EP0670803B1

EP0670803B1 - Metal container, with means for allowing a rapid emptying of the container

Info

Publication number: EP0670803B1
Application number: EP94927644A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Luca Bianchi
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1993-10-05
Filing date: 1994-09-23
Publication date: 1998-07-15
Anticipated expiration: 2014-09-23
Also published as: DK0670803T3; ITMI930766V0; DE69411702T2; EP0670803A1; ITMI930766U1; WO1995009775A1; ES2118437T3; DE69411702D1; ATE168343T1; AU7698294A; IT230449Y1

Abstract

Metal container (1), substantially a can for beverages in general, provided on the lid (2) with a pull or screw opening or the like, comprising a common cylindrical can or the like, provided on the sealed lid with a pull tab (3) or the like for the opening of the can, and at the opposite end of said can, with hand-operatable means suitable to realize a second opening at the moment of emptying of the can, said two openings, opposed to one another, allowing, after the removal of said means, to tilt the can in distribution position, and to operate the other one of said means to let air in on the fluid and to cause therefore a quick and regular emptying of the can without rebounds or oscillations of the fluid during the distribution.

Description

The invention relates to a metal container for fluids, substantially a can for either aerated or natural beverages, provided with hand-operatable means to allow a quick and regular emptying of the fluid contained therein.

As is known, the usual cans, cylindrical or the like from metal, particularly aluminium, containing either aerated beverages, such as ale, orangeade, coca cola and the like, or natural fluids, are provided on the sealed lid with means for the quick hand opening, i.e. without the utilization of tools or the like. Such means and especially the more widespread ones, consist of a tag suitable to be lifted and pulled away from the lid, which removes from said lid a zone previously treated (by partial incision or the like), so as to circumscribe, after the removal, an opening wide enough to allow the distribution of the content. Said "pull tabs" are so positioned as to remove a zone of the lid near the edge of the latter, in order to constitute a mouth suitable to make the pouring out of the fluid easy, without too much spilling of the fluid laterally to the mouth.

In practice, the emptying of a usual can through a distribution mouth whose area is necessarily limited, is always difficult and above all irregular, especially at the beginning of the distribution, both when the fluid is poured into a glass or the like or directly into the mouth of the consumer, due to the fact that, the can being obviously tilted or overturned, the fluid coming out concerns all the distribution opening area, and therefore does not let air enter the can, to exercice on the fluid the atmospheric pressure which is obviously necessary to allow a correct distribution. Therefore, the fluid comes out irregularly and to adjust the outflow it is necessary to change rather often the tilting of the can to reduce the outflow and to let air in, on the fluid contained in the can.

In practice, this involves a slowering of the emptying velocity of the can and indesirable oscillations and/or rebounds of the fluid during the distribution, which also cause spillings of fluid around the distribution mouth of said can.

WO 93/12006 (PRUS) discloses a can provided with a first and a second opening members (ring pull or tear off strip) arranged respectively on the lid and on the bottom of the can; both the opening members are designed so that bottom and the lid may be completely detached from the casing, creating a casing open at both ends which may be sqeezed with little effort and disposed. The preamble of claim 1 is based on this prior art.

Object of this invention is therefore to provide a metal container can-shaped or the like for aerated or natural beverages, provided with means suitable to obviate the drawbacks of the present cans for beverages with pull opening or the like, with no need for important structural changes in the traditional cans.

Another object of this invention is to provide a can of the aforementioned type, so improved as to allow a quick and regular emptying without involving irreparable fluid spillings and losses on the lid and the sides of the can.

A further object of this invention is to provide a metal can provided with means to allow a quick and regular emptying, so designed as not to constitute undiserable encumbrances and as to be efficacious and reliable, besides being very cheap.

These and still other objects which will be more clearly stressed in the following, are achieved by a metal can for aerated or natural beverages as defined in claim 1.

More particularly, said means suitable to realize said second opening are obtained on the bottom of the can, according to one of the possible embodiments; according to another embodiment, said means suitable to create said second opening are positioned on the cylindrical surface of the can, near the bottom of same.

Besides, said means may be constituted by a second pull tag or by a preincised or pre-cut zone in the cylindrical wall or in the bottom, removable by exercising a pressure on same with a finger, a bar-shaped tool or the like, or by other analogous pressure means.

Further characteristics and advantages of this invention shall appear more clearly from the following detailed description, made with reference to the attached drawing, given by way of example, wherein:

Fig. 1 shows schematically a can for ale, orangeade or the like, realized according to this invention and according to a first practical embodiment;

Fig. 2 shows a can realized according to another embodiment, and

Fig. 3 shows a can realized according to a further embodiment.

With special reference to Fig. 1, the can-shaped container subject matter of this invention is substantially constituted by a common cylindrical metal can 1, generally from aluminium or its alloys, and normally provided on lid 2 with a usual pull tag 3, hooked at 4 to an oval zone 5 preincised on lid 2; by lifting tag 3 one removes the peripherally preincised zone 5, leaving on the lid an opening corresponding to the removed zone 6.

Opening 6 constitutes the distribution mouth of the beverage.

The improvement subject matter of this invention consists, according to the embodiment shown on Fig, 1, in providing on bottom 7 of said can an analogous opening 6', realized by means of a pull tag 8.

This pull tag 8 may also be realized on the cylindrical wall of can 1, in a position as near as possible to bottom 7 of said can, as shown on Fig. 2.

According to another embodiment, the opening opposed to the distribution opening 6 may be realized either on bottom 7 or on the cylindrical wall 1a of the can, by prearranging by means of a partial incision or deformation 9 an area, for instance as indicated by 10 on Fig. 3, having a round, oval or polygonal width and shape; such area 10 can be wholly removed or partly bent towards the inside of the can, at the moment of distribution of the fluid, by a pressure exercized on said zone 10 by a finger, the end of a pencil or any other suitable and convenient means; in this way an opening creates opposite to the distribution opening 6.

Always according to this invention, it does not matter whether opening 10 or 6', realized on bottom 7 or near the same, has an area similar, greater or smaller (for instance by half) than the area of the distribution mouth 6. Said opening 10 or 6' allows air to enter in the can and to get in touch with the fluid and precisely in the space, practically a vacuum, which creates between the bottom of the can and the fluid, when the can is tilted, i.e. in emptying position.

The quick emptying with fluid flow in conditions of absence of turbulence or oscillations takes place in practice in the following way: keeping the can in a substantially upright position, one tears away the pull tag on cover 2, then tilts the can in the usual way, so as to allow the emptying into a vessel, generally a glass, or also directly into the mouth of the user, activating at the same time the means that causes the opening arranged on the bottom or the wall near said bottom. Now, the atmospheric pressure, entering in the bottom of the can, acts on the fluid, allowing in this way its quick and regular outflow from the mouth of said can.

Always according to this invention, the emptying of the can may take place also by utilizing opening 10 or 6' of the can.

Claims

Metal can for aerated or natural beverages, comprising a lid (2), a bottom (7), a casing (1a) and opening means (3, 4, 5, 8, 10), , being provided on the lid (2) with a first opening means of pull tag type (3, 4, 5) for creating a first opening for the distribution of the beverage and on the bottom (7) with a second opening means such as a pull tag
wherein a portion of the lid is removed for distributing the beverage by tilting the can to raise the bottom above the top characterized in that a portion of small area (6) of the lid (2) near the edge of the lid is removed by said first opening means, and a portion of small area (6') of the bottom (7) or of the casing (1a) near the bottom in diametrical opposition to said portion of the lid (2) is removed by said second opening means (8, 10) for creating a second opening, and in that removing said portion of the bottom or near the bottom allows air into the can, causing in this way a quick and regular emptying of the can without rebounds or oscillations of the beverage during the distribution stage,
Container according to claim 1, characterized in that said means (8) suitable to create said second opening are positioned on said casing (1a) near the edge of the bottom (7) of same.