Textiles: fluid treating apparatus – Machines – Combined
Patent
1996-09-11
1997-11-18
Coe, Philip R.
Textiles: fluid treating apparatus
Machines
Combined
510277, 510293, 510439, D06F 3902
Patent
active
056875886
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention relates to a package assembly containing a granular product, said package assembly comprising a reclosable container of thermoplastic material and a device for dispensing said granular product.
In general such packages are often supplied with a measuring device such as a spoon with graduated marking to indicate volumes. Such a device may be used to pour the product into the dispensing compartment (such as a dispensing drawer) of a washing machine. Dispensing devices are also known; the purpose of these devices being to carry the granular product directly into the washing machine and to release it during the wash cycle itself.
A package for storing and dispensing granular materials has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,115,966, May 26th 1992. A corner cap suitable for measuring quantities of the granular material is provided and may be clipped over the corner of the package. The package disclosed is made from paperboard, and the corner cap which is intended for use as a measuring or dosing device, is not suited for use as a dispensing device to deliver the granular product into the washing machine during the course of the wash cycle itself.
Various dispensing devices have been suggested in the prior art including German Design Registration MR26344, published on Sep. 30th, 1986. This design registration discloses a plastic canister for liquid detergents which has a recess in the middle of one side which can accommodate a dosing ball.
However it has been common practice in the past to provide granular detergent products in a carton and to encourage the consumer to store a dispensing device inside that carton along with the granular product. This has been the case for both paperboard packages, and more recently for plastic refillable containers. However, this can give rise to problems. The dispensing device is often still damp when it is removed from the washing machine at the end of a completed cycle. If this device is immediately placed inside the package with the granular product, then this dampness can easily cause caking of the product which is clearly undesirable. If the device is not immediately placed inside the package however, there is a risk that it easily becomes lost or damaged.
The present invention offers a solution to this problem. The invention is concerned with plastic containers, which are suitable for refilling with product many times. A means for fitting a dispensing device to the outside of the plastic container in such a way that it is safely stored and yet cannot come into direct contact with the granular product during storage. The dispensing device is easily removable from the plastic container when required for use, and may then be fitted back on to the outside of the container after use. This may be repeated many times.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
For the purposes of the description of the present invention herein, the term "releasably attached" means that the dispensing device and the container can be easily and positively locked together by the consumer, and that the dispensing device and the container can be released from each other, and then reconnected any number of times. A means of positively locking the components together is provided.
One such means of locking the components together is a projection, or a plurality of projections on the external surface of the container which engage in an opening of the dispensing device. Preferably the dispensing device can then be "clipped-on" to the external surface of the container. The dispensing device may be removed and reattached to the container many times.
An alternative means of locking the components together is a recess or cavity in the external surface of the container which is shaped to receive the dispensing device. The dispensing device is wholly or partly retained within the recess or cavity by frictional interference between said container and said dispensing device. Once again the dispensing device may be removed and reattached to the container many times.
Embodiments of the invention are described in d
REFERENCES:
patent: 4776972 (1988-10-01), Barrett
patent: 4858758 (1989-08-01), Mitchell et al.
patent: 4969927 (1990-11-01), Schumann et al.
Azzani Jean-Luc
Cornette Henri
Coe Philip R.
Kock Ronald W.
The Procter & Gamble & Company
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