WO2019197214A1

WO2019197214A1 - Tamper-proof screw cap

Info

Publication number: WO2019197214A1
Application number: PCT/EP2019/058262
Authority: WO
Inventors: Günter Krautkrämer
Original assignee: Bericap Holding Gmbh
Priority date: 2018-04-10
Filing date: 2019-04-02
Publication date: 2019-10-17
Also published as: EP3774568A1; CN111954630A; DE102018108491A1; BR112020017783A2; US20210024258A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a screw cap made of plastic, comprising a top plate (2) and a cylindrical cap casing (3) extending downwards from the top plate, having an inner thread (4), as well as comprising a security strip (5) which is connected to the lower edge of the cap casing (3) and which is provided with radially inwardly projecting retaining elements (6), which define a smallest inner diameter of the security strip (5) in such a way that they can engage behind a retaining ring (25) with a larger diameter on neck (20) of a container such that they can remain on the neck (20) of the container after being separated from the cap casing (2), characterised in that a circumferential tear-off strip (7) extends between the lower edge of the cap casing (2) and the security strip (5), which is connected to the cap casing (2) on one side and to the security strip (5) on the other side via a respective tear line (8, 8').

Description

Counterfeit-proof screw cap

The present invention relates to a plastic screw cap with a top plate and a downwardly extending from the top plate, cylindrical cap skirt having an internal thread, and with a guarantee strip, which is integrally connected to the lower edge of the cap skirt and the with radially inwardly projecting retaining elements provided that define a smallest inner diameter of the guarantee strip in such a way that it can engage behind a retaining ring of larger diameter, which is arranged on a container neck, to remain after separation from the cap shell - if desired - to the container neck.

Such plastic container closures have been standard for many years. When opening the closure a connection between the lower edge of the cap skirt and the guarantee strip is torn because the guarantee strip with its radially inwardly projecting retaining elements engages behind a retaining ring of larger diameter, which is arranged on a container content, and consequently when unscrewing the screw cap of the axial movement of the rest of the top plate and cap coat existing closure can not follow.

The tear line between the guarantee strip and the lower edge of the cap skirt can be designed in different ways. It may, for example, be a deliberately thin-walled section in the cap coat and guarantee strip. Often, however, the connection between the cap skirt and the guarantee strip is completely separated along larger portions of the circumference, the length of these sections being limited by narrow, easily rupturable bridges interrupting the circumferential parting line.

The tear along a tear line correspondingly weak connection between the cap jacket and warranty strip is therefore relatively easy to tear because when unscrewing the screw, the thread effectively provides a gear ratio analogous to a worm gear, since the thread trace is relatively flat and acting in the circumferential direction torque in a comparatively strong axial force between cap skirt and guarantee strip is implemented. In addition, due to the frictional forces between container neck and guarantee strip and thereby caused relative rotation of the cap skirt relative to the guarantee strip shear forces, which facilitate tearing off the cap from the guarantee strip.

However, it has been found that the conventional screw caps with guarantee band, despite numerous measures that have been taken on appropriate necks to prevent, for example, a leveraging of the guarantee band without tearing the connection to the cap jacket, still not sufficient to rule out tampering. Especially in containers with relatively expensive contents, such as e.g. In the agricultural and chemical sectors, or even in the case of expensive spirits, it appears that the contents of the containers in some countries are worth a lot of effort to seemingly restore an already opened closure and on a container with counterfeit To apply content.

For example, torn bridges between the tamper-evident band and the cap jacket are restored by gluing or the tamper-evident band is glued back along the entire circumference, pretending to have an intact tear line. Experience has shown that in some cases counterfeiters use screw caps that look quite similar from the outside and are manufactured using the simplest injection mold tools in relatively small quantities of a few thousand, possibly demolded by hand, and on cleaned empty bottles of a brand owner after filling with falsified contents are screwed by hand. On the shelf, a not very careful consumer can not tell the difference to original closures.

From DE 10 2006 001 323 a snap closure is known, which has no screw thread, but is locked only by axial pressure on the container neck, and which consists essentially of a cap with snap edge and a retaining ring, which are pivotally connected to each other via a hinge portion , The retaining ring with a relatively smaller diameter engages behind an annular enlargement with a relatively larger diameter at the container neck and thus holds the closure permanently on the container neck. The closure is selectively brought into the closed or in the open position by pivoting the closure cap relative to the retaining ring.

A connection between retaining ring and cap similar to the tear line between the cap jacket and the guarantee strip in a screw cap is not useful because an average consumer would not be able to tear this compound alone by lifting the cap. For this reason, a tear strip is provided on the snap closure according to DE 10 2006 001 323 between closure cap and retaining ring that over two parallel tear lines on the one hand with the cap and on the other hand connected to the retaining ring and is torn off with a grip tab before opening the cap radially outward, and so the connection between the retaining ring and cap outside the hinge section separates.-

The formation of tear lines by a tear-off tear-off tape is carried out in snap closures so mainly for the reason that tear line can be separated by shear forces transverse to the axial direction of the closure easier than by lifting the cap. For a screw cap which shears the connection along a tear line by turning the screw cap and / or tears it off axially by the thread translation, such a tear strip, which is arranged between the cap casing and the holding ring, and provides an indirect connection between cap casing and holding band, appears. unnecessarily expensive. Thus, such a tear-off band indirectly establishes a connection between the cap jacket and the holding band, but is not yet known of screw caps since there is no corresponding need for screw caps to reduce the force required to separate the guarantee band from the cap jacket by providing a tear-off band.

The closest prior art is considered to be a conventional plastic screw cap with a guarantee band.

Compared to this prior art, the present invention, the object of providing a screw cap with the features mentioned above, which excludes the manipulations described above as much as possible and can guarantee even greater security for the container contents.

This object is achieved in that extends between the trained as a holding and guarantee band lower end portion of the screw cap and the upper part, which is designed as a screw cap, a circumferential tear strip, which each have a tear line on the one hand with the cap jacket and on the other hand with the guarantee band / Tether is connected, wherein the tear strip is configured in such a way and connected to the cap casing and / or the guarantee strip that it deforms as irreversibly when torn off.

The closure of the invention thus consists of three integrally connected and substantially cylindrical or annular elements namely a screw cap, in turn consisting of a top plate and cap jacket with internal thread, the tear strip and the guarantee strip. The screw cap according to the present invention accordingly has a completely circumferential tear-open strip between the cap casing and the guarantee strip, which exclusively establishes the connection between the cap casing and the guarantee strip via two tear lines, and thus completely at least either from the guarantee strip or from the cap casing, or from both is separable, and thus leaves after tearing off a clearly visible and not closable gap between the guarantee strip and cap coat.

The tear strip thus has a significant share of the warranty function of the screw cap by its presence or absence between the designated as "guarantee strip" lower part of the screw cap and the lower edge of the cap skirt is very clear and in particular even more noticeable than the gap between the guarantee strip and cap jacket , which arises in conventional screw caps after tearing off a directly connected to the lower edge of the cap skirt guarantee strip, but which can also be closed again by moving the separated from the screw cap guarantee strip.

In contrast to the latter case according to the prior art, the gap between the cap coat and the guarantee strip in the closure according to the invention is no longer readily to close by moving the guarantee strip and sticking to the bottom of the cap skirt, as in the usual and coordinated dimensions of Screw cap and container neck of the retaining ring for the guarantee strip at the neck of the container holds the guarantee strip at a distance to the cap jacket.

The tear strip is therefore connected both to the lower edge of the cap skirt and to the upper edge of the guarantee strip via a tear line, wherein the tear strip at a suitable circumferential position (at one end of the tear strip) has a grip tab and the tear strip along both Tear lines torn open by a radially outward tensile force wholly or partially and, if desired, can be separated from the closure shell. In this case, no excessively high forces are required because the tear strip is not closed in the circumferential direction, but has a free end, which is connected to the grip tab. When the tear strip is removed radially from the cap, a shearing force can be exerted on the tear lines at points at the transition between an already loosened and a still connected section of the tear strip so that the material tears progressively along the tear line until Finally, the entire tear strip can be removed or remains connected via a residual segment of the circumference with one of the T guarantee strap or screw cap. The force to be expended is relatively small and significantly lower than would be required for the axial stretching and tearing of the tear lines simultaneously along the entire circumference. The tear strip, which in most cases is no longer needed after tearing and is discarded as waste by the consumer, also makes it much more difficult for fraudsters to completely remove the tear strip to restore the closure to the apparent original condition.

In contrast, remain in a conventional screw cap even after opening all parts of the closure at the bottleneck.

This measure of separating the tear strip and its disposal separately from the other parts of the closure could not in itself prevent that a counterfeiter already at the place of sale -. For example, a gas station - all three parts of the closure together again and brings together. In this case, in a similar manner as in the case of the manipulations already described, two intact tear lines, namely between tear strip and cap coat and between tear strip and guarantee strip, could be put back together by gluing together in a state that pretends originality to the only superficially testing consumers.

According to the invention, however, this is prevented by the tear strip being designed in such a way and connected to the cap casing and / or the guarantee strip in such a way that it irreversibly deforms when torn off. The irreversible deformation can then no longer be undone, so that even in the attempt to restore the connection between tear strip and cap coat and warranty strip, the deformation of the tear strip provides a clear indication that the closure has been opened once and is no longer in its original condition ,

Therefore, for example, to avoid waste, the tear strip of one of the closure parts can not be completely separated and, for example, remain connected to a portion of the guarantee strip. Nevertheless, however, the originally one-piece screw cap is so disassembled and in particular the tear strip deformed so that it is not possible to reassemble the parts without this being easily visible.

An irreversible deformation of the tear strip can be achieved, inter alia, that the tear strip along its circumference of alternately relatively lighter and less easily stretched sections. During tearing, the less easily stretched portions will resist the tearing forces and the more extensible portions will be stretched more. The extensibility of at least the slightly stretchable sections is understood adapted to the tear strength of the tear line, so that the force required to tear the tear lines in any case also causes an elongation of the easily stretchable sections.

The irreversible deformation can be u.a. nor support one or both tear lines in the region of the less easily stretchable sections slightly more resistant than in the region of the easily stretchable sections, which further enhances the difference in elongation. This can be achieved for example by different cross sections of the connection points between easily rupturable bridges between tear strip and cap coat or guarantee strip or by an alternating wall thickness of a circumferential line of weakness.

Another feature of an embodiment of a closure according to the invention, is that the tear strip and / or the guarantee strip have on its inside a toothing, which upon engagement with a corresponding toothing on a container neck rotation of tear strip or guarantee strip together with the screw cap of the closure in Opening direction prevented. The gearing makes it difficult to open the closure solely by rotating the screw cap because a plurality of teeth are engaged simultaneously and rotation of the closure cap would require tearing of the tear line simultaneously along its entire circumference. The toothing between tear strip and container neck thus forces the consumer to first tear off the tear strip and dispose of it,

The individual teeth in the region of the tear strip and the guarantee strip, in particular the teeth on the inside of the guarantee strip and tear strip, may have the same or different circumferential angular distances. Preferably, to open the screw cap, the consumer should be more or less forced to first close the tear strip Remove before the screw cap can be rotated in the opening direction. Preferably, the tear strip is interrupted along its circumferential direction in the circumferential direction, so that it completely dissolves from the container neck after the closure has been completely opened and, moreover, it already irreversibly deforms during the separation along the tear lines.

The tear line can be provided in various ways, in particular by forming a tear line or a circumferential interruption with axial webs in the injection molding process or also after injection molding of the closure as a unit with tear tape and tamper evident band, by cutting the connection area between tear strip and cap coat and the guarantee strip , Wherein the connection between the tear strip and the adjacent elements along individual peripheral sections can also be completely separated, so that only individual, easily rupturable webs remain standing. A circumferential incision along a tear line can also be at different circumferential positions to a different Depth made to provide easier tearable and less easily tearable sections that support irreversible deformation of the tear strip.

As already mentioned, the tear strip can even seen in the circumferential direction consist of alterna tely relatively light and less easily stretchable sections. The alternately relatively lighter and less easily stretched sections may in particular consist of alternately radially thinner and thicker areas of the tear strip.

The alternately relatively lighter and less easily stretched sections may continue to be measured in the circumferential direction differently, i. has varying width from section to section.

Also in the axial direction, the extensibility of the tear strip can vary and also this variation of the extensibility, in particular due to different wall thickness of the tear strip can also be limited to one or more peripheral portions, which in turn may have different extent in the circumferential direction. For example, areas of unterschiedli cher wall thicknesses of the tear strip along a zigzag line between the tear line for Ga rantieband out and between the tear line to the cap skirt out along the circumference of the tear strip extend.

One of the free ends of the tear strip may also have a tear tab which can be gripped from the outside to pull off the tear strip along the entire circumference before turning the screw cap to open the closure, thus allowing the closure to open and substantially To be able to accomplish less force, than it would be if the tear lines had to be separated by the rotary motion of the screw cap alone.

The tear lines could preferably also be designed so tightly that opening the closure without first loosening the tear strip along the entire circumference hardly, that is to say solely by turning the closure cap, would not be possible or only with great difficulty, while shearing off by external forces in that it is relatively easy to grasp the tear lines when gripping a tear tab and moving the tab radially away, because the force to break the tear lines when they are only selectively in the range from an already dissolved to a still connected part of the tear strip and after all along the circumference is applied, much lower than the force required to, for example, when unscrewing the cap, the tear lines virtually simultaneously along the entire circumference to separate. In any case, but the tear strip either from the cap coat or from the guarantee band or both, either by turning the cap or preferably by previously tearing off the tear strip, completely separated.

In one embodiment, it is contemplated that the tear strip extends along the entire circumference of the closure, except for an interruption limited to less than 5 ° circumferential angle. The tear strip thus has two directly opposite free ends. One of the ends can be provided with a grip tab which covers the other end radially outward.

The tear strip, for example, first be produced by injection molding as a completely circumferentially closed tear strip together with the screw cap and the guarantee strip, wherein after demolding the tear strip is severed by an axial cut shortly before the approach of the grip tab.

An additional security feature is a hard-to-fake printing of the closure cap, in particular with a print image that extends on the outside of the closure cap over one or both tear lines and thus over the cap skirt, the tear strip and / or the guarantee strip.

Such a printed image is preferably produced by a laser printer or another, similarly elaborate printing press, which can print curved surfaces of 3-dimensional bodies in such a way that counterfeiting is very difficult.

To facilitate unscrewing the closure cap, the cap skirt may also have an outer gripping ribbing.

Further advantages, features and possible applications of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment and the associated figures.

Show it:

FIG. 1 shows a side view of a closure according to the invention,

FIG. 2 shows a sectional view containing the axis of the closure,

3 shows a sectional view of the closure from below along the line VV in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 shows the side view of a closure applied to an associated container neck FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of the closure applied to a container neck and containing the axis;

6 shows a sectional view along the line Vl-Vl in Figure 4

FIG. 7 shows the side view of an associated container neck,

Figure 8 a, b are two sectional views of the tear strip and the adjacent parts in the

Section axis containing cut planes at different angular positions Figure 9 a, b is a side view and a perspective view of a closure without tear tape on a container neck

In the outer view of Figure 1 can be seen a screw cap 10 with a screw cap 1, which consists of a top plate 2 and a cap casing 3, which in turn is connected via a tear line 8 with a tear strip 7, which has a further tear line 8 'with a Warranty band 5 is connected. The screw cap consists of a single plastic part, that is, the screw cap 1 (consisting of cap casing 3 and the top plate 2) is in one piece together with the tear strip 7 and the guarantee strip 5 by injection molding Herge. the material remaining in the region of the tear lines 8, 8 ', if necessary after further processing, establishes the connection between all three parts

It can still be seen at a circumferential position of the tear strip a grip tab, which is introduced at a free end of the broken at this point in the circumferential direction tear strip 7 is. The gripping tab 13 may optionally also have a slightly tearable connection to the other end of the tear strip 7, which is directly opposite to the end provided with the grip tab. With 7 'and 7 "in Figure 1 different sections of the Abreißban are indicated, which have a different wall thickness or partially form projections and savings from and thereby cause the tearing that the tear strip 7 is deformed.

The tear strip 7 has two directly opposite free ends. For example, it can first be produced as a completely circumferentially closed tear-off strip 3 with the screw cap 1 and the guarantee strip 5 and then be severed by an axial cut shortly before the approach of the grip flap 13.

In the sectional view according to Figure 2 it can be seen that the cap casing 3 of the screw cap 1 on its inner side has a thread 4, which may be interrupted by ventilation grooves 4 'The tear line 8 is formed in this case by a circumferential parting line, the only easily breakable Bridges 12 is interrupted, which holds the tear strip 7 and the cap shell 3 together. The tear line 8 'is formed by a circumferential dividing line, which is precisely interrupted by easily breakable bridges 12' between tear strip 7 and tether 5. When the pull tab 13 is raised and moved radially away from the closure, the individual bridges 12 'are torn and the tear strip 7 is thus separated from the cap skirt 3 and the guarantee strip 5 and can be removed along the circumference of the screw cap 10 so that thereafter between the cap casing 3 and the guarantee strip 5, a wide gap separates the cap casing 3 from the guarantee strip 5 and no connection between the cap casing and the guarantee strip exists anymore. The guarantee strip has in turn on its inside a so-called folded-Flexband 6, which prevents displacement or removal of the guarantee strip 5 upwards in the direction of the cap skirt 3.

Unscrewing the cap without separating the tear strip is prevented by teeth 9 on the inside of the tear strip 7, which engage with a corresponding counter-toothing 19 on a container neck 20 and prevent rotation of the tear strip. The connection between tear strip 7 and cap jacket 3 by a plurality of easily breakable bridges then prevents loosening of the cap. Otherwise, would be necessary for the simultaneous breaking of all bridges 12, a force that would not spend a normal consumer. The consumer is thus more or less forced to remove the tear strip 7 in order to open the closure can. The easily breakable connection along the tear lines 8 and 8 'could therefore be made comparatively stronger than the connection between the guarantee strip and cap jacket in conventional screw caps, since the bridges 12, 12' are torn apart one after the other during radial withdrawal of the tear strip.

On the other hand, to open the closure without removing the tear-off strip, all of the breakable bridges would have to be torn at virtually the same time, which would require a correspondingly large force.

FIG. 4 shows the screw closure 10 applied to a container neck 20 and FIGS. 5 and 6 show the screw closure 10 applied to the container neck 20 in a section containing the axis of the closure or in a section perpendicular to this axis. FIG. 5 shows that the distance between the tamper-evident band and the lower edge of the cap is initially bridged by the tear-off band, but that this distance can not be appreciably reduced after removal of the tear-off band 7, because the retaining ring 25 only adjoins the circumference of the container neck low axial play of the guarantee strip 5 allows.

A special feature of this container neck 20 is to provide a matching counter teeth 19 to the teeth 9 on the inside of the tear strip 7, the rotation of the tear strip 7 in the opening direction together with the screw cap. 1 prevented. The retaining ring 25 is located below this counter-toothing 19 at a distance from the upper opening edge of the container neck, which is as usual slightly smaller than the clear distance between the inside of the top plate and the top of retaining elements on the guarantee band, which engage with the underside of the retaining ring, so that Guarantee tape 5 of the screw cap 10 has only a small axial play of movement, this is also necessary with conventional closures to prevent easy access from the outside to the guarantee strip, which would allow manipulation of the screw cap.

Figure 8 shows two sectional views through the region of a tear strip 7 in each axis containing cutting planes, but at different circumferential positions 7 ', 7 "of the tear strip 7. It can be seen in section respectively the tear strip 7 and the two tear lines 8 and 8', the form the transition on the one hand to the cap casing 3 and on the other hand to the guarantee strip 5. As you can see, the cross sections of the tear strip 7 at the different circumferential positions differ significantly from each other and also the immediately adjacent portions of the cap skirt 3 and the guarantee strip 5 are adapted in terms of thickness and position to the respective course of the cross section of the tear strip 7. As a result, the tear strip 7, when torn off from the closure cap, deforms more or less depending on the local cross section, whereby the adjacent sections of cap casing and guarantee strip 5 are also at least partially affected. As a result, it becomes practically impossible to subsequently insert the tear strip 7 back into the gap between the tamper-evident band and the cap jacket and to connect it there by gluing or welding to the cap casing and the tamper-evident band, without this manipulation still being clearly visible.

By appropriate design of the shape and wall thickness of the tear strip, which can be varied in several ways, including by a stepped axial contour, the teeth 9, the repetition, also in relation to the length and the varying repeating distance of the different peripheral portions 7 ', 7th ", Different wall thicknesses along the circumference and / or in the axial direction, a different distribution of the teeth 9, etc., and finally by design of the tear lines or the setting of their tear strength, the tear strip 7 can be configured so that it When tearing off the tear strip forces occurring clearly visible and irreversibly deformed. It is then practically impossible to place a tear-off strip once it has been torn off again on a closure and to connect it to the cap casing 3 and the guarantee strip 5, without this manipulation being easily recognizable.

9 shows in a side view (Figure 9a) or in a perspective view (Figure 9b) applied to a container neck 20 closure 10 after removing the tear strip 7. As can be seen, gapes between the lower edge of the cap skirt 3 of Screw cap 1 and the upper edge of the guarantee strip 5 a clear gap, which makes it easy to see that the tear strip has been removed and thus the shutter has obviously already been opened. Although the guarantee strip 5 has a certain axial play on the container neck 20, however, a gap between the lower edge of the cap jacket 3 and the upper edge of the guarantee strip 5 always remains even when the screw cap is screwed on tightly and also as far as possible axially upwardly secured flange 5. which corresponds approximately to the axial width of the tear strip previously located in this area.

Claims

Patent claims

A plastic screw cap having a head plate (2) and a cylindrical cap skirt (3) extending downwardly from the top plate and having an internal thread (4) and a tamper evident band (5) connected to the bottom edge of the cap skirt (3) and provided with radially inwardly projecting retaining members (6) defining a minimum inner diameter of the tamper evident band (5) so as to engage behind a larger diameter retaining ring (25) on a container neck (20) can, after separation from the cap skirt (2) to remain on the container neck (20), characterized in that between the lower edge of the cap skirt (2) and the guarantee strip (5) extends a circumferential tear strip (7) which via a respective tear line (8, 8 ') on the one hand with the cap skirt (2) and on the other hand with the guarantee strip (5) is connected.

2. Screw closure according to claim 1, characterized in that the tear strip has an internal toothing (9) which, when engaged with oppositely directed teeth (19) on a container neck (20) rotational movement of the tear strip (9) about the closure axis at least in the opening direction of Closure (10) prevents ..

3. Screw closure according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the guarantee strip (6) has an internal toothing (1 1) which, upon engagement with oppositely directed teeth (19 ') on a container neck (20), a rotary movement of the guarantee strip (6). around the shutter axis in an opening direction of the shutter (10) prevented.

4. Screw cap according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the tear line (8, 8 ') between tear strip (7) and the cap casing (2) and / or the guarantee strip (6) by an incision in the after manufacture by injection molding Initially, thicker plastic material is made along the course of the tear line.

5. Screw cap according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the tear strip (7) with the cap casing (2) and / or with the guarantee strip (6) exclusively by along the circumferential tear line (8, 8 ') distributed, easily breakable bridges connected is

6. Screw closure according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the tear strip (7) seen in the circumferential direction consists of alternately relatively lighter (7 ") and less easily stretchable portions (7 ').

7. Screw closure according to claim 6, characterized in that the alternately relatively lighter and less easily stretchable portions (7 ', 7 ") consist of alternately radially thinner and thicker areas of the tear strip (7).

8. Screw closure according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the alternately relatively lighter and less easily stretchable portions (7 ', 7 ") measured in the circumferential direction have a varying width along the circumference.

9. Screw closure according to one of the preceding claims 6-8, characterized in that the lighter and less easily stretchable portions (7 ', 7 ") are distributed differently in axially different regions of the tear strip (7) seen in the circumferential direction.

10. Screw cap according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the perpendicular to the circumferential direction measured cross section of the tear strip (7) varies along the circumferential direction

1 1. Screw according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the tear strip (7) consists of different axial sections of different outer diameter, which are interconnected by a conical transition section.

12. Screw cap according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the tear strip (7) has two ends, of which at least one has a grip tab (13).

13. Screw cap according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the tear strip (7) extends with the exception of a limited to less than 5 ° circumferential angle interruption along the entire circumference of the closure.

14. Screw cap according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at a free end of the tear strip (7) attached grip tab (13) is arranged radially outside the two opposite free ends of the tear strip (7) and covers these ends to the outside

15. Screw cap according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cap casing (3) has an outer gripping ribbing.

16 screw closure according to one of the claims with outside printing, in particular with a printed image that on the outside of the cap (1) via one or both tear lines (8, 8 ') and preferably on the cap jacket (3), the tear strip (7). and / or the guarantee band (5) extends across.

17. A screw cap according to claim 14, characterized in that the printed image on the cylindrical outer surface of the screw cap (1) is designed so that it can be produced only with a complex printing process, such as laser printing.