JP2019529267A - Cap and neck assembly for food packaging containers - Google Patents

Abstract

A cap and neck assembly is provided for closing the upper end of the packaging container (10). The neck (20) is formed by a tubular member (110) provided with a male thread (22) and an upper tubular portion (120) extending from the tubular member (110). The tubular portion is releasably attached to a membrane (150) that closes the upper end of the upper portion (120). The cap separates the membrane (150) from the neck (20) and the lower part (31) provided with a female thread (32) for engaging the thread (22) of the neck (20). And an upper portion (33) provided with at least one cutting element (50) configured to do so. Cutting edge of the cutting element (50) when the cap (30) is first screwed into the neck (20) to its axial end position before separating the membrane (150) from the neck (20). 54) and the membrane flange (170) are less than 1 mm in axial direction. [Selection] Figure 7b

Description

  The present invention relates to a cap and neck assembly for a food packaging container. In particular, the invention relates to a cap and neck assembly, wherein the neck has a membrane that seals the open end of the neck.

  Food packaging containers are generally equipped with an opening device to facilitate the release of the contained food. The opening device can be either an irreversible opening, ie, an opening that cannot be closed once the packaging container has been opened, or a resealable opening device. In order to extend the shelf life and quality of food, resealable opening devices are often desired. A common way to provide a resealable opening device is to place a threaded neck containing a spout on top of the packaging container. The threaded neck is designed to accept a cap with an internal thread so that the cap can be unscrewed from the neck. The cap covers the open spout of the neck, so that the food that is put in is protected from the external environment, so that the quality of the product can be maintained for some time.

  The solution described above provides an improvement from an irreversible opening that remains open at all times, but the contaminated medium passes through the neck / cap interface, for example via a thread, the packaging container. It is still possible to enter the interior. Therefore, further improvements have been proposed for sealing the open spout of the neck when the packaging container is stored.

  In WO 20111144569 a solution is described in which the spout is provided with a membrane. The membrane which is initially connected to the spout and completely closes the spout is cut from the spout during the opening action, i.e. when the cap is unscrewed from the neck.

  Based on the same general concept, WO2013072475 describes a cap and neck assembly having a membrane for sealing food packaging containers. The membrane is shaped so that it is angled at the outer end towards the inner wall of the spout, thereby improving the resealing of the food packaging container when the cap is screwed into the neck. .

  In SE 1650567-9 yet another solution is disclosed, which provides an additional advantage for the resealing of the spout. The invention is based on providing a tubular member connected at one end to the membrane at a radially inward position of the side wall of the neck, the tubular member sealing the side wall of the neck. Used to stop. The free end of the tubular member has an angled surface for sliding the membrane over the inner wall of the neck when sealing and / or resealing.

  The solution described above provides a fairly proven and reliable reseal of the packaging container, but that further improvements are desirable, especially with respect to the cutting action, i.e. when the membrane is first disconnected from the spout. Is recognized. If the membrane is not properly cut, reseal can be adversely affected. This is especially important when considering different material bottlenecks. Although high density polyethylene is commonly used as a base for packaging necks, certain neck materials impart different physical properties to the final neck. For example, one material type may provide a relatively stiff and brittle neck, while another material type may provide a more flexible and rubbery neck. Different types of packaging containers may require different neck materials, but it is still advantageous to use the same cap. Thus, as easily realized, the cutting action of the cap is not the same for different neck materials.

  Therefore, there is a need for a neck that can enhance the cutting action.

  The object of the present invention is therefore to overcome or reduce the above-mentioned problems.

  According to a first aspect, a solution is provided by a cap and neck assembly for closing the upper end of the packaging container. The assembly includes a neck that forms a portion of the upper end of the packaging container, the neck extending from the tubular member and having an upper end of the upper portion extending from the tubular member. And an upper tubular portion releasably attached to the closing membrane, the membrane having a membrane flange projecting radially outward of the tubular member. The assembly also includes a cap in the form of a tubular body having a lower portion that is provided with an internal thread for engaging a neck thread or male thread, and an upper portion that forms a closed upper end; The upper portion is provided with at least one cutting element configured to separate the membrane from the tubular member of the neck. Prior to separating the membrane from the neck, the axial distance between the cutting edge of the cutting element and the membrane flange is initially less than 1 mm when the cap is screwed into the neck to its axial end position.

  According to a second aspect, a solution is provided by a packaging container comprising a cap and neck assembly as described above as a solution of the first aspect.

  The above as well as additional objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings and by way of the following illustrative and non-limiting detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention. Is done.

1 is a schematic view of a packaging container having a cap and neck assembly according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a cap for use with a neck according to various embodiments. FIG. It is sectional drawing of the neck by embodiment. FIG. 6 is a top view of a cutting element that separates a membrane from a neck according to an embodiment. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly including a neck and a cap while closing a spout. It is sectional drawing of the neck by embodiment. FIG. 7b is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of the neck shown in FIG. 7a. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a cap and neck assembly according to an embodiment. It is a chart which shows taking a cap according to an embodiment.

  Referring to FIG. 1, an example of a food packaging container 10 is schematically shown. The food packaging container 10 has a bottle shape formed by a body portion 11 which can preferably be made of a carbon-based laminate and a top portion 12 which can preferably be made of plastic. The top portion 12 includes a neck 20 that forms the top of the plastic top portion 12. The neck 20 is formed integrally with the top portion 12, and the entire top portion 12 including the neck 20 is manufactured as a single piece.

  A cap 30 is placed on the neck to seal the spout 100 (see, eg, FIG. 2b) that forms the upper end of the neck 20. The cap 30 optionally comprises a tamper ring 40 as is well known in the art. Cap 30 and neck 20 together form a cap and neck assembly.

  The packaging container 10 is first manufactured by forming a carbon-based laminate sleeve, ie, a tubular body extending between two open ends. In a second step, which is performed before, after or simultaneously with the formation of the sleeve, the plastic top portion 12 is manufactured by molding. The plastic top portion 12 includes a shoulder section 13 disposed on the underside of the neck 20, as shown in FIG. 1, and to which a tubular body is later attached. The shoulder section 13 is therefore arranged to connect the sleeve that forms the basis of the body part 11 to the neck 20. The neck 20 preferably comprises a thread that engages a corresponding thread on the cap 30 that includes the tamper ring 40. As described above, the neck 20 and shoulder section 13 are provided as one piece or as two separate pieces that are molded together.

  After the cap 30 is screwed into the top portion 12, the sleeve is filled with food content. This is preferably done by turning the sleeve and top portion 12 assembly upside down so that the remaining open end of the sleeve faces upward. After filling, the open end of the sleeve is sealed and folded to a flat bottom as shown in FIG.

  Alternatively, the cap 30 is screwed into the top portion 12 after the packaging container 10 is filled. This is the case, for example, when the neck 20 is provided with a membrane 150 that seals the spout 100 of the neck 20 (see FIG. 2b et seq.), Which will be described in detail below.

  2a and 2b, the details of the neck 20 and cap 30, ie the cap and neck assembly, will be further described. A cap 30 including a tamper ring 40 is shown in FIG. The cap 30 has a lower portion 31 in which a female screw 32 is provided. The thread or female thread 32 is configured to engage a corresponding thread 22 (see, eg, FIG. 2b) of the neck 20. The lower part 31 extends into the upper part 33 and forms the closed upper end of the cap 30. The interior of the upper portion 33 comprises means for separating the membrane 150 from the neck 20 as well as for holding the cutting membrane 150.

  For this purpose, a cutting element 50 is arranged following the thread 32. The purpose of the cutting element or knife 50 is to penetrate the section of the neck 20 just below the membrane 150 and to separate the membrane 150 from the rest of the neck 20. After that step, the cutting element 50 serves the purpose of securing the membrane 150 in an axial position (ie along the A axis in FIG. 2A) between the cutting element 50 and the interior of the top of the upper portion 33. This reduces the amount of debris produced, but the main technical reason is that the membrane 150 serves an important purpose when resealing the closure. A number of cutting elements 50 are distributed around the upper portion 33. In this embodiment, there are five. The exact number of cutting elements 50 depends on several factors, but one important factor is the rise of the thread 32. The cutting action is brought about when the cap 30 is unscrewed for the first time, so that the cutting element 50 results in a rotational movement of the cap 30 as well as its axial movement, all with respect to the neck 20. This means that the cutting action or “removal action” is more general and needs to be finished within a certain rotation angle. This is because otherwise the axial movement will move the cutting element 50 out of reach from the area to be cut. Therefore, the steeper the thread rise, the more cutting elements 50 are required.

  On the other hand, each cutting element 50 creates torque resistance when the cap 30 is twisted and opened for the first time, and there is too much cutting element 50 to reduce the opening torque to an acceptable level. Not wise. Therefore, in this embodiment, five cutting elements 50 were used, but it is up to the skilled person to deduce a suitable number. In general, one cutting element 50 is sufficient to perform the cutting action to separate the membrane 150 from the neck 20. However, it has been found that at least three cutting elements 50 are required to perform the cutting and retaining action of the membrane 150 after the membrane 150 has been cut from the neck 20.

  A stop element 60 is arranged at substantially the same axial position as the cutting element 50. In this embodiment, the stop element 60 is realized by stop ledges, i.e. flanges extending a short distance from the top of the upper portion 33 down to a certain axial position and radially inward. The It should be noted that within the context of this specification, all references to “axial” or “radial” are to be interpreted as indicated by the dashed arrows in FIG. 2a. The axial direction is indicated by the letter “A” while the radial direction is indicated by the letter “R”.

  In this embodiment, there are a total of five stop ledges 60, and the stop ledges are dimensioned such that the membrane 150 can fit between them. The purpose of the stop element 60 is to prevent the cap 30 from being screwed down (i.e. in the closing direction) too much into the neck 20, and therefore during re-sealing the closure after first opening. It is to prevent 150 from being damaged. The stop element 60 of the cap 30 cooperates with the counter element 24 of the neck 20 (see FIG. 2b). In this embodiment, the counter element 24 is represented as a shoulder extending radially outward.

  Once some point on the neck 20 is reached, there are other means to prevent the cap 30 from rotating further. Examples include various stop arrangements on the thread 32 to prevent further rotation of the physical block at the end of the thread 22 of the neck 20 or the cap 30 that the thread 32 cannot ride over. It can be a change in the rise of the thread 22 of the neck 20. One skilled in the art will recognize that there are other options available. The solution used in this embodiment is simple, simple, does not include any other moving parts of the cap 30 or the neck 20, and provides a predictable, simple and obvious stop. .

  An example of a cutting element 50 is shown in more detail in FIG. This view is a top view of the cutting element 50. As is clearly shown, the cutting element 50 is attached to the inner circumference of the cap 30 at a certain axial position shown in FIG. 2a. It is important that the cutting element 50 can be pivoted by a hinge connection with the inner periphery of the cap 30. In this embodiment, the hinge connection is realized by the small thickness of the region 52 immediately adjacent to the inner periphery of the cap 30.

  Each cutting element 50 includes a cutting edge 54 and a free end 56. The free end 56 is spaced from the hinged attachment 52 and preferably has a blunt tip and is less sharp than the cutting region 54. As a result, the free end 56 has the advantage that it is less likely to damage the connection area between the membrane 150 and the rest of the neck 20 when not envisaged. This is important, for example, when the cap 30 is first placed on the neck 20.

  Here, the engagement between the cap 30 and the neck 20 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  Beginning with FIG. 3, the cap 30 is screwed into the neck 20 initially, that is, when the membrane 150 is attached to the neck 20. As can be seen by FIG. 3, the cutting element 50 bends downward when the cap 30 is unscrewed from the neck 20, thereby forcing the cutting element 50 to move inward, once When the cap is unscrewed from the neck 20, the membrane 150 is cut from the neck 20.

  Preferably, the cutting element 50 projects into an idle position, i.e. in the radially outer part of the membrane 150, more specifically the free end of the cutting element 50 extends beyond the peripheral edge of the membrane 150. , Biased to the idle position. Therefore, the cutting element 50 retains the membrane 150 in the cap 30 after the cap 30 has been completely unscrewed from the neck 20.

  4-6, the order of closing the cap and neck assembly is shown. Prior to such sequence, the cap 30 has been unscrewed from the neck 20 and the membrane 150 has been separated from the neck 20 but is still retained in the inner upper portion of the cap 30 by the cutting element 50. ing.

  Beginning with FIG. 4, the cap 30 is screwed into the neck 20. The cutting element 50 initially holds the membrane 150, but when the membrane 150 reaches the open end of the neck 20, the cutting element 50 is disengaged from the membrane 150. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, while cap 30 is threaded, membrane 150 remains open at the open end of neck 20 while moving downward on neck 20 to convert rotational motion to vertical motion. It is mounted on.

  In FIG. 4, the membrane 150 is in contact with the closed end of the cap 30 on its upper side and rests on the open spout 100 of the neck 20 on its lower side.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the cap 400 is screwed further down, the closed end of the cap 30 interacts with the membrane 150, thus pushing the membrane downward. Therefore, the membrane 150 bends and increases in diameter, thereby causing the sealing lip 160 of the membrane 150 to move toward the inner side of the upper end of the neck 20.

  This procedure is continued as the cap 30 is further rotated downward at the neck 20. In FIG. 6, the cap 30 is tightened to the neck 20 and the deflection of the membrane 150 is increased. Therefore, the seal lip 160 is forced to move radially outward until it contacts the inner wall of the neck 20. At the same time, the upper end of the spout 100 engages the membrane flange 170 so that the membrane 150 is placed in the desired sealing position. Therefore, the membrane 150 seals the open end of the neck 20 so that the external environment can affect the food contained in the packaging container comprising the neck 20 containing the membrane 150 and the cap 30. I can't do it.

  Details of the neck 20 will now be described with reference to FIGS. Prior to opening the packaging container, the neck 20 includes a membrane 150, but once opened, the membrane 150 is separated from the neck 20. In FIG. 7 a, the neck 20 is shown before opening the packaging container, ie, the membrane 150 forms part of the neck 20. As shown in FIG. 7 a, the neck 20 extends upward from the shoulder section 12.

  The neck 20 is formed by a tubular member 110 that extends upwardly from the shoulder 24 of the neck. The tubular member 110 is provided with a thread 22 and its axial end position is defined to coincide with the counter element 24. From here, the neck 20 extends further upward by means of an upper part 120 forming a body 122 and an upper end part 124. The upper end portion 124 forms a connection to the membrane 150. During opening, the cutting element 50 of the cap 30 cuts the upper end portion 124 so that the membrane 150 is separated from the upper portion 120.

  The membrane 150 that forms the circular closure of the neck 20 includes a central circular disk member 152 and an outer annular disk member 154. The outer annular disc member is disposed radially between the central circular disc member 152 and the membrane flange 170.

  As can be seen in FIG. 7 a, the outer annular disc member 154 is connected to the central circular disc member 152 at an angle α, and the membrane flange 170 is connected to the outer annular disc member 154 at an angle β. These angles facilitate the flexing of the membrane 150 during resealing, and the angles α, β due to the action of the entire diameter of the membrane 150 pressing downward at the center of the membrane 150. As it increases, it will increase. When the diameter of the membrane 150 is so increased, the sealing lip 160 is forced toward the inner wall of the upper portion 120. In an idle position where no downward force is applied to the membrane 150, the seal lip 160 protrudes downward.

  In FIG. 7 b, which shows an enlarged portion of the neck 20, the connection between the upper portion 120 and the membrane 150 is shown in more detail, as well as details of the upper portion 120 of the neck 20. The membrane flange 170 is formed by two adjacent portions; an outer portion 172 that extends radially outward of the upper end portion 124 of the upper portion 120, and an inner portion 174. The upper end portion 124 of the upper portion 120 is attached to the interface between the inner portion 174 and the outer portion 172 of the membrane flange 170.

  The upper portion 120 has a certain axial length L1. The axial length L 1 is preferably defined as the distance between the counter element 24 and the membrane flange 170. In a preferred embodiment, the axial length L1 is 5 mm to 5.5 mm.

  The inventors have surprisingly found that the dimension of the upper portion 120, ie the axial length L1, is an important feature to improve the robustness of the opening action of the cap / neck assembly. It was. In particular, the axial length L1 determines the position of the cutting element 50 relative to the membrane 150 when the cap 30 is first screwed into the neck 20. By shortening the axial length L1 to about 5 to 5.5 mm, the cutting element 50 is positioned closer to the membrane 150, i.e. an extended opening angle is achieved. This means that the cutting element 50 engages the membrane 150 earlier, thus reducing the risk of incomplete cutting action when the threads 22, 32 disengage.

  FIG. 8 shows the relationship between the cutting element 50 and the membrane 150 in more detail. In FIG. 8, the position of the cap 30 corresponds to the fully capped position, ie, the position where the tamper ring 40 prevents the cap 30 from rotating further downward. In this position, the cutting element 50 is positioned below the membrane flange 170 so that the axial distance D1 between the cutting edge 54 of the cutting element 50 and the membrane flange is less than 1 mm. In the illustrated example, the axial distance D1 is about 0.7 mm. The threads 22, 32 are preferably such that the initial axial end position of the cap 30 before separating the membrane 150 from the neck 20 is reached after rotating the cap 30 by 300 ° to 315 °. Configured.

  The axial length D2 of the upper part 33 of the cap 30 measured from the inner surface of the concave part 34 of the cap 30 to the end 62 of the stop element 60 is selected for this purpose to be between 5 mm and 6 mm, The neck 20 is fitted in the cap 30. D2 needs to be selected so that the force applied to the membrane 150 by the cap 30 does not become too high. This is to move the membrane flange 170 and seal lip 160 away from the container neck portion 100 in order to cause the membrane to arch in the direction of the interior of the packaging container. Such movement locally causes the seal between the sealing lip 160 and the neck portion 100 to be lost. Furthermore, another parameter that can be adjusted to achieve an optimal reseal result is the axial length D3 between the inner surface of the protruding portion 35 of the cap 30 and the inner surface of the concave portion 34 of the cap. D3 needs to be selected so that when the membrane 150 is arced towards the inside of the container, the membrane flange 170 has sufficient space to move while resealing the cap 30. is there. The cutting element 50 is provided at the lower end of the upper part 33.

  FIG. 9 shows the opening operation from the position where the cap 30 is first screwed into the neck 20, that is, when the membrane 150 is formed integrally with the neck 20. Initially, a somewhat higher torque is required to break the tamper ring 40 from the neck 20. The torque then decreases until the cap 30 is rotated approximately 50-60 ° (corresponding to sufficient axial movement to allow the cutting element 50 to engage the neck / membrane interface). Once this occurs, the torque increases again until the membrane 150 is separated from the neck 20. This is about 200-220 ° from the initial position.

  Although the above description has referred to food packaging containers, it should be readily understood that the general principle of neck and cap can be applied to all types of packaging containers with an opening device.

  Furthermore, the present invention has been mainly described with reference to several embodiments. However, as will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, other embodiments than those disclosed above are equally possible within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

  All references to “upper”, “lower”, “upper”, “lower” etc. are made to upright packaging containers.

Claims (9)

A cap and neck assembly for closing the upper end of the packaging container (10), said assembly comprising:
A neck (20) forming a part of the upper end of the packaging container (10), the neck (20) being a tubular member (110) provided with a male thread (22); And an upper tubular portion (120) extending from the tubular member (110), and the upper tubular portion (120) closes an upper end of the upper portion (120). A neck (20) having a membrane flange (170) projecting radially outward of the tubular member (110);
A lower part (31) provided with a female thread (32) for engaging the thread (22) of the neck (20) and an upper part (33) forming a closed upper end A cap (30) in the form of a tubular body having an upper portion (33) configured to separate the membrane (150) from the tubular member (110) of the neck (20). A cap (30) provided with at least one cutting element (50),
The cutting element (50) when the cap (30) is first screwed into the neck (20) to its axial end position before separating the membrane (150) from the neck (20). ) Cutting edge (54) and the membrane flange (170), the axial distance is less than 1 mm.   The cap and neck assembly according to claim 1, wherein the axial distance between the cutting edge (54) of the cutting element (50) and the membrane flange (170) is between 0.5 mm and 1 mm.   Cap and neck assembly according to claim 1, wherein the axial distance between the cutting edge (54) of the cutting element (50) and the membrane flange (170) is between 0.6 mm and 0.75 mm. .   Cap and neck assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the axial length (L1) of the upper tubular part (120) of the neck (20) is between 5 mm and 5.5 mm.   The axial length of the upper part (33) of the cap (30) is 5-6 mm, and the at least one cutting element (50) is provided at the lower end of the upper part (33). 5. A cap and neck assembly according to any one of the preceding claims.   The threads (22, 32) are positioned so that the axial end position of the cap (30) is the first, before separating the membrane (150) from the neck (20). 6. Cap and neck assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, configured to be achieved after being rotated through 300 [deg.] To 315 [deg.].   When the screw thread (22, 32) is first capped, the cutting edge (54) is engaged with the neck (20) after the rotational movement of the cap (30) from 40 ° to 60 °, 7. A cap and neck assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cap and neck assembly is constructed.   The thread (22, 32) is uncaptured for the first time so that the membrane (150) is separated from the neck (20) after a total rotational movement of the cap (30) from 150 ° to 220 °. 8. A cap and neck assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cap and neck assembly is constructed.   A packaging container comprising the cap and neck assembly according to claim 1.

Images