US-12623815-B2 - Squeezable tube dispenser

Abstract

A squeezable tube dispenser including a body, a nozzle, and a closure component. The body has an interior cavity for containing a substance. The nozzle is coupled to the body adjacent to an open top end of the body. The closure component includes a cover member that defines a cover cavity and a cap member protruding from an inner surface of the cover member into the cover cavity. The cap member defines a cap cavity. The cap member is detachably coupled to the nozzle via a friction fit with the nozzle nesting within the cap cavity of the cap member. The body and the cover member of the closure component are formed predominantly from a fibrous material and the nozzle and the cap of the closure component are formed from a plastic material. The squeezable tube dispenser has no more than 15% by weight of plastic.

Inventors

• Francis Tatu
• Mark Bartlett

Assignees

• COLGATE-PALMOLIVE COMPANY

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20220204

Claims (19)

1. 1 . A squeezable tube dispenser comprising: a body comprising an interior cavity for containing a substance, a sealed bottom end, and an open top end; a nozzle coupled to the body adjacent to the open top end of the body, the nozzle defining a passageway into the internal cavity; and a closure component comprising: a cover member having a top portion and a sidewall portion, an inner surface of the top portion and an inner surface of the sidewall portion defining a cover cavity; and a cap member coupled to the inner surface of the top portion of the cover member and protruding downwardly therefrom into the cover cavity, the cap member comprising an inner surface that defines a cap cavity; wherein the cap member of the closure component is detachably coupled to the nozzle via a friction fit with the nozzle nesting within the cap cavity of the cap member; and wherein the body and the cover member of the closure component are formed predominantly from a fibrous material and the nozzle and the cap of the closure component are formed from a plastic material, and wherein the squeezable tube dispenser comprises no more than 15% by weight of plastic.
2. 2 . The squeezable tube dispenser according to claim 1 wherein the body comprises a main body component and a shoulder component that are coupled together.
3. 3 . The squeezable tube dispenser according to claim 1 wherein the body comprises a fibrous portion having an inner surface that faces the internal cavity and an outer surface that faces away from the internal cavity, a top portion of the body adjacent to the open top end comprising a plastic layer covering the inner surface of the fibrous portion, and wherein the nozzle comprises a sidewall portion and a flange portion extending from the sidewall portion, the flange portion of the nozzle being located within the internal cavity of the body and bonded to the plastic layer of the body.
4. 4 . The squeezable tube dispenser according to claim 1 wherein the nozzle comprises a sidewall that extends from the open top end of the body and terminates at a distal end, the sidewall being tapered as the sidewall extends from the open top end of the body towards the distal end, and wherein the cap member of the closure component comprises a sidewall that extends from the inner surface of the top portion of the cover member, the sidewall of the cap member being tapered in a direction towards the top portion of the cover member.
5. 5 . The squeezable tube dispenser according to claim 4 wherein the body comprises a first longitudinal axis and wherein the sidewall of the nozzle has a first taper angle relative to the first longitudinal axis, and wherein the cap cavity comprises a second longitudinal axis and the sidewall of the cap member of the closure component has a second taper angle relative to the second longitudinal axis, the first and second taper angles being the same, and the first and second longitudinal axes being coincident when the closure member is coupled to the nozzle.
6. 6 . The squeezable tube dispenser according to claim 5 wherein the first and second taper angles are 1.72° and wherein each of the sidewall of the nozzle and the sidewall of the cap member has a 6% taper.
7. 7 . The squeezable tube dispenser according to claim 1 wherein the cap member of the closure component comprises a top portion that is bonded to the inner surface of the top portion of the cover member of the closure component, a sidewall portion extending downwardly from the top portion, and a flange portion extending downwardly and outwardly from the sidewall portion to a distal end of the cap member, the distal end of the cap member being located within the cover cavity.
8. 8 . The squeezable tube dispenser according to claim 7 wherein the sidewall portion of the cover member of the closure component terminates in a distal end, and wherein the distal end of the cap member is recessed relative to the distal end of the sidewall portion of the cover member.
9. 9 . The squeezable tube dispenser according to claim 7 further comprising one or more ribs extending from at least one of the top portion of the cap member and the sidewall portion of the cap member, and wherein when the closure component is coupled to the nozzle a distal end of the nozzle abuts against the one or more ribs to maintain a gap between the top portion of the cap member and the distal end of the nozzle.
10. 10 . The squeezable tube dispenser according to claim 1 wherein the top portion of the cover member comprises a fibrous portion having an inner surface that faces the cover cavity and a plastic portion that covers at least a portion of the inner surface of the fibrous portion, and wherein the cap member is bonded to the plastic portion of the top portion of the cover member.
11. 11 . The squeezable tube dispenser according to claim 1 wherein the nozzle and the cap member of the closure component are free of threads such that the closure component is coupled to the nozzle solely due to a friction fit engagement between the cap member and the nozzle.
12. 12 . The squeezable tube dispenser according to claim 10 wherein the nozzle and the cap member of the closure component are detachably coupled together solely via a Luer-slip engagement.
13. 13 . The squeezable tube dispenser according to claim 1 wherein the cover member of the closure component is not directly attached to the nozzle or the body, a distal end of the cover member being adjacent to an outer surface of the body when the closure component is coupled to the nozzle.
14. 14 . The squeezable tube dispenser according to claim 1 wherein the cap member of the closure component comprises a top portion that is bonded to the inner surface of the top portion of the cover member, the top portion of the cap member comprising a central aperture.
15. 15 . The squeezable tube dispenser according to claim 1 wherein an entirety of the cap member is located within the cover cavity.
16. 16 . The squeezable tube dispenser according to claim 1 wherein the detachable coupling between the cap member and the nozzle is a Luer-slip coupling.
17. 17 . The squeezable tube dispenser according to claim 1 wherein the squeezable tube dispenser comprises no more than 10% by weight of plastic.
18. 18 . A squeezable tube dispenser comprising: a body comprising an interior cavity for containing a substance; a nozzle coupled to the body and defining a passageway into the internal cavity through which the substance is configured to be dispensed; and a closure component comprising: a cover member defining a cover cavity; and a cap member coupled to the cover member and protruding into the cover cavity, the cap member comprising an inner surface that defines a cap cavity; wherein the cap member and the nozzle have tapered sidewalls so that the cap member is detachably coupled to the nozzle via a Luer-slip connection with the nozzle nesting within the cap cavity of the cap member; and wherein the body and the cover member are formed predominantly from a fibrous material and the nozzle and the cap are formed from a plastic material, and wherein the squeezable tube dispenser comprises no more than 15% by weight of plastic.
19. 19 . The squeezable tube dispenser according to claim 18 wherein the squeezable tube dispenser comprises no more than 10% by weight of plastic.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/165,855, filed Mar. 25, 2021, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND Plastic packaging is commonly used for many products including solid, semi-solid, paste, and liquid items such as food, beverages, water, consumer products, lotions, medicines, wet chemicals, and the like. These plastic packaged products generate waste in the form of plastics and its derivatives, and where non-biodegradable materials are used for this ever-increasing packaging, it may result in contamination of the landscape and the environment. In addition, some of these plastics may leach various toxic substances into the products that they enclose, endangering the safety and health of the consumers of such products. Paper containers are sometimes used instead to package dry goods and liquids. While paper is typically biodegradable, paper poses other difficulties when used as a liquid packaging material. Paper containers are typically compound structures formed of multiple flat paper sections. These assemblies have multiple seams and other potential weak points that may rupture or otherwise leak as liquids find their way into voids left by imperfect manufacture or wick into the cut edges of the coated paper where it is exposed on the inside surfaces of the container. These paper containers may also include additional materials such as plastic films or composite sheets that are not biodegradable and which may render the paper containers unable to be disposed in the paper waste stream, which has requirements for weight percentages of plastic that may be present. Thus, there remains a need for a biodegradable and/or recyclable container that may be used for the storage, transport, and/or dispensing of solid, semi-solid, paste, and/or liquid items. BRIEF SUMMARY The present invention is directed to a squeezable tube dispenser including a body, a nozzle, and a closure component. The body has an interior cavity for containing a substance. The nozzle is coupled to the body adjacent to an open top end of the body. The closure component includes a cover member that defines a cover cavity and a cap member protruding from an inner surface of the cover member into the cover cavity. The cap member defines a cap cavity. The cap member is detachably coupled to the nozzle via a friction fit with the nozzle nesting within the cap cavity of the cap member. The body and the cover member of the closure component are formed predominantly from a fibrous material and the nozzle and the cap of the closure component are formed from a plastic material. The squeezable tube dispenser has no more than 15% by weight of plastic. In one aspect, the invention may be a squeezable tube dispenser comprising: a body comprising an interior cavity for containing a substance, a sealed bottom end, and an open top end; a nozzle coupled to the body adjacent to the open top end of the body, the nozzle defining a passageway into the internal cavity; and a closure component comprising: a cover member having a top portion and a sidewall portion, an inner surface of the top portion and an inner surface of the sidewall portion defining a cover cavity; and a cap member coupled to the inner surface of the top portion of the cover member and protruding downwardly therefrom into the cover cavity, the cap member comprising an inner surface that defines a cap cavity; wherein the cap member of the closure component is detachably coupled to the nozzle via a friction fit with the nozzle nesting within the cap cavity of the cap member; and wherein the body and the cover member of the closure component are formed predominantly from a fibrous material and the nozzle and the cap of the closure component are formed from a plastic material, and wherein the squeezable tube dispenser comprises no more than 15% by weight of plastic. In another aspect, the invention may be a squeezable tube dispenser comprising: a body comprising an interior cavity for containing a substance; a nozzle coupled to the body and defining a passageway into the internal cavity through which the substance is configured to be dispensed; and a closure component comprising: a cover member defining a cover cavity; and a cap member coupled to the cover member and protruding into the cover cavity, the cap member comprising an inner surface that defines a cap cavity; wherein the cap member and the nozzle have tapered sidewalls so that the cap member is detachably coupled to the nozzle via a Luer-slip connection with the nozzle nesting within the cap cavity of the cap member; and wherein the body and the cover member are formed predominantly from a fibrous material and the nozzle and the cap are formed from a plastic material, and wherein the squeezable tube dispenser comprises no more than 15% by weight of plastic. Further areas of applicability of the present invention will