Packaging for liquid or pulverulent products

The packaging is an assembly composed of a substantially rigid outer shell and a inner shell in plastic material contained in this outer shell. The relative dimensions of the outer shell and of the inner shell are such that inner shell can be placed either in a first retracted position in which its base rests on the base of the outer shell and its spout is retracted in the outer shell or in a second extended position in which the inner shell is suspended in the outer shell and its spout goes beyond an opening provided in the cover of the outer shell. The inner shell can be displaced between these two positions according to requirements.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention concerns a packaging for liquid or pulverulent 
products particularly suitable for food products and chemicals. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The packaging and transportation of products which can flow (in particular 
liquid products) has always been an awkward problem. 
Although the transportation of pulverulent products can be made by other 
means, the invention provides an advantageous alternative. 
Metal and glass containers are used much less than in the past: they are 
generally heavy, they permit few variations in form, and they are 
relatively expensive. Glass containers are, moreover, breakable which is a 
major disadvantage. Metal containers are easily deformed, irreversibly if 
they are dropped. 
Thus, for some decades, the use of various containers in plastic materials 
has become commonplace for the packaging of, inter alia, liquid food 
products or products for use in industry or in daily life. 
So there has been a progressive replacement of all sorts of containers 
formerly made in glass or metal by containers in plastic materials 
intended for the same types of use. These new containers permit easier 
handling and manipulation, in particular because of the reduction of the 
risks of breakage or of damaging deformation. 
A certain number of problems specific to the use of plastic materials for 
packaging liquid products have appeared over time. Some of these problems 
are still with us, and the present invention attempts to remedy them. 
For reasons of economy, it is desirable for containers in plastic materials 
to be as light as possible. With this in mind, and starting with forms 
copied from glass or metal packagings, there has been a progressive 
evolution of packagings in plastic materials towards forms that are better 
adapted to the characteristics of the material. These forms have made it 
possible to optimize resistance to vertical compression, the limit being 
given by a non-visible and non-permanent deformation of the packaging. 
However, most of the forms developed which provided both good resistance to 
vertical compression and light weight have one major drawback: the ratio 
between the volume occupied by the spatial requirement of the pack and the 
volume of liquid product packed is high, and in no case is it close to the 
optimum value of 1:1. In bottles of teardrop shape, for example, this 
ratio is generally about 1.5:1 or 2.2:1. This represents a huge loss of 
volume and considerably increases the costs of packaging, handling, 
storage and distribution. 
Due to their rigidity, most containers in plastic materials also occupy a 
considerable place in the volume of household or industrial wastes. It is 
easy to understand why this volume should be reduced as much as possible. 
Moreover, packagings in parallelepipedic form have been in daily use for a 
very long time for packaging solid materials. Cardboard boxes, light and 
resistant, are particularly appreciated: they permit a good use of space, 
they are easy to stack and to palletize, and their volume can be reduced 
after use. 
It is also known to use cardboard boxes for packaging liquid products, 
provided plastic materials have been used to make them waterproof. 
In this regard are aware of boxes formed from plastified cardboard, of the 
brick type, that are utilized for milk, comprising a small quantity of 
plastic material and occupying, after use, a reduced space in refuse, 
provided care is taken to flatten them. 
These boxes are manufactured on special machines from cardboard sheet. At 
least one layer of polyethylene, and possibly one layer of another 
material such as aluminium, are made integral with the cardboard sheet, by 
sticking together or by other means. This results in one particularly 
troublesome drawback from the ecological point of view: the materials 
making up the single composite layer of the packaging cannot be separated 
by simple means. Thus, they can neither be destroyed selectively by 
incineration nor recuperated for purposes of recycling. The cardboard 
itself, being plastified, is rendered rot-proof. 
The method of opening boxes of the brick type utilized for milk is as 
follows: the user must lift a part, which is folded on the top of the box 
and folded over the sides, and cut off its corner. If the cutting 
operation is not performed correctly, which often occurs, milk is spilled 
when the user picks up the brick in order to pour out its contents. No 
provision is made, after opening, for the possibility of satisfactory 
reclosing this type of packaging. 
For packaging liquid washing agents, packaging formed from a combination of 
cardboard and sheets of plastic materials which can, in certain cases, be 
reclosed each time the product is used, has recently been developed. 
Particularly, packaging of the brick type for milk described above, whose 
method of opening is different, has been marketed; a pouring spout, 
consisting of an injection-moulded component made from polyethylene, is 
glued to the centre of the upper wall of the box. When using the container 
for the first time, the consumer must himself pierce a hole in the wall of 
the packaging, through the spout, thus creating lips which face the inside 
of the box. Such lips prevent total emptying of milk from the box. As the 
spout is applied to the outer part of the composite film forming the wall 
of the packaging, it can become detached due to impact or rough treatment. 
As with bricks for milk, any recycling of plastic material or of cardboard 
is impossible. Moreover, stacking and palletization are difficult due to 
the projecting pouring spout. 
Another type of packaging known on the market and provided for liquid 
washing agents permits easier pouring of the product. This is packaging 
which consists of a cardboard sheet which has been given the form of a 
box, in which a sheet of plastic material welded into the form of a bag, 
is glued at several points. The upper wall of this packaging is 
manufactured with an off-centre hole. A spout which is integral with the 
cardboard and with the sheet of plastic material is positioned at the 
location of the hole provided on the top of the box. Opening, closing and 
pouring of the product are relatively easy. Nevertheless, it is observed 
that, in practice, due in particular to the parallelepipedal form of the 
box, it is also virtually impossible to empty. 
Once again, the composents (cardboard and plastic material) are very 
difficult to dissociate from one another, which is undesirable from an 
ecological standpoint. Moreover, this type of packaging requires the use 
of a considerable amount of adhesive. Finally, the problems of stacking 
and palletization are still not solved. 
There is a particular model of this type of packaging which has a large 
opening provided in the cover. The spout, which is then integral only with 
the sheet of plastic material, is able to retract into the box via this 
opening. What frequently happens now is that it moves obliquely and 
disappears inside the box, from where it is then awkward to recover. The 
direction of the flow of product is not guaranteed either, on pouring. 
There is also another particular model of this type of packaging, in which 
the spout is located in a "cut corner" of the cardboard box. In this case, 
the resistance of the packaging to vertical compression is diminished. 
The packaging mentioned above are not designed in order to be filled via 
the spout. They must be manufactured and filled by complicated and 
expensive machines which make the cardboard, apply the plastic material 
thereto and proceed immediately to filling. In each case, this means that 
the manufacturer of the packaged product must transport his merchandise in 
bulk to the premises where the packaging is manufactured or invest in 
machines for manufacturing and filling the packaging, which involves 
additional cost. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The invention aims to provide packaging for liquid or pulverulent products 
which can be used either as a bottle or as a box. 
This packaging can be manufactured by traditional machines and filled via 
the spout on filling lines that are traditionally used for filling 
bottles. In use, it will permit easy pouring of the product and good 
direction of the flow, as is possible with a simple bottle. In addition, 
during handling, transportation and storing, it can be stacked on other 
packs and palletized like a simple box. 
It will also be possible, after use, to very easily separate the cardboard 
box from the empty plastic bottle, possibly with a view to recycling. 
The subject of the invention is a packaging for liquid or pulverulent 
products, consisting of an assembly composed of a box in cardboard and a 
bottle in plastic material that is removably contained in that box without 
being attached thereto, i.e. without being glued or welded to it. In this 
fashion, the bottle can be very easily separated from the box without any 
tearing after this box has been opened. The box in question has lateral 
walls that terminate in respective lower extremities and a cover. An 
opening is made in the cover. The bottle has a base, a body, shoulders, a 
neck and a spout to which a stopper is fitted. 
The relative dimensions of the bottle and the box are such that the bottle 
can be selectively vertically moved between a first retracted position in 
which its base is situated at the same level as the respective lower 
extremities of the lateral walls of the box and its spout is substantially 
retracted in the box, and a second extended position in which the base is 
situated above the level of the respective lower extremities of the 
lateral walls of the box, its neck being then engaged in the opening in 
the cover. The bottle can be displaced vertically from one position to the 
other and vice versa. The bottle, when contained in the box, can be filled 
via the spout. The stopper can be placed on and removed from the spout as 
desired, and the content of the bottle can be poured out via the spout. 
The neck of the bottle is equipped with support means which, when it is 
engaged in the opening, interact with the cover to ensure that the spout 
is maintained outside the box and the bottle is suspended in the box. 
These support means provide a state of temporary retention of the bottle 
at a height. These support means can be overcome by virtue of the 
temporary deformation of the cardboard of the cover when a total force, 
greater than that exercised by the weight of the bottle and of any product 
it may contain, is exercised vertically downwards on the spout. 
The cardboard box might be devoid of a base (on the side opposite to the 
cover in which an opening is provided) but it is generally preferable for 
the box to have a base. 
This base of the box can, however, be incomplete and formed, for example, 
of the edges of the lateral walls folded inwards towards the lower part of 
the box, the breadth of these edges being such that an opening remains in 
the middle of this base of the box. 
According to one particular embodiment, the spout of the bottle is 
threaded, and the stopper is threaded in a corresponding manner. In this 
manner, the stopper can be positioned on and removed from the spout, so 
that the contents thereof may be selectively retained therein or removed 
therefrom. 
However, this type of closing of the stopper is by no means critical, and 
many other systems of stoppering can be used such as, for example, systems 
of "bayonet" stoppering. 
The body of the bottle can have a flexibility and dimensions in breadth 
such that it essentially corresponds to the lateral walls of the box. 
The support means which can interact with the cover of the box to ensure 
that the spout is maintained outside the box and the suspension of the 
bottle in the box when the neck is engaged in (interacts with) the opening 
can consist of a collar which rises above the lower part of the neck. 
In this way the packaging according to the invention can adopt a "box 
position" (the first retracted position) in which the spout is 
substantially retracted in the box and a "bottle position" (the second 
extended position) in which the spout projects from the box. 
Advantageously the neck of the bottle can also be equipped, at its lower 
part, with locking means that interact with the cover so as to block the 
rotation of the neck (and thus of the bottle as a whole) when the neck is 
engaged in the opening of the cover. The lower part of the neck and the 
edges of the opening can be notched. They can also have a form that is not 
circular, e.g. oval, elliptical or polygonal. Hexagonal, octagonal, square 
or even triangular forms can be used with success. 
When the spout is retracted into the box, it is advantageous for the 
stopper not to be entirely in the box. For this purpose, the threaded 
stopper will be advantageously equipped with a stop member, which can 
consist simply of a shoulder situated near the top of the stopper. 
This part will preferably be equipped with a retention member which, when 
the spout is retracted inside the box, interacts with the bottom of the 
cover and prevents the undesired emergence of the spout from the box, 
caused, for example, by impacts which may occur during handling and 
transportation. This stop member can consist of lugs or again of a flange. 
According to one embodiment, the opening made in the cover of the box has 
dimensions such that, when the spout is retracted inside the box, the edge 
of this opening grips the stopper laterally and thus prevents the 
undesired emergence of the spout (with its stopper) from the box. 
When the spout is retracted inside the box and the user wishes to make it 
emerge, for example so as to pour the product, the operation will be 
facilitated by the presence, on the stopper, of at least one handle making 
it easier to pull the spout out of the box. 
The body of the bottle of the packaging according to the present invention 
is preferably lined, over at least part of its height and at least part of 
its periphery, with a stiffening means, for example grooves and ribs, 
which can be disposed either in an axial direction or in a radial 
direction, or in a combination of the two. 
The bottle can have a substantially circular form, or a rectangular form 
with rounded corners, or any other desired form. The box itself can be 
cylindrical or prismatic. 
A material particularly suitable for the manufacture of the bottle is 
polyethylene, but it is also possible to use polyethylene terephtalate 
(PET), polypropylene or other plastic materials which can be recycled or 
incinerated without releasing toxic gases. The use of polyethylene is 
advantageous for more than one reason, since it is particularly suitable 
for recycling. 
The bottle of the packagings according to the invention does not need to be 
self-supporting, its stability being assured by the box itself. 
The packaging according to the invention is no heavier than a traditional 
bottle of the same capacity and, in certain embodiments, permits the use 
of three times less plastic material. When the product is poured out, it 
flows continuously without causing air bubbles to form in the bottle, 
which means that the flow can be directed with greater accuracy. 
Because the external presentation of the packaging according to the 
invention consists of the cardboard box, it is possible to use, for the 
manufacture of the light bottle, plastic waste arising from the 
manufacture of conventional packs. In this way, a single-layer bottle can 
be manufactured entirely from recycled plastics. Its lightness, its 
consistency and its functionality will be identical with those of a bottle 
manufactured from fresh material. Only its appearance will be modified, 
for example if the recycled plastics come from wastes of silk-screen 
printing which involves a modification of the color of the bottle. 
On the other hand, the technique of co-extrusion makes it possible today to 
produce multi-layer bottles, with a view to recycling plastics coming from 
the consumer's dustbin which may be contaminated by other products. To 
carry out this recycling, it is indispensable to prevent material which 
has been contaminated, and which no longer offers the guarantees of purity 
currently required for all packagings, to be separated from the content by 
a layer of fresh plastic material intended to avoid contact between the 
recycled and contaminated material and the content of the pack. 
The color of the recycled material, which tends towards the most varied 
shades of grey, also imposes on traditional bottles an outside layer of 
plastic material known as a presentation layer, when the color required 
for the bottle is incompatible with grey. 
A third layer of material, sandwiched between the first two, will permit 
the incorporation of wastes arising from the actual manufacture of the 
packagings (these wastes can represent 50% of the net weight of a bottle 
with a handle, for example) and the use of genuinely recycled material, 
i.e. contaminated and originating from refuse ("post-consumer" recycling). 
The invention makes it possible to increase the share of recycled material 
by abolishing the presentation layer which becomes superfluous since it is 
the cardboard box which gives the good appearance to the packaging. 
The attempt is now being made to develop packagings in degradable plastic 
materials. One of the difficulties encountered by these projects is to 
determine the lifespan of the material before the degradation starts. 
In the packagings according to the invention, the bottle is protected from 
the light by a cardboard box until the product has been used. So it 
permits the use of plastic materials which degrade very rapidly under the 
effect of light, i.e. of UV radiation. The degradation of the plastic 
material begins as soon as the bottle is exposed to the light, i.e. as 
soon as it separated from the box, either by human action or by the 
natural decomposition of the cardboard. 
Other features and advantages of the invention will emerge from the 
description given below of preferred embodiments, with reference to the 
appended drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
FIG. 1 to 3 show a packaging for liquid or pulverulent products according 
to the invention. 
This packaging 1 consists of a cardboard box (a substantially rigid outer 
shell) 2 of rectangular section and a bottle (a substantially flexible 
inner shell) 3. For ease of presentation, the bottle 3 is shown in 
elevation and the box 2 in cross-section on FIG. 1 and 2. 
The box 2 has conventionally a base 4, four lateral walls 5 and a cover 6 
opposite the base 4. A hexagonal opening 7 is formed in the cover 6. 
The bottle 3 is made in polyethylene and is extremely light. This bottle 3 
has a base 8, a body 9 extending upwardly from the base 8, the body 9 
being substantially rectangular with rounded corners. Shoulders 10 extend 
from the upper extremity (end) of the body 9 opposite of the base 4 to a 
surface 11 which constitutes the limit between the shoulders 10 and the 
neck 12. This neck 12 extends in height from the shoulders 10 opposite of 
the body 9 to the start of the thread (represented by broken lines in FIG. 
1) of the threaded spout 13 which extends from the neck 12 opposite of the 
shoulders 10 and on which a threaded stopper 14 is screwed. This stopper 
14 makes it possible to open and reclose the packaging 1 as many times as 
desired. 
As can be seen in FIG. 4, when the bottle 3 is empty, it can easily be 
separated from the box 2, to which it is not attached by glueing, by 
welding or in any other way. It can then be rolled up by hand in the same 
way as a toothpaste tube, which greatly reduces the volume it occupies as 
waste. 
This feature also makes it possible to recover the product to the very last 
drop, avoiding waste and the mixing of product residues with refuse. The 
box 2 can be flattened just like any cardboard box. 
It is easy to understand that the packagings according to the invention 
which permit total separation of the cardboard and plastic elements are of 
particular interest from the ecological standpoint: these components can 
be sorted, selectively collected and recycled. 
The neck 12 is divided into three distinct elements (parts) along its 
height: the lower part 15, the collar 16 and the upper part 17. 
It can be clearly seen on FIG. 1 and 2 that the bottle 3 can occupy, in 
relation to the box 2, two different positions. It can pass between the 
first and second positions by virtue of an effort of pressing or pulling 
exercised on the spout 13. 
FIG. 1 shows the packaging in its "bottle position" (second extended 
position) in which the spout 13 has completely emerged from the box 2. In 
this position, the packaging 1 can be treated as a simple bottle. After 
removing the stopper 14, the product contained in the bottle 3 can be 
poured out. Because of the flexibility of the walls of the bottle 3, the 
product poured out flows regularly and with a good orientation. 
A locking means is formed on the lower part 15 of the neck 12, so that when 
engaged in the opening 7 of the cover 6, it is wedged in rotation by 
virtue of its hexagonal form and the hexagonal form of this opening 7. 
A support means is formed by the annular collar 16, which is located above 
the lower part 15, and which bears on the cover 6. In this manner, the 
spout 13 is maintained in the second extended position. In this position, 
the base 8 of the bottle 3 is kept at a distance from the base 4 of the 
box 2, which amounts to saying that the bottle 3 is suspended in the box 2 
by virtue of the interaction of the collar 16 with the cover 6. 
Obviously the resistance of the cardboard of which the cover 6 is 
constituted is sufficient to support the weight of the bottle 3, even when 
the latter is full of liquid or pulverulent product. 
In the second extended position, the cover 6 is able to be deformed 
temporarily by sagging downwards under a vertical pressure exerted on the 
spout 13. The collar 16 then passes under the cover 6, and the bottle 3 
descends progressively into the box 2 until its base 8 rests on the base 4 
of the box 2 and its spout 13 is entirely retracted into this box 2, as 
illustrated in FIG. 2. This first retracted position is particularly 
advantageous for the transportation and storage of the packaging 1, which 
can then be conveniently stacked, by being loaded onto palettes and 
treated during manipulation and handling like an ordinary box. 
The packaging 1 can be filled, via the spout 13, utilizing ordinary bottle 
filling lines. 
This filling can be carried out when the spout 13 is in the second extended 
position (i.e. when the packaging 1 is in the "bottle" position (second 
extended position) as shown in FIG. 1, but obviously before the stopper 14 
is put in place). 
It is, however, preferable to fill the packaging 1 when it is in the "box 
position" (the first retracted position as shown in FIG. 2, but also, of 
course, before the stopper 14 is put in position). When the packaging 1 is 
in this first retracted position, the spout 13 is engaged in the opening 7 
of the cover 6. While the spout 13 is substantially retracted into the box 
2, the upper edge of the spout 13 may still extend very slightly beyond 
the level of this cover 6 (by about 2 mm, for example). This means that 
the placing of the stopper 14 (for example, after filling the packaging 1) 
is very easily carried out by the stoppering mechanisms of the filling 
lines, since the centering of the stopper 14 in relation to the spout 13 
is carried out very accurately. 
The stopper 14 shown in FIG. 1 and 2 is particularly suitable for the 
packaging In its upper part, it is equipped with a shoulder (stop member) 
18 which bears on the top of the cover 6 when the spout 13 retracts in the 
box 2 and then acts as a stop member, thereby preventing the stopper 14 
from descending entirely inside the box 2. Two handles 19 can be lifted on 
its upper part so as to facilitate manual pulling of the spout 13 outside 
the box 2, for example when it is desired to pour the product after 
transportation. 
The stopper 14 is fitted with lugs (retention members) 20 which serve to 
prevent any undesired emergence of the spout 13 from the box 2 during 
transportation, by interacting with the bottom of the cover 6. When the 
spout 13 is pushed in, the lugs 20 penetrate under the cover 6 by virtue 
of a temporary deformation of the cover. The opening 7 of the cover 6 
serves as a guide to the lower part 15 and the upper part 17 of the neck 
12, even if the pressure exerted on the stopper 14 is not perfectly 
vertical. This characteristic combined with the existence of the shoulder 
18 and handles 19 which can be folded down, ensures that the cover 6 of 
the box 2 has a virtually plane surface when the packaging 1 is in its 
"box position" illustrated in FIG. 2. 
Of course, when the handles 19 of the stopper 14 are subjected to the 
traction necessary to bring the spout 13 out of the box 2 and to bring the 
collar 16 above the cover 6, the lugs 20 and the collar 16 pass through 
this cover 6, bending it upwards and deforming it temporarily. 
FIG. 3 shows that in this preferred embodiment, the bottle 3 essentially 
matches the lateral walls 5 of the box 2 when liquid or pulverulent is 
disposed therein. Its body 9 has a corrugated form defining a stiffening 
means, thus forming a succession of grooves 21 and ribs 22 that are 
disposed in the axial (vertical) direction. 
Since the walls of the bottle 3 are very thin, and particularly when the 
packaging 1 is filled with liquid product, a swelling of the lateral walls 
5 of the box 2 may occur in the long term, mainly in the lower third of 
the packaging 1, where the strongest pressure is exerted. To alleviate 
this drawback, the body 9 of the bottle 3 presents, in the corresponding 
zone, a section slightly smaller than in the other parts, so as to 
counteract the appearance of such a swelling. Of course this 
characteristic is apparent only when the bottle 3 is filled. 
The embodiment described with reference to the figures has many advantages 
which have been enumerated above. Among these advantages is its lightness 
of weight. 
Several alternative embodiments may be provided of packagings described 
above without thereby departing from the scope of the invention. 
Thus bottles of substantially cylindrical form can be adapted (see FIG. 5), 
for example, to boxes of square, hexagonal or octagonal section, and to 
boxes which are themselves cylindrical. 
Bottles can be made with their body lined with horizontal (radial) or 
vertical grooves and ribs, or a combination of horizontal (radial) and 
vertical grooves and ribs, or bodies stiffened by virtue of diamond-shaped 
motifs in relief, or even smooth bottles. 
The forms of the neck of the bottle and of the opening made in the cover of 
the box can be chosen according to requirements, regardless of the form 
chosen for the box and the bottle of the packaging.