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WO-2026093037-A1 - MEMBER FOR TAKING UP AND DISPENSING A PRODUCT CONTAINED IN A CONTAINER AND ASSEMBLY FOR PACKAGING, TAKING UP AND DISPENSING A PRODUCT COMPRISING SUCH A MEMBER

WO2026093037A1WO 2026093037 A1WO2026093037 A1WO 2026093037A1WO-2026093037-A1

Abstract

Member (20) for taking up and dispensing a fluid product (P), notably a cosmetic product, contained in a container (10), the member (20) comprising: - an uptake and dispensing tube (21), and - an uptake and dispensing bulb (40) secured indirectly to the tube (21) and comprising a neck (41) and a hollow body (42) that is elastically compressible and extends axially from the neck (41) towards the outside, said hollow body (42) being bounded radially by two lateral pressing walls (43a, 43b) facing one another and two junctions (44a, 44b), the lateral pressing walls (43a, 43b) having a width greater than the width of the junctions (44a, 44b), the neck (41) having a thickness greater than the thickness of the lateral pressing walls (43a, 43b), said hollow body (42) having a cross section in the radial direction the shape of which is non-circular, preferably elliptical, defining a major axis (A) and a minor axis (a), the ratio (a/A) between the major axis and the minor axis being strictly less than 0.8.

Inventors

  • Leroux, Stéphane

Assignees

  • L'OREAL

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20251017
Priority Date
20241104

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . Member (20, 120) for taking up and dispensing a fluid product (P), notably a cosmetic product, contained in a container (10, 110), the uptake and dispensing member (20, 120) extending along an axis of extension (Z-Z 1 ) and comprising: - an uptake and dispensing tube (21, 121), and - an uptake and dispensing bulb (40, 140) secured directly or indirectly to the uptake and dispensing tube (21, 121), the uptake and dispensing bulb (40, 140) comprising a neck (41, 141) and a hollow body (42, 142) that is elastically compressible and extends axially from the neck (41, 141) towards the outside, said hollow body (42, 142) being bounded radially by two lateral pressing walls (43a, 43b; 143a, 143b) facing one another and two junctions (44a, 44b; 144a, 144b), the lateral pressing walls (43a, 43b; 143a, 143b) having a width greater than the width of the junctions (44a, 44b; 144a, 144b), the neck (41, 141) having a thickness greater than the thickness of the lateral pressing walls (43a, 43b; 143a, 143b), said hollow body (42, 142) having a cross section in the radial direction the shape of which is non-circular, preferably elliptical, defining a major axis (A) and a minor axis (a), the ratio (a/ A) between the minor axis (a) and the major axis (A) being strictly less than 0.8.
  2. 2. Uptake and dispensing member (20, 120) according to claim 1, wherein the hollow body (42, 142) of the uptake and dispensing bulb (40, 140) is bounded axially by an upper wall (45, 145), the thickness of the upper wall (45, 145) being greater than the thickness of the lateral pressing walls (43a, 43b; 143a, 143b).
  3. 3. Uptake and dispensing member (20, 120) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the thickness of the lateral pressing walls (43a, 43b; 143a, 143b) of the hollow body (42, 142) of the uptake and dispensing bulb (40, 140) is variable along its entire axial dimension.
  4. 4. Uptake and dispensing member (20, 120) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the thickness of the junctions (44a, 44b; 144a, 144b) of the hollow body (42, 142) of the uptake and dispensing bulb is less than the thickness of the lateral pressing walls (43a, 43b; 143a, 143b).
  5. 5. Uptake and dispensing member (20, 120) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the uptake and dispensing bulb (40, 140) is made of thermoplastic material, preferably of polyolefin, preferably of polypropylene (PP), of polyethylene (PE), preferably of polyester, preferably of polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
  6. 6. Uptake and dispensing member (20, 120) according to claim 5, wherein the uptake and dispensing bulb (40, 140) is produced by a simple extrusion or injectionmoulding method configured to create a preform defining the final geometry of the neck (41, 141) followed by a blowing method configured to stretch the body of the preform and create the hollow body (42, 142) of the bulb (40, 140).
  7. 7. Uptake and dispensing member (20, 120) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the minor axis (a) of the hollow body (42, 142) of the uptake and dispensing bulb has a dimension greater than the inside diameter of the neck (41, 141) of said bulb.
  8. 8. Uptake and dispensing member (20, 120) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the uptake and dispensing tube (21, 121) is made from the same material as the uptake and dispensing bulb (40, 140).
  9. 9. Uptake and dispensing member (20, 120) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the neck (41, 141) of the uptake and dispensing bulb (40, 140) has a cross section of circular shape.
  10. 10. Uptake and dispensing member (20, 120) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the hollow body (42, 142) of the uptake and dispensing bulb (40, 140) has an axial length of between 20 mm and 45 mm.
  11. 1 1 . Uptake and dispensing member (20, 120) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the ratio between the maximum radial dimension of the body (42, 142) and the maximum radial dimension of the neck (41, 141) is strictly less than 0.7.
  12. 12. Uptake and dispensing member (20, 120) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the uptake and dispensing bulb (40, 140) has a volume of between 3 mL and 7 mL.
  13. 13. Uptake and dispensing member (20, 120) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the uptake and dispensing tube (21, 121) comprises a body (21a, 121a) of cylindrical overall shape extending along the axis of extension (Z-Z’) and delimiting an interior duct (21b, 121b) extending from an open upper end (21d, 121 d) to an open lower end (21c, 121c) and opening into the internal volume (12, 112) of the container (10, 110).
  14. 14. Uptake and dispensing member (20) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a mounting interface (30) extending along the axis of extension (Z-Z 1 ) and wherein the uptake and dispensing bulb (40) is connected to the uptake and dispensing tube (21) by means of the mounting interface (30).
  15. 15 . Uptake and dispensing member (20) according to Claim 14, wherein the mounting interface (30) comprises: - an upper wall (33); - a mounting skirt (31) comprising a female thread (31a) intended to collaborate with a male thread (14a) of the container (10), - an internal skirt (34) extending from an internal end of the upper wall (33) in a first axial direction; - a first fixing skirt (35) extending axially from the lower end of the internal skirt (34) in the first axial direction and comprising, on its internal surface, a clip-fastening relief (35a) collaborating with a clip-fastening relief (21e) of mating shape formed on the external surface of the uptake and dispensing tube (21); and - a second fixing skirt (36) extending axially from the lower end of the internal skirt (34) in a second axial direction, opposite to the first axial direction, the second fixing skirt (36) being surrounded radially by the internal skirt (34) while leaving a radial space (E) to receive the uptake and dispensing bulb (40), the second fixing skirt (36) comprising on its external surface a clip-fastening relief (36a) collaborating with an associated clip-fastening relief (41a) provided on the internal surface of the uptake and dispensing bulb (40).
  16. 16. Uptake and dispensing member (20) according to claim 15, wherein the first fixing skirt (35) is offset radially towards the inside with respect to the internal skirt (34).
  17. 17. Uptake and dispensing member (20) according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the uptake and dispensing tube (21) further comprises a radial flange (21f) pressing axially against the free end (35b) of the first fixing skirt (35).
  18. 18. Uptake and dispensing member (120) according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the uptake and dispensing bulb (140) is connected directly to the uptake and dispensing tube (121) without any intermediate element, the uptake and dispensing tube (121) comprising, on its external surface, a clip-fastening relief (121g) collaborating with a corresponding clip-fastening relief (141b) provided on the internal surface of the neck (141) of the uptake and dispensing bulb (140).
  19. 19. Uptake and dispensing member (120) according to claim 18, wherein the neck (141) of the uptake and dispensing bulb (140) comprises lugs (141a) projecting radially from the external surface of said neck (141) and intended to collaborate with at least two angular segments (132a) of a mounting interface (130) secured to the container (110).
  20. 20. Assembly (1, 100) for packaging, taking-up and dispensing a fluid product (P), notably a cosmetic product, comprising: - a container (10, 110) delimiting an internal volume (12, 112) intended to contain a fluid product (P) and comprising an open end (16, 116) for accessing said internal volume (12, 112), the container (10, 110) extending axially along the axis of extension (Z-Z 1 ), from an upper end (14, 114) forming a neck provided with the open end (16, 116) as far as a lower end (18, 118) forming the bottom, and - a member (20, 120) for taking up and dispensing the product according to any one of the preceding claims, this member being mounted removably on the container (10, 110) and closing off the open end (16, 116) of said container (10, 110) in an assembled position, the uptake and dispensing tube (21, 121) extending into the container (10, 110) when the assembly (1, 100) is in the assembled position.

Description

DESCRIPTION TITLE: Member for taking up and dispensing a product contained in a container and assembly for packaging, taking up and dispensing a product comprising such a member The present invention relates to the field of members for taking up and dispensing a product, notably a cosmetic product. The term “cosmetic product” is understood, notably within the meaning of the present invention, to mean a product as defined in Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 relating to cosmetic products. More particularly, the invention relates to an assembly for packaging, taking up and dispensing a product, comprising a container or pot, and a member for taking up and dispensing the product contained in the container and mounted on said container. Conventionally, product uptake and dispensing members comprise a hollow bulb or bulb pump of circular cross section configured to be compressed by a user so as to generate a suction pressure inside said bulb, and a tube or duct connected to said bulb and immersed in the container containing the product that is to be taken up. The compressible bulbs are generally produced by a method of injectionmoulding a plastics materials such as a butadiene-acrylonitrile copolymer or nitrile rubber, abbreviated to "NBR", having a Shore A hardness of between 30 and 90. However, although such material allows the bulb to be compressed without supplying an excessive compressive force, and is thus easy to use, such material is not recyclable and does not allow optimal control over the drawing-up and dispensing of the product. The tubes associated with a compressible bulb are generally made of glass or of acid-modified polycyclohexylene dimethylene terephthalate, abbreviated to "PCT- A", or of poly propylene, abbreviated to "PP". The known uptake and dispensing members are thus composed of a plurality of materials that are difficult to recycle or that are recyclable in their own distinct recycling paths, making the recycling process more complicated. To date, there are no uptake and dispensing members that are easily recyclable while at the same time providing the rigidity needed to allow optimal control of the drawing-up and dispensing of the product. Proposing ecologically responsible, environmentally friendly solutions, of which the design and development take into account environmental issues, has become a major concern for tackling global challenges. It is therefore essential to design products that allow the amount of materials used to be reduced and/or that allow them to be replaced with more environmentally friendly materials and/or that allow recyclable materials to be used, in order to reduce the carbon footprint of the product. In this context, it is becoming important to replace certain materials with alternatives offering a better environmental footprint, notably by reducing the use of petrochemical-based starting materials and/or by using materials that are highly recyclable. It is also important to provide recyclable packagings which notably contain elements which consist of as few materials as possible and/or do not comprise materials which are difficult to recycle, in order to make them easier to dismantle at the end of their service life. As a result, it has become apparent that it is necessary to develop packagings consisting of environmentally friendly, recyclable materials to allow the packagings at the end of their service life to be reutilized and avoid pollution of the recycling pathways. The present invention forms part of this strategy of developing uptake and dispensing members for the field of fluid cosmetic products, particularly care products, for example a serum, intended to be applied to the epidermis of a user. Thus, by replacing the materials used in the conventional uptake and dispensing members with a material that is recyclable, it is necessary to modify the entire manufacturing method used for the uptake and dispensing members. Specifically, the use of a more rigid plastic for the bulb is not envisaged in combination with an injection-moulding method, because it would then not be possible to release the bulb from the mould and/or the bulb would be too rigid and would be able to be compressed only with difficulty in order to draw up and dispense product. Moreover, simply replacing the material of the known bulbs would not make it possible to ensure compression that was satisfactory for the drawing-up and dispensing of the product. There is therefore still a need to improve the members for taking up and dispensing a cosmetic product. The object of the present invention is therefore to overcome the above drawbacks and to improve the uptake and dispensing members in order to make them easier to recycle, easy to manufacture, while at the same time ensuring satisfactory compression for drawing up and controlling the dispensing of the product. A subject of the invention is a member for taking up and d