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
  • 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
  • B65D41/34—Threaded or like caps or cap-like covers provided with tamper elements formed in, or attached to, the closure skirt
  • B65D41/3423—Threaded or like caps or cap-like covers provided with tamper elements formed in, or attached to, the closure skirt with flexible tabs, or elements rotated from a non-engaging to an engaging position, formed on the tamper element or in the closure skirt
  • B65D41/3428—Threaded or like caps or cap-like covers provided with tamper elements formed in, or attached to, the closure skirt with flexible tabs, or elements rotated from a non-engaging to an engaging position, formed on the tamper element or in the closure skirt the tamper element being integrally connected to the closure by means of bridges

Definitions

• the invention relates to a tamper-evident system specially intended for a plastic stopper, a stopper comprising such a tamper-evident system and, finally, a container comprising such a stopper, this receptacle being empty or at least partially filled.
• Plastic plugs of the type already known include an annular skirt with internal thread, a transverse end wall, internal sealing means intended to cooperate with the neck of the container for which the plug is intended and, finally, a system inviolability of the type comprising frangible bridges connecting the free end of the skirt and a ring intended to have inwardly projecting hooking means.
• the free edge of the skirt is separated from the free edge opposite the ring, a space existing between them, and the said free end portion of the ring tapers towards the free edge of the skirt.
• the tamper-evident band has a V-shape, a first branch of which is connected to the free end of the skirt by the bridges, a second branch being intended to be placed in blockage under the collar of a container neck.
• the two branches of the tamper-evident band have substantially the same length, and the second branch is provided, towards its upper end, with a bead directed towards the axis of the stopper.
• the tamper-evident band is then subjected to a radial force towards the outside of the stopper, applied towards the bead, that is to say towards the upper part of the tamper-evident band, linked to the skirt. Consequently, the tamper-evident band tends to pivot in the direction indicated by the arrows shown in FIG. 7 of this document, the upper part of the tamper-evident band moving away from the axis of the stopper.
• the skirt has a blocking wall, extending axially towards the tamper-evident band, and situated towards the external face of the skirt.
• the tamper-evident system described in this document has a number of drawbacks.
• frangible bridges are located towards the inside of the cap and the blocking wall towards the outside of the skirt, it is difficult for a consumer to verify at the time of purchase that the bridges are still intact, and thus the container has not been opened.
• the blocking wall described in this document is inoperative in the case of a tamper-evident band comprising a substantially cylindrical wall provided with hooking projections at its free end - not connected to the skirt. Indeed, in this case, during the mounting of the cap on a neck, when the hooking projections pass at the level of the collar, the radial force is exerted on the tamper-evident band towards its lower part, not linked to the skirt.
• the strip tends to pivot in the opposite direction to the case of document WO 96/31404, the lower part of the tamper-evident band moving away from the axis of the stopper, while the upper part is “swallowed” by the skirt, towards the axis of the cap.
• the skirt has, towards its free end, a bearing heel extending obliquely from the inside of the skirt towards the inside of the plug.
• the purpose of the support heel is to prevent the tamper-evident band from entering the cap when it is mounted on a container neck by being moved axially upwards. » O
• the bearing heel is inclined relative to the axis of the plug, and,: 5 on the other hand, its length is insufficient, the latter not extending to the right of the part free end of the ring facing the skirt,
• the invention aims to remedy these drawbacks.
• the tamper-evident system intended for a stopper of the type comprising frangible bridges connecting the free end part of a skirt of the stopper and a ring intended to include hooking means projecting towards its end part opposite the skirt, and inwards, the free edge of the skirt being spaced from the free edge facing the ring, a space existing between them.
• the tamper-evident system further comprises an annular projection on the skirt extending in an axial direction towards and inside the ring from the free edge of the skirt in line with said space and at least in line with the free end of the ring facing the skirt.
• This projection acts as a blocking wall for the ring inwards, so that when the cap is mounted on the neck of the container for which it is intended, the ring is prevented from inadvertently entering the skirt, the bridges being otherwise preserved.
• frangible bridges are located towards the outside of the cap.
• the invention makes it possible on the one hand to provide a plug with bridges that are perfectly visible to a consumer, so that he can check that the container has not been opened, and on the other hand to guarantee the integrity of the bridges after mounting the cap on the container neck.
• the annular locking projection is close, in particular in the immediate vicinity, radially, of the free end part of the ring facing the skirt.
• the annular locking projection is of a radial thickness such that it is little or not deformable when stressed by the ring when the cap is mounted on the neck of the container for which it is intended.
• the annular projection is discontinuous, in particular from place to place.
• the annular projection is continuous.
• the projecting hooking means of the ring consist of the free end part of the ring opposite the skirt folded inwardly of the ring.
• the invention relates to a plastic plug of the type comprising an annular skirt with internal thread, a transverse end wall, sealing means and a tamper-evident system as it has just been. described.
• the invention relates to a container provided with a stopper as just described, this container being empty or at least partially filled.
• FIG. 1 is a perspective view with quarter removed from a cap comprising a tamper-evident system according to the invention
• FIG. 1 is an enlarged view of detail I of Figure 1;
• FIG. 3 is an axial sectional view of the plug of Figure 1;
• - Figure 4 is an enlarged view of detail II of Figure 3;
• - Figure 5 is a half view from below of the cap of Figure 1, provided with the tamper-evident system.
• FIGS. 1, 3 and 5 which show a plug 1 of axis 2, the plug 1 being for example made of plastic.
• the plug 1 firstly comprises an annular skirt 3, on the inner face 4 of which there is a thread 5, for mounting by screwing the plug 1 on the neck of a container (not shown), the said neck comprising an external thread complementary to the thread 5 of the plug 1.
• the skirt 3 further comprises a knurling 6 on its outer face 7, this knurling 6 being intended to facilitate the screwing and unscrewing of the plug 1 by a user, by offering a better grip and limiting the sliding of the fingers of the user on the outer face 7 of the skirt 3.
• the plug 1 then comprises a transverse end wall 8, and, finally, an annular flange 9, which projects on the transverse wall 8 towards the inside of the plug 1, the flange 9 and the skirt 3 being substantially concentric.
• the collar 9 is intended to cooperate, when the plug 1 is screwed on the neck of the container, with the inner surface of said neck, in particular for sealing purposes.
• the plug 1 is provided with a tamper-evident system 10, which comprises a ring 11 connected to the free end 12 of the skirt 3 by frangible bridges 13.
• the thinning is made on the side of the outer face 15 of the ring 11, as illustrated in FIG. 2.
• the frangible bridges 13 are linked to the outer face 15 of the ring 11, towards the thinned area of the end portion 14. Thus, the bridges 13 are located outside of the plug 1.
• edge 16 of the ring 11 located opposite the skirt 3 is axially spaced from the free edge 17 of the skirt 3, a space e existing between them.
• free edge 17 means the imaginary annular surface substantially parallel to the transverse wall 8 and resting partly on the end surface of the free end portion 12 of the skirt 3 (see Figure 4).
• the ring 11 comprises, towards its end portion 18 located opposite the edge 16, hooking projections 19 directed towards the inside of said ring 11.
• the hooking projections 19 are for example in the form of 'A portion of disc, comprising a circular edge substantially supported on the inner face 20 of the ring 1 and a straight edge 21 substantially forming a cord of the ring 11 (see Figure 5).
• the attachment projections 19 may have a different shape.
• the hooking projections 19 may be constituted by the end portion 18 of the ring 11, folded inwardly of the said ring 11.
• the hooking projections 19 are intended to cooperate with the seat of the neck of the container receiving the stopper 1, so that the ring 1 1, once placed on the neck of the container, remains attached to said neck.
• the attachment projections 19 are inclined towards the transverse end wall 8 of the plug 1 so as to ensure better attachment of the ring 11 to the seat of the container neck.
• the establishment of the stopper 1, provided with the tamper-evident system 10, on the neck of the container, is effected by force, the hooking projections 19 on the one hand, and the threads of the neck and the stopper 1 on the other part, constituting an obstacle to the movement of the plug 1 towards the seat of the neck.
• the thread of the neck of the container and the thread 5 of the stopper 1 are then engaged, while the hooking projections 19 are hooked to the seat of the neck of the container. Because the ring 11 is hung on the neck of the container by the hooking projections 19, the plug 1 cannot be unscrewed without breaking the bridges 13.
• the ring 1 1 being hooked, by the hooking projections 19, to the seat of the container neck, it cannot deviate from said seat by following the movement imparted to the plug 1 by the user.
• the end part 12 of the skirt 3 of the plug 1 comprises an annular locking projection 22.
• the locking projection 22 extends substantially axially towards and inside the ring 11, over a length such that the free end 23 of said blocking projection 22 is located, radially, opposite the end part 14 of the ring 11. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the blocking projection 22 is located towards the inside of the plug 1 by relative to the end part 14 of the ring 11.
• the locking projection 22 is close - radially - to the end part 14 of the ring 11.
• the locking projection 22 can be in the immediate vicinity of said end part 14.
• the radial thickness of the blocking projection 22 is sufficient for said blocking projection 22 to oppose this radial movement, the blocking projection 22 being little or not deformed following this stress.
• the ring 11 is prevented from inadvertently entering the skirt 3 of the plug 1 during the mounting of said plug 1 on the neck of the container. Consequently, the radial displacement of the ring 11 relative to the skirt 3 being limited, the force exerted on the frangible bridges 13 connecting the ring 11 to the skirt 3 of the plug 1 is limited. If this force is sufficiently low, there will be no rupture of the bridges 13 during the operation of mounting the plug 1 on the neck of the container. It is understood that the force exerted on the frangible bridges 13 during the operation of mounting the stopper 1 on the neck of the container depends in particular on the radial distance between the locking projection 22 and the end part 14 of the ring 11. Indeed, the smaller this radial distance, the more the displacement of the end portion 14 will be limited, and therefore the less the risk of bridges 13 breaking.
• the locking projection 22 is discontinuous, and comprises twelve elements distributed substantially regularly inside the plug 1.
• the locking projection 22 can in particular be continuous.
• the invention also relates to an assembly comprising a plug 1 provided with the tamper-evident system 10 as just described and a container, the container in question being empty or at least partially filled and comprising a co! with external thread intended to cooperate with the thread 5 of the plug 1.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Closures For Containers (AREA)
• Clamps And Clips (AREA)
• Physical Or Chemical Processes And Apparatus (AREA)
• Discharging, Photosensitive Material Shape In Electrophotography (AREA)
• Structure Of Belt Conveyors (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=8853688

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (9)

Families Citing this family (3)

Family Cites Families (6)

• 2000
  • 2000-08-23 FR FR0010865A patent/FR2813288B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2001
  • 2001-08-13 WO PCT/FR2001/002609 patent/WO2002016217A1/fr active IP Right Grant
  • 2001-08-13 HU HU0300823A patent/HUP0300823A2/hu unknown
  • 2001-08-13 CA CA002420701A patent/CA2420701A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2001-08-13 EP EP01965325A patent/EP1311439B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2001-08-13 PL PL35993301A patent/PL359933A1/xx not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2001-08-13 AU AU2001285991A patent/AU2001285991A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2001-08-13 AT AT01965325T patent/ATE313492T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2001-08-13 DE DE60116110T patent/DE60116110T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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