EP0667300B1 - Package with a lightweighted closure system - Google Patents

Description

Field of the invention
• The present invention relates to a package comprising acontainer and a measuring cup adapted to serve as aclosure. The improvement of the present invention achievesa consistent saving in the manufacturing material,maintaining all the common characteristics of similarpackaging, such as, for example, a liquid tight seal andself draining properties.
Background of the invention
• Packages comprising a container and dosing cap are wellknown in the prior art. The container is able to containliquid or granular substances. The dosing cap is ameasuring cup adapted also to serve as a closing system.With the help of said dosing cap a certain containedsubstance is dosed and the container is closed in adetachable manner. Lightweighted packages are desirable,because of the low weight and reduced cost in materials required for their manufacture and the reduced cost relatedto the disposal. It is an object of the present inventionto propose a package which achieves a consistent materialsaving in the manufacture of said package.
• A problem associated with these packages is the spillagefrom said dosing cap onto the container, when it is appliedagain after use on the container, which can causecontamination of the closure systems, such as threads, withthe contained product, as well as dripping along thecontainer, making the closure and container messy, veryslippery and thus difficult to handle.
• To solve this problem various solution have beenproposed. EP-B-0 369 560 or WO 83/03085 describes an assembly, in whichthe measuring cup, threaded on the outside of said neck ofthe container, presents a skirt extending into the pouringspout body, which protects the threads of said measuringcup. A further improvement has been achieved with EP-A-0417 954 in which the drain back trough is part of thecontainer's body. Said trough has to be formed through aninversion of part of the neck of the container after theblow-molding process.
• Other solutions are disclosed in FR-1 508 355, which shows a packageaccording to the preamble of claim 1, inUS-4 696 416 and US-4981 239. The dosing cap has a fastening means formed on itsexternal surface, adapted to be sealed tightly to theinterior surface of a collar secured to the orifice of thecontainer. This means that no extra skirt is needed in thiscase to protect the threads of said dosing cap, although anintermediate piece, which joins the container and thedosing cap, is still required in US-4 696 416 and US-4981 239.
• In all the previous solutions no limitations on theamount of the packaging material required has been set. Onthe contrary, more packaging material has been added tosolve spillage problems through specific back draining means. The present invention reduces the necessarypackaging material by inserting the dosing cap inside theneck of the container directly, as will be describedfurther on.
• In order to save material for the manufacturing of apackage, which needs to be dosed, such as liquid and/orgranular detergent, softeners, bleaches and the like, itwould be more desirable that said package is comprised onlyof two parts : a container and a dosing cap, but notransition piece to convey the back drain. In particular,it would be more desirable for the same reason to avoid theforming of a back drain trough on the neck of thecontainer.
• We have now found that these objects are met by the package ofclaim 1, wherethe dosing cap is partly inserted into the neck of the container.This inserted part, protected by the neck of the container,needs not to be of the same resistance compared to the restnot inserted into said neck. Nevertheless, minimumconstraints have to be taken into account, in order todetermine the effective material saving.
• The amount of packaging material or weight of the dosingcap is primarily determined by the mass density of themanufacturing material and the thickness of the wall ofsaid dosing cap. The thickness determines the finalresistance and stability properties of said cap. Theresistance and the stability are important features of areusable dosing cap, since it has to be gripped many timesin order to open the container, especially considering thatmost of the commercially available containers arerefillable.
Brief description of the figures
• Figure 1 is a fragmentary side view of the preferredembodiment of the present invention.
• Figure 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional side view of theembodiment of Figure 1.
• Figures 3 to 9 are fragmentary cross-sectional views ofother embodiments of the present invention.
Summary of the invention
• The present invention is a package comprising a containerand a dosing cap, said cap comprising a top and acircumferential wall. The wall of said cap has twodifferent thicknesses, the thinner walled part of said capfitting into the neck of said container, to achieve aliquid tight seal, according to claim 1.
Detailed description of the invention
• Figure 1 illustrates the top end of the closed package inthe preferred embodiment of the present invention, suitablefor holding liquid or granular substances and the like.Preferably the container (10) is provided with a handle(not shown), integrally molded therewith, to provide agripping means to facilitate holding and carrying thecontainer (10) and dispensing its contents. The container(10) has a removably attached closure (20) to prevent inadvertedspillage or loss of freshness of the contents ofthe container (10). The closure (20) may also be used as ameasuring cup, to ensure the desired quantity of liquids isdispensed. The closure (20) is attached directly into theneck (12) of the container (10) in a liquid tight manner.
• Figure 2 is a cross sectional side view of Figure 1,showing the different thicknesses of thecircumferential wall of said dosing cap (20). The thicknessof said wall is defined to be the minimal distance betweenthe inner and the outer surface of the wall. The thinnerwalled part (26) begins right under the external ridge(22). Said thinner part (26) fits into the neck (12) ofcontainer (10) in its closed position. Since said thinnerpart (26) of cap (20) is entirely protected by the neck(12) of container (10), said part (26) can be of a minorresistance and stability than the rest of the dosing cap(20). Since only a minor resistance and stabilityconditions are necessary, as explained before, part (26)can be thinner walled than the rest.
• The thicker walled part (28) begins from the externalridge (22) upwards. This part (28) of said dosing cap (20)remains outside the neck (12). This part (28) needs tomaintain a certain stability and resistance, since saidpart (28) has to be gripped firmly, in order to disconnectsaid dosing cap (20) from the neck (12) of container (10).This operation has to be accomplished many times.
• The spillage free feature of the package of the presentinvention is another advantage, which is a directconsequence of the partial insertion of the dosing cap (20)into the neck (12) of container (10). It is evident thatthe rest of the dosed substance flows or fallsautomatically back into the container. This leads to theunnecessity of any drain back trough or other feature toconvey the rest of any dosed substance back into thecontainer. Not needing any particular drain back facility,as said before, also diminishes the amount of packagingmaterial necessary for the package. This results in asignificant material saving versus the packages of theprior art.
• The dosing cap (20) may have two inclined features : theexternal ridge (22) and the groove (24). The groove (24)on the outer surface of part (26) of the dosing cap (20)fits exactly onto the identically sloped internal ridge(14). This internal ridge (14) is made on the inner surfaceof the neck (12) of container (10) and it has the identicalshape of the groove (24), in order to get a liquid tightseal.
• As shown in Figure 3, the dosing cap (30) can also havetwo external ridges (22) and (32). The ridge (32) fits nowinto the groove (34) on the inner surface of the neck (12).The number and the shape of grooves (24) or ridges (32) andthe corresponding internal ridges (14) and grooves (34) canbe varied by any person skilled in the art.
• The neck (12) of the container (10) not only contributesto the closure system, but it also serves as the pouringspout of the container of the present invention.
• Referring again to Figure 2, the fitting of the cap (20)into the neck (12) is only possible, if the lip (29) of theneck (12) is identically inclined as the external ridge(22) of cap (20). The inclination is defined by an angle α.This angle α is measured from the plane defined by thesupporting basis of the container (10) in its uprightposition to a line parallel to the lip of the neck (12) orexternal ridge (22). Therefore the angle α has to be alwaysequal for both the external ridge (22) and the lip (29) ofneck (12), in order to obtain a liquid tight seal.
• Figure 4 schematically shows certain features whichfurther improves the liquid tightness applicable to allembodiments. The new feature in respect to Figure 2 is theridge (8) between the neck (12) and collar (9) of thecontainer (10). Said ridge (8) forms all around inside the neck (12) an area (7). Said area (7) is sloped in Figure 4,but it can also be flat. Correspondingly, the lip (27) ofthe dosing cap (90) has the same slope as the area (7). Thelip (27) of the dosing cap (90) coming in direct contactwith area (7) assures an improved liquid tightness ofdosing cap (90).
• The inclined versions described so far are the preferredembodiments of the present invention, since saidinclination of the lip (29) of neck (12) helps inseparating the cap (20) from the container (10). In thismanner, the cap (20) can be turned in respect to the neck(12); a 1/4 turn at most is sufficient to force the ridgeand the groove to disengage. Furthermore, the inclinationof the lip (29) of neck (12) facilitates the use as apouring spout of neck (12) to dose the contained substanceout of the container into the dosing cap (20).
• Nevertheless, other versions are possible with the samecharacteristical features between dosing cap (20;30) andneck (12) described above, which form the closure system,but with different angles between each other. Onepossibility is to have the external ridge (22) and the lip(29) of neck (12) inclined with an angle α, whereas thegroove (24) and the corresponding internal ridge (14) withanother completely different angle β, as illustrated inFigure 5. Angle β is measured from the plane defined by thesupporting basis of container (10) in its upright positionto a line parallel to groove (24) or internal ridge (14).This includes also the following possibilities for theangles :
• a) α = 0, β ≠ 0;
• b) α ≠ 0, β = 0;
• c)α = β = 0.
• The possibility schematically described by the item a) isillustrated in Figure 6. The external ridge (22) on thedosing cap (50) and the lip (29) of neck (12) have noinclination, on the contrary to groove (24) and internalridge (14). The latter inclination is defined by β. Thepossibility b) is shown in Figure 7, representing the exactopposite of case a) : no inclination of groove (24) andinternal ridge (14), an inclination defined by a forexternal ridge (22) and the lip (29) of neck (12). Thepossibility described by c) is a complete non-inclinedversion of the present invention and it is shown in Figure8.
• Another embodiment of the present invention is shown inFigure 9. It is similar to Figure 2 with the onlydifference that the lip (27) of the dosing cap (80) is alsoinclined with an angle γ. This angle γ is measured from theplane defined by the supporting basis of the container (10)in its upright position to a line parallel to the lip ofthe dosing cap (80) The inclination of lip (27) helps thepouring out of the dosed substance. In all the Figuresdescribed above, the different thickness of thecircumferential wall of the dosing cap is schematicallyillustrated.
• The thickness of the walls of the dosing cap of thepresent invention may be up to 1.2 mm, preferably up to 0.6mm, and most preferably from 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm especiallyfor the thinner walled part of said cap. All the angles α,β and γ have values, which can be chosen by any personskilled in the art for any necessary specific requirement.Preferably said values are from 0 radians to 5π/12 radians,more preferably from π/12 radians to π/3 radians.
• All embodiments described are preferably made of plastic,whereas the container is preferably blow-molded and thedosing cap injected. Nevertheless, as said before, the closure system itself does not limit the use of othercommercially available manufacturing materials. The type ofplastics usable for this type of application are generallythermoplastics, such as PolyEthylene (PE), PolyEthyleneTerephthalate (PET), PolyPropylene (PP), PolyVinyl Chloride(PVC), and any other, less common polymers, likePolyStyrene, PolyCarbonate and Ploymethane. These type ofplastics is completely recyclable. It is possible to havematerial savings up to 80 % compared to current selfdraining caps.
• All the dosing caps shown in Figures 1 to 9 present ontheir outer and/or inner surface of the wall of said capsdosing lines (80). Said lines (80) help to dose preciselythe contained substance out of the container (10). Theselines (80) can be easily varied in number, depending fromthe specific uses of the contained substances.
• The pouring spout of the container and the lip of saiddosing cap for all embodiments are made anti-drip in orderto avoid unnecessary product spillage. Furthermore, apilfer proof ring, tape, shrink sleeve or the like to avoidcap loosening during transportation and distribution can beadded.
• The possible contained substances are all those ones,which need to be dosed for a specific use. For example,this happens very often in the laundry and householdproducts, such as liquid or granular detergents, liquidsofteners, household cleaners and bleaches.

Claims (10)

1. A package comprising a container (10) and a dosing cap (20), said dosing cap(20) partially fitting directly into a neck (12) of said container (10), the neck (12)serving as a pouring spout of the container (10), the partial fitting of the dosingcap (20) into the neck (12) achieving a liquid tight seal without transition piece,said dosing cap (20) comprises a groove (24) and/or a ridge(32) on the outer surface of the part (26) of said dosing cap (20) fitting into saidneck (12), the groove (24) and/or ridge (32) of the dosing cap tightly fitting anidentically shaped internal ridge (14) and/or groove (34) on the inner surface ofthe neck (12) of said container (10), characterised in thatsaidcap comprises an external ridge (22), which comes in tight contact with the lip(29) of the neck (12) of said container in closed position, and which is situated onthe outer surface of said cap separating the part of the dosing cap (20) fittingdirectly into the neck (12) from the rest of the dosing cap (20) remaining outsidethe neck (12).
2. A package according to claim 1 characterized in that the wall of said cap has two differentthicknesses, the thinner walled part (26) of said cap fitting directly into the neck(12) of said container.
3. A package according to either of the preceding claims characterized in that saidgroove (24) or ridge (32) on the outer surface of said dosing cap(20;30) directly fitting into said neck (12) and the correspondent internal ridge(14) or groove (34) on the inner surface of the neck (12) of said container areinclined with an angle β.
4. A package according to claim 1 characterized in that said external ridge (22) ofsaid cap (20;30) and the lip (29) of the neck (12) of said container are inclinedwith and angle α.
5. A package according to claim 4 characterized in that angle β is equal to angle α.
6. A package according to any of the preceding claims characterized in that the lip(27) of the dosing cap (100) is inclined with an angle γ.
7. A package according to any of the preceding claims characterized in that theliquid tightness is improved by another ridge (8), said ridge forming an area (7),said area coming in direct contact with lip (27) of dosing cap (20).
8. A package according to any of the preceding claims characterized in that the lipof said dosing cap and the lip of the neck (12) of said container, serving both as apouring spout, are anti-drip.
9. A package according to any of the preceding claims characterized in that theouter surface of the wall of said cap comprises a securing system, such as a pilferproof system, tape, shrink sleeve or the like to avoid loosening of said capduring transportation and distribution of said package.
10. A package according to any of the preceding claims characterized in that said capcomprises dosing lines (80) on the outer and/or inner surface of the wall of saidcap.

Images