EP3027081B1 - Dispensing and application head - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a dispensing and application head intended to be associated with a dispensing unit, such as a pump, a valve, a flexible tube, etc. The head comprises a connecting bead made of a first substantially rigid material and intended to be connected to the distribution unit, a mounting core made of the same material as the connecting bead, and a flexible connecting section which connects the heel connection to the mounting core. The head further comprises a fluid application pad for contacting an application surface, such as the skin, for applying the fluid to the application surface, the application pad being realized in a heat-transfer material, such as metal or ceramic, to impart a feeling of cold in contact with the skin, the application pad being mounted on the mounting core. The head defines a dispensing channel that passes through the connecting stub, the flexible connecting section, the mounting core and the application pad where it forms a dispensing orifice. The present invention also defines a fluid dispenser comprising such a dispensing and dispensing head. The preferred fields of application of the present invention are those of cosmetics, pharmacy or even perfumery.

In the prior art, the document is already known WO2013 / 017801 which discloses a dispensing and dispensing head comprising a metal or ceramic application pad which is connected to a connecting section by a connecting section made of an elastically deformable material so that the application pad is displaceable relative to the connection section. A distribution channel passes through the connecting section and the connecting section and the application pad where it forms a dispensing orifice. This dispensing head and application is intended to be associated with a pump or a flexible tube and thus constitute a distributor. When the user enters the distributor by its reservoir and applies the pad on an application surface such as the skin, the connecting section can be deformed so that the application pad does not faithfully follow the displacement printed by the user. This results in a certain flexibility in the contact of the application pad with the skin which gives a massage effect.

In this document WO2013 / 017801 , the dispensing and application head also forms an application section connected to the connecting section and which integrates the application pad. In other words, the dispensing and application head of this document comprises an application pad which is mounted on a one-piece plastic piece which forms the connecting section, the connecting section and a part of the section. application supporting the application pad. The connecting section integrally forms a portion of the distribution channel connecting the connecting section to the dispensing orifice.

However, this distribution and application head has a significant disadvantage, namely that the connecting section which must be fixedly and sealingly mounted on a pump or a flexible tube, and the application section in which is mounted the Application pad, are made with the same material and integrally with the connecting section which forms part of the distribution channel. Therefore, it is mandatory to choose a relatively flexible plastic material to provide flexibility in the connecting section, which implies that the connection and application sections will also have some flexibility. However, this flexibility is particularly disadvantageous because the connection and application sections are mounting parts, which must have a certain rigidity to ensure the fixing and sealing functions. Therefore, the one-piece realization of the three connection and application connection sections requires a compromise between the flexibility of the connecting section and the rigidity of the connection and application sections. If the connecting section is particularly flexible, the connection and application sections will not have the necessary rigidity, and conversely, when the sections of connection and application are rigid, the connecting section has reduced flexibility.

The object of the present invention is to overcome the aforementioned drawback of the prior art by defining a dispensing head and application whose connection sections have sufficient rigidity while ensuring flexibility in the connecting section . Another object of the present invention is to produce the plastic part integrally as in the document of the prior art. WO2013 / 017801 , for ease of molding and assembly.

• un talon de raccordement réalisé en un premier matériau sensiblement rigide et destiné à être raccordé à l'unité de distribution,
• un noyau de montage réalisé avec le même matériau que le talon de raccordement,
• une section de liaison souple qui relie le talon de raccordement au noyau de montage,
• un patin d'application de produit fluide destinée à venir en contact d'une surface d'application, telle que la peau, pour appliquer le produit fluide sur la surface d'application, le patin d'application étant réalisé en un matériau caloporteur, tel que du métal ou de la céramique, pour conférer une sensation de froid au contact de la peau, le patin d'application étant monté sur le noyau de montage,
• un canal de distribution qui traverse le talon de raccordement, la section de liaison souple, le noyau de montage et le patin d'application où il forme un orifice de distribution,

caractérisée en ce que la section de liaison souple comprend :

• un pont souple réalisé avec le même matériau que le talon de raccordement et le noyau de montage, le pont souple reliant le talon de raccordement au noyau de montage de manière à former une embase monobloc, et
• un gainage réalisé en un second matériau élastiquement déformable qui est plus souple que le premier matériau sensiblement rigide, le gainage enveloppant au moins partiellement le pont souple et reliant le talon de raccordement au noyau de montage.

To do this, the present invention proposes a dispensing and application head intended to be associated with a dispensing unit, such as a pump, a valve or a flexible tube, the head comprising:

• a connecting heel made of a first substantially rigid material and intended to be connected to the distribution unit,
• a mounting core made of the same material as the connecting heel,
• a flexible connecting section which connects the connection stub to the mounting core,
• a fluid application pad intended to come into contact with an application surface, such as the skin, for applying the fluid product to the application surface, the application pad being made of a heat-transfer material, such as metal or ceramic, to impart a feeling of coldness in contact with the skin, the application pad being mounted on the mounting core,
• a dispensing channel which passes through the connecting stub, the flexible connecting section, the mounting core and the application pad where it forms a dispensing orifice;

characterized in that the flexible link section comprises:

• a flexible bridge made of the same material as the connecting heel and the mounting core, the flexible bridge connecting the heel of connection to the mounting core so as to form a monoblock base, and
• a cladding made of a second elastically deformable material which is more flexible than the first substantially rigid material, the cladding at least partially enveloping the flexible bridge and connecting the connection heel to the mounting core.

Thus, the flexibility of the connecting section is no longer dependent on the rigidity of the connecting bead and the mounting core, which are however connected integrally with each other by the flexible bridge. It is thus possible to make the flexible connection section with a particularly flexible bridge and a cladding that gives a certain resistance or resilience to the deformation. The synergistic combination of the flexible bridge and the cladding to form the flexible section makes it possible to obtain various deformation characteristics for the flexible connection section while guaranteeing the necessary rigidity of the connecting heel and the mounting core. According to a particularly advantageous embodiment, the cladding can be overmoulded on the monoblock base around the flexible bridge.

To provide the flexibility required for the flexible bridge, it may have a reduced wall thickness with respect to the connection bead and the mounting core.

According to a characteristic of the invention, the distribution channel, at the level of the connecting section, can be formed solely by the flexible bridge. In this case, the flexible bridge may be in the form of a simple cannula that would be easily deformable, collapsible or damaged in the absence of cladding.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the distribution channel, at the connection section, can be formed jointly by the flexible bridge and the cladding.

According to yet another embodiment of the invention, the distribution channel, at the connecting section, can be formed solely by the cladding. The flexible bridge may then be in the form of a single or multiple thin rod which connects the connecting stub to the core of the mounting without extending at the distribution channel which is entirely achieved by the sheathing.

According to a practical embodiment, the application pad is traversed by a distribution channel section defining an upstream inlet and a downstream end formed by the dispensing orifice, the sheath comprising an O-ring sealing extension which is wedged between the mounting core and the application pad around the upstream inlet, so as to provide a tight connection between the rigid mounting core and the application pad at the distribution channel. It can thus be said that the flexibility of the cladding is used to make the O-ring which is crushed between the rigid mounting core and the rigid application pad.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the cladding may comprise an envelope which extends around the mounting core to the application pad so as to mask at least partially the mounting core. It is thus possible to fully wrap the mounting core so that it is not visible to the user.

According to another advantageous aspect of the invention, the flexible bridge may have a substantially unidirectional deformability, the flexible bridge advantageously comprising at least one flat blade which is foldable in a single plane.

According to another interesting aspect of the invention, the dispensing head defines a main axis X which extends at least through the connecting stub, the application pad being attached and mounted mechanically on the mounting core along an axis Z mounting which extends transversely to the main axis X. It should be noted that the solid mounting of the pad on the mounting core is possible because the mounting core is made of a rigid plastic material. According to an advantageous embodiment, the mounting core may comprise two mounting rails and the application pad comprises two sliding rails received in the two mounting rails according to the mounting axis Z which is advantageously perpendicular to the axis Y distribution of the dispensing orifice. The mounting axis Z transverse to the main axis X, and preferably also perpendicular to the distribution axis Y, ensures that the pad can not be torn off the mounting core when removing the dispensing head from its unit of distribution or when applying the fluid product on the skin.

The invention also defines a fluid dispenser comprising a fluid dispensing unit and a dispensing and dispensing head as defined above, wherein the dispensing unit comprises a pump or collapsible flexible tube comprising an opening on which the connecting heel is mounted.

The spirit of the invention is to produce a distribution and application head comparable to that of the document WO2013 / 017801 but whose rigidity of the connecting heel and the mounting core is fully decorated or independent of the flexibility of the flexible connection section. The one-piece molding of the connection bead and the mounting core by means of a flexible bridge avoids several assembly operations and allows overmolding of the cladding sheath.

The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings, giving by way of non-limiting examples two embodiments of the invention.

• La figure 1 est une vue en section transversale verticale à travers une tête de distribution et d'application selon un premier mode de réalisation de l'invention,
• Les figures 2a et 2b sont des vues respectivement latérales et légèrement de dessus de la tête de la figure 1,
• La figure 3a est une vue en section transversale verticale à travers l'embase monobloc de la tête de la figure 1,
• La figure 3b est une vue en section transversale verticale à travers le gainage de la tête de la figure 1,
• Les figures 4a et 4b sont des vues en perspective, respectivement pour l'embase monobloc de la figure 3a et le gainage de la figure 3b,
• Les figures 5a et 5b sont des vues en perspective illustrant l'opération de montage de la tête d'application sur le noyau de montage,
• La figure 6 est une vue en coupe transversale verticale à travers une tête de distribution et d'application selon un second mode de réalisation de l'invention,
• La figure 7a est une vue en coupe transversale verticale de l'embase monobloc de la tête de la figure 6,
• La figure 7b est une vue en coupe transversale verticale à travers le gainage de la tête de la figure 6,
• La figure 8a est une vue latérale de l'embase monobloc de la figure 7a,
• La figure 8b est une vue latérale du gainage de la figure 7b,
• Les figures 9a et 9b sont des vues en perspective respectivement de l'embase monobloc de la figure 8a et du gainage de la figure 8b,
• La figure 10a est une vue en coupe transversale verticale à travers un distributeur à pompe incorporant la tête de distribution et d'application selon le premier mode de réalisation,
• La figure 10b est une vue latérale du distributeur de la figure 10a, et
• Les figures 11 a et 11b sont des vues similaires aux figures 10a et 10b pour un distributeur comprenant un tube souple écrasable.

In the figures:

• The figure 1 is a vertical cross sectional view through a dispensing and application head according to a first embodiment of the invention,
• The Figures 2a and 2b are respectively lateral and slightly above views of the head of the figure 1 ,
• The figure 3a is a vertical cross-sectional view through the monobloc base of the head of the figure 1 ,
• The figure 3b is a vertical cross-sectional view through the cladding of the head of the figure 1 ,
• The Figures 4a and 4b are perspective views, respectively for the monobloc base of the figure 3a and the cladding of the figure 3b ,
• The Figures 5a and 5b are perspective views illustrating the mounting operation of the application head on the mounting core,
• The figure 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view through a dispensing and application head according to a second embodiment of the invention,
• The figure 7a is a vertical cross-sectional view of the monobloc base of the head of the figure 6 ,
• The figure 7b is a vertical cross-sectional view through the cladding of the head of the figure 6 ,
• The figure 8a is a side view of the monoblock base of the figure 7a ,
• The figure 8b is a side view of the cladding of the figure 7b ,
• The Figures 9a and 9b are perspective views respectively of the monobloc base of the figure 8a and sheathing the figure 8b ,
• The figure 10a is a vertical cross-sectional view through a pump dispenser incorporating the dispensing and dispensing head according to the first embodiment,
• The figure 10b is a side view of the distributor of the figure 10a , and
• The figures 11 a and 11b are views similar to Figures 10a and 10b for a dispenser comprising a collapsible flexible tube.

We will first refer to Figures 1 to 5b to describe in detail the structure, manufacture and assembly of a dispensing head and application T1 according to the first embodiment of the invention. The head T1 comprises three monobloc elements, namely a monobloc base E a cladding 4 and an application pad 5. The one-piece base E and the cladding 4 are made from suitable plastic material, as will be seen hereinafter. after. As for the application pad 5, it is made of metal or ceramic, and more generally from a heat transfer material of any kind, to impart a sensation of coldness in contact with the skin.

The sheathing 4 extends at least partially around the one-piece base E so as to constitute together a unitary endpiece on which the application pad 5 is mounted. Advantageously, the cladding 4 is overmolded on the one-piece base E. The constituent plastics of the base E and the cladding 4 are advantageously compatible so that a chemical bond binds them together. The base E and the cladding 4 together form a flexible connecting section S which is located in the middle part of the unitary end, as can clearly be seen on the figure 1 .

Referring to Figures 3a and 4a it can be seen that the one-piece base E comprises a connecting bead 1 in its lower part, a mounting head 2 in its upper part and a material bridge 3 in its intermediate part which connects the connecting bead 1 to the head 2. It can be noted that the base E is made integrally, the heel 1, the core 2 and the bridge 3 being made with a first substantially rigid material. Since the bridge 3 has a greatly reduced wall thickness compared to that of the heel and the core 2, the bridge 3 has a flexibility or deformability, so that the core 2 can be moved relative to the heel 1 by deforming the In other words, the heel 1 and the core 2 which are perfectly rigid are connected together by the material bridge 3 which is flexible.

The one-piece base E is traversed from bottom to top along a main axis X by a distribution channel 6 which extends through the connecting stub 1, the flexible bridge 3 and the mounting core 2 where it opens into a bowl It is also noted that a bore 24 passes through the mounting core 2 to also open into the inclined bowl 21. At the flexible bridge 3, the distribution channel 6 forms a section 36 which is entirely formed by the bridge In other words, the flexible bridge 3 forms a tube connecting the heel 1 to the core 2 and the inside of which forms the section 36 of the distribution channel 6. This section 36 is connected upstream to a section 16 formed inside the heel 1 and downstream to another section 26 formed inside the core 2 and which opens into the inclined bowl 21. The tube formed by the flexible bridge 3 presents visibly a very small wall thickness compared to that of the heel 1 and the core 2. To further increase the flexibility of the flexible bridge 3, it can be noted that the outer wall of the tube is annealed, thus further reducing the wall thickness at the level of the hollows. The core 2 can thus be moved relative to the heel 1 by deforming the flexible bridge 3 in an elastic manner.

The connecting heel 1 internally forms the section 16 and externally it has a complex profile including protruding lateral reinforcements 11, a ratchet and sealing bead 12, an annular shoulder 13 facing downwards, a frustoconical shoulder 14 and an annular beach 15 from which extends the flexible bridge 3 shaped annular tube.

We will now refer more particularly to Figures 3b and 4b to describe in detail the cladding 4. This is made of an elastically deformable plastic material which is more flexible than the substantially rigid material of the one-piece base E. As an example, the one-piece base E can be made of rigid thermoplastic such as polypropylene, polyethylene or polyamide, and the cladding 4 can be made of elastomeric thermoplastic. The cladding 4 comprises a main body 41 of very generally cylindrical shape, since it defines a hollow interior. At its lower end, the main body 41 forms a flange 45 facing outwardly and downwardly. At its upper end, the main body 42 is extended to form a casing 42 of reduced wall thickness. Advantageously, the casing 42 is provided with a sealing extension 43 which forms an O-ring 44 which is arranged in an inclined manner, as is the inclined bowl 21. The inside of the O-ring 44 forms a section 46 of the duct. distribution 6, as will be seen below. On the figure 4b it can be seen that the O-ring 44 has a parallelepipedic configuration.

As mentioned above, the cladding 4 is mounted around the one-piece base E, preferably with an overmolding technique. The result is represented on Figures 1, 2a and 2b . The main body 41 of the cladding 4 extends around the flexible bridge 3 in the form of annular tube. It can be seen that the main body 41 at its hollow interior intimately marries the corrugated contour of the flexible bridge 3. At its lower end, its collar 45 comes into contact with the frustoconical shoulder 14 to the level of the shoulder 13. Intimate contact is also established at the annular pad 15. The casing 42 extends in an intimate manner around the mounting core 2 so as to come into contact with the application pad 5. Thus, the Mounting core 2 may be fully masked or wrapped with casing 42 of sheath 4. Sealing extension 43 extends through bore 24 and its O-ring 44 is disposed within the inclined bowl 21 with the section 46 disposed downstream of the section 26 of the core 2. It can thus be noted that the O-ring 44 also comes into contact with an inner face of the application pad 5 thus forming a seal between the core 2 and the pad 5.

The application pad 5, in this first embodiment, comprises a solid body 51 which is traversed by a section 56 of the distribution channel 6 defining an upstream inlet 54 and a downstream end forming a distribution orifice 53. of this solid body 51 comes into sealed contact with the O-ring 44. The outer face of this solid body 52 forms an application surface 52 which is slightly curved. It may be noted that the solid body 51 is inclined with respect to the distribution channel at its sections 16, 26 and 36. It may also be noted that the sections 46 and 56 of the distribution channel 6 are arranged in an inclined manner. relative to the other sections 16, 26 and 36. The application pad 5 also comprises a skirt 57 which extends around the solid body 51 on three of its sides. On the Figures 5a and 5b it may be noted that the peripheral skirt 57 forms two sliding rails 58 intended to cooperate with two mounting rails 28 formed at the core 2. Thus, the pad 5 can be attached to the core 2 by a sliding movement along a mounting axis Z which is oriented transversely relative to the main axis X of the head T1 which passes through the sections 16, 26 and 36 of the distribution channel 2. It may also be noted that the mounting axis Z of the pad 5 is perpendicular to the distribution axis Y passing through the sections 46 and 56 of the distribution channel 2. On the Figures 5a and 5b it is easily understood how the pad 5 can be attached around the core 2 by engaging the two rails 58 of the skirt 57 in the two mounting rails 28 disposed under the bowl 21. It can even be provided at the slides 28 a or a plurality of detent bosses 29 intended to cooperate with snap-fit housings 59 formed at the sliding rails 58. In the final mounting position, the internal face of the solid body 51 comes into contact with the O-ring 44 so as to compress it slightly to achieve a seal. The skirt 57 comes into contact with the envelope 42 of the cladding 4, as visible on the figure 1 .

Due to the transverse orientation of the mounting axis Z relative to the main axis X, it is not possible to accidentally remove the pad 5 of the mounting core 2 by pulling the head T1 along its main axis X , which is particularly the case when it is desired to remove the connecting lug 1 of a housing formed by a distribution unit. In addition, with its orientation perpendicular to the dispensing orifice, the pad is not likely to accidentally disconnect the mounting core 2 when applying the fluid to the skin.

In this first embodiment of the invention, the cladding 4 resiliently reinforces the flexible bridge 3 tube-shaped, which would otherwise be very fragile and prone to looting or breaking. On the other hand, the cladding 4 also creates a flexible connection between the core 2 and the heel 1 and reinforces the overall aesthetics of the tip completely masking the core 2. When the head T1 is mounted on a dispensing unit, the connecting stub 1 is no longer visible, so that the head T1 is defined externally only by the cladding 4 and the application pad 5.

We will now refer to Figures 6 to 9b to describe the second embodiment for a dispensing and application head T2 according to the invention. The main constituent elements are the same as in the first embodiment and have been designated with the same numerical references, however, awarded. Thus, the one-piece base E 'comprises a connecting heel 1', a mounting core 2 'and a flexible bridge 3'. The mounting heel 1 'may be strictly identical to that of the first embodiment, that is to say forming a section 16 of the distribution channel 6', side reinforcements 11, a ratchet and sealing bead 12, a shoulder 13, a frustoconical section 14 and an annular region 15. The mounting core 2 'also forms a section 26 of the distribution channel 6' and a bore 24 for the passage of the sealing extension 43 of the cladding 4 '. The flexible bridge 3 'is however different from that of the first embodiment, since it consists of two flat blades 31 which each connect the heel 1' to the core 2 '. The space between the two flat blades 31 serves for the passage of the distribution channel 6 'as will be seen below. Since these two blades 31 are flat and both oriented in the same plane, the displacement capacity of the core 2 'relative to the heel 1' is unidirectional. In other words, the core 2 'can only move in a plane that is perpendicular to the plane passing through the two flat blades 31. Referring to the figure 8a it is therefore not possible for the core 2 'to move in the plane of the sheet, but only perpendicularly to the plane of the sheet. The cladding 4 'also comprises a main body 41 which extends around the flexible bridge 3' and which connects the heel 1 'to the core 2'. The cladding 4 'also comprises a casing 42 which extends around the frustoconical lower part of the core 2', as can be seen in FIG. figure 6 . The sealing extension 43 passes through the bore 24 of the core 2 'and extends to form a seal 44, which is more clearly visible on the figure 9b .

The application pad 5 'is axially attached to the core 2', so that all the sections 16, 26, 346, 46 and 56 of the distribution channel 6 'are perfectly aligned along the main axis of the head T2. Like the shoe 5 of the first embodiment, this shoe 5 'defines a dispensing orifice 53 and an application surface 52 which has a generally curved and inclined shape. The pad 5 'also forms a skirt 57 which extends around the core 2' to come into contact with the casing 42. The O-ring 44 is crushed by the pad 5 'on the core 2' so as to form a continuity sealing between the core 2 'and the pad 5'.

In this second embodiment, the flexible bridge 3 'does not form alone a section of the distribution channel 6'. The channel section 346 at the flexible connection section S 'is formed together by the cladding 4' and the two flexible flat blades 31. More specifically, the majority of the section 346 is formed by the cladding 4 ', the blades 31 only coming into contact with the section 46 at the level of their opposite inner edges. In the absence of cladding 4 ', the section 16 would not be connected to the section 26 of the distribution channel 6'. Before overmolding the cladding 4 'on the one-piece base E', the core 2 'can move with great freedom in a plane imposed by the flat blades 31. Thus, the cladding 4' not only makes it possible to constitute the section 346 distribution channel 6 ', but also limits the degree of displacement of the core 2', while maintaining some resilience.

Although not shown in the figures, it is also conceivable to provide a flexible bridge between the heel and the core in the form of a simple rod or wire that does not even come into contact with the distribution channel. In this case, the flexible bridge serves only as a material passage path between the heel and the core during the one-piece molding of the base. The cladding which is then overmolded around the flexible bridge reinforces the connection between the core and the heel while allowing certain degrees of freedom to the core.

Whatever the embodiment of the invention, the monoblock base comprises a flexible bridge which connects the connection heel to the core of the invention. mounting, this flexible bridge forming or not all or part of the section of the distribution channel, the cladding surrounding the flexible bridge to enhance its resilient resilience and possibly constitute all or part of the section of the distribution channel.

We will now refer to Figures 10 and 10b which show the distribution and application head T1 of the first embodiment mounted on a distribution unit comprising a pump P associated with a fluid reservoir R1. More specifically, the pump P is a side-actuated pump comprising a lateral actuation pusher P4 which allows, by its depression, to reduce the volume of a pump chamber P1 provided at its inlet with an inlet valve P2 and its output P5 of an outlet valve P3. The head T1 is mounted at the outlet P5 which advantageously forms a mounting housing for the fixed and sealed reception of the connecting lug 1. The pump P is mounted on a neck R11 of a sliding shaft 11 in which moves a follower piston R12. This is a non-limiting embodiment for a distribution unit adapted to receive the dispensing head and application of the invention.

On the figures 11 a and 11b, the dispensing unit is in the form of a collapsible flexible tube R2 provided with a neck R21 in which is engaged the connecting heel 1 'of the dispensing head and application T2 according to the second embodiment of the invention.

Of course, the T2 head could be mounted on the distribution unit of the Figures 10a and 10b and vice versa.

Thanks to the invention, there is a dispensing head and application consisting solely of three elements, namely a monobloc base, a sheath and an application pad. The displacement capacity of the application pad 5 with respect to the connecting stub is substantially or completely decolored from the rigid flexible material to form the base. The cladding 4 which extends around the flexible bridge to form the flexible connecting section protects the flexible bridge and ensure a controlled and resilient degree of flexibility.

Claims (12)

1. A dispenser and applicator head (T1; T2) for associating with a dispenser unit (P; R2), such as a pump, a valve, or a squeezable tube, the head comprising:

   • a connection stub (1; 1') that is made out of a substantially-rigid first material and that is for connecting to the dispenser unit (P; R2);

   • an assembly core (2; 2') that is made out of the same material as the connection stub (1; 1');

   • a flexible link section (S; S') that interconnects the connection stub (1; 1') and the assembly core (2; 2');

   • a fluid applicator pad (5; 5') for coming into contact with an application surface such as the skin, so as to apply fluid to the application surface, the applicator pad (5; 5') being made out of a heat-transfer material, such as metal or ceramic, so as to impart a cold sensation on contact with the skin, the applicator pad (5; 5') being mounted on the assembly core (2; 2'); and

   • a dispenser channel (6; 6') that passes through the connection stub (1; 1'), the flexible link section (S; S'), the assembly core (2; 2'), and the applicator pad (5; 5') in which it forms a dispenser orifice (53);

   the dispenser and applicator head being characterized in that the flexible link section (S; S') comprises:

   • a flexible bridge (3; 3') that is made out of the same material as the connection stub (1; 1') and the assembly core (2; 2'), the flexible bridge (3; 3') interconnecting the connection stub (1; 1') and the assembly core (2; 2') in such a manner as to form a single-piece base (E; E'); and

   • sheathing (4; 4') that is made out of an elastically-deformable second material that is more flexible than the substantially-rigid first material, the sheathing (4; 4') surrounding the flexible bridge (3; 3'), at least in part, and interconnecting the connection stub (1; 1') and the assembly core (2; 2').
2. A head according to claim 1, wherein the sheathing (4; 4') is overmolded on the single-piece base ().
3. A head according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the flexible bridge (3; 3') presents a wall thickness that is small compared to the connection stub (1; 1') and the assembly core (2; 2').
4. A head according to claim 1, 2, or 3, wherein the dispenser channel (6), at the link section (S), is formed by the flexible bridge (3) only.
5. A head according to claim 1, 2, or 3, wherein the dispenser channel (6'), at the link section (S'), may be formed both by the flexible bridge (3') and by the sheathing (4').
6. A head according to claim 1, 2, or 3, wherein the dispenser channel, at the link section, is formed by the sheathing only.
7. A head according to any preceding claim, wherein the applicator pad (5; 5') has a segment (56) of dispenser channel (6) passing therethrough and defining an upstream inlet (54) and a downstream end that is formed by the dispenser orifice (53), the sheathing (4; 4') including a sealing extension (43) that forms an 0-ring gasket (44) that is wedged between the assembly core (2; 2') and the applicator pad (5; 5'), around the upstream inlet (54), so as to form a sealed connection between the rigid assembly core (2; 2') and the applicator pad (5; 5') at the dispenser channel (6; 6').
8. A head according to any preceding claim, wherein the sheathing (4; 4') includes trim (42) that extends around the assembly core (2; 2') as far as the applicator pad (5; 5'), so as to mask the assembly core (2; 2'), at least in part.
9. A head according to any preceding claim, wherein the flexible bridge (3') presents deformability that is substantially unidirectional, the flexible bridge (3') advantageously comprising at least one flat blade that is foldable in a single plane.
10. A head according to any preceding claim, defining a main axis (X) that extends at least through the connection stub (1), the applicator pad (5) being mechanically fitted and mounted on the assembly core (2) along a mounting axis (Z) that extends transversally relative to the main axis (X).
11. A head according to claim 10, wherein the assembly core (2) includes two mounting slideways (28) and the applicator pad (5) includes two slide rails (58) that are received in the two mounting slideways (28) along the mounting axis (Z) that is advantageously perpendicular to the dispensing axis (Y) of the dispenser orifice (53).
12. A fluid dispenser comprising a fluid dispenser unit and a dispenser and applicator head (Tl; T2) according to any preceding claim, wherein the dispenser unit comprises a pump (P) or a squeezable tube (R2) including an opening (P5; R21) on which the connection stub (1; 1') is mounted.

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