WO2010012841A1

WO2010012841A1 - Plastic container with cover

Info

Publication number: WO2010012841A1
Application number: PCT/EP2009/060048
Authority: WO
Inventors: Bertrand Crozat
Original assignee: Bertrand Crozat
Priority date: 2008-08-01
Filing date: 2009-08-03
Publication date: 2010-02-04
Also published as: DE102008002980A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a plastic container (1), in particular for packaging of foods and/or other objects of daily use, comprising a sealing cover (10) that is fastened to a peripheral upper container edge (5) of the plastic container (1) and that comprises an integrated, removable tear-off cover (12) comprising at least one gripping element (13) for manual opening. The sealing cover (10) comprises a cover edge (11) which is rigidly connected to the upper container edge (5) and which together with the integrated tear-off cover (12) is made of plastic, in particular the same plastic material as the plastic container (1). At least one design break point (20, 21) is provided between the tear-off cover (12) and the cover edge (11), and a protective film (30) is attached below the integrated tear-off cover (12).

Description

PLASTIC TANK WITH LID

The present invention relates to a made of a plastic container, in particular for the packaging of food and / or other articles of daily use, with a closure lid which is attached to a circumferential upper container edge of the plastic container and an integrated removable Aufreißdeckel with at least one handle element for having manual opening, wherein the closure lid has a lid edge which is fixedly connected to the upper edge of the container and the closure lid with the integrated

Plastic tear-off, in particular of the same plastic material as the plastic container is made.

Such containers have long been known, but are usually made of metal and have a metallic lid. Furthermore, closures for plastic containers are known, which can be opened without tools. For example, simple closures for plastic containers, which consist of peelable metal foils, in yogurt cups u. Ä. Widely used. Metal closures that have a handle element and a notch as a predetermined breaking point, are also known, for example, from beverage cans or peanut packaging. Such metal closures have been used mainly for closing metal cans.

To open such metal cover, the grip element is raised, whereby the thin metal layer breaks in the region of the notch or other predetermined breaking point on the grip element. At least one notch or predetermined breaking point delimits an area in the cover within which the grip element engages, and which can be removed by simply pulling on the grip element, wherein the metal layer is severed in the entire notch or predetermined breaking point region. A significant disadvantage of such easy-open metal lid is that the example notched lid portion that remains on the container has sharp edges that pose a great risk of injury.

In addition, from the document DE 20 2004 018 638 U1 also plastic container with an easy-open lid made of metal known. The mechanism is the same as just been mentioned. There is a pull-tab with a handle element which can be removed by simply pulling it from the container. In this known plastic container, the closure lid made of metal, so that there is no sort purity with respect to a recycling after use. The different materials have to be separated from one another and then assigned to different recycling processes, for example a plastics recycling and a special recycling of the metal residues. Likewise, the use of a plastic container with a metal closure requires a relatively expensive closing mechanism. For this purpose, the edges of the metal lid must be closed by crimping with the plastic container in order to assume a safe closure and compression can.

From DE 697 22 297 T2 is already a plastic container, in particular for the packaging of food and / or other objects of daily use, with a closure lid which is fixed to a peripheral upper container edge of the plastic container known. This cap already describes an integrated, removable Aufreißdeckel with at least one handle element for opening the container. In addition, it can be seen from this document that the closure lid is also made of plastic and preferably consists of the same or similar plastic material as the plastic container. However, the manufacturing method of such a container is very complex, since the container with the closure lid to seal tight and this compression is produced by means of a complex cover sealing projection and a lining connection.

From US 44 53 646 A a container with a lid is also disclosed, wherein both components may be made of plastic. The cover can be pulled off by means of a known ring closure over a line of weakness of the lid edge, so that a method for manually opening a container is disclosed via a line of weakness.

Further variants of plastic containers are known, for example, from US Pat. No. 4,171,062 A, from DE 29 28 000 A1, from EP 0 096 894 A2 and from DE 89 10 020 U1.

The present invention has for its object to provide a plastic container with a closure lid available, which is inexpensive and easy to manufacture, as completely as possible recyclable, mechanically strong and the Close plastic container tight. In addition, a method is to be presented, with which this closure lid of the plastic container is easy to open by hand.

The above object is achieved with the subject matter of the independent claim. Features of advantageous embodiments and developments emerge from the dependent claims.

Accordingly, the present invention comprises a container made of a plastic, which is used in particular for the packaging of food and / or other objects of daily use. This plastic container has a closure lid which is secured to a circumferential upper container edge of the plastic container and having an integrated, removable Aufreißdeckel with at least one handle member for manual opening. This closure lid also includes a lid edge, which is firmly connected to the upper edge of the container. This cap including the integrated Aufreißdeckel consists of plastic, in particular the same plastic material as the plastic container, wherein between the Aufreißdeckel and a lid edge at least one predetermined breaking point is provided and that below the integrated Aufreißdeckels a protective film is attached.

A film or a protective film in the present invention means any flexible type of homogeneous, thin, water-impermeable materials which come into consideration as such film. Preferably, the film is made of plastic or aluminum; For example, when using an aluminum foil, these can be coated with an additional plastic coating. Another laminated or coated material such as, for example, a coated and / or laminated paper layer comes as a sealing cover in question.

The protective film in the present invention extends over the entire area on the underside of the closure lid and the tear-open lid integrated therein. In addition, the protective film between a bottom of the lid edge of the closure lid and a lower container edge is attached. This protective film is generally used to seal the container with the cap. To improve the seal, this is the diameter of the film slightly larger than the

Diameter of the tear-open selected because this supernatant of the film can be preferably used as an adhesive or welding edge by this edge with the lower edge of the lid or with the bottom of the lid edge of the closure lid connected, preferably glued or welded. The connection by means of welding has the advantage that no solvents of the adhesive are brought into contact with the object which is located in the plastic container.

Such a compound of a closure lid with a protective film and the opening of the plastic container can be made absolutely airtight and holds even large mechanical loads stand. For example, this compound by an internal pressure of up to about 8 bar in the container, as in containers, for example Carbonated ingredients, not dissolved or loosened. It is also conceivable that the use of a more stable film, the compound withstands even higher pressure ranges.

In order to ensure the seal and to give the connection of the lid on the container a desired stability, the closure lid is preferably designed slightly larger than the diameter of the opening of the plastic container, and for this purpose, the edge region of the closure lid is preferably shaped such that it has a flat projection having the shape and size of the inner edge of the opening of the plastic container, so that it can not only on the flattened edge, but can be inserted into the opening of the plastic container. By inserting the closure lid in the opening of the plastic container this already undergoes a slight positional fixation and thus can no longer slip sideways. The edge region of the closure lid has on the side facing the container a shoulder which serves as anchoring of the closure lid to the container. For this purpose, an upper edge of the opening of the plastic container can be enclosed in the shoulder of the closure lid, which also results in a fixation.

Likewise, this edge region of the closure lid is preferably inclined at least slightly outwards. The connection of the closure lid with the upper edge of the opening of the plastic container creates a flattened edge region on the underside, which can be used as a connection point. Preferably, a weld is attached to the flattened edge area. The weld joint can be circumferential or interrupted, designed as a spot weld. For this purpose, there are different Schweißnahtverbindungsarten, in particular for the welding of plastics own, such as friction welding, resistance welding, ultrasonic welding, etc. A closure lid used for closing a plastic container according to the invention comprises at least one gripping element, for example a trapezoidal element, a pull tab, a pull tab or the like, for gripping the lid, for example by engaging a finger, and subsequently removing the inner region of the lid. In addition, such a closure lid has at least one predetermined breaking point between the tear-open lid and lid edge, at which the tear-open lid is severed during opening. Such a predetermined breaking point can, for example, be attached to the grip element. Among other things, these predetermined breaking points also have a kind of sealing function. It should be noted that there is a guarantee of a sealed container, if all predetermined breaking points are still closed and have no breakages.

The grip element has a tongue-like, the lid edge assigning front handle section and on the other hand, the handle member is pivotally anchored with at least one attachment point on the tear-open. This attachment point can be designed as an anchored hinge area and serves for easy opening of the plastic container. Furthermore, the handle element is associated with a center of the lid assigning the rear handle section, which is manually pulled upwards / can be raised.

The opening of the plastic container requires a manual leverage, which is generated in the form of a power transmission. This leverage is provided by the

Anchoring points of the attachment points, which are mounted as a fulcrum on the handle element produced. These attachment points are arranged closer to the front portion of the handle member so as to be able to produce a greater leverage. A center of the lid zuweisender rear handle portion is intended for manual operation of the opening. This rear handle section can be pulled upwards or raised.

When the rear handle portion is raised, the tongue-like front handle portion pushes down on the protective film and / or tears it open. The grip element on the tear-open lid is pulled away in the opposite direction of the opening of the plastic container and thereby completely ruptures the foil. As a result of the pulling away of the grip element from the opening, the protective film ruptures and / or a second predetermined breaking point breaks, the tear-off cover being completely separated from the edge of the cover. However, while opening the plastic container can still further break points are broken, the tear-open is completely separated from the cover wheel.

The tear-open lid preferably has an additional cover for protecting the film. This cover is mounted below the handle member and may be thinner than the Aufreißdeckel itself. The connection between the cover and the tear-open lid is e.g. at a connection point to the anchored hinge region of the grip element. This cover is preferably intended to ensure that the protective film underneath is not accidentally injured with the finger or another pointed object on the tear-open when lifting the handle member. The shape of the cover forms a reduced shape of the eyelet of the handle element, which is shown in the present embodiment as a trapeze.

After the tear-open lid has been removed from the closure lid, the lid edge of the closure lid remains on the container. This lid edge can be fixed by means of a circumferential or interrupted weld at the upper edge of the container. This weld can be made, for example, by means of friction welding or resistance welding or ultrasonic welding.

The closure lid may be provided with a protective cover which can be placed over and / or latched over this closure lid and which is fastened with a film hinge to the upper container rim. About the cap of the

Plastic container, a protective cover can be placed and / or locked. One way of attachment is to attach the protective cover by means of a film hinge to the upper edge of the container. This protective cover can thus be produced together with the closure lid in a manufacturing process and is preferably made of the same plastic material as the

Plastic container manufactured, but there are also other materials conceivable. It is also possible that the protective cover can be attached by a separate attachment to the cap without the possibility to attach it to the container. Thus, the protective cover could also be manufactured individually and the film hinge is omitted. Such a protective cover serves to make the container reclosable, so that it can be used as a universal container, for example as a household container and thus no deposit is required. It is particularly advantageous if the plastic container and the closure lid including the integrated tear-open lid are made of plastic, in particular of the same plastic material as the plastic container. Containers and caps of the present invention may be made of any plastic. Preferably, they are made of PET, which is fully recyclable, odorless and tasteless and easy to handle. The container and / or closure lid may be clear and / or hazy and / or undyed and / or colored. Also, they can have any shape and size, in particular round, oval, polygonal, etc.

In addition, containers and caps may be made by any conventional method, for example by injection molding and / or by blow molding. For the production of a container by means of a blow molding machine, the use of commercially available preforms, also called preforms, can be assumed. The containers can be produced in different sizes and diameters. The desired shape and impression of the container is achieved by the blow molding. The plastic preforms are inflated in a mold and by the compressed air he puts himself inside the mold and keeps them on cooling.

The thread of the preform, which is not required for a plastic container with a closure lid, can be separated and recycled for recycling. This separated material is easy to recycle and can thus be fed into the production process of new plastic parts.

A plastic container according to the present invention can provide an airtight, odorless and tasteless packaging which is easy to open at any time without auxiliary devices. The sharp-edged protrusions which frequently occur in such arrangements at the open upper edge region of the container are excluded according to the present invention, so that a risk of injury from rounded edges of the lid edge is avoided. Such a container according to the invention can therefore be used without hesitation as a packaging for any product and can also reach, for example, children's hands.

The invention further relates to a method for opening a container. The method is described in more detail by the following steps. By lifting the handle member on the rear handle section is thus a pressing of the tongue on front handle portion connected downward, wherein the first predetermined breaking point breaks. By pressing the tongue-like front handle portion down the protective film is pierced and / or torn. The complete rupture of the protective film is carried out by the removal of the grip element from the opening of the plastic container and the severing of the second predetermined breaking points. With these steps, the tear-open lid is removed and thus completely separated from the edge of the lid.

In the following, embodiments of the invention and their advantages with reference to the accompanying figures will be explained in more detail. Other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention given by way of non-limiting example and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic partial view of a plastic container according to the invention.

Figure 1 a shows a detail of Figure 1 in an enlarged view.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of an opened tear-open cover.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic top view of the closure lid.

FIG. 4 shows a cross section through the plastic container along a section line A-A from FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 a shows a detail of FIG. 4 in an enlarged view.

FIG. 5 shows a cross section through the plastic container.

For identical or equivalent elements of the invention, identical reference numerals are used. Furthermore, for the sake of clarity, only reference symbols are shown in the individual figures, which are required for the description of the respective figure. The illustrated embodiments are merely examples of how the apparatus or method of the invention may be configured and are not an exhaustive limitation.

1 shows a schematic partial view of a plastic container 1 according to the invention, or an upper part of the plastic container 1 with a closure lid 10. The plastic container 1 and the closure lid 10 are made made of any plastic, preferably PET. On an upper side, the plastic container 1 has an opening 8 which is closed by a closure lid 10. The closure lid 10 is composed of a lid edge 1 1 and a Aufreißdeckel 12. The Aufreißdeckel 12 has a handle member 13 which is disposed within the central area of the Aufreißdeckels 12.

FIG. 1a shows an enlarged section of the grip element 13 from FIG. 1. The grip element 13 has approximately the shape of an isosceles trapezium, two inner angles being equal on the parallel sides. It follows that also the inner angles at the other of the parallel sides are the same size. In order to ensure a better opening of the plastic container 1, a recessed grip 15 is planned centrally in the area of the tear-open lid 12 behind the gripping element 13. The grip element 13 has in extension a tongue 14, which is attached with a predetermined breaking point 21 on the lid edge 1 1 of the closure lid 10. In addition, the gripping element 13 is attached to the gripping element 13 with attachment points, which are designed as an anchored hinge region 16 on the tear-open lid 12.

To open such a tear-open lid 12 no aid is required. The grip element 13 can be lifted at the rear grip portion 23 with a finger, wherein the first predetermined breaking point 21 breaks. The train 14 of the front handle portion 24 is thereby pressed into the interior of the plastic container 1. In this approach, a leverage, generated in the form of a power transmission. This lever effect is produced by the anchored hinge region 16, which serves as a fulcrum of the grip element 13. This anchored hinge portion 16 is located closer to the front handle portion 24 of the handle member 13, so as to produce greater leverage.

Figure 2 shows a perspective view of an opened tear-open 12. By raising the handle member 13 on the rear handle portion 23 is a pressing of the tongue 14 on the front handle portion 24 down, in the direction of the plastic container 1, connected, wherein the first predetermined breaking point 21 breaks. By pressing the tongue-like front handle portion 24 down the protective film 30 is additionally pierced and / or torn open. The complete rupturing of the protective film 30 takes place by the pulling away of the grip element 13 from the opening 8 of the plastic container 1 and the associated severing of the second predetermined breaking points 22 (see FIG. The Aufreißdeckel 12 is removed by the lifting of the handle member 13 on the rear handle portion 23 and the simultaneous pulling in the opposite direction of the opening 8 of the plastic container 1 and thus completely separated from the lid edge 1 1. In this case, the protective film 30, which is located below the closure lid 10, is released from its connection. After removal of the tear-open lid 12, edges 17 are produced on the lid edge 11 and on the tear-open lid 12. In the present invention, these edges 17 are rounded, so that no cut injury can be caused.

Figure 3 shows a schematic plan view of the closure lid 10. In this view, a possible attachment of predetermined breaking points 20 is shown. With little effort, the first predetermined breaking point 21 and the other, preferably two predetermined breaking points 22, with the o.g. Process, are broken and the Aufreißdeckel 12 is separated from its connection with the lid edge 1 1. The second predetermined breaking points 22 are preferably mounted almost opposite the first predetermined breaking point 21 and also offset.

From FIG. 3, furthermore, a cover 32 can be seen. This cover 32 is mounted below the handle member 13 and serves to protect the film 30 (see Fig. 2) during manual opening of the container 1. The connection of the cover 32 and the tear-open lid 12 is at a junction of an anchored hinge portion 16 of the handle member 13th

Figure 4 shows a cross section through the plastic container 1 along a section line A-A of Figure 1. In this view, the compound of the protective film 30 with the closure lid 10 of the plastic container 1 is shown. The closure lid 10 has a lid edge 11 and an underside of the lid rim 18. The protective film 30 is attached between the underside of the lid edge 18 and a lower container edge 6 of the plastic container 1, or clamped.

Since the protective film 30 has a larger diameter than the tear-open lid 12, a projection of the protective film 30 is produced, which is used as an adhesive or welding edge 31 (see FIG. The attachment of the protective film 30 is preferably carried out on the intended adhesive or welding edge 31. This is below the

Closure lid 10, or glued or welded to the underside of the lid edge 18. Figure 4a shows an enlarged section of the connection between the plastic container 1, the lid edge 1 1 and the protective film 30. The protective film 30 adheres to the underside of the lid edge 18, which is glued to the underside of the lid edge 18. So that the plastic container 1 is sealed tightly with the closure lid 10, on the one hand the protective film 30 is present and on the other hand the lid edge 11 is welded to the plastic container 1.

In this welding process, the closure lid 10 is pressed onto the plastic container 1 and then connected to a weld seam 7. The weld 7 thus connects the lid edge 1 1 and the lower container edge 5 of the plastic container. 1

Figure 5 shows a protective cover 3, which is subsequently placed and - the lid edge 1 1 cross-latching - can be locked. The protective cover 3 can serve, after removal of the tear-open lid 12, to close the plastic container 1 again, so that it can be used as a universal container, for example as a household container. The protective cover 3 can optionally be attached to the closure lid 10 with a film hinge (not shown in the drawing).

The invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications or changes may be made to the invention without departing from the scope of the following claims.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS:

1 plastic container

2 plastic wall

3 protective cover

4 film hinge

5 upper container edge (of the plastic container)

6 lower container edge (of the plastic container)

7 weld

8 opening

10 caps

1 1 lid margin

12 tear-open lids

13 handle element

14 tongue

15 recessed grip

16 Anchored hinge area / attachment points

17 edge

18 underside lid edge

20 predetermined breaking point

21 First breaking point

22 Second predetermined breaking point

23 Rear handle section

24 Front handle section

30 protective film

31 adhesive / welding edge (the protective film)

32 cover

Claims

claims:

1. plastic container (1), in particular for packaging food and / or other objects of daily use, with a

A closure lid (10) secured to a peripheral upper container rim (5) of the plastic container (1) and having an integral removable tear-open lid (12) with at least one manual-opening handle member (13), the closure lid (10) having a lid Cover edge (1 1) which is fixedly connected to the upper container edge (5) and with the integrated Aufreißdeckel (12) made of plastic, in particular of the same plastic material as the plastic container (1), characterized in that between Aufreißdeckel ( 12) and a lid edge (1 1) at least one predetermined breaking point (20,21) is provided and that below the integrated tear-open lid (12) a protective film (30) is mounted.

2. plastic container (1) according to claim 1, wherein the protective film (30) between a bottom of the lid edge (18) of the closure lid (10) and a lower container edge (6) is fixed.

3. plastic container (1) according to claim 1 to 2, wherein the protective film (30) is glued or welded to the underside of the lid edge (18).

4. plastic container (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the handle element (13) is associated with a predetermined breaking point (21).

5. plastic container (1) according to claim 4, wherein the handle element (13) is pivotally anchored to the tear-open lid (12).

6. plastic container (1) according to one of claims 4 to 5, wherein the

Handle member (13) has a tongue-like, the lid edge (1 1) facing front handle portion (24), a hinge on the Aufreißdeckel (12) anchored hinge area (16) and a center of the lid assigning rear handle (23), which can be pulled up manually / is liftable.

7. plastic container (1) according to claim 6, wherein at raised rear handle portion (23) of the tongue-like, front handle portion (24) presses on the protective film (30) and / or tearing it.

8. plastic container (1) according to claim 6 to 7, wherein by pulling the handle member (13) from the opening (8) the protective film (30) rupturable and / or second predetermined breaking points (21) aufzubrechenbar, wherein the Aufreißdeckel (12) completely from the lid edge (1 1) is separable.

9. plastic container (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the lid edge (1 1) by means of a circumferential or interrupted weld seam (7) is attached to the upper container edge (5).

10. plastic container (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the weld seam (7) is made by means of friction welding or resistance welding or ultrasonic welding.

1 1. A plastic container (1) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the closure lid (10) is provided with a protective cover (3) which can be placed over and / or latched over the closure lid (10) and which has a film hinge (4) on the upper one Container edge (5) is attached.

12. plastic container (1) according to claim 1 1, wherein the protective cover (3) by a separate fastening to the closure lid (10) is attachable.

13. A method for opening a container according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized by the following steps:

Lifting the grip element (13) on the rear grip portion (23),

associated pressing of the tongue (14), the front handle portion (24) down by lifting the rear handle portion (23), wherein the first predetermined breaking point (21) breaks,

Puncturing and / or rupturing the protective film (30) by pressing the tongue-like front grip portion (24) downwardly thereon,

Tearing open the protective film (30) by pulling the grip element (13) away from the opening (8) of the plastic container (1) and severing the second predetermined breaking points (21), Remove the tear-open lid (12) and completely separate it from the lid edge (11).