EP0355471A1 - Tube - Google Patents

Abstract

The tube for receiving compositions in paste form possesses a tube neck (2) having an external thread (3), an outlet aperture (4) and a closure cap (9) which can be screwed onto the external thread (3) of the tube neck (2). The outlet aperture (4) is covered by a disc-like plate (5) which carries a collar (6) projecting into the outlet aperture (4) and engaging behind the inner edge thereof with positive connection. The plate (5) possesses a peripherally continuous intended breaking notch (7) which extends within the clear width of the collar (6). A forward-projecting spike (8) is provided in the area limited by the intended breaking notch (7). The spike (8) extends, when the tube is closed, into a bushing (11) moulded on the inside where it is retained by frictional connection. The outer edge (13) of the bushing (11) extends along a circle whose diameter is somewhat greater than the diameter of the area limited by the peripherally continuous intended breaking notch (7). The edge (13) of the busing (11) bears sealingly on the disc-like plate (5) when the closure cap (9) is screwed on. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a tube according to the features of the preamble of claim 1.

Tubes are known in various forms and for various pasty masses. In order to guarantee the integrity of the purchased tube to the consumer, the outlet openings or outlet openings in some of the tubes are closed with a thin, welded-on metal foil that is pierced with a pointed thorn when the tube is first used, this thorn in is usually molded onto the cap. Most of the time, these are tubes that contain food and beverages in pasty form. In tubes with such a content, a closure of this kind is quite useful and appropriate.

However, if the tubes are for cosmetic or pharmaceutical products, such a closure can hardly be used. This is because when the metallic sealing film is pierced, sharp-edged edges can form which, if the tube is subsequently used, in particular if its content is applied directly to the skin, can lead to minor injuries, even if it may be. For this reason, guarantee closures of the type described have hitherto hardly been used for tubes with cosmetic and / or pharmaceutical products.

From EP-OS 001 959 a tube is known in which a separate attachment part is provided and attached to the tube edge, which includes the tube neck equipped with an external thread, this tube neck being closed before the tube is used and the closure by a cylindrical one Approach is formed, which also has an external thread, wherein the closure cap provided for the tube engages in a meshing manner in the two threads mentioned. It is a complex construction and difficult assembly. Such an effort is unsustainable for a mass article like a tube. Apart from this, the part serving as a closure member must be screwed back into its receiving opening in the closure cap after the tube has been torn off and opened, so that the mouth opening is sealed after the closure cap has been screwed on. This is a laborious manipulation, which requires that the person who uses the tube and uses it as intended is also informed about it.

In a comparable tube construction (US Pat. No. 3,784,045), two sections lying coaxially to one another are provided on the tube neck, a predetermined tear point being located between the two sections and both sections having threads of different pitch. By screwing on a sleeve which engages in the two threads, the outer section is torn off from the other section due to the different pitches of the threads, and as a result the torn off section with the screwed-on sleeve forms the closure cap. A comparable type also includes the closure in which a cap connects to the threaded tube neck in one piece via a predetermined breaking point and has a radially outwardly projecting collar which engages in a corresponding groove in the screw-on sleeve when it is screwed onto the tube neck becomes. Here the collar is held in a form-fitting manner. If the sleeve is subsequently unscrewed, the cap must follow the sleeve due to the positive connection mentioned, as a result of which the latter is separated from the tube neck via the predetermined breaking point. All of these constructions are very complex and impractical. In addition to the complicated structure, another disadvantage of this construction is that the consumer has to study an instruction manual for the use of this closure so that he does not inadvertently violate the guarantee closure when he is in a shop selling goods in such tubes For testing purposes takes the tube in hand and habitually turns the tube.

Also in the tube according to US Pat. No. 2,317,420, the tube neck with the external thread has a collar, a circumferential groove being provided between the collar and the section carrying the thread. The screw-on cap has a constriction corresponding to the groove, which widens when it is first screwed onto the tube neck and then snaps into the groove with a positive fit. When the closure is turned up, however, the constriction can no longer slide out of this groove due to the shape given here and therefore pulls up the collar, with the result that the predetermined breaking point provided in the groove area is torn open.

The last discussed closure and also the closures previously discussed, including that according to FR-PS 1 426 663, are not real guarantees Conclusions: Bottled tubes of this type are usually available in shops, often in self-service shops. The buyer, who is used to inspecting the goods, takes the tube in his hand and turns the cap as usual. As a result, however, the "guarantee closure" is torn open in all of these last discussed models, the tube is opened and the buyer does not even know whether this was done by him or a previous customer.

Above all, however, the tube according to GB-PS 1 568 900 is to be mentioned, the neck piece of which is closed before use, a central, pin-like mandrel being provided on the outer side of the closed mouthpiece, which has a cross-section with the mouthpiece itself notch-like, annular predetermined breaking point is connected. The pin-like mandrel protrudes into a cavity which corresponds to its cross-section and its shape in the closure cap which can be plugged onto the neck of the tube. To open the tube, the snap-on cap is pulled off, the mouthpiece is opened by means of the pin-like mandrel, and then the mandrel thus released is put back into the aforementioned cavity of the snap-on cap, so that when the cap is put back on the neck piece, the by the predetermined breaking point closes the mouth opening in the neck of this tube.

The known blow-and-blow method is used for the rational production of plastic tubes. According to the current state of the art, after using this method in series production, it is not possible to produce a predetermined breaking point of constant quality, since the wall thickness fluctuates too much in the area of such predetermined breaking points. This is due to the special nature of this manufacturing process. In order to obtain the same wall thicknesses here, such tubes would have to be produced by injection molding, but this is not practical for purely economic reasons because of the costs involved. It should also be borne in mind here that the material of the actual tube body must have completely different properties than that of the mouth area with the predetermined breaking point. The material that forms the actual tube body must be soft, supple and, in addition, very tough, so that the paste-like contents of the tube can be squeezed out without any special effort and, moreover, the tube wall must not be damaged or injured by sharp-edged or pointed fingernails (particularly important for cosmetic products) is even punctured. The mouth area with the predetermined breaking point, however, must be off be made of an easily breakable, brittle material so that the tube can be opened in the manner described without any particular effort. The fact that it is not possible in the current state of the art to manufacture tubes using the blow-and-blow method and to use different materials in zones does not require any certification, since this is notoriously known.

This also shows the problem on which the invention is based: a tube is to be created which consists of a supple, easily deformable and yet sufficiently tough material, and which has a tear-open guarantee closure made of a brittle material which fulfills this function.

The solution to this problem is achieved by precisely those features that are the content and subject of the characterizing part of claim 1.

Thanks to this measure, it is now possible for the consumer to determine after removal, in particular after unscrewing the cap, that the tube is still unused. To open the closure, only the pin-like, projecting mandrel needs to be pressed off by a small force acting obliquely to its longitudinal axis, whereby the circumferentially closed predetermined breaking notch tears open and the area bounded by this predetermined breaking notch, which is formed in one piece with the mandrel, is removed can and thereby the outlet opening of the tube is released.

In order to facilitate assembly during manufacture of the tube, when the tube is closed with the closure cap, the mandrel protrudes into a bush formed on the inside of the closure cap and is held here in a force-locking manner. Then the mandrel can be combined with the cap during assembly and if the cap is pushed onto the tube neck during assembly, in particular screwed on, the collar of the plate is pressed into the outlet opening and anchored there, so that when unscrewing it Cap the plate including the mandrel remains in the intended place on the tube neck, since the initially combined parts are dimensioned so that the mandrel and bush are held together with little force.

Closure cap and plate with mandrel can be brought together particularly easily if the cavity of the socket receiving the mandrel widens conically towards the outer edge thereof, so that the mandrel can be easily inserted into this cavity of the socket during the pre-assembly.

The outer edge of the bushing runs essentially along a circular line and the diameter of this circular line is somewhat larger than the diameter of the area delimited by the circumferentially closed predetermined breaking notch. When the cap is screwed on, this edge forms an additional seal for the outlet opening once the tube has been opened and the guarantee cap has been removed.

So that the mandrel can be inserted into the cavity of the bushing without any problems during preassembly, the cross section of the section of the cavity of the bushing holding the mandrel non-positively and the cross section of the mandrel differ from one another in the region accommodated by the mentioned section of the cavity to form at least one gap from. For example, longitudinal grooves or grooves are provided on the inner wall of the bushing or on the outside of the mandrel. This ensures that when these two parts are pressed together, the air can escape from the receptacle cavity in the socket and the air in the cavity is not compressed, for example by the mandrel, into a compressed air cushion which tends to expel the mandrel out of the socket.

• Fig. 1 nach Art einer Explosionszeichnung das den Tubenhals tragen­de Ende einer Tube, einen Garantieverschluß und die dazugehörende Verschlußkap­pe:
• Fig. 2 die Teile nach Fig. 1, jedoch vereint; in beiden Darstellungen sind die Teile im Schnitt gezeigt;
• Fig. 3 ein Detailquerschnitt (Linie V - V in Fig. 4);
• Fig. 4 die Verschlußkappe des Ausführungsbeispieles nach den Fig. 1 und 2 in ihrem vormontierten Zustand.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail with reference to the drawing.
Show it:

• 1 in the manner of an exploded drawing, the end of a tube carrying the tube neck, a guarantee closure and the associated closure cap:
• Figure 2 shows the parts of Figure 1, but united. in both representations the parts are shown in section;
• 3 shows a detailed cross section (line V - V in FIG. 4);
• Fig. 4, the cap of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 in its preassembled state.

A tube 1, which is preferably made of plastic material, has a tube neck 2 with an external thread 3, which is integrally formed on it at one end. The outlet opening 4 is provided here with a type of guarantee closure (FIG. 2). This consists of a disc-like plate 5, the outer peripheral kon corresponds approximately to that of the tube neck 2 and is slightly smaller than this. On its side facing the tube 1, this plate 5 has a collar 6 which projects into the outlet opening 4 and engages behind the inner edge in a form-fitting manner, because the outer edge of this collar 6 is undercut like a barb. The plate 5 also has a circumferentially closed predetermined breaking notch 7, which expediently runs along a circular line and the diameter of which is equal to the inside clear width of the collar 6.

A pin-like mandrel 8 is formed on the front of the plate 5, specifically in the area delimited by the circumferentially closed predetermined breaking notch 7. All mentioned parts 5, 6, 7 and 8, which form this closure member, are made in one piece from plastic.

The closure cap 9 has a high interior so that it can accommodate the above-mentioned mandrel when it is screwed onto the tube neck. A bushing 11 is formed on the inside of the closure cap 9, the cavity 12 of this bushing 11 serving for the force-fit reception of the mandrel 8 (see FIGS. 2, 4). The cavity 12 is flared towards the outer edge 13. The outer edge 13 of the bushing 11 runs along a circular line, the diameter of this circular line being somewhat larger than the diameter of the area delimited by the circumferentially closed predetermined breaking notch 7. From Fig. 3 it can be seen that the cross section of the non-positively holding portion of the cavity 12 of the bushing 11 and the cross section of the mandrel 8 in the area taken up by the mentioned portion of the cavity 12 deviate from one another to form at least one gap 14.

These measures serve to facilitate the pre-assembly. In a suitable tool, the closure cap 9 and the mandrel 8 are first brought together and pushed together (FIG. 5). Due to the aforementioned configuration of the cross sections (FIG. 3), when the mandrel 8 is inserted into the cavity 12 of the bushing 11, the air therein can escape, otherwise the air is compressed here and would form a pressure cushion which shows the tendency for the mandrel 8 to extend to press out the cavity 12 of the socket 11. In principle, it is also possible, for example, to design the mandrel 8 in such a way that it has a star-like cross section and the mandrel thus formed is then only linearly on the inner wall of the Socket 11 is present. The holding force between these two parts need not be too great, it is sufficient if after preassembly (FIG. 4) these two parts are held together for the time being, so that the mandrel 8 is not lost in the subsequent manipulation of the closure cap.

Due to the conical design of the entrance area of the cavity 12, the mandrel 8 can be inserted particularly easily. The fit between the parts (bushing 11 and mandrel 8) is slight, so that the mandrel 8 is held in place only with a slight holding force, so that the closure cap 9 can also be rotated relative to the mandrel 8. This relative movement between the two parts occurs once during the final assembly of the tube and the second time when the tube is opened for the first use. In the factory assembly, the closure cap 9 is screwed with the picked-up mandrel 8 onto the thread 3 of the tube neck, the collar 6 now being pushed into the outlet opening 4 and anchored here in a form-fitting manner. The special design of the edge 13 of the socket 11, which has already been mentioned above, additionally seals the outlet opening of the tube once the guarantee closure has been opened.

The tube which is originally closed at the factory is shown in FIG. 2. In order to open the tube, a slight force is exerted laterally (arrow 10) after unscrewing the closure cap 9 on the projecting mandrel 8, as a result of which the predetermined breaking notch 7 tears open over its entire length, so that the mandrel 8 and the one delimited by the predetermined breaking notch 7 Area can be lifted, whereupon the tube content can be expressed through the collar 6.

The invention guarantees to the buyer that the above-mentioned tube is in its original closed possession and that due to the special design after opening the "guarantee closure" there are also no sharp-edged edges which can possibly cause injuries, for which reason this particular closure is primarily used Tubes with cosmetic and / or pharmaceutical products are suitable, although not restricted.

Claims (1)

Tube for holding pasty masses, in particular cosmetic and / or pharmaceutical products, with a tube neck (2) with an external thread (3) with an outlet opening (4) and a closure cap (9) that can be screwed onto the external thread (3) of the tube neck (2) ), characterized in that the outlet opening (4) is covered by a disk-like plate (5), the outer circumferential contour of which approximately corresponds to that of the tube neck (2), the disk-like plate (5) projects into the outlet opening (4) and the latter the inner edge engages behind the collar (6) and the plate (5) has a preferably circumferentially closed predetermined breaking notch (7) which runs within the clear width of the collar (6) and, in a manner known per se, on the circumferentially closed predetermined breaking notch (7) limited area a forwardly projecting pin-like mandrel (8) is provided and the mandrel (8) with the closure cap (9) v Opened tube which protrudes into a socket (11) formed on the inside of the closure cap (9) and is held here non-positively and the hollow (12) receiving the mandrel (8) of the socket (11) against the outer edge (13) of the same extended conically, with the outer edge (13) of the bushing (11) running essentially along a circular line and the diameter of this circular line being somewhat larger than the diameter of the region delimited by the circumferentially closed predetermined breaking notch (7) and the edge (13) of the When the cap (9) is screwed on, the socket (11) bears sealingly on the disk-like plate (5) and the plate (5), collar (6) and mandrel (8) are made in one piece from plastic.

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