A safety rotating closure is disclosed for a multi-compartment bottle, for example, a two-chamber bottle, with a separate pour neck.
In the household and in a commercial-industrial application, substances are often used which consist of separate components. For example, the substances are detergents or gardening agents or also agricultural agents which consist of at least two flowable or liquid individual components which must be stored separately from one another and come into contact with one another only when poured out. In this connection it is necessary to house the individual components in a standard container which has several chambers. For this purpose multi-compartment bottles, especially of plastic, which are produced in one or more parts, are known from the prior art.
To prevent the individual components from coming into contact with one another too early, in addition to multi-compartment bottles with a common pour opening for the chambers there are also multi-compartment bottles, conventionally two-chamber bottles which have a separate pour neck with its own pour opening for each chamber. Providing the separate pour openings with separate closures, for example rotating closures, is known.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,515 discloses a two-chamber bottle which has two separate pour openings. Each pour opening is provided with a separate closure. The closures are mounted on a platform which can be slipped onto the pour necks. Finally there is an overcap which can be placed over the pour neck provided with the closure platform.
US 2003/0173364 A1 describes a canister-like, two-chamber container which has a pour neck with two pour openings. The outside wall of the common pour neck is provided with an external thread. After attaching separate closure stoppers for the pour openings, a screw cap can be screwed onto the common pour neck.
Due to the often basic or acid contents of the multi-compartment bottles or in the case of other problematical contents, there is often the desire to seal these bottles child-proof. Therefore fundamentally any individual rotating closure can be provided with a child safety. In any case this approach is not extremely user-friendly in application. Therefore, the prior art discloses a sealing cap for a multi-compartment bottle, especially for a two-chamber bottle which can be screwed onto the common bottle neck of the multi-compartment bottle. The rotating closure has a sealing membrane which is located within the closure which is pressed against the edges of the mouth of the pour openings when the closure is screwed on. Sealing of the pour openings via the sealing membrane is unfortunately often simply unsatisfactory. When the rotating closure is screwed on and off, the opening edges rub against the sealing surface of the sealing membrane. In this way the sealing membrane can wear and then no longer closes correctly. The child safety feature of this known rotating closure consists in positive locking of interlocking elements located on the closure with the correspondingly made counterparts on the bottle neck. This dictates that bottles which are to be provided with a childproof closure must be produced separately.
For reasons of production engineering and to keep costs low, it would be desirable if the same multi-compartment bottle could be used on the one hand for filling with safe contents and on the other for those contents which require a child-safety closure.
One object of Applicants' disclosure is to eliminate the disadvantages of safety rotating closures for multi-compartment bottles, especially of two-chamber bottles. A safety rotating closure will be devised which even after repeated opening and closing reliably seals the pour openings. Handling of the safety rotating closure should nevertheless be simple and self-explanatory. In this connection, the closure should have a simple structure and should be economical to produce. The necessity of producing a separate bottle series for use of the safety rotating closure will be eliminated.
Applicants have disclosed a safety rotating closure for a multi-compartment bottle, especially for a two-chamber bottle with separate pour necks. For example, Applicants have disclosed a safety rotating, closure for a multi-compartment bottle, especially a two-chamber bottle, which has a separate pour neck with a pour opening for each chamber and has a rotating closure which can be screwed onto a common neck part of the multi-compartment bottle. The safety rotating closure is provided with a mechanically acting child safety means against unauthorized loosening of the closure and has essentially conical seal parts which in the screwed-on state engage the pour openings of the pour necks and interact with the inside walls of the pour necks to form a seal. All the interlocking elements of the child safety means can be located on the safety rotating closure.
By providing conical seal parts the problem of abrasive wear of the sealing membranes or similar disk-shaped seal elements is eliminated. The conical seal parts slide axially in the pour openings and are pressed by closing pressure against the inside walls of the pour neck. When the closure is loosened, the conical seal parts slide again axially out of the pour openings. The danger of abrasive wear of the sealing surfaces and the opening edges is eliminated. By all the interlocking elements of the child safety means being located on the safety rotating closure, the necessity of separate bottle production with interlocking elements located on the bottle neck is eliminated. Whether the bottle must be equipped with a safety rotating closure is decided first of all based on the components to be added. The production of the type of multi-compartment bottle is largely independent thereof. At bottle manufacturers this leads to a reduction of the required molding tools. The numbers of multi-compartment bottles affected can be distinctly increased; this greatly benefits the economic efficiency of production.
The combination of a safety rotating closure with conical seal parts is implemented in one embodiment by a two-part structure. In this connection the safety rotating closure is composed of an overcap and a sealing insert. The overcap has a cover surface and a cylinder wall projecting from it, with an inner surface provided in areas with threaded sections. The sealing insert is pivotally held to be axially movable in the overcap. The conical seal parts project down from the bottom of the sealing insert facing away from the cover surface of the overcap. The separate sealing insert increases the flexibility of the safety rotating closure. In particular, depending on the type of contents of the multi-compartment bottle it is possible to insert sealing inserts of different materials into the overcap. Depending on the size of the exit openings sealing inserts with differently dimensioned seal parts can be inserted into the overcap. The overcap can be produced for example as a standard part which can be screwed onto a multi-compartment bottle with the correspondingly standard diameter of the common neck part. Depending on whether the multi-compartment bottle is a two-chamber or for example a three-chamber bottle, a corresponding sealing insert with two or three seal parts projecting from the bottom can be inserted into the overcap. In this way the overcap can be produced in a much larger number; this also greatly increases the economic efficiency of cap production.
One exemplary embodiment of the safety rotating closure calls for the safety parts to be formed from two projections on the overcap and two corresponding locking cams on the sealing insert. The two projections protrude down from opposing sections of the inner surface of the cylinder wall and are curved in a hook shape in the direction of the cover surface of the overcap. They are located at an axial distance from the cover surface which is larger than the axial height of the sealing insert. The two hook-shaped projections on the one hand axially support the sealing insert and on the other hand interact with the corresponding locking cams which protrude from the bottom of the sealing insert. During mounting the sealing insert is pressed simply into the overcap. In doing so it slides behind the hook-like projections which prevent it from falling out of the overcap again. The sealing insert lies axially and radially able to move freely in the overcap. When the safety rotating closure is screwed on, the sealing insert is turned at the same time until its conical seal parts slide into the pour openings. In this way further entrained turning of the sealing insert is prevented. Upon continued screwing down the overcap is turned relative to the sealing insert and is also moved axially relative to it in the direction of the bottle. Finally, the cover surface of the overcap adjoins the sealing part and presses the conical seal parts farther into the pour opening.
The locking cams are advantageously made wedge-shaped in the peripheral direction. The wedge-shaped locking cams facilitate the relative twisting capacity of the overcap and of the sealing insert when the safety ret rotating closure is being screwed on. In the opening direction the interacting locking cams and the hook-shaped projections block and prevent relative turning of the cover part in relation to the sealing insert. The locking of the safety rotating closure against opening results from preventing the relative turning of the cover part in relation to the sealing insert and the blocking action of the conical seal parts projecting into the pour opening.
To open the safety rotating closure, the rotating locking of the interacting projections and locking cams must be cancelled. This can take place in various ways. One advantageous version of the safety rotating closure calls for there to be projections on the inside surfaces of opposite tab sections of the overcap. The tab sections provided in the cylinder wall of the overcap can be radially adjusted elastically by pressure. By pressing together the tab sections the projections are moved to the inside and the locking cams can slide through the intermediate space between the cylinder wall and the projections which are curved in a hook shape. In this way the rotating locking is cancelled and the overcap can be turned relative to the sealing insert. As soon as the sealing insert rests on the projections of the overcap, it is lifted off the pour openings as the cap continues to be screwed on. As soon as the conical seal parts can slide out of the pour openings the sealing insert can again turn concomitantly with the overcap. It is no longer necessary to continue to press the tab sections together.
In order to better illustrate to the adult user the function of a safety rotating closure and to ensure better gripping of the overcap by the fingers, the tab sections are advantageously provided with ribbing at least in areas on their outside surfaces.
In order to facilitate placing the safety rotating closure on the multi-compartment bottle, in one advantageous embodiment of the safety rotating closure a centering pin located in the middle projects from the bottom of the sealing insert. With the cap in place the centering pin projects into the recess between the pour necks of the bottle and facilitates positioning. While the safety rotating closure is being screwed down the centering pin slides into the recess between the pour necks.
In another exemplary embodiment, the centering pin is hollow and is made to hold a guide pin which projects from the cover surface of the overcap. The guide pin improves the free location of the sealing insert in the overcap still further and prevents any tilting of the sealing insert.
Another exemplary embodiment of the safety rotating closure which likewise consists of only two parts which can be easily mounted to one another comprises an overcap which has a cover surface and a cylinder wall projecting from it, with an inside surface which is provided in areas with thread sections, and a sealing insert which is made essentially hat-shaped and held pivotally in the overcap. The conical seal parts project from the bottom of the hat-shaped sealing insert facing away from the cover surface of the overcap. The hat-like sealing insert has a rim-like edge section on which at least one locking cam is formed which interacts with at least one corresponding locking element of the overcap.
Each locking cam is made wedge-shaped in the rotating closing direction. This facilitates sliding of the locking elements of the overcap over the locking cams in the relative turning of the overcap and of the sealing insert in the rotating closing direction. Each locking cam in the opposite relative direction of rotation has a locking surface which forms an abutment for the locking element of the overcap.
To enhance the safety function of the safety rotating closure and to improve handling, it is advantageous if there are two locking cams which are made roughly diagonally opposite one another on the edge section of the sealing insert and which interact with a corresponding number of locking elements on the overcap. The corresponding locking elements on the overcap are formed by tab sections which are made integrally on the overcap and are radially and elastically adjustable by pressure.
To facilitate handling, the tab sections are provided on their outside with ribbing at least in areas.
As simple protection against the sealing insert's falling out of the overcap, the sealing insert in the overcap is supported on one or more projections which project out of the inner surface of the cylinder wall of the overcap and which has or have a shorter distance from the cover surface than the threaded sections. The projection or projections can be very easily produced integrally with the overcap. In installation, the sealing insert is easily pressed into the overcap until it slides over the projection or projections and is axially supported thereon.
In another exemplary embodiment, the sealing insert is held axially stationary in the overcap. This can take place for example by axially clamping the sealing insert between axially spaced projections in the overcap. But the hat-shaped sealing insert can have a height which corresponds essentially to the distance of the projection or projections from the cover surface of the overcap. After its installation the sealing insert strikes the cover surface of the overcap and thus can no longer be axially moved.
The axial immovability of the sealing insert makes it possible to provide a very simple version of an overtwist safety. The overtwist safety is formed by at least one wing section which is made on the rim-like edge section of the sealing insert. From the bottom of the wing section an extension projects axially such that the wing section can be elastically axially moved when the safety rotating closure is screwed onto the multi-compartment bottle and forms an abutment for the locking element made on the overcap, especially the tab section. As soon as the tab section hits the wing section which has been pressed up, further relative turning of the overcap in relation to the sealing insert is prevented. In this way the safety rotating closure can no longer be overtwisted.
The wing section is located in the rotating closing direction following the locking cam and has a distance from the locking cam which is greater than the width of the locking element measured in the peripheral direction, especially the width of the tab section on the overcap. In overshooting of the locking cam the tab section snaps back elastically into its initial position and ends up in the space between the locking cam and the wing section which has been pressed up. In this way, further relative movement of the overcap to the sealing insert in the rotary closing direction is hindered in the same manner as in the opposite rotary opening direction. The end point of unscrewing of the safety rotating closure is dictated by the arrangement of the vertically adjustable wing section. In this way the safety rotating closure can no longer be overtwisted. To open the safety rotating closure, the tab section must be pressed to the inside until its free end projects farther into the interior of the overcap than the locking cam. Only in this position are relative turning between the overcap and the sealing insert and thus unscrewing of the safety rotating closure enabled.
According to the exemplary arrangement of two tab sections and locking cams there are also two wing sections which are roughly diametrically opposite one another on the edge section of the sealing insert. In this way the prevention of over twisting is further improved and handling of the safety rotating closure is facilitated for reasons of symmetry.
A wing section can be produced especially easily by making one radially running notch and one notch which runs in the peripheral direction in the rim-like edge section. The resulting wing section is articulated to the edge section.
An exemplary safety rotating closure can be made for multi-compartment bottles with two or more chambers with separate pour necks and pour openings. In its most frequently used version the safety rotating closure is made for two-chamber bottles and has two opposite conical seal parts. For conventional cap sizes which can be comfortably grasped and actuated, there is enough space for two conical seal parts. The size of the seal parts is matched to the conventional dimensions of the pour openings of two-chamber bottles. Separate bottle production which is matched to the selected safety rotating closure is no longer necessary. For economical, large-scale production of the safety rotating closure the overcap and the sealing insert are made in a plastic injection molding process.
Details of the exemplary safety rotating closure for a multi-compartment bottle may be learned from the description of the embodiments in conjunction with the drawings, wherein:
The safety rotating closure 1 has an overcap 11 and a sealing insert 12. From one cover surface 13 of the overcap 11 a cylinder wall 14 protrudes and is provided in its axial end area with an inside thread 16. The inside thread 16 of the overcap 11 and the outside thread 6 on the common bottle neck 5 are matched to one another. On the two opposite sections of the cylinder wall 14 projections 15 protrude which are curved in a hook shape and extend in the direction of the cover surface 13. The axial distance between the free ends of the projections 15 which are curved in a hook shape and the cover surface 13 is somewhat greater than the axial height of the sealing insert 12. The projections 15 are located on the tab sections 18 which each are formed by two axial and one radial notch in the cylinder wall 14 or in the cover surface 13 of the overcap 11. The tab sections 18 are made to be radially elastically resilient. On their outside the tab sections 18 are provided at least in areas with ribbing.
The sealing insert 12 on its bottom 22 is equipped with conical seal parts 20. The conical seal parts 20 have sealing ribs 24 separated from one another by notches. A centering pin 23 which is made hollow projects from the bottom 22 of the sealing insert 12. The overcap 11 and the sealing insert 12 can be produced in a plastic injection molding process from plastic, for example from polypropylene, polyethylene, HDPE, etc. To ensure the relative twisting capacity and axial mobility the overcap 11 and sealing insert 12 conventionally consist of different plastics. Alternatively they can also be provided with a slide coating on the slide areas.
The safety rotating closure 100 has an overcap 111 and a sealing insert 112. From one cover surface 113 of the overcap 111 a cylinder wall 114 protrudes and is provided in its axial end area with an inside thread 116. The inside thread 116 on the overcap 111 and the outside thread 6 on the common bottle neck 5 are matched to one another. From the inside cylinder wall a peripheral projection 115 protrudes which is axially supported in the mounted state of the sealing insert 112. The peripheral projection 115 has a shorter distance from the cover surface 13 than the threaded sections of the inside thread 116. The overcap 111 is provided with two tab sections 118 which are each formed by two axial notches in the cylinder wall 114. The tab sections 118 are made radially elastically resilient. On their outside the tab sections 118 are provided at least in areas with ribbing.
The sealing insert 112 has essentially the shape of a hat and is equipped with conical seal parts 120 which project from its bottom 122. A rim-like edge section 126 of the sealing insert 112 is provided with two locking cams 121 which are roughly diametrically opposite one another. The locking cams 121 are made roughly wedge-shaped in the rotary closing direction.
The overcap 111 and the sealing insert 112 can be produced in a plastic injection molding process from plastic, for example from polypropylene, polyethylene, HDPE, etc. To ensure a relative twisting capacity, the overcap 111 and sealing insert 112 conventionally consist of different plastics. Alternatively they can also be provided with a slide coating on the slide areas.
The safety function of the safety rotating closure 100 as shown in
The safety rotating closure 100 in turn has an overcap 111 and a sealing insert 112 fixed axially in it. In particular, the sealing insert 112 has an axial height which corresponds to the distance of the annular projection 115 from the cover surface 113, which projection emerges from the inside surface of the overcap 111. A tab section which is provided with ribbing 119 and which is radially coupled movably to the overcap 111 in turn bears reference number 118. The safety rotating closure 100 is additionally provided with an overtwist safety 127. The overtwist safety 127 is made as an axially, elastically movable wing section which is produced by one radial notch and one notch which runs in the peripheral direction in the edge section 126 of the sealing insert 12? and is articulated to it.
The overcap and the sealing insert are advantageously produced in a plastic injection molding process.
The invention has been explained using the example of a two-chamber bottle. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention can be embodied in other specific form of a safety closure. For example, a safety closure with a sealing insert with a correspondingly modified number of conical seal parts and optionally overtwist safeties can also be used for containers with more than two chambers. Further, containers with three to four chambers and a corresponding number of pour necks with pour openings can be provided in this way with a rotating closure. The scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description and all changes that come within the meaning and range and equivalence thereof are intended to be embraced therein.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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406/04 | Mar 2004 | CH | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/EP05/01680 | 2/18/2005 | WO | 7/17/2007 |