WO2020216968A1

WO2020216968A1 - Closure assembly for containers

Info

Publication number: WO2020216968A1
Application number: PCT/ES2019/070278
Authority: WO
Inventors: Javier BERROA GARCÍA
Original assignee: Betapack, S.A.U.
Priority date: 2019-04-24
Filing date: 2019-04-24
Publication date: 2020-10-29
Also published as: FR3095425A1; FR3095425B1

Abstract

The invention relates to a closure assembly for containers of the type comprising a neck (1) and where the cap (2) is always attached to said neck (1), both when the container is closed and when it is open for dispensing or pouring the liquid or product contained therein, so that in open position it remains open forming an angle of at least 180° to facilitate the removal of the product contained therein, for which purpose, in general terms, the aforementioned neck (1) has a lower projection (3) and an upper projection (4) and the cap (2) has a ring-shaped skirt (7) located between the two projections and a cover (9) located above said skirt (7), where skirt (7) and cover (9) are hinged together by means of two elastic strips (11).

Description

CLOSURE SET FOR CONTAINERS

DESCRIPTION

Object of the invention.

The present invention refers to a closure assembly for containers of the type that comprise a neck or neck and where the cap is always attached to said neck, both when the container is closed, and when it is open to dispense or pour the liquid or product contained within.

More specifically, the closure assembly of the invention comprises, on the one hand, a neck and, fixed to it in an inseparable way during use, a closing cap by pressure and capable of, in the open position, remaining open at an angle of up to at least 180 ° that facilitates the extraction of the liquid or product contained in its interior without said stopper becoming an obstruction for its exit.

State of the art.

In recent years, the growing social concern regarding the generation of waste is known, especially plastic waste. Thus, in line with this concern, manufacturers and marketers of bottle or similar containers are increasingly betting on putting products on the market that are less aggressive with the environment and that, in some way, contribute to reducing the number of waste or , at least, to facilitate that these are processed properly.

For example, it is becoming more and more common for containers to be marketed in which, once their closing caps are opened, they are not free or loose, neither during the useful phase of the container, nor when it is discarded. In this way, it is avoided that these caps are not processed in recycling plants and that they are mixed with organic or other waste or, even worse, end up as waste in the middle of nature, in rivers, in the sea, etc. Thus, in the field of container caps, those formed by the articulation of two pieces are known, a lower piece provided with the appropriate means for its coupling on the neck of the bottle, and another upper piece as a cap or lid. that articulates on the lower one and that is the one that properly performs the closing and / or opening functions, allowing a user to take the liquid contained in the container without having to remove the cap.

However, this type of plug has some drawbacks. Among them, it is worth mentioning the fact that, due to the fact that the closing lid cannot be removed because it is attached at the bottom to the neck of the container, sometimes the opening of said lid is not enough and the product (generally liquid) contained in the container stumbles or finds it difficult to leave the interior.

In other words, when the user proceeds to open the container, removing the lid, it may not be properly held in its position of maximum opening, closing fully or partially, or it may not open at a sufficient angle so that the contents container is conveniently dispensed.

For this reason, plugs of this type appeared in the state of the art but which incorporated means to keep the lid open at a certain angle, that is, both to ensure an opening position and a minimum degree of it in order to facilitate the extraction of the contents of the container in a comfortable way for the user.

An example of this type of stopper is that shown in ES2268082T5, which describes a plugging device such that a lid is articulated on a skirt by a double hinge system but in which an anchor point formed by a extension of the rear part of the upper surface of the lid itself and a heel formed by a vertical extension of said skirt and located between the two hinges. Thus, as the lid is opened, the upper extension of the same approaches the aforementioned heel, reaching a point of friction with it when the lid is already in an opening position of approximately 180 °, point from the which, if you want to continue opening, it is necessary for the user to exert a force that forces said extension of the lid to move to an opening position greater than 180 °, at which time the cover is secured in said position, since by itself, without the user forcing it in the opposite direction again, it is not able to overcome the resistance of said friction point.

Specifically, at that moment of opening the said extension of the cap rests on said heel, pushing it according to a force F that makes it lean against the radial surface of the neck of the bottle or container, the latter in turn transmitting a reaction force F 'to the heel that allows to keep the lid in the open position.

This system, although it fulfills the function for which it has been designed, that is, to guarantee and ensure the opening of more than 180 ° of the lid, it can suffer from a significant problem. Specifically, this problem is that the upper part of the bead, intended to rest on the radial surface of the neck of the bottle, does not always rest in the same way or at the same point, since this will depend on how said bead is positioned with respect to the said neck, that is, the angle of rotation applied by the bottling head during assembly, since once the assembly is in place, it must remain fixed to prevent its rotation, that is, so that the user cannot rotate it.

More specifically, as can be seen in the figures of said document ES2268082, said bead is partially supported on a thread. However, this does not always happen in the same way, because depending on how the skirt on which the lid is articulated is located, the heel may rest on points of different heights of the crest of said thread, that is, on thread ridges of different heights. Furthermore, in an extreme case, it could happen that the bead does not rest on any thread because it coincides just in a free area of the thread, such as the one shown in the figures. This, therefore, implies that the force to be applied to keep the cap open more than 180 ° will vary in each bottle depending on the position in which the cap has been fixed, producing a different sensation in each one to the user despite if both elements, bottle and cap, are identical.

Likewise, whether or not the bead can rest on a thread fillet or at different points in the height of said thread it means that the lid will remain open at a different angle depending on the case, which can mislead or annoy consumers,

On the other hand, to solve these problems, the solution contained in US2018086510, by this same holder, is known, where the thread is eliminated and the cap is fixed to the neck of the bottle by means of the skirt, which in that case is also , the band of inviolability.

However, in both documents, to solve the problem of keeping the lid open at a sufficient angle to facilitate the pouring of the contents of the container while ensuring its fixation in said position, it is resorted to providing a friction point between an extension of the rear part of the upper surface of the lid and a heel formed by a vertical extension of said skirt that extends up to the upper edge of the neck of the container, touching it, so that between it and the upper edge of the neck of the container there is place the exchange of forces necessary to keep the lid open.

However, said length or height of the heel that allows support on the upper edge of the neck of the container for the exchange of forces with the neck of the container, has the disadvantage that it can also constitute a support point during the closure of the lid. and, therefore, carry out an exchange of forces during said closing operation. That is, the contact between the heel and the upper edge of the neck of the container can hinder the closure, making it more uncomfortable for the user, who will not only have to overcome the resistance of the hinge but also that of said contact.

More specifically, said point of support will be formed between the upper end of the heel and the lower part of the upper edge of the neck of the container, which is not a simple support or contact, but both elements may be "locked "Or" jammed "together for a certain moment of time. Although this locking does not constitute a point of excessive resistance and the user can overcome it in the normal closing maneuver of the cap, it is true that it somehow hinders the aforementioned closing maneuver and, therefore, does not allow an optimal result. In other words, this unwanted contact means that the angle and effort that the lid has to make is not controlled, since it will depend on how said contact is made between the upper edge of the neck of the container and the upper end of the bead, while it It is desirable to know exactly what is the response of all the elements and their contribution to both the opening and closing operations.

Description of the invention.

The closure assembly for containers that the present invention proposes solves the problems of the state of the art indicated above, since it not only guarantees that the stopper assembly remains linked to the container and thus avoid waste, but also allows a convenient and practical opening and closing of the lid, while providing a reliable, resistant and easy-to-manufacture fixing system for the same in maximum opening.

Furthermore, the cap that is part of the closure assembly of the invention also includes a guarantee seal that shows that the cap has been tampered with, that is, that the container has been opened. This, however, is carried out without entailing the generation of any residue, that is to say, said seal remains attached to the body of the cap after it has been removed to allow opening.

For this, the closure assembly for containers of the present invention comprises a neck and a cap where:

The neck in turn comprises:

A lower shoulder that forms a small circumferential platform; Y

A circumferential top shoulder that maintains a constant height relative to the platform and the top edge of the container neck.

The plug in turn comprises:

A ring-shaped lower skirt; Y

A cover located superiorly on said skirt comprising, on its lower face, closure means that cooperate with the upper edge of the neck of the container for closing the container itself and, on its upper face, a tab formed by the extension of the rear part of said upper face; Y

A guarantee seal that shows the use of the closure and that once opened does not generate waste by being attached to the cap.

Where the skirt and lid are hinged together thanks to two elastic strips that, at their upper end are attached to the lid and, at their lower end, are attached to the skirt.

And where, in the closure assembly of the present invention, the skirt of the cap is mounted on the neck of the container between the upper shoulder and the lower shoulder, in such a way that their separation is very difficult.

However, the advantages of the closure assembly of the invention do not end there, since thanks to the aforementioned configuration the other purpose of the invention is also achieved in a simple and functional way, relating to the lid remaining open at an angle of at least 180 °. to facilitate the extraction of the contents of the container.

Specifically, this is achieved thanks to the fact that the closure for the container of the invention provides an anchor or friction point that sets an opening degree of at least 180 ° of the lid with respect to the neck of the container, so that to overcome it both in the The opening and closing maneuver of the lid is necessary for the user to exert a force that overcomes the resistance created by said point.

This anchoring or friction point occurs between the tongue formed by the extension of the rear part of the upper face of the lid and a point of the skirt and is located between the two elastic strips on which the skirt and the lid hinge.

More specifically, said point of anchoring or friction of the skirt is constituted by a heel formed by the vertical extension of the area of said skirt located between the elastic strips, and where said heel has a height such that its upper or free end is located substantially below the upper edge of the neck of the container to avoid the aforementioned problems of the state of the art. Thus, with regard to the opening maneuver, as the lid is opened, the lid flap approaches the heel of the skirt, reaching the referred friction or anchoring point with it when the lid is already in a opening position of approximately 180 °, point from which, if you want to continue opening, it is necessary for the user to exert a force that forces said tab to move to an opening position greater than 180 °, at which time the The lid is secured in said position, since by itself, without the user forcing it again in the opposite direction, it is not capable of overcoming the resistance of said anchoring point or friction with the heel of the skirt.

Once said anchoring or friction point has been overcome, the lid remains open at an angle of at least 180 °, remaining supported by the tongue on the heel, so that at that point there are forces of action F and reaction F ' such that the first is exerted by the tongue on the heel, which forces the skirt to rest exclusively on the upper shoulder of the neck and not on the upper edge of the neck as was the case in the state of the art, said shoulder being located at considerable distance from the upper edge of the neck, the part of the bottle that returns the corresponding reaction force F \

Therefore, given that the skirt of the plug rests uniformly on any point of the upper shoulder of the neck due to the fact that said shoulder is of constant height and diameter, the aforementioned action and reaction forces F and F 'will always be of the same magnitude regardless. in which position the stopper has been mounted on the neck, that is, regardless of the angle of rotation applied to it by the bottling head during the assembly process.

Said support, however, does not imply any interlocking as it did in the state of the art, which occurred, as already mentioned above, between the upper end of the heel and the lower part of the upper edge of the neck of the container, with whereby the support with the upper projection is limited to a posterior contact of the heel that has no way of locking or jamming with said lower part of the upper edge of the neck of the container. In other words, the upper end of the bead is free from contact with the neck of the bottle. Finally, with regard to the seal, as already mentioned, it is configured in such a way that once it is opened it does not generate a residue. In other words, said seal is not configured in such a way that the user must completely separate it from the body of the cap, but only partially detach it.

Specifically, this is achieved with a seal configured as a flexible strip that comprises two ends, a first end through which it is attached to the cap above the skirt, and a second end that comprises a piece that has frangible means for joining plug cap.

Thus, when the cap has not yet been opened, the seal strip is housed throughout its length between the skirt and the lid, while the piece located at its second end is attached to the lid through the frangible means. bonding, still not ripping or breaking.

When the user decides to use the container for the first time and, for this purpose, open the lid of the stopper, he proceeds to separate the piece by tearing the aforementioned frangible joining means, at which point the strip that forms the seal is separated from the lid at its second end but attached to the cap at its first end, thereby preventing waste from being generated.

Description of the figures.

To complement the description that is being made and in order to facilitate the understanding of the characteristics of the invention, the present specification is accompanied by a set of drawings in which, by way of illustration and not limitation, the following has been represented:

Figure 1 shows a schematic sectional view of the neck of the closure assembly for containers of the invention in which the upper edge thereof, the upper projection and the lower projection are especially appreciated.

Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the cap of the closure assembly for containers of the invention when the lid is closed. Figure 3 shows a rear elevation view of the closure assembly for containers of the invention in which the strips that make up the hinges can be seen.

Figure 4 shows a side elevation view of the closure assembly for containers of the invention when the lid is open in its locked position.

Figure 5 shows a sectional view of Figure 4 in which the position of the skirt of the cap with respect to the neck of the container can be seen.

Figures 6a and 6b show respective perspective views of the closure assembly, respectively a view in which the seal shows that the cap has not yet been opened and another in which said seal has been separated from the body of the cap, indicating that it has been opened.

Figure 7 finally shows a sectional view of the closure of the invention with the cap in the closed position and where the main measures of a specific embodiment are described.

Preferred embodiment of the invention.

In view of the figures outlined, a preferred embodiment of the closure assembly for containers of the invention can be seen.

Specifically, as shown in the figures, the closure assembly for containers of the present invention comprises a neck (1) and a cap (2) where:

The neck (1) in turn comprises:

A lower projection (3) that forms a small circumferential platform which in turn has two zones, an inner circumferential zone of greater height in confluence with the vertical wall of the neck (1) and an outer circumferential zone of lower height than the inner one in correspondence with the free edge of said platform, where said change in height forms a circumferential step (5) of constant diameter; Y An upper circumferential projection (4) that maintains a constant height with respect to the platform and the upper edge (6) of the neck (1) of the container, being located, according to a possible embodiment shown in Figure 1, at a distance from the latter of about 4.5 mm. Said upper projection (4) also has a constant cross section but has a variable diameter with height. Specifically, in its part furthest from the upper edge (6) of the neck (1) of the container, it has a diameter greater than the diameter that it has in its part closest to said upper edge (6) of the neck (1), defining therefore a section with a triangular shape.

The plug (2) in turn comprises:

A skirt (7) located below in the shape of a ring with an outer wall and an inner wall wherein its inner wall comprises a harpoon-shaped protrusion (8);

A lid (9) located superiorly, on said skirt (7), comprising, on its lower face, closing means that cooperate with the upper edge (6) of the neck (1) of the container to effect the closure of the container itself said and, on its upper face, a tab (10) formed by the extension of the back of said upper face, and

A seal (13) that shows the use of the closure and that once opened does not generate waste because it is attached to the cap.

Where the skirt (7) and cover (9) are hinged together thanks to two elastic strips (11) that, at their upper end are attached to the cover (9) and, at their lower end, are attached to the skirt (7 ).

As can be seen in the figures, the closure for the container of the invention provides an anchoring or friction point that sets an opening degree of at least 180 ° of the lid (9) with respect to the neck (1) of the container, In order to overcome it both in the opening and closing of the lid (9), it is necessary for the user to exert a force that overcomes the resistance created by said point.

And where the skirt (7) comprises a heel (12) formed by the vertical extension of the area of said skirt (7) located between the elastic strips (11), said heel (12) the anchoring or friction point of the tongue (10) of the skirt (7) in the lid opening and closing operations.

As can be seen in the figures, the heel (12) has a height such that its upper or free end is located substantially below the upper edge (6) of the neck (1) of the container so that its upper end (12 ') does not contact said neck (1).

Thus, as can be seen in said figures, especially 2 to 5, the exchange of forces F, F 'that makes it possible to keep the lid (9) open at an angle of at least 180 ° is carried out because the tongue (10) rests on the heel (12) and this forces the skirt to rest exclusively on the upper projection (4), without the upper edge (6) of the neck (1) of the container or the upper end (12 ') of the heel intervening in this exchange of forces (7),

For example, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 7, the skirt (7) and heel (12) assembly has a height of 5.2 mm, which guarantees optimal operation of the closure assembly of the present invention. , both when keeping the lid opening and closing it.

More specifically, as can be seen in the figure, said height of the skirt (7) + heel (12) equal to 5.2 mm corresponds to a height of the skirt (7) of 3.4 mm and a height of the heel (12 ) of 1.8 mm, which for the case of the example where the total height of the cap is 8.5 mm supposes that said heel (12) has an approximate height of 21% of the total.

However, it should be noted that the percentage of height that the heel (12) supposes with respect to the total of the cap will vary depending on whether the lid (9) of said cap was thicker, which does not influence the height of said heel (12).

On the other hand, it is important in order to achieve optimal functionality the distance at which the heel (12) is located with respect to the neck (1) of the container, which in the case of the example is 1.22 mm. On the other hand, as already said, the seal (13) is configured in such a way that once opened it does not generate a residue since the user does not need to separate it completely from the body of the cap (2), but only partially detach it.

Specifically, according to the preferred embodiment shown in the figures, the seal (13) is configured as a flexible strip comprising two ends, a first end by which it is attached to the cap (2) above the skirt (7), and a second end comprising a piece (14) that has frangible means for joining the cap of the cap, not shown.

Thus, when the cap (2) has not yet been opened, the seal strip (13) is housed along its entire length between the skirt (7) and the cover (9), while the part (14) located in its second end is attached to the cover (2) through the frangible joining means, still without tearing or breaking.

When the user decides to use the container for the first time and, for this purpose, open the lid (9) of the cap (2), he proceeds to separate the part (14) by tearing the aforementioned frangible joining means, from which time the strip that forms the seal (13) is separated from the cover (9) at its second end but attached to the cap (2) at its first end, thereby avoiding the generation of a residue.

On the other hand, in the closure assembly of the present invention, the skirt (7) of the cap (2) is mounted on the neck (1) of the container between the upper shoulder (4) and the lower shoulder (3), in such a way that its separation is impossible. Specifically, the skirt (7) cannot be extracted downwards since it has a smaller diameter than that of the lower projection (3), that is, the skirt (7) rests lowerly on the circumferential platform that forms said lower projection (3) . On the other hand, although the skirt (7) has a diameter greater than that of the upper projection of the neck (1), it cannot be extracted from the top either once inserted due to the existence of the harpoon (8) that it has on its internal face, the which runs into the base of the triangular section that forms the upper shoulder (4) or, in other words, runs into the upper shoulder (4) in its lowest part, where the diameter is greater.

As can be seen in the figures, especially in figures 1 and 5, the process of Assembly of the plug (2) on the neck (1) is possible thanks to the fact that, in this process, the sloping part of the harpoon (8) of the skirt (7) cooperates with the inclined part of the triangular section that forms the projection top (4) of the neck (1) of the container.

In this way, once the cap (2) has been inserted into the neck (1) during the industrial automatic assembly process, the assembly of the invention formed by the neck (1) and the cap (2) is prepared so that the user cannot separate both parts if it is not by breaking the skirt (7), thereby preventing the cap (2) from being loose, generating a residue.

On the other hand, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, shown especially in Figures 1 and 5, the one in charge of preventing the skirt (7) from deforming excessively at the bottom when the tab (10) of the cover (9) is exerting a pressure below the friction or anchoring point, that is, during the opening or closing process, it will be the circumferential step (5) that the lower projection of the neck (1) of the container has.

Specifically, as already mentioned, said lower projection forms a platform on which the skirt (7) rests below, a platform that has two heights separated by said step (5), which will serve as a stop to prevent said lower support of the skirt (7) is made more internally towards the vertical wall of the neck (1), producing a greater deformation and therefore greater wear of the material, thus facilitating that the opening and closing of the cap (2) is always the most homogeneous possible.

Claims

1 Set of closure for containers consisting of:

A neck (1) of a container comprising:

A lower shoulder (3) that forms a circumferential platform; Y

An upper circumferential projection (4) that maintains a constant height with respect to the upper edge (6) of the neck (1) of the container;

A plug (2) comprising:

A ring-shaped skirt (7) located below;

A lid (9) located superiorly on said skirt (7), where said lid (9) in turn comprises, on its lower face, closing means that cooperate with the upper edge (6) of the neck (1) of the container and, on its upper face, a tab (10) formed by the extension of the rear part of said upper face; Y

A seal (13) that shows the use of the closure and that once opened does not generate waste because it is attached to the cap;

where the skirt (7) and cover (9) are hinged together by means of two elastic strips (1 1) that, at their upper end are attached to the cover (9) and, at their lower end, are attached to the skirt (7); Y

wherein the skirt (7) comprises a heel (12) formed by the vertical extension of the area of said skirt (7) located between the elastic strips (1 1);

characterized by what

the heel (12) has a height such that its upper end (12 ') is located below the upper edge (6) of the neck (1) of the container so that it does not contact the neck (1) of the container during closure nor the opening of the container.

2. Closure assembly for containers according to claim 1, characterized in that the skirt (7) and heel (12) assembly has a height of 5.2 mm.

3. Closure assembly for containers according to claim 1, characterized in that the skirt (7) has a height of 3.4 mm and the heel (12) has a height of 1.8 mm.

4 Closure assembly for containers according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the seal (13) is configured as a flexible strip comprising two ends, a first end where it is attached to the cap (2) above the skirt (7), and a second end comprising a piece (14) that has frangible means for joining the cap (9) from the plug (2).

5. Closure assembly for containers according to claim 4, characterized in that when the cap (2) has not yet been opened, the seal strip (13) is housed throughout its length between the skirt (7) and the lid (9), while the piece (14) located at its second end is attached to the cover (2) through the frangible joining means, still without tearing or breaking.

6.- Closure assembly for containers according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that:

the lower shoulder (3) comprises a circumferential step (5) of constant diameter; Y

The upper projection (4) comprises a constant cross section and a variable diameter with the height that, in its part furthest from the upper edge (6) of the neck (1) of the container, is greater than the diameter with which it has in its part closest to said upper edge (6) of neck (1).

7.- Closure assembly for containers according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that:

- the skirt (7) of the cap (2) has a diameter smaller than that of the lower projection (3) and is mounted on the neck (1) of the container between the upper projection (4) and the lower projection (3), in such a way that the skirt (7) rests inferiorly on the circumferential platform that forms said lower projection (3); and because

- the skirt (7) has a diameter greater than that of the upper projection of the neck (1) and comprises a harpoon (8) with on its internal face that prevents superior extraction of said skirt (7) when it is mounted on the neck (1 ).