EP0670803A1

EP0670803A1 - Metal container, with means for allowing a rapid emptying of the container

Info

Publication number: EP0670803A1
Application number: EP94927644A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Luca Bianchi
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1993-10-05
Filing date: 1994-09-23
Publication date: 1995-09-13
Anticipated expiration: 2014-09-23
Also published as: ATE168343T1; AU7698294A; ITMI930766U1; EP0670803B1; WO1995009775A1; ITMI930766V0; ES2118437T3; DK0670803T3; DE69411702D1; DE69411702T2; IT230449Y1

Abstract

Metal container (1), substantially a can for beverages in general, provided on the lid (2) with a pull or screw opening or the like, comprising a common cylindrical can or the like, provided on the sealed lid with a pull tab (3) or the like for the opening of the can, and at the opposite end of said can, with hand-operatable means suitable to realize a second opening at the moment of emptying of the can, said two openings, opposed to one another, allowing, after the removal of said means, to tilt the can in distribution position, and to operate the other one of said means to let air in on the fluid and to cause therefore a quick and regular emptying of the can without rebounds or oscillations of the fluid during the distribution.

Description

METAL CONTAINER, WITH MEANS FOR ALLOWING A RAPID EMPTYING OF THE CONTAINER

DESCRIPTION The invention relates to a metal container for fluids, substantially a can for either aerated or natural beverages, provided with hand-operatable means to allow a quick and regular emptying of the fluid contained therein. As is known, the usual cans, cylindrical or the like from metal, particularly aluminium, containing either aerated beverages, such as ale, orangeade, coca cola and the like, or natural fluids, are provided on the sealed lid with means for the quick hand opening, i.e. without the utilization of tools or the like. Such means and especially the more widespread ones, consist of a tag suitable to be lifted and pulled away from the lid, which removes from said lid a zone previously treated (by partial incision or the like) , so as to circumscribe, after the removal, an opening wide enough to allow the distribution of the content. Said "pull tabs" are so positioned as to remove a zone of the lid near the edge of the latter, in order to constitute a mouth suitable to make the pouring out of the fluid easy, without too much spilling of the fluid laterally to the mouth. In practice, the emptying of a usual can through a distribution mouth whose area is necessarily limited, is always dificult and above all irregular, especially at the beginning of the distribution, both when the fluid is poured into a glass or the like or directly into the mouth of the consumer, due to the fact that, the can being obviously tilted or overturned, the fluid coming out concerns all the distribution opening area, and therefore does not let air enter the can, to exer- cice on the fluid the atmospheric pressure which is obviously necessary to allow a correct distribution. Therefore, the fluid comes out irregularly and to adjust the outflow it is necessary to change rather often the tilting of the can to reduce the outflow and to let air in, on the fluid contained in the can. In practice, this involves a slowering of the emptying velocity of the can and indesirable oscillations and/or rebounds of the fluid during the distribution, which also cause spillings of fluid around the distri¬ bution mouth of said can. Object of this invention is therefore to provide a metal container can-shaped or the like for aerated or natural beverages, provided with means suitable to obviate the drawbacks of the present cans for beverages with pull opening or the like, with no need for impor- tant structural changes in the traditional cans.

Another object of this invention is to provide a can of the aforementioned type, so improved as to allow a quick and regular emptying without involving irrepara¬ ble fluid spillings and losses on the lid and the sides of the can. A further object of this invention is to provide a metal can provided with means to allow a quick and regular emptying, so designed as not to constitute undiserable encumbrances and as to be efficacious and reliable, besides being very cheap. These and still other objects which will be more clear- ly stressed in the following, are achieved by a metal container, substantially a can for aerated or natural beverages, provided with a pull opening or the like, which container is constituted, according to this invention, by a common can cylindrical or the like, provided on the sealed lid with a pull tag or the like for the opening of the can and, at the opposite end of said can, with hand operated means suitable to realize a second opening at the moment of the emptying, both said openings, opposite to one another, allowing, after the removal of the pull tag provided on the lid and with the can in upright position, to tilt the can to the distribution position and to operate thereafter said means realizing said second opening to let air in on the fluid, causing in this way a quick and regular emptying of the can, without rebounds or oscillations of the fluid during the distribution. More particularly, said means suitable to realize said second opening are obtained on the bottom of the can, according to one of the possible embodiments; according to another embodiment, said means suitable to create said second opening are positioned on the cylindrical surface of the can, near the bottom of same.

Besides, said means may be constituted by a second pull tag or by a preincised or pre-cut zone in the cylindri¬ cal wall or in the bottom, removable by exercising a pressure on same with a finger, a bar-shaped tool or the like, or by other analogous pressure means.

Further characteristics and advantages of this inven¬ tion shall appear more clearly from the following detailed description, made with reference to the atta¬ ched drawing, given by way of example, wherein: Fig. 1 shows schematically a can for ale, orangeade or the like, realized according to this invention and according to a first practical embodiment; Fig. 2 shows a can realized according to another embo¬ diment, and Fig. 3 shows a can realized according to a further embodiment.

With special reference to Fig. 1, the can-shaped con¬ tainer subject matter of this invention is substantial¬ ly constituted by a common cylindrical metal can 1, generally from aluminium or its alloys, and normally provided on lid 2 with a usual pull tag 3, hooked at 4 to an oval zone 5 preincised on lid 2; by lifting tag 3 one removes the peripherally preincised zone 5, leaving on the lid an opening corresponding to the removed zone

6.

Opening 6 constitutes the distribution mouth of the beverage.

The improvement subject matter of this invention con¬ sists, according to the embodiment shown on Fig, 1, in providing on bottom 7 of said can an analogous opening 6', realized by means of a pull tag 8. This pull tag 8 may also be realized on the cylindrical wall of can 1, in a position as near as possible to bottom 7 of said can, as shown on Fig. 2. According to another embodiment, the opening opposed to the distribution opening 6 may be realized either on bottom 7 or on the cylindrical wall la of the can, by prearranging by means of a partial incision or deforma¬ tion 9 an area, for instance as indicated by 10 on Fig. 3, having a round, oval or polygonal width and shape; such area 10 can be wholly removed or partly bent towards the inside of the can, at the moment of distri¬ bution of the fluid, by a pressure exercized on said zone 10 by a finger, the end of a pencil or any other suitable and convenient means; in this way an opening creates opposite to the distribution opening 6. Always according to this invention, it does not matter whether opening 10 or 6' , realized on bottom 7 or near the same, has an area similar, greater or smaller (for instance by half) than the area of the distribution mouth 6. Said opening 10 or 6' allows air to enter in the can and to get in touch with the fluid and precise¬ ly in the space, practically a vacuum, which creates between the bottom of the can and the fluid, when the can is tilted, i.e. in emptying position. The quick emptying with fluid flow in conditions of absence of turbulence or oscillations takes place in practice in the following way: keeping the can in a substantially upright position, one tears away the pull tag on cover 2, then tilts the can in the usual way, so as to allow the emptying into a vessel, generally a glass, or also directly into the mouth of the user, activating at the same time the means that causes the opening arranged on the bottom or the wall near said bottom. Now, the atmospheric pressure, entering in the bottom of the can, acts on the fluid, allowing in this way its quick and regular outflow from the mouth of said can. Always according to this invention, the emptying of the can may take place also by utilizing opening 10 or 6* of the can.

Obviously, in the practical realization, structurally an functionally equivalent changes may be brought to the invention as above described and illustrated by way of example, either in the shape and size of the can and in the type of opening of the distributing mouth (pull tag, screw or the like) , and also in the type of devi¬ ces suitable to create said second opening without exceeding the protection scope of this invention.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. Metal container, substantially a can or the like for aerated and/or natural beverages, provided with a distribution opening of the pull type or the like, characterized in that it is constituted by a common can, cylindrical or the like, provided on the sealed lid with a pull tag or the like for the opening of the can, and at the opposite end of said can, with hand- operated means suitable to realize a second opening at the moment of the emptying, said two openings opposite to one another allowing, after the removal of said pull tag provided on the lid and with the can in an upright psition, to tilt the can to the distribution position and to operate thereafter said means realizing said second opening to let air in on the fluid, causing in this way a quick and regular emptying of the can wit¬ hout rebounds or oscillations of the fluid during the distribution stage.

2. Container according to claim 1, characterized in that said means for the realization of said second opening are positioned on the bottom of the container.

3. Container according to claim 1, characterized in that said means suitable to create said second opening are positioned on the cylindrical wall of the can and near the bottom of same.

4. Metal container according to the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that it is realized for the objects and utilizations as specified above, according to which has been described and illustrated.