The present invention generally relates to a snap-fit closure system for a container, and more particularly relates to a bottle, blown from a preform, for pourable washing and cleaning agents.
Plastic bottles, in particular, blown from a blank or preform have become established in the field of storing commercially usual quantities of washing and cleaning agents. These bottles usually possess an external thread onto which a dispensing and closure cap is screwed. The production of such preforms having a thread is comparatively complex because of the geometry of the thread flanks and thread slope, and because of production tolerances. The same applies to the corresponding closure caps.
Problems moreover regularly occur when filling such bottles, since the position of the closures relative to the bottles must be determined exactly in order to allow the closure to be screwed on. The time expenditure for such screwing-on processes is moreover comparatively large, and represents a limiting factor on the filling capacity of an automatic filling line. The torques with which a closure cap is screwed on must also be determined and monitored as exactly as possible, since too little screwing-in torque can cause unintentional loosening of the screw closure, and too high a screwing-on torque can mean that reopening of the closure by a user is impossible or difficult, or the closure can in fact be destroyed by being screwed on with an excessive tightening torque.
Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this
A container (1), in particular a bottle blown from a preform, for pourable washing and cleaning agents, comprising: a threadless circular container opening (2) onto whose outwardly directed distal end is shaped a cylindrical holding ring (3) whose outside diameter (Dh) is larger than the outside diameter (Db) of the container opening (2), so that the container opening (2) is set back inward with respect to the holding ring (3) toward the center axis of the container opening (2) or of the holding ring (3); a substantially cylindrical pouring aid (4) that comprises at least at one distal end a catch spring element (5), the catch spring element (5) and the holding ring (3) being configured in such a way that by snapping the pouring aid (4) onto the holding ring (3), a liquid-tight connection that is nonreleasable for a user is constituted, and that comprises at its other distal end means (6) for releasable connection of the pouring aid (4) to a closure cap (7).
The present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the following drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements, and
The following detailed description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the invention or the application and uses of the invention. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any theory presented in the preceding background of the invention or the following detailed description of the invention.
The container, in particular a bottle blown from a preform, for pourable washing and cleaning agents, encompasses
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the catch spring element comprises a flank having an axial slope angle β of the flank between 2° and 85°, preferably between 4 and 70°, particularly preferably between 5° and 60°. By way of the flank and its slope, positioning inaccuracies in the context of snapping the pouring aid onto the holding ring can be partly compensated for. In addition, the flank brings about the resilient deflection and resilient snapping in of the catch spring element behind the holding ring when snapped on.
In order to achieve maximally uniform and sufficient holding force for the pouring aid on the holding ring, it is advantageous to embody the catch spring element of the pouring aid as a resilient peripheral collar that completely surrounds the holding ring over its entire periphery. It is further preferred for this purpose to embody the pouring aid from a plastic material.
In order to connect the pouring aid to the holding ring in as liquid-tight a fashion as possible, according to a refinement of the invention a sealing ring, which in the state snapped onto the holding ring abuts against the inwardly directed peripheral wall of the holding ring, can be shaped onto the pouring aid. The sealing ring furthermore serves for exactly defined positioning and immobilization of the pouring aid on the holding ring of the container.
A closure cap can be provided, for example, for closure of the container equipped with the snapped-on dispensing aid, where a means for releasable connection of the pouring aid to the closure cap is embodied as an internal thread in the pouring aid and as a corresponding external thread in the closure cap, so that the closure cap can be screwed, in particular in liquid-tight fashion, into the pouring aid.
Alternatively, it is also conceivable for the means for releasable connection of the pouring aid to a closure cap to be embodied as a snap-on connection releasable by a user.
The container can be manufactured according to the following method comprising the following steps:
a) furnishing a preform having a threadless circular container opening onto whose outwardly directed distal end is shaped a cylindrical holding ring whose outside diameter Dh is larger than the outside diameter Db of the container opening, so that the container opening is set back inward with respect to the holding ring toward the center axis of the container opening or of the holding ring,
b) inflating the preform into a container having a threadless circular container opening onto whose outwardly directed distal end is shaped a cylindrical holding ring whose outside diameter Dh is larger than the outside diameter Db of the container opening, so that the container opening is set back inward with respect to the holding ring toward the center axis of the container opening or of the holding ring,
snapping a substantially cylindrical pouring aid onto the holding ring of the container, where the pouring aid comprises a catch spring element at least at one distal end, where the catch spring element and the holding ring are configured in such a way that by snapping the pouring aid onto the holding ring, a liquid-tight connection that is nonreleasable for a user is constituted, and that comprises at its other distal end means for releasable connection of the pouring aid to a closure cap.
The invention will be explained in further detail with reference to the examples and illustrations that follow. In the drawings:
In the closed position depicted in
It is furthermore evident from
An internal thread 6 is shaped onto the distal end, directed upward in the direction of gravity, of the cylindrical pouring aid 4. Closure cap 7 is screwed releasably into this internal thread by means of a corresponding external thread.
Firstly, a preform is made available, having a threadless circular container opening 2 onto whose outwardly directed distal end is shaped a cylindrical holding ring 3 whose outside diameter Dh is larger than the outside diameter Db of container opening 2, so that container opening 2 is set back inward with respect to holding ring 3 toward the center axis of container opening 2 or of the holding ring 3. The preform is then heated, and inflated into a container having a threadless circular container opening 2.
Lastly, the cylindrical pouring aid 4 is snapped onto holding ring 3 of container 1, where pouring aid 4 comprises a catch spring element 5 at least at one distal end, where catch spring element 5 and holding ring 3 are configured in such a way that by snapping pouring aid 4 onto holding ring 3, a liquid-tight connection that is nonreleasable for a user is constituted, and it comprises at its other distal end means 6 for releasable connection of pouring aid 4 to a closure cap 7.
Pouring aid 4 can already possess a releasably arranged closure cap 7 when snapped on. Alternatively, closure cap 7 can also be connected to pouring aid 4 in a further process step, after the pouring aid is snapped onto holding ring 3.
While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in the foregoing detailed description of the invention, it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the foregoing detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing an exemplary embodiment of the invention, it being understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements described in an exemplary embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims and their legal equivalents.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2011 078 099.8 | Jun 2011 | DE | national |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/EP2012/005035 | Jan 2012 | US |
Child | 14140612 | US |