TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a sealed tubular container for a product, the container being made of card-based or paper-based material, such as cardboard or paperboard, with a filmbased membrane used to seal the container.

The product may be a powder or granular type product typically found in the food and cosmetics sectors . Additionally, the container may be used for gel products, or particulate products, such as pellets, or pills. Alternative products may also be used in the container of the invention.

The invention also relates to a method of making such a container.

BACKGROUND

Previous tubular containers for a variety of products, such as cosmetics, have typically been made with plastic materials, which can be environmentally undesirable, due to their production methods and raw materials and/or methods of disposal after use. For example, many plastic containers may not be recycled, therefore contributing to landfill demand, as well as pollution arising from materials which either do not, or are very slow to degrade in natural conditions. Even when plastic materials do degrade, they often result in ‘microplastics’, which can be damaging, for example, to wildlife.

More recently, movement has been made toward containers using card-based and paperbased material, to avoid the detrimental impacts arising from use of plastics materials.

However, paperboard or cardboard materials can be weaker or have shorter longevity than the previously used plastics materials. There is therefore a desire for careful design of containers using paper-based or card-based materials to ensure necessary strength and longevity of the containers and packaging.

There is a desire to provide durability for certain components of the containers during both use and their manufacture or assembly. For example, it is important to maintain the integrity of the containers during the process of filling the containers with the product.

There is also a desire for repeatable, accurate, and simple processes for manufacture of such card-based or paper-based materials. SUMMARY

From a first aspect, there is provided a container made of card-based or paper-based material including an inner tube, an outer tube, a membrane and a distal member. The inner tube includes a distal end and a closed proximal end. The outer tube is sized to fit snugly around the inner tube. The membrane sealingly closes the distal end of the inner tube to provide a sealed internal chamber. The distal member is fixed with respect to the outer tube and provides a backing surface distally adjacent the membrane.

The backing surface provides additional support to the membrane, which may be thin and weak as compared to the card-based or paper-based material of the rest of the container. In this way, the risk of the membrane breaking, or becoming unintentionally detached from the inner tube upon impact from the product (either from filling or otherwise) is reduced.

The inner and outer tubes may be cylindrical, or may have other shapes, such as having oval cross-sections, or rectangular. They are of shapes that correspond to each other.

The inner and outer tubes may be held together by a friction fit, or they may be sealingly joined to one another, by adhesive, or by heat or ultrasonic sealing. Heat or ultrasonic sealing may be used when the tubes have a polymer-based coating, which can be heated to fuse the tubes together.

The outer tube may include a proximal portion and a distal portion having a closed distal end. The distal portion may be connected to the proximal portion along a frangible line extending around a circumference of the outer tube.

Such a frangible line allows the distal portion of the outer tube, together with the distal member to function as a cap to the container, in that they may be removed from the container and replaced thereon once the frangible line is broken. The frangible line also provides evidence of tampering to the product, in that a user will be able to see if the frangible line has been broken.

An exemplary frangible line may be made using perforations round the outer tube to provide bridges of card-board or paper-board material between the proximal and distal portions of the outer tube. Other frangible lines, made of a weaker part of material are also envisaged.

The container may be configured such that when the frangible line is broken, the proximal portion of the outer tube provides a shoulder at its distal end, the distal portion of the outer tube provides a foot at its proximal end configured to abut the shoulder, and a distal portion of the inner tube provides a neck configured to be revealed when the distal portion of the outer tube is removed, and to locate the distal portion of the outer tube when the distal portion of the outer tube is replaced on the container. The shoulder and the foot may extend along the same line as the broken frangible line once the distal portion is replaced.

Each of the shoulder and the foot are edges of the distal and proximal portions of the outer tube respectively, have a shape corresponding to the frangible line and thus to each other. The neck, provided by a distal portion of the inner tube, is a tubular shape around which the distal portion of the outer tube may be located.

The foot, shoulder and neck provides a locating feature which allows the user to place the distal portion neatly on the remainder of the container to thereby provide a replaceable cap.

The frangible line may take a number of shapes. For example, it may be a line extending in a directly circumferential direction around the outer tube (i.e. , a straight line on a flat blank before the blank has been wrapped to provide the tube). Alternatively, it may have a waveshape, of any sort, such as a sine wave, a triangular wave, a square wave, or another repeating pattern. The frangible line may also take an irregular shape. When the frangible line is not a straight line, it ensures that, when the distal portion of the outer tube (i.e., the cap) is replaced on the container, printing or designs on the exterior of the container line up correctly.

In some arrangements, the frangible line may extend around on a part of the outer tube. The part is a majority, such as around 80% or 90% of the circumference of the outer tube (e.g., around 300° to 350°, or about 315°), so that an attached portion may remain providing a hinge between the distal portion and the proximal portion of the outer tube. The distal portion may thus stay attached to the remainder of the container as be hinged thereto.

The inner tube may include an embossed circumferential ridge located distally of the frangible line and configured to engage an inner surface of the distal portion of the outer tube by resilience. Said embossed circumferential ridge is on the outer surface of the inner tube.

The embossed circumferential ridge may provide a resilient protrusion outwardly from the inner tube which pushes against the distal portion of the outer tube when the distal portion is on the remainder of the container. This ridge provides some frictional resistance to movement of the distal portion relative to the inner tube, whether the movement is proximal or distal. Such an action prevents the distal portion of the outer tube inadvertently falling off the container, and provides a satisfying movement action for a user removing and replacing the distal portion. It is also envisaged to provide the embossed ridge on the inner side of the distal outer portion to engage the outer side of the of the inner tube.

Alternative features may be included that function in a similar way to the circumferential embossed ridge, such as protruding spots or dots, or dashes which engage against the other tube on which the feature is not mounted. Inter-engaging features could be used with a first feature on the inner tube and a corresponding second feature on the outer tube.

The closed proximal end of the inner tube may be provided by a proximal cup including a disc and an integral rim, wherein the rim is bonded to an inner surface of the inner tube adjacent a proximal end of the inner tube.

It is envisaged that the proximal end of the inner tube may be closed using an alternative arrangement.

The membrane may include a layered material including a combination of layers formed from one or more of paper, paperboard, PE, metalised PET, LDPE-plastomer, HDPE, mLDPE, metallic foil, e.g., aluminium foil, EVOH, and other polymers or ionomers.

Alternative suitable materials may be used for the membrane.

The inner tube may have a PE coating on its inner surface.

This coating may be particularly useful for some products where it is important the product is not in contact with uncoated card-based or paper-based material, or where the product in direct contact with such material would be detrimental to the properties thereof.

Alternative coatings may also be used in the place of PE coating.

Similar coatings may also be included on the outer surface of the inner tube and/or on one or both of the inner and outer surfaces of the outer tube. Coatings may also be applied to the distal member and/or the proximal cup.

Where coatings are present, the different components may be joined by heat sealing or ultrasonic sealing, whereby either a heated element or an ultrasonic head, or another suitable device, may be used to fuse, for example by melting and then allowing to solidify, the polymer in the coating(s) to each other and/or to other components.

The inner tube may include an inner tube rolled end edge at a distal end thereof and the membrane may be affixed to a distal side of the inner tube rolled end edge. The inner tube rolled end edge may be an inward rolled edge and may include a full roll, or just a folded back end edge. The distal side of the inner tube rolled end edge is not a raw edge.

Where the inner tube rolled end edge is present, the membrane may be joined thereto and so be at the distal-most part of the inner tube, which means that the backing surface may be provided with a simpler arrangement, only requiring a flat disc, rather than needing a structure to protrude proximally beyond the distal end of the inner tube.

A or the closed distal end of the outer tube may include an outer tube rolled end edge and a distal disc seated against the proximal end of the second rolled end edge, wherein the distal disc provides the distal member and the backing surface.

The second rolled end edge may be an inward rolled edge.

The distal disc is stronger than the membrane, and may be made of a variety of paper-based or card-based materials. For example, the distal disc may be a disc made of a piece of paperboard or of cardboard. It may be coated with a polymer-based coating. It may include a fluted or corrugated cardboard or paperboard material, which would provide additional compression rigidity.

The distal disc has a shape to match the shape of the tubes and is sized to sit on the second rolled end edge. For example, when the tubes are cylindrical, the distal disc may have a circular shape. However, when the tubes have a rectangular cross-section, the distal disc may instead have a rectangular shape. The distal disc may thus be referred to as a distal piece.

The membrane may include a circular disc and a tab extending from the circumference of the circular disc.

The tab may be a small protruding portion extending from a periphery of the circular disc of the membrane, or alternatively from the main shape o the membrane when the tubes are not cylindrical and the membrane is accordingly a different shape. The tab extends beyond the part of the membrane attached to the inner tube.

The tab allows a user to more easily remove the membrane from the inner tube when required, or to lift up a portion thereof for access to the product in the container.

In alternative arrangements, other means for gripping the membrane to remove it from the inner tube may be provided. In alternative embodiments, the membrane may include an axially extending rim, wherein the axially extending rim extends in a distal direction and is affixed to an inner surface of the inner tube. This rim may be attached to a disc or a diaphragm of the same membrane material extending across the inner tube.

This arrangement allows for only an interior surface of the inner tube to be coated with polymer-based material, or another suitable coating for product contact, because, without including the inward rolled edge at the distal end of the inner tube, only one surface of the inner tube will face the product held in the container. The outer surface of the inner tube in this arrangement will only contact the outer tube.

In this arrangement, the closed distal end of the outer tube may include an outer tube rolled end edge and distal cup having a base and at least one lip extending distally into the second rolled end edge. The distal cup may provide the distal member and the base of the distal cup may provide the backing surface. The at least one lip allows for the base of the distal cup (which provides the backing surface) to be located adjacent, and in contact with, the membrane, in particular the disc or diaphragm thereof, despite the disc or diaphragm of the membrane being spaced from the distal end of the inner tube and the connection of the at least one lip to the outer tube rolled end edge being spaced therefrom as a consequence.

As mentioned previously, maintaining the backing surface and the membrane adjacent and/or in contact is beneficial in reducing the chance of a product impact breaking the membrane or its connection to the inner tube.

The container above may have an axial length between 30 and 300 mm, and a diameter between 5 mm and 200 mm. It may have an axial length between 150 mm and 200 mm, and a diameter of 100 mm to 150 mm, and more narrowly, may have an axial length of 167 mm and a diameter of 127 mm.

In some embodiments, containers described herein may have a diameter of about 30 mm to 60 mm, or more narrowly about 40 mm to 50 mm or about 45 mm. These sizes are suitable for deodorant products in stick form for example.

In other embodiments, containers described herein may have a diameter of about 7 mm to 25 mm, or about 12 to 20 mm, or about 15 mm. These sizes are suitable for lipstick products, for example.

In some aspects and embodiments, a single-ply container could be provided with the outer tube removed and an alternative means to provide the backing surface to the membrane. A container of that arrangement will have a single tube, corresponding to the inner tube of the previous aspects, with a closed proximal end, a distal end having a membrane affixed thereto, and a backing surface provided by an additional member adjacent the membrane.

From another aspect, there is provided an assembly including the container of any of the above and a product contained within the inner tube of the container.

The product may be a powder or granular type product typically found in the food and cosmetics sectors. Alternatively, the product may be a gel product, or particulate products, such as pellets, or pills.

Form another aspect there is provided a method of making the container of any of the above. The method includes: providing a first blank of card-based or paper-based material; wrapping the first blank and joining axial edges of the first blank to construct an inner tube; providing a membrane having a diameter equal to or greater than the diameter of the inner tube; bonding the membrane to a distal end of the inner tube; providing a second blank of card-based or paper-based material; wrapping the second blank and joining axial edges of the second blank to construct an outer tube; providing a distal member of card-based or paper-based material, and inserting the distal member into the outer tube to fit snugly therein; rolling the end edges of the outer tube to form rounded rolled end edges at the distal end of the outer tube; inserting the inner tube into the outer tube to provide, with the membrane and the distal member adjacent each other; filling the inner tube with a product; and closing the proximal end of the inner tube.

Rolling the end edges of the inner tube to form rounded rolled end edges at the distal end of the inner tube and bonding the membrane to a distal end of the inner tube may include bonding the membrane to a distal side of the rolled end edges of the inner tube. This may be performed using ultrasonic sealing, which ensures close control of the temperature used and can provide a precisely defined join between the membrane and the inner tube.

The distal member may be a distal disc and the step of rolling the end edges of the outer tube may include forming rounded rolled edges at the distal end of the outer tube that provide a seat which abuts a distal surface of the distal disc at a periphery of the distal disc. Optionally a further sealing or bonding step, such as applying adhesive and allowing it to cure, or ultrasonic or other heat-sealing methods, may be performed between the rolled end edges of the outer tube and the distal disc.

The membrane may include an axially extending rim. In this example, bonding the membrane to a distal end of the inner tube may include bonding the axially extending rim of the membrane to an inner surface of the inner tube adjacent a distal end thereof. A disc, or diaphragm of the membrane in this example will still extend across the inner tube. This design provides an extended seal between the membrane and the inner tube.

In this arrangement, the distal member may include a distal cup having a base and at least one lip. The step of rolling the end edges of the outer tube may include forming rounded rolled edges at the distal end of the outer tube that grip the at least one lip of the distal cup. That is, the at least one lip of the distal cup sits in a gap between the raw edge of the outer tube and the inner surface of the outer tube, where the raw edge of the outer tube has been rolled round so as to face outwards. In a similar manner, the raw edge of the outer tube could be folded over and the at least one lip held between the two surfaces. The at least one lip could be held by the resilience of the outer tube material rolled or folded over, or could be glued or otherwise secured (e.g., heat-sealed) into place.

The steps of joining the axial edges of the first blank and of the second blank may be performed by ultrasonic sealing. Ultrasonic sealing has been found to be an advantageous option because it allows for precise control of temperature to which the material to be joined is heated, as well as precise locations of material to be heated. This reduces the likelihood of damage or deformation elsewhere in the container, which would be undesirable.

The step of bonding the membrane to the inner tube may also be performed by ultrasonic sealing, providing similar benefits.

In certain embodiments, the step of wrapping the first blank and joining axial edges of the first blank to construct the inner tube is performed round a first mandrel, the step of wrapping the second blank and joining axial edges of the second blank to construct the outer tube is performed round a second mandrel and the step of rolling the end edges of the outer tube is performed while the outer tube respectively is wrapped around the second mandrel. This may provide for a more efficient process of producing the container.

In some embodiments of the above, the step of rolling the end edges of the inner tube is performed while the inner tube is wrapped around the first mandrel. This only applies to the embodiments of the container includes an inner tube having a rolled end edge.

In other embodiments, the step of wrapping the first blank and joining axial edges of the first blank to construct the inner tube is performed round a first mandrel, and the steps of wrapping the second blank and joining axial edges of the second blank to construct the outer tube and rolling the end edges of the outer tube are performed round the inner tube while the inner tube is still mounted round the first mandrel. This means that only a single mandrel needs to be used, which may provide advantageous with regard to the efficiency of producing containers.

It is also envisaged that each step could be performed on separate mandrels, which would allow for a continuous assembly line and so in some instances may lead to a more efficient production process for multiple container.

Providing the second blank may include perforating a line along the blank to provide a circumferential frangible line between a distal portion and a proximal portion of the outer tube once formed. This frangible line may take a variety of shapes as discussed above with respect to features of the container itself. It may provide for ease of manufacture to provide the frangible line in the blank for the outer tube.

Closing the proximal end of the inner tube may include providing a proximal cup having a disc and a rim and sealing the proximal cup within the proximal end of the inner tube by bonding the rim to an inner surface of the inner tube, optionally by ultrasonic sealing.

Each of the membrane and distal member may be formed by being punched in a die. Alternative methods for providing the membrane and distal member are also envisaged. For example, they could be cut from a continuous reel of material, which may or may not be arranged so as to feed the membrane and distal member directly into their respective locations for assembly with the rest of the container.

The steps of providing the first blank and the second blank may include skiving material from one or more of the axial edges thereof. This ensures both that the material where there is overlap is not too thick, and so the visual impact of seams in the container is reduced. This also enables raw edges of the material to be folded away from locations where the edges could come into contact with the product, or otherwise be exposed and thereby weaken the integrity and strength of the container.

Form another aspect there is provided yet another method of making the container of any of the above. This method involves filling the container from the distal end of the container, rather than from the proximal end of the container. Although the benefits of providing a backing surface to the membrane are not realised in this container with respect to impacts from filling the container with the product, the benefits from movement of the product within the container leading to impacts with the membrane after assembly (such as in use, or in transit) are still realised. This method includes: providing a first blank of card-based or paper-based material; wrapping the first blank and joining axial edges of the first blank to construct an inner tube; closing the proximal end of the inner tube (optionally by providing a proximal cup having a rim and a base and sealing the rim of the proximal cup to interior surfaces of the inner tube); filling the inner tube with a product from the distal end of the inner tube; providing a membrane having a diameter equal to or greater than the diameter of the inner tube; bonding the membrane to a distal end of the inner tube; providing a second blank of card-based or paper-based material; wrapping the second blank and joining axial edges of the second blank to construct an outer tube; providing a distal member of cardbased or paper-based material, and inserting the distal member into the outer tube to fit snugly therein; rolling the end edges of the outer tube to form rounded rolled end edges at the distal end of the outer tube; inserting the inner tube into the outer tube and thereby placing the membrane and the distal member adjacent each other; and bonding the inner tube to the outer tube.

The previous features as set out for the first method may also be combined with this method.

As used herein, card-based or paper-based materials means materials being substantially formed of card or paper, such as card-board or paperboard. That is, the materials must have enough card or paper content to enable them to be used in recycling streams. A cardbased material may include a cardboard sheet with a thin PE-film layer coating the sheet, but in such a low percentage of the composition of the material as a whole so as to enable recycling of the material. Other polymer film layers or coatings may be used instead of PE. Similarly, pure card-board, or paper-board with no polymer content, would also be cardbased or paper-based materials.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Some embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a container according to an embodiment;

Figure 1 A shows a close-up view of part of the container of Figure 1 ;

Figure 1 B shows a close-up view of another part of the container of Figure 1 ;

Figures 2A to 2K collectively show a process of manufacturing the container of Figure 1, by illustrating each step as a cross-sectional view, in this way,

Figure 2A shows a step of skiving material from a precursor to the tubes,

Figure 2B shows a step of wrapping an inner tube,

Figure 2C shows a step of rolling an end edge of the inner tube, Figure 2D shows a step of forming a top membrane,

Figure 2E shows a step of attaching the membrane to the inner tube,

Figure 2F shows a step of wrapping an outer tube,

Figure 2G shows a step of forming a distal disc,

Figure 2H shows a step of attaching the distal disk to the outer tube,

Figure 21 shows a step of forming a bottom cup,

Figure 2J shows a step of assembling outer and inner tubes ready to fill the container with the product, and

Figure 2K shows a step of assembling and sealing the bottom cup to the inner and outer tubes to achieve a finished container;

Figure 3 shows a flow chart of a method of manufacturing a container as provided herein;

Figure 3A shows a flow chart of an alternative method of manufacture of a container, wherein the container is filled from a distal end;

Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the container of figure 1 ;

Figure 5 shows a cross-sectional view of a container according to another embodiment;

Figure 5A shows a close-up view of part of the container of Figure 5; and

Figure 5B shows a plan view of a blank for forming part of the container of Figure 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference to Figures 1 , 1 A, 1 B and 4 an exemplary container 2 in accordance with the invention is described. Figures 1 A and 1 B show zoomed in views of sections A and B of Figure 1. Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the container 2, in which only the exterior components are visible.

The container 2 includes an inner tube 4, an outer tube 6, a membrane 8, a distal disc 10, and a proximal cup 12. Each of the inner rube 4, outer tube 6, distal disc 10 and proximal cup 12 are made of card-based or paper-based material.

The inner tube 4 illustrated is a cylindrical tube, and has a rolled distal edge 14, which forms and may be called an inward rolled edge. While the illustrated rolled distal edge 14 provides a generally toroidal shape, with the raw edge 16 rolled so as to face radially outwards and the rolled distal edge turned inwardly to the inner tube 4, the rolled distal edge 14 could similarly be folded over, with the raw edge 16 facing axially in a proximal direction.

The outer tube 6 illustrated is also a cylindrical tube, having a rolled distal edge 18. The illustrated rolled distal edge 18 also provides a generally toroidal shape, with its raw edge 20 rolled to as to face radially outwards; however, the rolled distal edge 18 could be rolled, or folded to have other configurations. The rolled distal edge 18 of the outer tube 6 provides a seat against which the distal disc 10 is seated. The distal disc 10 may be glued into place against the rolled distal edge 18 or, alternatively, may be sized so as to be held in place by frictional forces, such as a friction fit or an interference fit. The distal disc 10 provides a backing surface distally adjacent to the membrane 8 to reduce the likelihood of damage to the membrane 8 or the join between the membrane and the inner tube 4 upon impact from the product, either when the container is filled, or from movement, e.g., shaking, of the container during use or transit. The distal disc 10 may be made of a paper-based or cardbased material, such as paperboard or cardboard. It may or may not have a barrier coating. It could, for example be made of Kraft board, folding boxboard or a polymer grade material of suitable thickness. The distal disc 10 may be made of fluted, or corrugated material in some examples, where additional rigidity is required. The distal disc 10 in the illustrated example is circular to thereby fit snugly in the outer tube 6.

The outer tube 6 is sized to fit snugly around the inner tube 4, and the two may be joined together by an interference fit, or by gluing, or by ultrasonic sealing (which may be combined with the ultrasonic sealing step joining the proximal cup 12 to the inner tube 4 as described below)

Each of the outer and inner tubes 6, 4 share a longitudinal, central axis X.

The membrane 8 is affixed to the distal side of the rolled distal edge 14 of the inner rube 4. This bonding is made in such a way as to seal an internal chamber 22 of the container 2, but such that a user may remove the membrane 8 to open the container 2 (once a distal portion 36 of the outer tube 6 has been removed after breaking the frangible line 38 as explained further below). For example, the membrane 8 may be fixed to the rolled distal edge 14 by ultrasonic sealing. The membrane 8 could instead be heat sealed to the rolled distal edge 14. However, ultrasonic sealing ensures that the membrane may be joined to the rolled distal edge in a controlled manner, because the temperatures can be more closely defined during the processing. The resultant container 2 from the use of ultrasonic sealing will therefore have less damage from potential overheating from other methods of joining the membrane 8 in certain areas of the inner tube 4. The membrane 8 may be made of a variety of materials, or of a layered material formed from a combination of a variety of materials. Those materials may include paper, PE, metalised PET, LDPE-plastomer, HDPE, mLDPE, metallic foil, e.g., aluminium foil, EVOH, Surlyn® and other polymers or ionomers. Some exemplary layered arrangements are as follows: (optionally paper or paperboard)/ PE/ metalised PET/ LDPE-plastomer; (optionally paper or paperboard)/ PE/ 1.5mm HDPE- mLDPE; (optionally paper or paperboard)/ PE/ 7pm foil/ plastomer-LDPE; or multi-layer laminates such as PE/ Al/ Surlyn® or PE/ EVOH/ Surlyn®. The choice of material depends on the product to be housed in the container 2, and may be determined by various factors, such as the threshold of mvtr (moisture vapour transition rate) required. In some embodiments, the membrane 8 may be made of one of PE (polyethylene) coated paper, metallised PE coated paper or a heat-sealing membrane, or another suitable polymer coated material, having a suitably low mvtr (moisture vapour transition rate). The membrane 8 may be about 0.05 to 0.5 mm thick, or more narrowly about 0.1 mm thick.

A tab 24 (or lug) can be seen in Figure 1A, folded over by 90° (i.e. , to the axial direction) and thus extending proximally between the inner and outer tube 4, 6. As will be appreciated, only the tab 24 of the membrane 8 extends proximally in this way. The remainder of the membrane 8 does not extend proximally beyond the rolled distal edge 14 of the inner tube 4. In use (once a part of the outer tube 6 has been removed, as further described below), the user may pull on the tab 24 in a substantially distal direction to release the membrane 8 from the inner tube 4 and thus provide access to the contents of the container 2 within the internal chamber 22.

The membrane 8 as shown is located adjacent, and, as illustrated, touching the distal disc 10.

The proximal cup 12 (which may also be called a bottom plug, proximal plug, proximal disc, bottom cup, bottom disc) is located at the proximal end of the container 2. The proximal cup 12 includes a flat disc 26 and an annular rim 28, joined at a rounded corner 30. The rounded corner 30 may instead be a sharp corner. In some embodiments, the proximal cup 12 could instead be replaced by a flat disc, joined to a proximal end of the container 2. The illustrated rim 28 of proximal cup 12 is bonded, for example, ultrasonically sealed to, an inner surface 32 of the inner tube 4. This sealing, along an axial length of the rim 28 ensures a good seal at the proximal end of the container 2, which in use is typically at the base of the container 2, which thus reduces the chance of leakage therefrom. The additional layer of paper-based or card-based material that the rim 28 provides at the base of the container 2 also improves the structural rigidity thereof.

The outer tube 6 includes a proximal portion 34 and a distal portion 36, with a frangible line 38 (or a frangible join) that extends circumferentially around the outer tube 6. The frangible line 38 may, for example, include perforations in the card-based or paper-based material from which the outer tube 6 is constructed. As will be appreciated, while the illustrates frangible line 38 only extends circumferentially, i.e. , it has no axial component and thereby forms a circle, the frangible line could in some embodiments extend on a slant, including an axial component, and thereby form an ellipse with one end closer to the proximal end of the container 2 than the other end. Similarly, in other embodiments, the frangible line 38 could follow be a wave, such as a sine wave, or a triangular wave, extending around the circumference of the outer tube 6. In alternative arrangements, the frangible line 38 may only extend partially around the circumference of the outer tube 6 (a majority of the circumference, for example around about 300° to 350°, e.g., about 315°). In that case the remainder forms a connected portion when the user breaks the frangible line which acts as a hinge, and maintains the distal portion 36 of the outer tube 6 attached to the proximal portion 34 of the outer tube 6.

In use, when the frangible line 38 is broken, for example, by a user applying a force pulling the distal portion of the outer tube 6 away from the remainder of the container 2, optionally also with a torsional component to the force, the distal portion 36 acts as a cap to the container 2, being replaceably removable therefrom. An inner tube distal portion 40 (or, in other word, a distal portion 40 of the inner tube 4), which may be defined as the portion of the inner tube 4 that extends axially distally of the frangible line 38, provides a neck, which locates the outer tube distal portion 36 on the container 2. The proximal portion 34 of the outer tube 6 provides, at its distal end a distal edge 42, which provides a shoulder that a foot, provided by a proximal edge 44 of the distal portion 36 of the outer tube 6, abuts when the proximal portion 34 (cap) is replaces onto the container 2.

When the frangible line 8 extends only circumferentially, the distal portion 36 may be placed on the container in any orientation, which may be desirable in some circumstances, for example, for ease of reassembly. When the frangible line has a more complex geometry, the distal portion 36 may need to be aligned with the proximal portion 34 of the outer tube 6, which may have other benefits, such as aligning visual designs or wording printed or otherwise placed on an exterior of the container 2.

The distal portion 36 may include a circumferential ridge (not shown) extending from an inner surface of the distal portion 36 and configured to engage an outer surface of the inner tube 4 by resilience. The engagement provides an improved friction fit, so that when a user removes or replaces the distal portion from and to the container 2 respectively, they feel an additional frictional resistance. This circumferential ridge may be referred to as a creasing, emboss or as a protrusion. Alternative protrusions extending inwardly from the inner surface of the distal portion 36 may have a similar effect.

The container 2 is shown without a product in the chamber 22 thereof. With product in the container 2, the arrangement may be referred to as an assembly.

With reference to Figures 2A to 2K and Figure 3, an exemplary method of construction will be described. Figure 3 shows a flow chart of the steps shown in each of Figures 2A to 2K.

As will be appreciated, a number of these steps may be performed in alternative orders, either continuously, or with time between each step, or even simultaneously for a number of the steps (for example, the inner tube and outer tube could each be wrapped at the same time). Additionally, while one example is illustrated of how to perform each step, other methods for performing the steps may be used. For example, while the membrane is shown as being punched in a die, it could be cut, by lasers, or otherwise, from a sheet of membrane material.

Figure 2A shows the step of skiving the material of a blank 4A for the inner tube 4. The material is skived from a corner 46 at an axial edge 48 to thereby provide a chamfered portion 50. The skiving of the material involves cutting, planning or abrading away the part of the material of the blank 4A to be removed to provide the chamfered portion 50. The skiving step may be performed at just one axial edge 48 of the material as illustrated, or may be performed at both axial edges. The material of the blank 4A adjacent the chamfered portion 50 may then be folded back on itself to thereby provide a coated edge, rather than a raw edge of the material. This improves the durability of the container as a raw edge could otherwise act as a weak point. This also provides a fully integral inner continuous barrier lining to the tube, i.e. , no raw edges for moisture ingress or loss. Furthermore, dependent on the product, it may be beneficial to avoid the product being in contact with a raw edge of the inner tube 4 material.

As will be appreciated, the geometry shown in Figure 2A is illustrative, and the precise geometry of the chamfered portion 50 of the resultant blank 4A may be shallower or steeper, and may extend further or less far through the thickness of the material of the blank 4A, dependent on particular design requirements.

The same or an alternative skiving step may be used for a blank 6A for the outer tube 6.

Skiving material from the blank 4A or blank 6A provides a thinner portion of material at the axial edge 48 that may be overlapped with the other axial edge for joining thereto when the tubes 4, 6 are formed. In this way, the resultant tube(s) 4, 6 may be provided with a more rounded and smooth geometry.

Figure 2B shows the step of forming the inner tube 4 from the blank 4A. This step involves wrapping the blank 4A into its cylindrical form and then joining the axial edges 48 thereof. The illustrated step involves wrapping the blank 4A around a cylindrical mandrel by the use of a pair of wrapping wings 54 (or wrapping arms) which are hinged together and have a rounded inner surface 56 configured to engage the blank 4A when the wrapping arms bias the blank 4A inward. In alternative arrangements, other means of wrapping the inner tube 4 from the blank 4Acould be used, rather than the wrapping wings 54, such as use of a belt or a locating grip and rotating mandrel system. Additionally, in some examples, the inner tube 4, and also the outer tube 6, could be provided from a continuous reel fed linear wrapping process.

An ultrasonic sealing head 57 is then applied to the area where the axial edges 48 of the blank 4A overlap and seals the blank 4A to form the inner tube 4, with a side seam along where the axial edges 48 joined. The inner tube 4 may then be released from the mandrel 52 after the wrapping wings 54 have been released. More typically, the inner tube 4 is left on the mandrel 52, although with the wrapping wings 54 released, ready for the next step.

Figure 2C shows the step of forming the rolled distal edges 14 of the inner tube 4. If the inner tube 4 has been removed from the mandrel 52 of step 2B, then the inner tube 4 is placed back on the mandrel 52, or on an alternative mandrel. Otherwise, the inner tube 4 is kept in position on the mandrel 52. An internal curling head 58, which comprises a block having an annular shaped recess 60 configured to roll the material from a distal raw edge 16 of the inner tube to provide the inner tube distal rolled edge 14 when the internal curling head 48 is pressed onto the inner tube 4. The annular shaped recess 60 illustrated has a semi-circular cross-section to achieve such a curling effect; however, other shapes could be used to achieve the same effect. Once the internal curling head 58 has been removed, the inner tube 4 may in turn be removed from the mandrel 52. In some examples, the inner tube 4 may be left on the mandrel 52 ready for the step of attaching the membrane 8 to the inner tube 4. In other examples, each step, and optionally each part of each step could be performed on separate mandrels, for example to assist in product line manufacturing.

Figure 2D shows the step of forming the membrane 8. This step involves providing a membrane die 62 having a recess 64 with the same shape as is required of the final membrane 8. A membrane precursor 8A, or membrane blank, which is a sheet of membrane material (note the materials listed for the membrane 8 as discussed above), is laid over the membrane die 62. A punching block 66 is then pressed onto the membrane precursor 8A on the membrane die 62 to punch out the membrane 8. As can be seen in Figure 2D, the membrane 8 is punched out to include the tab 24, which is a protrusion from the circular shape of the membrane 8.

As will be appreciated, alternative methods for forming the membrane 8 may be provided, other than punching the membrane 8 by use of a die 62 and punching block 66.

Figure 2E shows the step of attaching the membrane 8 to the inner tube 4. This step is performed by placing the membrane 8 in position over the distal rolled edge 14 of the inner tube 4, while the inner tube 4 is in place on the mandrel 52. A second ultrasonic sealing head 68 is positioned above the membrane 8 and pressed onto the membrane 8 to join the membrane 8 to the distal rolled edge 14. The second ultrasonic sealing head 68 locally heats up the membrane 8 at the locations where the membrane 8 contacts the distal rolled edge 14 to thereby locally melt the membrane material and fuse the membrane 8 to the distal rolled edges 14. The use of ultrasonic sealing in this way allows for greater control of the temperature at which the membrane 8 is taken to, and the particular locations thereof, as opposed to, for example a simpler resistive heating element. For example, the temperature may be taken to between 150 °C and 200 °C, or more narrowly, about 175 °C. This mitigates the risk of damage arising from the sealing step.

The second ultrasonic sealing head 68 may then be removed, and the inner tube removed from the mandrel 52 to provide the inner tube 4, with the membrane affixed thereto.

The illustrated second ultrasonic sealing head 68 is sized and shaped to fit over the inner tube 4, to be able to simultaneously join the membrane 8 to the inner tube 4 at all points of the connection. As mentioned previously, as an alternative to ultrasonic sealing, heat sealing, such as induction heat sealing may be used with an appropriately shaped heated die.

Figure 2F shows the step of forming the outer tube 6. This step is substantially similar to the step illustrated in Figure 2B and described above, but applied to the blank 6B of the outer tube 6. The process makes use of similar, or even the same wrapping wings 54, curved surfaces 56 and ultrasonic sealing head 57. Naturally, the mandrel 52’ used for this step may be marginally larger than the mandrel 52 used for the step of Figure 2B for the inner tube 4, because the outer tube 6 is sized so the inner tube 4 may fit within. Alternatively, the wrapping step shown in Figure 2F could be performed on the same mandrel 52 which was used to wrap the inner tube 4, while the inner tube 4 is still in place on that mandrel 52. That is, the outer tube blank 6B may be wrapped around the inner tube 4 and the edges sealed by ultrasonic sealing head 57. The other difference between the outer and inner tube, as described above, is that the outer tube 6 includes a frangible line 38, separating distal and proximal portions 36, 34 thereof. This frangible line 38, as discussed above may include perforations, which may either be provided in the blank 6B of the outer tube, or alternatively, cutting blades could be provided on the wrapping wings 54 of this step, which provide the frangible line 38 when the outer tube 6 is wrapped. In such embodiments, the wrapping wings 54 are not the same wrapping wings 54 as are used for forming the inner tube 4. The ultrasonic sealing head 57 may include a gap and/or not be applied to the part of the axial seam of the outer tube where the frangible line 38 intersects, to ensure the frangible line remains frangible around the entire circumference of the outer tube 4B.

Figure 2G shows a step of forming the distal disc 10 (or the top disc). The step shown in Figure 2G is substantially similar to the step shown in Figure 2D, except that the punching die 66’ of Figure 2G punches out a distal disc 10 from a card-based or paper-based material distal disc precursor 10A, which is placed over the die 62’, having recess 64’. In contrast to the recess 64 of the die of Figure 2D, the recess 64’ of this step does not have a space corresponding to the tab 24 of the membrane 8, so that the distal disc 10 is made to be circular, and thereby fit within the outer tube 6.

Figure 2H shows the step of attaching the distal disc 10 (or top disc) to the outer tube 6. This step involves placing (or keeping) the outer tube 6 on the outer tube mandrel 52’, and placing the distal disc 10 on top of the mandrel 52’ such that the distal disc 10 is located within the outer tube 6. The step then involves pressing a second internal curling head 58’, which has a shaped recess 60’ onto the distal end of the outer tube 10, to roll the distal raw edges 20 thereof inward to provide the rounded rolled edge 18 of the outer tube 6. Similarly to the shaped recess 60 of the step inn Figure 2C, the shaped recess 60’ of the second internal curling head 58’ is annular, with a semi-circular cross section, and the outer radius of the annulus matches the outer radius of the outer tube 6.

The second internal curling head 58’ may then be removed, and then the outer tube 6 and distal disc 10 removed from the mandrel 52’.

In some embodiments, a ring of adhesive may be applied around the circumference of the distal disc 10, on a distal surface thereof, to ensure adhesion between the distal disc 10 and the rolled edges 18 of the outer tube 6.

It will be appreciated that alternative means to apply the distal disc 10 to the outer tube 6, with or without the rolled edges 18 may also be used. Figure 21 shows the step of forming the proximal cup 12 (or the bottom cup). This step is somewhat similar to the steps of Figures 2D and 2G, except that the punching block 66’ does not cut a flat final piece from a flat sheet of material, but moulds the final piece from a flat sheet of material. A cup die 62” is provided and the proximal cup precursor 12A is placed thereover. The cup die 62” has a recess 64” therein, corresponding to a negative of the final shape desired for the proximal cup 12. A punching block 66” is pressed into the recess 64” of the cup die 62”, in particular a protrusion 70 provided on the punching block 66” is pressed into the recess 64”. In doing so, the proximal cup precursor 12A is bent round to provide the shape of the proximal cup 12, which, as described above, has a flat disc portion 26, and a rim 28, joined by (optionally) rounded corners 30.

The punching block 66” is then removed, and the proximal cup 12 may be taken out of the cup die 62”.

As well as the bending function, the punching block 66” may also achieve a cutting function if the proximal cup precursor 12A contains excess material beyond what is needed for the proximal cup 12. The proximal cup precursor 12A may be mounted on a reel and may be a single precursor that provides multiple proximal cups 12 for different containers 2.

As will be appreciated, other methods could be used to form the proximal cup 12. For example, the proximal cup 12 could be formed directly in the inner tube 4 (and optionally also the outer tube 6) while the inner tube 4 is held on the mandrel 5’. Then the proximal cup 12 may be sealed, optionally by ultrasonic sealing, into the inner tube 4 (and optionally outer tube 6) before the proximal cup 12 and inner tube 4 (and when present, the outer tube 6) are released from the mandrel 52 together. This method may be used when the container is to be filled with the product from the distal end thereof.

Figure 2J shows the step of assembling the outer and inner tubes 6, 4, ready for filling the container 2 with the product. In this step, the inner tube 4 is slid within the outer tube 6 to provide an interference fit. In some embodiments, where each of the tubes 4, 6 have a polymer coating, a heat seal join may be provided between the inner and outer tubes 4, 6, using ultrasonic sealing, or a heated element process. Alternatively, adhesive may be used in the portion proximal of the frangible line 38, so provide a bond between the proximal portion 34 of the outer tube 6 and the inner tube 4.

Not shown in this figure is then the step of filling the container 2 with the product. For this step, the arrangement in figure 2J will be flipped upside down, so gravity can be used to fill the product. How this step is done depends on the product and filling line to be used. For example, solid, cream, or gel-based products may be filled with a hot-fill process, or a cold- fill process. Powder, particle or pellet product may be poured or funnelled into the container 2. In each of these methods, the container 2 is filled via the proximal end thereof, which is later to have the proximal cup 12 fitted.

A particular advantage to filling the container after the inner tube 4 has been placed within the outer tube 6 is that the distal disc 10 provides a back-stop that prevents the product from breaking the membrane 8, or from breaking the seal between the membrane 8 and the rolled distal edge 14 of the inner tube 4 when the product is inserted.

In other embodiments, the product may be filled from the distal end of the container 2; however, this requires the proximal cup 12 to be joined to the inner tube 4 before the membrane 8 is affixed thereto, and then the membrane 8 can be fixed, and then the inner tube 4 (complete with product, membrane 8 and proximal cup 12) can be inserted into the outer tube 6 before a bonding step between the outer tube 6 and the inner tube 4. Such a method is shown in Figure 3A.

Figure 2K shows the step of assembling the container and sealing the proximal (or bottom) cup 12 to the tubes 4, 6.

Firstly, the proximal cup 12 may be placed into the proximal end of the product from step 2J, that is, the inner tube 4 inside the outer tube 6, with the membrane 8 and distal disc 10 in situ. In particular, the proximal cup 12 is placed within the proximal end of the inner tube 4. The proximal cup 12 may temporarily be held within the inner tube 4 by a friction fit, or an interference fit. A third ultrasonic sealing head 72 having an annular groove 74 sized to fit round the rim 28 of the proximal cup 12 and the proximal ends of the inner and outer tubes 6 and is then provided to ultrasonically join the proximal cup 12 to the inner tube 4, and optionally the inner tube 4 to the outer tube 6. In some examples, a heated mandrel could be used in place of the ultrasonic sealing head 72, shaped to fit within the proximal cup 12. The ultrasonic sealing head 72 is configured to join the proximal cup 12 to the inner tube 4 and the inner and outer tubes to one another simultaneously. In this manner, the container 2 may be sealed at its proximal end by the proximal cup 12, having already been sealed at its distal end by the membrane 8.

The container 2 may then be removed from the ultrasonic sealing head 72 (or vice versa) and orientated the correct way if necessary.

As will be appreciated, methods other than ultrasonic sealing could be used to sealingly affix the proximal cup 12 to the inner surface 32 of the inner tube 4. Figure 3 shows an exemplary method 300 of forming the container 2 as described herein. The steps A to K shown in figure 3 correspond to the steps shown in figures 2A to 2K.

Figure 3A, as mentioned above, shows an exemplary method 300A of forming the container where the product is to be filled from a distal end thereof, rather than from a proximal end. Where the steps still correspond to the steps of Figure 3, they have been indicated as such with corresponding letters, and the order of the steps has changed. Step J of Figure 3 has been separated into the step of filling the product and of assembling and joining the inner and outer tubes. In the process of Figure 3A filling the product needs to happen before the outer tube and top disc are placed around the inner tube and before the membrane is bonded to the inner tube, because the proximal cup needs to be in place in the inner tube to receive the product. As will be appreciated, some of the steps, such as forming the top disc, can be performed earlier in the sequence.

As will be appreciated, the order of a number of the steps does not matter, for example, step F, wrapping the outer tube, could be performed before any of steps B to E. However, the orders of some steps do matter, for example, step G, forming the distal disc, must take place before step H, attaching the distal disc to the outer tube. The skilled person may use their common general knowledge to perform the steps in an appropriate order.

Another embodiment of the container will be described with reference to Figures 5, 5A and 5B. Similar or corresponding elements have been given corresponding reference numerals but increased by 100. For example, Figure 1 shows the container 2, whereas Figure 5 shows the container 102.

Where elements of the container 102 of Figure 5 are the same as those of the container 2 of Figure 1, for conciseness the description thereof will not be repeated at length. Only the differences therewith will be discussed in detail.

The bottom cup 112 of Figure 5 is the same as the bottom cup 12 of Figure 1.

The inner tube 104 of Figure 5 is similar to the inner tube 4 of Figure 1 , except that the inner tube 104 of Figure 5 does not include a rolled distal edge, but maintains a straight, unrolled distal portion 114, with a raw edge 116 thereof (labelled in Figure 5A) facing a distal direction. The overall length of the inner tube 104 of Figure 5 is no larger than the length of the inner tube 4 of Figure 1, despite having the straight distal portion 104. Accordingly, a blank used to form the inner tube 104 is shorter than the blank 4A used to form the inner tube 4. The membrane 108 of Figure 5 may be made of the same material as the membrane 8 of Figure 1, but due to how it is attached to the container, it has a different shape. Notably, the membrane 108 has a larger diameter such that it forms a rim 109. Once assembled, the rim 109 extends distally from a middle portion of the membrane, which forms a disc extending across the inner tube 104. The rim 109 is affixed to, for example ultrasonically bonded to the inner surface 132 of the inner tube 104. The membrane 108 may include a tab (not shown) which the user may grip to dis-attach the membrane 108 form the container 102. The tab may be attached at a periphery of the membrane 108, or alternatively, may be attached to a middle portion of the membrane 108 and may be foldable to extend distally to provide the user with something to grip onto to remove the membrane 108. The join between the rim 109 and the middle portion of the membrane 108 may be curved. The axial length of the rim 109 may be selected dependent on the strength of the join required between the membrane 108 and the inner tube 104.

In this way, by not having a rolled distal edge, the product within internal chamber 122 only contacts one side of the inner tube 114, namely the inner surface 132 thereof. This is in contrast to the inner tube 4 of Figure 1 , which, by having a rolled distal edge 14 has locations, at the rolled distal edge 14 where the product may be in contact with an opposite surface 33 of the inner surface 32 of the inner tube 4 (se Figure 1 A). That is, the surface 33 would be an outer surface if the inner tube 4 did not have its distal edge rolled, and by such rolling becomes an interior surface facing the internal chamber 22 of the container 2 of Figure 1.

As a result, only one side of the blank for the inner tube 104 of the dispenser 102 of Figure 5 needs to be coated with a grease-resistant or similar coating, such as PE film, which both reduces the manufacturing costs and complexities and results in a more easily recyclable container 102.

The container 102 of Figure 5, has a distal cup 110 in place of the distal disc 10 of Figure 1. Importantly, the distal cup 110 of the container 102 is substantially in contact with the membrane 108, such that if product from the internal chamber 122 were to impact the membrane 108, the distal cup 110, behind the membrane 108 would absorb the majority of the force therefrom, and reduce the likelihood of the membrane 108 being pierced by the product. The product may impact upon the membrane 108 either during a step of filling the container 102 with the product, in the embodiments where the container 102 is filled with product from the proximal end thereof. Additionally, the product may impact upon the membrane when a filled container is shaken, either intentionally or unintentionally, in use, transit or otherwise. However the product is made to impact the membrane 108, the backing provided by the distal cup 110, or the distal disc 10 of Figure 1 is beneficial in reducing the chance of the membrane 108 breaking, which is important when the product is required to be sealed within the container 2, 102 until opened by a user. The distal cup 110 includes a lip 111 or plurality of lips 111 which are arranged to extend distally into a distal end rolled edge 118.

The lip(s) 111 are held in the distal end rolled edge 118, either by a friction fit, or optionally by being bonded, for example by adhesive, therein.

The axial extension of the lip(s) 111 allows the middle portion of the distal cup 110 to sit adjacent the membrane 108, despite the present of the rim 109 of the membrane 108 meaning that the middle portion of the membrane 108 is axially spaced from the distal end of the container 102, and in particular, axially spaced from the position where a flat tip disc would sit if it were abutted axially against the rolled end edge 118 of the outer tube 106.

A blank 110A for the distal cup 110 is shown in figure 5B. The particularly illustrated blank 110A has the shape of a rounded dodecagram, made with the compound of 3 squares, having rounded vertices. However, different geometries of different star polygons or indeed different geometries altogether could appropriately be used for the distal cup blank 110A. Notably, the distal cup blank 110A has protrusions 111 A which provide the lips 111 to be extended into the distal end rolled edge 118.

The outer tube 106 of the container 102 of Figure 5 differs from the outer tube 6 of the container 2 of Figure 1 only in that the rolled end edge 118 of the figure 5 outer tube 106 does not roll quite so tightly. That is, there is space between the raw edge 120 of the outer tube 106 and the interior surface of the outer tube 106 at the distal end thereof into which the lips 111 may extend (or slot) as described above.

With regard to the production method for producing the container 102 of Figure 5, the steps may be substantially similar to those for the container 2 of Figure 1 , except for the following steps. The membrane 108 is affixed to the interior surface 132 of the inner tube 104 at the rim 109 of the membrane 108, optionally by an ultrasonic sealing head, similar to that used for sealing the proximal cup 12 to the inner tube 4 as shown in Figure 2K, rather than being placed on top of a distal rolled edge and sealed thereto. The method step illustrated in Figure 2H is adjusted so that as the distal end edge of the outer tube 106 is rolled, the material of the rolled distal end edge 118 is rolled around the lips 111 of the distal cup 110 and thereby grips the lips 111 of the distal cup 110 therein. The step of placing the distal cup 110 into the outer tube 106, while the outer tube 106 is on a mandrel folds the lips 111 in a distal direction, because the diameter of the distal cup blank 110A inclusive of the protrusions 111A is greater than the internal diameter of the outer tube 106.

The term proximal is used herein as meaning away from the end of the container 2 which is to be opened by the user. Typically, the proximal direction will be a downward direction, or toward a bottom of the container 2, with the orientation being defined as it would be in use.

The term distal is the opposite direction to that of proximal. That is the distal direction is toward the ‘top’ of the container 2, as it would be in use, or an upward direction.

The axis X of the container 2 is the axis X of each of the inner and outer tubes 4, 6, and is a longitudinal axis X, extending along a centreline of the tubes 4, 6 from their proximal end to their distal ends.

The radial direction is a direction outwardly from, or inwardly to, the axis X, perpendicular thereto.

The circumferential direction is defined with respect to the axis X, so as to extend around the tubes 4, 6.