U.S. patent application number 10/554833 was filed with the patent office on 2007-07-12 for closure cap comprising covering disc.
Invention is credited to Gunter Krautkramer.
Application Number | 20070158296 10/554833 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 33305052 |
Filed Date | 2007-07-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070158296 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Krautkramer; Gunter |
July 12, 2007 |
Closure cap comprising covering disc
Abstract
The invention relates to a closure cap (1) comprising a cap (2)
and a cap base (3) in addition to an inlet (9) which is arranged in
the base of the cap (3). Said inlet is closed by a membrane seal
(4) which can easily be penetrated. Said closure cap also comprises
a covering disk (7) which is arranged on the external side of the
base of the cap (3) which covers the inlet (9) and the membrane
seal (4). The aim of the invention is to produce a closure cap (7)
which, according to a manipulation test, enables a container
provided therewith to refilled in a precise manner, and whose
membrane can be penetrated and which is easier, faster and more
simple for the user to recognize. According to the invention, the
covering disk (7) is transparent in at least one area covering the
membrane seal (4).
Inventors: |
Krautkramer; Gunter;
(Budenheim, DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
John F McNulty;Paul & Paul
2900 Two Thousand Market Street
Philadephia
PA
19103
US
|
Family ID: |
33305052 |
Appl. No.: |
10/554833 |
Filed: |
March 12, 2004 |
PCT Filed: |
March 12, 2004 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP04/50304 |
371 Date: |
January 4, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
215/253 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 41/20 20130101;
B65D 2401/15 20200501; B65D 51/185 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
215/253 |
International
Class: |
B65D 39/00 20060101
B65D039/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 29, 2003 |
DE |
103 19 428.2 |
Claims
1. Closure cap (1) comprising a cap covering (2) and a cap base (3)
as well as an access opening (9) in the cap base (3) which is
sealed by an easily penetrable membrane seal (4), and comprising a
covering disc (7) arranged on the outer side of the cap base and
covering the access opening (9) with the membrane seal (4),
characterised in that the covering disc (7) comprises a central
transparent region covering the membrane seal (4) and a
non-transparent region, and/or a region provided with an imprint or
a printable region, at least partially surrounding the transparent
region.
2. Closure cap according to claim 1, characterised in that the
covering disc is substantially circular and comprises a central
circular window which is annularly surrounded by a non-transparent
and/or printed or printable region.
3. Closure cap according to claim 2, characterised in that the
covering disc is glued to the outer side of the cap base.
4. Closure cap according to claim 3, characterised in that the
covering disc (7) is glued with the aid of an agent to the portion
of the cap base (3) surrounding the access opening (9).
5. Closure cap according to either claim 3 or claim 4,
characterised in that the covering disc (7) is fastened to the cap
base (3) by such an adhesive which is no longer adhesive after the
first detachment of the covering disc from the cap base.
6. Closure cap according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterised
in that the covering disc comprises an unglued or partially
glued-on tab.
7. Closure cap according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterised
in that the access opening within the membrane seal (4) is sealed
by an additional seal.
8. Closure cap according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterised
in that the access opening (9) is formed by a cylindrical shoulder
(6) issuing from the cap base.
9. Closure cap according to claim 8, characterised in that the free
end of the shoulder (6) is sealed by a plug.
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to a closure cap comprising a
cap covering cap barrel and a cap base as well as an access opening
in the cap base which is sealed by an easily penetrable membrane
seal, and comprising a covering disc arranged on the cap base and
covering the access opening with the membrane seal.
[0002] Corresponding closure caps are known, for example, in
relatively large containers for drinking water, as are found
increasingly more frequently in public spaces and in offices or
businesses, and which have an approximate volume of 15 to 20 litres
(or more precisely, 5 gallons). In use these containers are
conventionally positioned or suspended with their opening at the
bottom, an extraction valve being placed on the closure cap. The
valve conventionally comprises a mandrel which when placed on the
closure cap either removes a plug from an access opening or
penetrates a membrane seal which seals the access opening and thus
makes the connection to the interior of the container. Otherwise
the valve is rigidly connected to the closure cap in a sealed
manner and the mandrel penetrating the membrane seal or displacing
a plug is conventionally hollow and makes the connection to the
interior of the container. By actuating the valve drinking water,
for example, can then flow from the container and flow through the
valve into a drinking cup.
[0003] It goes without saying that corresponding closures
comprising a membrane seal, which has to be relatively easy to
penetrate, are generally unsuitable for containers in which a
relatively high pressure can occur. Closure caps and valves of this
type are conventionally used for substantially unpressurised
containers, such as said drinking water containers, for
example.
[0004] As during penetration of the membrane the mandrel is also
partially conveyed on the surface of the membrane and any dust or
dirt, which has potentially accumulated on the outer side of the
caps, in particular on the membrane seal, may thus arrive in the
interior of the mandrel and thus also in a corresponding removal
container, an additional covering disc can in the meantime often be
seen in corresponding closure caps. A covering disc of this type is
glued to the cap base and in the process covers the membrane seal
generally arranged centrally in the removal opening of the cap base
in order to thus protect against impurities.
[0005] This covering disc can be a thin disc made of plastics
material or paper or a thin film which is generally glued to the
outer side of the cap base.
[0006] However, a drawback of covering discs of this type lies in
the fact that the membrane seal sealing the access opening is no
longer directly visible. During practical use the covering disc or
covering film is sometimes even left on the cover and penetrated,
together with the membrane seal, by the mandrel of a corresponding
valve if the valve is placed on the cap of the container.
[0007] However, even if the covering disc or covering film is
removed before placement of the valve and penetration of the
membrane with the aid of the valve mandrel, removal of the covering
disc and penetration of the membrane often take place in very quick
succession, wherein the user generally pays only little or no
attention to the condition of the membrane seal.
[0008] The situation can occur where corresponding containers, in
which the membrane seal of the closure cap has already been
penetrated are, with fraudulent intent, refilled with different
water, for example plain tap water or if possible water that is
unsuitable for drinking, in order to re-sell such a refilled
container, the previously removed covering disc being provided over
the membrane seal again so that it is not immediately apparent that
the seal has already been penetrated or opened. It goes without
saying that corresponding attempts at tampering can be made not
only in the case of the sale of drinking water or drinking water
containers, rather this applies to all applications in which a
corresponding membrane seal is used in a cap base which is to be
penetrated by a mandrel of an extraction valve or the like.
[0009] The present invention is therefore in no way limited to the
use of drinking water containers.
[0010] In view of the above-mentioned prior art, the object of the
present invention is to provide a closure cap in which an attempt
at tampering, specifically refilling of the container comprising a
closure cap, of which the membrane has already been penetrated, can
be detected fundamentally more easily, quickly and simply by the
user.
[0011] In this case the membrane itself is anyway equipped in such
a way that during its penetration several weaker connecting regions
between individual membrane portions tear so that even after
withdrawal of a corresponding mandrel the membrane has an
appearance that discernibly differs from an intact membrane
seal.
[0012] This object is achieved in that the covering disc is
transparent at least in a region covering the membrane seal.
[0013] If the covering disc or film over the membrane seal is
transparent, the user can see the membrane seal even if the
covering disc has not or not yet been removed from the cap base.
The membrane seal is thus visible at all times and it can easily be
discerned whether it has been penetrated once already. In
particular if the covering disc is not soiled, or is briefly
cleaned before use, the covering disc, together with the membrane
located therebelow, can be penetrated by the mandrel of an
extraction valve without the user having to dispense with a visual
check of the membrane seal. In this case it is merely a matter of
that portion of the covering disc that is located directly over the
membrane or membrane seal being transparent and allowing the
membrane seal to be discerned. More extensive regions of the
covering disc can easily be non-transparent or they can, for
example, be imprinted with advertisements or printed with the like.
The covering disc is expediently glued to the surface of the cap
base. The shape of the covering disc is largely arbitrary in this
case, i.e. it can be circular, polygonal or in the form of
advertising emblems or the like as long as the area is sufficient
to cover the membrane seal and a central region or a region
covering the membrane seal is transparent in the covering disc.
[0014] The transparent region is expediently centrally provided in
the covering disc and is surrounded by other regions which do not
have to be transparent, and which, in particular, are printed or
coloured in some other way.
[0015] It is advantageous if a non-transparent region or not
necessarily transparent region annularly surrounds the central
transparent region so that the entire area of the covering disc,
surrounding the central transparent region, can be glued to the cap
base.
[0016] In the preferred embodiment of the invention an adhesive is
used which, after the detachment of the covering disc from the cap
base, loses its adhesion, i.e. which can only be used once.
[0017] The covering disc preferably comprises another tab that is
not glued, or is only partially glued, to the cap base and which
facilitates grasping and removal of the covering disc from the cap
base. As already mentioned, the covering disc can, for example, be
provided in the form of a thin film but if necessary it can also be
produced from a slightly thicker and stronger plastics material. In
one embodiment of the invention a further seal or a plug, in
addition to the membrane seal, can be provided on the inner side
thereof. When using a plug, for example in a cylindrical shoulder
forming the access opening on the inner side of the cap base, the
closure cap according to the invention can also be used for
containers in which a liquid is slightly pressurised, such as
drinking water mixed with a small amount of carbon dioxide, as the
plug then protects the membrane seal from the internal pressure of
the container.
[0018] Further advantages, features and application possibilities
of the present invention can be found in the following description
of a preferred embodiment and the accompanying figures, in
which:
[0019] FIG. 1 shows an axial section through a closure according to
the invention and
[0020] FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the cap base with a central
covering disc placed thereon.
[0021] FIG. 1 shows a closure cap, designated as a whole by 1,
which substantially comprises an approximately cylindrical cap
barrel or cap covering 2 and a cap base 3 having an approximately
centrally arranged access opening 9. The access opening 9 is
substantially formed by a central circular recess in the cap base 3
and a hollow cylindrical shoulder 6 issuing from this circular
recess. This cylindrical shoulder 6 is sealed in the upper region
by a membrane seal 4, wherein the membrane seal 4 could easily also
be provided in a position further down in the cylindrical shoulder.
In the illustrated embodiment the cylindrical shoulder 6 is not
imperative though a further plug (not shown here) could be
provided, in addition to the membrane seal, which seals the
cylindrical shoulder 6 from below. The cylindrical cap covering 2
has a specific spacing from the cap base 3 and on its inner side
has a peripheral bead 8 which engages behind a corresponding
projecting edge of a container neck so that the closure cap 1 as a
whole can be pushed onto a suitably configured container neck. In
addition, there is provided on the cap base another seal 5, which
is L-shaped in cross-section and seals the edge of a corresponding
container neck and holds the closure tightly on the container
neck.
[0022] A covering seal 7 which is shown exaggeratedly thick can
also be seen on the upper side of the cap base 3 and covers the
access opening 9 and, in particular also the membrane seal 4
sealing the access opening 9 from the outside. The covering disc 7
is glued to the cap base 3 in the region surrounding the access
opening 9, an adhesive expediently being used which, after
detachment of the covering disc 7 from the cap base 3, is no longer
adhesive so that, as far as possible, a covering disc 7 once
detached can no longer be glued to the cap base 3 unless additional
adhesive is used. However even in such a case tampering with the
closure cap or the corresponding container would be visible if, for
example, the covering disc is removed, the membrane seal 4
penetrated and the container wholly or partially emptied,
subsequently refilled with inferior contents and the covering disc
then re-glued. As in its central region covering the membrane seal
4 the covering disc 7 is made of a transparent material, potential
damage to the membrane seal 4 is also visible even in the case of a
re-glued covering disc.
[0023] FIG. 2 schematically shows a corresponding cap base 3 of a
closure cap 1 with the glued-on covering disc 7 that is transparent
in the centre, of which the outer annular region comprises an
imprinted advertisement, for example, which in this case is
indicated only symbolically by a radial ring of rays. A transparent
region of the covering disc 7 can be seen in the centre, under
which, in turn, a membrane seal 4, shown as broken in this case,
can be seen. The membrane seal for example comprises six to eight
individual pie slice-shaped sectors which are connected to each
other by thin, tearable connecting portions. After tearing these
connecting portions, and this is brought about, for example, by the
mandrel penetrating through the seal, the segments of the membrane
seal that are reshaped in the process are separated from each other
so that a broken-open membrane seal may be discerned very easily if
it can be seen through the central transparent region of the
covering disc 7. The attention of the user is also directed to this
central region in particular by an annular imprinted advertisement
and a central transparent region, so that the user will notice
damage to the membrane seal immediately. In contrast, while
covering discs were known in the prior art, they did not make
possible a view of the membrane seal so that damage was often
unnoticed even if the covering disc was removed before use as
removal of the covering disc and penetration of the mandrel often
take place in very quick succession, the user, if possible, not
taking the time to examine the membrane seal more closely. Damage
to the seal was certainly not discernible if the non-transparent
covering disc according to the prior art, together with the
membrane, was penetrated by a mandrel of an extraction valve. In
the present case damage to the membrane seal can be discerned
immediately, however, and without removal of the covering disc so
that a closure equipped with a covering disc of this type has
fundamentally greater security against tampering and will be better
accepted by the customer as he is provided with a better guarantee
of originality as a result of the use of a closure cap of this
type.
* * * * *