WO2008059085A1

WO2008059085A1 - Lid with hinged cap for bottles and similar, having a cap seal

Info

Publication number: WO2008059085A1
Application number: PCT/ES2007/000643
Authority: WO
Inventors: Max Cano Pey; Josep Fort Prades
Original assignee: Seaplast S.A.
Priority date: 2006-11-15
Filing date: 2007-11-13
Publication date: 2008-05-22
Also published as: ES2267415B1; ES2267415A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a lid with a hinged cap for bottles and similar, having a cap seal and comprising a main body (1) connectable to the neck of a bottle, a hinged cap (3) joined to the main body (1) by means of a hinge and a device for sealing the cap (3) in the closed position. The seal is formed by an opening in the main body (1) and a tongue (6) which is joined to the cap (3) by means of a breakable connection and which is provided with unidirectional retaining means. The end of the tongue (6) is introduced into the opening and held therein by said retaining means. When the cap (3) is first lifted, thereby causing the breakable connection to break, the tongue (6) is separated from the cap (3) and falls under gravity into a free space (9) provided beneath the opening.

Description

PLUG WITH FLAT COVER FOR BOTTLES AND SIMILAR EQUIPPED WITH A FLAT COVER SEAL DEVICE

DESCRIPTION

Field of the invention

The invention is in the field of caps applicable to similar bottles and containers, especially plastic bottles and containers for packaged products.

More specifically, the invention relates to a cap with a collapsible lid for bottles and the like provided with a sealing device of the collapsible lid, said cap being molded in a plastic material and comprising a main body having an outer wall suitable for external engagement. to a bottle neck, a hinged cover attached to said main body by means of a hinge joint and a sealing device that seals said folding lid in its initial position folded on said main body.

Normally, the caps of this type have two seals: a first seal to seal the union of the cap with the bottle or container and a second seal to seal the collapsed position of the flip lid over the main body of the cap. These two seals guarantee the consumer that the product packaged in the bottle or container has been kept under seal. The invention relates exclusively to the second seal, that is to say the seal that seals the collapsed position of the lid on the main body of the cap.

In this type of caps, the folding lid allows the consumer to open and close the cap without removing it from the bottle. These caps are used mainly, but not exclusively, in small or medium format plastic bottles that contain a beverage, such as mineral water or fruit juice, and are intended to be used as canteens. State of the art

In known caps of this type, the seal system of the lid in its collapsed position on the main body of the cap typically consists of a plastic film that wraps all or part of the lid together with a part of the main body of the cap. To open the lid for the first time, the consumer must break the plastic film. A similar solution is also known that consists of a strip of seal interposed between the lid and the main body and that must be removed by the consumer by stretching it.

These known solutions have the disadvantage that it is not easy to remove the seal with one hand, that is, with the same hand that holds the bottle. Another drawback presented by these solutions is that once the seal has been removed, it constitutes a cumbersome waste. In addition, the removed seal is usually a small piece that can be dangerous for young children.

The problem posed thus consists in obtaining a cap that allows the consumer to carry out more easily the first lifting of the folding lid, which comprises the breaking of the seal, using the same hand that holds the bottle. A secondary problem consists in preventing the seal of the lid, after said first lifting, from being a cumbersome waste.

Summary of the invention

The purpose of the invention is to provide a plug of the type indicated at the beginning, which allows the consumer to break the seal of the lid by acting with a simple gesture on said lid, and preferably without separating from the plug any part that constitutes a waste. Another purpose of the cap according to the invention is that the sealing system of the hinged lid meets the requirements of being robust, before the first lifting of the lid, and betraying then, clearly visible to the consumer, that said first survey has taken place.

This purpose is achieved by a plug of the type indicated at the beginning, characterized in that the sealing device of the folding lid is formed by an opening provided in the main body and a tongue attached to the folding lid by means of a breakable joint, said tongue being inserted at its end in said opening and being provided with unidirectional retention means that prevent its exit from said opening, and because under said opening a free space has been reserved in which said tongue is free to fall by gravity, after separating from said flip cover for breaking said breakable joint, reaching a fallen position.

In the cap according to the invention, the seal of the collapsible lid is simply broken at the moment when the user first lifts said lid.

In effect, by exerting a lifting force on the lid, the consumer causes the breakage of the breakable joint between the tongue and the lid, because the tongue is retained in the opening by the unidirectional retention means.

After the breakage of said breakable joint occurs, the flip top is free to continue with its lifting movement, while the tongue, when released from the flip top, falls by gravity through the opening and reaches a fallen position. When the cover is folded down again on the main body, the fallen position of the tongue betrays permanently that a first lifting of the cover has occurred. On the other hand, it will be observed that the tongue, when falling into the opening and reaching its fallen position, does not separate from the plug.

Preferably, said opening is provided on an upper flange of the outer wall of the main body of the cap and said free space, in which the tongue is free to fall by gravity after separating from the flip cover, is comprised in a narrow band corresponding to an interstitial space between said outer wall of the main body and the outer wall of a bottle neck when said outer wall is coupled to said bottle neck. This configuration is particularly advantageous, since it allows applying the invention without modifying the - TO -

external contour of the existing plugs. In particular, it has the advantage that the outer contour of the outer wall of the main body of the cap is not modified, whereby a modification of the installation of automatic encapsulation of the caps in the bottles is avoided, which typically uses a means of cap hold adjusted to said outer contour. In an advantageous embodiment, said outer wall is cylindrical and has on its inner face a filleting defining said interstitial space, said free space being the space between said filleting and said opening. That is to say that the invention is advantageously applied to cylindrical caps that are screwed on a bottle neck, also cylindrical, taking advantage of the space defined by the thickness of the filleting to place said free space in which the tongue is free to fall by gravity.

Preferably, the cap according to the invention comprises stop means that limit the travel of said tongue along said free space and define the fallen position of said tongue, so that in said fallen position said tongue is retained in said main body . In this way, the fallen position of the tongue is properly predefined. In addition, the tongue is trapped by the unidirectional retention means and by said stop means, with which it is held together to the main body of the cap even if the cap separates from the bottle neck.

In an advantageous embodiment, said abutment means comprise a flap that is provided in said tongue and which abuts against the edge of said opening in the fallen position of said tongue. Preferably, the upper edge of the outer wall of the main body of the cap has, in front of said opening, a step defining a recessed section of said upper edge, and said fin extends from the front face of the tongue and comes into abutment against said lowered section when the tongue falls by gravity in said free space, said fin having a width corresponding to the height of said step. Thus, the tongue is well seated in its fallen position and, in addition, the upper face of the fin is flush with the upper edge of the outer wall of the main body, thereby preventing protruding parts that may be annoying for the consumer or facilitate a deterioration of the mechanism. Preferably, the face rear of the tongue, opposite the outer wall of the main body, and the rear edge of said opening, facing said rear face of the tongue, are configured so that they are against each other in the fallen position of said tongue. In this way it is avoided that the tongue, in its fallen position, can pivot and slide all of it inside the opening, with which it could fall out of the cap if it were separated from the neck of the bottle.

In a preferred embodiment, which is particularly effective and robust, the opening has an oblong shape that extends in the longitudinal direction of the upper flange of the outer wall, the tongue 6 has a main trunk whose shape, in section, conforms to the shape of the opening 5, and the unidirectional retention means are formed by projections projecting from the lateral sides of said main trunk of the tongue.

The invention also includes an embodiment in which the lifting of the collapsible cover, including the first lifting with the consequent rupture of the seal, is carried out by pressing with the finger on said cover. In said embodiment, the flip cover has on its outer wall an area as a push-button suitable to move with respect to said main body under the thrust of a user's finger and the tongue is joined through the breakable joint to said zone as a push button. Preferably, the main body of the cap has an inclined face that extends towards the center of the cap away from the plane of said opening, and said push-button area has a edge that slides over said inclined face. This solution is particularly advantageous, because to open the flip lid the consumer only has to press laterally on said area as a push-button, being able to do it with the thumb of the same hand with which he holds the bottle. The push-button zone thus initiates a lateral movement towards the center of the cap, and when sliding along a said edge on its inclined face, its movement acquires a vertical component that causes the rupture of the breakable joint between the lid and the tongue.

Preferably, the main body of the cap has a colored area facing said opening which is covered by said tongue in the initial position of said tongue and that is visible in the fallen position of said tongue. Thanks to this solution, the passage of the tongue from its initial position to its fallen position, which betrays a first opening of the lid, is particularly visible to the consumer. In an advantageous solution, which combines a good robustness of the mechanism and an adequate visibility of the colored area, the tongue has on its upper side, opposite to said opening, teeth and breakable bridges that are attached to said folding lid and that constitute said breakable joint, and said colored area in the main body extends in front of said teeth but not in front of said breakable bridges.

Brief description of the drawings

Other advantages and characteristics of the invention can be seen from the following description in which, without any limitation, some preferred embodiments of the invention are mentioned, mentioning the accompanying drawings. The figures show:

Figure 1, a top perspective view of a first embodiment of the cap according to the invention, in the position in which it leaves the mold, with the hinged lid lifted and before being incorporated into the neck of a bottle;

Figure 2, a rear view corresponding to Figure 1;

Figures 3 and 4, partial views of Figure 1 showing, respectively, the area of the flip cover provided with the tongue and the area of the main body provided with the corresponding opening;

Figure 5, a partial bottom perspective view corresponding to Figure 1, showing the area of the main body provided with the opening;

Figure 6, a partial front view corresponding to Figure 1, showing the area of the main body provided with the opening; Figures 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 are perspective views, rear, side, front and top, respectively, of the tongue shown separately;

Figure 12, a sectional side view of the cap of Figure 1, in the position prior to its incorporation into the neck of a bottle, with the lid folded down;

Figure 13, a partial perspective view of Figure 12, showing the area of the opening with the tongue inserted therein;

Figure 14, a view analogous to Figure 12, showing the cap incorporated into the neck of a bottle and with the tongue in the down position, that is to say giving away a first lift of the folding lid;

Figure 15, a partial perspective view of Figure 14, showing the area of the opening with the tongue inserted therein;

Figure 16; a view analogous to Figure 4, which shows a second embodiment of the cap according to the invention in which the main body is provided with a colored area that more effectively betrays the fallen position of the tongue;

Figure 17, a front view of the cap of Figure 16, showing the cap incorporated into the neck of a bottle and with the tongue in the down position, that is to say giving away a first lift of the flip lid.

Detailed description of some embodiments of the invention

The first embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 to 15 corresponds to a single-piece injected plastic stopper, intended to be incorporated into the neck of a small, plastic shaped bottle. The plug is in one piece and comprises a main body 1 and a hinged cover 3 connected to the main body by a thin bridge 4 that functions as a hinge joint. The main body 1 has a cylindrical outer wall 2 provided with an internal filleting 13 whereby it is screwed into the neck 12 of a bottle, in a process of automatic encapsulation of bottles in series. As can be seen in Figure 12, the main body 1 consists of a lower ring 21 intended to be locked in the neck 12 to constitute a lower seal for connection to the neck 12. This lower seal solution is known and is not part of the invention. The invention relates to the sealing device of the flip cover 3, which serves to seal the flip cover 3 in its initial position folded on the main body 1 and betray a first lift of said cover, as will be seen below.

The sealing device of the folding lid 3 is formed by an opening 5 provided on the upper flange 10 of the main body 1 and a tongue 6 attached to the folding lid 3 by means of a breakable joint constituted by breakable bridges 7. The opening 5 has a curved oblong shape that extends in the longitudinal direction of the upper flange 10. The tongue 6 has a main trunk whose shape, in section, conforms to the shape of the opening 5, and which is provided with projections 8 that project from its lateral sides and a front fin 16 that extends from its front face.

The cap leaves the injection mold with the flip lid 3 in the raised position, as shown in Figures 1 to 6. Subsequently, the flip lid 3 is folded over the main body 1, whereby the cap is in The position depicted in Figures 12 and 13. This is the position of the cap when it is supplied to an automatic bottle encapsulator installation. In this position, the tongue 6 is inserted through its end in the opening 5 and is encircled therein by the projections 8, which constitute unidirectional retention means that prevent said tongue 6 from exiting superiorly through said opening 5. In effect , when the tongue 6 is stretched upwards when lifting the flip cover 3, the projections 8 are supported under the lateral edges of the opening 5, preventing the tongue 6 from leaving the opening

5. Under the opening 5 a free space 9 has been reserved in a narrow band corresponding to the interstitial space 11 between the outer wall 2

- of the main body 1 and the outer wall of the bottle neck 12, as it can see in Figures 14 and 15 illustrating the cap mounted on the bottle neck 12. This interstitial space 11 is between the filleting 13 of the inner face of the outer wall 2 and the opening 5.

When a user first lifts the flip cover 3, it causes the breakage of the bridges 7, because the tongue 6 is retained in the opening 5 by the protrusions 8. Then the tongue 6 falls by gravity in the free space 9 and It comes to a stop by its front flap 16 against the upper edge of the outer wall 2. The front flap 16 thus constitutes stop means that limit the path of the tongue 6 along the free space 9 and thus define a fallen position of said tongue 6. This fallen position of the tongue 6, which betrays a first lift of the flip cover 3, is the one illustrated in Figures 14 and 15. In said fallen position, the front flap 16 is flush with the upper edge of the outer wall 2, thanks to the latter having, in front of the opening 5, a step 14, of height corresponding to the width of the fin 16, which defines a recessed section 15 against which the fin 16 comes to a stop.

Figures 7 to 11 illustrate in detail the geometry of the tongue 6. As can be seen, on the upper face of the tongue there are provided three teeth 20 that frame two breakable bridges 7 connecting with the flip cover 3.

In case the user removes the cap from the neck 12, the tongue 6 is retained in the main body 1, in its fallen position in the opening 5, thanks to the rear face of the tongue 6, opposite the outer wall 2 , and the rear edge of the opening 5, facing said rear face of the tongue 6, are configured so that they are against each other in said fallen position of the tongue 6. To do this, in the rear edge of the opening 5 a lip 22 is provided that extends downward and on which the central tooth 20 protruding from the upper face of the tongue 6 rests.

On the other hand, in the outer wall of the flip lid 3 a clear area has been reserved as a push-button 17 suitable for receiving a user's finger. The lower edge of said push-button area 17 rests against an inclined face 18 provided in the main body 1 and extending towards the center of the cap away from the plane of the opening 5. To lift the flip cover 3, a user pushes with a finger the zone 17, which moves towards the center of the cap by deformation thanks to the small thickness of the wall that forms it. Due to the inclination of the face 18, the initial movement of the lid 3 has a vertical component that easily causes the breakage of the bridges 7. Thanks to this lifting system of the lid, which functions as a push button, the user can lift The lid 3 with a simple gesture of the thumb of the same hand with the one that holds the bottle.

Figures 16 and 17 represent a second embodiment that shows in a more visible way that the first lifting of the lid 3 has occurred, thanks to the main body 1 having, in front of the opening 5, a colored area 19, that is to say of a different color from the rest of the cap, which is covered by the tongue 6 in the initial position thereof, but which is visible in its fallen position. In this exemplary embodiment, the colored area 19 has a shape with three legs that extend in front of the teeth 20, between the breakable bridges 7, so that said legs are covered by said teeth 20 in the initial position of the lid 3 As can be seen in Figure 17, in the fallen position of the tongue 6, that is to say after a first lifting of the cover 3, the three colored legs of the area 19 are clearly visible.

Claims

1.- Cap with folding lid for bottles and the like equipped with a sealing device of the folding lid, said cap being molded in a plastic material and comprising a main body (1) that has an outer wall (2) suitable for external coupling to a bottle neck (12), a flip cover (3) attached to said main body (1) by means of a hinge joint (4) and a sealing device that seals said flip cover (3) in its initial position folded on said main body (1), characterized in that said sealing device of the flip cover (3) is formed by an opening (5) provided in said main body (1) and a tongue (6) attached to said flip cover ( 3) by means of a breakable joint (7), said tongue (6) being inserted at its opening in said opening (5) and being provided with unidirectional retention means (8) preventing its exit from said opening (5), and because under said opening (5) has reserved a free space (9) in which said tongue (6) is free to fall by gravity, after being separated from said flip cover (3) by breaking said breakable joint (7), reaching a fallen position.

2. Cap according to claim 1, characterized in that said opening (5) is provided in an upper flange (10) of said outer wall (2) of the main body (1) and said free space (9), in which said tongue (6) is free to fall by gravity after separating from said flip cover (3), is comprised in a narrow band corresponding to an interstitial space (11) between said outer wall (2) of the main body (1) and Ia outer wall of a bottle neck (12) when said outer wall (2) is coupled to said bottle neck (12).

3. - Cap according to claim 2, characterized in that said outer wall (2) is cylindrical and has on its inner side a filleting (13) defining said interstitial space (11), said free space (9) being the space between said filleting (13) and said opening (5).

4. Cap according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it comprises stop means (16) that limit the path of said tongue (5) along said free space (9) and define the fallen position of said tongue (6), so that in said fallen position said tongue (6) is retained in said main body (1).

5. Cap according to claim 4, characterized in that said stop means comprise a flap (16) provided in said tongue (6), said flap (10) butt coming against the edge of said opening (5) in the fallen position of said tongue (6).

6. Cap according to claims 2 and 5, characterized in that the upper edge of said outer wall (2) has a step (14) facing said opening (14) defining a recessed section (15) of said upper edge, and because said fin (16) extends from the front face of said tongue (6) and comes into abutment against said lowered section (15) when said tongue (6) falls by gravity in said free space (9), said fin ( 16) a width corresponding to the height of said step (14).

7. Cap according to claim 6, characterized in that the rear face of said tongue (6), opposite said outer wall (2) of the main body (1), and the rear edge of said opening (5), facing said rear face of the tongue, are configured so that they are against each other in the fallen position of said tongue (6).

8. Cap according to any of claims 2 to 7, characterized in that said opening (5) has an oblong shape extending in the longitudinal direction of said upper flange (10) of the outer wall (2), said tab 6 has a main trunk whose shape, in section, fits the shape of said opening 5, and said unidirectional retention means are formed by projections (8) projecting from the lateral sides of said main trunk of the tongue (6) .

9. Cap according to any of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that said flip-up cover (3) has on its outer wall a push-button area (17) suitable to move with respect to said main body (1) under the thrust of the finger of a user and said tongue (6) is connected through said breakable joint (7) to said area as a push button (17).

10. - Cap according to claim 9, characterized in that said main body (1) has an inclined face (18) extending towards the center of the cap away from the plane of said opening (5), and said area as a push button ( 17) has a song that slides over said inclined face (18).

11. Cap according to any of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that said main body (1) has a colored area (19) facing said opening (19) that is covered by said tongue (6) in the initial position of said tongue (6) and which is visible in the fallen position of said tongue (6).

12. Cap according to claim 11, characterized in that said tongue (6) has on its upper side, opposite said opening (5), teeth (20) and breakable bridges (7) that are attached to said flip cover ( 3) and which constitute said breakable joint, and said colored zone (19) in the main body (1) extends in front of said teeth (20) but not in front of said breakable bridges (7).