ES2635237T3 - Close tamper evidence - Google Patents

Abstract

A tamper evident closure (1) for closing the mouth (11) of a container (10) having a neck (12) and a mouth (11), said tamper evident closure (1) extending along a longitudinal direction (XX) and comprising: - a spout (20) with a lower part (30) and an upper part (40), the lower part (30) being able to be fixed to the neck (12) of the container (10), the upper part (40) having a pouring hole (41) and which is mobile, after the first opening, along said longitudinal direction (XX) with respect to the lower part (30), from a first position, which corresponds to the position prior to the first opening, up to a second position, - a lid (50) having an outer surface (52) that can be grasped to rotate the lid (50) and open and close the container (10) and an internal surface (51) to close the pouring hole (41), - fixing means (80) to removably fix said cover (50 ) with said upper part (40), said rotation means limiting the fixing means (80) the cover (50) with the upper part (40) after the first opening, thus preventing the rotation of the cover (50) with with respect to the upper part (40) until the upper part (40) has reached the second position, said fixing means (80) being released in said second position after a subsequent rotation of the cover (50) to allow the cover ( 50) is removed from the upper part (40), - cam means (90) to convert, after the first opening, a rotational movement of the upper part (40) with respect to the lower part (30) in a longitudinal movement of said cover (50) and, by means of said fixing means (80), of the upper part (40) with respect to the lower part (30) from the first position to the second position, in which - in the first position, the cover (50) and the lower part (30) are adjacent, and the outer surface (52) of the lid (50) can be grasped to open the container (10), - after the first opening, after the rotation of the lid (50) the upper part (40) and the lid (50) move along said longitudinal direction (XX) with respect to the lower part (30) from said first position to said second position. - in the second position, there is a space between the cover (50) and the lower part (30), the upper part (40) and the lower part (30) are adapted to be mutually and irreversibly blocked, so that the means Attachments (80) can be released to remove the cover (50) from the upper part (40).

Description

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DESCRIPTION

Closing of evidence of manipulation Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a closure of tamper evidence, that is, a closure comprising devices that can provide evidence of the first opening.

Background of the invention

It is known that, especially in the spirits industry, there is a need to provide visible tamper evidence configurations capable of providing an indication to a user that a bottle has been opened.

Document CN 2016700446 U discloses a closure with an outer cover, a base and an extensible pouring assembly. The base is provided with a device used to be fixed in a container. The extensible pouring assembly is arranged in the base and has the possibility of moving forward with respect to the axial direction of the base. The closure also comprises a device for blocking the inverse movement of the extensible pouring assembly in order to limit the rotation of the outer cover in the reverse direction of the container closing system. This closure has the disadvantage that a large number of components is required. In addition, the use of the outer cover, to carry out the first opening, does not satisfy most customers and markets.

EP 1694576 and WO 2006/117505 disclose a tamper evidence closure for a package comprising a first part with inner and outer parts, and a second part. The outer part is mobile with respect to the inner part from a first position, in which the outer part is immediately adjacent to the second part, to a second position in which there is an empty and clear space between them. The inner and outer parts are adapted to irreversibly lock in the second position, so that the outer part cannot move back to the first position to close the space. In particular, the inner and outer parts include a side ratchet configuration in the respective side walls.

EP 2178771 discloses a tamper evidence closure having a first part with exterior and interior parts and a second part as in EP 1694576, where the exterior and interior parts have upper plates comprising longitudinal ratchet configurations between they.

EP 1694576 and EP 2178771 are affected by the weakness of the ratchet configuration, which is made of soft material.

EP 1313649 discloses a tamper evidence closure comprising a spout that includes a sleeve adapted to be fixed on the neck of the container and on a part of the spout outlet. The closure also comprises a cover, an outer sleeve and an outer cover. Due to the fact that the spout must be fixed to the neck of the container, it must be made of a very resistant material, such as polycarbonate. On the other hand, due to the requirements of the aesthetic market, the spout must be made of a transparent material, to match a transparent bottle spout. A problem related to the use of polycarbonate is the fact that, for molding reasons, polycarbonate includes bisphenol A (BPA) as an additive. However, recently it has been found that BPA is harmful to health. Since the outlet part of the landfill is intended to contact the liquid flowing from the container, the use of polycarbonate for landfills may be prohibited in the near future.

WO 2011/157978 discloses a closure of evidence of manipulation with a threaded spout suitable for fixing to the neck of a container, an inner lid to open and close the spout outlet of the spout, an outer lid mounted outside the lid interior and an outer cover. The outer cover is movable in the first opening with respect to the inner cover from a first position to a second position, in which the outer cover is irreversibly locked with respect to the inner cover. In the second position, the inner cover can be removed from the threaded pourer. The outer cover is made of two parts connected by frangible bridges. In the first position, before the first opening, the two parts of the outer cover are adjacent. After the first opening, the upper cover moves together with the outer cover, with respect to the inner cover, to the second position and a clear space is formed between the two parts of the outer cover. This configuration suffers from the same problem of EP 1313649, since the threaded spout must be made of a very resistant material, such as polycarbonate, in view of the need to fix it to the neck of the container.

The prior discussion of the prior art shows that there is still a need for a closure assembly that can combine both features of simple construction and efficiency of the handling evidence systems described above.

In view of the prior art, the object of the present invention is to at least partially fulfill the previous need, while at least partially the drawbacks of the prior art are avoided.

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In addition, the present invention provides a closure assembly that has advantages in terms of simple manufacturing, greater strength, more compact design and / or greater versatility.

Summary of the invention

According to the present invention, this objective is met by a closure according to claim 1.

Brief description of the drawings

The features and advantages of the present invention will appear from the following detailed description of a practical embodiment, which is given as a non-limiting example with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

- Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a closure according to a first embodiment of the present invention, before the first opening,

- Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the closure of Figure 1, after the first opening,

- figure 3 shows a perspective view of the closure of figure 1 without outer capsule,

- figure 4 shows a perspective view of the closure of figure 2 without outer capsule,

- figure 5 shows a cross-sectional side view of the closure of figure 1,

- Figure 6 shows a side view in different cross-section of the closure of Figure 1,

- Figure 7 shows a cross-sectional side view of the closure of Figure 2,

- Figure 8 shows a cross-sectional side view of the closure of Figure 2 with the cover removed,

- Figures 9 and 10 show a schematic perspective view of the closure of Figure 1,

Detailed description

As used in the description and claims of the present specification, the terms "comprises" and its variants, such as "comprising", are not intended to exclude other additional elements, parts or components, and any other stages or phases.

With reference to Figures 1 to 11, a closure of tamper evidence 1 is shown according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The closure 1 is intended to close the mouth 11 of a container 10, for example, a bottle, such as a glass bottle, for example, for spirits.

The container 10 is a bottle and comprises a neck 12 that ends at the mouth 11.

The closure of tamper evidence 1 extends mainly along a longitudinal axis X-X that defines a longitudinal direction.

While the closure 1 itself may be oriented in any direction, for the purposes of the present direction the vertical axis will be defined as the longitudinal axis XX of the closure 1 and, conveniently, the lower side is the side of the closure 1 , designed to face the container 10, and the upper side is the one designed to face the consumer; This is actually the normal orientation of the closure when mounted on a normally oriented bottle (as shown in the figures).

The closure 1 comprises a spout 20, with a lower part 30 and an upper part 40, and a cover 50.

A washer 21 is disposed between the container 10 and the spout 20.

In the embodiment shown in the figures, the lower part 30 comprises an annular sleeve 34 extending longitudinally from an upper end 35 to a lower end 36.

The lower part 30 comprises fixing means 31 for fixing the lower part 30 in the neck 12 of the container 10.

The fixing means 31 comprise first means32 for longitudinally fixing the lower part 30 on the neck 12, and second means 33 for rotationally fixing the lower part 30 on the neck 12.

The upper part 40 has a pouring hole 41 and is movable along the longitudinal direction X-X with respect to the lower part 30 from a first position, which corresponds to the position before the first opening, to a second position. In particular, the upper part 40 is movable with respect to the lower part 30 after the first opening.

It should be noted that, in the second position, the upper part 40 is arranged, longitudinally, in a higher position with respect to the position that the upper part 40 assumes in the first position. In other words, the upper part 40 is movable along the longitudinal direction X-X with respect to the lower part 30 of a first lower position than a second higher position.

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In the embodiment shown in the figures, the upper part 40 comprises an annular sleeve 45 extending longitudinally from an upper end 46, where the pouring hole 41 and a lower end 46 are provided, where it is provided a lower edge 42.

The closure 1 may comprise anti-filling means and / or valve means. These elements are known in the art and therefore will not be described.

The lid 50 has an inner surface 51 and an outer surface 52. The outer surface 52 corresponds to the part of the closure 1 that can be grasped by a user to open and close the closure 1. The inner surface 51 can close the pouring hole 41 .

According to one embodiment, the opening of the closure 1 is carried out by unscrewing the lid 50 around the axis of rotation X-X. For this purpose, in the example, the threads 43 are formed in the annular sleeve 45 and the cover 50 has threads 53 for engagement with the threads 43.

In the example, the lid 50 comprises an inner lid 60 and an outer lid 70 disposed outside the inner lid 60.

The inner cover 60 comprises an upper wall 61 and a sleeve 62 extending from the upper wall 61 to a lower edge 63. The threads 53 are formed on the inner surface of the sleeve 62.

The outer cover 70 comprises an upper wall 71 and a sleeve 72 extending from the upper wall 71 to a lower edge 73. The outer surface of the sleeve 72 defines the outer surface 52 that can be grasped by a user to open and close the closure. one.

In the embodiment shown in the figures, the closure 1 also comprises an outer sleeve 75 disposed outside the annular sleeve 34 of the lower part 30 and extending from a lower edge 76 and an upper edge 77. The outer sleeve 75 can be connected to the outer cover 70, before the first opening, by means of a part or frangible bridges that connect the upper edge 77 of the outer sleeve 75 and the lower edge 73 of the outer cover, and break after the first opening . Alternatively, the upper edge 77 and the lower edge 73 may be separated before the first opening.

The closure 1 also comprises fixing means 80 for removably fixing the lid 50 with the upper part 40 of the spout 20.

In particular, the fixing means 80 are configured to prevent the cover 50 from moving with respect to the upper part 40 until the upper part 40 has reached the second position.

In the first position, the lid 50 and the bottom 30 are adjacent.

In particular, the lower part 30 has an upper edge 37 which, in the first position, is adjacent to the lower edge 63 of the inner cover 60.

On the other hand, in the first position, the lid 50 can be grasped to open the container. In the example, the outer surface 52 can be grasped to open the container.

After the first opening, the rotation of the lid 50, around the axis of rotation XX, causes the upper part 40 and the lid 50 to move along the longitudinal direction XX with respect to the lower part 30 from the first position to the second position.

According to one embodiment, the cam means 90 are provided to cause the longitudinal movement of the upper part 40 with respect to the lower part 30 after the first opening.

In particular, the cam means 90 can convert, after the first opening, a rotational movement of the lid 50 into a longitudinal movement of the lid 50 and the upper part 40, with respect to the lower part 30 from the first position to the second position.

According to the embodiment shown in the attached figures, the cam means 90 comprise first cam elements 91 that are formed in the lid 50 and second cam elements 92 that are formed in the lower part 30.

According to an alternative embodiment not shown in the figures, the first cam elements may be associated with the upper part 40 of the spout 20 and the second cam elements associated with the lower part 30 of the spout 20. Since the part upper 40 rotates with the lid 50 after the first opening, a rotation of the lid 50 causes a rotation of the upper part 40 which in turn moves longitudinally with respect to the lower part 30, due to the cooperation of the first cam elements with the second cam elements.

In the figures, the second cam elements 92 comprise a plurality of ramps arranged, angularly, separately along the upper edge 37 of the lower part 30, and the first cam elements 91

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they comprise a plurality of projections that are formed in the lower part of the cover 50. Since the cover 50 and the upper part 40 are joined by the fixing means 80, after the first opening the projections 91 act on the ramps 92 to make that the upper part 40 and the cover 50 move longitudinally with respect to the lower part 30.

According to one embodiment, the ramps 92 comprise a first part 92a and a second part 92b joined to the first part 92a. In the example, the protrusions 91 of the cover 50 are coupled to the first part 92a to cause the upper part 40 to move from the first position to the second position.

In the second position, there is a space between the lid 50 and the bottom 30. In particular, the space is visible.

On the other hand, in the second position, the upper part 40 and the lower part 30 are adapted to be locked, mutually and irreversibly, so that the fixing means 80 can be released to remove the cover 50 from the upper part 40. In particular, the upper part 40 cannot move back to the first position.

Therefore, in the second position, the upper part 40 and the lower part 30 define the spout 20 of the closure 1.

Since the spout 20 is made of two parts, namely the lower part 30 and the upper part 40, these two parts can be made of different materials, depending on the requirements that each part has to satisfy. The lower part 30 is intended to be fixed to the neck 12 of the container 10; therefore, it can be made of polycarbonate or even a stronger polycarbonate material, opaque or transparent and also with different colors. The upper part 40 is intended to allow the liquid content to be poured; therefore, it can be made of any transparent material, even weaker than polycarbonate since it does not have to meet the stiffness requirements.

For this purpose, blocking means 100 are provided for, in a mutually and irreversibly, longitudinally and rotationally blocking the upper part 40 with respect to the lower part 30 in the second position.

According to one embodiment, the blocking means 100 comprise first blocking means 101, for rotationally blocking the upper part 40 to the lower part 30, and second locking means 104, for longitudinally blocking the upper part 40 to the part lower 30.

In the embodiment shown in the figures, the first locking means 101 comprise ribs 102 provided in a lower part 44 of the upper part 40, and intended to engage with the notches 103 provided in an upper part 38 of the part lower 30 when the upper part 40 reaches the second position.

The second locking means 104 comprise projections 105 arranged, angularly, separately along the annular sleeve 34 of the lower part 30. In the first position, the lower edge 42 of the upper part 40 is located below the projections 105. As soon as the upper part 40 moves from the first position to the second position, the lower edge 42 moves towards and passes the projections 105 and abuts against the upper edge 37 of the lower part 30. In the second position, therefore, the lower edge 42 is located between the projections 105 and the upper edge 37 of the lower part 30, so that longitudinal movement is prevented.

According to the embodiment shown in the attached figures, the upper part 40 is separated from the lower part 30 in the first position. According to an alternative embodiment, the upper part 40 and the lower part 30 may be connected by means of connection which, in the first position, connect the lower part 30 with the upper part 40 and which, after the first opening, are released to allow the upper part 40 to move with respect to the lower part 30. These connection means can be, for example, a part or frangible bridges connecting the lower part 30 with the upper part 40.

According to the embodiment shown in the attached figures, the fixing means 80 comprise first fixing elements 81 that are formed in the upper part 40 and a second fixing elements 82 that are formed in the cover 50.

The first fixing elements 81 are coupled to the second fixing elements 82, substantially from the first position to the second position, so that the rotation movement of the cover 50 causes the rotation movement of the upper part 40 with respect to the bottom 30.

Advantageously, the cover 50 is connected to the upper part 40 by the fixing means 80, so that the upper part 40 is limited in rotation with the cover 50 after the first opening.

According to an alternative embodiment, the fixing means 80 comprise the threads 53 of the cover 50 coupled with the threads 43 of the upper part 40 of the spout 20. Due to the friction between the threads 43 and 53, the upper part 40 is limited in rotation with the lid 50 after the first opening.

In the example shown in the figures, when the upper part 40 is in the second position, a rotation of the cover 50 causes the release of the fixing means 80. In particular, the second fixing elements 82 of the cover 50 are adapted to be disengaged from the first fasteners 81 of the upper part 40,

so that the lid 50 moves with respect to the upper part 40.

In particular, when the upper part 40 is in the second position, a rotation of the cover 50 causes the projections 91 to engage the second part 92b of the ramps 92. The second part 92b with the ramps 92 is configured in such a way. that the cover 50 can move longitudinally with respect to the upper part 40, 5 until the second fixing elements 82 of the cover 50 are decoupled from the first fixing elements 81. As soon as the fixing elements 81.82 they are disengaged, the cover 50 can be rotated with respect to the upper part 40 and, by means of the threads 43.53, the cover 50 can be unscrewed and removed from the upper part 40.

The manner in which the invention has been described is not intended to limit its operation and application in any way.

It will be appreciated that the closure of the present invention fulfills the intended purposes. Likewise, the present closure combines the advantages of simple and low cost manufacturing with the strength and simplicity of its use and handling.

Those skilled in the art will obviously appreciate that a series of changes and variants can be made to the configurations as described hereinbefore to meet the incidental and specific needs.

For example, unless otherwise imposed by obvious technical limitations, any feature 15 described in a preferred embodiment can clearly be used in another embodiment, with appropriate adaptations.

Similarly, the continuity of the closure components can be broken in any way, as long as no functionality of the relevant components is altered.

Also, small cones can be imparted to the parts described above having an annular or cylindrical shape, in response to the technological requirements.

Claims (4)

1. A tamper evidence closure (1) to close the mouth (11) of a container (10) having a neck (12) and a mouth (11), said tamper evidence closure (1) extending to along a longitudinal direction (XX) and comprising: 5 - a spout (20) with a lower part (30) and an upper part (40), the lower part (30) being able to be fixed to the neck (12) of the container (10), the upper part (40) having a pouring hole (41) and which is movable, after the first opening, along said longitudinal direction (XX) with respect to the lower part (30), from a first position, which corresponds to the position before the first opening, to a second position, - a lid (50) having an outer surface (52) that can be grasped to rotate the lid (50) and open and close the container (10) and an inner surface (51) to close the pouring hole (41 ), - fixing means (80) for removably fixing said cover (50) with said upper part (40), limiting in rotation said fixing means (80) the cover (50) with the upper part (40) after first opening thus preventing rotation of the cover (50) with respect to the upper part (40) until the upper part (40) has reached the second position, releasing said fixing means (80) in said second 15 position after a subsequent rotation of the lid (50) to allow the lid (50) to be removed from the top (40), - cam means (90) for converting, after the first opening, a rotational movement of the upper part (40) with respect to the lower part (30) into a longitudinal movement of said lid (50) and, by means of said fixing means (80), of the upper part (40) with respect to the lower part (30) from the first position a 20 the second position, in which - in the first position, the lid (50) and the bottom (30) are adjacent, and the outer surface (52) of the lid (50) can be grasped to open the container (10), - after the first opening, after rotation of the cover (50) the upper part (40) and the cover (50) move along said longitudinal direction (XX) with respect to the lower part (30) from said first position up said second position. - in the second position, there is a space between the cover (50) and the lower part (30), the upper part (40) and the lower part (30) are adapted to be mutually and irreversibly locked, so that the means fixing (80) can be released to remove the cover (50) from the top (40). 30 2. A closure of tamper evidence (1) according to claim 1, wherein said fixing means (80) they comprise first fixing elements (81) formed in said upper part (40) and some second fixing elements (82) formed in said cover (50), the first fixing elements (81) being coupled to said second fixing elements ( 82) from said first to said second position, so that the rotational movement of the lid (50) causes the rotational movement of the upper part (40) with respect to the lower part 35 (30). 3. A tamper evidence closure (1) according to claim 1, wherein said cam means comprises first cam elements (91) associated with the cover (50) and second cam elements (92) associated with the lower part (30) of the spout (20). 4. A tamper evidence closure (1) according to claim 1, wherein said cam means 40 comprise first cam elements (91) associated with the upper part (40) of the pourer (20) and about second cam elements (92) associated with the lower part (30) of the spout (20). 5. A tamper evidence closure (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein locking means (100) are provided to block, in a mutually and irreversibly, longitudinally and rotationally the upper part (40) with respect to the lower part (30) in the second position. Four. Five