Technical Field The invention relates to an applicator capsule for containers of fluid products.

Background Art Containers of fluid products, for example deodorants, perfumes etc., have been in use for a considerable time, especially in the cosmetic field. Roller or ball spreader applicators, known as roll-on applicators, have been present for some time; the roller distributes the contents of the container on an external surface, for example the skin of the user.

These applicators comprise a first annular part, which is press-fitted on an edge of a container mouth, which mouth has an internal seating housing the roller.

The roller is held in its seating, which seats it at its largest section, but can roll about its own centre and projects both inwardly and outwardly of its seating in the container mouth.

The internally projecting part of the roller is in contact with the product contained in the container, and transports the product (which is deposited on the external surface of the roller) towards the outside and on to the surface the product is to be applied on. As the roller is also the container stopper and is usually coated with the product, a cap or lid is always provided to cover the roll-on applicator capsule.

This cap is usually screwed down on to a thread made on the mouth of the container or is sometimes friction-fitted on to the mouth of the container itself.

Its function is to protect the applicator capsule, and when it is removed the roller

can be used for its purpose. When the cap is applied on the container, apart from fulfilling its purpose it is also an ornamental element giving a sense of completeness to the container.

Figures 1 and 2 show, by way of example, one of these known containers which use the above-described roller applicator. Anybody intending to market this product is forced to design the container and capsule with the applicator's shape firmly in mind, i. e. taking into account a precise dimensional and technological restriction when designing the mouth of the container.

On final assembly, the capsule is press-fitted on the full container, and the cap fitted on the capsule, usually by screw-fit (sometimes the cap is simply force- fitted on to the mouth, but this solution is not generally preferred because of the instability of the connection and the consequent difficulty in guaranteeing a perfect seal).

The assembly line is quite complex, then: first there is a filling station, followed by a capsule-fitting station, and finally a cap-fitting station. The last of these phases is the most complicated, since the cap has to be screwed down firmly in order to guarantee a seal but not so firmly as to make unscrewing difficult for the eventual user.

Disclosure of Invention The aim of the present invention is to obviate the above-described drawbacks by providing a roller capsule applicator which makes product assembly rapid, easy and therefore economical.

An advantage of the invention is that standardised container mouth sizes can be used.

A further advantage is that ugly-looking final containers are avoided, especially where product gets on to the cap and can be clearly seen.

These aims and advantages and others besides are all achieved by the present

invention, as it is characterised in the appended claims.

Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will better emerge from the detailed description that follows, of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment thereof, illustrated purely by way of example in the accompanying figures of the drawings, in which: figure 1 is a partly-sectioned vertical elevation of a roller applicator capsule, of known type, assembled on a container and closed with a lid; figure 2 is an enlarged view of a detail of the section of figure 1; figure 3 is a partly-sectioned vertical elevation of a roller applicator capsule of the invention, assembled on a container and closed with a lid; figure 4 is an enlarged view of a detail of the section of figure 3.

The capsule of the invention comprises a first annular part 1, which is provided with an annular gullet 3 afforded in the lower part of the capsule and delimited by two cylindrical walls which develop in a downwards direction with respect to the annular part 1. The gullet 3 is press-fitted during the assembly phase on an edge 4 of a mouth of a container 5 (destined to contain the product), thus fixing the capsule on to the container 5.

The first annular part 1 is further provided with an internal seating, delimited by portions of spherical surface. The internal seating is open extemalwards and internalwards of the container 5. A sphere-type roller 2 is housed in this internal seating and held stably in the seating 2 by the portions of spherical surface in the first annular part 1, which parts embrace the sphere at its broadest section. The roller 2 can rotate about its own centre, dragging against the internal walls of the spherical surface, and projects from the first annular part 1 both inwardly and outwardly of the container 5.

The first annular part 1 is further provided on its external surface with a first connecting device, namely a thread 1 a. More will be explained about this herein

below.

The capsule comprises a cap 6 which contains the other parts of the capsule, and which is provided with a second connecting device consisting in a thread 6a fashioned internally of the cap 6.

The first and second threads are conformed such that they couple one to the other and thus realise a stable coupling between the first annular part and the cap of the capsule.

Theoretically the means for connecting might not be threads; for example they could be small undercuts afforded both on the first part and on the cap, which are jointed together. This solution, however, and others too, are not used as the coupling is not secure between the various parts, which, as will be explained herein below, is an important factor in the efficient functioning of the capsule.

The thread la is made at a zone of the first annular part 1 which, when the capsule is fitted on the container, is arranged superiorly to the mouth of the container itself. Usually, for reasons which will better emerge from illustrations offered herein below, this thread la is made on the external wall delimiting the internal seating of the first annular part 1.

The capsule 1 further comprises a first striker element 7, generally an annular projection, which is made on the external wall of the first annular part 1 below the thread la. When the cap is assembled on the remaining part of the capsule, this striker element interacts with a second striker element 8, also generally an annular projection, which is made internally of the cap 6.

The function of these striker elements 7 and 8 is to define a prefixed position for connection between the first annular part 1 and the cap 6, which position will optimize the seal at point A through the axial position of the cap on the roller.

The capsule of the invention is in effect a body of revolution generated by the rotation of the illustrated section about the axis of the capsule itself. All the

elements constituting the capsule are usually made in plastic materials suited to injection molding techniques.

In comparison with existing roller-type applicators, the capsule of the invention embodies a different and novel constructional conception. Prior art capsules are all constituted solely by the first annular part containing the sphere and are press- fitted into the already-filled container, the cap then being screwed on to the container to guarantee closure.

The capsule of the invention, however, is represented by a single block constituted by three parts (first annular part, roller and cap) which is supplied to the industrial user already assembled; thus the whole block can be inserted directly on the container, the mouth of which can be standardised.

The insertion operation can be achieved very rapidly by press-fitting, given the flexibility of the walls delimiting the annular gullet 3. The container is much more quickly made ready for use in comparison to the prior art applicators.

By arranging the coupling threads at a zone which (when the capsule is fitted on the container) is superior to the mouth of the container (i. e. above the annular gullet 3), sufficient dilation is allowed for the capsule to be press-fitted on the container.

Also, mounting the block constituted by the capsule is considerably facilitated.

All the various parts can be made by injection-moulding, techniques performed by capsule makers, who are almost always in possession of the right machiner, in contrast to manufacturers of containers or caps, who very rarely have such machines. This means that much smaller tolerances can be achieved, and the block can be mounted simply by forcing the cap on to the remaining part of the capsule, with no need for screwing, as is the case with known-type capsules.

The presence of the striker elements 7 and 8 means that when the assembly is done the capsule has a perfectly-defined geometry which considerably eases the

subsequent assembly phase of the capsule on to the container.

From the aesthetic point of view, too, the capsule is more attractive than existing ones; making the cap internal thread at a zone which is not close to the mouth of the container (the closest zone being the thinnest) means that there is no effect of transparency which, when certain materials are used in the prior art, exposes the sight of the thread to the user, resulting in a fairly unattractive effect.