EP0471629B1 - Openable cap and container provided with a tamper evident lid - Google Patents

Abstract

The subject of the invention is the assembly of a sealing device (3) and of a container (1) with a neck (2) made of plastic material underneath a tamper-evident lid (8), this sealing device (3) carrying means (25) for forcible axial nesting of the said lid (8), characterised in that the said sealing device (3) is a cap (3) with an opening, equipped with a base or bottom part (4), and in that the said base (4) and the said neck (2) comprise snap-fit means (15), the start of their snap fitting occurring only after the start of the full-section insertion of the said means (25) for nesting of the said lid (8), and, moreover, further down, of the screwing means, the said means (15 and 25) permitting the rupture of the lid (8) and its driving into the said neck (2). <??>This invention applies to tamper-evident containers for the hygiene, pharmaceutical, beauty-care, food and cleaning-product industries. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to an assembly of an opening capsule and a tamper-evident container according to the preamble of claim 1, comprising an opening capsule or strain capsule comprising a base or strain attached to the neck of a container and an opening part closing the orifice of this neck, the opening of this part being for example by rotation or by pivoting relative to said base, and the orifice of the neck being initially provided with a tamper-evident seal.

Plastic opening capsules are known, the base or strain of which is fixed to the plastic neck of a tube typically by snap-fastening, this base comprising a sealing means from the inside of said neck, for example a penetrating crown. with forcing inside this neck.

We also know, from patent EP-A-0 192 011 of the applicant, another type of closure, namely a cap, comprising means of axial fitting by force of a tamper-evident seal which overcomes the neck of a container. Such an assembly corresponds to the preamble of claim 1. They are constituted by radial fins of longitudinal notching in plastic material harder than that of said cover.

The Applicant has sought to develop an opening capsule adapted to such a container having a tamper-evident seal.

STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION

EP-A- 0 192 011 describes a set of closures and of a container with a plastic neck surmounted by a tamper-evident seal, said closure comprising means of axial fitting by force of said seal. The invention is characterized in that said closure is an opening capsule comprising a base or strain to be fixed to said neck and an opening part or cover which can open and close relative to said base when the latter is fixed to the neck, in that said cover is provided with said means of axial nesting by force of said cover and in that said base and said neck comprise on the one hand means complementary latching, the start of their latching occurring only after the start of fitting at maximum effort of said fitting means in said cover, and on the other hand, below said latching means complementary screwing, these latching and screwing means allowing the rupture of the cover and then its insertion into said neck.

Said means of axial fitting by force of the cover have a tightening function both anti-rotation and producing the retention of the cover in the blockage. They are preferably either longitudinal fins internal to the capsule inserted between longitudinal reliefs of the cover, or again, as known from the document cited, longitudinal radial fins for notching the cover. Anyway, there is a stage where the casing effort is or becomes maximum, and the objective of obtaining a permanent tightening makes prefer in all cases the choice of a plastic material harder than that of l '' seal.

An explanation of the general principle of separation of the maximum efforts of casing and snap-fastening is given in the case of a capsule with radial notching fins.

The beginning of the insertion of the capsule, that is to say of the closed assembly "stump or base + opening part", on the neck provided with its lid requires two relatively large efforts for a mechanized insertion installation : the notching force of the cover and the locking force of the base of the capsule on the neck. The Applicant has noticed that the notching or insertion effort of said radial fins in the cover was maximum at the time when this insertion became of maximum section and that the simultaneity of this effort with the latching effort could lead to installation stops. The ratcheting is delayed with respect to the notching in full section by starting this nicking shortly after the engagement of the opening part on the cover and / or by moving the latching means away from its neck from its orifice obstructed by the operculum. However, it is preferable to have a chamfer of low height at the top of the cover making the start of the notching progressive, and also a progressive widening of the bottom of said radial fins. The good separation of the two maximum forces, respectively of notching of the cover by the opening and snap part of the base and the neck, is essential in practice.

Once the snap has been obtained by continuing to push the capsule onto the neck, the capsule is blocked vis-à-vis the three usual actions: it cannot be pulled out, it cannot be unscrewed and you cannot open it by pivoting.

Preferably, the screwing means of the neck immediately follows the screwing means of the base of the capsule in the just snapped-in position, and the base in this position is blocked or strongly braked with regard to possible rotation in the sense of unscrewing and / or the anti-unscrewing means intervene from the latched position, preventing this rotation.

The position just snapped in is the delivery position of the non-violated encapsulated container, which can be identified by a witness, for example a colored area of the shoulder of the container visible at this stage between this shoulder and the lower end of the skirt. outside of the base of the capsule.

The capsule can only rotate in the direction of screwing, that is to say the usual direction of closure, and its opening part rotates the cover by its notched fins and tears the web of connection of this cover by shearing: quickly, typically after 1/10 of rotation with or without screwing.

By performing the screwing, the lower end of the lid enters the orifice of the neck and comes to stopper it, the opening of the container then being done by pivoting of the opening part of the capsule and the lid that remains prisoner.

Preferably, provision is made at the earliest when snap-fastening and at the latest at the end of screwing-in the intervention of complementary anti-unscrewing means of the base of the capsule and of the container. These means can be fins and ratchet teeth carried respectively by the inner surface of the outer skirt of said capsule and by a lateral surface of the container, typically of its shoulder. These means oppose when unscrewing said base, leaving only an angular movement of less than 10 °.

Other particularities will be illustrated and commented on in the example which follows.

Advantages of the invention

• The establishment of the capsule with opening is done by simple depression, it can be made without effort incompatible with a mechanized closure installation, thanks to the separation in time of the maximum efforts of notching and snap-fastening.
• The insertion stops as soon as it clicks in, it is the delivery position where the non-violation of the container can be seen just below the base of the capsule, and also possibly in the central opening of the opening part inside which the lid of the container has not yet finished mounting.
• Rotation in the direction of screwing after snap-fastening is the only possibility of rupture of the cover, screwing fully produces the final fixing of the capsule by the anti-unscrewing means. The successive openings and closings of the capsule no longer produce any modification of its fixing, and the captive seal of the opening part comes each time to reproducibly fill the opening of the neck.
• In service, the seal is the sealing means for the filling and the capsule, it is a simplification.

Examples

Figure 1 shows an assembly according to the invention in the snapped-on position, in axial section.

Figure 2 shows the same assembly in the screwed position, also in axial section.

FIG. 3 represents the anti-unscrewing means of said assembly, according to a half-section seen from above marked AA in FIG. 2.

Figure 4 shows the same assembly after screwing, the capsule being opened, also in axial section.

1) Description of the assembly

In Figure 1, we see a tube 1 with neck 2 in LDPE (low density polyethylene) surmounted by an opening capsule 3 in PP (polypropylene) comprising a stump or base 4 and an opening part or cover 5 which can pivot by a hinge in 6 with respect to this base 4.

The neck 2 whose end orifice 7 has a diameter of 7.5 mm is surmounted by a tight seal 8 connected to the inside of the neck by a narrow tearable portion 9 of thickness 0.2 mm. Above this connection 9, the cover successively comprises an externally curved annular skirt 10 with an outside diameter greater than 0.2 mm than the diameter of the orifice 7, then an annular cup 11 with an outside diameter 10.5 mm serving as a sealed stop for the future insertion of the cover 8 into the orifice 7, and also serving as a safety stop for mounting the cover in the cover 5, then finally a cylindrical portion 12 of height 5 mm and of 8.8 mm diameter with a slight entry chamfer 13 0.4 mm high at its upper end.

The neck 2 carries 4 mm below its orifice 7, at the lower end of an inclined outer surface 14 of increasing diameter, a snap-in relief 15 in the form of a rib 15 with an outside diameter of 13 mm and a horizontal annular underside 16 surmounting a recessed cylindrical portion 17 with a diameter of 12 mm and a height of 3 mm. This recessed portion 17 is followed by a slightly stronger portion carrying an external thread 18 with a pitch of 1.5 mm and a total height of 5 mm.

This thread 18 ends on the shoulder 19 of the tube 1, the surface of which lateral 20 carries on the one hand a colored area 21 and on the other hand teeth 22 said ratchet, here inclined in the direction of screwing (Figure 3) but can also be radial as has been shown by another test.

The opening part or cover 5 of the capsule 3 comprises a central tube 23 open at its two ends, its inner surface 24 of diameter 8.9 mm carrying radial fins 25 with a tapered end at an angle of 15 °, these fins 25 having a lower end 26 which gradually widens. The slight diametral clearance of the surface 24 between fins relative to the cover 8 will facilitate the insertion of this cover 8 into the tube 23 despite its small notches or incision by these fins 25.

The base 4 of the capsule 3 comprises a central cylindrical portion 27 having an internal diameter 270 of 13 mm and 2.5 mm high with at its base a snap relief 28 having a horizontal flange 29 with an internal diameter 12.35 mm then a frustoconical engagement surface 30 with a height of 1 mm and a diameter of 13.2 mm at its base 300. The central portion 27 and the relief 28 are extended by a tube 31 carrying in its upper part, just below the relief 28, an internal thread 32 of height 2.3 mm which is screwed onto the thread 18 of the neck. The outer skirt 33 of the base 4, with an internal diameter of 26 mm, carries on its inner surface inclined fins 34 (FIGS. 1 and 3) anti-unscrewing, cooperating with the teeth 22 of the neck 2 from the snap-fastening of the capsule 4 and 5.

2) Axial insertion of the opening capsule on the neck (Figure 1).

• engagement libre de la base 4 sur le goulot 2;
• engagement de la tubulure 23 du couvercle 5 autour de l'opercule 8, début progressif de l'entaillage de cet opercule 8 par les extrémités 26 des ailettes coupantes 25 à partir du chanfrein 13 de l'opercule;
• environ 1 mm plus bas, l'insertion des ailettes 25 dans l'opercule 8 est à pleine section, en même temps la base 300 du relief d'encliquetage 28 de la base 4 s'engage sans jeu autour du relief complémentaire 15 du goulot;
• l'engagement du relief 28 autour du relief 15 se poursuit au moyen de sa surface tronconique 30, l'effort d'encliquetage augmentant ainsi progressivement jusqu'au passage de l'extrémité de son rebord horizontal au-dessous du relief 15;
• on arrive alors à une position stable dans laquelle un dégagement ou un enfoncement axial n'est plus possible, à cause de l'encliquetage et de la butée du filetage 32 de la base 4 sur le début du filetage 18 du goulot 2 et de l'engagement des moyens antidévissage 34 et 22.

The closed capsule 3 or 4 and 5 are pushed in axially on the neck 2 surmounted by the cover 8, and it happens successively:

• free engagement of the base 4 on the neck 2;
• engagement of the tubing 23 of the cover 5 around the cover 8, progressive start of the notching of this cover 8 by the ends 26 of the cutting fins 25 from the chamfer 13 of the cover;
• about 1 mm lower, the insertion of the fins 25 in the cover 8 is in full section, at the same time the base 300 of the latching relief 28 of the base 4 engages without play around the complementary relief 15 of the neck ;
• the engagement of the relief 28 around the relief 15 continues by means of its frustoconical surface 30, the latching effort thus gradually increasing until the end of its horizontal edge passes below the relief 15;
• one then arrives at a stable position in which an axial release or depression is no longer possible, because of the snap-fastening and the stop of the thread 32 of the base 4 on the start of the thread 18 of the neck 2 and of the commitment of anti-unscrewing means 34 and 22.

In this position, the respective lower ends of the outer skirt 33 and the tubing 31 of the base 4 are approximately 2.4 mm from the shoulder 19 of the tube 1. A witness 20 identifies this waiting position in which the tube 1 is always closed sealed by its cover 8.

3) Commissioning of the tube

The rotation of the capsule 3 in the direction of screwing without screwing or else with the start of screwing makes it possible to leave this waiting position. The cover 8 is rotated by the cover 5 and the insertion of its radial fins 25, its tearable connection 9 (Figure 1) with the neck 2 being quickly chiselled. After approximately 30 ° of rotation, this connection 9 is broken, the lower end of the skirt 10 of the cover sinking into the orifice 7 during screwing (stage not shown), the connection 9 having to facilitate this depression has an outside diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of this orifice 7.

• les ailettes anti-dévissage 34 inclinées à 30° par rapport à la jupe extérieure 33 et au nombre de 12 râclent les dents anti-dévissage 22 au nombre de 5 portées par l'épaule 19 du tube 1, toute tentative de dévissage restant rapidement bloquée depuis l'encliquetage (figure 3);
• l'opercule 8 est rentré dans l'orifice 7 du goulot 2 jusqu'à sa coupelle annulaire 11, réalisant un bouchage étanche (figure 2);
• cet opercule 8 est ainsi remonté dans la tubulure 23 de la partie ouvrante ou couvercle 5. Cette montée de l'opercule 8 dans la phase de vissage peut aussi être utilisée pour le repérage de non violation de l'emballage.
• le relief d'encliquetage 15 du goulot 2 se situe vers le haut de l'ouverture cylindrique 270 de la base 4 et assure l'étanchéité entre ce goulot 2 et cette base 4.

Continued screwing by the user is accompanied by the following effects:

• the anti-unscrewing fins 34 inclined at 30 ° relative to the outer skirt 33 and 12 in number scrape the anti-unscrewing teeth 22 5 in number carried by the shoulder 19 of the tube 1, any unscrewing attempt remaining quickly blocked since the snap-fastening (FIG. 3);
• the cover 8 is returned in the orifice 7 of the neck 2 up to its annular cup 11, providing a sealed closure (Figure 2);
• this cover 8 is thus reassembled in the tube 23 of the opening part or cover 5. This rise of the cover 8 in the screwing phase can also be used for the identification of non-violation of the packaging.
• the snap-in relief 15 of the neck 2 is located towards the top of the cylindrical opening 270 of the base 4 and provides sealing between this neck 2 and this base 4.

4) Successive uses (figure 4)

The cover is released from the orifice 7 by the pivoting of the cover 5 and accompanies it in its opening. The closing of the cover 5 is accompanied by a sealed filling of the orifice 7 by the cover 8 trapped in this cover 5.

Industrial application

Tamper evident containers with an opening capsule in the hygiene, pharmaceutical, cosmetology, food and cleaning products industries.

Claims (12)

1. A closure assembly (3) and a receptacle (1) having a neck (2) of plastics material surmounted by a tamper-proof cover (8), the said closure means (3) comprising axial means (25) for the force-fitting of the said cover (8), characterised in that the said closure means (3) is an opening capsule (3) comprising a base or stub (4) to be fixed to the said neck and an opening part (5) or cover adapted to open or close in relation to the said base when this latter is fixed on the neck, in that the said cover (5) is provided with the said axial means (25) for the force-fitting of the said cover (8) and in that the said base (4) and the said neck (2) comprise on the one hand complementary snapping on means (28 and 15), their snapping on action only occurring after the commencement of fitment of the said fitting means (25) into the said cover (8) under maximum effort, and on the other hand below the said snapping on means (28 and 15) complementary screwing means (32 and 18), the said snapping on and screwing means (28 and 15, 32 and 18) making it possible to rupture the cover (8) and then to push it into the said neck (2) with force.
2. An assembly according to Claim 1 in which the said capsule (3) is of a harder plastics material than that used for the said neck (2) and for the said cover (8).
3. An assembly according to Claim 1 in which the means (28) of snapping on the said base (4) comprises a frustoconical surface (30) engaging around a means (15) of snapping onto the said neck (2), allowing a progressive increase in the snapping on effort and in that the snapping on (28) and screwing (32) means of the said base (4) are carried by the interior of an inner axial crown (31) of the said base (4).
4. An assembly according to Claim 3 in which the said snapping on means (15) of the neck (2) is a rib (15) which engages with force into an inner cylindrical portion (27) of the said crown (31) of the said base (4), the said portion (27) surmounting the said snapping on means (28) of the said base (4) in a position of closure of the said capsule (3) after rupture of the said cover (8).
5. An assembly according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, in which the screwing means (18) of the neck (2) is immediately below the screwing means (32) of the base (4) in the snapped on position.
6. An assembly according to Claim 1, in which the said base (4) has an outer skirt (33) the inside of which carries anti-unscrewing stop means (34) which with effect from the snapping on action cooperate with complementary means (22) carried by a shoulder (19) of the said receptacle (1).
7. An assembly according to Claim 5 in which the said anti-unscrewing stop means (33 and 34) are respectively fins (34) inside the said skirt (33) and ratchet teeth (22) carried by the lateral surface (20) of the said shoulder (19).
8. An assembly according to Claim 7 in which the said internal fins (34) and the said ratchet teeth (22), with effect from the snapped on position, cooperate and prevent a rotation in the screwing direction.
9. An assembly according to any one of Claims 6 or 7 in which the bottom end of the said outer skirt (33) is situated above the said shoulder (19) of the said receptacle (1) in the position of snapping on prior to screwing, the said skirt (33) then exposing a control (20) of non-insertion of the said cap (3) carried by the said shoulder (19).
10. An assembly according to Claim 1 in which the said tamper-proof cover (8) comprises above its tearable zone (9) an externally convex annular portion (10) having an outside diameter which is greater by 0.1 to 0.4 mm than the diameter of the end orifice (7) of the said neck (2) and above the said annular portion (10) an annular cup (11) serving both to arrest the pushing of the capsule (3, 4) over the cover (8) and to press this cover (8) on the end of the neck (2) in the event of renewed closure operations.
11. An assembly according to Claim 1 in which the said means (25) for force-fitting the said cover (8) are scoring fins (25) carried by an open axial passage (24) in the said opening capsule (3 and 5) and having tapered edges of thickness 0.1 to 0.3 mm which can score a circular cylindrical portion (12) of the said cover (8).
12. An assembly according to Claim 1, in the case where the cover (8) is broken and is captive with the capsule (3), this cover (8) serving as a means of re-closing the receptacle (1) in sealing-tight fashion at every closure of the capsule (3).

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