WO2013005181A1

WO2013005181A1 - A dispensing container and nozzle for dispensing a consumable oil-containing liquid

Info

Publication number: WO2013005181A1
Application number: PCT/IB2012/053441
Authority: WO
Inventors: Andries Jacobus Rabie
Original assignee: Andries Jacobus Rabie
Priority date: 2011-07-05
Filing date: 2012-07-05
Publication date: 2013-01-10
Also published as: ZA201205061B

Abstract

A dispensing container 10 configured for dispensing a consumable oil-containing liquid, includes a resiliently deformable squeeze bottle 12, a nozzle 14 and a nozzle seal 30. The nozzle 14 comprises a cylindrical outer body 22 which is force fitted into the dispensing opening of the bottle; and a funnel-shaped drip collection formation 23 which extends inwardly from the outer body and which is spaced from an open upper end of the outer body. The outer body defines a cylindrical internal sealing surface 33. The nozzle seal 30 is removably fitted to the nozzle for sealing the nozzle closed. The nozzle seal has a nozzle closure formation 32 which abuts a rim 31 of the outer body of the nozzle at an upper end thereof, and a plug 38 which is sealingly received within the outer body. The plug defines a conical outer sealing surface 39 which frictionally engages the sealing surface 33 when inserted into the nozzle to form an air-tight seal therewith.

Description

A DISPENSING CONTAINER AND NOZZLE FOR DISPENSING A

CONSUMABLE OIL-CONTAINING LIQUID

FIELD OF INVENTION

The invention relates to a dispensing container for dispensing a consumable oil- containing liquid. The invention relates also to a nozzle for dispensing a consumable oil-containing liquid.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

According to the invention there is provided a dispensing container for dispensing a consumable oil - containing liquid, including: a container part having an upper end and a lower end on which the container part is supported on a substrate in an upright orientation, the container part defining a dispensing opening at the upper end of the container part, through which the liquid is dispensed from the container part; a nozzle part which is located within the dispensing opening of the container part near its upper end, the nozzle part including an annular outer body which has an open upper end and which defines an internal sealing surface; and a funnel-shaped drip collection formation which defines a dispensing orifice through which a stream of the liquid can be dispensed from the container part, the drip collection formation having an outer region which is adjacent the outer body and spaced from the upper end thereof and an inner region which defines the dispensing orifice, the drip collection formation tapering from the outer region thereof towards the inner region thereof so as to allow for the flow of liquid to the dispensing orifice when the container is in its upright orientation; and a nozzle sealing part having a nozzle sealing formation removably sealingly received within the outer body of the nozzle part for forming an air-tight seal with the internal sealing surface of the outer body.

The nozzle sealing formation of the nozzle sealing part, may be in the form of a plug which is received within the outer body of the nozzle part, the plug having an annular side wall defining an outer sealing surface which forms an air-tight seal with the internal sealing surface of the outer body.

The plug may have a bottom wall which extends between the side wall so as to define a circular corner formation between the side wall and the end wall.

The bottom wall of the plug may have a conical configuration conforming to the configuration of the drip-collection formation of the nozzle part, the plug being configured and dimensioned so as to be removably received within the outer body of the nozzle in a sealing configuration wherein the outer sealing surface of the plug forms an air-tight seal with the internal sealing surface of the outer body of the nozzle part and the bottom wall of the plug abuts an upper side of the drip collection formation of the nozzle part. The side wall of the plug may have a conical configuration, the side wall tapering from an operative upper region thereof towards an operative lower region thereof.

The internal sealing surface of the outer body of the nozzle part may have a cylindrical configuration, the side wall of the plug being resiliently flexible with an operative upper region of the outer sealing surface having a diameter which is slightly larger than the diameter of the internal sealing surface, thereby causing the side wall of the plug to be resiliently deflected inwardly when the upper region of the outer sealing surface abuts the internal sealing surface of the outer body of the nozzle part when the plug is fully inserted into the outer body of the nozzle, thereby increasing pressure forces along circular contact regions at which the outer and inner sealing surfaces contact one another at upper regions of sealing surfaces and along the region where the corner formation of the plug contacts the internal sealing surface of the nozzle part. In a particular embodiment, the nozzle part and the container part may be in the form of separate components, with the nozzle part being fixedly secured within the dispensing opening of the container part. The container part may be in the form of a bottle having a container portion within which the liquid is held and a relatively narrower neck portion defining the dispensing opening. The nozzle part may be in the form of a nozzle which is dimensioned so as to be received within the dispensing opening. As such, the nozzle may be fitted within the dispensing opening defined by the neck portion. More specifically, the nozzle may be force fitted into the neck portion of the bottle in an interference fit, thereby to fixedly secure the nozzle within the dispensing opening. The container part may be elastically resilient, so as to permit the container part to be squeezed by a user, in use, so as to force the liquid contained within the container part, through the dispensing orifice, under pressure.

The invention extends to a nozzle comprising the nozzle part of the dispensing container as hereinabove described and defined. The invention extends to a nozzle seal comprising the nozzle sealing part of the dispensing container as hereinabove described and defined.

In another embodiment, the nozzle part and the container part may be integrally formed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features of the invention are described hereinafter by way of a non-limiting example of the invention, with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying schematic drawings. In the drawings:

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a bottle and a nozzle of a dispensing container, in accordance with the invention; Figure 2A shows a sectional side view of the bottle and the nozzle of Figure 1 , sectioned along section lines IIA-IIA of Figure 1 ;

Figure 2B shows a fragmentary enlarged detailed view of detail B of the dispensing container of Figure 2A;

Figure 3 shows a fragmentary exploded perspective view of the bottle and the nozzle of Figure 1 ;

Figure 4 shows a sectional side view of the nozzle of Figure 3, sectioned along section lines IV-IV of Figure 3;

Figure 5 shows a perspective view of the bottle and the nozzle of Figure 1 , showing the manner in which a consumable liquid is poured therefrom; Figure 6 shows a side view of a nozzle seal of the dispensing container of Figure 1 ; Figure 7 shows an exploded side view of a dispensing container in accordance with the invention including the bottle and nozzle of Figure 1 and the nozzle seal of Figure 6; and

Figure 8 shows a sectional view of the dispensing container shown in Figure 7, with the nozzle seal fitted to the nozzle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

With reference to the drawings, a dispensing container, in accordance with the invention, is designated generally by the reference numeral 10.

The dispensing container 10 is configured for dispensing a consumable liquid such as, for example, olive oil 6. The dispensing container 10 includes a container part in the form of a bottle 12, a nozzle part in the form of a nozzle 14 and a nozzle sealing part in the form of a nozzle seal 30.

The bottle 12 has a container portion in the form of a container body 13 within which the olive oil 6 is held, a neck 15 at an upper end 16 of the bottle 12 and a lower end 17 on which the bottle 12 is supported on a substrate, such as, a tabletop 8, in an upright orientation of the bottle 12. As shown most clearly in Figure 3 of the drawings, the neck 15 is narrower than the container body 13 and defines a dispensing opening 18 at the upper end 16 of the bottle 12 through which olive oil 6 is dispensed from the container body 13, as will be explained in more detail below. The bottle 12 is of an elastic resilient plastics material, such as, for example, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or high-density polyethylene (HDPE).

The nozzle 14 is of a plastics material. The nozzle 14 comprises a cylindrical outer body 22 which is fixedly secured within the dispensing opening 18 of the bottle 12; and a funnel-shaped drip collection formation 23.

The nozzle has an open upper end 25. The drip collection formation 23 extends inwardly from the outer body 22. The drip collection formation has an outer region 26 which is adjacent the outer body 22 and an inner region 28 which defines a dispensing orifice 24. More specifically, the drip collection formation 23 has a generally conical configuration and tapers from the outer region 26 towards the inner region 28. The outer body 22 is configured and dimensioned so as to permit it to be forced fitted into the dispensing opening 18, so that the outer body is received within the neck 15 of the bottle 12 in a tight interference fit, as shown most clearly in Figure 2B of the drawings.

The outer body 22 has an open upper end 29 defined by a rim 31 . The outer region 26 of the drip collection formation is spaced from the upper end of the outer body. The outer body defines a cylindrical internal sealing surface 33 which extends between the upper end of the outer body and the outer region 26 of the drip collection formation. The drip collection formation 23 has an upper side 27. The dispensing orifice 24 has a cylindrical configuration and has a diameter of 1 .5 mm. The tapering configuration of the drip collection formation 23 allows for the flow of olive oil 6 to the dispensing orifice 24, under gravity, when the bottle 12 is in its upright orientation, as will be explained in more detail below.

The nozzle seal 30 has a nozzle closure formation 32 for closing off the open upper end of the outer body of the nozzle and a nozzle sealing formation which is removably received within the outer body 22 of the nozzle 14.

More specifically, the nozzle closure formation 32 is disc-shaped and has a diameter which corresponds to a diameter of the upper end of the nozzle, permitting a peripheral edge region 35 of the nozzle closure formation to abut the rim 31 . The nozzle sealing formation is in the form of a plug 38 comprising a central boss which extends operatively downwardly from the nozzle closure formation 32.

The plug 38 is received within the outer body 22 of the nozzle. The plug has an annular side wall 37 defining an outer sealing surface 39 which forms an air-tight seal with the internal sealing surface 33 of the outer body 22. The side wall 37 is configured and dimensioned to be slidingly received within the outer body 22 in a sliding fit wherein the outer sealing surface 39 frictionally engages the internal sealing surface 33. The plug has a bottom wall 40 which extends between the side wall so as to define a circular corner formation 41 between the side wall and the bottom wall. The corner formation 41 defines a sharp edge. More specifically, the bottom wall has a conical configuration conforming to the conical configuration of the drip-collection formation 23 of the nozzle. The plug is configured and dimensioned so as to be removably received within the outer body 22 in a sealing configuration wherein the outer sealing surface 39 of the plug forms an air-tight seal with the internal sealing surface 33 of the outer body of the nozzle and the bottom wall 40 of the plug abuts the upper side 27 of the drip collection formation. The bottom wall 40 is relatively thicker than the side wall 37, with the bottom wall being rigid thereby providing the corner formation 41 with a rigid construction. The diameter of the corner formation 41 is such that it frictionally engages the internal sealing surface of the outer body of the nozzle.

The side wall 37 extends between the nozzle closure formation 32 and the bottom wall 40. The side wall has a conical configuration and tapers from an operative upper end thereof adjacent the nozzle closure formation 32 towards the bottom wall 40. The side wall is resiliently flexible. More specifically, an upper region of the outer sealing surface 39 of the plug has a slightly larger diameter than the diameter of the internal sealing surface 33 of the nozzle.

When the plug is fully inserted into the outer body of the nozzle, the upper region of the side wall of the plug engages the internal sealing surface of the nozzle, causing the side wall of the plug to be resiliently deflected inwardly thereby stressing the side wall and increasing pressure forces exerted by the side wall on the internal sealing surface of the nozzle, along a first circular upper contact region at which the plug contacts the outer body of the nozzle and a second circular lower contact region at which the corner formation 41 contacts the outer body of the nozzle. The increased pressure forces exerted by the plug on the nozzle at the upper and lower contact regions enhances the air-tight seal between the side wall of the plug and the outer body of the nozzle, similar to the sealing effect provided by the piston rings in an internal combustion engine. In use, a user tilts the bottle 12, as shown in Figure 5 of the drawings, so as to dispense a stream of liquid from the bottle 12. More particularly, in use, the user may also squeeze the bottle 12 so as to force the olive oil 6 contained within the container body 13 of the bottle 12 through the dispensing orifice 24 of the nozzle 14, under pressure.

The applicant envisages that after olive oil 6 has been dispensed from the bottle 12, in use, the user will stand the bottle 12 on its lower end 17 on the flat substrate 8 in its upright orientation. When the bottle 12 is placed in its upright orientation, the conical taper of the drip collection formation 23 provides for the flow of excess olive oil, which collects on the drip collection formation 23, towards the dispensing orifice 24. More particularly, the applicant envisages that excess olive oil will flow, under the influence of gravitational forces, through the dispensing orifice 24 and back into the container body 13 when the bottle 12 is in its upright orientation. As such, undesirable oxidation of excess olive oil is thereby prevented. It will be appreciated that oxidation of excess olive oil, which is known to collect, in use, on and around the dispensing means of other dispensing containers known to the applicant, is undesirable, as oxidation results in the taste of the olive oil becoming spoiled.

The applicant also envisages that the user may control the rate at which the olive oil 6 is dispensed from the bottle 12 by varying the intensity of the squeezing force applied to the bottle 12. Furthermore, the applicant also envisages that the stream of liquid dispensed from the bottle 12 is directed and controlled by the user by manipulating the bottle 12, so as to dispense desired quantities of olive oil delivered to desired locations. As such, the applicant believes that the dispensing container 10 thus enables a user to simultaneously control both the quantity and the direction of delivery of olive oil 6 dispensed through the dispensing orifice 24 of the nozzle 14, in use. As such, the applicant envisages that wastage of olive oil 6 can be reduced by ensuring that the olive oil 6 is delivered in a desired quantity and to desired locations. The applicant furthermore envisages that the tight interference fit of the nozzle 14 within the neck 15 of the bottle 12, will particularly require an insertion force of 300 N which is applied to the nozzle 14, in order to force fit the nozzle 14 into the neck 15 of the bottle 12. As such, the applicant envisages that the nozzle 14 will thus be tightly held in the neck 15 of the bottle 12, so as to render the nozzle 14 irremovable from the neck 15 of the bottle 12 without causing damage to the nozzle 14. The material strength of the nozzle 14 and the tight interference fit thus ensures that the user may not remove the nozzle 14 (without damage) from the neck 15 of the bottle 12 in order to refill the container body 13 of the bottle after the olive oil in the container body 13 of the bottle 12 has been consumed, in use.

The nozzle seal 30 provides an air-tight seal with the nozzle when fitted into the nozzle, thereby sealing and closing the upper end of the nozzle and preventing the ingress of air into the bottle so as to reduce oxidation of the olive oil within the bottle. In order to fit the nozzle seal to the nozzle, the plug 38 of the nozzle is slidingly pushed into the outer body 22 of the nozzle, with the outer sealing surface 39 of the nozzle seal sliding over the internal sealing surface 33 of the outer body 22. The olive oil lubricates the sliding friction fit between the plug 38 and the outer body 22 and also provides a sealing fluid which enhances the air-tight sliding seal between the plug 38 and the nozzle 14 thereby preventing the ingress of air into the bottle.

When fully inserted into the outer body 22, the peripheral edge region 35 of the nozzle closure formation 32 of the nozzle seal abuts the rim 31 of the outer body 22 of the nozzle and the bottom wall 40 of the plug 38 abuts the upper side 27 of the drip collection formation 23 further enhancing the sealing of the nozzle seal within the nozzle. The spring load of the stressed side wall 37 of the fully inserted plug against the outer body 22 of the nozzle along the upper and lower contact regions, enhances and maintains the air-tight seal with the nozzle.

As the nozzle seal is inserted into the nozzle, the corner formation 41 of the plug 38 scrapes any excess oil which has collected on the internal sealing surface 39 of the nozzle and pushes it downwards onto the drip collection formation. The corner formation 41 , being rigid and defining a sharp corner edge, ensures tight contact with the internal sealing surface 39 of the nozzle. When the bottom wall 40 of the plug 38 contacts the upper side 27 of the drip collection formation 23 the remaining oil on the upper side of the drip collection formation is forced through the orifice 24. There is thus no significant amount of oil remaining within the nozzle when the plug is fully inserted.

The invention extends to the nozzle 14 described and defined hereinabove.

It will be appreciated that the exact configuration of the bottle, of the nozzle and of the nozzle seal is greatly variable. For example, the nozzle and the bottle need not necessarily be in the form of separate components, as hereinabove described. More particularly, in an alternative embodiment, not shown, the applicant envisages that the nozzle and the bottle may be integrally formed as a single unit. The invention extends to all such variations, which still incorporate the essential principles of the invention, as above defined and described.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1 . A dispensing container for dispensing a consumable oil - containing liquid, including: a container part having an upper end and a lower end on which the container part is supported on a substrate in an upright orientation, the container part defining a dispensing opening at the upper end of the container part, through which the liquid is dispensed from the container part; a nozzle part which is located within the dispensing opening of the container part near its upper end, the nozzle part including an annular outer body which has an open upper end and which defines an internal sealing surface; and a funnel- shaped drip collection formation which defines a dispensing orifice through which a stream of the liquid can be dispensed from the container part, the drip collection formation having an outer region which is adjacent the outer body and spaced from the upper end thereof and an inner region which defines the dispensing orifice, the drip collection formation tapering from the outer region thereof towards the inner region thereof so as to allow for the flow of liquid to the dispensing orifice when the container is in its upright orientation; and a nozzle sealing part having a nozzle sealing formation removably sealingly received within the outer body of the nozzle part for forming an air-tight seal with the internal sealing surface of the outer body.

2. The dispensing container as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the nozzle sealing formation of the nozzle sealing part, is in the form of a plug which is received within the outer body of the nozzle part, the plug having an annular side wall defining an outer sealing surface which forms an air-tight seal with the internal sealing surface of the outer body.

3. The dispensing container as claimed in claim 2, wherein the plug has a bottom wall which extends between the side wall so as to define a circular corner formation between the side wall and the end wall.

4. The dispensing container as claimed in claim 3, wherein the bottom wall of the plug has a conical configuration conforming to the configuration of the drip- collection formation of the nozzle part, the plug being configured and dimensioned so as to be removably received within the outer body of the nozzle in a sealing configuration wherein the outer sealing surface of the plug forms an air-tight seal with the internal sealing surface of the outer body of the nozzle part and the bottom wall of the plug abuts an upper side of the drip collection formation of the nozzle part.

5. The dispensing container as claimed in claim 3 or claim 4, wherein the side wall of the plug has a conical configuration, the side wall tapering from an operative upper region thereof towards an operative lower region thereof.

6. The dispensing container as claimed in claim 5, wherein the internal sealing surface of the outer body of the nozzle part has a cylindrical configuration, the side wall of the plug being resiliently flexible with an operative upper region of the outer sealing surface having a diameter which is slightly larger than the diameter of the internal sealing surface, thereby causing the side wall of the plug to be resiliently deflected inwardly when the upper region of the outer sealing surface abuts the internal sealing surface of the outer body of the nozzle part when the plug is fully inserted into the outer body of the nozzle, thereby increasing pressure forces along circular contact regions at which the outer and inner sealing surfaces contact one another at upper regions of the sealing surfaces and along the region where the corner formation of the plug contacts the internal sealing surface of the nozzle part.

7. The dispensing container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the nozzle part and the container part are in the form of separate components, with the nozzle part being fixedly secured within the dispensing opening of the container part.

8. The dispensing container as claimed in claim 7, wherein the container part is in the form of a bottle having a container portion within which the liquid is held and a relatively narrower neck portion defining the dispensing opening.

9. The dispensing container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the container part is elastically resilient so as to permit the container part to be squeezed by a user, in use, so as to force liquid contained within the container part, through the dispensing orifice, under pressure.

10. The dispensing container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the nozzle is fitted within the dispensing opening defined by the neck portion.

1 1 . The dispensing container as claimed in claim 10, wherein the nozzle is force fitted into the neck portion of the bottle in an interference fit, thereby to fixedly secure the nozzle within the dispensing opening.

12. The dispensing container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the nozzle part and the container part are integrally formed.

13. A nozzle in the form of the nozzle part of the dispensing container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12.

14. A nozzle seal in the form of the nozzle sealing part of the dispensing container as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. The dispensing container as claimed in claim 1 , substantially as described in the specification with reference to an example of the invention and as illustrated in any of the accompanying drawings.

16. The nozzle as claimed in claim 13, substantially as described in the specification with reference to an example of the invention and as illustrated in any of the accompanying drawings.

17. The nozzle seal as claimed in claim 14, substantially as described in the specification with reference to an example of the invention and as illustrated in any of the accompanying drawings.