WO2021083786A1

WO2021083786A1 - Closure for a bottle

Info

Publication number: WO2021083786A1
Application number: PCT/EP2020/079765
Authority: WO
Inventors: Daniel Harry John KNOX
Original assignee: Unilever Ip Holdings B.V.; Unilever Global Ip Limited; Conopco, Inc., D/B/A Unilever
Priority date: 2019-10-30
Filing date: 2020-10-22
Publication date: 2021-05-06

Abstract

The present invention is in the field of reducing plastic in FMCG packaging; in particular it relates to reducing plastic in FMCG bottles. A need remains to reduce not just the plastic in packaging for liquid cleansing and conditioning products but also to reduce the energy during manufacture and the overall cost without affecting the stability and ergonomic structure of the bottle. It is therefore an object of the present invention to reduce the overall amount of plastic used for packaging liquid cleansing and conditioning products without affecting the stability and ergonomic structure of the bottle. It has been found that this can be achieved by using a closure comprising a skirt made of a different material separable from the cap.

Description

CLOSURE FOR A BOTTLE

Field of the Invention

The present invention is in the field of reducing plastic in FMCG packaging; in particular it relates to reducing plastic in FMCG bottles.

Background of the Invention

Waste sustainability is fast becoming an issue in most countries, threatening to overrun landfills and create new ones from what are otherwise beautiful landscapes and endangering the water supply by contamination.

Consumer goods companies are looking at different ways to reduce and eliminate plastic. In the consumer goods industry, it appears like plastic bottles are inevitable for liquid products such as shampoo, conditioners etc. While these companies are working towards finding alternatives to plastic and ways to reuse plastic, as immediate measures it is important to reduce the amount of plastic used in the bottles without affecting the properties of the bottle.

Caps are an important part of bottles containing liquids. Low- or poor-quality caps lead to leakage of the product. There are no compromises made on the robustness and functionality of the cap as no consumer wants leaky bottles. Most of the shampoo and conditioner bottles, are obround, elliptical, oval or of a similar shape and the caps of these bottles are also of the same width complementing the shape of the bottle. However, only 40-50% of the plastic used for the cap actually prevents leakage and provides anything functional. The rest of it is to provide a stable and ergonomic structure to the bottle especially when its shaped obround, elliptical, oval or similar. Additionally, such large caps are made using injection moulds for their sturdiness which is an expensive process and the cycle time is approximately 12 seconds per cap due to its large size. This causes substantial expenditures in energy during manufacture and transportation, also adding to environmental footprint.

WO 92/04275 discloses a modular non-aerosol dispensing overcap closure for a container filled with a liquid medium composed of a dispenser/container seal unit for the container which has at least one flange so that it can be fixed to a shroud member which forms the exterior of the overcap. The shroud member in WO 92/04275 is made of a suitable plastic such as high-density polyethylene or polypropylene.

Hence, a need remains to reduce not just the plastic in packaging for liquid cleansing and conditioning products but also to reduce the energy during manufacture and the overall cost without affecting the stability and ergonomic structure of the bottle.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to reduce the overall amount of plastic used for packaging liquid cleansing and conditioning products.

It is another object of the present invention to reduce the size of the cap without affecting the stability and ergonomic structure of the bottle.

It is yet another object of the present invention to reduce the overall energy consumption during manufacture and transportation of the caps.

Summary of the Invention

Accordingly, in a first aspect, the present invention provides a closure (1) for an opening (4) on a bottle (2), the closure comprising a cap (3) for closing the opening (4) of the bottle, the cap being sized to merely cover the opening (4) and the neck (5) of the bottle (2); and a peripheral skirt (6), which is separable from the cap (3), and extends outwardly from the edge (3a) of the cap to form the rest of the closure and shaped to complement the shape of the body (2b) of the bottle (2) to provide a stable and ergonomic structure to the bottle (2) when fitted with the closure (1); characterized in that the peripheral skirt (6) is made of a recycled or compostable material.

These and other aspects, features and advantages will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from a reading of the following detailed description and the appended claims. For the avoidance of doubt, any feature of one aspect of the present invention may be utilised in any other aspect of the invention. The word “comprising” is intended to mean “including” but not necessarily “consisting of” or “composed of.” In other words, the listed steps or options need not be exhaustive. It is noted that the examples given in the description below are intended to clarify the invention and are not intended to limit the invention to those examples per se. Similarly, all percentages are weight/weight percentages unless otherwise indicated. Except in the operating and comparative examples, or where otherwise explicitly indicated, all numbers in this description indicating amounts of material or conditions of reaction, physical properties of materials and/or use are to be understood as modified by the word “about”.

Numerical ranges expressed in the format "from x to y" are understood to include x and y. When for a specific feature multiple preferred ranges are described in the format "from x to y", it is understood that all ranges combining the different endpoints are also contemplated.

Detailed Description of the Invention

In a first aspect, the present invention relates to a closure for a bottle. The closure comprises a cap and a peripheral skirt which are separable from each other.

Cap

The cap according to the present invention is sized such that it merely covers the opening and extends over the neck of the bottle. The cap is typically small in relation to the body of the bottle. The cap of the present invention may include any cap that can tightly close the opening of the bottle. The preferred caps may be screw caps and snap fit press-on caps.

The cap of the present invention is preferably sturdy to avoid any leakage. To achieve the durability, the process used for manufacturing these caps is preferably injection moulding. Injection moulding is a manufacturing process for producing parts by injecting a molten material into a mould. The material used is preferably plastic, in particular PP (polypropylene).

The opening of the bottle connects to the body of the bottle via the neck.

The opening of the bottle has the same internal diameter as that of the neck. The opening and the neck may have a diameter of 1.0 cm to 4.0 centimetres, preferably at least 1.5 centimetres, more preferably at least 1.75 centimetres, still more preferably at least 2.0 centimetres, even more preferably at least 2.25 centimetres but typically not more than 3.75 centimetres, preferably not more than 3.5 centimetres, more preferably not more than 3.25 centimetres, still more preferably not more than 3.0 centimetres, even more preferably not more than 2.75 centimetres or even more than 2.5 centimetres.

The neck of the bottle typically has a length of 0.5 to 3.0 centimetres, preferably at least 0.75 centimetres, more preferably at least 1.0 centimetres, still more preferably at least 1.25 centimetres, even more preferably at least 1.5 centimetres but typically not more than 2.75 centimetres, preferably not more than 2.5 cm, more preferably not more than 2.25 centimetres, still more preferably not more than 2.0 centimetres, even more preferably not more than 1.75 centimetres.

Peripheral skirt

The peripheral skirt according to the invention is separable from the cap. The skirt extends outwardly from the edge of the cap to form the rest of the closure. The skirt acts as the part of the closure which helps in providing a stable and ergonomic structure to the bottle. The skirt of the present invention is shaped such that it complements the shape of the bottle. By complements the shape of the bottle, it is typically meant that it takes the same circumferential shape of the bottle, but the area of cross section could gradually increase or decrease by 0.5 to 5% from the bottom of the skirt to the top of the skirt. Having a skirt that complements the shape of the bottle allows the bottle to be used as a tottle (a bottle that may be used upside down, standing on the closure) as well and provides extra stability.

The skirt preferably comprises two openings, a smaller opening on the top of the skirt to fit around the cap and a larger opening at the bottom of the skirt to fit around the shoulder of the bottle.

The peripheral skirt according to the present invention preferably comprises a drain hole (6a) which allows trapped water to drain out of the closure and avoids formations of molds, mildews etc anywhere inside the closure. The drain hole (6a) is preferably present on the larger opening at the bottom of the skirt. The skirt, when on the bottle, preferably comprises at least one inference fit. By interference fit it is meant a fit between two parts in which the external dimension of one part slightly exceeds the internal dimension of the part into which it has to fit or is made to fit by means of a click-on mechanism.

The peripheral skirt according to the invention, when on the bottle, preferably interferes with the plastic cap around the edge (3a) to form interference fit (IF1) and with the bottle around the shoulders (2a) to form interference fit (IF2).

In one embodiment, interference fits (IF1) and (IF2) help in fixing the skirt to the cap and to the bottle respectively. In the interference fit (IF1), the dimension of the opening on top of the skirt preferably slightly exceeds the dimension around the edge of the cap and in the interference fit (IF2), the dimension around the shoulder of the bottle slightly exceeds the dimension of the opening at bottom of the skirt.

The skirt is preferably made of a recycled or compostable material. Preferably, the skirt is made of recycled plastic or moulded pulp. Recycled plastic is at least 50% recycled, more preferably at least 60% recycled, still more preferably at least 80% recycled, even more preferably at least 90% recycled or even 100% recycled.

Recycled plastic is preferably recycled polyethylene (rPE) or recycled polypropylene(rPP). Recycled polyethylene is preferably recycled high-density polyethylene (rHDPE),

Moulded pulp can be from wood pulp or non-wood pulp. Preferably, the skirt is made of moulded wood pulp and can be made from a cure-in-the-mould fibre production process.

When the skirt is made of recycled plastic, it is preferably manufactured using the manufacturing process of thermoforming or vacuum forming. These are cheaper moulding technologies when compared to injection moulding. Since the skirt need not be as durable as the cap, thermoforming or vacuum forming are preferred over injection moulding for the manufacture of the skirt. Bottle

The bottle of the present invention is preferably for an FMCG product. The FMCG product may be a personal care product such as a shampoo, a conditioner, a liquid hand soap or a home care product such as a hand dish wash liquid, a household cleaning liquid or a food product such as dressings, mayonnaise, ketchup etc. Preferably, the FMCG product is a personal care product which is a shampoo or conditioner. The bottles of such products are typically shaped obround, elliptical, oval or rectangular as such shapes are preferred by the consumers for use.

Brief Description of the figures

Figure 1 is front view of the tottle [bottle used upside down] (left) and a front view of the bottle standing upright.

Figure 2A is a perspective view of the top section of the bottle, with the skirt attached.

Figure 2B is a perspective view of the top section of the bottle with the skirt separated. Figure 3 is an exploded view of the bottle with the closure.

Figure 4A is a top view of the skirt.

Figure 4B is a front view of the skirt.

Figure 5 is cross sectioned view of the closure comprising the cap and the skirt.

Claims

1 A closure (1) for an opening (4) on a bottle (2), the closure comprising a a cap (3) for closing the opening (4) of the bottle, the cap being sized to merely cover the opening (4) and the neck (5) of the bottle (2); and b a peripheral skirt (6), which is separable from the cap (3), and extends outwardly from the edge (3a) of the cap to form the rest of the closure and shaped to complement the shape of the body (2b) of the bottle (2) to provide a stable and ergonomic structure to the bottle (2) when fitted with the closure (1); characterized in that the peripheral skirt (6) is made of a recycled or compostable material.

2 A closure according to claim 1 wherein the peripheral skirt when on the bottle, interferes with the cap (3) around the edge (3a) and with the bottle around the shoulders (2a) to form interference fits (IF1) and (IF2). 3 A closure according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the cap (3) is formed from injection moulding and the skirt (6) is formed from thermoforming or vacuum forming.

4 A closure according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the opening (4) of the bottle connects to the body (2b) of the bottle (2) via the neck (5).

5 A closure according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the recycled material is at least 80% recycled plastic, preferably 100% recycled plastic or moulded pulp. 6 A closure according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the compostable material is moulded pulp. 7 A closure according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the shape of the bottle (2) is obround, elliptical, oval or rectangular. 8 A closure according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the diameter of the opening (4) is same as the diameter of the neck (5).

9 A closure according to anyone of the preceding claims wherein the neck (5) of the bottle has a length of 0.5 to 3.0 centimetres.

10 A closure according to anyone of the preceding claims wherein the skirt (6) comprises a drain hole (6a).

11 A closure according to anyone of the preceding claims wherein the bottle is for a FMCG product.

12 A closure according to claim 11 wherein the FMCG product is a personal care product which is a shampoo or a conditioner.