U.S. patent application number 11/260904 was filed with the patent office on 2007-05-03 for package for liquid laundry products.
This patent application is currently assigned to CONOPCO, INC.. Invention is credited to Humberto Garcia-Ruiz, Richard Paul McNabb.
Application Number | 20070095784 11/260904 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37965172 |
Filed Date | 2007-05-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070095784 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
McNabb; Richard Paul ; et
al. |
May 3, 2007 |
Package for liquid laundry products
Abstract
A liquid laundry product dispensing bottle is provided of a type
not featuring a through-apertured gripping handle. The bottle
includes a body having an open end terminating in a circular neck
fitted with a pour spout. Along an uppermost perimeter the spout
has a leading edge to allow optimum pouring of liquid in one
direction. A first and second plane traverses the length of the
bottle body with each bisecting the spout, the first and second
planes being orthogonally oriented to one another, the first plane
dividing front and rear major faces of the body into asymmetric
first and second areas, the first area including the leading edge
of the spout. A gripping ledge is arranged adjacent the open end
beneath the neck and angled diagonally downward. A removable cap is
fittable over the neck and spout. The bottle includes several cues
to allow a user to properly grip same. These cues include the
angled gripping ledge, sidewall curvatures and trademark
placement.
Inventors: |
McNabb; Richard Paul;
(Milford, NJ) ; Garcia-Ruiz; Humberto; (Shelton,
CT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
UNILEVER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY GROUP
700 SYLVAN AVENUE,
BLDG C2 SOUTH
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS
NJ
07632-3100
US
|
Assignee: |
CONOPCO, INC.
d/b/a UNILEVER
|
Family ID: |
37965172 |
Appl. No.: |
11/260904 |
Filed: |
October 28, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
215/382 ;
222/384 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 23/102 20130101;
B65D 1/023 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
215/382 ;
222/384 |
International
Class: |
B65D 90/02 20060101
B65D090/02 |
Claims
1. A liquid laundry product dispensing bottle without a
through-apertured gripping handle comprising: a bottle body with a
closed end and an open end, the open end terminating in a circular
neck fitted with a pour spout, the spout along an uppermost
perimeter having a leading edge to allow optimum pouring in one
direction, first and second planes traversing a length of the
bottle body with each bisecting the spout, the first and second
planes being orthogonally oriented to one another, the first plane
dividing front and rear major faces of the body each into
asymmetric first and second areas, the first area comprising the
leading edge of the spout, and a gripping ledge adjacent the open
end beneath the neck and angled diagonally downward in a direction
beginning from the second area toward the first area; and a
removable cap fittable over the neck.
2. The bottle according to claim 1 wherein the gripping ledge has
on each of front and rear faces outwardly projecting terraces.
3. The bottle according to claim 2 further comprising a concave
surface adjacently beneath each of the terraces.
4. The bottle according to claim 1 further comprising a left
sidewall flanking the first area formed with a concave and a convex
curved section.
5. The bottle according to claim 4 further comprising a right
sidewall flanking the second area formed with a concave and a
convex curved section and having curvature more pronounced than the
respective left sidewall concave and convex curved sections.
6. The bottle according to claim 1 further comprising a trademark
identifying the laundry product placed on the front major face, and
wherein the rear major face either has no trademark or the
trademark is of smaller size than found on the front major face.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention concerns a bottle especially adapted to
dispense concentrated laundry detergents and fabric softeners.
[0003] 2. The Related Art
[0004] Ordinarily liquid laundry detergent products are packaged in
jugs.
[0005] This packaging features an aperture defining a handle area.
A consumer inserts several fingers into the aperture to grip and
manipulate the jug. Illustrative is U.S. patent application Ser.
No. 2005/0139568 (Unilever) disclosing a jug with a shrink-sleeve
covering extending over a full outer surface, except for the handle
area. A spout is fitted within a dispensing opening and coverable
by an overcap.
[0006] A significant amount of liquid product must be dispensed for
each load of laundry. Relatively large size jugs are needed to
accommodate some reasonable number of washes per package of
product. The large sizes require apertured handles for lifting and
manipulation.
[0007] A new generation of concentrated liquid laundry products are
entering the marketplace. The same number of laundry loads can be
washed with a much smaller volume of liquid. The often-unwieldy
jugs can now be downsized to smaller bottles. Apertured handles are
no longer necessary nor readily engineered into the smaller
sizes.
[0008] Yet even in smaller sizes, a consumer must be able to
securely grip the bottle packaging. Errant drops of the viscous
concentrate liquid resultant from the pouring process can cling to
the sides of the dispensing bottle. A good gripping surface is
needed.
[0009] Another problem in downsizing is a need for orienting cues
to achieve initial correct grippage. Apertured handles in large
size jugs inherently cue the user to initially correctly grip the
package. Without a handle there is no ready cue. The problem is
significant where a non-handle bottle is fitted with a spout. Only
in one direction can the spout properly pour liquid. An overcap
hides the spout. An appropriate cue is therefore necessary to
immediately grip in a direction allowing pouring without further
grip manipulation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] A liquid laundry product dispensing bottle is provided
without a through-apertured gripping handle including: [0011] a
bottle body with a closed end and an open end, the open end
terminating in a circular neck fitted with a pour spout, the spout
along an uppermost perimeter having a leading edge to allow optimum
pouring in one direction, first and second planes traversing a
length of the bottle body with each bisecting the spout, the first
and second planes being orthogonally oriented to one another, the
first plane dividing front and rear major faces of the body each
into asymmetric first and second areas, the first area including
the leading edge of the spout, and a gripping ledge adjacent the
open end beneath the neck and angled diagonally downward in a
direction beginning from the second area toward the first area; and
[0012] a removable cap fittable over the neck.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0013] Further advantages and features of the present invention
will become more readily understood through the following drawing
in which:
[0014] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bottle with cap according
to the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a rear view of the bottle according shown in FIG.
1 with cap removed;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a front view of the bottle shown in FIG. 1 with
cap removed;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a right-side elevational view focusing on the
right sidewall of the bottle shown in FIG. 3; and
[0018] FIG. 5 is a top view of the bottle shown in FIG. 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0019] Now there is provided a dispensing bottle particularly
suitable for concentrated liquid laundry products. Uses of the
bottle are not limited but are particularly focused on either
concentrated laundry washing liquids or concentrated fabric
softening liquids. By the present construction, a consumer can be
assured of a correct grip on the over-capped bottle. Through the
cue of an angled ledge and an asymmetric body, grip becomes
intuitive. Removal of the cap with the non-gripping hand exposes a
spout now properly oriented with a leading edge allowing pouring in
a natural manner away from the user's body. Also the spout is
oriented along a less protruding sidewall panel of the bottle body.
Soilage of the body by errant drops is thereby minimized.
[0020] FIG. 1 illustrates a first embodiment of the present
invention.
[0021] Therein is shown a bottle body 2 covered with a cap 4. The
body features a closed end 6 and an open end 8. There are two major
faces on the body which are the rear and front faces. These may
have information applied through embossing a plastic wall of the
bottle, through an adhesive label or through shrink-wrapping
essentially the entire body from open to closed end.
Shrink-wrapping is preferred. Information may include trademark
designation, ingredients, advertising, manufacturer identity, UPC
symbol and combinations thereof.
[0022] Plastics suitable for the manufacture of bottle bodies
according to the present invention include but are not limited to
high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, metallocene
catalyzed polyolefin, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate and
combinations thereof. Bottle body walls may be formed of single or
multiple layers. Particularly useful are multi-layer laminates
which incorporate substantial amounts of recycled plastic resin in
addition to virgin resin. Normally the bottle body is formed
through an extrusion or molding process. Caps and spout fitments
may be extruded or molded from any of the aforementioned plastics
suitable for the body.
[0023] FIG. 2 illustrates the dispensing bottle with cap removed.
Revealed is a neck 10 near the open end of the body. Thread tracks
12 are formed into and circumscribe the neck. A complementary set
of tracks are fashioned on an inner wall at an open end of the cap
4. The thread tracks 12 allow the cap to sealingly engage the neck
to prevent spillage of liquid laundry product.
[0024] A spout fitment 14 is secured within the neck. Therein
rising upwardly is a pour spout 16. Along an uppermost perimeter of
the pour spout is a leading edge 18. Optimum pouring in one
direction without errant drippage is achieved by dispensing the
liquid through the spout over the leading edge 18.
[0025] The body features two major faces. The first is a rear major
face 20 seen in FIG. 2. The second is a front major face 22 shown
in FIG. 3. A first plane A traverses a length of the bottle body
bisecting the pour spout. Plane A divides the body into asymmetric
first area 24 and second area 26.
[0026] FIG. 3 further illustrates a left sidewall 28 and a right
sidewall 30. The left sidewall 28 features a less curved straighter
profile than the right sidewall 30. The right sidewall has a more
pronounced concave curved section 32 near the open end and more
pronounced outwardly convex curved section 34 near the closed end
than respective concave and convex curved sections 36 and 38 on the
left sidewall.
[0027] FIG. 5 illustrates a second plane B orthogonally oriented
relative to plane A. Plane B divides the bottle body into a pair of
symmetrical areas.
[0028] FIG. 2 and 3 further show a gripping ledge 40 adjacent to
the open end 8. Gripping ledge 40 is positioned beneath neck 10 and
angled diagonally downward beginning in the second area 26 and
terminating in the first area 24. FIG. 4 best illustrates terrace
42 and 44 outwardly protruding as members of the ledge on
respective rear and front major faces 20, 22. Beneath each of the
terraces are concave surfaces 46, 48. In combination the terraces
and concave surfaces allow a user's hand to securely grip the
bottle body. For a right-handed grip, the thumb cradles within the
concave surface 46 while the other fingers curl into the concave
surface 48. Terraces 42 and 44 prevent downward slippage from the
grasp of the user.
[0029] Ordinarily a trademark 50 identifying the laundry product is
placed on one or both of the major front and rear faces. As an
additional cue for properly gripping the bottle, the front major
face 22 is shown to solely receive the trademark. If required to
also be present on the rear major face 20, the trademark on the
front major face 22 will be of a larger size.
[0030] The term "comprising" is meant not to be limiting to any
subsequently stated elements but rather to encompass non-specified
elements of major or minor functional importance. In other words
the listed steps, elements or options need not be exhaustive.
Whenever the words "including" or "having" are used, these terms
are meant to be equivalent to "comprising" as defined above.
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