The Procter Gamble Company

The Folger Coffee Company

Gerard Laurent Buisson

Timothy J Beechuk

Reuben E Oder

Aram J Irwin

Benito Alberto Romanach

Douglas David Sena

Elizabeth Dominique Maczek

Brian Adrian Miller

James Wagner Settelmayer, Jr

James Calvin McIntyre

Gene Michael Altonen

Mark T Lund

Emily M Kokenge

Thomas E Dierking

Timothy Jon Beechuk

An overcap for a roast and ground coffee container is disclosed. The overcap can include a gasket as an airtight seal between the overcap and the container that preserves a clicking sound upon closure by an end user and an outer portion that gives an end user a visual and touchable stimulus.

Packaging system with an overcap

A packaging system for roast and ground coffee is disclosed. The packaging system can comprise a container, an overcap, and a visual indicator. The visual indicator can indicate a pressure difference between the inside of the packaging system and the outside of the packaging system by moving from a concave outwardly position to a concave inwardly position. The visual indicator can comprise a bubble.

Visual vacuum indicator

A method of loading a plurality of articles in a container. The method can include providing a container having a body and defining an interior chamber, providing a stack of articles comprising snack pieces having a convex surface, inserting the stack of articles at least partially into the interior chamber, and reorienting the leading article by forcing the leading article against the inner surface such that the convex surface of the article cooperates with the inner surface.

Container bottom and methods

Substantially triangular shaped container bottoms include a bottom wall with a concave surface. The container bottom can be used with a container body having an interior chamber for receiving at least one article. Exemplary embodiments include a container bottom attached to a container body wherein the container bottom includes a central surface area that is inwardly concave towards an interior chamber of the container body. Methods of loading a plurality of articles in a container are also provided.

Dispensing package

Bottle with handle

The present invention relates to a package for dispensing a liquid product having a blow molded container body including an aperture and a pivotal connection. A pump device is attached to the aperture, and a unitarily formed actuation lever is pivotally connected directly to the pivotal connection of the container body allowing arcuate movement of the actuation lever. The pump device has a first contact surface located on a portion thereof and the actuation lever has a second contact surface which cooperates with the first contact surface enabling the actuation lever to apply a substantially vertical operating force upon the pump device when rotated, thereby dispensing the liquid product. In a preferred embodiment the liquid is dispensed as an atomized spray.

Blow molded container having pivotal connector for an actuation lever

The present invention pertains to improved manually operated atomization systems which combine atomizing nozzles with high pressure, pre-compression type pump mechanisms in order to provide a consistent, high quality, finely-atomized spray of a comparatively higher viscosity fluid. The pre-compression pump mechanism ensures that the product will only be delivered when sufficient pressure is available for atomization regardless of the speed or authority with which the pump mechanism is actuated. When the fluid is discharged from the nozzle in a swirling, conical film, the fluid is broken up into a finely-dispersed mist which may then be directed toward the surface to be coated. Pump mechanisms for use with the present invention incorporate specific design features which facilitate the flow of comparatively viscous fluids with reduced flow resistance and hence reduced pressure losses, as well as providing enhanced structural integrity to better withstand such operating pressures and forces while providing improved reliability. The combination of pre-compression and comparatively higher operating pressures ensures that the comparatively higher viscosity fluid will be delivered to the nozzle with a pressure (and hence a velocity) that is comparatively high and within a comparatively narrow range. This in turn ensures a finely-dispersed product spray with a comparatively narrow range of particle sizes, under a wide range of actuation circumstances.

High pressure atomization systems for high viscosity products

The present invention pertains to improved atomization systems for comparatively higher viscosity liquid products. More particularly, the present invention provides an improved product delivery system which combines a pre-compression type pump mechanism with a nozzle having two or more orifices configured to discharge corresponding jets or streams of the product which impinge upon one another to provide a finely dispersed spray. The pre-compression pump mechanism ensures that the product will only be delivered when sufficient pressure is available for atomization. Regardless of the speed or authority with which the pump mechanism is actuated, pressure within the pump will accumulate without product discharge until a lower pressure threshold is reached, at which time a valve opens to permit product discharge with sufficient pressure for atomization. When the fluid streams impinge upon one another, the fluid is broken up into a finely dispersed mist which may then be directed toward the surface to be coated. In a configuration particularly well-suited for comparatively higher viscosity fluids, the nozzle assembly of the product delivery system imparts additional relative velocity to the jets by introducing a swirl component of velocity prior to impingement, thus enhancing the atomization of the product.

Growing community of inventors

Cincinnati, OH, United States of America

Gerard Laurent Buisson