GB2431633A

GB2431633A - Packaged collapsible container

Info

Publication number: GB2431633A
Application number: GB0521973A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Mark Collins
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-10-28
Filing date: 2005-10-28
Publication date: 2007-05-02
Also published as: GB0521973D0

Abstract

A packaged product comprises an outer mailing container and, held therein, a sealed collapsible container 2, the sealed collapsible container 2 being present in the outer mailing container in a collapsed form and containing a non-gaseous dispersible substance. The sealed collapsible container 2 has a sealed closure 4 and is capable of being restored to an expanded form by opening the sealed closure 4 and introducing therein a diluting liquid following removal from the outer mailing container.

Description

I

A PACKAGED PRODUCT

This invention relates to a packaged product containing a non-gaseous dispersible substance such as a liquid concentrate.

Background of the Invention

The distribution of liquid products such as cleaning fluids and floor slip resistant products by post is well known, but there are considerable practical difficulties in supplying the general public with such products using the postal system. The problems arise largely because of the physical size of the packaged product, which results in high postage costs and difficulties in delivery. For example, in the majority of cases, packaged liquid products of any significant volume will be unlikely to fit through the aperture presented by the average domestic letterbox. In such cases, delivery of the package will typically require the occupants of the house...:.

to be present to receive the package in person.

The present applicants have been distributing liquid products to commercial * customers for many years, but, for the reasons discussed above, have been unable until now to find a satisfactory way of delivering such liquid products to domestic:: ::: customers on a reliable basis.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention provides a means of supplying products such as liquid products in a form that can be sent through the post and delivered to customers through their letter boxes. The invention makes use of collapsible bottles that are partly filled with a non-gaseous dispersible substance such as a highly concentrated liquid and are then sealed and enclosed within a normal postal container such as a padded envelope or small box. Upon receiving the package, the user removes the collapsed sealed container from the outer packaging and then adds water or another diluent to provide a liquid product of the desired strength.

Accordingly, in a first aspect, the invention provides a packaged product comprising an outer mailing container and, held therein, a sealed collapsible container, the sealed collapsible container being present in a collapsed form and containing a non-gaseous dispersible substance; whereby the sealed collapsible container has a sealed closure and is capable of being restored to an expanded form by opening the sealed closure and introducing therein a diluting liquid following removal from the outer mailing container.

The dispersible substance is a non-gaseous material that can be diluted, dissolved, suspended or otherwise dispersed in a dispersing medium, for example a diluting liquid such as water. As such, the term "dispersible substance" as used herein refers to both liquids and solids. Examples of dispersible substances include liquid S...

concentrates, syrups, gels, powders, granules and other particulate solids. The. * dispersible substances are typically capable of being dissolved or suspended in...:.

water. * S

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In one particular embodiment of the invention, the dispersible substance is a liquid: * concentrate, for example a water-miscible or water-soluble liquid concentrate. *.* S * * *SSS

In another embodiment, the dispersible substance is a water-soluble powder or other * : : : water-soluble particulate solid.

The sealed collapsible container is held within the outer mailing container and typically is wholly enclosed by the outer mailing container.

The outer mailing container is typically an envelope or box, and more particularly an envelope or box of a size that will pass through an average domestic letter box.

The envelope is preferably a padded envelope. The padding can take any suitable form, and particular examples include fibre padding, foam padding and padding of the type commonly referred to as bubble wrap.

It will be appreciated that, since the collapsible container is held within the outer mailing container in a collapsed form, the volume of liquid concentrate in the collapsed container will of necessity be substantially less than the volume of the collapsible container in its non-collapsed (expanded) form. Typically, the liquid concentrate is present in a volume corresponding to between 1% and 50% (more typically 2% and 25%) of the volume of the expanded form of the sealed collapsible container. For example, the volume of the liquid concentrate can correspond to between 5% and 15%, more typically from 6% to 10%, of the volume of the expanded form of the sealed collapsible container.

The sealed collapsible container is preferably not only liquid-tight, but is also resistant to permeation by gases, and in particular oxygen. Therefore, for example, the walls of the container can be formed from one or more polymer layers, wherein at least one of the layers acts as an oxygen barrier. Where the walls of the container are formed from a multi-layer polymeric material, the multiple layers can be co-extruded or laminated together. One example of a co-extruded or laminated polymeric material is a multi-layer material formed from ethylene vinyl alcohol.. .:.

(EVOH) and polyamide (PA) layers. It will be appreciated, however, that alternative polymer materials may be used as required.

The sealed collapsible container has a sealed closure that can be opened by the S * customer and a liquid diluent such as water added to dilute or dissolve the * S. * dispersible substance (e.g. liquid concentrate) to give a liquid product of the *s: required strength and simultaneously cause the collapsed container to expand towards its full size. The sealed closure is preferably one which is capable of being removed and then placed back on the container and most typically the sealed closure is a screw cap. The screw cap may be provided with a gasket or seal formed from a suitable material such as an elastomeric sealing material, in order to render the container liquid-tight and preferably also gas-tight.

Although the collapsible container can take many different forms, it is preferred that the container in its expanded form has rectangular side walls. Typically, the sealed collapsible container is substantially cubic in form when fully expanded.

The volume of the collapsible container when fully expanded may vary widely.

However, by way of example, the collapsible container may have a volume when fully expanded of up to about 5 litres, more typically up to about 4 litres, or up to about 3 litres, for example 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 or 3 litres.

A wide variety of different dispersible substances may be contained within the sealed collapsible container and examples include solid and liquid compositions containing one or more materials such as such as surfactants, polymers, minerals, solvents, proteins, alcohols, acids, alkalis, phenols, esters and odours.

In a further embodiment, the invention provides a packaged product as hereinbefore defined bearing a franking mark or postage token such as a stamp.

in a still further aspect, the invention provides a method of manufacturing and distributing a packaged product as hereinbefore defined comprising introducing a non-gaseous dispersible substance into a collapsible container, sealing the container. *...

when in a collapsed form and introducing the sealed collapsed form of the collapsible container into a mailing container to form the packaged product; and I.....

thereafter conveying the packaged product to a customer by a postal or courier:.

service.

Brief Description of the Drawin2s:

Figure 1 illustrates a sealed collapsible container for use in a packaged product according to one embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 illustrates the collapsible container of figure 1 in its expanded form.

Detailed Description of the Invention

The invention will now be illustrated in greater detail by reference to the particular embodiment described below and illustrated in the drawings figures 1 and 2.

A packaged product according to one embodiment of the invention comprises an outer mailing container (not shown) which is typically a standard padded postal envelope with either bubble or fibre padding, sealed on three sides with an opening at one end. The envelope will typically be of a size such that it can be inserted through an average domestic letterbox. By way of example, the internal dimensions of the envelope can be of the order of 230 mm x 320 mm. The envelope can be sealed with a self sealing gum flap which may be folded over to seal the opening in standard fashion.

Within the envelope is a sealed collapsed container of the type shown in figure 1.

The collapsible container may be cubic in form when fully expanded and examples of such containers are containers of 134 gms in weight and measuring 228 x 228 x 228 x 25 mm and containers of 267 grams in weight and measuring 333 x 333 x 333 x 25 mm, having capacities of I and 3 litres respectively. The walls of the container are formed from a flexible polymeric laminate comprising EVOH and PA layers. The EVOH/PA laminate protects the contents against oxygen permeation into the container and acts as a barrier to the migration of liquid contents through the container walls. :...:.

A concentrated solution of a dispersible substance, e.g. a liquid concentrate such as a cleaning fluid concentrate, is filled into the collapsed container so that it occupies * between 6% and 10% of the total volume of the container in its fully expanded form. Once the liquid concentrate has been added, a screw cap formed from a hard * **** plastics material is used to seal the container. The plastics cap 4, which may have, ** for example, a 31 mm thread, is provided with a tamper evident locking band 6 so that it is immediately apparent to the customer whether or not the container has previously been opened.

After the collapsible container 2 has been inserted into the padded envelope (not shown) and the envelope sealed, it can then be consigned to a postal (or courier) delivery service and delivered in the normal course of the mail.

The recipient of the packaged product opens the envelope and removes the collapsible container from the envelope. The screw cap is then removed from the container and water (or another liquid diluent) is added to fill the container. The act of filling the container causes the container to revert from its collapsed form to its non-collapsed or expanded form. By adding water to the liquid concentrate to expand the container, the liquid is diluted to a strength suitable either for direct use or for further dilution in accordance with instructions supplied with the package.

The advantage of the packaged products of the invention is that it enables liquids to be distributed in the post more easily and conveniently than has hitherto been possible.

Equivalents It will readily be apparent that numerous modifications and alterations may be made to the specific embodiments of the invention described above without departing from the principles underlying the invention. All such modifications and alterations are intended to be embraced by this application. * * **** * *

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Claims

CLAIMS

I. A packaged product comprising an outer mailing container and, held therein, a sealed collapsible container, the sealed collapsible container being present in a collapsed form and containing a non-gaseous dispersible substance; whereby the sealed collapsible container has a sealed closure and is capable of being restored to an expanded form by opening the sealed closure and introducing therein a diluting liquid following removal from the outer mailing container.

2. A packaged product according to claim 1 wherein the dispersible substances is selected from liquid concentrates, syrups, gels, powders, granules and other particulate solids.

3. A packaged product according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the dispersible substance is capable of being dissolved or suspended in water.

4. A packaged product according to claim 3 wherein the dispersible substance is water-soluble. * 5. A packaged product according to any one of claims 2 to 4 wherein the * ** dispersible substance is a liquid concentrate. *:::: 6. A packaged product according to any one of claims 2 to 4 wherein the dispersible substance is a water-soluble powder or other water-soluble particulate solid.

7. A packaged product according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the outer mailing container is an envelope or box.

8. A packaged product according to claim 7 wherein the outer mailing container is a padded envelope.

9. A packaged product according to claim 8 wherein padded envelope contains padding selected from fibre padding, foam padding and bubble wrap padding.

10. A packaged product according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the outer mailing container bears a franking mark or postage token such as a stamp.

11. A packaged product according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the liquid concentrate is present in a volume corresponding to between 1% and 50% (for example between 2% and 25%) of the volume of the expanded form of the sealed collapsible container.

12. A packaged product according to claim 11 wherein the volume of the liquid concentrate corresponds to between 5% and 15% (for example from 6% to 10%) of the volume of the expanded form of the sealed collapsible container. I...

13. A packaged product according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the sealed collapsible container is formed from one or more polymer layers, S wherein at least one of the layers acts as an oxygen barrier.

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14. A packaged product according to claim 13 wherein the sealed collapsible 5,.

container is formed from co-extruded or laminated ethylene vinyl alcohol..... SS**

(EVOH) and polyamide (PA) layers. *::: : 15. A packaged product according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the sealed closure is a screw cap.

16. A packaged product according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the sealed collapsible container in its expanded form has rectangular side walls.

17. A packaged product according to claim 16 wherein the sealed collapsible container is substantially cubic when in its expanded form.

18. A method of manufacturing and distributing a packaged product as defined in any one of the preceding claims, which method comprises introducing a non-gaseous dispersible substance into a collapsible container, sealing the container when in a collapsed form and introducing the sealed collapsed form of the collapsible container into a mailing container to form the packaged product; and thereafter conveying the packaged liquid product to a customer by a postal or courier service. * * . * .

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