ES299040A3 - A crushable flexible tube - Google Patents

Abstract

A crushable tube with a longitudinal fin-weld 8 folded flat as in Fig. 2, has a nozzle closure moulded in place at one end. The opposite end of the tube is closed, after filling, by flattening the flattened-together edges then being joined by welding, or adhesive. The tube may have two compartments, provided either by a partition (Fig. 4, not shown) or by securing together two tubes 90, 91 (Fig. 6, not shown) with their adhering faces flattened, or by providing concentric tubes 81, 83 (Fig. 7, not shown). Separate nozzles 95, 96 (Fig. 6, not shown), may lead to the two compartments, and the nozzles may have separate exits, as in Fig. 6, or one or more nozzles 86 (Fig. 7, not shown) may evacuate into the other nozzle 85. In the latter case, the nozzle may be a single moulding, or formed from two mouldings. A cap 40 (Fig. 10, not shown) for the nozzle may be provided with a pin 41 which serves to pierce a closure diaphragm 46 when the cap is depressed. The cap is held in position by resilient beads 39, 39, 43, and may be locked against piercing movement by a seal 44 which is torn away before the tube is first used. The closure may include a flexible diaphragm (Fig. 13, not shown), which can be pushed into the tube when tubes are to be stacked one upon another. The tubes may be frusto-conical in shape so that they can be nested (Fig. 15, not shown) before they are filled. The end closure may include a rotary valve 52 (Fig. 11, not shown), turned by a plug 54. A screw cap for the nozzle may include a skirt fitting closely over the conical end of the closure to limit loss of volatile material from the tube. The end closure may be coated inside and/or outside with a film of metal or other impermeable material to prevent diffusion through the closure. The tubes may be formed of metal or plastics material, or of a laminate of two or three layers alternately of metal and plastics.