EP3766797B1

EP3766797B1 - Stopper for container with easy opening and retention of the cap once opened

Info

Publication number: EP3766797B1
Application number: EP20184188.9A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Silvia Ferrari; Guglielmo Ferrari
Original assignee: Affaba and Ferrari SRL
Current assignee: Affaba and Ferrari SRL
Priority date: 2019-07-12
Filing date: 2020-07-06
Publication date: 2023-02-22
Anticipated expiration: 2040-07-06
Also published as: ES2944464T3; EP3766797A1

Description

The present invention relates to a cap for easy-to-open containers and retention of the cover, once opened.
For the closure of containers of liquids, caps can generally be provided of which at least a part is unscrewed from the mouth and caps that provide that their cover can be removed for opening and/or brought to close the mouth through a simple rotation around a hinge forming part of the cap.
In the first case, caps of which at least a part is unscrewed from the mouth, provide a cover connected to a ring which are arranged in a single piece on the screw mouth of the container. In order to have access to and use the liquid placed inside the container, the cover must be removed by unscrewing it from the screw mouth of the container. The cover and the ring are held together by frangible bridges and the cover provides, in its interior, a threading complementary to that of the mouth.
When acting on the cover by unscrewing it from the mouth, the bridges break and the cover is permanently separated from the ring on the container.
The main drawback is that once the cover is separated it can become dispersed in the environment and this violates the anti-pollution laws of plastic materials. Furthermore, if the cover is to be repositioned on the mouth of the container, extreme care must be taken not to drop it or bring it however into contact with materials or products that represent a source of pollution of the liquid contained in the container.
In the second case, caps which provide that their cover can be removed during opening and/or closure of the mouth of the container by simple rotation around a hinge forming part of the cap, must provide a hinge between the cover and fixing ring to the container. This hinge is arranged at the height of the container opening, i.e. at the level of a pouring area if present, which is at the maximum upper height of access to the container. This close arrangement between cover, hinge and outlet opening of the liquid limits the space of access to the mouth of the container, when drinking, to a minimum. A small hinge is in fact provided between the cover and the ring, which, also in an open position between the parts, keeps them very close to each other, impeding access by a user who wishes to drink. The cover can even come into contact with the user's mouth or with the chin or face in general. All of this causes a significant obstacle for the use of this type of container.
Should a user wish to drink from the container, he would be hindered due to the presence of the cover rotated for opening. Furthermore, the presence of the cover so close to the outlet opening of the container creates an encumbrance which is disturbing even in the case of different use, for example in the case of transferring part of the liquid contained in the container. This kind of arrangement therefore simply solves the problem of the requirement of there being no separation between the ring (integral with the container) and the cover (with the resettable closure of the container), but does not solve problems of bad and not-easy use and inconvenience for the user.
US 6474491 relates to a cap or stopper for containers according to claim 1.
US 2012/024815 , KR 100880006 , JP 2014031202 and WO2014/200165 relate to cap for containers having a base ring and a cap and string extensions.
The general objective of the present invention is to provide a cap for containers capable of solving the above-mentioned drawbacks of the known art in an extremely simple, economic and particularly functional way.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide a cap for containers of the screw-coupling type with the container which allows it to be opened and allows easy access to the mouth of the container, once the cover has been removed from it, without however being completely separated by an attachment ring to the container.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide a cap for containers, which is particularly compact in a sealed and closed position and with a cover that does not hinder access to the mouth of the container once removed from the same, without being totally separated from it.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a cap for containers which can be produced by moulding plastic material.
The above-mentioned objectives are achieved by a cap for containers produced according to independent claim 1 and the following subordinate claims.
The structural and functional characteristics of the present invention and its advantages with respect to the known art will become even more evident from the following description, referring to the attached schematic drawings.
In the drawings:

figure 1 is a raised, half-sectional, side view, of a cap not forming part of the present invention;
figure 2 is a perspective view from above of the cap of figure 1 which shows its interior;
figure 3 is a perspective view from above of the cap of figure 1 which externally shows the area in which a hinge arrangement is provided which allows the articulation between the base ring and the cover of the cap;
figure 4 is a raised side view of the area of the cap shown in figure 3 which allows a better understanding of the characteristics of the cap itself;
figure 5 shows a raised sectional view of the cap and a mouth of a container that receives it when arranged on top of each other;
figure 6 shows the same arrangement as figure 5 of the cap and container which allows a better understanding of the reciprocal positions of the parts when the cap is unscrewed from the mouth of the container;
figure 6b shows an enlarged detail of figure 6 in correspondence with the hinge arrangement;
figure 7 shows a subsequent position in which the cap has completed its unscrewing from the threaded mouth of the container and has been arranged open and rotated leaving said mouth free and accessible, while remaining integral with the base ring positioned on the container;
figure 8 is a perspective view from above of a cap according to the present invention in which a hinge arrangement is provided which allows the articulation between the base ring and the cover of the cap;
figure 9 is a plan view of the cap shown in figure 8;
figure 10 is a raised, half-sectional, side view, along the line X-X of figure 9 of the cap of the present invention;
figure 11 shows an enlarged cross-sectional view of the cap according to the line XI-XI of figure 9;
figure 12 shows a raised side view of the cap of figure 8 in which the cap has completed its unscrewing from the threaded mouth of the container and has been arranged open and rotated, in a stable position thanks to the presence of a tooth;
figure 13 shows a section of the cap as positioned open in figure 12 on the mouth of the container.

With reference to the figures 1-7, an exemplary embodiment not forming part of the invention is shown, of an easy-to-open cap for containers, with retention of the cover, once opened.
This kind of cap, indicated as a whole with 11, essentially comprises a base ring 12, to prevent its separation from a container or bottle mouth 13, and a cover 14 for opening and closing the container or bottle mouth 13.
As can be seen, this cap 11 can be made in a single piece by moulding plastic material.
The cover 14, having an essentially cylindrical inverted-cup shape, has an upper closing wall 15 and a side wall 16 internally equipped with threadings 17 suitable for collaborating with threadings 19 provided externally with respect to the bottle mouth 13.
The cover 14, in its lower part, provides an area in which a hinge arrangement 18 is obtained and positioned, which allows a stable, variously articulated connection between the base ring 12 and the cover of the cap 14. The hinge arrangement 18 also generally allows the cover 14 to be brought from its closed position, aligned and integral with the base ring 12 (figure 1) to an open position rotated with respect to the base ring 12 (figure 7) in the exemplary embodiment of figures 1-7. Further on, it can also be seen how the cover 14 can remain stably rotated in this open position thanks to its specific characteristics.
The base ring 12 is also essentially cylindrical in shape and is produced in various parts.
A first part 20 of the base ring 12 is arranged at one end of the cap for its complete cylindrical extension and is suitable for being positioned below an annular protrusion 21 formed for externally extending radially with respect to the bottle mouth 13. Internally, this first part 20 of the base ring 12 provides an annular engagement lip 22 which is directed upwards towards the cover 14 and is abutted below the annular protrusion 21. This provision is such as to prevent the cap from slipping off the bottle mouth 13, once the cap 11 is engaged on it.
A second part 23 of the base ring 12 is separated by a circumferential notch 24 from the cover of the cap 14 and ends of string extensions 26 are connected to it, which are described hereunder.
This circumferential notch 24 extends along the whole external surface of the cap except for the area in which there is the hinge arrangement 18. Opposite ends 25 of an area of the cover 14 in which the hinge arrangement 18 is formed, are in fact connected to the second part 23 of the base ring 12 by a respective string extension 26.
These string extensions 26 ensure that the cover 14, even once unscrewed from the bottle mouth 13, always remains attached to the bottle mouth 13 and is not separated from the base ring 12.
It can consequently be affirmed that the base ring 12 comprises a first part 20, which is arranged at one end of the cap for its complete cylindrical extension suitable for being firmly abutted on a mouth of a container, and a second part 23 separated by said circumferential notch 24 from the cover 14 of the cap to which the ends of the string extensions 26 are connected.
It should also be noted that the second part 23 of the base ring 12 extends only for a part of the cylindrical extension of the cap integral with the first part 20, whereas the missing part can be said to be composed of the two string extensions 26 and by a connection rod 28 which will be discussed further on.
It can therefore be observed that a second notch 33 is defined between the two string extensions 26 and the connection rod 28 of the second part of the base ring 12 on one side and the first part 20 of the base ring 12 on the other side.
This particular provision of parts for forming said second notch 33 is clearly illustrated in figure 6 in the lifting position of the cover 14 from the bottle mouth 13 by unscrewing.
Figure 7 then shows how the hinge arrangement 18 allows the cover 14 to be rotated by 180° and beyond with respect to the closed position, once the cover 14 has been completely unscrewed from the bottle mouth 13. In this way, a stable opening position is obtained so that the cover 14 does not disturb a user who wishes to have access to the contents of the container, for example by bringing the mouth of the container or bottle 13 to his mouth.
In particular, the various figures clearly show how the hinge arrangement 18 provides a pair of bridges 27, which are foldable and which form the stable connection between the cover 14 and said connection rod 28.
This connection rod 28 is in turn connected at its ends to the ends 25 of each of the string extensions 26 which extend from the second part 23 of the base ring 12.
It can be noted that the above-mentioned opposite ends 25 of the cover 14 are defined with opposite ends of the connection rod 28.
It can also be noted in particular from figures 3 and 4 and from figure 6b, how the hinge arrangement 18 provides a tooth 29 which is part of the cover 14 which extends outwards. Above the connection rod 28, on the other hand, a hole or housing 30 is provided for the above-mentioned tooth 29.
This feature of the hinge arrangement 18 causes the cover 14 in the exemplary embodiment to be arranged in a complete and stable opening position, as shown in figure 7. This positioning occurs, once the cover 14 has been completely unscrewed from the bottle mouth 13, when the cover 14 is rotated with respect to the base ring 12 around the hinge arrangement 18 and the tooth 29 is stably snap-engaged, for example, in the hole or housing 30 formed above the connection rod 28 providing stable positioning means of the cover 14 open and rotated by at least 180° with respect to the base ring 12.
Figures 1 and 2 show the cap of the exemplary embodiment when it has never been used and is arranged on an opening of a container closing the same.
In this position, the cap must also indicate like all caps of this type that the contents of the container are the original contents filled by the packer of the same.
Frangible bridges 31 can therefore be seen, arranged inside the circumferential notch 24 of the cap between the cover 14 and the second part 23 of the base ring 12.
A further frangible bridge 32 is also arranged between the connection rod 28 of the pair of string extensions 26 and the first part 20 of the base ring 12 which keeps the hinge arrangement 18 in its initial position of figures 3 and 4.
Said frangible bridges 31 and 32 break when the cover 14 is unscrewed from the bottle mouth 13 to open the cap and have access to the contents of the container.
Figures 8 to 13 show a cap according to the invention in which the same elements are indicated with the same reference numbers.
The component parts do not therefore need to be described as they are the same.
Furthermore, it should be noted that in the cap 111 according to the invention, a tooth 36 is formed above the cover 14 in correspondence with its edge adjacent to the upper closing wall 15 in a recess 35, protruding upwards from the cover according to an axis parallel to that of the cap.
Figures 8, 10 and 11 show the cap of the present invention when it has never been used and is arranged on an opening of a container closing the same.
Also in this example, the hinge arrangement 18 and the string extensions 26 allow the cover 14 of the present invention to be brought, by unscrewing from the mouth, to a position of complete and stable opening, as shown in figures 12 and 13. Once the cover 14 has been completely unscrewed from the bottle mouth 13, in fact, the cover 14 can be rotated with respect to the base ring 12 around the hinge arrangement 18. This rotation causes the tooth 36 protruding upwards from the cover 14 to be inserted in a V-shaped seat, formed in the first part 20 of the base ring 12 and facing upwards, blocking the cover 14 in this position (figures 12 and 13).
Also in this case, therefore, stable positioning means of the cover 14 are created, open and rotated well over 180° with respect to the base ring 12, also ensuring that the removed cover is not dispersed in the environment.
It has thus been seen and understood that a cap for a container of the screw-coupling type with the container of the present invention allows its ample opening and allows easy access to the mouth of the container on which it is positioned.
It has also been seen that according to the present invention, with this kind of cap, once the cover has been removed from the mouth of the container, the cover is not separated from the attachment ring to the container.
Furthermore, according to the present invention, the cap for containers is particularly compact in a sealed and closed position and with a cover that never hinders access to the mouth of the container, once removed from the same, without being totally separated from it.
It should also be considered that this type of cap is extremely simple and convenient to produce as it can be produced by moulding plastic material in a single piece.
The objective mentioned in the preamble of the description has thus been achieved.
The protection scope of the present invention is defined by the enclosed claims.

Claims

An easy-to-open cap for containers and with retention of the cover, once opened, comprising a base ring (12) and a cover (14) between which a hinge arrangement (18) is provided, which allows a stable and articulated connection between the base ring (12) and the cover (14) of the cap, an internal wall of the cover providing a threading complementary to a threading formed on a mouth of a container, wherein said hinge arrangement (18) allows the cover (14) to be brought from its closed position, aligned and integral with the base ring (12), to an open position rotated with respect to the base ring (12), said base ring (12) providing a circumferential notch (24) which extends along the whole external surface of the cap except for the area in which said hinge arrangement (18) is formed which allows at least a partial removal between the cover (14) and the base ring (12) once interposed frangible bridges (31) have been broken, opposite ends (25) of an area of the cover (14) in which the hinge arrangement (18) is formed being connected to said base ring (12) by a respective string extension (26) which ensures that the cover (14), even once unscrewed from a container mouth (13), always remains attached to it, wherein stable positioning means of the cover (14) are provided, opened and rotated by at least 180° with respect to the base ring (12) arranged on said cover (14) and on said base ring (12) respectively, characterized in that said stable positioning means comprises a tooth (36) which is part of the cover (14) which extends upwards from a closure wall (15) of the cover (14) and a seat for the above-mentioned tooth (36) obtained in a first part (20) of the base ring (12) and facing upwards in correspondence with said hinge arrangement (18) between the ends (25) of each of the string extensions (26), said seat for said tooth (36) obtained in a first part (20) of the base ring (12) is V-shaped.
The cap according to claim 1, characterized in that said hinge arrangement (18) comprises a pair of bridges (27), which are foldable and which provide a stable connection between the cover (14) and a connection rod (28) which is connected at its opposite ends to the ends (25) of each of the string extensions (26).
The cap according to claim 1, characterized in that said stable positioning means comprise a tooth (29) which is part of the cover (14) which extends outwards and a hole or housing (30) for the above-mentioned tooth (29) obtained at a connection rod (28) which is connected at its opposite ends to the ends of each of the string extensions (26).
The cap according to one or more of the previous claims, characterized in that said base ring (12) comprises a first part (20), which is arranged at one end of the cap for its complete cylindrical extension suitable for being stably abutted on a mouth of a container, and a second part (23) separated by said circumferential notch (24) from the cover (14) of the cap to which the ends of the string extensions (26) are connected.
The cap according to claim 4, characterized in that said first part (20) of said base ring (12) provides an annular engagement lip (22) which is directed upwards towards the cover (14) and which is suitable for preventing the cap from slipping off the mouth of a container on which it is positioned.
The cap according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that said two string extensions (26) and a connection rod (28) of the second part (23) of said base ring (12) on one side and said first part (20) of the base ring (12) on another side define a second notch (33).