TWI386347B - Beverage containers - Google Patents

Description

Beverage container

The present invention relates to a container for a beverage, particularly a carbonated beverage, and to a container form described in International Patent Application No. PCT/GB2005/000986, which does not form part of the art. The present invention is particularly, although not exclusively, a container having a wide mouth, i.e., having a diameter of more than about 25 mm or more, preferably more than about 38 mm or 45 mm.

Beverage bottles typically have narrow-mouthed bottles with a diameter of only 28 mm or less. There are several ways to seal the top of the bottle to the neck of the bottle, but to understand the problem of sealing the carbonated beverage container when the diameter of the flat mouth is increased. Increase exponentially because the area of the bottom or top of the lid is increased by the square of the radius. If the lid of the container or its seal fails, the gas pressure will be released and the lid will even explode to the air, resulting in loss of the beverage and potential damage to others. . Similar sealing problems occur in uncarbonated beverages because if the container is exposed to high temperatures, such as exposure to direct sunlight, the pressure of the gas in the headspace of the container will increase and if the container is not sufficiently sealed, this will cause gas to atmospheric leakage. This is not an inherent problem, but when the container is cooled again, a negative pressure is generated in the headspace, so that atmospheric oxygen is introduced. This can cause oxidation of the contents of the container so that they can no longer be consumed.

As seen in Fig. 1, the bottle 2 is of a generally cylindrical shape having a shaft 3 and at least one portion 4 of increased size, the diameter of the portion 4 being larger than the diameter of the cover 6, as will be explained below. In this case the bottle is moulded from a plastic material and has a wide mouth and a diameter greater than 28 mm as defined by the neck 8 of the bottle, the neck 8 being at the inner surface 10 (the inner surface 10 is associated with the shaft 3) The bottle edge portion defined by the upward and outward tilting and the outer surface 12 (which is tilted upward and inward with respect to the shaft 3) ends. The surfaces 10 and 12 then cover the outer diameter of the bottle, particularly the edge portion of the bottle, and thus begin to increase from the top down. However, it then abruptly decreases in the downwardly directed annular shoulder 14 extending substantially perpendicular to the shaft 3, however, the inner diameter of the bottle edge portion begins to decrease from the top downward.

As seen in Fig. 2, the cover comprises an integral component, preferably integrally molded from an elastic plastic material such as polypropylene, comprising a shaped closure panel, integral with the web 16, when the cover is attached to the bottle The web extends over the edge of the bottle, integral with the web 16 is a depending bottle edge 18 that extends downwardly along the exterior of the upper portion of the bottle, integrally connected to the lower edge of the bottle edge 18 or adjacent An annular retaining flange 20 having a lower edge positioned integrally with the inner surface of the bottle edge, the flange 20 being elongated in the axial section view and connected to the bottle edge 18 by an elastic connecting web 22, which is An annular line that reduces the thickness and thus constitutes a weak point or a predetermined breaking point. Attached to the cover at a peripheral location is an opening marker 24 that extends downwardly below the lower edge of the bottle rim 18, the marking being attached to the edge by two weak dotted lines 26 on its side, i.e., a reduced thickness region. 18.

The closure panel of the lid is concave and thus extends into the neck of the bottle when it is attached to the bottle, the closure panel comprising a wall portion 30 that extends generally downwardly and inwardly and at the lower edge and base portion thereof 32 merged, the base portion is downwardly arcuate, that is, it is curved downward convex shape.

This cover is shown in Fig. 2 in the configuration of its plastic film. In this configuration, the flange 20 extends downwardly and inwardly and its lower edge diameter is smaller than the diameter of the upper edge of the edge of the bottle, but the diameter of the upper edge thereof. Greater than the diameter of the upper edge of the edge of the bottle.

The lid is fastened and sealed to the bottle by a simple slip fit step, which is accomplished only by lowering the lid into the edge of the bottle and then applying pressure. When the cover is lowered, the lower edge of the flange 20 contacts the edge of the bottle, which causes the flange to rotate inwardly along the web 22, and as the downward movement of the cover continues, the flange 20 moves downwardly The surface 12 is in contact, as shown in Figure 1, and the increased diameter of the surface in the downward direction causes the rotation of the flange to continue, whereby the moving flange is closer to the inner surface of the bottle edge 18, the web 16 The bottom side is in contact with the upper surface of the edge of the bottle. However, the pressure on the cap is maintained and this produces some slight deformation of the web 16, which is sized such that a slight further downward movement of the cap caused by deformation of the web 16 is sufficient to allow The free end of the flange 20 moves through the shoulder 14, which is then rotated in the opposite direction by the spring force of the web 22, i.e., inwardly and thereby becomes locked behind the shoulder, as shown in Fig. 3. . The cover is now held in place on the bottle and must be damaged or deformed to be removed, the tension maintaining the bottom side of the web 16 and the edge at a contact pressure sufficient to ensure that the first gas seal is formed along the annular contact line. The upper surface is in close contact and the tension at the rim 18 is maintained to maintain the free end of the flange 20 in close contact with the surface of the shoulder 14 at a contact pressure sufficient to ensure that the second gas seal is formed along the annular contact line. Moreover, the spring force of the connecting web 22 forces the side of the free end of the flange 20 into contact with the side of the bottle and the contact pressure is preferably sufficient to form a third gas seal. If desired, the integrity of the first gas seal can be further enhanced by the provision of an annular bead or flange 17, which is shown in phantom only on the left hand side of Figure 2 and which will engage the edge of the bottle and form an additional lip Shape seals. The bead 17 is placed and dimensioned such that it deforms laterally by contact with the edge of the bottle and is thus forced by its elastic force to contact the edge side and thereby form a further seal. If the pressure in the bottle rises sufficiently to deform the cap to a high value away from the edge of the bottle, thereby destroying the first gas seal, pressurized gas will flow from the outer surface of the edge, the edge 18 and the The space defined by the flange 20 acts on the flange 20 to press it more tightly toward the edge side, thereby increasing the integrity of the third gas seal.

If further sealing integrity is desired, as in the particular embodiment illustrated, a further gas seal is provided between the edge surface 10 and the opposing surface 34 of the wall portion 30. Thus, in this embodiment, the two surfaces are formed by a complementary sealing surface that is in sealing engagement with the other, if the pressure in the bottle is due to the release of carbon dioxide from the carbonated beverage or due to an increase in temperature. As a result of the expansion of the top air of the bottle, it becomes higher than atmospheric pressure, and the center of the concave base portion 32 is deformed upward and this essentially causes the outer edge of the base portion 32 and the lower edge of the wall portion 30 to move slightly outward. This can result in an increase in contact pressure between the sealing surfaces 10 and 34 and thus an enhancement of this further gas seal integrity. Therefore, the beverage container according to the present invention not only has the first and second gas seals but also has a further gas seal, and the integrity or sealing ability of the further seal increases as the gas pressure in the container increases.

If it is desired to open the bottle, the user only grasps the lower edge of the break mark 24 and pulls it outwardly, and the line of weakness 26 immediately ruptures or elongates and rotates to the upper edge of the indicia 24 of the web 16 to rotate. The second and third gas seals are thereby destroyed, the rotation being transmitted to the web 16, which then moves away from the edge of the bottle, thereby damaging the first gas seal, the movement of the web 16 also causing the sealing surfaces 10 and 34 Partial separation, thus also destroying the further gas seal, the container is thus depressurized. The outward movement of the indicia 24 initiates tearing of the thin connecting web 22, and once the tearing begins by applying upward and outward pressure to the indicia 24, it is a simple matter until the bottle lip is The flange 20 is completely broken, leaving it in place along the neck of the bottle, at which point the bottle lip is discarded and the contents of the bottle are dispensed or consumed.

As described above, when viewed in the axial direction, the bottle body has one or more protuberances 4 that extend below the lip contour of the bottle, which means that when a plurality of such sides of the bottle are wrapped sideways together, They only contact the other side of the protuberance and the bottle lip of the adjacent bottle does not come into contact with the other, thereby eliminating the risk that the bottle lip will unexpectedly become moved, thus venting the interior of the container. The bottle base also has a shape that is complementary to the shape of the upper surface of the bottle lip so that the bottle can be simply and sealingly stacked on top of the other.

In the modified embodiment illustrated in Fig. 6, the outer surface of the wall portion 30 has an annular protuberance 40 that engages the surface of the recess on the inner surface of the bottle edge if the gas pressure in the bottle rises. High enough to deform the bottle lip upwardly to a level sufficient to destroy the first gas seal, as illustrated, the contact pressure of the upper portion of the protuberance with the recess surface may increase, thereby increasing the integrity of the further gas seal And compensating for the loss of the first gas seal. The protuberance may also be carried by the inner surface of the bottle edge, in which case the recess may be formed in the wall portion 30, and if the gas pressure in the bottle is substantially increased, the contact pressure of the lower portion of the protuberance may increase. .

Although the container described in the previous application is very effective and produces a reliable gas seal, it is still possible to heat the container to a very high temperature, for example, under sunlight, especially when the beverage in the container is carbonated. . In this case, the gas pressure at the headspace of the container will rise to a high value such that the closure plate deforms upwardly by a significant distance which causes significant deformation of the associated bottle edge such that it moves a significant distance away from the neck of the container, overall The spring force of the hub then causes the annular sealing flange to rotate relative to the associated bottle edge and the container until it reaches the position illustrated in the fragment diagram illustrated in Figure 7 which shows the top portion of the container of the present invention. Any further movement after this point causes the sealing flange to rotate downward due to the substantial gas pressure acting on its upper surface and thus cause an explosive depressurization of the container, possibly accompanying the bottle lip protruding due to the gas pressure Enter the air. The risk of damage to the bystander is not mentioned at all, and the contents of the container are unusable and are likely to be forced out of the container.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a beverage container, particularly in the form of a wide mouth, which comprises a reliable sealed bottle lip comprising a pressure typically produced by a carbonated beverage, even at relatively high atmospheric temperatures, if High internal pressure is created which will vent the interior of the container to a lower pressure that it can easily contain without losing the lip of the bottle or the contents of the container and without causing the pressure to drop to atmospheric pressure.

The beverage container of the present invention comprises a storage container having an intermediate shaft and a lip sealed by a resilient material, the storage container comprising a neck defining an opening and a lip comprising a sealing plate integral with the outer surface of the neck a corresponding bottle edge, the bottle edge carrying an annular flange that is in sealing engagement with the bottom surface of the neck opposite the downwardly directed annular shoulder, wherein the annular flange is hinged Attached to the bottle edge, the annular flange is elongated in the axial section view, wherein the end surface of the free end of the annular flange is in sealing engagement with the bottom side of the shoulder, wherein the inner surface of the bottle edge carries a ring a protuberance that is in sealing engagement with one side surface of the annular flange, and the other side surface is in sealing engagement with the outer surface of the neck, such that the annular chamber is from the inner surface of the bottle edge and the side of the annular flange The surface, the protuberance and the hinge are defined, and a gas passage is provided that extends between the annular chamber and the atmosphere.

Thus the container according to the invention is substantially identical to the container of the prior application but comprises two additional features, the first being an annular protuberance or spine on the inner surface of the associated bottle edge, which is sized or placed such that it Contact with the outer side surface of the sealing flange and then use it to form a gas seal which further enhances the sealing integrity of the container. Moreover, the pressure exerted by the protuberance on the outer surface of the sealing flange further increases the contact pressure between the inner surface of the sealing flange and the outer surface of the neck, thus further enhancing the sealing integrity of the container. The provision of the annular protuberance forming a seal with the annular sealing flange also substantially indicates that the annular chamber is from the inner surface of the bottle edge, the outer side surface of the annular sealing flange, the protuberance and the hinge As defined, the chamber is generally sealed from the interior of the vessel but is open to the atmosphere via one or more gas passages, which may be provided by any component defining the annular chamber, but preferably in the form of an integral small hinge. provide. If the gas pressure in the container rises to a high value causing the dependent bottle edge to leave the neck of the container, in this case the bottle lip must also move without connecting to the neck of the container, the protuberance inside the lip The movement does not contact the sealing flange and the annular chamber will communicate with the interior of the chamber. However, the chamber is also open to the atmosphere and the interior of the container is vented to the atmosphere, so the pressure of the container begins to decrease but once it reaches a certain level Low value, the elastic force of the bottle lip will cause various seal recovery and, in particular, the annular protuberance that restores its seal with the sealing flange, the exhaust of the container then ends and the pressure in the container is maintained At lower and more acceptable levels, and to eliminate the risk of loss of the lip or contents of the container.

Preferably, the unitary hinge is resilient and resilient such that the other side surface abuts the outer surface of the neck, preferably the closure panel is downwardly concave and then extends into the neck and includes the base portion, Integrated is an upwardly extending wall portion that is attached to the associated bottle edge. It is also preferred that the upwardly extending wall portion is coupled to the dependent bottle edge via an annular web, the bottom side of which extends over the neck surface and maintains sealing engagement therewith.

The container and the lip system according to the present invention are basically the same as those described with reference to Figs. 1 to 6, and therefore will not be repeatedly described. However, there are two main differences.

First, the integral hinge 22 has one or more small holes 50 formed therein, and a second, annular spine or protuberance 52 is integrally formed on the inner surface of the contiguous edge 18, when the bottle lip is slidably fitted The container, which is rotated upwardly through approximately 180° into the configuration shown in Figure 9, forces the protuberance 52 into contact with the outer surface of the sealing flange 20 and forms a seal therewith, to which the protuberance is applied The force also creates an increase in the contact pressure of the inner surface of the sealing flange against the outer surface of the neck 8 and the container seal is thereby enhanced in both individual regions. Moreover, the annular chamber 54 is defined by the protuberance 52, the sealing flange 20, the integral hinge 22 and the associated edge 18, the chamber being open to the atmosphere via the aperture 50 but normally sealed from the interior of the container, however If the pressure in the container rises to a very high value, the lip of the bottle is deformed by the pressure and the seal on the top surface and the inner surface of the neck of the container is broken, and the bottle edge 18 is also deformed outwardly. The seal between the protuberance 52 and the sealing flange 20 is thus broken, the interior of the container is thus vented to the atmosphere via the opening 50, and the pressure is subsequently lowered until it reaches the elastic force of the lip to resist A value within the container that reduces the pressure of the gas and restores its shape. The various seals are then restored and the venting of the interior of the vessel is over and the vessel gas pressure is still at a significant value, and the contents of the vessel are then retained in the vessel and are still useful.

2. . . bottle

3. . . axis

4. . . section

6. . . Lip

8. . . neck

10. . . Internal surface

12. . . External surface

14. . . Shoulder

16. . . Web

17. . . Bead

18. . . Bottle edge

20. . . Flange

twenty two. . . Articulated

twenty four. . . mark

26. . . Weak line

30. . . Closed plate, wall part

32. . . Closed plate

34. . . surface

40. . . Annular protuberance

50. . . Hole

52. . . Protuberance

54. . . Annular chamber

The beverage container described in PCT/GB2005/000986 will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 6 of the associated drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a first embodiment of a beverage container having a lid over the intermediate position but still applying the bottle. Vertical section view; Fig. 2 is a vertical section view of the container lid before application to the bottle; Fig. 3 is a view of the small section of the upper portion of the bottle showing the lid in the applied and sealed position; A side view of the upper portion of the bottle as seen in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a view of the small piece below the lid portion showing the opening mark; and Fig. 6 is a small view of the lid and the bottle as in the second embodiment. Figure 7 is a fragmentary view showing half of the top portion of the container of the case. Further features and details of the present invention are apparent from the following description of a particular embodiment, which is provided as an example with reference to Figures 8 and 9 of the associated drawings, wherein: Figure 8 is a container lip similar to Figure 6. Half of the graphical view; and Figure 9 is a similar graphical view of the lip half when applied to the container.

2. . . bottle

3. . . axis

4. . . section

6. . . Lip

8. . . neck

10. . . Internal surface

14. . . Shoulder

Claims (6)

A beverage container comprising a storage container having an intermediate shaft and sealed by a lip of an elastic material, the storage container including a neck defining an opening and the lip including a sealing plate Integrated is a dependent bottle edge extending along the outer surface of the neck, the bottle edge carrying an annular flange sealingly engaged with a bottom side of a downwardly directed annular shoulder on the outer surface of the neck, Characterized in that the annular flange is connected to the edge of the bottle by a hinge, the annular flange being elongated in the axial section view, the end surface of the free end of the annular flange being attached to the bottom of the shoulder The inner surface of the bottle edge carries an annular protuberance that is in sealing engagement with a side surface of the annular flange, and the other side surface of the annular protuberance is external to the neck The surface sealing engagement, whereby an annular chamber is defined by the inner surface of the bottle edge, the side surface of the annular flange, the protuberance and the hinge, and characterized in that a gas passage is provided The annular chamber extends between the atmosphere and the atmosphere. The container of claim 1, wherein the gas passage comprises a more or more porous hole formed in the integral hinge. A container according to claim 2, wherein the integral hinge is elastic and its spring force urges the other side surface against the outer surface of the neck. The container of claim 1, wherein the integral hinge is elastic and its spring force urges the other side surface against the outer surface of the neck. The container of claim 1, wherein the closure panel is downwardly concave and then extends into the neck and includes a base portion integral with an upwardly extending wall portion that is coupled to the corresponding bottle edge . A container according to claim 5, wherein the upwardly extending wall portion is joined to the associated bottle edge via an annular web, the bottom side of which extends over the neck surface and maintains sealing engagement therewith.