KR20100131984A - A closure with built-in storing compartment - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a lid (1) suitable for detachably closing a container containing a first product, said lid being an assembly of less than four independent pieces and also having an outer side wall (3), an upper wall (4). ) And a cover having an inner skirt (5) extending downwardly from an upper wall (4) inside said side wall (3),
(Iii) the inner skirt 5 comprises an opening disposed in the upper wall 4 of the cover, the upper opening being at least one compartment for storing the second product 7 separately from the first product ( 6) closed by an upper closure means 11 to define,
(Ii) The closing means 11 for closing the top wall opening is made of an oxygen barrier material, so that when the lid 1 is screwed into the neck 2 of the container, the compartment 6 There is no oxygen pollution from the atmosphere.

Description

Cover with built-in storage compartment {A CLOSURE WITH BUILT-IN STORING COMPARTMENT}

The present invention relates to a lid having a storage compartment. More particularly, the present invention relates to a lid having a storage compartment with oxygen barrier properties.

For a long time, a lid has been developed for a container for packaging the first component or ingredient mixture in a main container and for containing the other ingredient or ingredient mixture in a smaller receptacle located in the lid. Such packaging systems allow for storage of components for an extended period of time in the same package, otherwise these components react or degrade when contacted before the storage period. In this case, the consumer opens the receptacle of the lid just before consumption and mixes the product contained in the receptacle with the product contained in another container.

Such packaging closure systems have been described in various prior art documents, some of which are cited herein and briefly described.

WO 2006046721 (filed Oct. 25, 2005 by Coca-Cola) describes a cap having a storage chamber for storing a component to be added to the liquid contents in the container, the cap being attached to the inlet of the container. And an outlet for directing the liquid contents out of the container. The lid is fastened to the base by screwing, which includes a storage chamber and a thin sheet for sealing it. The base has an annular portion attached to the inner wall of the outlet to maintain a channel in communication with the inner space of the container. The base has an inclined blade that comes into contact with the thin sheet as the lid is moved downwards to cut the thin sheet and allow the components in the storage chamber to fall into the interior space of the container and mix with the contents therein. do.

WO 2004031047 (filed September 22, 2003 by Boeringher Ingelheim Int.) Describes packaging units for two substances to be mixed, which are stored separately before use, in particular the fluid and powder substances. do. The invention includes a first container and a second container that can be moved in the neck of the first container. The second container is moved and opened by screwing on the sealing cap of the first container.

EP 1270435 (filed March 8, 2002 by Makita Masayuki) describes a bottle cap or closure member having a first fixing part and a second movable part which are individually screwed together. The fixing part is for supporting the movable part and also has a through hole in the axial line and an attachment part for connecting to the neck of the bottle. The detachable portion has an internal plug portion that projects from the front of the axial line and passes through the through hole to seal the through hole. The inner plug portion is provided with a chamber for raw materials and pressurized gas. The opening at the other end of the chamber is sealed by a plug. There is a plug opening means between the plug portion and the fixing portion, which plug is arranged to be opened by the plug opening means in the relative movement of the fixing portion and the detachable portion.

All of the above mentioned covers are not economically provided and the solution is not easy to use. The problem with the prior art solution described above is that the overall cost of the package is three to five times due to the cost of the cover. This high price is passed on to the end consumer, which is certainly not acceptable, since the end consumer must pay a price higher than the normal price for the product.

Moreover, covers comprising destructible compartments, such as deformable compartments, which are pressurized and destroyed to release the contents, require adjustment in accordance with the strength or ability of the consumer, which may be of any group, preferably with good handling capability. Limit its use only to adults. Consumers, such as children, teenagers, the elderly, or the disabled, may use any of the manipulations necessary to open the cover, such as by screwing the cover off and then unscrewing, or by opening a portion of the cover and pressing the member to press the membrane. It may be difficult to rupture, or to accurately perform other mechanical manipulations of the lid, such as pressing, pressing, pulling, twisting, or the like. In summary, all cover solutions that require a determined sequence of handling operations to discharge the contents of the cover to the main container are not familiar enough to the consumer.

In that respect, EP 0552105 (filed Jan. 14, 1993 by Remy Deslandes) describes a simpler solution which is economically viable. The invention described in EP 0552105 relates to a container for ingesting a single liquid product to be ingested, which container comprises a lid lid containing a reservoir of an additive to be optionally instant mixed with an individual dose of the base liquid. do. For this purpose, the lid comprises a member for isolating the reservoir of additive and the dose of basic liquid, the container comprising a means for destroying said containment means and for the purpose of carrying out said mixing. It includes means for manual operation in the second operation for the purpose of receiving the first manual operation on the outside as well as removing the lid after mixing or without prior mixing.

Moreover, different systems currently disclosed require separate packaging operations for the product to be filled in the lid and then transport the bottle to a factory that places the lid on the bottle in parallel to the filling. Thus, sensitive products to be packaged in the lid must be protected from moisture and oxygen through expensive technology and packaging during transportation between the lid filling line and the bottle closure line. Moreover, it is necessary to sanitize the cover before placing it in the bottle, but it is very difficult to achieve technically. Finally, however, in particular, due to the fact that the lid must be filled separately from the bottle closing step, it is difficult to predict the manufacture of the bottle, which means that a pre-filled lid stock must be made. This prefilled stockpile wastes prefilled covers when it is not necessarily appropriate and often the number of bottles to be covered is not as large as the embedded cover stockpile. Given the price of the product filled in the cover, this waste is very undesirable for economic reasons.

Thus, the main object of the present invention is to package at least one oxygen sensitive product separately from the contents of the main container, to be cheap and easy to manufacture, and also to make the method of manufacturing, filling and closing the lid for the bottle as simple as possible. It is to provide a lid for a container that can be carried out in one step.

The foregoing objects and requirements are met by the present application with a lid suitable for removably closing the container containing the first product, the lid being an assembly of less than four independent pieces and comprising an outer side wall, a top wall and A cover having an inner skirt extending downwardly from an upper wall inside the side wall:

(Iii) the inner skirt comprises an opening disposed in the upper wall of the cover, the upper opening being closed by upper closure means to define at least one compartment for storing a second product separately from the first product. ,

(Ii) The closure means for closing the top wall opening is made of an oxygen barrier material, characterized in that the compartment is free of oxygen contamination from the atmosphere when the lid is screwed into the neck of the vessel.

Advantageously, the opening of the inner skirt located on the top wall has a diameter of 15 to 50 mm, preferably 28 to 38 mm. This diameter range generally corresponds to elongated injection molded bottle necks. However, the diameter range is not limited, because the lid of the present invention may be much larger in size and / or may be adapted to a container having a neck diameter smaller or larger than the above-described preferred dimensions.

In a first possible embodiment of the invention, said top closure means is a sealing membrane.

In a second possible embodiment of the invention, the upper closure means is a lid integrally formed with the rest of the lid, the lid being hinged to the side wall and / or the top wall of the lid, the lid being an oxygen barrier means. It includes more.

In another possible embodiment of the lid according to the invention, the inner skirt further comprises a second opening at the bottom, which second opening:

A peelable lower membrane, or

By means of a lower wall which is integrally formed with the skirt of the cover and connected to the skirt of the cover, which is connected by a circular thin wall having a thickness of 300 μm or less, preferably 200 μm or less, more preferably 170 μm or less. It is closed.

Preferably, the peelable bottom membrane or bottom wall is an integral, easily openable tab (for bottom membrane) or pin (for a detachable bottom wall) such that a consumer can hold and separate the bottom membrane, the bottom wall, respectively. ), Respectively.

The lid according to the invention may advantageously comprise an inner skirt which is a cylinder with at least one vertical wall extending along all of its height to divide the compartment into at least two small compartments. In this way, two or more products can be packaged and stored separately in each of the small compartments of the lid in powder, gel, liquid or other form.

In a very preferred embodiment of the invention, the height of the inner skirt of the cover extends downward from the top wall of the cover and below the height of the lower edge of the side wall of the cover.

Advantageously, the cover herein is an extruded thermoplastic cover, which thermoplastic material is selected from polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), or a combination thereof.

In another possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the lid is a screw cap including a thread disposed on the inner surface of the side wall to interact with a corresponding thread of the container neck.

The invention also relates to a method of manufacturing, filling and closing a lid suitable for closing a container containing a first product, the lid comprising at least one compartment, the method comprising:

(Iii) shaping the lid according to the embodiment described above;

(Ii) if the skirt comprises a lower opening, closing the lower opening of the inner skirt;

(Iii) screwing the lid onto the neck of a container prefilled with a first product;

(Iii) filling said compartment with at least one second product through an upper opening; And

(Iii) closing the upper opening by sealing it with an inseparable membrane so as to close the compartment as a whole, or by clipping the lid to the upper opening by pivoting the lid around a hinge if the lid comprises a lid. Include the steps in order.

Preferably, step (ii) of closing the lower opening of the skirt is achieved by sealing with a membrane, if necessary, or by attaching a molded lower wall separately from the rest of the lid.

Also, preferably, the method described above is carried out in a sterile state.

Preferably, in any embodiment of the lid or the method described above, the first product is a storage stable or refrigerated milk product, a fruit based composition, a fermented or unfermented cereal based composition, a soy based product, Or a liquid, semi-liquid, gel, powder or particle composition selected from coffee products, wherein the at least one second product comprises vitamins, energy enhancing ingredients, fruit juices, probiotics, spices, colorants, sweeteners, minerals, Liquid, semi-liquid, gel, powder or particle compositions selected from gas releasing components such as carbonates or combinations thereof.

Further features and advantages of the invention will be described in and will be apparent from the description of the preferred embodiments herein described below with reference to the drawings.

1 is a schematic contour cutaway view of one embodiment of a lid according to the present disclosure,
2 is a schematic contour cutaway view of a second embodiment of a lid according to the present disclosure,
3 is a schematic contour cutaway view of a third embodiment of a lid according to the present disclosure,
4 is a schematic contour cutaway view of a fourth embodiment of a lid according to the present disclosure,
5A-5D illustrate different stages of use of a lid according to a fourth embodiment of the present application, and
6A-6D illustrate different stages of use of a lid according to a second embodiment of the present application.

The lid 1 shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 is suitable for removably closing a container (not shown) containing a first type of product. In the figure only the neck 2 of the vessel is shown.

The lid 1 has an outer side wall 3, an upper wall 4 and an inner skirt 5 extending downwardly from the upper wall 4 inside this side wall 3. The inner skirt 5 comprises at least one opening. This part of the lid is integrally molded from polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene (PE) by an injection molding or compression process.

According to the invention, the lid 1 comprises one closed compartment 6 inside the lid for storing the second product 7 separately from the first product.

The internal volume of this closed compartment 6 is 1-50 ml, preferably 7-30 ml, more preferably 10-20 ml, so if it is in the form of powder or particles, 2-50 g of a second product The amount of (7) will be packed. However, by increasing the height of the inner skirt and / or increasing the diameter of the skirt 5, the volume of this compartment 6 can be increased beyond 50 ml (up to at least 100 ml) if necessary. Thus, by the present application, even if the wall height of the cover or the total diameter of the cover is limited, it is possible to greatly increase the volume of the compartment 6.

In a first possible embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1, the inner skirt 5 of the lid 1 comprises one upper opening arranged in the top wall 4 of the lid 1. The lower part of the skirt is closed by a lower wall 8 formed integrally with the rest of the cover. As shown in FIG. 1, the portion 9 between the lower edge of the inner skirt 5 and the lower wall 8 is thinner than the adjoining portion of the cover. For example, if the wall and the bottom wall 8 of the inner skirt 5 are about 700 μm, the thickness reducing portion 9 is less than 200 μm, preferably less than 170 μm, and thus the bottom wall 8 Can be easily opened by rupturing to separate it from the inner skirt wall. The material thickness in this area is less than 200 μm. Moreover, the lower surface of the lower wall 8 comprises a holding means, for example a pin 10, as shown in FIG.

In the first embodiment, the lid 1 is conveyed to a factory closing machine and then screwed onto the neck of the bottle pre-filled with liquid, for example liquid yoghurt. The bottle is made of an oxygen barrier material. The compartment 6 of the lid is then filled and filled with a second product 7, for example probiotics, vitamins and minerals, in powder form, through the upper opening of the inner skirt 5 in a sterile state. The aluminum membrane 11 is sealed to the upper wall 4 of the lid 1. In this way, the skirt 5 closed with the aluminum membrane 11 defines a closing compartment 6 filled with the second product 7.

The term "aluminum membrane" refers to a membrane made of aluminum, which further comprises a sealing layer, such as polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP), for example, so that the membrane is for example used in heat sealing or ultrasonic sealing techniques. By sealing to the cover. Alternatively, suitable members can be made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) + EVOH (ethylvinyl alcohol) multilayer.

When the cover 1 is screwed into the neck 2 of the bottle, the compartment 6 is completely surrounded by an oxygen barrier wall because it is located inside the bottle with only its top wall 4 in contact with the atmosphere. This compartment is closed by the oxygen barrier membrane 11. The first product contained in the bottle as well as the second product 7 contained in the closed compartment 6 can be stored for several weeks before being placed in a separate packaging location. Thus, the shelf life of the entire product is extended compared to the case where two products are mixed and stored at the same packaging location.

Immediately before ingestion, as shown in FIGS. 6A-6D, the consumer unscrews the lid 1 from the neck 2 of the bottle (FIG. 6A), with the top of the lid 1 facing down. Turn and pull the pin 10 as shown in FIG. 6B to separate and peel off the lower wall 8 of the inner skirt 5 to open the compartment 6. The consumer then pours the second product 7 contained in the compartment 6 into the bottle, as shown in FIG. 6C, and then screwes the lid back to the neck 2 of the bottle. Finally, as shown in FIG. 6D, the consumer shakes the reclosed bottle to properly mix the first product and the second product contained in the bottle.

In a second possible embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 2, the lid 1 is shaped substantially as a cylinder such that the inner skirt 5 comprises two openings, namely one upper opening and one lower opening. do. After injection, the lower opening of the inner skirt is closed by a lower membrane 12 separably sealed to the lower edge 13 of the inner skirt wall. Preferably, as shown in FIG. 2, the peelable lower membrane 12 includes at least one outwardly extending extension 14 on the outside of the lid compartment 6, which is said lower membrane 12. It provides an easy opening feature.

When the lower opening of the inner skirt 5 is closed, the second product to be contained in the closing compartment 6 can be filled through the upper opening of this skirt 5, and the upper opening of this skirt can be opened in the automatic line without spilling ( 6) have a diameter of 15 to 50 mm, preferably 28 to 38 mm to accurately fill. After the filling step, the upper opening is closed by sealing the upper wall 4 of the lid 1 with a membrane 11 made of an oxygen barrier material. Preferably, the upper membrane 11 is sealed so as not to separate. This can be achieved by choosing a material that is very thick or mechanically resistant to the membrane and / or by increasing the surface of the sealing area between the membrane and the top wall of the sheath.

For the consumer, prior to ingestion, the opening of the compartment 6 and the mixing of the first product and the contents 7 contained in the bottle are described with reference to FIGS. 6A-6D for the first possible embodiment of the present application. Almost the same as described above.

In a third possible embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 3, the lid 1 is injection molded as a cylinder and the inner skirt 5 comprises two openings, namely an upper and a lower opening. The lower opening is then closed by fixing an additional wall 15 to close the lower opening of the skirt 5. As shown in Fig. 3, this additional bottom wall 15 is preferably implemented such that it can be attached by screwing or clipping (mechanical means) and that the bottom wall of the inner skirt cannot be separated. This additional bottom wall 15 is a rigid portion which is injection molded separately from the rest of the lid.

The lid opening of the top wall has an open diameter of 15 to 50 mm, preferably 28 to 38 mm, so it is suitable for filling the compartment 6 with the second product 7. As soon as the compartment 6 of the cover is filled, this compartment is then closed by attaching a membrane 11 which is detachably sealed. Preferably, the membrane, as an easy opening means (not shown), comprises an outwardly extending tab for the consumer to grip.

The steps of opening the compartment 6 of the lid, releasing the second product 7 contained in the compartment and mixing it with the first product contained in the main bottle are shown in FIGS. 5A-5D. As shown in FIG. 5A, the consumer first unscrews the lid 1 from the bottle neck 2 and then peels off the upper membrane 11 as shown in FIG. 5B. The consumer then turns the top of the lid 1 down on the bottle neck 2 so that the contents of the lid 7 can be poured into the bottle as shown in FIG. 5C. Once this is done, the lid 1 is screwed back into the bottle neck 2 as shown in FIG. 5D, and the closed bottle is vigorously shaken to mix the first and second products together before ingestion.

In the fourth possible embodiment of the present application shown in FIG. 4, the lid 1 is very similar to the lid described in the third embodiment described above. In this particular case, however, the lower wall 16 of the inner skirt of the cover is molded integrally with the rest of the cover.

In all of the above-described embodiments of the present application, the height of the skirt 5 extends downward from the upper wall 4 of the cover 1 and below the height of the lower edge 17 of the cover side wall 3. desirable. This can be clearly seen, for example, in FIGS. 1 to 4. Finally, the lid 1 is preferably fixed to the neck 2 of the bottle by screwing, and for this effect, the side wall 3 of the lid covers the inner surface of the side wall 3 of this lid. And threads 18 arranged along the way. This thread is adapted to interact with the corresponding thread 19 of the vessel neck 2.

The invention also relates to a method for filling and closing a lid suitable for closing a container containing a first product, the lid comprising at least one compartment according to claims 4 to 12, the method comprising the following in sequence: :

(Iii) if necessary, closing the lower opening of the inner skirt with a peelable membrane;

(Ii) screwing the lid onto the neck of a container prefilled with a first product;

(Iii) filling said compartment with at least one second product through an upper opening; And

(Iii) closing the upper opening by sealing it with an inseparable membrane so as to close the compartment as a whole, or by clipping the lid to the upper opening by pivoting the lid around a hinge if the lid comprises a lid. step.

The lid of the present invention enables on-line manufacturing and also makes the first product (e.g., in the same manufacturing line used to make the lid and also to fill the lid with a second type of product (e.g. probiotic powder). It is possible to fill the bottle with a liquid milk composition (dairy composition) such as liquid yoghurt. After screwing the lid onto the filled bottle, the closed bottle goes into a filling step of filling with powder. Sterilization is maintained along all production lines from filling the bottle to filling and sealing the lid. Thus, this logistic is obviously much easier than any conventional system that requires a stock of prefilled lids as described above.

An example of a second product that can be packed in a cover compartment is formulated as follows:

In the above example, the second product is in liquid or semi-liquid form. However, it can be processed to be packaged in powder form, which is more convenient for the consumer to release and mix into the contents of the main container.

In all packaging solutions described in the prior art, none is described for oxygen barrier properties. Thus, the prior art requires secondary packages that meet oxygen barrier properties, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) overlap, which are disposed all around the closed bottle. Such secondary packages are not only complicated to manufacture but also increase the overall cost of the packaging, which is clearly undesirable.

The present invention provides a very effective solution for packaging some essential ingredients for nutritional products in non-liquid form. For example, iron or other metal salts, which generally have a bad taste after storage in liquid form, may be packaged in a cover according to the invention, separately from the main liquid product, in powder or particle form. In this way, the consumer can benefit from the final product in liquid form by adding iron (or other metal) salts immediately before ingestion, thus not exhibiting a nasty metallic taste and having a shelf life of the product as compared to conventional products. Is extended. The present invention is also suitable for packaging nutritional or medical molecules, such as glutamine, which is not stable (and thus cannot be stored) in liquid form, so that the ingredients can be added imminently before ingestion.

It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the preferred embodiments described herein may be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and aspects of the invention and without alleviating the accompanying advantages. Therefore, such changes and modifications are protected by the appended claims.

Claims (15)

A lid 1 suitable for detachably closing a container containing a first product, the lid comprising:
The cover is an assembly of less than four independent pieces and also has an inner skirt 5 extending downward from the top wall 4 inside the outer side wall 3, the top wall 4 and the side wall 3. In the cover provided with:
(Iii) the inner skirt 5 comprises an opening disposed in the upper wall 4 of the cover, the upper opening being at least one compartment for storing the second product 7 separately from the first product ( 6) closed by an upper closure means 11 to define,
(Ii) The closing means 11 for closing the top wall opening is made of an oxygen barrier material, so that when the lid 1 is screwed into the neck 2 of the container, the compartment 6 Cover (1) characterized by no oxygen contamination from the atmosphere. The method of claim 1,
The lid (1), characterized in that the opening of the inner skirt (5) located in the upper wall (4) has a diameter of 15 to 50 mm, preferably 28 to 38 mm. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The lid (1), characterized in that the upper closure means is a sealing membrane (11). The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The upper closure means 11 is a lid integrally formed with the rest of the lid, which lid is hinged to the side wall and / or the top wall of the lid, the lid further comprising oxygen blocking means. Cover (1). The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The inner skirt (5) further comprises a second opening at the bottom, the second opening being closed by a peelable lower membrane (12). The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The inner skirt 5 further comprises a second opening at the bottom thereof, which is integrally formed with the skirt of the lid and is 300 μm or less, preferably 200 μm or less, more preferably 170 μm. The lid (1), characterized in that it is closed by a lower wall (8) which is connected to the skirt of the lid by a circular thin wall (9) having the following thickness. The method according to claim 5 or 6,
The peelable lower membrane 12 or lower wall 8 is an integral, easily open tab or pin 10 that allows a consumer to hold and separate the lower membrane 12, the lower wall 8, respectively. A lid (1), each comprising: a. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The cover (1), characterized in that the inner skirt (5) is a cylinder with at least one vertical wall extending along all of its height to divide the compartment (6) into at least two small compartments. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The cover (1), characterized in that the height of the skirt (5) extends downward from the top wall (4) of the cover and below the height of the lower edge (17) of the side wall (3) of the cover. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
The cover is an injection molded thermoplastic cover, wherein the thermoplastic material is selected from polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), or a combination thereof. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
The lid (1), characterized in that the lid is a screw cap comprising a thread (18) disposed on the inner surface of the side wall to interact with a corresponding thread (19) of the vessel neck (2). A method of manufacturing, filling and closing a lid (1) suitable for closing a container containing a first product, the lid (1) having at least one compartment (6), wherein the method comprises:
(Iii) shaping the lid according to claims 3 to 11,
(Ii) if the skirt comprises a lower opening, closing the lower opening of this inner skirt 5,
(Iii) screwing the cover 1 onto the neck 2 of a container prefilled with a first product,
(Iii) filling said compartment 6 with at least one second product through an upper opening, and
(Iii) closing the upper opening by sealing it with an inseparable membrane so as to close the compartment as a whole, or by clipping the lid to the upper opening by pivoting the lid around a hinge if the lid comprises a lid. And comprising steps in sequence. The method of claim 12,
The step (ii) of closing the lower opening of the skirt (5) is achieved by sealing with a membrane (11), if necessary, or by attaching a molded lower wall (15) separately from the rest of the lid. The method according to claim 12 or 13,
Method carried out in aseptic condition. The cover according to any one of claims 1 to 11 or the method according to any one of claims 12 to 14,
(Iii) the first product is a liquid, semi-liquid, gel, selected from storage stable or refrigerated milk products, fruit based compositions, fermented or unfermented cereal based compositions, soy based products, or coffee products; A powder or particle composition,
(Ii) the at least one second product is a liquid, semi-liquid, gel, selected from gas release components such as vitamins, energy enhancing ingredients, fruit juices, probiotics, spices, colorants, sweeteners, minerals, carbonates, or combinations thereof. Cover or method which is a powder or particle composition.

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