ES2566793T3 - Container closure with anti-opening security seal - Google Patents

Abstract

A container comprising a container body (4) and a closure (2), the closure being a base (6) with a lid (8) adapted to close on the base, the base comprising a horizontal flange (12) surrounded by a hanging skirt (10), the base defining an opening adapted to fit over an open mouth of the container body; the body of the container having a side wall that ends at a flange (46) of an open mouth of the body of the container; and an induction heat sealed foil (14) adapted to be secured to the flange of the container body and base; the side wall of the container body is staggered inwardly to provide a first step (44) adjacent to a terminal edge of the skirt; characterized in that the skirt is a thin non-structural wall that has at least one weakened region (24, 26, 28) to define a fracture point if the skirt is subjected to lateral movement away from the container body.

Description

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DESCRIPTION

Container closure with anti-opening safety seal Technical field

The present invention relates to container closures and more specifically to a container in which the container closure can be applied to a body of the container so that it cannot be removed without leaving evidence that the container has been opened or handled.

People with bad intentions may wish to contaminate the contents of a full and unopened container. The filling of original containers also represents a serious risk for consumers and brand owners. Although it is desirable that the closures should be easily applied to the body of the container during the manufacturing process and also be able to be separated for recycling and for purposes of waste disposal, the prevention of falsification and contamination requires either that the separation be evident or that as a result such destruction of the closure and / or container body that cannot be reused.

The present particular invention relates to large containers such as those used for baby milk powder as described in WO 2011/067585 A (BAPCO CLOSURES RESEARCH LTD), and in accordance with the preamble of revindication 1.

This type of container comprises a container body and a closure, the closure being a base with a lid adapted to close on the base, the base comprising a horizontal flange surrounded by a hanging skirt, the base defining an opening adapted to fit over an open mouth of the body of the container; the body of the container having a side wall that ends at a flange of the open mouth of the body of the container; and an induction heat sealing foil adapted to be secured to the flange of the container body and the base.

The base in the context of such closure is sometimes referred to as a spout peak particularly in relation to smaller containers in which the base defines the spout to deliver the contents from the container.

The use of BAP (Registered Trademark) technology as described in WO 99/61337 A (SPRECKELSEN MCGEOUGH LTD), whereby a heat-sealed induction sheet is attached to both the container body and the closure and can be tear removal instead of peeling or peeling, provides some intrinsic warranty closure. This patent also describes and claims the use of a weakened recess in an upper superfine of the horizontal base flange around the opening that causes a base skirt to separate if an attempt is made to remove it by prying the base.

Typically a skirt of such closure will be made with an overhanging rib that is applied with a cantilever recess around a neck of the body of the container so that the two parts are held together. This necessarily requires the skirt to flex when pushed over the body of the container. This limits how thin it can be if it is not going to be damaged during installation. However, no such mechanical application is required when a heat-sealed induction sheet provides the main seal between the body of the container and the base.

It is a standard practice when creating a neck formation on a body of the container to provide some type of projection, whether this is intended to act as a carriage ring to transport the body of the container or as an application mechanism for a base threaded Therefore, there is some type of projection on which a base can be retained. This facilitates the placement of a replacement base.

Description of the invention

The present invention provides a container comprising a container body and a closure, the closure being a base with a lid adapted to close on the base, the base comprising a horizontal flange surrounded by a hanging skirt, the base defining an adapted opening to adjust over an open mouth of the container body;

the body of the container having a side wall that ends at a flange of an open mouth of the body of the container; Y

a heat-sealed induction sheet adapted to be secured to the flange of the container body and the base;

characterized in that the side wall of the container body is staggered inward to provide a first step adjacent to a terminal flange of the skirt; and because the skirt is a thin non-structural wall that has at least one weakened area to define a fracture point if the skirt is subjected to lateral movement away from the container body.

In this package, the skirt is present purely to cover a stepped region inside the side wall of the container and does not need to make any retention application with the body of the container. It can be made relatively deep so that in combination with its reduced thickness, the leverage necessary to lift it away from the

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The body of the container will leave at least one mark and is capable of breaking the skirt at the point of fracture. Preferably the weakened areas are ribs of reduced wall section that are molded into an inner face of the skirt in vulnerable areas such as the corners and centers of the side walls to provide additional security closure.

The use of a relatively deep skirt allows the closure to be positioned reliably on the body of the container during production prior to sealing without the need for any mechanical retention to prevent premature eviction.

Brief description of the drawings

In order that the invention may be well understood, a realization thereof will be described below, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the container with the closure attached to the body of the container with the lid in an open position

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the container body;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view that looks at an interior of the base of the closure;

Fig. 4 is a section through the skirt of the base taken by line A-A in fig. one; Y

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section through the base skirt taken in a corner.

Mode or modes for carrying out the invention

A package is created from a closure 2 that is fixed to an open upper part of a body 4 of the container as shown in fig. 1. The closure comprises a base 6 connected to an articulated lid 8. The base has a hanging skirt 10, which overlaps a neck formation of the body 4 of the container, and a flat horizontal flange 12, which sits on the upper part of a flange of the container body and defines an opening for access to the contents of the container body.

The closure is sealed to the flange of the container body by means of an induction heat-sealed sheet 14 having a coating of a compatible plastic material adhered to each surface of the sheet so that it can be welded to both a flange of the container body and at the base of the closure in the manner described in the document

PTL 0003: EP 1656306 A (BAPCO CLOSURES RESEARCH LTD),.

A part 16 that can be removed surrounds the opening and is connected to the horizontal flange 12 by means of a region 18 that can be broken. The part that can be removed is also sealed to the heat-sealed sheet 14 by induction. A ring 20 for stretching high above the surface of the sheet is provided to allow the consumer to remove the part that can be removed.

The skirt 10 is thin-walled and ends at a flat edge 22 without any protruding part inward so that any leverage of the skirt will leave at least one mark and is capable of tearing the skirt. Each of the corners 24 of the skirt is molded so that the wall section is reduced in this area. The ribs 26 with an additionally uniform reduced wall section are molded at these corners. Preferably, an outer surface of the corner is smooth so that the vulnerability of the corner is not exposed to the user. Other areas 28 of reduced wall section may be provided in the center of the walls of the skirt. These are formed as pairs of nerves. A formation 30 to be applied with a latch 32 on the cover 8 is provided in a central position in the front side wall of the skirt.

The skirt 10 is preferably made of polypropylene having a low elasticity limit so that at relatively low tension the skirt will begin to deform plastically and will not return to its original shape, thereby providing clear evidence that the package has been tampered with. The skirt is relatively deep, preferably 8 mm or more but subject to cost problems it could be as deep as 20 mm. However, the molding limitations for the specific plastic used, which must be able to flow to all parts of the mold within a reasonable time scale, may limit the depth since it may be necessary to be able to remove the molded part without damaging the mold .

The skirt may have a maximum thickness of 0.8 mm, preferably less than 0.5 mm and the reduced wall sections may be 0.2 mm thick being reduced to 0.1 mm in a rib 26, 28. Polypropylene It is very vulnerable to the appearance of stress cracks and when the colored material is stretched beyond its elastic limit, it will show a permanent white mark. Polypropylene has an elasticity limit of 12-43 MPa and for this application a material with an elasticity limit of the order of 12-20 MPa is preferable. A talc loaded polypropylene could be used to provide a relatively fragile skirt. However, the stretching ring and the part that can be removed should not be excessively fragile if they are to function properly. It will be appreciated that co-injection could be used in order to

mold the skirt of a material different from the rest of the closure in order to benefit from the most suitable properties of the plastic used in the different parts of the component.

If an attempt is made to lift the skirt leverage under the edge with any type of sharp instrument, the thin-walled section will retain the deviation and discoloration will appear. If too much force is applied to the thin-walled sections then they will easily divide on each side of the instrument and peel up. The split ends of the thin-walled sections prevent removal and destroy the closure so that they cannot be reused. If the attempt at leverage is made at the corners, then the additional vulnerability created by the ribs 26 of reduced section means that the skirt will divide even more easily and take off upwards. The ultra-thin nerves act as bridges that facilitate a sharp tear of the wall. The areas 28 of reduced thickness in the centers of the side walls are the objective that could be considered as the easiest part to lift without showing damage.

All thickness reduction is provided by molding the inner surface of the skirt 10 as can be seen in fig. 3. The necessary ridges and nerves can be formed on a steel face of a male of a mold used to create the closure. The relative dimensions of the parts of the skirt will be determined by the density and creep index (MFI) of the plastic used to mold the component. Using a low density plastic with a high MFI will allow the finest details to be formed when the plastic is able to flow through the narrow spaces or interstices between the mold males. The risk of damage to the thinner parts when the male is removed from the mold probably places a limit of approximately 0.4 mm over the total thickness of the skirt, although this can be reduced with more modern plastics and molding techniques. An outer surface of the skirt is completely smooth except for the fastener 20 and ends in a thin thin edge that falls next to step 44 so that the surface of the outer wall of the skirt 10 blends smoothly and continuously with the main body of the container leaving only the smallest space between the body and the closure. The depth of the sear only needs to be approximately 5 mm deep and therefore the outer surface of the skirt can be completely smooth below that level. Keeping the outer lines of the container smooth makes it even more difficult to find an entry point at which to introduce a tool to lift the leverage.

A reduced wall section depression 34 is also formed in the horizontal base flange to allow the skirt to be released by elastic jump from the rest of the base if a lever is applied under the skirt. This depression 34 acts as an articulation mechanism so that any leverage force applied to the skirt results in the destruction of the skirt and leaves the base fixed even to the flange of the container body.

30 The skirt is relatively deep, preferably 8 or 15 to 20 mm. Because the skirt does not have a structural mission to perform in the sealing of the container or in the support of the contents, it can be made deeper than a conventional closure. In a container as described, the skirt can reach down near the point of the container where notches or indentations are provided to allow the body of the container to be grasped. The longer / deeper the skirt, the easier it is to ensure that the skirt will fracture and break, either in the nerves or in depression 34 due to the fact that the lever length increases with the depth of the skirt. The depth of the skirt also gives an impression of global solidity to the consumer.

The base 12 includes an area 36 in a corner that has formations 38 designed to receive and maintain a utensil 40 for storage after it has been separated from the part 16 that can be removed.

Other features of the base that allow it to be sealed together with the lid are as previously described in the document.

PTL 0004: WO 99/61337 A (SPRECKELSEN MCGEOUGH LTD),,

and other prior art patent applications of Bapco Closures Research Ltd, which are incorporated herein by reference.

The body 4 of the container has a recessed neck formation 42 that provides a horizontal projection 44 around the body 4 of the container in which a bottom edge of the base skirt will end up providing a smooth and continuous outer surface for the container. An upper edge of the neck formation defines an inwardly turned flange 46 that is heat sealed by induction to the sheet 14 as shown in fig. 4. A warning message can be formed in relief or printed on the lowered vertical wall of the neck formation so that, if it is visible to the consumer, they will know that the package is not as manufactured and probably has been handled. The neck formation 50 is staggered again in a second step 48. The step is preferably inclined to facilitate molding. This provides additional space within the base of the closure next to the mouth of the body of the container to receive the formation 30 protruding inward from an inner surface of the skirt. This creates another step 48 in the neck formation but there is no overhang that could be used to retain with a replacement base. Both lowered vertical portions 50, 52 of the neck formation that are hidden in use by the closure can withstand warning messages.

Preferably the neck formation is, apart from any recessed or embossed writing, a smooth vertical wall and not

It provides no continuous recess around the body that could be used to apply with a replacement closure that is held in place by mechanical means rather than by sealing the sheet.

The container body can be filled just to the edge 46 when sealed by the sealing sheet 14. Thus, the depth of the closure has no impact on the capacity of the container.

5 The relative dimensions of the thin wall of the skirt and its depth will of course need to be selected depending on the overall dimensions of the package.

The reference to a skirt that has no protruding parts inwardly is intended to refer to parts that protrude into a profile defined by the thickest part of the wall section of the skirt. It will be appreciated that where the reduced wall sections improve the vulnerability of the skirt to the deformation of the plastic, the tear or tear 10 is present but does not extend to the entire vertical height of the skirt, the lower edge may be thicker than these sections of reduced wall However, a crest 60 as the corners appear does not protrude into the total profile of the skirt. It may also be necessary to produce a formation 30 with a notch above the edge of the skirt to provide means for an application with latch 32.

Claims (11)

5 10 fifteen twenty 25 1. A container comprising a container body (4) and a closure (2), the closure being a base (6) with a lid (8) adapted to close on the base, the base comprising a horizontal flange (12) surrounded by a hanging skirt (10), the base defining an opening adapted to fit over an open mouth of the body of the container; the body of the container having a side wall that ends at a flange (46) of an open mouth of the body of the container; Y a heat-sealed induction sheet (14) adapted to be secured to the rim of the container body and the base; the side wall of the container body is staggered inward to provide a first step (44) adjacent to a terminal edge of the skirt; characterized in that the skirt is a thin non-structural wall that has at least one weakened region (24, 26, 28) to define a fracture point if the skirt is subjected to lateral movement away from the container body. 2. A package according to claim 1, wherein the weakened area comprises areas of reduced wall section (24, 26, 28) molded to an inner surface of the skirt. 3. A package according to claim 2, wherein the reduced wall section areas also include at least one rib of reduced thickness (26) in a corner (40) of the skirt. 4. A package according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the thickness of the skirt wall is 0.8 mm or less. 5. A container according to claim 4 wherein the thickness of the skirt wall is 0.5 mm or less. 6. A package according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the depth of the skirt exceeds 8 mm. 7. A package according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the base is polypropylene. A package according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the body of the container is staggered to provide a second step (48) that is closer to the flange (46) than the first step (44). 9. A package according to claim 6, wherein at least one vertical surface (50, 52) of the stepped portion of the side wall has a warning message that is only visible when the closure is removed. 10. A package according to claim 7, wherein the warning message is created by embossed or lowered letters. 11. A package according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the closure is manufactured as a injection using a different plastic material for the skirt.