Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D51/00—Closures not otherwise provided for
  • B65D51/18—Arrangements of closures with protective outer cap-like covers or of two or more co-operating closures
  • B65D51/185—Arrangements of closures with protective outer cap-like covers or of two or more co-operating closures the outer closure being a foil membrane
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B3/00—Packaging plastic material, semiliquids, liquids or mixed solids and liquids, in individual containers or receptacles, e.g. bags, sacks, boxes, cartons, cans, or jars
  • B65B3/04—Methods of, or means for, filling the material into the containers or receptacles
  • B65B3/16—Methods of, or means for, filling the material into the containers or receptacles for filling collapsible tubes
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D35/00—Pliable tubular containers adapted to be permanently or temporarily deformed to expel contents, e.g. collapsible tubes for toothpaste or other plastic or semi-liquid material; Holders therefor
  • B65D35/44—Closures

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a squeezable two-piece stand-up tube.
• a squeezable tube-shaped container having a tubular body with one end heat-sealed along a straight line seam.
• U.S. Patent Nos. 5,632,951 issued to Smith, 3,197,532 issued to Maass, 5,908,124 issued to Klauke et al. and 5,213,235 issued to Miranda disclose the use of blow molding techniques for forming tube-shaped containers.
• the Klauke patent discloses the formation of an integral twist-off closure to eliminate the need for providing a separately manufactured closure.
• U.S. Patent No. 4,540,542 discloses a method of making an extrusion blow molded container with an integral removable closure
• U.S. Patent No. 5, 141, 136 discloses a squeeze bottle having dual openings.
• the present invention is directed to a container including a top piece, a bottom piece and a joining region.
• the top piece includes a tubular side wall formed of a first material, a dome covering one end of the tubular side wall of the top piece, and a hinged interconnection formed between the dome and the tubular side wall of the top piece.
• the bottom piece includes a tubular side wall formed from a second material.
• the joining region is formed between the top piece and the bottom piece for joining the top piece to the bottom piece.
• the container can have a closed end providing a dispensing opening and a filling end which is sealed with a seam after filling.
• the tube-shaped container is capable of being free standing on its dispensing end and can be flexible to permit dispensing of its contents by squeezing of its side wall.
• the dispensing end can be protected from contamination and/or unrecognizable tampering before ultimate consumer purchase and use.
• the container can be formed of a plastic material, readily recyclable, capable of being manufactured in a cost effective manner, and adaptable to being made of different colors.
• FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a squeezable container according to an embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a squeezable container with a dome placed in an outwardly projecting position according to an embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the container of FIG. 1 taken along line 3—3.
• FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the container of FIG. 1 in which the container is being grasped and squeezed and the cap is being removed.
• FIG. 5 is an elevational view illustrating the method steps of filling and sealing the open end of the container to form a filled squeezable container.
• FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a squeezable container having a neck finish and a cap according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
• DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Embodiments of the invention are discussed in detail below, tti describing embodiments, specific terminology is employed for the sake of clarity. However, the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terminology so selected. While specific exemplary embodiments are discussed, it should be understood that this is done for illustration purposes only. A person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that other components and configurations can be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
• FIG. 1 illustrates a squeezable tube-shaped container 110 embodying the present invention.
• the container 110 has a two-piece construction with a top piece 111 and a bottom piece 113.
• Each of the top piece 111 and the bottom piece 113 can be formed of any suitable material including, e.g., plastic material.
• Suitable plastic material can include a monolayer plastic material, such as LDPE, or a multilayer plastic material.
• the top piece 111 can be formed of a material different (i.e., any physical difference including color, material, texture, etc.) from a material of the bottom piece 113.
• the top piece 111 can have a different color, a different transparency or a different decorative appearance than the bottom piece.
• the top piece 111 can also be formed from the same material used for the bottom piece 113. Regardless of which materials are used for the top and the bottom pieces, each piece can have an in-mold or other labels applied to its surface while the other piece can be plain.
• Each of the top piece 111 and the bottom piece 113 can be formed by any suitable method in the art including, but not limited to extrusion, extrusion blow molding, stretch blow molding, injection molding, injection blow molding and compression molding.
• the top piece 111 can be used by compression molding and/or injection molding and the bottom piece 113 can be formed by blow molding.
• the tube-shaped container 110 it has a top piece 111 and a bottom piece 113, which are joined by a joining region 122.
• the joining region 122 can be formed by any method for joining, including welding, spin-welding, ultrasonic welding, gluing, etc.
• the joining region 122 can be circumferential and can be spaced distantly from the standing ring 120.
• the joining region can prevent ovalization of a standing ring 120 and can reinforce the adjacent sections of the side wall 115 of the top piece 111 and the side wall 112 of the bottom piece 113.
• the joining region 122 joins the side wall 115 of the top piece 111 to the side wall 112 of the bottom piece 113.
• the side wall 115 of the top piece 111 can be substantially tubular and can have a circular transverse cross section.
• the side wall 115 can be flexible and can be bounded by a circular standing ring 120 on which the container 110 can be freely stood with the seam 118 facing upwardly.
• the side wall 112 of the bottom piece 113 can be flexible and can be flattened into the seam 118 at its bottom to provide a conventional tube-shaped configuration.
• the side wall 112 of the bottom piece 113 can have a label 124 applied during or after the forming stage of the bottom piece.
• the bottom piece 113 can be manufactured with an open bottom end which is utilized to fill the container 110 and is thereafter sealed to preferably form a seam 118 as illustrated in FIG. 1.
• the seam 118 can be of any shape including a planar, straight or curved seam.
• the sealing can be done by any method for sealing, including heat sealing, compression sealing, and glueing.
• the top piece 111 has a dome 126 covering one end of the tubular side wall 115, and a hinged interconnection 134 formed between the dome 126 and the tubular side wall 115.
• the dome 126 can be of any geometrical shape, including spherical, cubical, and pyramidical shapes, that creates a convex section in an outwardly projecting position of the dome 126 and can be easily inverted into a corresponding concave section in an inwardly projecting position of the dome 126 by flipping the dome about the hinged interconnection 134 between the standing ring 120 and the dome 126.
• the dome 126 can be first formed in an outwardly projecting position.
• a neck finish 132 can be formed, wherein the neck finish 132 has an opening via which a product inside the container 110 can be dispensed.
• the opening of the neck finish 132 extends completely through the neck finish 132 and can be created by various methods.
• the opening of the neck finish 132 can be created by forming a protrusion that extends out of the neck finish 132 at the time the neck finish 132 is formed and trimming the protrusion subsequently to create the opening.
• the opening of the neck finish 132 can be created by reaming an opening into the neck finish 132.
• Still another exemplary method of creating the opening of the neck finish 132 is by using the opening in a blow molded container as a blow hole or needle insertion point to blow-mold the rest of the neck finish.
• the opening of the neck finish 132 can be reamed subsequently to form a smooth finish.
• the neck finish 132 can be any type including a threaded type for twist-closure as shown in FIG. 2, a snap-fit type, a friction-fit type, a push-pull type, etc.
• the neck finish 132 can be fitted with a cap 130, which can be formed from a material that is the same as or different from a material used for the top piece 111.
• the neck finish 132 can be replaced by any other structure having an opening, including a simple opening in the dome 126.
• the cap can be any type that accommodates a corresponding neck finish, including a threaded type as shown in FIG. 2, a snap-fit type, a friction-fit type, a push-pull type, etc.
• the dome 126 is provided in an inwardly projecting position so that the dome 126, the neck finish 132 and the cap 130 lie below a cross-sectional plane "P" extending through the standing ring 120.
• the dome 126 has a concave shape and can be said to be in a storage position since the dome 126 and the cap 130 do not interfere with the free standing of the container 110 on the standing ring 120 and permit a tamper indicating covering 128 to be bonded to the standing ring 120 as best illustrated in FIG. 3.
• the covering 128 can be a foil or other sheet-like covering and can be utilized to prevent contamination or unrecognizable tampering of the neck finish 132 and the cap 130 of the container 110 before its removal by the purchasing consumer.
• the tamper indicating covering 128 can be bonded to the standing ring 20.
• the hinged interconnection 134 can be formed from a material that is the same as or is different from a material of the top piece 111 and can be of any type that . allows the dome 126 to freely interchange between an outwardly projecting position and an inwardly projecting position, including a live hinge.
• the dome 126 extends to an outwardly projecting position. This elevates the cap to a readily accessible location for removal by a user to thereby expose an opening of the neck finish 132. Thereafter, a desired quantity of the product inside the container 110 can be dispensed by squeezing the side wall 112 of the bottom piece 113.
• FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary method of filling the container 110 with products and an exemplary method of creating a seam to close the container 110, according to an exemplary method of creating a filled container 110.
• an open end of the bottom piece of the container 110 can be filled (e.g., a step X in FIG. 5) with a product and sealed (e.g., a step Y in FIG. 5) with a seam.
• the container 110 can also be filled while the dome is in an outwardly projecting position.
• FIG. 6 illustrates an alternate embodiment of a neck finish and a cap of a container 110 according to the present invention.
• the container 110 in FIG. 6 is identical to the embodiment disclosed in FIG. 3, except for the neck finish 232 and the cap 230 in FIG. 6. All of the previous discussion of the container 110 as discussed with respect to FIGS. 1-5 applies to the embodiment in FIG. 6 except where inconsistencies may arise.
• the neck finish 232 has an opening 248, which extends completely through the neck finish 232.
• the neck finish 232 can have a neck ring formed near the top of the neck finish 232.
• the cap 230 can have a radially surrounding side wall and a top that radially extends from a substantially central opening to the side wall of the cap.
• the top of the cap 230 is a radial ramp and forms a ledge beyond the side wall of the cap.
• the ramp can have a linear slope as shown or a curved non-linear slope that can be concave or convex.
• the top of the cap 230 can be any structure other than the depicted radial ramp, including a flat-spherical, square, rectangular or triangular structure.
• the post 245 is supported by a support structure internally within the cap 230, and outlines of the support structure and the post 245 form a passageway between the cap opening and a hollow space within the cap.
• the cap 230 has a cap ring formed at the bottom to operate as a sealing element with the neck finish 232 and also operate as a stopping element by engaging with the neck ring of the neck finish 232 when the cap 230 is pulled up from the neck finish 232.
• a product of the container 110 can be released via the opening 248 of the neck finish, the hollow space of the cap formed around the post 245 and the opening of the cap 230.
• the cap 230 can be pulled down to block the opening 248 of the neck finish 232 with the post 245 of the cap 230 and stop further dispensing of the product of the container 110.
• the push-pull mechanism shown in FIG. 6 is exemplary only and the present invention can employ any type of push-pull neck finish and cap mechanisms.
• the container 110 provides a unique package particularly useful as a single serve food or drink package, or a package for cosmetic or other products, including juices, other beverages, yogurt, sauces, pudding, lotions, soaps in liquid or gel form, and bead shaped objects such as candy.
• the container 110 can be protected from contamination and unrecognizable tampering prior to use by a purchasing consumer.
• the container 110 can provide a retractable dome structure that permits the container 110 to be stood upright on the standing ring.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Closures For Containers (AREA)
• Tubes (AREA)
• Packages (AREA)
• Packaging Of Annular Or Rod-Shaped Articles, Wearing Apparel, Cassettes, Or The Like (AREA)
• Rigid Pipes And Flexible Pipes (AREA)
• Joints Allowing Movement (AREA)
• Tents Or Canopies (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (5)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=29423634

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (8)

Families Citing this family (2)

Family Cites Families (39)

• 2003
  • 2003-05-02 EP EP03721995A patent/EP1501733A2/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2003-05-02 AU AU2003225275A patent/AU2003225275A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2003-05-02 MX MXPA04011078A patent/MXPA04011078A/es not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2003-05-02 WO PCT/US2003/013715 patent/WO2003095313A2/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2003-05-02 CA CA002483892A patent/CA2483892A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2003-05-02 BR BR0309842-7A patent/BR0309842A/pt not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2003-05-02 BR BRPI0305501-9A patent/BR0305501A/pt not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2003-05-06 US US10/429,919 patent/US20040013326A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2003-05-08 AR ARP030101615A patent/AR044734A1/es unknown

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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