Vessel for a flowable product

Abstract

A vessel 10 for containing and dispensing a flowable product comprises a moulded tray 12 defining a reservoir 14 and a flange 20 that extends around the periphery of the reservoir. A planar moulded li

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to vessels for containing and dispensing flowable products, for example liquids and granular solids. In particular, but not exclusively, the invention relates to a vessel with components formed from a moulded fibrous pulp material. BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION Vessels for containing and dispensing liquids and other flowable products have traditionally been formed from glass or plastics, typically in the form of bottles, or from metals (e.g. cans). More recently, it has been proposed that moulded fibrous pulp materials (commonly known as moulded pulp or moulded fibre) could be used for such purposes. Moulded pulp may be produced from recycled materials, such as paperboard, cardboard or paper, and may be treated or coated to make it waterproof or otherwise suitable for the product to be contained. Moulded pulp materials may be less expensive than more traditional packaging materials, offer improved sustainability, and may be easier and less energy-intensive to recycle. Products can be produced from moulded pulp materials using a variety of manufacturing processes, including slush moulding, in which a slurry of fibrous material is applied to the surface of a mould and dried; transfer moulding, in which the slurry is applied to a porous mould, a vacuum is applied to draw the slurry to the mould, and the mould is then moved to a drier; and thermoforming, in which the slurry is heated and compressed under high pressure while in the mould to produce a product with a smooth, well-defined surface. Although moulded pulp is now commonly used for food products and other packaging, vessels for liquids and flowable products can be challenging to produce from moulded pulp materials. One particular difficulty is to provide a reliable and effective closure, such as a cap, that can be opened to dispense the product and then re-sealed if necessary. Another difficulty is that, due to the nature of the moulding processes, it can be difficult to produce vessels having traditional bottle shapes with acceptable quality, and alternatives, such as trays or boxes, are not considered to be sufficiently visually appealing for consumer products such as beverages. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide vessels for liquids and other flowable materials that can be manufactured from moulded pulp and similar materials that reduce or eliminate one or more of these problems. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Against that background, and from a first aspect, the invention provides a vessel for containing and dispensing a flowable product. The vessel comprises a moulded tray defining a reservoir for the product and a flange that extends at least in part around the periphery of the reservoir, a generally planar moulded lid attached or attachable to the tray for closing the reservoir and providing a front face of the vessel, and an outlet disposed in the lid and operable to permit dispensing of the product from the reservoir. The flange extends at least along a base portion of the front face of the vessel to form a foot, and the reservoir is defined in part by a base wall of the tray that extends generally perpendicularly away from the front face and in part by a back wall of the tray that extends at an acute angle away from the front face towards the base wall. When in a standing configuration, the vessel rests on the foot and on a back part of the base wall, such that the front face of the vessel is inclined when the vessel is in the standing configuration. With this arrangement, the vessel provides a container suitable for liquids and other flowable materials such as powders, gels and the like. The vessel can be stood on its base for storage, and the contents can be dispensed from the outlet by inverting the vessel, in the manner of a bottle. Furthermore, when stood on its base, the vessel provides a substantially planar front panel that allows for the display of product information and branding. Because the vessel stands on the foot formed by the flange, which can be dimensioned accurately and repeatably during the manufacturing process, the vessel in its standing configuration is stable, and a plurality of vessels standing together will be visually uniform. The base and back walls of the tray, in combination with the lid, provide the vessel with a triangular shape when viewed from the side, so that the reservoir tapers towards a top of the vessel (i.e. opposite the base wall). This means that, when filled, the centre of gravity of the vessel will be closer to the base than to the top of the vessel, further contributing to stability when in the standing configuration. The shape of the tray and the lid of the vessel mean that they can easily be produced from moulded pulp using known production methods, such as thermoforming. To that end, the tray and / or the lid may be formed from a moulded fibrous pulp material. Preferably, the moulded fibrous pulp material comprises a fibre component selected from the group consisting of miscanthus fibre, bagasse fibre, sugar cane fibre, wood fibre, paper fibre, and fabric fibre. The material may be coated, impregnated, laminated or otherwise treated in order to provide suitable waterproofing, sealing media or other desirable characteristics for the intended contents of the vessel. The outlet may be disposed in a top region of the lid, opposite the foot. The top region of the lid may taper towards the outlet, and / or the tray may be shaped such that the reservoir tapers towards the outlet. This may be achieved at least in part by the acute angle formed between the back wall and the front face. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the reservoir is defined in part by first and second side walls, each side wall extending from the front face to meet the base wall and the back wall, and the side walls may optionally converge toward one another towards the outlet. In these ways, the vessel provides a funnel shape in the region of the outlet, to allow the product to be easily poured from the outlet and to ensure that substantially all of the contents can be removed. The outlet may take any suitable form. For example, the outlet may comprise an aperture in the lid and a closure for sealing the aperture. The closure may comprise a tube part having a collar to be sealed to an inside face of the lid around the aperture, and a cap part cooperable with the tube part to close the outlet, for example by a threaded engagement (e.g. a screw cap) or by way of clipping or other mechanical engagement. The closure may comprise a removable or pierceable foil or plastic film that acts as a cap part to seal against the tube part, when provided, or that provides a closure that seals the aperture directly. Instead of a closure, the outlet may comprise a perforated or otherwise weakened region of the lid that can be removed or displaced to open the outlet. When provided, the closure may project away from the front face of the vessel, so that it protrudes from the front face. In such a case, the foot may be shaped and dimensioned such that when the vessel is in the standing configuration, the inclination of the front face is such that the closure is positioned rearward of the foot. This allows a plurality of vessels to be positioned together in the standing configuration without the closure of one vessel impinging on the space occupied by another vessel. The lid is preferably sealed to the flange. Any suitable method for sealing the lid to the tray may be employed, including for example the use of a suitable adhesive, or by the use of pressure, heat, ultrasonic and / or radio-frequency bonding as appropriate for the materials of the vessel and the intended contents. The flange may extend around the whole periphery of the reservoir. The lid and the tray may be formed as a single moulded part having a fold line connecting the lid and the tray. Alternatively, the lid and the tray may be formed as separate moulded parts. The lid may be flat or, to assist in aligning the lid and the tray during manufacture or filling of the vessel, the lid may be stepped to form a recessed central portion and a raised periphery, such that the central portion locates in the reservoir and the raised periphery locates on the flange. The back wall of the tray may provide a generally planar back face of the vessel, allowing branding, product information and the like to be presented on the back face in addition to, or instead of, on the front face. Material may be printed onto the vessel, or applied by way of labels or by other suitable means. The tray and the vessel may be produced by any suitable moulding process. When formed from moulded pulp, a particularly high quality result can be achieved by thermoforming. The vessel may conveniently and quickly be filled by dispensing the product directly into the reservoir before the lid is sealed to the tray. Alternatively, if the outlet is suitably re-sealable, the vessel may be filled through the outlet. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which like reference signs are used for like features, and in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a vessel according to an embodiment of the invention: Figure 2 Is a front view of the vessel of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a rear view of the vessel of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a top view of the vessel of Figure 1; Figure 5 is a bottom view of the vessel of Figure 1; Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of an edge region of the vessel of Figure 1; Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of an edge region of a variant of the vessel of Figure 1; Figure 8 is a part-sectional view of an outlet region of the vessel of Figure 1; Figure 9 is a front view of part of a vessel according to another embodiment of the invention; Figure 10 is a front view of part of a vessel according to a further embodiment of the invention; and Figure 11 is a cross-sectional view of an edge region of a vessel according to a still further embodiment of the invention. Throughout this specification, the terms “front”, “back”, “rear”, “top”, “bottom”, “base” and the like refer to the orientation of the vessel when it is standing on its base (i.e. the front of the vessel is to the left in Figure 1, the base of the vessel is towards the bottom of Figure 1, and the rear or back of the vessel is towards the right in Figure 1). It will be appreciated that, in use, the vessel may be oriented in different orientations. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to Figure 1, a vessel formed 10 from a fibrous pulp material according to an embodiment of the invention includes a tray 12 that is shaped to provide a reservoir 14 and a generally planar lid 16 attached to the tray for enclosing a product within the reservoir 14. The lid 16 forms a front face F of the vessel 10. A dispensing outlet 18 is arranged in the lid 16. The tray 12 is formed to provide a generally planar flange 20 that extends around the periphery of the reservoir 14 adjacent the front face F of the vessel 10. The reservoir 14 is defined by a first or base wall 22 at the bottom end of the tray 12 that forms a base of the vessel 10. The base wall 22 extends between a first side wall 24 and second side wall 26 (not visible in Figure 1). The base wall 22, first side wall 24 and second side wall 26 all extend backwards from the flange 20. The reservoir 14 is also further defined by a second or back wall 28 which extends between the first side wall 24 and second side wall 26. The base wall 22 and the first and second side walls 24, 26 all meet the flange 20 at a generally perpendicular angle, while the back wall 28 extends at an acute angle (approximately 30° in this example) relative to the flange 20. The base wall 22, back wall 28, first side wall 24 and second side wall 26 all extend backwards from the flange 20 to converge towards a convergence point 30 at the back of the tray 12. In this way, the reservoir 14 has a bulbous shape. The convergence point 30 is disposed closer to the base wall 22 than to the top of the vessel 10 so that, from a side view (as shown in Figure 1), the vessel 10 tapers towards the top, and the centre of gravity is towards the base. In this way, the vessel 10 can stand stably in a generally vertical standing configuration, as will be described in more detail below. Referring to Figure 2, the vessel 10 has an irregular pentagon shape from its front view, with one vertex at a tip 32 (uppermost when the vessel 10 is in the standing configuration) and the four remaining vertices arranged in a rectangle. Two converging edges 36 connect the tip 32 to the top pair of vertices, so that the vessel tapers towards the tip 32. In this example, the converging edges 36 meet at the tip 38 at an angle of approximately 90°. The lid 16 is shaped to overlay the periphery of the tray 12. In the illustrated example, the lid 16 has the same in-plane dimensions as the tray 12, but it will be appreciated that the lid 16 could instead be larger than or smaller than the tray 12, so long as a seal between the lid 16 and the tray 12 can still be provided. Referring additionally to Figures 3, 4 and 5, the reservoir 14 has mirror symmetry across a vertical plane A-A (see Figure 3). As noted above, the first side wall 24, second side wall 26, base wall 22 and back wall 28 all extend from the flange 20 in a direction away from the front face F of the vessel 10 and towards the convergence point 30. The base wall 22 spans between the first side wall 24 and the second side wall 26 to provide a generally flat region adjacent the flange 20, towards the front face F of the vessel 10, and the base wall 22 curves upwards towards the back of the vessel 10 to meet the back wall 28 at the convergence point 30. In this example, the back wall 28 has a generally planar central region 29 that provides a surface upon which product information, branding and the like can be presented. In other examples (not illustrated), the back wall 28 may be curved. The first and second side walls 24, 26 extend from the flange 20 along arcuate paths towards the convergence point 30, and are each connected to the base wall 22 and the back wall 28 to close the reservoir 14. The first and second side walls 24, 26 and the back wall 28 converge adjacent to the tip 32 of the vessel 10. The dispensing outlet 18 is disposed in a top region of the lid 16. That is, the outlet 18 is disposed towards an upper end of the vessel 10, opposite the base, so that the outlet 18 is close to the top of the vessel 10 when the vessel is in its standing configuration. By virtue of the inclined back wall 28 and the converging edges 36, the reservoir 14 is tapered to provide a funnel that directs the contents of the reservoir to the outlet when the vessel 10 is inverted. Figure 6 shows a cross-sectional view of the vessel 10 in the region of the flange 20 of the tray 12. In this embodiment, the lid 16 has a recessed central portion 38 and a raised periphery 40. The central portion 38 and the periphery 40 meet at a step 42. The step 42 provides a locating feature that assist in aligning the lid 16 with the tray 12 during assembly of the vessel 10, such that the central portion 38 locates in the reservoir 14 and the periphery 40 locates on the flange 20. During assembly of the vessel 10, the lid 16 is sealed to the tray 12 by a suitable sealing process. In this example, an adhesive 50 is provided on the flange 20 and / or on the periphery 40 of the lid 16 to provide the seal, although it will be appreciated that alternative or additional sealing processes could be use. Once the lid 16 is sealed to the tray 12, the reservoir 14 is closed and the product can be dispensed via the outlet 18. Optionally, the reservoir 14 may be filled with the product before the lid 16 is sealed onto the tray 12 or, alternatively, the lid 16 may be sealed onto the tray 12 to provide an empty vessel 10 that may subsequently be filled via the outlet 18. The lid 16 and the tray 12 may be formed as separate moulded parts, in which case the sealing arrangement shown in Figure 6 will be present around the whole of the periphery of the vessel 10. Alternatively, the lid 16 and the tray 12 may be formed together as a single moulded part, connected long a common fold line. In that case, one part of the periphery of the vessel 10 may be as shown in Figure 7, in which the periphery 240 of the lid 216 is attached to the flange 220 of the tray 212 by a fold 252. The lid 16 and the tray 12 may still be sealed together adjacent to the fold 252, for example via an adhesive, or the seal could be omitted in this region. Referring back to Figure 1, because the flange 20 extends along a base portion of the front face F of the vessel 10, the flange 20 projects downwards beyond the base wall 22 of the tray 12. In this way, the flange 20 provides a foot 21 upon which the vessel 10 rests when in the standing configuration. The vessel 10 is thus supported on the foot 21 and on a back part of the base wall 22, which means that the front face F of the vessel 10 (i.e. the plane of the lid 16) is inclined, with the top of the front face further rearward than the bottom of the front face F, when the vessel 10 is in the standing configuration. This further contributes to the stability of the vessel 10 in the standing configuration and provides an attractive aesthetic appearance. The angle of inclination of the front face F is about 10° from vertical, in this example, although different angles may be used. The angle of inclination is determined by the width of the flange (approximately 7 mm in this example) and the shape and size of the reservoir 14, in particular in the region of the base wall 22. Referring to Figure 8, in this example, the outlet 18 has a closure 51 comprising a tube part 52 that projects from an aperture in the lid 16. The inside end of the tube part 52 is formed to provide a collar 54 that is sealed to an inside face of the lid 16 around the periphery of the aperture. The closure 51 also includes an internally-threaded cap 56 that cooperates with the tube part 52, which carries a complementary thread. The cap 56 is ribbed to improve grip. The closure 51 may be formed from a plastics material, for example by injection moulding, and may conveniently be attached to and sealed with the lid 16 before the lid 16 is attached to the tray 12. In this way, the closure 51 can be simply and reliably provided without the need for multiple parts or process steps. It will be understood that other types of closure, for example as known in the art, may be used in place of the screw cap arrangement illustrated here. The vessel 10 can be opened and the product dispensed by removing the cap 56 from the tube part 52 arranged in the lid 16. The vessel 10 may be inverted to dispense the product, with the funnel shape of the reservoir 14 assisting in providing a controllable flow through the outlet 18 and ensuring that substantially all of the contents are dispensed. In some embodiments, the tray 12 can be squeezed or otherwise deformed to urge the contents from the vessel 10. Several modifications and variations of the embodiment described above are possible. For instance, the shape of the vessel in the region of the outlet may be modified. Figure 9 shows the top of the vessel in an alternative embodiment, in which the tip 332 has a radius of curvature that is similar to the radius of the cap 356. This increased radius of the tip 332 enables the dispensing outlet 318 to be disposed closer to the tip 332, so that the contained product can be completely emptied from the vessel. Figure 10 shows the top of the vessel in another embodiment. In this case, the tip 432 and the outlet 418 are offset from the centre-line of the vessel, such that the vessel is not symmetrical about a central vertical plane. By offsetting the outlet 418, it may be easier to transfer the product into another bottle or vessel, which may be useful for some applications. In the above-described embodiments, the lid of the vessel has a step to aid location on the tray. However, this need not be the case. Figure 11 shows an alternative embodiment in which the lid 616 is planar. In this case, a peripheral region of the lid 616 that is coplanar with the remainder of the lid 616 overlies and seals against the flange 620 of the tray 612. The vessels described herein can be manufactured from any suitable material. However, the vessels are particularly suitable for manufacture from moulded fibrous pulp materials, which offer low cost and weight and offer environmental advantages, including good recyclability, sustainable production, biodegradability and compostability. Particularly suitable are pulp materials containing miscanthus fibre, bagasse fibre, sugar cane fibre, wood fibre, paper fibre, or fabric fibre. The fibres of the material may be of virgin or recycled origin, or a mixture of both. The material may be coated, impregnated, sprayed, laminated or otherwise treated, as is known generally in the art, in order to provide suitable waterproofing or other desirable characteristics for the intended contents of the vessel. Both the lid and the tray may be formed from the same material. However, when the lid and the tray are formed as separate mouldings, it is possible for the lid and the tray to be formed from different materials. Any suitable pulp moulding processes could be used to form the lid and the tray. Thermoforming has been found to provide particularly good results for the production of vessels for consumer products such as beverages. The shape, size and configuration of the outlet may be selected to suit the intended contents of the vessel. For example, a relatively small outlet may be provided for low-viscosity liquids, whereas a larger outlet may be provided for viscous liquids, granular solids or a powder. Instead of a screw cap, a different type of closure, such as a releasable clip, may be preferable in some applications, such as for dispensing pharmaceuticals, confectionary, non-alcoholic or alcoholic beverages and so on. It is also possible to provide an outlet having a removable or pierceable foil closure, made for example from a metal or plastic film, or to provide an outlet in which an aperture can be formed by tearing, cutting or piercing the lid, for which purpose a line of weakness such as a perforated or scored line may be provided. The volume of the reservoir may be selected according to the application. Examples include reservoir volumes of between 1 and 2 litres, for example for non-alcoholic beverages, milk, juice and non-beverage applications, of about 750 mL, to correspond to a standard wine bottle, of between 250 and 500 mL, for example for single-serve beverages, and of between 50 mL and 250 mL, for example for children’s beverages, cosmetics and the like. Vessels according to the invention are ideally suited for containing and dispensing flowable products, such as liquids, powders, granulated or otherwise divided solids, gels, suspensions, slurries and so on. Examples from the food industry include beverages, oils, milks, creams, juices, concentrates and other liquids used in cooking or food preparation, food product granules, crystalline products such as salt and sugar, diced or chopped products, grains, seeds, cereals, confectionary products such as lozenges, tablets, gums and powders, herbs, spices, frozen food products and many others. Other non-limiting examples include pharmaceuticals (including tablets, capsules, powders, creams, ointments and liquid preparations), cleaning products, motor oils, cosmetics, fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides and so on. Further variations and modifications not explicitly described above are also possible without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. 5

Claims

1. A vessel for containing and dispensing a flowable product, comprising:- a moulded tray defining a reservoir for the product and a flange that extends at least in part around the periphery of the reservoir;- a generally planar moulded lid attached or attachable to the tray for closing the reservoir and providing a front face of the vessel; and- an outlet disposed in the lid and operable to permit dispensing of the product from the reservoir;wherein:the flange extends at least along a base portion of the front face of the vessel to form a foot;the reservoir is defined in part by a base wall of the tray that extends generally perpendicularly away from the front face and in part by a back wall of the tray that extends at an acute angle away from the front face towards the base wall; andwhen in a standing configuration, the vessel rests on the foot and on a back part of the base wall such that the front face of the vessel is inclined when the vessel is in the standing configuration.

2. A vessel according to Claim 1, wherein the tray and / or the lid are formed from a fibrous pulp material.

3. A vessel according to Claim 2, wherein the fibrous pulp material comprises a fibre component selected from the group consisting of miscanthus fibre, bagasse fibre, sugar cane fibre, wood fibre, paper fibre, and fabric fibre.

4. A vessel according to any preceding claim, wherein the outlet is disposed in a top region of the lid, opposite the foot.

5. A vessel according to Claim 4, wherein the top region of the lid tapers towards the outlet.

6. A vessel according to Claim 4 or Claim 5, wherein the tray is shaped such that the reservoir tapers towards the outlet.

7. A vessel according to any preceding claim, wherein the reservoir is defined in part by first and second side walls, each side wall extending from the front face to meet the base wall and the back wall.

8. A vessel according to Claim 7 when dependent on Claim 6, wherein the side walls converge toward one another towards the outlet.

9. A vessel according to any preceding claim, wherein the outlet comprises an aperture in the lid and a closure for sealing the aperture.

10. A vessel according to Claim 9, wherein the closure comprises a tube part having a collar to be sealed to an inside face of the lid around the aperture, and a cap part cooperable with the tube part to close the outlet.

11. A vessel according to Claim 9 or Claim 10, wherein the closure projects away from the front face of the vessel, and the foot is shaped and dimensioned such that, when in the standing configuration, the inclination of the front face is such that the closure is positioned rearward of the foot.

12. A vessel according to any preceding claim, wherein the lid is sealed to the flange.

13. A vessel according to any preceding claim, wherein the flange extends around the whole periphery of the reservoir.

14. A vessel according to any preceding claim, wherein the lid and the tray are formed as a single moulded part having a fold line connecting the lid and the tray.

15. A vessel according to any of Claims 1 to 13, wherein the lid and the tray are formed as separate moulded parts.

16. A vessel according to any preceding claim, wherein the lid is stepped to form 5 a recessed central portion and a raised periphery, such that the central portion locates in the reservoir and the raised periphery locates on the flange.

17. A vessel according to any preceding claim, wherein the back wall of the tray provides a generally planar back face of the vessel.

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