MX2007001190A - Reclosable pouring element for cardboard/plastic composite packagings - Google Patents

Abstract

What is represented and described is a reclosable pouring element for cardboard/plastic composite packagings comprising a basic body (1) to be applied to the packaging in the region of an overcoated weakening zone, a lid (2) pivotally mounted on the end of the basic body (1), and an opening element (3) pivotally mounted on the lid (2), positive guiding elements (8A, 9A) being arranged between the basic body (1) and the opening element (3). A compact pouring element which is particularly easy to handle is achieved in that the opening element (3) is fastened in an articulated manner to the end of a lever projecting down from the lid (2) in such a way that, when swinging up the lid (2), the opening element (3) is first of all caused to make a forward linear movement which is converted into a downward movement by means of further positive guiding elements arranged on the inner side of the basic body (1) and/or on the opening element.

Description

- RECHARGEABLE SPILL ELEMENT FOR CARTON / PLASTIC COMPOSITE CONTAINERS DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a rechargeable pouring element for cardboard / plastic composite packages comprising a base to be applied on the package in the vicinity of the weakened area on top of a cover, a lid mounted pivotably on the end of the base and an opening element pivotably mounted on the lid, wherein the limited guide elements are distributed between the base and the opening element. Recessible pouring elements for beverage containers have been available in the market for a long time in various configurations. They usually consist of three parts, a base, a lid and an opening element to open for the first time a container that is provided with such pouring element. Depending on the design, these may be screw caps, however, or of another type where the lid is lifted (WO 97/46455 A l) or pulled and separated (DE 196 37 865 C2). Two-part pouring elements are also known, wherein the lid is simultaneously implemented as an opening element (US 6,257,449 B l). In principle, all efforts are made to configure the pouring elements in question so that they are as easy to handle by the consumer (friendly to the consumer) as possible, so that, on the one hand, easy handling is ensured and, On the other hand, the pouring operation at that moment is as simple as possible. In addition, the total height must be kept at a minimum for reasons of material use and therefore production costs and for better stackability. Both in the case of the threaded caps and also for said pouring elements, which work with an opening element that is pressed inside the package, the total height must be at least that of the weakened areas usually over-coated With a composite material made of thin polyethylene sheet and aluminum foil and can also be opened reliably. In this case, the problem is that the polyethylene is very flexible and, for this reason, in addition to the aluminum foil, by itself, can not be "drilled" easily. Therefore, the pouring elements have become generally accepted, which are pulled and removed from the material of the weakened zone through an opening element or can be separated from the packing or, however, which are provided with an opening element that can be rotated inside the container as a result of obtaining a reliable piercing of the weakened area. The reclosable pouring element, according to WO 97/46455 Al, however, is not advantageous insofar as the opening element must be manipulated separately after lifting the lid, with a finger or other article. There have also already been said pouring elements, wherein the opening element must be manipulated when lifting the lid (WO 90/14280 or US 6,257,449 B l). In addition, WO 2005/077769 A discloses in advance a pouring element with a lid and an opening element, wherein the opening element is joined to the base in an articulated manner. As in the case of the pouring element of this prior art, when the lid is lifted, the opening element must be pivoted downwards, which means transmitting the required force and therefore, for example, the use is described. of a pull strip or combined gear wheels. It is readily apparent that the force to be transmitted to the opening element must be very large, since the opening element must be pressed against the container wall over its entire length in order to destroy this. Therefore, said pouring element can only be produced with an extremely large consumption of time and effort plus associated costs. Finally, there is a relatively small pouring element, wherein the opening element is manipulated by a guide on the side walls (WO 03/047981). This recessible pouring element of the prior art has all the features of the preamble of claim 1. Due to the problem involved in the flexibility of polyethylene, already mentioned, however, this pouring element of the prior art does not work satisfactorily, since only the tip of the opening element can penetrate the polyethylene material or the made polyethylene composite and a thin sheet of aluminum during the opening operation. The forces to be transmitted act only on the tip of the opening element, so that this prior art pouring element therefore does not always ensure reliable exposure of a constantly defined pour opening. On this basis, the object of the present invention is to provide a reclosable pouring element which eliminates the disadvantages described in detail in the foregoing and, despite a small overall height, ensures a reliable opening of the container and a defined exposure of the area weakened This object is obtained by a pouring element with the characteristics of the preamble of claim 1 due to the fact that the opening element joins in an articulated manner to a lever projecting downwards from the lid so that the element of opening, when the lid is lifted, it is first manufactured to perform a linear forward movement, which, as a result of the additional limited guide elements distributed inside the base or the opening element is converted into a movement falling. In this way, it is possible for the opening member to first perform a "forward movement" when the lid is lifted and therefore, due to the corresponding limited guiding elements in the base element, with a "buried" movement. Within the weakened zone and from here it is aimed at the reliable destruction of the composite material made of thin polyethylene sheet and thin aluminum foil. Because the opening element is not attached to the lid itself but to a bar which is held at a distance from the lid as a lever, the entire front part of the opening element rotates relatively strongly within the material of the opening. polyethylene / aluminum to be destroyed and ensures exposure of a sufficiently large pour opening, which is described in further detail in the following. The invention recognizes that, as a result of using limited guiding elements on the lid or opening element, an optimum force transmission is ensured to initiate the opening operation of the container when the lid is lifted. This is obtained in particular by the fact that the opening element does not simply rotate inside the packaging material but performs both a linear and a rotary movement. In particular, the present invention covers all limited guide elements, although the discussion below only relates to the preferred embodiment of guide rails that are provided on the base member and slide elements that are provided on the opening member. It is also possible, within the scope of the invention, to construct an array in an inverse manner or even to use different limited guide elements known to those skilled in the art. In this way, it is also possible, for example, to configure the opening elements as a plate more or less flat but in corrugated form, where the side edges of this corrugated plate can act directly as guide rails. According to a preferred teaching of the invention, the limited guide elements have lateral guide elements distributed over the interior of the base, which corresponds to the matching sliding elements of the opening element and the additional limited guide elements are formed as lateral guide elements distributed diagonally on the base, which correspond to additional matching sliding elements of the opening element. Another teaching of the invention provides that the lever projecting from the lid is shaped as a bar. Thus, a particularly good force transmission can be obtained in a simple manner. According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention in this case, the bar, when the lid is closed, extends substantially to the contact plane of the flange (lower surface of the pouring element). In this way a maximum advantage can be obtained. A further teaching of the invention provides that the opening element has a peripheral cutting edge at least in the section, which oscillates outside the plane of the lower surface of the pouring element. In this way, it reliably ensures that the overcoverage in the vicinity of the weakened zone is divided cleanly and can be separated from the pouring opening. According to a further embodiment of the invention, the opening element, in the vicinity of the cutting edge mentioned above, has at least one tooth for piercing the weakened area. The cutting edge may also consist of a plurality of adjacent teeth. This embodiment is particularly advantageous since as a result of drilling by means of several perforation points, extensive stretching of the overcoating can be reliably prevented before it is torn. According to another teaching of the invention, the guide elements in the base are configured as a crank arm guide mechanism. In this way, a restricted guide element of the opening element is obtained in a simple manner when the lid is lifted. Preferably, the lid is attached to the base and the opening element is attached to the bar projecting from the lid by means of a film hinge. In this way, the pouring element according to the invention can be produced as a single piece. According to a further embodiment of the invention, the opening element can be immobilized in its open position with the base, so that the opening element is reliably prevented from rising up again and therefore closing the area of opening during the pouring operation. In this way, a defined pour opening is always present. Additionally or alternatively, it is also possible that the opening element, before being opened for the first time, can be immobilized with the base. This possibility serves to prevent inadvertent opening, in particular during transport of the containers that are provided with the pouring element according to the invention. The term "immobilize" in the sense of the invention is understood to be not only a positive connection but it is also conceivable that the opening element is connected to the base with one or more bars of thin material which are destroyed when opened by first time. The immobilization must ensure that the opening element does not damage or destroy the thin sheet that is located below it, through vibration or the like before the first authorized opening of the container. According to a further preferred teaching of the invention, the immobilization is carried out by means of clamping cams distributed inside the base so as to cooperate with the slidable elements of the opening element. In a further embodiment of the invention, it is proposed that the lid in the open or closed condition can be immobilized with the base. The immobilization in the closed condition is advantageous in order that, on the one hand,, indicate to the consumer (acoustically or tangibly) that the container is firmly sealed by the closed lid so that, for example, if the container is stirred, the product will not escape. In this case, the immobilization can also be a sealing joint between the base and the cover, in order to reliably avoid product leakage, air intake or the like. On the other hand, the. Immobilization in the open condition is also advantageous since contact of the lid with the product when pouring is reliably avoided. According to a further teaching of the invention, it is proposed that an originality seal be placed between the base and the lid. Therefore, it is indicated to the consumer whether the pouring element has already been misused and the packaging has already been opened. Finally, it is also possible, with the arrangement according to the invention, to produce the pouring element in a single piece, so that the production costs can be reduced in turn. The invention is described in the following in detail on the basis of a drawing illustrating only a preferred exemplary embodiment, in which the following is shown: Figure 1 shows a pouring element according to the invention in closed condition as a perspective illustration , figure 2 shows the pouring element of figure 1, opened by a vertical cut along the line II-II, figure 3 shows the pouring element of figure 2 with the lid slightly raised, figure 4 shows the pouring element of figure 2 with the lid raised in an extensive manner, figure 5 shows the pouring element of figure 2 in the open position and figure 6 shows the pouring element of figure 1 in the open position. Figure 1 is a perspective illustration of the reclosable pouring element according to the invention in closed condition. It is clearly recognizable that the total height of the pouring element is extremely small. For a better explanation of the functional mode of operation of opening, figures 2 to 5 reproduce closed pouring elements (figure 2), slightly open (figure 3), open in an extensive way (figure 4) and open completely (figure 5), where the pouring element is opened by cutting vertically along the line II-II in figure 1, in order to be able to better show the kinematic operations.

The pouring element according to the invention consists of the illustrated and to this extent the preferred exemplary embodiment of a base 1, a cover 2 mounted pivotably on the end of the base 1 and an opening element 3 mounted in an initial and substantial manner. pivotably on the lid 2. In this case, the base 1 is joined with a rim 4 so as to rotate around a pouring opening O over a weakened area of a container -not illustrated- preferably a carton composite / plastic. The lid 2 is attached to the base 1 in an articulated manner by means of a film hinge 5. As is evident in a particularly clear manner from FIG. 4, a bar 6 is provided on the lower surface of the cover 2 projecting towards the interior of the base 1 and functioning as a lever, towards the lower end of the base. which joins the opening element 3, in the preferred exemplary embodiment with a film hinge 7. Inside the base 1 there are now provided guiding elements 8A and 8B according to the invention, whose position is particularly evident in a clear manner by the sectional view in figures 2 to 5. These serve to ensure an opening operation uniform of the opening element 3 when the lid 2 is lifted. For this purpose, the opening element 3, as is evident from Fig. 2 to 5, has sliding elements 9A and 9B positioned laterally which, together with the elements 8A and 8B of guide, serve as a crank arm guide mechanism. When the lid 2 rises (figure 3) as a result of the front guide elements 8B and the associated sliding elements 9B due to the fact that the opening element 3 is attached to the end of the bar 6 projecting from the lid 2, a forward movement of the opening element 3 is obtained, which leaves the opening element 3 buried at a steep slope angle in the weakened area (not shown) as a result of the guide elements 8B running diagonally in the base 1. So the weakened zone - which consists mainly of a composite material made of a thin sheet of polyethylene and a thin sheet of aluminum - is now reliably destroyed, the opening element 3 at least in the section, which it leaves the plane of the lower surface of the pouring element, has a peripheral cutting edge which in the illustrated embodiment and to this extent the preferred exemplary embodiment, is implemented as a plurality of adjacent teeth. After the opening element 3 first pierces the over-coated weakened area and when the lid 2 is raised further (see Figure 4), the opening element is not only pulled towards the rear but moves via the guide elements 8A and the corresponding sliding elements 9A downwards, to the interior of the container, so that the section between the opening element 3 and the base 1 projecting forward produce a reliably defined discharge opening O. , as is also particularly clearly evident from Figure 6, wherein the pouring element according to the invention is once again fully illustrated in its open position. So that the opening element 3 is now attached to the base 1 in a fixed position, before the application of the pouring element takes place on a container and also after the application, for example during transportation, of a connection not positive or positive of both parties. For this purpose, the cylindrical sliding elements 9B projecting from the opening element 3 are concavely formed on their free front ends and the base 1 has corresponding protruding clamping cams 1 1 which fasten the opening element 3 in a defined position until the lid 12 is manipulated for the first time. Finally, the pouring element in the illustrated modality and, until now, the exemplary modality lost, also has a stamp of originality. For this purpose, a bolt 12 projecting from the base, is caulked with a plate 13, placed laterally on the lid 2 in a corresponding place, as is evident from figure 1 and 2. The plate 13 is attached to the lid 12 during the process of injection molding of the pouring element, by means of bridges 14 of thin material. When the lid 2 is opened for the first time, the bridges 14 of material, which serve as predetermined breaking points, tear between the plate 13 and the lid 2, and in this way the consumer is informed that the container involved has already been open.

Claims (16)

1. Reclosable pouring element for cardboard / plastic composite packages comprising a base to be applied to the package in the vicinity of a weakened over-coated zone, a lid mounted pivotably at the end of the base and an aperture element mounted pivotably on the lid, wherein the restricted guide elements are distributed between the base and the opening element, characterized in that the opening element joins in an articulated manner at the end of a lever projecting downwards from the lid, so that the opening element, when the lid is lifted, first performs a linear forward movement, which as a result of the additional restricted guide elements distributed in the interior of the base or the opening element becomes a downward movement

2. The pouring element according to claim 1, characterized in that the restricted guide elements have lateral guide elements distributed in the interior of the base, which correspond to matching sliding elements of the opening element, and wherein the guide elements Additional constraints are formed as lateral guide elements distributed diagonally on the base, which correspond to the additional matching sliding elements of the opening element.

3. The pouring element according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the lever projecting from the lid is formed as a bar.

4. The pouring element according to claim 3, characterized in that the bar, when the lid is closed, extends substantially to the contact plane of the flange.

5. The pouring element according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the opening element has a peripheral cutting edge at least in the section which leaves the plane of the lower surface of the pouring element.

6. The pouring element according to claim 5, characterized in that the opening element in the vicinity of the cutting edge has at least one tooth for piercing the overcoating.

7. The pouring element according to any of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that the guide elements in the base are configured as a crank arm guide mechanism.

8. The pouring element according to any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the cover is joined to the base by means of a film joint.

9. The pouring element according to any of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the opening element is joined to the bar by means of a film hinge.

10. The pouring element according to any of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the opening element before opening for the first time or in the open condition, can be immobilized with the base. eleven .

The pouring element according to claims 2 to 10, characterized in that the immobilization is carried out by means of clamping cams distributed in the interior of the base cooperating with the sliding elements of the opening element.

12. The pouring element according to any of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the lid, in the open condition, can be immobilized with the base.

13. The pouring element according to any of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the lid in the closed condition can be immobilized with the base.

14. The pouring element according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that the lid in the closed condition is attached to the base in a sealing manner.

15. The pouring element according to any of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the originality seal, which is destroyed when the lid is lifted for the first time, is placed between the base and the lid.

16. The pouring element according to any of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that it is manufactured in one piece.