EP3882173B1 - Cap with hinge for a container comprising a neck - Google Patents

Description

Technical field of the invention

The present invention relates to a cap for a container.

The invention relates more particularly to a hinged cap which remains attached to the container even when the cap is opened.

Technical background

It is known that a container provided with a neck and closed by a hinged cap. The stopper is fixed to the neck of the container in particular by screwing. The term container designates here all kinds of containers, without limitation of form or use.

The hinged cap includes a cap body pivoted between a closed position and at least one open position around the hinge.

The cap body is in particular extended by a tamper evident ring intended to come into engagement with a flange of the neck. The tamper evident ring is connected to the skirt by bridges between which extend through partitions. When the cap is opened, the tamper evident ring remains attached to the flange and is detached from the cap body by breaking the bridges. This shows that the bottle has already been opened. Recently, the new European directives have set up a standard requiring that the corks must be connected to the neck of the bottle, in order to limit the impact of pollution on the environment by rejection of these corks.

Thus, the development of certain containers will only be possible insofar as their cap is attached to the rest of the container so that they are no longer separated, lost in nature and then ingested by animals.

It is in this context that we have seen the development of stoppers which are inseparable from the container, whatever their state of closure or opening.

Hinged caps are one of these inseparable caps. Indeed, the cap body is permanently linked to the tamper evident ring by means of the hinge.

However, the inseparable stopper as described has the disadvantage that once the stopper body is in the open position, the elastic force of the hinge tends to bring the stopper body back above the opening of the stopper. collar. This creates a semi-open state of the container, i.e. a state in which the neck opening is partially freed. This semi-open state hinders the flow of liquid out of the container and obliges the user to hold the body of the stopper in an open position for which the neck opening is completely free.

An example of an inseparable stopper, according to the preamble of appended claim 1, is described in the document US2012/0298666A1 .

Thus, the object of the invention is to propose a stopper ensuring good sealing of the bottle, guaranteeing inviolability, and providing comfort during its use.

Summary of the invention

• un corps de bouchon étant monté pivotant entre une position de fermeture dans laquelle le corps de bouchon obture une ouverture du col et une position d'ouverture dans laquelle le corps de bouchon est dégagé de l'ouverture du corps pour permettre l'accès à l'intérieur du récipient ;
• une bague d'inviolabilité; et
• une patte de liaison reliée d'une part au corps de bouchon et d'autre part à la bague d'inviolabilité de manière à ce que le corps de bouchon pivote par rapport à la patte de liaison autour d'un premier axe de pivotement et que la patte de liaison pivote par rapport à la bague d'inviolabilité autour d'un deuxième axe de pivotement parallèle audit premier axe.

With these objects in view, the invention provides a cap for a container with a threaded neck, comprising:

• a cap body being pivotally mounted between a closed position in which the cap body closes an opening of the neck and an open position in which the cap body is disengaged from the opening of the body to allow access to the interior of the container;
• a tamper evident ring; And
• a connecting tab connected on the one hand to the cap body and on the other hand to the tamper-evident ring so that the cap body pivots relative to the connecting tab about a first pivot axis and that the connecting tab pivots relative to the tamper evident ring about a second pivot axis parallel to said first axis.

The junction between the connecting tab and the cap body forms a first connecting line and the junction between the connecting tab and the tamper evident ring forms a second connecting line.

The first connection line has the shape of an arc of a circle oriented in the direction of the tamper evident ring. The second connection line has the shape of an arc of a circle curved in a direction opposite to that of the first connection line.

In addition, the first and second connecting lines are formed by thinned areas having a smaller thickness compared to the thickness of the plug body and compared to the thickness of the tamper evident ring so as to be able to bend on themselves and to remain in a folded position beyond a limit folding angle to maintain the stopper body in a fully open position in which the stopper body is completely disengaged from the opening of the neck.

In addition, the tamper evident ring comprises two arms extending in an angular direction, a central island connecting the arms to each other, and a recess separating the arms and the central island from the rest of the tamper evident ring. inviolability. The connecting tab is connected to the central island of the tamper evident ring. The central island comprises an upper end portion having a bevelled outer face in the radial direction towards the inside of the plug, and the beveled outer face forms a bearing seat for the connecting lug when the plug body is in a fully open position.

Note that the cap body is pivotally mounted between several opening positions. Indeed, the body of the cap can swing from the closed position to a barely open position in which only part of the opening of the neck is released, or to an extreme open position in which the inclination of the body of cap in relation to the tamper evident ring is maximum. When the plug body is in position extreme opening, we can also say that the container is in the fully open position.

The fully open position can be an intermediate position between the barely open position and the extreme open position. Generally, the cap body is in a fully open position when it forms an angle of greater than 90° with the tamper-evident ring.

In the cap proposed, the connecting tab acts as a two-axis hinge. Each of these pins passes through the connection of the connecting tab with the cap body or with the tamper evident ring. Furthermore, the connecting tab is designed to hold the cap body in a fully open position. In other words, the connecting lug plays the role of a blocking member of the cap body in the open position.

Specifically, the blocking takes place partly thanks to the small thickness of the first connection line and of the second connection line. In addition, the circular arc shape and the opposite orientation of the first and second connection lines add to the low thickness to guarantee the blocking effect.

Thus, the flow of the liquid is no longer impeded by the stopper body. The cap is therefore convenient to use. The user only has to open the cap until the cap body is immobilized by means of the blocking member. Then he can freely pour the liquid contained in the container without the need to hold the cap body.

In addition, thanks to the blocking member, the cap guarantees safety of use, because the cap body is no longer in a position to be able to retain a residual quantity of the liquid after pouring. In other words, the cap body remains dry and can be handled without discomfort for closing the cap.

• la patte de liaison présente une épaisseur qui est plus faible que l'épaisseur de la bague d'inviolabilité et plus faible que l'épaisseur du corps de bouchon ;
• le rapport entre l'épaisseur de la patte de liaison et l'épaisseur de la bague d'inviolabilité est compris entre 0,15 et 0,4 ;
• le rapport entre l'épaisseur de la patte de liaison et l'épaisseur du corps de bouchon est compris entre 0,1 et 0,3 - la patte de liaison est décalée radialement par rapport au corps de bouchon et par rapport à la bague d'inviolabilité de manière à ce que la face externe de la patte de liaison soit décalée radialement vers l'intérieur du bouchon par rapport à la face externe du corps de bouchon et par rapport à la face externe de la bague d'inviolabilité ;
• la patte de liaison est décalée radialement par rapport au corps de bouchon et par rapport à la bague d'inviolabilité de manière à ce que la face interne de la patte de liaison soit décalée radialement vers l'extérieur du bouchon par rapport à la face interne du corps de bouchon et par rapport à la face interne de la bague d'inviolabilité ;
• le corps de bouchon se termine par un volet inférieur; en outre, le volet inférieur est situé à distance de chacune des tranches latérales de la patte de liaison et à distance des bras; un premier espace vide sépare le volet inférieur et chacune des tranches latérales et un deuxième espace vide sépare le volet inférieur et les bras de liaison; et enfin, les premier et deuxième espaces vides forment un espace résultant en forme de L ;
• le corps de bouchon, la patte de liaison et la bague d'inviolabilité sont formés en une seule pièce monobloc.

According to other characteristics of the invention:

• the connecting tab has a thickness which is smaller than the thickness of the tamper evident ring and smaller than the thickness of the cap body;
• the ratio between the thickness of the connecting tab and the thickness of the tamper evident ring is between 0.15 and 0.4;
• the ratio between the thickness of the connecting lug and the thickness of the plug body is between 0.1 and 0.3 - the connecting lug is offset radially with respect to the plug body and with respect to the ring d tamper evident so that the outer face of the connecting tab is offset radially towards the inside of the cap relative to the outer face of the cap body and relative to the outer face of the tamper evident ring;
• the connecting tab is offset radially with respect to the cap body and with respect to the tamper evident ring so that the internal face of the connecting tab is offset radially towards the outside of the cap with respect to the internal face of the cap body and with respect to the internal face of the tamper evident ring;
• the cap body ends in a lower flap; in addition, the lower flap is located at a distance from each of the side edges of the connecting tab and at a distance from the arms; a first empty space separates the lower flap and each of the side sections and a second empty space separates the lower flap and the connecting arms; and finally, the first and second empty spaces form an L-shaped resulting space;
• the cap body, the connecting tab and the tamper evident ring are formed in a single, one-piece piece.

Brief description of figures

• [Fig.1] - la figure 1 est une vue en perspective d'un bouchon selon un exemple de réalisation de l'invention, le bouchon étant dans un état fermé dans lequel le corps de bouchon est dans une position de fermeture ;
• [Fig.2] - la figure 2 est une vue de face détaillée de la zone référencée II sur la figure 1 ;
• [Fig.3] - la figure 3 est une vue partielle, en coupe selon un plan passant par la ligne III-III et par un axe longitudinal X-X' illustrés sur la figure 1 ;
• [Fig.4] - la figure 4 est une vue partielle, en coupe selon un plan passant par la ligne IV-IV et par un axe longitudinal X-X' illustrés sur la figure 1 ;
• [Fig.5] - la figure 5 est une vue perspective du bouchon dans une position d'ouverture extrême ;
• [Fig.6] - la figure 6 est une vue partielle et en coupe selon un plan vertical passant par la ligne VI-VI illustré sur la figure 5 ;
• [Fig.7]- la figure 7 est une vue partielle et en perspective du bouchon de la figure 1.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear during the reading of the detailed description which will follow for the understanding of which reference will be made to the appended drawings in which:

• [ Fig.1 ] - there figure 1 is a perspective view of a cap according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the cap being in a closed state in which the cap body is in a closed position;
• [ Fig.2 ] - there picture 2 is a detailed front view of the area referenced II on the figure 1 ;
• [ Fig.3 ] - there picture 3 is a partial view, in section along a plane passing through the line III-III and through a longitudinal axis XX' illustrated on the figure 1 ;
• [ Fig.4 ] - there figure 4 is a partial view, in section along a plane passing through the line IV-IV and through a longitudinal axis XX' illustrated on the figure 1 ;
• [ Fig.5 ] - there figure 5 is a perspective view of the cap in an extreme open position;
• [ Fig.6 ] - there figure 6 is a partial sectional view along a vertical plane passing through the line VI-VI illustrated on the figure 5 ;
• [ Fig.7 ]- there figure 7 is a partial perspective view of the cap of the figure 1 .

Detailed description of the invention

THE figures 1 to 7 represent a stopper 1 produced according to an example of the invention.

On the figure 1 , the cap 1 comprises a cap body 10 and a tamper evident ring 11. The cap body 10 here comprises a side skirt 101 having the shape of a right cylinder with an axis of revolution X-X'. Said axis is considered as the longitudinal axis of the stopper 1. The side skirt 101 comprises ribs 103 which all extend along the longitudinal axis XX' and are distributed uniformly over the entire outer face of the side skirt 101. Thus, these ribs 103 allow the user's fingers to grip better on the cap body 10 when he grips the cap body 10 to open or close the cap 1.

The cap body 10 further comprises a plate 102 oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis X-X' and connected at its periphery to the side skirt 101. The plate 102 thus forms a bottom of the cap 1.

In known manner and as illustrated in Figure 9, the cap body 10 further comprises the helical ribs 108 which are intended to engage with complementary helical ribs which are formed on a threaded neck of a container. The helical ribs 108 of the cap body are made on an internal face of the side skirt 101.

A tamper evident ring 11 is in the extension of the side skirt 101 of the cap body 10.

Before the very first opening of the cap, the cap body 10 is connected to the tamper evident ring 11 by frangible bridges which are distributed over the circumference of the cap. The frangible bridges are shaped to break when the cap body 10 rotates relative to the tamper evident ring 11.

The tamper evident ring 11 comprises two arms 12 and an island 15 of solid material, also called central island 15, which connects the connecting arms 12 to one another. An angular recess 113 is made in the ring 11 to separate the connecting arms 12 and the island 15 from the rest of the tamper evident ring 11.

On the other hand, the arms 12 and the island 15 are connected to the cap body 10 via a connecting tab 13. In this way, the arms 12, by their length and by the fact that they are separated in part from the rest of the tamper evident ring, allow the cap body 10 to be brought into a position axially remote from the tamper evident ring 11.

The arms 12 are particularly suitable for the stopper which is fixed by screwing to the neck of a container, which is the case in this example. In fact, thanks to the arms, the cap body 10 can be moved axially away from the ring 11 sufficiently to free the ribs 108 of the cap body from the ribs of the neck of the container. Once the ribs are separated, the cap body can swing to an open position to release the neck opening.

According to the invention and as in this example, the cap body 10 is pivotally mounted with respect to the tamper evident ring 11 between a closed position and at least one open position.

In the closed position, the plate 102 of the stopper body 10 is in a horizontal position and located just above an opening 20 of the neck 21 so as to completely close this opening. Here, the terms "horizontal" and "vertical" are defined with a plug mounted on a container held upright on a flat surface. The container stands upright on a vertical axis. The horizontal direction is perpendicular to this vertical axis.

In an open position, the plate 102 of the stopper body 10 no longer covers the entire opening of the neck, which makes it possible to release this opening and therefore access to the interior of the container. Thus, the cap body 10 in the open position therefore makes it possible to pour the liquid from the container.

The cap body 10 can switch between several opening positions among which there is the fully open position in which the cap body 10 is offset with respect to the opening of the neck and is towards the outside with respect to to the container 2 so as to leave the opening 20 uncovered.

In addition, the cap body 10 can also be in an extreme open position in which its inclination is at its maximum. Here, in the extreme open position, the cap body 10 is turned over by 180° with respect to its closed position, as can be seen in the figure 5 .

The pivoting of the plug body 10 is carried out by means of the connecting tab 13.

Indeed, as illustrated in figure 2 , the connecting tab 13 is shaped so that the cap body 10 pivots relative to the tamper evident ring 11 about two parallel pivot axes A1 and A2.

The first pivot axis A1 passes through junction points between the connecting tab 13 and the cap body 10. The second pivot axis A2 passes through junction points between the connecting tab 13 and the tamper evident ring 11 , precisely, between the connecting tab 13 on the one hand and the island 15 and the arms 12 on the other hand. In other words, the connecting tab 13 forms a hinge with two axes.

Here, the transverse direction is defined as the direction which is substantially parallel to the pivot axes.

Furthermore, the junction between the connecting tab 13 and the cap body 10 forms a first connecting line 16 while the junction between the connecting tab 13 and the island 15 of the tamper evident ring 11 forms a second line connection 17.

The first connection line 16 has the shape of an arc of a circle oriented in the direction of the tamper evident ring 11. The second connection line 17 also has the shape of an arc of a circle, but oriented in the direction of the body of cap 10. In other words, the second connection line 17 is curved in a direction opposite to that of the first connection line 16.

Thus, seen from the outside of the connecting tab 4, the first and second connection lines 16 and 17 are two concave lines opposite to each other.

Thus, seen from the front, the connecting tab comprises a narrowed zone in the center and two flared zones arranged on either side of the narrowed zone. As observed on the picture 3 , the two connecting lines 16 and 17 are formed by thinned zones 6 and 7 having a thickness smaller than the thickness e3 of the cap body 10 and smaller than the thickness e2 of the tamper evident ring 11.

Here, this small thickness is linked to the thickness e1 of the connecting tab which is less than the thickness e2 of the tamper evident ring 11 and the thickness e3 of the cap body 10.

By way of example, the thickness e1 of the connecting tab is between 0.2 mm and 0.4 mm. The thickness e2 of the tamper evident ring 11 is between 0.8 mm and 1.2 mm. The thickness e3 of the cap body 10 is between 1 mm and 1.4 mm.

Accordingly, a bend can be made along connecting lines 16 and 17.

Exactly, as shown in the figure 6 , the cap body 10 is folded relative to the connecting tab 13 around the first line of connection 16. In this position, the plug body 10 forms with the connecting tab 13 a first bending angle α.

The connecting tab 13 is folded with respect to the tamper evident ring 11 around the second connection line 17. In this position, the connecting tab 13 forms with the tamper evident ring 11, or more precisely, with the island 15, a second bend angle β.

In addition, thanks to the small thickness of the connecting tab 13, when the first and second bending angles α and β exceed a limit value, the connecting lines 16 and 17 remain in a folded position so that the relative position between the cap body 10 and the connecting tab 13 and the relative position between the connecting tab 13 and the tamper evident ring 11 are fixed. In other words, the cap body 10 is maintained in an open position beyond a limit folding angle.

In the example illustrated, the cap is shaped so that the first and second bending angles α and β exceed a limit value when the cap body is in an extreme open position as illustrated in figure 5 . In this way, the cap body 10 is kept blocked in this position of extreme opening, which facilitates the pouring of the liquid from the container.

Note that when the cap body 10 is in the extreme open position, the connecting tab 13 is also slightly deformed.

According to a characteristic of the cap 1, the connecting tab 13 is arranged radially offset relative to the cap body 10 and relative to the tamper evident ring 11.

Indeed, as illustrated in figure 4 , the outer face 131 of the connecting lug 13 is offset radially towards the inside of the cap relative to the outer face 101 of the cap body 10 and relative to the outer face 111 of the tamper evident ring 11. Thus, seen from the outside, the connecting tab 13 is recessed relative to the outer circumference of the cap body 10 and the tamper evident ring 11.

In addition, the internal face 132 of the connecting lug 13 is offset radially towards the outside of the cap with respect to the internal face 102 of the cap body and with respect to the internal face 112 of the tamper evident ring. Thus, seen from the inside, the connecting tab 13 is recessed relative to the internal circumference of the cap body 10 and of the tamper evident ring 11.

Moreover, as observed on the figure 4 , the island 15 comprises an upper end portion 153 which comprises an outer face 150 bevelled towards the inside of the stopper. In other words, depending on the thickness, the upper end portion 153 is bevelled.

Here, the thickness is measured in the radial direction, the length is measured in the longitudinal direction and the width is measured in the transverse direction.

The bevelled outer face 150 forms a bearing seat for the connecting tab 13 when the cap body 10 is in the completely open position. On the figure 7 , the side skirt 101 ends at the bottom with a lower flap 105. From a top view, the lower flap 104 forms an open circle with two free ends 105. The connecting tab 13 is disposed in the space separating the two ends free 105 of the flap 104.

According to the invention and as in this example, the free ends 106 of the flap are located at a distance from each side edge 133 of the connecting tab 13 so as to form a first through space 18 extending longitudinally.

On the other hand, the lower flap 105 is located above and away from the connecting arms 12 so as to form a second through space 19 extending angularly.

The lower flap 105, the connecting tab 13 and the connecting arms 12 are arranged so that the first through space 18 opens into the second through space 19 to form a resultant continuous through space 20 which has an L-shape. , the first space crossing 18 and the second crossing space 19 join together and form a right angle here.

This particular arrangement makes it possible to have a solid attachment between the cap body and the tamper-evident ring while allowing great flexibility of tilting of the cap body.

The stopper 1 described by way of illustration of the subject of the invention has several advantages. The cap ensures that the container is properly sealed while indicating the state of use of this container, whether it is already open or not. The stopper, by the blocking member, is kept open and completely frees the opening of the neck so as not to hinder the flow of the liquid. Finally, by remaining in the fully open position, the cap, specifically the cap body, will not be in contact with the liquid leaving the container, which guarantees convenience of use of the cap.

Claims (8)

1. A hinged cap (1) for a container having a neck, comprising :

   - a cap body (10) being pivotally mounted between a closed position in which the cap body closes an opening of the neck and an open position in which the cap body is disengaged from the opening of the neck to allow access to the interior of the container;

   - a tamper-evident ring (11) and

   - a connecting lug (13) connected on the one hand to the cap body and on the other hand to the tamper-evident ring in such a way that the cap body pivots with respect to the connecting lug about a first pivot axis (A1) and the connecting lug pivots with respect to the tamper-evident ring about a second pivot axis (A2) parallel to the said first axis ;

   wherein the junction between the connecting lug and the cap body forms a first connection line (16) and the junction between the connecting lug and the tamper-evident ring forms a second connection line (17);

   the first connection line being in the form of an arc of a circle oriented towards the tamper-evident ring;

   the second connection line being in the form of an arc of a circle curved in a direction opposite that of the first connection line;

   the first and second connection lines being formed by thinned areas having a thickness smaller than the thickness (e3) of the cap body and than the thickness (e2) of the tamper evident ring so as to be able to fold on themselves and to remain in a folded position beyond a limit folding angle to keep the cap body in a fully open position in which the cap body is completely clear of the neck opening,

   the tamper-evident ring (11) comprising two arms (12) extending in an angular direction, a central block (15) connecting the arms to each other, and a recess (113) separating the arms and the central block from the remainder of the tamper-evident ring;

   the connecting tab (13) being connected to the central block of the tamper-evident ring;

   the cap being characterised in that:

   - the central block (15) comprises an upper end portion (153) having a bevelled outer face (150) in the radially inward direction of the cap;

   - the bevelled outer face (150) forms a bearing seat for the connecting tab (13) when the cap body (10) is in a fully open position.
2. Cap (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the connecting lug (13) has a thickness (e1) which is smaller than the thickness (e2) of the tamper-evident ring (11) and smaller than the thickness (e3) of the cap body (10).
3. Cap (1) according to the preceding claim, characterised in that the ratio between the thickness (e1) of the connecting tab (13) and the thickness (e2) of the tamper-evident ring (11) is between 0.15 and 0.4.
4. Cap (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the ratio between the thickness (e1) of the connecting lug (13) and the thickness (e3) of the plug body (10) is between 0.1 and 0.3.
5. Cap (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the connecting lug (13) is offset radially with respect to the cap body and with respect to the tamper-evident ring (11) in such a way that the outer face (131) of the connecting lug (13) is offset radially inwards of the cap with respect to the outer face (101) of the cap body (10) and with respect to the outer face (111) of the tamper-evident ring (11).
6. Cap (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the connecting lug (13) is offset radially with respect to the cap body and with respect to the tamper-evident ring (11) so that the inner face (132) of the connecting lug (13) is offset radially towards the outside of the cap with respect to the inner face (102) of the cap body and with respect to the inner face (112) of the tamper-evident ring.
7. Cap (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that:

   - the cap body (10) ends in a lower flap (105);

   - the lower flap (105) is located at a distance from each of the lateral edges (133) of the connecting lug (13) and at a distance from the arms (12);

   - a first gap (18) separates the lower flap (105) and each of the side edges (133) and a second gap (19) separates the lower flap (105) and the connecting arms (12); and

   - the first and second gaps (18, 19) form a resultant L-shaped gap (20).
8. Cap (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the cap body (10), the connecting tab (13) and the tamper-evident ring (11) are formed in a single piece.

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