CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is the U.S. national phase of PTC Application No. PCT/EP2013/071198 filed on Oct. 10, 2013, which claims priority to EP Patent Application No. 12188256.7 filed on Oct. 11, 2012, the disclosures of which are incorporated in their entirety by reference herein.
DESCRIPTION
The invention relates to a closing cap and to a container neck. The invention further relates to a tamper-evident closure comprising the closing cap and the container neck. The invention further relates to a method for producing the tamper-evident closure.
PRIOR ART
The document WO 2007/031162 discloses a tamper-evident screw closure for containers and bottles. The tamper-evident screw closure is composed of a screw cap, which has a hollow cylindrical jacket with an internal thread, and an annular tamper-evident strip, which is connected to the free edge of the jacket by means of predetermined breaking webs. Moreover, the tamper-evident strip has locking elements, which are provided for form-fit engagement in an abutment formed on a bottle neck. The first time the tamper-evident screw closure is opened, the screw cap is rotated and thereby lifted, whereas the tamper-evident strip is held on the abutment, such that the predetermined breaking webs tear some time during the opening procedure. It can thereby be seen that the bottle has already been opened.
Tamper-evident screw closures of this kind have the disadvantage that it is sometimes not possible to tell at first glance whether the bottle has already been opened. Tamper-evident screw closures of this kind with a screw cap and a tamper-evident strip have the further disadvantage that a relatively long bottle neck is required in order to be able to comfortably open the screw cap using the fingers.
The document WO 95/14617 discloses a tamper-evident screw closure comprising a circular head part and a hollow cylindrical jacket, wherein a tamper-evident part is arranged in the jacket and is connected to the jacket via bridges that are able to be broken. A disadvantage of this tamper-evident screw closure is the fact that considerable force has to be applied to open it, and that it is not always immediately apparent that the tamper-evident screw closure has been opened. The fact that it has been opened is immediately apparent when the entire tamper-evident part has been completely removed.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is therefore to form a more advantageous closing cap, a more advantageous container neck and a more advantageous tamper-evident closure, the opening of which can be better discerned and/or which is also suitable for closing containers with short necks.
The object is achieved in particular by a closing cap made of plastic for closing a container, comprising a head part and a jacket part, wherein the jacket part is shaped substantially like a hollow cylinder and has a longitudinal axis, wherein the jacket part extends from the head part along the longitudinal axis, wherein the jacket part has an end portion at the end opposite the head part, and wherein the closing cap comprises a tamper-evident part and bridge parts, wherein the tamper-evident part is arranged at a distance from the jacket part and is connected to the end portion of the jacket part by bridge parts, and wherein the tamper-evident part is arranged in the direction of extension of the longitudinal axis along the end portion, such that the tamper-evident part is arranged at a distance from the jacket part in a direction radial to the longitudinal axis and extends in a circumferential direction to the longitudinal axis along the outside of the jacket part.
The object is further achieved in particular by a tamper-evident closure comprising a closing cap, and comprising a container neck, wherein the container neck and the closing cap are connected to each other in a mutually movable manner via a thread or a push-pull connection, such that the closing cap can be released from the container neck by being rotatable about the longitudinal axis and/or by being movable in the direction of the longitudinal axis, wherein the container neck comprises an engagement part which is connected to the container neck via a connection site, wherein the engagement part extends in the direction of extension of the longitudinal axis, and wherein the engagement part is arranged in such a way that the engagement part extends along the outside of the jacket part when the closing cap is connected to the container neck, wherein the engagement part has a projection such as a barb, wherein the projection is arranged in the direction of extension of the longitudinal axis between the head part and the tamper-evident part, and wherein the tamper-evident part protrudes past the projection radially with respect to the longitudinal axis, such that, when the closing cap is being opened for the first time, the tamper-evident part comes into contact with the projection and is damaged by the latter.
The object is further achieved in particular by a container neck having a pour channel which extends in the direction of a longitudinal axis and which opens into an outlet opening, wherein the container neck has, toward the outlet opening, a front portion and, adjoining the front portion in the direction of the longitudinal axis, a rear portion, and wherein the container neck has, on the outside of the front portion, an outer thread or an engagement means for securing a closing cap, wherein the outer thread or the engagement means has a depth radial to the longitudinal axis, and wherein the container neck has, in the rear portion, a connection site and an engagement part, wherein the connection site extends radially with respect to the longitudinal axis, and wherein the engagement part, starting from the connection site, extends in the direction of the longitudinal axis and toward the outlet opening, and wherein the container neck has a support part which is arranged opposite the engagement part, such that a gap extending in the direction of the longitudinal axis forms between the support part and the engagement part, and wherein the support part has a width, radial to the longitudinal axis, which width is at least as great as the depth of the outer thread or of the engagement means.
The object is further achieved in particular by a method for producing a tamper-evident closure by connecting a closing cap to a container neck, wherein a front portion of the container neck is inserted into the closing cap by pushing or turning, and wherein a tamper-evident part of the closing cap, during the connection of the closing cap to the container neck, is pressed through the engagement part against a shoulder of the closing cap, such that, during the connection, the tamper-evident part bears at least temporarily in a defined position on the shoulder, in order to avoid excessive tensile forces on bridge parts during the connection, wherein the bridge parts connect the tamper-evident part to the closing cap.
The closing cap according to the invention has the advantage that its first time of opening can usually be easily discerned, since the tamper-evident part is arranged extending on the outside of the jacket part of the closing cap, and since the tamper-evident part is damaged when the closing cap is being opened for the first time, such that the damaged tamper-evident part can be easily seen from the outside. Advantageously, the damaged tamper-evident part protrudes from the surface of the jacket part of the closing cap, such that the damaged tamper-evident part can be seen particularly clearly. The tamper-evident closure according to the invention comprises the closing cap according to the invention, with the tamper-evident part extending at least along a section of the closing cap in the circumferential direction, and comprises a container neck, preferably a bottle with a bottle neck, on which the closing cap is secured. The container neck comprises an engagement part, which is designed and arranged in such a way that the tamper-evident part is damaged when the closing cap is opened.
The closing cap according to the invention and the tamper-evident closure according to the invention have the advantage that the jacket part of the closing cap can be made relatively long in the longitudinal direction thereof. Thus, for example, a bottle usually has a bottle neck ring. A known tamper-evident closure is composed of a closing cap which is connected to a tamper-evident strip via predetermined break points, wherein the tamper-evident strip is arranged immediately after the bottle neck ring, and the predetermined break points and the closing cap are arranged in succession after the tamper-evident strip in the direction of extension of the bottle neck. A tamper-evident closure of this kind is relatively long in the direction of extension of the bottle neck. In the tamper-evident closure according to the invention, the tamper-evident part is arranged extending around the outside of the closing cap, the result of which is that the closing cap can be arranged directly after the bottle neck ring. The length that was needed for the tamper-evident part in the known tamper-evident closure can be utilized, in the tamper-evident closure according to the invention, to correspondingly increase the length of the closing cap. The tamper-evident closure according to the invention thus makes it possible to increase the overall length of the closing cap or, more advantageously, to leave the overall length of the closing cap at the previously customary dimension and so shorten the bottle neck. This allows the tamper-evident closure and/or the container neck or bottle neck to be produced using less material. In view of the large number of plastic bottles that are produced, the tamper-evident closure according to the invention permits considerable savings in material.
The invention is described in detail below on the basis of a number of illustrative embodiments.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the drawings used to explain the illustrative embodiments:
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a first illustrative embodiment of a tamper-evident closure;
FIG. 2 shows a side view of a second illustrative embodiment of a tamper-evident closure;
FIG. 3 shows a longitudinal section through the tamper-evident closure according to FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 shows a cross section of the tamper-evident closure according to FIG. 3 along the section line A-A;
FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the container neck according to FIG. 3, without the tamper-evident screw closure being fitted thereon;
FIG. 6 shows a longitudinal section through the container neck according to FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 shows a side view of the closing cap according to FIG. 2;
FIG. 8 shows a longitudinal section through the closing cap according to FIG. 7;
FIG. 9 shows a cross section through the closing cap shown in FIG. 8, along the section line B-B;
FIG. 10 shows a cross section through the further closing cap shown in FIG. 1, along the section line B-B;
FIG. 11 shows a perspective view of a further closing cap;
FIG. 12a shows a detailed view, bottom left, of the closing cap shown in FIG. 8;
FIG. 12b shows a detailed view, bottom right, of the closing cap shown in FIG. 8;
FIG. 13a shows the detailed view according to FIG. 12a during the securing of the closing cap on the container neck;
FIG. 13b shows the detailed view according to FIG. 12b during the securing of the closing cap on the container neck;
FIG. 14 shows a longitudinal section through a tamper-evident closure designed as a push-pull closure;
FIG. 15 shows a longitudinal section through a further illustrative embodiment of an engagement part.
In the drawings, identical parts are in principle provided with identical reference signs.
WAYS OF IMPLEMENTING THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a first illustrative embodiment of a tamper-evident closure 1 comprising a closing cap 2 and a container neck 3a with a container neck ring 3b, and with an outlet opening 3h which is not visible. The closing cap 2 comprises a disk-shaped head part 2a, and a jacket part 2b with a partially structured surface 2c. Along the outside of the jacket part 2b, a plurality of tamper-evident parts 2e are arranged at a distance from each other in the circumferential direction. An engagement part 3d with a projection 3q is arranged on the container neck ring 3b, wherein, in the illustrative embodiment shown, the engagement part 3d is designed as a hook part and the projection 3q is designed as a barb 3e. During the opening of the closing cap 2, at least one tamper-evident part 2e will catch on the barb 3e and thus be damaged, such that, from the state of the tamper-evident parts 2e, it can be seen from the outside whether the closing cap 2 has already been opened.
A second illustrative embodiment of a tamper-evident closure 1 comprising a closing cap 2 and a container neck 3a with outlet opening 3h is shown in FIGS. 2 to 9. FIG. 2 shows a side view, and FIG. 3 a section of the tamper-evident closure 1. As can be seen from FIG. 3, the closing cap 2 comprises a head part 2a and a jacket part 2b, wherein the jacket part 2b is shaped substantially like a hollow cylinder and has a longitudinal axis L. Starting from the head part 2a, the jacket part 2b extends in the direction of the longitudinal axis L, wherein the jacket part 2b, as is shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, has an end portion 2f at the end opposite the head part 2a. The closing cap 2 comprises a ring-shaped tamper-evident part 2e and a plurality of bridge parts 2i, wherein the tamper-evident part 2e is arranged at a radial distance from the jacket part 2b and is connected to the end portion 2f of the jacket part 2b by bridge parts 2i, wherein the tamper-evident part 2e is arranged in the direction of extension of the longitudinal axis L along and inside the end portion 2f, such that the tamper-evident part 2e is arranged at a distance from the jacket part 2b in a direction radial to the longitudinal axis L and extends in a circumferential direction to the longitudinal axis L along the outside of the jacket part 2b. In an advantageous embodiment, as is shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, the tamper-evident part 2e has a plurality of weak points 2k which are spaced apart in the circumferential direction in order to provide defined break points. In an advantageous embodiment, the surface of the jacket part 2b is provided with a structured surface 2c. In an advantageous embodiment, as can be seen from FIG. 3, the tamper-evident closure is designed as a rotary closure, wherein the container neck 3a has an outer thread 3c, and wherein the closing cap 2 has, on the inside 2d, an inner thread 2h adapted to the outer thread 3c, such that the closing cap 2 can be released from the container neck 3a by being rotatable about the longitudinal axis L.
As can be seen from FIGS. 2, 3, 5 and 6, the container neck 3a comprises an engagement part 3d which is connected to the container neck 3a via a connection site 3b, wherein the engagement part 3d extends in the direction of extension of the longitudinal axis L, and wherein the engagement part 3d is arranged in such a way that the engagement part 3d extends along the outside of the jacket part 2b when the closing cap 2 is connected to the container neck 3a. The engagement part 3d has a projection 3q designed as a barb 3e, wherein the barb 3e is arranged in the direction of extension of the longitudinal axis L between the head part 2a and the tamper-evident part 2e. As can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, the tamper-evident part 2e protrudes past the barb 3e radially with respect to the longitudinal axis L, such that, when the closing cap 2 is being opened for the first time, the tamper-evident part 2e comes into contact with the barb 3e and is damaged by the latter, for example as a result of the tamper-evident part 2e being torn and/or the bridge part 2i being torn and/or the weak point 2k being torn. The projection 3q or barb 3e can be designed in many different ways, for example also as an abutment part which prevents or impedes passage of the tamper-evident part 2e and therefore damages the tamper-evident part 2e.
The container neck 3a shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5 and in particular in FIG. 6 has a pour channel 3m which extends in the direction of a longitudinal axis L and which opens into an outlet opening 3h, wherein the container neck 3a has, toward the outlet opening 3h, a front portion 3k and, adjoining the front portion 3k in the direction of the longitudinal axis L, a rear portion 3l. The container neck 3a has, on the outside of the front portion 3k, an outer thread 3c or an engagement means 3p for securing a closing cap 2, wherein the outer thread 3c or the engagement means 3p has a depth B1 radial to the longitudinal axis L. The container neck 3a has, in the rear portion 3l, a connection site 3b and an engagement part 3d, wherein the connection site 3b extends radially with respect to the longitudinal axis L, and wherein the engagement part 3d, starting from the connection site 3b, extends in the direction of the longitudinal axis L and toward the outlet opening 3h. The container neck 3a comprises a support part 3g which is arranged opposite the engagement part 3d, such that a gap 3o extending in the direction of the longitudinal axis L forms between the support part 3g and the engagement part 3d, wherein the support part 3g has a width B2, radially with respect to the longitudinal axis L, that is at least as great as the depth B1. The width B2 can also be greater than the depth B1. In an advantageous embodiment as can be seen from FIG. 3, the closing cap 2 has, in the area of the end portion 2f, an internal diameter which is the same as or slightly greater than the external diameter of the support part 3g, such that, as can be seen from FIG. 3, the closing cap in the area of the end portion 2f comes to lie on the outer surface of the support part 3g. The support part 3g prevents an excursion of the wall of the closing cap in the direction toward the longitudinal axis L, particularly when the projection 3q of the engagement part 3d bears on the tamper-evident part 2e and damages the latter.
The feature whereby the width B2 is at least as great as the depth B1 ensures that the end portion 2f of the closing cap 2 can be guided past the outer thread 3c during the fitting onto the container neck 3a, and that the inside of the end portion 2f of the closing cap 2 lies close to or touches the outer surface of the support part 3g when the closing cap 2 has been fitted on the container neck 3a.
As can be seen from FIG. 6, the container neck 3a is designed in such a way that the engagement part 3d has a projection 3q on the end portion opposite the connection site 3b, wherein the projection 3q is oriented toward the support part 3g and protrudes into the gap 3o. In the illustrative embodiment shown, the engagement part 3d comprises a barb 3e, wherein the projection 3q is part of the barb 3e, such that the barb 3e is oriented toward the support part 3g and protrudes into the gap 3o. The engagement part 3d has, in the direction toward the outlet opening 3h, a guide face 3i extending transversely with respect to the longitudinal axis L, in such a way that the guide face 3i, in the direction toward the connection site 3b, forms a narrowing gap 3n. Advantageously, as is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the container neck 3a comprises two engagement parts 3d, which are arranged offset by 180 degrees with respect to the longitudinal axis L. Advantageously, the connection site 3b is designed as a container neck ring 3b. In the illustrative embodiment shown, the support part 3g is as wide as the engagement part 3d in the circumferential direction. In a further advantageous embodiment, the support part 3g is designed as a projection extending through 360° about the longitudinal axis L. The container neck 3a could also comprise a plurality of engagement parts 3d and support parts 3g, for example 3, 4, 5 or 6, that are arranged in a distributed manner in the circumferential direction.
The tamper-evident closure 1 requires at least a single engagement part 3d with projection 3q such as a barb 3e. In an advantageous embodiment, a plurality of engagement parts 3d with projections 3q or barbs 3e are arranged spaced apart in the circumferential direction. As is shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 5 and 6, an arrangement is particularly advantageous in which two engagement parts 3d are arranged offset with respect to each other by 180 degrees.
In one possible embodiment, the connection site 3b can be designed as a bridge part with in the circumferential direction thereof or a similar width as the engagement part 3d. In an advantageous embodiment as can be seen in FIGS. 3 to 6, the connection site 3b is designed as a container neck ring 3b.
The tamper-evident parts 2e can be provided in many possible designs. The closing cap 2 comprises at least one tamper-evident part 2e, which is connected to the jacket part 2b by bridge parts 2i. The tamper-evident part 2e extends through at least 5 degrees in the circumferential direction of the longitudinal axis L. Advantageously, as can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 10, a plurality of tamper-evident parts 2e are arranged spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction of the longitudinal axis L. In an advantageous embodiment, as is shown in FIG. 11, the closing cap 2 comprises two tamper-evident parts 2e, which are arranged offset with respect to each other by 180 degrees in the circumferential direction of the longitudinal axis L. In another advantageous embodiment, the closing cap 2 comprises an uneven number of tamper-evident parts 2e and/or an uneven number of bridge parts 2i. This ensures that, for example in the arrangement shown in FIG. 5 with two engagement parts 3d offset by 180 degrees, a tamper-evident part 2e bears at least on one of the two engagement parts 3e in such a way that, during the opening procedure, said tamper-evident part is similarly damaged reliably and preferably reproducibly.
In another advantageous embodiment, as is shown in FIGS. 2, 7 and 9, the closing cap 2 comprises a single tamper-evident part 2e, wherein the tamper-evident part 2e has a ring-shaped design and extends through 360 degrees.
In an advantageous embodiment, as is shown in the detailed views according to FIGS. 12a and 12b, the closing cap 2 is designed in such a way that the jacket part 2b has a shoulder 2l on the outer surface, wherein the shoulder 2l, starting from the point of attachment of the bridge part 2i to the jacket part 2b, is arranged offset in the direction toward the head part 2a, wherein the shoulder 2l protrudes past the jacket part 2b to form a support surface 2n. As is shown in the detailed views according to FIGS. 13a and 13b, the shoulder 2l and the tamper-evident part 2e and the bridge part 2i are designed and arranged matching each other in such a way that, when a force acts on the tamper-evident part 2e in the direction of the head part 2a (for example, as shown in FIGS. 13a, 13b, by the barb 3e), the tamper-evident part 2e is movable toward the shoulder 2l, such that the tamper-evident part 2e bears on the shoulder 2l or on the support face 2n. This design has the advantage that, during the production of the tamper-evident closure 1, i.e. during the initial provision of the container neck 3a with the closing cap 2, it is ensured that the at least one tamper-evident part 2e and/or the bridge parts 2i are not damaged, since the tamper-evident part 2e, as is shown in FIGS. 13a and 13b, can bear on the shoulder or on the support face 2n. Advantageously, as is shown in FIGS. 13a and 13b, the engagement part 3d or the barb 3e has, toward the container neck 3a or toward the jacket part 2b, a guide face 3i extending obliquely with respect to the longitudinal axis L, wherein the guide face 3i, in the direction toward the connection site 3b, approaches the container neck 3a and forms a narrowing gap 3n. As is shown in FIGS. 13a and 13b, this design has the advantage that the tamper-evident part 2e is delivered precisely to the shoulder 2l or the support face 2n. In an advantageous embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 6, the container neck 3a comprises a support part 3g, wherein the support part 3g is preferably arranged opposite the engagement part 3d in order to prevent an excursion of the jacket part 2b in the direction toward the longitudinal axis L in the state shown in FIGS. 13a and 13b. Moreover, the first time the tamper-evident closure 1 is opened, the support parts 3g also prevent any excursion of the jacket part 2b and therefore of the tamper-evident part 2e in the direction toward the longitudinal axis L. The support part 3g thus ensures reliable and reproducible damage of the tamper-evident part 2e the first time the tamper-evident closure 1 is opened.
FIG. 14 shows, in a longitudinal section, a further illustrative embodiment of a tamper-evident closure 1. The closing cap 2 and the container neck 3a are designed matching each other in such a way that a so-called push-pull connection is formed, that is to say the closing cap 2 can be separated from the container neck 3a by a linear movement in the direction of the longitudinal axis L and, if necessary, can also be fitted back in place. In contrast to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the embodiment shown in FIG. 14 has no thread 3c, 2h, but instead preferably circular engagement means 2p, 3p that snap-fit onto each other and hold the closing cap 2 in the depicted position, wherein the closing cap 2 can be removed and put back in place again, and wherein the tamper-evident part 2e is damaged the first time the closing cap 2 is removed.
FIG. 15 shows, in a detailed view, a further illustrative embodiment of an engagement part 3d which, in contrast to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, has a rectangular projection 3q which, when the closing cap 2 is removed, bears on the tamper-evident part 2e and damages it. In a further illustrative embodiment, as is indicated by the broken line 3r, the support part 3g could be omitted, by means of the outer wall of the container neck 3a extending along the line 3r. The support part 3g could be omitted if the jacket part 2b of the closing cap 2 has a stable configuration such that it does not deform or does not appreciably deform in the area of the engagement part 3d in the direction toward the longitudinal axis L when the closing cap 2 is opened.
As is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the tamper-evident closure 1, in an advantageous embodiment, is designed in such a way that the closing cap 2 has an external diameter D, that the end 2m of the closing cap 2 oriented toward the container neck ring 3b is spaced apart from the container neck ring 3b by a distance L2 in the direction of the longitudinal axis L, and that the distance L2 is less than 2% of the external diameter D. The distance L2 is preferably less than 0.5 mm. An advantage of this design is that the height H of the closing cap 2 can be made particularly large, such that the jacket part 2b is made correspondingly long, such that the fingers can be placed very comfortably on the jacket part 2b or on the structured surface 2c. In previously known closing caps 2, there is sometimes the problem that the closing cap 2 has a small height H, such that the closing cap 2 is difficult to open. The closing cap 2 according to the invention has the advantage that, despite a short container neck 3a, it can be produced with a comfortable height H. The closing cap 2 according to the invention also has the advantage that the length of the container neck 3a can be reduced, and yet the closing cap 2 still has a comfortable height H for actuation with the fingers. The shorter container neck 3a means that material can be saved.
The tamper-evident closure 1 is advantageously produced in such a way that the closing cap 2 is connected to the container neck 3a, by a front portion 3k of the container neck 3a being inserted into the closing cap 2 by pushing or turning, by a tamper-evident part 2e of the closing cap 2, during the connection of the closing cap 2 to the container neck 3a, being pressed through the hook part 3d against a shoulder 2l of the closing cap 2, and by the tamper-evident part 2e, during the connection, bearing at least temporarily in a defined position on the shoulder 2l, in order to avoid excessive tensile forces on the bridge parts 2i during the connection.
Patent Grant
9475618
