EP2979993A1

EP2979993A1 - Drop dispenser

Info

Publication number: EP2979993A1
Application number: EP15177410.6A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Gilberto Gioacchini
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-07-31
Filing date: 2015-07-17
Publication date: 2016-02-03
Anticipated expiration: 2035-07-17
Also published as: EP2979993B1

Abstract

A dropping vessel (100) comprises a cylinder (1) comprising a chamber (11) intended to contain a liquid to be dispensed drop by drop by a nozzle (12) connected to the chamber (11); wherein the said dropping vessel (100) comprises a lower closing element (2), an upper closing element (4), and spring means (5) disposed between the upper closing element (4) and the lower closing element (2) to generate a vibration every time the upper closing element (4) moves with respect to the lower closing element (2) to dispense a drop of liquid.

Description

The present patent application for industrial invention relates to an improved dropping vessel.
The present invention has been devised following to a critical observation of the known models of dropping vessels which comprise a nozzle from where the liquid contained in the vessel is dispensed drop by drop.
Alternatively, the said dropping vessels are provided with a thin glass tube having a lower end intended to be immersed in the liquid to be dispensed, and an upper end provided with a rubber dropper, the compression of which determines the dispensing of a drop of liquid.
In any case, the use of similar dropping vessels allows for dispensing the liquid contained in the vessel drop by drop, thus guaranteeing a precise dosing of the liquid.
Similar dropping vessels are largely used in several fields, from cosmetics to food, as well as in the pharmaceutical sector for dosing liquid medications to be administered in a precise number of drops.
However, while similar dropping vessels are extremely practical and simple, their use is clearly impossible for blind or partially-sighted persons given the fact that the operation of these type of dropping vessels is based on counting the drops that are being dispensed by it.
Such an inconvenience has been at least partially remedied with the use of the so-called "electronic droppers", which are devised in such manner to generate an acoustic alarm every time a drop of liquid is dispensed from the dropping vessel.
Nevertheless, it must be considered that since they provide for counting the drops dispensed by the vessel exclusively based on the generation of an acoustic alarm, these dropping vessels are useful for blind or partially-sighted persons, but cannot be used by deafblind persons who are not able to perceive the emission of the acoustic alarm because of their pathological condition that combines blindness and deafness in a different extent.
FR2598624 discloses an external device for injecting a medication of the like, in particular insulin, in the human body.
US4367739 discloses a syringe for precisely dispensing fluids, comprising means for indicating the pressure applied to the fluid being dispensed.
US5813572 discloses a dispenser particularly useful for dispensing toothpaste including a tubular body closed at one end and having an opening for receiving the neck portion of a toothpaste tube disposed inside the dispenser.
The purpose of the present invention is to remedy the drawbacks of the prior art by disclosing a dropping vessel that can be easily used also by blind or deafblind persons.
The dropping vessel of the invention comprises:

a cylinder comprising a chamber intended to contain a liquid, and a nozzle connected to the chamber to dispense a drop of liquid;
a lower closing element connected to the cylinder;
a piston slidingly mounted in the chamber of the cylinder and comprising a stem;
an upper closing element connected to the stem of the piston and intended to be movably coupled with the lower closing element in such manner that the movement of the upper closing element with respect to the lower closing element makes the piston slide in the chamber of the cylinder and dispenses a drop of liquid from the nozzle of the cylinder;
clicking means disposed between the upper closing element and the lower closing element and intended to generate a click when the upper closing element is moved with respect to the lower closing element to dispense a drop of liquid;
spring means disposed between the upper closing element and the lower closing element and intended to generate a vibration when the clicking means generate a click to dispense a drop of liquid;
anti-rotational means adapted to prevent a rotation of the stem of the piston inside the chamber of the cylinder.

For purpose of clarity the description of the dropping vessel according to the present invention continues with reference to the attached drawings, which are intended for purposes of illustration only, and not in a limiting sense, wherein:

Fig. 1 is an axonometric view of the dropping vessel of the invention;
Fig. 2 is an axonometric exploded view of the dropping vessel of the invention;
Fig. 3 is the same as Fig. 2, except for each element of the dropping vessel being sectioned along a vertical plane.

Referring to the aforementioned figures, the dropping vessel of the invention is disclosed, which is generally indicated with reference numeral (100).
As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the dropping vessel (100) comprises:

a cylinder (1) comprising a chamber (11) intended to contain a liquid, and a nozzle (12) connected to the chamber (11) for dispensing a drop of liquid;
a lower closing element (2) connected to the cylinder (1) and provided with a hole (20) wherein the nozzle (12) of the cylinder (1) is engaged in such manner to protrude from the lower closing element (2) in lower position;
a piston (3) slidingly mounted in the chamber (11) of the cylinder (1) and comprising a stem (30);
an upper closing element (4) connected to the stem (30) of the piston (3) and intended to be movably coupled with the lower closing element (2) in such manner that a movement of the upper closing element (4) with respect to the lower closing element (2) makes the piston (3) slide in the chamber (11) of the cylinder (1) and dispenses a drop of liquid from the nozzle (12) of the cylinder (1);
clicking means (41, 61) disposed between the upper closing element (4) and the lower closing element (2) and intended to generate a click when the upper closing element (4) is moved with respect to the lower closing element (2) to dispense a drop of liquid;
spring means (41, 5) disposed between the upper closing element (4) and the lower closing element (2) and intended to generate a vibration when the clicking means (47, 61) generate a click to dispense a drop of liquid;

Advantageously, the said spring means (5) comprise a leaf spring. The dropping vessel (100) further comprises:

a lower cap (9) intended to close the nozzle (12) of the cylinder (1) when the dropping vessel (100) is not used;
an upper cap (33) disposed at the end of the stem (30) opposite to the piston (3) and acting as stop for the downward travel of the stem (30) of the piston (3);
anti-tampering means comprising removable straps (8, 9) disposed between the upper cap (33) and the upper closing element (4).

In particular, the anti-tampering means comprise a first strap (F1) that is removed upon the first use of the dropping vessel (100), and a second strap (F2) that is removed only when the liquid inside the cylinder (1) is about to finish, informing the user that the liquid is about to finish and it is necessary to buy another dropping vessel (100).
It must be noted that the lower cap (9) contains an antiseptic disinfectant seal suitable for guaranteeing the tight closing of the nozzle (12) of the cylinder (1).
With reference to Figs. 1 and 2, both the upper closing element (4) and the lower closing element (2) of the dropping vessel (100) of the invention have a cylindrical configuration and comprise an external lateral surface (4a, 2a) provided with protuberances in Braille characters indicating the name of the liquid contained in the chamber (11) of the said cylinder (1).
With reference to Figs. 2 and 3, the stem (30) of the piston (3) is movably mounted with respect to the upper closing element (4) with screw-female screw coupling.
More precisely, the stem (30) of the piston (3) comprises an external thread and the upper closing element (4) is provided with an internally threaded hole (40) wherein the said stem (30) is screwed.
Still referring to Figs. 2 and 3, the dropping vessel (100) of the invention also comprises anti-rotational means (7) suitable for preventing a rotation of the stem (30) of the piston (3) in the chamber (11) of the cylinder (1).
Advantageously, the said anti-rotational means (7) comprise a disk joined to the cylinder (1) and provided with a hole (70) wherein the stem (30) of the piston (3) slides without rotating.
In view of the above, each movement of the upper closing element (4) with respect to the lower closing element (2) corresponds to a sliding movement (30) of the piston (3) in the chamber (11) of the cylinder (1) along a vertical direction (Y-Y).
With reference to Fig. 3, the piston (3) is provided with an annular groove (32) and the dropping vessel (100) of the invention comprises an elastic ring (8) inserted in the said annular groove (32) of the piston (3) in order to act as seal.
With reference to Fig. 2, the cylinder (1) comprises an upper edge (13) provided with a plurality of notches (14) and the anti-rotational disk has an external edge (71) provided with a series of ribs (72) that engage inside the notches (14) of the upper edge (13) of the cylinder.
With reference to Figs. 2 and 3, the dropping vessel (100) of the invention also comprises a closing metal ring (6) intended to be coupled with the lower closing element (2) in such manner to connect the upper closing element (4) with the lower closing element (2).
Advantageously, the said closing metal ring (6) comprises a threaded internal annular surface (60) and the lower closing element (2) comprises a flange (2b) from which an externally threaded shank (2c) protrudes upwards, whereon the closing metal ring (6) is screwed.
Alternatively, a snap-in or fit-in coupling can be provided between the closing metal ring (6) and the lower closing element (2).
With reference to Figs. 2 and 3, the said clicking means (41, 61) comprise a first toothing (41) obtained on a flange (41) of the upper closing element (4) and a second toothing (61) obtained on the closing metal ring (6).
In particular, the distance between two consecutive teeth of each of the two toothings (41, 61) is adjusted in such manner that every click between the two toothings (41, 61) corresponds to a sliding movement of the piston (3) in the chamber (11) of the cylinder (1) along the direction (Y-Y) and to the dispensing of a drop of liquid from the nozzle (12) of the cylinder (1).
The description continues with reference to the operation of the dropping vessel (100) of the invention.
A rotation of the upper closing element (4) with respect to the lower closing element (2) determines a click between the two toothings (41, 61) and the sliding of the piston (3) in the chamber (11) of the cylinder (1), consequently dispensing a drop of liquid from the nozzle (12) of the cylinder (1).
After dispensing a drop of liquid from the nozzle (12) of the cylinder (1), the leaf spring tends to push the upper closing element (4) upwards, generating a vibration that allows the blind or deafblind user to understand that a drop of liquid was dispensed.
During such a vibration, the piston (3) is slightly raised upwards, sucking the remaining liquid outside the nozzle (12) and avoiding the stagnation of liquid outside the nozzle (12).

Claims

Dropping vessel (100) comprising:
- a cylinder (1) comprising a chamber (11) intended to contain a liquid, and a nozzle (12) connected to the chamber (11) to dispense a drop of liquid;

- a lower closing element (2) connected to the cylinder (1);

- a piston (3) slidingly mounted in the chamber (11) of the cylinder (1) and comprising a stem (30);

- an upper closing element (4) connected to the stem (30) of the piston (3) and intended to be movably coupled with the lower closing element (2) in such manner that the movement of the upper closing element (4) with respect to the lower closing element (2) makes the piston (3) slide in the chamber (11) of the cylinder (1) and dispenses a drop of liquid from the nozzle (12) of the cylinder (1);

- clicking means (41, 61) disposed between the upper closing element (4) and the lower closing element (2) and intended to generate a click when the upper closing element (4) is moved with respect to the lower closing element (2) to dispense a drop of liquid;

- spring means (41, 5) disposed between the upper closing element (4) and the lower closing element (2) and adapted to generate a vibration when the clicking means (47, 61) generate a click to dispense a drop of liquid;
characterized in that it comprises
anti-rotational means (7) intended to prevent a rotation of the stem (30) of the piston (3) in the chamber (11) of the cylinder (1).
The dropping vessel (100) of claim 1, wherein the stem (30) of the piston (3) is movably mounted with respect to the upper closing element (4) with screw-female screw coupling.
The dropping vessel (100) of claim 2, wherein the stem (30) of the piston comprises an external thread and the said upper closing element (4) is provided with a hole (40) with internal thread wherein the stem (30) is screwed.
The dropping vessel (100) of any one of the preceding claims, comprising a closing metal ring (6) intended to be coupled with said lower closing element (2) in such manner to connect the upper closing element (4) with the lower closing element (2).
The dropping vessel (100) of claim 4, wherein said clicking means (41, 61) comprise a first toothing (41) obtained on a flange (41) of the upper closing element (4) and a second toothing (61) obtained on the closing metal ring (6).
The dropping vessel (100) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein said anti-rotational means (7) comprise a disk joined to the cylinder (1) and provided with a hole (70) wherein the stem (30) of the piston (3) slides without rotating.
The dropping vessel (100) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the said spring means (5) comprise a leaf spring.
The dropping vessel (100) of any one of the preceding claims, also comprising:
- an upper cap (33) disposed at the end of the stem opposite to the piston and acting as stop for the downward travel of the stem (30) of the piston (3) and

- anti-tampering means comprising removable straps (8, 9) disposed between the upper cap (33) and the upper closing element (4).
The dropping vessel (100) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the said upper closing element (4) and/or the said lower closing element (2) comprise an external lateral surface (4a, 2a) provided with protuberances in Braille characters.