EP0081397B1 - Delivery cap for a pressurised container - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a dispensing cover for pressurized containers such as containers of the “aerosol can” type, cover of the kind of those which include an upper wall surrounded by a side wall and internally containing a push button whose face upper is located a short distance below said upper wall, a tamper-evident plate having a flat part disposed above the push-button and joined to the upper wall of the cover by fracturable connections, said tamper-evident plate further having, at one end of the flat part close to the side wall of the cover, a return disposed in the extension of said side wall, gripping means making it possible to tear off said plate to free access to the push button being provided at said end provided with the return.

The invention may be particularly suitable for molded distribution covers of the type comprising a cover body, in which is fitted a sleeve carrying a push button on the sleeve, the sleeve coming to bear substantially on an element of the pressurized container, such as , for example, an edge set with a valve holder cup, the cover body carrying at its upper part said tamper-proof plate and comprising, in a side wall, a window made in line with the push button ejection nozzle . However, the invention can also be applied to other types of covers in which the push button is contained inside the cover, access to the push button being impossible as long as a tamper-evident plate map and initially attached to the cover has not been torn off.

From FR-A-2 376 036, there is known a distribution cover of the kind defined above. In this cover, a hollow tab is provided on the return, this tab constituting gripping means making it possible to tear off the tamper-evident plate. It is necessary to provide, in the mold for manufacturing the cover, a radial drawer intended to form the aforementioned tab; the presence of this drawer increases the price of the mold and reduces the rate of molding, which leads to an increase in the cost price of the dispensing cover.

Even elsewhere, US-A-3,544,023 shows a cover for a pressurized container provided with a sort of tab enabling this cover to be removed from the container. In a particular embodiment, a cutout defines a tongue in the side wall of the cover so as to allow the user to insert his finger to elastically deform the tongue outwards and to tear the side wall of the cover. The latter is then removed from the container. This solution, which practically leads to destruction of the cover, does not make it possible to keep said cover on the container.

The present invention proposes to remedy the drawbacks mentioned above and to provide a dispensing cover for a pressurized container, of the type defined above, which makes it possible to contain a push button of maximum length without increasing the cost of molding.

It is also desired that the cover allows easy gripping of the tamper-evident plate without having any relief capable of causing untimely, partial or total tearing of the tamper-evident plate.

Finally, it is hoped that the tearing of the tamper-evident plate can be carried out without damaging the cover itself.

According to the invention, a dispensing cover for a pressurized container, of the kind defined above, is characterized in that the return is provided with fracturable connections with the side wall and is intended to be torn at the same time as the flat part of the plate, and by the fact that the gripping means comprise a cutout provided in the return for determining therein a panel capable of tilting, the upper edge of the panel being located at a level lower than the internal underside of the flat part of the plate so that the panel, when it is at least partially erased, allows access to the edge of the flat part of the plate for tearing off said plate.

This combination of characteristics allows, thanks to the possible tilting of the panel with respect to the return sufficiently maintained by the tear-away connecting fasteners, to quickly and easily grasp the edge of the flat part of the plate for tearing off this plate.

The panel can be tilted, under the push of a finger, towards the inside of the cover to allow gripping the corresponding cutting edge of the flat part of the plate facing the panel.

In a particularly advantageous manner, said cutout may comprise a substantially horizontal part located at the level of the geometric connection zone between the upper surface of the cover and the face of its side wall; this cutting part is extended in the return by two descending branches to form, in said return, the deformable panel which can disappear under the underside of the upper wall of the cover and allow the gripping of the overlying edge of the flat part of the plaque.

In this embodiment, said overlying edge of the plate is preferably slightly offset towards the axis of the cover, this in order to be able to mold the assembly without requiring a drawer.

The cutting is advantageously carried out in a portion of the plate equidistant from its two edges but it could also, as a variant, extend the cutting to one of said edges so that said edge also serves as a cutting part allowing the tilting of the sign.

The tilting movement of the panel is preferably carried out, as mentioned above, inwards. However, one could also provide the cutout so as to deform the panel outwards and, thereby widening the cutout, grip the tamper-evident plate.

Thanks to the invention, the return being disposed at the same level as the side wall of the cover, there is in the diametrical direction a maximum length inside the cover for housing the push button, the rear end of which, intended to be actuated by the user, can be located a short distance from the side wall and the return.

Other advantages and characteristics of the invention will appear on reading the following description given by way of nonlimiting example with reference to the attached drawing.

• la figure 1 représente une vue de dessus dun capot selon l'invention;
• la figure 2 représente une vue en coupe transversale II-II de la figure 1;
• la figure 3 représente une vue en perspective de ce capot avec la plaque d'inviolabilité en place;
• la figure 4 représente une vue en perspective du capot avec la plaque enlevée, laissant apparaître une partie du bouton-poussoir.

On this drawing:

• Figure 1 shows a top view of a cover according to the invention;
• Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional view II-II of Figure 1;
• Figure 3 shows a perspective view of this cover with the tamper-evident plate in place;
• Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the cover with the plate removed, revealing part of the push button.

The cover according to the invention, as shown, has a generally cylindrical shape with a side wall 1 and an upper wall 2. The side wall 1 has at one end a window 3 located opposite the ejection nozzle 4 of the button -pusher 5 mounted tilting in the cover 1.

Inside, the side wall of the cover 1 has an internal relief 6 allowing the coupling inside the cover of a sleeve 7, which is not shown in section in FIG. 2, said sleeve being able for example to have a form of diabolo for, on the one hand, coming into contact with the internal face of the wall 1 at the level of the window 3 and of the part of the cover diametrically opposite to the window 3, while in the most constricted zone of the diabolo, the lower edge 7b of the sleeve, can come to bear against the crimped edge 8 of a valve-holder cup of the container 9 shown in broken lines.

In the sleeve is articulated, preferably by a film hinge molded integrally with the sleeve, the push button 5 at its anterior end 5a. It is therefore understood that by pressing the rear part 5b of the push button, it is possible to switch the push button 5 and, by the downward movement of its central part 5c, cause the valve to open (not shown) of the container and spraying through the nozzle 4.

The upper face 2 of the cover has a tearable tamper-evident wall 10 having a substantially trapezoidal shape and separates from the wall 2 proper by a continuous slot 11 with, from place to place, tearable or fracturable connecting fasteners 12. As is seen in Figure 3 in particular, the tamper-evident plate 10 continues, flush with the side wall 1, by a right angle return 13 of cylindrical shape. This return 13, which is intended to be torn and removed at the same time as the planar part of the plate 10, closes a window made in the side wall 1 and diametrically opposite the window 3.

At the level of the separation edge between the flat part of the plate 10 and the return 13 there is disposed a cutout 14 having substantially a U-shape with a curved horizontal branch 14a and two straight vertical branches 14b. This cutout determines in the return 13 a panel 15 5 which it is understood that it can be pressed elastically towards the inside of the cover by the user. Indeed, the upper edge 15a of the panel 15 which delimits the part 14a of the cutout is disposed at a level slightly lower than the inner face 10b of the plate 10. Furthermore, the edge 10a of the cutout at the part of the plate 10 is slightly offset towards the center by a sufficient distance to allow easy demoulding of the mold allowing the injection of the upper part of the cover in an upward vertical direction.

Referring in particular to FIG. 2, it can be seen that the push-button, in its part 5b, has a return 5d located at a short distance from the panel 15. It is thus possible to give the push-button a diametral length as high as possible taking into account the dimensioning of the cover.

To remove the plate 10, the operator begins by pressing on the upper part of the panel 15 so as to tilt this panel slightly inward until the end of the operator's finger reaches under the edge 1 Oa, which then allows it to lift and tear off the plate 10 which comes with its return 13.

It is understood, however, that in a variant, it would be possible to produce the panel 15 5 so as to be able to tilt it on the contrary towards the outside and increase the width of the cut-out also making it possible to grasp the edge 10a for removing the plate 10.

In another variant, it is understood that the cutout, instead of being disposed centrally, could be arranged laterally so that one of the branches 14b is in fact constituted by the vertical part of the slot 11 between the plate 10 and the rest of hood.

Claims (9)

1. A dispenser cap for a pressurised container comprising an upper side (2) surrounded by a lateral wall (1) and containing internally a push button (5) whose upper surface (5b) is situated at a short distance below the said upper side (2), an integrity strip (10) having a flat portion disposed above push button (5) and joined to the upper side of the cap by frangible attachments (12), the said integrity strip (10) having, moreover, at one end of the flat portion near the lateral wall of the cap, a fold over (13) disposed in the extension of the said lateral wall (1 provision being made at the said end provided with the fold over for gripping means allowing the said strip to be torn off to free access to the push button, characterised in thatthe fold over (13) is provided with frangible attachments (12) to the iaterai wall (1) and is intended to be torn at the same time as the flat portion of strip (10), and in that the gripping means comprise a cut (14) provided in the fold over (13) to determine therein a panel (15) capable of moving backward and forward, the upper edge (1 5a) of the panel being situated at a level lower than the lower internal side (10b) of the flat portion of strip (10) so that panel (15) when withdrawn at least partly, allows access to edge (10a) of the flat portion of strip (10) for the tearing off of the said strip.

2. A cap according to Claim 1, characterised in that the said panel (15) can be moved backward and forward under finger pressure towards the inside of the cap to allow the corresponding edge (10a) of the cut in the flat portion of the strip facing the panel to be gripped.

3. A cap according to Claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the edge (1 Oa) of the cut possessed by the flat portion of strip (10) is offset towards the axis of the cap in relation to the lateral wall (1) of the cap.

4. A cap according to one of the preceding Claims, characterised in that the rear end (5d) of push button (5) is extending in the immediate vicinity of the said fold over (13).

5. A cap according to one of Claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the said cut (14) comprises a substantially horizontal part (14a) and two descending branches (14b).

6. A cap according to Claim 5, characterised in that the horizontal branch (14a) of the cut is situated at the level of the geometric transition zone between the upper surface (2) of the cap and the fold over (13).

7. A cap according to one of Claims 5 and 6, characterised in that the descending branches (14b) of the cut are both disposed inside fold over (13).

8. A cap according to one of Claims 5 and 6, characterised in that one of the branches of the cut is constituted by the corresponding portion of a slot (11) separating strip (10) and its fold over (13) from the rest of the cap.

9. A cap according to one of Claims 1 to 8, characterised in that it comprises a sleeve (7) fitted in its interior and applied against a part of the container such as a crimping bead for the valve carrier cap, the said sleeve (7) supporting the said push button (5) contained inside cap (1, 2) in a pivoting manner.

Images