Dispensing – Collapsible wall-type container
Patent
1993-06-02
1994-12-20
Shaver, Kevin P.
Dispensing
Collapsible wall-type container
222107, B65D 3508
Patent
active
053739655
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to collapsible containers for extrudable viscous fluids such as toothpaste etc.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Containers such as toothpaste tubes in which viscous fluids may be contained and extruded by squeezing through a nozzle are well known. Generally such tubes have a cylindrical cross section over the main part of their length and are folded flat at the closed end e.g. in a "fishtail" closure. A problem with such tubes is that their shape does not allow them to be easily stacked, e.g. for displaying on shop shelves, and consequently they are normally contained within a carton, which is generally of tetragonal shape.
Although the use of a carton enables such tubes to be stacked, the need for this additional packaging is inconvenient in creating extra manufacturing effort, increased cost and a more bulky article requiring more storage space. More seriously this extra packaging is environmentally undesirable both in terms of the use of resources and of the subsequent disposal of the carton. In certain countries this environmental issue is being met by legislation to encourage manufacturers to minimise the amount of excess packaging.
In recent years the problem of excess packaging in the drinks industry has been met by the replacement of rigid bottles by folded cartons, e.g. the known Tetrapak (trade mark), which are generally tetragonal and are readily stackable. The emphasis in producing these cartons has been to introduce rigidity, and hence such cartons are generally unsuitable for use as collapsible containers such as toothpaste tubes. It is an object of this invention to alleviate the above-mentioned problem of excess packaging in the field of collapsible containers for extrudable viscous fluids such as toothpastes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to this invention there is provided a collapsible container for extrudable viscous fluids, comprising a tube, two opposing side walls of said tube being deformable and being biased toward inward deformation under applied compressive pressure, said tube having one closed end and one open end, said open end optionally having a nozzle and openable cap means.
The tube is preferably of substantially rectangular cross-section over a substantial part of its length.
The tube is preferably of substantially rectangular cross-section over at least 25%, preferably over at least 50%, more preferably over 75% or more of its length when filled with its contents.
In use the application of compressive pressure to the side walls of the tube, especially to the side walls perpendicular to the said deformable biased walls, causes the biased walls to deform inwardly thereby causing collapse of the tube and causing any extrudable viscous fluid contents to be extruded from the tube through the open end or through the nozzle when the cap means is open.
By "substantially rectangular cross-section" is meant a cross section in which two pairs of substantially parallel opposing sides are substantially at right angles to each other. These sides may meet in sharp right angled corners or in curved edges, or in chamfered corners, which may themselves meet the sides in sharp corners or curves, so that the section may be polygonal, e.g. hexagonal or octagonal, but having its longest sides in the form of two pairs of substantially parallel opposing sides substantially at right angles to each other. Other shapes which fall within the above term "substantially rectangular" will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The term "rectangular" includes "square".
It is preferred that in a tube of rectangular rather than square cross section the biased sides are the shorter sides, so that the inward deformation of these sides can allow the tube to be collapsed substantially flat as the contents are extruded. It is particularly preferred that the tube has at least one, preferably two, pairs of side walls which are substantially parallel in the longitudinal direction of the tube over a substantial part of the length of the tube, e.g. over
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patent: 5174458 (1992-12-01), Segati
Bender Stefan
Halm Hans
Hansen Manfred
Kanagy James M.
Lentz Edward T.
Shaver Kevin P.
Suter Stuart R.
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