AU2003211818B8 - A Container and Dispenser for Flowable Materials - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention Title "A CONTAINER AND DISPENSER FOR FLOWABLE MATERIALS" In v e n tio n T itle The following statement is a full description of this Invention, Including the best method of performing it known to me:- 2 A CONTAINER AND DISPENSER FOR FLOWABLE MATERIALS Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a container for flowable materials and particularly to a container which includes means to facilitate dispensing of the contents thereof The container is preferably a carton made from cardboard or the like which is disposable after the contents have been used.

Background of the Invention Many products are distributed and sold in disposable containers, such as cartons.

Example of products of this type include flowable materials such as soap powder, detergent powder, powdered foods, dry pet food, breakfast cereal, etc. Some disposable containers for this type of product include a tear-away section which provides an opening through which the product may be dispensed. Some disposable containers of this type of product have a manually operative chute to assist dispensing the product. In some cases, a spoon or scoop is provided. These type of measures do nothing to insure a predetermined quantity of the product is accurately dispensed and often lead to spillage and waste of the product. The present invention seeks to facilitate the dispensing of flowable materials from containers and, in particular, provides means whereby a pre-determined amount of the materials may be dispensed.

Disclosure of the Invention.

According to the present invention there is a container for a flowable material comprising a base, space within the container to hold flowable material, a compartment having a wall adjacent the base separating the compartment and the space, an aperture in said wall forming the only communication between the space and the compartment, a dispensing device housed within said compartment, a receptacle forming part of the dispensing device., said receptacle being aligned with said aperture when the dispensing device is in a loading position so that a portion of the material may flow from the space into the receptacle, a sealed opening for the compartment which may be opened to access the dispensing device and to move it along the compartment to a dispensing position where the contents of the receptacle may be dispensed through the opening.

The present invention facilitates the dispensing of flowable types of product such as powders, particulates, flakes, etc., by providing for the dispensing thereof directly from the container. For example, a consumer may supply a portion of soap powder into a washing machine directly from the carton of soap powder simply by holding the carton over the washing machine and operating the dispensing device such that a portion of the soap powder goes directly into the washing machine.

Preferably, the receptacle is open at its top end to receive a portion of the flowable material from the space and is open at its bottom end so that that portion may be directly dispensed therefrom.

The volume of the receptacle of the dispensing device is made of a pre-determined size to provide a measured quantity of the flowable material to be dispensed.

Preferably, the opening in the container, prior to the first use of the dispensing device for dispensing the product, is closed by a removable section of the container wall, wherein the movable section of the container may be manually removed to allow access to the dispensing device and to manually slide it relatively to the base from a loading position to a dispensing position.

Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a carton containing a dispensing device in its loading position in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, with the dispensing device having been partially moved towards its dispensing position; Fig. 3 is a view similar to Figs. 1 and 2 with the dispensing device at its dispensing position; Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating another embodiment of the invention; and Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an assembled carton made by the second embodiment.

Description of Embodiments A preferred form of the invention is shown in Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawings which illustrate a container for flowable material, such as powdered laundry detergent, in the form of a cardboard carton 1 having a top 2, base 3 and an intemrnal wall 4 which, around the entire circumference, is attached to the internal walls of carton 1, for example by adhesive..

Carton 1 contains a relatively large space 11 adapted to hold the flowable material.

Internal wall 4 and base 3 together with the sides of carton 1 define a relatively smaller compartment 12 which extends lengthwise the full width of carton 1 and is rectangular in cross-section. There is an aperture 13 in internal wall 4, which constitutes the sole communication between space 11 and compartment 12.

Housed within compartment 12 is a dispensing device 10 which is of similar rectangular cross-section as compartment 12 fitting neatly therein so that the walls of compartment 12 internal wall 4, base 3 together with the sides of carton 1 serve as a guide for dispensing device 10 as it is moved lengthwise of compartment 12 (as later explained).

Dispensing device 10 includes a receptacle 8 which is open at its top and bottom extremities. Depending on the nature of the flowable material, the volume of receptacle 8 is designed to hold a pre-determined quantity thereof sufficient for its intended purpose.

Dispensing device 10 also includes a substantially rectangular covering member 9 in contact with the underside of internal wall 4. Covering member 9 extends over the width of compartment 12 and from the top of the outer wall of receptacle 8. Preferably, dispensing device 10 is constructed so that it moves smoothly lengthwise of compartment 12 and without tilting. In one form, a further member 18 similar to covering member 9 also extends from the bottom of the outer wall of receptacle 8 in contact with the inner wall of base 3. In the position shown in Fig. 1, the free ends of members 9 and 18 are in contact with an end wall of compartment 12 and aperture 13 is fully aligned with the open top of receptacle 8 so that material in space 11 may flow into receptacle 8 and is held therein as base 3 covers the bottom of receptacle 8. Dispensing device 10 also includes a handle member 7 which extends from an outer wall of receptacle 8 and which may be grasped for manually sliding dispensing device 10 lengthwise of compartment 12 (as later explained). In the position shown in Fig. 1, the free end of handle member 7 is in contact with an end wall of compartment 12. While the free ends of handle member 7 and members 9 and 18 are in contact with opposite end walls of compartment 12, movement of dispensing device 10 lengthwise of the compartment is resisted. Dispensing device may be made cheaply from a suitable plastic material.

There is a sealed opening in a wall of compartment 12 which may be opened as by breaking the seal to access dispensing device 10. As illustrated in Fig. 1, a wall or walls of compartment 12 have a removable section 5 which, as shown, is a part of base 3 and extends to a part of adjacent end wall of compartment 12. Preferably, removable section is defined by a line of weakness 6 (for example an indented or semi-perforated seam) and includes a tab 14 to facilitate its manual removal. Removal of section 5 creates an opening which allows access to handle member 7 of dispensing device As shown in Fig. 2, when section 5 is removed, handle 7 may be grasped to pull dispensing device 10 lengthwise of compartment 12. The movement of dispensing device is guided by base 3, internal wall 4 together with the side walls of compartment 12.

When dispensing device 10 is moved, the portion of the flowable material in receptacle 8 is conveyed towards its dispensing location, which is illustrated in Fig. 3. At the same time covering member 9 commences to cover aperture 13.

Movement of dispensing device 10 is continued until it reaches its dispensing location as illustrated in Fig. 3. Further movement is prevented by contact of the outer wall of receptacle 8 with the portion of the end wall remaining after section 5 has been removed.

That portion of the end wall is of sufficient size to retain dispensing device 10 within compartment 12. At this location, aperture 13 in internal wall 4 is completely covered by covering member 9 to prevent escape of any flowable material from space 11. In addition, receptacle 8 is now over the opening in the base left by the removal of section allowing the portion of flowable material in receptacle 8 to flow therefrom.

Once the flowable material in receptacle 8 has been dispensed therefrom, dispensing device 10 may be pushed back into compartment 12 to align receptacle 8 with aperture 13 in internal wall 4, thereby allowing further material from space 11 to flow into receptacle 8 in preparation for further dispensing as described above.

With the construction described above, there is little chance of spillage after section 5 is removed to allow access to dispensing device 10. Further, there is little chance of spillage during a dispensing action. Flowable material may only pass from space 11 when dispensing device 10 is in its loading position and then only into receptacle 8 until it is filled. Only the contents of receptacle 8 may pass from carton 1 and only when dispensing device 10 is in its dispensing position. There is thus provided means to dispense accurately a measured quantity of flowable material. Before section 5 is removed, there is no chance of tampering with the contents of carton 1 without breaching a wall of carton 1.

The top 2 and base 3 may be formed in the usual manner by providing flaps integral with the side and end walls of carton, folding the flaps and joining them with a suitable adhesive. Base 3 may be formed in that manner, dispensing device 10 inserted and then internal wall 4 assembled and joined to the internal walls of carton 1. Alternatively, internal wall 4 may be assembled first, dispensing device 10 inserted and then base 3 formed in the manner indicated above. After flowable material is poured into space 11, top 2 is closed as described.

In a further method of forming the container, a dispensing device is inserted in the equivalent of compartment 12 which is then attached to a carton housing, or adapted to house, flowable material. This is exemplified in Figs. 4 and 5. An assembly comprising a base 19 and wall 15 (the equivalent of internal wall 4) are spaced to form compartment 12 therebetween. A dispensing device 10 is located within compartment 12. An aperture 13 is provided in wall 15. The base 19 and part of the adjacent end wall of compartment 12 are provided with a removable section 5. All of those integers are similar to the equivalent integer described with reference to Figs 1 to 3 The assembly includes upstanding side walls 17 for attaching it to carton 1. An aperture 16, designed to align with aperture 13, is formed in the bottom wall of carton 1 before the assembly is fixed thereto. Upstanding side walls 17 are then fitted over the bottom end of the carton and attached thereto by a suitable adhesive.

The invention described herein is susceptible to variations, modifications and/or additions other than those specifically described and it is to be understood that the invention includes all such variations, modifications and/or additions which fall within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

Claims (12)

1. A container for a flowable material comprising a base, space within the container to hold flowable material, a compartment having a wall adjacent the base separating the compartment and the space, an aperture in said wall forming the only communication between the space and the compartment, a dispensing device housed within the compartment, a receptacle forming part of the dispensing device, said receptacle being aligned with said aperture when the dispensing device is in a loading position so that a portion of the material may flow from the space into the receptacle, a sealed opening for the compartment which may be opened to access the dispensing device and to move it along the compartment to a dispensing position where the contents of the receptacle may be dispensed through the opening..

2 A container as claimed in Claim 1, characterised in that the container is of rectangular cross-section.

3. A container as claimed in Claim 2, characterised in that the compartment is of rectangular cross-section and extends lengthwise across the width of the container- 12

4. A container as claimed in Claim 3, characterised in that the dispensing device is of substantially the same cross-section as the compartment and the walls of the compartment serve as a guide for the dispensing device as it is moved lengthwise of the compartment.

A container as claimed in any preceding claim, characterised in that the receptacle is open and its top end so that, when the dispensing device is in the loading position, material flows from the space into the receptacle.

6. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, characterised in that the dispensing device includes a covering member which covers the aperture when the dispensing device is in the dispensing position so that flowable material cannot flow from the space.

7. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, characterised in that the receptacle is open at its bottom end so that, when the dispensing device is in the loading position, said bottom end is in contact with the base of the container whereby contents of the receptacle are retained therein and, when the dispensing device is in a dispensing position, the material in the receptacle is dispensed through said open bottom end and said opening. 13

8. A container as claimed in any preceding claim characterised in that said opening is initially sealed by a removable section of a wall or walls of the compartment.

9. A container as claimed in Claim 8, characterised in that the removable section comprises a part of the base and part of an adjacent end wall of the compartment.

A container as claimed in Claim 9, characterised in that the remainder of said end wall of the compartment acts to prevent withdrawal of the dispensing device from the compartment.

11. A container as claimed in any preceding claims wherein the container is a disposable carton.

12 A container substantially as described and illustrated with reference to Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawings.