WO1997036794A1

WO1997036794A1 - Tiltable bayonet closure for drinks cans

Info

Publication number: WO1997036794A1
Application number: PCT/DE1997/000670
Authority: WO
Inventors: Lutz Strube
Original assignee: Schmalbach-Lubeca Ag
Priority date: 1996-04-02
Filing date: 1997-04-02
Publication date: 1997-10-09
Also published as: DE19613246A1; AU2691897A

Abstract

The invention concerns a metal lid for drinks cans which can be rigidly and sealingly connected to commercially available drinks cans. In its surface (3) the lid comprises a pre-stamped pouring aperture which is tightly closed by means of a closure element (2) and can be tightly re-closed again after the first opening. The lid and the closure element can be interconnected in a form-locking manner by elements (24, 25) which engage in each other in the manner of a bayonet and are formed directly from the lid surface (3) or the closure element (2). A sealing element (8) on the closure element can assist the sealing effect.

Description

TILTABLE BAYONET CAP FOR DRINK CAN

The invention relates to a lid for closing a beverage can made of sheet metal. Such lids are commercially available in various embodiments. Lids are well known in which a break-in area surrounded by a crack or score line is provided in the lid mirror, which can be brought to break-in with the aid of a lifting-shaped bottle , With the handle tab the collapsible area can be completely separated from the lid mirror or pivoted relative to it only into a position that does not impede the pouring out. Lids are also known in which a pre-punched pouring opening is provided, while a tearable closure element hermetically seals the opening

In both types of lids there is a disadvantage that the pouring opening can generally not be closed again or not sufficiently tightly so that the beverage can be removed little by little only with a loss of quality

It is an object of the invention to remedy this, the lid being able to be exchanged for conventional lids, that is to say hermetically sealed in a conventional manner with the conventional cans

This object is solved with claim 1 or 18

A particular advantage is that the areas of the lid lying outside the core wall are left untouched by the invention, so that they remain as before and allow conventional connection with commercially available cans. The rotational engagement for reclosing also achieves a high closing force, so that in the reclosed state a loss of quality of the remaining drink (escaping carbon dioxide) is not to be feared or only to a very small extent

It is particularly advantageous if the engagement elements and counter-engagement elements of the twist lock attached in the cover mirror are designed such that they can be brought into and out of engagement with one another in the manner of a bayonet lock (claim 2).

The closure element consists of dimensionally stable material, in particular metal (claim 3) With a preferred embodiment, it is possible to design and arrange all the parts required for reclosing the opening in such a way that their total axial extent remains less than the core wall height (claim 4)

i In order to increase the tightness during reclosing, a separate sealing element is assigned to the closure element, which comes into direct sealing engagement with the edge of the pouring opening and is held securely in this position by the closure element (claims 8 to 10).

io Furthermore, the closure element can remain captively connected to the cover mirror (claim 11, 16, 17). For this purpose, the invention proposes several possibilities, firstly a pin-slot guide, wherein a rivet engages in an arcuate slot opening on the closure piece in order both to pivot it around the Opening edge of the pouring opening, as well as tilting of the sealing portion of the n piece against the actuating arm in which the pin-slot guide is arranged, another time the use of an intermediate layer, which is rotatably supported around the pouring opening (the opening edge) and is held and extends away from the opening at the end of the intermediate piece remote from the opening, a hinge joint is provided, in particular by an edge-side engagement from to

20 staggered cone-like shapes of the

Intermediate layer with a vertically oriented curl of the actuating arm of the closure piece in order to form a hinge joint which allows the upward and backward tilting of the closure piece (without pivoting the intermediate layer) (relative to the pouring opening) of the closure piece. The opening is then fully accessible

For secure locking, even in the area of the closure piece, in which the actuating section merges into the approximately semicircular or almost circular sealing section, a lock on the opening edge can be achieved if the slot mentioned is used to pull the 3U sheet metal material of the closure piece down and out to be shaped radially inwards A hook-shaped counter-engagement element is formed in such a way that it engages in the engagement element which is also hook-shaped on the cover mirror upwards and radially outwards and which is formed on the opening edge or forms the opening edge

3 ")

In the opening area, a circumferential sealing lip can be provided in the lower region, which cooperates sealingly with the sealing section of the closure piece, which is recessed downwards, in the locking engagement Further advantageous features of the cover according to the invention result from the following description of the invention using schematic drawings and several exemplary embodiments

Figure 1,

FIG. 2 each shows a top view of a cover 1 in the top half before its connection to the one in the container body and in the lower part after connection to the container body, the figures showing different relative positions of the cover and closure element

10

Figure 3,

FIG. 4 illustrate the tilting

Opening process, the process for reclosing takes place in exactly the reverse order l i

Figure 5,

Figure 6 illustrate the edge region of the pouring opening before and after the forming

FIG. 7 explains in detail the closed pouring opening. FIG. 8 shows the sealing element which is preferably used for sealing in FIG. 7

FIGS. 9, 9a, 9b illustrate a similar design of a closure piece 2, which can be unlocked by turning, on the cover mirror 3 of a cover with a sectional view BB in FIG , 24th

10

Figure 10 illustrates the closure shown in Figure 9 in a sectional view D-D

Figure 11 shows the intermediate layer 40 with a ring region 41 which is adapted to the diameter of the opening edge 22, 24 and a tab portion 42, which has hinge members 43a, 43b at the end, for mounting the rolled end 21a of the actuating arm 10 of the closure piece 2 from FIG 9 The lid 1 is preferably made of sheet metal and has a lid edge 5 which can be hermetically and firmly connected to the edge of a conventional beverage can 30 in the usual manner. The connecting seam is designated 31 in FIG. 1. The edge of the lid merges over a radius of curvature into an essentially cylindrical core wall 4 which delimits the lid mirror 3. A pouring opening 6 is pre-punched in the cover mirror. In the example shown, the pouring opening is arranged offset with respect to the container axis 10. The center of the circular container opening 6 is designated 9a.

io In the manufacture of the lid, the container opening is not punched out in a circular manner, as is customary, but with a profiled boundary edge, as can be seen from the cutout 18 in FIG. 5. This creates an opening 33 with a profiled edge, which essentially consists of a plurality of tabs 34 projecting radially inwards with respect to the circular shape. The entire edge area is then from the

15 level of the cover plate axially flared and then radially outward, the ends of the tabs 34 can also be bent back to the cover plate, as can be seen in the engagement elements 24 of Figures 6 and 7. In this case, intermediate edge regions 25 offset inwards in the radial direction arise between the engagement elements 24. These openings

20 allow the counter-engagement elements 22 to pass through when the closure element 2 is fitted, the elements coming into positive engagement by the relative rotation of the closure part 2 and the cover mirror 3.

The counter-engagement elements 22 of the closure element 2 arise essentially 2.ϊ in that in a plate-shaped, rigid part, in particular made of metal, a recess 17 is incorporated at one end, the edge of which is formed by reshaping into counter-engagement elements 22, the counter-engagement elements being at a mutual circumferential distance are arranged and the edges are formed between two successive counter-engagement elements to form holding elements 23 for a 3o sealing element 8, which can be seen in particular from FIG. The sealing element has a bottom 14 with an edge flange 13 and a cylindrical skirt section 11 which has a thickening 12 at the lower end. The holding elements 23 of the closure element hold the sealing element firmly on its edge flange 13, while the apron section 11 engages in the pouring opening 6, sealing with the opening edge 7. The closure element 2 has an actuating arm 10, which can be gripped with the fingers in order to establish or detach the bayonet-like connection between the closure element and the cover mirror. The actuation arm 10 also preferably serves for the captive connection between the cover mirror 3 and the closure element 2 9a extending arcuate slot 20 through which a rivet 19, which is preferably formed from the cover mirror 3 by reshaping, engages. This can also serve as a limit stop for the rotary movements 35 of the holding element Locking element according to io Figure 2, the locking element can be raised sufficiently so that it comes out of engagement with the opening maintenance

n In the example shown, a hinge line 21 is formed on the closure element 2 so that the sealing part 18 of the closure element can be tilted relative to the actuating arm 10 according to FIG. 3 (arrow 36), whereupon the closure element in turn around the axis of the rivet according to the arrow 37 of the opening can be pivoted away

20th

The total height 16 of the elements or sections required for closing the opening according to FIG. 7 is significantly smaller than the height 16a of the core wall 4, so that the elements remain safely below the level of the upper edge of the core wall

2- With 35 the pivoting movement is indicated to the closure element from the

Bring the closed position according to FIG. 1 into the unlocked open position according to FIG. 2. It is then swiveled in the direction 36 in order to be able to be turned away 37 at the end. For closing, the movement 37, 36, 35 runs backwards

-o Of course, the engaging elements of the lid mirror could also be provided on a separate part that is firmly connected to the lid mirror. In this case, it would also be possible not to pre-punch the pouring opening, but to limit it in the usual way by means of a scratch or notch line, with the mutually facing surfaces of collapsible lid mirror section and closure element interacting cam elements are provided which, depending on the relative rotation of the closure element with respect to the cover mirror, cause the collapsible part to break in. In this case, the sealing element would be limited to the area which corresponds to the edge flange 13 of the Sealing element 8 corresponds. However, the sealing element can also be reduced only to sealing lip 12 (thickening), as shown in FIG. 9b

The seal reduced as a sealing lip 7a according to FIG. 9b is a sectional view C-C from FIG. 9, a view of a reclosable closure, with the same unlocking rotation 35, tilting movement 36 and swiveling movement 37 according to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 Some sections illustrate the structure of this embodiment

A section C-C shows Figure 9b, a section B-B shows Figure 9a and

Section DD is illustrated as an overall view in FIG. 10. Unless otherwise described, the components apply according to the preceding description with the corresponding reference numerals. Starting from the bayonet lock 22/24 at the opening edge of the pouring opening 6, which also has the sealing lip 7a on the inside, extends in the direction away from the pouring opening 6 of the actuating arm 10, which is designed as a trapezoidal flat arm with a slight inclination. At the end of this arm a hinge is provided which consists of a curl 21a which engages around hinge bearings 43a, 43b of an intermediate layer 40 and so on two-sided hinge forms, for the tilting movement 37 of the closure piece 2 around the intermediate layer 40, which remains immobile on the cover mirror 3 after it has previously been pivoted together with the hinge 21a, 43a, 43b in the direction 35 in order to close the bayonet lock 22/24 mentioned to solve

In the slot window 20 in the transition area between the sealing section 18 and the actuating arm 10, locking with a bent hook 22 is also made possible, which leaves the window 20 in the actuating arm, so that a comprehensive locking of the pouring opening 6 is achieved even when the actuating arm without a hinge line in transfers the sealing portion 18

A pivoting about the axis 21 according to FIG. 9b is facilitated if the "hinge pins" 43a, 43b of the intermediate layer 40 are designed in such a way that they are slightly curved in order to essentially follow the curling section 21a at the end of the actuating arm 10. The slightly curved " Hinge pins "are connected via webs to the intermediate layer 40 lying flat, which does not tilt, but only rests on the cover mirror 3 in a rotationally movable manner. This is shown in FIG. 11, which shows the intermediate layer 40 in a greatly enlarged illustration, with an annular region 41 which defines the opening edge 7 includes and in the rolled outward Bayonet locks 24 are guided and held. From this ring section a tab section 42 extends, at the end of which the "hinge pins" 43a 43b mentioned are formed somewhat higher than the plane of the cover mirror and are formed parallel to the cover mirror

Folding it backwards makes it easier to remove and drink from the can, even though the closure cannot be moved, but it can still be closed tightly

Claims

Expectations:

1 lid for beverage cans, in particular made of sheet metal, with a lid mirror (3), a core wall (4) surrounding it and a lid edge (5) intended for connection to the edge of a beverage can, and with an exposed pouring opening (6) in the lid mirror (3 ), characterized by a closure element (2) sealing the pouring opening (6), which with engagement elements (24) attached to the cover mirror (3) or to the core wall (4) for releasing the pouring opening (6) or for sealing the pouring opening ( 6) can be moved outside or in a form-fitting rotational engagement

2 Lid according to claim 1, characterized in that the engagement elements (24) with corresponding counter-engagement elements (22) on the closure element (2) are designed as a bayonet lock

3 Lid according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the closure element (2) consists of dimensionally stable material, in particular of metal

Lid according to one of the mentioned claims, in which the pouring opening (6) is punched out in a limited area of the lid mirror (3) and the engaging elements (24) are provided distributed over an opening edge (7)

Lid according to claim 4, characterized in that the engaging elements (24) from the lid mirror (3) are formed by upward shaping

Lid according to claim 5, characterized in that the edge region of the pre-punched pouring opening (6) is bordered outwards in the axial direction (9a) and outwards in the radial direction, and the approximately radially extending flange flange (24) is provided with openings (spaced circumferentially) 25) for the axial passage of the counter-engagement elements (22) of the closure element (2) 7 Lid according to one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that the closure element (2) is a plate-shaped part, at one end of which a pouring opening (6) sealing section (18) with edge-shaped counter-engagement elements (22) is provided, and that other end (10) is designed as an actuating section

8 Lid according to one of claims 4 to 7, wherein the closure element (2) has a pouring opening (6) sealing element (8)

io 9 cover according to claim 7 and 8, characterized in that the sealing portion (18) has a flat recess (17) in which the sealing element (8) is captively received

10 Lid according to claim 9, characterized in that the recess (17) of the counter-engagement elements (22) and of that

Sealing element (8) form-fitting holding sections (23) is surrounded

11 Lid according to one of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that the actuating section as an arm (10) around the center (9) of the sealing

20 section (18) has a curved guide slot (20),

(a) through which a fastening element provided on the cover mirror (3), in particular in the form of a rivet (19) formed from the cover mirror (3), protrudes for permanent fastening of the closure element (2) on the cover mirror (3), or

21 (b), from which a counter-engagement element (22) is formed downwards inward, for additional rotational engagement in the engagement elements (24) at the opening edge (7)

12 Lid according to one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that the ιo sealing element (8) sealingly engaging in the pouring opening (6)

Apron section (11) and an outer fastening collar (13)

13 Lid according to one of claims 7 to 11, characterized in that the sealing portion (18) of the closure element (2) relative to the actuating arm (10), in particular about a hinge (21) is pivotable 14 Lid according to one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that the closure element (2) in a position in which the sealing element (8) from the pouring opening (6) is free around the shaft of the rivet (19) and from the Opening (6) can be pivoted away.

15 Lid according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the total axial height (16) of the closure region (3,7, 24,2) is smaller than the axial distance (16a) between the upper edge (31) of a connecting seam between the lid (1) and the beverage can (30) and lid mirror (3)

10

16. Lid according to one of the preceding claims, in which the plane

Locking piece (2; 10, 18) is held captive via an intermediate layer (40; 41, 42), but can be pivoted on the cover mirror (3), in particular around the pouring opening (6) under the engagement elements (24)

I S

17 Lid according to claim 16, wherein a nose-shaped arm (10) of the

Closure piece (2) is connected at the end in a hinge engagement (43a, 43b, 21a) to the intermediate layer (40) in order to allow twisting (35) of the closure piece with intermediate layer (40) around the pouring opening (6) and - after loosening of the turning intervention of

Closure (2) and opening edge (7) - a pivoting upward (37) of the closure piece (2) to enable the immovable intermediate layer (40).

18. Method for reclosable opening of a beverage can, in particular a two-part beverage can (1), in which a flat sealing piece (2, 10, 18) stands in bayonet-like clamping engagement with an opening edge (24, 25) on a lid mirror (3) and in diameter is significantly smaller than the diameter of the cover mirror (3)

19. The method as claimed in claim 18, in which a substantially semicircular region of the closure piece (2) is pivoted upward (37) on a pivoting or kinking line (21) after the clamping engagement (22, 24, 25) of the bayonet catch has been released

20. The method according to claim 18 or claim 19, in which, beyond the fold line, a pin-slot guide (19, 20) enables the locking piece (2) to be rotated, and yet the area beyond the fold line (21) is permanently touching the cover mirror ( 3) remains

21 The method of claim 18 or 19, wherein the pivot line (21) at the outer end region of an actuating arm (10) of the closure piece (2) is designed as a hinge between an intermediate length (40) and the arm (10), the intermediate layer around the Pouring opening (6) is pivotally held and guided around the opening edge (24, 25)