WO2007066157A1

WO2007066157A1 - Hygienic can cover

Info

Publication number: WO2007066157A1
Application number: PCT/HR2006/000040
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hrvoje Pranjic; Ana Prelog
Original assignee: Hrvoje Pranjic
Priority date: 2005-12-05
Filing date: 2006-11-29
Publication date: 2007-06-14

Abstract

The Can Cover, a hygienic cover (2) for canned drinks, is an invention designed to ensure better and safer hygienic conditions in the consumption of drinks. Its purpose is to protect consumers from harmful effects (such as potential diseases, infections and the like) and at the same time enable them to enjoy their canned drinks in a simple and practical way at all places, including those outside the comfort of one's home where canned drinks are typically consumed. On the other hand, this Invention offers to beverage manufacturers greater product safety in relation to the end user. It comprises a base (2a) , a lateral part (26) and an opening strip (2c) .

Description

HYGIENIC CAN COVER

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Area of application

The Can Cover is a plastic hygienic cover fixed by a machine upon the top of a can, several centimeters long (depending on the can's type and size), designed to protect the place of the can where its content is to be consumed.

According to the International Patent Classification (IPC) the Invention comes closest to the following class:

- B65D 51/20 - .. Caps, lids, or covers cooperating with an inner closure arranged to be opened by piercing, cutting or tearing

- B65D 51/18 - . Arrangements of closures with protective outer cap-like covers or two or more cooperating closures

Technical problem

(for the solution of which patent protection is sought)

Through different stages of production, transportation, storage, distribution and use canned drinks get in contact with a series of various contaminants, bacteria etc. that may cause diseases and other troubles to people.

In the production process, cans are placed in an environment which is not always sterile, especially after filling and closing operations. In transport from the factory to the warehouse and in off-loading for end destinations - groceries, kiosks, petrol stations or coffee-bars/taverns/restaurants, cans are as a rule packed in cartons which never provide complete protection to the product, let alone the fact that in placing them for display on racks or in refrigerators salespersons do not observe any special hygienic rules. Besides, customers often take cans in their hand to check their brand, contents or price - which is all another source of potential contamination. Thus some cans change hands many times before their content is consumed. Neither should we overlook the fact that many cans will stay on racks for a long time, collecting dust, especially dust stirred up by sweeping and cleaning of the sales outlet.

After its opening a can is at least for some while exposed to contamination, which is the worse the more they are used outdoors. Also, while consumed, on the can's upper rim there are always some liquid residues (if only a few droplets) left, these few droplets are circling along the rim and pick up all the impurities that we haven't already taken into the mouth with the touch of the lips and tongue. Indeed, we can wonder sometimes how we have managed survive all these years without contracting something...

Prior art

Among known solutions relating to the covering of the upper part of drink cans intended to protect the place where drink is taken for consumption, suffice it to mention the solution shown in the patent document No. PCT/CH88/00108 by P. A. Mueller and J. Boisson, the name of the invention: Sealed Container.

This solution consists of a cover being removed together with the opener. Its main weakness is that the drinking place and the opening in the can are no longer protected during consumption.

The essence of the Invention and its detailed description

The basic purpose of the Invention is to reduce various contamination risks by means of a special closure (lid) which will protect the can all the way from the final manufacturing stage (filling), and which will, at the same time, make it reusable by closing it after partial use.

Having analyzed the existing production and packing technology, we have identified the place in the production process and the type of machine to be employed in the production line in the final phase when the cans are filled, but before being placed in cartons (usually containing 12 or 24 cans). The said machine will not in any way slow down the production process as a whole, because the speed of its operation is adaptable to the speed of can production, so that the output of Can Covers wholly corresponds to the output of cans. The way the machine operates is this: while cans move along the production line, thermally treating plastics material (foil) is being put on their upper part; after that, the can is for a short time exposed to high temperature, the result of which is that the plastics material (foil) contracts, thereby hygienically protecting the can's upper part. The kind of thermally treating compound is selected which hardens while being put on the can, but does not adhere while cans are being placed in cartons (which are also wrapped in foil).

Brief description of sketches

Figure 1 shows a can (1) before and after placing of the protective plastics /foil/ (2) and how simple it is to remove the Can Cover before consumption. As shown in the attached sketch, the hygienic cover (2) consists of the base (2a), the lateral part (2b) and the opening strip (2c). The opening strip (2c) rests on the lateral part (2b) and, when removed, the lateral part (2b) opens up, without the base (2a) being damaged in the process. Leaving the base intact is crucial for making the cover reusable.

Consumption benefits

With the Can Cover the consumers of the can's content will no longer be exposed to contamination risks from impurities and bacteria that the cans themselves were exposed to. This will ensure safe and hygienically protected consumption.

Additional possibilities and advantages

The Can Cover/Closure can also be used for various advertising purposes, in humanitarian or public campaigns. "How many people have touched your can before you? Thanks to the Can Cover only you".

Claims

PATENT CLAIMS

1. The Can Cover - a hygienic cover for canned drinks fixed on the upper part of the can, characterized in that the cover (2) covering the entire upper surface of the can and partly its side, comprises the base (2a), the lateral part (2b) and the opening strip (2c), which is placed on the lateral part (2b) and which, when removed, causes the lateral part (2b) to open up, with the base (2a) being left intact in the process.

2. The Can Cover - a hygienic cover for canned drinks, according to claim 1 , characterized in that the cover is reusable after the can's content is only partially consumed.

3. The Can Cover - a hygienic cover for canned drinks, according to claim 1 , characterized in that the cover is made from the kind of material /thermally treated plastics, foil or the like/ which firmly adheres to the can wall.