DE20019797U1 - Sealing cap - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a metal sealing cap (1) for sealing a bottle or any another container, comprising a top (2) which preferably has a seal on the inside, a tubular shaft (12) which extends seamlessly from the top, a roll-on area (4) which is located in the area of the shaft (12), for rolling-on a thread, a deforming area (10), which adjoins the roll-on area (4) and wherein a security element (11) guaranteeing that the bottle or container has not been opened is located; and which undergoes a visible deformation when the bottle or the container is opened for the first time. The invention provides for a clearly visible, irreversibly deformable security element in the deformation area (10) in the form of at least one material weakness (11), which has a closed, upwardly oriented contour starting from a bottom, unweakened base line (115).

Description

MVG 5014 DE

MALA Verschlüssesysteme GmbH Marienthal 10, D 36448 Schweina/Thuringia

Cap

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

Such a closure cap is known from DE 43 38 004 C2. In this known closure cap, the tamper-evident snap ring is formed by a deformation zone in the area of the shaft, which is limited at the top by a series of horizontal slots with webs in between and at the bottom by a bead that projects outwards. In addition, vertical material weakenings are provided in the area of the deformation zone. When the bottle is opened for the first time, the deformation zone expands to the outside diameter of the bottle thread when unscrewed, so that the cap can be removed in one piece. The vertical material weakenings expand more or less regularly and thus form an indicator of the first opening of the bottle. The adjustment is such that the force required for the expansion is smaller than the force required to tear off the webs between the horizontal slots. The disadvantage of this known closure cap is that the introduction of the slots and webs as well as the coordination of the tear-off forces for the webs and the expansion forces for the material weakenings requires increased effort. In addition, as described in DE 43 38 004 C2, the vertical material weakenings can tear open up to the area of the horizontal slots when the bottle is opened for the first time. This creates sharp-edged

Sections in this area of the closure, which in turn can lead to injuries to the user's fingers. Another disadvantage is that the closure can be easily manipulated when resealing, for example by using a round object such as a nail to recreate the original curl by pressing the object in the area of the original snap ring after unscrewing the closure cap. The consumer can then no longer clearly see whether the bottle has already been opened for the first time. This opens the door to substitution, mixing or, in the worst case, even poisoning the bottle contents.

The present invention is based on the object of creating a closure cap which enables one-piece unscrewing in conjunction with tight reclosure and clear tamper-evident protection.
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This object is achieved by the means specified in claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the invention can be found in the subclaims.

The invention provides that the tamper-evident element is formed by at least one weakened portion of the material in the area of the deformation zone, which forms a closed contour pointing upwards from a lower, unweakened base line. The material area enclosed by this contour is partially separated from the bottle mouthpiece when the cap is first unscrewed and the deformation zone expands, and is folded inwards, so that permanent, irreparable defects are created in the material, which clearly indicate to the user whether the bottle is originally sealed or whether it has already been opened. Because the areas within the contours are moved inwards, there is no risk of injury to the user of the cap.

· · I

· 1

The invention can be used particularly advantageously on a closure cap in which a further shaft area adjoins the deformation zone at the bottom. Such closure caps are also known in the specialist world under the terms Stelcap or Longcap.
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Preferably, the deformation zone is delimited by an upper bead and a lower bead. Such beads ensure a clear delimitation of the deformation zone and give the closure more stability in the shaft area.

A particularly preferred embodiment is one in which the contour of the weakened material extends in the lower region of the deformation zone. The uppermost point of the contour of the weakened material is located approximately in the middle of the deformation zone, preferably slightly below the middle of the deformation zone. This measure ensures that the material in the region of the contour of the deformation zone moves clearly inwards into the inner region of the closure cap when it is first opened, so that no projections are formed on the outside that could pose a risk of injury to the user's fingers.

Preferably, several further essentially vertically extending material weakenings are provided in the deformation zone, distributed around the circumference, as are known per se from the prior art cited at the beginning. These material weakenings facilitate the expansion of the deformation zone when the bottle is first opened.

Preferably, several weakened material areas are arranged around the circumference to serve as original security elements. This makes it possible to clearly determine, regardless of the direction in which the cap is viewed, whether the bottle is still sealed in its original manner or whether it has already been opened.

In contrast to the state of the art acknowledged at the beginning, the shaft preferably does not have horizontal slots with webs in between. This clearly ensures that the upper part of the closure cap does not separate from the lower part, which would make it difficult to remove the lower part from the bottle and thus to recycle metal and glass separately. The closure cap according to the invention can be completely unscrewed from the bottle without the aid of tools, with the deformation zone expanding when it is first opened. It can be screwed back onto the bottle several times to re-seal it and can finally be completely removed from the bottle for recycling. This keeps the waste glass melt free of unnecessarily high aluminum contents. The fact that the closure can be removed in one piece also means that it can be used with bottles in the reusable system.

To facilitate opening and closing, the closure cap is provided with at least one knurl in the area of the side edge of the lid and/or below the rolling area. Such a knurl increases the grip in a manner known per se, with two knurls spaced apart from one another being particularly preferred.

The material weakening serving as the tamper-evident element preferably has a contour in the form of a regular geometric figure, such as a triangle, a rectangle, a trapezoid, a semicircle, a semi-ellipse or the like, starting from the unweakened base, which preferably extends directly to the lower bead. Such a regular geometric figure can be produced in a simple manner using an appropriate burnishing tool.

The use of a specific contour or a specific sequence of several changing contours can also serve as a code for the bottle contents. Similar to a barcode,

· I

Properties, filling time, shelf life, filling location or similar are stored as information in a coded manner on the cap.

A closure cap according to the invention is preferably used for closing a wine bottle. Since this is already common practice for wine bottles in the lower price segment with short closure caps, a closure cap according to the invention is also ideally suited for closing wine bottles in the middle or upper price segment due to its excellent sealing and handling properties. The outer surfaces of the shaft can be printed as advertising space.

Another preferred use provides that such a closure cap serves to close a bottle containing spirits.

If, in connection with the use of a closure according to the invention, a bottle is mentioned above as the container to be closed, it is clear to the person skilled in the art that any other container provided with a screw cap could be used instead of a bottle and should therefore also be covered by the protection of the claims. This applies, for example, to containers, canisters, containers, blister packs, bags or other packaging made of metal, glass, plastic, cardboard or other materials or composite materials. In addition to the alcoholic beverages already mentioned, such as wine or spirits, these can also contain non-alcoholic beverages, liquid or non-liquid foodstuffs, such as vinegar, oil, salt, sugar, flour or the like, or substances from the field of chemistry or medicine. For all applications, it is advantageous that it is always possible to see whether the original packaging is present and has not yet been opened. Furthermore, it is advantageous for all applications that the goods closed by a closure according to the invention can be checked both before the container is opened for the first time and after each use.

Resealing ensures that the container is protected from odors, tastes and moisture so that neither the contents are affected by external influences nor the environment by the contents.

The term "closure cap" used is not to be understood in the narrow sense as a purely metallic closure cap, even if this is preferably made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy. Of course, sheet metal, plastics or foils made of composite materials could also be used to produce a closure cap, the material of which allows plastic deformation and ensures that the tamper-evident elements break out or fold out when the container is first opened.

When, in connection with the tamper-evident elements, material weakenings with a closed contour are mentioned, it is clear to the person skilled in the art that contours with minor, unweakened interruptions can also produce an equivalent result if the material at the interruptions is so weak overall that it does not offer any decisive resistance to the folding out of the tamper-evident elements and is severed during the initial opening.

An embodiment of the invention is described below with reference to the drawing. It shows:

Fig. 1: a side view of a closure cap,

Fig. 2: a slightly enlarged section with the deformation zone

and several variants of a contour of a material weakening as an authenticity element and
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Fig. 3: a partial cross-section along the line III. - 111. for clarification

the depth of material weakening.

• · ♦ ·

A closure cap 1 consists of a lid 2 and a shaft, designated overall by 12. It is manufactured in a known manner from a raw sheet of aluminum or an aluminum alloy with a thickness di of approximately 0.21 mm to 0.24 mm. Such sheets are first printed and/or painted and - if necessary - cut into strips. The raw caps are manufactured by punching circular cutouts and then deep-drawing, onto which beads, knurls, material weakenings or the like are then formed by rolling. A bead 3 that borders the lid 2 at the bottom and projects inwards is preferably used to attach a sealing element (not shown) that is designed on the inside of the lid 2 either as an inserted sealing disk, as a valve insert or as a plastic foam (PVC compound or PVC-free sealing compound). The sealing elements can have sealing lips, ribs or the like on the side facing the bottle mouth.

The bead 3 is followed by a rolling area 4 at the bottom, in which the thread is later rolled onto the bottle by the user (normally the manufacturer or bottler) after the cap is put on. To improve the grip when opening and reclosing, a first upper knurl 5 is provided on the outer edge in the area of the lid 2. This is preferably supplemented by a second lower knurl 6, which is connected to the rolling area 4 for the thread at the bottom.

Below the lower edge 6, an outwardly projecting bead 7 is formed, which delimits a flanging zone 8. The flanging zone 8 is delimited at the bottom by another outwardly projecting bead 9. The area of the flanging zone 8 lying between the beads 7 and 9 is designed as a deformation zone 10, which can be formed by the user by a

The rolling tool is used to deform and roll the flange band that is connected to the thread on the bottle neck inwards.

In the deformation zone 10, vertical material weakenings 14 are provided, of which preferably several are evenly distributed around the circumference, and at least one material weakening 11 is used as an authenticity element. Preferably, several material weakenings 11 serving as authenticity elements are also distributed around the circumference of the deformation zone 10 and arranged offset from the vertical material weakenings 14.

The material weakenings 14 serve to facilitate the formation of beads in this area when rolling and also to facilitate the expansion of the deformation zone 10 when the bottle is opened for the first time. When the bottle is opened for the first time in this way, the material weakenings 11 described tear open at their respective contours, the tamper-evident element detaches from the deformation zone 10 except for the closed lower base line 15 and is folded down from the mouthpiece of the bottle over the base line 15 onto the inside of the shaft when the closure 1 is unscrewed. This creates windows in the closure cap 1 that correspond to the contours of these material weakenings 11.

As can be seen from Fig. 1, the material weakenings 11 used as tamper-evident elements extend from their lower closed, unweakened base line 15, which borders on the lower bead 9, upwards over a maximum of the lower half of the deformation zone 10 in a closed contour. Only this closed contour is introduced into the material as a notch. Regular geometric figures are preferably suitable as contour shapes, a limited selection of which is shown as an example in Fig. 2. There, there are material weakenings with a semicircular contour 111, a

triangular contour 112, the rectangular contour 116 already known from Fig. 1, a shield- or leaf-shaped contour 114, a barrel-vault-shaped contour 113, a square contour 115 and a trapezoidal contour 117. These contours are, as Fig. 3 shows, formed as notches in the material of the closure cap 1 in such a way that a thickness d ₂ of approximately 0.10 mm or less is retained from the original thickness di of approximately 0.21 mm to 0.24 mm. The arrangement in the lower region of the deformation zone 10 ensures that when the closure is unscrewed from the mouthpiece of the bottle, the material regions surrounded by the contours 111 to 117 fold inwards so that no metal parts protruding outwards pose a risk of injury. When opened for the first time, the material weakenings 11 create broken windows in the deformation area 10, which cannot be closed again and thus clearly and irreversibly signal that the bottle has been opened.

The lower bead 9 is preferably followed by a lower shaft area 13, which is used in particular for sealing wine bottles or spirits bottles. A side printing machine is preferably used to print this area.

The closure cap according to the invention is also suitable for closing bottles of high-quality drinks due to its excellent handling properties when opening for the first time and when resealing, as well as due to its tamper-proof tamper-evident element. Both spirits and wines in the middle and upper price segment are suitable for this purpose. A metal closure cap has clear advantages over a cork in terms of process-safe, tight closure and equally tight resealing, and after resealing, it can also be stored lying down due to the excellent sealing properties.

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List of reference symbols

I Cap

2 Lid (area for receiving a seal)

3 bead

4 Rolling area (for thread)

5 (upper) knurl

6 (lower) knurl 7 bead

8 Flanging zone (deformation zone with tamper-evident element)

9 Bead

10 Deformation zone

I1 Material weakening as tamper-evident element 12 Shaft

13 lower shaft area

14 (vertical) material weakenings

15 Baseline (of 11)

III Contour of the material weakening 11 (semicircular) 112 Contour of the material weakening 11 (triangular)

113 Contour of material weakening 11 (barrel vault-shaped)

114 Contour of material weakening 11 (shield or leaf-shaped)

115 Contour of material weakening 11 (square)

116 Contour of material weakening 11 (rectangular) 117 Contour of material weakening 11 (trapezoidal)

Claims (13)

1. Cap ( 1 ) for closing a bottle or other container - with a lid ( 2 ) preferably having a seal on the inside, - with a sleeve-shaped shaft ( 12 ) extending seamlessly downwards from the lid ( 2 ), - with a rolling area ( 4 ) arranged in the region of the shaft ( 12 ) for rolling a thread, - with a deformation zone ( 10 ) adjoining the rolling area ( 4 ) in which a tamper-evident element ( 11 ) is arranged which undergoes a visible deformation when the bottle or container is first opened, characterized in that the tamper-evident element is formed by at least one material weakening ( 11 ) in the region of the deformation zone ( 10 ), which, starting from a lower unweakened base line ( 15 ), forms an upwardly pointing closed contour ( 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 , 115 , 116 , 117 ). 2. Closure cap according to claim 1, characterized in that a further shaft region ( 13 ) adjoins the deformation zone ( 10 ) downwards. 3. Closure cap according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the deformation zone ( 10 ) is delimited by an upper bead ( 7 ) and a lower bead ( 9 ). 4. Closure cap according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the contour ( 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 , 115 , 116 , 117 ) of the material weakening ( 11 ) extends in the lower region of the deformation zone ( 10 ). 5. Closure cap according to claim 4, characterized in that the uppermost point of the contour ( 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 , 115 , 116 , 117 ) of the material weakening ( 11 ) is located approximately in the middle of the deformation zone ( 10 ). 6. Closure cap according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in the deformation zone ( 10 ) several further substantially vertically extending material weakenings ( 14 ) are provided distributed around the circumference. 7. Closure cap according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that several material weakenings ( 11 ) serving as tamper-evident elements are arranged distributed around the circumference. 8. Closure cap according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the shaft ( 12 ) has no horizontally extending slots with webs in between. 9. Closure cap according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it consists of aluminum or an aluminum alloy. 10. Closure cap according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it has at least one knurl ( 5 , 6 ) in the region of the side edge of the lid ( 2 ) and/or below the rolling area ( 4 ). 11. Closure cap according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the material weakening(s) ( 11 ) serving as a tamper-evident element in conjunction with the unweakened base line ( 15 ) forms a regular geometric figure, such as the contour ( 112 ) of a triangle, the contour ( 116 ) of a rectangle, the contour ( 117 ) of a trapezoid, the contour ( 111 ) of a semicircle, a semi-ellipse or the like. 12. Closure cap according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the remaining material in the region of the material weakenings ( 11 ) has a thickness d2 which is approximately half the thickness d1 of the starting material or less than half thereof. 13. Closure cap according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the use of a contour ( 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 , 115 , 116 , 117 ) or a specific sequence of several alternating contours ( 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 , 115 , 116 , 117 ) serves as coding for the bottle contents (properties, filling time, filling location, shelf life or the like).