DE212021000456U1 - dispensing container - Google Patents

Abstract

A dispensing container (20) comprising
a a container (1) comprising
i a body (2);
ii a neck (3) with an opening (4);
iii an insert (5) positioned in the opening and attached to the neck;
iv a dip tube (7) extending into the body (2); and
b a pump dispenser (6) comprising
an inlet tube (17) at a lower end of the pump dispenser;
a pump actuator (18); and
a pump outlet (19) at an upper end of the pump dispenser, the insert (5) being suitable for receiving the pump dispenser (6); characterized in that the insert extends into upper (8) and lower (9) shafts; the inlet tube (17) of the pump dispenser being connected to the insert (5) by enveloping the upper stem (8) and the lower stem (9) of the insert being connected to the dip tube (7) by enveloping the dip tube ; and wherein the upper part of the insert (5) has a bore seal (16) for attaching the insert to the opening of the neck (3); and a flange (15) extending outwardly.

Description

field of invention

The present invention relates to a dispensing container, in particular a dispensing container with a reusable pump dispenser.

Background of the Invention

Pump dispenser containers are used for a number of different products, particularly fast moving consumer goods (FMCG). The pump dispensers are generally not recyclable, so consumers tend to reuse the pumps with refill containers of the same or a different product. A disadvantage of reusing these pump dispensers is that transferring the pump from one container to another is always a difficult process. This is because a significant amount of product is sticking to the pump dip tube. Another disadvantage of reusing a pump dispenser is that the pump cannot be used for all sizes of containers due to a certain length of dip tube, and the dip tube attached to the pump cannot be easily cut off and replaced with another of a different size.

Dispensing containers with integrated dip tubes are known to overcome the disadvantages mentioned above. Such a container is in the WO 2010/083419 which discloses a substantially blow molded dispensing container with a facility whereby the dispensing pump can be reused with additional dispensing refill containers. However, these disclosures provide little information about the connection between the pump and the dip tube when a consumer connects the pump dispenser to the container. A loose or poor connection between the dispenser pump and dip tube would result in increased air ingestion affecting spray or pump quality.

Therefore, despite the prior art, there remains a need to provide a dispensing container with a robust fit between the dispensing pump and dip tube that minimizes air ingress due to a poor or loose connection.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved and robust connection between the pump dispenser and the dip tube when the pump dispenser is connected to the container by the consumer.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a simple yet robust pump dispensing system for home restraint that better replicates the performance of traditional pump dispensers with minimal investment for factory production or production line.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sustainable solution by making the pump dispenser easily separable from the container, thereby enabling recycling of the container and reuse of the pump dispenser.

Another object of the present invention is to reduce the overall use of plastic in containers that can be used with pump dispensers.

Another object of the present invention is to minimize air entrainment into the product and provide the user with good spray/pump quality free from splatter and other quality problems.

Summary of the Invention

Accordingly, in a first aspect, the present invention provides a dispensing container (20) comprising a container (1) comprising a body (2), a neck (3) having an opening (4), a neck positioned in the opening and at neck mounted insert (5), a dip tube (7) extending into the body (2); and a pump dispenser (6) comprising an inlet tube (17) at a lower end of the pump dispenser, a pump actuator (18) and a pump outlet (19) at an upper end of the pump dispenser, the insert (5) for receiving the pump dispenser (6 ) suitable is; characterized in that the insert extends into an upper (8) and a lower shaft (9); the inlet tube (17) of the pump dispenser being connected to the insert (5) by enveloping the upper stem (8) and the lower stem (9) of the insert being connected to the dip tube (7) by enveloping the dip tube ; and the upper part of the liner (5) having a bore seal (16) to attach the liner to the opening of the neck (3) and a flange (15) extending outwardly.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a dispensing container (20) according to the invention, comprising the steps of: providing a container (1) comprising a body (2), a neck (3) with an opening (4 ), an insert (5) positioned in the opening (4) and secured to the neck; wherein the insert (5) is suitable for receiving a pump dispenser (6), a dip tube (7) extending into the body (2); the insert (5) extending into an upper stem (8) and a lower stem (9), providing a pump dispenser (6) comprising an inlet tube (17) at a lower end of the pump dispenser; a pump actuator (18); and a pump outlet (19) at an upper end of the pump dispenser, and connecting the upper stem (8) of the insert to the inlet tube (17) of the pump dispenser (6) and the lower stem (9) to the dip tube (7) of the container.

These and other aspects, features and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description and the appended claims. For the avoidance of doubt, any feature of one aspect of the present invention may be employed in any other aspect of the invention. The word "comprising" is intended to mean "including", but not necessarily "consisting of" or "composed of". In other words, the steps or options listed need not be exhaustive. It should be noted that the examples given in the following description are intended to illustrate the invention and are not intended to limit the invention to these examples per se. Likewise, all percentages are weight/weight unless otherwise indicated. Except in the working and comparative examples or where expressly stated otherwise, all numbers in this specification indicating quantities of materials or reaction conditions, physical properties of materials and/or use are to be understood as being modified by the word "about". . Numeric ranges expressed in the format "from x to y" shall include x and y. Where multiple preferred ranges are described in the "from x to y" format for a given characteristic, it is understood that all ranges combining the different endpoints are also considered.

Detailed Description of the Invention

In a first aspect, the present invention relates to a dispensing container (20) comprising a container (1) and a pump dispenser (6). The container (1) is preferably a refillable container.

The container (1) of the present invention has a body (2) with a bottom (12) and a neck (3). The neck (3) includes an opening (4) and a top surface (13).

The neck (3) preferably has a connection means (14) by which the container (1) can be connected to a non-dispensing closure or a pump dispenser. The connection means can be a screw thread, a bayonet connection or provide a pressure, click or press fit. The connecting means is preferably a screw thread.

The neck (3) is essentially tubular. An insert (5) suitable for receiving a pump dispenser (6) is positioned in the opening of the neck and attached to the neck. The insert (5) is also connected to a dip tube (7). The insert can be removable or fixed.

The insert (5) of the present invention preferably has a tubular body (11) to complement the shape of the neck. Basically, the top part of the insert should be held to tight tolerances to ensure a secure fit on the neck. For this purpose the upper part of the insert preferably has a bore seal (16) for attachment to the opening of the neck (4). Preferably the insert has a flange (15) extending outwards at the top which prevents the insert (5) from falling into the container when in use or while the consumer is connecting the pump dispenser. The flange preferably has an outside diameter larger than the inside diameter of the neck, but the outside diameter of the flange is preferably smaller than the outside diameter of the neck. The flange is substantially perpendicular to the tubular body of the insert. The bore seal (16) and flange (15) work together to ensure a secure attachment to the neck. The use of a bore seal and flange to attach the liner to the container keeps the liquid content container manufacturing process simple, keeping the cost of the end product low.

Alternatively, the insert (5) can be connected to the container neck (3). This can be an adhesive bond or a heat bond. For effective thermal bonding, the material of the container and the insert are preferably substantially the same. In such an embodiment, no flange (15) is required on the insert to prevent the insert from falling into the container.

The insert (5) preferably has at least one pressure equalization opening (10). The opening is preferably on the tubular body (11) of the insert (5). The number of pressure equalization openings and their dimensions depend on the volume of air that is to be expelled quickly to equalize the pressure.

The insert (5) preferably has at least two, more preferably at least three, pressure equalization openings.

In a preferred embodiment, the pressure equalization opening (10) extends over the entire length of the insert (5).

The insert tubular body (11) tapers down to an insert base (21) which extends into an upper shank (8) and a lower shank (9). The upper shaft (8) can be connected to the pump dispenser (6) and the lower shaft (9) to the immersion tube (7). The upper (8) and lower shaft (9) are preferably tubular. The upper and lower shanks preferably have different diameters, with the inner diameter of the upper shank (8) being smaller rather than the inner diameter of the lower shank (9).

The dispensing container (20) of the present invention includes a pump dispenser (6). The pump dispenser (6) is connected to the container (1) via the pump dispenser inlet tube (17) which is located at the bottom end of a pump dispenser. The inlet tube (17) of the pump dispenser is connected to the insert by enveloping the upper shaft, while the lower shaft of the insert is connected to the dip tube by enveloping the dip tube, i.e. the dip tube slides into the lower shaft of the insert.

Without wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed that the outer diameter of the fork tube is controlled to a higher tolerance such that installation using the outer surface of the fork tube provides a more robust attachment to the lower shank of the insert, allowing the user to pump the formulation out of the pack with a more consistent and higher quality spray pattern. In conjunction with the pump dispenser, the insert features an upper stem that replaces the dip tube. This ensures a tight fit between the pump, insert and fork tube and minimizes air ingress as a result of a poor or loose connection.

A tight connection between the dip tube and the insert, as well as between the insert and the pump dispenser, ensures that the pump produces a high quality spray for the user, free from splashing and other quality problems.

The pump dispenser (6) for dispensing the product can be any manually operated means known in the art, e.g. a trigger-type, pump-type or non-aerosol self-pressurizing type agent.

The pump dispenser is more preferably a manually operated trigger-type pump dispenser that dispenses in the form of a fine mist. This pump dispenser has an inlet tube (17) at a lower end of the pump dispenser (6), a pump actuator (18) and a pump outlet (19) at an upper end of the pump dispenser.

The pump dispenser (6) is preferably a reusable pump dispenser.

The container (1) of the present invention is preferably a bottle for an FMCG product. The FMCG product can be a personal care product such as a shampoo, conditioner, hair styling product, liquid hand soap or body wash, skin care lotion, or household care product such as a liquid hand dishwashing detergent, a household cleaning product. The FMCG product is preferably a personal care product which is a shampoo or a conditioner. The bottle can be of any shape but is typically circular, oblong, elliptical, oval or rectangular.

The container (1) is preferably provided with a non-dispensing closure. The consumer must remove this cap from the container before the pump dispenser (6) is connected.

The container (1), non-dispensing closure and liner (5) are preferably formed from thermoplastics. Such thermoplastics can be formed by injection molding, extrusion blow molding, and injection stretch blow molding. Useful thermoplastics are the polymers and copolymers of ethylene and propylene. These include low, medium and high density polyethylenes and various grades of polypropylene. In addition, the containers can be made of polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate. Furthermore, essentially any other thermoplastic that is available can be used. The closures can be formed entirely or partially from thermoplastics. With a thermoplastic laminate or single layer, the closure may be injection molded. The same thermoplastics that have been described for the container (1) and the insert (5) can be used for the closure. As mentioned above, the closure may be all metal or a double layer of a plastic layer and the metal layer. In a double layer, the plastic layer is usually the inner layer and the metal is the outer decorative layer.

In a second aspect, the invention relates to a method for producing a dispensing container (20) according to the invention, comprising the following steps: providing a container (1) comprising a body (2); a neck (3) with an opening (4); an insert (5) positioned in the opening and attached to the neck; the insert (5) being adapted to receive a pump dispenser (6); a dip tube (7) extending into the body (2); the insert (5) extending into an upper shank (8) and a lower shank (9); Providing a pump dispenser (6) comprising an inlet tube (17) at a lower end of the pump dispenser, a pump actuator (18) and a pump outlet (19) at an upper end of the pump dispenser, and connecting the upper shaft (8) of the insert to the Inlet tube (17) of the pump dispenser (6) and the lower shaft (9) with the dip tube (7) of the container (1).

character list

• 1 is a cross-sectional view of the container (1).
• 2 is a perspective view of the insert (5).
• 2A is a cross-sectional view of the insert (5).
• 2 B is a plan view of the insert (5).
• 2C is a bottom view of the insert (5).
• 3 Figure 12 is a cross-sectional view of the dispensing container (20) comprising a container (1) equipped with the pump dispenser (6).

QUOTES INCLUDED IN DESCRIPTION

This list of documents cited by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Patent Literature Cited

• WO 2010083419 [0003]

Claims (7)

A dispensing container (20) comprising a a container (1) comprising i a body (2); ii a neck (3) with an opening (4); iii an insert (5) positioned in the opening and attached to the neck; iv a dip tube (7) extending into the body (2); and b a pump dispenser (6) comprising an inlet pipe (17) at a lower end of the pump dispenser; a pump actuator (18); and a pump outlet (19) at an upper end of the pump dispenser, the insert (5) being suitable for receiving the pump dispenser (6); characterized in that the insert extends into an upper (8) and lower shaft (9); the inlet tube (17) of the pump dispenser being connected to the insert (5) by enveloping the upper stem (8) and the lower stem (9) of the insert being connected to the dip tube (7) by enveloping the dip tube ; and wherein the upper part of the insert (5) has a bore seal (16) for attaching the insert to the opening of the neck (3); and a flange (15) extending outwardly. Delivery container after claim 1 , wherein the insert (5) has at least one pressure equalization opening (10). Delivery container after claim 2 , wherein the pressure equalization opening (10) extends over the length of the insert (5). A dispensing container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the insert (5) comprises a tubular body (11). A dispensing container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the upper (8) and lower (9) stems are tubular. A dispensing container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the upper and lower stems have different diameters. A dispensing container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the inner diameter of the upper stem is smaller than the inner diameter of the lower stem.

Images