GB2202520A

GB2202520A - Vessel with lid

Info

Publication number: GB2202520A
Application number: GB08803887A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Harry Schmid
Original assignee: ASEPTA AG
Current assignee: ASEPTA AG
Priority date: 1987-02-23
Filing date: 1988-02-19
Publication date: 1988-09-28
Anticipated expiration: 2008-02-19
Also published as: GB2202520B; DE3844806C2; DE3803869C2; IT8819468A0; NL8800404A; FR2611185A1; DE8801621U1; IT1215923B; DE3803869A1; BE1002034A5; GB8803887D0; FR2611185B1; CH673629A5

Description

VESSEL WITH LID 2.2 0 2 5 2 0 The invention relates to a container such as

a wide-necked glass having a base, a shell, a circular mouth with a bead surrounding it, and having a removable lid placed on the mouth such that a rib of the lid engages under the bead. A ring, provided on an edge strip of the lid, surrounds the outside of the container and can be completely separated from the lid along a circumferential line of weakness.

DE-A-3526771 discloses a vessel with a flexible lid having a so-called guarantee or tamper-evidence ring, which is pulled off along a circumferential line of weakness when the lid is lifted off. A difficulty, in the case of this vessel, is that the edge of the lid is relatively frequently bent inwards when being mechanically pulled on (20,000-30,000 lids customarily being fitted in an hour), and this leads to faults and interruptions of the working procedure.

This vessel also has a disadvantage in that, with some skill, the lid can be lifted off intact and replaced again without removal of the guarantee ring.

The object of the invention is to provide a vessel of this general type which avoids these disadvantages and can nevertheless be produced economically.

According to the present invention we provide the combination of a container and a lid, the container having:a base, a shell, and a circular mouth surrounded by a bead; the lid being able to be removably placed on the mouth, said lid having a rib engaging under the bead-and a ring provided on a skirt of the lid-, with said ring surrounding the container on its dutside and being able to be completely separated from the lid along a circumferential line of weakness; wherein the container further includes two outwardly projecting circumferentially extending ribs provided below the bead on the outside of said shell of the container; and wherein said ring has an inwardly projecting circumferentially extending rib which, when the lid is put into place, snaps over the upper of said two ribs of the container and in doing so interacts with the shoulder surface of said upper rib and, in the closed state, internally abuts the container with its lower edge on a shoulder of the lower of said two ribs.

When the lid is pulled on, the lower inner edge of the ring slides down on the shoulder surface of the upper rib and snaps into the channel between the two ribs. Since the ring rests on the shoulder, and internally on the vessel, it cannot be moved by hand either axially upwards or radially inwards.

Preferably the ring has on its lower inner edge an inclined circumferential surface which is offset outwardly relative to the inner surface of the rib of the lid.

The first advantage of this feature is that the lid can be produced with a comparatively simple and readily coolable injection mould. The injection moulding can be ejected from the injection mould without tearing the lid along the line of weakness. Good cooling means that the injection moulding cools quickly and can be removed correspondingly quickly from the injection mould. Appropriate tools exist for the production of injection moulds with undercuts, but such tools are expensive and the cooling performance is relatively poor.

On its inner side the ring does not completely fill the groove between the two ribs, resulting in a saving of material which is important in view of the very large numbers of such lids produced.

Advantageously a surface which is likewise circumferential and substantially planar, is provided opposite the inclined surface of the ring on the outside of said mouth of the container. The approximately plane surface thus provided on the outside of the container mouth lies opposite the inclined surface. This surface has an inhibiting action on a radially inward-directed movement of the lower edge of the ring, and thus improves the guarantee function of the closure.

Conveniently, the shoulder surface of the upper rib is approximately planar and the angle between the axis of the container and this shoulder surface is in the range from 30 0 to 450. This permits particularly quick and trouble-free pulling-on, making it possible to produce the lid with a comparatively low height and hence with a saving of material.

Preferably also, the rib of the lid, which engages under the bead of the container has a circumferentially extending sealing lip resting on the bottom of said bead. This has the advantage that, in the event of an attempt to lift the lid at the lower edge of the ring, the upper edge of the ring in the region of the line of weakness moves radially outwards and the upper part of the lid is not directly lifted in the axial direction.

Conveniently a circumferentially extending sealing lip attached on the inside of the skirt rests on a conical surface on the outside of the bead. Suitably, an annular sealing lip is moulded on t ' he inner surface of the lid and bears on a recessed surface of the bead. These features ensure that the leak-tightness of the closure is guaranteed even in the event of sub- or super-atmospheric pressure in the interior of the vessel.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention will now be explained in detail with reference to the drawing, in which:- FIGURE 1 shows a section through a lid according to the invention, the outline of an imaginary container being drawn in as a guide; FIGURE 2 shows a plan view of the underneath of the lid; FIGURE 3 shows an axial section through the mouth region of the container with the lid in place; - 4 FIGURE 4 corresponds to Figure 3 but with superatmospheric pressure in the container; and FIGURE 5 shows an axial section through the mouth region of the container.

The container 2 is a wide-necked glass made from pressed glass, which is particularly useful for milk products such as yogurt, and has a base (not shown) and a substantially cylindrical shell 20 (Figure 3) which is shown only in outline. An outwardly projecting bead 3 forms.the edge of the mouth over which a removable flexible lid 1 is inverted. The lid has a lid wall 7, on whose underside is moulded an annular sealing lip 9 which bears at the front on a recessed surface G of the bead (Figure 3). A further sealing lip 10 is attached to the inside of an edge strip or skirt 8, slightly below a raised edge 6 on the lid 1, and rests on a surface A (Figure 5) which is inclined at an angle cy-' to the axis of the glass.

A third sealing lip 11 is arranged on the shoulder of an inward pointing rib 15 which runs around in the circumferential direction. As is clearly shown in Figure 3, this sealing lip 11 rests on the underside of the bead 3. Tests have shown that the vessel is particularly dimensionally stable on the underside of the bead 3 and deviates minimally from circularity in cross-section; particuarly good leak-tightness is therefore achieved here.

In the event of superatmospheric pressure in the container, the sealing lip 11 is pressed against the bead, as illustrated in Figure 4. As a result, the sealing action of the lip 11 is increased and compensates for the non-leak-tightness of the wholly or partially lifted sealing lips 9 and 10.

On the other hand, in the event of sub-atmospheric pressure in the container, the sealing lip 9 is pressed more firmly against the bead 3, while the sealing lip 11 is wholly or partially lifted away from the container wall. Likewise, the sealing action of the lip 10 is increased in 1 the event of sub-atmospheric pressure.

The rib 15 is wedge-shaped in cross-section and rests at the front in an approximately complementary channel 21 on the container 2. Below the rib 15, a circumferential ring 16 is applied to the skirt 8 and can be separated therefrom along a line of weakness 17 which likewise extends around the entire circumference. To achieve this separation, a tear-off tab 13 of the ring 12, known per se, is first torn open along a notch 14 (Figure 2) and then pulled back along the line of weakness 17.

The ring 16 has a peripherally extending rib 18 which is wedge-shaped in cross-section and engages into an approximately complementary channel 22 of the container 2. This channel 22 is formed by two projecting ribs 4 and 5 of the container 2, which likewise extend in the circumferential direction.

The rib 4 projects radially further outwards than the bead 3, and the rib 5 further outwards than the rib 4. The channel 22 is also arranged further out radially than the channel 21, so that the rib 18 defines a correspondingly greater internal diameter than the rib 15. An upper inclined surface H of the rib 18 leads to the line of weakness -17, which when viewed in the cross- section of Figure 3, is flush with the outer surface 19 of the skirt 8 at its farthest radially outward point. The dimensions of the ring 16 and the rib 5 are such that the underside of the rib 18 bears sealingly on an approximately horizontal shoulder surface D of the rib 5 and, even under the action of comparatively high force, cannot be moved either radially inwardly or axially upwardly. The effect of this is to prevent the lid 1 from being lifted intact together with the ring 16. If it nevertheless proves possible, under the action of a strong force, to move the ring 16 slightly inwards at the lower edge, the upper edge of the ring 18 moves radially outwards. The action of force does not, as intended, bring about axial lifting of the lid, but 6 - primarily a largely ineffectual bulging of the lid edge 8.

Removal of the lid 1 without prior tearing of the ring 16 is therefore very difficult with the lid proposed in accordance with the invention.

In order for the lid 1 to be pulled on quickly and without problems, the ring 16 has a conical surface F (Figure 4) leading to its underside, this surface F interacting with the outer edge of the bead 3, and particularly with the surface B, when the lid is applied.

In doing so, on the one hand the lid 1 is centred on the vessel 2 and, on the other hand, the ring 16 is prevented from being bent inwards on passing the bead 3 and the rib 4.

The angles and dimensions given below are considered appropriate for the vessel 2 in view of the leak-tightness of the closure and of the possibility of pulling on the lid. The angleo4 is approximately 15 0 and the diameter of the vessel at the widest point of the surface A is 53.7 mm. The angle p of the surface B is about 30 0 to 45 0, preferably 38 0, and the angle V of the surface C is about 45 0, the radii at the narrowest points of the channels 21 and 22 being 51.2 mm and 53.2 mm, respectively. The height of the lid is about 10 mm. Further dimensions of the lid 1 can then be derived from the drawings.

The information given above shows that a container is obtained having a lid which can be pulled on quickly and without problems, and which is nevertheless leak-tight in the event of super- or sub-atmospheric pressure in the interior of the container. It has also made it impossible to open the original closure unnoticed, in an unauthorized manner, and close it again. The lid can be produced with comparatively low consumption of materials and high efficiency by means of injection moulding.

j? 1 1 1

Claims

C L A I M S

1. The combination of a container and a lid, the container having:- a basei a shell, and a circular mouth surrounded by a bead; the lid being able to be removably placed on the mouth, said lid having a rib engaging under the bead and a ring provided on a skirt of the lid, with said ring surrounding the container on its outside and being able to be completely separated from the lid along a circumferential line of weakness; wherein the container further includes two outwardly projecting circumferentially extending ribs provided below the bead on the outside of said shell of the container; and wherein said ring has an inwardly projecting circumferentially extending rib which, when the lid is put into place, snaps over the upper of said two ribs of the container and in doing so interacts with the shoulder surface of said upper rib and, in the closed state, internally abuts the container with its lower edge on a shoulder of the lower of said two ribs.

2. A container according to claim 1, wherein the ring has on its lower inner edge an inclined circumferential surface which is offset outwardly relative to the inner surface of the rib of the lid.

3. A container according to claim 2, wherein a surfacey which is likewise circumferential and substantially planar, is provided opposite the inclined surface of the ring on the outside of said mouth of the container.

4. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the shoulder surface of the upper rib is approximately planar and the angle between the axis of the container and this shoulder surface is in the range from 30 0 0 to 45

5. A container according to claim 4, wherein said angle between the axis of the container and the shoulder surface is substantially 380.

6. A container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said circumferential line of weakness is positioned so that when the lid is viewed in cross-section the line of weakness is substantially flush with the outer surface of said skirt of the lid.

7. A container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the rib of the lid, which engages under the bead of the container has a circumferentially extending sealing lip resting on the bottom of said bead.

8. A container according to claim 7, including a circumferentially extending sealing lip attached on the inside of the skirt and resting on a conical surface on the outside of the bead.

9. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein an annular sealing lip is moulded on the inner surface of the lid and bears on a recessed surface of the bead.

10. A container according to claim 3, alone or together with any of claims 4 to 9, wherein the angle (V) between the axis of the container and said substantially 0 planar surface is substantially 45

11. A container and a lid, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.

Published 1988 at The Patent Office, State House, 66171 High Holborn, London WO 1R 4TP. Purther copies may be obtained from The Patent Office, 1