EP0967158B1 - Lid for a container - Google Patents

Abstract

The cover (2) has an edge seal and a valve opening sealed by a strip-shaped closure element (6). A first strip section (7) is removably connected to the cover near the valve opening, and a second section (8) is fastened near the edge (4) of the cover so as to be difficult to remove. One or both ends of the closure strip have a grip tab (9). The closure strip is of aluminum foil, and is fastened to the cover by a hot-seal process. The strip side facing the cover has a coating of fluorinated hydrocarbon.

Description

The invention relates to a lid for a container according to the preamble of the main claim.

Lids of the type described are mostly used to filled with food, food or the like To close containers which are used to preserve the are filled with a negative pressure. As an example of a method of making a durable one Baked goods are referred to EP 406 213 B1. through the method described in this document it is possible to use a baked good, for example a Cake to bake in a mold. The lid is for the Baking process pressed on loosely. By cooling off the sinking internal pressure is set, the lid becomes firm kept on the container. To remove the baked goods too in a first step, the Vacuum or break the vacuum before the lid can be removed. One way to break the Vacuum consists of using a pointed object Make a hole in the lid, taking care of this Procedures proved to be not very user-friendly to have. The subsequent weight loss can be done by pure mechanical deformations of the cover take place, whereby however, suitable tools and a certain skill are required to bend the lid edge.

A lid is known from DE 196 00 397 C1, which has a tear tab on its edge, which, connected with a scribe notch, both for breaking the vacuum and also serves to remove the cover afterwards. such However, pull tabs are not available with all products can be used and, since they protrude beyond the edge of the lid, disrupt the manufacturing and / or processing process.

Since the for closing containers, which in the Food industry are often used made of glass Cover together with the respective filling material Purposes of pasteurization or sterilization or for Baking of the filling is subjected to thermal processes these lids must have a high mechanical and have thermal stability. This both to undesirable Deformation of the lid during the manufacturing process to avoid, as well as after the manufacturing process, for example, occurring after the filling material has cooled To be able to withstand negative pressures, can be absolute (a few millibars of absolute pressure).

Opening the containers is all the more difficult, ever the absolute pressure inside the container is lower and the larger the container mouth, i.e. the lid is. It then it is necessary to apply a relatively large force, which often the use of technical aids requires.

DE 297 11 363 U1 describes a cap-shaped Lid for closing a container, which one Has vacuum closure with a valve opening. The Vacuum seal is in the form of a sealing film formed which is circular and the valve opening closes. The type of application and attachment of the Slide is not explained. An edge of the sealing film can be gripped manually and forms a handle. On such a cover is also from DE-OS 24 12 892 previously known.

US 3,771,688 A shows a vacuum container with a lid, which has a valve opening. The valve opening is covered by a closure element, which in Form of an adhesive strip is glued on. The closure element can be lifted off with a strip-shaped handle become. A disadvantage is that the closure element simply glued on using an adhesive process is. This is not suitable for higher temperatures and does not have sufficient adhesive force.

WO 96/25343 describes a packaging with a lid, which in one embodiment is provided with a sealing strip is. The sealing strip is glued to the lid. Here too, an edge area is designed as a grip area. This embodiment is also not for higher temperatures suitable, it is also only partially suitable for food.

Another metal lid for vacuum packaging is from the Previously known from EP 0 723 919 A1. Here the lid shows in his centric area a recess that by means of a Sealing element, which is removable, is closed. The sealing element acts like a closure cork.

The present invention is based on the object to create a lid of the type mentioned at the outset, which with a simple structure and simple, inexpensive manufacturability an easy opening of the Container allows.

According to the invention, the object is characterized by features of Main claim solved, the sub-claims show more advantageous embodiments of the invention.

In the context of the invention it is thus provided that the closure element is strip-shaped and on one first part in the area of the valve opening detachable and in a second sub-area with or difficult to solve the lid is connected.

The lid according to the invention is characterized by a number significant benefits. Since the closure element on two different areas attached with the lid is, it is possible to open the Cover. In a first step it will Vacuum is broken, in a second step is using of the closure element, the lid is pulled from the container. The last step is particularly special important if the lid is cap-shaped and has at least a slight flare to it too to hold broken vacuum on the edge of the container.

The invention is therefore based on the basic idea that especially with very high, almost absolute vacuums inside of a container and at the same time very large container mouth diameters removing the lid in two successive sub-steps must take place. In the first The vacuum must be broken by a partial step Connection between container interior and atmosphere is created, in the second step the lid is removed deducted from this previous pressure relief. It must the closure element in most production processes thermal and chemical as well - when pulling the Cover - withstand mechanical stresses, which in the selection of the adhesive medium and the design the closure element and its attachment must be taken into account. It is special required that the lid is food-grade and the relevant food law requirements Fulfills.

According to the invention, it is therefore particularly advantageous if the second portion of the closure element in the area of Edge area of the lid is arranged or attached. By manually pulling the closure element, it is possible to deform the edge of the lid and thus deduct from the edge of the container.

The valve opening is preferably centric Area of the lid arranged. This results in a Simplification in the perforation of the lid.

Within the scope of the invention it is possible to use the strip-shaped Closure element either only at one end with a Handle to provide or both ends of the closure element to train in the form of a handle.

It is particularly important to consider the first and the second part the closure element by means of suitable joining methods to connect with the lid. It is in the frame the invention particularly advantageous, each sealing method use.

According to the invention, the cover is provided with a varnish, the attachment of the first section of the closure element takes place by means of a heat sealing process.

Furthermore, the closure element is made of an aluminum foil to manufacture. Such Aluminum foil is printable, the printing serves on the one hand for the lowest possible heat absorption, furthermore can the surface of the closure element, which the Lid is turned away, can be designed optically. The one Lid facing the bottom of the closure element provided with a plastic coating. This consists of fluorinated hydrocarbons, which food technology and food law are harmless and their melting point well above 150 ° C and thus above that during the Production process in the field of plastic coating occurring maximum temperature. Beyond that fluorinated hydrocarbons in the context of present application proved to be chemically stable, so that a diffusion of vaporous contents, through the valve opening with the Plastic can come into contact in the Plastic mass is omitted. So they stay Adhesive properties of the plastic adhesive and thus the Locking element guaranteed on the lid.

According to the invention, the closure element is also on its attached second portion by means of a heat sealing process. Such a procedure ensures high adhesive or joining forces that open the lid required are.

The adhesive forces described are therefore sufficient on the one hand to seal the valve opening and still a light, manual removal of the closure element in the area to allow the valve opening. On the other hand, primarily near the edge of the lid, high adhesive forces to achieve a manual tearing of the closure element, which forms an opening aid in this Make area impossible. The closure element according to the invention thus fulfills two tasks, it enables breaking the vacuum in the container by exposing the Valve opening and thus a reduction in that on the lid load-bearing static forces and also serves as Tear-off aid or opening aid for removing the lid.

To a in the second portion of the closure element To achieve high adhesive strength, it has proven to be particularly cheap proven if the surface of the corresponding Lid area was plasma-pretreated before the closure element was applied. Such plasma pretreatments are known from the prior art, for example in printing technology. It gets on one Essay by Dr. Georg Bolte referred to, "Surface Treatment - a necessary "evil" when switching to water or UV inks ", Flexoprint, issue 2 / 9th year, February 1998, pages 8-15. The plasma or corona treatment leads to a change in the surface tension, which in turn create a firmer joint connection or Lead glue connection. The surface treatment process is also in the article by Dr. Georg Bolte and Stefan Kluth, New Primer Process for Metal Surfaces for subsequent UV coating ", coating, issue 2/1998, pages 38-40.

A very essential aspect of the present invention thus lies in a part of the closure element easily detachable and in a different area manually connected to the cover in a non-detachable manner. The closure element fulfills two functions, namely the Ventilation of the interior of the container and removal of the lid. When fastening in the area of the second Partial area, which is characterized by high adhesive forces, has the corona treatment of the paint (AcrylLack) of the lid according to the invention as particularly important proved. It results from the procedure according to the invention an adhesive force that is ten to twenty times higher than with conventional joining processes.

Fig. 1

eine Draufsicht auf eine schematische Darstellung eines erfindungsgemäßen Deckels mit dem Verschlußelement,

Fig. 2

eine schematische Teil-Schnittansicht des erfindungsgemäßen Deckels mit dem Verschlußelement (gemäß Fig. 1) ,

Fig. 3

eine Draufsicht auf ein weiteres Ausführungsbeispiel des erfindungsgemäßen Deckels,

Fig. 4

eine schematische Schnittansicht, ähnlich Fig. 2, des in Fig. 3 gezeigten Ausführungsbeispiels, und

Fig. 5

eine vereinfachte Seitenansicht eines erfindungsgemäßen Behältnisses mit dem erfindungsgemäßen Deckel im nicht-aufgesetzten Zustand des Deckels.

The invention is described below using exemplary embodiments in conjunction with the drawing. It shows:

Fig. 1

2 shows a plan view of a schematic representation of a cover according to the invention with the closure element,

Fig. 2

2 shows a schematic partial sectional view of the cover according to the invention with the closure element (according to FIG. 1),

Fig. 3

3 shows a plan view of a further exemplary embodiment of the cover according to the invention,

Fig. 4

is a schematic sectional view, similar to FIG. 2, of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, and

Fig. 5

a simplified side view of a container according to the invention with the lid according to the invention when the lid is not in place.

Fig. 1 shows in a highly simplified, schematic Representation a top view of an inventive Lid 2, which can be placed on a container 1 (see FIG. 5) is. The lid 2 can be cap-shaped or flat be designed, it points in the area of its edge, which can be placed on an edge 3 of the container 1, a seal, not shown. An edge area 4 the cover 2 can be designed so that it additionally is easy to flare to mechanically with a groove 11 of the Edge 3 of the container 1 to be connected.

A closure element 6 is attached to the lid. The The closure element 6 is attached by means of a first section 7 and a second section 8. The first section 7 serves to close a valve opening 5 of the lid 2 (see Fig. 2), during the second subarea 8 serves the closure element 6 firm, i.e. manually not detachable, with the edge area 4 of the Connect cover 2.

The closure element 6 shown in Fig. 1 has a handle 9 on. If manual on the handle 9 in the direction of the arrow is pulled, the first sub-area detaches first 7 from the lid 2. This will open the valve 5 released so that ventilation of the interior of the container is possible. By pulling further on the closure element 6, the lid 2 of the Container 1 is lifted because the second partial area 8, with which the closure element 6 is connected to the cover 2 is, can not be released manually from the cover 2.

Fig. 2 shows a side view of the embodiment of the Fig. 1 in a highly schematic, enlarged view. In particular, details of the Play cover 2 in detail.

3 and 4 show a further embodiment, which differs from the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 differs in that the closure element with a additional handle 10 is provided. By touching the handle 6 and pulling according to the lower arrow 3, the first partial region 7 is released User can then grasp and the second handle 10 in take your hand. By pulling towards the top 3, the lid 2 can then be removed from the container 1, since the second partial area 8 of the closure element 6 does not detach from the cover 2.

Fig. 4 shows the configuration of Fig. 3 in strong simplified side view.

5 shows a schematic side view of a Embodiment of the container 1. This can for example be made of glass. The lid 2 is in schematic side view in the unassembled state shown.

Claims (5)

1. Lid for a container (1), wherein the lid (2) is provided with a seal at least in its edge region (4) which can be placed on the edge (3) of the container and comprises a valve opening (5) which is closed by means of a closure element (6) which is releasable from the region of the valve opening (5), wherein the closure element (6) is strip-shaped and is connected to the lid (2) releasably in a first partial region (7) in the region of the valve opening (5) and non-releasably or so as to be releasable with difficulty in a second partial region (8), wherein at least one end of the strip-shaped closure element (6) is provided with a holding portion (9), characterised in that the closure element (6) is made from an aluminium foil and on its lower side facing towards the lid (2) is provided with a plastic coating made of fluorinated hydrocarbons and in that the upper side of the lid (2) associated with the closure element (6) is provided with a lacquer, in that the region of the lid (2) associated with the second partial region (8) of the closure element (6) is plasma-pretreated before fitting the closure element (6) and in that the first partial region (7) and the second partial region (8) of the closure element (6) are attached by a heat-sealing method.
2. Lid according to claim 1, characterised in that the second partial region (8) of the closure element (7) is arranged in the region of the edge region (4) of the lid (2) .
3. Lid according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the valve opening (5) is arranged in the central region of the lid (2).
4. Lid according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that both ends of the strip-shaped closure element (6) are provided with a holding portion (9, 10).
5. Lid according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the closure element (6) on its upper side facing away from the lid (2) is optically designed with a colour layer.

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