Patents by Inventor Alain Defemme
Alain Defemme has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Patent number: 11116694Abstract: The invention relates to a device for dispensing an aqueous liquid through an interface membrane made partially hydrophilic and partially hydrophobic, made so that when in operation, during each operation of dispensing a metered amount of liquid, the streams of air and liquid flow alternately in a capillary channel (18) downstream from the membrane. Said interface membrane (7) is made of a filtering material which includes biocidal metal cations in the body thereof. Said device comprises a porous insert (8), which is permeable both to liquid and to air, which is arranged upstream from the membrane in the path of the fluids and which is made of a material including sites with negative charges capable of attracting biocidal metal cations from said membrane.Type: GrantFiled: March 31, 2016Date of Patent: September 14, 2021Assignee: LABORATORIES THEAInventors: Alain Defemme, Fabrice Mercier
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Patent number: 10857067Abstract: The invention proposes a biological protection membrane which is mounted, in a device for dispensing liquid from a sterile packaging bottle, across a fluid-circulation duct, in the path of the liquid extracted from the bottle and the outside air which is drawn into the bottle. The membrane (7) is made partially of a hydrophilic material and partially of a hydrophobic material. Both the hydrophobic portion (23) and the hydrophilic portion (22) are made from a polymer base, laden in the body thereof with a biocidal agent that is active in the destruction of bacteria by the ionic oxidation effect. The circulation of fluids through the membrane (7) is organised so as to promote the ionic action on the flow of outside air in the hydrophobic material, and to drive the ionically charged active agent by the liquid passing through the membrane in the hydrophilic portion thereof.Type: GrantFiled: March 31, 2015Date of Patent: December 8, 2020Assignee: Laboratories TheaInventors: Alain Defemme, Fabrice Mercier
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Publication number: 20180078456Abstract: The invention proposes a biological protection membrane which is mounted, in a device for dispensing liquid from a sterile packaging bottle, across a fluid-circulation duct, in the path of the liquid extracted from the bottle and the outside air which is drawn into the bottle. The membrane (7) is made partially of a hydrophilic material and partially of a hydrophobic material. Both the hydrophobic portion (23) and the hydrophilic portion (22) are made from a polymer base, laden in the body thereof with a biocidal agent that is active in the destruction of bacteria by the ionic oxidation effect. The circulation of fluids through the membrane (7) is organised so as to promote the ionic action on the flow of outside air in the hydrophobic material, and to drive the ionically charged active agent by the liquid passing through the membrane in the hydrophilic portion thereof.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 31, 2015Publication date: March 22, 2018Applicant: Laboratories TheaInventors: Alain DEFEMME, Fabrice MERCIER
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Publication number: 20180078455Abstract: The invention relates to a device for dispensing an aqueous liquid through an interface membrane made partially hydrophilic and partially hydrophobic, made so that when in operation, during each operation of dispensing a metered amount of liquid, the streams of air and liquid flow alternately in a capillary channel (18) downstream from the membrane. Said interface membrane (7) is made of a filtering material which includes biocidal metal cations in the body thereof. Said device comprises a porous insert (8), which is permeable both to liquid and to air, which is arranged upstream from the membrane in the path of the fluids and which is made of a material including sites with negative charges capable of attracting biocidal metal cations from said membrane.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 31, 2016Publication date: March 22, 2018Applicant: Laboratories TheaInventors: Alain DEFEMME, Fabrice MERCIER
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Patent number: 9487339Abstract: The invention concerns a liquid dispenser head which is designed to be mounted on a bottle containing a liquid and comprises a filtering device (26) forming an interface between the inside and the outside of the bottle. The filtering device comprises tubular filters (30) which are extended longitudinally so they can be plunged into the bottle, particularly tubular filters whose wall consists of a membrane that is selectively permeable to a liquid to be expelled from the bottle and made of hydrophilic material for this purpose. So that the expelled liquid can be replaced by air, the membrane forming the wall of said filter tube is made of hydrophobic material so as to be selectively air-permeable. The hydrophobic membrane also filters bacteria in the air.Type: GrantFiled: August 6, 2013Date of Patent: November 8, 2016Assignee: Laboratories TheaInventors: Alain Defemme, Fabrice Mercier
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Patent number: 9402765Abstract: The present invention relates to a bottle for packaging a liquid to be distributed drop by drop comprising a reservoir the walls of which can be reversibly elastically deformed by letting air into the container, surmounted by a liquid dispensing head comprising a dropper nozzle protruding from the bottle and an anti-bacterial filter membrane, that is partially hydrophilic and partially hydrophobic, interposed across the path of the liquid and the air, at the base of the said nozzle. In the dispensing head, the proposal is to create the nozzle by itself out of a material containing a bactericidal agent that has the effect of preventing any bacterial growth on the surface of the said nozzle on the outside of the antibacterial membrane. A porous core is advantageously positioned inside the duct through which liquid is expelled and air is admitted.Type: GrantFiled: October 30, 2014Date of Patent: August 2, 2016Assignee: LABORATOIRES THEAInventors: Jean-Frederic Chibret, Alain Defemme, Michel Faurie, Fabrice Mercier
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Patent number: 9174777Abstract: The invention relates to a bottle for packaging a liquid with dropper delivery comprising a reservoir with an elastically deformable wall that can be reversed by letting air into the receptacle, surmounted by a dispensing head for the liquid comprising a drop-counting end-piece protruding to the outside of the bottle and an anti-bacterial filtering membrane, made partially hydrophilic and partially hydrophobic, which is interposed across the path of the liquid and of the air, at the base of the said end-piece. The dispensing head comprises an insert with a recessed body which contains a porous pad regulating the flow of liquid placed downstream of the reservoir and upstream of a chamber delimited downstream of the said membrane. At the base of this insert on the inner side of the bottle, longitudinal arches supporting a central pellet make star-shaped passageways radially guiding the air that enters the bottle after having passed through the porous pad.Type: GrantFiled: February 3, 2011Date of Patent: November 3, 2015Assignee: LABORATOIRES THEAInventors: Alain Defemme, Fabrice Mercier
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Publication number: 20150284173Abstract: The invention concerns a liquid dispenser head which is designed to be mounted on a bottle containing a liquid and comprises a filtering device (26) forming an interface between the inside and the outside of the bottle. The filtering device comprises tubular filters (30) which are extended longitudinally so they can be plunged into the bottle, particularly tubular filters whose wall consists of a membrane that is selectively permeable to a liquid to be expelled from the bottle and made of hydrophilic material for this purpose. So that the expelled liquid can be replaced by air, the membrane forming the wall of said filter tube is made of hydrophobic material so as to be selectively air-permeable. The hydrophobic membrane also filters bacteria in the air.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 6, 2013Publication date: October 8, 2015Applicant: LABORATOIRES THEAInventors: Alain Defemme, Fabrice Mercier
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Publication number: 20150150719Abstract: The present invention relates to a bottle for packaging a liquid to be distributed drop by drop comprising a reservoir the walls of which can be reversibly elastically deformed by letting air into the container, surmounted by a liquid dispensing head comprising a dropper nozzle protruding from the bottle and an anti-bacterial filter membrane, that is partially hydrophilic and partially hydrophobic, interposed across the path of the liquid and the air, at the base of the said nozzle. In the dispensing head, the proposal is to create the nozzle by itself out of a material containing a bactericidal agent that has the effect of preventing any bacterial growth on the surface of the said nozzle on the outside of the antibacterial membrane. A porous core is advantageously positioned inside the duct through which liquid is expelled and air is admitted.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 30, 2014Publication date: June 4, 2015Applicant: LABORATORIES THEAInventors: Jean-Frederic CHIBRET, Alain DEFEMME, Michel FAURIE, Fabrice MERCIER
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Patent number: 8894622Abstract: The present invention relates to a bottle for packaging a liquid to be distributed drop by drop comprising a reservoir the walls of which can be reversibly elastically deformed by letting air into the container, surmounted by a liquid dispensing head comprising a dropper nozzle protruding from the bottle and an anti-bacterial filter membrane, that is partially hydrophilic and partially hydrophobic, interposed across the path of the liquid and the air, at the base of the said nozzle. In the dispensing head, the proposal is to create the nozzle by itself out of a material containing a bactericidal agent that has the effect of preventing any bacterial growth on the surface of the said nozzle on the outside of the antibacterial membrane. A porous core is advantageously positioned inside the duct through which liquid is expelled and air is admitted.Type: GrantFiled: July 31, 2009Date of Patent: November 25, 2014Assignee: Laboratoires TheaInventors: Jean-Frédéric Chibret, Alain Defemme, Michel Faurie, Fabrice Mercier
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Patent number: 8690019Abstract: A head for dispensing liquid as a drip, includes a nozzle onto which a channel for ejecting the liquid leads. Air sucked in from the outside is returned through the channel in the opposite direction. In the nozzle, on the ejection channel, the drip dispensing head of the invention includes a valve functioning as a non-return valve for the circulation of the liquid being ejected. A mobile disc of the valve is produced so as to selectively enable air to pass through the valve when the disc is bearing against the seat thereof in a position for closing the liquid ejection channel. The disc is returned to the position by negative pressure applied upstream, which tends to suck in outside air. The disc is advantageously made of a microporous material, which provides antibacterial filtering of the return air.Type: GrantFiled: January 30, 2013Date of Patent: April 8, 2014Assignee: Laboratoires TheaInventors: Alain Defemme, Fabrice Mercier
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Publication number: 20130134186Abstract: A head for dispensing liquid as a drip, includes a nozzle onto which a channel for ejecting the liquid leads. Air sucked in from the outside is returned through the channel in the opposite direction. In the nozzle, on the ejection channel, the drip dispensing head of the invention includes a valve functioning as a non-return valve for the circulation of the liquid being ejected. A mobile disc of the valve is produced so as to selectively enable air to pass through the valve when the disc is bearing against the seat thereof in a position for closing the liquid ejection channel. The disc is returned to the position by negative pressure applied upstream, which tends to suck in outside air. The disc is advantageously made of a microporous material, which provides antibacterial filtering of the return air.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 30, 2013Publication date: May 30, 2013Inventors: Alain Defemme, Fabrice Mercier
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Publication number: 20120310185Abstract: The invention relates to a bottle for packaging a liquid with dropper delivery comprising a reservoir with an elastically deformable wall that can be reversed by letting air into the receptacle, surmounted by a dispensing head for the liquid comprising a drop-counting end-piece protruding to the outside of the bottle and an anti-bacterial filtering membrane, made partially hydrophilic and partially hydrophobic, which is interposed across the path of the liquid and of the air, at the base of the said end-piece. The dispensing head comprises an insert with a recessed body which contains a porous pad regulating the flow of liquid placed downstream of the reservoir and upstream of a chamber delimited downstream of the said membrane. At the base of this insert on the inner side of the bottle, longitudinal arches supporting a central pellet make star-shaped passageways radially guiding the air that enters the bottle after having passed through the porous pad.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 3, 2011Publication date: December 6, 2012Applicant: Laboratoires TheaInventors: Alain Defemme, Fabrice Mercier
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Publication number: 20110125111Abstract: The present invention relates to a bottle for packaging a liquid to be distributed drop by drop comprising a reservoir the walls of which can be reversibly elastically deformed by letting air into the container, surmounted by a liquid dispensing head comprising a dropper nozzle protruding from the bottle and an anti-bacterial filter membrane, that is partially hydrophilic and partially hydrophobic, interposed across the path of the liquid and the air, at the base of the said nozzle. In the dispensing head, the proposal is to create the nozzle by itself out of a material containing a bactericidal agent that has the effect of preventing any bacterial growth on the surface of the said nozzle on the outside of the antibacterial membrane. A porous core is advantageously positioned inside the duct through which liquid is expelled and air is admitted.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 31, 2009Publication date: May 26, 2011Applicant: LABORATORIES THEAInventors: Jean-Frédéric Chibret, Alain Defemme, Michel Faurie, Fabrice Mercier
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Patent number: 6336571Abstract: The invention concerns a device comprising a flask (1) with variable internal volume having a rigid neck (5) wherein is arranged the body (3) of a dispensing head (2) ending in a conduit (41) discharging the liquid and containing a microporous pad (6) for generating a head loss regulating the liquid flow pushed therethrough into a distribution chamber (31) communicating with said conduit. The pad is advantageously made of a material inert with respect to the liquid and combined with an antibacterial filtering element (9) preventing outside air from entering the flask. It evenly occupies the body (3) over the whole cross-section of the liquid passage.Type: GrantFiled: May 3, 2000Date of Patent: January 8, 2002Assignee: Laboratoires Thea S.A.Inventors: Henri Chibret, Michel Faurie, Jacques Luyckx, Alain Defemme, Thierry Coquel