Patent Grant
6923347
This document claims priority to French application number 0203263 filed Mar. 15, 2002, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an assembly for packaging products. The assembly can be particularly advantageous for packaging cosmetic products in the form of a gel or a cream.
2. Discussion of Background
The present invention is particularly advantageous in facilitating dispensing of the contents of a container, e.g., in the form of a pot or jar like container. Typically, in the field of cosmetic products, the user inserts her fingers into a container to remove some of the contents. Obviously, this operation becomes increasingly difficult when approaching the bottom of the container, particularly for containers having a small cross section relative to their height.
Containers equipped with plunger or bellows systems are known. These arrangements are configured so as to deliver a dose of the product contained inside the container in response to pressure exerted on the container bottom, or in response to rotation of an operating component. For example, French Patent FR 1 570 600 describes a device having an outer packaging and an inner packaging, in the form of bellows, fitted on a plunger. The plunger is displaced upwards, so as to compress the bellows as the number of uses increases and to cause delivery of the product, either by manually pressing directly on the bottom or by rotating the outer packaging with respect to a dispensing device secured to the inner packaging. Such a mechanism is complicated, and the cost of the container is therefore high and incompatible with the economic constraints of the retail industry.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,456,134 describes another packaging system, in which the volume of a container is adjusted by using a flexible part, for example, a bellows type arrangement. The height of the container can be reduced by screwing two cylindrical parts forming the outer package onto one another. The visible height of the container is thereby commensurately reduced. As with the device discussed above, this system is complicated and expensive.
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide an assembly in the form of a package or container, e.g., in the form of ajar or pot type container, in which the contents can be easily dispensed and which solves all or some of the problems discussed above.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such a container which is economical to produce and simple to use.
It is another object of the invention to provide a container or pot in which the same hand movements can be used for removing some of the product, e.g., using a finger, and in which the ease of dispensing does not substantially deteriorate as the number of dispensing operations increases.
Other objects will also become apparent from the following detailed description. The invention provides an assembly in the form of a container or package for a product, such as a cosmetic product in the form of a cream or a gel, to achieve some or all of the above objectives. The assembly includes a flexible container, e.g., a pot containing the product, with the container having a first end closed by a bottom and a second end, opposite the first, forming a neck delimiting an opening. The flexible container is removably fitted inside of a rigid structure, with the rigid structure preferably extending substantially over the entire height lying under the neck of the flexible container. In addition, the flexible container is configured so that, once it is extracted from the rigid structure, pressure exerted on the flexible container causes deformation of the latter to displace the product towards the opening. The container can then return to its undeformed shape by elastic return forces when the pressure ceases.
The term “rigid structure” is intended to mean a structure which, in response to an axial stress, presents a resistance which is greater than the resistance presented by the flexible container in response to the same axial stress.
Preferably, the material forming the rigid structure has a Shore hardness which is greater than the Shore hardness of the material forming the flexible pot. Thus, due to the presence of the rigid structure, the assembly is sufficiently stable when it is arranged on a display stand or during storage, in particular when it is stacked.
During use, the consumer extracts the container or pot from the rigid structure. This operation is facilitated by the fact that at least a part of the neck, and optionally of the lid which covers the container opening, lies above the rigid structure. Preferably, all of the neck lies above the rigid structure, with an upper edge of the rigid structure lying substantially level with the container shoulder formed at the base of the neck.
After the opening of the container has been uncovered, the user exerts pressure on the walls of the container, so as to force the product towards the opening. It is then easy to remove some of the product, in particular by using a finger or any other application device. The product is then applied in the conventional way.
When the pressure on the walls of the container ceases, the remaining product descends back towards the bottom of the container, and the opening can be re-closed until the next time the assembly is used.
Alternatively, in the case where a composition of two or more components is to be used, such as dying hair by extemporaneously mixing a dye and an oxidizing agent, one of the products or components can be provided in the form of a cream packaged in the flexible container. The other product, e.g., the dye, is packaged separately, such as in a compartment formed in the bottom of the rigid structure, so that it is kept isolated from the flexible container by a removable film. By way of example, the film is preferably made of an aluminum-based complex or laminate.
During use, the consumer extracts the flexible container from the rigid structure. The user then takes off the removable film that seals the compartment which is formed in the bottom of the rigid structure, and which contains the dye. The user uncovers the opening of the flexible container and presses its contents into the rigid structure. Everything can then be mixed together by using a suitable tool so as to homogenize the dye composition, and the user can then apply the composition in the conventional way, e.g., in the form of streaks.
In accordance with one preferable form of the invention, the rigid structure is removably fastened on the flexible container by a mechanical attachment, such as by snap-fastening, screwing or a bayonet mount system. Preferably, this removable fastening is made possible by the presence of regions of the container which are thicker and therefore more rigid, at the places where the attachment is to take place. Such regions of increased thickness are preferably provided level with the bottom of the pot.
The neck of the container can also have a larger thickness, to allow the attachment of a stopper, such as a screw-in or screw-on top. To that end, preferably an outer surface of the neck has a screw thread which can interact with a corresponding screw thread provided on the inner surface of a stopper. Other means for fastening the lid on the container or pot may be provided. For example, the attachment can be provided by a snap-fastening or by a ramped system.
As with the rigid structure, the lid is preferably also made of a rigid material. In practice, it is possible to use the same materials or different materials for the rigid structure and the lid.
Advantageously, a part of the lid is substantially in contact with a corresponding part of the rigid structure when the lid is fitted in position on the container or pot. The container can thus be stacked without any risk of crushing. According to a preferred example, the lid has an annular edge which is substantially in contact with an annular portion of the rigid structure, in particular the upper edge of the rigid structure, when the lid is fitted in position on the container.
Preferably, the flexible container or pot includes an attachment arrangement in the vicinity of its bottom, for example, in the form of ribs or tabs, which can reversibly interact with a complementary attachment arrangement provided in the vicinity of the bottom of the rigid structure to couple the container and the rigid structure.
Preferably, the rigid structure can be advantageously fitted/separated relative to the flexible container in response to the rotation of one relative to the other. The direction in which the rigid structure is moved in rotation relative to the container during separation may be the same as the direction in which the stopper of the container is unscrewed. Alternatively, the rotation direction for separation can be the opposite of the direction in which the stopper or lid of the container is rotated to unscrew it.
The flexible container may be produced by injection-blow molding. Preferred examples of suitable materials include an elastomeric material or a polyolefin, more preferably a polyethylene or a polypropylene, obtained by metallocene catalysis and optionally mixed with another polyolefin. Specific examples of materials include a material (metallocene polyethylene) marketed under the brand name EXACT™ by the company DSM, or alternatively, a material (metallocene polypropylene) marketed under the brand name Metocene™ by the company TARGOR.
It is also possible to use a material which is formed by a mixture of a polyolefin obtained by metallocene catalysis and a traditional polyolefin. Such a material or mixture of materials can be advantageous in order to control the flexibility of the material independently of the thickness of the walls.
When an injection-blow molding process is used, variation of the thicknesses of the wall of the body can be achieved by controlling the thicknesses of the preform and the diameter variations of the body of the flexible container. More specifically, the perform preferably has a larger or increased thickness at a location level with the neck or at a location from which the neck extends, and also at a level of or in the vicinity of the bottom. In this way, during blow molding, the diameter variations between the base of the neck and the shoulder formed between the neck and the side wall of the container will cause the wall to become thinner towards the largest diameter of the container. The neck will, therefore, be thicker than the shoulder and than the side wall of the container.
Purely as an example and not to be construed as limiting, the thickness may be of the order of 1.5 mm level with the neck. The thickness can decrease progressively over the shoulder towards the side wall of the body of the container, e.g., with the average thickness of the side wall on the order of from 0.7 mm to 0.8 mm. The thickness of the bottom may be of the same order as the thickness of the wall of the neck.
Also by way of example, the rigid structure may be made of a thermoplastic material, preferably polypropylene or polyethylene, and it may be obtained, for example, by injection molding. Alternatively, the rigid structure can be formed of a material that includes a metal, e.g., aluminum, or glass.
The assembly according to the invention can advantageously be used for packaging and optionally preparing a cosmetic product, especially a product for hairdressing, a hair dye, a skin care product or a scalp treatment.
A better appreciation of the invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof will become further apparent from the following detailed description, particularly when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
The assembly 1 represented in
The container includes a body 3 delimited by a side wall 4 whose diameter preferably decreases progressively towards a closed bottom 5. The other end of the container terminates in a neck 6, which is connected to the side wall by a transverse shoulder 7. A free edge of the neck 6 delimits an opening 10. In the illustrated embodiment, the outer surface of the neck 6 includes a screw thread 8 which can interact with a screw thread provided on an inner surface of the stopper 40.
As can be seen from the sectional view in
In the example shown, the outer peripheral surface of the bottom of the container has three portions with ribs 9, which are spaced apart by 120° and which provide a reversible attachment between the rigid structure 30 and the container or pot 2.
The rigid structure 30 can be made, for example, by injection molding from polypropylene. As shown, the rigid structure includes a side wall 31 having a profile similar to the outer profile of the side wall 4 of the flexible container 2. Its inner cross section, however, is slightly larger than that of the flexible container, so that the latter can be inserted into the rigid structure with a slight clearance.
One end of the side wall 31 is closed by a bottom 32. A closed bottom, however, is not required.
In the vicinity of the bottom 32 of the rigid structure, and on its inner surface, the side wall 31 has three portions 33 protruding from the inner surface of the lateral skirt 31. The portions 33 are spaced apart by 120° and are intended to interact with the ribs 9 provided on the bottom of the container 2, so as to permit reversible attachment of the rigid structure 30 on the container 2.
With the illustrated example, the ribs 9 engage with the attachment portions 33 of the rigid structure by rotating the rigid structure 30 through a few degrees relative to the flexible container 2.
The other end of the side wall 31 of the rigid structure 30 is open and terminates in a free edge 34. The inner cross section is slightly larger than the outer cross section of the shoulder 7 of the flexible pot 2.
In the assembled position, and as can be seen more clearly from the sectional view in
Although not shown, it is also possible for the upper edge of the side wall 4 of the flexible pot 2 to be set back slightly from the peripheral edge of the shoulder 7 of the pot, by an amount corresponding substantially to the thickness of the upper edge of the rigid structure 30, so that the peripheral edge of the shoulder 7 of the flexible pot 2 bears on the upper edge of the rigid structure 30.
The lid 40 includes a lateral skirt 41 whose cross section increases progressively towards a free edge 42. The other end of the skirt 41 is closed by a transverse wall 43. In the preferred example, the lid is made of a material which is the same as that of the rigid structure 30, however, different materials could also be used.
The cross-section of the free edge 42 of the lid 40 is substantially equal to the cross section of the upper edge 34 of the rigid structure 30, so that the lid 40 substantially abuts against the rigid structure 30 in the assembled position. In order to use the assembly according to the invention, the user turns the rigid structure 30 relative to the container or pot 2, while holding the latter by the lid 40, until the components are relatively rotated by an angular amount sufficient for the tabs 9 to disengage from the projections 33 formed on the inner surface of the rigid structure 30. After the tabs 9 have been disengaged, the user extracts the flexible pot 2 from the rigid structure 30. The lid 40 is then unscrewed.
Subsequently, as shown by
When the user releases the pressure exerted on the container 2, the container returns to its original shape, hence causing the product remaining in the container to return towards the bottom 5.
After having used some of the contents of the pot 2, the user replaces the lid 40 and puts the container 2 away, either independently of the rigid shell 30 or by replacing it inside the latter, until it needs to be used again.
Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 02 03263 | Mar 2002 | FR | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2752251 | Peters | Jun 1956 | A |
| 3156279 | Grebowiec et al. | Nov 1964 | A |
| 3311248 | Marchant | Mar 1967 | A |
| 4324348 | Johnson et al. | Apr 1982 | A |
| 4456134 | Cooper | Jun 1984 | A |
| 4798311 | Workum | Jan 1989 | A |
| 5299700 | Beniacar | Apr 1994 | A |
| 5765708 | Fragos | Jun 1998 | A |
| 5901882 | Siegel | May 1999 | A |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1570600 | Jun 1969 | FR |
| WO 0018650 | Apr 2000 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20030209566 A1 | Nov 2003 | US |
