WO2003076294A1

WO2003076294A1 - Closure device for a container and a container equipped with one such device

Info

Publication number: WO2003076294A1
Application number: PCT/FR2003/000794
Authority: WO
Inventors: Philippe Odet; Benoît CADON
Original assignee: Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance S.A.
Priority date: 2002-03-13
Filing date: 2003-03-12
Publication date: 2003-09-18
Also published as: AU2003233374A1; US20050173370A1; JP2005519817A; FR2837173A1; EP1483168A1; FR2837173B1

Abstract

The invention relates to a closure device (1) for a container. The inventive device comprises a cover (2) which is equipped with an inner skirt (24) that can rest against the internal radial surface (G2) of the neck (G) of a bottle (B). The base (23) of the cover (2) is provided with a first layer (5) of material which is impervious to one or more pre-determined gases and a second layer (6) which covers the first layer and which is made from a material that can absorb one or more pre-determined gases, preferably an oxygen-absorbing material.

Description

DEVICE FOR SEALING A CONTAINER AND CONTAINER PROVIDED WITH SUCH A DEVICE

The invention relates to a device for capping a container and to a container equipped with such a device.

It is known to produce containers for liquid, such as bottles for drinks, by extrusion / blowing or injection / blowing of plastic material. It is known to equip such bottles with a stopper also made of plastic. It is essential that these containers are sealed to allow prolonged storage of the products they contain. To ensure satisfactory sealing, it is known, for example from GB-A-2,013,635, to provide an annular skirt intended to come into sealing abutment against the internal radial face of the neck of a bottle.

However, when used with a bottle containing a carbonated drink, there may be a release of carbon dioxide (C0 ₂ ) which can lead to an increase in the pressure in the neck of the bottle. It is known, for example from US-A-4,279,350 to have an oxygen-absorbing product (known as "oxygen scavenger") on the internal face of a plug. Up to now, it has been considered that the use of such an oxygen-absorbing material makes it possible to make a stopper generally leaktight relative to the neck of a bottle and to dispense with a sealing skirt. It is also known from US-A-2002/0000420, to provide, on the same face of a plug and in two separate areas, an oxygen-absorbing material and a seal intended to receive the edge top of the neck of a bottle. This prior art does the assumption that the risks of leakage are located in the support area of the neck on the cap.

The invention takes the opposite view of these approaches by proposing a plug provided with a sealing skirt and which makes it possible to accommodate the presence of oxygen or another gas in its vicinity.

In addition, some bottles contain products that are very sensitive to oxygen and that can degrade quickly if the cap lets oxygen in from the ambient air.

The invention proposes to solve the problem of sealing the closure device by distinguishing gases by their nature and responding to them with solutions adapted to each of them. The invention relates to a device for capping a container provided with a neck, this device comprising a cap provided with an internal skirt capable of coming to bear against the internal radial surface of this neck and, at its bottom, a first layer of material impermeable to one or more predetermined gases and a second layer made of a material capable of absorbing one or more predetermined gases, preferably a material capable of absorbing oxygen, characterized in that the first and second layers are arranged with respect to the bottom of the plug, so that one of them covers the other.

Thanks to the invention, the internal skirt effectively fulfills its role of sealing support against the internal surface of the neck, in particular with regard to sealing against C0 ₂ , while the combination of the first and second layers makes it possible to absorb the oxygen from the product in the container, the first layer isolating the second layer from the outside, so that the absorbent material does not 03 00794

3 is not likely to be saturated by a gas passing through the bottom of the plug. In practice, one of the layers can cover the other directly or indirectly, that is to say with the interposition of material, in particular material from the bottom of the stopper.

According to advantageous but not compulsory aspects of the invention, a closure device can incorporate one or more of the following characteristics:

- The first and second layers extend at least at a part of the bottom located radially inside the sealing skirt.

- The first and second layers are affixed to the internal face of the bottom of the stopper, the second layer covering the first. In this case, provision may be made for the internal face of the plug to be provided with a rib defining a volume for receiving the first and second layers mentioned above.

- The first layer is formed on an outer face of the stopper bottom, while the second layer is formed on an inner face of the plug, the first ^'layer covering the other with interposition of the cap bottom. The gas-impermeable barrier can thus consist of a coating external to the plug.

- The second layer is arranged radially inside the skirt. Thus, this second layer does not come into direct contact with the neck and does not risk being crushed or sheared by the latter.

- The first and second layers are formed by different materials. - The first layer comprises a silica oxide, a varnish or a lacquer, or is produced by metallization.

The invention finally relates to a container for liquid, for example a plastic bottle, equipped with a closure device as described above. A such a container makes it possible to store, for a relatively long period and without risk of alteration, the product that it contains, most particularly a carbonated drink. The invention will be better understood and other advantages thereof will appear more clearly in the light of the following description of the two embodiments of a closure device in accordance with its principle, given solely by way of example and made with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is an axial section of a closure device according to the invention mounted on the neck of a bottle according to the invention;

- Figure 2 is an enlarged view of detail II in Figure 1 and

- Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 for a closure device according to a second embodiment of the invention.

The closure device 1 shown in the figure comprises a closure 2 connected to a tamper-evident band 3 by a breakable part 4.

The device 1 is designed to be mounted on the neck G of a bottle B, this neck being provided with an external thread G _x , while the cap is provided with an internal thread 21 of corresponding shape.

We note 22 the bottom of the plug 2. On its internal face 23, that is to say its face facing the inside of the neck G, the bottom 22 is provided with a skirt 24 centered on the axis of symmetry XX 'of the device 1 and having an external bead 25 intended to come into abutment against the internal radial surface G ₂ of the neck G.

An annular rib 26 is formed on the face 23 while being centered on the axis XX '. This rib defines a zone Z ₂ e in the form of a disc in which are affixed two layers 5 and 6 on the face 23 of the bottom 22. The first layer 5 consists of ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) and is deposited on the face 23 by any suitable process. The second layer 6 is formed in an oxygen-absorbing material, for example as described in US-A-4, 279, 350.

In practice, the layer 6 can be overmolded in the zone Z ₂ 6 once the layer 5 has been put in place, which makes it possible to effectively maintain the position of the layer 5. In this case, it may be, by for example, iron ^• in powder form, of compounds including iron, such as iron salts, ascorbic acid or cobalt stearate. If the layer 6 is produced in the form of a disc fixed on the bottom 22, it can be produced in glucose oxidase and / or glucose catalase to reduce, according to an "enzymatic" route, the free oxygen present in the neck G .

Thanks to the first layer 5, the second layer 6 is protected from the oxygen outside the device 1, so that the layer 6 is not likely to be saturated with oxygen, to the point of not being able to effectively absorb any gas evolution coming from the liquid contained in bottle B.

As the layers 5 and 6 are confined in the circular volume defined by the rib 26, these layers do not interfere with the neck G and are not likely to be crushed or torn, in particular at the end of screwing or at the start of unscrewing the cap 2.

In the second embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 3, elements similar to those of the first embodiment bear identical references increased by 100. The device 101 of this embodiment comprises a plug 102 connected to a strip inviolability 103 by a breakable part 104. This device differs from the previous one in that the first layer 105 impermeable to oxygen is formed by a coating affixed to the outer surface 128 of the bottom .122 of the plug 102, while the second layer 106 is affixed against the internal face 123 of this bottom 122. The layer 105 thus covers the bottom 122 of plug 102 which itself covers layer 106.

As before, a skirt 124 provided with a bead 125 bears against the neck G of a bottle B, while the layer 106 can effectively absorb the oxygen present in the neck G, because it is isolated from the external atmosphere both by the skirt 124 and by the layer 105.

The layers 105 and 106 extend in particular over the entire central zone of the bottom 122, that is to say the part of the bottom located radially inside the skirt 124.

The coating layer 105 can comprise a silica oxide, a varnish or a lacquer. It can also be produced by metallization.

Layers 5 and 105 could also be made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH), polyamide (PA), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyvinyl alcohol ( PVA), polyacrylnitrile acrylate copolymer (PNA), polymethylmethacrylate (PPMA), butadiene copolymer, stryrene, bi-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) or in a mixture based on these products.

Claims

1. A device for capping a container provided with a neck, said device comprising a plug (2; 102) provided with an internal skirt (24; 124) capable of coming to bear against the internal radial surface (G ₂ ) said neck (G), said device being provided, at the bottom (22; 122) of said plug (2; 102), with a first layer (5; 105) of material impermeable to one or more predetermined gases and a second layer (6; 106) made of a material capable of absorbing one or more predetermined gases, preferably a material capable of absorbing oxygen, characterized in that said first and second layers (5, 6; 105, 106) are arranged with respect to the bottom (22; 122) of said plug (2; 102), so that one (6, 105) - of them covers one other (5; 106).

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said first and second layers (5, 6; 105, 106) extend at least at a part (Z ₂ 6) of said bottom (22; 122) located radially inside said skirt (24; 124).

3. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said first and second layers (5, 6) are affixed to the internal face (23) of said bottom (22), said second layer covering said first layer.

4. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that said internal face (23) is provided with a rib (26) defining a volume (Z ₂ ε) for receiving said first and second layers (5, 6).

5. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said first layer (105) is formed on an external face (128) of said bottom (122), while said second layer (106) is formed on an internal face (123) of said bottom, said first layer (105) covering said second layer (106) with interposition of said bottom (122).

6. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said second layer

(6; 106) is arranged radially inside said skirt (24; 124).

7. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said first and second layers (5, 6; 105, 106) are formed by different materials.

8. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said first layer

(5; 105) is made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH), polyamide (PA), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) , polyacrylnitrile acrylate copolymer (PNA), polymethylmethacrylate (PPMA), butadiene copolymer, stryrene, bi-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) or in a mixture based on these products.

9. Device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that said first layer (5; 105) comprises a silica oxide, a varnish or a lacquer or is produced by metallization.

10. Container for liquid, in particular bottle (B) made of plastic, equipped with a closure device (1; 101) according to one of the preceding claims.