Device for delivering a pellet

Abstract

A device for delivering a pellet, the device having: a base intended to be assembled to a neck of a recipient, including a skirt and a transverse wall presenting an orifice; a cap mounted coaxially on and around the base, including a transverse wall and a skirt presenting an aperture and wherein protrusions formed on the cap are displaced in grooves formed on the base so that the cap can be displaced between: a closed position, in which the transverse faces of the base and of the cap are adjacent, the orifice and the aperture being closed; and an open position, where, between the base and the cap, is created an intermediate chamber in which a pellet contained in the recipient can enter via the orifice of the base, and then come out via the aperture of the cap.

1 . A device for delivering a pellet, the device presenting an axis and comprising:
 a base intended to be assembled to a neck of a recipient and presenting an orifice designed to enable the passage of a pellet contained in the recipient;   a cap movably mounted relative to the base between an open position and a closed position, and presenting an aperture designed to enable the passage of a pellet in the open position;   
       characterized in that:
 the base includes a skirt fitted with means for assembly to the neck of the recipient and a transverse wall in which the orifice is formed; 
 the cap is mounted on and around the base, substantially coaxially with the base, the cap including a transverse wall and a skirt in which the aperture is formed, the aperture being arranged over a portion of the height of the skirt; 
 
       the skirt of the base presenting, on its outer face, first guide means, and the skirt of the cap presenting, on its inner face, second guide means, the first and second guide means being arranged to cooperate in order to enable the cap to be displaced relative to the base between:
 the closed position, in which the transverse faces of the base and of the cap are substantially adjacent, the orifice and the aperture being substantially closed; 
 and the open position, in which the transverse faces of the base and of the cap are spaced apart axially, the cap and the base defining an intermediate chamber therebetween in which a pellet contained in the recipient can enter, via the orifice of the base, and then come out, via the aperture of the cap. 
 
     
     
         2 . The device according to  claim 1 , characterized in that the first and second guide means are designed so that the displacement of the cap relative to the base, between the closed and open positions, is performed according to a translation and a rotation. 
     
     
         3 . The device according to  claim 1 , characterized in that the first and second guide means comprise at least one a protrusion and the other a groove in which the protrusion is housed and is capable of being displaced. 
     
     
         4 . The device according to  claim 3 , characterized in that it comprises two distinct grooves and two protrusions, each of the protrusions being housed and capable of being displaced in a dedicated groove. 
     
     
         5 . The device according to  claim 4 , characterized in that the protrusions are angularly offset by an angle comprised between 90 and 175°, for example in the range of 170°. 
     
     
         6 . The device according to  claim 3 , characterized in that the or each groove includes:
 a first portion in the form of a circular arc centered on the axis of the device;   a second portion which presents a first and a second ends, the second portion communicating, at its first end, with the first portion, so that the protrusion can pass from the first to the second portion and vice versa, the second portion extending obliquely with respect to the first portion, towards the transverse wall of the base or of the cap and in the direction of the opening movement of the device.   
     
     
         7 . The device according to  claim 6 , characterized in that the first portion extends on either side of the first end of the second portion. 
     
     
         8 . The device according to  claim 6 , characterized in that it comprises means creating a resistance to the displacement of the cap relative to the base when the protrusion is located in the vicinity of the first end of the second portion of the groove. 
     
     
         9 . The device according to  claim 6 , characterized in that the base has, on the outer face of its skirt, a visual indication which is located in correspondence with the aperture of the cap when the protrusion is located in the first portion of the groove in the vicinity of the first end of the second portion of the groove. 
     
     
         10 . The device according to  claim 1 , characterized in that the orifice is decentered with respect to the axis of the device, and in that the cap and the base are disposed with respect to each other so that, in the open position, the orifice of the base:
 is substantially centered with respect to the plane (P) of symmetry of the aperture of the cap passing through the axis of the device;   and is located on the side of the area of the skirt of the cap opposite to the aperture.   
     
     
         11 . The device according to  claim 1 , characterized in that the base and the cap comprise one a stud and the other a hole, the stud being received in the hole before the first opening of the device, and the stud being intended to be snapped during the first opening of the device. 
     
     
         12 . The device according to  claim 1 , characterized in that the aperture presents an upper edge which is located substantially in the plane of the lower face of the transverse wall of the cap. 
     
     
         13 . The device according to  claim 1 , characterized in that the aperture presents a lower edge which is located substantially in the plane of the upper face of the transverse wall of the base, in the open position. 
     
     
         14 . The device according to  claim 4 , characterized in that the protrusions are formed on the cap, and in that the aperture is disposed substantially symmetrically—circumferentially—between the two protrusions. 
     
     
         15 . The device according to  claim 1 , characterized in that the cap comprises at least one rib protruding from its lower face, said rib being intended to rest on an annular collar of the base, in the closed position. 
     
     
         16 . The device according to  claim 1 , characterized in that it comprises means for blocking the cap in the open position. 
     
     
         17 . The device according to  claim 1 , characterized in that a wall of the base comprises a cut-out forming a flexible leg, from which protrudes, towards the cap, a blocking member, and in that the cap includes a hole designed so that, in the closed position, the blocking member is housed in said hole of the cap and therefore prevents the displacement of the cap towards the open position, the leg being capable of being elastically deformed subsequently to a pressure exerted on the blocking member, inwardly of the base, in order to clear the blocking member out of the hole of the cap, thereby enabling the displacement of the cap towards the open position. 
     
     
         18 . A set comprising a recipient having a neck, characterized in that it comprises a device according to any of the preceding claims, the base of the device being assembled to the neck of the recipient. 
     
     
         19 . The set according to  claim 18 , characterized in that the recipient contains substantially identical pellets which present a first shape according to a projection in a first plane and a second shape according to a projection in a second plane orthogonal to the first one, and in that the orifice of the base has a shape similar to that of the first shape of the pellet and dimensions slightly larger than those of said first shape. 
     
     
         20 . The set according to  claim 18 , characterized in that the recipient contains substantially identical pellets which present a first shape according to a projection in a first plane and a second shape according to a projection in a second plane orthogonal to the first one, and in that the aperture of the cap has a shape similar to that of the second shape of the pellet and dimensions slightly larger than those of said second shape.