LIQUID FERTILIZER CONTAINER

Abstract: Liquid fertiliser suitable for house plants is desirably perfumed and coloured to increase its consumer acceptabil­ ity. It is packaged in a styled container formed with a handle, a spout and carrying a measuring cup, especially a container styled in the form of a garden watering can.

Description: LIQUID FERTILIZER PRODUCT This invention relates to a pack containing a liquid fertiliser composition. Liquid fertiliser compositions are generally used for fertilising house plants and are regarded as specialist products, that is to say products which are bought and used seasonally rather than routinely. As a consequence little effort has been put into the marketing of such products. The packaging of liquid fertilisers is generally unattractive, their appearance is regarded as inconsequential and they smell foul. The Applicants have now realised that it is precisely because so little attention has been paid to what might be termed the cosmetic attributes of liquid fertiliser compositions that they are not more widely purchased and used. Accordingly, the present invention provides a styled container formed with a handle with a spout and carrying a measuring cup containing a liquid fertiliser composition. It is particularly appropriate from the marketing point of view if the container is styled in the form of a garden watering can. As has been said liquid fertiliser compositions are frequently foul smelling, yet no attempt is made to counteract that odour. According to a preferred feature of the invention the liquid fertiliser composition is perfumed. Again, although the colour of a liquid is one of its few identifying characteristics, little attempt has been made in the past to secure that liquid fertiliser compositions are attractive in colour. The colour is usually regarded as irrelevant provided that the performance of the composition is satisfactory. A second preferred feature therefore is that the liquid fertiliser composition is coloured with a pigment or a dyestuff. Another visual characteristic of liquids is their mobility. It is a well established fact in fields other than fertilisers that consumers associate an increase in viscosity with an increase in quality and yet no attempt has been made to increase the viscosity of liquid fertiliser compositions. A further preferred feature of the invention, therefore, is a container containing a liquid fertiliser composition containing a viscosifier. One way of increasing the viscosity of a liquid is to form it into a structured or 'false body' liquid. Liquids of this type are now well-known in the household and personal products industries. Our liquid hard surface cleaning compositions variously sold under the registered trade marks "Cif" and wJif n comprise finely divided particles of calcite permanently suspended in a non-Newtonian liquid consisting of selected surfactants and electrolytes, and similarly Procter & Gamble's popular shampoo "Head and Shoulders" contains finely divided zinc pyridine thione in permanent suspension. There are in general three types of structured, false-body, or non-Newtonian liquids. There is the type in which the suspending capability is imparted to an aqueous medium by means of a colloid-forming clay, examples of which are the systems described in DOLS 2 432 053, 2 516 003 and 2 539 733. Secondly, there is the type in which the micellar interaction of electrolyte and surfactant which provides the suspending capability, examples of which are the systems described in US patent Nos 3 579 456, 3 623 990, 3 630 922, 3 813 349 and 4 129 527. Thirdly, there is the rather special case in which the non-Newtonian character is provided by a three-dimensional network of entangled filaments, for example soap filaments. None of these patent specifications relate to liquid fertiliser compositions, but we consider that their teaching is applicable to the present field so far as the suspending liquid technology is concerned. Structured liquids are nearly always, so far as we are aware opaque to some extent, which is advantageous in the present context in that it allows the colour of the liquid to be well displayed. The invention will be further described in the accompanying drawing and in the following example. The single figure of the accompanying drawing shows a styled bottle and over-cap formed with a handle, with a spout and in which the overcap is reversible for use as a measuring cup suitable for containing a liquid fertilizer composition in accordance with the invention. The body of the bottle (10) is formed with a cut-out (11) for a handle and with a spout (12). The top surface of the spout formation (13) is formed with an aperture (14) and carries plug (18) used in--filling the bottle. Over-cap (15), which clips onto upstanding land (16) on the bottle is formed with sealing projection (17) which is co-operable with aperture (14) to seal it. Downwardly extending wall (19) of the over-cap is carried across the cap as shown by dotted lines to define, when the cap is inverted, a measuring space (20).

Claims: CLAIMS: 1. A styled container formed with a handle, a spout and carrying a measuring cup containing a liquid fertiliser composition. 2. A container containing a liquid fertiliser composition according to claim i in the style of a garden watering can. 3. A container containing a liquid fertiliser composition according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the fertiliser is perfumed. 4. A container containing a liquid fertiliser composition according to any of the preceding claims wherein the fertiliser contains a dyestuff or a pigment. 5. A container containing a liquid fertiliser composition wherein the fertiliser is a self-opacified structured liquid containing a pigment in permanent suspension.

Inventors: GRISELLI, FRANCO
Applicants: ENICHEM AGRICOLTURA S.P.A., UNILEVER NV
Application year: 1983
Main classification: B65D23
IPC codes: B65D23, B65D41, B65D1