GB2418910A

GB2418910A - Tamper evident closure with tear off band

Info

Publication number: GB2418910A
Application number: GB0518773A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Piero Battegazzore; Luca Viale
Original assignee: Guala Closures SpA
Current assignee: Guala Closures SpA
Priority date: 2004-10-06
Filing date: 2005-09-14
Publication date: 2006-04-12
Anticipated expiration: 2025-09-14
Also published as: ES2292317B1; ITMI20051659A1; GB2418910B; GB0518773D0; ES2292317A1

Abstract

A cap 18 for tamper-evident seals of containers, in particular bottles for luxury beverages and liqueurs, with an opening 3 disposed at the end of a neck 1, the cap being provided with a tubular sleeve 24 extended axially outside the neck of the container and ending in a free end edge 27 facing the body of the container. The cap comprises an annular band 29 connected axially to the free end edge of the tubular sleeve by means of a peripheral weakened line 28, the annular band being discontinued axially by a cut-out 34 forming two ends 35,36 facing one another, and a manual take-up tongue 37 for tearing off and removing the band at the time of first opening of the seal, rigid with one of the facing ends. The annular band is provided with a deformable portion 38, which may be provided by bellows or plurality at bows 39 connected together in the configuration of a letter of the alphabet. A pouring body 7 is provided connected to the neck by a tubular portion 14. Valve means 8a provided by a sphere or ball may present re-filling.

Description

DESCRIPTION

"Cap with tear-off means indicating that opening has taken place, for tamper-evident seals" The present invention relates to a cap for tamperevident seals of containers, in particular for bottles for luxury beverages and liqueurs, with an opening disposed at the end of a neck which extends axially along a longitudinal axis from the body of the container, these seals comprising a pouring body connected to the neck of the container by means of at least one tubular portion thereof which extends externally to the neck, the pouring body being provided with a pouring orifice, the cap, in order to open and close the pouring orifice, being provided with a tubular sleeve extended axially outside the neck of the container and engaged with the tubular portion of the pouring body by means of a screw coupling, the tubular sleeve being provided with a free end edge facing towards the body of the container and an annular band connected axially to the free end edge by means of a peripheral weakened line, means being provided between the annular band and the pouring body in order to oppose relative angular movements.

Caps for seals of the type described above are known

from the prior art in this sector and are used in

particular for bottles adapted to contain luxury liqueurs or beverages.

An example is disclosed in US-A-3 850 328.

According to the above-mentioned prior art, when the seal is first opened by rotating the upper portion of the cap, the peripheral weakened line is broken, thereby separating the tamper-evident seal from the end edge of the tubular sleeve of the cap.

The breakage of the weakened line provides proof that the bottle has been opened for the first time.

However, since the weakened line is normally formed by a peripheral sequence of notches alternating with solid portions which are normally broken by twisting when the cap is being unscrewed, it is often possible to reposition the cap so that, although the solid portions of the weakened line are broken, the separated portions of the band are correctly aligned with one another, giving the visual impression that they form a single body with the tubular sleeve of the cap and therefore of a seal that is unaltered and intact.

The object of the present invention is to remedy the above-mentioned drawback by proposing a cap with a tamper-evident band which has to be removed before the seal is opened for the first time and which, as a result of its removal, assumes a configuration that makes it impossible to position it in correct alignment with the tubular sleeve of the cap.

This object is achieved by the cap with a tamper evident band as set out in the following claim 1.

The invention will now be described with reference to an embodiment thereof, given purely by way of non limiting example, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a side view, partly in section, of a seal provided with a cap of the invention in its closed position and in an intact state; Fig. 2 is a perspective view, on an enlarged scale, of the interior of the cap; Fig. 3 is a side view of the cap with an intact tamper-evident band from the side of the deformable portion; Fig. 3A is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of zone A of Fig.3; Fig. 3B is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of zone B of Fig. 3; Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the cap along the line IV-IV of Fig 3; Fig. 5 is a side view of the cap of the invention, from the side of the deformable portion of the tamper- evident band, in which the latter is intact; Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view along the line VI VI of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a side view of the cap of the invention, from the side of the deformable portion of the tamper- evident band, in which the latter is partially torn from the weakened line; Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view along the line VIII-VIII of Fig. 7; Fig. 9 is a side view of the cap of the invention, from the side of the deformable portion of the tamper evident band, in which the latter is torn off and deformed.

In the above-mentioned Figures, and in Fig. l in particular, the neck of a container is shown by l and the body of this container by 2.

The neck l comprises a free edge 3 and an outer wall 4 with an annular step 5 and a superimposed series of axial knurls distributed about its periphery and shown overall by 6.

The container is, in particular, a bottle for liqueurs with a neck of the tapering or elongate type which is known per se.

The seal comprises a pouring body, shown overall by 7, formed by a first sleeve 8 facing towards the interior of the neck 1 and force-fitted therein with the interposition of a tubular member 9 which extends within the neck. This member 9 bears at the front on the free edge 3 of the neck by means of a flange 10 and, in its portion within the neck 1, forms an annular abutment 11 against which a closure 12, known per se and provided with an axial projection 13, engages. The valve means formed by a sphere 8a and by an orifice 8b, enabling the liquid in the container 2 to be distributed but not introduced, are housed within the sleeve 8 in a conventional manner.

The orifice 8b is provided on the end, within the neck 1, of a tubular body 8c secured axially to the member 9.

Rigidly with respect to the first sleeve 8, the pouring body comprises a second sleeve 14, concentric to the first, which engages with the neck 1 externally thereto by means of a plurality of axial knurls 6a which mesh radially with the axial knurls 6 borne by the outer surface 4 of the neck 1.

The pouring body 7 is lastly provided with a pouring orifice 15 against which the inner surface of the wall 17 of the cap 18 engages at the front, transverse to the longitudinal axis X-X of the seal.

The second tubular sleeve 14 of the pouring body extends axially along the neck 1 past the annular step 5 below which it engages with an annular lip 14a, borne by the portion 14b, thus clasping the neck 1 over a significant axial extension which is any case greater than that of the first sleeve 8 within the neck. This particular structural configuration makes any attempt fraudulently to remove the pouring body from the neck difficult.

In the case of the seal shown in Fig. 1, the sleeve 14 of the pouring body 7 has its portion 14a covered by a tubular member 19 made from thin metal sheet whose outer surface is adapted to be decorated with words or signs that may be reproduced with a high graphical quality. The tubular member 19 extends axially until it joins up with the body 2 of the bottle making the free end 14c of the portion 14b of the second sleeve 14 of the pouring body 7 inaccessible. As a result of this arrangement, any attempt to remove the seal from the neck of the bottle by lifting the sleeve 14 is prevented as this lifting would necessarily bring about a substantial deformation, and possibly the breakage, of the metal sheet from which the member 19 is made, thereby highlighting the fact that the seal is no longer intact.

The axial connection between the second sleeve 14 and the metal sheet member 19 is provided, for instance, by a seam shown overall at 20 comprising the rolling of a rib 21 on the member 19 within the annular throat 22 borne by the sleeve 14 of the pouring body.

The transverse wall 17 of the cap 18 comprises, in a conventional manner, an axial projection 23 which engages with the axial projection 13 of the closure 12 in order to retain it in the position closed against the seat 11.

In a simplified embodiment, the pouring body 7 may also comprise solely the sleeve 14 connected to the outer surface 4 of the neck 1. In this case, the seal does not comprise the anti-filling valve means 11, 12, 8a, 8b, 8c.

The cap 18, as well as the wall 17 transverse to the axis X-X, is provided with a tubular sleeve 24 which extends axially outside the neck 1 and above the second tubular portion 14 of the pouring body with which it screw engages by means of the thread borne 25 borne by the portion 14 and the thread 26 borne by the sleeve 24.

The sleeve 24 is provided with a free edge 27 which is connected by means of a weakened line 28 to a tamper evident band 29.

The overall cap 18 is covered by a capsule of thin metal sheet 30 which is connected to the underlying sleeve 24 by means of the annular rib 31, formed by rolling, which penetrates into the annular throat 32 provided on the sleeve 24.

While the engagement between the rib 31 and the throat 32 ensures the axial connection, the connection in the angular direction, about the axis X-X, is provided by milling distributed about the periphery of the cap, shown by 33, which creates interference between the metal sheet of the capsule 30 and the underlying wall of the sleeve 24.

The interference between the capsule 30 and the underlying wall of the sleeve 24 is such that, when a predetermined torque is exceeded, for instance 2 Nm, the capsule 30 may slide angularly on the sleeve 24 preventing this angular forcing from causing the breakage of the weakened line 28.

The breakage of this latter line in practice requires a much higher twisting torque, of at least 0.8 Nm, to be applied.

However, the limit torque beyond which the capsule may slide angularly on the sleeve 24 despite the milling 33 has to be greater than the torque needed to unscrew the sleeve 24 from the threads 25, 26.

This ensures that the cap operates correctly only after the tamperevident bands 29 have been torn off.

As can be seen from Figs. 2 to 9, the weakened line 28 is formed in a conventional manner by a plurality of notches 28a between solid portions 28b and 28c, while the band 29 is axially discontinued by a cut-out 34 which forms the opposing ends 35 and 36. A tongue 37 for manual take-up by a user's fingers is connected to the end 36 of the band. In the embodiment shown, this tongue is in one piece with the band 29.

In a position which is substantially diametrically opposite the cut-out 34, the band 29 comprises a peripheral portion 38 that can be deformed, with respect to which the solid portions 28b are disposed on the side of the tongue 37 while the solid portions 28c are disposed on the opposite side.

In particular, this deformable portion may be formed by a plurality of members 39, in the form of bars, connected together to form a bellows. The bars may also be disposed in the configuration of one or more letters of the alphabet of any language, for instance S. Z. U. V or W. all of which can be deformed when traction is exerted on their ends.

Instead of a letter of the alphabet, the deformable portion 38 may be formed by a design or logo identifying the brand of the liqueur contained in the bottle.

The band 29 is also provided with a plurality of axial ribs 40 provided in its inner surface 41 facing towards the tubular portion 14 of the pouring body 7 on which opposing axial ribs 42 are provided.

The ribs 40 and 42 mesh radially with one another in order to impede relative angular displacements between the band 29 and the underlying tubular portion 14. With particular reference to Figs. 7 to 9, it can be seen that, at the time of first opening, the user, after gripping the tongue 37, causes, by means of a outward movement of traction of the cap, the separation of the band 29 from the sleeve 24 by breaking the solid portions 28b of the weakened line 28 which are on the side of the tongue.

When the separation of the band 29 and the sleeve 24 reaches the location of the deformable portion 38, the further separation of the band 29 makes it necessary to exert a longitudinal traction on this band before being able to break the subsequent solid portion 28c which is disposed beyond the deformable portion.

This causes the deformation of the portion 38, for instance, by separating the bars 39 or elongating the concertina formed thereby.

The result is that, once the band 29 is completely separated from the sleeve 24, the cap 18 may be removed by unscrewing it regularly from the pouring body.

However, after the cap has been returned to its position closing the bottle, the band 29 can no longer be used to simulate an intact seal since, as it has been deformed and elongated, it cannot be housed in the position which it originally occupied below the free edge 27 of the sleeve 24.

Any dimensions and materials may be used depending on requirements without thereby departing from the scope of protection of the invention as set out in the following claims.

Claims

1. A cap for tamper-evident seals of containers, in particular bottles for luxury beverages and liqueurs, with an opening (33 disposed at the end of a neck (1) which extends axially along a longitudinal axis (X-X) from the body (2) of the container, comprising a pouring body (7) connected to the neck (1) of the container by means of at least a tubular portion (14) thereof which extends outside the neck, the body (7) being provided with a pouring orifice (15), the cap (18), in order to open and close the pouring orifice (15), being provided with a tubular sleeve (24) extended axially outside the neck (1) of the container and engaged with the tubular portion (14) of the pouring body by means of a screw coupling (25, 26), the tubular sleeve (24) being provided with a free end edge (27) facing towards the body (2) of the container and with an annular band (29) connected axially to the free end edge (27) by means of a peripheral weakened line (28), means (40, 42) being provided between the annular band and the pouring body (7, 14) to prevent relative angular movements, characterized in that the annular band (29) is discontinued axially by a cut-out (34) forming two ends (35, 36) facing one another, in that a portion (38) of its peripheral extension is deformable and in that a manual take-up tongue (37) for tearing off and removing the band (29) at the time of first opening of the seal is provided at the location of one (36) of these facing ends.

2. A cap according to claim 1, characterised in that the deformable portion (38) is provided on the band (29) in a position which is substantially diametrically opposite the cut- out (34).

S

3. A cap according to claims 1 and 2, characterised in that the portion (38) may be deformed by traction.

4. A cap according to claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the deformable portion (38) is in the form of a bellows.

5. A cap according to claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the deformable portion (38) is formed by a plurality of bars (39) connected together in the configuration of a letter of the alphabet of any language.

6. A cap according to claims 1 to 5, characterised in that it comprises a capsule (30) of metal sheet also axially surrounding the tubular sleeve (24), means (31, 32) being provided between the capsule (30) and the sleeve (24) to prevent relative movements of axial displacement.

7. A cap according to claims 1 to 6, characterised in that means to prevent a relative angular displacement until the twisting torque exceeds a predetermined value are provided between the sheet metal capsule (30) and the tubular sleeve (24).

8. A cap according to claim 7, characterised in that the means for preventing a relative angular displacement between the capsule (30) and the sleeve (24) are formed by milling and in that the limit value of the torque beyond which the angular displacement is enabled is lower than the value of the twisting torque which is needed to break the weakened line (28) but greater than the value of the torque needed to unscrew the cap and angularly displace the sleeve (24) on the threads (25, 26).

9. A cap according to claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the means disposed between the annular band (29) and the pouring body (14) to prevent relative angular movements are formed by a first plurality of axial ribs (40) disposed on the band (29) and facing the tubular portion (14) of the pouring body and by a second plurality of axial ribs (42) disposed on the pouring body and facing the band (29), the first and second pluralities of ribs meshing radially with one another, the deformable portion (38) of the band (29) being positioned between two successive axial ribs of the band.