Patent Application
20150129532
The present invention refers to a closure and suspension arrangement to be applied in cans formed in metallic sheet and which comprise a tubular body portion, usually of circular cross section and carrying a bottom wall, an upper neck portion having a contour smaller than that of the body portion and a transition portion joining the body portion and neck portion and having an end edge defining the contour of an upper opening of the can, into which is fitted a removable lid.
There are well known from the prior art the tubular cans of metallic sheet comprising a body portion, having a circular or polygonal cross section, inferiorly closed by a bottom wall and superiorly joined, by a transition portion, to a neck portion having both its cross section and height reduced in relation to those of the body portion.
The provision of the transition portion in the upper region of the can provides a considerable increase in the structural resistance of the latter, allowing for the elimination of the upper annular portion, and with the upper opening of the can corresponding to the inner cross section of the neck portion. In this construction, it is sufficient that the upper end edge of the can, that is, of the neck portion, is curved, or otherwise worked, in order to form a curl, or outer peripheral ridge, surrounding the upper opening of the can and defining, together with the upper end edge of the latter, a seat for the seating of a removable lid, comprising a panel portion incorporating a peripheral tubular portion to be tightly fitted, with interference, into the upper opening, inside the neck portion, said peripheral tubular portion having a free upper edge which is curved, or otherwise worked, to form a curl or outer peripheral ridge of semi-tubular shape, inferiorly open and housing an annular gasket which is seated and pressed against the outer peripheral ridge the neck portion, upon the fitting of the peripheral tubular portion of the lid into the upper opening of the can.
This prior art construction allows for the elimination of the annular upper portion and the formation of an initial tubular body, using a metallic sheet of usual thickness, such as for example, from about 0.21 mm to about 0.27 mm for 3.6 liter cans, and having a cross section corresponding to that of the neck portion. This construction is disclosed in documents PCT/BR2011/000166 (of the same assignee), DE 4021211 A1 and also FR2.104.673, the latter having a can without the neck portion.
These cans may have its closure elements further comprising a retention ring of plastic material, having an upper annular portion to be seated onto the outer peripheral rib of the lid, and a pending skirt portion, surrounding the outer peripheral rib of the lid and the outer peripheral ridge of the neck portion, and incorporating an inner circumferential projection to be seated and axially locked under the outer peripheral ridge of the neck portion, in order to retain the outer peripheral rib of the lid seated against the outer peripheral ridge of the neck portion, as described and illustrated in the aforementioned document PCT/BR2011/000166.
Although the retention ring may be constructed in order to make difficult the removal of the lid without making evident the opening of the can and access to its contents, the known constructions do not provide an effective tamper evident seal of simple construction and which has to be mandatorily broken in order to allow and make evident a first opening of the can.
Another drawback of the known solutions for the type of can considered herein, results from the fact that they do not present a suspension arrangement of simple construction, relatively reduced cost, and of easy assembly to the body portion of the can and which is operatively associated with the retention ring, in order to define, with the latter, a tamper evident seal and prevent the usual complex and costly constructions to form a seal in a retention ring defining an element with no operational association with the suspension arrangement.
Still another drawback of the known solutions is related to the need of providing a stable stacking, with no interlocking of the retention rings and suspension rings in the magazines for feeding said rings into the equipment, for mechanically assembling said retention and suspension rings in the peripheral rib of the lid and around the neck portion of the can, respectively.
Due to the limitations of the known solutions, it is an object of the present invention to provide a closure and suspension arrangement for a can of the type provided with a neck portion with a reduced cross section, having a simple construction and which allows, not only a tight and safe closure of the can with a high level of tightness and providing a seal able to make evident a first opening of the lid, but also an easy manual suspension of the can in any of its closed lid or removed lid conditions.
The invention has the further object of providing a closure and suspension arrangement, such as mentioned above and which makes easier and more reliable the mechanized assembly of the closure means and suspension means, in the lid and in the can, respectively.
Still a further object of the invention is to provide a closure and suspension arrangement as mentioned above and which does not submit the outer peripheral rib of the lid to the forces to be applied to the latter when it is closed by being fitted into the upper opening of the can.
The present closure and suspension arrangement is applied to cans which comprise: a body portion; a neck portion, having an upper end portion defining an upper opening of the can and incorporating an outer peripheral ridge; a transition portion, joining the body portion and neck portion; and a lid, including a peripheral tubular portion to be fitted into the upper opening and having an upper edge carrying an outer peripheral rib.
According to the invention, the closure and suspension arrangement comprises: a retention ring of plastic material, having an upper annular portion seated and retained onto the outer peripheral rib and surrounding superiorly and laterally the latter, a pending skirt portion surrounding, externally and tightly, the outer peripheral rib and the outer peripheral ridge, and incorporating an inner circumferential projection to be seated and axially locked under the outer peripheral ridge; and a suspension ring of plastic material, surrounding the neck portion, carrying a grip handle and being upwardly and downwardly locked, respectively, against the outer peripheral ridge and against, the transition portion, and having a peripheral upper channel, which is externally limited by a surrounding wall and into which is fitted and upwardly locked the lower tubular projection of the retention ring, the surrounding wall being elastically deformable outwardly, in order to release the upward displacement of said lower tubular projection and thus remove the lid, the surrounding wall being upwardly joined, in a single piece and by means of breakable connection means, to a detachable seal strip, which peripherally surrounds a lower region of the pending skirt portion of the retention ring.
The above mentioned construction allows that the closure of the can is achieved by a simple construction, with the axial locking of the lid by the retention ring and with the provision of a seal for making evident the first opening, which construction is defined by cooperation of the retention ring with the suspension ring, which carries a grip handle and which is partially breakable to allow the release of the retention ring and the removal of the lid, preferably by using a simple lever tool to be inserted between the lower region of the pending skirt portion of the retention ring and the surrounding wall of the suspension ring, after removing the seal strip.
The invention will be described below, with reference to the enclosed drawings, given by way of example of an embodiment of the invention, and in which:
As described above and illustrated in the attached drawings, the closure and suspension arrangement proposed by the invention is applied to a can 10 formed in metallic sheet, usually tinplate, having a generally circular cross section, but which may be polygonal, although said shape is not illustrated in the drawings.
The can 10 of tubular shape comprises: a body portion 11, a lower end edge 11a, to which is affixed, usually by double seaming, the peripheral edge of a bottom wall 12; a neck portion 13 having a concentric contour, similar and reduced in relation to that of the body portion 11, and an upper end edge 13a defining the contour of an upper opening “A” for the can 10; and a transition portion 14 with a profile inclined in relation to the axis of the can 10 and joining the body portion 11 and neck portion 13.
The upper end edge 13a of the neck portion 13 incorporates an outer peripheral ridge 15. In the illustrated condition, the outer peripheral ridge 15 takes the form of a curl of tubular cross section, obtained by bending the metallic sheet radially outwards in the region of the upper end edge 13a. In the drawings, the cross section of the curl is circular, however it should be understood that it may be formed a peripheral ridge having different cross sections, which may be tubular or not.
The formation of the body portion 11 is started by forming a tubular body having a cross section corresponding to that of the neck portion 13, and which is then radially expanded, throughout part of its height, in order to define the body portion 11 and transition portion 14, according to known methods in the art. Preferably, the transition portion 14 remains inferiorly joined to the body portion 11, by a junction region in convex arc 14a, and superiorly joined to the neck portion 13 by a junction region in concave arc 14b.
The can 10 further comprises a lid 20 formed in a single piece of stamped metallic sheet, presenting a panel portion 21 occupying a great part of the cross section area of the upper opening A and incorporating a peripheral tubular portion 22, which is configured and dimensioned to be fitted, in a tight manner and with interference, into the upper opening A, inside the neck portion 13.
Said peripheral tubular portion 22 presents an upper edge 22a to which is incorporated an outer peripheral rib 25, configured to be seated onto the outer peripheral ridge 15 provided in the upper end edge 13a of the neck portion 13.
As illustrated, the lid 20 is preferably built with its panel portion 21 incorporating a pending skirt 21a, usually frusto-conical and which forms, with the peripheral tubular portion 22, a peripheral channel 24, radially separating the panel portion 21 from the peripheral tubular portion 22, the panel portion 21 thus being located in an elevated plane in relation to the bottom wall 24a of the peripheral channel 24.
According to one aspect of the invention, the outer peripheral rib 25 has a partially tubular profile, inferiorly open and having: a radially inner edge 25a which is joined, to the upper edges 22a of the peripheral tubular portion 22 of the lid 20, by an annular step 26 projecting outward from said peripheral tubular portion 22; and a radially outer edge 25b, spaced from the radially inner edge 25a, the outer peripheral rib 25 carrying, in its interior, an annular gasket 30, preferably in the form of a resin chord, for example “Plastisol”, molded inside the outer peripheral rib 25 of the lid 20.
The annular gasket 30 is configured, inside the outer peripheral rib 25, to be seated and pressed against the outer peripheral ridge 15 of the neck portion 13, upon the fitting of the lid 20 into the upper opening A of the can, and upon the seating of the annular step 26 onto the outer peripheral ridge 15 of the neck portion 13.
Although the drawings illustrate only one outer peripheral rib 25 in the form of a partially tubular curl having a cross section of an arc of a circle, it should be understood that there may be used cross sections other than a perfectly circular arc.
According to the illustrated embodiment, the projection of the radially inner edge 25a and radially outer edge 25b of the outer peripheral rib 25 is in the axial direction of the can, disposed secant, respectively, to the radially innermost half and to the radially outermost half of the contour of the outer peripheral ridge 15 of the neck portion 13.
Still according to the illustrated embodiment, the radially inner edge 25a and the radially outer edge 25b of the outer peripheral rib 25 define, in relation to each other, an alignment which is tangent or slightly secant to the upper half of the contour of the outer peripheral ridge 15 of the neck portion 13. This constructive form allows the upper portion of the outer peripheral ridge 15 to slightly penetrate into the interior of the lower contour of the outer peripheral rib 25, compressing the annular gasket 30 and assuring a high level of tightness to the closure of the lid 20 when fitted into the upper opening A of the can.
Aiming to provide a certain degree of interference between the annular gasket 30 and the upper portion of the outer peripheral ridge 15, the former is configured to be inferiorly tangent to or sectioned by the lines containing the radially inner edge 25a and radially outer edge 25b of the outer peripheral rib 25 of the lid 20.
As illustrated in the drawings, the subject closure arrangement further comprises a retention ring 40 in a single piece of plastic material and having: an upper annular portion 41 to be seated and retained on the outer peripheral rib 25 of the lid 20, surrounding superiorly and laterally said outer peripheral rib 25; a peripheral skirt portion 42 pending from the upper annular portion 41 surrounding, laterally and tightly, the outer peripheral rib 25 of the lid 20 and the outer peripheral ridge 15 of the neck portion 13, and incorporating an inner circumferential projection 43 to be seated and axially locked under the outer peripheral ridge 15 of the neck portion 13.
In the illustrated embodiment, the inner circumferential projection 43 presents a profile in the form of a ramp, which is inclined downwards and radially inwards, in order to define a tooth acting under the outer peripheral ridge 15 of the neck portion 13, in order to provide a safe axial locking of the lid 20 to the body 10 of the can.
In order for the retention ring 40 to remain securely affixed to the lid 20, the peripheral skirt 42 may further incorporate, in its interior, a peripheral chord 44 configured to be tightly seated under the radially outer edge 25b of the outer peripheral rib 25. Thus, the retention ring 40 is incorporated to the lid 20 before the latter is fitted into the upper opening A of the can, upon filling the latter with the product to be canned.
As illustrated, the peripheral skirt portion 42 is provided, in part of its height and from a lower edge 42b of said peripheral skirt 42, with an outer recess 42a, whose function will be described further below.
In the illustrated constructive embodiment, the retention ring 40 further incorporates, in its upper annular portion 41, a first upper tubular projection 46, radially spaced in relation to the outer contour of the retention ring 40, in order to define, with the upper annular portion 41, a peripheral step 46a onto which is seated the lower peripheral edge 11a, that is, the double seam of the bottom wall 12 of another identical can, seated on the previous one in a stack of said cans, as illustrated in
The retention ring 40 may further incorporate, in its upper annular portion 41, a second upper annular projection 47, radially spaced in relation to the first upper annular projection 46 and having a height generally superior to that of the latter, and whose function will be described further below.
According to the invention, the peripheral skirt 42 of the retention ring 40 further incorporates a lower tubular projection 48 defined as a single circumferential strip, or as a plurality of circumferential skirt portions and incorporating, along the extensions thereof, an outer lower tooth 48a, facing upwards and inferiorly configured in the form of a ramp, whose function will be described further below.
Still according to the invention, the arrangement comprises, additionally, a suspension ring 50 in plastic material, which is mounted so as to surround the neck portion 13 of the can, usually after the formation of the latter and before its shipment to the filler. The suspension ring 50 is upwardly and downwardly locked, respectively, against the outer peripheral ridge 15 and against the transition portion 14, remaining axially retained between these two portions of the can.
In the illustrated embodiment, the suspension ring 50 incorporates an upper projection 51, with an end edge 51a which seats under the outer peripheral ridge 15, and a lower projection 52, with an end edge 52a which is positioned adjacent to the lower region of the transition portion 14 of the can, and which may be seated thereon. The suspension ring 50 has an inner lower portion 50a configured to be seated against the transition portion 14 and locked against the latter, in the downward direction.
The suspension ring 50 presents a peripheral upper channel 53 which is externally limited by a surrounding wall 54 provided with an inner upper tooth 54a, facing downwards and which may be superiorly configured as a ramp. Inside the peripheral upper channel 53 is fitted and upwardly retained the lower tubular projection 48 of the retention ring 40. The fitting of the lower tubular projection 48 in the peripheral upper channel 53 is completed only upon the closure of the can after filling, by the seating of the lid 20 already carrying the retention ring 40, into the upper opening A of the can. Said fitting of the lower tubular projection 48 is achieved by its outer lower tooth 48a passing by the inner upper tooth 54a of the surrounding wall 54 of the suspension ring 50, which surrounding wall 54 is elastically deformed outwards and returned to its rest position, in which its tooth 54a then operates as a stop for the outer lower tooth 48a of the lower tubular projection 48. This arrangement prevents the retention ring 40 from being displaced axially upwards in order to release the lid 20.
In the construction suggested herein, the surrounding wall 54 is superiorly joined in a single piece and by breakable connection means 55c, to a detachable seal strip 56, interrupted by an axial slot 56a and peripherally surrounding a lower region of the peripheral skirt portion 42 of the retention ring 40. The seal strip 56 has an enlarged end portion 56b, adjacent to the axial slot 56a of the latter and which is loosely housed inside the outer recess 42a of the peripheral skirt 42.
Thus, after removing the seal strip 56, the surrounding wall 54 of the suspension ring 50 may be elastically deformed outwards, in order to release the engagement between the inner radial tooth 54a of the surrounding wall 54 and the outer radial tooth 48a of the lower tubular projection 48 of the retention ring 40, allowing for the upward displacement of said lower tubular projection 48 and the removal of the lid 20.
In order to facilitate the opening of the lid 20 after removing the seal strip 56, the surrounding wall 54 of the suspension ring 50 has an upper edge 54b which maintains an axial gap in relation to a lower edge 42b of the peripheral skirt portion 42 of the retention ring 40, sufficient to allow the introduction of a manual lever means into said axial gap, after removing the seal strip 56.
Thus, in order for the lid 20 to be released, it is necessary to initially manually break the enlarged end portion 56b of the seal strip 56 and, then, the entire remaining of the latter, so that the surrounding wall 54 of the suspension ring 50 may be elastically deformed outwards, in order to release the engagement of the radial teeth 54a and 48a, allowing the lower tubular projection 48 of the retention ring 40 to be axially displaced upwards, together with the retention ring 40 and the lid 20, thus opening the can.
Thus, for allowing a first opening of the can to occur, it is necessary to break the seal strip 56 of the suspension ring 50, such breaking making clearly evident the tampering of the seal of the can closure. Still according to the invention, the suspension ring incorporates, externally and in its lower projection 52, at opposite regions and usually in a single piece, two radial pins 55, each being preferably provided with a respective enlarged head 55a. The suspension arrangement further comprises a grip handle 60, generally “U” shaped, formed in any adequate material, such as plastic, having end portions 61 respectively pivoted in the radial pins 55, and a preferably enlarged median portion 62, the grip handle 60 being angularly displaceable, about the common axis of the radial pins 55, between an nonoperational position, in which it remains positioned laterally and externally to a respective lateral extension of the neck portion 13 of the can and of the suspension ring 50, usually corresponding to half the perimeter of the neck portion 13 and of the suspension ring 50, and an operational position, in which it is positioned over the can. The operational positions of the handle are illustrated in
Each preferably enlarged end portion 61 of the grip handle 60 is provided with a through opening 63, through which is rotatively supported a respective radial pin 55 of the suspension ring 50. The through opening 63 has a width, in the direction perpendicular to the extension of the grip handle 60, which is sufficient to rotatively support, in a tight manner and in the same direction, the radial pin 55, and a length, in the longitudinal direction of the grip handle 60, which is sufficient to rotatively support the radial pin 55, both with the grip handle 60 in the nonoperational position and with the grip handle 60 in angular displacement from the nonoperational position to the operational position.
The through opening 63, of each end portion 61 of the grip handle 60, has parallel and straight opposite lateral edges 63a, against which are tightly seated opposite regions of the generally circular cross section of the respective radial pin 55.
The through opening 63 further presents an outer end edge 63b, against which is seated the respective radial pin 55, when, the grip handle 60 is in the operational position and suspending the can, as illustrated in
In order to operate properly, each radial pin 55 incorporates an enlarged head 55a having a contour which is greater than the width of the through openings 63, each of the latter having an inner end, opposite to the outer end edge 63b and open to an enlarged hole 64 having a contour dimensioned to allow the passage of the enlarged head 55a of the radial pin 55, usually with little elastic deformation of the enlarged head 55a, or of the through opening 63.
Although not illustrated herein, it should be understood that the grip handle 60 may have each through opening 63 presenting parallel and straight opposite lateral edges, whereas each radial pin 55 may have a polygonal cross section dimensioned to cooperate with the opposite edges of each respective through opening 63, when the grip handle 60 is in its nonoperational position, allowing for the stabilization of the grip handle 60 in this position, as defined in the Brazilian patent application PI 1100010-4 of the same assignee.
Since the suspension ring 50 is positioned axially spaced from the outer peripheral ridge 15 of the can, the through opening 63, in each end portion 61 of the grip handle 60, takes the form of an oblong slot longitudinally defined in the grip handle 60, for allowing the latter to be radially displaced in relation to the axis of the two radial pins 55, in order to increase its angular displacement radius, preventing any interference contact with the retention ring 40, or with the outer peripheral ridge 15 of the neck portion 13, when said handle is displaced between the nonoperational and operational positions.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
While only one embodiment of the present closure and suspension arrangement has been illustrated herein, it should be understood that several changes can be made in the form and arrangement of the components parts, without departing from the constructive concept defined in the claims that accompany the present disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2012 010613.2 | May 2012 | BR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/BR2013/000150 | 5/3/2013 | WO | 00 |
