CZ9903376A3 - Sterilizable vessel - Google Patents

Description

Sterilizable container

Technical field

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a sterilizable container comprising a lower portion and a peelable cover film which covers the opening of the sterilizable container and is provided with a tear tab, a support ring being formed on the upper edge of the lower portion.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Such containers or containers are known, for example, from EPB-0 321 394, in which reference is also made to other patent applications and patents. However, all known containers and jars have various drawbacks which are perceived as unpleasant by the consumer. For example, when the container is opened by the consumer, due to the immanently present spring effect and the inherent stiffness of the aluminum foil, a part of the container contents is ejected, causing pollution of the environment. The aluminum foils that are used for this purpose are relatively thick because they have to withstand thermal and mechanical stresses during manufacture of the sterilizable container. In addition, tear forces and tear-off forces of aluminum foil, which may initially be in the range of 35 to 60 N and still 12 to 16 N at the end, are considerably high in prior art containers and containers, especially older people, perceived as a nuisance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to improve the above-described sterilizable container so as to reliably overcome the aforementioned drawbacks, i.e. in particular to prevent spattering when opening the sterilizable container and also to reduce forces.

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needed for tearing, continued tearing and tearing off of the cover film. Another task is naturally to find a structure that does not cause unacceptable complication and costly production.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The problem is solved and the drawbacks of the known solutions of this kind are largely eliminated by a sterilizable container consisting of a lower part and a peelable covering film which covers the opening of the sterilizable container and is provided with a tear tab, A sealing foil according to the invention is sealed by its outer edge, characterized in that the sealing foil consists of at least two layers arranged in parallel over each other, completely covering the opening of the sterilizable container, the bottom layer having a thickness of 50 to 90 pm being formed. The retractable plastic film or lacquer and the sealing layer 5 to 15 pm thickness disposed thereon is of aluminum or plastic.

Experiments with sterilizable containers according to the invention have shown that these are sufficiently stable in transport and storage, even in stacks. On the other hand, due to the selected thickness and the material composition of the two layers of the cover sheet, the contents of these sterilizable containers are no longer sprayed, since the intrinsic rigidity of the cover sheet is considerably less. At the same time, a noticeable reduction in the tearing and tearing forces of the cover film has been achieved, which is perceived as pleasant by the consumer. Thus, a tear force of less than 25 N is required to tear the cover film and an additional opening force and tear force of less than 10 N.

It is advantageous if on the top layer to increase · »99 • · * * • ·

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A layer of stiffness and puncture resistance applied with a top thickness of 5 pm to 15 pm of polyester or polypropylene, which also allows easy printing.

Preferably, the three layers have the following thicknesses: a polyester or polypropylene topsheet (22): a 12 µm aluminum closure layer (24): 12 µm, and a retractable polypropylene coextrudate backsheet (26): 70 µm.

To further facilitate the release of the cover film, it may be advantageous

if it is in the area its outer edge provided odtrhávací lines. For tearing cover the film is preferably needed natrhávací A force of less than 25 N a additional opening force; and odtrhávací the power is less than 10 N. The carrier ring is preferably made of aluminum alloys and is from outside

provided with a sealing varnish containing a polypropylene component and a protective varnish from the inside.

The sterilizable container itself is preferably of aluminum, sheet metal or plastic.

It may further be advantageous if the sterilizable container is provided with an additional film, in particular of polyamide, as an intermediate layer to improve the tear-off properties.

The invention also relates to the use of a sterilizable container for sterilizing and storing canned foods, in particular fish and fish products.

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Said features of the invention may be important for carrying out the invention both individually and in combination with each other.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention is further elucidated with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a sterilizable container according to the invention, and

FIG. 2 shows a schematic representation of a three-layer covering and sealing foil which is sealed in the carrier ring according to the invention according to FIG.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a sterilizable container 10 of the invention, which is made of aluminum and has a known, essentially rectangular shape with rounded corners. However, other shapes can be easily imagined by the skilled person. Also, the dimensions are not very critical. The illustrated embodiment relates to a sterilizable container 10 for example for canned fish. However, it will be appreciated that the sterilizable container 10 of the present invention is also suitable for storing other foods and liquids.

The sterilizable container 10 according to the invention consists of a bottom part 12, which is also made of aluminum. However, the material of the sterilizable container 10 according to the invention and its lower part 12 is not critical and can be chosen within wide limits, so that, for example, steel sheet or plastic can also be used. Top ·· • 9 •

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9 to 9 of the sterilizable container 10 according to the invention, in the illustrated embodiment, consists of a three-layer covering film which completely covers and closes the opening of the sterilizable container 10 according to the invention. For this purpose, a support ring 20 is formed on the upper spray edge of the lower part 12 of the sterilizable container 10, to which the three-layer covering film is sealed by its outer edge. Numerous methods of sealing the film on the carrier ring 20 are known in the art. FIG. 1 furthermore shows a tear tab 14 which is connected to a three-layer cover sheet and allows a simple and safe opening of the opening of the sterilizable container 10 according to the invention. For this purpose, a tear-off line may be provided in the region of the upper edge of the lower part 12, but this is not absolutely necessary.

The tear tab 14 allows the containers 10 according to the invention to tear tear and the tear force makes only known sterilizable containers a significant improvement, independently closing them.

tear sterilizable by 23 N, while another 9 N, which in comparison to this kind represents on specific systems

On the other hand, the features according to the invention are apparent from FIG. 2, according to which the three-layer topsheet consists of layers 22, 24 and 26. Such a topsheet construction has been particularly illuminated, although Of particular importance for the solution according to the invention is an aluminum barrier layer 24 which can be arranged as a top or middle layer and has a thickness of only 5 to about 15 pm, in the exemplary embodiment 12 pm. According to the prior art, in principle, single-layer aluminum covering foils having a thickness of approximately 70 µm are used here, which are therefore approximately five to fifteen times larger.

··· «·· ♦ · * ·« · · · · thickness. Although such a total thickness is also achieved with the two-layer or three-layer topsheet of the present invention, the topsheet has a different stiffness when opening the sterilizable container of the present invention, thereby avoiding the ejection of the contents of the sterilizable container. As the top or middle layer, according to the invention, a backsheet 26 is required which is comprised of a retractable plastic film having a thickness of 50 µm to 90 µm. In particular, a tear film of coextruded polypropylene having a thickness of 70. In addition, it is particularly advantageous if a topsheet 22 of 12 [mu] m thick polyester or polypropylene is used to improve stiffness and puncture resistance. In addition, printing is thereby facilitated, which is desirable for reasons of economy. The three-layer covering foil, which consists of adjacent and adjacent layers 22, 24, and has a total thickness of 94 µm, can be opened as a whole easily and quickly without requiring greater force or unpleasant spattering of the contents of the sterilizable container 10 according to the invention. invention. From the point of view of the invention, it is essential that the overall thickness of the covering film is as small as possible, especially in the case of the aluminum barrier layer 24, which constitutes the top or middle layer. In this context, it is also conceivable that the aluminum of the barrier layer 24 is replaced by a layer of plastic of similar thickness. However, aluminum is preferred.

The carrier ring 20 on the sterilizable container 10 is preferably made of an aluminum alloy and is sealed from the outside with a sealable lacquer containing a polypropylene component while being coated with a protective lacquer from the inside.

Claims (9)

PATENT CLAIMS A sterilizable container (10) comprising a lower portion (12) and a peelable cover film which overlaps the opening of the sterilizable container (10) and is provided with a tear tab (14), the upper edge of the lower portion (12) being formed a carrier ring (20) on which an outer foil is sealed by its outer edge, characterized in that the outer foil consists of at least two layers (24, 26) arranged in parallel over each other, completely covering the opening of the sterilizable container (10), the backsheet (26) of 50 µm to 90 µm is formed of a contractible film or lacquer of plastic, and a sealing layer (24) of 5 µm to 15 µm arranged thereon is of aluminum or plastic. Sterilizable container (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that a top layer (22) of polyester or polypropylene thicknesses of 5 to 15 µm is applied to the barrier layer (24) to increase stiffness and puncture resistance. Sterilizable container (10) according to claim 1 and 2, characterized in that said three layers (22, 24, 26) have the following thicknesses: a top layer (22) of polyester or polypropylene: 12 µm a backing layer (24) of aluminum: 12 µm, and a retractable bottom layer (26) of polypropylene coextrudate: 70 µm. 98 99 • 9 9 9 9 • ** ** · »** 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 999 9 999 9 9 9 · 999 Sterilizable container (10), characterized in that a tear line is provided in the region of the outer edge of the cover sheet. Sterilizable container (10) according to claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a tear force of less than 25 N is required and a further tear force and tear force of less than 10 N is required. Sterilizable container (10) according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the support ring (20) is of an aluminum alloy and is provided with a sealing lacquer comprising a polypropylene component on the outside and a protective lacquer on the inside. Sterilizable container (10) according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it is made of aluminum, sheet metal or plastic. Sterilizable container (10) according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 7, characterized in that an additional film, in particular of polyamide, is provided as an intermediate layer to improve the tear-off properties. Use of a sterilizable container (10) according to one or more of the preceding claims 1 to 8 for sterilizing and storing canned foods, in particular fish and fish products.