EP3655340B1 - Container - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a container with a base, side walls and an opening surrounded by a peripheral rim, the container having a closure device for the opening with a frame and a lid.

It is often common to use active substances, for example from the group of laundry detergents, dishwashing detergents, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, agricultural auxiliaries, building materials, dyes, adhesives or foodstuffs, in a flowable or pourable form, which are stored in a container as pre-metered units. Plastic containers, which can be transparent or semi-transparent, among other things, are known for storing commercially available quantities of these active substances.

Such containers typically include a closure assembly having a frame and a lid, the frame being connected to the peripheral rim of the container. The container can be opened or closed by the cover of the closure device.

Often locking means are provided to hold the lid in the closed position on the frame even when external unintended forces are applied to the frame or the lid. In particular, the closure device should be childproof. From the GB2299808A a container according to the preamble of claim 1 is known.

From the WO 2014/111284 A1 is known a closure device with lid and frame, the lid being held in a closed position by two locking means arranged on a same edge of the closure device. The locking means each have a latching tab and a latching hook, with the latching hook engaging behind an undercut of the latching tab in the closed position of the lid in order to prevent the lid from opening. With both locking means, the locking between the latching hook and the latching tab can be released by an actuating element that is accessible from the outside, the actuating element being coupled to the latching hook or the latching tab. The child safety of this locking device results from the fact that the two locking means must be unlocked at the same time to open the lid, which is difficult for a child to achieve.

The problem with such containers is that the connection between the frame of the closure device and the container can often be detached too easily. The container can then be opened by removing the entire locking device, thus bypassing the childproof lock.

The invention is therefore based on the object of specifying a container that offers good protection against unintentional opening of the lid, is childproof and at the same time can be opened easily when used as intended.

This invention is solved by the subject matter of patent claim 1. Further embodiments and advantageous refinements are the subject matter of the subclaims.

According to the invention, a container with a base, side walls and an opening surrounded by a peripheral edge is specified, the container having a closure device for the opening with a frame and a lid, the frame being connected to the peripheral edge of the container by means of a snap-in connection is, with a holding force of the frame at the peripheral edge F _H is. The rigidity of the side walls of the container is so low that the container is deformed when a force F ₁ acts on the side walls, so that a release force F _L on the latching connection caused by the force F ₁ acting on the side walls does not exceed the holding force F _H .

The rigidity of the side walls is understood here and in the following to mean the resistance which the side walls oppose to deformation by a force acting on them, in particular a force component acting perpendicularly to the surface normal.

The container has the advantage that it is impossible or very difficult to detach the frame of the closure device from the container by pressing on the side walls. If a force is exerted on the side walls of the container, they buckle and become deformed - at least if the force exceeds a threshold value which, however, is selected to be so low that even a force exerted by a child can cause a deformation. As a result, it is not possible to transfer sufficient force to the peripheral edge of the container by pressing on the side walls in order to overcome the holding force of the frame on the peripheral edge. In other words, pressure on the sidewalls does not result in displacement of the outer edge sufficient to release the frame's gripping force on the peripheral edge.

The deformation of the side walls thus prevents the side walls from transmitting force components to the peripheral edge that are large enough to detach the frame from the peripheral edge.

According to the invention, at least the bottom and the side walls of the container are made of deep-drawn plastic. Compared to an injection molded container, this has the advantage that smaller wall thicknesses of the container and thus lower rigidity of the side walls can be achieved.

According to one embodiment, the side walls of the container can be reinforced by a cardboard banderole. Such a banderole has the advantage that it does not appreciably increase the rigidity of the side walls, but protects the container from damage and at the same time can stiffen the side walls in the vertical direction. At the same time, the band offers a way of labeling the container.

Such a banderole can be glued to the side walls at least in places.

According to the invention, the wall thickness of the side walls is at least 0.1 mm and at most 0.8 mm. As has been found, wall thicknesses of less than 0.8 mm, in particular less than 0.5 mm, are sufficient for producing a stable container, but are also sufficiently easily deformable.

The peripheral edge of the container has a U-shaped cross-section and the wall thickness in the area of the peripheral edge is at least 0.5 mm and at most 1.8 mm. The U-shaped cross section of the peripheral edge has the advantage that the frame can be fixed to the peripheral edge by means of latching hooks. A wall thickness of between 0.5 mm and 1.8 mm in the area of the peripheral edge gives the edge sufficient stability and protects it from bending, which could result in the locking connection between the frame and the edge becoming loose.

According to one embodiment, the side walls are reinforced at least in regions by ribs. Such ribs typically contribute to increased rigidity of the sidewalls. However, such an increase in rigidity is undesirable, at least in some areas of the sidewalls. In other areas, for example in the corners or in areas in which there are no locking means for connecting the frame to the container, such a stiffening or reinforcement can be advantageous.

According to one embodiment, the closure device has at least first locking means that hold the cover in a closed position on the frame. The locking means can be designed in particular as a child safety device.

The frame and the cover can in particular be made in one piece. Deep drawing or injection molding processes are suitable as manufacturing processes. The frame and the cover can be connected to one another by at least one film hinge.

Figur 1

eine perspektivische Ansicht eines Behälters gemäß einer Ausführungsform der Erfindung;

Figur 2

eine Draufsicht auf eine geöffnete Verschlussvorrichtung gemäß einer Ausführungsform der Erfindung;

Figur 3

einen Querschnitt durch den Randbereich des Behälters gemäß Figur 1 mit aufgesetzter Verschlussvorrichtung und

Figur 4

einen Querschnitt durch den Randbereich eines alternativen Behälters mit aufgesetzter Verschlussvorrichtung.

Embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to schematic figures. Show it:

figure 1

a perspective view of a container according to an embodiment of the invention;

figure 2

a plan view of an open closure device according to an embodiment of the invention;

figure 3

according to a cross section through the edge area of the container figure 1 with attached locking device and

figure 4

a cross section through the edge region of an alternative container with the closure device attached.

figure 1 shows a perspective view of a container 1 with a base 2, side walls 3 and an opening 4, which is surrounded by a peripheral edge 5. The bottom 2 and the side walls 3 as well as the peripheral edge 5 are made of plastic and are produced in a deep-drawing process. The container 1 is used to hold and store pre-metered units of an active substance.

The side walls 3 are surrounded by a banderole 6 made of cardboard. The banderole 6 encloses the side walls 3 and is glued to the side walls 3 at least at certain points and is thus secured against slipping. The purpose of the banderole 6 is to reinforce the side walls 3 against a load from above (top load).

figure 2 shows a closure device 10 for the container 1 in the unfolded state in a plan view. The closure device 10 is divided into a frame 11 and a cover 12. The frame 11 and the cover 12 are made in one piece from a plastic and are connected to one another by a number of film hinges 17. With the help of the film hinges 17 , the frame 11 and the cover 12 can be pivoted relative to one another about the pivot axis 19 .

The closure device 10 can be produced, for example, in an injection molding process.

The frame 11 has a U-shaped profile with an outer web 13 and an inner web 14. The frame 11 encloses an opening 15 which is aligned with the opening 4 of the container 1 when the closure device 10 is in the assembled state.

The frame 11 has a number of latching hooks 16 which are arranged on the outer web 13 of the frame 11 and which serve to connect the frame 11 to the peripheral edge 5 of the container 1 . in the in figure 2 In the embodiment shown, 12 latching hooks are arranged along the circumference of the frame 11 .

The cover 12 serves to close the opening 15 of the frame 11 and thus also to close the opening 4 of the container 1 when the closure device 10 is in the assembled state figure 2 shown open positions are folded by pivoting about the pivot axis 19 in a closed position in which the lid 12 rests on the frame 11.

First locking means 18 are provided on the frame 11 and on the cover 12 for a secure, in particular childproof connection between the frame 11 and the cover 12 . These can be configured in a known manner such that the container 1 closed with the closure device 10 can only be opened in a predetermined manner. In particular, the first locking means 18 are childproof.

figure 3 shows a cross section through the edge area of the container 1 according to FIG figure 1 with attached closure device 10 according to figure 2 . It can be seen that the frame 11 encloses the peripheral edge 5 of the container 1 .

The peripheral edge 5 of the container 1 has a U-shaped cross section with a first leg 22, a second leg 23 and a connection 24 between the two legs 22, 23. The side wall 3 basically has a small wall thickness between 0.1 mm and 0.8mm up. In the area of the peripheral edge 5, however, it has a greater wall thickness of between 0.5 mm and 1.8 mm. The transition region between the connection 24 and the second leg 23 has a bevel 20 on which, when the frame 11 is mounted on the container 1, latching hooks 16 of the frame 11 can slide down.

The frame 11 is placed on the peripheral edge 5 from above for assembly. The locking hook 16 slides down the slope 20 until it has reached the open end of the leg 23 and locked with its raised end 25 behind it. This state is in figure 3 shown. In this assembled state of the frame 11 , the inner web 14 rests on the inside of the leg 22 of the peripheral edge 5 , while the outer web 13 rests on the outside of the leg 23 . The frame 11 is connected to the peripheral edge 5 by the latching connection which the latching hooks 16 form with the leg 23 . When the frame 11 is in the assembled state, the latching hooks 16 form a contact surface 21 with the leg 23 .

For the child safety of the container 1, it is not only important that the locking of the lid 12 on the frame is childproof with the aid of the first locking means 18. In addition, it is also important that the entire closure device 10 cannot be easily removed from the container 1. As has been found, with such containers 1 it is often possible to release the locking connections between the frame 11 and the surrounding edge 5 by pressing on the side walls 3, shown here by the action of a force F ₁ . By exerting pressure on the side walls 3, it can namely in conventional Packaging may be possible to exert so much force on the latching hooks 16 on the contact surface 21 via the leg 23 that they yield and the latching connection opens. The force F ₁ acts on the locking connection over the distance h, which serves as a lever arm.

In order to prevent this, the side wall 3 is designed to be easily deformable. Their rigidity is therefore relatively low. The consequence of this is that the container 1 is deformed when the force F _{1 acts} on the side wall 3 . As a result, the force is not transmitted to the leg 23 and from there via the contact surface 21 to the latching hook 16; at least the transmitted force F _L is not sufficient to overcome the holding force F _H of the frame 11 on the peripheral edge 5 . According to the invention, the distance h can no longer serve as a lever arm and transmitter of the force.

The low rigidity of the side walls 3 can be achieved in particular by a small wall thickness of the side walls 3. In addition, it is also achieved through a suitable choice of material.

The acting forces are in figure 3 shown only schematically. The release force F _L and the holding force F _H acting against it are shown for the case of a force F ₁ acting perpendicularly to the contact surface 21 . Depending on the deformability of the latching hook 16 and the leg 23, which in turn depends on the materials used, the wall thickness and the geometry of the latching hook 16 and the leg 23, the latching connection can also be released by forces acting in other ways.
The absolute value of the holding force F _H of the frame 11 on the peripheral edge 5 is also dependent on the exact geometry of the locking connection, for example on the size of the contact surface 21.

figure 4 shows schematically a further embodiment of the frame 11, which differs from that in figure 3 shown differs only in that the latching hooks 16 do not engage around the leg 23 because they have no raised end 25. Instead, the latching hook 16 has a greater length, so that the distance a over which it engages behind the leg 23 in the assembled state is sufficiently large to prevent the frame from being easily removed from the container 1 .

In this embodiment too, the container 1 has a low rigidity. As a result, the leg 23 is only slightly displaced when a force F _{1 acts} on the side wall 3 . Although this shortens the distance a, it is not sufficient for the latching hook 16 to release the leg 23 . The shortening of the distance a causes a reduction in the holding force F _H of the locking connection. By pulling the outer web 13 outwards, the latching connection can then be loosened at certain points. However, pulling the outer web 13 outward causes adjacent latching hooks 16 to be pressed inward, which increases the length a locally.

Reference List

1

container

2

floor

3

Side wall

4

opening

5

surrounding border

6

banderole

10

locking device

11

frame

12

lid

13

outer bar

14

inner bar

15

opening

16

latch hook

17

film hinge

18

first locking means

19

pivot axis

20

oblique

21

contact surface

22

leg

23

leg

24

connection

25

raised end

H

Route

a

Route

Claims (6)

1. Container (1) comprising a base (2), lateral walls (3), and an opening (4) surrounded by a peripheral rim (5), the container (1) having a closure device (10) for the opening (4), which device has a frame (11) and a cover (12), the frame (11) being connected to the peripheral rim (5) of the container (1) by means of an engagement connection, thus forming a holding force F_H, the peripheral rim (5) of the container (1) having a U-shaped cross section, the engagement connection between the frame (11) and the peripheral rim (5) taking place by means of a number of engagement hooks (16) which are arranged along the circumference of the frame (11) and engage in the U-shaped peripheral rim (5), and the frame (11) having a U-shaped profile with an outer web (13) and an inner web (14), characterized in that

   - at least the base (2) and the lateral walls (3) of the container (1) are made of deep-drawn plastics material, the wall thickness of the lateral walls (3) being at least 0.1 mm and at most 0.8 mm,

   - the wall thickness in the region of the peripheral rim (5) is at least 0.5 mm and at most 1.8 mm,

   - and in that the rigidity of the lateral walls (3) is so low that the container (1) is deformed when a force F₁ acts on the lateral walls (3), and a release force F_L on the engagement connection brought about by the force F₁ acting on the lateral walls (3) does not exceed the holding force F_H.
2. Container (1) according to claim 1, wherein the lateral walls (3) are reinforced by a sleeve (6) made of cardboard.
3. Container (1) according to claim 1, wherein the engagement hooks (16) each have a turned-up end (25) which, when the frame (11) is in the mounted state, encloses a region of the peripheral rim (5).
4. Container (1) according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the lateral walls (3) are reinforced by ribs, at least in regions.
5. Container (1) according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the closure device (10) comprises at least one first locking means (18) which holds the cover (12) on the frame (11) in a closed position.
6. Container (1) according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the frame (11) and the cover (12) are produced in one piece and are interconnected by at least one living hinge (17).

Images