EP0154897A2

EP0154897A2 - A metering dispenser cover with shut-off lever, particularly for jars and the like containers of syrupy and/or viscous fluids, incoherent products, and the like

Info

Publication number: EP0154897A2
Application number: EP85102223A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Alfredo Ghislanzoni; Sandro Ambrosoli
Original assignee: ALAPLASTIC di Alfredo GHISLANZONI; AMBROSOLI SpA
Current assignee: ALAPLASTIC di Alfredo GHISLANZONI; AMBROSOLI SpA
Priority date: 1984-03-01
Filing date: 1985-02-28
Publication date: 1985-09-18
Also published as: IT8421063V0; EP0154897A3

Abstract

A metering dispenser cover of plastics of metal, for application to jars and containers of dense fluids or the like, as well as of generic flowable and incoherent powder products, comprising a substantially cylindrical, downwardly open cap body which has on its top face an aperture (12) for metering out the product of the jar or container, the aperture being selectively shut off by the end of a rocking lever (3) journalled to said body at an intermediate region thereof, and characterised in that from the bottom face of said lever there extends an articulation tab the free end of which is arranged to snap into a complementary seat formed in the top face of the body (14-15).

Description

The present invention relates to a metering dispenser cover of the kind of a cap incorporating a shut-off lever for the dispensing function, which is particularly useful with jars, jugs, and the like containers normally filled with syrupy and/or viscous fluids such as honey, condensed milk, medicinal syrups, etc., or with granulate and generic incoherent products.
As is known, most of the food products in the form of dense fluids, such as honey, syrups of various description, and other products, are packaged in jars of glass or some other suitable material, which jars are usually closed with a flat lid or cover screwed onto the jar neck, or in some instances, with a plastic plug force fitted into the jar neck. Also well known are the difficulties to be encountered by the consumer when attempting to dispense a desired and metered amount of the products contained therein; in fact, whether using spoons or tilting the jar to deliver a precise amount, the diffulty is invariably met of cutting off in a rapid and effective manner the flow of dense product, respectively on lifting a spoon out of the jar or returning the jar to an upright position. It is a well-recognized fact that in such conditions tears or drops of the product form which are difficult to stop and unavoidably end by fouling the jar and the surface on which it is put back.
In an attempt to avoid this inconvenience, and to enable metering of the product out of jars of this general type, already proposed have been additional lids or covers for screwing onto the jar after the original lid is removed, which are provided with flow dispensing and shut-off members using a rocking lever, a sliding blade, or the like, adapted to cut off the outflow without causing formation of objectionable drops or continuous tears. Such metering covers, while being effective to satisfactorily eliminate the cited drawback, show in actual practice some significant limitations in their use and a highly complex construction, in some cases, and a short working life and imperfect sealing by the shut-off means in the home position thereof, in other cases. In particular, known has been a metering cover for honey and the like products which comprises a cylindrical inside threaded cap the top flat surface whereof accommodates slidably a metal blade arranged to slide to and from an opening formed through the cap close to the cylindrical portion of the cover; the outflow can be cut off by the forward corner edge of the blade abutting against the upright rim which borders the opening with a substantially guillotine- like action. The blade is moved by means of a lever mounted pivotally at a diametrically opposed position to that of the opening, against a bias spring toward the stable closure position.
This dispenser cover type, owing to its being formed from metal, requires the provision of a cap seal for sealing against the jar rim, and is intended for screwing onto the jar neck after the original cover is removed; further, it must be supplied separately because it cannot be applied permanently to the sealed jar on account of the original cover being present thereon, and is complicated to manufacture and assemble, as well as being quite expensive.
Also known and sold is a dispenser cover of specially simple construction; this comprises a plastic cap provided at the top with a rocking lever mounted centrally to the outer top surface of the cap as by welding along a transverse line. The lever is a straight one and is anchored so as to be forced into a sloping posture in the closed position, i.e. with its rounded end accommodated, in lateral sealing relationship, within an appropriate opening formed in the upper portion of the cap. By acting on the other end of the lever, a desired metered amount can be dispensed. However, even this embodiment is affected by several practical limitations and deficiencies; first and foremost, the alternate oscillation of the lever occurs by deformation of the welded area, and this shortens in use the life of the weldment and jeopardise sealing of the opening because a decrease of the initial pressure force on the lever to hold it stably in the closed position is unavoidable. Furthermore, the top surface of the cap is to be so structured as to present a center protuberance to which the lever can be welded in order to allow for a sufficient downward stroke of the lever arm at each operation to enable the opposite arm to clear the dispensing opening.
Finally, this metering cover type is also to be supplied separately, and may be applied to jars which are closed by a plastic membrane which, on removal from the jar mouth, leaves on the rim of the jar a plastic ring forming a required sealing gasket for the dispenser cover when the latter is screwed onto the jar neck.
Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide a metering dispenser cover for jars containing dense and/or syrupy fluids, as well as flowable and generically incoherent powder products, which can obviate all of the shortcomings and limitations affecting prior dispenser covers.
Another object of the invention is to provide a metering dispenser cover of specially simple construction, high reliability both as regards its sealing capability and working life, and relatively low cost.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a metering dispenser cover which is designed to fit directly over standard jar sealing covers and then screwed onto the jar neck, following removal of the original cover, with self-evident practical, hygiene, and aesthetics advantages. Further, the particular construction of the lever, formed separately from the cover for later insertion therein, affords in addition to a stylish presentation of the jar-dispenser cover assembly, also the faculty of manufacturing the lever and cover in different, and if desired contrasting, colors.
These objects are achieved, and their advantages secured, by a metering dispenser cover formed from a plastic or metal material, and adapted for application to jars and containers of dense fluids or the like and of flowable and generically incoherent powder products, comprising a substantially cylindrical cap body opened downwardly, the top surface whereof is formed with an opening for metering out the product of the jar or container, said opening being selectively shut off by the end of a rocking lever mounted pivotally on said body at an intermediate region thereof, and characterised in that from the bottom face of said lever there extends an articulation tab the free end whereof is arranged to snap into a complementary seat formed in the top face of said body.
Further constructional and functional features of the metering dispenser cover according to the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description thereof, to be taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, given herein by way of illustration and not of limitation and where:

Figure 1 is a diametrical section view taken along the line I-I of Figure 4, showing a dispenser cover according to the invention removed from a sealed jar for which it is intended;
Figure 2 is a perspective view showing but the actuating lever as applied to the dispenser cover of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a top plan view of the cover of Figure 1;
Figure 4 is a perspective view of the box-type body forming the subject cover as slightly force fitted over the sealing cover of a threaded neck jar; and
Figure 5 shows, partly in elevation and partly in diametrical section, this cover as screwed down on the neck of a jar whence the original cover is removed.

With reference to the drawing figures, and in particular to Figures 1 and 2, the metering dispenser cover of this invention comprises a box-type body 1 of cap or inverted glass configuration, formed from a plastic, metal or the like material, the cylindrical cavity whereof, for fitting on a jar 2 (Figure 1),is formed with two different diameters, and a rocking lever 3, formed from a flexible material such as plastics, metal, or the like, which is removably attached to the cap of the body 1, as explained herein below.
The cavity 4 formed at the bottom of the body 1 has a diameter "a" which permits of the cap 1 being a force fit on the cover 5 of a sealed jar 2 containing a dense or syrupy product to be dispensed in metered amounts. The fit of the cavity 4 over the closure cover 5 of the jar (Figure 4) allows the jar to be presented and sold as already equipped with its dispenser cover, with obvious benefits of practical, hygienic, and aesthetic nature. The contiguous upper (or innermost) cavity 6 has instead a smaller diameter "b" than the outward cavity and is provided with segmental threads 7,7a, etc. adapted to threadably engage with the threaded neck of the jar 2, following removal of the sealing cover 5; as shown in Figure 5, the body 1 is screwed down tightly on the neck 5a of the jar 2, whilst the cavity 4 is left slightly spaced apart from the neck. On the inside of the body 1, at a location away from the cap or bottom 1a of the glass-like body 1, there is provided an abutment ring 8 for sealingly stopping the top rim of the neck of the jar 2 (Figure 5), while peripherally and under this ring 8, there are provided vertical 9 and horizontal 10 elevations, recessed from the ring 8 and adapted to hold the jar neck centered within the body 1 and stiffen the body 1 during operation of the lever 3.
In order to provide for metering out of the product, the glass-like body 1 includes a rocking lever device 3 to be actuated with a finger of one hand as applied to exert a slight force at a substantially center location on the cap 1a (Figure 1).
Said lever (Figure 2) comprises essentially a straight rod or sheet 3a of a flexible material such as plastics, metal, or the like, which is provided at the bottom with a protruding lug 11 substantially in the form of a capital "Z" and so arranged as to have its'end 11a rigid with the lever 3a and the opposite end 11b directed nearly perpendicularly to the lever.
The lever 3a has at one end thereof a rounded corner edge 3b adapted to be inserted (substantially with duck bill type of movement or the like) sealingly into a suitable sharp edged opening 12 formed marginally in the cap 1a; at its other end, the lever 3a has an extension 3c, bent to an "L" downwards so as to form with the plane of the lever an angle "i" (Figure 2) smaller than 90⁰; this for reasons to be explained herein below.
The lever 3 is then applied by inserting the end 11b into a slot 13 formed in the cap 1a, until the arcuate region 11a contacts the rim of the slot. To provide stability for the coupling of the lug 11, the slot 13 is provided with containment, guiding and strengthening sidewalls 14 and 15 (Figure 1), and the end 11b is made slightly arcuate to fit under the end of the wall 15.
With the lever 3 fitted, the end portion of the extension 3c of the lever is in gentle contact with the outer cylindrical surface, being suitably flattened, of the cover 1, and owing to said extension being inclined from the vertical on the plane of the lever, the extension undergoes a deformation (directed outwards) as the lever is pressed onto the cap, i.e. during the step of raising the end 3b off the delivery opening 12. That deformation produces, during the step of releasing the lever, a recovery force which automatically contributes to returning the arcuate end of the lever back to its closed position within the opening 12 and holding it stably closed.
The peculiar construction of the lever and the location of the lug, oriented such as to hold the lever end 3b stably closed, enables the lever to pivot alternately by deformation of two separate areas of the lug 11, and precisely in the arcuate region 11c acting on the rim of the slot 13 of the cap, and at the region of attachment of the end 11a to the lever base.
This results in practice in the total angle of flexure of the lever being split, with evident benefits for the strength of the material; further, owing to the rearward movement of the flexure region 11a brought about by the web (lying substantially horizontally) of the lug 11, the downward stroke length of the lever actuating arm is shortened because the arm length itself is made shorter; this provides for a nearly flat shape of the cap, or one sloping slightly to the rear, with evident advantages of simplified construction of the cover and appearance of the combination.
The metering dispenser cover according to the invention is further completed by two parallel lateral sides 16-17 adapted to contain and hold the lever 3 guided in its stroke and to impart an appealing appearance to the combination, while also eliminating undesirable projecting elements which would complicate the packaging operations on the jars and related dispenser cover.
Lastly, to allow and promote proper dispensing capabilities, the end 3b of the lever is provided at the bottom with containment and guiding walls 18 adapted to ensure a perfectly tight side fit of the lever within the substantially quadrangular opening 12 in the cap 1a.
Of course, the invention herein may be practiced with several modifications and changes to the materials, dimensions, and shapes of the lever and box-type body, as well as to the colours of both the lever and cylindrical body, contingent on applicational requirements or preference, without departing from the invention scope.

Claims

1. A metering dispenser cover formed from a plastic or metal material, and adapted for application to jars and containers of dense fluids or the like and of flowable and generically incoherent powder products, comprising a substantially cylindrical cap body (1) open downwardly, the top surface whereof is formed with an opening (12) for metering out the product of the jar or container, said opening being selectively shut off by the end of a rocking lever (3) mounted pivotally on said body at an intermediate region thereof, characterised in that from the bottom face of said lever there extends an articulation tab (11) the free end whereof is arranged to snap into a complementary seat formed in the top face of said body (14,15).

2. A cover according to Claim 1, characterised in that said articulation tab (11) is advantageously configured with an intermediate section (11c) extending substantially parallel to the rocking lever and interconnecting two sections, substantially orthogonal to the lever, forming respectively the attachment to the lever (11a) and the free end (11b) interlocked on the cap body, so as to increase its length of unrestricted deflection.

3. A cover according to Claim 2, characterised in that the articulation tab (11) has two separate flexure regions forming the fulcra for the oscillation of the rocking lever (3), of which one corresponds to the area of attachment (11a)to the lever and the other to the anchoring area (11b) within the complementary seat in the body, said discrete flexure regions being such as to limit the stroke length of the lever actuating arm and limit the yield of the material making up the articulation tab.

4. A cover according to Claim 2, characterised in that the free end of the articulation tab (11) terminates in an enlarged portion (11b) adapted to snap into the complementary seat on the body and having sidewalls (14,15) which define by interlocking engagement the orientation of said end and react to the deflection loads originating from the lever being moved away from its position of closure of the product metering out opening.

5. A cover according to Claim 1, characterised in that from the outer surface of the top face of the body there extend two parallel ribs (16,17) between which said lever (3) is received in a guided fashion.

6. A cover according to Claim 1, characterised in that the end of the rocking lever which cooperates with the metering out opening to shut it off is provided with side and rear walls (18) arranged to contact the corresponding inner walls of the opening to define a delivery channel with said lever moved to uncover the opening.

7. A cover according to Claim 1, characterised in that the rocking lever has at its rear control end an extension (3c) facing downwards which extends adjacent to the body side wall, with such an inclination as to produce a force fit on said side wall as the rocking lever is operated into its open position.

8. A cover according to Claim 7, characterised in that the ribs (16,17) wherebetween the lever is received are extended across the side wall of the body to constrain laterally said rearward extension (3c) of the lever.

9. A cover according to Claim 1, characterised in that inwardly of the side wall of the body there is provided a first annular region (6) provided with means (7,7a) for coupling to the mouth of a container, and a second annular region (4) of increased diameter adapted to be coupled to the outer surface of a sealing stopper (5) on the mouth of the container (2).

10. A cover according to Claim 1, characterised in that on the inside of the side wall of the body there are provided both horizontal and vertical elevations (9,10) adapted to strengthen it and hold it centered on the jar neck as the rocking lever is being operated.