U.S. patent application number 12/735693 was filed with the patent office on 2011-01-20 for aseptic push-pull stopper.
Invention is credited to Enrico Zoppas.
Application Number | 20110011824 12/735693 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40291812 |
Filed Date | 2011-01-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110011824 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Zoppas; Enrico |
January 20, 2011 |
ASEPTIC PUSH-PULL STOPPER
Abstract
A stopper of the push-pull type, comprising a main threaded-ring
body, to be screwed onto the neck of a corresponding container of
liquids, from which a tubular projection protrudes which surrounds
externally the exit hole of the main body, for guiding and
supporting an upper stopper, the upper stopper, provided with a
flow control element for blocking the exit hole, and designed to be
extracted reversibly therefrom; the upper stopper and the tubular
projection forming a suction dispensing nozzle, a capsule- or
cap-shaped covering element, for covering the upper stopper and
coupled, by its edge, in a reversibly removable manner, to the main
body; the covering element is constituted by an annular lateral
stopper protection portion and by a central portion for protecting
the head of the upper stopper.
Inventors: |
Zoppas; Enrico; (Conegliano
Veneto, IT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Modiano & Associati
Via Meravigli 16
Milano
20123
IT
|
Family ID: |
40291812 |
Appl. No.: |
12/735693 |
Filed: |
February 23, 2009 |
PCT Filed: |
February 23, 2009 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP2009/052133 |
371 Date: |
September 28, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
215/356 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 47/127 20130101;
B65D 47/247 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
215/356 |
International
Class: |
B65D 39/08 20060101
B65D039/08 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 26, 2008 |
IT |
PD2008A000064 |
Claims
1-3. (canceled)
4. An aseptic stopper of the push-pull type, comprising a main
threaded-ring body, to be screwed onto the neck of a corresponding
container of liquids, from which a tubular projection protrudes
which surrounds externally the exit hole of said main body, for
guiding and supporting an upper stopper; an upper stopper provided
with a flow control element that is adapted to enter said exit hole
in order to block it, and is designed to be extracted reversibly
therefrom by performing a translational motion of said upper
stopper on said tubular protrusion away from said main body, said
upper stopper and said tubular projection forming a suction
dispensing nozzle; a capsule- or cap-shaped covering element, which
is contoured so as to cover said upper stopper and to rest and be
coupled, by means of its edge, in a reversibly removable manner, to
the main body, said capsule-shaped covering element being
constituted by an annular lateral protection portion for said upper
stopper and by a central portion for protecting the head of the
upper stopper, said annular portion and said central portion being
joined by a connecting region, wherein said capsule-shaped covering
element has such a height that when said capsule-shaped covering
element is closed onto the main body and the upper stopper is
closed, said central portion is arranged at a distance from the
head of said upper stopper.
5. The stopper according to claim 4, wherein said annular portion
and said connecting region have such a thickness as to allow
complete discharge of any load that is distributed in an axial
direction on the edge of said capsule-shaped covering element,
which in turn rests on said main body.
6. The stopper according to claim 4, wherein said connecting region
has such a curvature as to facilitate the transmission toward said
annular portion of any load that is distributed in axial direction.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] Push-pull stoppers, as exemplified in FIG. 1, where such a
stopper is designated by the reference letter A, comprise: [0002] a
main threaded-ring body B to be screwed onto the neck of a
corresponding bottle, from which a tubular projection C protrudes
which surrounds externally an exit hole D of such main body, for
guiding and supporting an upper stopper E, [0003] the upper stopper
E, provided with a flow control element F that is adapted to enter
the exit hole D to block it and is designed to be extracted
reversibly therefrom by producing the translational motion of the
upper stopper E on the tubular projection C away from the main body
B; the upper body E and the tubular projection C define a suction
dispensing nozzle G, [0004] a capsule- or cap-shaped covering
element H, which is contoured so as to conceal the upper stopper E
and to rest and be coupled, by means of its edge I, in a reversibly
removable manner, to the main body B.
[0005] The capsule-shaped covering element H is constituted by an
annular portion L for lateral protection for the upper stopper E
and by a central portion M for protecting the head of the upper
stopper, said annular portion and said central portion being joined
by a connecting region N.
[0006] The capsule-shaped covering element H, known in the jargon
as a cap, has such a height as to skim a head portion P of the
upper stopper E in the closed configuration of the stopper A.
[0007] This geometry and shape of the capsule-shaped covering
element H allow to optimize the space occupation of the stopper and
to minimize the amount of plastics needed to manufacture it.
[0008] Currently, in order to sterilize the stopper, it is
necessary to subject its internal parts, i.e., the ones designed to
face the interior of the bottle and therefore designed to be wetted
by the liquids contained in such bottle, first to radiating
treatment and then to sterilization by washing in aseptic
medium.
[0009] In particular, the radiating treatment of the upper stopper
E becomes essential due to the fact that its flow control element F
for blocking the hole D, in the closed configuration, is arranged
so that a lateral surface portion F', by lying within the hole D,
is not wetted during washing in aseptic medium, and therefore
without radiating treatment before assembly would not be
sterilized.
[0010] This lateral surface portion F' of the flow control element
F of the upper stopper E, if it is covered, during the washing and
bottling step, by the surface of the hole of the main body and with
which it is in contact, during storage and palletizing is pushed
out of the hole D, and thus can be wet by the liquid in the
bottle.
[0011] This occurs because the weight of the overlying bottles is
discharged on the capsule-shaped covering element H, i.e., onto the
cap, which in turn, by being actuated by a vertical weight force,
is deformed and pushes on the underlying upper stopper E, producing
the exit of the portion F' of the flow control element from the
exit hole D and thus making it available for contact with the
liquid.
[0012] The radiating treatment, which is currently indispensable,
entails execution times and costs that inevitably affect the
overall cost of the stopper and its production rates.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0013] The aim of the present invention is to provide a stopper of
the push-pull type that is capable of obviating the drawbacks
revealed by the described conventional stoppers of the push-pull
type.
[0014] Within this aim, an object of the present invention is to
provide a stopper of equal constructive simplicity, which however
can be sanitized more cheaply and easily during production.
[0015] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
stopper of the push-pull type that is equally easy to assemble and
fit on a corresponding bottle.
[0016] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
stopper of the push-pull type that can be manufactured with known
systems and technologies.
[0017] This aim and these and other objects, which will become
better apparent hereinafter, are achieved by a stopper of the
push-pull type, comprising [0018] a main threaded-ring body, to be
screwed onto the neck of a corresponding bottle, from which a
tubular projection protrudes which surrounds externally the exit
hole of said main body, for guiding and supporting an upper
stopper; [0019] an upper stopper provided with a flow control
element that is adapted to enter said exit hole in order to block
it, and is designed to be extracted reversibly therefrom by
performing a translational motion of said upper stopper on said
tubular protrusion away from said main body; [0020] said upper
stopper and said tubular projection forming a suction dispensing
nozzle; [0021] a capsule- or cap-shaped covering element, which is
contoured so as to conceal said upper stopper, which is contoured
so as to rest and be coupled, by means of its edge, in a reversibly
removable manner, to the main body, said capsule-shaped covering
element being constituted by an annular lateral protection portion
for said upper stopper and by a central portion for protecting the
head of the upper stopper, said annular portion and said central
portion being joined by a connecting region, said stopper being
characterized in that said capsule-shaped covering element has such
a height that when said capsule-shaped covering element is closed
onto the main body and the upper stopper is closed, said central
portion is arranged at a distance from the head of the upper
stopper.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will
become better apparent from the following detailed description of a
preferred but not exclusive embodiment thereof, illustrated by way
of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0023] FIG. 1 is a sectional side view of a stopper of the
push-pull type according to the background art;
[0024] FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of a stopper of the
push-pull type according to the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0025] With reference to the figures, a stopper of the push-pull
type according to the invention is designated generally by the
reference numeral 10.
[0026] The push-pull stopper 10 comprises a main threaded-ring body
11, to be screwed onto the neck of a corresponding container for
liquids such as a bottle, from which a tubular projection 12
protrudes which surrounds externally an exit hole 13 of the main
body 11. The tubular projection 12 guides and supports an upper
stopper 14.
[0027] The upper stopper 14 has a flow control element 15 that is
adapted to enter the exit hole 13 in order to block it, and is
designed to be extracted reversibly therefrom by producing the
translational motion of the upper stopper 14 on the tubular
projection 12 away from the main body 11. The upper stopper 14 and
the tubular projection 12 define a suction dispensing nozzle
16.
[0028] A capsule- or cap-shaped covering element 17 is contoured so
as to conceal the upper stopper 14 and to rest and be coupled by
means of its edge 18, in a reversibly movable manner, to the main
body 11.
[0029] The capsule-shaped covering element 17 is constituted by an
annular lateral protection portion 19 for the upper stopper 14 and
by a central portion 20 for protecting a head 21 of the upper
stopper 14.
[0030] The annular portion 19 and the central portion 20 are joined
by a connecting region 22.
[0031] The capsule-shaped covering element 17 has such a height
that when the capsule-shaped covering element 17 is closed onto the
main body 11 and when the upper stopper 14 also is closed, the
central portion 20 is arranged at a distance, and not proximate to
or in contact with, as in known types of stopper, the head 21 of
the upper stopper 14.
[0032] This distance is designated in FIG. 2 by the reference
numeral 23.
[0033] The annular portion 19 and the connecting region 22
therefore have such a thickness as to allow the complete discharge
of any load that is distributed in an axial direction on the
capsule-shaped covering element 17 onto the edge 18 of said cup,
which in turn rests on the main body 11.
[0034] The connecting region 22 has such a curvature as to
facilitate the transmission toward the annular portion 19 of any
load distributed in an axial direction.
[0035] The capsule-shaped covering element 17, i.e., the cap, of
the stopper 10 according to the invention, by keeping unchanged the
performance of the protective cups that are typical of known
stoppers, is capable of distributing the weight (caused by
palletizing) onto the base surface of the body 11, without
affecting the dispensing nozzle 16.
[0036] This is obtained, as mentioned, by increasing the distance
23 between the internal surface of the central portion 20 of the
capsule-shaped covering element 17 and the head 21 of the
dispensing nozzle 16, and by means of the total increase in the
thicknesses and the variation of the radius of curvature of the
connecting region 22.
[0037] With these particularities, the stopper 10 allows to ensure
the sterility of the surfaces in contact with the liquid by
performing for the various components of the stopper 10 only
aseptic washing, and not also one or more expensive radiating
treatments.
[0038] For loads that can be compared reasonably to the possible
situations of storage and transport of the product, in fact, the
outer surface of the portion 15a of the flow control element 15 of
the upper stopper 14, which is not washed in aseptic conditions,
certainly does not come into contact with the liquid in the bottle,
limiting the possibility of microbiological contamination.
[0039] In practice it has been found that the invention thus
described achieves the intended aim and objects.
[0040] In particular, the present invention provides a stopper of
equal constructive simplicity, in comparison with known types of
stopper, which however can be sanitized more easily and cheaply
during production.
[0041] Moreover, the present invention provides a stopper of the
push-pull type that is equally easy to assemble and fit on a
corresponding bottle, and in general has the same performance, in
terms of strength and tightness, as currently known stoppers of the
push-pull type.
[0042] Not least, the present invention provides a stopper of the
push-pull type that can be manufactured with known systems and
technologies.
[0043] The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous
modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of
the appended claims.
[0044] In practice, the materials employed, so long as they are
compatible with the specific use, as well as the dimensions, may be
any according to requirements and to the state of the art.
[0045] The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No.
PD2008A000064 from which this application claims priority are
incorporated herein by reference.
[0046] Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed
by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for
the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims
and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting
effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of
example by such reference signs.
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