WO2022089994A1

WO2022089994A1 - Dispensing container and process of manufacturing a container

Info

Publication number: WO2022089994A1
Application number: PCT/EP2021/078938
Authority: WO
Inventors: James Jordan GARDNER; Joseph GIBBINS; Graham Paul Randall
Original assignee: Unilever Ip Holdings B.V.; Unilever Global Ip Limited; Conopco, Inc., D/B/A Unilever
Priority date: 2020-10-28
Filing date: 2021-10-19
Publication date: 2022-05-05
Also published as: ES1302486U; CN220425656U; DE212021000454U1; ES1302486Y

Abstract

The present invention relates to a dispensing container; in particular to a container which can be used with a reusable pump dispenser and method of manufacturing such containers with liquid content. The container (1) of the present invention comprises a body (2); a neck (3) having an opening (4); a fitment (5) positioned in the opening and attached to the neck; wherein the fitment (5) is adapted to receive a pump dispenser (6); a dip tube (7) that extends into the body (2); characterized in that the fitment (5) extends into an upper stem (8) and lower stem (9); wherein the upper stem (8) is connectable to the pump dispenser (6) and the lower stem (9) connects to the dip tube (7).

Description

DISPENSING CONTAINER AND PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING A CONTAINER

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a dispensing container; in particular to a container which can be used with a reusable pump dispenser and method of manufacturing such containers with liquid content.

Background of the Invention

Containers with pump dispensers are used for a number of different products, in particular in fast moving consumer goods (FMCG). The pump dispensers are generally not recyclable, so consumers tend to reuse the pumps with refill containers of the same or different product. One drawback of reusing these pump dispensers is that the transferring of the pump from one container to another is always a messy process. This is because there is a good amount of the product stuck to the dip tube of the pump. Another drawback of reusing a pump dispenser is that due to a specific length of the dip tube, the pump cannot be used in all sized containers and the dip tube being attached to the pump, cannot be easily separated and refitted with a different sized one.

To overcome the above drawbacks, dispensing containers with integrated dip tubes are known. One such container is in WO 2010/083419 disclosing a substantially blow- molded dispensing container with a fitment where the dispensing pump can be reused with additional refill dispensing containers. However, such disclosures offer little information on the connection between the pump and the dip tube when a consumer connects the pump dispenser to the container. A loose or poor connection between the dispensing pump and dip tube would result in increased air intake, affecting the spray or pumping quality.

Therefore, despite the prior art, there still remains a need to provide a dispensing container with a robust fit between the dispensing pump and dip tube, minimizing the air intake as a result of poor or loose connection. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved and robust connection between the pump dispenser and the dip tube when the pump dispenser is connected to the container by the consumer.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a simple yet robust fix at home pump dispensing system that better replicates the performance of the conventional pump dispensers with minimal investment on the factory production or assembly line.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a sustainable solution by making the pump dispenser easily separable from the container, therefore enabling recycle of the container and reuse of the pump dispensers.

It is yet another object of the present invention to reduce the overall use of plastic in containers that can be used with pump dispensers.

It is yet another object of the present invention to minimise the air intake into the product and provide good quality spray/pump for user, free of sputtering and other quality issues.

Summary of the Invention

Accordingly, in a first aspect, the present invention provides a container (1) comprising: a body (2), a neck (3) having an opening (4), a fitment (5) positioned in the opening and attached to the neck; wherein the fitment (5) is adapted to receive a pump dispenser (6), a dip tube (7) that extends into the body (2); characterized in that the fitment (5) extends into an upper stem (8) and lower stem (9); wherein the upper stem (8) is connectable to the pump dispenser (6) and the lower stem (9) connects to the dip tube (7); wherein the upper part of the fitment (5) comprises a bore seal (16) to attach the fitment to the mouth of the neck (3) and; a flange (15) extending outwardly.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides a kit comprising a container according to the invention; and a pump dispenser. In a third aspect, the present invention provides a process of manufacturing a container (1) with a liquid content comprising the steps of: filling the container with the liquid content, providing a fitment comprising an upper and lower stem, inserting a dip tube into the lower stem of the fitment to create a dip tube-fitment assembly, fixing the dip tube-fitment assembly into a non-dispensing closure to create a closure-fitment subassembly; and fixing the closure-fitment subassembly onto the container (1).

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 container (1) which can be used with a pump dispenser (6). The container of the invention is preferably a refill container.

The container of the present invention comprises a body (2) with a base (12) and a neck (3). The neck (3) comprises an opening (4) and a top surface (13). The neck (3) preferably comprises a connecting means (14) by which the container (1) can be connected to a non-dispensing closure or a pump dispenser. The connecting means may be a screw thread, bayonet connector, or providing a press-on, click-on or interference fit. Preferably, the connecting means is a screw thread.

The neck (3) is substantially tubular in shape. Positioned in the opening of the neck and attached to the neck is a fitment (5) that is adapted to receive a pump dispenser (6). The fitment (5) further connects to a dip tube (7). The fitment may be removably attached or permanently fixed.

The fitment (5) of the present invention preferably comprises a tubular body (11) to complement the shape of the neck. Principally, the upper part of the fitment should be held to close tolerances to ensure a secure attachment to the neck. To meet this need, the upper part of the fitment preferably comprises a bore seal (16) for attachment to the mouth of the neck (4). The fitment preferably comprises a flange (15) extending outwardly on the upper part that prevents the fitment (5) from falling into the container when being inserted or while a consumer is connecting the pump dispenser. The flange preferably has a wider outer diameter than the inner diameter of the neck, but preferably the outer diameter of the flange is smaller than the outer diameter of the neck. The flange is substantially perpendicular to the tubular body of the fitment. The bore seal (16) and the flange (15) together ensure a secure attachment to the neck. Using a bore seal and a flange to attach the fitment to the container keeps the process of manufacturing the container with a liquid content simple, thereby keeping the cost of the final product low.

Alternatively, the fitment (5) can be bonded to the container neck (3). This may be an adhesive bonding or a heat bonding. For effective heat bonding the material of the container and the fitment is preferably substantially the same. In such an embodiment no flange (15) is needed on the fitment to prevent the fitment from falling into the container.

The fitment preferably (5) comprises at least one pressure equalization aperture (10).

The aperture is preferably on the tubular body (11) of the fitment (5). The number of pressure equalization apertures and their dimensions is dependent on the volume of air to be rapidly expelled for pressure equalization.

Preferably the fitment (5) comprises at least two pressure equalization apertures, more preferably at least three.

In a preferred embodiment, the pressure equalization aperture (10) extends along the entire length of the fitment (5).

The tubular body (11) of the fitment tapers downwardly to a fitment base (21) which extends into an upper stem (8) and a lower stem (9). The upper stem (8) is connectable to the pump dispenser (6) and the lower stem (9) connects to the dip tube (7). The upper (8) and lower stem (9) are preferably tubular in shape. The upper and lower stem preferably have different diameters, more the inner diameter of the upper stem (8) is less than the inner diameter of the lower stem (9).

When a pump dispenser (6) is connected to the container (1) of the present invention, the input tube (17) of the pump dispenser, which is at the lower end of a pump dispenser connects to the fitment by encasing the upper stem while the lower stem of the fitment connects to the dip tube by encasing the dip tube i.e the dip tube pushes into the lower stem of the fitment.

Without wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed that the outer diameter of the dip tube will be controlled to a higher tolerance, thus fitting using the dip tube’s outer surface ensures a more robust attachment to the lower stem of the fitment, allowing the user to pump the formulation from the pack with a more consistent and higher quality spray pattern. In the connection with the pump dispenser, the fitment features an upper stem that substitutes the dip tube. This ensures a robust fit between pump, fitment, and the dip tube, minimizing the air intake as a result of poor or loose connection.

A tight connection between the dip tube and the fitment and the fitment and the pump dispenser ensure that the pump actuates a good quality spray for user, free of sputtering and other quality issues. The container (1) of the present invention is preferably a bottle for an FMCG product. The FMCG product may be a personal care product such as a shampoo, a conditioner, a hair styling product, a liquid hand soap or body wash, a skin care lotion or a home care product such as a hand dish wash liquid, a household cleaning liquid. Preferably, the FMCG product is a personal care product which is a shampoo or conditioner. The bottles can be any shape but are typically shaped circular, obround, elliptical, oval or rectangular.

The container preferably comprises a non-dispensing closure. The consumer will have to remove this closure from the container before connecting a pump dispenser.

The container (1), non-dispensing closure and the fitment (5) are preferably formed from thermoplastics. Such thermoplastics may be molded by injection molding, extrusion blow molding and injection stretch blow molding. Useful thermoplastics are the polymers and copolymers of ethylene and propylene. These include low, medium and high density polyethylenes and various grades of polypropylenes. In addition, the containers can be comprised of polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate. Further, essentially any other thermoplastic that is available can be utilized. The closures can be formed, in whole or in part, of thermoplastics. When a thermoplastic laminate or a single layer the closure can be injection molded. The same thermoplastics as discussed for the container (1) and the fitment (5) can be used for the closure. As noted above the closure may alternatively be solely a metal or may be a dual layer of a plastic layer and the metal layer. When a dual layer the plastic layer usually will be the inner layer and the metal the outer decorative layer.

In a second aspect, the invention relates to a kit comprising a container (1) according to the invention and a pump dispenser. The kit preferably further comprises assembly instructions.

The pump dispenser (6) for dispensing the product can be of any of the manually activated means as is known in the art, e.g. trigger-type, pump-type or the non-aerosol self-pressurized type means. More preferably, the pump dispenser is a manually activated, trigger-type pump dispenser which dispenses in the form of a mist, preferably a fine mist. Said pump dispenser comprises an input tube (17) at a lower end of the pump dispenser (6); a pump actuator (18); and a pump exit (19) at an upper end of the pump dispenser.

The pump dispenser is preferably a is reusable pump dispenser.

In a third aspect, the invention relates to a process of manufacturing a container (1) with a liquid content.

In the process of manufacturing, the container (1) is first filled with the labeled liquid content. The fitment according to the invention is then attached to a dip tube via the lower stem of the fitment. This forms the dip tube-fitment assembly. The dip tubefitment assembly is then screwed or pushed into a non-dispensing closure to create a closure-fitment subassembly. The flange (15) in the fitment aids in screwing or pushing the dip tube-fitment assembly into the closure. The closure-fitment subassembly is then fixed onto the container by screwing or fitting the closure-fitment subassembly onto the container.

When the consumer unscrews or removes the cap, the closure-fitment subassembly separates, leaving the dip tube-fitment assembly in the container which is then ready to accept the consumer’s reusable pump.

Manufacturing the container in the above manner minimizes investment on the factory assembly line, thereby keeping the cost of the product low.

Brief Description of the Figures

Figure 1 is a cross sectioned view of the container (1).

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the fitment (5).

Figure 2A is a cross sectioned view of the fitment (5). Figure 2B is a top view of the fitment (5).

Figure 2C is a bottom view of the fitment (5). Figure 3 is a cross sectioned view of the dispensing container (20) comprising a container (1) fitted with the pump dispenser (6).

Claims

9

1 A container (1) comprising: a a body (2); b a neck (3) having an opening (4); c a fitment (5) positioned in the opening and attached to the neck; wherein the fitment (5) is adapted to receive a pump dispenser (6); d a dip tube (7) that extends into the body (2); characterized in that the fitment (5) extends into an upper stem (8) and lower stem (9); wherein the upper stem (8) is connectable to the pump dispenser (6) and the lower stem (9) connects to the dip tube (7); wherein the upper part of the fitment (5) comprises a bore seal (16) to attach the fitment to the mouth of the neck (3) and; a flange (15) extending outwardly.

2 A container according to claim 1 , wherein the fitment (5) comprises at least one pressure equalization aperture (10).

3 A container according to claim 2, wherein the pressure equalization aperture (10) extends along the length of the fitment (5).

4 A container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the fitment (5) comprises a tubular body (11).

5 A container according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the upper (8) and lower stem (9) are tubular in shape.

6 A container according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the upper and lower stem have different diameters.

7 A container according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the inner diameter of the upper stem is less than the inner diameter of the lower stem. A kit comprising a a container according to any one of claims 1 to 7; and b a pump dispenser. A process of manufacturing a container (1) with a liquid content comprising the steps of: a Filling the container with the liquid content; b Providing a fitment comprising an upper and lower stem; c Inserting a dip tube into the lower stem of the fitment to create a dip tubefitment assembly; d Fixing the dip tube-fitment assembly into a non-dispensing closure to create a closure-fitment subassembly; and e Fixing the closure-fitment subassembly onto the container (1).