ES2404088T3 - Lid for container intended to receive a product to drain and bathed in a liquid - Google Patents

Abstract

Cap for sealing an opening of a container body (C) intended to receive a product bathed in a liquid and which must be drained before use, such as food products bathed in a broth, said lid (1) being characterized in that it comprises: (i) a ring (2) comprising - an outer part (5) apt to be fixed on an edge of said body (C) delimiting said body opening and - an inner part (6) intended to extend at the level of said body opening, said inner part (6) comprising a draining member (8) and a central opening (10), and (ii) a removable sealing membrane (3) whose outer edge is hermetically fixed on said ring (2), said membrane (3) being provided with at least one pull tab (15) to allow the separation of said membrane (3) with respect to said ring (2), and because said inner part (6) of the ring (2) allows, when the removable membrane (3) is separate said ring (2) and depending on the inclination applied to the container, either the draining of the conditioned products thanks to said draining organ (8), or the evacuation of the products through said central opening (10).

Description

Lid for container intended to receive a product to drain and bathed in a liquid.

The present invention relates to the field of containers, in particular the canned type, intended to receive products to be drained before use.

Certain products are packaged in watertight containers, in which they are bathed in an appropriate liquid.

This is the case of food products, namely most cooked or precooked legumes (peas, beans, carrots, etc.) that are preserved in a liquid that has served as a cooking broth.

In certain cases, the end user can or should drain the products before use (preparation, cooking, consumption, etc.). For this, the liquid can be extracted from the container, while trying not to unintentionally evacuate the products before draining completely.

It is known, for example, document EP-0 718 202 which describes a can-type can container equipped with means for draining the conditioned products. This container comprises two pieces for this purpose, namely a closing lid and a draining / filtration means in the form of a grid, which are applied and fixed independently of one another on the body of the container. EP 1 164 093 and EP 1 162 156 describe similar containers.

In general, the different constituent parts of the container (body, lid and rack) are manufactured independently in a place of production.

These pieces of container are then transported to a place of conditioning and assembly: the manufacturer applies his product to the body of the container, and then seals the latter successively by means of the grid and the lid.

However, these structures require an independent management of the lid and also of the draining grid (whether for transport, storage, etc.). Mounting problems can also arise, in particular with the assembly of the two independent parts (grid and lid) on the container body.

To avoid these inconveniences, the applicant has developed a cover structure that simultaneously integrates the sealing function and the draining function.

This lid has the advantage of being easily transported from the manufacturing site to a mounting location; It is also interested in greatly simplifying the management of stocks and assembly operations mentioned above.

To this end, the lid according to the invention is characterized by the fact that it comprises:

(i)

a ring comprising - an outer part suitable for being fixed on an edge of a body that delimits an opening, and - an inner part intended to extend at the level of said body opening, said inner part comprising a draining member and an opening central through which the conditioned products are intended to be extracted from said container, and

(ii)

a removable membrane whose outer edge is hermetically fixed on said ring, said membrane being provided with at least one pull tab to allow its separation with respect to said ring.

The inner part of the ring allows, when the removable membrane is separated from said ring and depending on the inclination applied to the container, either the draining of the conditioned products thanks to said draining organ, or the evacuation of the products to through said central opening.

Here are some complementary characteristics that can be considered in combination or independently of each other:

-

the inner part of the ring comprises a flat annular collar, and the draining member is presented in the form of a flat element in which a plurality of draining holes are arranged, said draining member extending in the plane of said annular collar and prolonging the latter; in this frame, the removable membrane is advantageously fixed on the annular collar of the inner part of the ring;

-

the draining organ has a general disk segment shape;

-

the surface of the draining member corresponds between 5 and 50% of the surface of the inner part, the rest of the surface of this inner part being mainly constituted by the central opening;

-

the ring and the associated draining member form a monobloc piece;

-

The removable membrane is arranged on the ring so that its tongue extends above the draining member, allowing a draining operation through said draining member thanks to a partial separation of the membrane; in this case, the longitudinal axes of symmetry of the tongue and the draining organ are confused or practically confused.

The present invention also relates to a ring with draining member, as defined above; it also refers to the container equipped with at least one such lid and / or with at least one such ring.

The invention is still illustrated, without being limited in any way, by the following description of a possible embodiment, given by way of example only, and this in relation to the accompanying drawings, in which:

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Figure 1 is a general and perspective view of a cover according to the invention, in which the removable membrane is hermetically fixed on the underlying ring and in which a schematic local section is made at the level of said removable membrane to show a part of the underlying ring;

-

Figure 2 is also a perspective view of the lid of Figure 1, in which its membrane is partially detached in order to discover the draining member of the associated ring;

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Figures 3 and 4 illustrate the continuation of the detachment of the membrane on the cover of Figures 1 and 2 until its complete separation from the ring.

The lid 1 according to the invention, as shown in Figures 1 to 4, is adapted for the manufacture of containers equipped with at least one membrane or an operculum of the removable type.

This type of container is typically used for the conditioning of food products, but could be used for the conditioning of any other product that should be subject to a draining / draining operation before use, as will be explained below.

This cover 1 is adapted to be applied at the level of one or one of the openings of a container body C (said container body C is shown schematically and in broken lines in Figure 1). It is fixed by any appropriate technique on the end edge of the container body that delimits the opening to be sealed, for example by crimping.

This container body C comprises a side wall that can be of varied configurations, dimensions and sections.

The cover 1 shown in Figures 1 to 4, is adapted in particular to be applied on a container body C of circular section. This cover 1 could also be adapted to be mounted on a body that has another shape / section: oval, square, rectangular, oblong, etc .; its general form would then be adapted accordingly.

The constituent material of this container body C and its manufacturing process can be chosen by the person skilled in the art. It is made, for example, of metal, in particular of steel or aluminum, chosen according to the product to be conditioned.

As shown, the cover 1 according to the invention comprises (i) a mounting ring 2 and (ii) a removable sealing membrane 3 hermetically fixed on said ring 2.

The mounting ring 2 advantageously consists of a metal part, for example made of steel or aluminum.

The shape and dimensions of this ring 2 are adapted according to the section of the container body C in which it will be mounted.

In this case, this ring 2 has a general annular or circular shape.

As shown, in particular in Figure 4 (the membrane 3 being completely detached), the ring 2 comprises:

-

a peripheral annular part 5 adapted to be mechanically joined to the free edge of the body of

container C, and

-

an inner part 6 intended to extend at the level of the opening of the container body C.

The inner part 6 is composed in this case of a flat annular collar 7 extended on a part of its angular sector by a draining member 8 in the form of a grid.

This inner part 6 is also delimited by an inner edge 9, which defines a central opening 10; this internal edge 9 is composed in this case, on the one hand, of the internal edge 9a of the draining member 8 and, on the other hand, of the free internal edge 9b of the annular collar 7.

The draining member 8 consists in this case of a flat element, generally in the form of a disk segment, made monobloc with the ring 2. It extends in the plane of the annular collar 7. The central opening 10 in this example has a general shape partially truncated disk.

Alternatively, this draining body 8 can be fixed on the ring 2 using appropriate removable or immovable solidarity means.

The draining member 8 is provided with a plurality of holes 11, sized to allow the passage of the broth to be evacuated while ensuring the maintenance of the products to drain into the container.

By way of indication, the holes 11 may have a diameter between 1 and 8 mm.

The inner part 6, generally disc shaped, is mainly composed of the draining member 8 and the central opening 10.

More precisely, the surface of the draining member 8 advantageously constitutes between 5 and 50% of the surface of the inner part 6. The central opening 10 forms the rest of this inner part 6, that is, respectively between 95 and 50% of this inner part 6 (the surface of the collar 7 being negligible in this case).

In this example, the surfaces of the draining member 8 and the central opening 10 are of the order of 25% and 75%, respectively, with respect to the total surface of the inner part 6.

The removable membrane 3, represented in Figures 1 to 3, is for example of the type described in EP-1 878 666.

This removable membrane 3, also called "operculum", is hermetically fixed on the ring 2, advantageously by a glue / weld type joint (for example, a heat welding technique). In this case, it will cover the draining member 8 and the central opening 10.

In this case, this membrane 3 joins, at the level of its outer edge, the upper face of the annular collar 7 of the ring 2.

Alternatively, it can be hermetically attached to any other part of the ring 2, for example to its outer part of crimping 5.

At the level of its peripheral edge, the removable membrane 3 also comprises a tongue 15 that constitutes a gripping member to facilitate its detachment by the user. This tongue 15 folds in this case opposite and against the upper face of the membrane 3. According to other embodiments, the membrane 3 can be provided with several tongues 15.

This tab 15 is advantageously made monobloc with the membrane 3, and consists of an extension of material.

Alternatively, the tongue 15 is applied on the membrane 3, directly or indirectly (the membrane 3 is thus obtained by assembling at least two pieces).

The tongue 15 comprises a longitudinal axis of symmetry 15 ’(which passes between its inner and outer ends) which extends radially or at least approximately radially in this case.

In addition, the membrane 3 is applied in this case on the ring 2, so that its tongue 15 extends above the draining member 8. More precisely, the longitudinal axis 15 'of the tongue 15 and the axis of symmetry 8' of the draining member 8 (radially oriented, as shown in Figure 4) in this case they extend parallel to each other and are confused or practically confused.

These structural peculiarities allow an optimal partial separation of the membrane 3 (as described in

in relation to figure 2), allowing a draining operation through the draining member 8 without releasing the internal opening 10.

In practice, the lid 1 according to the invention is produced in a first manufacturing location.

5 For this, the ring 2 and the removable membrane 3 are manufactured independently of one another by means of techniques known to the person skilled in the art, before being assembled, for example, by a heat-welding technique.

10 The lid 1 obtained can be easily stored and transported to a conditioning place where it is mounted on the body of a container, after filling it with product. Alternatively, the lid 1 can be mounted immediately on the container body, before transporting the assembly to the product conditioning site (at the facilities of the person in charge of filling it).

In possession of a container equipped with a lid 1 according to the invention, the end user can perform the operations described above in relation to Figures 2 to 4 to drain his product.

First, the user partially opens the lid 1, partially detaching the membrane 3 by appropriate traction on the tongue 15.

20 As shown in Figure 2, the partial detachment of the membrane 3 allows to release all or part of the draining member 8, while keeping the internal opening 10 sealed.

The operator can conveniently tilt the container so that it directs the draining member 8 downwards, which allows the evacuation of the liquid while avoiding the risks of dispersion of the conditioned products.

Once the products are drained conveniently, the user finishes the detachment of the membrane 3 until its complete separation with respect to the ring 2 (figures 3 and 4).

30 When the central opening 10 is then released, the operator can conveniently tilt the conditioning so that it directs this central opening 10 downwards and evacuates the conditioned products through this opening 10 by simple gravity.

Alternatively, starting from a full container, the user can completely remove the removable membrane 3.

In this case, simply tilt the container slightly so that the draining member 8 is oriented downwards to evacuate the liquid, and then pivot it from the other side in order to allow the evacuation 40 of the products through the central opening 10.

The lid according to the invention thus integrates simultaneously a sealing function and a draining function. It has the advantage of being transported simply from the place of manufacture to the place of assembly; It is also interested in facilitating the management of stocks (a "unique" piece to manage) and the operations of

45 assembly (fixing on the container body in a single operation).

Claims (10)

1. Cover for sealing an opening of a container body (C) intended to receive a product bathed in a liquid and that must be drained before use, such as food products bathed in a broth, said lid (1) being characterized in that it comprises: (i) a ring (2) comprising - an outer part (5) apt to be fixed on an edge of said body (C) that delimits said body opening and - an inner part (6) intended to extend at the level of said body opening, said inner part (6) comprising a draining member (8) and a central opening 10 (10), and (ii) a removable sealing membrane (3) whose outer edge is hermetically fixed on said ring (2), said membrane (3) being provided with at least one pull tab (15) to allow separation of said membrane ( 3) with respect to said ring (2), 15 and because said inner part (6) of the ring (2) allows, when the removable membrane (3) is separated from said ring (2) and depending on the inclination applied to the container, either the draining of the conditioned products thanks to said draining member (8), either the evacuation of the products through said central opening (10). 2. Cover according to claim 1, characterized in that the inner part (6) of the ring (2) comprises a flat annular collar (7), and that the draining member (8) is in the form of a flat element in the that a plurality of drainage holes (11) is arranged, said draining member (8) extending said annular collar (7) and extending in the plane of the latter. 3. Cover according to claim 2, characterized in that the removable membrane (3) is fixed on the annular collar (7) of the inner part (6) of the ring (2). 4. Cover according to any of claims 2 or 3, characterized in that the draining member (8) has a general disk segment shape. 5. Cover according to any of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the surface of the draining member (8) corresponds to between 5 and 50% of the surface of the inner part (6), and because the rest of said inner part (6) It is formed by the central opening (10). 35

6.

Cover according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the draining member (8) is made monoblock with the ring (2).

7.

Cover according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the removable membrane (3) is

40 applied on the ring (2) so that its tongue (15) extends over the draining member (8), allowing a draining operation through said draining member (8) thanks to a partial separation of the removable membrane (3). 8. Cover according to claim 7, characterized in that the longitudinal axes of symmetry (15 ’and 8’) of the tongue 45 (15) and the draining member (8) are confused or practically confused.

9.

Ring (2) with draining member (8), for a cover (1) according to any of claims 1 to 8.

10.

Container intended to receive a product bathed in a liquid, comprising a body (C) equipped with

At least one cover (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, and / or at least one ring (2) according to claim 9.