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
  • B65D23/00—Details of bottles or jars not otherwise provided for
  • B65D23/12—Means for the attachment of smaller articles
• • 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
  • B65D21/00—Nestable, stackable or joinable containers; Containers of variable capacity
  • B65D21/02—Containers specially shaped, or provided with fittings or attachments, to facilitate nesting, stacking, or joining together
  • B65D21/0237—Rigid or semi-rigid containers provided with a recess on their external surface for accommodating a smaller container

Definitions

• the present invention relates to packaging for flowable products which are dispensed by a dispenser.
• laundry packaging may incorporate a dispenser or 'shuttle' for dispensing the flowable laundry composition into the wash liquor. It is known to locate the 'shuttle' on an upper portion e.g. over the package closure cap.
• the present invention provides a package comprising a reservoir containing a flowable composition in combination with a dispenser for dispensing the flowable composition, characterised in that the reservoir comprises a reservoir aperture in which the dispenser is releasably retained.
• the dispenser can be contained within the reservoir portion of the package and does not need storing in a position which is inconvenient during handling and storage.
• aperture is intended to include a through-hole or a recess.
• the package preferably comprises walls, and may comprise a front wall, a rear wall and side walls connecting the front and rear walls.
• One or more of the walls is preferably rigid.
• the package may be a bottle, carton, tube etc.
• the package reservoir preferably has depth (due to the requirement for the reservoir to contain the flowable composition) and in that sense the reservoir aperture will have depth and may be tubular in shape having at least one entrance portion.
• the reservoir aperture may have a constant diameter or it may vary along its length for example it may increase at entrance portions.
• the package comprises rigid portions such that the reservoir aperture is self supporting and does not collapse.
• the rigid portions include at least a portion of the aperture and may contain walls or wall portions such that the reservoir aperture is supported to allow insertion and removal of the dispenser.
• the package or is wholly rigid. Rigidity may arise from the material (by selecting a stiff plastic) and/or by structure.
• the package may comprise flexible and/or resilient portions to allow squeeze-actuated egress of product.
• the dispenser comprises at least one flexible portion. More preferably the dispenser is wholly flexible and excludes rigid parts.
• Flexibility has various advantages. For example laundry dispensers create less noise in the wash cycle if the dispenser is wholly flexible.
• the combination of the flexible portion and the containment of the flexible dispenser within a reservoir is advantageous as it means the flexible dispenser is not directly loaded when packages are stacked one about another. This is especially advantageous with packages having rigidity such that the reservoir aperture is self supporting and non-collapsing. With the dispenser retained in the reservoir aperture, it effectively removes the aperture from loading calculations, allowing high flexibility.
• the invention provides, in a further aspect, a method of storing and transporting a package comprising a dispensing device using the package as defined herein.
• the dispenser is resilient in whole or in part. Dispenser resilience improves retainment in the reservoir aperture, by allowing an interference fit.
• Resilience also means that any flexing which results in mis-shaping e.g.
• the dispenser is, in at least one dimension (height/ width/depth or more generally x/y/z in cartesian co-ordinate system), equal or greater than the diameter of the reservoir aperture, wherein the reservoir aperture diameter is measured at least one transverse plane of the reservoir aperture.
• the aperture is circular in cross section (when viewed laterally, i.e.
• the aperture is located within the reservoir such that it is central at least laterally.
• the aperture may be central lengthwise, or it may be located in an upper part.
• the dispenser comprises a chamber for containing a dose of the composition.
• the dose may be measured e.g. by a measured dosing device in the bottle or by the user filling the chamber to a predetermined and indicated level.
• the flowable composition may be a flowable fabric or hard surface washing or treatment composition.
• the dispenser can be used to dispense the flowable composition into a washing machine or washing receptacle, and re-stored in the reservoir aperture after use.
• the dispenser may advantageously be rinsed e.g. by leaving the dispenser in the wash so that the rinse part of the cycle rinses the dispenser.
• the invention provides a method of washing or treating fabrics or hard-surfaced products, such as dishes, using the package of the first aspect of the invention, wherein the flowable composition comprises a fabric or hard surface washing or treatment composition, the method comprising the steps of
• laundry is intended to include, without limitation, fabric cleaning, care, and conditioning compositions.
• the package comprises a front face comprising the reservoir aperture entrance portion.
• the package may comprise an opposing rear face and a second entrance portion may be in the rear face.
• Soft TEA quat is a cationic softener based on triethanolamine with tallow and 15% IPA as solvent.
• Compositions 1 and 2 (VT-90 ex Stepan)
• Composition 3 Soft DEEDMAC (Armosoft DEQ ex Akzo)
• Figure 1 is a perspective view of a package according to one embodiment of the present invention.
• Package 1 comprises a bottle 1 comprising a reservoir 3 containing 1 litre of flowable laundry composition (indicated by the reference numeral 5 and which can be any of the exemplary formulations above) in combination with a dispenser 7 for dispensing the flowable composition 5.
• the reservoir 3 comprises a reservoir aperture 9 in which the dispenser 7 is releasably retained.
• the reservoir 9 aperture is a through-hole.
• the package 1 comprises a bottle having a front wall 1 1 , an opposing rear wall 13 and side walls 15, 17 connecting and contiguous with the front wall 1 1 and rear wall (not shown), base 19, top 21 with closure cap 23.
• the reservoir aperture 9 has depth and is in fact tubular having two opposing and aligned entrance portions: front entrance 9a in the front wall, rear entrance (not shown) in the rear wall.
• the reservoir aperture 9 tapers outward in the direction of each entrance portion 9a, 9b. This facilitates insertion of the dispenser 7 into the reservoir aperture 9.
• the bottle 1 is rigid in that it is self standing with rigid walls and base and top portion, and the reservoir aperture 9 is self supporting and not collapsible.
• the package front and rear walls by virtue of increased surface area versus thickness, do have a degree of flexibility to allow squeeze-actuated egress of product into the dispenser 7. Resilience allows the front and rear walls to snap back into position after squeezing.
• the dispenser 7 is flexible and excludes rigid parts and so creates little noise in the wash cycle.
• the combination of the flexible portion and the containment of the flexible dispenser within a reservoir is advantageous as it means the flexible dispenser is not directly loaded when packages are stacked one about another. This is especially advantageous with packages having rigidity such that the reservoir aperture is self supporting and non-collapsing. With the dispenser retained in the reservoir aperture 9, it effectively removes the aperture from loading calculations, allowing high flexibility.
• the dispenser 7 is resilient and allows an interference fit in the reservoir aperture 9. Resilience also means that any flexing which results in mis-shaping e.g.
• the dispenser 7 width X is slightly greater than the diameter Y of the reservoir aperture 9, and this together with the flexible resilience ensures the dispenser 7 is retained securely.
• the reservoir aperture 9 is circular in cross section (when viewed laterally, i.e. when the package is viewed laterally). This provides an aperture 9 of constant diameter and this does not require specific positioning in order to obtain a good secure fit.
• Dispenser 7 comprises generally spherical shell, comprising a chamber (not shown) for containing a dose of the composition.
• the dose may be measured e.g. by a measured dosing device in the bottle 1 or by the user filling the chamber to a predetermined and indicated level.
• the flowable composition is a flowable fabric washing or treatment composition.
• the dispenser 7 can be used to dispense the flowable composition into a washing machine or washing receptacle, and re-stored in the reservoir aperture 9 after use.
• the dispenser may advantageously be rinsed e.g. by leaving the dispenser in the wash so that the rinse part of the cycle rinses the dispenser.
• the user first removes the retained dispenser from the reservoir aperture and fills the dispenser with the flowable composition e.g. by pouring into the dispenser.
• the flowable composition is then dispensed by placing the dispenser into the drum of a washing machine and beginning the cycle. At the end of the cycle, the dispenser 7 is removed from the drum and replaced in the reservoir aperture.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Detail Structures Of Washing Machines And Dryers (AREA)
• Containers And Packaging Bodies Having A Special Means To Remove Contents (AREA)
• Detergent Compositions (AREA)
• Packages (AREA)
• Closures For Containers (AREA)

Priority Applications (5)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=44562679

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Cited By (1)

Citations (2)

Family Cites Families (3)

• 2012
  • 2012-04-04 CN CN201280017854.XA patent/CN103459256B/zh active Active
  • 2012-04-04 EP EP12711671.3A patent/EP2697127B1/en active Active
  • 2012-04-04 ES ES12711671T patent/ES2716248T3/es active Active
  • 2012-04-04 BR BR112013026432-2A patent/BR112013026432B1/pt active IP Right Grant
  • 2012-04-04 WO PCT/EP2012/056141 patent/WO2012139942A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2012-04-11 AR ARP120101235A patent/AR085973A1/es active IP Right Grant
• 2013
  • 2013-10-08 ZA ZA2013/07505A patent/ZA201307505B/en unknown

Patent Citations (2)

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