EP1927553B1

EP1927553B1 - Combination of a safety lid and container

Info

Publication number: EP1927553B1
Application number: EP05811967A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Dmitriy Ivanovitch Pachomov; Nicolai Petrovitch Birucov
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-09-21
Filing date: 2005-11-22
Publication date: 2010-08-18
Anticipated expiration: 2025-11-22
Also published as: EP1927553A1; ATE478014T1; EP1927553A4; PL1927553T3; EA007668B1; DE602005023072D1; EA200501335A1; WO2007033685A1

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of engineering intended for storage and/or transporting containers with low-viscous liquids having tamper-indicating means and preventing refilling thereof. The container comprises a body and a bottleneck with a lip having retaining ribs on the end surface spaced at a given pitch, wherein side surface of said lip is provided with an annular recess. The tamper-proof closure comprises a screw cap threadedly engaged on the external sleeve joined via ribs with the internal sleeve so as to form through channels, a resilient element with a discharge opening and projections forming open-top annular cavity accommodating the bottom part of the internal sleeve so that a clearance is formed between the bottom and projections of said resilient element, a metallic case attached to the screw cap, said cap being aligned over the contour of the tamper-indicating collar, wherein the metallic case is formed of two adjacent parts whose edges are rolled into the indicating collar so that one of said edges can be released when the closure is unscrewed, aforesaid bottom part of the external sleeve being made with a protruding ridge and annular recess into which the metallic case is rolled-in so as to be fixed in axial direction, the upper part of said resilient element having a circular sealing ridge over which end surface the retaining axial splines tapered on tops are spaced at a given pitch, the bottom part of said resilient element is made with an annular projection whose inner surface is provided with denticles in order to engage with the retaining ribs of the container.

Description

The invention relates to the field of engineering intended for storage and/or transporting containers with low-viscous liquids preventing tampering and refilling thereof.
Known in the art are containers with a neck wherein the retaining ridges and grooves are made alternately so that form conjointly a rifled or fluted profile (RU Patent Nº 2129512, IPC B65D 41/34, publ. 1999). The containers are also known that are provided with a system of the external thread and retaining slots or splines (US 6276544, IPC B65D 41/62, publ. 5.07.2000., US5115932, IPC B65D 41/34, publ. 26.05.92). These containers are produced in combination with respective closure hoods fixed directly on the neck be means of ribs or splines thus preventing occasional opening or tampering of the liquid.
A combination of a closure and container is known, the bottleneck of said container being provided on the outer surface with a multi-start thread that consists of alternating ridges and grooves, each groove commencing at or adjacent to the free end of the neck and terminating in a recess formed in the neck, wherein the closure includes essentially a circular top portion and a depending skirt, the skirt being provided over the radial interior surface with a plurality of denticles spaced apart circumferentially at a distance corresponding to the distances between the screw grooves and spaced in axial direction from the internal upper part of the closure to a distance that upon pushing the closure down onto the bottleneck makes each denticle to engage with one of the recesses formed on the neck as the closure is being fastened sealingly on the bottleneck and contiguously to each recess adjoining a ramp located so that on relative rotation of the closure having been pushed onto the neck of the container at least some of the projections lean against at least some of the ramp members and thus are guided by the ramps into a corresponding groove in the thread to allow the closure be unscrewed from the neck of the container (RU Nº 2199475, IPC B 65 D 41/17, publ. 2003). The drawbacks of this technical solution consist in complex enough container and closure designs, and insufficient protection against unauthorized opening and tampering.
A combination of a closure and container is known, wherein said container comprises a case, a neck and a collar, on which neck retaining projections are made on the upper side surface to be engaged with the closure so as to prevent its slippage at opening (EP Nº 1121298, IPC B 65D 11/04, publ. 08.08.2003).
Known in the art and described at length in home and foreign literature are closures for bottles. Among known analogues there is "A valve for container" USSR Authorship Certificate no. 765129 (IPC B 65 D 51/10, publ. 23.09.80), "A device preventing bottle filling-up" GB Patent no. 2272418 (IPC B 65 D 49/02, publ. 18.05.94), "A device for preventing refilling" GB Patent no. 2274824 (IPC B 65 D 49/02, publ. 09.02.94), "A device preventing refilling GB Patent no. 2274637 (IPC B 65 D 49/06, publ. 17.01.94), "A device preventing refilling" GB Patents nos. 2274638 and 2274639 (IPC B 65 D 49/10, publ. 17.01.94), and "A closure for bottles" EP Application no. 0670271, (IPC B 65 D 49/00, publ. 06.09.92).
Above-noted analogues are rather intricate in structure so that mass production of their elements presents certain problems (requires special equipment). Some of the closures are unable to provide pouring of a needed quantity or quality emptying of the liquid due to numerous design elements and insufficient distance between them. The majority of mentioned devices employ a ball as a shut-off element known to be unstable in position, wherefore some auxiliary members are to be introduced that complicate the design and confine in a number of cases mobility of the element, limiting thereby quick shift from one position into another. The ball-shaped shut-off element is unstable and requires vertical guides to be fitted on the seat, the guides being located so that the ball is blocked between them, which limits its mobility. As a result of cooling, the pressure in the bottle drops leading sometimes to sticking of the shut-off element making it necessary to agitate the bottle hastily.
A closure is also known comprising a cylindrical sleeve whose upper portion presents a screw cap having an elastic moveable annular projection aimed at fastening on the bottle so as to form thereby a non-detachable joint. The screw cap has a pressed on top hood with a warranty collar, inside the case there is a threadedly secured splitter in the form of a ring with the ribs separating the interior space into through channels for liquid flow. Inside the case there is a resilient element for liquid flow in which centre a seat is made with a discharge opening and a shutoff element in the form of a valve resting on said seat. The resilient element is tightly fit inside the bottleneck by means of elastic annular projections and is sealingly engaged with the case for liquid pouring so as to prevent liquid escape. Upon rupture of the warranty collar the liquid is poured out by tilting the bottle, whereby the force of the liquid flow pushes the shutoff element out of the seat in which a discharge opening is made, thus letting the liquid pass via the through channels formed in the case by spaces between the ribs. On restoring the upright position of the bottle the shutoff element returns into the original location under its own gravity and chokes the discharge opening making thereby impossible refilling of the bottle (RU 2150417, IPC B 65 D 49/02, publ. 2000).
The described device has, however, a number of drawbacks affecting its operation. The presence of the moveable valve may bring about skew and jamming, or sticking resulted from pressure-induced temperature drop in the container, which leads to stuck-closed failure of pouring and the necessity of shaking the container to make the valve operate properly.
Above-indicated drawbacks are eliminated in a tamper-proof closure for bottles comprising a screw cap threadedly engaged on the external sleeve mating by its ribs the internal sleeve and forming thereby through channels, a resilient element with a discharge opening having projections that form an open-top annular cavity accommodating the lower portion of the internal sleeve with a clearance between said bottom portion and the projections of the resilient element (RU Patent no. 2193000, IPC B 65 D 49/02, publ. 20.11.2002). This technical solution is hard to implement, has high material to output ratio and insufficient protection level.
The closest technical solution to above-described embodiment is a tamper-proof closure for bottles comprising a screw cap threadedly engaged on the external sleeve mating by its ribs the internal sleeve and forming thereby through channels, a resilient element with a discharge opening having projections that form an open-top annular cavity accommodating the lower portion of the internal sleeve with a clearance between said bottom portion and the projections of the resilient element, a metallic case fastened on the screw cap, said cap being made over the contour of the indicator collar, while aforesaid metallic case is formed of two adjacent parts whose edges are rolled into the indicator collar so as to allow one of said edges release when the cap is unscrewed (RU Nº 2225337, IPC B65D 49/02, publ. 1999 - the prototype). The indicated cap is intended for containers described in EP Patent no.1121298 to be closed by pushing top down and open by unscrewing.
Disadvantages of the prototype are its structural intricacy along with high material-output ratio since manufacture of the elongated case for the external sleeve requires additional expenses, and ensures insufficient tightness between the bottleneck and closure.
The present invention is aimed at simplification of the container design by creating a relatively cheap for moulding and simple for assembly tamper-proof closure, providing simultaneously high level of protection against unauthorized opening, reduction of material consumption and reliable sealing of the closure and container.
Above-indicated technical result is achieved in that a combination of a tamper-proof closure and container is proposed in which the container comprises a body and a bottleneck with a lip, said tamper-proof closure comprising essentially a screw cap fastened threadedly on the external sleeve connected via ribs with the internal sleeve and forming thereby through channels, a resilient element with a discharge opening and projections forming an open-top annular cavity accommodating the bottom of the internal sleeve at a clearance between said bottom and projections on the resilient element, a metallic case attached to the screw cap, the latter being made over the contour of the control indicator collar, aforesaid metallic case is formed of two adjacent parts whose edges are rolled into the indicator collar so as to allow one of the edges be released when the cap is unscrewed, wherein the retaining ribs are provided on the end face of the bottleneck lip and spaced at a given pitch, on the side portion of said bottleneck lip an annular recess is made into which the metallic case is rolled, while in the lower part of the external sleeve a protruding ridge is provided with an annular recess into which the metallic case is rolled-in to be fixed in axial direction, in the upper part of the resilient element there is an annular sealing ridge on which end face the retaining axial splines with tapered tops are made at a given pitch spacing so as to be engaged with the ribs on the external sleeve, whereas in the lower part of said resilient element there is an annular projection over which interior surface the denticles are distributed evenly so as to be sealingly engaged with the retaining ribs of the bottleneck lip of said container.
In addition thereto, in a particular case of the invention embodiment the outside surface of the metallic case and screw cap can be made either smooth or rifled. The interior surface of the screw cap is provided with an annular sealing projection, and compensators are made between the side surface of the cap and the sealing projection.
The denticles protrude beyond the face end of the annular projection of the resilient element.
The invention is illustrated by the drawings, where Fig. 1 presents schematically a general view of the tamper-proof closure in cross-section;

Fig 2 is a screw cap;
Fig. 3 presents the external and internal sleeves;
Fig. 4 is the resilient element;
Fig. 5 is view A in Fig. 4;
Fig. 6 is the container.

The tamper-proof closure comprises metallic case 1 divided into two parts, screw cap 2 with control indicator collar 3 into which the edges of case 1 are rolled, external sleeve 4, internal sleeve 5 and resilient element 6.
The outside surface of the top part of case 1 is made either smooth or with rifles 7.
Screw cap 2 is provided with the internal thread engaged with the external thread of external sleeve 4, the outer surface of screw cap 2 can be made smooth or with rifles 8 to be engaged with rifles 7 on the case to prevent slippage. Cap 2 is attached to external sleeve 4 adjoining via ribs 9 internal sleeve 5 so as to form through channels 10. The interior surface of cap 2 is provided with annular sealing projection 11 and compensators 12 preventing deformation and breakage of the item at closing.
The lower part of external sleeve 4 is made with ridge 13 provided with annular recess 14 into which metallic case 14 is rolled so as to be fixed in axial direction.
The lower portion of internal sleeve 5 with a closed top end 15 abuts resilient element 6 with discharge opening 16 and projections 17 and 18 forming open on top annular cavity 19. Said lower portion of internal sleeve 5 is accommodated in annular cavity 19 so that a gap is formed between bottom 20 and projections 17 and 18 of resilient element 6, thus making a hydraulic gate.
Resilient element 6 is fit with annular sealing ridge 21 over which face retaining axial splines 22 are made being spaced at a given pitch and having tapered tops so as to be engaged with the ribs on external sleeve 2. Resilient element 6 is provided in the lower part with annular projection 23 having on its interior surface retaining denticles 24 that protrude beyond the face surface of annular projection 23 of resilient element 6 furnishing thereby additional means for protecting against deformation at closure. The resilient element is tightly fastened inside the container neck by means of elastic annular projections 25 made in its lower part to prevent liquid escape.
The container comprises body 26, neck 27 and lip 28. The end surface of lip 28 is provided with retaining ribs 29 engaged with denticles 24 to prevent slippage. The side surface of lip 28 is made with annular recess 30 into which case 1 is rolled at closing.
The present container has been developed with account of advanced requirements to simple and convenient closures using more economical closing facilities. The body of the container can take different shapes and configurations, be designed to meet modem lines and ensure wide application range.
The tamper-proof closure functions as follows.
Rolled-in control indicator collar 3 is released while cap 2 is screwed off. By tilting the bottle the liquid (not shown) passes via discharge opening 16 into annular cavity 19 of the hydraulic gate and further along through channels 10 runs out of the bottle.
As the bottle restores its upright position the liquid found in through channels 10 leaks into annular cavity 19 of the hydraulic gate and then into the bottle thus creating excess pressure that chokes further liquid flow. The pressure created inside the container by the gate prevents liquid from filling the container.
The tamper-proof closure assembled from 4 parts and available in several standard height modifications may fit a wide variety of containers. The control indicator collar and hydraulic gate ensure a high level of protection against refilling. The closure is exercised by pushing top-downwards using a closing machine (not shown) after which metallic case 1 is rolled into annular recess 30 of lip 28.
The container is manufactured by moulding of a preset configuration of the collar according to the invention.
All parts of the tamper-proof closure are made of ecologically safe materials such as polyethylene, polystyrene and metal using high-capacity automatic injection-moulding machines fit with moulds with a hot runner system and dies.
During manufacture the side and face surfaces of the case can be covered by coatings or identification means with the help of hot embossing, offset, screen printing or die stamping using white, colour, transparent or metallized lacquers. The coatings can be also sprayed or vacuum-sputtered.
A pre-production sample of the closure was manufactured at the experimental-engineering Foreign Unitary Industrial Enterprise "BELCAPS" using lathe and milling equipment. The external and internal sleeves were made of polymethyl methacrylate (organic glass), the resilient element was from kaprolon, and for the case the aluminium sheet was employed.
The proposed embodiment will make it possible to simplify the design of the container and tamper-proof closure, reduce material consumption and raise efficiency of the ready items.

Claims

A combination of a tamper-proof closure and container comprising a container with a body (26) and a neck (27) ending in a lip (28), said tamper-proof closure consisting essentially of a screw cap (2) threadedly fixed on an external sleeve (4) engaged via ribs (9) with an internal sleeve (5) thus forming through channels (10) containing also a resilient element (6) with a discharge opening (16) and projections (17) and (18) forming an open-top annular cavity (19) inside which the bottom of the internal sleeve (5) is accommodated so as to form a hydraulic gate, a metallic case (1) being fastened on the screw cap (2) is aligned over the contour of a tamper-indicating collar (3), said metallic case (1) being made of two adjacent parts whose edges are rolled into the tamper-indicating collar (3) so as to release one of said edges at unscrewing of the cap characterized in that there are retaining ribs (29) on top of the lip (28) of the neck (27) of the container, which ribs (29) are spaced apart evenly at a given pitch over the face diameter, whereas the side portion of the neck lip (28) is made with an annular recess (30) which is adjacent to the serrated lip (28) of the bottle and into which the metallic case (1) is rolled aforesaid external sleeve having on its lower part a protruding ridge (13) with an annular recess (14) into which the metallic case (1) is rolled so as to be fixed in axial direction, the upper part of the resilient element (6) ends in a circular sealing ridge (21) over which face retaining splines (22) with tapered tops are provided at a given spacing so as to be engaged with the ribs (9) of the external sleeve (4), while the lower part of the resilient element (6) is made with an annular projection (23) whose inner surface is provided with denticles (24) brought into engagement with the retaining ribs (29) of lip (28) of said container neck (27).
A combination of the tamper-proof closure and container as claimed in Claim 1 characterized in that the external surface of the upper part of the metallic case (1) is made smooth or rifled.
A combination of the tamper-proof closure and container as claimed in Claim 1 characterized in that the inner surface of the upper part of the screw cap (2) is made with an annular sealing projection (11).
A combination of the tamper-proof closure and container as claimed in Claim 1 characterized in that compensators (12) are provided between the side surface and the sealing projection (11) of screw cap (2).
A combination of the tamper-proof closure and container as claimed in Claim 1 characterized in that the denticles (24) protrude beyond the face surface (23) of the annular projection of the resilient element (6).