Patent Document

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Benefit is claimed of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/691,185, filed Jun. 15, 2005, and entitled “Dispensing Systems” the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein as if set forth at length. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to containers. More particularly, the invention relates to pour spouts for containers for liquid laundry detergent and the like. 
     There has been an evolution in the configuration of containers for liquid laundry detergent, fabric softener, and the like. The dominant form of container is a wide mouth bottle having an attached spout with a drain-back trough and aperture. In a typical group of container configurations and their methods of assembly, a bottle, spout fitment, and cap are individually molded (e.g., of high density polyethylene (HDPE)). Exemplary bottle molding is via roto-molding whereas exemplary spout fitment and cap molding are by injection molding. An exemplary spout fitment includes the spout and a continuation of the spout defining the base and outboard wall of the trough. The fitment further typically includes a flange (e.g., extending outward at an upper end of the outboard extremity of the trough). 
     The spout fitment may be inserted through a mouth of the bottle (e.g., so that an outer surface of the outboard trough wall whereof another wall outboard thereof engages the inner surface of the bottle neck). The spout fitment may be secured and sealed to the bottle such as by spin welding. The bottle may be filled and the cap may be installed. Exemplary caps typically have either an externally threaded skirt for engaging an internally threaded portion of the fitment or an internally threaded skirt for engaging an externally threaded portion of the fitment or bottle neck. With a typical externally threaded skirt, the cap includes an outwardly projecting flange above the skirt. Upon installation of the cap to the fitment, the flange underside contacts and seals with the fitment flange upper surface to seal the bottle. 
     Various examples of bottles are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,923,341, 5,941,422, 5,566,862, and 5,603,787. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     One aspect of the invention is a container having a body with a body opening. A spout fitment base is positioned within the body opening. A spout has a threaded engagement with the spout fitment base for movement between a retracted position and an extended position. A cap has a removed condition disengaged from the body, spout fitment base, and spout. The cap has an installed condition having a threaded engagement with at least one of the body and spout base fitment. An unscrewing of the cap from its installed condition rotates the spout so that the threaded engagement with the spout with the spout base fitment drive the spout from the retracted condition toward the extended condition. 
     The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a view of a bottle. 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of a cap, spout fitment, and body neck of the bottle of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is an upward sectional view of the bottle of  FIG. 2 , taken along line  3 - 3 . 
         FIG. 4  is a vertical sectional view of the bottle of  FIG. 2 , taken along line  4 - 4 . 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarged view of a cap-spout fitment-neck junction of the bottle of  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6  is an upward sectional view of the bottle of  FIG. 4 , taken along line  6 - 6 . 
         FIG. 7  is a side view of the neck region of the bottle of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 8  is a view of the neck region of  FIG. 7 . 
         FIG. 9  is a top view of a spout base fitment of the bottle of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 10  is a view of the spout fitment of  FIG. 9 . 
         FIG. 11  is a side view of a spout of the bottle of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 12  is a top view of the spout of  FIG. 11 . 
         FIG. 13  is a vertical sectional view of the bottle with the spout shifted to an extended condition. 
     
    
    
     Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements. Various drawings may show artifacts of generation from a solid model. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  shows a container  20  comprising the assembly of a bottle body  22 , a spout fitment  24 , and a cap  26  (which may serve as a measuring/dispensing cup). The body and cap may be made as a unitary plastic molding. As is discussed further below, the exemplary spout fitment comprises two molded pieces: a spout base fitment  28  and a spout  29 . Exemplary bottle body material is high density polyethylene (HDPE). Exemplary spout fitment and cap material is polypropylene. 
     The body  22  comprises a unitary combination of a base  30 , a sidewall  32  extending upward from the base, a shoulder  34  at an upper end of the sidewall, and a neck  36  extending upward from the shoulder. The neck  36  extends to a rim  38  ( FIGS. 7 and 8 ) and defines an opening  40  having a central longitudinal axis  500 . The bottle body has an interior surface  42  and an exterior surface  44 . A handle  46  ( FIG. 1 ) may extend from the sidewall and the body interior may extend through the handle. 
     The neck  36  ( FIGS. 7 and 8 ) has an outwardly-projecting annular flange  48  at the rim  38 . The flange  48  has an underside  49 . A narrow region  50  extends downward below the flange  48  to a shoulder junction  51  with a wider region  52 . A lug  53  extends upward from the junction  51  partially along the region  50  and has first and second circumferential ends/faces/surfaces  54  and  55 . As is discussed below, the flange  48  helps retain the spout base fitment to the neck while the lug  53  helps angularly orient the spout base fitment about the axis  500 . 
     The spout base fitment  28  ( FIGS. 4 ,  5 ,  9 , and  10 ) includes an inner wall  60  and an inner sidewall  62  joined by a lower wall  64  so as to define a trough  66 . One or more drain-back apertures  68  ( FIG. 9 ) along the trough base and/or vents  70  thereabove are open to the trough (e.g., through the wall  64  and sidewall  62 , respectively). The inner wall  60  has an upper end  72  defining an opening  74 . An internal thread  76  is formed on the inner surface of the inner wall  60 . Inboard and outboard annular v-land seal teeth  78  and  79  depend from the lower wall  64 . The exemplary teeth  78  and  79  are full annuli, positioned respectively inboard and outboard of the apertures  68 . 
       FIG. 10  shows the spout base fitment sidewall  62  having an upper end  80 . A flange  82  extends outward from the upper end  80 . The flange  82  has an upper surface  84 . An outer sidewall  90  depends from an upper edge at an outboard periphery of the flange  82  to a lower end/rim  92 . The outer sidewall  90  has an inboard surface and an outboard surface. A recess  94  extends upward from the rim  92  and has first and second sides. As is discussed further below, the recess  94  captures the neck lug  53  so that adjacent surfaces of the recess and neck lug angularly retain the spout base fitment relative to the neck. 
     The inboard surface of the outer sidewall  90  bears an annular projection  100 . As is discussed below, whereas the recess  94  functions to orient the spout base fitment on the body, the projection  100  cooperates with the projection  48  to provide a snap fit engagement retaining the spout base fitment to the body. The outboard surface of the outer sidewall  90  bears an external thread  102 . As is discussed further below, the external thread helps engage the cap to the spout base fitment. 
     The cap  26  ( FIG. 4 ) includes a sidewall  120 , a transverse web  122  at the upper end of the sidewall, and an outwardly/downwardly projecting bell flange  124  spaced above a lower end  126  of the sidewall. A lower portion  130  of the bell flange  124  bears an internal thread  132  positioned for engaging the external thread  102 . The bell flange  124  has a depending v-bead land seal  136  between the sidewall  120  and lower portion  130 . The seal  136  is positioned so that its rim contacts and seals with the flange upper surface  84  of the spout base fitment when the cap is screwed on to the spout base fitment. Along an upper portion of the sidewall  120 , a pair of splines  150  extend inward. As is discussed below, the splines  150  engage splines  160  of the spout  29 .  FIG. 11  shows the splines  160  along an upper portion of a wall  162  of the spout  29 . Below the splines, the wall bears an external thread  164 . As is shown in  FIG. 5 , the thread  164  engages the spout base fitment internal threads  76 . A flange  170  extends outward from a lower end of the wall  62  and has an upper surface  172 .  FIG. 5  shows a retracted spout condition wherein the upper surface  172  is spaced below the rims of the v-bead land seals  78  and  79 . In this condition, the drainback apertures are open permitting the trough to drain. Due to the engagement of the threads  76  and  164 , a relative rotation of the spout and spout base fitment will cause a relative translation along the axis  500 . For example, relative rotation in one direction can raise the spout so that the flange upper surface  172  comes into sealing engagement with the v-bead land seals  78  and  79 , thereby blocking the drainback apertures. Such a condition may be useful for pouring. The blocking of the drainback apertures during pouring is advantageous to avoid leakage. If the bottle is tilted too much during pouring, the liquid (e.g., detergent) may otherwise flow through the drainback apertures, into the trough, and ultimately, potentially, down the side of the bottle, creating a mess. Blocking of the drainback apertures during pouring avoids this. 
     In the exemplary bottle, the screwing and unscrewing rotation of the cap is used to retract and extend the spout. The spout may initially be envisioned in an extended condition with the cap removed from the spout base fitment. The cap may be installed to the spout and spout base fitment. In an initial insertion installation, the cap and spout splines engage. Then, the cap and spout base fitment threads contact each other stopping further pure translation. At this point, the cap may be rotated to screw the cap onto the spout base fitment. During this rotation, the cooperation of the cap and spout splines causes the spout to rotate with the cap. Rotation of the spout causes a screwing of the thread  164  further down into the thread  76 , disengaging the upper surface  172  of the flange  170  from the v-bead land seals  78  and  79 . Eventually, the cap will bottom with the v-bead land seal  136  contacting the spout base fitment flange upper surface  84  to seal the bottle. Cap removal and spout extension is by a reverse of this process. 
     In an exemplary method of assembly, the cap is initially fully or partially screwed onto the spout base fitment. The cap and spout fitment subassembly may be installed to the body neck by a linear insertion. During the insertion, the lug  53  is aligned with the recess  94 . An initial stage of the insertion may produce a camming action between the projections  48  and  100 . Further insertion causes the recess to receive the lug and the projection  100  to snap over the projection  48  and at least partially relax. Advantageously, the relaxation is only partial, sufficient to provide a mechanical backlocking to resist spout fitment extraction yet leaving stress/strain sufficient to maintain a sealing engagement between the spout fitment and neck. Advantageously, this sealing engagement remains when the cap is unscrewed. Thus, the dimensions of the spout fitment and neck are advantageously such that, in the absence of the cap, their interference contact is sufficient to provide sealing under normal loads associated with pouring, transport, and handling. Other spout fitment-to-neck engagements and other cap-to-spout fitment engagements are disclosed in the above-identified provisional application. These or other yet-developed or prior art engagements may be used with the inventive telescoping spout. 
     Various implementations may have one or more of other various advantages. One group of advantages relate to elimination of welding or adhering of the spout fitment to the bottle body. In addition to the economy of a saved step, this may facilitate delivery of the liquid before attaching the spout fitment to the bottle body which may allow more efficient processing (e.g., including higher flow delivery or less precisely aimed delivery through an opening in the bottle body larger than the spout opening). The spout fitments and caps may be delivered to the bottler as units and installed in units, thereby easing installation. Other potential advantages include weight reduction and reduced intrusion of the spout fitment into the bottle body (thereby permitting higher fill levels). Other potential advantages include improved sealing. Finally, there may be greater flexibility in aesthetics by permitting relatively easy use of differently-styled spout fitments with a given bottle body or differently styled bottle bodies with a given spout fitment. 
     One or more embodiments of the present invention have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, when implemented in the reengineering of an existing container configuration, details of the existing configuration may influence or dictate details of any particular implementation. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.

Technology Category: b