EP2694387B1

EP2694387B1 - Container closure with a spout and a lid

Info

Publication number: EP2694387B1
Application number: EP11713712.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Bruno KÖNIGSEDER; Franz Lenz; Alexander Stifter
Original assignee: Aptar Freyung GmbH
Current assignee: Aptar Freyung GmbH
Priority date: 2011-04-08
Filing date: 2011-04-08
Publication date: 2016-07-27
Anticipated expiration: 2031-04-08
Also published as: BR112013025927B1; WO2012136230A1; EP2694387A1; ES2587832T3; CN103459257A; MX2013011683A; CN103459257B; MX339249B; BR112013025927A2; US20140034663A1; AR085923A1

Description

The present invention relates generally to product packaging, in particular to packaging of fluid products and the like. The present invention in particular relates to a closure for a container as well as to a container or parts or sub-units of a container with such a closure.
Many different types of packages or containers are available for packaging non-solid products of the type which are capable of flowing, such as fluid or fluidized materials, including liquids, pastes, powders, and the like, which substances are collectively and generically referred to herein as "fluids".
EP 1561701 discloses the technical features of the preamble of claim 1.
Some packages also include a self-sealing dispensing valve, which permits a selected amount of fluid to be discharged from the package, and then reseals to close the package.
Of specific importance are closures for bottles, which contain beverages, especially PET-bottles, which are frequently used for selling beverages, sports drinks etc.
It is an object of the present invention to enhance such a closure, especially for bottles, in which beverages are sold, and it is especially an object of the invention to enhance user friendliness, including the haptic feeling of the user when drinking from a bottle or a container with such a closure.
This object is solved by a closure according to claim 1 and a container with such a closure according to claim 14. Claims 2 to 13 relate to specifically advantageous realizations of the closure system according to claim 1.
The present invention provides a closure for a container that has an interior where a product, especially a fluid, may be stored and that has an opening to the container interior.
According to the invention, said closure comprises a base, while said base comprises a skirt for extending from said container art said opening of the container, a base deck, and a spout projecting upwardly from said base deck to define a discharge aperture.
The deck of the base is at least partly curved and defines a partly curved outer or upper plane. The plane, being curved, essentially extends in a horizontal direction, i.e. in a direction normal or perpendicular to a vertical direction, which is also the discharge or dispensing direction.
Frequently, the closures have an essentially circular cross section, as typically also the apertures of the bottles are circular or tube-like, while the closures are, in frequent cases, attached to the container by screwing, while the bottles have an outer thread and the closure has an inner thread, typically at the inner side of the skirt.
According to the invention, the curved outer or upper plane of the deck has, at its periphery, two elevation regions and two depression regions, extending between said two elevations.
An elevation region means that the periphery of the deck is, in a vertical direction or a direction, higher than in the surrounding areas at its periphery, while a depression region means that the periphery of the deck is lower in a vertical direction or a z-direction than the surrounding area or region.
Preferably, in addition the edge between skirt and deck of the base is at least partly curved and comprises two elevation regions and two depression regions extending between said two elevation regions. The peripheral edge between deck and skirt of the base, which extends around the vertical or z-direction is therefore in the form of a wave. The deck extends from this edge between deck and skirt radially inwardly and into the direction of the spout.
This contour of the deck and the edge between deck and skirt of the base has the advantage that the outer form of the deck and the edge between deck and skirt of the base is adapted to the form of the mouth and/or the lips of the user, who is drinking from said closure, which therefore enhances the "haptic" feeling of the user and enhances therefore user friendliness when drinking.
The user when drinking inserts the spout into his mouth, while his lips are surrounding or enclosing the spout essentially on all sides. With the specific outer contour of the deck of the base, the lips are also typically in close contact with the deck at all positions around the periphery, without however exerting an uneven pressure on the lips while drinking, as it is the case with the typically flat base decks in closures of the prior art.
Additionally also the sealing between lips and closures, especially lips and deck, can be increased, which is especially important for bottles being used during sporting, e.g. when the user is doing sports like bicycle riding or running, where the body of the person is in constant movement and coordination of the movement of the bottle is more difficult.
The closure according to the invention therefore enhances the handling and especially the haptic feeling of the user when drinking from such a closure. Additionally, also the optical appearance of such a closure is enhanced.
The closure according to the present invention can be manufactured and provided separate to the container, and typically it is attached to a container later on by respective attachment means, typically the closure is screwed onto a container, while the closure typically has internal threads, provided at an inner side of the skirt.
However, the closure can be also part of the container itself, or it can be releasably or unreleasably attached to the container or part of the container.
According to a preferred embodiment, said plane of said base deck and/or said edge between said skirt and said base deck comprises at least one maximum elevation point and at least one minimum elevation point being, in a vertical or z-direction, offset by a distance a, wherein said distance a is depending on the circumferential length u of the closure, wherein the distance a follows the following formula: $u * 10^{- 1} \geq a \geq u * 10^{- 3} .$
The distance a is measured in a z-direction or a vertical direction, which is typically essentially a discharge direction through the opening of the closure, and is thereby preferably determined to be arranged such that it is especially suitable for creating an outer form of the closure, which best adapts to the form of the lips of the user, in order to further enhance the haptic feeling of the user when drinking.
According to a further preferred embodiment, the deck of the closure comprises two maximum elevation points, which are, in a peripheral direction, offset by 180° or nearly 180°, preferably offset by 180° +/- 10° and more preferably by 180° +/- 5°.
The maximum elevation points can be in fact singular, maximum elevation points, like the maximum of a curve, but the maximum elevation "points" can be also extended, e.g. the elevation can be constantly high for a certain peripheral extension, preferably however for at maximum an angle of 10° or 5° in a peripheral direction.
Preferably the closure comprises also two maximum depression points, which are, in a peripheral direction, also offset by 180° or nearly 180°, preferably 180° +/- 10° or more preferably by 180° +/- 5°. As explained with respect to the maximum elevation points, the maximum depression points could be also essentially singular points, but could also extend about a certain peripheral extension, preferably at maximum over an angle of 10° or 5° in a peripheral direction.
Preferably the height of the maximum elevation points are identical, and the same is true for the maximum depression points, while the height is measured in a z-direction or a vertical direction or essentially in a discharge direction through the opening of the closure.
According to a specifically preferred embodiment, the closure has a deck which comprises two maximum elevation points being positioned at an x-axis being normal to a vertical direction or a z-direction (or z-axis), or being normal to the discharge direction, while the deck comprises two maximum depression points, positioned at a y-axis being normal to said x-axis and being normal to said vertical or z-direction (z-axis). From a side view, the deck essentially therefore shows a wave-form, with two maximum elevations arranged along an x-axis and therefore 180° offset and with two maximum depressions (or "minimum elevations") arranged at an y-axis, being 90° offset to the x-axis.
Preferably, the contour of this plane and/or the edge is continuous, with no steps or discontinuous gradient inbetween.
This specific form is especially suitable to adopt to the form of the mouth and the lips of a user drinking from this closure by taking the spout into his mouth and between his lips, so that his lips come in contact with the deck of the closure.
The deck extends completely around the spout, while however the radial extension of the deck around the spout might vary, also depending on the form of the spout and the cross-section form of the closure.
Furthermore, also the transition from deck to spout is preferably curved and continuous The spout is in the form of a dome, and preferably the dome has an essentially circular cross-section or is rotation- symmetric, especially axially symmetric to the z-axis or vertical direction.
The dome-shaped spout defines an opening, typically an opening with a circular cross section. The vertical or z-axis extends typically in a discharge direction through the aperture of the spout and typically exactly through the middle of the spout and/or aperture, as the spout is arranged centrally. The vertical or z-axis also typically extends parallel to a tube-like or essentially cylinder-like skirt of the base.
However, in another embodiment, the dome-shaped spout can also have an essentially oval cross-section or another cross-section, deviating from a circular cross-section.
The definition and arrangement of the vertical or z-axis is hereby, however, not influenced, and the above definition and arrangement of the vertical or z-axis can apply to all embodiments covered by this invention.
In one preferred embodiment, the cross-section of the dome-shaped spout is extended or elongated in the x-direction, therefore in the direction in which also the maximum elevation points or regions are arranged, as this is especially of advantage for the haptic feeling of the user and especially adapts even better to the contours of mouth and lips of the user.
Preferably, the spout is a separate element, being inserted into and/or attached to the base, and frequently the spout is also made from a material being different from the material of the base.
However, it is also possible that the spout is an integral element of the closure and consists of the same material. Especially depending on the application and the manufacturing process, the expert can choose the one or the other realization.
According to a preferred embodiment, the closure comprises a lid moveable between a closed position, occluding the discharge aperture, and an open position. Preferably, such a lid is attached to said base by a hinge structure.
Such a lid has the advantage that the discharge aperture could be safely closed when the lid is in its closed position, while the lid can be easily switched open and rotated around the hinge, so that the lid comes into an open position at one side of the base, in order to enable the user to bring the bottle and the closure to his mouth and to drink.
Preferably, the angular position of the hinge structure is in proximity to the position of an elevation, preferably therefore in a position where the x-axis cuts or crosses the skirt, as the user would typically hold the bottle such that the lid or lid member is sidewards when being opened, so that the lid does not disturb the user while drinking. When arranging the hinge structure essentially at a location where the x-axis cuts the skirt of the base, automatically also the elevations and depressions and the form of the plane of the base deck and/or the edge between deck and skirt are arranged such that it best fits to the outer contours of the mouth and/or lips of the user.
Preferably, the lid has a peripheral skirt defining a peripheral termination surface adapted to contact or confront the base deck, when the lid is in its closed position. This has the advantage that the skirt of the lid also essentially covers a major or the complete area of the deck of the closure, covering the spout when the lid is in its closed position.
In one of the preferred embodiments the deck defines a peripheral shoulder at an outer side, recessed below the corresponding main portion of the deck, while preferably the recessed shoulder confronts the peripheral termination surface of the lid skirt, when the lid is in its closed position. This has an additional advantage that there is also a sealing effect between the outer skirt of the lid on the one hand and the base on the other hand. Furthermore, the optical appearance of the closure is enhanced, especially when the lid is in its closed position.
The present invention also relates to a container or a container unit with a closure as described above, and it is therefore fully referred to the above-mentioned explanations of the closure.
Typically the closure and the container are manufactured and provided separately, and the closure is attached to the container, e.g. by screwing on the container, but also other attachments means, like welding, gluing etc. are possible without any restrictions.
Numerous other advantages and features of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, from the claims and from the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1: schematically shows a side view of an embodiment of the closure according to the present invention, with the lid being in its closed position,
Fig. 2: schematically shows a front view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, with the lid being in its closed position;
Fig. 3: schematically shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the closure of the present invention with its lid being in the open position;
Fig. 4: shows schematically a front view of an embodiment of the closure according to the invention, with its lid in the open position;
Fig. 5: shows a cross section of the embodiment of the closure according to the present invention along an x-z-plane, with the lid in its open position; and
Fig. 6: shows the outer form and contour of a skirt of a closure according to an embodiment of the present invention over the complete circumference from 0° to 360°, as if it were cut at one position and shown over its complete longitudinal or circumferential extension.

Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of a closure 10 of the present invention having a base 100 with a skirt 120 having a peripheral wall 122 and a lid 200, being attached to the base by a hinge member 300, while the lid 200 is in its closed position.
The skirt 120 and the peripheral wall 122 of the base 100 has an essentially circular cross section (in a plane parallel to an x-y-plane or perpendicular to the vertical or z-axis), so that the closure can be attached to a (not shown) container having a tubular or circular opening, like standard bottles.
Attached to the base is a temper-evident element 140, the specific arrangements of these temper-evident elements are known to the expert.
The lid 200 has a skirt 220, which extends, in its closed position, downwards such that lid peripheral termination surfaces 222 contact or confront the outer contour of the deck 140 of the base 100 or the edge 150 between skirt 120 and deck 160.
Additionally the lid 200 comprises a nose or a protrusion 240, which is arranged at a front side of the lid 200, so that the user can open the lid and rotate it around the hinge means from its closed position shown in Fig. 1, into an open position, see e.g. Fig. 3.
Fig. 2 shows the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, however in a front view, however most elements, as explained with respect to Fig. 1, are also visible in Fig. 2. In order to avoid repetition it is therefore fully referred to the description of Fig. 1.
Additionally in Fig. 2 another temper-evident element 400 is shown. This additional temper-evident element indicates whether the lid has been opened once or not. The temper-evident element 400 is in the form of an anchor and is attached to the lid 200, while predetermined breaking points 420 are provided at the linkage between the anchor and lid 200.
The anchor-like temper-evident element 400 is arranged in a pocket 80 within the base 100, while the outer-edges 440 of the anchor-like temper-evident element are arranged such that when pulling the lid 200 and thereby the anchor upwards, namely when opening the lid, these outer elements 440 abut against stoppers provided in the pocket 80, so that the anchor element can not move outside of the pocket 80, so that the predetermined breaking points 420 will break. The anchor-like temper-evident-element 400 will then move downwards and will fall deeper into the pocket 80 of the base 100, clearly indicating to the user that the lid had already been opened at least once.
The side and the front view of the embodiment of the closure of the present invention shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 do clearly show the contour of the at least partly curved outer or upper plane of the deck and of the edge 150 between skirt or skirt walls 122 and deck 160 of the base 100, see also Fig. 3, and also the outer contour of the peripheral termination surface 222 of the lid 200, which corresponds to the form of the outer deck 160 at its outer peripheral position and of the edge 150. Both Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 clearly show the "wave form" of the contour, with a maximum elevation 152 at the front side, see Fig. 2 and Fig. 1 on the left side, and on the back side of the closure, namely in the area of the hinge, see Fig. 1 on the right side. Furthermore clearly the two depressions 154 can be seen on the left and right side of the closure, see Fig. 2 left and right and Fig. 1 in the middle, here only the left side depression is visible.
This embodiment therefore only comprises two depression areas 154 and two elevation areas 152 and all together two maximum elevation points 154 and two maximum depression points 152, each being offset in peripheral direction by 180°, while each maximum elevation point is offset by 90° of the next maximum depression point.
Fig. 3 shows an embodiment of the closure of the present invention with a lid 200 being in its open position. It has to be noted that Fig. 3 shows the closure before its first closing, therefore with the anchor-like-temper-evident element 400 still attached to the lid and before, for the first time, inserted into the pocket 80 of the base.
In the peripheral view of Fig. 3, both the deck 160 with its curved surface and the edge 150 between skirt 120 and deck 160, as already explained with respect to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, is clearly visible, as well as the dome shaped spout 180, extending upwards from the curved plane of the deck 160 and comprising the aperture 182, which opens an access to the interior of the closure and the container, to which the closure is attached (the container is not shown in the figures).
Fig. 3 especially very well shows the continuously curved plane of the deck 160, with two depression areas 154, on the left and right side, and the two elevation areas 152 at the front side, where the pocket 80 is arranged, and at the backside, where the hinge is arranged.
In Fig. 3, as well as in Fig. 2, the z-axis is indicated, being the vertical axis, while an x-axis is normal to the z-axis and extends from the front side to the back side of the closure, i.e. from the middle of the pocket to the middle of the hinge. In this respect is also referred to Fig. 5, which shows a cross-section through an embodiment of the closure according to the invention, while the cross-section is done in the x-z-plane.
Fig 4. shows a front view of an embodiment of the closure of the present invention, which shows again very well the contours of the dome-shaped spout 180 and the deck 160 and the edge 150, with its two depressions 154 on the side, in Fig. 4 on the left and the right side, essentially in the area of an y-axis. However, only one elevation 152 is visible, namely the one at the front side, the one at the back side is covered by the dome-shaped spout 180.
It has to be noted that in Fig. 4 also parts of the lid are still visible above the deck 160.
As it can be well seen in Fig. 4, the deck 160 defines a peripheral shoulder at the outer side, recessed below the corresponding main portion 162 of the deck. This recessed shoulder 164 confronts the peripheral termination surface 222 of the lid skirt 220, when the lid 200 is closed, and it leads to an additional sealing effect between the lid 200 and the base 100, when the lid 200 is in its closed position.
Fig. 5 shows a cross section through an embodiment of the closure according to present invention, while the cross section is along the x-z-plane.
Fig. 5 very well shows the dome-shape of the spout 180 with the aperture 182 provided therein. The lid 200, shown in its open position, has at its inside a tubular extension 280, which fits into the opening of the aperture 182 and thereby occludes the aperture 182 when the lid is in its closed position.
The elevations and also the two maximum elevation points 152 are arranged in the x-z-plane, therefore at the front side and the back side of the closure, which, however, is shown in Fig. 5 on the left side and right side. The cross-section of figure 5 through the x-z-axis therefore directly goes through these two maximum elevation points 152.
The base 100 is provided with internal threads 124 at its skirt wall 122 and the threads 124 enable the closure to be screwed onto a container, having corresponding outer threads.
Fig. 6 shows a skirt of a closure according to an embodiment of the invention in a "scrolled open" view over the complete circumference from 0° to 360°. Of course, the skirt does not exist in this form, however the drawing clearly illustrates the contour of a closure according to the present invention over its circumference.
In Fig. 6, clearly two maximum elevation points 154, offset in a peripheral direction by 180° are visible, while each maximum elevation point 154 is offset by 90° of the next maximum depression point 152, so that there are in total two maximum depression points 152 and two maximum elevation points 154, each point 90° offset of the next point (one maximum depression point 152 is in this figure indicated twice, namely at the same position 0° and 360°).
The distance a in a vertical direction or z-direction between a maximum depression point 152 and a maximum elevation point 154 is, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, dependent on the circumference or the length of the circumference u of the skirt, i.e. the length measured from position 0° to 360°, a full length of a circumference.
The distance a is, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, determined according to the following formula: $u * 10^{- 1} \geq a \geq u * 10^{- 3}$
With a closure having a diameter of e.g. 28 mm, a minimum value of a would be in the area of about 0,09 mm and a maximum value would be about 8,8 mm.
It is clear to the expert that various amendments can be made to the embodiment, without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the attached claims.

Claims

A closure (10) for a container that has an interior where a product may be stored and that has an opening to the container interior, said closure (10) comprising a base (100), that base (100) comprising
- a skirt (120) for extending from said container at said opening,

- a base deck (160), and

- a spout (180) to define a discharge aperture (182),
characterised in that
said spout (180) is dome-shaped and projecting upwardly from said base deck (160) and in that
said base deck (160) extends completely around the spout in a peripheral direction and has an at least partly curved outer or upper plane, said outer or upper plane having, at its periphery, two elevation regions (152) and two depression regions (154) extending between said two elevation regions (152).
A closure (10) according to claim 1, wherein additionally an edge (150) between said skirt (120) and said base deck (160) is at least partly curved, having at two elevation regions (152) and two depression regions (154) extending between said two elevation regions (152).
Closure (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said plane of said base deck (160) and/or said edge (150) between said skirt (120) and said base deck (160) comprises at least one maximum elevation point and at least one minimum elevation point being, in a vertical or z-direction, offset by a distance a, wherein said distance a is depending on the circumferential length u of the closure, wherein the distance a follows the following formula: $u * 10^{- 1} \geq a \geq u * 10^{- 3} .$
Closure (10) according to one of the claims 1 to 3, wherein said plane of said base deck (160) and/or said edge (150) between said skirt (120) and said base deck (160) comprise two maximum elevation points (152) being, in a peripheral direction, offset by 180°.
Closure (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein said plane of said base deck (160) and/or said edge (150) between said skirt (120) and said base deck (160) comprise two maximum depression points (154) being, in a peripheral direction, offset by 180°.
Closure (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein said plane of said base deck (160) and/or said edge (150) between said skirt (120) and said base deck (160) comprise two maximum elevation points (152) positioned in an x-z-plane, with an x-axis being normal to a vertical z-direction,
and comprising two maximum depression points (154), positioned in an y-z-plane, said y-axis being normal to said x-axis and normal to said vertical z-direction.
Closure (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein said spout (180) is a separate element, inserted into said base (100).
Closure (10) according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising a lid (200) movable between a closed position, occluding the discharge aperture (182), and an open position.
Closure (10) according to claim 8, wherein said lid (200) is attached to said base (100) by a hinge structure (300).
Closure (10) according to claim 8 or 9, wherein said hinge structure (300) is, in peripheral direction, arranged in close proximity to an elevation region or a maximum elevation point (152).
Closure (10) according to one of the claims 8 to 10, wherein said lid (200) has a peripheral skirt (220) defining a peripheral termination surface (222) adapted to contact or confront the base deck (160) when the lid (200) is in its closed position.
Closure (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the base deck (160) defines a peripheral shoulder (164) at the outer side, recessed below the corresponding main portion (162) of the base deck (160).
Closure (10) according to claim 12, wherein the recessed shoulder (164) confronts the peripheral termination surface (222) of the lid skirt (220), when the lid (200) is closed.
Container or container unit with a closure (10) according to one of the preceding claims.