CN103717499A - A packaging with a spout for flowable products - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a container (1) comprising a deformable container body (2) and at least one dispensing opening (4), the container body comprising a container for containing a At least one compartment of a flowable liquid, semi-liquid or gel-like product, opening for dispensing said product, said opening being located in a nozzle element (3), said container having a capacity of at least 10ml, preferably at least 50ml , characterized in that the functional section of the at least one opening is fixed and the section is between 0.002mm ² and 7mm ² , preferably between 0.008mm ² and 0.8mm ² , more preferably between 0.03mm 2 and 0.03mm ² Between ^0.4mm and most preferably between ^0.07mm and ^0.2mm so that the product is only applied to the container body with an external force of at least 0.5kg, preferably at least 1kg, more preferably at least 3kg directed towards the inside of the container body The container body wall only flows through said opening later.

Description

Packaging with nozzles for flowable products

technical field

The invention relates to a container for a flowable product comprising a dispensing spout having an opening which prevents leakage when said opening is not closed.

Background technique

In the field covered by the present invention, "flowable" is meant to include liquid or semi-liquid products having a viscosity of less than 1 Pa.s at 20°C.

The container of the present invention is particularly advantageous for containing edible products. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited exclusively to such edible products, but can also be applied to non-edible products such as fabric and home care products, eg bleaches, fabric care liquid products, household detergents.

Some examples of edible fluid products that can be contained in a container according to the invention are listed in Table 1 below, along with their corresponding viscosities.

Viscosity of fluids with variable composition

fluid Viscosity[Pa.s] Viscosity [cP] Honey 2-10 2,000-10,000 molasses 5-10 5,000-10,000 molten glass 10-1,000 10,000-1,000,000 chocolate syrup 10-25 10,000-25,000 Molten Chocolate ^* 45-130 ^[21] 45,000-130,000 ketchup ^* 50-100 50,000-100,000 peanut butter ^* c.250 c.250,000 shortening ^* c.250 250,000

Table 1

For the on-the-go consumption of flowable products, especially edible food products, packaging solutions usually comprise a container with a dispensing spout that can be reclosed with a closure element such as a screw cap. Such packaging is well known and allows the consumer to dispense the contents with a good flow.

However, in order to ensure reliable dispensing and a good flow, the container is such that the contents will overflow if the container is tilted or generally if the contents come into contact with the dispensing spout when the dispensing spout is not closed. In this case, the contents flow directly through the dispensing nozzle.

In order to overcome this drawback, so-called "moving closures" have been developed which comprise a dispensing channel which can be easily closed by pushing a closure element which is usually not detachable from the rest of the closure. Such kinematic closures are widely known and different systems have also been proposed, for example push-pull closures, hinged closures and the like. However, these closures are complex and expensive to manufacture, thus making the product more expensive for the consumer, especially if the container is used for the nomadic consumption of products with a limited content volume. In addition, these closures require a large amount of material for their different constituent parts. Also, a major drawback is that such sports caps leak when the consumer does not close them.

Due to the deficiencies of kinematic closures, other types of closures have been developed which include elastomeric valves, such as slit valves. Such valve closures are reliable and their use in the food packaging industry - for example, for packaging honey, ketchup, etc. - has grown. A very important advantage is that such closures do not require an additional cover to seal the valve. In other words, the valve itself is resilient enough to reclose after dispensing so that even when the container is tipped, the contents in contact with the inner surface of the valve will not leak. This is clearly beneficial to consumers.

However, such slit valves are expensive to manufacture because they involve a variety of materials for the closure: the closure body is usually made of polyethylene or polypropylene, the slit valve itself is made of silicone or other similar elastic material As a result, the slit valve must be assembled or co-injected with the closure body.

Other types of containers are known which are one-piece flasks made by extrusion-blow molding of thermoplastics such as polyethylene. Such a container comprises a container body which is manufactured in one piece with a detachable tip. When the tip is torn off by the user, a very small dispensing opening is formed in the container wall allowing the contents to be dispensed. Such containers are widely used in the pharmaceutical industry for providing single doses (single doses) for topical treatment eg by lotion (ie ear drops or eye drops). Such a lotion single-dose container has the advantage that the content, although liquid or at least a very flowable product, does not leak through the dispensing opening, even if said content comes into contact with the inner surface of the dispensing opening. However, these containers have the obvious disadvantage that, due to their manufacturing process and construction, they are only suitable for very small content volumes - typically less than 5ml, which is clearly incompatible with consumer products, for example in the food industry, food There is a need in the industry for containers with contents in excess of 10ml, preferably in excess of 50ml.

Accordingly, there is a need for larger containers having a content volume compatible with the consumption of fluid consumer items such as edible food products (i.e. generally exceeding 10ml, preferably exceeding 50ml, more preferably exceeding 25cl), wherein The manufacturing cost of said container is low.

It is important that such a container should allow sufficient flow during dispensing, but at the same time the container should prevent leakage of the contents, even if the dispensing opening is not closed by the closure system and the container is tilted so that the contents come into contact with the inside of the dispensing opening hour.

Contents of the invention

The above objects are achieved by the present invention, which provides a container comprising a deformable container body and at least one dispensing opening, said container body having a function for containing At least one compartment of a flowable liquid, semi-liquid or gel-like product of viscosity less than 500 mPa.s, more preferably less than 100 mPa.s), said opening for dispensing said product, said opening being located in the nozzle element In said container, said container has a capacity of at least 10 ml, preferably at least 50 ml, said container is characterized in that said at least one opening has a fixed functional cross-section, and said cross-section is between 0.002 mm ² and 7 mm ² , preferably between Between 0.008mm ² and 0.8mm ² , more preferably between 0.03mm ² and 0.4mm ² and most preferably between 0.07mm ² and 0.2mm ² , so that the product is only directed towards the inside of the container body An external force of at least 0.5 kg, preferably at least 1 kg, more preferably at least 3 kg is applied to the wall of the container body before flowing through the opening.

By "functional section" is meant the section of the hollow inner part of the dispensing opening.

It should be noted that deformations on the surface of the container body are stated as originating from forces exerted on said surface, since the pressure exerted on said surface is considered to be uniformly distributed across said surface.

In a very preferred embodiment of the invention, the container comprises a plurality of dispensing openings, the number of which is at least 6, preferably at least 12, more preferably at least 18.

Also preferably, the container further comprises a closure system associated with said nozzle element. In this case, said closure system advantageously comprises manually destructible tamper-evident means.

The tamper evident means may eg be a laser-scored pre-cutting arranged such that the closure system may be torn off to access the container contents through the opening.

The deformable container body may be a flexible film bag, or alternatively, the deformable container body may be a plastic bottle, the wall of which has at least one portion with a thickness of less than 200 microns, preferably less than 100 microns.

In the latter case, the bottle is preferably made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) or PEN (polyethylene naphthalate) and is made from PET, PEN preforms are manufactured.

In yet another case, the deformable container body may be a bottle comprising at least one deformable accordion-shaped portion having a bellow capable of deforming under force .

In all the above-described embodiments of the invention, each of said at least one dispensing opening may take the form of a channel having a diameter between 0.1 mm and 20 mm, preferably between 0.5 mm and 10 mm, more preferably The ground is between 1mm and 7mm in length.

Description of drawings

Additional features and advantages of the present invention are described and are apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic side view of a flexible bag according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a schematic side view of a flexible bottle according to the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a schematic top sectional view along the line A-A of Fig. 1 and Fig. 2;

Figure 4 is a schematic top sectional view similar to Figure 3, wherein the dispensing opening has an alternative design to that shown in Figure 3;

5a to 5c are schematic diagrams of closed systems;

Figure 6 shows another embodiment of a closed system.

Detailed ways

The invention relates to a container 1 comprising a dispensing opening constructed and designed such that:

the dispensing opening allows the fluid product contained in the container body 2 to be dispensed through said dispensing opening, and

The dispensing opening allows the fluid product to remain within the container without leaking through the opening when the opening is open and the container is arranged such that the product is in contact with the inner surface of the dispensing opening.

The container 1 shown in Figure 1 comprises a deformable container body 2 having a compartment for containing a flowable liquid, semi-liquid having a viscosity of less than 1 Pa.s at 20°C or gel-like products.

The container body shown in FIG. 1 is a flexible film bag 2 .

As shown in FIG. 1 , the nozzle element 3 is attached to the container pouch portion 2 . The nozzle element is an injection molded element made of a thermoplastic such as polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP). The nozzle element comprises a base sealed by a film bag 2 such that said seal is leak-tight.

As shown in Figure 3, the nozzle element 3 comprises a plurality of dispensing openings extending through the thickness of said nozzle to establish fluid communication between the interior and exterior of the bag. According to the invention, the functional section of the dispensing opening is fixed and is between 0.002 mm ² and 7 mm ² , preferably between 0.008 mm ² and 0.8 mm ² , more preferably between 0.03 mm ² and 0.4 mm ² and most preferably between 0.07mm ² and 0.2mm ² , so that the product is only applied to the container body with an external force of at least 0.5kg, preferably at least 1kg, more preferably at least 3kg directed towards the interior of the container body The wall only flows through the opening later.

The dispensing opening shown in Figure 3 is a straight channel with a circular functional cross-section and a length of about 15 mm. In some alternative embodiments, the channel may be curved or contain angled portions.

The number of dispensing openings will be chosen according to the viscosity of the product contained in the bag and also according to the dispensing flow that must be obtained, ie according to the type of content used. For example, for viscous products such as cooking sauces, the output flow rate may be slower, whereas liquids like mineral water should be able to flow fast enough to allow proper thirst quenching.

Typically, the number of dispensing openings can be a multiple of six, but is not required. In the example shown in FIG. 3 the number of dispensing openings is seven.

In an alternative embodiment shown in Figure 2, the container body is obtained by stretch-blow molding an injection-molded preform, with walls, for example, of blown polyethylene terephthalate (PET) material Very thin bottle5. According to the invention, the bottle wall 6 is flexible and can be deformed by hand squeezing. Therefore, the bottle wall thickness is preferably less than 100 μm.

In this embodiment, the nozzle element 3 is clipped, sealed or similarly attached to the bottle body in a leak-tight manner.

In all embodiments of the invention, it should be clear that by increasing the number of openings, whatever their small functional cross-section, can depend on the force exerted on the deformable container body and also on The viscosity of the product contained therein and the flexibility of the deformable container achieve a reasonably good flow rate.

In any event, the material used to manufacture the body of the deformable container is such that a flow sufficient to ensure proper dispensing of the product to the consumer can be obtained by applying reasonable manual force To the container body wall is achieved that reasonable manual force is compatible with use of the container by adults, teens, adults and seniors.

According to the present invention, the acceptable flow rate should be included in the range of 50-5000ml/min, preferably 100-1000ml/min, more preferably 200-500ml/min.

Furthermore, according to the invention, reasonable forces exerted on the walls of the container body are defined as follows:

- The minimum force is comprised in the range 1-5 kg, preferably 2-4 kg, more preferably it is set at about 3 kg. With this value, we ensure that, for very fluid products (eg water) with volumes below about 3 liters, no flow occurs due to gravity alone, and

- The maximum force is comprised in the range of 20-40kg, preferably 25-35kg, more preferably it is set at about 30kg. According to the test, 30kg is a very large grip force achieved by teenagers or adults, while babies or very old people certainly cannot achieve this force.

The force is measured using the following test apparatus, method and conditions: the bag is placed on a flat surface; the force is applied uniformly to the bag by placing different weights on the support plate.

Examples of the flow rates obtained when different forces are applied to the surface of the container body are shown in Table 2 below. In this case, the product contained in the container body is water (whose viscosity is 1.002 mPa.s) at 20°C. The container body is a flexible bag with a volume of 250 ml made of multilayer plastic film with a total thickness of about 150 μm. The dispensing opening has a circular functional cross-section (ie diameter) similar to the embodiment described above with reference to FIG. 3 .

Table 2

In an alternative embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 4 , the container body 1 is similar to that described above with reference to FIG. 3 , except for the design of the dispensing opening. In this embodiment, the dispensing opening 9 has a non-circular cross-section, more particularly a trapezoidal cross-section. All openings are arranged in a star configuration, as shown in Figure 4, with the short ends of the openings facing the center of the star.

In all embodiments of the invention, the nozzle element 3 can be constructed such that it comprises a closure system 7 which closes the dispensing opening 4 at least during manufacture, filling and storage. Then, at the time of dispensing, the consumer can remove the closure system 7, if desired, by tearing, unclamping, unscrewing or other similar operations.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the closure system 7 is manufactured as an integral distal element of the nozzle element 3 so that it can be removed along the line of weakness 8 . After removal of the closure system 7 at the distal end, the dispensing nozzle 3 is as shown in FIG. 3 , ie has an open dispensing opening ready for dispensing by squeezing the container body.

Figures 5a to 5c show complete views of the nozzle element, i.e. a perspective view of the nozzle element 3 with the closure system 7 placed on the container (Figure 5a), a cross-sectional view of the nozzle element 3 of Figure 5a ( FIG. 5 b ) and nozzle element 3 and closure system 7 of FIG. 5 a in a state in which the distal closure system 7 has been broken along its line of weakness 8 and shows a sectional view of the dispensing opening 4 ( FIG. 5 c ).

According to Figures 5a to 5c, the nozzle element 3 is manufactured as a two-part cap having:

the destructible part 10 (the distal part of the nozzle element 3), and

Bi-injected part 11 sealed on container 1 .

The double injection molded part is preferably made of polyethylene (PE)-polyethylene terephthalate (PET), but can also be made of other materials.

The elastic properties of the material ensure the sealing of the nozzle element on the container.

When the consumer wants to obtain the product, he breaks the distal part of the closure system 7 along the line of weakness 8 , which is thus separated from the nozzle element 3 .

Thus, the dispensing opening 4 is accessible and ready for dispensing the product contained in the container to the consumer.

In the present embodiment, the nozzle element is molded without any holes to ensure good molding properties. The holes are produced during the assembly step, for example by microperforation using microneedles or using a laser.

Fig. 6 shows another embodiment of the invention in which the closure system 7 of the nozzle element 3 is made of a dual laminated lid 12 comprising two layers 13a and 13b.

The first layer 13a (upper layer) is a peelable layer which has a protective function and acts as tamper evidence/tamper evidence for the container 1 . In the present embodiment, the first layer 13a has a grip tab 14 that assists in peeling off the first layer 13a. Said first layer 13a is thus defined as a peelable layer.

The second layer 13b (lower layer) is sealed on the container 1 and is perforated as dispensing openings 4 . The holes restrict the liquid flow of the product when it is expelled from the container and do not expel the product under a defined pressure applied to the container. Said second layer 13b is thus defined as a distribution layer.

For example, the holes have a diameter of 0.2 mm and are spaced from each other by about 1 mm. This is only an example, other diameters can be chosen according to the characteristics of the product to be discharged.

The double laminated lid 12 seals over the container neck after the container is filled, ensuring a tight seal for the package.

For consumption, the consumer peels off the upper layer 13a and then opens the lower layer 13b held on the neck of the container and reveals the dispensing opening 4 . Then, the product is ready to be consumed.

It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the presently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without diminishing the advantages it has. Therefore, such changes and modifications are intended to be covered by the appended claims.

For example, although said nozzle elements are generally considered to be rigid, it is also conceivable to use soft nozzle elements made of elastomeric or spongy materials.

Claims (14)

1. a container (1), comprise deformable container body (2) and at least one dispense aperture, described container body (2) has the flowable liquid that has the viscosity that is less than 1Pa.s at 20 ℃ for being contained in, at least one compartment of semiliquid or gelatinous product, described opening is used for distributing described product, described opening is positioned at ozzle element (3), described container has at least 10ml, the preferred at least capacity of 50ml, described container is characterised in that, described at least one opening (4, 9) functional cross section is fixed, and this cross section is at 0.002mm ²and 7mm ²between, preferably at 0.008mm ²and 0.8mm ²between, more preferably at 0.03mm ²and 0.4mm ²between and most preferably at 0.07mm ²and 0.2mm ²between, make described product only point at least 0.5kg of the inside of described container body, preferably at least 1kg, more preferably at least the external force of 3kg just flows through described opening after being applied on the wall of container body.

2. container according to claim 1 (1), is characterized in that, described container comprises a plurality of dispense aperture (4,9), and the quantity of described dispense aperture is at least 6, preferably at least 12, more preferably at least 18.

3. according to container in any one of the preceding claims wherein (1), it is characterized in that, described container also comprises the bounded system (7) associated with described ozzle element (3).

4. container according to claim 3 (1), is characterized in that, described bounded system comprises the tamper evident device that can manually destroy.

5. container according to claim 4 (1), is characterized in that, described tamper evident device is laser scored precut part, and this precut part is arranged so that described bounded system can be torn to obtain container contents by described opening.

6. container according to claim 3 (1), is characterized in that, described bounded system (7) comprises double-deck lid (12) of pressing.

7. container according to claim 6 (1), is characterized in that, described double-deck lid (12) of pressing is sealed on the neck of described container.

8. according to the container described in claim 6 or 7 (1), it is characterized in that, described double-deck lid (12) of pressing comprises the ground floor (13a) that can peel off.

9. according to the container described in any one in claim 6 to 8 (1), it is characterized in that, described double-deck lid (12) of pressing comprises the have dispense aperture second layer (13b) of (4,9).

10. according to container in any one of the preceding claims wherein (1), it is characterized in that, described deformable container body (2) is flexible film pouch.

11. the container (1) according to described in any one in aforementioned claim 1 to 10, is characterized in that, described deformable container body (2) is plastic bottle, the wall of this plastic bottle has at least one thickness and is less than 200 microns, is preferably less than the part of 100 microns.

12. containers according to claim 11 (1), is characterized in that, described bottle is by PET(polyethylene terephthalate) or PEN(PEN) make.

13. according to the container (1) described in any one in aforementioned claim 1 to 10, it is characterized in that, described deformable container body (2) is the bottle that comprises the part of deformable at least one accordion shape, and the part of described accordion shape has the Zhe case that can be out of shape under the effect of power.

14. according to container in any one of the preceding claims wherein (1), it is characterized in that, described at least one dispense aperture (4,9) be length between 0.1mm and 20mm, preferably between 0.5mm and 10mm, the more preferably passage between 1mm and 7mm.

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