The present invention relates to the packaging, withdrawing and dispensing of doses of a product, in particular a hair dyeing product.

Background

The use of an assembly comprising a pouch and a syringe for packaging, withdrawing and dispensing doses of a product is known, in particular from publications WO 2007/068032 Al and EP 1324930 BA.

However, the existing assemblies do not prevent the unused part of the product from being contaminated or spoiled by contact with the ambient environment following first use. This is because, once the pouch has been opened, there is contact with the air before or during the insertion of the syringe into the pouch. This contact may damage the product, in particular by oxidizing or contaminating it.

Examples of pouches equipped with an insert that is provided with a removable closure member are known, in particular from the publication WO 2011/096811 Al .

There exists a need to withdraw a product while minimizing the risk of the as yet unused part of the product remaining in the pouch being contaminated or spoiled by contact with the ambient environment.

The invention aims to meet this need.

The invention applies more particularly to the field of dyeing hair, where the addition of a small quantity of a coloring additive, also known as a coloring "booster", is frequently required. This additive is a composition with a particularly high concentration of colorant and is very sensitive to oxidation or light; it is thus necessary to be able to withdraw the desired quantity thereof in a clean, precise and conservative manner.

It is also necessary for the hand movements for withdrawal to be appropriate for the professional environment in which the composition will mainly be used. In addition, the solution proposed should have a reasonable cost and its impact on the environment should be as limited as possible.

According to one of its aspects, the subject of the invention is an assembly for packaging, withdrawing and dispensing doses of the product, comprising: a pouch containing the product and comprising an insert provided with a removable closure member,

a syringe for withdrawing and dispensing the product, comprising:

- an end piece to be introduced into the insert, the end piece being provided at one end with a dispensing orifice and being provided with at least one lateral withdrawal orifice,

- a ring which is able to move on the end piece between a position closing the lateral withdrawal orifice and a position opening this lateral withdrawal orifice,

the removable closure member being designed to be disassembled from the insert and to be coupled to the end piece, in particular by closing the dispensing orifice, when the end piece is inserted into the insert, it being possible for the contents of the pouch to be withdrawn through the lateral withdrawal orifice of the end piece, the ring being made, during the insertion of the end piece into the insert, to open the lateral withdrawal orifice of the end piece by moving from its position closing the lateral withdrawal orifice to its position opening the lateral withdrawal orifice, the closure member being designed to be coupled to the insert again during the extraction of the end piece.

By virtue of the invention, the product can be withdrawn with a lower risk of damage to the product contained in the pouch, since the closure member can close the pouch before and after withdrawal, and the ring closes the lateral withdrawal orifice before and after withdrawal.

Preferably, the syringe comprises an elastic return member for returning the ring into a position closing the withdrawal orifice on the end piece. Thus, the ring can return to the closing position automatically.

The elastic return member is preferably in one piece with the ring, thereby reducing the number of constituent parts of the syringe.

The elastic return member comprises, for example, two diametrically opposed helical strips.

The assembly can advantageously comprise a plurality of lateral withdrawing orifices; this can facilitate withdrawal. These orifices are preferably located at the same height, and are preferably formed by intersecting channels, with axes perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the end piece. The ring may comprise a collar in its lower part, said collar being able to bear against the top of the insert during the insertion of the end piece into the insert.

The closure member is preferably fixed by snap-fastening to the insert, and in particular may comprise a relief that forms a protrusion radially toward the outside, said relief being designed to be engaged in a corresponding relief of the insert, in particular an annular groove.

The closure member comprises a relief designed to be snap-fastened on the end piece when the latter is introduced into the insert, the end piece preferably comprising an annular groove for receiving this relief.

A cosmetic product, in particular a hair dyeing product, is advantageously contained in the pouch.

A further subject of the invention is a method for preparing a dose of a product, in particular a cosmetic product, with the aid of an assembly according to the invention, as defined above, in which:

the end piece of the syringe is introduced into the insert so as to move the removable closure member, attached to the end piece, relative to the insert,

a dose of product contained in the pouch is sucked up with the aid of the syringe, through the withdrawal orifice or orifices,

the end piece is removed, the removable closure member returning into a position closing the insert.

The invention may be better understood from reading the following detailed description of a non-limiting implementation example thereof and from examining the appended drawing, in which:

figure 1 schematically shows a perspective view of an example of an assembly according to the invention,

figure 2 partially shows the syringe and the pouch,

figure 3 is a schematic view, in partial and longitudinal section, of the pouch and the syringe prior to insertion of the latter into the pouch, and

figures 4a to 4f illustrate a method of withdrawing a dose of product with the aid of an assembly as shown in figure 1. The assembly 1 according to the invention, shown in figure 1, comprises a pouch 2 containing a product and a syringe 3 intended to withdraw a dose of the product contained in the pouch 2.

The product is preferably a cosmetic liquid, in particular a hair dyeing additive, but the invention is not limited to a particular product and the latter may be any liquid substance, in particular for medical, domestic or dietary use.

The pouch 2 is preferably flexible, and its internal volume may decrease during the withdrawal of the product, which may take place without an intake of air.

The pouch 2 is for example formed by joining together sheets having a multilayer structure that is compatible with the product, examples of materials that may be suitable for producing the pouch being described for example in EP 1 669 305 Al . It is also possible to use, inasmuch as they are compatible with the products envisioned, single- material sachets made of polypropylene, polyethylene, PET, or any other material that is weldable to itself or is equipped with a weldable layer such as PE.

The pouch 2 may for example comprise two sheets of a multilayer film which are welded together on three sides in order to define the long sides and the bottom of the pouch.

The pouch 2 comprises an insert 5 which allows the withdrawal of the product and is shown more particularly in figures 2 and 3.

The insert 5 is for example made of a rigid or semi-rigid thermoplastic material and can comprise, as illustrated, an annular collar 7 at its top end, which extends out of the pouch 2. The insert 5 may comprise a tubular body 8, having for example the form of a cylinder of revolution about its longitudinal axis X.

The sheets from which the pouch 2 is made may be welded to the body 8 of the insert 5 and together, as illustrated in figure 2, in order to ensure that the insert 5 is fixed in a sealed manner to the pouch 2 and to close the top of the latter.

The bottom of the insert 5 is closed, prior to the first use of the pouch 2 in order to withdraw its contents, by a closure member 10 which is fixed immovably to the insert 5. The latter comprises for example an annular groove 11 in which the closure member 10 is snap-fastened, it being possible for the latter to comprise at its top end an annular bead 12 configured to be fixed in the groove 11. The bead 12 may have a chamfer 13 at its upper end, said chamfer being intended to make it easier for the closure member to cross the lip 15 which separates the groove 11 from the lower end 16 of the insert 5.

The bead 12 may have a shoulder 18 which bears against the lip 15 when the closure member 10 is in the position closing the insert 5, as illustrated in figure 3.

The closure member 10 can be produced from a thermoplastic material that is compatible with the product.

Before the syringe 3 is used to withdraw the product from the pouch 2, the closure member 10 closes the insert 5 in a sealed manner.

The syringe 3 comprises a body 21, which is for example tubular in the form of a cylinder of revolution, as illustrated, and is extended at the bottom by an end piece 20. A piston, not shown in the figures, connected to a rod 22, can slide inside the body 21, the rod 22 being provided at its upper end, in the example illustrated, with a gripping ring 23.

The end piece 20 is provided at its lower end with a dispensing orifice 25.

In the example in question, the end piece 20 comprises four lateral withdrawal orifices 27, which are defined by the ends of two internal channels that are perpendicular to one another and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the end piece. These channels communicate with an axial channel connecting the dispensing orifice 25 to the internal space of the body of the syringe, under the piston.

The syringe 3 also comprises a ring 30 which can move under the end piece 20 between a low position, shown in figure 3 in particular, in which the lateral withdrawal orifices 27 are closed by the ring 30, and a withdrawing position, which can be seen in particular in figure 4a, in which the ring 30 is located above the withdrawal orifices 27 and uncovers the latter.

An elastic return member 35, formed for example by one or more helical strips which are molded in one piece with the ring 30 and of which there are two in the example in question, returns said ring into the low position closing the withdrawal orifices 27, when the syringe 3 is located outside the pouch, as illustrated in figure 1.

In its lower part, as can be seen in particular in figures 1 and 3, the ring 30 comprises a collar 38 which can bear against the collar 7 of the insert 5 when the syringe 3 is used to withdraw the product. It should be noted that in figure 2, the syringe 3 is shown without the ring 30 and the pouch 2 is shown with material removed so that the closure member 10 can be seen.

The end piece 20 comprises a groove 50 and the ring 30 comprises two reliefs 51 and 52 at its axial ends, said reliefs being configured to be snap-fastened in the groove 50 when the ring is in a retracted position and opens the orifices 27 and when it is in a lowered position closing the latter, respectively.

The reliefs 51 and 52 are produced for example in the form of bosses. Under the withdrawal orifices 27, the end piece 20 has an annular groove 40 which is configured to engage with a relief 42 present on the closure member 10 such that the closure member 10 is coupled to the end piece 20 when the latter is introduced into the insert 5. More particularly, in the example illustrated, the relief 42 is present in the form of an annular bead provided with a chamfer 43 so as to enable it to be crossed by the head 48 of the end piece, which extends under the groove 40, and a shoulder 46 which ensures that the closure member 10 is attached properly to the end piece 20 during the extraction of the syringe 3 from the pouch. Specifically, during use and the introduction of the syringe 3 into the insert 5, it is necessary for the closure member 10 to be able firstly to be detached from the insert 5 during the insertion movement of the end piece 20 into the pouch, and secondly, during the extraction of the syringe, for the closure member 10 to be able to return to its place in the insert and for the end piece 20 to be disengaged from the closure member 10.

The bottom of the interior surface of the closure member may, as illustrated, be conical, tapering toward a central recess, so as to be pressed in a sealed manner against the end piece around the dispensing orifice when the closure member is snap-fastened on the end piece.

Various steps in the withdrawal of a dose of product with the aid of the assembly 1 which has just been described will now be described with reference to figures 4a to 4f.

Each of figures 4a to 4f show in isolation a longitudinal section of the syringe, and the upper part of the pouch and the syringe have also been shown in elevation.

In a first step, illustrated in figure 4a, the syringe 3 is introduced into the insert 5; during this introduction, the collar 38 of the ring 30 bears against the collar 7 of the insert 5 and the ring 30 can rise along the end piece 20, with compression of the elastic return member 35. During the insertion of the end piece, the retaining force on the closure member by the insert is greater than the force necessary for snap-fastening the head 48 of the end piece in the closure member 10. When the insertion of the end piece is continued, the closure member 10 is detached from the insert 5.

Thus, the head 48 of the end piece 20 is snap-fastened in the closure member 10, under the bead 42, and the dispensing orifice 25 is closed in a sealed manner by the closure member 10, the end piece 20 pressing against the bottom of the closure member 10, while the withdrawal orifices 27 have been uncovered by the ring 30 and communicate with the internal space of the pouch.

The user can then pull on the rod 22 in order to suck product contained in the pouch 2 into the interior of the syringe 3, as illustrated in figure 4b. It may be noted that, during this filling operation, ambient air cannot pass into the pouch, thereby avoiding any contamination of the product contained in the interior.

During this sucking operation, the product is withdrawn through the lateral withdrawal orifices 27. Next, the syringe 3 can be removed, as is illustrated in figures 4b to 4e. During the extraction of the syringe 3, the head 48 of the end piece 20 rises with the closure member 10, until the latter is snap-fastened by way of the relief 12 in the groove 11.

During the extraction movement of the end piece, the retaining force on the closure member 10 by the insert 5 is greater than the retaining force on the closure member 10 by the head 48, such that the head 48 of the end piece can be disengaged from the closure member. Thus, while the head rises, the ring 30 descends along the end piece on account of the return force exerted by the elastic return member 35, as is illustrated in figures 4c to 4e. The ring 30 thus reaches a position in which it closes the withdrawal orifices 27, while the dispensing orifice 25 remains open for subsequent dispensing of the product which has just been withdrawn, for example into a vessel containing other components ready to be used. Figure 4f shows the syringe during the emptying process, the piston rod being pushed back.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiment that has just been described. For example there may be a different number of withdrawal orifices. Similarly, there may be a different number of dispensing orifices. The body or the rod of the syringe 3 is advantageously graduated in order to allow the user to see the volume withdrawn, but if this is not the case, this does not represent a departure from the scope of the present invention.

The pouch may be produced in any suitable manner depending on the nature of the product, and may in particular be opaque if the product is sensitive to ultraviolet light.

The pouch may have any shape and the term "pouch" denotes generally any container, the internal volume of which can vary, in particular without intake of air, for example a container with a follower piston, or else a container having an internal pouch.

The expression "comprising a" should be understood as being synonymous with "comprising at least one".