DK2331421T3

DK2331421T3 - Device showing at least one information showing the expiry date of a liquid food product contained in a container

Info

Publication number: DK2331421T3
Application number: DK09806423.1T
Authority: DK
Inventors: Theo Efstathiou; Olivier Clanchin
Original assignee: Sojasun Technologies
Priority date: 2008-08-11
Filing date: 2009-08-10
Publication date: 2014-03-03
Also published as: FR2934915B1; EP2331421B1; WO2010018151A1; FR2934915A1; EP2331421A1

Description

Field of the invention

The field of the invention is that of containers allowing for the packaging of liquid food.

The invention more particularly relates to containers of the bottle type, or other similar containers such as cartons, etc., in particular those that have a portion forming a neck closed by a stopper.

Prior art

Liquid food is generally vacuum packed in sealed containers .

As long as the container is not unsealed by a first opening, this method of storage provides the liquid that it encloses with a duration of storage that is relatively long, which expires on the use-by date mentioned on the container. Liquid food packaged in this way can as such be stored up to several months for some of them as long as the container is not unsealed.

After the container is unsealed, the period of time for the storage of the liquid that it contains is substantially reduced due to it being placed in contact with the air. It is as such recommended, for health and where applicable organoleptic reasons, to consume the liquid contained in the container during a period that does not generally exceed more than a few days after the first opening.

The importance is thus understood, for the consumer, to know the use-by date after which he should not consume the liquid contained in a container after the first opening. GB 2344101 describes a device for closing a container indicating to the consumer the use-by date of the liquid food after the first opening of the container containing the latter. WO 2006/113893, GB 2253287, US 4419016 and US 4367955 describe devices for closing a container that measure periods of time.

Disadvantages of prior art

The shelves in stores do not offer any container of liquid food provided with means making it possible to indicate the use-by date after the first opening, or any other means provided for this purpose.

In order to overcome this disadvantage, certain consumers take care in practice, to indicate on the container the date on which they first opened it.

The consumer must for this obtain a pencil in order to note on a sticker the date in question before affixing it on the body of the container. Another solution consists in noting this date directly on the body of the container. These techniques are rather impractical in that they are in the end implemented by only a small number of consumers.

Furthermore, this technique is not accessible to all consumers.

In particular, it is not intended for young children or for people who do not know how to read or write .

As such, even if an adult takes the precaution to indicate on the container the date of the first opening of the container or the use-by date after which the liquid that it contains must not be consumed, it can arise that a person who is not able to assess the content of this information consumes the liquid contained in the container despite the fact that the use-by date has been reached.

Consequently, it is not rare for consumers to ingest liquids of which the use-by date has passed, which can have consequences on their state of health.

It is not moreover rare either that consumers, who do not accurately remember the date on which they opened the container for the first time, prefer to discard the contents by precaution, although the latter is still fit for consumption.

In summary, the main disadvantages linked to current practice of consuming liquid food packaged in a container are linked to the fact that it can arise that a consumer: - absorbs a liquid food although its use-by date after the first opening has been reached, which can have more or less substantial consequences on his state of health; - discards a liquid food although it is still fit for consumption, which results in unjustified waste.

There is therefore a need for a solution to this problem.

Objectives of the invention

The invention has in particular for object to overcome these disadvantages of prior art.

More precisely, an object of the invention is to provide, in at least one embodiment, a technique that allows the consumer of a liquid food packaged in a container to accurately know the use-by date after which it had been opened for the first time, or at the very least to know a piece of information representative of this use-by date.

Another object of the invention is to implement, in at least one embodiment, such a technique which is suited to any type of consumer, whether the consumer is a child or an adult.

In particular, the invention aims to deliver, in at least one embodiment, such a technique that is ergonomic, entertaining and easy to use.

The invention also pursues the object of providing, in at least one embodiment, such a technique that is versatile .

In particular, the invention aims to provide, in at least one embodiment, such a technique that can be implemented for containers for liquid foods of different types and sizes.

Another purpose of the invention is to procure, in at least one embodiment, such a technique that is reliable, robust and environmentally friendly.

The invention further has for object to provide, in at least one embodiment, such a technique that is simple and inexpensive to implement.

Disclosure of the invention

These objectives, as well as others which shall appear in what follows, are achieved according to the invention using a removable indicating device of at least one piece of information representative of the use-by date of a liquid food after the first opening of a container in which the said liquid is packaged, the said container being of the bottle type having a portion forming a neck and comprising a stopper for closing the said neck, the said indicating device constituting an over-stopper comprising a hollow body housing: - means for activating the determination of at least one item of information representative of a period of time; - means for determining an item of information representative of the period of time which has elapsed since the said activation; - means for communicating at least one item of information representative of the said period of time which has elapsed, the said hollow body having means for reversible attachment to the said stopper.

Note that a container in terms of the invention comprises a container and a stopper that closes this container.

As such, the invention is based on an entirely original approach that makes it possible to communicate to the consumer of a liquid food packaged in a container a piece of information representative of the use-by date of this liquid after the first opening of the container wherein it is packaged.

This approach consists in implementing an independent and removable indicating device intended to be added and reversibly attached to the stopper of the container .

As such, when a consumer initially opens a new bottle of liquid food, he can add onto the latter a device according to the invention in such a way as to be able to be warned of the use-by date of this liquid after the first opening.

Once the container has been emptied of its contents, the consumer can remove the indicating device according to the invention before attaching it again on a container that has just been initially opened. A device according to the invention therefore has the advantage of being able to be reused. It therefore does not constitute a consumable device which can be discarded which limits its impact on the environment.

Such a device comprises means for determining a piece of information representative of a period of time, as for example a period of time which has elapsed or the time remaining resulting from the countdown of a given period of time.

It also comprises means for activating, which when they are activated, make it possible to implement the means for determining in order to activate the measurement of a time or the countdown of a given period of time.

Finally, a device according to the invention comprises means for displaying a piece of information representative of the use-by date of the liquid food after the first opening of the container wherein it is packaged.

An indicating device according to the invention then operates in the following manner.

When the consumer opens a container for the first time, he attaches an indicating device according to the invention to the stopper of this container.

As soon as he carries out the first opening of this container, he directly or indirectly actuates the means for activating in order to implement the means for determining a piece of information representative of the use-by date of the liquid food after the first opening. This information can for example consist in the measuring of the time that has elapsed since the first opening or in counting down a time over a given period of time, with the given period of time corresponding to the period of time after opening after which the liquid is not fit for consumption. For example, if it is considered that a liquid can no longer be consumed after a period of ten days after the first opening of the container in which it is packaged the countdown will be that of a period of ten days.

This information is then communicated to the consumer. It can for example take the form of an indication on a display screen of the time that has elapsed since the first opening or of the time remaining until the use-by date of the liquid is reached. It can also take the form of a lighted indicator that diffuses a green light as long as the use-by date has not been reached and switches to red as soon as this date is reached. It can further take the form of a sound signal emitted as soon as the use-by date is reached. As such, according to the method of diffusion retained, the information communicated can be accessible to all categories of persons.

According to a preferred embodiment, the said means for attaching belong to the group comprising: - means for attaching by clipping; - means for attaching by friction.

The latter makes it possible to effectively and simply reversibly attach an indicating device according to the invention to the stopper of a container inside of which is packaged a liquid food. An indicator according to the invention can as such be installed and be removed easily.

Advantageously, the said means for determining belong to the group comprising: - timers; - countdown devices. this makes it possible to measure or to count down the time that has elapsed since the first opening, which constitutes a piece of information representative of the use-by date of a liquid food after the first opening of the container wherein it is packaged.

Preferably, the said means for activating comprise a contactor.

Such a contactor can be actuated directly by the consumer or automatically during the setting into place of the indicator on the container when its arrangement so permits, which facilitates the use of it.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the said means for communicating belong to the group comprising: - display screens; - light sources; - sound sources.

These modes of communication can make it possible to transmit a piece of information representative of the use-by date to all the categories of consumers.

The said device constitutes a removable overstopper. Removable "over-stopper" means an element that covers the stopper by covering a substantial portion or all of the outside surface of the latter in order to be reversibly attached to the latter in such a way that the stopper and the over-stopper are attached to one another. According to such a characteristic, when the user wants to open the container, he grasps the overstopper and unscrews the unit constituted by the stopper and the over-stopper. When he wants to close the container, he screws this unit onto the neck of the container .

According to an advantageous alternative, such an over-stopper can have the shape of a cam. Such a shape facilitates the unscrewing of the unit constituted by the stopper and the over-stopper. This can be useful because it is not rare that certain containers, such as for example containers constituted of a Tetrapack® packaging, are for certain users, difficult to open, in particular during the first opening.

Preferably, the said hollow body has two internal chambers separated by a partition, a first of the said chambers forming a receptacle for the said means for activating, the said means for determining and the said means for communicating, with the second of the said chambers having an internal contour which is complementary to the external contour of the said stopper .

This implementation makes it possible to attach the indicating device according to the invention by fitting it onto the stopper of a container.

Advantageously, the said partition is flexible, the said contactor being positioned in the said first chamber in the vicinity of the said flexible partition.

As such, as soon as the indicating device is set into place on the stopper of the container, the contactor is activated in such a way that the means for determining be implemented. This facilitates the use of an indicating device according to the invention.

An indicating device according to the invention advantageously comprises a lid which closes the said first chamber.

This makes it possible to dissimulate and to protect the electronic means carried in the indicating device. This lid can be removed in which case the user may for example access and replace the batteries required for the operation of the device. According to another approach, this lid cannot be removed in such a way to prevent the user from damaging the means incorporated into the device.

According to an advantageous characteristic, the said body and/or the said lid is at least partially translucent.

This makes it possible, when the means for communicating comprise at least one light source, to allow the light rays to pass through.

List of figures

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention shall appear more clearly when reading the following description of a preferred embodiment, provided simply for the purposes of information and is not restricted, and of the annexed drawings, among which: figure 1 shows a diagram showing a first embodiment of an indicator according to the invention forming an over-stopper set in place on the stopper of a container containing a liquid food; figure 2 shows a perspective and transparent view of the hollow body of the indicating device shown in figure 1; - figure 3 shows a perspective and transparent view of another embodiment of the hollow body of an indicating device according to the invention; figures 4a and 4b show respectively a perspective lower and transparent view and an upper perspective view of yet another embodiment of the hollow body of an indicating device according to the invention; figures 5a, 5b and 5c show perspective and transparent views of hollow bodies of different embodiments of the lid of an indicating device according to the invention. - figure 6 shows a perspective view of a second embodiment of an indicator according to the invention forming an over-stopper set in place on the stopper of a container containing a liquid food, - figure 7 shows a top view of the container provided with the over-stopper according to figure 6.

Description of an embodiment of the invention - Reminder of the general principle of the invention

The general principle of the invention is based on the implementation of a removable indicating device in such a way as to communicate to a consumer or consumers of a liquid food packaged in a container including a container and a stopper for closing the neck of the container, a piece of information representative of its use-by date after the first opening of the container.

For this, an indicating device according to the invention comprises a hollow body that has means for reversibly attaching to the stopper of the container, and which houses means for activating the determination of at least one piece of information representative of a period of time, means for determining a piece of information representative of the period of time which has elapsed since the said activating, and means for communicating at least one piece of information representative of the said period of time which has elapsed.

As such, when a consumer initially opens a container containing a liquid food, it is sufficient for him to add to this container an indicating device according to the invention, then activate the means for activating in such a way that the means for determining a piece of information representative of a period of time (for example period of time which has elapsed since the first opening or the countdown of a period of time over a period of reference since the first opening). This information is then communicated to the consumer in such a way that he can know or determine the use-by date of his liquid food. - Example of a first embodiment of the invention

In relation with figure 1, a first embodiment of a removable indicating device according to the invention is shown.

As is shown on this figure 1, such a removable indicating device 10 is intended to be reversibly attached to the stopper 11 that closes a container of the bottle type 12 by screwing inside of which is packaged a liquid food, for example orange juice, milk, etc. In this sense, the indicating device according to the invention constitutes, in this embodiment, a removable "over-stopper".

As it shown in figure 2, an indicating device according to the invention comprises a hollow body 20. This hollow body 20 defines a first 21 and a second 22 internal chambers.

This first chamber 21 can have an internal contour of a substantially cylindrical shape, such as is shown in figure 2, or of a substantially parallelepiped shape, such as is shown in figure 3 or another contour.

The first internal chamber 21 incorporates an electronic board (not shown) whereon are added in particular : - means for activating the determination of at least one piece of information representative of a period of time; - means for determining a piece of information representative of the period of time which has elapsed since the said activating; - means for communicating at least one piece of information representative of the said period of time which has elapsed.

The choice of the internal contour of the first chamber is linked to the shape of the electronic board intended to be lodged therein.

The means for activating can take the form of a contactor which can be actuated directly manually by a consumer. According to another embodiment, it can also be a contactor which is positioned in such a way that it is actuated directly by the simple attaching of the indicating device to the stopper.

The means for determining a piece of information representative of the period of time which has elapsed since the activating can for example take the form of a timer that measures the time that elapses from when it is activated. According to an alternative, they can include a countdown device that counts down the time since it was activated. In this case, it also comprises means for programming the period of time of the countdown.

The means for communicating at least one piece of information representative of the period of time which has elapsed can for example take the form of a display screen that can indicate the period of time which has elapsed since the first opening or the time remaining before the use-by date of the liquid food is reached. It can also be light sources such as diodes, which emit for example a green light as long as the liquid food is still fit for consumption, or emit a red light as soon as the use-by date of this liquid after the first opening is reached. According to another alternative, it can also be provided that these means for communicating comprise a sound source which emits a signal as soon as the liquid food is not fit for consumption and the container is manipulated (in this case, the indicating device according to the invention may include means able to detect a movement of the container), or as soon as a control button is actuated. In this latter case, it can be provided to implement on the indicator a control button that the consumer actuates before consuming the liquid food in order to check that it can still be consumed. If the liquid food can still be consumed, the actuation of this control button will not be followed by any emission of sound or any emission of a message alerting that the liquid can be consumed. If the use-by date of the liquid has been reached, actuating this control button will be followed by the emission of a sound signal or of an alert message of the type "the use-by date has passed".

In this embodiment, the second chamber 22 constitutes the means for the reversible attaching of the indicating device 10 according to the invention to the stopper 11 of the bottle 12. For this, this second chamber 22 has an internal contour which is complementary to the external contour of the stopper 11. The section of the internal contour of the second chamber 22 is slightly smaller than the section of the external contour of the stopper 11 in such a way that the indicating device according to the invention can be attached to the stopper by force fitting (friction).

The first 21 and second 22 chambers are separated by a membrane 40, such as is shown more clearly in figure 4b relative to another embodiment of the hollow body. It can be provided that this membrane 40 be flexible. This is in particular the case when the means for activating comprise a contactor which is positioned in such a way that it is actuated directly by the simple attaching of the indicating device to the stopper .

The first chamber 21 can be closed using a lid 50.

This lid 50 makes it possible to dissimulate and to protect the electronic board housed inside the first chamber 21. It can be attached to the hollow body 20 in the same way that the latter is attached to the stopper 11, i.e. by forced fitting. Such as is shown in figures 5a, 5b and 5c, it can also be attached therein by clipping. In this case, it can be provided to form a groove 51 on the outer circumference of the hollow body 20 and a bead of complementary shape 52 on the inner circumference of the lid 50 (cf. figure 5a) . It can also be provided to form on the hollow body 20 a circular spring snap 52 complementary to the housings formed for this purpose in the lid 50 (cf. figure 5b). According to another alternative, it can be formed on the hollow body four spring snaps 53 that are uniformly complementary with the housings provided for this purpose in the lid 50 (cf. figure 5c) . In this latter case, these four snaps 53 can define a first chamber 21 with a substantially parallelepiped shape able to receive the electronic board.

The lid 50 can be removed in such a way that the user can replace the batteries required for the operation of the indicating device when the latter are worn out. According to another approach, this stopper cannot be removed in such a way as to prevent a consumer from damaging its contents. This can also contribute to preventing that the seal between the lid and the hollow body be broken.

In the alternative according to which the means for communicating comprise light sources, the lid 50 will preferably be partially translucent in such a way as to allow light to pass through.

The hollow body 20 and the stopper 50 are preferably made from polypropylene or polyethylene. These elements can therefore be recycled. Note that in order to proceed with recycling of the over-stopper, the electronic portion that is housed therein is removed beforehand. - Implementation of an indicating device according to the invention

The operation of a removable indicating device according to the invention shall now be explained.

When a user opens for the first time a container containing a liquid food, he takes an indicating device according to the invention then attaches it to the container. For this, he can fit the indicating device onto the stopper.

The means for triggering are then activated either directly during the attaching of the indicating device when their arrangement so allows, or by the user.

The activation of the means for activating triggers the implementation of the means for determining a piece of information representative of the period of time which has elapsed since the activating.

When these means for determining include a timer, they make it possible to measure the time that has elapsed since the activation of the means for activating.

When these means for determining include a countdown device, they make it possible to count down the period of time which has elapsed over a period of reference which corresponds to the maximum period of time after the first opening after which the liquid food can no longer be consumed. In this case, it can be considered that the user has to program the period of time for this period. As such, if the liquid must not be consumed after a period of three days after the first opening, the consumer will program the countdown period as being equal to three days. However, this period of time can also be pre-programmed by the manufacturer, in particular when the indicating device according to the invention will be sold with one or several containers containing a given liquid, such as for example a pack of bottles of milk or orange juice.

The means for determining therefore make it possible to define a piece of information representative of a period of time (for example the period of time which has elapsed since the first opening or the countdown of a period of time over a period of reference since the first opening) . This information is then communicated to the consumer by the intermediary of the means for communicating.

This information can consist in: - indicating the period of time which has elapsed since the first opening; - indicating the time remaining before the liquid food becomes unfit for consumption; - the appearance of a message of the type "drink can be consumed" or "drink unfit for consumption"; - the emission of a sound signal of the type "drink can be consumed" or "drink unfit for consumption"; - the emission of a green light as long as the drink can be consumed and of a red light as soon as the drink is unfit for consumption.

The communication of such a piece of information to the consumer allows him to know or determine the use-by date of his liquid food. This information allows him to avoid consuming a liquid food that is unfit for consumption or on the contrary discarding a liquid food that is fit for consumption.

Once the container has been emptied of its contents, either because it was consumed or because its use-by date has arrived, the consumer can detach the removable indicating device according to the invention in order to attach it again to a container that he has just opened for the first time. Note in this respect that activating again the means for activating makes it possible to reinitialise the timer or the countdown in such a way that they make it possible respectively to measure or to count down the period of time which has elapsed since the first opening of the new container.

In reference to figure 6, another embodiment of the indicating device 10 is shown. According to this embodiment, the indicating device 10 cooperates with a container constituted of a packaging 12 of the Tetrapack® type. Conventionally, this packaging is constituted of a parallelepiped container forming a "carton" which has a neck on its upper face. A stopper with a circular section is screwed onto this neck.

The indicating device 10 constitutes a removable over-stopper which completely covers the stopper of the container and is attached to the latter. The stopper of the container is therefore not visible in this figure since it is masked by the device according to the invention .

The indicating device 10 forming the over-stopper includes a hollow body that has a chamber having an internal contour which is complementary to the external contour of the stopper in such a way as to be able to cooperate in an attached manner with the latter.

The indicating device 10 forming an over-stopper according to this embodiment has the shape of a cam. Such a shape of a cam facilitates the unscrewing of the unit constituted by the stopper and the over-stopper. Indeed, by acting on the free end of the cam, it is possible to easily pivot this unit in an attached manner according to the longitudinal axis of the stopper in order to switch it from one position to another such as is shown as a dotted line in figures 6 and 7, and then to unscrew this unit.

Claims

A removable device for displaying (10) at least one information showing the expiry date of a liquid food product after the first opening of a container (12) in which the liquid is wrapped, the container being a bottle type having a portion which forming a bottleneck (70) and comprising a stopper (11) that closes the bottleneck, the display device (10) forming a top stopper comprising a hollow body (20) which comprises: - means for activating decision on at least one information, showing a period; - means for deciding on an information showing the period elapsed since activation; - means for conveying at least one piece of information showing the elapsed period during which the hollow body (20) has means for reversible attachment (51,52, 53, 62) to the plug (11).

Display device according to Claim 1, characterized in that the fastening means (51, 52, 53) belong to the group comprising: - clamping means; - means for fastening by means of friction.

Display device according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the decision means belong to the group comprising: - time meters; - countdown devices.

Display device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the actuating means comprise a contactor.

Display device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the conveying means belong to the group comprising: - display screens; - light sources; - audio sources;

Display device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that it is cam-shaped.

Display device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the hollow body (20) has two internal chambers separated by a partition (40), the first (21) of the chambers forming a collection point for the actuating means, the decision means and the disseminating means, the second (22) of the chambers having an inner contour complementary to the plug (11).

Display device according to claim 7, characterized in that the partition (40) is flexible, the contactor being arranged in the first chamber (21) in the vicinity of the flexible partition (40).

Display device according to any one of claims 7 or 8, characterized in that it comprises a lid (50) which closes the first chamber (21).

Display device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the body (20) and / or the lid (50) is at least partially light-permeable.