JP2013525223A - Screw closure for soft package - Google Patents

Abstract

  A screw closure (2) is attached to the soft package (1), preferably a film bag. Such a screw closure consists of a first part consisting of a spout with a mounting flange (4) for coupling to the soft package (1) and a second part in the form of a screw cap (5). ing. The screw cap has an upper surface (50) and a peripheral wall (51) with a female thread (52) provided in the lower region. Above the female thread is a section (53) without a thread, and a slide seal (10) is arranged above the section without the thread. The slide seal (10) presses a similarly unthreaded region (7) above the spout male thread (6). This realizes a screw closure that is sealed even during unscrewing.

Description

  The present invention is a screw closure for a soft package, i.e. a film bag, comprising a spout with a male thread and a mounting flange attached to the film bag, and a cap screwable into the spout. The cap is of the type having a peripheral wall and an upper surface.

  Screw closures for rigid packages such as glass bottles and plastic bottles are widely known. In such a conventional rigid package, the screw closure essentially only has to ensure a sealing function in the fully closed state. This is done by various types of seals. In this case, in particular, a seal is used which has a sealing element arranged in the corner area between the peripheral wall and the inside of the upper surface. Typical examples of such seals are shown in WO-A9011944 or WO-A9011122, WO-A9731834. Another type of seal in a screw closure is the so-called seal olive, which is mainly formed as a ring wall extending concentrically with the peripheral wall of the screw cap, which ring wall is vertically downward Directed and integrally molded inside the top surface of the cap, sealing the container neck or spout on the inside. Typical examples of such sealed olives are disclosed in DE-A 4401751 or US-A 4,235,581. Combinations of both types are also known and are disclosed, for example, in EP-A 417 554.

  In a soft package in the form of a film bag, the spout is formed as a separate part and actually consists of a cylindrical and tubular spout, which has a flange formed integrally therewith. This part of the screw closure is fixed to the soft package. In principle, two different types of screw closures are known. That is, one is a form in which a hole is punched in the soft package film in the region of the spout, and this hole is directly connected to the spout. In this case, the flange is glued or welded around this punched hole. In the second type, the film bag is completely closed, and an internal thread is additionally arranged on the inner wall of the spout, and an annular cutting element is arranged in this female thread in a translationally movable manner. The cutting element is movable via an entrainment provided on the upper surface of the cap, and the torsional movement of the cap results in a cutting element having at least one cutting tooth directed at the film of the film bag at the lower edge The film of the film bag can be opened by cutting teeth. Typical examples of this type are known from CH-A 695019 or EP-A 1795456 and other documents.

  In both types of screw closures in film bags, additional security bands can be provided on the screw cap.

  Since the multiple twisting movements of the screw cap require a relatively high frictional force, the user must hold the soft package with a relatively high force, during which the cap is twisted open. The soft package is deformed by such a high holding force, and the internal pressure in the soft package is increased. If a screw cap with a normal seal attached in the corner area between the peripheral wall and the top surface is opened even slightly, this seal will no longer function. This is not a problem with a hard package, but is a major problem with a soft package. This is because the user must continue to apply force to fully open the closure, and now the seal does not work, so the contents are pushed out to the outside, even if only a small amount. Because it ends up. This is detrimental and unsanitary, and often closures can stick together if they are screwed together.

  If it is a simple screw closure without an inwardly extending cutting element, in principle it is conceivable to maintain the seal by means of a sealing olive that penetrates sufficiently deep into the spout. However, this type of sealing is not possible if the screw closure is provided with an internal cutting element. The sealing member described in DE-A 3938713 also shows no means in this regard. In such a means, two concentric annular walls are arranged on the lower side of the upper surface of the screw cap, and these annular walls are in close contact with the spout as a slide seal on both sides, i.e. inside and outside. Yes. Such a measure is still not feasible with a screw closure with a cutting element. Somewhat unusual means is known from US Pat. No. 4,371,091. In this known means, an annular sealing projection is integrally formed on the peripheral wall of the screw cap immediately above the female thread, and when this sealing projection is completely screwed, the region of the upper edge of the spout is formed. Can directly contact and extend down slightly beyond this edge. Even with such means, the sealing member is no longer engaged at a slight opening rotation angle, and as a result still cannot be used for the use in question here. In the 1960s, very few plastic closures with high precision were still produced. However, at that time, the seal member of the screw closure, which was composed of a ring-shaped seal lip that was curved in particular and was attached to the lower side of the upper surface of the cap, required a high degree of accuracy in order to be able to completely release it. . For this reason, in the means proposed in GB-A1205887, a slide surface is provided at the upper end of the spout, and a ring-shaped seal protrusion provided on the inner surface of the screw cap and the upper side of the female thread on this slide surface. Are getting closer. Since this is a bottle, the sealing member mainly has the purpose of sealing the closure in the closed state. After a predetermined opening torsional movement, the sealing member is no longer engaged with the spout, but such engagement is not necessary in the bottle as is known.

  The means known from DE-1935874U are very complex in construction but in a very similar form. In this case, after actually rotating once, it is no longer sealed, but as already mentioned, this is not a problem with relatively hard bottles.

  The object of the present invention is therefore to improve the screw closure for a soft package of the type mentioned at the outset so that the closure of the screw closure is completely terminated even when high pressure is applied to the soft package. Until then, it is possible to ensure the necessary sealing properties.

  In this case, this means also injects a cutting element, which is closed in a completely sterile manner, into a conventional screw closure whose spout is attached through the existing opening of the soft package and incises the soft package when the screw closure is opened. It can also be used for a soft package that is internally provided at the outlet.

  The accompanying drawings schematically illustrate two embodiments of the present invention and are described in detail below.

It is the perspective view which showed the mode of the handling of the screw closure in a soft package. FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view on the diameter of a screw closure according to the invention without a cutting element. FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view, also on diameter, showing a second embodiment of a screw closure according to the invention with a cutting element in a fully closed position; FIG. 4 shows the same screw closure as in FIG. 3 in a partially open intermediate position where the thread of the spout and the thread of the screw cap are still screwed together. FIG. 4 shows the same screw closure with the screw cap open to the point where the thread is no longer screwed but still exists. 1 shows a screw closure according to the invention in a fully open position. FIG.

  FIG. 1 shows the unscrewed state when the screw closure attached to the soft package 1 is opened. The soft package may be a laminated carton package, but in this embodiment, a film bag as shown in FIG. 1 is particularly important. When opening the film bag 1, the user holds the tube with one hand and simultaneously twists and opens the screw closure 2 with the other hand. In this case, the user applies force F to the film bag. This force increases the internal pressure in the film bag. If the screw closure 2 has a conventional configuration, when the internal pressure increases, the liquid may flow out between the spout and the screw cap 5. The measure according to the present invention provides a countermeasure in such a case.

  FIG. 2 shows a first embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 2 is given to the entire screw closure. In this figure, it is understood that one is the screw cap 5 and the other is the lower part of the tubular and cylindrical spout 3. A flange 4 protruding in the radial direction is integrally formed at the lower edge of the spout 3. A male thread 6 is integrally formed on the outer surface of the tubular spout 3. It can be seen that a section without threads is provided at the spout 3 above the male thread 6. The unthreaded section 7 is advantageously at least as long as the axially extending section 8 in which the male thread 6 is provided.

  The cap 5 has substantially the general configuration of a screw cap. The cap 5 has an upper surface 50, and a peripheral wall 51 extends downward from the upper surface 50. The peripheral wall 51 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape. An internal thread 52 is provided in a region below the peripheral wall 51, and the only difference is that the internal thread 52 is fitted to the external thread 6 of the spout 3. Above the internal thread 52 is a non-internal threaded region 53 of approximately the same size as the unthreaded section 7 of the spout 3.

  An annular seal protrusion 54 exists in a corner area between the upper surface 50 and the peripheral wall 51. These seal projections 54 form a static seal that can withstand a high internal pressure load with the closure closed.

  A slide seal 10 is integrally formed on the inner surface of the peripheral wall 51 of the cap 5. The slide seal 10 is brought into close contact with the outer surface of the spout 3 by a predetermined pressure.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the screw cap 5 is already twisted to some extent in order to open it. When the screw cap 5 is in the fully closed position, the seal projection 54 is placed on the upper edge of the spout 3 and the slide seal 10 is just above the region 8 of the male thread 6. In close contact with the spout 3. In the position shown in the figure, the cap 5 is just unscrewed from the male thread 6 of the spout 3 and the female thread 52 of the cap 5, and the slide seal 10 is unscrewed until it is still in close contact with the outer surface of the spout 3. ing.

  The selected shape of the slide seal 10 is one form of many options. All that matters is that the slide seal 10 is brought into close contact under a predetermined deformation force. Since the spout 3 must be subjected to a predetermined tensile force for releasing, the inner diameter of the upper edge is slightly smaller than the inner diameter in the region of the flange 4. In addition, however, the wall thickness of the spout 3 decreases slightly from the region of the flange 4 towards the upper edge, so that the spout 3 as a whole extends somewhat conically in the unthreaded section 7; The slide seal 10 must be able to follow such a conical shape and must be brought into close contact with the upper region by a predetermined pressing force.

  If the slide seal protrudes too much inward, there will be a problem with the mounting of the screw cap. Instead of the illustrated embodiment, the slide seal is directed downward, i.e. its flexible tip is a flange. Even the shape of an annular apron heading towards the front is advantageous. Alternatively, the slide seal can be formed more delicately than a so-called sealing lip which itself can accept a slight force. In this case, a plurality of such annular sealing lips are preferably provided. These sealing lips, for example, can actually project vertically from the inner surface of the peripheral wall, and when mounted they automatically curve upwards in an arch shape. Thereby, the great advantage that the internal pressure acting on the seal lip presses the seal lip more strongly against the spout 3 is obtained. Further, the plurality of seal lips operate substantially the same as the labyrinth seal. Therefore, such means (not shown) can block high internal pressure in spite of the delicateness of the sealing lip. In practice, there is a problem in extruding such a screw cap from the mold. However, in such screw caps, the technique of first removing the cap from the mold as a whole and then pulling out the core protruding inside has been known for many years. In this case, since the peripheral wall 51 can be moved spring-elastically outward, both the female thread 52 and the slide seal 10 remain without being damaged when the core is pulled out.

  3 to 6 again show the screw closure 2 on the soft package 1. The spout 3 and its flange 4 are the same as in the embodiment of FIG. 2 except that a female thread 22 is provided. The above-mentioned cutting element 20 is already mounted on the spout 3 so that it can be screwed. The entrainment body 23 provided on the inner surface of the cutting element 20 serves as a stopper for the second entrainment body 24 that projects vertically downward from the upper surface 50 of the cap. When the screw cap 5 is twisted open, the external thread 25 of the cutting element 20 extending in the internal thread 22 of the spout 3 moves downwards, at which time at least one cutting tooth 21 causes the film F to move. Make an incision. In this example, a slide seal 10 is also present as already described with respect to FIG. 2, and the slide seal 10 is clearly shown in FIG. Particularly in this embodiment, it is clear that sealing on the inner surface of the spout 3 is not possible here. However, the means according to the invention that have already been described can be used in such embodiments of the screw cap without substantial modification.

  In such an embodiment as well, in the same manner as in the embodiment of FIG. This guarantee band 40 can be attached to the lower part of the external thread in a shape-connecting manner behind the annular collar 30 of the spout 3. When the screw is removed, the guarantee band 40 integrally formed on the lower edge portion 55 of the screw cap 5 is torn by the target breakage point bridge 41 and remains on the lower side of the collar 30 and is caught. Such a state is shown on the right side of FIG. 2 and on the left side there is indeed a guarantee band 40 that is also engaged with the collar 30 from the rear. It is removed by the stripping tongue, and in this case further the target break point bridge connecting the security band 40 to the screw cap 5 is broken. In the drawing, reference numeral 41 is given to the target breakage point bridge. However, such a target break bridge is shown only in a completely separated shape, on the one hand as a residue on the guarantee band 40 and on the other hand on the lower edge 55 of the screw cap 5.

  In principle, the means according to the invention can also be realized by providing the slide seal 10 on the outer surface of the spout 3 rather than on the peripheral wall 51 of the cap 5. In this case, two configurations are possible. That is, it is a configuration in which the slide seal 10 is provided immediately above the screw thread, or a configuration in which the slide seal 10 is provided in the region of the upper edge portion of the spout 3. In the first configuration, the slide seal 10 must be formed relatively long in order to overcome and seal the thread non-flatness. In the second configuration, the slide seal 10 can be relatively short in radial extension, and as a result, in this case a plurality of sealing lips are also conceivable, but in the first configuration, the apron-shaped is advantageously A slide ring seal is advantageous.

  1 soft package or film bag, 2 screw closure, 3 spout, 4 flange, 5 cap / screw cap, 6 male thread, 7 unthreaded wall area, 8 threaded section, 10 slide seal, 20 cutting element, 21 cutting teeth, 22 internal thread, 23 entrainment body, 24 second entrainment body, 25 external thread thread of the cutting element, 30 collar, 40 guarantee band, 41 target break point bridge, 50 upper surface, 51 peripheral wall, 52 internal thread, 53 Area without female thread, 54 Seal projection, 55 Lower edge of screw cap, P force

When the slide seal is too large inwardly projecting, since problems in the mounting attachment of the screw cap is produced, slide seal, downward, i.e. its flexibly tip is an annular apron towards the flange shape The illustrated embodiment is advantageous. Alternatively, the slide seal can be formed more delicately than a so-called sealing lip which itself can accept a slight force. In this case, a plurality of such annular sealing lips are preferably provided. These sealing lips, for example, can actually project vertically from the inner surface of the peripheral wall, and when mounted they automatically curve upwards in an arch shape. Thereby, the great advantage that the internal pressure acting on the seal lip presses the seal lip more strongly against the spout 3 is obtained. Further, the plurality of seal lips operate substantially the same as the labyrinth seal. Therefore, such means (not shown) can block high internal pressure in spite of the delicateness of the sealing lip. In practice, there is a problem in extruding such a screw cap from the mold. However, in such screw caps, the technique of first removing the cap from the mold as a whole and then pulling out the core protruding inside has been known for many years. In this case, since the peripheral wall 51 can be moved spring-elastically outward, both the female thread 52 and the slide seal 10 remain without being damaged when the core is pulled out.

Claims (8)

A screw closure (2) for a container, comprising a spout (3) provided with a male thread (6), and a cap (5) that can be screwed onto the spout (3) The cap (5) has a peripheral wall (51) provided with a female thread (52) and an upper surface (50), and the thread (6) of the spout (3) is above the male thread (6). A non-threaded wall region (7) is provided for the slide for the annular slide seal (10) arranged on the inner surface of the peripheral wall (51) of the cap (5). In the type in which the slide seal (10) is integrally formed on the inner surface of the peripheral wall (51) above the female thread (52),
The said container is a film bag (1), Comprising: The spout (3) provided with the external thread (6) is tubular provided with the attachment flange (4) attached on the film bag (1) at the end. And the slide surface and the slide seal are such that the female thread (52) of the cap (5) no longer engages with the male thread (6) of the spout (3), and the screw unscrewing motion A screw closure for a container, wherein the container is sealed until there is no deformation force applied by the user to the film bag. In a soft package, ie a screw closure for a film bag according to claim 1,
An unthreaded wall region is provided above the internal thread (52) of the cap (5), the unthreaded wall region being spaced from the external surface of the spout with respect to the external thread of the spout. A screw closure for a soft package, characterized in that it serves as a sliding surface for an annular slide seal placed above.   The screw closure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the slide seal is an apron-shaped L-shaped seal.   The screw closure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the slide seal (10) is inclined and directed toward the lower edge (55) of the peripheral wall (51) when the screw cap (5) is mounted. .   The screw closure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the slide seal (10) is tilted and oriented towards the upper surface (50) of the cap (5) in the mounted state.   An internal thread (22) is additionally arranged on the inner surface of the spout (3), and an annular cutting element (20) provided with an external thread (25) is translated in parallel to the internal thread. It is arranged so that it can move together with (23), and the accompanying body (23) can move through the second accompanying body (24) provided on the upper surface (50) of the cap (5). The torsional movement of the cap (5) causes the cutting element (20) having the lower edge to be directed to the film of the film bag and having at least one cutting tooth (21), the cutting tooth of the film bag The screw closure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the film can be cut open.   In the corner area between the peripheral wall (51) and the upper surface (50) of the cap (5), at least one additional sealing member in the form of a sealing projection (54) is provided, The screw closure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the screw closure (2) is in contact with the end face of the spout (3) so as to be sealed in a closed state.   The screw closure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the radial extension of the slide seal (10) is greater than the distance from the inner surface of the peripheral wall (51) of the cap (5) to the outer surface of the spout (3).

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