CN113453993A

CN113453993A - Bottle neck protective cover

Info

Publication number: CN113453993A
Application number: CN201980092317.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: J·潘唐德尔
Original assignee: Amcor Flexibles Capsules France SAS
Current assignee: Amcor Flexibles Capsules France SAS
Priority date: 2018-12-20
Filing date: 2019-12-12
Publication date: 2021-09-28
Also published as: EP3898442A1; EP3670378A1; US20210380315A1; WO2020126861A1; AU2019400682A1; CL2021001611A1

Abstract

A protective cap (10) for a bottle neck (50) having a centerline (15) and a mouth (55) closed by a cork (60), screw cap, plug or other form of closure to provide a tamper evident cover for the closure. The protective cover (10) comprises a cap portion (4) having a top transverse surface (6) and an adjacent short cylindrical skirt (8), a cylindrical sleeve portion (2) adjacent to said skirt (8) of the cap portion (4), and a weakening line (20) between said two portions (2, 4) of the protective cover (10), wherein the protective cover (10) has a smooth or embossed surface in addition to the weakening line (20). The weakening line (20) is a circumferential line of the protective cap (10) having at least a compressed line portion and a slit (30, 35), the weakening line (20) extending at least partially around the bottle neck (50) and perpendicular to the centre line (15), wherein the slit (30, 35) has a length and a width allowing the introduction of a blade (63) or fingernail (65).

Description

Bottle neck protective cover

The present invention relates to a protective cap for a bottle neck having a centre line and a mouth closed by a cork, screw cap, plug or other form of closure to provide a tamper evident closure for the closure, wherein the protective cap is a cup-shaped membrane comprising a cap portion having a top arranged transversely to the centre line and an adjacent short cylindrical skirt, a cylindrical sleeve portion adjacent to said skirt of the cap portion, and a weakening line between said two portions of the protective cap, wherein the protective cap has a smooth or embossed surface in addition to the weakening line.

Known protective caps for bottle necks having a mouth closed by a cork, screw cap or plug provide these closures with a tamper evident lid, the protective caps having a tear strip or tear tape for removing the head of the protective cap to open the bottle, for example using a screw-cork, or the head of the protective cap has to be cut off with a knife.

US 5,222,616 describes a metal sealing or closure cap comprising a skirt having a thickness between 0.06mm and 0.4mm and comprising two annular tear lines defining a tearable tab therebetween, wherein each tear line is defined by a cut having a bottom wall thickness at most equal to 70% of the skirt thickness and a series of alternating embossments and recesses external to the cut, oriented obliquely to the cut and directed towards the cut in the tear direction of the tab, the tab having no recesses and embossed regions therein.

GB-a-835680 describes a bottle cap having an edge portion provided with a circumferential tear strip with two rows of inclined punch-outs on one side thereof.

FR- A-395513 describes A capsule having A lid portion, A peripheral portion and A tear strip, the transition between the tear strip and the lid portion and the edge portion being defined by two parallel rows of perforations.

US 5,662,232 describes a capsule for a neck of a bottle, the capsule comprising a cap portion, a skirt portion, and a tear strip connecting the cap portion and the skirt portion. The tear assurance strip includes lines of weakness formed at the boundary between the tear assurance strip and the cap portion and the boundary between the tear assurance strip and the skirt portion, respectively. The tearable guarantee strip further includes a lower line of weakness formed at a boundary between the tearable guarantee strip and the skirt portion, the lower line of weakness having a linear compression portion extending along the boundary between the tearable guarantee strip and the skirt portion and saw-toothed compression portions serrated from the linear compression portion into the tearable guarantee strip, wherein the saw-toothed compression portions are compressed to a greater extent than the linear compression portions.

A tear tape or tear tape often creates a ridge or burr on the remainder of the edge region of the protective cap that remains on the neck of the bottle and thus involves a risk that the skin of a person may be injured.

The object of the present invention is to avoid the need to cut off the top of the protective cap with a knife into a cork, screw cap or plug closing the mouth of the bottle neck. It is a further object of the invention to provide a protective cover, in particular a protective cover made of aluminum or tin or a polymer-coated metal film made of aluminum or tin, which after removal of the top of the protective cover does not form burrs causing any finger to feel painful or injured.

The object of the invention is solved by providing a protective cover for a bottle neck with the features of claim 1. Preferred embodiments of the protective cover are described in the dependent claims of claim 1.

The protective cap of the present invention provides a tamper evident cap for a bottle neck having a centerline and a mouth closed by a cork, screw cap, plug or other form of closure. The protective cap is preferably a cylindrical or conical cup-shaped capsule crimped onto the neck of a bottle, wherein the profile of the protective cap corresponds to the outer profile of the neck of the bottle sealed with a cork, screw cap or plug. The protective cap basically comprises a cap portion at the top of the capsule and a sleeve portion arranged around the neck of the bottle. By cylindrical or conical cup-shaped capsule is meant that the sleeve of the protective cap has the form of a hollow cylinder or a hollow truncated cone.

The protective cover includes a cap portion having a top transverse surface extending perpendicular to the centerline and an adjacent short cylindrical skirt, a cylindrical sleeve portion adjacent the skirt of the cap portion, and a line of weakness between the two portions of the protective cover. In addition to the weakening lines, the protective cover has a smooth or embossed outer surface. The embossed surface of the protective cover is preferably used for decorative purposes.

The line of weakness is a circumferential line of the protective cover that includes at least the compressed line portion and the slit. The compressed line portion preferably has the form of a continuous, partially circumferentially thinned line extending around the neck of the bottle. When the capsule is applied to the neck of a bottle, the weakening line extends at least partially around the neck of the bottle and perpendicular to the centre line, wherein the slit has a length and a width allowing the introduction of a blade or a fingernail.

The preferred protective cap has a slit in the form of an annular section arranged perpendicular to the centre line of the bottle neck and extending along a portion of the weakening line. The slit may have the shape of an elliptical hole or window. The slits preferably have a length of between 2mm and 30mm and a width of between 0.2mm and 4 mm.

A further preferred protective cap has a slit in the form of a V comprising two straight segments of an acute angle, wherein the slit is preferably arranged as an equilateral triangle forming the skirt of the cap portion, which equilateral triangle acts as a grip tab projecting from a line of weakness extending perpendicular to the centre line in a direction parallel to the centre line and having a free end directed towards the bottom of the protective cap, wherein there is a smooth junction between the line of weakness located perpendicular to the centre line and the straight segments of the slit, and the two straight segments of the slit have an arc-shaped transition region between them. The preferred slit width of the slit is between 0.2mm and 4 mm. The width of the V-shaped slit measured at the transition region between the slit and the circumferential weakening line section arranged perpendicularly to the centre line is preferably measured between 10mm and the dimension of the diameter of the cap portion in plan view.

In a further preferred embodiment, the line of weakness is a continuous circumferential line around the capsule which bisects the cap portion and the sleeve portion of the protective cover and comprises a predetermined number of longitudinally cut and/or perforated line portions. Thus, the lines of weakness may include cuts in the sense of slits, lines of perforations and compression in the sense of lines of thinning, and wider slits. The weakening line of the protective cover preferably comprises between two and six cuts or incisions of predetermined length, in particular between one and six, in particular between one and four. The optimum number of cuts depends on the thickness and material composition of the film used for the protective cap. The weakening line is a perforation line or preferably a longitudinal compression line, in addition to the slit and the slit.

The thickness of the protective cover along the compression line is preferably between 10% and 60% of the film thickness of the protective cover positioned adjacent to the line of weakness.

When used as a tamper evident cap for the closed mouth of a bottle, the protective cap is crimped onto the neck of the bottle. When the cap portion of the protective cap is removed, the sleeve portion remains crimped over the neck of the bottle.

The design of the line of weakness allows the cap portion of the protective cap to be peeled away from the cylindrical sleeve portion along the line of weakness. The design of the weakening lines is preferably such that the peeling can be done by applying a peel strength of between 1N and 10N, in particular between 1N and 4N. The peel strength is comparable to that used for opening a yogurt cup.

The protective cover is preferably made of aluminum or tin, or a polymer-coated metal film made of aluminum or tin.

In addition to the weakening lines, the protective cover preferably has a film thickness of between 10 μm and 200 μm.

A further preferred embodiment of the protective cover comprises a cap portion having a film thickness which is thicker than the film thickness of the cylindrical sleeve portion. This allows for easier and more efficient removal of the cap portion of the protective cap due to the difference in tear resistance between the cap portion and the cylindrical sleeve portion. Thus, the difference in thickness provides a greater efficiency in tearing or breaking the line of weakness when the consumer pulls on the cap portion. In this case, the film thickness of the cap portion is 30% or more thicker than that of the cylindrical sleeve portion, and preferably has a film thickness between 100 μm and 300 μm.

The protective cap is a conical or cylindrical cup-shaped capsule crimped onto the neck of a bottle, wherein the contour of the protective cap corresponds to the outer contour of the neck of the bottle by means of the closure of the neck of the bottle. The protective cover is preferably crimped onto the neck of the bottle using a plastic roller which runs around the protective cover placed on the neck of the bottle and flattens the capsule against the neck of the bottle.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a protective cap having a line of weakness comprising a slit in the form of an annular section along a portion of the line of weakness;

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a protective cover having a line of weakness including a V-shaped slit;

FIG. 3 shows a perspective side view of the protective cap presented in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 illustrates a peeling process of the cap portion of the protective cap including the V-shaped slit;

FIG. 5 illustrates a peeling process of the cap portion of the protective cap including a slit in the form of an annular section along a portion of the line of weakness;

fig. 1 to 3 show a bottle neck 50 having a mouth 55 closed by a cork 60 and having a protective cap 10 as a tamper evident cap. The protective cap 10 is crimped onto the bottle neck 50 in such a way that its contour corresponds to the contour of the bottle neck 50, i.e. the inner surface of the protective cap 10 is flush with the outer surface of the bottle neck 50. The outer surface of the protective cover 10, except for the line of weakness 20, is smooth. The protective cap 10 comprises a cap portion 4 and a cylindrical sleeve portion 2. Between the two portions 2, 4 of the protective cover 10 there is a weakening line 20. The cap portion 4 is the portion of the protective cap 10 at the top of the bottle neck 50 and is adjacent to the mouth 55 of the bottle neck 50 closed by the cork 60. The cap portion 4 comprises a top transverse portion 6 and an adjacent short cylindrical skirt 8, which covers the rim of the neck 50 of the bottle. The cylindrical sleeve portion 2 covers the upper part of the neck 50 of the bottle and is much longer than the cylindrical skirt 8 of the cap portion 4.

Fig. 1 shows a protective cap 10 having a circumferential weakening line 20 which surrounds a bottle neck 50 perpendicular to a centre line 15 of the bottle neck 50. The line of weakness 20 shown in figure 1 includes a slit 30 in the form of an annular segment extending along a portion of the line of weakness 20. The slit 30 has a width allowing the introduction of the blade 63. The slit 30 penetrates the entire thickness of the protective cover film 10.

The line of weakness 20 shown in fig. 1 further has a plurality of longitudinal cut sections 25 extending along the line of weakness 20, wherein two cuts 25 can be identified in the view of fig. 1. The cuts 25 comprise the entire thickness of the protective cover film, i.e. they pass through the protective cover film from the outer surface of the protective cover 10 to the outer surface of the bottle neck 50. The width of the kerf 25 is much smaller than the width of the slit 30, wherein the width of the kerf 25 typically has a value of about 0.05mm to 0.8 mm.

In addition to the slit 30 and the cut 25, the line of weakness 20 consists of a longitudinal compression line having a width about the same as the width of the cut 25, or being thinner.

Fig. 2 shows a protective cap 10 having a circumferential weakening line 20 partially surrounding a bottle neck 50 perpendicular to a centre line 15 of the bottle neck 50 and having a V-shaped slit 35 in the form of two connected

straight segments

36, 37 containing an acute angle. The line of weakness 20 is formed by a partial circumferential line extending perpendicular to the centre line 15, consisting of a thinned/compressed line portion and a slit 35 having a length and width for introducing a blade 63 or fingernail 65. Said slits 35 form an equilateral triangle of the skirt 8 of the cap portion 4, which is formed as a grip tab 40 projecting from said line of weakness 20, which extends perpendicularly to the centre line 15 in a direction parallel to the centre line 15 of the neck 50 of the bottle and has a free end 42 directed towards the bottom 11 of the protective cap 10. The junction between the partial circumferential weakening line 20 consisting of a compression line extending perpendicular to the centre line 15 and the

straight segments

36, 37 of the slit 35, and the junction between the two

straight segments

36, 37 at the free end 42 of the grip tab 40 is smooth and shows an arc-shaped transition area. The gripping tab 40 is free, i.e. not bonded to the bottle neck 50, but is a close fit to the bottle neck 50 due to the rigidity of the protective cover material. The slit 35 has a width that allows a fingernail 65 to be introduced to separate the grip tab 40 from the bottle neck 50. The slit 35 contains the entire thickness of the protective cover film.

Fig. 3 shows a perspective side view of the protective cap 10 presented in fig. 2. One straight line segment 37 of the slit 35 can be seen, as well as the adjacent line of weakness 20, which consists of a thinned compression line extending perpendicular to the centre line 15 of the bottle neck 50.

Fig. 4 shows the peeling process of the cap portion 4 of the protective cap 10, which comprises a V-shaped slit 35 in the form of two connected

straight segments

36, 37 containing an acute angle. The closed protective cap 10 presented on the left side of fig. 4 corresponds to the protective cap 10 shown in fig. 2 and 3. The opening or peeling process starts from the left diagram shown in fig. 4 and ends with the diagram shown on the right side of fig. 4. In a first step, as shown by the second figure on the left, the triangle 40 or grip tab 40 of the skirt portion 8 is separated from the bottle neck 50. The direction of separation is shown by arrow 70. In the second step, as shown by the third drawing on the left, the cap portion 4 is peeled off from the cylindrical sleeve portion 2 by lifting the grip piece 40. As shown in the right drawing of fig. 4, the peeling process continues until the entire cap portion 4 is separated from the sleeve portion 2. The direction of movement of the hand for peeling off the cap portion 4 of the protective cap 10 is shown by arrow 70.

Fig. 5 shows a peeling process of the cap portion 4 of the protective cap 10, which comprises a slit 30 in the form of a ring segment along a portion of the weakening line 20. The closed protective cover 10 presented on the left side of fig. 5 mainly corresponds to the protective cover 10 shown in fig. 1. To peel the cap portion 4 from the sleeve portion 2, the blade 63 is introduced into the slit 30 in the form of an annular section along the weakening line 20, and then, as shown in the right drawing of fig. 5, the blade 63 is lifted in the direction of the arrow 70 to peel the cap portion 4 from the sleeve portion 2 until the cap portion 4 is completely peeled from the sleeve portion 2.

Claims

1. A protective cap (10) for a bottle neck (50) having a centre line (15) and having a mouth (55) closed by a cork (60), screw cap, plug or other form of closure to provide a tamper evident closure for the closure, the protective cap (10) being a cup-shaped membrane comprising a cap portion (4) having a top (6) arranged transversely to the centre line (15) and an adjacent short cylindrical skirt (8), a cylindrical sleeve portion (2) adjacent to the skirt (8) of the cap portion (4), and a line of weakness (20) between the two portions (2, 4) of the protective cap (10), wherein, except for the line of weakness (20), the protective cap (10) has a smooth or embossed surface,

it is characterized in that the preparation method is characterized in that,

the weakening line (20) is a circumferential line of the protective cap (10) comprising at least a compressed line portion and a slit, the weakening line (20) extending at least partially around the neck (50) of the bottle and perpendicular to the centre line (15), wherein the slit (30, 35) has a length and a width allowing the introduction of a blade (63) or a fingernail (65).

2. Protective cap (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the slit (30) is part of the weakening line (20) extending perpendicular to the centre line (15) and has the form of an annular section arranged perpendicular to the centre line (15) of the bottle neck (50).

3. Protective cover (10) according to claim 2, wherein the slit (30) has a length of between 2mm and 30mm and a width of between 0.2mm and 4 mm.

4. Protective cover (10) according to claim 1, wherein the slit (35) has a V-shaped form comprising two straight segments (36, 37) having an acute angle, wherein the slits (35) are arranged to form an equilateral triangle (40) of the skirt (8) of the cap portion (4), said triangles acting as gripping tabs (40) projecting from the weakening line portion (20) and having a free end (42) directed towards the bottom (11) of the protective cover (10), the weakening line portion extending perpendicularly to the centre line (15) in a direction parallel to the centre line (15), wherein a smooth connection exists between the line of weakness (20) located perpendicular to the centre line (15) and straight line sections (36, 37) of the slit, and the two straight sections (36, 37) of the slit (35) have an arcuate transition region between them.

5. Protective cover (10) according to claim 4, wherein the width of the slit (35) is between 0.2mm and 4 mm.

6. Protective cover (10) according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the width W of the V-shaped slit (35) measured at the transition between the slit (35) and the circumferential weakening line section (20) arranged perpendicularly to the centre line (15) in plan view is the width W of the V-shaped slit (35)_VBetween 10mm and the diameter of the cap portion (4).

7. Protective cover (10) according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the line of weakness (20) extending perpendicular to the centre line (15) comprises a predetermined number of longitudinal cuts (25) and/or perforated lines.

8. Protective cover (10) according to claim 7, characterized in that the line of weakness (20) extending perpendicular to the centre line (15) comprises between one and six cuts (25) or incisions, in particular between one and four.

9. Protective cover (10) according to one of claims 1 or 8, wherein the cap portion (4) is peelable from the cylindrical sleeve portion (2) along the weakening line (20), the cap portion having a peel strength of between 1N and 10N, in particular between 1N and 4N.

10. Protective cover (10) according to one of the claims 1 or 9, characterized in that the protective cover (10) is made of a film consisting of aluminum or tin or of a polymer-coated metal film made of aluminum or tin.

11. Protective cover (10) according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the film thickness of the protective cover (10) apart from the weakening line (20) is between 10 μ ι η and 100 μ ι η.

12. Protective cover (10) according to one of the claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the film thickness of the cap portion is 30% or more thicker than the film thickness of the cylindrical sleeve portion.

13. Protective cover (10) according to claim 12, wherein the film thickness of the cover part (4) is between 100 μ ι η and 300 μ ι η.

14. A neck with a protective cap (10) according to one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the protective cap (10) is a cylindrical or conical cup-shaped capsule crimped onto the neck (50), wherein the contour of the protective cap (10) corresponds to the outer contour of the neck by means of a closure (60) of the neck (50).