WO2021217224A1

WO2021217224A1 - Cap for a container

Info

Publication number: WO2021217224A1
Application number: PCT/BR2020/050143
Authority: WO
Inventors: Vinicius DAMASIO; Noedir MILAN
Original assignee: Albea Do Brasil Embalagens Ltda
Priority date: 2020-04-28
Filing date: 2020-04-28
Publication date: 2021-11-04

Abstract

The invention proposes a cap for sealing a container comprising a first part (102) and a second part (103) articulated by a hinge (104) such that the cap can transition from a first position (101a) to a second position (101b) wherein said first part is inserted and maintained in an internal volume (105) of the second part.

Description

CAP FOR A CONTAINER

The present patent application relates to a cap for a container, especially in the area of packaging for pharmaceutical or cosmetic products.

Traditionally, caps that are used to cover a pump provided on a container, such as, for instance, a perfume flask, are manufactured as a single piece. In particular, the state-of-the- art manufacturing methods consist in the injection of a melted material (typically a plastic) in a single mould defining the shape of the cap. Furthermore, these methods involve the use of a single material for the realisation of the whole cap.

Experiments have shown that, for some cap design, and especially for caps having small dimensions and/or a complex layout, such manufacturing method can result in caps that tend to offer a weak resistance to strains. Therefore, such caps can exhibit serious structural problems. More specifically, they can suffer from shrinkage or warpage when they are submitted to strains. Especially, in a cap wherein the layout involves injecting a plurality of parts interacting with each other in some specific area, shrinkage tends to occur in these area.

To overcome this issue, it has been considered to develop a cap that would be made from two distinct pieces that would be assembled after being manufactured. Doing so, each piece could be made from a different material exhibiting a specific mechanical resistance or with a design conceived to reinforce its mechanical resistance. In particular, a first piece, offering a strong resistance, could be used as an outer shell of the cap while a second piece, destined to cover an opening of the container and being more flexible than the first piece, could be used as an internal insert protected by the outer shell.

However, such an approach would require two separate moulds in order to manufacture the two pieces and an assembly machine able to realise complex operations in order to assemble both pieces. Hence it would result in a more time consuming and expensive way of manufacturing the cap.

The aim of the invention is to avoid at least partially the above mentioned drawbacks and it relates in that view to a cap, said cap comprising a first part and a second part, said first part being configured to be fixed to a container, said second part forming an outer shell comprising an internal volume configured to receive said first part, said cap being characterised in that said first part and said second part are articulated by a hinge such that said first part can transition from a first position to a second position relatively to said second part wherein said first part is at least partially inserted and maintained in the internal volume, the first part, the second part and the hinge being integral.

The claimed invention allows hence to propose a cap that can be manufactured from a single mould while keeping the advantages inherent to a cap comprising two distinct parts manufactured separately. In particular, the cap offers a strong resistance to strains in order to prevent any structural deformation. Finally, the cap does not require the use of an assembly machine in order to operate its assembling.

Furthermore, in the caps of the state of the art, internal parts of the cap may produce undesired marking of the part forming an outer shell of the cap. Such drawback is also avoided thanks to the two separate parts of the cap according to the invention.

According to various features of the invention, which may be taken together or separately, constituting as many possible embodiments: the first part is configured to cover a push button of a pump intended to dispense a fluid to be contained in said container; the first part is further configured to cover a collar maintaining said pump on a receptacle of said container; said first part is configured to be fixed on said collar; said cap comprises locking means; said locking means are configured so that, when the cap is in the second position, the first part is maintained in the internal volume by said locking means; the locking means are situated on an opposite side of the first part and the second part with respect to the hinge; said locking means comprise at least one protruding element extending from the first part and cooperating with a hole formed in the second part such that said first part is maintained in said internal volume of the second part when the protruding element is inserted in the hole; the protruding element has a cross-section in the shape of a neck; said first part and second part are respectively made from different materials, in particular from different plastics; said second part is substantially cuboid in shape with five walls defining the internal volume; said first part comprises a substantially cylindrical portion and a closing portion radially extending from the outer surface of the cylindrical portion; said closing portion is configured to fit with the internal volume of the second part when the cap is in the second position; the second part comprises at least one abutment configured to limit the insertion of the first part in the internal volume of the second part when the cap is in the second position; said first part comprises a distal end and a proximal end opposite to one another, said distal end being configured to close and/or seal said container; said proximal end is configured so that it is spaced away from said second part when the cap is in the second position.

The invention is also related to an assembly comprising a container and a cap as described above. Said container is for instance a perfume flask or a tube, in particular a flexible tube, for a pharmaceutical or a cosmetic product.

The invention further relates to a method for manufacturing a cap as described above, said method comprising the following steps:

- injecting a melted material, preferably a plastic, in a mould cavity comprising a first portion configured to form the first part of the cap, a second portion configured to form the second part of the cap and a third portion, connecting the two portions, configured to form the hinge of the cap ; and,

- transitioning the first part relatively to the second part from the first position to the second position.

According to various features of the invention, which may be taken together or separately, constituting as many possible embodiments the cap formed after the injection step is removed from the mould; the melted material comprises a first material and a second material; the step of injecting said melted material comprises a step of injecting said first material in said first portion to define said first part of the cap; the step of injecting said melted material comprises and a step of injecting said second material in said second portion to define said second part of the cap; the injection of the melted material in the mould cavity is realised through a single injection point in the mould.

The construction features of the present invention will now be described with reference to the attached drawings, which are given by way of non-limitative illustration and in which:

Fig. 1 is a top view of a cap in a first position according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional side view of the cap of Fig. 1 in said first position;

Fig. 3 is a top view of the cap of the previous figures in a second position;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional side view of the cap of the previous figures in said second position;

Fig. 5 is a detailed cross-sectional view of locking means of the cap of the previous figures;

Fig. 6 is a detailed cross-sectional view of a hinge of the cap of the previous figures;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the cap of the previous figures in said first position under a first angle of view;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the cap of the previous figures in said first position in another angle of view; and,

Fig. 9 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method for manufacturing a cap according to the invention.

In reference to the figures 1 to 8, we now describe a cap according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention. The cap is to be used to on a container which can be, for instance, a perfume flask or a tube, and more particularly a flexible tube, for a pharmaceutical or a cosmetic product.

In a first embodiment, the cap is configured to dissimulate a top part of a pump located on said container and intended to dispense a fluid to be contained in said container. In another embodiment, the cap is used for closing and/or sealing the container. In that case, a closing and/or sealing of the container is obtained, for instance, by the insertion of a portion of the cap in an opening of the container or, conversely, by the insertion of a neck of the container in an opening of the cap so as to close said container.

The cap is especially of small size. Its highest dimension is for instance below 5 cm. In the same way, in the corresponding embodiment, said cap is for instance configured to close and/or seal container neck with a diameter between 0.5 and 4,5 cm.

The cap 101 comprises a first part 102 and a second part 103. The first part 102 is configured to be fixed to the container which is not represented. For instance, the first part 102 is configured to cover a push button of the pump. The first part 102 is further configured to cover a collar maintaining said pump on a receptacle of said container, said first part 102 being configured to be fixed on said collar, more precisely around said collar especially by press fitting. The second part is forming an outer shell which comprises an internal volume 105 (i.e. a cavity) which is configured to receive the first part 102. As it will be described in more detail further on, the second part can prevent the first part from being directly submitted to mechanical strains from the outside especially when the first part is inserted in the second part. In addition, the second part determine the appearance of the cap as it is the part that can be seen from a user once the cap is mounted on a container while the first part is functional as it provides the cap fixation on the container.

In a specific embodiment, the first part and the second part can be made from different materials, for instance from different plastics, in order to provide them with different mechanical properties. In this way, the material used to manufacture the second part can be selected so as to offer a better resistance to strains as compare to the material used to manufacture the first part of the cap which needs to be more flexible in order to form a closure and/or a seal to the container.

The first part 102 and the second part 103 are articulated by a hinge 104. This hinge allows the first part 102 to transition relatively to the second part 103 from a first position 101a to a second position 101b. In particular, in the first position 101a, the first part is located outside the internal volume 105 of the second part 103 and only connected to said second part by the hinge 104. Whereas, in the second position 101b, the first part is at least partially inserted in the internal volume 105 of the second part and maintained in said internal volume. In particular, the transition from the first position 101a to the second position 101b is obtained by rotating the first part about the hinge 104 so as to at least partially insert it inside the internal volume 105. In other embodiments of the invention, the number of hinges can be different from one.

In addition, as represented by the figures 1 to 8, the first part, the second part and the hinge are integral. In other words, the cap is composed of a single piece. This allows the cap to be manufactured from a single mould as it will be described in a more detailed way further on.

In order to allow the first part 102 to be maintained in the internal volume 105 of the second part 103, when the cap is in the second position, the cap can also comprise locking means. In the example as illustrated by the figures, the locking means 106 and 107 respectively correspond to a protruding element 106 extending from the first part of the cap and a hole, especially a blind hole, formed in the second part of the cap.

The protruding element 106 cooperate with the hole 107 so as to prevent the first part from being removed from the internal volume 105 once it is inserted therein. More specifically, in this exemplary embodiment, the shape of the protruding element and the hole snap. In addition, as represented in a detailed view in figure 5, the protruding element 106 has a cross- section in the shape of a neck, for instance a trapezium rectangle shape, and can be easily inserted the hole 107 when moving in one direction whereas it cannot be extracted from the hole once it is fitted in.

Furthermore, as it is illustrated by the figures 2 and 4, the locking means 106 and 107 can be situated respectively on locations of the first part and the second part that are situated on an opposite side of said first and second parts with respect to the hinge 104. This arrangement allows to maximise the resistance to a traction force that could be applied to the first part when the cap is in the second position.

The figures 7 and 8 show perspective views of this exemplary embodiment of the cap wherein it can be seen more clearly that the second part is substantially cuboid in shape and has five walls 103a, 103b, 103c, 103d, and 103e. These walls define the internal volume 105. When the cap is in the first position, the internal volume has an opening on one side which is where the first part can be inserted when the cap is transitioned from the first position to the second position. In addition, in that example, the hinge is situated at the lower end (i.e. the end that is situated the closest to the container when said container is sealed by the cap) of one wall and adjacent to the opening of the internal volume.

The first part 102 comprises a substantially cylindrical portion 102a and a closing portion 102b which extends radially from the outer surface of the cylindrical portion 102a. The closing portion 102b is configured to fit with the internal volume 105 of the second part 103 to close it when the cap is in the second position. In other words, when the first part is maintained in the second part by the locking means, the closing portion forms a sixth wall that encloses the internal volume 105. The general shape of the closing portion is configured to optimize the mechanical resistance of the cap once it is in the second position and at the same time to allow the cap to be transitioned easily from the first position to the second position.

Said first part 102 comprises a distal end and a proximal end opposite to one another. Said distal end and said proximal end are here located on said cylindrical portion 102a. Said distal end is configured to close and/or seal said container and is located on a side of said closing portion 102b which is outside said internal volume 105 when the cap is in the second position. Said distal end comprises here a free edge of said cylindrical portion 102a. Said proximal end is located on the other side of said closing portion 102b. In other words said proximal end is located inside said internal volume 105. Said proximal end comprises here an upper wall of said cylindrical portion 102a.

Preferably, the internal volume of the second part comprises four abutments 108 which are configured to limit the insertion of the first part, and especially of the cylindrical portion 102a, in the second part when the cap is in the second position. The number of abutment is not limited to four. Furthermore, the abutments can also be configured to apply a pressure on the first part when the cap is in the second position in order to guaranty that the first part is maintained in the internal volume without any clearance.

Preferably, said proximal end is spaced away from said second part 103 when the cap is in the second position. More precisely, in the embodiment as shown, the upper wall of the cylindrical portion 102a is spaced away from an upper wall 103e of the second part 103 in said second position. Such configuration is here ensured thanks to the above mentioned abutments. As a consequence, the risk of marks on said upper wall 103e is further limited.

More generally, the design of the cap allows the second part of the cap to exhibit different mechanical properties as the first part of the cap without requiring an injection in two different moulds. In addition, the manufacturing of the cap remain easy and does not require any assembly machine since the assembly only involve the rotation of the first part about the hinge. Finally, the use of both locking means with matching shapes and abutments allows the first part to be easily inserted in the internal volume and to be appropriately maintained in said volume once the cap is in the second position.

The figure 9 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method for manufacturing a cap according to the invention. The method allows to manufacture a cap as it has been described above in reference to the figures 1 to 8.

The step 901 consists in injecting a melted material (for instance, a plastic) in a mould cavity comprising a first portion configured to form the first part of the cap, a second portion configured to form the second part of the cap and third portion configured to form the hinge of the cap. In an exemplary embodiment, the injection is realised through a single injection point in the mould, for instance in the first part.

The melted material can flow from the first portion of the mould to the second portion of the mould through the third portion that connects both first and second portions.

In an exemplary embodiment, the melted material can be changed along the process so as to fulfil the first portion of the mould and the second portion of the mould with a first and a second different material. In an alternative embodiment, the two different melted material are respectively injected through two different injection points in the mould.

The step 902 consists in removing the formed cap from the mould and the step 903 consists in transitioning the first part relatively to the second part from the first position to the second position. In an alternative embodiment, the transition from the first position to the second position takes place in the mould.

Claims

1. A cap (101), said cap comprising a first part (102) and a second part (103), said first part being configured to be fixed to a container, said second part forming an outer shell comprising an internal volume (105) configured to receive said first part, said cap being characterised in that said first part and said second part are articulated by a hinge (104) such that said first part can transition from a first position (101a) to a second position (101b) relatively to said second part wherein said first part is at least partially inserted and maintained in the internal volume, the first part, the second part and the hinge being integral.

2. The cap according to claim 1, wherein the first part is configured to cover a push button of a pump intended to dispense a fluid to be contained in said container, said first part further being configured to cover a collar maintaining said pump on a receptacle of said container, said first part being configured to be fixed on said collar.

3. The cap according to claim 1 or claim 2, comprising locking means (106, 107) configured so that, when the cap is in the second position, the first part is maintained in the internal volume by said locking means (106, 107).

4. The cap according to claim 3, wherein the locking means are situated on an opposite side of the first part and the second part with respect to the hinge.

5. The cap according to any of claim 3 or 4, wherein said locking means comprise at least one protruding element (106) extending from the first part and cooperating with a hole (107) formed in the second part such that said first part is maintained in said internal volume of the second part when the protruding element is inserted in the hole.

6. The cap according to claim 5, wherein the protruding element (106) has a cross-section in the shape of a neck.

7. The cap according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said first part and second part are respectively made from different materials, in particular from different plastics.

8. The cap according to claim any of the preceding claims, wherein said second part is substantially cuboid in shape with five walls (103a, 103b, 103c, 103d, 103e) defining the internal volume (105).

9. The cap according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said first part comprises a substantially cylindrical portion (102a) and a closing portion (102b) radially extending from the outer surface of the cylindrical portion, said closing portion being configured to fit with the internal volume of the second part when the cap is in the second position.

10. The cap according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the second part comprises at least one abutment (108) configured to limit the insertion of the first part in the internal volume of the second part when the cap is in the second position.

11. An assembly comprising a container and a cap according to any of the preceding claims.

12. The assembly according to claim 11, wherein said container is a perfume flask or a tube, in particular a flexible tube, for a pharmaceutical or a cosmetic product.

13. A method for manufacturing a cap according to claims 1 to 10, comprising the following steps:

14. The method according to claim 13 wherein the melted material comprises a first material and a second material, the step of injecting said melted material comprising a step of injecting said first material in said first portion to define said first part of the cap and a step of injecting said second material in said second portion to define said second part of the cap.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the injection of the melted material in the mould cavity is realised through a single injection point in the mould.