Patent Application
20200352307
The present invention relates generally to packaging for personal deodorant, and more particularly, to packaging in which deodorant is dispensed by actuation of a piston internal to the package.
Many people regularly apply deodorant or antiperspirant (hereafter, deodorant) to control odor in the under-arm region. Current, many, if not most deodorants are packaged in stick form, in tubular containers that enable a user to push a stick of deodorant toward an open end as the material is consumed. Most such containers are provided with a screw mechanism coupled to a piston positioned behind the stick of deodorant. The user rotates the screw at one end of the container, which advances the piston, pushing the stick toward the opposite end of the container. Another common packaging type is in gel form, in which the product is in the form of a relatively stiff gel, which is also dispensed via a screw mechanism.
Typically, in these types of packaging, the knob is positioned at a bottom end of a hollow tubular container. The knob is affixed to a threaded spindle that extends most of the length of the container. A piston positioned within the container engages the spindle such that rotation of the spindle causes the piston to travel axially within the container, the piston being constrained against simultaneous rotation by a non-circular (e.g., oval) cross-section or another feature. The stick of deodorant is positioned within the container on a side of the piston opposite the knob. As shipped from the manufacturer, the piston is positioned close to the bottom of the container, and the stick is in contact with the piston at one end, and extends, at the other end, a short distance beyond the top of the container. In use, the user grips the container and applies deodorant from the stick directly to the user's underarm region, without directly handling the stick. As the stick is consumed, the user rotates the knob, which, by action of the threaded spindle, moves the piston, and consequently the stick of deodorant, toward the top of the container, continually providing a small amount of the stick extending from the container. The container is typically provided with a protective cap that fits over the top end of the container and that is configured to maintain some headroom above the top of the container, to permit a portion of the stick to extend beyond the container, inside the cap.
The inventor has recognized that, with conventional packaging, as the stick of deodorant is consumed, and as the user moves the piston closer to the top of the container, the container becomes progressively top-heavy, and therefore, increasingly prone to tipping. In the inventor's experience, as items within a bathroom cabinet are handled and jostled during normal daily preparation, it is not uncommon for a deodorant package to fall from a cabinet shelf, particularly once half or more of the contents of the deodorant package have been used. In this condition, the remaining portion of the deodorant, which may constitute a large fraction of the total weight of the package, is at the top of the package while the space below is empty. This can result in the package falling to the floor, where it can come to rest in a difficult-to access location, creating an inconvenience for the user. Moreover, to retrieve the package, the user may be obliged to place his or her hands on the bathroom floor and reach behind a toilet, or otherwise come into contact with surfaces that are not perfectly clean. The user's hands may thus become contaminated, as well as the deodorant package itself and if the user is not scrupulous in removing the contamination, unnecessary health risks can be created. Furthermore, not only the deodorant package itself but adjoining items may become dislodged and fall from the cabinet, such as medications, toothbrushes, and other supplies, for example.
According to an embodiment, a deodorant package is provided, which comprises a hollow body having a knob end and an open end, with sides of the body being parallel for a majority of a length of the body. An area of the knob end of the body is less than an area of a transverse section near a midpoint of the body. A screw is rotatably coupled to the body at the knob end and includes a knob and a threaded spindle. The knob extends from the body at the knob end and the spindle extends longitudinally within the body from the knob end toward the open end. The package also includes a cap having a first end configured to engage the open end of the body, a flat end face on a second end opposite the first end, and a flare at the second end of the cap.
According to an embodiment, the cap is flared such that the flat end face has an area that is greater than the area of the transverse section of the package near the midpoint of the body.
According to an embodiment, the knob end of the package has a shape, in profile, that cooperates with a shape of the flare of the cap, such that the deodorant package can nest with another similarly shaped deodorant package with sides of the deodorant package and the similarly shaped deodorant package in face-to-face contact.
According to an embodiment, the deodorant package includes a ridge extending around at least a portion of an inner surface of the body at or near the open end.
According to an embodiment, the knob end of the body is rounded.
According to an embodiment, the package includes a label that is oriented on the package such that it is right-reading when the package is oriented with the open end downward.
According to an embodiment, the flare of the cap has a curved shape that transitions from a vertical sidewall of the cap to a transverse plane.
According to an embodiment, the flare of the cap is flange-shaped, with opposite faces defining respective parallel planes.
According to an embodiment, the cap end includes a plurality of feet extending outward from sidewalls of the cap and separated by a plurality of spaces extending inward from the vertical sidewalls, the feet and spaces being configured to cooperate with feet and spaces of a cap of a second package so as to permit a sidewall of the cap to make face-to-face contact with a sidewall of the cap of the second package.
According to an embodiment, A deodorant package is provided, including a tubular body having a first end and a second end, a screw rotatably coupled to the body at the first end with a knob of the screw positioned proximate the first end and a spindle of the screw extending along a longitudinal axis of the body toward the second end, and a piston positioned within the body and engaging the spindle of the screw such that rotation of the screw drives the piston axially within the body. The package includes a cap having a first end configured to engage the second end of the body, a second end having a planar end face lying perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the body, and a flair proximate the end face such that the end face has a dimension that is greater than a corresponding transverse dimension of the first end of the cap.
According to an embodiment, a surface area of the end face of the cap is greater than a transverse sectional area of the first end of the cap.
According to an embodiment, a ridge extends around an inner surface of the body proximate the second end of the body.
In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and show one embodiment. Other embodiments may be used and/or changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. The term deodorant is used herein to refer to deodorant, anti-perspirant, and similar personal hygiene products.
In embodiments configured for use with gel-type deodorants, the annular ridge 113 is omitted. Instead, according to an embodiment, an end face is provided at the first end 112 of the body 102, which includes a number of perforations. Advancement of the piston 110 forces the gel through the perforations and onto the outer surface of the end face. Such arrangements are known in the art.
As shown in the drawings, the package 100 is oriented as it is normally stored while not in use, with the cap 104 positioned downward, and the knob 108 at the top of the package. When oriented as shown in the drawings, the center of gravity of the package 100 drops over time, as the deodorant is consumed, so that the package actually becomes more stable, and less prone to tipping. This is in contrast to deodorant packages of the known art, which are designed and typically displayed with an opposite orientation, with the cap at the top, and which become less stable as the deodorant is consumed and the center of gravity moves upward.
In the embodiment shown, an end face 116 at a second end 118 of the body 102 has a smaller area—even including the knob 108—than the area of a transverse section of the body closer to the first end 112. At the opposite end of the package 100, the cap 104 includes flares 120 at the cap end 122, which further improves stability of the package 100 while standing on the cap end. Where, as in the illustrated embodiment, the deodorant stick is generally oval or rectangular in horizontal cross-section and the deodorant package is consequentially flat, the package is much less stable toward its front and back as compared to side-to-side. Therefore, in the embodiment illustrated in
Moreover, in some embodiments, the flares may have more of a simple flange, as described below with reference to
The second end 118 of the body 102 is preferably shaped so as to discourage a user from resting the package 100 on the second end. as in the case of the embodiment shown, in which the second end is rounded over. The flares 120 at the cap end 122 and the rounded-over second end 118 together serve to encourage a user to stand the package 100 on the first, cap end 112 and discourage the user from resting the package on the second end 118. A label 124 is also provided, oriented as shown in
Because the cap end 122 of the cap 140 includes the spaces 148, the total surface area of the cap end may be less than the area of a transverse section of the body 104—or of the cap 140 taken above the flare 144. However, because the feet 146 extend outwardly from the vertical sidewalls 142, a transverse dimension of the cap end 122 is greater than a corresponding transverse dimension of the cap 140 above the flare 144, such as between the vertical sidewalls 142. The transverse dimensions of a body that is appropriately sized and shaped to receive the cap 140 will be approximately equal to the corresponding transverse dimension of the cap 140 above the flare 144, so the dimensions of the cap end 122 will also be greater than those of the body, providing stabilizing contact areas even with diminished surface area.
As used in the claims, the term flare refers to a feature of a cap that extends to an end of the cap of a deodorant package such that the cap end has at least one dimension that is greater than a corresponding dimension of a transverse section of the cap at a point where the cap is configured to engage a body of the package.
In the drawings, some elements are designated with a reference number followed by a letter, e.g., “148a, 148b.” In such cases, the letter designation is used where it may be useful in the corresponding description to refer to or differentiate between specific ones of a number of otherwise similar or identical elements. Where the description omits the letter from a reference, and refers to such elements by number only, this can be understood as a general reference to the elements identified by that reference number, unless additional distinguishing language is used.
Very high degrees of precision are not generally essential in every aspect of the manufacturing processes of products such as personal deodorant packaging. Accordingly, where relationships between elements are described, using terms such as perpendicular, parallel, equal, etc., it will be understood that wide tolerances or variations may be perfectly acceptable in many instances, and that such terms are not to be interpreted as requiring a degree of precision that is inconsistent with standards that would be acceptable to a person having ordinary skill in the art under similar circumstances.
The abstract of the present disclosure is provided as a brief outline of some of the principles of the invention according to one embodiment, but is not intended as a complete or definitive description of any single embodiment thereof, nor should it be relied upon to define terms used in the specification or claims. The abstract does not limit the scope of the claims. These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of the above-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by the disclosure.
This application claims the benefit of Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/844,428, filed May 7, 2019, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62844428 | May 2019 | US |
