U.S. patent application number 12/226405 was filed with the patent office on 2009-07-23 for stopper device for a container, a container fitted with such a device, and a method of fabricating such a device.
This patent application is currently assigned to Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance S.A.. Invention is credited to Gregory Antier, Tommy Jonsson, Michel Luzzato.
Application Number | 20090184082 12/226405 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37532968 |
Filed Date | 2009-07-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090184082 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Antier; Gregory ; et
al. |
July 23, 2009 |
Stopper Device for a Container, a Container Fitted with Such a
Device, and a Method of Fabricating Such a Device
Abstract
This stopper device (3) for a container (B) comprises a sealing
disk (2) suitable for being sealed, adhesively bonded, or blocked
against the end edge (12) of the neck (1) of the container (B),
while projecting radially outwards from the neck. The device also
comprises a stopper (4) suitable for being mounted on the neck (1)
and provided with an internal portion in relief enabling a thrust
force to be exerted on the sealing disk (2) urging the disk (2)
away from the neck (1). The internal portion in relief is formed by
a tongue (412) formed integrally with the stopper (4) and folded
towards the end wall (413) of the stopper, in a configuration that
is generally frustoconical and that converges (.alpha.) towards
said end wall (413).
Inventors: |
Antier; Gregory; (Trevoux,
FR) ; Luzzato; Michel; (Lyon, FR) ; Jonsson;
Tommy; (Malmo, SE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Ralph A. Dowell of DOWELL & DOWELL P.C.
2111 Eisenhower Ave, Suite 406
Alexandria
VA
22314
US
|
Assignee: |
Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance
S.A.
Pully
CH
|
Family ID: |
37532968 |
Appl. No.: |
12/226405 |
Filed: |
April 19, 2007 |
PCT Filed: |
April 19, 2007 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/FR2007/000661 |
371 Date: |
December 15, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
215/216 ;
215/344; 215/350 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 41/045 20130101;
B65D 51/228 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
215/216 ;
215/344; 215/350 |
International
Class: |
B65D 55/02 20060101
B65D055/02; B65D 41/34 20060101 B65D041/34; B65D 53/04 20060101
B65D053/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 20, 2006 |
FR |
06 03510 |
Claims
1-9. (canceled)
10. A stopper device (3) for a container (B) provided with a neck
(1), the device comprising: a sealing disk (2) suitable for being
sealed, adhesively bonded, or blocked against the end edge (12, 13,
17, 18) of the neck, so as to project radially outwards from the
neck; a stopper (4) suitable for being mounted on the neck and
provided with an internal portion in relief suitable for exerting a
thrust force (F.sub.4) on the sealing disk urging the disk away
from the neck wherein the internal portion in relief of the stopper
is formed by a tongue (412) formed integrally with the stopper and
folded (F.sub.3) towards the end wall (413) of the stopper, in a
generally frustoconical configuration that converges (.alpha.)
towards the end wall of the stopper.
11. A device according to claim 10, wherein the tongue is connected
to the stopper via a deformable portion (4121).
12. A device according to claim 11, wherein the deformable portion
(4121) has a thickness (e.sub.4121) less than the thickness
(e.sub.4122) of the tongue in the vicinity of its free edge (4122)
via which it can exert the thrust force (F.sub.4) on the disk
(2).
13. A device according to claim 10, wherein the free edge (4122) of
the tongue, remote from its portions (4121) connecting it to an
inside face (415) of the stopper (4), is provided with privileged
zones (4123) for thrusting against the disk (2).
14. A device according to claim 10, wherein the stopper (4) is
provided with a tamperproofing band (42) connected to a main
portion (41) of the stopper via at least one breakable zone (43),
said band being suitable, on first removal of the stopper, for
coming to bear against a portion (422) forming an abutment against
a blocking portion in relief (15) formed on the outside of the neck
(1), and in that, prior to first removal of the stopper, the
distance (d.sub.2) between the abutment-forming portion (422) and
the blocking portion in relief (15) is less than the minimum axial
distance (d.sub.1) between the folded tongue (412) and the sealing
disk (2), such that on first removal of the stopper, the
tamperproofing band (42) comes into contact against the blocking
portion in relief (15) before the tongue (412) exerts the thrust
force (F.sub.4).
15. A container, in particular a bottle (B) made of plastics
material, fitted with a stopper device (3) according to claim
10.
16. A method of fabricating a stopper device (3) for a container
(B) provided with a neck (1), the device comprising: a sealing disk
(2) suitable for being sealed, adhesively bonded, or blocked
against the end edge (12, 13, 17, 18) of the neck, so as to project
radially outwards from the neck; a stopper (4) suitable for being
mounted on the neck and provided with an internal portion in relief
suitable for exerting a thrust force (F.sub.4) on the sealing disk
urging the disk away from the neck, wherein the method comprises
the steps consisting in: a)--molding the stopper with a generally
frustoconical inside tongue (412) that converges away from the end
wall (413) of the stopper; b)--installing (F.sub.1) the sealing
disk in the vicinity of the end wall of the stopper; c)--folding
(F.sub.3) the tongue towards the end wall of the stopper so that it
takes up a generally frustoconical configuration converging (a)
towards the end wall.
17. A method according to claim 16, wherein steps b) and c) are
simultaneous, the tongue (412) being folded (F.sub.3) by the
sealing disk (2) while it is being installed or by a member (100)
for moving the sealing disk towards the end wall (413) of the
stopper (4).
18. A method according to claim 16, wherein step c) precedes step
b), the tongue being deformed elastically and radially (F.sub.3)
towards an inside face (415) of the stopper (4) in order to enable
the sealing disk to be installed during step b).
Description
[0001] The invention relates to a stopper device and to a container
fitted with such a device. The invention also relates to a method
of fabricating such a stopper device.
[0002] In the field of packaging food or pharmaceutical products,
it is known to fit a bottle made of plastics material with a
sealing disk provided with a peel-off sealing membrane that is heat
sealed by induction onto the end edge of the neck of the bottle.
Such a disk needs to be removed prior to first use of the product
contained in the bottle, which constitutes an operation that is
difficult, and runs the risk of being performed poorly, in
particular by a child or an old person. In addition, it is then
necessary to dispose of the sealing disk and its membrane, which
makes it necessary to go to a garbage can.
[0003] CH-A-556 274 discloses a stopper with an internal rib for
holding in place a disk that is provided with an aluminum sheet. In
order to install the disk in the stopper, it is necessary to deform
it temporarily. The disk deforming in the opposite direction runs
the risk of causing it to be extracted involuntarily from the
stopper, in particular on first opening of the bottle insofar as
the disk is held fast against the neck. In addition, there is a
risk of damaging the peripheral edge of the disk while it is being
put into place in the stopper, thereby having a negative effect on
the resulting sealing.
[0004] In order to mitigate those problems, WO-A-03/08930 discloses
providing a two-part stopper fitted with an inside ring having an
edge that is provided with a projection that extends in an axial
direction relative to a central axis of the neck. That device gives
satisfaction in terms of reliability. Nevertheless, its cost price
is relatively high because of the two-part structure of the stopper
and the assembly steps that are necessary for fabricating it.
[0005] The invention seeks more particularly to remedy those
drawbacks by proposing a stopper device for a container that is
compatible with using a sealing disk and that ensures that the
device will be removed on first use of the container, while also
presenting a cost price that is particularly attractive.
[0006] To this end, the invention provides a stopper device for a
container provided with a neck, the device comprising: [0007] a
sealing disk suitable for being sealed, adhesively bonded, or
blocked against the end edge of the neck, so as to project radially
outwards from the neck; and [0008] a stopper suitable for being
mounted on the neck and provided with an internal portion in relief
suitable for exerting a thrust force on the sealing disk urging the
disk away from the neck;
[0009] wherein the internal portion in relief of the stopper is
formed by a tongue formed integrally with the stopper and folded
towards the end wall of the stopper, in a generally frustoconical
configuration that converges towards the end wall of the
stopper.
[0010] By means of the invention, the folded tongue with a
frustoconical configuration enables a thrust force to be
transmitted effectively from the stopper towards the sealing disk,
with the opposing force from the sealing disk having the effect of
increasing the angle at the apex of the tongue which then bears
against the outside surface of the neck and remains in its folded
configuration. The tongue may be continuous or discontinuous around
the neck.
[0011] According to aspects that are advantageous but not
essential, such a stopper device may incorporate one or more of the
following characteristics: [0012] The tongue is connected to the
stopper via a deformable portion. This deformable portion
advantageously has a thickness less than the thickness of the
tongue in the vicinity of its free edge via which it can exert the
thrust force on the disk. [0013] The free edge of the tongue,
remote from its portions connecting it to an inside face of the
stopper, is provided with privileged zones for thrusting against
the disk. The free edge of the skirt may present an undulating
shape. [0014] The stopper is provided with a tamperproofing band
connected to a main portion of the stopper via at least one
breakable zone, said band being suitable, on first removal of the
stopper, for coming to bear against a portion forming an abutment
against a blocking portion in relief formed on the outside of the
neck, and, prior to first removal of the stopper, the distance
between the abutment-forming portion and the blocking portion in
relief is less than the minimum axial distance between the folded
tongue and the sealing disk, such that on first removal of the
stopper, the tamperproofing band comes into contact against the
blocking portion in relief before the tongue exerts the thrust
force. Thus, the thrust force may be exerted on the disk only after
the breakable zone has broken, thereby informing a subsequent user
of the container that it has already been opened.
[0015] The invention also provides a container, in particular a
bottle made of plastics material, that is fitted with a stopper
device as described above.
[0016] Finally, the invention provides a method of fabricating a
stopper device as mentioned above, the method comprising some steps
consisting in: [0017] a)--molding the stopper with a generally
frustoconical inside tongue that converges away from the end wall
of the stopper; [0018] b)--installing the sealing disk in the
vicinity of the end wall of the stopper; and [0019] c)--folding the
tongue towards the end wall of the stopper so that it takes up a
generally frustoconical configuration towards the end wall.
[0020] In a first approach, step c) precedes step b), the tongue
being deformed elastically and radially towards an inside face of
the stopper in order to enable the sealing disk to be installed
during step b).
[0021] In a variant, steps b) and c) are simultaneous, the tongue
being folded by the sealing disk while it is being installed or by
a member for moving the sealing disk towards the end wall of the
stopper.
[0022] The invention can be better understood and other advantages
thereof appear more clearly in the light of the following
description of three embodiments of a stopper device in accordance
with the principle of the invention and of methods of fabricating
such devices, given purely by way of example and made with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0023] FIG. 1 is a section view of the neck of a bottle fitted with
a stopper device in accordance with the invention;
[0024] FIG. 2 is a view on a larger scale showing a detail II of
FIG. 1;
[0025] FIG. 3 is a view on a larger showing a detail III of FIG.
1;
[0026] FIG. 4 is a side view in half-section showing the stopper
device during a first step in the fabrication thereof;
[0027] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the stopper in the
configuration of FIG. 4;
[0028] FIG. 6 is a view analogous to FIG. 2 during first opening of
the bottle;
[0029] FIG. 7 is a view analogous to FIG. 2 for a stopper device
constituting a second embodiment of the invention; and
[0030] FIG. 8 is a view analogous to FIG. 2 showing a stopper
device constituting a third embodiment of the invention.
[0031] The bottle B shown in part in FIG. 1 has a neck 1 provided
with an outside thread 11 and a portion 12 having an outside
surface 13 that is to receive a sealing disk 2 bearing
thereagainst, which disk forms part of a stopper device. The
sealing disk has a core of synthetic material that projects
radially from the surface 13, and a membrane 22 made of an
aluminum-based laminate, which membrane is adhesively bonded over
substantially its entire surface area to the core 21. The membrane
22 has a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the outer
radial surface 14 of the neck 1 in the vicinity of the portion
12.
[0032] In addition to the disk 2, the stopper device 3 comprises a
one-piece stopper 4 that comprises a capcap 41 and a tamperproofing
band 42, the elements 41 and 42 being molded in a single operation
and being connected together via a breakable zone 43.
[0033] The cap 41 is provided with an inside thread 411 for
co-operating with the thread 11 to enable the stopper 4 to be
screwed on and off the neck 1.
[0034] Reference X.sub.1 designates the central axis of the neck 1.
Reference X.sub.4 designates the central axis of the stopper 4. The
axes X.sub.1 and X.sub.4 coincide when the device 3 is in its
mounted configuration on the neck 1.
[0035] On the inside face of its peripheral skirt 414, the cap 41
is provided with a deformable tongue 412 formed integrally with the
skirt.
[0036] Reference P designates the plane perpendicular to the axis
X.sub.4 and passing through the center of a zone 4211 where the
tongue 412 attaches to the skirt 414. On leaving the mold, the
tongue 412 extends, relative to the plane P, away from the end wall
413, as shown in FIG. 4.
[0037] The tamperproofing band 42 is provided with an internal
tongue 421 that is formed integrally with the band 42 and that is
connected thereto via an attachment zone 4211. Reference P'
designates a plane perpendicular to the axis X.sub.4 and passing
through the center of the zone 4211. On leaving the mold, the skirt
421, extends, relative to the plane P', away from the end wall 413,
as shown in FIG. 4.
[0038] The orientation of the tongues 412 and 421 on leaving the
mold is such that the skirts can easily be molded at high rates of
production.
[0039] When the disk 2 is to be put into place inside the cap 1, in
the vicinity of the end wall 413, the disk is placed on a piston
100 that is moved towards the end wall 413 in the direction of
arrow F.sub.1 in FIG. 4. The piston 100 supports the disk 2 out as
far as its outer peripheral edge 23. By moving in the direction of
arrow F.sub.1, the disk comes to bear against the skirt 421 which
it folds towards the inside surface 425 of the band 42, in the
direction of arrow F.sub.2 in FIG. 4.
[0040] By continuing its penetration movement into the cap 41, the
disk 2 supported by the piston 100 also folds the tongue 412
towards the inside surface 415 of the skirt 414, in the direction
of arrow F.sub.3 in FIG. 4.
[0041] Thus, when the disk 2 is in place in the cap 41, prior to
the device 3 being mounted on the neck 1, the tongue 412 is folded
so that it presents a generally frustoconical configuration
converging towards the end wall 413, with a half-angle at the apex,
.alpha., of about 40.degree.. In practice, the angle .alpha. has a
value lying in the range 10.degree. to 60.degree..
[0042] The invention takes advantage of the fact that the
attachment zone 4121 is deformable, thereby enabling the tongue 412
to pass easily from the configuration of FIG. 4 to the
configuration of FIG. 1.
[0043] In a variant of the method of fabricating the device 3, the
tongue 412 may be folded by a tool such as the piston 100 in the
direction of arrow F.sub.3 in FIG. 4 before the sealing disk 2 is
put into place in the vicinity of the end wall 413. The disk is
then put into place by radially deforming the tongue 412
temporarily away from its position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 in a
radially outwards direction towards the surface 415.
[0044] In any event, once the disk 2 is in place in the vicinity of
the end wall 413, it is held in position by the tongue 412, until
the device 3 is mounted on the neck 1. Once mounted, the membrane
22 can be heat-sealed to the surface 13, thereby guaranteeing that
the resulting closure is sealed.
[0045] This produces the position shown in FIG. 1. In this
position, the axial distance, i.e. the distance parallel to the
axis X.sub.1, between the free edge 4122 of the tongue 412 and the
disk 2 is written d.sub.1. In like manner, the distance between the
free edge 4212 of the skirt 421 and a shoulder 15 formed by an
outer radial collar 16 of the neck 1 is written d.sub.2, the
shoulder 15 being designed to receive the free edge 4212 bearing
thereagainst.
[0046] The distance d.sub.2 is selected to be less than the minimum
value for the distance d.sub.1 such that during unscrewing of the
cap 41, the skirt 421 comes into abutment against the collar 16,
thereby causing the zone 43 to break, prior to any contact being
made between the tongue 412 and the disk 2.
[0047] After this breakage, continued unscrewing movement has the
effect of bringing the free edge 4122 of the tongue 412 to bear
against the portion 26 of the surface of the disk 2 that faces away
from the end wall 413 and that projects radially outside the
portion 12. By continuing the movement of unscrewing the cap 41, it
is possible to apply a force F.sub.4 to the disk 2 sufficient for
tearing the disk 2 away from the surface 13, this force being
distributed around the axis X.sub.1.
[0048] This produces the configuration of FIG. 6.
[0049] The reaction force F'.sub.4 due to the disk 2 acts on the
tongue 412 in a direction tending to fold it downwards, but this it
not possible given that the tongue 412 then bears against the
surface 14. As a result, the tongue 412 is effective in
transmitting the force F.sub.4, thereby enabling the connection
that results from sealing the membrane 42 on the surface 13 to be
broken.
[0050] As can be seen more particularly in FIGS. 4 and 5, the free
edge 4122 of the tongue 412 is provided with some portions 4123
that extend further from the attachment zone 4121 than to other
portions 4124 of the free edge 4122 of the tongue 412. The portions
4123 of the free edge 4122 thus form privileged zones for applying
the force F.sub.4, whereas no force tending to lift or tear off the
disk 2 passes via the zones 4124.
[0051] The thickness e.sub.4122 of the free edge 4122 is greater
than the thickness e.sub.4121 of the attachment zone, thereby
giving the tongue 412 sufficient stiffness in its zone that
transmits the force F.sub.4 to the disk 2, while the hinge-forming
zone 4121 is sufficiently flexible to make it easy to pass from the
configuration of FIG. 4 to the configuration of FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0052] In a variant of the invention that is not shown, the tongue
412 may be interrupted over certain angular sectors, in particular
those corresponding to the portions 4124. Under such circumstances,
the tongue 412 is made up of a plurality of tongue portions that
are separated by gaps distributed around the neck of the
container.
[0053] In the second embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 7,
elements analogous to those of the first embodiment are given
identical references. This embodiment differs from the preceding
embodiment by the shape of the disk 2 that does not include a
sealing membrane but that does include a skirt 24 that comes to
bear against the radially inner surface 17 of the neck 1, close to
its opening. The disk 2 is adhesively bonded to the end edge 13 of
the neck 1.
[0054] In the third embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 8,
elements analogous to the third embodiment are given identical
references. This embodiment differs from the preceding embodiment
in that the disk 2 is engaged in part inside the neck 1 and has an
outer peripheral edge 25 that caps the free edge 18 of the neck 1.
The disk 2 is jammed inside the inside surface 17 of the neck
1.
[0055] In these two embodiments, the cap 41 of the stopper 4 is
provided with an internal tongue 412 that is folded from its
position on leaving the mold, shown in dashed lines, to its
position shown in continuous lines. The tongue 412 enables the disk
2 to be extracted from the neck 1 when the corresponding container
is opened.
[0056] Whatever the embodiment in question, the stopper 4 is made
of plastics material, e.g. a high density polyethylene (HDPE), a
polypropylene, and more generally a polyolefin. Furthermore, the
neck of the bottle may be made of plastics material, e.g.
polyethylene, or it may be of glass.
* * * * *