed along said first extension direction (4a) on a surface side of said first part (400) and mutually spaced so that at least two of said first accesses (5) are separated from said interface surface (32) and said expulsion mechanism (41) simultaneously pumps said first component (30) and said second component (31).
  3. Device (1) according to any preceding claim, wherein said cannula (40) comprises a connection part (402) configured to put in fluid passage connecting said expulsion mechanism (41) and said first part (400), abreast to said first part (400) and configured in such a way that a free end of said first part (400) faces away from said ground, when said device (1) is in use, and that said cannula (40) defines globally a U-shaped configuration, said connecting section (402) being devoid of said first accesses (5).
  4. Device (1) according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein said cannula (40) defines a second part (401) in fluid passage communication with said first part (400) and extending to the left of said first part (400) along a second extension direction (4b) in such a way that a free end of said second part (401) faces away from said ground, when said device (1) is in use, and that said cannula (40) globally defines a U-shaped configuration, said second part (401) including second accesses (6) distributed along said second extension direction (4b) on a lateral surface of said second part (401) and mutually spaced in such a way that at least two of said second accesses (6) are separated from said interface surface (32).
  5. Device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one said cannula (40) comprises a float (42) arranged in correspondence with a free end of said cannula (40) and configured to maintain said free end positioned in correspondence of the free surface of said multiphase fluid (3).
  6. Device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said dispenser (4) comprises a plurality of said cannula (40) and at least two of said cannula (40) share at least part of said connection portion (402) or part of said first section (400).
  7. Device (1) according to any preceding claim, wherein said cannula (40) is rigid and maintains the same shape independently of said multiphase liquid (3).
  8. Device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least part of said cannula (40) is deformable and changes its form in dependence upon the level of said multiphase liquid (3) within said casing (2).
  9. Device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said first access (5) and said second access (6) are constituted by holes distributed in such a way as to be mutually equidistant along respectively said first extension direction (4a) and said second extension direction (4b).
  10. Device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said dispenser (4) comprises a spout (43) operatively connected to said expulsion mechanism (41), in fluid passage connection with said cannula (40) and configured to mix said first component (30) and said second component (31) during the expulsion of said multiphase liquid (3) from said casing (2).
  11. Device (1) according to claim 4, comprising two of said separate cannula (40) and one of said cannula is telescopic and includes a piston whose end is connected to said float (42) and having a predetermined stroke along said extension direction (4a) in such a way as to be submerged as long as said first component (30) is above a predetermined level, and to move following said first component (30) when said first component (30) falls below said predetermined level.
  12. Device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said dispenser (4) is configured to dispense the liquid product.
  13. Device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said dispenser (4) is configured to deliver nebulized product.

Description

The present invention relates to a dispensing device for multiphase liquids of the type specified in the preamble of the first claim. In particular, the present invention relates to a dispensing device for liquids which comprise a plurality of phases, preferably two phases, provided with a containment tank and a dispenser. The substances, for example in the liquid state, multiphase are currently known. Multiphase liquids are basically made up of a heterogeneous mixture of two or more components that form at least two phases. If there are two phases, in particular, it is meant of a biphasic substance. The phases involved in the multiphase substance can have the same or different state of aggregation. Unlike homogeneous mixtures, in two-phase substances there is always the presence of a separation interface between the at least two phases. In the case of multiphase liquid substances, in particular, the phase components consist of liquids that are immiscible to each other. Among the devices for dispensing multiphase substances in the liquid state, for example, the Sheridan™ branded double tank bottle is known. Said bottle substantially comprises two immiscible liquids arranged, each one, within its own tank, or its own chamber. Furthermore, the container includes a dispenser configured to mix the two liquids when dispensing is performed. Of course, the liquids in question are food-grade. However, there are also other types of multiphase liquids, preferably biphasic, in the field of cosmetics. In order to allow the simultaneous dispensing and mixing of the phases, devices have been made as described, for example, in patent applications GB-A-1180427, US-A-3760986, WO-A-0126821 and WO-A- 2010133209. The dispensing devices for cosmetics described in the aforementioned applications also include a tank dedicated to each phasic component and a dispenser configured to mix the components when operated. Examples of spray canisters are know from documents US 3 785 537 A1 and US 3 260 421 A. Therefore, in order to contain and dispense the multiphase liquids, the devices of the known art seem to teach to use separate tanks for each component and to mix the components exclusively during the dispensing phase. Alternatively, there are two-phase cosmetics that include the phasic components within the same bottle. However, before using the liquid, it is generally necessary to manually mix the contents of the bottle to mix the different phases included therein. Therefore, the known art described includes some important drawbacks. In particular, according to the known teachings, in order to be able to use a multiphase liquid it is necessary to provide a multi-chamber container in which the chambers are individually connected to a common dispenser. Therefore, the container results to be rather complex and, probably, not very economical. The alternative configuration described, on the other hand, has the important drawback of forcing the user to manually mix the bottle, for example by repeatedly shaking it. In this situation, the technical task underlying the present invention is to devise a dispensing device for multiphase liquids capable of substantially obviating at least part of the aforementioned drawbacks. Within the scope of said technical task, it is an important object of the invention to obtain a multiphase dispensing device for liquids which is structurally simpler and less complex than the devices of the prior art. Another important object of the invention is to provide a dispensing device for multiphase liquids which allows mixing of the phase components without resorting to manual mixing by a user. In conclusion, a further aim of the invention is to provide a dispensing device for multiphase liquids which allows the phasic components to be mixed in an effective and performing manner for the purposes indicated above. The technical task and the specified aims are achieved by a dispensing device for multiphase liquids as claimed in the attached claim 1. Preferred technical solutions are highlighted in the dependent claims. The characteristics and advantages of the invention are clarified below by the detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, with reference to the accompanying figures, in which: the Fig. 1 shows a simplified diagram of a dispensing device for multiphase liquids according to the invention in a first embodiment;the Fig. 2 illustrates a simplified diagram of a dispensing device for multiphase liquids according to the invention in a second embodiment wherein the first section is connected to the expulsion mechanism by means of a connecting part and the cannula defines U-shape;the Fig. 3 is a simplified diagram of a dispensing device for multiphase liquids according to the invention in a third embodiment in which the cannula includes both a first, and a second portion and defines U-shape;the Fig. 4 shows a simplified diagram of a dispensing device for multiphase liquids according to the i