WO1991001925A1

WO1991001925A1 - Screw closure for wide-necked containers, with tamperproof device

Info

Publication number: WO1991001925A1
Application number: PCT/EP1990/001224
Authority: WO
Inventors: Matthias RÖDER
Original assignee: Mhk Max Hübner Gmbh
Priority date: 1989-07-28
Filing date: 1990-07-25
Publication date: 1991-02-21
Also published as: ATE111850T1; AU642663B2; DE59007261D1; AU6285090A; ES2062550T3; EP0437593B1; JPH04501249A; DE3925119A1; CA2038943A1; DK0437593T3; EP0437593A1

Abstract

A screw closure for wide-necked containers, which has a tamperproof device, comprises a lid which is placed on the neck of the container and a safety ring (2). The safety ring has locking lips (7) which engage behind a projection of the container neck when the lid (1) is in the closed position. Matching stopping cams (17) for the locking lips (7) or for the safety ring are constructed on the neck of the container at the level of the safety ring. The arrangement and shape of these matching stopping cams is such that when the screw closure is opened, the locking lips or the safety ring run over the cams, causing the safety ring to expand until it ruptures at predetermined rupture points.

Description

Screw cap for wide-neck containers, which is provided with a tamper-evident device.

The invention relates to a screw closure according to the preamble of claim 1.

Screw closures with originality safeguards are known, the purpose of the originality safeguard being to be able to determine the first opening of the closure or removal of the cover by an optical check. Usually, a securing ring is used for such an originality assurance, which is connected to the cover via webs and tears when the cover is unscrewed or separates from the cover, so that any manipulation of the cover is readily recognizable from the outside.

For narrow-necked containers there are various different possible embodiments of such screw closures, but such originality safeguards cannot simply be transferred to wide-necked containers, that is to say containers in which the Opening diameter is equal to or greater than about 35 mm. This applies in particular to glass containers to which the invention is particularly applicable. In the case of glass containers, because of the manufacturing process, there are completely different tolerance ratios than is the case for the lid which is usually made of plastic by injection molding. In particular, much larger tolerances must be taken into account in the manufacture of glass containers, in particular with an increasing opening diameter. In the case of wide-neck containers, these tolerance differences cannot be accommodated despite the flexibility of the plastic lid, since a limit is set by guaranteeing the tightness of the closure. This complicates the appropriate formation of Sicherungs¬ rings as a tamper-evident, since in spite of the Toleranzun¬ differences destruction or detachment must be of the ring relative to the cover secured between the glass container and the plastic lid at the ^* achieving a Orginalitätssicherung respectively, when the lid is opened.

The object of the invention is to provide an easy to manufacture and functionally reliable screw cap for wide-neck containers, which is provided with a tamper-evident device.

This object is achieved according to the invention by the measures contained in the characterizing part of claim 1. Advantageous developments of the invention are characterized by the features contained in the subclaims.

The invention is characterized in that locking lips are arranged, in particular formed, on the safety ring which, in the closed position of the cover, engage behind a closure part formed on the container neck or a corresponding projection of the container neck and brace it when opened, so that when screwing on of the cover the locking ring is destroyed and thus the tamper-evident is ensured. There is also an overrun cam or several Running cams are arranged in such a way that when the cams overflow through the latching lip (s) or the locking ring when the screw closure is opened, the locking ring expands, causing a break due to weak or predetermined breaking points formed on the locking ring of the circlip occurs. The arrangement of the overrun cams depends on the design of the cover and / or the neck of the container, but the arrangement and design must be such that either the locking lip or a section of the safety ring is in the opening phase of the cover or screw cap runs over the overrun cam and thus there is a widening of the locking ring which, due to the tensioning over the tongue on the container neck, cannot move upward, so that the locking ring breaks and this can then be removed from the container without residue .

The latching lips expediently protrude inwards with respect to the securing ring, preferably at an acute angle to the vertical, obliquely inwards and upwards. As a result, the locking ring can be put on together with the lid and placed in the closed position of the lid, but is locked when the lid is unscrewed relative to the locking part or the projection on the container neck, so that the locking ring remains held down.

In a preferred development of the invention, a total of four tongues are arranged on a securing ring, with a uniform spacing from one another at an angle of 90 ° to one another.

The weak points of the securing ring are expediently formed by grooves or notches, in particular V-shaped grooves, which are worked into the securing ring from the outer surface. As a result of the V-shaped grooves or notches, film-like or web-like remains remain at several points over the circumference of the locking ring Areas that break when the retaining ring is appropriately processed. In the case of the two-part embodiment of the screw cap, the locking ring can then be removed from the bottle without further notice, the omission of the locking ring compared to an originally closed container being optically conspicuous. In the case of the two-part embodiment of the screw closure, it is expedient to implement the connection between the locking ring and the cover by an Eihscihnäppverbindung according to the features of claims 7 and 8.

Due to the securing of originality, a primary seal can be omitted, but a secondary seal is expediently implemented, either by a sealing ring arranged on the cover base or a sealing washer, by a compound layer applied to the cover base or by integrally formed sealing lips on the cover base . In the case of a plastic cover, a gas-resistant barrier layer can be applied to the outside of the cover base by the so-called in-mold process. In this case, an expediently multilayer aluminum foil is introduced into the mold for the production of the lid and then the plastic material is injected, so that there is an intensive connection of the aluminum foil as a barrier to the lid. It is also possible to produce the cover with the seal by spraying two materials, so that there is a quasi one-piece cover with seal.

It is particularly expedient to make the locking ring less flexible, in particular more rigid than the cover, in order to promote the fracture behavior of the locking ring when the ring is expanded accordingly.

Two preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention are described below with reference to the drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a locking ring of the Screw cap,

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along line A-A

Figure 1, but in connection with the lid,

FIG. 3 shows a section through the locking ring along the line A-A of FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 shows a section through the locking ring according to FIG. 1 along the line B-B,

FIG. 5 shows a detail designated by X in FIG. 1,

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken along the line B-B of

Figure 1, but in connection with the lid,

FIG. 7 shows a view of the closure,

FIG. 8 shows a sectional view of the cover along the line C-C of FIG. 7,

FIG. 9 shows a further embodiment of a securing ring,

FIG. 10 shows a sectional view along the line A-A from FIG. 9, but with a lid,

FIG. 11 shows a section through the retaining ring shown in FIG. 9 along the line A-A,

FIG. 12 shows a section through the retaining ring according to FIG. 9 along the line B-B,

FIG. 13 is a sectional view along the line B-B of FIG. 9, but showing the cover,

FIG. 14 shows a view of the closure according to the FIGS. guren 9 to 13 as well

15 shows a section through the cover along the line C-C of Figure 14.

In FIGS. 1 to 8, a screw closure with a lid 1 and a locking ring 2 is provided for a wide-necked container, the lid and the locking ring essentially having a square plan with sides bent outwards, as best seen in FIG View in Figure 1 results. The cover 1 consists of a cover base 3 and a wall 4, wherein in the embodiment according to FIG. 2 a sealing ring 6 is accommodated in the cover base 3 between ribs 5 projecting downwards, which can be designed, for example, as a compound.

The locking ring 2 serves as originality assurance, ie for visual control as to whether the cover has already been opened. The ring has an L-shaped cross-section all around, locking lips 7 being formed or formed on the four corners rounded in plan view according to FIG. 1. These locking lips 7 result in detail from FIG. 3 and in their operative position with the cover from FIG. 2. According to FIG. 3, each locking lip 7 is integrally formed on the horizontal L-leg 8 of the locking ring 2 and extends from the L-leg 8 upwards the vertical L-leg 9 obliquely inwards to the central axis of the cover or the locking ring. The locking lips 7 are essentially tongue-shaped, preferably in the form of a trapezoid, and in the embodiment according to FIG. 3 are inclined inwards at an angle of 35 ° to the vertical. A locking lug 11 is formed on the rear or the outside 10, the tongue 7 below this locking lug 11 having an opening 12, which can be seen more clearly in FIG. 6, for the engagement of a locking projection to be described. As can best be seen from FIG. 2, the cover 3 engages in the closed position with its lower edge 13 over the vertical L-leg 9 of the securing ring 3, in particular in a recess 14 limited between the leg 9 and the tongue 7, the Cover 3 with locking projections 15 formed on the lower edge 13 is snapped behind the locking lugs 11 of the tongues 7. As a result, the cover 3 is locked with the securing ring 2.

In the closed position according to figure 2, the upper end of the tongue 7 and each ^'tongue 7 engages from below behind a projection 16 of the container neck, wherein in Aus¬ operation example according to FIG 2 is a thread-like rib, represents the part of the screw , which is explained in more detail in connection with FIG. 6.

Underneath this projection 16, a cam 17 is formed on the container neck, namely in a number which corresponds to the number of tongues 7 of a locking ring 2. In the illustrated embodiment, four tongues 7 are used, so that four raised cams 17 are also formed on the container neck. In the case of a wide-necked container with a non-circular opening cross-section, the cams 17 can be formed by the corner areas, so that separate cams 17 do not have to be formed. It is essential that the raised cams 17 increase the diameter compared to the other areas of the container neck. In the embodiment according to FIG. 1, the cams 17 are in the closed position of the cover in the region of the corners, that is to say arranged opposite the tongues 7 or according to FIG. 7 by 45 ° to the closure members 18 on the inner surface of the wall 4 of the cover 3 offset. If the closure, ie the lid 3, is rotated to remove the lid 3, the snap ring 2 also rotates as a result of the snap engagement or locking engagement of the locking projection 15 with the locking lug 11, which means that the diameter denoted by D in FIG moved in the direction of the diagonal I and here due to the there, in the corner area arranged cams 17 is expanded accordingly. As a result of the twisting, the cover 3 is moved upward due to the thread engagement, but the retaining ring 2 is held down due to the tensioning of the locking lip 7 with the closure part 16 or the projection 16, so that there is a radial local expansion of the securing ring 2, which finally breaks as a result of the weak points 19 formed over the circumference. This makes it visually visible that the cover 3 has been opened once. Even if the lid 3 is screwed back on, the opening of the container can be seen from the outside as a result of the destroyed locking ring 2.

The formation of the weak points 19 is best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5. V-shaped notches 20 in the legs 8 and 9 of the securing ring 2 limit the securing ring to a film thickness at regular intervals over the circumference, so that with a corresponding widening of the locking ring 2 as a result of running onto the Aufauf¬ cams 17, the ring 2 breaks. In the illustrated embodiment, a total of 12 V-shaped notches 20 are provided.

The locking mechanism is best shown in FIG. In particular, anchor-shaped projections 18 are formed on the inner surface of the wall 4 of the cover 3, specifically a total of 4, which cooperate with corresponding closure parts 16 of the container neck. In the illustrated embodiment, the closure parts 16 are formed by thread-like ribs which, however, only extend over a small part of the circumference of the container neck. A total of four rib-like projections 16 are arranged around the circumference as closure parts, which cooperate with the anchor-shaped closure members 18. The rib-like projections 16 are arranged obliquely in accordance with a thread, so that when the cover 2 is rotated accordingly, the cover either moves downwards into the closed position or upwards into the open position. position is spent. However, these are conventional locking mechanisms, so that a further description is unnecessary. It is only essential that the latching lips 7 snap behind the closure parts 16 when the lid is unscrewed and when the lid is unscrewed it is prevented that the locking ring 2 can be removed as a result of the engagement of the latching lips 7 with the closure members 16 upward with the removal of the lid. Rather, there is a clamping of the locking lips 7 overall ^'genüber the closure members 16 so that is maintained when turning the Dec¬ kels 3 upward, the locking ring 2 below. This ensures that the locking ring 2 cannot deflect upwards when passing over the cams 17 which expand the locking ring. Figure 6 finally shows the opening 12 in the tongue 7 through which the locking projection 15 of the cover 3 can be seen.

The embodiment according to FIGS. 9 to 15 differs from the previously described embodiment essentially in that the lid now has a circular cross section in accordance with the cross section of the container neck, the outer contour of which is shown in dash-dot lines in FIG. 9 and is designated by 21. The configuration of the locking ring, in particular the tongue 7, is otherwise as in the case of the previous embodiment. As can best be seen from FIG. 10, on the inner surface of the wall 4 of the cover 1 there are two threads 22 as locking members and correspondingly complementary two threads ¬ gears 23 formed on the side of the container neck as closure parts. It is not necessary here for the threads to extend over the entire circumference; rather, the threads can be broken down into four circumferential sections. The interaction of the closure members 22 and 23 results in a screw closure with which, depending on the direction of rotation, the lid 1 can be screwed up or down with respect to the neck of the container. To engage the upper end of the tongue 7 is below the lower Most thread 23 has its own projection 16, behind which the tongue 7 snaps and against which the tongue 7 blocks when the lid 1 is to be unscrewed upwards. The cams 17, which can be seen in FIGS. 10 and 9, are assigned to the tongues 7 in this embodiment insofar as the securing ring 2 is widened by the tongues 7 running onto the cams 17. This results in a corresponding widening of the diameter of the locking ring 2, which due to the exactly opposite arrangement of two cams 17 is correspondingly large, so that there is a breakage of the locking ring 2 in the area of weak points 19.

With such lids, a primary seal and a secondary seal are achieved in that a cardboard box is either glued to the underside of the lid base 3 or pinched behind a projection, which is composed of a cardboard, cardboard or thicker paper layer adjacent to the lid base, one arranged thereon PVDC layer and an aluminum foil attached to it by wax point lamination. After the container has been filled, the glass mouth is covered with an adhesive so that the aluminum foil adheres to the container neck after the lid has been put on. As a result of the wax point lamination, that is to say the punctiform connection of the aluminum foil to the plastic layer of the cardboard boxes, when the lid is opened the adhesive connection between the container neck and the aluminum foil is greater than between the aluminum foil and the PVDC plastic layer, so that the aluminum foil adheres to the container neck remains and closes the container opening. A primary seal is thereby achieved, since it can be ensured by the aluminum foil whether access to the container contents has already been carried out or not. This primary seal can be omitted on the basis of the originality assurance described above, since the damaged securing ring 2 indicates a first opening or an attempt to open it for the first time. However, the covers are expediently provided with a secondary seal, so that even after the first opening and a sealing function is ensured again when the container is closed again.

For this purpose, the usual composite of cardboard boxes can be used, eliminating the previous aluminum membrane, in order to achieve the secondary seal when the cover is screwed on again.

Alternatively, a conventional compound seal can also be used. This is a pasty mass, which stabilizes on cooling or can be hardened by microwaves. Alternatively, a sealing washer or a sealing ring or another seal can be arranged on the lid base. In particular, sealing lips can be formed in one piece, which, in the closed position, bear sealingly against the container neck or the end face of the container opening. On the outside, a gas-tight barrier can be achieved by applying a multilayer aluminum foil to the outside of the cover in the so-called in-mold process. In the case of a plastic cover, this barrier achieves a barrier against oxygen access to the interior of the container. The aluminum foil is produced so that it is practically placed in the mold for the manufacture of the lid and the plastic material is then injected into the mold, so that the aluminum foil is firmly connected as a barrier to the lid.

In the two exemplary embodiments, the closure is constructed in two parts from the cover and the securing ring, but a one-piece implementation is also expedient. In this case, the securing ring can be connected in one piece to the cover via thin webs.

Claims

Patent claims

Screw closure for wide-neck containers, which is provided with an originality lock and has a lid that can be placed on the container neck, on the inner wall surface of which at least one closure member is formed, which forms a screw closure with a projecting closure part formed on the container neck, a locking ring being arranged below the lid , so that the locking ring (2) has locking lips (7) which, when the lid (1) is in the closed position, engage behind a locking part or a corresponding projection (16) of the container neck, and that on the container neck at the height of the locking ring there is a cam ( 17) are provided for each locking lip or run-up cam (17) for the locking ring, which is or are arranged and designed in such a way that when the cam (17) overflows through the locking lips (7) or the locking ring (2) When the screw cap is opened, the locking ring (2) is expanded, and that weak points (19) are formed on the locking ring (2), which break when the locking ring (2) expands.

J closure _t according to claim 1, characterized in that the locking lips (7) with respect to the locking ring

(2) protrude inwards.

Closure according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the locking lips (7) are formed by tongues which are at an acute angle to the vertical with respect to the Circlip (2) protrude diagonally inwards and upwards.

4. Closure according to one of the preceding claims, so that the tongues (7) in the unloaded state are arranged inclined at an angle between 10 ° and 40 ° to the vertical.

5. Closure according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the locking ring (2) has four locking lips (7) arranged at an angle of 90 ° to one another.

6. Closure according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the weak points (19) of the securing ring (2) are formed by preferably V-shaped notches (20) distributed over the circumference on the outer surface of the ring and / or the outer surface of the ring base.

7. Closure according to one of the preceding claims, so that the locking ring (2) has an L-shaped cross section, and that the locking lips (7) are formed on the free end of the radially inwardly directed L-leg (8) of the locking ring.

8. Closure according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that locking lugs (11) are formed on the outside of the locking lips (7), behind which locking projections (15) formed on the lower edge of the cover (13) can be snapped into place.

9. Closure according to claim 8, characterized in that the locking ring (2) and the molded locking lips (7) define an insertion groove (14) between them for receiving the lower edge of the lid (13).

10. Closure according to one of claims 1 to 7, so that the locking ring (2) is integrally formed on the cover (1).

11. Closure according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the locking lips (7) are formed in the corner areas of a locking ring with a non-round plan.

12. Closure according to one of the preceding claims, so that a primary and / or secondary seal is provided on the lid base, which interacts with the neck opening.

13. Closure according to claim 12, so that a cardboard box consisting of a cardboard, cardboard or paper layer, a plastic layer and an aluminum foil glued on by selective lamination is arranged on the inner surface of the lid.

14. Closure according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that a compound seal is arranged on the inner surface of the lid, which is preferably formed by a pasty sealing material that stabilizes when it cools or can be hardened by microwaves.

15. Closure according to one of claims 11 or 13, characterized by rc h, that a sealing disk or a sealing ring is arranged on the base of the lid.

16. Closure according to claim 12, characterized in that the seal is formed in one piece with the lid by spraying two materials.

17. Closure according to claim 12, characterized in that sealing lips are formed on the base of the lid and rest against the inner wall or the end face of the container opening in the closed position.

18. Closure according to one of the preceding claims, so that on the outside of the lid base (3) a multi-layer aluminum foil formed using the in-mold process is arranged as a gas-tight barrier.

19. Closure according to one of the preceding claims, so that the material of the locking ring (2) is stiffer or less flexible than the material of the lid (1).