EP1552963B1 - Lid with improved sealing system of the pouring spout - Google Patents

Abstract

The lid (1) has a monoblock type disk shaped lid body (17) including return supports (16) that are arranged transversally with respect to a U-shaped draw bar (21), where the supports are raised with respect to an opening plane and are arranged at the level of a preset height. The draw bar is movable between the level of height of the supports and the plane, such that the supports are in contact with the bar for plating a flat closing element (12) during the displacement of the draw bar in the direction of closing a fluid product e.g. varnish, discharge orifice.

Description

The present invention relates to the field of covers for paint cans and other containers whose contents are discharged through a spout type opening. The invention relates more particularly to a lid with an improved pourer shutter system.

Many systems are known in the prior art for closing off the opening of pots of paint, generally comprising return springs to maintain a closure zipper in the closed position on a spout. The document FR 2,536,044 thus presents a lid provided with an adjustable flow-rate pourer of the "guillotine" type involving a shutter-shaped shutter member slidably mounted on the edge of the outlet orifice of the pourer. The operator acts on the control lever, usually by means of a trigger, so as to cause a retreat of the shutter which releases a more or less small opening depending on the position of the lever.

During the opening or closing phase, existing systems tend to decompose the mechanical actions of the return springs. The kinematic mode required by these systems has the disadvantage of impairing the accuracy of the weighting to be performed during mixing operations, due to some jerky movements produced during the closing operation.

He is also known, by the document EP 1 142 728 , a lid of paint cans with a metering device and a spout closure system comprising a shutter plug connected to a pull rod integral with a pusher element disposed opposite the spout on the lid or on the handle. Pressing on the pusher element drives the contraction rod controlling the opening of the guillotine-type shutter hatch, this hatch being movable in translation by sliding on the spout. The pull rod is provided with teeth for hanging the end of a spring attached to the lid.

In this type of closure system of the prior art, or the traction springs have an action that is not parallel to the opening plane of the spout. This results in a friction and a lack of precision of the displacement of the shutter door.

Finally the document WO 97/34775 discloses a lid for cans of paint comprising a spout which through a closure system comprising a closure member allows a partial or total opening of the spout respectively by sliding or tilting the closure member. This type of system has the same type of disadvantages as the documents cited above.

There is therefore a need for lids with a spout closure system that is more flexible to use.

The object of the present invention is therefore to eliminate one or more of the disadvantages of the prior art by defining a lid with an improved system for closing a spout which is simple in design and practical and allows a direct action on the closure element of the spout. . It will be noted that, since this is a mechanical problem of opening and closing, the invention is independent of the fluid contents of the pots, that is to say that they may be other products. only paint or varnish. In the remainder of this presentation, it will be understood that the word paint can designate both paint and other fluids to mix or need to be poured with great precision.

To this end, the invention relates to a lid with an improved pourer closure system for a container for a fluid product, comprising a lid body provided with gripping means and an outlet orifice of the fluid product included in a plane said aperture plane, a substantially flattened closure member for closing the outlet orifice and means for driving the closure member in translation in said opening plane, said translation drive means including in the less a pull rod connected by fastening means to the closure element and comprising a first removable end portion removably a pusher means adapted to drive said rod in the direction of opening, characterized in that the lid body comprises at least one said support rest support disposed transversely relative to said rod to hook a first end of a elastic element, the traction rod comprising at least one attachment means disposed on the side of its first end portion and for fixing a second end of the element elastic so that the latter solicits the pull rod in a direction parallel to the plane of opening towards the return support.

According to another feature of the invention, the translational drive means comprise a single traction rod comprising a U-shaped curved intermediate portion connected to the closure element by the fastening means, the two branches of the single rod being each integral with the pusher means at their end.

According to another feature of the invention, which said first end portion of the pull rod is hook-shaped and secured to a transverse portion of the pusher member.

According to another feature, the pull rod is in the form of a circumflex accent.

According to another feature, the outlet orifice of the fluid product is located at the edge of the cover and the pusher element is articulated in a handle secured to the lid located opposite the outlet orifice, a needle-shaped element. the pusher member abuts on a vent provided in the lid and for balancing the pressures between the inside and the outside of the container.

According to another feature, the cover body comprises two transverse return supports arranged parallel to the opening plane to each fix a spring-type elastic element each attached to a fastening means of a separate rod or portion of a pull rod .

According to another feature, which the return supports are raised relative to the opening plane and arranged at a determined height level, the pull rod being movable between the height level of the return supports and the opening plane of so that, during the displacement of the rod in the closing direction of the orifice, the return supports come into contact on the rod to press the closure element.

The invention thus increases, in closure, the bearing force of the closure member on the spout of the lid. This results in improved sealing in this position.

According to another feature, the attachment means is formed by a folding of the rod for hanging the elastic member.

According to another feature, the pulling rod comprises an intermediate portion curved in a loop to form said attachment means for hanging the elastic member.

According to another feature, the elastic member is a tension spring and the return supports are integral with the cover body.

According to another particularity, the lid body is adapted for containers having a cylindrical upper portion provided with an interlocking ring, and in which clamping means are provided on a lower edge of the lid body to clip at the interlocking crown of the container to be coated, the clamping means comprising at least two elastic locking fingers adapted to automatically come into abutment against the annular surface of the ring when the lid body is positioned on the container.

According to another feature, which the clamping means comprise four equidistant fingers each forming a Y, one of the branches is shortened so as to abut by an abutment surface on both the upper cylindrical portion and the underside of the interlocking crown.

Advantageously, the invention thus provides an interlocking lock, that is to say that the lid can not be extracted naturally by deformation but only by acting on the clips formed by the fingers to unlock them. way to separate the lid of the container.

According to another feature, a y-branch protrudes from a flat horizontal surface of the lid body and constitutes a lever which, by centrifugal radial thrust, disengages the lid of the container.

According to another feature, the body of the lid comprises a central opening and a mixer assembly rotatably mounted around a shaft passing through said central opening.

• la figure 1 est une vue en élévation représentant un mode de réalisation préféré de l'invention ;
• la figure 2 représente est une vue plane de dessus illustrant un mode de réalisation préféré de l'invention ;
• la figure 3 représente une vue en élévation d'un mode de réalisation préféré de l'invention ;
• la figure 4 représente une vue en coupe illustrant un couvercle selon l'invention en position partiellement insérée sur un récipient ;
• la figure 5 représente une vue en coupe analogue à la figure 4, mais illustrant le couvercle verrouillé sur le récipient,
• la figure 6 représente le profil en forme d'accent circonflexe de la tige de traction.

The invention, with its features and advantages, will emerge more clearly on reading the description given with reference to the accompanying drawings given by way of non-limiting examples in which:

• the figure 1 is an elevational view showing a preferred embodiment of the invention;
• the figure 2 represents is a plan view from above illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention;
• the figure 3 is an elevational view of a preferred embodiment of the invention;
• the figure 4 is a sectional view illustrating a lid according to the invention in a partially inserted position on a container;
• the figure 5 represents a sectional view similar to the figure 4 but illustrating the lid locked on the container,
• the figure 6 represents the circumflex shaped profile of the pull rod.

The invention will now be described with reference to figures 1 , 2 , 3 and 6 .

The lid (1) according to the present invention consists firstly of a lid body (17) in a form adapted to the dimensions of the container (6) for fluid to be covered, for example substantially shaped a disc as illustrated in the figure 1 . The cover body (17) can be provided in a first embodiment, as shown in FIG. figure 1 , a lower edge forming an annular flange (15) which comprises clamping means. Elastic locking fingers (32) acting as clips constitute these clamping means by being applied to the crimping bead existing on paint cans and other containers used in particular in the automotive industry. This type of clamping makes it possible to fix the lid (1) on the container (6). It should be noted that the invention is not limited to this first embodiment alone, fixing the cover can be obtained by any clamping device or cam closure, bayonet, with screwing, or other known technique.

The lid body (17) is provided with gripping means (4) and an outlet port of the adjacent fluid product. A neck (11) for the passage of the fluid product to the outlet orifice, made by molding and whose slice is strictly flat, extends from the annular flange (15) This neck (11) has for example a spout rounded spout. The plane in which is included the opening opening is called in the following plan of opening.

The cover body (17) is of the one-piece type in the embodiment of the figures 1 and 2 , the gripping means (4) being formed during molding. The body of the lid (17) comprises a central opening (14) and a mixer assembly rotatably mounted about a shaft (62) passing through said central opening (14). A cylindrical bore or equivalent means, serving as a bearing for pivotally mounting the shaft (62) of a stirrer, can thus be provided in the center of the cover body (17). An exemplary drive member (63) is illustrated at figure 1 for rotating the stirring member (61).

The lid (1) according to the invention comprises an improved system for closing the spout comprising a very limited number of parts to achieve the kinematic opening and closing of the outlet orifice. Among these parts, there is a closure element (12) substantially flattened to close the outlet orifice and drive means (20, 21) of this closure member (12) in translation in said opening plane. The translational drive means comprise at least one traction rod (21) connected by fastening means (13) to the closure element (2) and a pusher means (20) adapted to drive said rod (21). in the sense of openness. The latter comprises a first end portion (212) detachably integral with the pusher means (20), as shown in FIGS. figures 1 and 3 . This pusher means (20) may consist of an equivalent trigger or control lever articulated for example on a handle molded with the lid body (17). In one embodiment of the invention, the outlet orifice of the fluid product is located at the edge of the lid (1), while the pusher element (20) is articulated in a handle integral with the lid (1) located opposite the outlet orifice and a needle-shaped element the pusher element (20) abuts a ventilation opening in the lid (1). This ventilation opening makes it possible to balance the pressures between the inside and the outside of the container (6).

In the remainder of this disclosure, it will be understood that the word rod may designate any one-piece connecting element for transmitting the traction movement on the closure element (12). The fastening means (13) connecting the rod (21) to the closure element (12) can be made during the molding of the closure element (12). The latter consists for example of a closure zipper having on the top means for anchoring one or more traction rods (21).

As illustrated by Figures 1 to 3 , the pull rod (21) may be single and comprise a U-shaped intermediate portion (210) connected to the closure element (12) by the fastening means (13). The two branches of the single rod are each integral with the pusher means (20) at their end (212). Each end portion of the pull rod is for example hook-shaped and secured to a transverse portion (200) of the pusher member (20). The U-shaped rod can be connected to the closure element (12) by its middle portion (210) with cams or a similar anchoring system. As a variant, a plurality of substantially parallel traction rods can replace the U-shaped pull rod (21). In the example of FIGS. Figures 1 to 3 , the pull rod (21) is of the wire bonding element type, made for example of rigid plastic material, metal material or alloy or any other material capable of undergoing tensile stresses.

The shutter system further requires return means for sealing the outlet. For this, the cover body (17) comprises at least one said support support (16) disposed transversely relative to the pull rod (21) for hooking a first end of a resilient element (22) such as a tension spring. The second end of this elastic element (22) is attached to a means attaching the pull rod (21) disposed on the side of the first end portion (212) of the rod (21) relative to the location of the return support (16). In other words, the pull rod (21) comprises a fastening means adapted to fix the second end of the elastic element (22) so that this elastic element biases the pull rod (21) in a direction parallel to the plane of opening to the return support (16). These supports (16) can be two in number and consist of one-piece bridges with the body of the cover (17).

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the cover body (17) comprises two transverse return supports (16) arranged parallel to the opening plane to each fix a resilient element (22) of spring type each attached to a means for attaching a separate rod or portion of a pull rod. In the embodiment of Figures 1 to 3 , the U-shaped pulling rod (21) comprises on each of its branches a curved intermediate looping portion (211) to form this fastening means making it possible to hook the elastic element (22). Alternatively, it can be envisaged a fastening means in the form of a bend formed on the rod (21) or rod portion ensuring the attachment of the elastic member (22).

The return supports (16) are raised relative to the opening plane and arranged at a determined height level which is sufficient for the pull rod (21) to be movable between this height level and the opening plane. As illustrated in figure 6 the pull rod (21) may be in the form of a circumflex accent. In addition, the height level determined corresponds to the level of height reached locally by the pull rod (21) so that, when moving in the direction of closing as indicated by the arrow A of the figure 6 , the return supports (16) come into contact therewith for pressing the closure element (12). The fact that the transverse return supports (16) for hooking the springs are in contact with the connecting element constituted by the pulling rod (21) makes it possible to increase the support force of the closure zipper. on the spout. This results in improved sealing in this position.

The invention will now be described in connection with the figures 1 , 4 and 5 .

In the embodiment of Figures 4 and 5 the cover body (17) is adapted for containers (6) having a cylindrical upper portion with an engagement ring (64) or crimping bead. The clamping means are arranged on a lower rim forming an annular flange (15) of the cover body (17) for clipping to the engagement ring (64) of the container to be covered. For this, the clamping means comprise at least two elastic locking fingers (32) able to automatically come into abutment against the annular surface of the ring when the body of the cover (17) is positioned on the container (6). These locking fingers are for example formed integrally with the annular rim (15), as shown in FIG. figure 1 . They are spaced regularly from each other on the circumference of the lid (1).

The clamping means comprise, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, four equidistant fingers (32) each forming a Y whose one of the branches is shortened so as to bear on both the upper cylindrical portion of the container (6) and on the underside of the interlocking ring (64). In reference with Figures 4 and 5 , each locking pin (32) has a declivity surface (34) which rests on the engagement ring (64) during the introduction of the lid (1) on the container (6). As represented in figure 4 , the contact between the declivity surface (54) of the locking finger (32) and the ring gear (64) causes the finger (32) to be moved outwards, the lid (1) being pressed on top of the container ( 6).

Each locking finger (32) further includes an abutment surface (36) immediately above the sloping surface (34). When the lid (1) is completely positioned and locked on the container (6), this abutment surface (36) is placed under the crown (64), as shown in FIG. figure 5 . Therefore, when the lid (1) is depressed on the container (6), the elastic return of the locking fingers (32) induces an approximation of the finger (32) against the container (6) while the abutment surface is engaged in support against the underside of the crown (64), thus ensuring a fixing of the lid (1).

To allow removal of the cover (1), each locking pin includes a release lever (31) which is for example long enough to exceed the level of the annular flange (15). This branch of the Y may protrude from any plane or substantially flat and horizontal surface of the cover body (17), sufficiently clear for a user to easily access the lever (31) thus formed. A radial pressure on the release lever (31), exerted outwardly, therefore allows to disengage the abutment surface (36) of the interlocking ring (64). The removal of the lid (1) is thus greatly facilitated. In addition, this type of cover lock (1) has the advantage of being able to fit on existing boxes having variable dimensions.

Advantageously and in a nonlimiting manner, the locking fingers (32) are of integral construction with the annular rim (15). It should be understood, however, that the annular flange is optional. In addition, as shown in the embodiment of the figure 3 , the lid according to the invention can be adapted to a very wide variety of containers, such as water-based pots that do not require stirring. The dosing principle allowed by the lid of the figure 3 offers great precision.

One of the advantages of the invention is to provide a lid (1) with shutter system simple design and provided with elastic elements (22) such as springs working only in tension and not in torsion.

It should be obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention allows embodiments in many other specific forms without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed. Therefore, the present embodiments should be considered by way of illustration, but may be modified within the scope defined by the scope of the appended claims, and the invention should not be limited to the details given above.

Claims (14)

1. Lid with improved system for sealing the pouring spout intended for a container (6) for a fluid product, including a lid body (17) provided with gripping means (4) and an outlet orifice for the fluid product in a plane referred to as the opening plane, a substantially flat closure element (12) for sealing the outlet orifice and means (20, 21) for driving the closure element (12) in translation in the said opening plane, the said means (20, 21) for driving in translation including at least one traction rod (21) connected by fixing means (13) to the closure element (12) and comprising a first end portion removably joined to a pushing means (20) capable of driving the said rod (21) in the direction of opening, characterised in that the lid body (17) includes at least one support referred to as a restoring support (16) disposed transversely with respect to the said rod (21) in order to engage a first end of a resilient element (22), the traction rod (21) comprising at least one attachment means disposed on the side of its first end portion and making it possible to fix a second end of the resilient element (22) so that this latter loads the traction rod (21) solely in a direction parallel to the opening plane towards the restoring support (16).
2. Lid (1) as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the means (20, 21) for driving in translation include a single traction rod (21) comprising an intermediate portion (210) curved in a U shape and connected to the closure element (12) by the said fixing means (13), the two branches of the single rod each being joined to the pushing means (20) at their end.
3. Lid (1) as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the said first end portion (212) of the traction rod (21) is in the form of a hook and is joined to a transverse portion (200) of the pusher element (20).
4. Lid (1) as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein the traction rod (21) has the shape of a circumflex accent.
5. Lid (1) as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the outlet orifice of the fluid product is situated at the edge of the lid and the pusher element (20) is articulated in a handle joined to the lid (1) situated opposite the outlet orifice, and wherein an element in the form of a needle of the pusher element (20) comes into abutment on an aeration orifice provided in the lid (1) and intended to balance the pressures between the interior and the exterior of the container (6).
6. Lid (1) as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein the lid body (17) comprises two transverse restoring supports (16) disposed parallel to the opening plane in order to fix each resilient element (22) of the spring type each fastened to a separate attachment means of a traction rod or portion of a traction rod (21).
7. Lid (1) as claimed in Claim 6, in which the restoring supports (16) are raised relative to the opening plane and disposed at a predetermined height, the traction rod (21) being movably mounted between the height of the restoring supports (16) and the opening plane in such a way that during the displacement of the rod (21) in the direction of closing of the orifice, the restoring supports (16) come into contact on the rod in order to apply the closure element (12).
8. Lid (1) as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 7, wherein the attachment means is formed by a bend in the rod (21) making it possible to engage the resilient element (22).
9. Lid (1) as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 8, wherein the traction rod (21) comprises an intermediate portion (211) curved in a loop to form the said attachment means making it possible to engage the resilient element (22).
10. Lid (1) as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 9, wherein the resilient element (22) is a traction spring and the restoring supports (16) are integral with the lid body (17).
11. Lid (1) as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 10, wherein the lid body (17) is adapted for containers (6) having a cylindrical upper portion provided with a fitting ring (64), and wherein clamping means are provided on a lower edge of the lid body in order to clip onto the fitting ring (64) of the container (6) to be covered, the clamping means comprising at least two resilient locking tabs (32) capable of coming automatically to bear against the annular surface of the ring (64) when the lid body (17) is positioned on the container.
12. Lid (1) as claimed in Claim 11, wherein the clamping means comprise four equidistant tabs (32) each forming a Y of which one of the branches is shortened such that it comes to bear against an abutment surface (36) both on the said upper cylindrical portion and on the bottom of the fitting ring (64).
13. Lid (1) as claimed in Claim 12, wherein one branch of the Y extends beyond a horizontal flat surface of the lid body (17) and constitutes a release lever (31) which by a centrifugal radial pressure separates the lid (1) from the container (6).
14. Lid (1) as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 13, wherein the lid body (17) comprises a central opening (14) and a mixer unit mounted rotatably about a shaft (62) passing through the said central opening (14).

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