WO1997020749A1

WO1997020749A1 - Easy-to-open closing system intended to jars or similar containers

Info

Publication number: WO1997020749A1
Application number: PCT/FR1996/001700
Authority: WO
Inventors: Christophe Perret
Original assignee: Christophe Perret
Priority date: 1995-12-01
Filing date: 1996-10-30
Publication date: 1997-06-12
Also published as: FR2741863B1; EP0958188A1; FR2741863A1

Abstract

Easy-to-open closing system adapted to bottles, jar or containers made of glass with a glass cover (applicable also to containers made of other materials). The system comprises a collar (1) having a hollow profile wherein is housed a seal (2), a pre-cut of the collar and of the seal is made and a lever forming device (5) is secured to the collar so as to exert a force on the lever in order to brake the collar and the seal included in the collar. The collar (1) placed sideways vertically against the flange of the container (3) and the edge of the cover (4), is tightened in order to obtain a total liquid-tightness and its two extremities are h eld together permanently by an interlocking means.

Description

EASY OPENING CAPPING SYSTEM SUITABLE FOR JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS

The present invention relates to an easy opening closure system suitable for glass jars or containers with glass lid

(also applicable to jars or containers made with other materials)

Glass is an ideal packaging for food products.

Indeed, glass packaging has great advantages for the preservation of food products: absolute barrier against microorganisms, chemical inertness, total tightness to gases and liquids Centuries of use show that there is no danger of spoilage of food products by glass which, moreover, is a 100% reusable or recyclable product.

However, the closure systems for large-opening containers are not easy for the consumer to open.

If the corking of bottles and flasks has been resolved, it seems, satisfactorily, the corking systems of large-opening glass containers still pose problems to consumers in terms of ease of use

Indeed, if we can say that the film closures (used in particular for coffee powders) or the metallic closures used for small jars of baby food (PT technique) are easy to open by a housewife, the other systems (a) applicable to larger diameters do not really have this characteristic:

Reference (a): without considering the jars intended in principle for sterilization, which target very specific market niches, which have a high cost and which are rarely easy to use. - The type "Twist-0ff", the most widespread, requires when the diameter of the opening exceeds 6cm approximately a very strong handle due to the air pressure exerted on the surface of the cover covering the product (jam, vegetables ...) where a vacuum was created during cooling. To overcome this difficulty, we can use awkward tools sold commercially or tricks like, for example, that of managing to penetrate with a fine screwdriver air inside the jar or, as some traders advise, put the jar for a while under hot water.

- The “Pry-Off” or “Eurocap” (crimp) types are also neither easy nor pleasant to open.

In the end, the research carried out did not show the existence of systems that were genuinely easy to use for the consumer.

This drawback reduces the volume of potential purchases. If the preservation of the products is not affected by these characteristics, it is more than likely that the commercial repercussions are strong: despite the quality of the products offered, many customers balk at the difficulty and turn away or reduce their purchases. We note, moreover, that more and more often for high-end products the cover of the jars is covered with a covering so that the buyer decides on the mere sight of the product while avoiding to make him think to the lid problem.

To fully reach all its potential targets, the product must be presented in an easy-to-open packaging without accessories, even by an elderly person. The invention remedies the drawbacks set out above.

The closure system that it offers allows, in particular, a wide use of glass for the production not only of the container but also of its lid and offers, whatever the material used to manufacture the container, an easy opening for the consumer. In addition its design also allows a very simple implementation, after filling the container, without any special pressure condition.

More precisely, the closure system is presented as follows:

- It includes a metal collar (or made of another suitable material) comprising a hollow profile in which is housed a seal. To obtain the desired ease of opening, a precut of the collar and the seal is produced and a lever device is fixed on the collar so that an action on the lever allows the collar and the seal included in the seal to break. necklace.

- The collar (placed laterally, vertically against the edge of the container lid and against the rim of the container on which the lid is placed) is tightened to obtain a total seal and its two ends are joined definitively by a suitable securing means to the material used to make the necklace.

An embodiment of the invention is described below, by way of nonlimiting example, with reference to the appended drawings in which: - Figure 1 shows a section through a container, its lid and the collar put place to ensure closure with the seal included in the collar;

- Figure 2 is a front view of an example of a device forming a lever fixed on the collar and of a precut line;

- Figure 3 shows an axial section of the two ends of the joint which are, in the example, bevelled. - AT -

This example of implementation is as follows

- A metal collar 1 (or other suitable material) containing a malleable joint 2, meeting the regulations in force concerning food compatibility, is placed vertically against the edge of the glass jar 3 (or other material) and the edge of the cover Has glass (or other material). The joint has its length and volume exactly adapted to each type of collar; each of its two ends can be bevelled.

- A device forming a lever 5 - in the example, a key (b) - is fixed, by a rivet or other system ddee ssoolliiddaarriissaattiioonn ,, ssuurr llee ccoolllliieerr., Iill eesstt ddeessttiinnée àa rreennddrree the easy opening by causing its action the rupture of the collar and the joint which each have a precut <preliminary 6. (The design of the precut of the collar and that of the joint are to be adapted according to the tearability of the materials used and the position on the collar of the lever device ).

- The collar, the length of which is adapted to each opening format, is applied and tightened with sufficient pressure to ensure total tightness of the seal on the edges of the jar and its lid. During its implementation, its two ends overlap (for the overlap zone, the profile of the ends of the collar is adapted accordingly) and are joined together for final fixing. The two ends of the collar are joined together, for example, by deformation of the metal in the covering zone or by any other existing technique of tinsmithing or treatment of the material used.

Reference (b): The shape of the key can be the subject of a different design, the important thing being that the device acts as a lever.

Easy and reassuring use for the consumer:

To open the jar, it suffices for the consumer to exert an action on the key which, acting as a lever, breaks the metal of the collar according to the pre-cut line on approximately half of this line and initiates the rupture of the pre-cut seal by penetrating the air in the container. Then the user pulls on the key, which has the effect of tearing the metal from the collar and breaking the precut joint.

The lid, then free, can be lifted to consume or use the preparation.

Furthermore, the consumer, by the fact that the opening can only be obtained by breaking the necklace, is assured that no one before him could have had access to the product contained.

Claims

CLAIMS l) Easy opening capping system suitable for glass jars or containers with glass lid (also applicable to jars or containers and lids made with other materials) characterized, on the one hand, in that it includes necklace

(1) - comprising a hollow in which a seal is housed

(2) - which is placed laterally, vertically against the rim of the container (3) and the edge of the lid (4) placed on the container, which is tightened with sufficient pressure to ensure a complete seal and whose two ends are brought together definitively by a securing means adapted to the material used to make the collar; and, on the other hand, in that a lever device (5) is fixed on the collar by means of securing and that a pre-cut (6) of the collar and the joint is made so that, for obtain easy opening, an action on the 1 sink allows the rupture of the collar and the seal included in the collar.

22).

3) System according to claim 1, characterized in that the above-mentioned device forming a lever (5) is placed horizontally, in the axis of the collar; the main thing being that the device acts as a lever.

4) System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the above-mentioned pre-cut (6) has its design adapted to the tearability characteristics of the materials used to make the collar and the seal as well as to the position on the collar of the device forming a lever.

5) System according to claim 1, characterized in that the above-mentioned joint (2) has its two beveled ends.