AU2005226867B2

AU2005226867B2 - Container lid

Info

Publication number: AU2005226867B2
Application number: AU2005226867A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Uwe Hofmann; Kay-Uwe Witte
Original assignee: Brita Se
Current assignee: Brita Se
Priority date: 2004-03-25
Filing date: 2005-03-08
Publication date: 2010-10-14
Anticipated expiration: 2025-03-08
Also published as: TWI276579B; RU2355614C2; DE102004014646B3; DE502005001576D1; EP1727449A1; RU2006137569A; ATE373980T1; WO2005092155A1; TW200536756A; JP2007530371A; EP1727449B1; AU2005226867A1; JP4625069B2; ES2289697T3

Abstract

The lid (10) has a filling aperture (12) with a movable closing element in the form of the seesaw (20) turning on an axis (21) on the lid. The first arm (30) of the seesaw has a closing plate (31) on it and the second arm (40) has a counterweight (41) on it. The torque of the second arm is greater than that of the first arm.

Description

1 CONTAINER LID The present invention relates to a container lid with an opening for filling provided with a movable closing element. 5 Such container lids are used on all sorts of containers for liquids, particularly for beverages, in order to protect the content of the container. A closed container lid, i.e., a container lid without a proper opening for filling, protects the content against contamination and usually has only a recess at the container's discharge port which optionally can be closed by a flap or the like. The container lid can 1o be arranged on jugs for boiling water, water filters or the usual containers of liquids, such as cans, with the lid usually being attached to the container in detachable fashion so that the lid can be removed for filling and/or cleaning the container and the lid proper. Applying and removing the container lid is disadvantageous because, on the one hand, time is required and, on the other hand, the attachment means are subjected to is unnecessary wear. In the case of careless handling, the attachment means can break off and the lid can be damaged. From DE 39 37 581 Al there is known a jug with a spout in which a flap is mounted and adapted to be swivelled to cover the discharge spout in the rest position. The flap extends via a short lever arm into a guiding channel of the lid in which a weight 20 in the form of a ring is arranged. When the jug is tilted, the weight bears against the lever arm and automatically opens the flap. There are also known container lids which have an opening for filling. This opening can be closed by a manually movable slider member arranged in the lid and can also be opened as described, for example, in DE 695 22 833 T2. It is a shortcoming of 25 this slider configuration that one often forgets to transfer the slider into the position of closing so that the container content is accessible from the outside and can be contaminated. The manipulation of such a slider member is to some extent cumbersome and, in the course of time, the easy movement of the slider is impaired. 30 It is an object of the present invention to substantially overcome or at least ameliorate at least one of the above disadvantages. The present invention provides a container lid with an opening for filling, provided with a movable closure element having a rocker with a first arm and a second arm, with the rocker mounted on the container lid and adapted to rotate around a 35 swivelling axis, wherein the first arm has an upwardly arched closing plate and the second arm has a counterweight, with the torque of the second arm exceeding the torque of the first arm.

2 At least in a preferred embodiment, the two arms form lever arms which extend from the axis of rotation in opposite directions. According at least to a preferred embodiment, because of the greater torque of the second arm, the rocker and, hence, the closing plate is in the position of closing. The 5 rocker moves from this rest position into the open position only when liquid is poured onto the closing plate. The impact provided by the liquid moves the rocker into the position of opening and, when the filling operation is completed, the rocker rotates automatically into its initial position, i.e., into the position of closing. In this way, closing of the opening for filling is ensured at all times without manual interaction by the user. 10 The rocker can be attached in detachable fashion at the lid and, for example, snap-fit into matching accommodating elements. It is provided in an other embodiment that the rocker cannot be removed and, hence, cannot be lost. The first arm under the closing plate preferably comprises a float. This configuration has the advantage that, when the level of the liquid in the container rises, is the backward swivelling of the rocker is enhanced and the opening for filling is automatically closed by the rising float. This rising also signals to the user that he has to finish the filling operation. The size of the float, the spacing of the float from the axis of rotation of the rocker, and the counterweight may be dimensioned so that in normal operation, the 20 inflowing liquid cannot press the first arm under the rising level of the liquid. In normal operation, the inflow is assumed to take place from an other vessel or from a water tap which is usually available in a household. For preventing the rocker from moving into the dead-centre position, in which the rocker would be in a vertical position, there may be provided a stop which limits the 25 swivelling motion of the rocker. In the position of opening, the rocker therefore assumes an inclined position from which it can rotate back into the rest position, i.e., into the position of closing. In order to create a torque as large as possible by buoyancy forces, the float is arranged preferably at the free end of the first arm. The float may extend beyond the edge 30 of the closing plate if this is convenient for adjusting the buoyancy force. The float may also be arranged at a distance from the closing plate. However, mounting the float directly under the closing plate appears to be optimal. In a first embodiment, the first arm comprises an air chamber. The shape of the air chamber and the wall of the air chamber are optional. But an air chamber wall arching 35 downwards is advantageous. In order to be able to obtain maximum torque by the buoyancy forces, the wall of the air chamber has its maximum spacing from the closing plate preferably at the free end of the first arm. This configuration implies the advantage that in the open position, early contact with the surface of the liquid is obtained while the level of the liquid rises. It is provided in a preferred embodiment that the first arm is spoon-shaped under the closing plate. The spoon-like arch has the further advantage that the area of contact with the liquid rising in the container is small. Because of surface tension of the respective liquid, the rocker could be prevented from performing the closing movement, if the torque of the second arm is too small. By reducing the area of contact, the counterweight can be dimensioned correspondingly smaller. The closing plate is preferably arching upwards. This implies the advantage that when the liquid is poured in, splashing is minimised. The liquid jet is deflected upon impacting on the arched surface and is uniformly distributed so that splashing of liquid out of the opening for filing is minimised. The closing plate has preferably a scaling area which, in the position of closing, engages an accordingly formed area on the edge of the opening for filling. The closing plate may comprise at least one sealing element so that in the closed position, closing which is to the greatest possible degree liquid-impermeable is ensured. The rocker is preferably made of a plastic material. Plastics have the advantage of being light so that for the required buoyancy forces to be provided by the float, only a relatively small volume is needed. Furthermore, also the counterweight can be kept accordingly small. The rocker can contain as a counterweight a metal insert, particularly a metal pin, e.g., a stainless steel pin. This metal pin can be arranged within the second arm. In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the rocker is mounted on the underside of the container lid. The opening for filling can be funnel-shaped to make the filling easier. In this embodiment, the rocker is mounted preferably at the edge of the opening. In this way a small-space arrangement with short rocker arms is obtained. The funnel-like form makes available an upwards extending free space near the opening for filling, and the second arm under the container lid can swivel into the opening position. The second arm is not visible for a person viewing from the outside. However, it may be advantageous to observe the movement of the second arm, for example, for early recognising that the filling operation has to be stopped to prevent overflow from the container. To this end, it is provided in a further embodiment to extend the rocker through the IRN 774127 3 container lid outwards, with at least part of the second arm outside the container lid. In order to obtain an arrangement requiring but little space, it is provided that the second arm enters into a hollow in the lid when in the position of closing. It is a further advantage of this configuration that the inner volume enclosed by the lid can be reduced in comparison with the above-described embodiment. The edge of the opening for filling preferably includes a sealing area against which the closing plate bears. Also the edge of the opening for filling may comprise at least one sealing element so that, in the closed position, closing which is to the greatest possible degree liquid impermeable is obtained. The container lid has preferably a ventilation opening. When the rocker closes the opening for filling, an air-tight closing may result in dependence on the permissible variations of the manufacturing process. In order to facilitate the opening operation by the rocker, it is advantageous to have the air escape which at the beginning of the opening process is to be expelled from within the container. The ventilation port is preferably arranged at the container lid's side far from the discharge spout. There the ventilation port is provided preferably above the edge of the opening. Exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained below in detail with reference to the drawings. There show: Figure 1, a vertical section through a jug with inserted funnel and applied lid; Figure 2a, a vertical section through a container lid with the rocker in the position of closing; Figure 2b, the lid shown in Figure 2a with the rocker in the position of partial opening; Figure 2c, the lid shown in Figure 2a with the rocker in the position of opening; Figure 3a, a perspective view of a rocker; Figure 3b, the side view of the rocker shown in Figure 3a; Figure 4a, the lower portion of the rocker with the counterweight; Figure 4b, the upper portion of the rocker; and Figures 5a and 5b, vertical sections through a lid with a rocker according to an other embodiment. Figure 1 is a vertical section of ajug which has a handle 2 and a spout 4. Inside jug 1 there is inserted a funnel 3 into which a filter cartridge (not shown) can be inserted. Jug I therefore can be used as a water filter. Jug 1 is closed by a lid 10 which comprises a filling opening 12 and a IRN 774127 4 handle portion 9 the contour of which matches the contour of handle 2 of jug 1. For closing the filling opening 12, a rocker 20 is arranged under the lid for rotating around a swivelling axis 21, with the rocker 20 having a first arm 30 and a second arm 40. The rocker 20 is shown in Figure 1 in the position of closing. Figure 2a is an enlarged sectional view of the lid 10 shown in Figure 1. The lid 10 has a domed surface with a filling opening 12 the wall 16 of which extends downwards in the form of a funnel. The rocker 20 and the edge 13 are arranged relative to the supporting edge 11 in a way such that when the float rises, the filling opening is closed before the liquid rising in the jug reaches the lowermost part of the supporting edge 11 and could flow out of the container. This implies the condition that the pressure of the water jet is smaller than the buoyancy of the float. Furthermore, at the side far from the spout 4 there is provided a ventilation opening 8 in the contact region of handle part 9. Because of its concealed position, the ventilation opening is not visible from above. The filling opening 12 is shut by the rocker which, in Figure 2a, is in the position of closing, i.e., in the rest position. The first arm 30 bears a closing plate 31, with a float 32 arranged under the closing plate 31. The float 32 is formed by an air chamber 32 the wall 34 of which is curved downwardly. The curvature has its maximum at the free end of the first arm 30 and tapers toward the swivelling axis 21 so that the first arm 30 assumes a spoon-like shape. The second arm 40 supports at its outer end a housing 41 of circular shape when viewed from the side, with the counterweight 42 arranged in that housing. Rocker 20 is shown in Figure 2b in the position of partial opening. In order to explain the filling operation, there is shown schematically a water jet 5 impinging on the surface of closing plate 31 and urging in this way the first arm 30 downwards, i.e., into the interior of the container. The torque generated by impact of the liquid is greater than the torque generated by the counterweight 42 mounted inside housing 41. Because of the dome-shaped surface of the closing plate 31, splashing is significantly reduced as the water jet 5, when impinging upon the closing plate 31, can run off uniformly to all sides. Figure 2b shows that the second arm 40 with the housing 41 of the counterweight moves upwards. At the side of the filling opening 12 there is an empty space 14 formed by the funnel wall 16 and the wall 17 of the lid, and the second arm 40 can rotate into that empty space 14. IRN 774127 5 Figure 2c shows the final position of rocker 20. The housing 41 of the counterweight bears against the outer surface of the funnel-shaped wall 16 of the filling opening 12. The axis 21 of rotation is arranged so that in combination with the wall 16 serving as a stop 15, the rocker 20 assumes a tilted position characterised by the angle a which in the example illustrated, amounts to about 250. The angle a may assume larger values, e.g., 350 - 40. It is in this way avoided that the rocker can assume the dead centre position (which would correspond to the angle a equal to zero). Figure 2c also shows the rising liquid level 6. Because of the dome shape of float 32, early contact with the liquid level is obtained so that the rocker 20 begins to rise already at an early point in time. Figure 3a is an enlarged perspective view of the rocker 20. The spoon-like form of the first arm 30 is readily recognised. The closing plate 31 shuts off the interior of the spoon-like arm 30 which defines the air chamber 33 and the float 32. Rocker 20 comprises also a swivel bearing 22 which is followed by the second arm 40. The housing 41, which accommodates the counterweight 42, is fixed to a bridge member 45. Figure 3b is a side view of the rocker 20. Figure 4a shows the lower portion 24 of the rocker 20 in a way such that the interior of the rocker 20 can be seen. Air chamber 33 has in its interior reinforcing ribs 35. In the interior of the lower portion 44 of the housing 41 there is the counterweight 42 in the form of a metal pin which is inserted into two fixing extensions 46a, b. The upper portion 23 shown in Figure 4b comprises the dome-shaped closing plate 31, the swivel bearing 22, and the upper portion 43 of the housing 41. Upper portion 23 and lower portion 24 are connected in liquid-sealing fashion so that no liquid can enter into the float 32 and/or the housing 41, as this would impair the functioning of the rocker 20. Upper portion 23 and lower portion 24 can be fused together. Figure 5a is a vertical section through a lid 10 with rocker 20 in accordance with an other embodiment. Rocker 20 is distinguished from the rocker shown in the preceding figures insofar as the second arm 40 extends upwards through an opening 18 in lid 10. The rocker 20 with its swivelling axis 21 is arranged on the underside of the lid 10. For the second arm 40 to be able to pass through the opening 18, the second arm 40 in the embodiment shown has a curved section followed by a section adapted to the opening in the lid, with the housing 41 for the weight arranged on it. Thus, the second arm 40 is visible for the user from the outside and also accessible. IRN 774127 6 Figure 5a shows the position of closing by the rocker 20. The filling opening 12 is closed by the first arm 30. The housing 41 on the second arm 40 enters into a hollow 19 which is formed in the upper surface of the lid 10. The second arm 40 and the hollow 19 are dimensioned so that the housing 41 disappears in the hollow 19 and the second arm 40 is flush with the outer surface of the lid 10. Figure 5b shows the position of opening by the rocker 20. The first arm 30 is hit by a water jet 5 which presses the first arm 30 downward. Thereby the second arm 40 is at the same time moved upwards and the hollow 19 becomes exposed. Rocker 20 rotates until the arm 40 bears against the edge of the opening 18, with the edge serving as a stop 15. Since the second arm 40 is accessible for the user, he may optionally influence manually the closing operation. IRN 774127 7 List of reference numbers 1 jug 2 handle 3 funnel 4 spout 5 liquid jet 6 level of liquid 8 ventilation opening 9 part of handle 10 lid 11 supporting edge 12 filling opening 13 edge of opening [for filling] 14 empty space 15 stop 16 wall of opening 17 wall of lid 18 opening 19 hollow [in lid] 20 rocker 21 swiveling axis 22 swivel bearing 23 upper portion 24 lower portion 30 first arm 31 closing plate 32 float 33 air chamber 34 wall of air chamber 35 reinforcing rib 40 second arm 41 housing of weight 42 counterweight 43 upper portion 44 lower portion 45 bridge 46a, b fixing extension IRN 774127 8

Claims

1. Container lid with an opening for filling, provided with a movable 5 closure element having a rocker with a first arm and a second arm, with the rocker mounted on the container lid and adapted to rotate around a swivelling axis, wherein the first arm has an upwardly arched closing plate and the second arm has a counterweight, with the torque of the second arm exceeding the torque of the first arm. 10

2. The container lid according to Claim 1, wherein the first arm is provided with a float under the closing plate.

3. The container lid according to Claim 2, wherein the float is arranged at the outer end of the first arm. 15

4. The container lid according to any one of Claims 2 or 3, wherein the float is arranged in spaced relationship from the closing plate.

5. The container lid according to any one of Claims I to 4, wherein the 20 first arm comprises an air chamber.

6. The container lid according to Claim 5, wherein the wall of the air chamber is curved downwards. 25

7. The container lid according to Claim 6, wherein the wall has its maximum distance from the closing plate in the region of the outer end of the first arm.

8. The container lid according to any one of Claims I to 7, wherein the first arm is spoon-shaped under the closing plate. 30

9. The container lid according to any one of Claims 1 to 8, wherein the closing plate comprises at least one sealing element.

10. The container lid according to any one of Claims I to 9, wherein the 35 rocker is made of a plastic material. 10

11. The container lid according to any one of Claims I to 10, wherein the rocker has a metal insert acting as a counterweight. s

12. The container lid according to Claim 11, wherein the metal insert is formed by a metal pin arranged within the second arm.

13. The container lid according to any one of Claims I to 12, wherein the rocker is mounted on the underside of the container lid and adapted to swivel. 10

14. The container lid according to any one of Claims 1 to 13, wherein the opening for filling has a funnel-shaped wall.

15. The container lid according to any one of Claims I to 14, wherein the is rocker is mounted at the edge of the filling opening.

16. The container lid according to any one of Claims 1 to 15, wherein in the position of opening, the second arm moves into an empty space under the container lid. 20

17. The container lid according to any one of Claims I to 15, wherein the rocker extends outwards through the container lid, with at least part of the second arm arranged outside the container lid.

18. The container lid according to Claim 17, wherein the second arm in the 25 closed position fits into a hollow in the lid.

19. The container lid according to any one of Claims I to 18, wherein the edge of the filling opening has a sealing area against which the closing plate bears in the position of closing. 11

20. The container lid according to any one of Claims I to 19, wherein the edge of the filling opening comprises at least one sealing element. Dated 30 July, 2010 BRITA GmbH Patent Attorneys for the Applicant/Nominated Person SPRUSON & FERGUSON