EA040423B1 - CLOSURE SYSTEM DESIGNED FOR BOTTLES WITH ALCOHOL - Google Patents

Description

The field of technology to which the invention belongs

The present invention relates to a tamper-evident closure system showing whether it has been previously opened.

In particular, the present invention relates to a tamper-evident closure system for permanently deforming the circumferential ridges on the top surface of the closure of the top surface of the top plastic shell during a reclosure attempt after tampering with the contents within the bottle to indicate whether the closure system has been previously opened.

Prior Art

A user who spends a lot of money to buy a high quality product such as expensive drinks wants to know if he/she is consuming the original content or not. Because bottle capping systems for high-end beverages can be counterfeited to replace the contents of the bottle, there is a need for a solution that provides the end customer with a clear indication of whether the bottle has been opened prior to purchase.

Document EP 2769927 B1 mentions a closure system which prevents the closure from further rotation to its first position prior to initial opening. Here, when the lid is first opened, the support latches are released from their pinched position and rest on the annular support groove, curving in a radial direction towards the interior of the lid. Thus, it prevents the closure from being fully sealed after the initial opening.

EP 1981774 B1 mentions a closure device comprising a cap, a pourer suitable for connection with said cap and for attaching to the neck of a bottle, and a cover liner comprising an upper shell and a lower shell. The closure system allows the circumferential protrusions on the top surface of the closure to emerge on the flat top surface of the top of the shell while pressing hard on the cover liner to bring it as close to the bottom of the liner as possible. Thus, the manifestations formed on the outer top surface of the top of the shell during recapping of the closure make it evident that the closure has previously been opened. In this case, the cover liner is made of a thin layer of aluminum to ensure that the circumferential projections on the top surface of the closure clearly indicate that the closure device has been opened. However, it is not possible to apply the tamper-evident property of the invention directly to a plastic outer shell which has a thicker top wall than an aluminum cover strip. The approximate top wall thickness of the plastic outer shell is 1 mm and the approximate top wall thickness of the aluminum cover strip is 0.25 mm. Therefore, the circumferential protrusions on the top surface of the closure cannot show up on the flat top surface of the plastic outer shell while pressing hard on the outer shell to bring the closure system as close to the bottom of the liner as possible.

As a result, there is a need for a solution that allows circumferential protrusions on the top surface of the lid to emerge on the top surface of the plastic outer shell while pressing hard on the top of the shell to bring it as close as possible to the bottom of the gasket.

Purposes and essence of the invention

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a tamper-evident closure system that permanently deforms the circumferential ridges on the top surface of the closure of the top surface of the plastic outer shell while pressing hard on the top of the shell to bring it as close as possible to the bottom of the liner, to show the end customer that whether the closure has been previously opened.

Another purpose of the present invention is to enable said end-customer to understand whether an attempt has been made previously to tamper with the contents within the bottle.

Another object of the present invention is to ensure that the tamper-evident device used for the aluminum cover gasket through the circumferential projections on the top surface of the cover is also applied to the plastic outer shell.

Description of drawings

In FIG. 1a is a front view of a plastic outer shell according to the present invention, consisting of an upper shell part and a lower shell part.

In FIG. 1b is a plan view of said plastic outer shell.

In FIG. 1c is a bottom view of said plastic outer shell.

In FIG. 1d is a perspective view of a plastic outer shell according to the present invention.

In FIG. 2a is a cross-sectional view of a plastic outer shell according to the present invention.

In FIG. 2b is a cross-sectional view of a nested structure comprising a plastic outer shell and closure according to the present invention.

In FIG. 3a is a close-up cross-sectional view of the closure system according to the present invention, highlighting the points of contact between the inner top surface of said top portion of the shell and the circumferential projections lying on the top surface of said closure.

In FIG. 3b is a cross-sectional view of a cap according to the present invention.

In FIG. 4a is a top view of a cap according to the present invention.

In FIG. 4b is a sectional view of a cap according to the present invention.

In FIG. 5a is a sectional view of a plastic outer shell according to the present invention.

In FIG. 5b is a perspective view of the plastic outer shell according to the present invention after the first unauthorized reseal attempt of the closure system.

In FIG. 6a is a sectional view of the closure system according to the present invention prior to the first unauthorized reclosure attempt.

In FIG. 6b is a sectional view of the closure system of the present invention after a first attempt at unauthorized reclosure.

In FIG. 7a is a cross-sectional view of a conventional plastic outer shell.

In FIG. 7b is a plan view of said conventional plastic outer shell.

In FIG. 7c is a bottom view of said conventional plastic outer shell.

In FIG. 7d is a perspective view of a conventional plastic outer shell.

In FIG. 8a is a perspective view of said conventional plastic outer shell in a transparent form.

In FIG. 8b is a perspective view of a plastic outer shell according to the present invention in a transparent form.

Reference positions

1. Capping system.

10. Filler.

11. Non-drip edge.

11.1. Annular support groove.

11.2. Pinching angle.

20. Lid.

21. Flat top.

21.1. Reduced thickness.

21.2. District ledge.

22. Tubular part.

22.1. Protective tongue.

22.2. Flexible valve.

22.3. Part of the internal thread.

22.4. Opening control strip.

23. Central lock.

30. Plastic outer shell.

31. The upper part of the shell.

31.1. Upper surface.

31.2. tubular surface.

31.3. District depression.

31.4. District ledge.

31.5. Deformation.

32. Tubular lower part of the shell.

33. Break line.

34. Opening control gap.

Detailed description of the invention

The present invention relates to a closure system 1 which provides the end customer with a first opening guarantee by providing a permanent deformation of the circumferential projections 21.2 on the flat top 21 of the lid 20 of the top surface 31.1 of the plastic top 31 of the shell after the first unauthorized attempt to reseal the closure system 1. In this way, the end customer can easily see if any unauthorized access has been made to the contents of the bottle.

Typically, an alcohol bottle capping mechanism comprises a pourer having an internal thread surface engaging with a corresponding threaded portion of the bottle neck, a cap having an internal thread to match the external thread of the pourer, and an outer sheath wrapping the bottle neck and cap together. The outer shell consists of the upper part of the shell and the tubular lower part of the shell, separated by a break line.

Circumferential protrusions on the top surface of caps are already used as a tamper evident feature in bottles with an aluminum cover strip. When the cover gasket is pressed hard to reseal the closure system onto the pourer, the circumferential protrusions cause deformation 31.5 of the aluminum cover gasket at the locations where the inner top surface of the top of the shell contacts the circumferential protrusions. However, the tamper-evident property used for a closure system containing an aluminum cover liner through circumferential projections on the top surface of the closure cannot be directly applied to a closure system containing a plastic outer shell due to the thickness of its top wall, which is greater than the thickness top wall of the aluminum cover strip. Cross-sectional, top, bottom and perspective views of a conventional plastic outer shell are shown in FIGS. 7a, 7b, 7c and 7d. A transparent perspective view showing also the internal structure of a conventional plastic outer shell is shown in FIG. 8a.

Because the thickness of the top wall of the plastic outer shell is greater than the thickness of the top wall of the aluminum cover strip, the pressing force required to deform the plastic material is much greater than the pressing force required to deform the aluminum material. Since it is not possible to control the capping torque applied by the person who is attempting to recap the bottle, it is necessary to reduce the thickness of the top wall of the plastic outer shell.

The present invention provides a permanent deformation 31.5 on the upper surface 31.1 of the plastic outer shell 30 during the first unauthorized resealing attempt due to the reduced thickness of the upper wall of the plastic outer shell 30 according to the present invention along a path along which the circumferential projections 21.2 on the flat top 21 of the lid 20 coincide.

The closure system 1 according to the present invention comprises a pourer 10 provided with a non-drip lip 11, a closure 20 having a flat top 21 containing at least one circumferential protrusion 21.2, and a tubular portion 22 containing at least one protective tab 22.1 corresponding to each circumferential protrusion 21.2, a plastic outer shell 30, consisting of an upper part 31 of the shell having at least one circumferential recess 31.3 and one circumferential protrusion 31.4 between the two said successive recesses, a tubular lower shell part 32 and a tear line 33 separating the plastic outer shell 30 into two separate parts, such as the upper part 31 of the shell and the tubular lower part 32 of the shell.

The safety tabs 22.1 associated with one structure of the flexible flap 22.2 are the means used to prevent the lid 20 from being fully sealed to its first position prior to initial opening. Before the initial opening, the tips of the safety tabs 22.1 are pinched into the pinch corner 11.2 in the stretched position as shown in FIG. 6a. In FIG. 6a shows a sectional view of the closure system 1 according to the present invention before initial opening. As soon as the lid 20 is opened for the first time, the security tabs 22.1 bend radially into the lid 20, releasing from the pinched position, as shown in FIG. 6b. Bending leads to a radial displacement of the ends of the protective tabs 22.1. Thus, after the first opening of the cover 20, the tips of the protective tabs 22.1 will rest on the annular support groove 11.1 associated with the structure of the non-drip edge 11. Thus, the upper shell part 31 and the tubular lower shell part 32 of the plastic outer shell 30 cannot rejoin in the closed position of the capping system 1 after the initial opening. This provides a tamper evident gap 34 between the upper shell portion 31 and the tubular lower shell portion 32 in the closed position after the initial opening, as shown in FIG. 6b. Said tamper-evident gap 34 enables the customer to notice that the bottle has been previously opened by unauthorized persons. In a preferred embodiment of the closure system 1 according to the present invention, the closure 20 includes a tamper evident strip 22.4 which is easily visible after the tamper evident gap 34 has been formed. In preferred embodiments of the present invention, the lid 20 has a contrasting color to match the color of the plastic outer shell 30 so that the tamper evident strip 22.4 is easily visible to the consumer. When an unauthorized person presses hard on the closure system 1, applying a closure torque to reduce or completely eliminate the tamper evident gap 34, the ends of the security tabs 22.1 are forced to remain in the same position due to the obstruction formed by the annular support groove 11.1 and the pinch angle 11.2, in while the flat top 21 and the tubular 22 of the lid 20 try to move down. As a result of this high value of torque applied by an unauthorized person, the protective tongues 22.1 cause the deformation of the said circumferential projections 21.2 of the upper surface 31.1 of the upper part 31 of the shell, moving upward relative to the movement of other parts of the cover 20.

Front, top, bottom and perspective views of the plastic outer shell 30 according to the present

- 3 040423 of the present invention are represented respectively in FIGS. 1a, 1b, 1c and 1d. A cross-sectional view of the plastic outer shell 30 is shown in FIG. 2a. In this figure you can see the specified break line 33, which divides the plastic outer shell 30 into two parts: the upper shell part 31 and the tubular lower shell part 32. The position of the lid 20 within the plastic outer shell 30 according to the present invention prior to initial opening is shown in FIG. 2b. In FIG. 3a is a close-up cross-sectional view showing the position of the lid 20 within the plastic outer shell 30 of the present invention prior to initial opening.

The upper part 31 of the shell has an upper surface 31.1 and a tubular surface 31.2. Said circumferential recesses 31.3 are located on the inner upper surface 31.1 of the upper part 31 of the shell, coinciding with the trajectory of said part of the circumferential protrusion 21.2 located on the flat upper part 21 of the cover 20. Said circumferential protrusions 31.4 located between each two successive recesses of the specified part of the circumferential recess 31.3, have the same wall thickness of the top surface 31.1 of the shell top 31, as can be clearly seen in FIG. 5a and fig. 8b. Thus, in this case, the thickness of the top wall of the plastic outer shell 30 along a path corresponding to the path of the circumferential projections 21.2 on the flat top 21 of the lid 20 is reduced to allow permanent deformation 31.5 of the top surface 31.1 of the top shell 31 during the first unauthorized resealing attempt. . Thus, hard pressing by applying a high value of sealing torque to the top 31 of the shell during the first unauthorized reseal attempt causes the circumferential projections 21.2 on the flat top 21 of the lid 20 to irreversibly deform the top surface 31.1 of the top 31 of the shell in places , in which they coincide with the circumferential protrusions 31.4 lying on the inner upper surface 31.1 of the upper part 31 of the shell, as shown in FIG. 5b.

The width of the circumferential recesses 31.3 is less than the width of the circumferential protrusions 21.2 to prevent said circumferential protrusions 21.2 lying on the flat top 21 of said cover 20 from being located inside said circumferential recess 31.3 lying on the inner top surface 31.1 of the plastic top 31 of the shell during the attempt re-capping system 1 capping.

Optionally, but preferably, the number of circumferential protrusions 21.2 corresponds to the number of protective tabs 22.1 and each circumferential protrusion 21.2 is associated with one protective tab 22.1.

In a preferred embodiment of the closure system 1 according to the present invention, there are four circumferential projections 21.2 which are equally spaced on the flat top 21 of the lid 20 as shown in FIG. 4a. Likewise, four associated protective tabs 22.1 corresponding to these circumferential projections 21.2 are equally spaced around the tubular portion 22 of the lid 20, as clearly seen in FIG. 4b. There is also one associated flexible flap 22.2 extending outward from the outer surface of each protective tongue 22.1. In addition, each security tab 22.1 and its associated circumferential protrusion 21.2 on the security tab 22.1 is connected to the flat top 21 of the lid 20 through a region of reduced thickness 21.1, as shown in FIG. 3b. These areas of reduced thickness 21.1 prevent the safety tabs 22.1 from breaking in their initial pinched position and relative upward movement, allowing the safety tabs 22.1 to be flexible.

In a preferred embodiment of the closure system 1 according to the present invention, said pourer 10 may have a pourer outlet on its top surface, an internal thread part around its inner side wall surface to engage with a corresponding threaded surface of the bottle neck, and an external thread part around its the outer surface of the side wall to engage with the corresponding part 22.3 of the internal thread lying horizontally on the inside of the tubular part 22 of the lid 20, as well as the specified part of the non-drip edge 11. In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the filling device 10 may have toothed structures around its inner side surface for fixing on the neck of the bottle instead of part of the internal thread.

In a preferred embodiment of the closure system 1 according to the present invention, said lid 20 is provided with a central latch 23 extending downward from the center of its inner flat top 21 to engage with the outlet of the pourer. In another embodiment of the present invention, a bottom diffuser and valve (or ball) can be associated with the filler 10 to engage the central latch 23 of the cover 20 with said bottom diffuser.

Claims (4)

CLAIM 1. A closure system (1) comprising a filling device (10) equipped with a non-drip edge (11), a cap (20) having a flat upper part (21) containing at least one circumferential protrusion (21.2), and a tubular part ( 22) containing at least one protective tab (22.1), a plastic outer shell (30) consisting of the upper part (31) of the shell, the tubular lower part (32) of the shell and a tear line (33) separating said plastic outer shell ( 30) into two separate parts, such as the upper part (31) of the shell and the tubular lower part (32) of the shell, which provides the end customer with a guarantee of a first opening, by ensuring permanent deformation by said circumferential projections (21.2) on the flat top part (21) of the cover (20) of the upper surface (31.1) of said plastic upper part (31) of the shell after the first attempt of unauthorized re-sealing of the closure system (1), and characterized in that the system contains at least one a circular recess (31.3) located on the inner upper surface (31.1) of the upper part (31) of the shell, coinciding with the trajectory of the specified part of the circumferential protrusion (21.2) located on the flat upper part (21) of the said cover (20); at least one circumferential protrusion (31.4) located between each two successive recesses of the specified part of the circumferential recess (31.3), having the same wall thickness with the upper surface (31) of the upper part (31.1) of the shell, to ensure constant deformation (31.5) on the upper surfaces (31.1) of said upper part (31) of the shell through said circumferential protrusions (21.2) during the first unauthorized re-sealing attempt, performed by pressing on the upper part (31) of the shell, to reveal whether the previously mentioned closure system (1) was opened. 2. Closing system (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that, in order to prevent said circumferential protrusions (21.2) lying on the flat upper part (21) of said cap (20), inside said circumferential recess (31.3) lying on inner upper surface (31.1) of the upper part (31) of the shell, during the first attempt of unauthorized re-sealing of the closure system (1), the width of the circumferential recesses (31.3) is less than the width of the circumferential protrusions (21.2). 3. Closing system (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is optional but preferred that each circumferential projection (21.2) is associated with one security tab (22.1). 4. The closure system (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the closure (20) comprises four circumferential protrusions (21.2) spaced at equal intervals from each other, each associated with one protective tongue (22.1).