Hand held fluent dispensing containers
The present invention is directed toward molded plastic re-sealable closures (1, 31) for use with a fluent dispensing container (2). The closures (1, 31) each have a rupturing member (12) and a cover (19) on whose initial opening causes the rupturing member to tear a tearable sealing to form a generally rectangular fluent exit aperture (4), and secures the torn away material remote from the fluent exit aperture to prevent it from blocking same during subsequent re-openings and re-sealings. The present invention is also directed to screw cap assemblies (41, 61) similar to the closures (1,31) but each having an axially displaceable puncturing member and a cap on whose initial unscrewing causes the puncturing member to puncture a tearable sealing to form a generally circular fluent exit aperture. The present invention is further directed to toggle cap assemblies (71, 81) for use with a hand squeezable plastic bottle, the toggle cap assemblies each including a latchable arrangement disposable from a sealing position for preventing the dispensing of a bottle's contents to a flow communication position for enabling the dispensing of a bottle's contents on squeezing the bottle, and vice versa on applying a force against an exposed surface of the latchable arrangement in the direction of the bottle's interior. The present invention is still further directed to a collapsible plastic bottle (91), and a dual container dispenser (101).
The invention is in the field of hand held fluent dispensing containers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONHand held fluent dispensing containers are now in widespread use for dispensing edible fluent substances, for example, fruit juices, mineral water, condiments, and the like, and also non-edible fluent substances, for example, cleaning substances, cosmetics, and the like.
A first type of hand held fluent dispensing containers are fluent dispensing containers with a tearable sealing, and a molded plastic re-sealable closure for selectively and repeatedly enabling and preventing the dispensing of a container's contents. Conventional fluent dispensing containers of this type are illustrated and described in inter alia U.S. Pat. No. 4,126,263 to Martensson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,138 to Andersson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,913,294 to Giacomelli, U.S. Pat. No. 4,915,290 to Robichaud et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,034 to Robichaud et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,683 to Farber, U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,590 to Robichaud et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,408 to Rausing, U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,999 to Robichaud et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,633 to Rausing, U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,983 to Reil et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,019 to Bjorck et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,484,101 to Hedberg, U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,440 to Tragardh et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,784 to Huser, U.S. Pat. No. 5,639,018 to Tokarski, U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,359 to Joensson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,757 to Per et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,420 to Tokarski et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,958 to Weiteder.
A second type of hand held fluent dispensing containers are hand squeezable plastic bottles with a toggle cap assembly for selectively and repeatedly enabling and preventing the dispensing of a bottle's contents. Conventional fluent dispensing containers of this type are illustrated and described in inter alia U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,518 to Laauwe, U.S. Pat. No. 4,506,809 to Corsette, U.S. Pat. No. 5,931,352 to Dirr, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,952 to Lucas.
A third type of hand held fluent dispensing containers are collapsible plastic bottles for carbonated beverages to reduce their volumes to prevent the vaporization of dissolved carbonic dioxide into carbonic acid gas to the detriment of their contents' taste. Conventional collapsible plastic bottles are illustrated and described in inter alia U.S. Pat. No. 3,939,887 to Scarnato, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,492,313 and 5,002,193 to Touzani, U.S. Pat. No. 5,310,068 to Saghri, U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,250 to Gilbert, U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,413 to Jung, U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,129 to Nagata, et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,758,789 to Shin, et al.
A fourth type of hand held fluent dispensing containers are dual container dispensers having a pair of separable, side-by-side interlockable, hand squeezable plastic containers each having a closure associated therewith for enabling the dispensing of its contents on its being manually squeezed. Conventional dual container dispensers are illustrated and described in inter alia U.S. Pat. No. 4,148,417 to Simmons, U.S. Pat. No. 4,196,808 to Pardo, U.S. Pat. No. 4,984,715 to Green, U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,191 to Douglas, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,159 to Douglas, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,623 to Hildebrandt, U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,268 to Levy, et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,213 to Gerhard, et al.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe invention is directed to hand held fluent dispensing containers for selectively and repeatedly enabling and preventing the dispensing of a container's contents.
The invention is directed toward a molded plastic re-sealable closure for use with a fluent dispensing container having a tearable sealing. The closure has a rupturing member and a cover on whose initial opening to a generally upright position, the rupturing member tears the sealing to form a generally rectangular fluent exit aperture, and secures the torn away material remote from the fluent exit aperture to prevent it from blocking same during subsequent re-openings and re-sealings of the closure. Thus, the closure facilitates the hygienic single step opening of otherwise conventional fluent dispensing containers, and subsequent trouble free dispensing of their contents.
The invention is also directed toward a screw cap assembly also for use with a fluent dispensing container having a tearable sealing. The screw cap assembly has a puncturing member and a cap on whose initial unscrewing, the puncturing member is urged axially downwards whereupon the puncturing member punctures the sealing to form a generally circular fluent exit aperture, and is fixedly secured with respect to the container to prevent it from blocking the fluent exit aperture during subsequent re-openings and re-sealings of the cap.
The invention is further directed to a toggle cap assembly for use with a hand squeezable open topped plastic bottle, the toggle assembly including a latchable arrangement disposable from a sealing position for preventing the dispensing of a bottle's contents to a flow communication position for enabling the dispensing of a bottle's contents on squeezing the bottle thereby enabling a user to both hold the bottle and open it with the same hand, and vice versa, on applying a force against an exposed surface of the latchable arrangement in the direction of the bottle's interior.
The invention is still further directed to a collapsible plastic bottle with one or more axially collapsible portions each capable of assuming only two possible states: either a fully axially extended state or a fully axially compacted state.
The invention is yet still further directed to a dual container dispenser having a pair of end surfaces each having a re-sealable closure of one of the two containers for enabling the dispensing of its contents upon being squeezed. A dispenser's containers are intended to be separated and used independently from one another but a user may invert the dispenser to dispense the contents of one or the other of its two containers.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSIn order to understand the invention and to see how it can be carried out in practice, preferred embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting examples only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
The closure 1 includes a frame member 6 having an upright wall 7 defining a generally rectangular aperture 8 for exposing the sealing 3. The frame member 6 has a leading end 6A formed with a pouring spout 9 for pouring the container's contents, and a trailing end 6B. The frame member 6 has a pair of frangible runners 11A and 11B (not shown) disposed toward the frame member's leading end 6A for floatingly supporting a substantially flat tearing member 12 initially overlying the aperture 8. The tearing member 12 is formed with a scoop 13 having a leading serrated edge 14 towards the frame member's leading end 6A, and a widthwise rib 16 with a pair of opposite lug members 17A and 17B towards the frame member's trailing end 6B. The frame member 6 is formed with a pair of opposite rails 18A and 18B for guiding the rearward displacement of the tearing member 12 during an initial opening of the closure 1.
A cover 19 is hingedly connected to the frame member's trailing end 6B, and is selectively disposable between a horizontal sealing position (see
The operation of the closure 1 is as follows:
In its initially sealed state, the tearing member 12 overlies the sealing 3 (see
The operation of the screw cap assembly 41 is as follows:
In its initial state, the puncturing tip 54 overlies the sealing 43 (see
The operation of the toggle cap assembly 71 is as follows:
In its initially sealed state, the flow control diaphragm 76 is in its sealing position and the dispensing member 77 is in its retracted position (see
While the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, it will be appreciated that many variations, modifications, and other applications of the invention can be made within the scope of the appended claims.
Claims
1. A molded plastic re-sealable closure for initially forming a generally rectangular fluid exit aperture in a tearable sealing provided in a container, and thereafter capable of being selectively and repeatedly re-opened and re-sealed for respectively enabling and preventing the dispensing of the container's contents via the fluid exit aperture, the closure comprising:
- (a) a frame member for sealingly adhesion to the container, and having an aperture for exposing the tearable sealing, said frame member having a trailing end, and a leading end for dispensing the container's contents;
- (b) a cover pivotably hinged to said frame member towards said trailing end, and selectively and repeatedly disposable between a generally horizontal sealing position for initially and repeatedly sealing said aperture, and a generally upright open position for enabling the container's contents to be dispensed via the fluent exit aperture; and
- (c) a substantially flat tearing member initially overlying the tearable sealing and pivotably attached to said cover also toward said trailing end on whose initial opening from its sealing position to its open position, a leading edge of said tearing member initially tears a fluent exit aperture in the tearable sealing adjacent said leading end and thereafter urges the tearable sealing away from the fluent exit aperture.
2. The closure according to claim 1 wherein said frame member has a pair of opposite rails for guiding the rearward displacement of said tearing member during said initial opening.
3. The closure according to claim 1 wherein said tearing member includes lug members adapted to snap fit into recesses formed in said cover towards said trailing end on the initial sealing of said cover on said frame member during the assembly of the closure.
4. The closure according to claim 1 wherein said tearing member is hingedly connected to said cover towards said trailing end.
5. The closure according to claim 1 wherein, on said cover being initially disposed into its upright open position, said tearing member lockingly interengages with an arresting member, thereby preventing the forward displacement of said tearing member during subsequent re-openings of said cover.
6. The closure according to said claim 5 wherein said tearing member includes an arresting projection for lockingly interengaging with an arresting recess formed in the cover's underside.
7. The closure according to said claim 5 wherein said tearing member is urged past an arresting protrusion protruding laterally inwards from said frame member.
8. A fluent dispensing container fitted with a closure according to claim 1.
9. A screw cap assembly for initially forming a fluent exit aperture in a tearable sealing provided in a container, and thereafter capable of being selectively and repeatedly re-opened and re-sealed for respectively enabling and preventing dispensing of the container's contents via the fluid exit aperture, the screw cap assembly comprising a base for sealingly adhesion to the container, said base having an upright sleeve with an external screw thread on which a cap is initially and re-sealingly screw threadable thereon, said sleeve having a tubular puncturing member slidingly disposable therein with a puncturing tip initially overlying the tearable sealing, said puncturing member being urgable inwards towards the container's interior on an initial unscrewing of said cap from said base whereupon said puncturing tip punctures the tearable sealing for forming the fluent exit aperture.
10. The assembly according to claim 9 wherein said sleeve has a longitudinal axis and said puncturing tip lies substantially c-axial therewith.
11. The assembly according to claim 9 wherein said puncturing member has one or more outwardly radially protruding flange urged sufficiently inwards beyond the rim of the fluent exit aperture on said cap's initial unscrewing for preventing outward displacement of said puncturing member pursuant to the formation of the fluent exit aperture.
12. The assembly according to claim 9 wherein said puncturing member has a multitude of cutting blades radiating from said puncturing tip for cutting the container's exterior's surface on said cap's initial unscrewing.
13. The assembly according to claim 9 wherein said cap has a downwardly spiraling abutment surface for urging said puncturing member inwards towards the container's interior for forming the fluent exit aperture on said cap's initial unscrewing.
14. The assembly according to claim 9 wherein said cap and said puncturing member have a reverse screw arrangement for urging said puncturing member inwards towards the container's interior for forming the fluent exit aperture on said initial unscrewing.
15. A fluent dispensing container fitted with a screw cap assembly according to claim 9.
16. For use with a hand squeezable plastic bottle, a toggle cap assembly for selectively and repeatedly enabling and preventing dispensing of the bottle's contents, the toggle cap assembly comprising:
- (a) a spout fixedly mounted with respect to the bottle;
- (b) a tubular dispensing member sealingly disposed within said spout, and having an open end in continuous flow communication with the bottle's interior on mounting the toggle cap assembly thereon, and a sealed end with at least one radially directed fluent exit aperture disposed theretoward, said dispensing member being reciprocable between a retracted position and a protruding position with respect to said spout's rim correspondingly preventing and enabling dispensing of the bottle's contents via said at least one fluent exit aperture; and
- (c) an annular flow control diaphragm sealingly extending between said open end and the bottle's interior surface, said flow control diaphragm being selectively and repeatedly latchable between a sealing position and a flow communication position correspondingly urging said dispensing member between said retracted position and said protruding position, said flow control diaphragm being disposable from said sealing position to said flow communication position by increasing the prevailing fluid pressure in the bottle by squeezing same, and vice versa on applying a force against said sealed end in the direction of the bottle's interior.
17. The assembly according to claim 16 wherein a cap screw threadable on a bottle tapers to said spout.
18. The assembly according to claim 16 wherein said spout is a discrete component sealingly secured in an annular recess formed in a cap screw threadable on the bottle, and integrally formed with said flow control diaphragm and said dispensing member.
19. A hand squeezable plastic bottle fitted with a toggle cap assembly according to claim 16.
20. A collapsible plastic bottle comprising at least one axially collapsible portion each capable of assuming only two possible states: a fully axially extended state or a fully axially compacted state.
21. The bottle according to claim 20 wherein a collapsible portion has a multitude of spiral ribs axially extending between a pair of non-collapsible portions, each rib having a leading surface facing the bottle's opening and a trailing surface facing away therefrom,
- one of its leading surface and its trailing surface being wider than the other.
22. A dual container dispenser having a substantially ellipsoidal-like shape with a longitudinal axis and a pair of opposite flat end surfaces on each of which it can freely stand upright, the dispenser having two separable, side-by-side interlockable, hand squeezable plastic containers each having a selectively and repeatedly re-sealable closure associated therewith for enabling the dispensing of its contents upon being squeezed, each end surface of said pair of end surfaces having one of said pair of re-sealable closures.
23. The dispenser according to claim 22 wherein each container of said pair of containers extends along the full length of the dispenser whereby said pair of closures are diagonally disposed with respect to said longitudinal axis.
24. The dispenser according to claim 23 wherein each container has a bottom surface on which it can be freely stood upright.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 2, 2004
Publication Date: Jun 22, 2006
Inventor: Gabriel Cabelli (Tel Aviv)
Application Number: 10/858,371
International Classification: B65D 35/28 (20060101);