WO2004063043A1

WO2004063043A1 - Cap, closing device, and beverage packed in container

Info

Publication number: WO2004063043A1
Application number: PCT/JP2004/000075
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hiroaki Tsutsumi; Fujio Iizuka; Masayoshi Shigeta
Original assignee: Alcoa Closure Systems Japan, Limited
Priority date: 2003-01-14
Filing date: 2004-01-08
Publication date: 2004-07-29
Also published as: JP2004262459A

Abstract

A cap, a closing device using the cap, and beverage contained in a container, the cap comprising a cap body having a top board part and a cylindrical part which vertically hangs from the peripheral edge of the top board part and a liner fitted into the cap body, wherein a plurality of exhaust gas holes are formed in the cylindrical part along the periphery thereof, the lengths of the exhaust gas holes are 5 to 50 mm, and the outer diameter of the liner is 34.9 to 37 mm.

Description

Caps, closures and bottled beverages

The present invention relates to a cap for closing a container mouth, a closing device using the cap, and a packaged beverage.

This specification is based on a patent application filed in Japan (Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-63437), and the contents of the Japanese application are incorporated as a part of this specification. To

Conventionally, a cap for closing the container mouth has been provided with a metal cap body consisting of a circular top plate and a tube hanging down from the periphery thereof, and a liner provided on the inner surface of the top plate. Things are often used.

As this type of cap, there is a cap in which a plurality of exhaust holes having a length of about 3 mm are formed at an upper portion of a cylindrical portion (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 09-328158).

When the cap is closed and then closed again (hereinafter referred to as re-opening), the internal pressure of the container may increase due to fermentation of the liquid content. In this case, there was a problem that the cap was easily detached from the container at the time of sealing.

For this reason, there has been a demand for a technique capable of discharging the gas in the container to the outside when the internal pressure of the container increases after re-opening and reducing the internal pressure of the container. Disclosure of the invention

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to obtain a sufficient sealing property when not opened, and to prevent an excessive increase in the internal pressure of the container when the container is closed again after opening. The aim is to provide caps, closures and packaged beverages that can be used.

The cap of the present invention is a cap comprising a top plate portion and a cylindrical portion hanging down from the periphery thereof. A main body and a liner provided on the inner surface of the top plate are provided. A plurality of exhaust holes are formed in a cylindrical portion along a circumferential direction, and the length of each of the exhaust holes is set to 5 to 50 mm. The outer diameter of the liner is 34.9 to 37 mm.

The inner surface of the liner can be formed so as to be substantially flat from the position in contact with the container mouth to the periphery.

On the inner surface of the liner, a protruding portion protruding toward the container can be formed on the peripheral side from a position where the liner contacts the container mouth.

It is preferable that the height of the protrusion is 0.5 mm or less.

The cap of the present invention includes a cap body including a top plate portion and a tube portion hanging down from the periphery thereof, and a liner provided on the inner surface of the top plate portion. The length of each of these exhaust holes is 5 to 50 mm, and the contact length of the liner with the outer surface of the opening end of the container mouth is 1.0 mm or less. It is characterized by the following.

The cap of the present invention includes a cap main body including a top plate portion and a tube portion hanging down from the periphery thereof, and a liner provided on the inner surface of the top plate portion, and the tube portion has a plurality of exhaust holes along a circumferential direction. The length of each of the exhaust holes is 5 to 50 mm, and the length of the portion where the liner is not in contact with the container opening on the peripheral side from the position where it contacts the container opening. Is less than 1.0 mm.

The cap of the present invention can be configured such that the cap body is made of metal. The cap body is preferably made of a material having a tensile strength of 20 ON / mm ² or more.

The closure device of the present invention is a closure device including a container and a cap attached to a mouth thereof, wherein the cap includes a cap body including a top plate portion and a tubular portion hanging down from a peripheral edge thereof. And a liner provided on the inner surface of the top plate. A plurality of exhaust holes are formed in the cylindrical portion along the circumferential direction. Each of the exhaust holes has a length of 5 to 5 O mm. Has an outer diameter of 34, 9 to 37 mm.

The container-packed beverage of the present invention is a container-packed beverage in which a beverage is filled in a closing device having a container and a cap attached to a mouth thereof, wherein the cap is formed from a top plate portion and a periphery thereof. A cap body consisting of a hanging cylinder, and a cap provided on the inner surface of the top plate A plurality of exhaust holes are formed in the cylindrical portion along the circumferential direction, the length of each of the exhaust holes is 5 to 5 O mm, and the outer diameter of the liner is 34.9. 337 mm. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view showing an embodiment of the cap of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a state before forming the cap shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of the cap shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of the cap shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a state before molding of another example of the cap of the present invention. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

FIGS. 1 to 3 show an embodiment of the closing device of the present invention. The closing device shown here is composed of a tl 21 and a cap 1 mounted on a container mouth 2 la. .

The container 21 is made of a metal such as aluminum, an aluminum alloy, or steel, and the open end 2 lb of the container mouth 2 la has an outwardly curved shape.

The container 21 preferably has an open end 21b having an outer diameter of 32 to 35 mm (preferably 33 to 34 mm).

The container 21 may be made of synthetic resin such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or glass.

The cap 1 includes a cap body 4 composed of a circular top plate 2 and a cylindrical portion 3 hanging down from the periphery thereof, and a liner 15 provided on the inner surface of the top plate 2.

The cylindrical portion 3 has a horizontal portion 6 (weakened line), a main portion 8 above the horizontal score 6, and a tamper evidence ring 9 (TE ring portion 9) connected to a lower end of the main portion 8 by a page 7. Is divided into

A screw portion 10 is formed in the cylindrical portion 3 when the cap 1 is attached to the container opening 21a. The thread part 10 is formed so as to conform to the external thread 22 of the container mouth part 21a. Is done.

The lower part of the TE ring 9 is formed as a hem 11 which is curved inward along the bulging step 23 of the container opening 21a, and is locked to the bulging step 23 when the stopper is closed. .

The cap body 4 is preferably made of a metal such as aluminum, an aluminum alloy, and steel.

The material used for the cap body 4 preferably has a tensile strength (according to JISZ 2241) of 200 N / mni ² or more (preferably 20 δππιπι ² or more).

By setting the tensile strength in the above range, the screw portion 10 can be prevented from being deformed at the time of sealing, and the hold force of the screw portion 10 with respect to the male screw 22 of the container opening 21a can be increased. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the cap 1 from easily coming off the container mouth 21a when plugging, and to surely prevent an accident such as a cap jump. In addition, the sealing performance when not opened can be improved.

This tensile strength is preferably 25 ON / mm ² or less.

By setting the tensile strength in the above range, the effect of reducing the internal pressure of the container when the internal pressure of the container increases after re-closing can be enhanced.

As a particularly suitable material used for the cap body 4, an aluminum alloy 5151 specified by JIS can be mentioned.

A plurality of exhaust holes 12 are formed in the upper part of the cylindrical portion 3 at intervals in the circumferential direction. The exhaust hole 12 is formed along the circumferential direction. The exhaust hole 12 is preferably formed above the screw portion 10.

The length A (length in the circumferential direction) A of the exhaust hole 12 is 5 to 5 Omm (preferably 10 to 3 Omm).

If the length A of the exhaust hole 12 is less than the above range, the effect of reducing the internal pressure of the container becomes insufficient when the internal pressure of the container becomes high after the second holding. If the length A exceeds the above range, the sealing property will decrease when not opened.

The length A of the exhaust hole 12 is such that the gas in the container is discharged to the outside when the internal pressure of the container 21 becomes 70 to 150 psi (0.48 to 1.03 MPa) (gauge pressure; the same applies hereinafter). Can be set. It is preferable that the lengths of the exhaust turrets 12 are set to be substantially equal to each other. The exhaust holes 12 are preferably formed at substantially equal intervals in the circumferential direction. That is, it is preferable to form the two adjacent exhaust holes 12 so that the intervals between the two exhaust holes 12 are substantially equal. The number of the exhaust holes 12 is preferably 2 to 6.

Between the two adjacent exhaust holes 12, a knurl portion 13, which is a concave portion, is formed. By forming the knurled portion 13, the cap 1 can be easily opened.

The liner 15 can be made of a blend of polypropylene and rubber, polyethylene, or a relatively soft synthetic resin material such as EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer).

FIG. 2 shows the unformed cap 1a before the cap 1 is formed. In the unformed cap la, the liner 5 is flat.

The outer diameter B of the liner 5 is 34.9 to 37 mm.

By setting the outer diameter B within this range, sufficient sealing performance can be obtained when the container is not opened, and the internal pressure of the container can be prevented from excessively increasing after re-opening. Further, at the time of re-closing, the opening end 21b is concentric with the liner 15 by the position of the liner 15 corresponding to the position 5a abutting on the container mouth 21a to the peripheral edge 5b. It is possible to prevent the plugging torque from increasing because it is guided smoothly to the desired position.

If the outer diameter B is less than this range, the sealing property will decrease when not opened.

If the outer diameter B exceeds this range, when the internal pressure of the container increases after re-plugging, it becomes difficult to discharge gas in the container, and the effect of reducing the internal pressure of the container becomes insufficient.

The inner surface (lower surface) of the liner 5 is preferably formed so that the portion from the position 5a in contact with the container opening 21a to the peripheral edge 5b is substantially flat.

By forming the liner 5 of this part to be almost flat, the liner 5 of this part smoothly guides the open end 2 lb to a position concentric with the liner 15 when re-plugging. However, it is possible to prevent the closing torque from increasing.

As shown in FIG. 3, the liner 5 has a contact length with respect to the outer surface 21 c of the open end 21 b of the container mouth 21 a (the area closer to the outer surface than the top of the open end 2 lb). C is 1, 0 mm or less, preferably 0.3 to 1.0 mm, and more preferably 0.5 to 0.7 mm.

If the contact length C is less than this range, the sealing property will be reduced when not opened. If the contact length C exceeds this range, the effect of reducing the internal pressure of the container tends to be insufficient when the internal pressure of the container increases after re-plugging.

The contact length C refers to the height of the portion where the liner 15 contacts the outer surface 21 c of the container.

When the periphery 5b of the liner 5 is separated from the open end 2lb, the length D of the separated portion 5c (the portion not in contact with the container opening 21a) is 1.0. mm or less (preferably 0.5 mm or less).

If the length D exceeds this range, the effect of reducing the internal pressure of the container tends to be insufficient when the internal pressure of the container increases after re-plugging.

The liner 5 can be formed in the cap body 4 by an in-shell molding method, or can be formed by a method in which a pre-formed substantially sheet-shaped liner 15 is fixed to the inner surface of the top plate 2. it can.

Next, a method of using the cap 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. In order to fill the container 21 with the liquid content, it is possible to adopt hot filling, which is usually performed at a high temperature of 80 ° C or higher, or normal temperature aseptic filling, which is performed at room temperature using containers and caps that have been previously sterilized. it can.

Further, by enclosing nitrogen in the container 21 by supplying liquid nitrogen into the container 21 or the like, the internal pressure of the container can be increased. The pressure in the container can be set so that the pressure at normal temperature exceeds the normal pressure (for example, 0.1 to 0.3 MPa). To wash the container opening 2 la, the washing water is introduced into the cap 1 through the exhaust hole 12.

As shown in FIG. 3, when unsealed, the liner 5 comes into contact with the open end 21b of the container mouth 2la, and the hermeticity is maintained.

When the cap 1 attached to the container mouth 2 la is turned in the opening direction, the cap 1 rises, the liner 15 is separated from the open end 2 lb, and the sealing of the container 21 is released. In the process of opening the cap, the skirt 11 of the TE ring 9 is locked to the bulging step 23. As a result, the main part 8 rises with the rotation, while the TE ring part 9 is prevented from moving upward, and as a result, the pulling force is applied to the bridge 7 connecting the main part 8 and the TE ring part 9. The bridge 7 is broken, and the main part 8 is cut II from the TE ring part 9.

When the cap 1 is opened once and then reopened, the internal pressure of the container 21 may become extremely high (for example, 0.4 MPa or more) due to fermentation of the content liquid. As shown in FIG. 4, when the pressure in the container 21 increases, an upward force is applied to the top plate 2 and the liner 15.

In the cap 1, since the length of the exhaust hole 12 is within the above range, the cylindrical portion 3 where the air hole 12 is formed is easily deformed.

As a result, the cylindrical portion 3 is deformed so that the interval between the exhaust holes 12 is increased, the top plate 2 and the liner 15 are raised, the liner 5 is separated from the opening end 21b, and the liner 15 is moved. The gas in the container 21 is exhausted to the outside through the gap of 2 lb and the open end.

Therefore, in the cap 1, it is possible to prevent the internal pressure of the container 21 from excessively increasing after re-opening, and to prevent the cap 1 from being detached due to the internal pressure of the container when the cap is opened, so-called cap flying. Also, sufficient sealing performance can be obtained when not opened.

Further, in the cap 1, since the lengths of the exhaust holes 12 are all within the above range, a force is applied to the cap body 4 by the internal pressure of the container as compared with a case where a part of the exhaust holes is formed short. When this occurs, stress concentrates on the exhaust holes 12 and acts.

Therefore, the cylindrical portion 3 is easily deformed so that the interval between the exhaust holes 12 is increased, and the gas is reliably discharged. Further, at the time of cleaning, the cleaning water is easily introduced into the inside through the exhaust holes 12 and the cleaning effect can be enhanced.

In the closing device described above, a beverage such as a juice beverage, a tea beverage, a coffee beverage, or the like is filled in the container 21 and the cap 1 is attached to the mouth 21 a to obtain a packaged beverage filled with the beverage. Can be.

FIG. 5 shows another example of the cap of the present invention.

The cap shown here has an annular protruding portion 36 protruding toward the container (downward), on the inner surface of the liner 35, at a position closer to the container opening 21a and peripheral to the position 35a. This is different from the cap 1 shown in FIG.

The cross-sectional shape of the projection 36 can be substantially trapezoidal.

The protrusion height of the protrusion 36 is preferably 0.5 mm or less. If the protruding height exceeds this range, the opening end 2 lb abuts on the protruding portion 36 at the time of re-plugging, so that the closing torque tends to increase. Also, when the internal pressure of the container increases after re-opening, the gas in the container becomes difficult to be discharged.

(Example)

(Test Examples 1 to 6)

The cap 1 shown in FIG. 1 was produced.

In the cap 1, a plurality of exhaust holes 12 were formed at regular intervals, and all the lengths were set to the values shown in Table 1. The outer diameter B of the liner 1 was 35.9 mm.

As a material of the cap body 4, an aluminum alloy 515 specified in JIS was used. The tensile strength of this material was 225 NZmm ² .

2.2 A container 21 made of an aluminum alloy, on which male screws 22 corresponding to two rounds were formed, was filled with water by hot filling, and a cap 1 was attached to the container opening 2la. The container 21 used had an open end 21b having an outer diameter of 33.5 mm. The cap 1 was closed at a time, and the cap 1 was manually attached to the container opening 2la by hand.

(Gas leak test)

Using a PAT (proper application tester, manufactured by Alcoa), nitrogen gas was fed into the container 21 to increase the internal pressure of the container 21, and it was confirmed whether the gas in the container was discharged to the outside.

This test was performed on 20 samples for each condition, and the number of samples from which gas in the container was discharged was examined. Table 1 shows the test results. W

(table 1 )

(Numerical values indicate the number of samples for which gas emission in the container has been confirmed)

(Rapid opening test) ―

The sample that had passed the gas leak test was rapidly opened, and it was examined whether the cap was detached due to the internal pressure.

This test was performed on 20 samples under each condition, and the number of samples in which cap flying occurred was examined. Table 2 shows the test results.

(Table 2)

(The numerical value indicates the number of samples in which the cap jump occurred.)

(Sealing test)

With respect to the vent hole 12 having a length of 3 to 6 O mm, the unopened closing device was dropped from a height of 30 cm, and it was confirmed whether or not the internal solution leaked due to the impact at the time of the drop. As a result, no leakage of the inner solution occurred when the length of the exhaust hole 12 was 50 mm or less, but in some cases where the length of the exhaust hole 12 exceeded 50 mm, It was confirmed that the solution leaked slightly.

(Test example? ~ 1 2)

Cap 1 was prepared in the same manner as in the test example except that the outer diameter of the liner 15 was set to the value shown in Table 3. The length of the exhaust hole 12 was 12 mm.

Table 3 shows the results of the gas leak test. The pressure in the vessel for this test was 0.7 MPa.

(Table 3)

As shown in Tables 1 to 3, as a result of the gas leak test, in the test example where the length of the exhaust hole 12 is 5 to 50 mm and the outer diameter of the liner 15 is 34.9 to 37 mm However, even if the internal pressure of the container 21 increased after re-closing, the gas in the container was discharged.

In addition, the results of the sealability test show that in the test example in which the length of the exhaust hole 12 was 5 to 50 mm, the internal solution did not leak when the cap was not opened, indicating good sealability. Call

That is, in the above test example, sufficient sealing properties could be obtained when the container was not opened, and the internal pressure of the container could be prevented from excessively increasing when the container was closed again after the container was opened. For comparison, a cap similar to that of Test Example 4 was prepared except that one of the exhaust holes 12 was 12 mm in length and the other exhaust holes 12 were all 3 mm in length. When this gas was subjected to a gas leak test, gas was discharged under the condition of a container internal pressure of 0.7 MPa. The number of samples was 10, confirming that the gas emission performance of this cap was inferior to that of Test Example 4.

(Test Examples 13 to 17)

A cap 1 similar to that of Test Example 4 was made except that the strength of the material of the cap body 4 was set to the value shown in Table 4.

Table 4 shows the results of the quick opening test. The pressure in the vessel for this test was 0.7 MPa;

As shown in Table 4, by setting the tensile strength of the cap body 4 to 20 ON / mm ² or more, it was possible to prevent the cap from flying.

(Test Examples 18-21)

As shown in FIG. 5, a cap similar to that of Test Example 4 was produced except that an annular protrusion 36 was formed on the periphery of the liner 35.

Table 5 shows the results of the gas leak test. The pressure in the vessel for this test was 0.7 MPa.

(Table 5)

As shown in Table 5, in the test example where the height of the protrusion 36 was 0.5 mm or less, It was confirmed that even if the internal pressure of the container 21 increased after the stopper, the gas in the container was easily discharged. Industrial applications

As described above, the cap of the present invention can prevent the internal pressure of the container from excessively increasing after re-opening, and can prevent the cap from being released due to the internal pressure of the container when the container is opened, so-called cap flying. In addition, sufficient sealing performance can be obtained when not opened.

Furthermore, since the lengths of the exhaust holes are all within the above range, the stress is reduced when a force is applied to the cap body by the internal pressure of the container as compared with a case where a part of the exhaust holes is formed short. Acts concentrated on the holes.

Accordingly, the deformation that the interval between the exhaust holes becomes large easily occurs, and the gas is reliably discharged.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. A cap body consisting of a top plate and a tube hanging down from the periphery thereof, and a liner provided on the inner surface of the top plate,

A plurality of exhaust holes are formed in the cylindrical portion along the circumferential direction, and the length of each of the exhaust holes is set to 5 to 5 O mm,

A cap characterized in that the outer diameter of the liner is 34.9 to 37 mm.

2. The cap according to claim 1, wherein an inner surface of the liner is formed so as to be substantially flat from a position in contact with a container mouth to a periphery.

3. The cap according to claim 1, wherein a protrusion protruding toward the container is formed on an inner surface of the liner on a peripheral edge side of a position where the liner comes into contact with the mouth of the container.

4. The cap according to claim 3, wherein a height of the protrusion is 0.5 mm or less.

5. A cap body consisting of a top plate and a tube hanging down from the periphery thereof, and a liner provided on the inner surface of the top plate,

A plurality of exhaust holes are formed along the circumferential direction in the cylindrical portion, and the length of each of the exhaust holes is set to 5 to 50 mm.

The liner is a cap having a contact length of 1.0 mm or less with respect to an outer surface of an opening end of a container mouth.

6. A cap body comprising a top plate portion and a cylindrical portion hanging down from the periphery thereof, and a liner provided on the inner surface of the top plate portion,

The cap, wherein the length of a portion not in contact with the container mouth is less than 1.0 mm on a peripheral side from a position in contact with the container mouth.

7. The cap according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the cap body is made of a metal.

8. The cap according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the cap body is made of a material having a bow I tensile strength of 20 ON / mm ² or more.

9. A closure device comprising a container and a cap attached to a mouth thereof, wherein the cap is provided on a cap body including a top plate portion and a cylindrical portion hanging down from a periphery thereof, and provided on an inner surface of the top plate portion. A plurality of exhaust holes are formed in the cylindrical part along the circumferential direction, the length of each of these exhaust holes is 5 to 5 Omm, and the outer diameter of the liner is 34.9 to 37 mm A closing device, characterized in that:

10. A packaged beverage filled with a beverage in a closure device having a container and a cap attached to the mouth thereof,

The cap includes a cap body composed of a top plate portion and a tube portion hanging down from the periphery thereof, and a liner provided on the inner surface of the top plate portion. Each of these exhaust holes has a length of 5 to 5 Omm, and the outer diameter of the liner is 34.9 to 37 mm.