Patent Application
20110210145
This invention relates to the general field of containers, in particular to single-use or single-dose containers that are designed to store and dispense the product within.
Single-dose containers are common in everyday life, such as in the food and beverage, cosmetic, pharmaceutical and other industries.
Examples of single-dose containers include sachets, tetra-packs, pouches, PET/plastic cups or glass vial bottles, which have their limitations. Sachets do not have dispensing orifices, making them difficult to use. In addition, sachets often need to be torn open, which can cause an additional challenge when dispensing a product. Tetra-packs are used in the beverage industry and can hold liquids, but require a straw to consume. They are not appropriate for other types of products, such as creams, pastes, ointments and other viscous products that need to be easily dispensed from the container. Pouches are similar to sachets in that they must be torn open and lack clean and convenient dispensing orifices, which can lead to a mess. PET/plastic cups often require an additional tool or apparatus to obtain the product contained in the plastic cup. Glass vial bottles are breakable and heavier in weight, and cannot be used effectively for viscous or pasty products as such products cannot be dispensed easily by gravity or squeezing.
The majority of known single-dose containers have a cap closure or lid placed over an open end of the container or some type of seal to cover the open end. Many of these known containers have upwardly extending threaded necks to receive a cap, and may also have a sealing edge at the end of the neck to hold a seal to cover the open end. Those containers with a seal often require an apparatus to puncture the seal, such as a pointed end on the inside of the cap. Tear off seals have also been used, but such seals can be difficult to use.
The embodiments of the present invention relate to a single-dose container for storing and dispensing products.
One embodiment of the single-dose container relates to a container that is lightweight and easy to open. The container comprises a flexible body defining an interior cavity, with the flexible body being collapsible such that the product contained within the body can be dispensed from the container. The flexible body has one end that is sealable by joining the inner sides of the inner surface of the body. The second end of the flexible body is defined by a shoulder and a protuberance. The protuberance defines a dispensing orifice and has a sealing edge. The dispensing orifice is closed off by a seal membrane that overlies the sealing edge of the protuberance. A tab portion extends from the sealing edge and is bent and folded back over the seal membrane such that the tab portion extends substantially parallel to the plane of the seal membrane. The seal membrane is affixed to the sealing edge, and can easily be peeled away from the sealing edge by a user by pulling on the tab portion.
According to one aspect, the single-dose container is disposable.
According to one aspect, the product contained in the single-dose container is fluid, that is, powdery or liquid to pasty.
According to one aspect, the product contained in the single-dose container is a liquid. Alternatively, the product is a concentrated drink, a paste, a cream, an ointment, a powder or a granular product.
According to another aspect, the single-dose container entirely dispenses the product contained in the container.
According to one aspect, the tab portion of the single-dose container is integral with the seal membrane.
According to one aspect, the seal membrane is peelable from the sealing edge of the single-dose container.
According to one aspect, the flexible body is made of a material selected from the group consisting of metal alloys, such as aluminum, laminate, plastic barrier laminated materials or ethylene vinyl alcohol.
According to another aspect, the shoulder and protuberance are made of a polymer compound, such as polyethylene or polypropylene.
According to another aspect, the seal membrane is made of a thin material, such as aluminum foil.
According to another aspect, the dispensing orifice is between about 20% and 35% of the surface of the shoulder. Alternatively, the dispensing orifice is between about 5% and 65% of the surface of the shoulder.
Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the following drawings, in which like reference numerals denote like parts:
The embodiments of the present invention relate to a single-dose container for storing and dispensing products. The products contained in the single-dose container are fluid; i.e. powdery or liquid to pasty, such as liquids, pastes, creams, ointments, powder or granular products as well as various other substances. Examples of such products include concentrated drinks, sunscreen, polysporin ointment, toothpaste, ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, drink crystals, sugar and salt. The containers are versatile and can be used in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, neutraceutical, homeopathy, natural health, food and beverage industries.
Referring to
The material for flexible body 20 can be any type of flexible, collapsible material of varying thickness, such as aluminum. Other materials that can be used include other formable metal alloys, various laminate materials, ethylene vinyl alcohol (“EVOH”) or plastic barrier laminated (“PBL”) materials. The material for flexible body 20 can be sterilized for use with products that need to be sterile. Since various materials can be used to manufacture container 10, container 10 can be hot-filled, cold-filled, dry-filled and/or sterilized for aseptic filling.
Disposable container 10 has first end 30 that is sealed by joining the inner sides of the inner surfaces of flexible body 20 using techniques known in the art, such as hot air, hot jaws, high frequency welding or ultrasonic sealing. Sealing first end 30 in this way shapes container 10 into the form of a flexible skirt, which under the pressure exerted by the fingers of the hand, can be squeezed so the product contained inside said skirt can be pushed out.
Second end 40 has protuberance 44 with sealing edge 46 that is generally flat (not shown in
First end 30 and second end 40 are on opposite ends of container 10 along longitudinal axis 50.
Referring to
Shoulder 42 connects second end 40 to flexible body 20 of container 10. For esthetic and practical reasons, side wall 60 of flexible body 20 may be flush with shoulder 42 of second end 40. In other words, side wall 60 is a continuation of the outer surface of shoulder 42. Second end 40 can be secured to flexible body 20 using methods known in the art, such as compression moulding or high frequency welding. Lip 62 indicates the point of attachment between side wall 60 and shoulder 42, with side wall 60 overlapping shoulder 42, which results in lip 62 being a rounded edge where flexible body 20 meets second end 40.
Referring to
Second end 40 is one continuous piece of the same material and is semi-rigid. The material can be polyethylene, polypropylene or other polymer compound in clear or coloured form. Second end 40 can be formed into shoulder 42 and protuberance 44 using methods known in the art, such as compression moulding or injection moulding.
Shoulder 42 and protuberance 44 of container 10 can be made in various sizes and shapes depending on the product to be contained in container 10. Dispensing orifice 48 in the centre of protuberance 44 may also be of different sizes depending on the product.
Flexible body 20 typically has a greater dimension along axis 50 compared to the width of flexible body 20. Flexible body 20 is symmetrical in relation to a plane passing through axis 50. Second end 40 has a height between lip 62 and sealing edge 40 that is no greater than 0.5 cm and represents approximately 0.03% to approximately 1.0% of the length of container 10 along axis 50.
Shoulder 42 of the opposing end is set at approximately a 60° angle in relation to a line parallel to axis 50 and extending straight from side wall 60 of flexible body 20. Alternatively, shoulder 42 can be set at any angle between about 20% and about 70% in relation to a line parallel to axis 50 and extending straight from side wall 60 of flexible body 20. The height of protuberance 44 is generally between about 0.05 cm and about 0.25 cm.
Seal membrane 80 is removably affixed to sealing edge 46, which prevents the product contained in container 10 from leaking before the user dispenses the product from container 10. Seal membrane 80 is removably affixed using methods known in the art, such as using heat or an adhesion compound. Seal membrane 80 can be removed by peeling seal membrane 80 away from sealing edge 46. The user can easily remove the seal membrane 80 from container 10 by pulling tab portion 82 away from seal membrane 80 and across the plane of seal membrane 80.
In an alternative embodiment, the tab portion can extend radially downward away from protuberance 44 and along shoulder 42 toward side wall 60 of flexible body 20.
The present invention is easy to use, quick and easy to open and dispenses the product contained in it quickly due to the flexible and collapsible wall of the flexible body. By eliminating the need for a threaded neck and cap closure, the disposable container described herein uses a minimum amount of raw materials, resulting in less environmental waste, a reduced weight for the disposable container and reduced costs in shipping the container and in manufacturing the container. The present invention is a versatile type of container that covers a wide range of application fields and a wide range of products.
The above-described embodiments have been provided as examples, for clarity in understanding the invention. A person of skill in the art will recognize that alterations, modifications and variations may be effected to the embodiments described above while remaining within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims appended hereto.
