AU677124B2

AU677124B2 - Sealing cap

Info

Publication number: AU677124B2
Application number: AU25639/95A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Frank Schellenbach
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1994-07-20
Filing date: 1995-05-12
Publication date: 1997-04-10
Anticipated expiration: 2015-05-12
Also published as: HU217999B; CZ81796A3; WO1996002430A1; ES2142480T3; DK0716638T3; HU9600687D0; GR3032894T3; HUT74468A; CN1134136A; DE59507384D1; CZ285047B6; PL178296B1; DE4425675C3; SK36496A3; AU2563995A; DE4425675A1; RU2106293C1; PT716638E; CN1042118C; DE4425675C2

Abstract

A sealing cap for releasably closing a container has a cap body matching the container to be sealed, a closing mechanism, which releasably seals the container and the cap body and a seal co-operating with an upper edge of the container in order to seal it when the closing mechanism is operated. In addition, the closing cap has at least one shoulder formed on the cap body which faces the upper edge of the container and with which the seal co-operates when the closing mechanism is actuated.

Description

1.- Frank Schellenbach 19017 F/FM/bs A closure cap for sealing bottles or other containers The present invention relates to a closure cap for sealing containers. In particular, the present invention relates to screw-on closure caps for recyclable bottles and disposable bottles made of the material PET as well as for GDB-bottles containing carbonated liquids.

The following discussion of the subject matter of the application and of the prior art is confined to closure caps for sealing GDB-bottles in order to render the discussion easy. It is, however, explicitly referred thereto that the present invention is not limited to closure caps for GDB-bottles, rather is suitable for any type of container, as e.g. also for food containers (so-called Tupperware). Furthermore, the closure cap according to the invention is preferably applicable to reusable bottles as well as to disposable bottles rrade of the material PET.

2 Closure caps with which bottles or similar containers can be sealed can be found in a wide variety of fields. Hence, the closure cap must meet a number of needs. On the one hand, the sealing of the bottle, respectively container has to be such that a liquid contained in a closed, respectively sealed state, cannot escape from the container. If the containers to be sealed are bottles containing a liquid, then the requirement is determined by the viscosity of the liquid. If the liquids contained in the bottle, further, comprises a gas which is exposed to pressure, e.g.

-2carbonic acid, then the sealing further has to be gas-tight so that the gas is prevented from escaping from the bottle.

In order to accomplish the sealing function mentioned above the closure s caps according to the prior art comprise means for sealing the container or bottle. A known method for sealing consists of the use of an elastic sealing ring, as e.g. has been used with preserving jars. With this method the bottle closure cap and the sealing ring are manufactured separately and asse.,.bled thereafter. As can easily be seen, this method by manufacturing two components is rendered expensive and cumbersome. A further disadvantage of this method is known from its daily use: the rubber sealing ring easily displaces and, thereby, prevents a reliable sealing of the container.

For this reason, sealing rings have already been suggested which are formed as an integral part of the closure cap, whereby a number of advantages are the result.

An example of this kind is known from EP-A- 0 580 369 which relates to such an one component bottle closure cap. The closure cap comprises a sealing lip extending inwardly from the closure cap member, wherein the sealing lip is an integral part of the closure cap. By screwing the closure cap onto the container the sealing lip is pressed against the inner surface of the closure cap by the top of the bottle neck. The counter-pressure of the inner surface of the closure cap accomplishes a gas-tight sealing of the container by the sealing lip. In order to prevent a sticking of the sealing lip to the inner surface of the closure cap a plurality of ribs extending radially inwardly are provided which should prevent the sticking. In EP-A- 0 580 369 deviations of the tolerance 3 limit of the sealing lip and the bottle neck dimensions are also considered.

The disadvantages of this known method lie in the actual sealing of the container: in an ideal case, the gas-tight sealing of the container is not prevented by anything, however, as soon as the upper edge of the container comprises uneven regions and does not have a completely level surface, a possibility which is very likely with reusable bottles due to their often use, a sufficient sealing is no longer possible. Furthermore, it is to be considered that a uniform sealing cannot be achieved with the arrangement of the radial channels, respectively grooves, located along the inner surface of the closure cap. At the locations, at which the grooves are located along the inner surface of the closure cap, the desired sealing is not achieved, since the pressure which is caused by the interaction of the inner surface of the closure cap and the top edge of the container, is lower at these locations, since the channels lead to a (here desirable) deforming of the sealing lip. At the locations, at which no grooves are located along the inner surface of the closure cap, the pressure is larger, hence this leads to a non-uniform sealing. Finally, due to the fact that the channels and thereby the weaker sealing regions are located radially, an a~ditional weakening of the sealing of the container is caused, since the channels in a sense serve as a means around the sealing.

V o•* *oC l 0 00 0 0l o• 0 0 *o [n:\IibII]00790:CJS 4 It is the object of the present invention to overcome or substantially ameliorate the above disadvantages There is disclosed herein a closure cap for removably sealing a container comprising: a closure-cap member formed as a counter-part complementary to the container to be sealed; a closure mechanism which removably seals the container with the closure cap; an integral sealing means co-acting with the upper edge of the container in order to seal said container during the activating of the closure mechanisms, characterized in that the integral sealing means comprises: an inclined, wedge-like sealing lip having a width larger than the thickness of the upper edge of the container and (ii) a wave-like ribbed structure provided on an inner surface of a top part in a region which co-acts with said sealing lip, wherein said top inner surface region has an inclination such that said wavelike ribbed structure presses said inclined, wedge-like sealing lip against the full thickness of said container upper edge during said activating of said closure mechanism.

The sealing provided by the preferred embodiment is accomplished in that at least one rib is provided which in a predetermined manner presses the sealing means against the top edge of the bottle, whereby a sealing zone is created in which the sealing means is pressed against the upper edge of the container at a high pressure. The rib accomplishes a S predetermined positioning of the sealing lip onto the edge of the container at a high 25 surface pressure. This sealing process, which leads to a very reliable sealing, is accomplished without unnecessarily complicating the closure cap.

i It ol i:e'elt It go [n:\iibll]00790:CJS A further sealing means according to a further embodiment extends into the opening of the container. This second sealing means too comprises a rib which engages the inner side of the container, whereby a second sealing zone is created. By means of the combination of these two sealing means an extremely high-grade sealing is accomplished; furthermore, the sealing of the container is not essentially degraded, if one of the sealing means should be faulty.

Preferably, the closure cap consists of a top part, a transition part and a side part extending perpendicular to the top part, and in that the sealing lip is mounted to the inner side of the transition part which connects the top part to the side part.

The inclined top part region typically has an inclination of 0.50 to 30 Polyethylene is typically used as a material for the closure cap member.

The closure mechanism is typically either a screw-on or clip-lock mechanism.

Preferably, the thickness of said wedge-like sealing lip is between 0.3 mm and 0.7 mm at its base and between 0.2 mm and 3,4 mm at its end.

Preferably, the sealing lip is inclined by 410 48' with respect to the top part.

A chamber may be arranged between the top part of the closure cap member and the wedge-like sealing lip in order to provide an adaption clearance.

Preferably, the essentially perpendicular lamella has a profile formed with said outer lamella rib, wherein an outermost point of said lamella rib spans an angle between 250 20 and 350, preferably 280, to an end point of said essentially perpendicular lamella.

The sealing lip may be provided with a scaling-like structure on a lower surface coacting with the upper edge of the container.

An embodiment of the present invention will be explained in detail in the following C sections with reference to the figures.

25 Fig. 1 shows a cross sectional view of a closure cap in a non-closed condition, according to a preferred embodiment.

Fig. 2 shows a cross section through a container to be sealed.

Fig. 3 shows a cross section to the closure cap in a closed condition.

e" Fig. 4 shows a cross section through a closure cap in a non-closed condition according to a further preferred ernboliment.

o [n:\libIl]0079O:CJS

I

A removably attachable closure cap for a bottle according to a currently preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in Fig. 1. The embodiment described in detail from the following sections relates to a screw-on closure cap for sealing a bottle which can contain carbonated liquid. As was previously already mentioned, reference, however, is made to that the present invention is not only limited to screw-on closure caps for bottles, Alternative embodiments e.g. relate to cans suitable for storing/freezing of food, preserving jars, as well as closure caps for containers not used in the food sector, as e.g. paint cans.

V .o ii o o• [n:\libII]00790:CJS -7- A closure cap in its initial state is shown in a cross sectional view in Fig. 1. The closure cap consists of a closure cap member 10, including an upper top part 18 and an essentially cylindrical side part 19. The side part 19 extends essentially vertically from the plane of the top part s 18. According to the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 the transition from the top part 18 to the cylindrical side part 19 does not occur abrupt (sharp edged), rather occurs by means of a rounded transition part Reference is made thereto that the top part 18, the side part 19 and the transition part 20 are not separate elements in the shown embodiment, rather they together form the closure cap member A screw threading 12 is formed along the side part 19 which serves as a closure mechanism, by means of which the closure cap 10 is attached to the container 100, which is to be sealed. The screw threading 12 coacts with a corresponding complementary screw thread 112 of the bottle 100 (confer Fig. Reference is explicitly made to that the screw threading 12 does not represent the only possible closure mechanism of the container to be sealed. All possible other types of known closure mechanisms are equally suitable, namely e.g. clip-lock attachments, rigid engaging recesses e.g. ribs, etc.

As can be seen from Fig. 1, a sealing means 11 in the form of a radially extending sealing lip 13 is provided along the interior of the side part 19 in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. The sealing lip 13 has a long wedge-like form. In the normal condition (that is in the condition in which the closure cap does not seal a container) the sealing lip extends nearly horizontally from the transition part 20, preferably, however, with a slight inclination towards the center of the closure cap. In a particularly preferred embodiment the inclination is 410 to 48' with respect to the horizontal in order to facilitate the deformation (confer Fig. The width B of the sealing lip 13 is preferably chosen such that the end of the sealing lip 13 towards the center of the closure cap is essentially in alignment with the upper bottle edge 104 in a closed state (confer Fig. In a particularly preferred embodiment (confer Fig. 4) the width B preferably lies in the region between 3.8 and 4.5 mm. Thereby it is accomplished that the entire upper edge 104 of the bottle 100 is essentially completely covered by the sealing lip 13 extending circularly around the clsure cap member when the closure cap member 10 is screwed onto the bottle 12. The io wedge-like, long, thin sealing lip 13 adapts to the different bottle necks with respect to its profile, when during the process of attachment normal torques act on the closure cap. In particular, a profile adaptation to the top edge 104 of the bottle neck occurs on the top outer region as well as on the top inner region. The profile of the sealing lip 13 can adapt to any radius of curvature. The bottle neck of a reusable bottle having an inner diameter of 20,7 mm is smaller than the bottle neck of a disposable bottle, whose inner diameter is 21,6 mm. In both cases the sealing lip 13 also extends into the inner region of the bottle neck. As a final result the closure cap, according to the invention, rests tight on the bottle under all imaginable conditions of the surrounding environment.

The inclination of the sealing lip 13 described above in its resting position is adapted to the inclination of the upper surface 104 of the bottle 100 with respect to the horizontal plane as can be seen in detail from Fig. 2. As can be clearly seen from this figure, the upper edge 104 of the bottle 100 has an inclination (presented here in an enlarged view for reasons of clarity) with respect to the horizontal plane H, which is indicated by S. Reference is made thereto that depending on the container to be sealed different embodiments of the respective surface 104 -9can be chosen. According to the teaching of the invention preferably the inclination, respectively the shaping of the sealing lip 13 is respectively adapted to the chosen surface form of the container to be sealed.

It is of considerable meaning for achieving the success according to the invention to provide the 3ealing lip 13 with a specific thiness profile, which is indicated by the reference symbol D in Fig. 1. Extensive comparison tests, in which the sealing behavior of the closure cap with sealing lips having different thicknesses were tested, have shown that the sealing lip 13 preferably has a thickness at its base of 3/10 mm to 7/10 mm and that its end should not have a thickness larger than 5/10 mm and not less than 2/10 mm, and according to a specifically preferred embodiment should lie between 2/10 mm and 4/10 mm. These values have proven to be particularly advantageous for the closure cap member 10 while using the usual plastic material in order to seal a GDB-bottle.

Other closure caps intended to seal larger or smaller containers require correspondingly scaled values.

Further, the sealing lip 13 has a specifically scaling-like structure which co-acts with the unevenness of the upper edge 104 of the bottle 100 in order to cause a better sealing of the bottle.

In the so far discussed embodiments of the present invention the closure cap member 10 consisted of a single element with which the sealing lip 13 is formed as an integral part. According to a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is equally possible to form the sealing lip 13 from a separate, ring-shaped element and t, insert this element, if needed, into the closure cap member 10. The mounting of this preferably flexible ring can either occur by means of jamming or by means of gluing it to the closure cap member 10. Preferably, the sepa- 10 rate insertable ring according to this embodiment does not only include the sealing lip, rather further includes the inner surface 18' of the closure cap and/or the elastic lamella 16, which will be described in more detail below. A such embodiment has the advantage that the sealing means 11, 13, 16, according to the invention, as well as the "retrofit kit" can be incorporated into existing screw-on closure caps.

The sealing means 11 is arranged such with a preferred embodiment that a chamb_:f 33 is formed between the top part 18 and the side part 19 of the closure cap member and the thin, wedge-like sealing lip, namely above and to the outside of the sealing lip. This chamber 33 provides an adaptation clearance for different bottle neck diameters and therefore supports to a secure sealing of the respective container.

In Fig. 4, a further particularly preferred embodiment of the closure cap is illustrated with which the sealing means 11 according to the teaching of the invention comprises a wave-like structure on the inner surface 18', whereby single concentric ring-like ribs 34a-f are arranged around the top part 18. Further, the inner surface 18' of the closure cap comprises an inclination of with respect to the horizontal and has wave-like ribs, as can be seen from Fig. 4. The ribs 34 are arranged such that the sealing lip 13 in a closed, respectively sealed state rests on these ribs, and is pressed against the upper edge 104 of the bottle 100. The distance between the ribs 34a-f is preferably chosen such that all of the ribs rest on the upper edge 104 of the bottle 100; in other words, the radius R s of the concentric ribs ranges around the top 18 is preferably chosen such that the most outer rib 34a (Fig. 4) respectively 14 (Fig. 1) is arranged adjacent to the outer edge of the bottle 100, and, on the other hand, the most inner rib 34f (Fig. respectively 15 (Fig. 1) is arranged adjacent to the inner edge of the bottle 100. According to a 11 particularly preferred embodiment radius R. of the concentric ribs 34a-f arranged around the closure cap part 18 lies in the region of 16.5 mm 18.5 mm, the radius R s of the concentric rib 15 concentrically arranged around the top part 18 lies at 17.5 mm. As can particularly be seen in s Fig. 1, the ribs 14 and 15 comprise different heights H1I and H2. The height difference H2 H1, is according to the invention chosen such, that considering the inclination S of the bottle surface 104 (compare Fig.

2) a uniform pressure acting on the upper edge 104 of the bottle 100 is obtained in a closed state. As can in particularly be seen from Fig.

4 the heights of the ribs 34 according to the invention are chosen such that with this embodiment the sealing means 11 uniformly adapts to the upper edge 104 of the bottle 100 in the closed state and seals this bottle securely. The ribs 34a-f with this embodiment, as well as the ribs 14 and 15 of the embodiment shown in Fig, 1, thereby, apply an eve' pressure to the sealing lip 11, wherein this pressure, due to the small acting surfaces of the ribs, is comparably high. The interaction of the scaling-structure provided on the bottom side of the sealing lip with the unevenness of the upper edge 104 of the bottle 100, thereby, accomplishes a secure and reliable sealing.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the present invention an elastic lamella 16, which extends perpendicularly to the top part 18, is provided in addition to the sealing lip 11, wherein this elastic lamella 16 extends vertically in downward in its resting state (confer Fig. The 2s sealing lamella 16 equally extends concentrically to the middle line M of the closure cap member, wherein the inner edge has a radius R 1 and the outer edge has a iadius R 2 The radii R 1 and R 2 are chosen such that the sealing lamella 16 extends, in the resting state, immediately adjacent to the sealing lip 13; according to a particularly preferred embodiment, the radius R 1 is 15.4 nunm and the radius R 2 is 16.8 mm.

12 According to the teaching of the invention the sealing lamella 16 is equipped with a rib 17, wherein the highest point of the rib, in the resting state of the closure cap member 10, is located essentially on a cylinder mantel together with the free end of the sealing lip 13. The s radius of the rib 17 preferably is 0.25 mm and is chosen such that the sealing lamella 16 spans an angle a with respect to the highest point of the rib 17 and the end point of the lamella 16. Extensive comparison tests have shown that the angle a should preferably not be more than 350 and not less than 250, and that according to a particularly preferred io embodiment it should be 28'. These values have proven to be particularly advantageous for the closure cap member 10 while using the usual plastic material in order to seal glass bottles. Other closure caps intended to seal larger or smaller containers require correspondingly scaled values.

As can in detail be obtained from Fig. 3, the rib 17 of the sealing lamella 16 co-acts with the inne;' side of the bottle 100, in a sealed state, in that by activating the closure mechanism 12 the sealing lamella 16 is deflected from its resting position and deformed towards the bottle interior. As with the ribs 14, respectively 34a-f a comparably high sealing pressure is obtained by means of the small acting surface ,f the sealing lamella 16 (which essentially is defined by the mound region of the rib 17), which is defined by the repositioning moment of the deflected sealing lamella 16.

2S The closure cap according to the invention can be manufactured from different materials. If the sealing means 11 (together with the ribs 14, respectively 34a-f and the elastic lamella 16) are provided as an integral component of the closure cap, in particular polyethylene is useful as a closure cap material. If the sealing means 11 is provided as a separately 13 manufactured element, then tin-plate can be used for the closure cap member 10, and polyethylene can be used for the sealing means 11 mounted to the sealing ring or for the closure cap member

Claims

1. A closure cap for removably sealing a container comprising: a closure-cap member formed as a counter-part compiementary to the container to be sealed; a closure mechanism which removably seals the container with the closure cap; an integral sealing means co-acting with the upper edge of the container in order to seal said container during the activating of the closure mechanisms, characterized in that the integral sealing means comprises: an inclined, wedge-like sealing lip having a width larger than the thickness of the upper edge of the container and (ii) a wave-like ribbed structure provided on an inner surface of a top part in a region which co-acts with said sealing lip, wherein said top inner surface region has an inclination such that said wave- like ribbed structure presses said inclined, wedge-like sealing lip against the full thickness of said container upper edge during said activating of said closure mechanism.

2. A closure cap according to claim 1, characterized in that an elastic lamella is provided as a further sealing means which extends essentially perpendicular from the 20 inner side of the closure-cap member into thc opening of the container, said lamella comprising an outer lamella rib which engages the inner side of said container when said closure mechanism is activated.

3. A closure cap according to any one of the claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the closure-cap member consists of a top part, a transition part and a side part extending 25 perpendicular to the top part, and in that the sealing lip is mounted to the inner side of the transition part which connects the top part to the side par.

4. A closure cap according to any one of the claims 1-3, characterized in that said inclined top part region has an inclination of 0.5' to 30

5. A closure cap according to any one of the claims 1-4, characterized in that poly-ethylene is used as a material forthe closure-cap member.

6. A closure cap according to any one of the claims 1-5, characterize 'n that the i 1e closure mechanism is a screw-on mechanism.

7. A closure cap according to any one of the claims 1-5, characterized in that the closure mechanism is a clip-lock mechanism.

8. A closure cap according to any one of the claims 1-7, characterize in that the thickness of said wedge-like sealing lip is between 0.3 mm and 0.7 mm at its base and between 0.2 mm and 0.4 mm at its end.

9. A closure cap according to any one of the claims 1-8, characterized in that said sealing lip is inclined by 410 48' with respect to the top part. [n:\libll]00790:CJS A closure cap according to any one of the claims 1-9, characterized in that a chamber is arranged between the top part of the closure cap member and the wedge-like sealing lip in order to provide an adaption clearance.

11. A closure cap according to any one of the claims 2-10, characterized in that said essentially perpendicular lamella has a profile formed with said outer lamella rib, wherein an outermost point of said lamella rib spans an angle between 250 and 350, preferably 28°, to an end point of said essentially perpendicular lamella.

12. A closure cap according to any one of the previous claims, characterized in that the sealing lip is provided with a scaling-like structure on a lower surface co-acting with the upper edge of the container.

13. A closure cap for removably sealing a container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated 5 February, 1997 Frank Schellenbach Patent Attorneys for the Applicant/Nominated Person SPRUSON FERGUSON e* see [n:\libll]00790:CJS Frank Schellenbach -1- S 19017 Abstract A closure cap for removably sealing a container comprising a closure-cap member formed as a complementary counter part to the container to be sealed, a closure mechanism which removably seals the container with the closure cap, a sealing means co-acting with the upper edge of the container in order to seal said con- tainer during the activating of the closer mechanisms. The closure cap further comprises at least one rib arranged on the inner side of the closure cap, wherein the rib opposes the upper edge of the container and co- acts with the sealing means when the closure means is activated.