OA18345A - Rigid casing for compressible tube. - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a rigid casing (10) for a flexible tube (12) comprising: a body (20) of main longitudinal orientation, which consists of an upper wall (26), a lower wall (28) located in vis-à-vis and at a distance from the upper longitudinal wall (26) and from two side walls (30) connecting the upper wall (26) with the lower wall (28), a rigid head (22) located at one longitudinal end front of the body (20) which includes a central orifice (32), the casing being made in one piece from a rigid material the rear longitudinal end of each side wall has a boss projecting inwardly relative to the internal face of said side wall.

Description

RIGID ENCLOSURE FOR COMPRESSIBLE TUBE

DESCRIPTION

TECHNICAL AREA

The invention relates to a rigid envelope intended to cover a tube comprising a liquid or pasty product.

This tube is flexible and gradually compresses as the product is dispensed. The rigid casing thus makes it possible to maintain a substantially constant external appearance, it also makes it possible to protect the tube against any involuntary compression.

STATE OF THE PRIOR ART

Among the containers containing products in cream or paste, there is a container in the form of a flexible tube which is squeezed to release its contents.

Depending on the elasticity or not of its walls, the tube may have a tendency to resume its initial shape after the release of the pressure applied to it. In doing so, air is drawn into the tube to compensate for the volume of product which may have been taken.

Some tubes are equipped with anti-return devices that automatically close the dispensing orifice, to prevent air from entering the tube.

Also, the tube deforms progressively by crushing, as the product is withdrawn.

These deformations of the tube affect the general appearance of the tube.

Also, a deformation of the tube, while its dispensing end piece is still blocked, for example by a plug of the type that can be clipped onto the end piece, produces an overpressure of the product in the tube. The product can then exit through the dispensing nozzle in an uncontrolled manner, which is unpleasant for the user.

Document US Pat. No. 1,889,885 describes a rigid casing for protecting a product dispensing tube such as toothpaste.

This envelope consists of two plates between which the product tube is placed.

These two plates partially surround the distribution tube, to protect it from a large part of the stresses that it could undergo.

However, this envelope does not completely cover the distribution tube, so that it is clearly visible from the outside, which is not aesthetic.

Also, the casing described in this document is made in two parts which are movable with respect to one another, to allow the tube to be mounted between them. The handling of the two parts and the means for their fixing can prove to be difficult for a user.

In addition, the tube is only secured to the casing at its end at which the dispensing nozzle is located. This therefore reduces the stability of the tube in the casing and exposes it to external stresses.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a rigid casing for a flexible tube comprising a body of longitudinal main orientation, which consists of an upper wall, a lower wall located opposite and at a distance from the upper longitudinal wall and two side walls connecting the upper wall with the lower wall, a rigid head located at a front longitudinal end of the body which includes a central orifice, characterized in that it is made in one piece from a rigid material.

The realization of the casing in a single piece makes it easier to use it since the user does not need to handle different parts during assembly of the flexible tube.

Preferably, the rear longitudinal end of each side wall carries a boss projecting inwardly with respect to the internal face of said side wall.

Preferably, each boss has a groove open longitudinally towards the front.

Preferably, the bottom wall has a longitudinal opening which is open at the rear end edge of the bottom wall.

Preferably, said opening has a front edge which is located behind the front end edge of the bottom wall.

Preferably, one and / or the other of the upper wall and the lower wall is substantially planar.

Preferably, one and / or the other of the upper wall and of the lower wall is convex curved towards the outside of the envelope.

Preferably, and / or the other of the upper wall and the lower wall is in the shape of a trapezoid of which the parallel sides of the trapezoid are formed by the front and rear longitudinal end edges of said upper wall or said lower wall.

The invention also provides an assembly comprising a rigid casing according to the invention and a flexible tube arranged inside the casing, said tube comprising a body made of deformable material, a front end comprising a dispensing orifice, and an end closed rear, characterized in that the tube is held in position in the casing by an elastic interlocking of the front end of the tube in the front end of the casing.

Preferably, the shape of the casing body is similar to the shape of the tube body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will become apparent on reading the detailed description which follows, for the understanding of which reference is made to the appended figures, among which:

- Figure 1 is a schematic representation in top view of an envelope according to the invention;

- Figure 2 is a bottom view of the casing shown in Figure 1;

- Figure 3 is an end view of the rear end of the casing shown in Figure 1;

- Figure 4 is an end view of the front end of the casing shown in Figure 1;

- Figure 5 shows different shapes of the upper face or the lower face of the envelope shown in Figures 1 and 2;

- Figure 6 shows an example of the shape of the front end of the casing shown in Figures 1 and 2;

- Figure 7 shows different shapes of the rear end of the casing shown in Figures 1 and 2;

FIG. 8 is a detail on a larger scale of the front end of the body and of the tube, showing the means for securing by clipping;

- Figure 9 is a view similar to that of Figure 8, for which the sealing of the dispensing orifice of the tube is effected by a movable cover.

DETAILED PRESENTATION OF PARTICULAR EMBODIMENTS

There is shown in Figures 1 to 4 an envelope 10 containing a flexible tube 12.

The flexible tube 12 contains a pasty or liquid product, such as for example a cosmetic cream.

The tube 12 comprises a body 14 made of deformable material, a front end 16 comprising a dispensing orifice, and a closed rear end 18.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the body 14 is obtained from a tubular cylinder which is closed at its rear end by folding to form a rectilinear ridge constituting the rear end 18 of the tube 12.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to such a flexible tube and that the shape and / or the dimensions of the tube 12 may be different from that shown in the figures.

For example, the body of the tube 12 may be of frustoconical or domed main shape.

The front end 16 of the tube 12 is similar in shape to the main section of the cylinder making it possible to produce the body 14 of the tube 12. Here, as can be seen in particular in FIG. 4, the shape of the front end 16 of the tube 12. tube is circular.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to this shape, the front end 16 of the tube can also be oblong or oval for example.

The envelope 10 is intended to at least partially cover the tube 12.

The casing 10 comprises a body 20 which delimits a volume in which the body 14 of the tube 12 is received, a front end 22 which cooperates with the front end 16 of the tube 12 and a rear end 24 which cooperates with the rear end 18 of tube 12.

The casing 10 is preferably made in one piece, for example by molding a plastic material or any other material.

Thus, the body 20, the front end 22 and the rear end 24 of the casing 10 are parts of a single piece.

The front end 22 of the casing 10 is of associated shape, and preferably complementary to the shape of the front end 16 of the tube 12.

Here, the front end 16 of the tube 12 is of conical shape, the front end 22 of the casing 10 is also of conical shape.

It has a central orifice 32 which is intended to be crossed by a nozzle 34 for distributing the tube 12.

The body 20 surrounds the body 14 of the tube 12. It comprises an upper face 26 and a lower face 28, the two upper faces 26 and lower 28 are interconnected by side walls 30. These four walls 26, 28, 30 of the body 20 are distributed around body 14 of tube 12.

The shape of each of the walls of the body 20 is defined so that the body 20 envelops the body 14 of the tube 12 as much as possible.

Here, as can be seen in Figures 1 to 3, a clearance is present between the body 14 of the tube 12 and the walls 26, 28, 30 of the body 20 of the casing 10. According to an alternative embodiment, the body 14 of the tube 12 is received without play in the body 20 of the casing 10, when the tube 12 is filled.

The material constituting the casing 10 is a relatively rigid material, in particular, it is more rigid than the material constituting the body 14 of the tube 12.

Thus, when the tube 12 is inside the casing 10, it is protected against external pressures that risk causing the product to come out involuntarily.

This material can be transparent, to allow a user to view inscriptions which would be arranged on the walls of the body 14 of the tube 12.

This material can also be opaque or translucent, on the contrary making it possible to mask inscriptions which would be placed on the walls of the body 14 of the tube 12.

Inscriptions may further be placed on the walls 26, 28, 30 of the body 20 of the casing 10, regardless of the type of material of the casing, to replace or supplement the inscriptions of the tube 12.

As stated above, the body 20 of the casing 10 completely surrounds the body 14 of the tube 12, protecting it from external stresses.

To allow a user to exert a stress on the body 14 of the tube 12, in order to take a certain quantity of the product contained, the lower wall 28 of the casing 10 comprises an opening 36 through which for example a finger of the user can pass, to press on the body 14 of the tube 12.

Here, as can be seen in Figure 2, the opening 36 extends in the main longitudinal direction of the casing 10, from the rear end edge 28a of the bottom wall 28, at which the opening 36 is open, to approximately the leading end edge 28b of bottom wall 28.

The front edge 38 of the opening is thus located behind said front end edge 28b of the lower wall 28, at which the lower wall is connected to the front end 22 of the casing 10.

The shape of the opening 36 is here mainly rectangular, that is to say that the opening has two longitudinal edges 40 located at a distance from each other and a front edge 38. The opening 36 is also emerging. at its rear end.

As a variant of the invention, the shape of the opening 36 is different, it is for example oblong, with a front edge 38 in the form of an arc of a circle, or else the opening 36 is non-emerging at its rear end. , which is therefore located away from and in front of the rear end edge 28a of the bottom wall 28.

Thanks to this opening 36, a user can, by compressing the body 14 of the tube 12 between his finger and the upper wall 26 of the casing, generate pressure on the product contained in the tube, so that a certain part of the product comes out through the nozzle 34.

The dimensions and the shape of the opening 36 are defined to allow the user to press on the entire body 14 of the tube 12, so that it is possible to extract all of the product contained in the tube 12.

The casing 10 is open at its rear end 24, which allows the insertion of the tube 12 into the body 20 through this rear end 24 in a main longitudinal translational movement.

The rear end 24 of the casing 10 further comprises means for retaining the tube 12 in the casing 10. These retention means consist here of two bosses 42 each of which is carried by the rear longitudinal end of the face. internal side wall 30.

Each boss 42 projects inwardly with respect to the associated internal face 30i to form a stop member against which the rear end 18 of the tube 12 abuts longitudinally towards the rear when the tube 12 is in position at the back. inside the envelope 10.

The installation of the tube 12 in the casing 10 is thus carried out by gradually inserting the tube 12 into the casing 10 through the opening at the rear end.

The tube 12 has previously been moved relative to its final position in the casing 10, so that the insertion is not prevented by the bosses 42 and the tube is not deformed by the contact with the bosses 42. This displacement is effected either by rotating the tube 12 around its main longitudinal axis, or by shifting the tube 12 slightly downward or upward, relative to its final position, to be shifted relative to the bosses 42.

The dimensions of the body 20 of the casing 10 are defined to allow the insertion of the tube 12 into the casing 10. Depending on the dimensions and the general shape of the tube 12, the tube 12 can then be received in the casing 10 with some functional play.

However, the dimensions of the body of the casing 10 are also defined to prevent any exit of the tube 12 from the casing 10 because of the presence of these clearances between the tube 12 and the faces of the body 20.

As can be seen in Figures 8 and 9, the tube 12 is held in position in the casing by an elastic engagement of the front end 16 of the tube 12 in the front end 22 of the casing 10.

Preferably, the elastic interlocking is made at the level of the base of the end piece 34 of the tube 12 which is nested in the central orifice 32 of the front end 22, after the end piece 34 has completely passed through the orifice. central 32.

For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the end piece 34 of the tube 12 comprises an external thread 46 allowing the screwing of a plug (not shown) for closing off the end piece 34 and the base of the end piece 34, which is located below this thread 46 comprises a collar 48 of diameter greater than the external diameter of the thread. The diameter of the central orifice 32 is greater than the diameter of the thread 46 of the nozzle 34 and is less than the outer diameter of the flange 48.

Also, the collar 48 has a conical front face 50 defined to facilitate elastic deformation of the front end 22 of the casing 10 at the level of the central orifice 32, when the end piece is introduced through the central orifice. .

The collar 48 also has a conical rear face 52 which bears against the edge of the central orifice 32 when the end piece 34 is fully inserted.

The opening angle of the front face 50 is much less than the opening angle of the rear face 52, so that the support of the rear face allows the end piece 34 to be held in place in the orifice central 32.

According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the end piece comprises a cover 54 which is articulated on the end piece 34 and which performs its sealing.

The outer wall of the nozzle 34 is smooth and has only a collar 48 similar to that described above, comprising a conical front face 50 and a conical rear face which bears against the edge of the central orifice 32.

These two conical faces cooperate with the edge of the central orifice 32 as described above.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to this embodiment of the elastic interlocking retaining means, and that the retaining means can be arranged at another position in the casing, for example at the edge of the casing. rear end of the front end 22 of the casing 10.

To complete the elastic interlocking retaining means for the longitudinal retention of the tube inside the casing 10, each boss 42 has a groove 44 which is open longitudinally towards the front.

The two grooves 44 of the bosses 42 are intended to receive the flattened rear end 18 of the tube 12.

The grooves 44 of the bosses 42 perform both the longitudinal maintenance of the rear end 18 of the tube 12 and the maintenance in vertical displacement up or down of the rear end 18 of the tube 12.

There is shown in Figure 5 different embodiments of the shapes of the upper walls 26 and lower 28. Preferably, the shape and dimensions of these walls are identical and are defined according to the shape of the tube 12 which is intended to be. arranged inside the envelope 10.

According to a first embodiment, the two walls 26, 28 are rectangular in shape, as for the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2.

According to a variant, the two walls 26, 28 are in the form of an isosceles trapezoid, the parallel sides, or bases of which are formed by the front and rear end edges of the walls 26, 28. The large base of this trapezoid is thus located. at the front end or at the rear end of each wall 26,28.

In addition, according to one embodiment, one and / or the other of the two walls 26, 28 is substantially planar.

According to an alternative embodiment, one and / or the other of the two walls 26, 28 is substantially curved and is curved towards the outside of the envelope.

According to the embodiment shown in Figure 4, the front end 22 of the casing 10 is of conical shape of revolution, that is to say that its section along a plane perpendicular to the main axis of the envelope is circular.

According to an alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the section of the front end 22 of the casing 10 is of oblong shape, the direction of the greatest dimension of this section possibly being vertical or horizontal.

Finally, as shown in Figure 3, the rear end 24 of the casing 10 is oblong, the large dimension of which is substantially equal to the width of the rear end 18 of the tube 12.

This oblong shape of the rear end 24 of the casing 10 applies with any shape and size of the front end 22 of the casing 10, as shown in the figure. 7.

According to a first example, the large dimension of the rear end 24 of the casing 10 is substantially equal to the diameter of the front end 22 of the casing 10 which is circular in shape.

According to a second example, the large dimension of the rear end 24 of the casing 10 is less than the diameter of the front end 22 of the casing 10 which is circular in shape.

According to a third example, the front end 22 of the casing 10 is also oblong in shape, as shown in FIG. 6 and its large dimension is greater than the large dimension of the rear end 24 of the casing 10.

Claims (9)

1. Rigid casing (10) for a flexible tube (12) comprising: a body (20) of main longitudinal orientation, which consists of an upper wall (26), a lower wall (28) located opposite and at a distance from the upper longitudinal wall (26) and two side walls (30) connecting the upper wall (26) with the lower wall (28), a rigid head (22) located at a front longitudinal end of the body (20) which comprises a central orifice (32), the casing ( 10) being made in one piece from a rigid material, characterized in that the rear longitudinal end of each side wall (30) carries a boss (42) projecting inwardly with respect to the face internal (30i) of said side wall (30). 2. Envelope (10) rigid according to the preceding claim, characterized in that each boss (42) has a groove open longitudinally towards the front. 3. Envelope (10) rigid according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lower wall (28) has a longitudinal opening (36) which is open at the rear end edge (28a) of the wall. lower (28). 4. Rigid casing (10) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said opening (36) has a front edge which is located behind the front end edge (28b) of the lower wall (28). I ’ 5. Rigid casing (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that one and / or the other of the upper wall (26) and of the lower wall (28) is substantially planar. 6. Rigid casing (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that one and / or the other of the upper wall (26) and the lower wall (28) is convex curved towards the outside of the casing (10). 7. A rigid casing (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that one and / or the other of the upper wall (26) and of the lower wall (28) is trapezoidal in the shape of which the parallel sides of the trapezoid are formed by the front and rear longitudinal end edges of said top wall (26) or said bottom wall (28). 8. An assembly comprising a rigid casing (10) according to any one of the preceding claims and a flexible tube (12) disposed inside the casing (10), said tube (12) comprising a body (14) in deformable material, a front end (16) comprising a dispensing orifice, and a closed rear end (18), characterized in that the tube (12) is held in position in the casing (10) by an elastic interlocking of the 'front end (16) of the tube (12) in the front end (22) of the casing (10). 9. Assembly according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the shape of the body (20) of the casing (10) is similar to the shape of the body (14) of the tube (12).