JP2018519221A - Container with sterilization insert - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention has a body (12) that defines an inner product in which the product is held, has a dispensing endpiece 14 through which the product is intended to exit, and an internal volume of the body (12). At least one insert (16, 18, 36), which is in contact with the fluid product and comprises at least one sterilizing material, the at least one insert (16, 18, 36) ) A device characterized in that it is made entirely of sterilizing material.

Description

  The present invention relates to a container for storing and dispensing a fluid product, such as a cosmetic product, designed to limit the potential growth of bacteria in the fluid product.

  More specifically, the present invention proposes a container having means for replacing chemical additives.

Many fluid products, such as the prior art, such as cosmetics, are contained in sealed containers to avoid product oxidation and, for example, avoid contamination of the product with bacteria.

  Such containers have in particular a flexible or rigid body whose walls are hermetically sealed against air and any other kind of contaminants and have end pieces for dispensing products. .

  In order to avoid product oxidation, the container comprises a dispensing end piece designed to only allow the product to exit, which is referred to as an “airless” type end piece. Such end pieces are designed to open in the direction in which the product exits and automatically close as soon as the desired amount of product has exited.

  The container is then designed to be deformable and compressible as the product is withdrawn. In practice, by applying pressure to the container wall, pressure is created in the container and the product is discharged.

  Patent Document 1 describes an “airless” type distribution end piece. Thereby, it is possible to prevent contamination of the product remaining in the container even when a predetermined amount of the product leaves the container or when the user collects the discharged product.

  Thus, there are a number of solutions to protect the product from contamination that may come from outside the container.

  Storage of such products in containers is accomplished by the use of preservative compounds such as, for example, antioxidants, anti-molding agents, bactericides, virucidal agents, or antifungal agents.

  Such compounds can have deleterious effects, especially when the product in which they are used is a cosmetic intended to be applied to the skin.

  It has been proposed to sell products that do not have such compounds. In order to ensure shelf life, it has been proposed to enhance the hygienic and sterilized conditions of the manufacturing site, which has been found to be particularly complex and costly to implement.

French Application No. 3.011.826

  The object of the present invention is to propose a container designed to limit the diffusion of potential contaminating elements in the product contained within the container.

  The present invention includes a body defining a volume in which the product is retained, a dispensing end piece for removing the product from the container, and at least one insert disposed within the interior volume of the body, wherein the product is in contact with the fluid product. And a container for storing and dispensing a fluid product comprising an insert comprising at least one disinfectant, characterized in that the at least one insert is made entirely of a disinfectant material. Suggest a container.

  The presence of the disinfectant insert in the interior volume of the container makes it possible to place the product still present in the container in contact with the disinfectant.

  Various manipulations of the container to withdraw the product make it possible to achieve mixing of the product in order to increase the proportion of the product that brings in contact with the insert

  Preferably, the at least one insert is made of another material completely covered by a sterilizing material.

  Preferably, the at least one insert comprises at least one bead that moves freely within the internal volume of the body.

  Preferably, the at least one insert consists of a porous or perforated element through which fluid can pass.

  Preferably, the at least one insert consists of a grid.

  Preferably, at least one insert is arranged between the dispensing end piece and the internal volume of the body.

  Preferably, the insert forms a sheet extending in the central main plane of the body.

  Preferably, the at least one insert at least partially covers the inner wall of the body.

  Preferably, the at least one insert is made of a material selected from copper and silver.

  Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description following the description of the figures to understand which reference should be made to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view of a side view of a container for a fluid product having two inserts according to the present invention. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the container shown in FIG. 1 along a central vertical main plane. FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic view of another container having an insert according to another embodiment of the present invention.

  1 and 2 show a container 10 for containing a fluid or liquid product. This product can be, for example, a cosmetic cream or gel.

  The container 10 here is obtained from a cylindrical tube having an elongated hollow body 12 and closed with a flat bottom end 12a. According to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the body 12 is made of a flexible material, such as a plastic material. It can also be made of a ductile and easily deformable material.

  The container 10 also has an end piece 14 for dispensing the product, through which the product is intended to be withdrawn by the user.

  According to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the end piece 14 seals the upper end 12 b of the main body 12.

  Furthermore, here, the end piece 14 for dispensing the product is an end piece that only allows the product to be ejected, in other words so that nothing enters the interior volume of the container 10. It is a predetermined amount of product that can come out of the container, or air.

  The end piece 14 is a so-called “airless” type end piece. Here, it is comprised from an end piece as described in patent document 1, and patent document 1 can be referred for the detail of the structure or operation | movement.

  Thanks to this end piece 14, the internal volume of the container 10 is isolated from the outside, more particularly from any contaminating elements that can cause oxidation or contamination of the product by the bacteria present therein.

  Product contamination can occur prior to the first use of the product, for example, during the product manufacturing process or while the product is being introduced into the container 10 despite a number of precautions that can be taken in the field. Can happen.

  In order to avoid this contamination diffusion in the product, the container 10 has at least one insert 16 disposed in the interior volume, the insert being in permanent contact with the product contained in the container 10.

  The insert 16 is made of a bactericidal material. As a non-limiting example, the fungicide is preferably copper and the insert can also be silver.

In the case of copper, when in contact with the product, the insert 16 releases Cu ⁺⁺ ions that have a bactericidal effect.

  According to a first embodiment, the insert is made of another material such as a plastic material or other metal that is covered by sterilization material by plating or vapor deposition. Thereby, in particular, the manufacturing cost of the insert 16 can be reduced.

  According to another embodiment, the insert 16 is made entirely of this sterilizing material.

  According to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the insert 16 has a substantially flat grid shape extending along the central main plane of the container.

  Here, this central plane is a vertical plane in the orientation shown in the figure, which passes through the flat lower end 12a of the main body 12. Therefore, according to a specific embodiment, the lower end of the insert 16 is disposed at the level of the lower end 12a of the main body 12, and the lower end 12a of the main body 12 is moved when the lower end 12a of the main body 12 is closed. It is held in the body 12 by being crushed and permanently deformed.

  The grid shape of the insert 16 makes it possible to increase the contact surface with the product contained in the container of the insert 16 and to handle a larger amount of product.

  According to an alternative embodiment not shown, the container has one or more inserts in the form of beads made of or covered with a sterilizing material. These beads can move freely in the container so that they can come into contact with the entire product contained in the container. These beads have the further advantage that they are mixed by the beads while moving in the container to allow product homogenization.

  In addition, because the wall of the body 12 is flexible, this allows the product in the container 10 to be mixed during each operation, and further, the insert is in the form of one grid, or one or more grids. Increasing the amount of product that contacts the insert 16 during shape.

  According to another embodiment, the container has a second insert 18 located at the height of the end piece 14 for dispensing the product.

  This second insert 18 is again produced in the form of a grid based on a sterilizing material molded into a hopper shape and separates the opening of the end piece 14 from the internal volume of the body 12.

  Here, the second insert 18 has a cylindrical grid 20 substantially coaxial with the vertical main axis of the end piece 14 and a bottom grid 22 at the lower end of the cylindrical grid.

  Thanks to this second insert 18, the product flowing towards the dispensing end piece 14 is forced to pass through the grid constituting the second insert 18. This amount of product is then contacted with the sterilizing material, which then acts on the product.

  This makes it possible to dispense pre-sterilized products.

  The shape and dimensions of the second insert 18 are defined to allow the processing of the average amount of product drawn during each use.

  In FIG. 3, another container 30 having a rigid wall is shown. For example, the container is made of glass.

  The container 30 here has a body 32 in which the product is stored and an open dispensing end piece 34. The end piece 34 can receive a cap (not shown) for closing the opening of the end piece 34.

  According to this embodiment, the product is withdrawn directly from the opening of the end piece 34 using, for example, a finger or a suitable tool.

  The container has an insert 36 provided in the main body 32. This insert is made of the aforementioned sterilizing material, for example made of copper.

  The insert 36 is pressed against the wall of the body 32 so as not to obstruct the withdrawal of the product.

  According to an alternative embodiment, the insert consists of a sheet based on a sterilizing material or consists of a layer of sterilizing material, in which case the insert 36 is applied on these walls.

  The dimensional characteristics of the grid constituting each insert 16, 18, 36, ie its pitch and the thickness of each bar, are defined as a function of the product, in particular as a function of its viscosity.

  Such inserts 16, 18, 36 make it possible to sterilize the product present in the container 10 at any time and whatever the conditions of use of the container.

  As a result, the hygiene restrictions at the production site are alleviated, so that all hygiene management and user safety can be ensured, and the cost of commercializing products in such containers can be reduced.

  Containers 10 and 30 are described as containing cosmetics. It will be appreciated that such containers can be used in particular for any type of fluid product for cosmetic, pharmaceutical or food use.

  It has been described above that the material constituting the insert 16 may be copper or silver. These two materials are non-limiting examples of the present invention, and each insert 16 is an alloy of one and / or the other of these two materials or has bactericidal properties and is a container It can be made of any other material that is chemically compatible with the fluid product contained within.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Container 12 Main body 12a Lower end part 12b Upper end part 14 Distributing end piece 16 Insert 18 Second insert 20 Cylindrical grid 22 Bottom grid 30 Container 32 Main body 34 Distributing end piece 36 Insert

Claims (8)

A container (10, 30) for storing and dispensing a fluid product, having a body (12) defining a volume in which the product is held, and the product exits the container (10) A dispensing end piece (14, 34) for
And at least one insert (16, 18, 36) disposed in the internal volume of the body (12) in contact with the fluid product and comprising at least one sterilizing material;
Container, characterized in that the at least one insert (16, 18, 36) is made entirely of the sterilizing material.   2. Container according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least one insert consists of at least one bead that moves freely within the internal volume of the body (12). 2. Container according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least one insert (16, 18, 36) consists of a porous or perforated element that can be passed by the fluid.   2. Container according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least one insert (16, 18, 36) consists of a grid.   A container according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the at least one insert (18) is arranged between the dispensing end piece (14) and the internal volume of the body (12).   5. A container according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the insert (16) forms a sheet extending in the central main plane of the body (12).   5. Container according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the at least one insert (36) covers at least part of the inner wall of the body (12).   A container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one insert (16, 18, 36) is made of a material selected from copper and silver.

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