WO1992021585A1

WO1992021585A1 - Sealing device for containers made of flexible material

Info

Publication number: WO1992021585A1
Application number: PCT/FR1992/000517
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yves-Marie Tricard
Original assignee: Soupletube
Priority date: 1991-06-06
Filing date: 1992-06-09
Publication date: 1992-12-10
Also published as: FR2677334A1; FR2677334B1

Abstract

A device comprising a cap (2, 102) and a neck (1, 101) having at the top end thereof a plug (14, 114) which is rigidly connected to a cylindrical portion (12, 112) of said neck by a thin wall (15, 115). The cap (2, 102) combines elements (21, 22, 25, 121, 122, 125) for snap-fastening the cap to the neck (1, 101) with internal elements (24, 124) for unplugging said neck (1, 101).

Description

CLOSING DEVICE FOR SODPLE CONTAINERS

The present invention relates to a closure device for flexible material containers such as tubes intended to contain pasty products, for example toothpaste or mayonnaise sauce.

Such a closure device generally consists of a stopper or an integral capsule, usually by screwing, at the neck of the tube in order to close said tube and to prevent both leakage, drying and oxidation of the product. .

For hygienic reasons, these tubes are often sold with a seal closing the orifice of the tube independently of the stopper so that one cannot have access to the product before a voluntary commissioning of the tube.

When the tubes are made of aluminum, said cover is also made of aluminum and a member is provided, for example in the shape of a diamond tip, to open the orifice of the tube in order to put said tube into service. The penetration of the point-shaped member makes it possible to pierce the cover while deforming it so that it extends inside the neck without hindering the passage of the product.

It has been common for a few years to manufacture the plastic tubes or from a sheet of aluminum-plastic complex; in this case, the body of such a tube is attached to a neck obtained from molded plastic.

The use of plastic does not allow to implement a tip opening member due to its elasticity which, on the one hand, it deforms under the action of the tip which does not allow 'obtain a correct passage opening, on the other hand it deforms again in the outgoing material flow and opposes this passage. This is why there are usually found on the market tubes which do not have a seal, which poses hygiene problems.

This problem is very important when the tubes are sold without packaging in a cardboard box. The tubes are then presented on the shelves upside down, resting on the capsule whose diameter is substantially equal to that of the tube.

It has been proposed to create a cover that can be easily opened by sticking aluminum foil on the end of the neck. Such an arrangement requires an additional operation of bonding the aluminum foil during manufacture, which increases its cost.

It has also been proposed to form a cover at the upper end of the neck by molding. Such a cover is in the form of a closed cylinder connected to said neck by a wall of thin thickness so that it can be torn.

A tube provided with such a cover is closed by a capsule secured by screwing, the upper external surface of which has an orifice of shape complementary to the external shape of the cover.

To put a tube thus equipped into service, the capsule is unscrewed, then turned over in order to engage the orifice around the seal. The outer surfaces of the cover and internal of the orifice have grooves in order to secure the cover and the capsule in rotation. The establishment of these streaks allows that, by rotating the capsule, one drives the operculum in rotation which acts on the wall of fine thickness securing it to the neck, in order to tear it.

These closing devices have proved to be easy to implement because, on the one hand, the positioning of the capsule on the cover required attention to be done properly and, on the other hand, the tearing of the thin wall was not done precisely.

This problem has been resolved by EP-A-0.119.145 and FR-A-2.574.372 which, as in the previous device, relate to a plastic tube closed by a capsule which is screwed onto the neck of the tube . The neck is surmounted by a cylindrical cover. The capsule comprises internally, arranged coaxially with the tube, a hollow cylinder, called a key, of shape corresponding to that of the cover, intended for tearing off the cover. The wall of the cylinder is striated and the striations penetrate into corresponding recesses of the cover or, according to FR-A 2,574,372, into the same wall of the cover.

Before the first use of the tube, the capsule is introduced on the end of the tube, and rests on 1 lid.

But this device, if it solves the problem of centering the key with the lid, has the disadvantage of not being able to secure properly

20 the capsule on the tube without uncapping. In fact, the screw cannot be used without causing a rotational movement which simultaneously tears open the cover. The capsule is only held on the tube by the friction of the two cylindrical walls, which is not sufficient, in particular

25 when the tubes are presented without packaging.

The improvement of FR-A-2,574,372 allows in practice only a single introduction of the capsule into the cover. In fact, when the capsule is removed and put back in place several times, the side wall of the cover 30 is hollowed out each time with as many grooves and the capsule ends up holding badly.

The present invention aims to provide a closure device which allows both to open and close the tube in service very quickly, to secure the capsule

3. ^* to the tube without uncapping it however allowing the separation of the assembled elements without deterioration of the assembly, and uncapping it reliably and cleanly without requiring special attention during its commissioning.

To this end, the invention relates to a device for closing a container such as a tube made of flexible material, of the type comprising a capsule and a neck, the upper end of which has a cover secured by a thin wall to a cylindrical portion. of said neck and internal means for uncapping said neck, characterized in that said capsule comprises means for securing it by snap-fastening to said neck before tearing of the cap.

Said closing device is also remarkable in that:

- said collar includes:

a cylindrical lower portion, the lower end of which is shaped as a peripheral bulge of generally triangular section,

- An upper cylindrical portion disposed above the lower portion, and of diameter smaller than the latter, to which the cover is secured;

- A circumferential groove separates said peripheral bulge from the cup;

- Said capsule comprises an external skirt for covering the neck, an intermediate skirt and an internal skirt comprising the means for uncapping the neck, and the diameter of the intermediate skirt is slightly greater than the external diameter of the peripheral bulge and carries the means of snap-fitting of said capsule on the neck,

- The lower end of said intermediate skirt is cut by axial openings in order to form elastic tabs in the radial direction; - Said legs have their lower end folded inwardly of the capsule in the direction of the axis;

- The lower end of the internal skirt has a smooth internal wall of diameter equal to the external diameter of the second cylindrical portion of the neck.

The present invention will be better understood on reading the description which follows of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 represents on its left part the neck of the tube on which the capsule seen in section is disposed and on its right part the neck alone seen in section, according to a first embodiment of the invention,

- Figure 2 is an enlarged view of the detail

II of Figure 1,

- Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the detail

III of Figure 1,

FIG. 4 is a top view of the cover,

FIG. 5 is a view in axial section of a capsule according to a second embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 6 is a view with the right half in section of the neck of the tube according to the second embodiment,

- Figure 7 is a sectional view along line VII-VII of Figure 5.

We see in Figure 1 the closure device according to the invention disposed at the upper end of a tube of flexible material. This device consists of a neck 1 and a capsule 2, for example made of plastic and obtained by molding.

This closure device can of course be made of any other material allowing the uncapping to be effected by tearing a thin wall. In a manner known per se, the body of the tube 3 consisting of a cylinder made of flexible material, such as a sheet of plastic material or a sheet of aluminum-plastic complex, is attached and secured to the lower cup-shaped part 40 of the collar. A shoulder 43 of the external surface of this cup 40 makes it possible to stop said body 3 in translation and to form a smooth external surface.

The neck 1 has, above the cup 40, a generally cylindrical lower portion 11 with a diameter less than that of the body 3 of the tube. This lower portion 11 is intended to form a neck portion of the material contained in the tube.

The lower end of said lower portion 11 is shaped as a peripheral bulge 42 of generally triangular section. A circumferential groove 41 separates said peripheral bulge 42 from the cup 40.

On the upper side of the lower portion 11, the neck 1 has, after this, an upper cylindrical portion 12 of smaller diameter to which the cover 14 is secured by means of a thin wall 15.

The internal surface of the neck 1 in the cover 14 is such that said neck 1 is hollow at the level of said thin wall 15.

As can be seen in the figures, the generally cylindrical external surface of the cover 14 is notched. The notches 16 are provided in large numbers on this surface and are also distributed.

In the embodiment of Figures 1 and 4, the upper surface of the cover 14 has a recess 17. This recess 17 makes it possible to reduce the amount of material necessary for molding said cover and can be of any desired shape or even not be performed. The neck having been described, we will now describe the capsule 2 according to the invention intended to ensure the commissioning of the tube by uncapping it as well as its closure in use.

As seen in Figure 1, this capsule 2 has three concentric skirts of different diameters and lengths.

The external skirt 23 covers the neck 1 in a manner known per se substantially to the edge of the body 3. For aesthetic reasons, this external skirt 23 is often cylindrical or conical with its lower end of diameter similar to that of said body 3 .

The intermediate skirt 21 disposed inside the external skirt 23 is of a diameter slightly greater than the external diameter of the peripheral bulge 42. The lower end of this intermediate skirt 21 is cut by axial openings in order to form tabs 22 whose the ends are elastic in the radial direction.

Said tabs 22 have their lower ends 25 folded towards the inside of the capsule in the direction of the axis.

The capsule 2 finally has an internal skirt 24, disposed inside the intermediate skirt 21, the upper part of the internal surface of which has the same diameter and the same shape as the external surface of the cover 14, that is - ie has notches 26 complementary to the notches 16 of said cover. The lower end of said skirt has a smooth internal wall of diameter equal to the external diameter of the second cylindrical portion 12 of the neck 1.

A recess 27 of any desired shape can be provided in the upper end face 28 of the capsule 2.

As seen in Figure 1, the capsule 2 is on the neck 1 of the tube, the internal skirt 24 is positioned around the cover 14 with the notches 26 engaged with the notches 16 of said cover 14 while the smooth lower end of said skirt is positioned around the second cylindrical part 12.

In order to allow the positioning of the cover 14 in the internal skirt 24 to be done in a safe manner and without requiring the user to monitor the relative orientation of said capsule relative to the neck, the notches 16, 26 are provided in large number and are of low height. In addition, in order to overcome significant tolerance problems due to molding, the cover and the internal skirt are provided in a frustoconical shape, which means that they can always be inserted one into the other. In addition, preferably the notches 16, 26 are provided so that the sliding of the parts is effected with a clearance. For example, the section of the notches is smaller than that of the recesses; or the corresponding notches and valleys can be frustoconical.

The intermediate skirt 21 for its part covers the neck 1 up to the lower end of the lower cylindrical part 11 and the lower ends 25 of the lugs 22 extend in the circumferential groove 41.

By such an arrangement, the capsule 2 is made integral with the neck 1 by snap-fastening thanks to said tabs 22.

The opening and closing of the tube is then done by pressing on the outer skirt 23 at two diametrically opposite points thereof which allows to hold said capsule firmly and to bring out the ends 25 of the legs 22 of the circumferential groove 41 Portions 29 of the outer wall of the outer skirt 23 are decorated differently than the rest of the latter so that the user presses them.

To uncap the tube, it suffices to inflate a rotational movement on the capsule 2 which, by cooperation of the notches 26, 16 of the internal skirt 24 and of the cover 14 causes said cover 14 to rotate.

The rotation of the cover 14 has the effect of tearing the thin wall 15 and of separating said cover from the neck 1.

By the fact that the capsule 2 is arranged on the neck 1, and that the internal skirt 24 has a lower portion in contact with the second cylindrical part 12, the internal skirt 24 is suitably positioned axially with respect to said cover 14 which allows a good tearing of the thin wall 15 by shearing effect without risking tearing zones.

The opening of the tube is therefore very simple, very fast and completely reliable. In addition, the means for uncapping the tube being inside the capsule and not outside of the latter, it cannot be soiled and it is certain that the opening is kept clean.

After tearing, the cover can remain engaged in the internal skirt, due to the tightening exerted on it by the skirt due to its conical shape, and this without interfering with the function of closing the tube in service.

Figures 5 and 6 show an alternative embodiment of the closure device according to the invention.

In these figures, the same elements are referenced by increasing by 100 the reference they bear in Figures 1 to 4 and will not be described again.

In this variant embodiment, the upper end face 128 of the capsule 102 is crossed at its center by an opening 132 opening out inside the internal skirt 124.

For its part, the cover 114 is surmounted by a boss 131 of external diameter equal to the diameter of the opening 132. Such an embodiment makes it possible to create an aesthetic effect by the fact that the boss 131 of the cover 114 is disposed in the opening 131 of the capsule when the latter is in place on the tube.

This opening and this boss can of course be provided in any useful form and for example according to the acronym of the company marketing the tube.

The operation of the capsule for closing and opening the tube and for uncapping it is the same as in the variant embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

FIG. 7 shows the distribution of the portions 129 and the tabs 122 of the capsule.

In the device according to the invention, the neck is uncapped by a depression of the capsule and a rotation of the latter.

Other provisions that the snap closure may also be provided provided that these do not interfere with the rotational movement of the capsule provided for uncapping the neck.

It is of course possible to dissociate the closure and the means for uncapping the neck so that said neck can be uncapped when the capsule is placed on it without necessarily being in the position ensuring closure.

Claims

1. Device for closing a container such as a tube made of flexible material, of the type comprising a capsule (2, 102) and a neck (1, 101), the upper end of which has a lid (14, 114) secured by a thin wall (15, 115) to a cylindrical portion (12, 112) of said neck and internal means (24, 124) for uncapping said neck (1, 101), characterized in that said capsule (2, 102) comprises means (21, 22, 25, 121, 122, 125) for its fastening by snap-fastening to said neck (1,101) before the tear of 1 seal.

2. A closure device according to claim 1, in which the neck comprises a cup (40, 140), a cylindrical lower portion (11, 111), an upper cylindrical portion (12, 112) of diameter smaller than the lower portion ( 11, 111), characterized in that:

the lower end of the lower cylinder portion (11, 111) is shaped as a peripheral bulge (42, 142) of generally triangular section,

the cover is secured to the upper cylindrical portion (12, 112).

3. Closure device according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that a circumferential groove (41, 141) separates said peripheral bulge (42, 142) from the cup (40, 140).

4. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the capsule comprises an external skirt (23, 123), an intermediate skirt (21, 121), an internal skirt (24, 124) for uncapping the neck, characterized in that that the diameter of the intermediate skirt is slightly greater than the external diameter of the peripheral bulge (42, 142) and in that said skirt, at its lower end has cutouts forming radially elastic tabs (22,122), the end of which (25, 125) being folded back towards the interior of the capsule, so as to constitute the means for snap-fastening the capsule (2, 102) on the neck (1, 101 ).

5. Device according to claim 4 characterized in that the internal surface of the internal skirt (24, 124) and the external surface of the cover (14, 114) are of the same diameter and have notches (16, 116, 26 , 126) of respectively substantially different sections so that the introduction of the skirt around the cover takes place with play.

6. Device according to any one of claims 4 or 5, characterized in that the lower end of the internal skirt (24, 124) has a smooth internal wall of diameter equal to the external diameter of the second cylindrical portion (12, 112) of the neck (1, 101).