EP0911271A1 - Closure for bottles and bottle therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a closure device for a bottle or similar container having an opening for the outlet of the product contained inside, this device comprising a stopper capable of being detachably retained on the bottle. It comprises: a retaining member (6) secured to the stopper (5) and able to be introduced into the opening of the bottle (1). attachment means (20) located inside the bottle, the retaining member (6) and the attachment means (20) being shaped so as to allow the detachable retention, by snap-fastening, of the member retaining (6) by the hooking means (20), one of the bottle (1) or the stopper (5) further comprising at least one ramp (25) inclined relative to the direction (X) of introduction of the retaining member into the opening of the bottle and the other of the bottle (1) or the stopper (5) comprising at least one positioning member shaped to bear on this ramp, so that the drive in rotation of the stopper from its stopper position is accompanied by an axial displacement of the latter in the opening of the bottle and by a disengagement of the retaining member (6) and the hooking means (20 ). The invention also relates to a bottle equipped with such a device. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to a new closure device for a bottle or similar container having an opening for exit of the product contained inside, this device being of the type comprising a plug capable of being detachably retained on the bottle.

We know by French patent 1,520,693 in the name of company filing a closure device in which the neck glass of the bottle is provided on its radially outer surface with a annular bead and in which the cap comprises a skirt cylindrical internally provided with snap-on bosses on the aforementioned bead.

Ramps are made on the outside surface of the neck and the plug comprises positioning members intended to cooperate with these ramps to bring the plug into an angular position predetermined with respect to the bottle when it is put in place.

Such a closure device is not entirely satisfactory.

In particular, the bosses intended for the snap-fastening of the cap on the neck of the bottle have a relatively thick weak because otherwise they could not cross the annular bead to click on it. As a result, the locking of the plug is not always straightforward and noticeable by the user, which is annoying from the point of view of user comfort.

In addition, dirt can accumulate on the annular bead, which detracts from the aesthetics and can besides hindering the snap-fastening.

Finally, it is difficult to produce the bead with precision and the ramps on the glass neck and these additionally present enough often molding defects.

We know from the European patent application EP-A-0186 548 a closure device comprising a closure having a portion cylindrical friction fitting in a part mounted on the neck of the bottle.

Such a device does not offer complete satisfaction, in particular in terms of user comfort, by the way the cap is retained in the part mounted on the neck of the bottle.

• un organe de retenue assujetti au bouchon et apte à être introduit dans l'ouverture du flacon,
• des moyens d'accrochage situés à l'intérieur du flacon,

l'organe de retenue et les moyens d'accrochage étant conformés de manière à permettre le maintien amovible, par encliquetage, de l'organe de retenue par les moyens d'accrochage,The subject of the present invention is an improved closure device which overcomes all or part of the aforementioned drawbacks, and which is characterized by the fact that it comprises:

• a retaining member secured to the cap and capable of being introduced into the opening of the bottle,
• attachment means located inside the bottle,

the retaining member and the hooking means being shaped so as to allow the retaining member, by snap-fastening, to be retained by the hooking means,

One of the bottle or stopper further comprising at least one ramp inclined with respect to the direction of insertion of the member retainer in the opening of the bottle and the other of the bottle or plug comprising at least one positioning member shaped to take support on this ramp, so that the rotational drive of the stopper from its stopper position is accompanied by a axial displacement of the latter in the opening of the bottle and of a disengagement of the retaining member and the attachment means.

Thanks to the invention, the retaining member and the means attachment can be achieved without thickness constraint if this cannot be introduced into the opening of the bottle. We can thus easily realize, if desired, the retaining member and the attachment means so as to cause the emission of a noise clearly noticeable by the user, which is how assured to have closed the bottle correctly.

Furthermore, the fact of housing the attachment means to the inside of the bottle protects them from possible dirt and the neck of the bottle can be completely free on its surface radially external means for retaining the plug, which can be aesthetically advantageous.

In addition, the fact of providing the cap with a retaining member intended to be introduced inside the bottle ensures that the plug can be made with an external dimension which has more necessarily to be greater than the diameter of the neck, to the difference of the closure device described in French patent 1 520 693 cited above. In other words, it is no longer necessary in the invention to provide between the plug and the outer surface of the neck special attachment means.

It is possible to equip with a closure device according to the invention a bottle whose neck has an outside diameter equal to or close to the thickness of the bottle. The plug can be made so that present an exterior surface which is in continuity with the outer surface of the bottle, once it is in place on it.

A closure device according to the invention can also equip a bottle without a neck or with a very low neck.

In a particular embodiment, the inclination of the or each ramp is chosen so that the axial movement of the cap, when the user brings it back on the bottle, is accompanied by a rotation bringing it into an angular position predetermined in relation to the bottle.

In a particular embodiment, the closure device has two ramps converging on a line extending transversely to the direction of introduction of the retaining member in the opening of the bottle, preferably two flat ramps forming a re-entrant dihedral whose edge extends perpendicular to the direction of introduction of the retaining member into the opening of the bottle.

In a particular embodiment, said attachment means are formed on a ring fixed in the opening of the bottle, the or each aforementioned ramp is preferably also formed on the Ring.

In a particular embodiment, the bottle having a neck, the ring has an inner skirt engaged in the neck of the bottle, having a length greater than that of the collar, the skirt being in further axially split on its part extending inside the bottle and out of the neck to form at least two elastic tabs constituting said attachment means.

In a particular embodiment, the retaining member is consisting of a rod provided with an annular groove. The tongues said elastic then have at least one relief capable of snap into said groove when the plug is in place on the bottle.

In a particular embodiment, the ring has, on its upper face, a recess in the form of a re-entrant dihedral, defining two flat ramps converging towards each other and joining along a straight line perpendicular to the direction introduction of the retaining member into the opening of the bottle, the ring also being crossed by an orifice serving for the passage of the product contained inside the bottle and at the introduction of said retaining member, the diameter of this orifice preferably being chosen so that the top edge of the hole is substantially tangent to the upper edge of each ramp.

In a particular embodiment, the cap has two positioning members, aligned along a straight line perpendicular to the direction of introduction of the retaining member into the opening of the bottle and located on either side of the retaining member.

The subject of the invention is also a bottle or similar container. equipped with a closure device as mentioned above.

The subject of the invention is also a plug capable of be used for the production of a closure device as defined above, characterized in that it is provided with a retainer to be introduced into the opening of the bottle, capable of snapping removably on hooking means provided inside the bottle and preferably at least one positioning member for ensure the angular positioning of the cap when closing the bottle.

The invention also relates to a ring characterized by the fact that it has a tubular skirt to be introduced into the opening of the bottle and, on its upper face, a shaped recess for ensure the angular positioning of the cap when closing the bottle.

Thanks to the invention, a plugging device can be produced. particularly aesthetic, can be adapted to a large number of flasks or similar containers.

The realization of the ramps in the form of a recess on the upper face of the ring makes it possible to have a neck whose surface exterior is perfectly cylindrical of revolution, therefore to obtain a purer line for the bottle, which can help improve its aesthetics.

In addition, the or each ramp can be made closer to the geometric axis of rotation of the cap than this is the case with example of the closure device described in the French patent 1 520 693 cited above.

As a result, more leverage can be achieved important when you turn the cap, which causes without exerting a significant effort, a relatively axial displacement large plug with a small rotational stroke, one eighth for example enough to cause the disengagement of the retaining member and attachment means.

The retaining member can also advantageously be shaped so as to seal the opening of the bottle, so that it is not necessary in this case to provide a sealing skirt on the cap specific.

The production of the plug is then simplified.

The plug can be made of a rigid material if the attachment means are elastically deformable.

There is then great freedom in the choice of material in which the plug is made and in particular it is possible to use inexpensive and / or aesthetically advantageous materials, which could not necessarily have been used in the plugging described in the aforementioned French patent 1,520,693, the plug to be produced according to this earlier patent in a material flexible enough to allow elastic crossing of the annular bead of the neck by the bosses of the plug.

• la figure 1 est une vue schématique, en perspective, d'un flacon et d'un dispositif de bouchage selon l'invention, avant sa mise en place,
• la figure 2 représente isolément et en perspective le bouchon de la figure 1,
• la figure 3 est une vue schématique, en coupe axiale, de la bague de la figure 1, et
• la figure 4 est une vue schématique en coupe du col du flacon muni de la bague, après encliquetage de l'organe de retenue du bouchon.

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will emerge on reading the description which follows, of a non-limiting exemplary embodiment of the invention, and on examining the appended drawing in which:

• FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a bottle and a closure device according to the invention, before it is put in place,
• FIG. 2 represents in isolation and in perspective the plug of FIG. 1,
• FIG. 3 is a schematic view, in axial section, of the ring of FIG. 1, and
• Figure 4 is a schematic sectional view of the neck of the bottle provided with the ring, after snap-fastening of the stopper retaining member.

The body of the bottle 1 shown in FIG. 1 is produced by example in glass and has a neck 2 at its upper part, symmetrical of revolution around an axis of symmetry X. It is intended to contain a perfume for example.

The neck 2 is provided at its upper end with a rim annular 3 radially projecting outwards and it is intended to be fitted with a closure device according to the invention, comprising on the one hand a ring 4 to be fixed on the neck 2 and on the other hand a plug 5 which is shown in more detail on the figure 2.

This plug 5 comprises a retaining member 6, two positioning 7, only one of which is visible in the figure 2, and a body 8 whose external shape is linked to the appearance of the body from the bottle.

The retaining member 6 is constituted, as can be seen again in FIG. 4, by a symmetrical solid rod of revolution around the X axis, which connects at one end to the body 8 and which has a groove near the other end annular 9, which has a V-shaped profile. The edge upper 10 of this groove 9 has a diameter which is greater than that from its lower edge 11.

The retaining member 6 is produced in the example described in a rigid plastic and it is attached to the body 8. In variant, it could be made in one piece with the body 8 by molding or machining.

The free end 12 of the rod forming the retaining member 6 is substantially conical, converging away from the body 8. This tip, convex outwards, facilitates centering of the organ retainer 6 when inserted into the ring 4.

Ring 4 has, as we can see more particularly in Figure 3, an inner tubular skirt 14 intended to be inserted into the collar 2 and an outer skirt 15 co-axial with the first and shaped to snap onto the rim annular 3 of the neck 2. The skirt 15 is provided for this purpose with a annular bead 31 radially projecting inward.

The inner skirt 14 has an upper part 16 continuously cylindrical of revolution around the X axis and part lower cut by four longitudinal slots 17 extending parallel to the X axis and equally distributed around this axis.

When the ring 4 is in place, as illustrated in the figures 3 and 4, the upper end 18 of the slots 17 is located slightly in below the plane of the shoulder 19 by which the neck 2 is connected to the rest of bottle 1.

The slots 17 delimit between them four tongues 20, radially flexible towards the outside, each having their radially inner face and near their end lower relief 22.

Each relief 22 has, in section in a section plane containing the X axis, a substantially triangular shape suitable for throat profile 9.

The inner skirt 14 has, in the example described, at its upper part 16, an outside diameter chosen to adjust to tightly in the neck 2 of the bottle 1.

This ensures sealing of the mounting of the ring 4 on the bottle 1.

A recess 24 is produced on the upper face of the ring 4.

This recess 24 is delimited by the outer skirt 15 and by a web of material 30 which joins the internal skirt 14 to the skirt exterior 15.

The recess 24 defines two ramps 25 converging towards a common edge 26 extending along a diameter of the outer skirt 15. In the embodiment described, each ramp 25 is flat and inclined substantially at 45 ° relative to the X axis, the recess 24 having a V-shaped cross section.

The distribution orifice 26 opens into the recess 24 being delimited by two elliptical edges whose apex 27 is tangent to the upper edge 28 of the ramp 25 concerned.

The ring 4 is made for example of polypropylene, in polyamide or polyacetal.

The mounting of the ring 4 on the bottle 1 is carried out in inserting the internal skirt 14 into the neck 2 of the bottle until the snap-fastening of the outer skirt 15 on the annular rim 3.

To stop the bottle, the retaining member 6 is introduced in the ring 4 until the reliefs 22 cross, by elastic deformation of the tongues 20 outwards, the edge lower 11 of the groove 9 to snap into the latter.

During the descent of the plug 5, the organs of positioning 7, which each have a dihedral shape, the stop of which is perpendicular to the X axis and whose section, observed in a plane of section perpendicular to this edge, is substantially complementary of the cross section of the recess 24, come into contact with the ramps 25 to transform the axial movement of the plug into a rotational movement, until the edge of the organs of positioning 7 reaches the bottom of the recess 24.

The snap of the retaining member 6 between the tongues 20 is accompanied by a clearly perceptible click by the user.

The retaining member 6 is advantageously dimensioned, as this is the case in the example described, in order to be able to seal so sealing the upper part 16 of the inner skirt 14, so as to stopper the bottle.

In this case it is not necessary to provide other means on the cap to seal the closure of the bottle.

In a variant not shown, the retaining member does not provide not tight sealing of the bottle and a stopper is provided sealing skirt applied for example on the surface radially outer of the outer skirt 15.

To open the bottle, the user turns the cap around of the X axis of the neck 2.

The positioning members 7 are supported during this rotation on the ramps 25 so that the rotation of the plug is accompanied by an upward axial translational movement, which causes the reliefs 22 and the groove 9 to disengage.

This disengagement can be carried out without excessive effort on a relatively small rotational travel, for example of an eighth of turn, thanks to the fact that the positioning members 7 and the ramps are relatively close to the X axis, which provides a relatively large lever when the user turns the cap by resting on the side faces of the plug furthest away of the X axis.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the example of realization which has just been described.

One can in particular, in a variant not shown, realize the retaining member so as to make it elastically deformable, the attachment means can be in this case indifferently rigid or flexible.

One can for example realize the retaining member in the form of two flexible legs which would snap each into an opening or on a relief of the inner skirt of the ring.

We do not go beyond the scope of the invention by not using no ring 4 and conforming the retaining member so that it hangs directly on the bottle, for example on the shoulder 19 connecting the neck 2 to the body of the bottle 1.

We can still mold in one piece with the bottle the attachment means and / or means for angularly positioning the plug.

In this case, the bottle has an open bottom during molding of the attachment means. Then the bottle has a bottom reported.

However, it is easier to use an attached ring because the latter can be easily molded with precision in material plastic and the ring can be easily shaped to fit place in an existing bottle.

It is also possible, without departing from the scope of the present invention, use other means than those described to position angularly the stopper with respect to the bottle, if necessary.

Claims (15)

Corking device for a bottle or similar container having an opening for the exit of the product contained inside, this device comprising a cap capable of being detachably retained on the bottle, characterized in that it comprises: a retaining member (6) secured to the stopper (5) and capable of being introduced into the opening of the bottle (1), attachment means (20) located inside the bottle, the retaining member (6) and the attachment means (20) being shaped so as to allow the detachable retention, by snap-fastening, of the member retaining (6) by the hooking means (20), one of the bottle (1) or the cap (5) further comprising at least one ramp (25) inclined relative to the direction (X) of introduction of the retaining member into the opening of the bottle and the other of the bottle (1) or the stopper (5) comprising at least one positioning member (7) shaped to bear on this ramp, so that the 'driving in rotation of the stopper from its stopper position is accompanied by an axial displacement thereof in the opening of the bottle and a disengagement of the retaining member (6) and the means of hooking (20). Device according to claim 1, characterized by the plug has two positioning members (7) aligned along a straight line perpendicular to the direction of introduction of the retaining member in the opening of the bottle and located on either side on the other side of the retaining member (6). Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the fact that the inclination of each ramp (25) is chosen in such a way so that it transforms an axial movement of the plug, when the user brings it back on the bottle, in a rotation bringing it into a predetermined angular position relative to the bottle. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it has two ramps converging towards a line extending transversely to the direction of introduction of the retaining member in the opening of the bottle, preferably two flat ramps (25) forming a re-entrant dihedral whose edge extends perpendicular to the direction (X) of introduction of the retained in the opening of the bottle. Device according to any one of the claims previous, characterized by the fact that said hooking means (20) are formed on a ring (4) attached to the bottle (1), this ring (4) being preferably fixed by snap-fastening on the bottle. Device according to any one of Claims 1 to 4 and according to claim 5, characterized in that each ramp (25) is formed on the ring (4). Device according to claim 6, characterized by causes the ring (4) to have a recess on its upper face (24) having a V-shaped cross section defining two flat ramps (25) converging towards each other and joining along a line perpendicular to the direction (X) of insertion of the retaining member in the bottle, the ring also being passed through by an orifice (26) serving for the passage of the product contained in inside the bottle and at the introduction of said retaining member (6), the diameter of this orifice being preferably chosen so that that the upper edge (27) of the orifice is substantially tangent to the upper edge of each ramp (25). Device according to any one of Claims 5 to 7, the bottle having a neck (2), characterized in that said ring (4) has an inner tubular skirt (14) engaged in the neck (2) of the bottle, this skirt (14) having a length greater than that of the neck and being axially split on its part extending to inside the bottle (1) outside the neck (2) to form tabs elastic (20) constituting said attachment means. Device according to any one of the claims above, characterized in that said retaining member (6) consists of a rod provided with an annular groove (9). Device according to claims 8 and 9, characterized by the fact that said elastic tabs (20) have at the at least one relief (22) able to snap into said annular groove (9) when the stopper (5) is in the stopper position of the bottle. Device according to the preceding claim, characterized by the fact that said annular groove (9) has a V-shaped profile, the lower edge (11) of this groove further having a diameter lower than that of its upper edge (10). Device according to any one of the claims above, characterized in that the retaining member (6) is shaped to seal the opening of the bottle. Bottle fitted with a closure device as defined in any one of claims 1 to 12. Plug (5) capable of being used to produce a closure device as defined in any one of Claims 1 to 12, characterized in that it is provided with a retaining member (6) to be introduced into the opening of the bottle, capable of snap in removably onto hooking means provided for the inside of the bottle, and preferably at least one positioning (7) to ensure the angular positioning of the plug when closing the bottle. Ring (4) intended to be used for the realization of a closure device, characterized in that it comprises a tubular skirt (14) to be introduced into the opening of a bottle and, on its upper face, a recess (24) shaped to ensure the angular positioning of the cap when closing the bottle.

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