EP0778214A1

EP0778214A1 - Pouring stopper

Info

Publication number: EP0778214A1
Application number: EP96500156A
Authority: EP
Inventors: D. Ignacio Linares Fernandez
Original assignee: Auxiliar Metalgrafica Aragonesa SA
Current assignee: Auxiliar Metalgrafica Aragonesa SA
Priority date: 1995-12-04
Filing date: 1996-12-04
Publication date: 1997-06-11
Also published as: ES1032670Y; ES1032670U

Abstract

A pouring stopper, from those used to be incorporated in containers having a general cylindrical or prismatic shape, consisting of a pouring stopper (1), configured by a body (2) which is integral with a container (12), fitted with a central opening (5), closed inside by a membrane (11) which is detachable from said body, and a second hinged body (3), having, at its faced fixed to the body (2), a pair of projections (7), laterally arranged and being paralleling convergent on they end side, the opening (5) being surrounding by a projection defining an inclined branch or section (14)

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This Model of Utility, as specified in the title of the present specification, consists of a pouring stopper, the evident purpose of which is to be incorporated in every type of containers, and mainly in tinplate containers containing thick liquid products, such as oil.
The pouring stopper is configured by a hinged joining of two bodies, having generally a rectangular shape, so that one of them is associated with a upper base of a container in relation to an outlet orifice of a liquid, and the second body acts as a closing cap itself and a pouring element.
So, the body of the pouring stopper fixed to the upper base of a container, has its center portion open, being closed by a lower sealing membrane, until being used, and, perimetrically to said opening, it has a perimetric projection, while the body acting as a cap or cover has a pair of lateral parallel projections, which are arranged as an outside extension of the projection of the other body, being joined in relation to their outer side, these projections having convergentbranches defining a channel thru which a liquid comes out.
In this way, the pouring stopper acts as a guarantee seal since it has a detachable membrane which plugs the body opening fixed to the upper base of the tinplate container, while the hinged body acting as a closing cap, acts also as a pouring element since it channels the exit of the liquid thru it, so avoiding the liquid to be overflew, both thru the upper base and thru the side faces of the container, this being a drawback.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The pouring stopper described in the present specification finds application in every type of containers configured starting from a body having a general cylindrical or rectangular priematic shape, having an opening device in relation to its upper base, and being mainly designed to be incorporated in tinplate containers, or made of similar materials, containing thick liquid products.

RELATED ART

At present, there are in the market a great variety of containers which are very variable, both in shape and in relation to the materials used in their manufacture, so that, according to the consumers' inclinations and tastes, manufacturers have a tendency to unify both the shape and the materials of containers, in accordance - with said tendency.
A feature distinguishing between containers consists of the existence or the lack of a guarantee seal, and, in this manner, as time goes by, a great majority of containers incorporate opening means guaranteeing their inviolability until being acquired by a customer and uses it for being consumed.
In this manner, a guarantee seal can adopt very different shapes, and it can be defined by any mechanism that, after being opened, allows a container to be closed again, or it can be defined in a simply way, so that, when a container is opened, it partially breaks, so that, afterwards, it cannot be adequately closed.
Among the different container stoppers or closing devices existing in the market, it can be mentioned that used in containers containing thick liquids, such as oil,and defined by a detachable stuck sheet - closing the outlet of the container, and once opened it can be closed again, although this has an inconvenient, that is to say, it has no guarantee seal, and once said sheet has been detached, it cannot be stuck again in an adequate manner due to the presence of oil remaing on the closing base
Another type of stopper used in the market is one configured by a body fixedto the upper base of the container, which, in relation to the outlet orifice for the liquid, has a partially breakable sheet so that the stopper itself is shaped as a body fixed to a second rotary body of a container, closing it, and the opening of which is performed by a turning displacing it toward the inner portion of the own container.
So, the body being leaned and fixed to the container, has an orifice arranged in relation to the container orifice, and perimetrically presenting a small projection, while, centrally to same, a projecting flange is extended so that, when acting on its free end, pressing toward the container interior, the sheet closing the orifice of the own container, breaks partially.
With this arrangement, the guarantee sheet is fixed to the own container, and arranged toward the inner portion thereof, so impelling the liquid to come out directly thru the body integral with the container base, so that the second body which is hinged to the body integral with the container, acts as a simple closing, for which it has a projection pressing on the projection of the body integral with the container, to cause a closing thru a simple pressure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present specification describes a pouring stopper designed to be incorporated preferably in tinplate containers having a general cylindrical or rectangular prismatic shape, and containing thick liquid products, such as oil, the pouring stopper being fixed to a base of a container.
Basically, the pouring stopper of the invention is configured by a hinged union of a pair of bodies, one of them being integral with the corresponding base of a container, in relation to the orifice fitted in same, to allow the liquid to come out, while the second body acts as a closing cap or cover and pouring element.
To this end, the body of the pouring stopper joined to a container having a general cylindrical or rectangular shape, - has centrally an opening plugged by a membrane, and perimetrically to same, it has a projection that, when the turning shaft is fixed to the cap or cover body, defines an inclined branch for conducting the outgoing liquid toward the cap or cover body acting as a pouring element.
In this way, the cap or cover body, in relation to the inclined branch of the body integral with the container, defines a central conduit which is laterally limited by a pair of projections converging one another at their free end, to define a pouring conduit for the product, avoiding this to be spilled, both on the upper recessed base of the container, and thru the side faces thereof.
With this arrangement, when the desired quantity of product has been finally poured, the cap or cover body closes, so that the liquid contained in the central conduit of same is conveyed until the central orifice of the base body, and, consequently, within the container via the orifice thereof.
So, when a user uses the adquired container, he/she will cause the seal membrane to detach, the container orifice being cleared and free for allowing the product to come out, and when closing the cap or cover body on the base body, a perfect closing will be obtained, fitting together the projections of both bodies, so that for facilitating a firm bonding of both bodies one another, said projections have respective protuberances and recesses which correspond one another at the closing, by performing a small pressure, and obtaining a good watertight closing.
In accordance with the described structure, the body of the - stopper cap opens outwardly the container, remaining in relation to the exterior thereof, allowing it to act as a pouring element which avoids the liquid to spill thru its upper base and the lateral faces of the container,as conventionally happens.
In order to complement this description and to aid to a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, the appending drawings, which are a part of this specification, show, by way of illustrative and non-limitings example, the following figures, which represent the most significant details of the invention described in the present specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the pouring stopper in its opening position, allowing the liquid to come out thru a central orifice located in the body fixed and fastened to a container for being conveyed towards a closing body channeling it, so acting as a pouring element.
Figure 2 shows a plan view of the pouring stopper in its opening position, with a body fixed to the container base in relation to the orifice thereof for allowing the producto to come out, and remaining in relation to the central orifice of the fixed stopper body, and plugged by a membrane acting as a guarantee seal.
Figure 3 shows a sectioned view taken along the line I-I of Fig. 1, and showing a perimetric projection at the central orifice closed by a lower detachable membrane acting as a guarantee seal.
Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the liquid coming out from the container, fitted with a pouring stopper, as proposed by the present specification, where it can be seen the manner in which the hinged body acting as a closing element itself, acts also as a pouring element, avoiding the liquid to spill on the upper base of the container, as well as its dripping on its lateral surface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

From the above commented figures, and in accordance with the assigned numbering, it can be seen how the pouring stopper 1, very - useful to be preferably incorporated in containers having a general rectangular prismatic shape, made of tinplate, is configured by a pair of bodies 2 and 3, hinged one another, having a general rectangular plan, one of them being integral with the base 10 of the container 12, and the second body 3, hinged to it, acts as a closing cover, the container 12 containing thick liquid products, such as oil. Said pouring stopper consists of a body 2 integral with the container 12, and it has a central opening, which is closed at its lower part by a detachable membrane 11, while the secong hinged - body 3 is fitted, in relation to its inner fixed and leant face to the body 2, of a pair of lateral parallel projections 7 converging one another at their free end portion, forming both a channeling central conduit 8.
The body 2 fixed to the base 10 of the container 12 has, perimetrically to the opening 5, excepting in relation to its union with the hinged body 3, a projection 6, while the side communicating with the body 3, has an inclined branch 14 which communicates with the central conduit 8 defined by the pair of projections 7 of the body 3.
In this manner, the pouring stopper 1 is located on the upper base 10 of the container 12, in relation to the orifice 9 thereof, to allow the product contained in it, to come out, said orifice 9 being plugged by the detachable membrane 11, which closes fully the opening 5 of the body 2 of the pouring stopper.
With this structure, the membrane 11 acts as a guarantee seal, since to allow the product contained in the container 12 to come out, a user must fully detach the membrane 11, by simply pulling a flange 15 thereof.
Once the membrane 11 has been detached, the liquid can be poured, as shown in figure 4, that is to say, the liquid 13 is conveyed toward the outlet thru the orifices 9-5 via an inclined - branch 14 toward the conduit 8 defined by the pair of projections 7 of the body 3 fitted on its inner face, the liquid being poured without any overflowing on the upper base 10 of the container 12, and no dripping on its side faces.
So, the body 3 acting as closing cover of the pouring stopper 1, acts also as a pouring element, allowing for a perfect flowing of the product without any undesirable overflowing on the container, which gets worse when the content is foodstuffs, since the content can become contaminated.
Also, when a user has poured the desired quantity of the product, he/she will provoke a turning of the body 3 to close it on the body 2, so that the liquid possibly remaining within the conduit 8 will be conveyed via the inclined branch 14 toward the openings 5-9, the liquid turning back within the container 12 without overflowing thru the upper base 10 or its side faces, as it usually happens with many conventional stoppers.
Finally, the pouring stopper 1 has a membrane 11 acting as a guarantee seal, and the body 3 acts a double function: as a closing cap or cover and as a pouring element when opened in relation to the external side of the container 12.
On the other hand, in order to obtain a better fixing and fastening of bodies 2 and 3 when closing, the projections 6 and 7 fitted together, have respective protuberances and recesses which, when closing, are coincidental, improving their fastening and - obtaining a perfect watertight closing.

Claims

A POURING STOPPER, preferably useful to be incorporated in containers having a general cylindrical or rectangular prismatic shape, made of tinplate or other materials, constituted by a pair of hinged bodies one another, having a general rectangular plan, so that one of them is integral with one of the bases of a container, and the other hinged body acts as a closing cap or cover, the containers containing manily thick liquid products, such as oil, characterized in that the pouring stopper (1) has a body (2) which is integral with the container (12), and it is fited with a central opening (5), being closed at the lower part - thereof by a membrane (11), which is fully detachable, and a second hinged body (3), provided, in relation to its fixed and fastened - face to the body (2) at the closing, with a pair of lateral parallel projections (7), which converge on their end side.
A POURING STOPPER, according to claim 1, characterized in that the central opening (5) of the body (2) which - is integral with the upper base (10) of the container (12), is surrounded by a projection (5), except in relation to a union zone with the hinged body (3), this zone being defined by an inclined branch or section (14).
A POURING STOPPER, according to claim 1, characterized in that the pair of lateral parallel projections (7) of the closing body (3), defines a channeling conduit (8) thru which the product comes out.
A POURING STOPPER, according to claim 1 and claim 3, characterized in that the body (3), which is hinged to the body (2) which is integral with the base (10) of the container, - opens outwardly the container (12), acting also as a pouring element.
A POURING STOPPER, according to claim 1, characterized in that the pair of projections (7) of the hinged body (3) acting as a closing cap or cover and pouring element, fit together into the outer part of the projection (6), delimiting the opening (5) of the body (2) which is integral with the base (10) of the container (12), with recesses and protuberances which correspond one another being configured in the closing point.