ES2975162T3 - Cap for a container - Google Patents

Abstract

Container stopper, with a lid with a peripheral wall (8) enclosing the neck of the container, on the lower edge of which a removable circumferential safety ring (9) is formed to protect the contents of the container from tampering. with inwardly oriented locking projections (10) which, in the fastening system of the cap, engage under an annular projection of the container facing outwards, and with an olive (2) provided with an annular bead (12) circumferentially externally for securing the hook in the opening of the container, characterized in that a circular concentric recessed groove (1) is formed in the lid, which has a radially outer annular wall (2) and a radially inner annular wall (4), which are connected to each other by a base wall (3), that the radially outer annular wall (2) forms the olive and that directly above the locking projections (10) recesses (11) are formed, which protrude into the securing ring (9) and extend on both sides over the locking projections (10) and extend beyond. (Automatic translation with Google Translate, not legally binding)

Description

DESCRIPTION

Stopper for a container

The invention relates to a stopper for a container, having a lid with a peripheral wall surrounding the neck of the container, on the lower edge of which a removable circumferential safety ring is formed for ensuring the originality of the contents of the container, with locking tabs facing inwards, which, in the fixing position of the stopper, fit below an annular projection of the container facing outwards, and with an olive provided with an outer circumferential annular rim in the opening of the container, for the tightening fit.

These stoppers are well-known and have proven themselves many times in sealing the contents of the container with the aid of the olive, whereby the originality lock ring ensures that the contents of the container cannot be tampered with without authorization. When a user wants to remove the stopper from the container for the first time, he first pulls the originality lock ring from the lower edge of the peripheral wall surrounding the container, after which he can pry the stopper out of the neck of the container.

EP 2444334 A1 describes a cap with a recessed channel having a metal layer which is firmly connected to the plastic body of the cap. This metal layer preferably consists of steel and is firmly connected to the plastic body of the cap by means of an adhesive, preferably a hot melt adhesive. Due to the metal layer, the recessed channel cannot be compressed laterally, to facilitate prying the cap out of the neck of a container.

EP 0798 228 A1 describes a cap with a recessed channel, in which the outer region of the ring-shaped cap according to Figure 3 is perforated by circumferentially distributed recesses, which are created during the production of the cap by means of piston cores in the injection mould, with which the locking lugs are formed on the securing ring. The document gives no indication of forming at least one upwardly protruding rib at the top of the ring-shaped cap region, instead of the recesses, in order to stiffen this region of the cap, when the cap is pried out of a container opening.

Due to the inevitable production tolerances, it may happen that the ring-shaped olive is so tightly pressed into the neck of the container that considerable force is required to separate the shaped peripheral wall of the cap and the olive from the neck of the container, which can be problematic for elderly users, for example. In this case, it is also more difficult to “pry off” the angled cap, due to the inflexible cap of the cap.

Since the cap is a mass-produced item, its production costs should be as low as possible, so the amount of plastic material used is an important cost factor.

The present invention is based on the aim of providing a cap for a container which seals the contents of the container tightly and can be removed more easily, even if the olive is firmly pressed into the container, than is the case with the caps conventionally used up to now. In addition, the cap should be able to be produced with less plastic material.

This objective is solved according to the invention by the features of claim 1.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention are characterized in the dependent claims.

The invention provides that a concentric, circular recessed channel is formed in the circular cap of the stopper, which has a radially outer annular wall and a radially inner annular wall, which are connected to one another by a bottom wall. The outer annular wall and the radially inner annular wall preferably run parallel to one another and at right angles to the central region of the circular cap and the outer region of the ring-shaped cap, on which they are formed. The recessed channel is therefore preferably U-shaped in cross section.

The invention further provides that the radially outer annular wall forms the olive, which on its outer side has the circumferential annular rim, which causes the tightening fit on the neck of the container.

Since the ring-shaped olive is connected at its lower end to the lower wall of the recessed channel, which supports the olive against the action of lateral forces during the tightening engagement in the neck of the container, the olive can be shortened compared to conventional closures, thereby reducing the amount of plastic material used for the closure. In addition, the thickness of the wall of the supported olive can also be reduced in this way.

The recessed channel also makes it easier to pry the plug out of the neck of the container, because the recessed channel can be compressed slightly when the plug is pushed back from the neck of the container, making it easier to remove the plug from the neck of the container.

The invention further provides that recesses through the securing ring are formed directly above the locking lugs and extend beyond the locking lugs on both sides. These recesses are created by lateral slides of the injection moulding tool, which together with an inner contour sleeve form the locking lugs, as in the case of a conventional stopper with a closed lid, described in DE 42 36741 C1. These lateral recesses ensure that no foreign matter from outside can approach the opening of the container, as would be the case if the locking lugs were formed by piston cores which were guided through the recesses in the lid part. Otherwise, these recesses in the outer region of the ring-shaped lid would make it more difficult to pry off the stopper, since the outer region of the ring-shaped lid would not have the required rigidity.

The invention further provides that the radially inner annular wall extends beyond the bottom wall and forms the peripheral wall of a desiccant chamber. Furthermore, the plug conveniently contains a spiral retaining device, whose spiral-shaped elastic bands, which end in a closing ring, can be formed in the recessed channel.

The recessed channel is formed in the central area of the cap in the form of a circle and in the outer area of the cap in the form of a ring, so that the lower end area of the radially outer annular wall that forms the olive can be inclined in a straight line, to facilitate its removal from the mould when producing the cap. At the same time, this inclination also serves as an aid to sliding, when the closure is automatically locked onto the tube. This also makes it easier to pry the cap out.

In order to increase the rigidity of the cap, the invention provides that the upper part of the ring-shaped cap area is provided with at least one circumferential rib protruding upwards.

It is also proposed with great advantage that the olive ring has on its inner side a corrugated wall surface, which is formed by a plurality of grooves in the olive wall, which run in the axial direction of the plug. The grooves can in this case have a constant depth of about 10% to about 50% of the minimum wall thickness of the olive ring, whereby the suitable value of the plastic material used and the geometry depends on the corrugation. The corrugation bands preferably have a curved cross-sectional shape.

Tests with such a corrugated olive have shown that the clamping pressure generated by the olive and thus the tightness of the contents of the container is only slightly reduced, while the corrugations make it considerably easier to pry the cap out of the neck of the container. This means that even users with little hand strength can handle the cap better.

The peripheral wall of the plug and the safety ring are connected to each other at points between the locking lugs by short bands, which can be easily gripped.

Further details of the invention are given in the following description and in the drawings. In this case, they are shown in:

Figure 1 is a perspective representation of a partially sectioned embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2, a band-reinforced embodiment;

Figure 3, a comparison of a conventional stopper and a stopper according to the invention;

Figure 4, the same comparison without measurements;

Figure 5, a perspective representation of the stopper according to the invention of Figures 3 and 4.

Figure 1 shows an embodiment of the stopper according to the invention, in whose circular-shaped lid a concentrically recessed channel 1 is formed, which contains a radially outer annular wall 2, a bottom wall 3 and an inner annular wall 4. The recessed channel 1 has a U-shaped cross-section and is formed in a central circular-shaped lid region 5 and an outer ring-shaped lid region 6. The radially inner annular wall 4 extends beyond the bottom wall 3 and, together with the annular wall 4, forms the peripheral wall of a desiccant chamber 7.

The ring-shaped lid area 6 is connected to a circumferential wall 8 with a rectangular corner, on the lower edge of which a removable safety ring 9 is formed to ensure the originality of the contents of the container, which is connected to the inwardly facing locking lugs 10. Above the locking lugs 10 there are recesses 11 which pass through the safety ring 9.

The radially outer annular wall 2 of the recessed channel 1 is designed as an olive, because it is provided with an outer circumferential annular rim 12 for clamping engagement in the opening of a container, not shown. The lower end region 13 of the olive runs inclined in a straight line towards the inside.

A spiral clamping device 14 with its spiral-shaped elastic bands 15 is formed on the lower wall 3 of the recessed channel 1.

Figure 2 shows an identical stopper with the exception that at the top of the central lid area 5 and at the top of the ring-shaped lid area 6, strips 7', 8' running in a radial direction are designed, which increase the rigidity of the two lid areas. The protruding strips 7' and 8' are respectively designed evenly spaced from each other and distributed along the entire circumference of the lid areas 5, 6.

Figure 3 shows a composition of a conventional cap 16 in the left half of the figure, and the cap 17 according to the invention in the right half of the figure. From this comparison it can be seen that in the cap 17 according to the invention, the olive 2 is significantly shorter than the olive 18 of the conventional cap 16, which is possible because the olive 2 is held and supported by the bottom wall 3. Due to this support, the olive 2 develops the same pressure force as the longer olive 18, which also makes it much easier to pry a container due to its shorter dimensions. The inclined surface at the lower end 13 of the olive 2 also contributes to this. In the upper part of the ring-shaped lid area 6, a ring-shaped circumferential rib 19 is designed.

A corrugation may be designed on the radially inner surface of the olive 2. This corrugation, which consists of closely spaced grooves and rounded projections in cross section between them, facilitates prying of the cap according to the invention, whereby at the same time the tightening pressure of the olive, required to hermetically seal the contents of the container, is maintained.

Claims (6)

1. A stopper for a container with a lid with a peripheral wall (8) surrounding the neck of the container, on the lower edge of which a removable circumferential safety ring (9) is formed for ensuring the originality of the contents of the container, with locking lugs (10) facing inwards, which, in the fixing position of the stopper, engage below an annular projection of the container facing outwards, and with an olive (2) provided with an outer circumferential annular flange (12) for tightening engagement in the opening of the container, whereby a concentric circular recessed channel (1) is designed in the lid, which has a radially outer annular wall (2) and a radially inner annular wall (4), which are connected to each other by a bottom wall (3), and whereby the recessed channel (1) is formed in the central area of the lid in the form of a circle (5) and the outer area of the lid in the form of a ring (6), whereby the annular wall (2) is formed in ... The radially outer part forms the olive (2) and the radially inner annular wall (4) extends beyond the bottom wall (3) and forms the peripheral wall of a desiccant chamber (7), characterized in that the upper part of the ring-shaped lid area (6) is provided with at least one rib (19) protruding upwards. 2. The stopper according to claim 1, characterized in that the lower end zone (13) of the olive (2) is inclined in a straight line. 3. The stopper according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the olive has a corrugated wall surface on its inner side, which is formed by a plurality of grooves in the wall of the olive, which run in the longitudinal direction of the olive. 4. The stopper according to claim 3, characterized in that the grooves have a preferably constant depth of 10% to 50% of the minimum thickness of the olive wall. 5. The stopper according to one of claims 3 or 4, characterized in that the bands between the slots have a curved cross-sectional shape. 6. The plug according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that a spiral holding device (14) is formed in the lower wall (3) of the recessed channel (1).