Such a container is known from practice, for instance in the form of sachets, pouches and collapsible tubes containing for instance sauces, toothpaste or cream. In the present context, liquid and pasty substances are understood to include all substances that can be caused to flow out of a collapsible container by exerting pressure to compress the container, i. e. also viscous, and thixotrope substances and gels. The outlet opening can for instance be provided in the form of a passage closed off by a cap or in the form of an end portion of the wall structure to be cut or torn off.

A drawback of such a known container is that its manual operation is often quite cumbersome. For instance spilling can easily occur and it often takes special effort and time to empty the container to a satisfactory extent. In order to manually dispense substance from such known container the user needs to decide upon which parts of the container to exert pressure and how much pressure to exert on such parts. When the known container is almost empty it is in many cases difficult and laborious to manually get some of the remaining substance out of the container. Furthermore, it is generally not easily visible how much of the original content is still in the container.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a container from which substances can be dispensed easily, leaving behind very little substance and allowing to easily determine the remaining amount of substance.

According to the invention this object is achieved by providing a container according to claim 1.

By passing the wall structure bounding the chamber through the squeezer so that the outlet opening of the container moves towards the squeezer, substance in the chamber is effectively urged towards the outlet and out of the outlet opening. Furthermore, the position of the squeezer on the outside of the wall structure indicates how much of the contents is still left in the package.

Specific embodiments of the invention are set forth in the dependent claims.

Further features, effects and details of the invention appear from the detailed description in which reference is made to examples of containers according to the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a schematical, perspective view of an example of a container according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a schematical, longitudinal sectional view of the container according to Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a schematical, enlarged sectional view of a squeezer of the container shown in Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 4 is a schematical, longitudinal sectional view of the container according to Figs. 1-3 in operation; Fig. 5 is a schematical, side view of another example of a container according to the invention; Fig. 6 is a schematical, cross-sectional view along the line B-B in Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a schematical, top plan view of a squeezer of the container according to Figs. 5-7; and

Fig. 8 is a schematical, cross-sectional view along the line B-B in Fig. 5, but in an operational condition.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Reference is first made to Figs. 1-3, which show an example of a container 1 according to the invention. The container 1 has an elongated, collapsible wall structure 2. According to this example the wall structure 2 has a substantially constant cross-section and is of a cylindrical shape. Without deviation from the invention other shapes of the wall structure can be applied as well. The wall structure 2 bounds an interior space or chamber 3. The chamber 3 contains a pasty substance 4. Various materials that can be used for the wall structure 2, for example single or multilayered film materials including PE, PP, PVC or PET, that may be metallized.

At one longitudinal end, the container has an outlet 5. According to this example, the outlet 5 is formed by an orifice 6 having an outside screw thread, a seal 7 and a cap 8 having inside screw thread for co-operation with the outer screw thread of the orifice 6. Thus the non-replaceable seal 7 initially closes off the outlet 5. After the seal has been removed, the cap 8 can close off the orifice 6 again. Except for the outlet 5 there is no other way for the substance 4 to leave the chamber 3.

At the longitudinal end of the container 1 opposite to the end where the outlet 5 is located, a handgrip 9 is fixedly connected to the wall structure 2, for instance by welding and/or clamping. The connection between the handgrip 9 and the wall structure 2 is indicated by the reference numeral 10. The handgrip 9 comprises a coupling facility 11 for suspending the container 1, in the form of a suspension hole 11, so that the handgrip forms a hook by which the container 1 can be suspended in for instance a display rack. The handgrip 9 also comprises ridges 17 for facilitating gripping the handgrip 9.

Furthermore the container 1 is provided with a squeezer 12, which is shown separately in Fig. 3. In the condition where the container 1 is completely filled with the substance 4 the squeezer 12 is located in a position closely to or against the handgrip 9 while an end portion of the wall structure 2 extends through the squeezer 12. The wall structure 2 extends in longitudinal direction of the container 1, i. e. from the outlet 5 to the handgrip 9, and the squeezer 12 circumferentially surrounds the wall structure 2. The smallest surface area of the passage 13 measured perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the container 1 is schematically designated by the reference numeral 15 in Fig. 3. This smallest surface area 15 of the passage 13 is substantially smaller than the cross-sectional surface area of the wall structure 2 of the full container 1 measured perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the container 1 at locations in-between the outlet 5 and the squeezer 12. The squeezer 12 has recesses 14 for facilitating manual grip on the squeezer 12.

In operation, to be able to dispense the substance 4, the first step is to bring the outlet 5 in an open condition. The open condition can be achieved by undoing the orifice 6 from the cap 8 and from the inner seal 7. In Fig. 2 arrow Al indicates the longitudinal direction of the container 1 towards the outlet 5. The second step is to initiate a movement of the squeezer 12 and the wall structure 2 relative to each other, so that the squeezer and the outlet 5 move towards each other. The arrow Al indicates the movement of the squeezer 12 relative to the outlet 5. If this second step is to be performed by hand, the handgrip 9 can for instance be held by one hand and the squeezer 12 by the other hand, while manually forcing the handgrip 9 and the squeezer 12 away from each other in the longitudinal direction of the container 1.

The above-described instigated first increment of relative displacement of the squeezer 12 will result in a portion of the wall structure 2 adjacent the squeezer 12 to be forced through the passage 13. The squeezer 12 exerts pressure on the exterior of the wall structure 2 and, because the wall

structure 2 is collapsible and the substance 4 is thus being squeezed by the squeezer 12 to the outlet 5 and some of the substance 4 is urged out of the container 1 via the outlet 5.

Further increments of relative displacement of the squeezer 12 will gradually decrease the volume of the chamber 3 and increase the quantity of dispensed substance 4.

Fig. 4 schematically shows a longitudinal sectional view of the container 1 of Fig. 1 in a stage of operation in which a substantial part of the substance 4 has already been dispensed. In Fig.-4 the part of the wall structure 2 which has been collapsed and compressed in the passage 13 at the smallest surface area 15 is designated by the reference numeral 16.

Referring again to Fig. 3 it is seen that the passage 13 has an inner wall 18 shaped such that the surface area of the passage 13 measured perpendicularly to the passage direction gradually decreases in the passing direction that faces away from the outlet 5. This gradual decrease results in a relatively low resistance and avoids large deformation and associated risk of rupture of the wall structure 2 as the wall structure 2 is pulled through the passage 13.

Furthermore, the smallest surface area 15 is about equal to the surface area of the wall structure 2 in a cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the container 1. Accordingly, essentially the whole portion 15 of the passage 13 is filled with wall material so the quantity of substance 4 allowed to pass through the squeezer 12 and reaching the compressed portion 16 of the wall structure 2 is at most very small. Depending upon the characteristics of the material of the wall structure 2, such as for instance deformation characteristics, the smallest surface area 15 can also be chosen smaller than mentioned above in order to further minimize unwanted remainings of substance 4 in the compressed wall 16. A further advantage of a relatively small smallest cross-section 15 of the squeezer 12 is, that it causes the squeezer to remain clamped to the wall structure 2, so that the amount of

substance left is also reliably visible if the squeezer 12 is not being operated and the squeezer remains in a position in which movement towards the outlet directly results in the dispensing of the substance. Furthermore, the wall structure 2 between the squeezer 12 and the outlet 5 being maintained full, the wall structure 2 is prevented from bending over substantially, even if the wall thickness of the wall structure 2 is very small, for instance less than 50 llm or even less than 30 Fm. This, in turn allows to store partially emptied containers 1 having such a small wall thickness in a standing position, for instance on the cap 8 or on the squeezer 12.

It is further observed that such a small wall thickness allows considerable material savings compared with conventional tube packages of which the wall thickness provides the required rigidity of the body portion containing the product. Yet another advantage of such a small wall thickness is, that it allows to squeeze the substance out of the chamber 3 very effectively while requiring relatively little effort, because the wall structure 2 can easily accommodate to the cross section of the passage 13 through the squeezer 12.

As is best seen in Fig. 2, the largest cross-sectional size A3 of the squeezer 12 and the handgrip 9 is identical to the largest cross-sectional size A2 of the container 1 at the end of the outlet opening 5. This allows the containers 1 to be stacked into a stack of horizontally oriented containers 1.

This in turn substantially facilitates handling of the containers 1, for instance during packaging and during filling of display racks in a shop. Yet another advantage of a stacked configuration is, that if the containers are positioned with their ends towards the front end of the display rack, containers remain present at the front end of the display rack until the last product of the stack is sold, that remaining packages do not tend to fall over if inadvertently touched by customers taking packages out of the rack, and that labelling of the packages is easily visible wall structure 2 if the containers are located low in a display rack and from the cap 8 if the containers are located high in a display rack.

The passage 13 has a largest width smaller than the largest width of the wall structure 2 in a direction perpendicular to the passage 13, so that the squeezer 12 has relatively small maximum dimensions transversely to the longitudinal direction Al of the container 1 and can be of a compact construction involving the use of very little material. Such a, preferably circular of square cross-section of the passage 13 is particularly advantageous if combined with a small wall thickness as described, because the smaller the wall thickness, the easier the wall material can ply to accommodate to the cross-section of the passage 13.

The squeezer 12 is mounted such that the handgrip 9 projects from an end of the passage 13 facing away from the outlet 5. To avoid that the squeezer 12 becomes separated from the rest of the container 1, the width of the handgrip 9 is larger than the width of the passage 13 at the side of the squeezer 12 facing the handgrip 9, so that the handgrip 9 forms a retainer for retaining the squeezer 12 in mounted position, preventing the handgrip 9 from being retracted through the passage 13. To mount the squeezer 12, the handgrip 9 may for instance be passed through the passage 13 in folded or rolled-up condition. Another possibility is to connect the handgrip after the squeezer is mounted or to provide the squeezer with a slit through which the handgrip can be passed and with recess at an angle to that slit in which the handgrip is accommodated by twisting the squeezer and pulling back the handgrip after the handgrip has been passed through the passage in the squeezer.

From the above description it will now be clear that the container 1 shown in Figs. 1-4 can be operated in an easy and quick way, because of the simplicity of the required relative movement of the squeezer 12. Furthermore, since the shape of the passage 13 through the squeezer 12 is tailored to the characteristics of the wall structure 2 of the container 1, the squeezer 12 provides a reliable way of effectively emptying the container 1.

Next, reference is made to Figs. 5-8, which show another example of a container according to the invention. In front view, the container 21 according to this example has a substantially rectangular shape. The container 21 comprises a flexible, thin walled wall structure 22 in the form of a pouch or sachet. The wall 22 defines a chamber 23. The chamber 23 contains a pasty or liquid (preferably viscous) substance 24, such as for instance butter, mayonnaise, chocolate paste, pesto or vegetable oil.

The wall structure 22 has an outlet 25 along a first edge. The outlet 25 is provided in the form of a tear-off line 26. Thus, the outlet 25 can be opened by removing a tear-off strip portion of wall structure 22 along the tear- off line 26. Except for the outlet 25 there is no other way for the substance 24 to leave the chamber 23 in the wall structure 22.

At a second edge opposite the first edge, a continuation of the wall structure 22 beyond a sealing line 30 and projecting away from the chamber 23 forms a handgrip 29 integrally formed with the wall structure 22. The handgrip 29 has a suspension hole 31 for suspending the container 21 to a display rack. Since the handgrip 29 is integrally formed, it can be manufactured very quickly without requiring separate components.

Furthermore a very strong connection between the handgrip 29 and the part of the container 21 bounding the chamber 23 is obtained.

According to this example, the squeezer 32 is clamped to the wall structure 22. The wall structure 22 extends through the passage 33 in the squeezer 32 in its longitudinal direction from the outlet 25 to the handgrip 29.

The squeezer 32 circumferentially surrounds the wall structure 22. The smallest surface area of the passage 33 measured perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of wall structure 22 is designated by the reference numeral 35 in Fig. 7 and is located in the uppermost part of the squeezer 32.

Also in this example, the smallest surface area 35 of the passage 33 is smaller than the surface area of a cross section of the wall structure 22 and the

chamber 23 measured perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the wall structure 22.

The operation of the container 21 shown in Figs. 5-8 is similar to the operation of the container 1 shown in Figs. 1-4, which operation is described above. Except that the outlet 25 is opened by tearing off a portion of the wall structure 22 along the tear-off line 26. Then, the squeezer 32 is moved in the direction of arrow A4.

According to this example, the passage 33 is of an elongate cross- section and the narrowest portion 35 of the passage 33 forms a nip for squeezing substance towards the outlet 25 without substantially wrinkling the wall structure 22.

When the squeezer 32 has reached the outlet 25, the squeezer 32 can be moved off the wall structure 22 because there is no orifice that forms an obstacle blocking further movement of the squeezer 32. To allow use of the squeezer 32 as a tool to spread the substance 24 dispensed from the container 21, the squeezer is provided with a spreader 40 with which the substance can for instance be spread, for instance over a sandwich, over a sausage, through ones hair if the substance is a hair care product or, if the substance 24 is a filler paste, over an object to be smoothed.

Having described the invention with reference to some examples, however, many modifications thereto will become apparent to those skilled within the art without deviation from the invention as defined by the scope of the appended claims.