JP2009520656A - Drinking equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

A low-cost sportscap (2) has a nozzle (6) defining a drinking orifice. The nozzle is assembled from below into an outer shell (4) which is moulded as one piece and includes an overcap (16) and a base (14). A foil annulus (8) is used to seal a coupling part (50) of the nozzle to the outer shell (4) and also preferably to provide a mechanism by means of which the closure can be assembled to a container neck (10). A primary ex-factory seal is created by a valve (42) inside the overcap engaging with the drinking orifice. This can be resealed by the user when the overcap (16) is attached to the base by hinge means (32).

Description

  The present invention relates to a closure of a drinking equipment or drinking bottle of the type known as a sports cap or straw cap designed to allow consumers to “drink” from the cap-fitted container “on the fly”. About.

  Such a closure has a base that fits over the neck of the container. With the base, the outer shell holds a nozzle or mouthpiece that defines a drinking orifice. The mouthpiece is shaped to be received in the consumer's mouth and drinking is a combination of sucking the mouthpiece and squeezing the bottle.

  There are a number of important considerations in the design of such closures. These include: container shipping and resealing; closure and container costs and weight; molding costs, complexity, and efficiency required to make the closure; mouthpiece cover when not in use; Including prevention; as well as messy and suffocation hazards created by small removable parts.

  Existing designs for such closures can be categorized by the number of parts when molding.

  The most common three-part design has a base that is screwed into the neck of the container and seals the container with an internal valve. The mouthpiece is a reciprocating (typically white) nozzle that can be pulled upward to open a drinking orifice. Reseal is provided by pushing the nozzle back down. The nozzle thus acts as both a mouthpiece and a pull-up drinking valve. This push-pull design is generally provided with a tear-off overcap or dust cover, which is connected to the base by a fragile area and has a dome-shaped cover over the nozzle. provide. When removed, this lightweight cover is discarded. This closure can be resealed by the consumer, but throwing away the cover leaves the mouthpiece exposed. There are also considerable problems with such closures, as consumers tend to open the drinking valve by using their teeth to pull the drinking valve. Pulling the drinking valve with the teeth also causes the consumer to bite the mouthpiece, resulting in damage. In many cases, the container can be reused because the base can be removed from the cap. Reuse of damaged closures can pose the risk that the nozzle will be desorbed and that the nozzle creates a choking hazard.

  These closures can be fitted around the neck of a standard bottle. An anti-tamper band surrounds the bottom of the base in a conventional manner. Since the container cannot be refilled through the mouthpiece, the mouthpiece must be removed to allow the container to be refilled. Thus, a tamper-proof system that locks the base to the neck of the bottle prevents consumers from reusing the container.

  U.S. Patent No. 6,057,049 (ALTO PLASTICS LIMITED, June 23, 2003) describes this general type of sports cap or straw cap, which is the neck of the bottle. In order to provide a shipping seal instead of providing a valve seal that hangs inside the base to seal the inside of the inductive heat-sealed foil provided on the entire neck of the bottle Have. This reduces the complexity of the base molding but requires that the configuration penetrates the sealant. In this straw cap, when the mouthpiece is pushed down, the drinking valve is opened through the sealing material.

  This first type of closure is relatively heavy and costly to manufacture due to its complex design and complex construction that requires three separate moldings and a two-step assembly process. Take it. This design also results in throwing / losing the overcap.

  The design of the second type of closure consists of two parts and does not have a drinking valve on the mouthpiece, but in the opening in the nozzle to provide sealing and resealability A hinged cover is provided having an engaging droop valve formed on the top surface. When the cover is closed, a large flexible hinge is provided to allow the valve to pass over the top of the mouthpiece. The cover is molded as a separate component and requires a single assembly process. The design must also include a mechanism that allows the parts to be joined so that they cannot fall apart. These features make the molding more expensive and less efficient and increase the cost of the molded part. Such a design is adapted for use in HIGHLAND SPRING® 750 ml PET sports cap bottles that are commercially available from March 2005.

  The overcap is secured to the base by a fragile area having a small portion, which can be peeled off to initiate the tearing process. It is desirable that the small portion should remain attached to the base to prevent cluttering.

  As previously mentioned, the base has an internal valve and is screwed into the neck of the bottle, thereby preventing any lightening of the container or closure.

An example of a two-part closure of this type where the cover is molded in a closed position is
Patent Document 2 (NUSBAUM PHILIPPE (FR); CELERIER YANNICK (FR); LECAM JEREMY (FR), June 2, 2005)) or Patent Document 3 (BERICAP, January 22, 2004).

In order to simplify the molding process and allow the use of a single molding, a third type of design with a hinged overcap is molded in the open position. See Patent Document 4 (BERICAP, November 26, 2003). An example of this type of design was used in 2005 in an EVIAN® ACTION 750 ml PET container. Molding is relatively complex and therefore expensive to manufacture. Since the closure is molded in the open position, a mechanical robot arm is required to close the closure. This adds to the cycle time of the molding operation and makes the molding operation relatively inefficient. Furthermore, the closure is screwed into the neck of the bottle and sealed by a valve. With this type of design, it is difficult to reliably prevent tampering in the overcap closure. If there is no prior removal of the tear strip by the consumer, the tear strip is provided at the base of the EVIAN® ACTION closure so that the tear strip prevents the cap from opening. Interlocks with protrusions in However, the strip is not physically connected to the overcap as in the previous tamper-proof design. If the closure is opened without first removing the strip, it is difficult to re-engage the parts, but this can be done with care. The tear strip also creates a messy problem.
International Publication No. 03/051734 Pamphlet US Patent Application Publication No. 2005/116382 International Publication No. 2004/007313 Pamphlet European Patent Application No. 1364886

(Technical issues)
All of the existing designs leave open technical problems that allow weight reduction at the neck of the container. In addition, most of the weight of the container resides in the bulky base.

  Designed to use molds that are economical to manufacture and still operate at high speeds while still providing consumers with reliable tamper-proof safety in overcaps combined with resealability It is also desirable to provide.

(Technical solution)
Accordingly, the present invention is a closure for a container, an outer shell defining a base adapted to fit on the neck of the container and an overcap, the overcap being a removable tamper. An outer shell connected by an element to the base, a separate nozzle defining a drinking orifice assembled in the outer shell, and an induction heating sealing foil, the foil being welded to the base and the nozzle An overcap provides a closure characterized by having a valve seal depending from the inner surface for engaging and sealing with a drinking orifice.

  The feature of the introductory statement of this claim is described in combination with the above-mentioned Alto Plastics Limited Patent Document 1. The advantages of the present invention are best realized by molding the nozzle separately while keeping the base and overcap together.

  Preferably, the foil provides a means by which the base can be welded to the neck of the container, but if desired, the base can be standardized so that the base can be used with conventional containers having a PCO neck finish. May have a threaded skirt.

  Preferably, the nozzle carries a valve wall adapted to be seated in the neck of the container. This is particularly advantageous when the sports cap is fitted into a container with pressurized contents.

(Advantageous effect)
Alto has failed to produce a low cost sports cap. By using two simple pieces that are easily assembled and held by the foil sealing step, the present invention provides a solution to all design considerations discussed in paragraph 0003 above. Provide at the same time. By integrating the base and the overcap, a reliable leak-free seal is ensured without requiring precise molding.

  The elimination of the threaded base and the internal valve seal means that the base of the closure of the present invention can be more easily molded and relatively light. Further weight savings can be provided by eliminating the threaded neck of the container.

  The tamper band around the overcap is preferably only partially removable to prevent litter from cluttering. Since the overcap is preferably maintained by hinge means so that the drinking orifice can be resealed, the problem of littering is minimized.

  The sports cap of the present invention can be molded from compostable plastic produced from agricultural products, such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) with OPP, or PLA (polylactic acid). It is also possible to make nozzles from PET. This is currently not possible with prior art designs where the nozzle is currently molded as part of the base. PET is too brittle to remove the base from the mold without rotating the base from the mold, which consumes significant capital and cycle time. These material proposals are not intended to exclude the use of other plastics not listed, i.e. other plastics such as nylon, or the use of PVC or other plastics for the nozzle. It is not intended to be excluded.

  In order that the present invention may be more fully understood, some embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings.

  The closure 2 is assembled from an outer shell 4, a mouthpiece nozzle 6 and a foil ring 8. The closure 2 is assembled to the open neck 10 of the container 12.

  The outer shell 4 is molded as a single element. The outer shell 4 is composed of a base 14 that supports an upstanding cylindrical wall 15. The overcup 16 is connected to the wall 15 by a removable tamper element 18 disposed in a fragile annular joint 19 between the top of the wall 15 and the lower end of the overcup 16. The base 14 has a skirt 20 that is provided with a series of spaced projections 22 that project outwardly at the rim of the neck 10 of the container. To snap onto the bead 24.

  The skirt 20 depends from the annular base plate 26, which has a central circular opening 30 that covers the outer portion of the opening of the neck 10 and is surrounded by a cylindrical wall 15. The hinge structure 32 permanently connects the cylindrical wall 15 to the overcap 16. The hinge 32 is a strip that extends from below the fragile joint 19 and meets the side wall of the overcap 16. The length of the hinge is designed to allow easy opening and closing of the overcap without obstructing the nozzle 6.

  The tamper element 18 is a removable oval portion with a free tab 38. The removable element 18 is joined to the cylindrical wall 15 at the lower edge 36 and to the overcap 16 at the upper edge 34. These joints are provided by fragile areas. The tab 38 protrudes slightly to rise from the tamper element so that the user can pull the tab forward to initiate tearing along the frangible area. The tab 38 and the releasable portion of the tamper element 18 can be retained by the base by limiting the size of the frangible area at the edge 34 or edge 36. The shell 4 with the base 14, the wall 15 and the overcap 16 is molded into a single piece with the tamper element 18 so that all parts are made of plastic so that there is no possibility of leakage. Since it is already connected by the membrane, the outstanding accuracy of the molding is not very important. If the part has to be fitted so that it does not leak, the part needs to be shaped with a very significant accuracy.

  The sealing material 42 of the hanging cylindrical valve protrudes from the inner surface 44 of the overcap 16.

  The outer shell can be polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) containing OPP (clear, like a directional polypropylene-PET, but a very cheap working copy PP variant), or PLA (polylactic acid). ) Such as compostable plastic produced from crops. If a sports cap providing a gas barrier is required, the outer shell can be made of a barrier material.

  The nozzle 6 is a separate molding having a coupling portion 50 and a mouthpiece portion that engage the outer shell 4, which mouthpiece portion defines a drinking orifice 52. The nozzle is hollow. The outer shape of the mouthpiece can be shaped to comfortably engage the mouth, as in prior art mouthpieces. The drinking orifice 52 is shaped to correspond to the valve seal 42 to provide both the initial factory seal and both seals to the closure.

  The coupling portion 50 is a projecting annular flange 54 that extends from the lower edge of the outer wall of the nozzle 6. The flange 54 is seated on the base plate 26 and the wall of the nozzle fits snugly within the cylindrical wall 15. A valve wall (not shown) adapted to sit in the neck of the container may hang from the outer edge of the flange 54. This modification is illustrated in FIG.

  Because the molding is a simple shape and can be easily removed from the mold despite its brittleness, the nozzle 6 is preferably any of the proposed plastics or PET for the outer shell. Made with things. The nozzle may have a layer of ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) embedded in the nozzle. EVOH provides a good gas barrier. However, the nozzle 6 need not be made of a barrier material in order to create a sports cap barrier. It is only necessary to have an outer shell 4 made of a barrier material, ie a base 14, a wall 15 and a cover 16 made of barrier material.

  A wheel ring 8 completes the closure 2. The foil ring is stamped from a thin sheet of aluminum foil coated with a plastic coating on each surface, the plastic coating being compatible with the component plastic to which the plastic coating is welded by induction heating seals There is. This is described in the prior art as a double-sided induction heating seal (IHS).

  The wheel ring 8 has a circular edge 58 sized to fit within the base 26 and is described in WO 03/062061 A (SPRECKELSEN MCGEOUGH LTD, July 31, 2003). As is desired, if it is desired to weld foil to the side of the container, it may extend partially down the inside of the skirt 20 of the base 14. The opening 60 is stamped out of a circular disc of foil at a position corresponding to the position of the circular opening 30 in the base plate 26.

(assembly)
As described above, to assemble the closure from the molded outer shell 4 and the nozzle, the foil ring 8 is stamped out of the foil sheet and into the base 14 of the inverted outer shell 4. Be dropped. The nozzle 6 is then inserted or dropped through the opening 30 in the base plate 26 of the base 14 of the outer shell 4 until the valve 42 engages and grips the drinking orifice 52. The foil ring 8 is then captured between the flange 50 and the base plate 26 and the outer portion of the ring is exposed between the outer edge of the flange 50 and the wall of the skirt 20. Next, the closure receives induction heating, seals the foil 8 against the base plate 26, and welds the outer shell and the nozzle over which the flange 50 overlaps the base plate 26. The flange 50 can be designed to be thin, sacrificial and melt on the edge 60 of the foil or, if thicker, the container neck contacts the foil 8 so that it is welded to the foil 8. Must be terminated short enough in front of the skirt 20. This design eliminates the need to bend the sacrificial wall over the inner edge 60 of the foil as in the second embodiment.

  The assembled closure can then be welded to the bottle neck by a separate induction heating operation.

  Although the use of an annulus of foil 8 to seal the nozzle 6 to the base 24 has been described, it is understood that the components can be designed such that the nozzle snaps into the base. And the foil 8 is only needed to seal the base to a bottle or other container.

  Once assembled, the closure 2 is completely sealed and supplied to a bottling plant and can be sterilized prior to assembly into a container. Since the closure is preferably sealed to the container by the second welding operation, the presence of the foil 8 means that the container does not require a normal threaded neck structure. It can be understood. However, the closure can be fitted into an unmodified container with a properly designed skirt 20. Please refer to FIG.

  If the container is intended for pressurized fluid, it may be necessary to provide a foil on the skirt 20 in order to weld to the wall of the PET bottle. For PET bottles intended for carbonate-free water, the weld strength provided by the weld to the bead 24 at the edge of the container may be sufficient.

(Second Embodiment)
A second embodiment of the closure is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 (similar reference numerals are used for similar parts). This design is the same as in the first embodiment, but the coupling portion 50 at the base of the nozzle 6 and the base of the outer shell 4 are different in the method of assembly.

  In this embodiment, the overcap 16 is connected to the base 14 by a tamper band 18. The base 14 has a skirt 20 that terminates in a lip 22 that is adapted to snap onto a bead 24 that projects outwardly at the edge of the container 10.

  The skirt 20 depends from the annular base plate 26, and the annular base plate 26 covers the outer portion of the opening of the neck 10. In this embodiment, the plate 26 is stepped to define an inner recess 28. Although a uniform width annular base plate is illustrated in FIG. 5, the circular opening 30 in the base plate that receives the nozzle 6 can be shifted to one side for easier access by the consumer. It is understood.

  The hinge structure 32 permanently connects the base 14 to the overcap 16. The hinge 32 is a strip that extends from below the tamper band 18 and meets the side wall of the overcap 16. The length of the hinge is designed to allow easy opening and closing of the overcap without obstructing the nozzle 6. Shifting the nozzle away from the hinge 32 also reduces the length of the hinge required.

  The tamper band 18 is connected to the lower edge of the overcap 16 and the base plate 26 at each edge 34 and edge 36, respectively. This connection is provided by a frangible region along at least a portion of edge 34 and at least a portion of lower edge 36. Tabs 38 protrude from the tamper band to allow the user to grip the band 18 and initiate tearing along the fragile area. The tab 38 and the released portion of the tamper band 18 are retained by the base by limiting the size of the fragile area at the edge 36. This type of retained tamper band is utilized in the HIGHLAND SPRING® 750 ml PET sports cap bottle described above. However, in that case, the base and overcap are molded as separate pieces rather than as an integral outer shell 4 as taught herein. When the shell 4 with the base 14 and the overcap 16 is molded together with the tamper element 18, all parts are already connected by a plastic membrane so that there is no possibility of leakage. The accuracy of the molded product is greatly reduced. If the part has to be fitted in a leak-proof manner as required by this prior art, the part must be molded with a fairly outstanding accuracy.

  A peak 40 is provided on the overcap 16 to facilitate resealing.

  The nozzle 6 is as described in the previous embodiment, but differs in that the coupling portion 50 is a protruding annular flange 54, which protrudes from the flange 54. Extends from the outer wall of the nozzle 6 just above the lower edge so as to leave a short sacrificial wall 56 underneath. The flange 54 sits in a recess 28 in the base plate 26 and the outer wall of the nozzle fits snugly into the opening 30.

  The wheel ring 8 completes the closure 2 as before. It will be appreciated that if the nozzle is displaced, the foil ring is not of uniform width around it.

(Assembly of the second embodiment)
As described above, for assembling the closure from the molded outer shell 4 and the nozzle, the nozzle 6 is positioned on the base 14 of the outer shell 4 until the valve 42 engages and grips the drinking orifice. It is inserted from below through the opening 30 in the base plate 26. The foil ring 8 is stamped out of the foil sheet and dropped into a recess defined between the sacrificial wall 56 and the skirt 20, thereby covering the gap between the flange 54 edge and the outer shell. Otherwise, the outer shell is difficult to sterilize. Next, the foil 8 is welded to the closure. A tool for placing the foil in the recess also folds the sacrificial wall 56 over the edge 60 of the foil opening. Otherwise, the aluminum 60 is exposed at the edge 60 of the foil opening. As described in WO 2005/092728 A (SPRECKELSEN MCGEOUGH LTD, 6 October 2005), the plastic of the sacrificial wall 56 melts onto the exposed aluminum edges when the foil is heated. Embed the exposed aluminum edges as is.

  In connection with the first embodiment, the closure can be sealed to the container by a separate induction heating sealing operation utilizing the exposed portion of the foil 8.

(Third embodiment)
A third embodiment of the closure is shown in FIG. 7 (similar reference numerals are used for similar parts). This design is similar to the first embodiment, but the nozzle 6 is not centered in the base 14 and is offset, and a new sealed valve structure is shown in the coupling portion 50. It differs in that it is. An alternative nozzle profile is shown, with the overcap having a second outer valve seal 82 concentric with the valve seal 42 to engage the outer surface of the nozzle 6. This embodiment is assembled similarly to the first embodiment.

  The coupling portion 50 terminates in a depending valve wall 80 that is designed to fit into the open neck 10 of the container 12. This is particularly advantageous when the closure is used in a container containing pressurized content such as a carbonated beverage. In this situation, the pressure acts to push the valve wall 80 against the neck and hold the closure in place.

  In order to allow the outer shell 4 to be integrally molded, the opening 30 in the base 14 cannot have a diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the cover 16. If this simple integral molding is preceded, it is understood that the outer shell can be molded in the same way as the EVIAN® ACTION closure described in paragraph 0013 above.

(Fourth embodiment)
The closure of FIG. 8 is designed to fit in a conventional manner in the finishing of standard preformed PCO necks in any of the common sizes such as 28 mm, 30 mm, 33 mm, 35 mm, 38 mm and 43 mm or 45 mm. It is different from the first embodiment only in that it is done. The skirt 20 is provided with an internal thread 70 that cooperates with an external thread in the standard neck. The lower edge of skirt 20 may be connected to anti-tamper strip 72 by a fragile bridge 74. This embodiment of a closure can be used without any modification of existing bottles.

(Variable)
Although a separate hinge 32 has been described, it is possible to create a hinge by maintaining a portion of the tamper band 18 as a permanent connection between the overcap and the base.

  The tamper element 18 can also be omitted and the lower edge of the overcap 16 can be joined to the base by a frangible region. Next, the peak 40 allows the user to use the peak 40 to initiate tearing of the overcap 16 and leave only a portion of the edge of the overcap connected to the base to act as a hinge means. It needs to be strong enough.

  If the closure is used with a bottle having an integral gas barrier, it may be desirable to include a foil seal within the valve 42. This can be achieved by the technique described in GB 2412368 A (SPRECKELSEN MCGEOUGH LTD, September 28, 2005. 2005).

FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of the components of a first embodiment of a closure. FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the closure of FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along a cutting line AA in FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the closure after the closure has been opened. FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view through an assembled closure according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 shows an exploded view of the components of the closure of FIG. FIG. 7 shows a vertical cross-section through an assembled closure according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 shows a vertical section similar to FIG. 3 of a fourth embodiment of a closure.

Claims (11)

A closure (2) for the container (12),
An outer shell (4) defining a base adapted to fit on the neck (10) of the container and an overcap (16) connected to the base (14) by a removable tamper element (18);
A separate nozzle (6) defining a drinking orifice (52) assembled within the outer shell (4);
A foil (8) for induction heating sealing, the foil (8) is a ring welded to the base (14) and the nozzle (6), and the overcap is the drinking orifice ( 52) Closure (2), characterized in that it has a valve seal (42) depending from the inner surface for engaging and sealing.   A closure according to claim 1, wherein the foil (8) provides a means by which the base can be welded to the neck of the container.   The base includes a threaded skirt, wherein the threaded skirt allows the base to be connected to a standard threaded bottle neck finish. The closure described. A closure according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle (6) carries a valve wall (80) adapted to be seated in the neck of the container.   The closure according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising hinge means (32) connecting the overcap (16) and the base (14).   A closure according to claim 4, wherein the hinge means is defined by a maintained portion of a tamper band (18).   The closure according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the base (14) and the overcap (16) are made in one piece.   The nozzle has a base flange (54) adapted to seat in a recess (28) inside the base of the outer shell, the heated sealing foil (8) comprising the base The closure according to any one of claims 1 to 7, which covers a gap between the flange and the base.   7. The nozzle according to claim 1, wherein the nozzle has a base flange (50), the base flange (50) covering the inner edge (60) of the foil (8). The closure described.   Claim 1-Claim made from a plastic material selected from compostable plastics produced from crops such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene with OPP (PP) or PLA (polylactic acid). The closure according to any one of 9.   The closure according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the nozzle is made of PET.

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