Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D55/00—Accessories for container closures not otherwise provided for
  • B65D55/02—Locking devices; Means for discouraging or indicating unauthorised opening or removal of closure
  • B65D55/06—Deformable or tearable wires, strings, or strips; Use of seals, e.g. destructible locking pins
  • B65D55/08—Annular elements encircling container necks
  • B65D55/0863—Plastic snap-on cap-like collars having frangible parts
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
  • B65D41/00—Caps, e.g. crown caps or crown seals, i.e. members having parts arranged for engagement with the external periphery of a neck or wall defining a pouring opening or discharge aperture; Protective cap-like covers for closure members, e.g. decorative covers of metal foil or paper
  • B65D41/32—Caps or cap-like covers with lines of weakness, tearing-strips, tags, or like opening or removal devices, e.g. to facilitate formation of pouring openings
  • B65D41/46—Snap-on caps or cap-like covers
  • B65D41/48—Snap-on caps or cap-like covers non-metallic, e.g. made of paper or plastics

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a tamper-evident and self-sealing closure cap for container orifices, in particular for beer kegs, provided with a filling head carrying the abovementioned orifice on a flange, the cap comprising a covering disc and a adjacent skirt, attached to its periphery and extending from the disc to a certain distance from it and the cap being arranged to be coupled in a unique manner to said collar.
• a cap or a self-sealing tamper-evident closure cap which acts as an overcap, which is fixed to the flange carrying the barrel filling orifice. and forming a barrel head.
• overcap which is fixed to the flange carrying the barrel filling orifice. and forming a barrel head.
• the object of the present invention is to provide protection of access to the contents of the barrel, in particular by the collar and the orifice of the barrel relating thereto, which provides a solution to the aforementioned problem, while providing sufficient convenience to opening, so that the keg is at the same time ready for use, reliable and non-polluting.
• the inner wall of the skirt is provided with at least one elastic locking element with oblique ramp, which in the closed position engages elastically against the aforementioned flange so that the cap is securely anchored to the collar.
• a tear strip is provided in the disc. Thanks to the arrangement of at least one locking element, a unidirectional connection of the cap to the collar is ensured. Thus, the cap can only be removed after the band has been torn. This provides effective protection against the inviolability of the cap and therefore of the barrel that it must protect. Any fraud is thus considerably hampered.
• an essential additional function of said locking elements consists in ensuring a stable fixing of the protective cap on the collar of the barrel.
• peripheral openings are provided in the covering disc, these openings extending radially from the periphery of the disc.
• Each opening corresponds to a locking notch, the respective widths of which correspond substantially.
• the peripheral openings more particularly have a width greater than their height and their number. The limited number of window openings makes it possible to increase their width, thereby widening the visual field, which makes said control easier, faster and more reliable.
• the locking members have substantially the same width as the control openings, which makes them wide enough that the formation of remaining debris is thus avoided, so as to eliminate any form of pollution of the environment.
• the anchoring of the cap to the collar is made more solid
• each locking notch has a straight cross section, one end of which is attached to the edge of the skirt and the other end of which is free and bears against the collar of the barrel, so as to ensure good anchoring of the closure cap to the collar.
• each locking notch has a profile which is adapted to the geometry of the collar of the barrel.
• the clearance between each locking notch and the flange can be reduced to a minimum.
• said tear strip is provided with a pull tab, and more particularly said tab is provided projecting relative to the circular periphery of the cover disc.
• the strip can be grasped more conveniently to tear it off by the tab.
• the tongue is provided in the plane of the cover disc. Thanks to this measure, the tearing of the protective cap begins at its upper surface and the skirt keeps its wall thickness intact.
• the skirt is slightly flared towards the outside, the end of the tongue being situated inside the diameter of the outside periphery of the skirt.
• said tear strip is limited by two rupture sillcns which are provided in at least one of the faces of the cover disc as grooves, preferably on the face facing the barrel flange.
• said tear strip is facilitated and, moreover, the formation of dirty dust in the grooves is avoided.
• the two grooves depart in a divergent manner from the tongue towards the opposite side of the periphery of the disc.
• the average width of the tear tape measured perpendicular to the direction in which it is pulled is such that after the removal of the tear tape, a drawing operation is only possible after the complete removal of the remaining part of the protective cap. This considerably reinforces the reliability of the protection against fraud.
• an uninterrupted cut can be provided at least on a lateral side of the tongue. This considerably facilitates the detachment of the tongue and thus promotes a perfectly clean detachment of the entire strip.
• a slot at the height of the tongue to initiate the tearing and to further facilitate the grip of the tongue.
• said additional notch also extends in the skirt up to a predetermined distance from the edge or to the edge of the skirt in a substantially perpendicular manner.
• an oblong rib is provided substantially in the middle of the tear strip. Said rib prevents early tearing or breaking of the tear strip.
• said edge has a cross section swollen over the entire circumference, preferably substantially constant, forming a peripheral bead at the leading end of the cap.
• the skirt is reinforced and its tearing along the edge is avoided during an untimely installation of the protective cap on the collar of the barrel. This also allows reliable use of thinner walls, saving material that can be achieved.
• Shoulders in the form of bearings forming a stop are provided on the inner surface of the skirt in order to limit the clearance between the collar of the barrel and the protective cap.
• the invention also relates to a method of manufacturing a protective cap, in which the protective cap is formed by injecting a plastic material into a matrix comprising matrix elements, the matrix elements being brought sliding one inside the other in a direction parallel to the axis, the matrix elements sliding one inside the other having recesses and stamps. This process is particularly suitable for a full production of the skirt of the protective cap.
• the protective layer can also be obtained by first making the skirt in the form of a solid and continuous surface. Then, the locking notches are obtained by folding the free edge towards the inside of the surface of the skirt along a fold line which is between 60% and 90%, preferably between 70% and 80% of the height. the skirt, measured from the side of the surface of the skirt associated with the protective cap, the folding being carried out in such a way that at least one of said locking members forms the desired angle with said surface of the skirt.
• said protective cap can also be obtained by mounting two produced parts. separately, in particular an outer protective cap without opening in the skirt and the upper face without openings, and an inner ring with locking members.
• Figures 1 and 3 show a top view and respectively a bottom view of the closure cap according to the invention.
• FIGS. 2 and 5 represent perspective views of the closure cap according to FIGS. 1 and 3 respectively.
• Figure 4 shows a cross-sectional view along line IV-IV of Figure 1 of the closure cap according to the invention.
• FIG. 6 shows a partial cross-sectional view along line VI-VI of Figure 1 of the closure cap according to the invention.
• FIG. 7 represents an enlarged detail view of the closure cap according to the invention.
• FIGS 8 and 9 show other details of the closure cap illustrated in two operating positions.
• beer kegs are provided at the bottom with a flanged tap device which can be connected to a racking device.
• the aforementioned taps must be protected by a cap or overcap as well against soiling as damage that may occur during storage or transport.
• Figure 1 shows a self-sealing closure cap 11 mainly comprising a cover disc 1 and an adjacent skirt 2 which is provided on its inner wall with locking members 5, for example eight, each constituted by a projection inclined upward forming notch, connected by one end to the free edge 3 of the skirt 2 and the opposite end of which is free.
• the free end of each locking notch 5 can be coupled in a unique and irreversible manner by a shaped connection, preferably one-way, in particular by snap-fastening to a barrel head 30 provided with a projecting flange 31. In the coupled position, each locking notch 5 is hooked resiliently against the projecting collar 31 so that the closure cap is firmly anchored to the collar 31.
• a tear strip 6 is provided in the covering disc 1 in order to allow the removal of the closure cap 11 from the collar 31 when the user wishes to have access to the contents of the filled barrel still sealed.
• the barrel is therefore only accessible by tearing the closure cap 1, which in turn covers the closure 32 proper of the barrel, thus effectively protecting the barrel on the one hand against impurities, dust, etc. and on the other hand, against fraud.
• the tear strip 16 is provided with a pull tab 7, which serves as a gripping member for the tear tape 6.
• the tear tape serves as a guarantee tape.
• the tear strip 6 extends in the middle of the cover disc 11 preferably over the entire diameter.
• Two grooves 5 are formed in the cover disc 1, forming two rupture grooves, according to which the tear strip 6 can be torn off. In order to avoid the formation of dust in the grooves 15, these are formed in the inner face of the covering disc 1, which is turned towards the collar of the barrel. This considerably facilitates the tearing of the tear strip 6 in the pulling direction, indicated by the reference F in FIG. 2.
• the protective cap 11 can be removed after tearing off the strip 6 without it being necessary to break the cap 11 up to the edge 3 or the locking notches 5. This provides the important advantage that no debris stains the closure 32 of the barrel withdrawal head 30.
• the extension of the tear strip 16 by the protruding tongue 7 produces a leverage already at the start of the pulling operation according to the arrow F of the strip 6.
• the initial phase of the pull can unfold in the best conditions.
• the tongue 7 does not extend beyond the outside diameter of the edge 3.
• the free edge of the tongue 7 is located in the annular zone between the periphery 13 of the covering disc 1 and the edge 3 of the skirt 2. This allows space-saving stacking while preventing the tongue 7 from being damaged when stacking several caps 11 or during rough handling.
• notches 21 upstream and / or downstream 22 are provided upstream respectively downstream of the direction of traction, each time at the periphery 13 of the disc 1
• the downstream notches 22 can even advantageously extend further in the skirt 2 up to a predetermined distance from the edge 3 or even up to the edge 3, transverse thereto.
• the two grooves 15 are straight and possibly parallel, although preferably mutually divergent from the tongue 7. This gives progressive and reliable tearing of the strip 6 and the tearing of the strip itself is also avoided, because the leverage, which is superimposed on a traction force applied constantly and which increases as the strip is torn off, is compensated by an ever increasing width of the tear strip 6.
• the grooves may have another shape, for example, a slightly curved shape, the curvature being directed towards the diameter, so that the above-mentioned effect is further enhanced.
• the ratio between the circle segment of the tear strip 6 on the traction side, i.e. at the height of the arrow F indicated in FIG. 2, and that on the opposite side is, for example, between 0.5 and 0.9, preferably between 0.6 and 0.8.
• the width of the tear strip 6 measured perpendicular to the center line M, more particularly in the central zone of the covering disc 1, is such that after the removal of the tear strip 6, an effective withdrawal of the barrel will only be possible after the complete removal of the remaining part of the cover 11.
• said width is such that in order to be able to place the withdrawal device on the flange 31, the two remaining lateral parts 21 , 22 of the protective cap on either side of the strip 6 must also be removed, in addition to the removal of the tear strip itself.
• At least one oblong rib 16, 18 is provided parallel to the grooves 15, preferably on both sides of the latter. They have a constant cross section and serve as reinforcement of the groove edges thus avoiding lateral tearing both of the tear strip 6 and of the lateral parts of the covering disc 1 itself, for example, during an abrupt pulling out of the strip 6.
• the ribs 16, 18 in order not to interfere too much with the initial phase of tearing off the strip 6, the ribs 16, 18 only extend from a certain distance from the periphery 13 of the disc, as visible on Figure 3.
• the ribs 16, 18 extend only up to a certain distance from the side opposite to the tear strip.
• an additional similar rib 17 is also provided, advantageously having a wider cross section. This extends in the middle of the tear strip 6 serving as a reinforcing element and thus prevents early tearing or even rupture of the strip.
• the skirt 2 has, for example, a shape of the conical type with a slight slope, as shown in FIG. 2. In this case, even less bulky stacking can be obtained, for example by fitting the caps one into the other.
• the edge of the skirt 2 is formed by a peripheral protruding bead 3, full and uninterrupted.
• the aforementioned bead 3 serves as a reinforcing element for the skirt 2, giving it increased rigidity and preventing it from tearing during the fitting and fixing of the cap 11 on the collar 31.
• the height of the skirt 2 and / or the edge 3, measured along the longitudinal axis L of the cap 11, as well as their thickness are chosen according to the type of barrel flange 31 for which the cap is intended.
• shoulders 28 are provided on the interior surface of the skirt, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 6.
• tubes 12 are also provided on the inner surface of the covering disc 1, so that they further limit the play between the barrel head 30 and the cap 11 to a strict minimum or even 'eliminate.
• the flanges 12 thus serving as circular holding elements are oblong and extend in segments with a substantially constant cross section, along the circular periphery of the barrel head 30.
• the constant cross section is advantageously triangular, so as to avoid any "adhesion" of the cap 11 to the barrel head 30.
• other similar pointed shapes can also be chosen for the cross sections of the tubes 12.
• said locking members 5 are designed so as to act as clips springing out of the barrel flange.
• the operation of the locking members 5 is shown in Figures 8 and 9, each in two positions, respectively A in phantom for the compressed situation of the elastic locking members 5 and B in solid lines for the relaxed situation.
• First the elastic locking members 5 are compressed towards the skirt 2 (position A) by fitting the protective cap 11 against the barrel head 30. After laying on the barrel flange
• the locking members return elastically towards the interior and return to their initial position, thus ensuring a unidirectional connection, in particular by snap-fastening of the cap 11 to the flange 31.
• the cap 11 can no longer be removed until 'after tearing of the strip 6.
• the locking members 5 are pressed against the barrel flange and remain under tension, and thus, after having torn off the strip 6, the remaining parts 23, 24 of the cap are mutually spread towards the side.
• the locking members 5 can be produced in several ways: by matrix elements provided with recesses and being caused to slide one inside the other parallel to the axis (L) of the cap without formation peripheral openings in the skirt 2, which thus extends continuously; but by heating and by bending towards the inside of the clips produced in the extension of the skirt or by the composition of two parts produced separately, that is to say a cylindrical skirt provided with an edge and a ring provided with locking members and, where appropriate, also by movable elements perpendicular to the axis L, by making peripheral openings in the surface of the skirt 2.
• each locking notch 5 also has a continuous and uninterrupted wall surface and in particular the base area of each locking notch 5 is also uninterrupted, as shown in FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 8.
• the skirt 2 is advantageously full, thus ensuring its rigidity, even for relatively thin walls.
• An alternative skirt interrupted by peripheral openings 4, each corresponding to the locking members 5 can however also be envisaged.
• the peripheral openings 4 constitute at the same time control windows, allowing verification as to the good connection between the locking members 5 and the withdrawal head 30.
• the appropriate position of the locking members 5 relative to the flange 31 can be viewed and adapted if necessary.
• the number of locking members 5, respectively the number of peripheral openings 4 amount to a maximum of eight and they extend over most of the edge 3.
• locking members 5, respectively openings relatively large peripherals 4 are obtained, that is to say locking members and / or peripheral openings which extend in a more pronounced manner in the peripheral direction of the skirt 2, rather than in the radial direction of the latter leaving only relatively small portions of material between them forming radial bridges 20.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Closures For Containers (AREA)

Priority Applications (2)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Related Child Applications (1)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=3889477

Family Applications (2)

Family Applications After (1)

Country Status (5)

Cited By (1)

Families Citing this family (6)

Family Cites Families (8)

• 1996
  • 1996-04-12 WO PCT/BE1996/000042 patent/WO1997038913A1/fr active IP Right Grant
  • 1996-04-12 EP EP96908939A patent/EP1007429B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1996-04-12 AU AU52628/96A patent/AU5262896A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1996-04-12 ES ES96908939T patent/ES2263160T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1996-04-12 EP EP05027632A patent/EP1714899A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 1996-04-12 DE DE69635923T patent/DE69635923D1/de not_active Expired - Fee Related

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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