Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
1 The present invention pertains to an improved pouring
mechanism in a container for liquids, e.g. a can having a
tubular pouring spout. In a special embodiment o the inven~
tion, the vessel has an extendable pouring spout in the form of
a tube which is movable in the axial direction in the orifice
of a pipe stub or neck having external helical threads for a
screw cap, the outlet end of the tube being provided with an
outwardly-directed abutting and sealing flange.
Containers for liquids are normally provided merely
with a relatively short outlet, spout or neck, which can be
provided with external threads and closed by means of a screw-
on cap. However, a somewhat longer pouring spout is often re-
qùired, for example, if the site where the contents of the can
are to be poured out is not easily accessible. This is true, for
example, for cans containing motor oil, because the oil tank
opening on the engine is often difficult to reach with a can
having a short spout.
Cans with elongated spouts are available on the market,
e.g. in the form of an e~tendable pouring spout in the form of
a tube whi~h is movable in the axial direction in the orifice of
a pipe stub or neck on the vessel. Experience has shown, how-
ever, that this type of long pouring spout has an unfortunate
side-effect: The air which must enter the can to compensate for
the contents pouring out has a tendency to pass through the
pouring spout in the form of large bubbles, causing the contents
of the can to be poured out in spurts, which can easily result
in spilling. Because of this, cans with long pouring spouts
have not been used to the wide extent which might otherwise have
been the case.
The purpose of the present invention is to elimina~e
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1 the above disadvantage so that spurt-like pouring from a can
with a long pouring spout can be avoided, in that the air flow-
ing into the can passes the pouring spout in the ~orm of small
bubbles.
This is obtained according to the invention through a
modification of a container for liquids, e.g. a can, having an
extendable pouring spout in the form of an internal tube which
is movable in the axial direction in the orifice of a pipe stub
or neck having external threads for a screw-on cap, in which
the outlet of the tube is provided with an outwardly-directed
abutting and sealing flange. A can of this general type is
known from British Patent No. 986,684, for example. The
characteristic feature of the invention is an inwardly-directed
flange on the spout which is formed as a sealing lip which,
when the container is closed, cooperates with a central plug
inside the screw-on cap, the inwardly-directed sealing lip on
the spout being adapted to fit the internal plug in the cap
with a pressure-fit sufficiently tight to permit the spout to
be drawn out into the pouring position through the neck of the
container when the cap is unscre~ed and lifted of. In this
csnnection, it is also preferable that an annular, radially-
directed bead be prcvided at the bottom, Eree end of the plug.
To facilitate the insertion of the plug on the cap into the
annular sealing lip, it is advantageous that the annular seal-
ing lip slope inwards and downwards toward the center oE the
pouring spout.
With this design, the air merely has to pass a rather
narrow threshold, viz., the inwardly-directed, annular flange.
Interior of the annular flange, an air pocket forms which
extends all the way in to the inner edge of the pouring spout~
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1 Air from the air pocket will flow continuously into the can to
compensate for the contents of -the can which are being poured
out, and air from the atmosphere will press over the annular
flange in the form of small bubbles and flow into the air
pocket. One thereby obtains an especially smooth pouring with-
out spurts.
A further improvement of the seal is obtained in that
the outlet of the container neck is beveled at the internal
edge of the inwardly-directed flange thereon, and that the
transition area between the pouring spout and its outwardly-
directed flange has a corresponding beveled configuration. A
conical section on the pouring spout will thus fit and seal
against a corresponding conical section on the flange in the
container neck.
The invention will be further elucidated with re-
ference to the drawings, which illustrate two exemplary
embodiments of the invention.
Figure 1 shows a container provided with an extend-
able pouring spout, in partial cross section.
~ Figure 2 is a modified embodiment of a container with
an ext~ndable pouring spout, also in partial cross section.
Figure 3 is a detail drawing of the lower portion of
the extendable pouring spout of Fig. 2.
Figure 4 is a detail drawing, on an enlarc~ed scale,
of the outlet section of the pouring spout of Fig. 2.
In the relatively simple embodiment shown on Fig. 1,
a container 1 is provided with a neck or pipe stub 2 having
external threads 3, adapted to -engage with a screw cap 4 having
internal threads 5. The upper, outer edge of the neck 2 is
provided with an inwardly-directed flange 6. An extendable
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1 pouring spout 7 is arranged in the neck 2, the outlet end o~
the spout being provided in a conventional way with an outward-
ly-directed flange 8. When the can is closed, this flange is
adapted to function as a gasket between the screw-on cap 4 and
the neck 2. In accordance with the invention, the outlet end
of the pouring spout 7 is also provided with an annular,
inwardly-directed flange 9, which serves to restrict the
passageway for the spout.
The embodiment illustrated on Fig. 2 has many features
in common with the embodiment of Fig. 1, and the portions there-
of which correspond to those in Fig. 1 are designated by the
same reference numbers. The difference is that the inwardly-
directed annular flange 9 forms a downwardly-sloping sealing
lip which cooperates with a cylindrical plug 10 on the cap 4.
~n addition, the inwardly-directed flange 6 on the neck 2 is
provided with a beveled edge 11 (see Fig. 4), and the transition
area between the outwardly-directed flange 8 and the pouring
spout 7 also has a beveled configuration 12. The beveled edge
11 on the neck and the beveled portion 12 on the pouring spout
will abut when the can is closed, thus providing an e~tra seal.
Th~ dimensions of the sealing lip 9 relative to the plug 10 are
such that the lip will be pressure-fitted around the plug when
the can is closed. Therefore, when the cap 4 is unscrewed and
lifted up, the pouring spout 7 will follow along and be drawn
out until protruding catch surfaces 13 or pawls provided on
the lower portion of the pouring spout encounter the bottom
face of the flange 6 in the neck 2. When the cap is pulled
further, it will of course be pulled off. To increase the
friction between the sealing lip 9 and the plug 10, the latter
is provided with a radial, outwardly-directed annular bead 10'
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1 at the lower edge thereof. ~s can best be seen on Fig. 4, the
pouring spout 7 is positioned so as to have good clearance in
the neck 2, so that it can easily be pulled out. The lower
portion of the pouring spout 7 expands conically at a section
14 to a section 15 of greatest diameter, where the catch sur-
faces 13 are located. Past this point, the pouring spout again
narrows down toward the free, inner end 17 thereof. The
material in the conical end section 16 becomes thinned out
toward the free end 17, as can be seen most clearly on Fig. 3.
This spout configuration, which is known from the previously-
mentioned British Patent No. 986,684, has two purposes.
Firstly, the conical section 14 is held by friction in the
opening in the neck 2 at the flange 6, so that the pouring
spout 7 does not fall back into the can when it becomes detached
from the cap 4. Secondly, the conical end section 16 serves to
facilitate the insertion of the pouring spout 7 into the nec~c 2
of the can when the pouring spout is being installed. The
pouring spout 7 is preferably made of pliable plastic.
Figure 4 shows how an air pocket 1~ will be formed
behind the annular lip 9 as the liquid contents 20 of the con-
tainer 1 are being poured out. The air will enter into the can
in the form of small bubbles 19 which press in beneath the
annular lip 9 and into the air pocket 18. The bubbles arè small
o~ing to the little distance they are requirea to cover from the
atmosphere and into the pocket. If the air pocket were not
there, the air would be forced to pass over a threshold of
quite other dimensions, i.e., the entire length of the pouring
spout 7. In that case, a much greater partial vacuum would have
to build up in the can before a bubble could manage to squeeze
past this broad threshbld, and the bubble would then assume
larger dimensions than the small bubbles 19, thus causing the
contents of the container to pour out in spurts.
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