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JP-2026514369-A - Laundry products with drain back closure

JP2026514369AJP 2026514369 AJP2026514369 AJP 2026514369AJP-2026514369-A

Abstract

A laundry product comprising a liquid composition having a pH of 1 to 6, and a container including a base, a side wall extending from the base to a neck, and a closure. The closure includes an upper profile having a spud protruding from its inner surface and engaging with a body, and a contact portion of the body sealed and engaged with the spud, the contact portion extending around a longitudinal axis passing through the upper profile and the spud, a collar engaging with the contact portion and oriented away from the upper profile, a base portion bounded around the contact portion, and a sealing member which is at least a part of the base portion, the sealing member being bounded around a fragile boundary extending around a longitudinal axis, and a tab extending from the sealing member toward the upper profile, wherein the sealing member and the contact portion are a continuous single component material.

Inventors

  • ブリッグス、ニコール・リン
  • デラニー、サラ・アン
  • シャー、ガウラヴィ

Assignees

  • ザ プロクター アンド ギャンブル カンパニー

Dates

Publication Date
20260511
Application Date
20240418
Priority Date
20230505

Claims (15)

  1. Laundry products (240), A liquid composition having a pH of 1 to 6, A container (20) comprising a base (260) and a side wall (270) extending from the base to a neck (275), A closure (10), wherein the closure is An upper profile (30) having an outer surface (40) and an inner surface (50) opposite to the outer surface, The spud (60) protruding from the inner surface, A hinge (70) engages the upper profile with the main body (80), The contact portion (90) of the main body is sealed and engaged with the spud, and the contact portion extends around a longitudinal axis (L) passing through the upper profile and the spud, A collar (100) that engages with the contact portion and is oriented away from the upper profile, wherein the collar engages with the neck, The floor portion (110) whose periphery is bounded by the aforementioned contact portion, A sealing member (120) which is at least a part of the floor portion, wherein the sealing member is bounded around by a fragile boundary (130) that extends around the longitudinal axis, The sealing member comprises a tab (140) extending toward the upper profile, The sealing member and the contact portion are a continuous single component material in the laundry product (240).
  2. The laundry product according to claim 1, wherein the liquid composition has a viscosity of less than 2 mPa·s at 60 rpm and 22°C according to ASTM D2169-99.
  3. The laundry product according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the liquid composition contains 30% to 90% by weight of water.
  4. The laundry product according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the liquid composition contains 0.01% to 20% by weight of a fragrance.
  5. The laundry product according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the liquid composition comprises 10% to 50% by weight of citric acid and/or a salt thereof.
  6. The laundry product according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the closure further comprises a spout (150) projecting from the floor portion toward the upper profile, the spout extending at least partially around the longitudinal axis and closer to the longitudinal axis than the contact portion.
  7. The sealing member is at least partially surrounded by the spout, according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
  8. The laundry product according to claim 7, wherein the sealing member, the contact portion, and the spout are made of a continuous, single component material.
  9. The laundry product according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the unopened container lacks a membrane seal on the neck.
  10. The laundry product according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the liquid composition contains 30% to 90% by weight of water.
  11. The laundry product according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the liquid composition contains 10% to 50% by weight of polycarboxylic acid.
  12. The laundry product according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the closure further includes a spout (150) projecting from the floor portion toward the upper profile, the spout extending at least partially around the longitudinal axis and closer to the longitudinal axis than the contact portion, the spout having a distribution lip (160), the longitudinal axis being between the distribution lip and the hinge, and a drain back channel (170) defined by a portion of the contact portion, a portion of the spout, and a portion of the floor portion connecting the contact portion and the spout, and the drain back channel being inclined away from below the distribution lip when the closure is positioned such that the distribution lip is above the collar.
  13. The laundry product according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the tab is a loop (180), the loop is positioned between the floor and the upper profile, and the longitudinal axis optionally passes through the loop.
  14. The laundry product according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the closure further comprises a spout projecting from the floor portion toward the upper profile, the spout extending at least partially around the longitudinal axis and closer to the longitudinal axis than the contact portion, and the sealing member, the contact portion, and the spout are made of a continuous single component material.
  15. The laundry product according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the liquid composition has a pre-acidity of at least 1, or at least 3, or at least 5 relative to pH 4.0.

Description

Laundry products with a drain back closure. Users of laundry products continue to demand better-performing packaging for their products. A common tension in developing better-performing packaging is that improved performance often comes with increased costs for manufacturers. The business utility is typically that at least some of these increased costs are reflected in the price consumers pay for laundry products. User perceptions of laundry product performance largely stem from the perceived effects of processing laundry with the product. Therefore, manufacturers must make choices about which consumer benefits are most valuable to consumers. If manufacturers can improve packaging performance while simultaneously reducing packaging costs, this may enable them to invest in upgrading the laundry product formulation or to offer larger quantities of laundry products at a similar price. Drain back closures have historically been complex devices. In typical designs, the drain back closure fitting engages with the container, and a separate closure engages with the drain back closure fitting. This design requires molding multiple parts, handling multiple parts on the production line, and assembling multiple parts on the production line. This may necessitate multiple molding machines and custom-made machinery to handle and assemble the individual components of the drain back closure. Since many laundry products are liquid laundry products, leaky packaging is a concern. Each connection between parts, for example, between the drain back closure fitting to the bottle neck and the closure to the drain back closure fitting, is a leak-prone connection. Leaks that may occur from the time the package leaves the manufacturing plant until it is stored in the user's home are a particular concern for manufacturers. Some liquid laundry products are known to splatter when dispensed. In the case of low-pH laundry products, splattering them onto surfaces not intended for contact can result in undesirable residues being left on those surfaces. Such laundry products may also be corrosive to the surfaces they come into contact with. This is a closure where the upper profile is in the open position and the sealing member has not yet been removed from the closure.This is a top view of the closure with the upper profile in the open position.This is a bottom view of the closure with the upper profile in the open position.This is a bottom perspective view of the closure. The closures described herein may be practical for use as closures for containers holding liquid laundry products. The closures may be advantageous for laundry products containing liquid compositions having a pH of 1 to 6, and optionally a kinematic viscosity of less than 1 mPa·s. Such liquid compositions can easily spill or splash onto surfaces, and when volatile components of the liquid composition evaporate, residues may remain on such surfaces. Furthermore, such liquid compositions may be corrosive to surfaces in contact with them. A closure 10 for the container 20 is shown in Figure 1. The closure 10 shown in Figure 1 is a flip-top closure. The closure 10 may include an upper profile 30. The upper profile 30 may be a plate, shell, or other shaped component. The upper profile 30 is the upper part of the closure 10 when the closure engages with the container 20, the container 20 is in an upright position, and the neck 275 of the container 20 is above the base 260 of the container 20. The closure 10 may be practical for use as part of the packaging of the laundry product 240. The laundry product 240 may comprise a liquid composition 250 and a container 20. The container 20 may have a base 260 and a side wall 270 extending from the base 260 to a neck 270. The upper profile 30 may have an outer surface 40 and an inner surface 50 opposite the outer surface 40. When the closure 10 is closed, the inner surface 50 is inside the closure 10. The outer surface 40 is exposed to the environment when the closure 10 is in its closed state. The spud 60 can protrude from the inner surface 50. The spud 60 is an element that can provide a seal when the upper profile 30 is in the closed position. The hinge 70 can engage the upper profile 30 with the body 80 of the closure 10. The upper profile 30 can swing around the hinge 70, moving the upper profile 30 from the closed position to the open position. Optionally, the hinge 70 may be a living hinge 75. The living hinge 75 is a hinge 70 that has at least two stable low-energy states and an energy state between the two stable low-energy states that is higher than each of the two low-energy states. That is, the living hinge 75 stores some energy as the upper profile 30 rotates from the closed position to the open position around the living hinge 75. The energy state between the two stable low-energy states can be high enough that, when gravity acts, the mass of the upper profile 30 is not sufficient to rotate the upper profile 30 from the open