CN111836763A

CN111836763A - Spout closure for a pouch

Info

Publication number: CN111836763A
Application number: CN201880089333.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 阿尔贝托·布齐
Original assignee: Guala Pack SpA
Current assignee: Guala Pack SpA
Priority date: 2018-02-14
Filing date: 2018-10-26
Publication date: 2020-10-27
Also published as: CR20200343A; RU2020129770A; EP3752435A1; WO2019158986A1; MX2020008490A; CL2020002079A1; IT201800002680A1; BR112020016634A2

Abstract

A one-piece closure (1) for a bag, comprising: a mouth portion (2), a lid portion (4), and a breakable membrane (40) connecting the mouth portion (2) and the lid portion (4). The membrane (40) has a varying radial thickness (Sr).

Description

Spout closure for a pouch

Technical Field

The object of the present invention is a mouth closure for thin-walled flexible packages (commonly known as "pouches") usually intended to contain liquid, dense or semi-dense food products.

Background

Such packages, which are usually equipped with a closure with a lid and a mouth, undergo a huge growth and produce hundreds of millions of pieces per year. It is particularly appreciated that their ease of use is primarily due to the ease of moving the product out of the package by squeezing the package.

In this point of view, the closure requirement of the package is particularly important, and it is important that the lid is easily removable from the mouth.

However, it has been found that it is sometimes quite difficult to separate the lid from the mouth, and the user must often repeatedly rotate and flex the lid until it is separated.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a closure having a lid and a mouth and which, while satisfying the above requirements, overcomes the drawbacks mentioned with reference to the prior art.

This object is achieved by having a closure with a lid and a mouth according to claim 1. Further advantageous embodiments are described in the dependent claims.

Drawings

The features and advantages of the closure according to the invention will become apparent from the description provided hereinafter by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

figures 1 and 2 show a closure for a flexible package according to an embodiment of the invention;

figures 3 and 4 show axial sections of the closure of figures 1 and 2;

fig. 5 schematically shows a partial circumferential extension (180 °) of the closing membrane of the invention according to an embodiment of the invention;

fig. 6 shows another embodiment of the closure according to the invention.

Detailed Description

With reference to the accompanying drawings, a closure according to an embodiment of the invention is intended for flexible packages (commonly known as bags) with thin walls and is generally indicated with 1.

Preferably, the package comprises a bag consisting of two flexible front walls made of single or multilayer film. Along the upper edges of these front walls there are arranged closures 1 which are tightly bonded (welded) therebetween. In another aspect, the side edges and lower edges can be joined together or to the bottom panel and/or side panels.

The closure 1 is one-piece, i.e. made of a single piece of plastic material, typically by injection moulding.

The closure 1 comprises a mouth portion 2 and a lid portion 4 joined to the mouth portion 2.

The mouth portion 2 extends mainly along a rectilinear mouth axis Z between an inner end 6 intended to be placed inside the packaging bag and an opposite outer end 8 joined to the lid portion 4.

The mouth portion 2 comprises a connecting section 10 (commonly referred to as a boat section) from the inner end 6 to the outer end 8, which is intended to be joined to the edge of the wall of the pocket.

The connecting section 10 provides two undulated

faces

12, 14 which extend radially on an imaginary plane containing the mouth axis Z and are joined to the ends in

respective edges

16, 18.

Preferably, the mouth portion 2 also comprises a flat base 20, which lies substantially on an imaginary plane orthogonal to the mouth axis Z and is joined to the connecting section 10. For example, the base 20 has a circular shape.

The mouth portion 2 further comprises a mouth section 22 joined to the connecting section 10 or the base 20 and projecting axially therefrom.

Preferably, the mouth section 22 has a cylindrical outer surface shaped by a series of axially extending ridges and valleys, for example, having a square wave circumferential profile.

The mouth portion 2 is internally penetrated by a generally cylindrical mouth tube 30 coaxial with the mouth axis Z and located between the inner end 6 and the outer end 8, wherein the mouth tube defines an inlet opening 6a at the inner end and an outlet opening 8a at the outer end.

When the closure 1 is intact, the lid portion 4 closes the outlet opening 8a and is joined to the outer end 8 of the mouth portion 2 by the membrane 40 of the closure 1.

Said membrane 40 is preferably placed at the outer end 8 of the mouth portion 2, substantially lying on a plane orthogonal to the mouth axis Z and having a circular coronal shape.

In particular, said membrane 40 extends radially internally with respect to the edge of the outlet opening 8a, which is defined by the extension of an imaginary surface on which there is an end section of the side surface of the mouth tube 30.

The membrane 40 can be broken by manipulating the lid portion 4; in other words, the membrane has structural features such as axial height and radial thickness that facilitate breaking by manipulation of the lid portion 4, in particular by bending the lid portion.

The diaphragm 40 has a radial thickness Sr that varies circumferentially.

For example, the thickness Sr has a first thickness Sr1 of the first segment extending circumferentially and a second thickness Sr2 of the second segment extending circumferentially, the first thickness being substantially constant.

Specifically, the second thickness Sr2 is greater than the first thickness Sr 1.

Furthermore, there is preferably a transition region T between the first section having a thickness Sr1 and the second section having a thickness Sr2, which transition region has a thickness increasing from the first thickness Sr1 to the second thickness Sr 2.

Preferably, the first segment having a thickness Sr1 extends in a majority of the circumferentially extending membrane 40, while the second segment having a thickness Sr2 extends in a limited predetermined length, for example, between 10% and 20% of the circumferential length, or between 30% and 60% of the angular width.

Further, a second section of thickness Sr2 spans the line of closure between the mold and the mating mold. Advantageously, this allows to mask the defects on the film caused by the mold closing line.

The cover portion 4 preferably comprises a plug section 50 directly joined to the membrane 40, which has a predetermined axial extension and is preferably constituted by an annular wall 52 internally delimiting a plug compartment 52.

Preferably, the annular wall 52 has a frustoconical (front-conical) outer side surface.

Furthermore, the plug section 50 preferably includes at least one sealing element, e.g., a pair of

sealing elements

54, 56, that project from the outer surface of the annular wall 52 and are axially spaced apart.

The plug section 50 is sealingly insertable into the mouth tube 30 through the outlet opening 8a, so that when the lid portion 4 is separated from the mouth portion 2 for use of the bag, the bag can be closed again by inserting the plug section 50 into the mouth tube 30.

Furthermore, the lid portion 4 comprises a gripping section 60 intended to be manipulated by a user to remove the lid portion 4 from the mouth portion 2.

According to a first embodiment (fig. 1 and 2), the gripping section 60 comprises a lower base 62 closing the plug compartment 52, and an upper base 64 located at the top of the gripping section 60 and axially spaced from the lower base 62.

Furthermore, preferably, said gripping section 60 comprises a plurality of transverse walls 66, substantially lying on an imaginary plane parallel to the mouth axis Z and spaced apart laterally, which axially join the lower base 62 and the upper base 64.

According to another embodiment (fig. 6), the grip section 60 comprises a lower base 62 and a blade element 70 axially protruding from the lower base 62.

The substantially flat vane element 70 lies on an imaginary plane passing through the mouth axis Z and has a first vane face 72 and a second vane face 74; at least one of first blade face 72 and second blade face 74 faces a second segment having a thickness Sr 2.

Further, preferably, the gripping section 60 includes a plurality of ribs 76, for example, parallel to each other and of different heights, that join at least one of the first and second blade faces 72, 74 to the lower base 62.

Innovatively, the closure according to the invention overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art, since the breaking of the membrane along the first section is significantly promoted and then continues along the second section.

The separation of the cover part from the mouth part is therefore particularly simple, in particular if the cover part is bent in the correct direction.

Furthermore, advantageously, the bag equipped with the closure according to the invention is also safer, since the thicker portion of the film allows the impact to be cushioned in the event of accidental dropping of the bag.

It is clear that a person skilled in the art, in order to satisfy contingent needs, may make modifications to the above-described closure, all of which are included within the scope of protection defined by the following claims.

Claims

1. One-piece closure (1) for thin-walled flexible packages, comprising: a mouth portion (2) extending along a mouth axis (Z) and internally provided with a mouth tube (30); a lid portion (4); and a breakable membrane (40) connecting the mouth portion (2) and the lid portion (4), wherein the membrane (40) has a varying radial thickness (Sr).

2. The capsule according to claim 1, wherein the membrane (40) is placed at the outer end (8) of the mouth portion 2 and substantially lies on a plane orthogonal to the mouth axis (Z) and has a circular coronal shape.

3. The capsule according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the membrane (40) extends radially internally with respect to a peripheral edge of the outlet opening (8a) defined by an imaginary extension of such a surface: on which surface an end section of the side surface of the mouth tube (30) rests.

4. The capsule according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the membrane (40) has a circumferential first section with a substantially constant first thickness (Sr1) and a circumferential second section with a second thickness (Sr2), wherein the second thickness (Sr2) is greater than the first thickness (Sr1) (Sr2> Sr 1).

5. The capsule according to claim 4, wherein between the first and second sections there is a transition region (T) having a thickness that increases from the first thickness (Sr1) to the second thickness (Sr 2).

6. The capsule according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the first section extends in a main portion of the circumferential extension of the membrane (40).

7. A closure according to claim 6, wherein the second section extends in the following lengths: between 10% and 20% of the circumferential length or between 30% and 60% of the angular width.

8. The capsule according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cover portion (4) comprises a plug section (50) directly connected to the membrane (40), which plug section is sealingly insertable into the mouth tube (30).

9. The closure according to claim 8, wherein the plug section (50) comprises at least one sealing element, for example a pair of sealing elements (54, 56) protruding from an outer surface.

10. The closure according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the plug section (50) is constituted by an annular wall (52) internally delimiting a plug compartment (52) and externally having a frustoconical lateral surface.

11. The closure according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the lid portion (4) comprises a gripping section (60) intended to be manipulated by a user in order to remove the lid portion (4) from the mouth portion (2).

12. The capsule according to claim 11, wherein the gripping section (60) comprises a lower base (62), an upper base (64) and a plurality of transverse walls (66) axially joining the lower base (62) and the upper base (64).

13. The closure according to claim 11, wherein the gripping section (60) comprises a blade element (70) having a first blade face (72) and a second blade face (74), wherein at least one of the first blade face (72) and the second blade face (74) faces a thicker section of the membrane (40).

14. A mould assembly for injection moulding a closure according to any preceding claim, the mould assembly comprising a female mould and a male mould joined in a closure plane so as to define a mould footprint, wherein the thicker section of the film (40) spans a closure line between the mould and a counterpart mould.

15. A flexible thin-walled package comprising a closure (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 13.