The invention relates to a container consisting of a plastic material, having a container body for receiving a fluid and having a neck part adjoining the container body, wherein said neck part having at its free end a discharge opening for the fluid, which is closed by a head part and covered by a cap, which penetrates the head part by means of at least one opening part during a screw-on motion in one direction of rotation, wherein said cap is connected to a retaining ring, forming a unit with the latter, via a connection device and, after the connection device has been disengaged, releases the discharge opening for removing fluid via the penetrated head part in the course of an unscrewing motion in the opposite direction of rotation and on removal from the container body, wherein individual blocking elements projecting outwards are provided on the neck part, wherein said blocking elements interact with individual second blocking elements projecting inwards on the retaining ring in such a way that the connection device is disengaged when the unit is rotated from an attachment position on the neck part.
Plastic containers of this type are known. Such containers can be produced in a simple and cost-effective manner by means of a blow molding, filling and sealing process (BFS process), as it is known to experts as Bottelpack® (trademark). The unit comprising cap and retaining ring can preferably be produced by injection molding. As relevant state of the art, document WO 2014/169979 A1 discloses a container of the genus mentioned above.
In particular, if such containers are intended to receive a sensitive filling material, such as food or in particular pharmaceutical or cosmetic substances, the retaining ring, which is separated from the cap by disconnecting the connection device, when the cap is rotated starting from the attachment position of the unit, i.e. for the first use of the container, is of particular importance. Because the detachment of the retaining ring from the rest of the unit provides a clear indication that the opening/closure system has been actuated, the retaining ring has the function of a quality assurance device to indicate or even prevent possible manipulation.
Based on this prior art, the invention addresses the problem of providing a container of the type mentioned, which is characterized by improved ease of use while maintaining the advantages achieved in the prior art.
According to the invention, this problem is solved by a container which has the features of patent claim 1 in its entirety.
According to the characterizing part of claim 1, an essential feature of the invention is that the blocking elements interact in such a way that rotary motions in both directions of rotation along a predetermined path of travel are permitted starting from the attachment position, in that a part of the second blocking elements passes completely over the first blocking elements during a further screw-on motion of the unit beyond the predetermined path of travel, and in so doing the head part is penetrated by means of the respective opening part of the cap, and in that the connection device being disengaged during a subsequent unscrewing motion of the cap in order to release the discharge opening and the retaining ring thereby is secured on the neck part at least partially against rotation by means of at least one blocking element.
Because according to the invention, when the unit formed by the cap and retaining ring is arranged in its attachment position, i.e. the container is in the condition as supplied to customer, a path of travel for rotational motions is available for the user for the initial opening before the connection device on the retaining ring is disconnected, the opening process is safer and thus more user-friendly compared to the known container solution mentioned. For the known container the blocking elements on the container neck and on the retaining ring engage each other in such a way that there is practically no free angle of rotation before the connection device is disconnected, i.e. the retaining ring is detached.
For the opening process by penetration of the head part, the user has to rotate the cap in the direction of rotation that produces the screw-on motion. There is a risk that the user will stop the rotary motion before the head part is completely penetrated and remove the cap by unscrewing it without actually opening the container. The invention precludes the risk that the user is left with a closed container after the cap has been removed and the quality assurance device has been detached, because the user has a path of travel available to him for the screw-on motion penetrating the head part, in which a complete penetration of the opening part of the cap on the head part occurs. Because the retaining ring is secured against rotation on the neck part of the container during the subsequent rotation in the unscrewing direction performed by the user to remove the cap, the quality assurance device is now deactivated by disconnecting the connection device, so that after unscrewing the cap the container is available to the user in a safely opened state.
In advantageous embodiments, the first blocking elements of the neck part are formed by the ends of ramps which protrude beyond the outer circumference of the neck part, wherein the second blocking elements of the retaining ring consist of individual, inclined bars on the inner circumferential side of the retaining ring. While the ramps permit the second blocking elements to be passed over when rotated in the screw-on direction, the ends of the ramps simultaneously form blocking surfaces which, after being passed over, secure the retaining ring against rotation in the unscrewing direction by contacting the respective second blocking element.
The arrangement can be advantageously made in such a way that the second blocking elements of the retaining ring are combined in pairs to form fixing groups and that every second blocking element is at a distance from the further second blocking element of a fixing group, wherein said distance is equal to or greater than the longitudinal extension of a ramp as viewed in the circumferential direction of the neck part.
The blocking elements of the fixing groups are advantageously positioned on the retaining ring in such a way that, during the screw-on motion of the cap starting from the attachment position, the blocking element of a fixing group arranged adjacent to a ramp of the neck part slides along the ramp until the ramp, completely passed by this blocking element, comes into latching engagement with the associated fixing group of second blocking elements.
In advantageous embodiments, the neck part forms an annular body in the direction of the container body, wherein said annular body supports the individual ramps, which are arranged equidistantly from one another along the outer circumference of the annular body, which on its side facing away from the container body, has a stop surface for the free end face of the cap, which comes into contact with the stop surface as soon as the respective opening part has penetrated the head part.
When the cap is screwed on in the direction of the stop surface, the cap entrains the retaining ring via the connection device, wherein said retaining ring moves coaxially with the longitudinal axis of the container body in the direction of the latter axially along the annular body until the cap abuts against the annular body.
Advantageously, the neck part has a multi-start thread between the head part and the annular body which, formed as an external thread, interacts with an internal thread on the inner side of the cap for screw-on and unscrewing operations. With special advantage the external thread can have a saw-tooth shape, which permits attaching the unit consisting of cap and retaining ring by snapping it onto the external thread, but still secures the unit against any axial motion away from the neck part.
In advantageous embodiments, the head part, which is cylindrical in shape, adjoins the external thread of the neck part via an extraction cone, wherein the free end face of said head part, formed in the manner of a membrane, can be penetrated by the opening part in the form of a mandrel in the cap.
With particular advantage, the cylindrical outer circumferential surface of the head part serves as a guide surface for a guide body of the cap, which guide body encompasses the mandrel at the rim.
As an assembly aid when attaching the closure system to the container, the retaining ring can have a marking on the outer circumference, wherein said marking can be brought into alignment with a marking on the container body in such a way that the unit on the neck part assumes its predeterminable attachment position, in which the fixing groups of the retaining ring are guided in the circumferential area between the ramps of the neck part, freely movable back and forth in opposite directions of rotation.
The connection device between the retaining ring and the cap can be implemented by means of predetermined breaking points, which act, as projecting predetermined breaking webs having a reduced cross-section, on the outer circumference of the cap until the connection device is disconnected.
The unit comprising the cap, the retaining ring and the connection device may be formed from an one-piece plastic molding, in particular an injection-molded part.
In particularly advantageous embodiments, the retaining ring has support struts on the inner circumference and outside of the fixing groups and the predetermined breaking bars, wherein said support struts, preferably starting from an upper annular surface of the retaining ring, extend axially up to a length such that, in the attachment position of the unit below the support struts, a moving space remains free for the ramps of the neck part inside the retaining ring.
The arrangement can be advantageously made in such a way that when the container body is turned and the container opening is released, the retaining ring slides down from the neck part and detaches from the container, which may be advantageous for reasons of hygiene.
In addition, the arrangement can be such that a longitudinal channel extends through the external thread of the neck part in parallel to the longitudinal axis of the container body at at least one location, wherein said longitudinal channel preferably crosses the thread path and, serving for air exchange, permits the screw on processes on and the screw off processes from the neck part for the cap without restraint.
In a particularly advantageous manner, the filled container body together with the neck part and the head part can be manufactured by means of a blow molding, filling and sealing process.
Below the invention is explained in detail with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawing.
In the Figures:
The embodiment of the container according to the invention and shown in
A unit 17 comprising a cap 19 is provided as an opening system by means of which the container can be opened by penetrating the membrane 13 and re-closed. As shown most clearly in
As part of a quality assurance device, the opening device of the container on the annular body 15 of the neck part 7 has as first blocking elements three ramps 43 arranged at equal angular distances from each other, which project beyond the outer circumference of the annular body 15 and rise accordingly, in the direction of vision according to
For the opening procedure the user rotates the cap 19 in accordance with the direction of the first rotation arrow 59 starting from the attachment position (
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2018 001 102.0 | Feb 2018 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2019/051202 | 1/18/2019 | WO | 00 |