EP0842861A1

EP0842861A1 - Collapsible tubular container with protective shoulder

Info

Publication number: EP0842861A1
Application number: EP97111463A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Ronald E. Kieras; Dennis Wohlford
Original assignee: Courtaulds Packaging Inc
Current assignee: Courtaulds Packaging Inc
Priority date: 1996-09-11
Filing date: 1997-07-07
Publication date: 1998-05-20
Also published as: CA2209837A1

Abstract

A collapsible tubular container is provided having a tubular body with a head portion (5) and a closure cap (2) releasably securable to a neck (7) on the head portion, where an upwardly extending flange (10) is provided on the head portion spaced from the neck. Upon securement of the closure cap to the neck of the head portion of the tubular body, the bottom edge (18) of a downwardly depending skirt (17) on the closure cap is below the upper end, and within the confines, of the upwardly extending flange of the head portion and protected from view under normal conditions.

Description

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a collapsible tubular container, such as a plastic squeeze tube, having a closure cap and a protective shoulder about the head of the tube.

Background of the Invention

Collapsible plastic tubes are used in the packaging and dispensing of a myriad of consumer products such as cosmetics, toothpaste, shampoo, foodstuffs and the like. The collapsible plastic tubes are usually formed from a cylindrical tubular plastic body which has a head portion, on which a neck is provided having a dispensing orifice formed therethrough, the head secured to and closing off one end of the tubular body. A closure cap is releasably secured to the neck to close off the dispensing orifice and the tube is filled with the desired consumer product and the opposite end of the tube sealed, such as by heat sealing. In use, the user removes the cap and squeezes the tubular plastic body to force tube contents through the dispensing orifice in the neck. After use, the cap is re-secured to the neck to protect the tube contents from the environment.

Since the collapsible tubes are primarily used for packaging and retail sale of consumer products, the appearance of the tubular container is important. Often, when the closure cap is secured to the head of a tubular body, a slight spacing or gap is present between the bottom edge of the closure cap and the head of the tube, which gap is magnified by any pressure on the wall of the tubular plastic body. The elimination or concealment of such a gap is desirable in order to provide a most aesthetically appealing consumer package.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a collapsible tubular container where a bottom edge of a closure cap and adjacent area of the head of a tubular body are protected from view under normal conditions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A collapsible tubular container having a closure cap is provided where the bottom edge of the closure cap is hidden from view by a protective shoulder on the neck of the tubular container.

The tubular container, preferably formed from a thermoplastic such as polyethylene, has a tubular body portion with a cylindrical wall and a head portion that is sealed to the tubular body portion at one end. The head portion is usually in the shape of a truncated cone and has a neck extending upwardly therefrom, the neck having a dispensing orifice formed therethrough for dispensing contents of the tube from the tubular container by pressure on the wall of the tubular body. A peripheral sealing portion of the head portion is secured to the tubular body and the head portion has an upwardly extending flange on the head portion that is spaced from the neck, the flange terminating at an upper end. A closure cap is provided that is securable to the neck of the head portion to close off the dispensing orifice, which closure cap has a top wall and downwardly depending skirt which terminates as a bottom edge. The upwardly extending flange is sized such that, upon securement of the closure cap on the neck of the tubular body, the bottom edge of the closure cap is below the upper end of, and within the confines of, the upwardly extending flange on the head portion of the tubular body and hidden from view. Preferably, an external surface of the downwardly depending skirt of the closure cap is closely adjacent an inner vertical wall of the upwardly extending flange on the head portion of the tubular container. A vertical outer surface of the upwardly extending flange on the head portion of the tubular container may be in the form of various shapes, such as oval, circular, polygonal, such as hexagonal, octagonal or otherwise, or vertically grooved to give a knurled effect, or other shape as desired. The head portion of the tubular container may be of a different color than the cylindrical wall of the tubular body, which will provide a band of the different color of the upwardly extending flange between the tubular body and the flange and, if desired, the closure cap.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be more fully understood by reference to the following description and the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment thereof, wherein;

Figure 1 is an elevational view of the assembled collapsible tubular container of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the tubular body of the collapsible tubular container with the closure cap removed;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines III-III of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the collapsible tubular container of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a top plan view on a smaller scale than Figure 4 showing an embodiment where the outer vertical wall of the upwardly extending flange has angularly offset segments to give an octagonal shape;

Figure 6 is a top plan view similar to Figure 5 showing grooves in the outer vertical wall of the upwardly extending flange to give a knurled shape; and

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a collapsible tubular container of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention provides a collapsible tubular container where the bottom edge of a closure cap skirt, the closure cap used to seal an orifice through the neck of the container, is hidden from view by a protective shoulder formed adjacent the periphery of the head of the tubular body.

Referring now to the drawings, a collapsible tubular container 1 with a closure cap 2 and a tubular body 3 are shown. The tubular body is preferably formed of a thermoplastic polymer such as a high density polyethylene, a low density polyethylene, a polypropylene, a polyester such as polyethylene terephthalate, a polycarbonate, a polyvinyl chloride, or the like. The tubular body may be formed from a single layer of thermoplastic polymer or from multi-layers or laminates of various polymers, such as a layer of an oxygen-impermeable material comprising a polyamide, such as nylon, an ethylene polyvinyl alcohol, a polyvinylidene chloride or the like sandwiched between two thermoplastic polymer layers. Five layer compositions may also be used, such as spaced outer layers of polyethylene, polypropylene or polyester, a central layer of an oxygen-impermeable material, and adhesive layers between each of the outer layers and the central layers to bond the same. The tubular body will generally be cylindrical and have a wall thickness of between about 0.010 to 0.040 inch.

The collapsible tubular container 1 has a tubular body 3 with a tubular wall 4 and a head portion 5 which are sealed together at one end, or which may be formed as an integral unit. The head portion 5 has a truncated conical portion 6 with a neck 7, the neck 7 extending upwardly from one end of the conical portion and having means for securing a closure cap thereto, such as neck threads 8. The neck 7 is generally coaxial with the tubular body and has a dispensing orifice 9 formed therethrough. The head portion 5 of the tubular body 3 will usually be thicker than the tubular wall 4, and of a thickness of between about 0.035 to 0.045 inch.

Preferably, the tubular wall 4 is formed as a thermoplastic, extruded, longitudinally stretched cylinder and the head portion 5 secured thereto at one end by known processes, such as those described in U.S. 3,047,910 to Downs, U.S. 5,069,856 to Holoubek and Rhoades or other method for sealing a head to a tubular member. With such methods, a peripheral sealing portion of the head portion 5 is secured to the tubular wall 4.

In accordance with the present invention, an upwardly extending flange 10 is provided on the head portion 5, the flange having inner vertical wall 11, outer vertical wall 12 and an upper end 13. The outer vertical wall 12 may be of any shape desired by the producer, such as a circular shape as illustrated in Figures 1-4, or other shape. For example, as shown in Figure 5, the outer wall 12 of the upwardly extending flange 10 may have a plurality of angular segments 12a-12h to form a polygonal shape such as an octagon. Or the outer wall 12 may have vertical grooves 14 formed therein to provide a knurled affect, such as is shown in Figure 6. The upwardly extending flange 10 is spaced from the neck 7 and also preferably spaced from the periphery 15 of the head portion 5.

The closure cap 2 has a top wall 16 and a downwardly depending skirt 17 which terminates as a bottom edge 18. The closure cap has means therein for securement to the neck 7 of the tubular container 1, such as cap threads 19 which are threadably engageable with the neck threads 8 on the neck 7. The downwardly depending shirt 17 has a vertical inner surface 20 and vertical outer surface 21.

When the closure cap 2 is secured to the tubular body 3 to seal the orifice 9, as best seen in Figure 3, the bottom edge 18 of the downwardly depending skirt 17 of closure cap 2 is below the upper end 13 of the upwardly extending flange 10 on the head portion 5 of the tubular body 3 and within the confines of the upwardly extending flange 10, and is hidden from view. In a preferred embodiment the outer surface 21 of the downwardly depending skirt 17 of closure cap 2 is closely adjacent the inner wall 11 of the upwardly extending flange 10 of the head portion 5 of tubular body 3.

Another embodiment 1' of the present invention is illustrated in Figure 7, where the tubular body 3 and closure cap 2 are shown assembled. The tubular body, as previously described has a tubular wall 4 and head portion 5 at one end, the head portion having a truncated conical portion 6 and neck 7, the neck having threads 8 and an orifice 9. In embodiment 1', an upwardly extending flange 10 has an upper end or inclined surface 13 which extends from the tubular body 3 upper end 22 upwardly towards the neck 7 and ends at terminus 23, the flange 10 having an inner vertical wall 11. In this embodiment, the upwardly extending flange does not have an outer vertical wall, such as wall 12, of embodiment 1, but rather upper end 13 slopes outwardly and downwardly from the vertical inner wall 11 to the peripheral portion secured to the tubular body 3. The bottom edge 18 of a downwardly depending skirt 17 of a closure cap 2 will, upon securement to the container body 3 be below the terminus 23 of the upper end 13 of the upwardly extending flange 10 on the head portion 5 of the tubular body 3 and within the confines of the upwardly extending flange 10, and hidden from view along a horizontal plane. As in embodiment 1, the downwardly depending skirt 17 of closure cap 2 is preferably closely adjacent the inner wall 11 of the upwardly extending flange 10 of the head portion 5 of tubular body 3.

A decorative feature that is provided by the present invention lies in the fact that the head portion 5 of the tubular body 3, with the upwardly extending flange 10, may be a different color or texture than the tubular wall 4, in which case a ring of color different than the tubular wall 4, and the same or different than the closure cap 2 will be present to enhance the appearance of the collapsible tubular container 1.

Claims

A collapsible tubular container comprising:

a tubular body with a head portion at one end thereof, said head portion having a neck extending upwardly from one end thereof coaxially with said tubular body, the neck having a dispensing orifice formed therethrough, a peripheral portion secured to said tubular body at another end thereof, and an upwardly extending flange on said head portion spaced from said neck, said flange having an upper end; and

a closure cap, securable to said neck to cover said dispensing orifice, the closure cap having a top wall and a downwardly depending skirt, said skirt terminating as a bottom edge;
whereby upon securement of said closure cap to said neck, the bottom edge of the downwardly depending skirt of said closure cap is below the upper end, and within the confines, of the upwardly extending flange of said head portion.
The collapsible tubular container as defined in Claim 1 wherein the upwardly extending flange on said head portion has inner and outer vertical walls and said outer wall has a plurality of angularly offset segments.
The collapsible tubular container as defined in Claim 1 wherein the upwardly extending flange on said head portion has inner and outer vertical walls, and said outer wall is polygonal in shape.
The collapsible tubular container as defined in Claim 3 wherein said outer wall is octagonal in shape.
The collapsible tubular container as defined in Claim 1 wherein the upwardly extending flange on said head portion has inner and outer vertical walls, and said outer wall has vertical grooves therein to provide a knurled shape thereof.
The collapsible tubular container as defined in Claim 1 wherein the upwardly extending flange on said head portion has inner and outer vertical walls, the downwardly depending skirt of said closure cap has inner and otter surfaces, and wherein the outer surface of said skirt is closely adjacent the inner wall of said flange when the closure cap is secured to the tubular body.
The collapsible tubular container as defined in Claim 1, wherein said neck has an external surface with threads thereon and said closure cap has a threaded portion threadedly engageable with the threads of said neck to secure the closure cap to the neck.
A collapsible tubular container comprising:

a tubular body with a head portion sealed to one end thereof, said head portion having a neck extending upwardly from one end thereof coaxially with said tubular body, the neck having a dispensing orifice formed therethrough, and a peripheral portion secured to said tubular body at another end thereof, and an upwardly extending flange on said head portion spaced from said neck, said flange having inner and outer vertical walls and an upper end; and

a closure cap, securable to said neck to cover said dispensing orifice, the closure cap having a top wall and a downwardly depending skirt, said skirt having inner and outer surfaces and terminating as a bottom edge;
whereby upon securement of said closure cap to said neck, the bottom edge of the downwardly depending skirt of said closure cap is below the upper end, and within the confines, of the upwardly extending flange of said head portion.
The collapsible tubular container as defined in Claim 8 wherein the outer surface of said skirt is closely adjacent the inner wall of said flange when the closure cap is secured to the tubular body.
A collapsible tubular container body having a head portion sealed to one end thereof, said head portion having a neck extending upwardly from one end thereof coaxially with said tubular body, the neck having a dispensing orifice formed therethrough, a peripheral portion secured to said tubular body at another end thereof, and an upwardly extending flange on said head portion spaced from said neck, said flange having an upper end;

said collapsible container body neck adapted for releasable securement to a closure cap having a top wall and a downwardly depending skirt, said skirt terminating as a bottom edge;

such that upon securement of said closure cap to said neck, to form a collapsible tubular container, the bottom edge of the downwardly depending skirt of said closure cap will be below the upper end, and within the confines, of the upwardly extending flange of said head portion.
The collapsible tubular container body as defined in Claim 10 wherein the upwardly extending flange on said head portion has inner and outer vertical walls and said outer wall has a plurality of angularly offset segments.
The collapsible tubular container body as defined in Claim 10 wherein the upwardly extending flange on said head portion has inner and outer vertical walls, and said outer wall is polygonal in shape.
The collapsible tubular container body as defined in Claim 12 wherein said outer wall is octagonal in shape.
The collapsible tubular container body as defined in Claim 10 wherein the upwardly extending flange on said head portion has inner and outer vertical walls, and said outer wall has vertical grooves therein to provide a knurled shape thereof.
The collapsible tubular container body as defined in Claim 10 wherein the upwardly extending flange on said head portion has inner and outer vertical walls, the downwardly depending skirt of said closure cap has inner and outer surfaces, and wherein the outer surface of said skirt is closely adjacent the inner wall of said flange when the closure cap is secured to the tubular body.
The collapsible tubular container body as defined in Claim 10, wherein said neck has an external surface with threads thereon and said closure cap has a threaded portion threadedly engageable with the threads of said neck to secure the closure cap to the neck.
A collapsible tubular container body having a head portion sealed to one end thereof said head portion having a truncated conical portion having a neck extending upwardly from one end thereof coaxially with said tubular body, the neck having a dispensing orifice formed therethrough, a peripheral portion secured to said tubular body at another end thereof, and an upwardly extending flange on said head portion spaced from said neck, said flange having an upper end and inner and outer walls;

said collapsible container body neck adapted for releasable securement to a closure cap having a top wall and a downwardly depending skirt, said skirt having inner and outer surfaces and terminating as a bottom edge;

such that upon securement of said closure cap to said neck, to form a collapsible tubular container, the bottom edge of the downwardly depending skirt of said closure cap will be below the upper end, and within the confines, of the upwardly extending flange of said head portion, with the outer surface of said skirt being closely adjacent the inner wall of said flange.
A collapsible tubular container comprising:

a tubular body with a head portion at one end thereof, said head portion having a neck extending upwardly from one end thereof coaxially with said tubular body, the neck having a dispensing orifice formed therethrough, and a peripheral portion secured to said tubular body at another end thereof, and an upwardly extending flange on said head portion spaced from said neck, said flange extending from said tubular body towards said neck and having an upper end; and

a closure cap, securable to said neck to cover said dispensing orifice, the closure cap having a top wall and a downwardly depending skirt, said skirt terminating as a bottom edge;
whereby upon securement of said closure cap to said neck, the bottom edge of the downwardly depending skirt of said closure cap is below the upper end, and within the confines, of the upwardly extending flange of said head portion.
The collapsible tubular container as defined in Claim 18 wherein the upwardly extending flange on said head portion has vertical inner wall.
A collapsible tubular container as defined in Claim 19 wherein the upper end of said flange slopes outwardly and downwardly from said vertical inner wall to said peripheral portion secured to the tubular body.
A collapsible tubular container as defined in Claim 19 wherein the downwardly depending skirt of said closure cap has inner and outer surfaces, and wherein the outer surface of said skirt is closely adjacent the vertical inner wall of said flange where the closure cap is secured to the tubular body.
The collapsible tubular container as defined in Claim 18 wherein said neck has an external surface with threads thereon and said closure cap has a threaded portion threadedly engageable with the threads of said neck to secure the closure cap to the neck.
A collapsible tubular container comprising:

a tubular body with a head portion at one end thereof, said head portion having a neck extending upwardly from one end thereof coaxially with said tubular body, the neck having a dispensing orifice formed therethrough, and a peripheral portion secured to said tubular body at another end thereof, and an upwardly extending flange on said head portion spaced from said neck, said flange having an inner vertical wall and an upper end; and

a closure cap, securable to said neck to cover said dispensing orifice, the closure cap having a top wall and a downwardly depending skirt, said skirt having inner and outer surfaces and terminating as a bottom edge;
whereby upon securement of said closure cap to said neck, the bottom edge of the downwardly depending skirt of said closure cap is below the upper end, and within the confines, of the upwardly extending flange of said head portion.
The collapsible tubular container as defined in Claim 23 wherein the outer surface of said skirt is closely adjacent the inner wall of said flange when the closure cap is secured to the tubular body.
A collapsible tubular container body having a head portion at one end thereof, said head portion having a neck extending upwardly from one end thereof coaxially with said tubular body, the neck having a dispensing orifice formed therethrough, and a peripheral portion secured to said tubular body at another end thereof, and an upwardly extending flange on said head portion spaced from said neck, said flange having an inner vertical wall and upper end;

said collapsible container body neck adapted for releasable securement to a closure cap having a top wall and a downwardly depending skirt, said skirt terminating as a bottom edge;

such that upon securement of said closure cap to said neck, to form a collapsible tubular container, the bottom edge of the downwardly depending skirt of said closure cap will be below the upper end, and within the confines, of the upwardly extending flange of said head portion.
A collapsible tubular container body as defined in Claim 25 wherein the upper end of said flange slopes outwardly and downwardly from said vertical inner wall to said peripheral portion secured to the tubular body.
A collapsible tubular container body as defined in Claim 25 wherein the downwardly depending skirt of said closure cap has inner and outer surfaces, and wherein the outer surface of said skirt is closely adjacent the vertical inner wall of said flange where the closure cap is secured to the tubular body.