A container for a dispensable product

Abstract

A container for carrying a dispensable product such as a food product or condiment includes a hollow flexible body having a closed base and a peripheral wall extending therefrom to define an open top, and integral device in the form of a tab which can be manipulated in one mode to remove a membrane to provide access to the interior of the container and in a second mode to open a path through the wall of the container through which product can flow as by being squeezed. The dispensable product may be in the form of a paste, gel, sauce or the like.

1 . A container for dispensing a product such as a condiment, comprising a hollow flexible body, a closed base, a peripheral wall extending from the base to define a top, and a membrane adapted to close the top, the container body being unitary, by an integral device of the body adapted to be manipulated in two modes to provide access to the interior of the body, by in one mode the membrane being removable to provide said access, and by in the second mode to open a path through the wall of the container through which product can flow, and by the container being adapted to dispense a product in both modes. 
     
     
         2 . A container according to  claim 1 , wherein the wall terminates opposite the base in a laterally extending rim to which the membrane is releasably adhered. 
     
     
         3 . A container according to  claim 2 , wherein the body is generally rectangular in plan, and in that the device is located at one corner of the rectangle. 
     
     
         4 . A container according to  claim 3 , wherein the device comprises a tab defined by opposed notches in the rim. 
     
     
         5 . A container according to  claim 4 , wherein the tab is twistable to open the path. 
     
     
         6 . A container according to  claim 5 , wherein the tab protrudes beyond the lateral extent of the rim. 
     
     
         7 . A container according to  claim 6 , wherein the tab is of substantially triangular shape in plan. 
     
     
         8 . A container according to  claim 3 , wherein the tab has a lever element adapted to assist in opening the path. 
     
     
         9 . A container according to  claim 8 , wherein the lever element comprises an enlargement on the underside, in use, of the tab adjacent a corner of the body. 
     
     
         10 . A container according to  claim 1 , wherein the base comprises an area which can be flexed under thumb or finger pressure to assist in passage of the product through the path in the second mode. 
     
     
         11 . A container according to  claim 10 , wherein the area is defined by a plurality of indicia of the base. 
     
     
         12 . A container according to  claim 11 , wherein there three separate indicia comprising surface profiles of the base. 
     
     
         13 . A container according to  claim 1 , wherein the unitary body has internal compartments respectively for different products. 
     
     
         14 . A container according to  claim 1 , wherein the body and the membrane comprise different materials. 
     
     
         15 . A container according to  claim 14 , wherein the material of the membrane is selected from a group comprising metal and plastic. 
     
     
         16 . A condiment dispenser, comprising a container according to  claim 1  and a condiment contained therein.