EP1258431A1

EP1258431A1 - Tube for viscous products

Info

Publication number: EP1258431A1
Application number: EP01830315A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Domenico Stabile
Original assignee: Adim Scandolara SpA
Current assignee: Adim Scandolara SpA
Priority date: 2001-05-17
Filing date: 2001-05-17
Publication date: 2002-11-20

Abstract

A container for viscous products comprises a body (2) for containing the product, having a substantially tubular shape and made of soft material able to be squeezed manually by the user; a head (3) coupled to the open end of the tubular body (2), the head (3) comprising a shoulder (30) from which a dispensing mouth (32) protrudes axially for dispensing of the product; and a lid (4) which can be associated with said head (3) in order to be able to obstruct/free the dispensing mouth (32) to prevent/allow discharge of the product. The head (3) is removably coupled to the tubular body (2), so that the user can remove it from the tubular body (2) to allow removal of the residual product remaining inside the container.

Description

The present invention refers to a container for viscous products.
As is known, viscous products of the paste or semi-solid type such as, for example, creams, ointments, pastes, sauces and the like are used in diverse fields such as cosmetics, medicine, health, foodstuffs, etc., and are sold in special containers which generally take the form of jars or tubes.
Jars provide a container, generally rigid, having an open end coupled to a lid. Consequently, each time the user has to use the product, he opens the lid and takes the desired amount of product with a special instrument.
The jar has the advantage of allowing removal of the product until it is completely consumed, but has several disadvantages. It is awkward and not very practical for the user, who experiences difficulty in taking the desired dose of product. Furthermore, each time the user takes a dose of product, the remaining amount in the container is contaminated by the instrument used.
These drawbacks are solved in part with tube-type containers. The tube comprises a tubular casing, of soft material such as plastic, aluminium or the like, which has a product dispensing mouth coupled to a cap. Widely used are plastic tubes having a tubular casing of soft plastic, heat welded at one end of which is a head comprising a hard plastic shoulder from which a dispensing mouth protrudes axially. The tubular casing is obtained by extrusion and the head by moulding.
The user, after having removed the cap, squeezes the tube manually, exerting pressure on the product to cause a dose of product to be discharged through the dispensing mouth. In this manner the user can dispense precise doses of product while leaving the part of product remaining inside the tube uncontaminated.
Although very practical and convenient for the user, the tube has the disadvantage of wasting a certain amount of product which remains as an unusable residue inside the tube. In fact, squeezing of the casing does not allow all the product contained therein to be dispensed. As the product is consumed, the decrease in volume of the casing no longer provides a compact mass on which the user can exert pressure with his fingers. Consequently residues of product remain in the folds of the casing and in those rigid parts, such as the shoulder of the opening for example, in which the pressing action exerted from the outside by the user has no grip.
The object of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks of the prior art, providing a container for viscous products that is able to minimise the waste of residual product therein.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a container for viscous products that is practical and allows simple dispensing of precise doses by the user.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a container for viscous products such as to avoid contamination of the product with outside elements.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a container for viscous products that is cheap and easy to make.
These objects are achieved in accordance with the invention with the characteristics listed in appended independent claim 1.
Advantageous embodiments of the invention are apparent from the dependent claims.
The container according to the invention comprises a tubular body of soft material inside which the product is contained, a head comprising a shoulder from which a product dispensing mouth connected to the body protrudes axially and a lid associated with the head to obstruct/free the dispensing mouth.
The peculiarity of the invention is that the head is removably connected to the body. In this manner the user can use the container as a tube by squeezing the tubular body to cause discharge of the product from the dispensing mouth. When the product is about to finish, the user can use the container as a jar, removing the head of the container and removing the product remaining inside the container.
The advantages of the tube according to the invention are evident in that it maintains intact the advantages of a container of the tube type and moreover permits users to consume all the product contained therein and consequently allows a cost saving, avoiding waste of product with respect to tube-type containers of the prior art.
Further characteristics of the invention will be made clearer by the detailed description that follows, referring to a purely exemplary and therefore non-limiting embodiment thereof, illustrated in the appended drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective, exploded view, with a part removed, illustrating the container for viscous products according to the invention;
Figure 2 is an axial sectional view illustrating the container of Figure 1, assembled.
The container according to the invention, designated as a whole with reference numeral 1, is described with the aid of the figures. The container 1 comprises a body 2, a head 3 and a lid 4.
The body 2 comprises a tubular casing 20 made of soft material, such as plastic or aluminium. The tubular casing 20 is preferably made of plastic by extrusion.
The tubular casing 20 has a bottom wall 21 which can be a heat welded rigid plastic plate, acting as a standing base for the tubular casing 20.
As an alternative to the plate 21, the two end flaps at the bottom of the tubular casing 20 can be heat welded together to form a tube.
The tubular casing 20 is hollow on the inside to contain the viscous product and the opposite end to the bottom part is open and has an inside thread 22.
The head 3, as also shown in Figure 2, has a discoid shoulder 30 which has a central hole 31. On the shoulder 30, around the hole 31, a dispensing mouth 32 extends axially and has a substantially cylindrical shape, with an outside diameter smaller than the outside diameter of the shoulder 30 and an inside diameter sufficient to allow an optimal amount of product to be discharged. In this manner the mouth 32 acts as a dispensing nozzle for the product. The dispensing mouth 32 has an outer thread 33.
The shoulder 30 has a cylindrical side wall 34 having an outer diameter substantially equal to the outer diameter of the tubular casing 20. The side wall 34 of the head 3 continues with a cylindrical wall with a smaller diameter 35, having an outer thread 36 matching the inner thread 22 of the end part of the tubular casing 20. In this manner the side wall 34 has an annular abutment surface 37 which separates it from the threaded side wall 35.
The head 1 can preferably be made by moulding of plastic material, so that the shoulder 30 and the dispensing mouth 32 are made of hard plastic material. In fact sagging of the shoulder 30 or of the mouth 32 would not allow discharge of the product from the dispensing mouth 32.
The lid 4 has a substantially cylindrical shape with an outside diameter substantially equal to the outside diameter of the shoulder 30. The lid 4 has a blind threaded hole 40 axially with an inner thread 41 matching the outer thread 33 of the mouth 32 of the head 3.
Assembly and operation of the container 1 will be described hereunder.
The viscous product is placed in the tubular casing 20 and the head 3 is assembled on the body 2, screwing the outer thread 36 of the head 3 into the inner thread 22 of the body 2. In this manner the head 3 is made integral with the body 2.
The lid 4 is then mounted on the head 3, screwing the inner thread 41 of the lid 4 onto the outer thread 33 of the dispensing mouth 32 of the head 3. In this manner the product is prevented from being discharged from the dispensing mouth 32.
When the user must use the product, he unscrews the lid 4, freeing the dispensing mouth 32 and squeezes the tubular casing 20, exerting pressure on the product, which is discharged, in the desired amount, from the dispensing mouth 32.
When the product inside the container is about to finish, the pressure exerted by the user on the tubular casing 20 no longer allows discharge of product from the dispensing mouth, precisely because the product accumulates mainly in the inner wall of the shoulder 30 which is rigid and difficult to deform. At this point the user unscrews the head 3 disengaging it from the body 2 and thus succeeds in removing the product remaining on the shoulder 30 and on any creases in the casing 20.
In the foregoing description and in the figures threaded couplings between the head 3 and the body 2 and between the mouth 32 of the head and the lid 4 are illustrated. However, other types of coupling within the reach of a person skilled in the art, such as snap coupling, grooved coupling and the like can be foreseen. An essential characteristic is given by the fact that the coupling of body and head and the coupling of head and lid should be able to ensure a certain seal in order to avoid unwanted loss of product.
Moreover, in the figures, the head 3 has an outer thread 36 which engages in an inner thread 22 of the body, but clearly provision can be made for the head to have an inner thread that engages in an outer thread of the body.
Again in the figures, a screw-on lid 4 and a mouth 32 having a dispensing nozzle for the product are shown. However, provision can be made for the mouth 32 to be coupled to a through hole in the lid on which a dispensing nozzle is provided.
In this case, for example, the mouth 32 can have male grooved coupling that engages in a female grooved coupling, consisting of a plurality of longitudinal grooves, provided in the lid.
In this case, a cap can be provided, associated with the lid and connected thereto by means of a hinge to pass from a closure position in which it is placed over the cover to obstruct the dispensing nozzle of the lid and an open position in which it leaves the dispensing nozzle free.
Moreover, the lid 4 could couple with the dispensing mouth 32 by means of snap engagement, for example the lid 4 can have an axial pin which snap engages in a dispensing mouth 32. In this case the lid 4 can be connected to the head 3 by means of a hinge.
Numerous variations and modifications of detail within the reach of a person skilled in the art can be made to the present embodiment of the invention without departing from the scope of the invention set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

A container for viscous products, comprising:

a body (2) for containing the product, having a substantially tubular form and made of soft material able to be squeezed manually by the user;

a head (3) coupled to an open end of said tubular body (2), the head (3) comprising a shoulder (30) from which a dispensing mouth (32) protrudes axially for dispensing the product; and

a lid (4), which can be associated with said head (3) to be able to obstruct/free the dispensing mouth (32) to prevent/allow discharge of the product;

characterized in that said head (3) is removably coupled to said tubular body (2), so that the user can remove it from the tubular body (2) to allow removal of the residual product remaining inside the container.
A container according to claim 1, characterized in that said head (3) is coupled to said tubular body (2) by means of a threaded coupling.
A container according to claim 2, characterized in that said head (3) comprises a substantially cylindrical side wall (34) connected to the edge of said shoulder (30), said side wall (34) having a threaded part (35) with an outer thread (36) which engages in an inner thread (22) provided at one end of the inner side wall of said tubular body (2).
A container according to claim 3, characterized in that said threaded part (35) has a smaller outside diameter with respect to said side wall (34), so that said side wall (34) generates an annular abutment surface (37) able to abut against the end edge of said tubular body (2).
A container according to claim 1, characterized in that said head (3) is coupled to said tubular body (2) by means of a snap engagement coupling.
A container according to claim 1, characterized in that said head (3) is coupled to said tubular body (2) by means of a grooved coupling.
A container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said dispensing mouth (32) has an outer thread (33) able to engage in an inner thread (41) provided in said lid (4).
A container according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said lid is coupled, by means of a snap engagement, with said dispensing mouth of the head.
A container according to claim 8, characterized in that said lid is connected by means of a hinge to said head.
A container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said mouth (32) of the head provides a male grooved coupling able to engage in a female grooved coupling provided in said lid (4).