The present invention relates to a packaged product containing (a) a solid product, (b) a scoop for dosing the solid product, and (c) a flexible package containing the solid product and the scoop therein.
Scoops have been used in various fields. For example, scoops have been used in granular products such as fabric and home care products (e.g., detergents) for dosing the correct amount. Detergents are normally packed in a package such as cartons, hard plastic containers, and flexible packages. Flexible packages are useful in maintaining not only the freshness of the product stored, but also an aid in preventing moisture or air from entering the enclosed product, as flexible packages typically possess good, if not the best, moisture and air barrier properties for a given weight of packaging material. In addition, a flexible package normally costs less than a comparable carton or hard plastic container.
For consumers to dose a granular product correctly, a scoop may be included with the granular product in the market such as in a carton or a hard plastic container. But a scoop is not typically in a flexible package. In the past, if a harder, more rigid scoop is contained together with a granular product in a flexible package, the scoop may damage the flexible package from inside during shipping and/or storage, sometimes resulting in tearing or puncturing of the flexible package, because the flexible package is generally thinner and weaker than the scoop. If this happens, the granular product may leak out of the tear or the puncture. This can make the flexible package messy and the consumers may not like such a messy or damaged product. In addition, if some produce has leaked out, then consumers may feel they are not getting all the product they are paying for.
Also, if the flexible package containing the scoop and the granular product therein is dropped, the scoop can damage the flexible package from inside and the scoop can be deformed due to a pressure. Further, if a plurality of flexible packages are stacked for storage, shipping or sale, a softer scoop contained in the bottom stack may be deformed by the heavy weight from the upper stacks. A deformed scoop may not be able to measure the correct amount of the granular product, may be difficult to use, and/or may be broken.
Accordingly, it is one of the objectives of the present invention to provide a scoop which reduces or even avoids damaging a flexible package during shipping, and/or storage. It is also an objective of the present invention to provide a scoop which balances rigidity, flexibility, and deformation even under heavy weight.
The present invention relates to a packaged product containing (a) a solid product, (b) a scoop for dosing the solid product, and (c) a flexible package containing the solid product and the scoop therein. The scoop has a bowl and a handle. The bowl has a proximal bowl edge. The handle has a proximal handle edge and a distal handle edge. The proximal handle edge connects to the proximal bowl edge. The scoop bowl has a yield point of from about 7 MPa to about 70 MPa.
The inventors have surprisingly found that the packaged product herein is less damaging to the flexible package while the scoop is also less deformable. Without intending to be bound by theory, it is believed that the packaged product herein can contain both a solid product and a scoop in a flexible package while minimizing breakage and damage. The scoop can recover to its original shape after being pressed by an external weight due to its resiliency and bowl thickness, while simultaneously reducing damage to a flexible package.
The present invention is more readily understood by the attached non-limiting drawings, wherein:
The drawings herein are not necessarily drawn to scale.
The present invention relates to a packaged product having (a) a solid product, (b) a scoop for dosing the solid product, and (c) a flexible package containing the solid product and the scoop therein. The scoop has a bowl and a handle. The bowl has a proximal bowl edge and a distal bowl edge. The handle has a proximal handle edge and a distal handle edge. The proximal handle edge connects to the proximal bowl edge. The scoop bowl has a yield point of from about 7 MPa to about 70 MPa, from about 10 MPa to about 60 MPa, from about 16 MPa to about 40 MPa, or from about 30 MPa to about 38 MPa.
The scoop, 20, has a handle, 30. The handle, 30, has a proximal handle edge, 31 and a distal handle edge, 32, opposed to the proximal handle edge, 31.
As the present invention is intended for smaller volumes, the capacity of the bowl, 21, can range from about 5 ml to about 200 ml, from about 20 ml to about 180 ml, from about 30 ml to about 150 ml, or from about 50 ml to about 100 ml. The capacity of the bowl, 21, can be measured by the maximum volume of water which can be stably held in the scoop, otherwise known in the packaging art as the overflow volume.
The scoop, 20, has a handle, 30, which has a handle length, L, from the proximal handle edge, 31, to the distal handle edge, 32, which his sufficient for a normal adult human hand, preferably an adult female hand, to comfortably hold it. Accordingly, the length, L, may be from about 50 mm to about 100 mm, from 55 mm to about 95 mm, or from about 60 mm to about 90 mm.
The bowl, 21, may have measurement markings 33, in the first bowl sidewall, 26, the second bowl sidewall, 27, and/or the front wall, 25. The measurement markings, 33, can be used to help the consumer to understand the amount of solid product to be used.
In
The clip, 40, protrudes from the distal handle edge, 32, towards the proximal handle edge, 31. In this specification, the term “protrude towards the proximal handle edge” means that a clip, 40, may be formed so that the clip orientation crosses a space above the bowl, 21. More specifically, the clip, 40, has an imaginary center line connecting the free edge, 42, and a center of the clip base, 41. The imaginary center line may cross the space above the bowl, 21. The configuration can help the scoop, 20, better fasten to the flexible package because a large amount of the bowl edge, 29, may contact the flexible package when the scoop is fastened to the flexible packaged via the clip, 40. This contact increases the coefficient of friction between the flexible package and the scoop.
The material used for the scoop herein may have a flexural modulus from about 800 MPa to about 5,000 MPa, from about 1,000 MPa to about 3,000 MPa, or from about 1,300 MPa to about 2,000 MPa. The flexural modulus is a measurement of an object's ability to resist deformation under a load. The flexural modulus reflects the ratio of stress to strain in flexural deformation, or the tendency for a material to bend. If the material has a very high flexural modulus, this means it is very rigid and inflexible. A scoop made from such a rigid material may be so hard that it may damage a flexible package upon rubbing or jabbing during shipping, handling and/or storage. If the material has a very low flexural modulus indicating that it is soft, then a scoop made from such a material may be too soft, bent or permanently deformed when pressed by a heavy weight. The inventors have found by careful examination that the scoop herein has an appropriate yield point which may not be deformed by a heavy weight while also reducing damage to the flexible package.
The flexural modulus can be measured according to ASTM (American Standard Testing Method) 790, procedure A. A material specimen (0.32 cm×1.27 cm×12.7 cm) is placed on two supports and a load is applied at the center. The load at flexural yield is the sample material's flexural modulus. This is the preferred method for use herein.
The scoop herein has a yield point from about 7 MPa to about 70 MPa, from about 10 MPa to about 60 MPa, from about 16 MPa to about 40 MPa, or from about 30 MPa to about 38 MPa. Yield point is a pressure or a stress that is needed to create a permanent deformation of a material without increase in the load.
The resiliency of the scoop can be measured by a computational calculation using software ABAQUS 6.8 EFR (Dassault Systemes Simulia Corp.) to simulate deformation and to predict structural performance of the scoop under specific conditions. ABAQUS model can predict the performance of a design based on the material properties, such as yield point. Corner squeeze model is typically employed.
Corner Squeeze Model
Two corners of the bowl in the scoop opposed to each other were squeezed by two fingers loading, pointing to each other. The computational calculation predicts the resiliency of the scoop, i.e., yield point. The corner squeeze model reflects the stress obliquely applied to the bowl of the scoop.
Likewise, the distal handle edge, 32, may have a distal handle corner, 50. The distal handle corner, 50, has a distal handle edge radius, rDH. In the scoop of
A plurality of flexible packages containing a solid product may often be stacked for storage, shipping, sale, and so on. When a prior art scoop is included in each flexible package, there is a larger chance that the scoop may damage the flexible package from inside. Especially, when a plurality of flexible packages are stacked, a scoop in the bottom stack may be pressed with a heavy weight because of the tall stacks. Such a scoop may be more likely to damage the flexible package upon contact from inside. Then the prior art scoop inside the flexible package may tear or puncture the flexible package. In contrast, as the yield point of the scoop herein is from about 7 MPa to about 70 MPa, from about 10 MPa to about 60 MPa, from about 16 MPa to about 40 MPa, or from about 30 MPa to about 38 MPa, as simulated by the corner squeeze model (see hereinafter), the scoop may be resilient enough to bend when pressed by the weight of additional bags. As the scoop is more resilient, it is not as likely to poke a hole or otherwise puncture the flexible package. Without intending to be limited by theory, it is believed that this may significantly reduce or altogether eliminate such scoop-related damage to the flexible package. At the same time, the scoop herein is rigid enough so as to not be permanently deformed when the flexible packages are stacked high.
In addition, a rounded front corner shape of the bowl in the scoop herein may be gentler to the flexible package and also reduce damage thereto. Also, a rounded distal handle corner shape of the scoop herein may be gentler to the flexible package and also reduce damage thereto.
In
In one embodiment for scooping a granular laundry detergent, the top thickness, THT, is from about 1.1 mm to about 2.4 mm, from about 1.2 mm to about 1.8 mm, or from about 1.3 mm to about 1.7 mm. The bottom thickness, THB, is from about 0.4 mm to about 1.2 mm, from about 0.5 mm to about 1.0 mm or from about 0.6 mm to about 0.9 mm. The top thickness, THT, is typically at least about 15%, at least about 20% or at least about 25% larger than the bottom thickness, THB. Without intending to be bound by theory, the difference of the top thickness and the bottom thickness may also improve the stacking of the scoops so that they do not stick to each other. This may be because the top part, 33, of the upper scoop can rest upon, but not enter, the bowl edge, 29, of the lower scoop when stacked thereupon.
The resiliency of the scoop depends on many factors such as temperature, the shape of the scoop, the structure of the scoop, the thickness of the scoop, the flexural modulus of the material itself, etc. However, current CAD and computer programs can calculate the estimated flexural modulus of virtually any shape. Herein, the flexural modulus is calculated at room temperature (e.g., 25° C.) using the ABAQUS 6.8 EFR (Dassault Systemes Simulia Corp.) software to simulate deformation and to predict structural performance of the scoop under specific conditions. The ABAQUS model can predict a design's performance based on the material properties, such as flexural modulus and Young's modulus, the structure, etc. For plastic materials, the physical significance of the flexural modulus is the same as tensile modulus as well as Young's modulus, which describes the elastic properties of a solid undergoing tension of compression in only one direction.
Corner Squeeze Model
Two corners of the bowl in the scoop opposed to each other were squeezed by two fingers loading, pointing to each other. The computational calculation predicts the yield point of the scoop. The corner squeeze model reflects the stress obliquely applied to the bowl of the scoop. The yield point can be from about 7 MPa to about 70 MPa, from about 10 MPa to about 60 MPa, from about 16 MPa to about 40 MPa, or from about 30 MPa to about 38 MPa. Without intending to be limited by theory, it is believed that the yield point within these ranges provide an excellent balance between rigidity during use and deformability during shipping/storage.
The scoop herein may be injection molded, which typically provides a finished product which is both durable and sturdy. Other production methods known in the art such as blow molding, vacuum forming, etc. may be also useful to produce the scoop herein.
The scoop herein may be made of any kinds of material, typically a plastic such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyester, and/or polychlorovinyl. In an embodiment herein the scoop is made from a thermoplastic such as polyethylene, polypropylene or a combination thereof. Suitable materials include TitanPro® SM546 (flexural modulus: 1030 MPa; provided by Titan Chemicals, Pasir Gudang, Malaysia), Hyundai Seetec® PP R1510 (flexural modulus: 1030 MPa; provided by Seetec, Seoul, South Korea), Hyosung Topilene® J640A PP (flexural modulus: 1226 MPa; provided by Hyosung Corporation, Seoul, South Korea), TitanPro® SM668 (flexural modulus: 1275 MPa, provided by Titan Chemicals, Pasir Gudang, Malaysia), Exxon Mobile® 7033N (flexural modulus: 1310 MPa; provided by Exxon Mobile Chemical, Beijing, China), Yuhwa Polypro® 4017M (flexural modulus: 1565 MPa; provided by Korean Petrochemical Industry Co., Seoul, South Korea), TitanPro® PJ914 (flexural modulus: 1710 MPa, provided by Titan Chemicals, Pasir Gudang, Malaysia), Moplen HP648N (flexural modulus: 1870 MPa; provided by Lyondellbasell, Rotterdam, Netherlands).
The packaged product herein contains a flexible package which contains the scoop described hereinbefore and a solid product therein. The flexible package may have a thickness from about 0.01 mm to about 3 mm, from about 0.03 mm to about 2 mm, or from about 0.05 mm to about 1.5 mm. The material used for the flexible package may be a film package, and may include, but is not limited to, a thermoplastic material (e.g., polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyester, polychlorovinyl, polyethylene terephthalate, and a combination thereof), a paper material (e.g., paper, cardboard, etc.), a rubber material, and the like. The flexible package may be laminated with another flexible material, such as rubber, a metallic foil (e.g., aluminum), paper, etc.
The packaged product herein contains a solid product. The solid product is contained in the flexible package together with the scoop as described hereinbefore. The solid product may include, e.g., a detergent, a fabric enhancer, a hard surface cleaner, a bleach, a coffee bean, a coffee powder, a milk powder, a pet food, a snack, a cereal, a grain, etc. The solid product may be selected from the group consisting of a powder, a granule, a flake, a tablet and a combination thereof. Such products are per se known in the art of consumer products.
The scoop may be transparent, translucent or opaque. The scoop may contain at least one color. The scoop may contain a plurality of colors; i.e., from two to five colors.
Scoops similar to that shown in
Option 1 (Exxon Mobile® 7033N, material flexural modulus: 1,310 MPa, Yield Point: 26 MPa),
Option 2 (Yuhwa Polypro® 4017M, material flexural modulus: 1,565 MPa, Yield Point: 34 MPa),
Option 3 (TitanPro® PJ914, material flexural modulus: 1,710 MPa; Yield Point: 29 MPa)
The molded scoop was subjected to a shipping and stacking test as shown below. Each scoop was filled into a flexible package (laminate of 12 μm PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and 85 μm PE (polyethylene)) filled with a granular detergent product (Tide® powder, provided by Procter and Gamble China, 1.55 kg/flexible package) to prepare filled flexible packages. Then the filled flexible packages were sealed. The sealed flexible bags were packed inside a poly woven bag (6 flexible bags (3 rows×2 columns) per poly woven bag). The poly woven bags were stacked on a pallet (6 stacks per pallet). The pallets were loaded on a container and the container was loaded on a truck. The container was shipped from Nanjing, P. R. China to Beijing, P. R. China by truck (˜2,400 km). The poly woven bags were downloaded on a pallet. The poly woven packages were then loaded on a container again. The flexible packages were retrieved from the poly woven packages and stacked on a moving cart, and stacked on a pallet for 4 weeks. Thus resulting flexible packages were subjected to a quality check. In the quality check, the number of (1) scoop deformations and (2) punctures of the flexible package were measured.
After the shipping (2,400 km) and stacking (4 weeks) test above, the deformation of the flexible packages were examined.
Option 1: 25 of 312 scoops were deformed (8%).
Option 2: 0 of 312 scoops were deformed (0%).
Option 3: 37 of 312 scoops were deformed (12%).
(2) Puncture of the flexible package
After the shipping and stacking test above, the puncture of the flexible packages were examined.
Option 1: 1 of 624 flexible bags was punctured (0.2%).
Option 2: 0 of 624 flexible bags were punctured (0%).
Option 3: 0 of 624 flexible bags were punctured (0%).
(ii) Puncture after Dropping Test
The poly woven bag (accommodating 3×2 flexible packages containing the scoop and a granular detergent inside) was dropped from 3 m high to a flat ground. The flexible packages were retrieved out of the poly woven bag and examined.
Option 1: 4 of 30 flexible bags were punctured (13%).
Option 2: 0 of 36 flexible bags was punctured (0%).
Option 3: 6 of 36 flexible bags were punctured (17%).
From the results above, options 1, 2 and 3 are preferable, and option 2 is most preferable among the three. Options 1 to 3 showed almost no punctures by “shipping and stacking test”, but if the packages are subjected to “puncture after dropping test”, option 2 showed no punctures, while options 1 and 3 showed a small amount of punctures.
It is understood that the examples and embodiments described herein are for illustrative purpose only and that various modifications or changes will be suggested to one skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention.
The dimensions and values disclosed herein are not to be understood as being strictly limited to the exact numerical values recited. Instead, unless otherwise specified, each such dimension is intended to mean both the recited value and a functionally equivalent range surrounding that value. For example, a dimension disclosed as “40 mm” is intended to mean “about 40 mm”.
Every document cited herein, including any cross referenced or related patent or application, is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety unless expressly excluded or otherwise limited. The citation of any document is not an admission that it is prior art with respect to any invention disclosed or claimed herein or that it alone, or in any combination with any other reference or references, teaches, suggests or discloses any such invention. Further, to the extent that any meaning or definition of a term in this document conflicts with any meaning or definition of the same term in a document incorporated by reference, the meaning or definition assigned to that term in this document shall govern.
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it would be obvious to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is therefore intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this invention.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/221,589, filed Jun. 30, 2009.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61221589 | Jun 2009 | US |