Patent Application
20240101313
The invention relates to a tube head and a tube comprising said tube head.
Flexible tubes are known comprising a tube head equipped with a dispensing orifice, a plug mounted on the tube head and reversibly closing the dispensing orifice, and a flexible skirt attached to the tube head. A first aspect of the invention concerns the ability of the tube to use as little plastic as possible, in particular to reduce the carbon footprint of the tube. Indeed, nowadays, the global production of plastic is one of the largest sources of waste. The consumption and the recycling of these plastic products is a major concern of the national and regional organizations. The non-recycled plastic material is currently disposed of through a variety of methods ranging from landfill to energy recovery to thermal and chemical treatments. To reduce the plastic consumption, it has been proposed tubes, the tube head of which comprises a cover so as to close the dispensing orifice reversibly. As a result, the tube head and the plug become a single component, reducing the amount of plastic used to provide the same functionality. There have also already been plans to replace a certain proportion of plastics with paper. The use of paper/cardboard allows to reduce the environmental impact, measured in particular by a life cycle analysis, and decouples the packaging from materials of fossil origin and therefore not renewable. The paper/cardboard, in addition to being of renewable origin, is a material that can be recycled today and tomorrow.
A second aspect of the invention concerns the orientation or the alignment of the various components of the tube. The skirt can be decorated and may comprise a longitudinal weld. The orientation of the decoration, with or without the longitudinal weld, and therefore the orientation of the skirt in relation to the tube head and the plug, is an important aesthetic aspect for the consumer. The tube heads according to the prior art comprise a positioning leg on the outer diameter of the tube head cooperating with a complementary leg on the plug, said legs cooperating with each other in order to position the plug in an appropriate manner, in particular with respect to the decoration and/or to the longitudinal weld of the skirt, during the manufacture of the tube. Such a solution requires a lot of separate components and therefore an overconsumption of plastic material.
The aim of the present invention is to provide a tube head comprising a positioning means while keeping the quantity of plastic to a minimum in order to promote the recyclability of the tube comprising said tube head. To this end, the present invention relates to a head for the manufacturing of a flexible tube intended to contain a liquid or pasty product, comprising an upper wall and an annular lateral wall, the lower distal end of which defines a plane (A), said tube head comprising a dispensing orifice extended by a protuberance, a segment of which protrudes from said plane (A), said protruding segment being eccentric with respect to the centre of the tube head.
In other words, the protuberance is an element of the tube head extending from the dispensing orifice towards what will be the interior of the tube head once it has been attached to the skirt and the tube formed. Advantageously, a segment of this element, referred to as said protruding segment, protrudes from the tube head and is eccentric.
In this way, the eccentric protruding segment of the protuberance extending the dispensing orifice can be detected, for example, by the tube manufacturing machines. The eccentric protruding segment constitutes a positioning means allowing the tube head to be oriented in particular with respect to the decoration and/or to the longitudinal weld of the skirt during the manufacture of the tube so that the skirt is subsequently attached in a suitable position. This positioning means allows a high production rate. In addition, such a tube head is compatible with existing flexible tube production lines. Finally, this solution allows to obtain a positioning means while limiting the addition of plastic material, thus promoting the recyclability of the tube comprising such a tube head.
The invention may also comprise any of the following characteristics, taken individually or in any technically feasible combination:
The invention also relates to a tube comprising a tube head as described above and a flexible skirt, said tube comprising at least 50% by weight of paper.
The invention may also comprise any of the following characteristics, taken individually or in any technically feasible combination:
The invention will be better understood and further details, characteristics and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description made by way of non-limiting example and with reference to the attached drawings in which:
As illustrated in
The protuberance 3 can be seen in
The protuberance 3 thus extends from the dispensing orifice 2 towards a free end, in the direction of the internal volume along an axis Y, in this case parallel to the central axis X of the tube head. In particular, the free end defines a liquid or pasty product inlet orifice.
In addition, the protruding segment 4 is eccentric, i.e., it is offset radially with respect to the central axis X of the tube head 1. The central axis X of the tube head is defined as the straight line perpendicular to the plane A and passing through the point in the plane A equidistant from the edges of the tube head.
In the embodiment illustrated here, the dispensing orifice 2, the protuberance 3, the free end of the protuberance 3 and the inlet orifice are all eccentric.
In other non-illustrated embodiments, only the protuberance is eccentric, or even only the protruding segment 4 of the protuberance 3 is eccentric, in other words only the free end of the protuberance 3 is eccentric. The dispensing orifice can then be centred on the upper wall 10 of the head 1 (embodiment not shown).
In the example shown here, the upper wall 10 is in the form of a plate transverse to the axis X.
As mentioned above, the eccentrically protruding segment 4 of the protuberance 3 extending from the dispensing orifice 2 constitutes a positioning means.
In the embodiment shown here, the protruding segment 4 is formed by a single wall. It is not a conduit for the passage of fluids.
The protruding segment 4 is a circular arc. This circular arc defines a radius R in relation to the axis Y of the protuberance. The circle with radius R and with centre at a point on the axis Y comprises only the protruding segment and no others.
In another embodiment, not shown, in which the protruding segment is a planar wall, the radius R is defined by the distance between the axis Y and one of the edges of the wall. Similarly, the circle with radius R and with centre at a point on the axis Y comprises only the protruding segment and no others.
The positioning means allows the tube head 1 to be oriented in particular with respect to the decoration and/or to a longitudinal weld 51 of the skirt during the manufacture of the tube, so that the skirt is subsequently attached in an appropriate position. Advantageously, the protruding segment 4 cooperates directly with the tooling of the production line of the tube and not with a component of the tube as is the case in the prior art.
Preferably, the entire tube head 1 according to the invention is formed from a continuous material. The head 1 is thus made in one piece, i.e., a monolithic part. In the prior art, a positioning means of a tube head segment cooperates with a complementary shape of another segment of the plug. As the head 1 according to the invention is not divided into at least two separate parts but is instead made as a single part combining the functionalities of these two components, the way in which the head 1 according to the invention is centred in relation to the skirt is a completely different approach.
As shown in
The protuberance 3 extending the dispensing orifice 2 has a proximal end connected to the orifice 2 and a distal end. The distal end is located at the level of the protruding segment 4. According to a configuration illustrated in
Advantageously, this half-cylinder shape allows to have a protruding segment of the protuberance 3 eccentric, even if the dispensing orifice is centred on the upper wall of the head 1 (embodiment not shown).
Advantageously, the tube head comprises a hinged cover 11. Said cover 11 is connected to the tube head by a hinge 12 and is movable between an open position and a closed position.
Advantageously, the tube head 1, the hinged cover 11 and the hinge 12 are made in one piece. The assembly of the tube head 1 is advantageously formed by material injection, particularly of plastic material.
Preferably, the hinged cover 11 comprises a lug allowing the dispensing orifice 2 to be sealed when the cover is in the closed position.
Advantageously, as shown in
In other words, the upper wall 10 has a first top plate and a second bottom plate comprising the dispensing orifice 2 and corresponding to the recess 14 so that when the cover 11 is in the closed position, the upper wall 10 is in the form of a transverse plate with a substantially planar external surface.
As mentioned above, it is necessary for the protruding segment 4 to be eccentric to achieve the desired positioning effect. Advantageously, the dispensing orifice 2 is eccentric with respect to the central axis X. In this way, the protuberance 3 extending the dispensing orifice 2 can form a right angle with the upper wall 10. In an embodiment not shown, the dispensing orifice 2 can be located in the centre of the head 1. However, in such a configuration, the protuberance 3 extending the dispensing orifice 2 must form an angle with the upper wall 10 so that the protruding segment 4 is eccentric with respect to the central axis X in order to obtain the desired positioning effect.
Preferably, the hinged cover 11 is eccentric with respect to the central axis X. This allows, in particular, to reduce the size of the cover 11 and thus to limit the quantity of material required to manufacture the head 1 according to the invention. The hinge 12 can also be eccentric.
Preferably still, the hinged cover 11 occupies less than 50% of the surface area of the disc of diameter d, in particular less than 30%. The small size of the cover further allows to reduce the quantity of plastic required to manufacture the tube head 1.
Advantageously, the annular lateral wall 20 has an undercut 22. Such an undercut 22 allows a user of the tube comprising the head 1 according to the invention to insert his finger in order to lift the cover 11. Advantageously, the cover 11 comprises a tab 13. Said tab 13 facilitates the gripping of said cover 11 when the cover is opened by a finger of a user. In this way, both the undercut 22 and the tab 13 allow to make it easier for a finger of a user to open the cover. The presence of the undercut 22 and of the tab 13 is particularly appreciated for a head with reduced dimensions and low height.
The configuration of the head 1 according to the present invention allows the formation of a tube head 1 with reduced dimensions.
The tube head has a height h1 as shown in
The protruding segment 4 has a height h2 as shown in
Preferably, the h1/h2 ratio is between 1.5 and 5.5. Even more preferably, the h1/h2 ratio is between 2.5 and 4.5, particularly between 3 and 4.
The tube head 1 has a diameter d as shown in
The design of the head 1 according to the present invention is characterised in particular by a substantially reduced height h1, particularly in relation to the diameter d of the head 1. This substantially planar design allows to reduce the amount of material used to manufacture the tube head 1, particularly plastic material. Advantageously, the d/h1 ratio is between 2 and 6. Even more advantageously, the d/h1 ratio is between 3 and 5. A d/h1 ratio as described above characterises the substantially planar design of the head 1 according to the present invention.
The head 1 according to the present invention has walls of substantially reduced thickness compared with the heads in the prior art. This low wall thickness allows that the quantity of material used to manufacture the tube head 1, in particular plastic material, is limited. Advantageously, the thickness of the material at the level of the upper wall 10 and of the annular lateral wall 20 is between 0.3 and 2 mm. Advantageously, the thickness of the material at the level of the upper wall 10 and of the annular lateral wall 20 is between 0.5 and 1 mm. This wall thickness allows to significantly reduce the quantity of material, particularly plastic, used to manufacture the tube head 1. Preferably, the material thickness at the level of the hinge 12 is less than the material thickness at the level of the upper wall 10 and of the annular lateral wall 20.
Advantageously, the tube head 1 according to the invention is made of plastic material. Advantageously, said head 1 is formed by injection of plastic material.
According to another aspect of the invention, illustrated in particular in
Advantageously, the flexible skirt 50 is formed from a sheet of laminated material. Said sheet comprises two opposite edges and is rolled up so that the opposite edges overlap. Said opposite edges are then welded together to form a longitudinal weld 51.
Advantageously, the longitudinal weld 51 of the skirt 50 of the tube 100 is positioned on the side opposite the dispensing orifice 2. Thus, as shown in
Preferably, the laminated material forming the skirt 50 is a multilayer comprising at least one layer of plastic. Preferably, the laminate comprises at least one layer of PE (polyethylene). Even more preferably, the laminate comprises at least one layer of PP (polypropylene).
Advantageously, the laminated material forming the skirt 50 comprises at least one barrier layer. Advantageously, the barrier layer is a plastic barrier layer of the EVOH (ethylene vinyl alcohol) type.
Preferably, the laminated material forming the skirt 50 is a multilayer comprising at least one layer of paper. Even more preferably, the paper represents at least 60% by mass of the skirt 50 of the tube 100, in particular 70% by mass. This composition of the skirt 50 of the tube 100 further allows to improve the ability of said tube 100 to be recycled.
Advantageously, said tube 100 comprises bio-sourced and/or recycled material. Advantageously still, the tube 100 according to the invention comprises at least 50% by mass of paper. Advantageously still, the tube 100 according to the invention comprises at least 70% by mass of paper. Advantageously still, the tube 100 according to the invention comprises at least 80% by mass of paper.
Preferably, the skirt 50 is attached directly to the tube head 1. No additional parts are required to attach the skirt 50 to the head 1. This allows to limit the number of parts and thus to limit the quantity of plastic material required to manufacture the tube 100 according to the invention, thus improving the ability of said tube 100 to be recycled.
Even more preferably, the skirt 50 is attached to the tube head 1 by high-temperature welding or by over-moulding.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| FR2101287 | Feb 2021 | FR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2022/053278 | 2/10/2022 | WO |
