KR20020013885A - Locking helical closure system - Google Patents

Abstract

Lock helical closure device 10 for a container consisting of three components. These three components are a sealing lid 13, a bottleneck end sleeve 11, and a liner to stopper 12 made of elastic material. The closure device includes a helical groove 15 of the bottleneck end sleeve and a mating protrusion 14 that engages the pocket to prevent the closure lid from loosening during the sterilization process.

Description

Locking spiral sealing device {LOCKING HELICAL CLOSURE SYSTEM}

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the improvement of container closure devices for use in products requiring autoclave sterilization processes. In this application, it is important to maintain the integrity of the sleeve. In conventional apparatus, due to temperature changes in the process, thermal creep in the material during the autoclave process resulted in loosening of conventional seals, which in some cases caused the seals to be damaged. Maintaining a tight seal during the autoclave process is important to keep the product intact. The present invention provides a hermetic device with new construction and placement features that ensure a tight seal during the autoclave process.

This application claims the benefit of US Provisional Application No. 60 / 133,910, filed May 13, 1999.

1 is a side view showing a state in which the locking spiral sealing device of the present invention is installed in the container as a partial cross-section cut off the sealing lid.

1A is a plan view showing a closed cap and a bottleneck end sleeve with a portion cut away;

2 is a side view showing in more detail a bottleneck sleeve fitted to a bottleneck.

3 is a cross-sectional view of the hermetic lid showing the engaging projections and the force concentrating means.

3A is a bottom view of the lid of the closure device.

4 is a side view of a bottleneck end showing a spiral slot, retention bumps, and pockets.

4A is a top view of the bottleneck end sleeve.

5 is an exploded view of the lid and bottleneck end sleeve.

6 is an exploded view showing the coupling of the cap and the bottleneck end sleeve.

The present invention provides a closure device with special features which are particularly useful in the autoclave process. For this purpose, the closure device has a sleeve insert having a helical structure that is press fit at the end of the bottleneck and ends with a locking portion, and a lid having protrusions engaging in the slot and holding the liner in place on the container in the closed state. It is configured to include.

Referring to the drawings, in particular FIGS. 1 and 2, the locking helical closure device 10 installed and shown on the vessel 30 in FIG. 1 is designed to prevent "turn open" during the autoclave sterilization process. Due to the thermal creep of the materials involved, the prior art seals have been loosened, causing the threaded lid to retract, which damages the seal and renders the contents of the container unusable.

Referring to Figure 1, the sealing device 10 of the present invention is composed of three components. The components are a bottleneck end sleeve 11 formed in a cylindrical shape, a liner disc or stopper 12 made of an elastic material for sealing the contents of the container, and a cup-shaped sealing lid 13 cut out in FIG. 1. The bottleneck end sleeve 11 and the closure lid 13 shown in the combined position in FIG. 1 cooperatively interact to prevent the closure device 10 from retreating during the sterilization process and to the liner disc or stopper 12. It works downward force.

As best seen in an exploded view of the insert sleeve 11, the outer surface of the insert sleeve 11 is formed with three spiral grooves 15 each sized to accommodate the protrusion 14. It ends with a locking slot 16 having an inlet 15a and located in the transverse plane PP perpendicular to the axis of the insertion sleeve.

The parts of the locking device are assembled in the following way. First, the sleeve 11 is press-fitted to the neck of the container until the lower edge 11a of the sleeve 11 abuts the circumferentially extending ribs R which bottleneck the body of the container. Next, a liner seal 12 is placed in the position shown in FIG. 1 on the discharge end of the container. The liner 12 has a smaller diameter than the sleeve 11 so that when the lid is positioned on the liner, the protrusions 14 can be fitted in alignment with the inlet of the helical slots 15. When the lid is turned clockwise, the lid is held in place so that the protrusions 14 pass through retention bumps 17 and engage the locking slot 16 to lock the lid.

In FIG. 2, the bottleneck end 11 is seen installed in the neck 31 of the container 30. The bottleneck end 11 is forcibly fitted to the neck 31 of the container 30 to prevent the bottleneck end 11 from rotating while closing the closure lid 13. In the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3, the protruding shape of the closure lid 13 is more clearly seen. The engaging projection 14 of the open end of the closure lid 13 and the force concentrating means 18 of the closed end cooperate with each other to secure the liner or stopper 12 to the container 30. 4 shows the bottleneck end 11, a spiral slot 15 which rotates downwards and a pocket for holding the engagement protrusion 14 when the closure lid 13 is fully secured to the container 30. 16) and a retention bump 17 which prevents the closure lid 13 from turning in the opposite direction during the sterilization process.

In order to preserve the contents of the container 30, the bottleneck end 11 is forcedly fitted to the neck 31 of the container 30. After the liner or stopper 12 is positioned on top of the container 30 or alternatively inside the closure lid 13, the closure lid is positioned above the end of the bottleneck 11 so that the joining protrusions 14 are formed in a spiral slot ( 15) to be aligned with. In order to secure the liner to stopper 12 above the container 30, the closure lid 13 is rotated and pulled down along the helical slots 15 while the liner to stopper 12 through the force concentrating means 18. Press). In order to move the engagement protrusion 14 through the retention bump 17 into the pocket 16, the force to turn the closure lid 13 must be slightly increased.

In order to remove the liner or stopper 12 and open the container 30, sufficient force in the opposite direction must be applied to the closure lid 13 in order for the joining protrusions 14 to pass through the retention bumps 17. do. After passing the retention bumps 17, the engaging projections 14 are released along the helical slots 15 so that the sealing lid 13 and the liner or stopper 12 are peeled off and the contents of the container 30 can be used. Will be.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described herein, they are not intended to limit the invention, and changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (1)

As for closing a container having a cylindrical bottleneck, A bottleneck end sleeve, which is press-fitted to the bottleneck of the vessel, on its outer surface there is a series of circumferentially spaced helical grooves, each of which is adjacent to the bottom of the bottleneck end sleeve with an elongated locking slot; A lid having a top surface and a skirt therein, the lid having a circumferentially spaced portion, projecting inwardly from the bottom of the skirt and having radially inwardly facing projections spaced at regular intervals to align with the spiral groove of the sleeve Become When the lid rotates with respect to the sleeve, the protrusions pass through the helical groove and engage with the bottom of the locking slot to secure the lid to the sleeve, Hermetic assembly.