The present invention relates to a flip top cap for containers providing evidence of first opening.
For the distribution of beverages and other liquid products, such as beverages with vitamin supplements, water containing additives in general, juices, tea, etc., containers or vessels are used on whose mouth the positioning of caps with various types of closure, more or less complex, are provided.
Some of these simplified caps which comprise a protection part with a cover and an internal central pourer part are referred to in the art as “flip top”.
The protection part with a cover extends into a base collar which is positioned on the threaded portion of the container mouth. The pourer part is arranged inside the protection part with a cover, connected to the inside of the container.
Liquid product packaging companies require that these closure caps must be produced and constructed in such a way as not to allow any opening or tampering with the contents of the container or vessel on which they are positioned.
For this purpose, their conformation and combination of characteristic parts must be such that, once opened for the first time, they must no longer be able to be closed again, revealing the first opening.
This is to ensure that the internal product is exactly that inserted by the filling company, absolutely original and of good quality in order to avoid the distribution of poor-quality and non-original products.
In view of these particular characteristics, the cap must still have a certain ease of opening, favoring the use of the beverage by consumers, meeting their needs in general.
Despite this, the cap must be able to reveal its integrity with simplicity and immediacy. That is to say, the user, on observing the container provided with this type of cap, must note that the container on which it is positioned, is intact, i.e., it has not already been opened for the first time, providing the consumer with ample reassurance as to the originality of the product.
Further guarantee requirements for the user are however that the cap with a protective cover:
can be positioned very easily on the mouth of the container, once filled;
guarantees preventing a first fraudulent opening and subsequent reclosing not detectable by the user;
reveals the first opening and in no way, once opened, can be closed in the same way as before packaging;
must have an irreversible first opening.
Further guarantees for the product are that this type of cap must be able to be positioned on the container with an optimal seal in its closed position to be maintained until the first opening after sale.
It is known that these requirements have been met by some caps which, moreover, have a great construction complexity and a certain number of constituent parts that make them complex to both produce and mount on the container. This is known to involve assembly costs and the need for having various molds available, which are also expensive.
A flip top cap is disclosed in publication no. US 2004/069806 A1.
A general objective of the present invention is therefore to find an adequate solution to the various problems previously indicated and cited.
A further objective of the invention is to provide a flip top cap which can guarantee the evidence of any type of tampering with respect to its positioning in the filling phase with the original contents.
Another objective of the invention is to provide a flip top cap for containers with evidence of opening which is simple and inexpensive as well as being particularly simple to use and operate.
Yet another objective of the invention is to provide a flip top cap for containers with a minimum number of components and assembly activities.
The above-mentioned objectives are achieved by a flip top cap for containers with evidence of first opening, of which the following description provides a few embodiments.
The structural and functional characteristics of the present invention and its advantages with respect to the known art will become even more evident from the following description, referring to the attached schematic drawings, which show an embodiment example of the invention.
In the drawings:
With reference in general to the exemplary and non-limiting figures, an embodiment of a flip top cap for containers with evidence of first opening is shown, indicated as a whole with 11.
In the following description, for illustrating the figures, identical reference numbers are used for indicating construction elements having the same function. Furthermore, for clarity of illustration, some numerical references may not have been repeated in all the figures. Indications such as “vertical” and “horizontal”, “upper” and “lower” (in the absence of other indications) should be read with reference to the assembly (or operating) conditions and referring to the normal terminology used in current language, wherein “vertical” indicates a direction substantially parallel to that of the force of gravity vector “g” and a horizontal direction perpendicular to it.
With respect therefore to this first embodiment, the cap 11 is arranged for closing a container, in particular on a screw neck (partially shown in C), and comprises an outer protective cover part 12 and a pourer part 13. The pourer part 13 is suitable for being arranged on an external threaded portion of the screw neck C. As already mentioned, this type of cap is referred to in the field of caps for containers as “flip top”.
According to the present invention, the outer protective cover part 12 and the pourer part 13 are produced in a single piece, for example by molding.
More specifically, the cover part 12 is substantially in the form of an inverted cup (see
The pourer part 13 provides a cylindrical section which comprises a lower ring or tamper-proof ring 16, two string portions 17 and an upper ring 18. The lower or tamper-proof ring 16 provides a first series of breakable bridges 21 above, which connect it to a lower circumferential facing surface of the two string portions 17. The two string portions 17 in an upper circumferential surface are in turn connected by means of a second series of bridges 22 to the above-mentioned upper ring 18. This upper ring 18 is provided with a portion internally threaded in 19, and extends above in a knurled portion 20.
The two string portions 17 are connected at their opposite ends on one side at 23 to said lower ring 16 and on the other side at 24 to said upper ring 18 and each of them extends at least for a quarter of a circumference of the pourer part 13, as can be clearly seen in
More specifically, the pourer part 13 therefore comprises an essentially cylindrical section 16, 17 and 18 and an actual pouring section 26, having a reduced diameter with respect to the cylindrical section, connected by a flat annular element or step 27, extending radially to connect the two portions 16, 17 and 18, and 26. In said flat annular element 27, there is an arrowed appendage 28 which also extends in an axial direction common to the whole cap (
The cover part 12, substantially in the form of an inverted cup, internally provides a front pocket 30 suitable for being aligned with the arrowed appendage 28 which extends from the flat element or step 27 of the pourer part 13 when the cover part 12 is closed on the pourer part 13. The pocket 30 of the cover part 12 forms a non-releasable engagement coupling when the arrowed appendage 28 is pushed inside it, unless the parts forming this coupling are broken.
In this way, engagement means (arrowed appendage 28 and pocket 30 which receives at least one end of the arrowed appendage 28) are provided which are of the breakable type and are arranged partly on the cover part 12 and partly on the pourer part 13 and remain integral with at least one of said parts when they are broken when the cap is first opened.
Furthermore, the cover part 12 provides an opening flap 37 on the outside in a front part on which to act when the two parts 12, 13 are to be separated and access gained to the internal liquid product.
Radial teeth 31 are provided in the internal surface of the cover part 12, suitable for being brought into abutment engagement on the flat element or step 27 of the pourer part 13 when the cover part 12 is closed on the pourer part 13, ensuring a correct positioning of the parts.
An annular cuff 32 facing inwardly is provided at the upper end of the actual pouring section 26. Within and against said annular cuff 32 there is a first tubular extension 33 which forms part of and extends downwards from an upper wall 34 of the cover part 12. Coaxial to said first tubular extension 33 and also facing the same direction as the first tubular extension 33, a second tubular extension 35 extends from the upper wall 34 of the cover part 12, having a larger diameter with respect to that of the first extension 33. The two tubular extensions 33 and 35 are positioned within and astride of the upper end of the actual pouring section 26, even if it does not provide said annular cuff 32 facing inwardly, and perfectly seal a passage 36 inside the pourer part 13 produced for discharging the contents of the container or vessel on which the cap 11 according to the present invention is arranged.
In this position closed and sealed by the company that produces the liquid product and packs it in the container, the cover part 12 is arranged integrally abutted above the pourer part 13. The collaboration of the extensions 33 and 35 previously described guarantees a good seal of the product inside the container. Furthermore, according to the present invention, the arrowed appendage 28 is positioned inside the pocket 30 of the cover part 12 and a non-releasable engagement coupling is formed between the parts 12, 13 of the cap 11.
A user who wishes to have access to the product to use it by acting for example on the opening flap 37 provided on the cover part 12 promotes its separation from the pourer part 13.
An action in this sense causes the breakage of at least the outer tip of the arrowed appendage 28 and its free end breaks and remains wedged inside the pocket 30 of the cover part 12 rotated around the hinge arrangement 15 (
In this way, if this opening had been effected for removing the internal product and replacing it with a different product, for example having lower value and cost, it would then no longer be possible to restore the original closure and the first opening would be revealed.
Furthermore, if complete access to the mouth of the container C is desired, according to the present invention, both the cover part 12 and the pourer part 13 can be removed from the mouth of the container C. For this purpose, by pulling, for example, on the pourer part 13, this causes the breakage of the bridges both 21 and 22 and the detachment of the two string portions 17 from both the lower ring or tamper-proof ring 16 and from the upper ring 18. All of this without separating the cover part 12 and the pourer part 13 from the container.
The string portions 17 can also be present in a number of one and in any case, they form means which prevent the separation between the parts of the cover 12, 13 and the mouth of the container C on which the cap is arranged, even if the cap has been removed from the mouth.
This prevents the plastic material of the cap from being dispersed in the environment, respecting the requirements of the law and preventing the pollution of plastic material.
Even in this embodiment, in which the cap is produced in one piece, engagement means are provided between the two parts 12, 13 which are of the breakable type. On one side the arrowed appendage 28 and on the other side the pocket 30 which receives one end of the arrowed appendage 28. The free portion of the arrowed appendage 28 breaks upon the first opening and remains integrally wedged in the pocket 30 of the cover part 20 revealing the first opening of the cap (
In particular,
In this position, an inverted L-shaped flap element 38, formed on the flat element or step 27 of the pourer part 13 is determined in such a position as to allow a complete closure between the cover part 12 and the pourer part 13. With the cap closed, in fact, a leg 39 facing downwards of this flap element 38 can be arranged between the parts in contact (
After the first opening of the cap has been effected and an attempt has been made to close the cover part 12 over the pourer part 13, the leg 39 becomes engaged on the outer part of the mouth of the container C which pushes it towards the outside of the container C.
The interposition of this leg 39 of the flap element 38 between the parts therefore prevents closure between the parts, between the cover part 12 and the pourer part 13 (as shown in
Even in this embodiment, identical elements are indicated with the same reference numbers.
Here again, the cap comprises an outer protective cover part 12 and a pourer part 13, produced in a single piece. The cover part 12 is connected by means of a hinge arrangement 15 to the pourer part 13. In this further example, the pourer part 13 provides a cylindrical section which comprises a lower ring or tamper-proof ring 16, two string portions 17 and an upper ring 18, but the string portions 17 can also be absent.
In this example, the pourer part 13, which comprises a flat annular element or step 27, also provides an arrowed appendage 28 which extends in an axial direction common to the whole cap. In this case, the cover part 12, in the form of an inverted cup, provides an internal front pocket 30′ of the breakable type which is in any case suitable for being aligned with the arrowed appendage 28. The arrowed appendage 28 penetrates the pocket 30′ when the cover 12 is closed over the pourer part 13. Here again, the pocket 30′ of the cover part 12 forms a non-releasable engagement coupling when the arrowed appendage 28 is pushed inside it. This engagement can be eliminated by breaking at least one of its walls 130 of the parts that form the pocket 30′.
Engagement means are therefore also provided here (arrowed appendage 28 and pocket 30′ which receives one end of the arrowed appendage 28) which are of the breakable type and are arranged partly on the cover part 12 and partly on the pourer part 13 and remain integral with at least one of said parts when they are broken when the cap is first opened.
The cap of the embodiment of
In this further example of a cap, shown in the open position of its cover part 12 and pourer part 13, a different type of mold is used and proposed.
This is in fact an industrial mold defined as “two-cheeked” whereby the knurled part 20 is located in two opposite sections of the pourer part 13 and does not extend for its entire circumference. There is therefore the presence of two large smooth portions on a certain extension of the outer side wall of the pourer part 13 (
Even in this case, the pourer part 13 has been illustrated as having string portions 17 connected to both the lower ring or tamper-proof ring 16 and to the upper ring 18. This arrangement, as already mentioned, prevents the separation of the cover part 12 from the pourer part 13 from the container. In a possible variant, however, the string portions 17 of the pourer part 13 can also be absent and the corresponding surface of the pourer part 13 is in this case smooth.
A further possible embodiment of a flip top cap for containers with evidence of first opening according to the present invention is shown in
Even in this embodiment the cover part 12 and the pourer part 13 are produced in a single piece by molding. Analogously, engagement means of the breakable type are provided, which are arranged partly on the cover part 12 and partly on the pourer part 13 and here again at least parts of said engagement means remain integral with at least one of the two pourer and cover parts, when they are broken at the first opening.
More specifically, in this variant the cover part 12 is provided with a shaped extension 230 projecting outwardly, which is arranged in engagement beneath an inverted U-shaped element 228 and constrained to the flat annular element or step 27 of the pourer part 13. The inverted U-shaped element 228 can be in the form of a two-pole flag at opposite ends.
When the cap is to be opened by acting on the opening flap 37 provided on the cover part 12, the shaped extension 230 is caused to push on the U-shaped element 228, at least partially promoting its separation from the pourer part 13.
It can be noted that the U-shaped element 228 is at least partially separated from the pourer part 13 remaining attached to it only at one side of the U-shape. It can also be noted how this detachment, even if partial, is extremely evident for whoever is observing the cap and this is even more evident from
The objective mentioned in the preamble of the description has thus been achieved.
The protection scope of the present invention is defined by the enclosed claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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102020000003724 | Feb 2020 | IT | national |