The present invention relates generally to providing additional environmental protection to the exposed area of dispensing containers during the use that could accidentally be previously exposed to contamination, through the application of a sealed overcap along with fixing means, while remaining nonetheless easily removable.
Novel products are usually offered to the market with the objective of getting a general improvement in the production process and at the same time to attend customer's main expectations such as low cost and high functionality.
Besides, there is another convenience commonly present in customer requirements which is related to the sanitary conditions of the exposed goods, in this case not only in the selling point but comprehensively during the whole industrial process up to the consumption moment.
One evident example of this situation can be given just by using canned beverages which contents are sometimes drunk by the buyer directly from the can's lid meaning so that the user's lips will be in direct contact with the can's structure that for the sake of sanitary care must be duly cleaned and harmless what is not totally guaranteed all time long especially after the removal of the cans from the transportation packs where they are at least partially protected by wrapping plastic film for being stored at the final selling points where the cans can be spoiled by chemical, environmental or animal hazardous contamination.
Disposable containers are usually offered to users in a ready-to-use version which is indeed one the best conveniences included.
It can be noted however that some of those items, and more specifically those containing edible goods might acquire undesirable sanitary conditions during the manufacturing and transportation process and before being consumed that eventually might exposed users to some sort of health problems if additional protection measure is not taken to avert it.
On top of that, an unprotected dispensing valve might permit that, when the container is still at the selling point, small samples of its content be unduly extracted by a nearby passing customers which can cause degradation to the product.
Therefore it was considered that an inexpensive solution to get the top discharging side of the container and its dispensing valve protected against contamination, misuse and tampering could be introduced for the benefit of both manufacturers and customers adding an additional utility to transform the sealed overcap in a regular drinking cup that might be used to promote the brand of the packed product.
It is therefore an object of the present patent the introduction of a hermetic and removable Sealed and Reversible Overcap to be used for the protection against the external contamination or tampering of all kind of pasty, gaseous and liquid products loaded into various kinds of dispensing containers.
It is also an object of the present patent the introduction of a removable Sealed and Reversible Overcap that can keep the areas of dispensing containers that might be in direct human contact during consumption clean and sanitized, as from the production point up to the consumption moment.
It is also an object of the present patent avoid undue attempt to use the container's content before it has been acquired by the final users.
It is also an object of the present patent the supplying to end user of a removable Sealed and Reversible Overcap that can be transformed in a regular cup after it has been detached from the dispensing container to which it was attached, avoiding so the storage of cups, especially inside the retailing points.
The way those objectives will be achieved are better explained through the following drawings.
FIGS. from 4A to 4C show three types of adhesive strip.
FIGS. from 5A to 5D show the kind of cut applied in an adhesive strip containing a central empty lane and the sequence for obtaining a section of an adhesive strip containing a central empty lane;
On
On
These cans are generally made up of thin-walled aluminum sheets, having aluminum covers 3 affixed through a seaming line 4 to the upper end of the cylindrical structures 5 where an outlet device 6 is added to facilitate the free outflow of its content.
It happens however that the bowl shaped format 7 assumed by the sealing top 8 of the can 2a after it has been set ready for delivering to the final selling points is suitable for the reception and accumulation of any sort of waste and dust before the consumption of its content that somehow can be contaminated.
Moreover, the can's external upper end 9 and the sealing top 8 as well, which eventually may be in direct contact to the lips of some customers who may prefer to sip the beverages directly from the sealing top 8 of the cans instead of using a cup, might had been exposed to some sort of environmental contamination or mishandling during the transportation or storage process with the potential risk of threatens user's health.
In the sequence of figures from 3A to 3B it was shown how the positioning and sequential insertion of Sealed and Reversible Overcaps 1 around a beverage container 2 will preserve and even enhance the adequate sanitary condition of the external upside of the can 2, and more especially, of the area 9 that will be touched by the lips of a customer whose preference is to sip the beverage directly from the container's sealing top 8.
According to
It should be also remarked that after the encapsulation of the upper section of the dispensing container 2 by a Sealed and Reversible Overcaps 1, there will be no further external human or animal contact with the outlet valve 6 unless by spoiling the Sealed and Reversible Overcaps 1, meaning so that it will be nearly impossible the extraction of portions of the container's content, avoiding therefore tampering attempts and contamination risks.
To be considered reliable in sanitary terms, after the insertion of the dispensing container 2 in the Sealed and Reversible Overcaps 1, they should be then hermetically tight one to the other by practical means not only in terms of production but also during the consumption process being this goal obtained through the present patent by using, for instance, seals made up from adhesive strips.
Conceived to keep surfaces together, regular pressure-sensitive tapes 10 that are coated with adhesive material 11 in one and sometimes in both of its sides and that will be from now on used as the exemplary model in the present patent that are represented by the possible types of coiled adhesive strip 12 shown in
Consequently, the concept for getting an adhesive strip portion, namely a seal 10a, conceived to complement the airtight attachment of the Sealed and Reversible Overcap 1 to dispensing containers 2 of nearly any type is disclosed through the following figures.
Made up of any suitable material such as plastic, paper, fabrics or any other that can attend the desired purposes of fixing the Sealed and Reversible Overcap 1 on the dispensing containers 2, the pressure-sensitive tapes 10 are coated by adhesive material 11 comprising in its longitudinal orientation, the adequate configuration in terms of number and dimension of adhesive lanes 10b, as well as in the spatial distribution of adhesive material 11 across the lanes that must be fully compatible with the requirements of each application, such as disclosed by the
As such, it can be seen in the
On
The creation of a longitudinal blank space 13 is justified by the fact that said portion 13 will not adhere to the clean area 13a created by the superposition area 13b formed when the Sealed and Reversible Overcap 1 and the dispensing container 2 are already connected in order to make its separation possible and easy, as better explained through
It can also be noted in
In this specific example the central lane 16 of the adhesive strip which is periodically exempted of adhesive material 11 is destined to stay exactly over, and in contact with the area 13a where the edge of the Sealed and Reversible Overcap 1 will get in touch with the structural walls 5 of the dispensing container 2, in order to allow the easy separation of the two after the detachment of the central lane 16 of the adhesive strip.
However and in order to avoid the eventual contamination of the clean area 13a aimed to be protected by the seal 10a, as shown in
Preferably supplied in coils 17 for the manufacturers of dispensing containers 2, during the assembling process, the coiled adhesive strips 12 will be firstly submitted to an appropriated cut not only to separate from the coil the desired piece suitable to enfold the entire periphery of the dispensing container where the Sealed and Reversible Overcap 1 will be fixed, according to any specific need, but also to produce a small portion of material exempted of glue that will serve customers as the pull tab 18 to strip out the central lane 16 of the adhesive strip.
The cutting sequence to obtain the desired seal 10a that will enfold the entire periphery of the dispensing container is exhibited through figures from 5A to 5D.
On
On
Another workable model of adhesive strip is shown by
The result of this cut, as shown in
Notwithstanding, the application process of the seals 10a around the final set already formed is exposed through
Thus, in
In
In
FIGS. from 9A up to 9D expose the sequence to undock an elongated Sealed and Reversible Overcap 1 from a Reversible Overcap 1 from the dispensing container 2 which will result in the creation of a regular clean drinking cup 30.
In
The first step represented in
Once the detachable portion 25 delimited by the double eccentric perforated cut lines 15a has been completely removed, as shown in
After the detachment, the next step taken by the user is to remove the larger half 24a of the larger seal 10d that remained attached to the drinking cup 30, exposing so the larger protected region 30a that can be securely touched by the user's lips, as shown in
Through the sequence of figures from 10A to 10C, the undocking of an elongated Sealed and Reversible Overcap 1 from the dispensing container 2 will result again in the creation of a regular clean drinking cup 30 is shown, however using this time a larger seal 10d fitted with just a single perforate eccentric cut line 15b which divides the larger seal 10d in two different halves 24, the larger half 24a, and the thinner half 24b. In
The first step to open the can 2a, as represented in
Once the larger half 24a delimited by eccentric perforated cut line 15b has been completely removed, as shown in
After the detachment and removal of the larger half 24a, the larger protected region 30a that can be securely touched by the user's lips was exposed, as shown in
Through the figures from 11A till 11D, another feasible alternative to fix the Sealed and Reversible Overcap 1 on the dispensing container 2 by means of a double coated tape 26 is unveiled.
In
It can also be noted in
The inner area 31 existing between the portion 28a allocated close to the open end 29 of the Sealed and Reversible Overcap 1 and the edge 32 of the Sealed and Reversible Overcap 1 will be preserved free and used to be in contact, as shown in
In
It will be readily understood by those persons skilled in the art that the present invention is susceptible of broad utility and application. Many embodiments and adaptations of the present invention other than those herein described, as well as many variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements, will be apparent from or reasonably suggested by the present invention and the foregoing description thereof, without departing from the substance or scope of the present invention. Accordingly, while the present invention has been described herein in detail in relation to its preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that this disclosure is only illustrative and exemplary of the present invention and is made merely for purposes of providing a full and enabling disclosure of the invention. The foregoing disclosure is not intended or to be construed to limit the present invention or otherwise to exclude any such other embodiments, adaptations, variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements.