EP2072416B1 - Method for filling a container - Google Patents

Abstract

The container (1) has a reservoir (10) with a filling orifice and a closing element e.g. cap (30). The cap closes the filling orifice, and gripping units (20) permit positioning of the cap in a filling position of the reservoir, near the filling orifice, in which the gripping units are adapted to permit displacement of the closing units (30) from one position to another position to close the filling orifice. The gripping units are present in the form of a ring connected to a neck of the reservoir with a breakable element. An independent claim is also included for a method for filling a container with liquid.

Description

The invention relates to a method for filling a container for packaging a fluid comprising a reservoir with a filling orifice and a closure element, such as a plug, for closing the reservoir.

In the prior art, several solutions are present for packaging a liquid. A conventional package comprises a first portion constituting a reservoir and a second portion constituting a plug. To pack liquid in a package, the liquid must be introduced into the tank and then the tank can be closed with the cap.

For several liquids, a need is identified for cleaning, for example, sterilizing the reservoir and the stopper in a position in which both are ready to receive the liquid. This is to avoid a complex process after the liquid is received in the tank.

• positionner l'élément de fermeture dans une première position, près de l'orifice de remplissage,
• utiliser l'espace entre l'élément de fermeture et l'orifice de remplissage, pour introduire du liquide à l'intérieur du réservoir,
• introduire le récipient dans un bassin de liquide pour, de cette façon, remplir le réservoir avec du liquide,
• déplacer l'élément de fermeture de sa première position vers une deuxième position pour fermer l'orifice de remplissage du réservoir.

EP-A-0 517 121 teaches a method of filling a container with a liquid, wherein the container comprises a reservoir with a fill port and a closure member, such as a stopper, for closing said fill port and wherein the method comprises the following steps :

• position the closure element in a first position, near the filling orifice,
• use the space between the closure element and the filling orifice, to introduce liquid inside the reservoir,
• introduce the container into a basin of liquid to thereby fill the tank with liquid,
• moving the closure member from its first position to a second position to close the reservoir fill hole.

EP-A-0 614 819 discloses a container for packaging a fluid having a reservoir with a filling port and a plug for closing said reservoir. The container is provided with hooking means which are in the form of a ring connected to the neck of the tank with at least one breakable element. Said means make it possible to position the closure element in a filling position of the reservoir, near the filling orifice. Said hooking means are adapted to allow movement of the closure element from this first position to a second position for closing the filling orifice, where a mechanical coupling is provided between the plug and said tear-off ring.

The patent GB 221,019 discloses a combination of a fill port and a cap for bottles adapted to receive hot water. According to this patent, the plug is received in a cylinder.

Inside the cylinder, there are hooking means for receiving elements connected to the plug. With hooking means, these elements can hold the plug in a first filling position. In this filling position, there is sufficient space between the outside of the cap and the filling port to let in this space a liquid such as hot water.

Once the package is filled with a liquid, simply turn the cap to release it from its first position and advance the cap to a second position in which the cap, in its outer provided with a thread, can be turned to close the fill port and ensure that the liquid is kept inside the package.

The solution according to the document GB 221,019 is complicated and expensive because the combination of the filling orifice and the cap requires a multitude of elements to ensure the fixing of the cap in its first filling position and in its second closed position.

In addition, the action of moving the cap from its first position to its second position must be performed by turning the cap. This means that closing the cap is not a simple movement.

In view of the above observations, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for more efficiently filling a container.

That is why the object of the invention is a method for filling a container with a liquid, wherein the container comprises a container with a filling port and a closure member, such as a plug, for closing this filling port and wherein the method comprises the steps of claim 1.

The container used in the process according to the invention is provided with hooking means for positioning the closure element, such as a plug, near the filling orifice. The technical effect of this measurement lies in the fact that the user can, in a first step, prepare the container so that the closure element is placed in a first position to allow a fluid to be introduced into the reservoir. Once the liquid is received in the reservoir, the closure member can, by a relatively simple movement, advance to its final position to close the fill port.

The fact that the closure element is already in a position near the filling orifice has several advantages to facilitate the filling and the final closing of the container. The filling and closing can, for example, be performed with the container already introduced into a basin filled with a fluid. Several containers can thus be placed inside a fluid and, when the tanks of the containers are filled, the closure elements can be advanced to close the different containers.

The hooking elements are in the form of a ring connected to the tank with at least one breakable element. The technical effect resulting from the presence of the breakable elements lies in the fact that when the closure element is advanced towards its final position, to close the filling orifice, the closure element is kept in its final position by means of attachment means.

To open the container, the closure member can be moved from its second position to a position to open the fill port using breakable elements. In this case, the hooking means and the closure element can be moved together to open the filling orifice and thus give access to the interior of the container.

The assembly can, for example, be grasped with the hands and removed from its position to close the filling port to a position to give access to the interior of the container.

In this text, the word "liquid" is used. With the word "liquid", reference is made to all substances such as a fluid, a cream or the like, which can be introduced into a reservoir through a space between the filling orifice and an element closure. This means that a powder or other substance that can slide inside a tank may be affected by the term "liquid".

The method according to the invention has the advantage that the closure element is already in a position and ready to be advanced to a final position to close the container. This means that several manipulations can be performed, such as cleaning or filling the package, even after closing.

According to a preferred embodiment, the method according to the invention the method comprises the step of sterilizing the container through the closure element, in its first position, before filling the reservoir with a liquid.

According to a preferred embodiment, the method comprises the step of cleaning the outside of the container after the liquid has been introduced into the reservoir and the closure element is moved to its second position.

• la figure 1 montre, en perspective, le récipient utilisé dans le procédé selon l'invention avec un réservoir pourvu d'éléments d'accrochage et un bouchon prêt à être introduit dans les moyens d'accrochage,
• la figure 2 montre le récipient selon la figure 1, dans une vue de côté,
• la figure 3 montre le remplissage d'un récipient selon l'invention, le récipient étant plongé dans un bassin,
• la figure 4 montre le récipient, avec l'élément de fermeture avancé vers sa deuxième position pour fermer le réservoir,
• la figure 5 montre, en perspective, le récipient, avec le bouchon dans sa première position,
• la figure 6 montre le récipient, selon la figure 5, avec le bouchon avancé vers sa deuxième position pour fermer le réservoir,
• la figure 7 montre, de façon schématique, l'ouverture du récipient selon la figure 6 et,
• la figure 8 montre le récipient après l'ouverture tel que montré dans la figure 7.

The invention can be better appreciated from reading the description, according to the drawings which accompany it, in which:

• the figure 1 shows, in perspective, the container used in the process according to the invention with a tank provided with hooking elements and a plug ready to be introduced into the hooking means,
• the figure 2 shows the container according to the figure 1 , in a side view,
• the figure 3 shows the filling of a container according to the invention, the container being immersed in a basin,
• the figure 4 shows the container, with the closure element advanced to its second position to close the reservoir,
• the figure 5 shows, in perspective, the container, with the cap in its first position,
• the figure 6 shows the container, according to the figure 5 , with the cap advanced to its second position to close the tank,
• the figure 7 shows, schematically, the opening of the container according to the figure 6 and,
• the figure 8 shows the container after opening as shown in the figure 7 .

The figure 1 shows the container 1 used in the process according to the invention. The container comprises a reservoir 10 and a closure element such as a cap 30. The reservoir 10 is provided, near its filling orifice, with attachment means 20.

As described below, the hooking means 20 are adapted to receive the plug 30 and keep it, in a first position, at a distance from the filling orifice of the tank 10. In addition, the means for hooking 20 are adapted to allow the plug 30 to advance to a second position in order to close the tank 10 by using the plug 30.

In the figure 2 , the container 1, according to the figure 1 , is shown in a side view. The container 10 and the fastening elements 20 are partially shown in cross-section. The figure 2 shows that the reservoir 10 is essentially in the form of a cylinder. It should be noted that the tank 10 can be of any shape depending on the user's preferences. The walls of the cylinder 10 are elongated and the attachment means 20 form an extension of the walls of the tank 10. The attachment means 20 forming an extension of the walls of the tank 10 means that the tank 10 and the Hooking means 20 may be produced in a single step using plastic injections.

Fastening means 20 are attached to the reservoir 10 by means of several breakable elements 21. Between the various breakable elements 20 are several stops 22. These stops 22 are used to remove an end product from a mold. In addition, the fastening means are provided, at their end, with fixing elements 23 making it possible to fix complementary means 33 of the cap 30, once the plug is completely inserted into the fastening elements 20.

The hooking elements 20 and the plug 30 are adapted so that the plug 30 can be introduced into the fastening elements 20 in order to keep the plug 30 in an intermediate position in order to leave open the filling orifice of the tank 10. This means that the space between the reservoir 10 and the attachment means 20 is used to let a fluid enter the tank 10. This is shown in FIG. figure 3 .

In the figure 3 , a basin 40 is shown (schematically) with a liquid 41. The container 1 is completely introduced into the liquid 41. The liquid can enter the tank 10 by the free space between the attachment means 20 and the walls of the tank 10. The introduction of the liquid 41 into the tank 10 is diagrammatically indicated by means of the arrows 42. figure 3 it is clearly shown that the plug 30 has entered the hooking means in an intermediate position. This means that the stopper 30 does not close, in this position, the filling orifice of the reservoir 10.

In practice, the method for filling the container 1 according to the invention can be used with, for example, a few hundred containers 1 in a basin 40. When the containers 1 are filled with the liquid 41, the containers 1 can be closed . After their closure, as shown in figure 1 the outside of the containers 1 can be cleaned and the final product can be made available to a user.

The different positions shown in figure 3 and in figure 4 are reproduced in figure 5 and in figure 6 . In the figure 5 , the container 1 is shown with the cap 30, in its intermediate position, in the attachment means 20. In the figure 6 , the cap 30 is fully advanced to penetrate the attachment means 20. When the cap 30 is advanced towards its final destination, the cap 30 and the attachment means 20 behave as a unit that can not be dismantled. When the cap 30 is completely inserted into the attachment means 20, the latter can no longer be separated from the attachment means 20.

In a first step, the means 23 and 33, as shown in the figure 2 , guarantee the fixing of the cap 30 in the attachment means 20. The means 22 form a stop for defining the final position of the cap 30 relative to the attachment means 20.

In the figure 7 , it is schematically shown the possibility of separating the cap 30 and the attachment means 20 of the reservoir 10. The outside of the reservoir 10 can be held with the fingers. The gripping of the outside of the attachment means can be performed with the other fingers. This exterior is provided with a rib 24 which improves the contact between the fingers and the outside of the attachment means 20.

The user can, initially, rotate the hooking means relative to the tank 10. By pivoting, the breakable links can be destroyed. Then, the user can pull, in an axial direction, the combination of the cap 30 and the attachment means 20 to separate them from the reservoir 10. The rotating movement, indicated by the arrow 71 and the movement in the axial direction, indicated by the arrow 72 are schematically indicated in figure 7 .

When the combination between the cap 30 and the attachment means 20 is separated from the reservoir 10, the result is obtained according to the figure 8 . In this situation, the contents of the tank 10 are available to the user.

The container, as described by virtue of the drawings, can be used for care products for the human body, for cosmetics, pharmaceuticals or even for food products (shampoo, tanning cream or sauces). For the aforementioned products, it is important to have the opportunity to properly clean the packaging before use. The package can be, for example, cleaned in an autoclave. In this case, the package is sterilized (at a temperature of about 120 ° C) in a humid space. There are also several other ways to clean the container before filling.

Claims (3)

1. Method of filling a container (1) with a liquid, in which the container includes a tank (10) with a filling orifice and a closure element (30), such as a stopper, to close this filling orifice and in which the method includes the following steps:

   - positioning the closure element (30) in a first position, close to the filling orifice using catching means (20) connected to the neck of the tank (10) with at least one breakable element (21),

   - using the space between the closure element (30) and the filling orifice formed by an empty space between the catching means (20) and the walls of the tank (10), to introduce liquid into the tank (10),

   - introducing the container (1) into a bowl of liquid to, in this manner, fill the tank (10) with liquid,

   - displacing the closure element (30), from its first position to a second position to close the filling orifice of the tank, and

   - pushing the closure element (30) completely into the catching means (20) to form an inseparable unit with the catching means (20).
2. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that the method includes the step of:

   - sterilising the container (1) by means of the closure element (30), in its first position, before filling the tank (10) with a liquid.
3. Method according to one of claims 1 or 2, in which the method includes the step of:

   - cleaning the outside of the container (1) after the liquid has been introduced into the tank (10) and the closure element (30) is displaced to its second position.

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