GB2569147A

GB2569147A - Product

Info

Publication number: GB2569147A
Application number: GB1720376.1A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kamisetti Ravi
Original assignee: Reckitt Benckiser LLC
Current assignee: Reckitt Benckiser LLC
Priority date: 2017-12-07
Filing date: 2017-12-07
Publication date: 2019-06-12
Also published as: MX2020005936A; BR112020011400A2; GB201720376D0; WO2019110997A1

Abstract

A dispensing cap 1 comprises a central nozzle 2 and a plurality of other nozzles 3, 4 arranged in one or more rings, preferably two rings, distanced from and concentric with the central nozzle 2. Preferably, the central nozzle 2 dispenses in a vertical angle and each ring is angled away from the vertical. Each ring may have ten or twenty apertures and the nozzles may be between 0.35 and 0.40mm. The cap 1, which may be for a bottle, could be made of a plastic, such as polypropylene, moulded by a method including a mono-block design. The bottle may contain a cleaning formulation for cleaning vertical surfaces. The overall cap diameter is 15mm and the cap 1 may include a lid (5, figure 1) that is designed to shut off all nozzles, when in a closed position.

Description

PRODUCT

The present invention relates to a dispensing cap.

Dispensing caps are generally composed of plastic and are injection moulded.

The production of these dispensing caps requires a relatively complicated and therefore both technically and economically costly mould.

A further complication arises for dispensing caps having multiple, thin stream nozzles. These kind of dispensing caps find utility where a fine spread of dosed material/product is required; e.g. onto a surface.

The production of these dispensing caps requires a comparatively complicated and thus technically and economically complex tool mold. The complication is that the multiple pins required to mold these nozzles, very tight process settings to deliver tight specification tolerances. Cores are circular in cross-section, which produce the inclined nozzles, cannot be handled with a common mould, due to angular positions. This drawback is all the more serious since such dispensing caps are produced in various different sizes, but not in particularly high numbers.

It is an object of the present invention to obviate and / or mitigate these disadvantages.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a dispensing cap comprising a central nozzle and a plurality of other nozzles arranged in one or more rings, distanced from and concentric with the central nozzle.

Preferably the central nozzle dispenses in vertical angle.

Generally, each ring is angled away from the vertical. Each successive ring is preferably angled more from the vertical.

The angle of the nozzles of the or each ring may define an angle from the vertical. The dispense angle of the or each ring can be varied and hence change the cone as required.

Generally, the dispensing cap has two concentric rings.

There can be a max of 2 rings around the central nozzle and these can be spaced accordingly to available space on moulded part. Each ring preferably has up to 10 apertures^

Nozzle size varies from 0.35 to 0.4mm, primarily due to angled tips/ processing /shrinkage.

Preferably central nozzle and inner ring have nozzle size of about 0.3 to 0.35mm.

Preferably the outer ring (where present) has nozzle size of about 0.4mm.

The overall cap diameter (in the area containing the nozzles) is preferably about 15mm. Preferably the nozzle section is raised relative to the remainder of the cap.

Preferably the cap comprises a plastics material such as PP.

Preferably the cap is used for a bottle, wherein generally the bottle contains a cleaning formulation. As such the cap preferably includes a section suitable for attachment to a bottle; e.g. such as screw threads suitable for engaging complementary threads on a bottle.

Preferably the cap has a lid (such as a hinged lid). The lid is preferably designed to shut off all nozzles, when in a closed position.

The bottle is preferably employed for cleaning vertical surfaces such as bathrooms, lavatories, showers as well as mopping floors & other horizontal surfaces.

Thus, according to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a cleaning method for a vertical hard surface comprising the discharge of a cleaning formulation from a container which includes a dispensing cap according to a first aspect of the invention.

This method has been found to be advantageous. A principle advantage is that the discharge of the cleaning composition has been found to be highly focussed onto the surface being cleaned: very little of the cleaning composition fails to reach or is cast off from the surface being cleaned.

According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a method of forming a dispensing cap according to the first aspect of the invention wherein the forming process includes a mono-block design.

The use of the mono-block design has been found to be particularly innovative. Such a tool design, has features on a mono-block of steel which can be easily maintained /replaced when required.

This method has been found to be advantageous. A principle advantage is that the dispensing caps can be formed quickly and in large numbers without the risk of frequent pin breakage / moulding down times and the need for frequent maintenance too. This reduces the overall cost of the cap.

Further this method does not include pins, which have been commonly used in prior art moulds for forming such dispensing caps. Due to the size of the nozzles in the dispensing caps these pins (although generally formed of metal) are fragile and frequently break / need replacing. The mono-blaock forming process solves this issue.

The invention is illustrated with reference to the following non-limiting Figures; in which,

Figure 1 shows a plan view of a dispensing cap according to the invention, and

Figure 2 shows a plan view of a dispensing cap according to the invention with a lid.

The dispensing cap (1) comprises a central nozzle (2) and a plurality of other nozzles arranged in two rings (3) and (4), distanced from and concentric with the central nozzle (2). The nozzles of the rings (3) and (4) are successively angled away from the vertical.

The dispensing cap (1) has an associated lid (5) which connects to the dispensing cap (1) via a hinge (6).

Claims

1. Dispensing cap comprising a central nozzle and a plurality of other nozzles arranged in one or more rings, distanced from and concentric with the central nozzle.

2. A dispensing cap according to claim 1, wherein the central nozzle dispenses in vertical angle.

3. A dispensing cap according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each ring is angled away from the vertical.

4. A dispensing cap according to claim 3, wherein each successive ring is angled more from the vertical

5. A dispensing cap according to any preceding claim, wherein the cap comprises two concentric rings.

6. A dispensing cap according to any preceding claim, wherein each ring has 20 apertures.

7. A dispensing cap according to any preceding claim, wherein the nozzle size varies from 0.35 to 0.4mm.

8. A dispensing cap according to any preceding claim, wherein the central nozzle and inner ring have nozzle size of about 0.35mm.

9. A dispensing cap according to any preceding claim, wherein the outer ring (where present) has nozzle size of about 0.4mm.

10. A dispensing cap according to any preceding claim, wherein the cap comprises a plastics material such as PP.

11. A dispensing cap according to any preceding claim, wherein the Cap is intended for used for use on a bottle.

12. A dispensing cap according to claim 11, wherein the bottle contains a cleaning formulation.

13. A dispensing cap according to claim 12, wherein the bottle can also be used for cleaning vertical surfaces such as bathrooms, lavatories, showers.

14. A method of forming a dispensing cap according to any of the preceding claims including a mono-block design.