This invention relates generally to droppers, and more specifically to a dropper that is recyclable.
Droppers, also known as Pasteur pipettes, are well known. A dropper is a device used to measure liquids by drops. Typically, a dropper consists of a bulb, a pipette and often a cap. Droppers having two or more of its components made of dissimilar materials are well known. Droppers having one or all of its components made of materials that are not recyclable are well known. Droppers made in whole or in part of plastic are well known.
Droppers with a pipette made of regular polypropylene (C3H6) or made of standard clarified polypropylene are well known. A pipette made of regular polypropylene (C3H6) is disadvantageously opaque such that an amount of liquid, or bulk, in the pipette cannot be readily discerned. A pipette made of standard clarified polypropylene is disadvantageous because its hazy milky appearance can skew color palettes in the beauty industry, and it has a low-quality appearance. Also, even if a pipette made of standard clarified polypropylene were separated from the rest of a dropper, the pipette would still not be recycled because the pipette would fail a minimum size requirement, a 2-inch by 2-inch test, promulgated by The Association of Plastic Recyclers of Washington, D.C., USA. Some recyclers may require that recyclable plastic material have minimum dimensions that are different from 2 inches by 2 inches.
Droppers with a bulb made of a thermoplastic elastomer, silicone or nitrile are well known. Disadvantageously, a bulb made of a thermoplastic elastomer, silicone or nitrile is not recyclable.
Droppers made in whole or in part of glass are well known. Droppers with a pipette made of glass are well known. Disadvantageously, a pipette made of glass can break or shatter easily. Disadvantageously, in many cases, a pipette made of glass is not recyclable because vial glass, also known as borosilicate glass, is not recycled and is it not easily discernible from flint glass. Borosilicate glass and flint glass will mix but the amount of heat required goes up significantly causing many issues when converting. A pipette made of glass must be shorter than a pipette made of plastic due to tolerances of glass cutting and forming. A pipette made of glass can shatter inside a bottle if the pipette were only slightly too long. Glass is fragile even when it is not in a bottle. Even if a pipette made of glass were separated from the rest of the dropper in an attempt to recycle the rest of the dropper, in most cases the rest of the dropper would still not be recycled because the bulb would fail the 2-inch by 2-inch test.
Droppers having some of their parts made of recyclable materials and some of their parts made of non-recyclable materials are well known. With such droppers, although it may be possible to separate the parts made of recyclable materials from the parts made of non-recyclable materials, the resulting parts (made of recyclable materials) would be too small to be recycled. This is because the recycling industry requires that at least one dimension of recyclable plastic material be at least 2 inches, and the largest dimension of individual parts of most droppers for the beauty, or cosmetic, industry is less than 2 inches.
One known dropper is made entirely of polypropylene. However, this known dropper disadvantageously has a bulb that is very stiff and is hard to squeeze. Moreover, this known dropper disadvantageously has a pipette that is very cloudy and hazy.
The present invention is illustrated by way of example and is not limited by the accompanying figures, in which like references indicate similar elements. Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale.
In one embodiment, the bulb 104 is made of polyolefins with alternating blocks of hard and soft segments manufactured by The Dow Chemical Company of Midland, Mich. and marketed under the tradename INFUSE™ olefin block copolymer by The Dow Chemical Company. Advantageously, this material has good creep resistance, has better compression set properties than polypropylene, and complies with specifications of resin identification code, or recycle code, “5” according to ASTM D7611, entitled Standard Practice for Coding Plastic Manufactured Articles for Resin Identification, promulgated by ASTM International of West Conshohocken, Pa., USA. In one embodiment, the bulb 104 is made of INFUSE™ olefin block copolymer grade 9507. Other olefins, used with known droppers, have varying degrees of flexibility but fail with compression set and creep of the dimensions.
In another embodiment, the bulb 104 is made of an ethylene-propylene copolymer (CAS No: 90110-79-1), chemical formula C5H10, one version of which is marketed under the tradename Vistamaxx™ by ExxonMobil Chemical Company of Spring, Tex., which material complies with specifications of recycle code “5”. In yet another embodiment, the bulb 104 is made of a thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO), which material complies with specifications of recycle code “5”. In still another embodiment, the bulb 104 is made of a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), which material complies with specifications of recycle code “5”. In a further embodiment, the bulb 104 is made of a thermoplastic olefin elastomer (TPE-O), which material complies with specifications of recycle code “5”.
In each of the aforementioned embodiments, the bulb 104 complies with specifications of recycle code “5”. In some embodiments, the bulb 104 includes a recycle code symbol (see
In one embodiment, the pipette 106 is made of standard clarified polypropylene with a clarifying agent 1,2,3-trideoxy-4,6:5,7-bis-O-((4-propylphenyl)methylene)-nonitol manufactured by Milliken & Company of Spartanburg, S.C. and marketed under the tradename NX® UltraClear™. The clarifying agent 1,2,3-trideoxy-4,6:5,7-bis-04(4-propylphenyl)methylene)-nonitol is marketed under the tradename Millad® NX® 8000 by Milliken & Company. NX® UltraClear™ brand polypropylene is a master batch that can be let down at a specified ratio or can be purchased as a polypropylene with Millad® NX® 8000 brand clarifying agent integrated into the polymer to eliminate a need for weighing and mixing every batch. Advantageously, a pipette made of NX® UltraClear™ brand polypropylene can be as clear as polyethylene terephthalate, reduces the hazy white effect of standard clarified polypropylene by up to 60% and is recyclable. Consequently, an amount of liquid, or bulk, in the pipette 106 can be readily discerned. Polyethylene terephthalate does not comply with specifications of recycle code “5”. Advantageously, the pipette 106 does not break or shatter as easily as a glass pipette. Unlike a pipette made of glass, the pipette 106 would bend, not break. The pipette 106 complies with specifications of recycle code “5”. In one embodiment, the pipette 106 includes a recycle code symbol (see
In one embodiment, the cap 108 is made of polypropylene. The cap 108 complies with specifications of recycle code “5”. In one embodiment, the cap 108 includes a recycle code symbol (see
A purpose of the dropper 102 is to increase sustainability of packages in the cosmetic industry. Advantageously, the material of the bulb 104, the material of the pipette 106 and the material of the cap 108 give the proper protection for beauty industry chemicals that are used, such as retinol, volatile silicones and sun protection factor (SPF) chemicals. Other thermoplastic elastomers such as styrene block copolymers that are used with known droppers do not hold up to retinol, volatile silicones and SPF chemicals.
In one embodiment, the length 110 of the dropper 102 is greater than 3 inches, and with the largest dimension of the bulb 104, the pipette 106 and the cap 108 less than 2 inches individually. However, the fact that the largest dimension of each of the bulb 104, the pipette 106 and the cap 108 is less than 2 inches individually is not critical because, in accordance with the invention, the dropper 102 is recyclable as a single unit, i.e., without being disassembled into its parts.
In another embodiment, the length 110 of the dropper 102 is 2.89 inches, which is 73.58 mm. In such embodiment, the largest dimension of the bulb 104 is 25.75 mm, the largest dimension of the pipette 106 is 25.75 mm, and the largest dimension of the cap 108 is 22.30 mm. However, in such embodiment, the dimensions of the bulb 104, the pipette 106 and the cap 108 are not critical because, in accordance with the invention, the dropper 102 is recyclable as a single unit, i.e., without being disassembled into its parts.
Advantageously, all components of the dropper 102 are made of materials that comply with recycle code “5” specification.
The two-piece dropper 802 has several advantages over a three-piece dropper. The two-piece dropper 802 removes one assembly step normally required with a three-piece dropper. A three-piece dropper requires that the bulb be first inserted into the cap, either from the top opening or the bottom opening, and be seated in place. The three-piece dropper requires that the pipette be inserted into the sub-assembly consisting of the separate cap and bulb from the bottom side of the cap and seated into place with the bulb. Advantageously, the two-piece dropper 802 only requires the pipette 106 be seated into the combined bulb and cap 901.
The bulb portion of the combined bulb and cap 901 is made from one of: polyolefins with alternating blocks of hard and soft segments, an ethylene propylene copolymer, a thermoplastic polyolefin, a thermoplastic elastomer, and a thermoplastic olefin elastomer. The cap portion of combined bulb and cap 901 is made from polypropylene. The two portions when molded via two-shot molding or transfer molding chemically bond because they are the same family of materials. As a result, the two portions fuse together to become a single piece. The material of the bulb portion is miscible in polypropylene and in polyethylene. The materials of the two portions of the combined bulb and cap 901 chemically bond and mechanical lock together, thus a single part made from two materials. The combined bulb and cap 901 has several advantages over a separate bulb and cap besides the elimination of one assembly step. Advantageously, a seal that is created between the cap portion and a flange of the bulb portion is one piece thus eliminating a path for liquid or gas to escape when the dropper is used in conjunction with a container containing a bulk or liquid. Another advantage of the combined bulb and cap 901 is that the flange of the bulb portion is an integral part of the cap portion thus allowing for better sealing through torque applied when closing. The bulb portion cannot twist, turn or rotate when being applied to a container. This allows for a more competent sealing with bulks or liquids that may out gas when under different but common conditions, such as room temperature versus transit temperature.
In one embodiment, the dropper 102 and 802 is an eye dropper.
The terms “a” or “an”, as used herein, are defined as one or more than one. Also, the use of introductory phrases such as “at least one” and “one or more” in the claims should not be construed to imply that the introduction of another claim element by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim element to inventions containing only one such element, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an”. The same holds true for the use of definite articles. Unless stated otherwise, terms such as “first” and “second” are used to arbitrarily distinguish between the elements such terms describe. Thus, these terms are not necessarily intended to indicate temporal or other prioritization of such elements.
The Detailed Description section, and not the Abstract section, is intended to be used to interpret the claims. The Abstract section may set forth one or more but not all embodiments of the invention, and the Abstract section is not intended to limit the invention or the claims in any way.
Although the invention is described herein with reference to specific embodiments, various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims below. Accordingly, the specification and figures are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention. Any benefits, advantages or solutions to problems that are described herein with regard to specific embodiments are not intended to be construed as a critical, required, or essential feature or element of any or all the claims.
The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/233,222, filed Apr. 26, 2021, which is hereby fully incorporated by reference herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 17233222 | Apr 2021 | US |
Child | 17500029 | US |