阅读说明：本技术 用于液体制剂的计量分配的分配头和分配装置、及其潜在用途 (Dispensing head and dispensing device for metered dispensing of liquid formulations, and potential uses thereof ) 是由 李赫熙 犹特·斯坦因费尔德 马库斯·马勒 弗兰克·霍尔泽 于 2019-04-01 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及一种用于分配装置的分配头(1),以及一种用于液体制剂的计量分配的分配装置(100),该分配装置配备有分配头。分配头包括专用阀(6),该阀包括至少一个密封唇(7a、7b),通过该密封唇能够关闭形成在分配头中用于分配液体制剂的通道(3)。本发明的特征在于分配头(1)的简单性以及与之相关的制造中的经济优势。(The invention relates to a dispensing head (1) for a dispensing device, and to a dispensing device (100) for metered dispensing of a liquid formulation, which dispensing device is equipped with a dispensing head. The dispensing head comprises a dedicated valve (6) comprising at least one sealing lip (7a, 7b) by means of which a channel (3) formed in the dispensing head for dispensing the liquid formulation can be closed. The invention is characterized by the simplicity of the dispensing head (1) and the economic advantages in the manufacture associated therewith.)

1. A dispensing head (1) for a dispensing device (100) for metered dispensing of a liquid formulation (2), comprising:

a channel (3) having an inlet opening (4) arranged inside for the liquid formulation, and an external dispensing opening (5), wherein the inlet opening connects the inner space (8) with the external environment through the channel (3); and

and a valve (6) comprising a valve body (7) arranged on one side of the inner space (8) above the inlet opening (4) and configuring the inlet opening (4) reversibly sealingly closable with respect to the inner space (8) for the liquid formulation (3),

it is characterized in that the preparation method is characterized in that,

the valve body (7) has at least one sealing lip (7a, 7b) which is formed on the side of the valve body (7) facing the inlet opening (4) and seals the inner space (8) with respect to the inlet opening (4) when the valve body (7) closes the inlet opening (4).

2. Dispensing head (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the valve body (7) comprises at least two sealing lips, one inner sealing lip (7a) and one outer sealing lip (7 b).

3. Dispensing head (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one sealing lip (7a, 7b), in particular the inner sealing lip (7a) and the outer sealing lip (7b), are arranged concentrically on the valve body (7).

4. Dispensing head (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the valve body (7) and the at least one sealing lip (7a, 7b) are formed in one piece.

5. Dispensing head (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one sealing lip (7a, 7b) has a height in the direction towards the inlet opening (4) of 0.05 to 1mm, preferably 0.1 to 0.5 mm.

6. Dispensing head (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the width of the at least one sealing lip (7a, 7b) is 0.05 to 1mm, preferably 0.1 to 0.4 mm.

7. Dispensing head (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the valve body (7) and the at least one sealing lip (7a, 7b) are formed from a thermoplastic or elastomeric plastic, preferably from a polyolefin such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, or from a polyamide such as PA6, PA66, PA 12.

8. Dispensing head (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the valve (6) comprises a frame (9b) having at least one fastening element (9a) to which the valve body (7) is fixed, wherein the frame (9b) is fastened to the dispensing head (1).

9. Dispensing head (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the valve body (7), the frame (9b) and the at least one fastening element (9a) are formed in one piece.

10. Dispensing head (1) according to one of the two preceding claims, characterized in that the dispensing head (1) has a cutout (10) into which a frame (9b) is fitted in a force-transmitting or form-fitting manner together with the valve body (7).

11. Dispensing head (1) according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the valve (6) is loosely received in a cutout (10) of the dispensing head (1) and is formed so as to be vertically (v) movable in the cutout (10).

12. The dispensing head (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the valve body (7) is dimensioned such that the liquid formulation (2) can flow between the valve body and the wall delimiting the slit (10).

13. The dispensing head (1) according to one of the two preceding claims, characterized in that the slit (10) has a delimiting portion (11) which prevents the valve (6) from being guided completely perpendicularly (v) out of the slit (10).

14. Dispensing head (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the valve body (7) has a guide extension (7c) which engages into the channel (3) and has a smaller cross section than the channel (3).

15. Dispensing head (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said guide extension (7c) and said valve body (7) are formed in one piece.

16. A dispensing device (100) for metered dispensing of a liquid formulation (2), comprising:

the dispensing head (1) according to one of the preceding claims; and

a flexible storage container (20),

wherein the dispensing head (1) is mounted in a fluid-tight manner on the storage container (20).

17. Dispensing device (100) according to the preceding claim, wherein the flexible storage container is a squeeze bottle that can be actuated by pressure.

18. Dispensing device (100) according to one of the two preceding claims, characterized in that the storage container (20) is formed from a material selected from thermoplastics and elastic plastics, in particular from polyolefins such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, or from polyamides such as PA6, PA66, PA 12.

19. Use of a dispensing device (100) according to one of claims 16 to 18 for storing and/or metered dispensing: ophthalmic products, especially eye drops; products for nasal use, in particular nasal drops; liquid, gel, cream, ointment, food and food supplement.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a dispensing head for a dispensing device and a dispensing device equipped with a dispensing head for the metered dispensing of a liquid formulation. Here, the dispensing head comprises a dedicated valve comprising at least one sealing lip by means of which a passage introduced into the dispensing head for dispensing the liquid formulation can be closed. The invention is characterized by the simplicity of the dispensing head and the economic advantages associated therewith in manufacturing.

Background

WO 2018/010889 relates to a pump head which enables metered dispensing of a liquid and a metering device which can be configured, for example, as a squeeze bottle, comprising a correspondingly configured pump head. However, the pump heads described herein do not have sufficient pressure sensitivity to make directional metered dispensing of a particular volume of fluid to be metered difficult.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a dispensing head for a dispensing device for the metered dispensing of a liquid formulation, or to provide a corresponding dispensing device which is as pressure sensitive as possible, thereby facilitating the dispensing of accurately metered amounts of a fluid to be dispensed, in particular a liquid having a low surface tension such as an aqueous solution. The dispensing head should additionally have a valve of as simple a design as possible. This object is achieved by the features of the dispensing head in claim 1 and the features of the dispensing device in claim 16. A possible use of the dispensing device is given in claim 19.

The invention therefore relates to a dispensing head for a dispensing device for the metered dispensing of a liquid formulation, comprising a channel with an inlet opening arranged on the inside for the liquid formulation and an outer dispensing opening, wherein the inlet opening connects an interior space with the outside environment via the channel and a valve, wherein the valve comprises a valve body which is arranged on the side of the interior space above the inlet opening and the inlet opening is designed to be reversibly sealingly closable with respect to the interior space for the liquid formulation, wherein the valve body has at least one sealing lip which is formed on the side of the valve body facing the inlet opening and seals the interior space with respect to the inlet opening when the valve body closes the inlet opening.

The dispensing head thus has a passage through which the liquid formulation to be dispensed can be dispensed from the inner side (on which the valve is arranged) to the outer side. The dispensing head for this purpose comprises a channel with an inlet opening arranged on the inside, and an outer dispensing opening. The valve is here configured such that in certain operating states of the dispensing head, the valve is able to independently close the inlet opening of the passage (and thus the entire passage).

According to the invention, the valve body has at least one sealing lip, by means of which the inlet opening of the channel can be effectively closed. Here, the valve body itself is formed so as to be movable relative to the inlet opening, so that in the open state of the valve, the liquid formulation to be metered can be dispensed into the inlet opening and the channel and through the dispensing opening to the outside.

The valve according to the invention thus enables the fluid to be dispensed to pass between the dispensing head and the at least one sealing lip or the sealing lips if the fluid dispensed to the passage inlet opening exerts no pressure at all, or a sufficiently small pressure, on the valve body. In the case of a pressure increase on the valve body (for example via the fluid to be dispensed) or in the exemplary case of a pressure increase occurring, the valve body with the at least one sealing lip arranged thereon is pressed sufficiently strongly against the dispensing head so as to reliably close the inlet opening of the passage. In this operating state, the passage is closed by the valve.

Thus, when no pressure is applied to the squeeze bottle, the valve opens; then, there is a narrow gap between the at least one sealing lip of the valve body and the wall of the dispensing head. However, the gap here has such a small size that no liquid can flow out even if the metering device with the dispensing head according to the invention is placed with the outlet opening facing downwards (e.g. when transporting or storing the metering device in a corresponding position such as in a handbag or a pants pocket). This is due to the surface tension of the liquid and the small distance between the valve and the wall of the dispensing head. The fluid to be metered is dispensed by applying pressure to the fluid present inside the metering device (e.g., applying pressure on a squeeze bottle). Here, the liquid is dispensed in a metered manner until the valve is closed. The valve is closed by pressure on the squeeze bottle and after dispensing a specified metered volume, the outlet passage is fluidly closed even if pressure continues.

When the metering device is stored downwards (i.e. when the valve is arranged above the channel), the fluid to be metered can flow into the channel as the valve is opened. When the metering device is actuated (i.e. by applying pressure to the stored fluid, for example by squeezing a squeeze bottle), metered dispensing of the fluid is effected through the valve until the passage is closed. The metered amount is thus defined by the metering stroke of the valve.

If there is air between the valve and the liquid, i.e. when the metering device is stored upwards (i.e. when the valve is arranged below the passage), only air is present in the passage because the liquid flows back into the storage container under the influence of gravity. Thus, only a stroke of air is expelled when pressure is applied.

The invention is characterized in particular by the simplicity of the valve, which can be formed in one piece and can be placed in the dispensing head, for example. In this respect, no further fastening means are required for the valve; both the dispensing head and the valve can likewise be made of a single material, so that foreign bodies such as metal or complex mechanical mechanisms are omitted.

According to a preferred embodiment, the valve body comprises at least two sealing lips, namely one inner sealing lip and one outer sealing lip.

More preferably, at least one sealing lip, in particular an inner sealing lip and an outer sealing lip, is arranged concentrically on the valve body. Due to the concentric design, the inlet opening, which is likewise formed circularly in cross section, can be tightly enclosed for the likewise circularly formed channel and thus sealed off from the interior space.

For the production of the valve, it is particularly advantageous if the valve body and the at least one sealing lip are formed in one piece.

It is further preferred that the at least one sealing lip has a height in the direction towards the inlet opening of 0.05 to 1mm, preferably 0.1 to 0.5 mm.

The at least one sealing lip (7a, 7b) can, for example, have a width of 0.05 to 1mm, preferably 0.1 to 0.4 mm.

It is further preferred that at least one sealing lip is formed from a thermoplastic or elastomeric plastic, in particular from a polyolefin such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, or from a polyamide such as PA6, PA66, PA 12.

It is also possible that the valve comprises a frame with at least one fastening element to which the valve body is fixed and which is fastened to the dispensing head.

It is particularly advantageous here if the valve body, the frame and the at least one fastening element are formed in one piece.

It is further preferred in the aforementioned embodiments that the dispensing head has a cutout in which the frame and the valve body are mounted together in a force-transmitting or form-fitting manner.

A further preferred embodiment provides that the valve is loosely received in a cutout of the dispensing head and is formed so as to be vertically movable in the cutout.

It is particularly preferred in the aforementioned embodiments that the valve body is dimensioned such that the liquid formulation can flow between the valve body and the wall surrounding the incision.

It is particularly preferred that the valve body is loosely placed in the cut-out to secure the valve and the valve body. According to this preferred embodiment it is provided that the slit has a delimiting part which prevents the valve from being guided completely perpendicularly out of the slit.

It is further preferred that the valve body has a guide extension which is inserted into the passage, and that the guide extension has a smaller cross-section than the passage.

It can be particularly preferred here for the guide extension and the valve body to be formed in one piece.

The invention also relates to a dispensing device for metered dispensing of a liquid formulation comprising a dispensing head according to one of the preceding claims and a flexible storage container, wherein the dispensing head is mounted on the storage container in a fluid-tight manner.

The storage container is here formed in particular as a squeeze bottle which can be actuated by pressure.

Here, the storage container can be formed from a material selected from thermoplastics and elastic plastics, in particular from polyolefins such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, or from polyamides such as PA6, PA66, PA 12.

The invention also relates to the use of the aforementioned dispensing device according to the invention. Possible uses according to the invention are as follows: storage and/or metered dispensing of ophthalmic products, especially eye drops; storage and/or metered dispensing of products for nasal use, in particular nasal drops; storage and/or metered dispensing of liquids, gels, creams, pastes, foods and food supplements.

Drawings

The invention is described in more detail with reference to the following figures and examples, without limiting the invention to the particular cases shown.

Respectively show that:

figure 1 is a first embodiment of a dispensing head and dispensing device according to the invention in an open state;

FIG. 2a is the dispensing device after completion of dispensing of the metered volume and thus closing of the valve according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 2b is the dispensing device according to the first embodiment in an equalized pressure state (i.e., the suction force in the squeeze bottle is balanced by the inflow of air);

FIG. 3 is a second embodiment of a dispensing device according to the present invention in an open state;

FIG. 4a is the dispensing device after completion of dispensing of the metered volume and thus closing of the valve according to the second embodiment; and

figure 4b is a dispensing device according to the second embodiment in an equilibrium pressure state (i.e. the suction in the squeeze bottle is balanced by the inflow of air).

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows a first embodiment of a dispensing device 100 according to the invention, comprising a dispensing head 1 according to the invention. The right-hand side of fig. 1 shows the entire dispensing device 100 in a state in which the fluid 2 stored in the storage container 20 is metered out. Here, the storage container 20 is connected to the dispensing head 1 according to the invention, for example by means of a snap closure or another mechanical fastener. Here, the dispensing head has a dispensing opening 5 through which the liquid formulation 2 can be dispensed. The dispensing opening 5 communicates via the channel 3 with an inlet opening 4, through which the liquid formulation 2 can flow from the inner space 8 via the channel 3 towards the dispensing opening 5.

Here, the storage container 20 is formed in particular as a squeeze bottle which can be squeezed and thus pressure-actuated (see arrow shown on the right in fig. 1).

A valve 6 capable of reversibly closing the inlet opening 4 of the channel 3 is shown in the detailed embodiment in section a (lower left corner of fig. 1). A further enlarged schematic view of the valve 6 can be seen in section B, which selectively shows the valve 6 in a cross-sectional view (section B top) and a perspective plan view (section B bottom).

Here, the valve 6 has a valve body 7 with two concentric sealing lips 7a and 7b on its underside (i.e. on the side of the channel 3 facing the inlet opening 4). The metering volume is first dispensed under high pressure. After dispensing to a defined volume, the valve 6 is then closed as the pressure increases. Due to the pressure exerted on the squeeze bottle, the valve body 7 is pressed against the inlet opening 4 of the channel 3, in particular by the sealing lips 7a, 7b, and a fluid closure takes place, wherein a valve body 7 through which the fluid 2 cannot pass temporarily is formed between the wall of the dispensing head 1, against which the valve body 7 bears, and the inlet opening 4 of the channel 3. This is different from conventional squeeze bottles that do not dispense a metered amount, but rather the dispensing stops when the pressure on the squeeze bottle ceases. The metering volume can therefore be metered independently of the pressure exerted on the squeeze bottle and therefore always equally.

In the exemplary case of fig. 1, the valve 6 is here configured such that the valve body 7 (with the sealing lips 7a, 7b located thereon) is fastened to the frame 9b by means of a retaining arm 9 a. All the previously mentioned components constitute the valve 6. The valve 6 can be inserted into a receiving opening 10 in the dispensing head 1 provided for receiving the valve 6 and the valve can be fastened therein (for example, only by a corresponding dimensioning of the receiving opening 10 in the dispensing head and of the valve 6) without the need to use additional mechanical means for fastening the valve 6 in the dispensing head 1.

In fig. 2a, a dispensing device 100 as already shown in fig. 1 is shown. For clarity, reference numerals for all identical components are not listed in fig. 2. In the detailed view I, a state is shown in which the valve body 7 is fully pressed against the inlet opening 4 of the channel 3 and the channel 3 is thus closed by the valve body 7.

Fig. 2b shows a pressure equalization state, i.e. when the dispensing device 100 is set to a storage state after dispensing has taken place. Here, the dispensing device is placed on the base of the storage container 20. The squeeze bottle 20 reversibly expands; here, the volume previously dispensed in the form of liquid 2 is replaced by air (see in detail II), which can flow into the interior space 8 through the channel 3. Thus, by sucking in air, pressure equalization occurs inside. Here the position of the squeeze bottle has no effect.

Fig. 3 shows an alternative embodiment of a dispensing head 1 according to the invention with an alternative valve 6. In the case of fig. 3, the valve 6 has a valve body 7, on which valve body 7 (or, analogously to the valve 6 according to fig. 1) two sealing lips 7a and 7b are arranged, which are arranged on the underside. The valve body 7 additionally has a guide extension 7 c. Here, the valve 6 is accommodated in an accommodation opening 10 of the dispensing head 1 and can be moved vertically there (indicated by arrow v). The receiving opening 10 has a delimiting portion 11 which can be configured, for example, in the form of a projection or narrowing of the receiving opening 10, to prevent the valve 6 from falling out of the receiving opening 10 in the operating state or in the state in which the metering device is placed upside down on the base of the squeeze bottle 20.

Here, the valve body 7 is dimensioned such that the fluid 2 can flow between the wall of the receiving opening 10 and the tip of the valve body 7, at any time in the direction of the inlet opening 4 or the channel 3.

The guide extension 7c shown in the exemplary case of fig. 3 is here configured to fix the valve 6 in a horizontal position relative to the channel 3 or the inlet opening 4, so that a reliable sealing of the inlet opening 4 is always ensured by the sealing lips 7a, 7 b.

The function of the valve 6, in particular the pressure involved for the reversible closing of the inlet opening 4, is moreover the same as in the embodiment of fig. 1.

Fig. 4a shows the dispensing device 100 in state I (in a similar manner to fig. 2 a) in which the inlet opening 4 of the channel 3 is completely closed by the valve 6. This condition occurs when a higher pressure is applied to the rear of the squeeze bottle 20.

Fig. 4b shows the dispensing device 100 in state II, wherein the previously dispensed volume of the liquid formulation 2 is replaced by air L and the squeeze bottle 20 is restored to the original state (see arrows shown).