Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The invention concerns a package, in particular a
beverage can, having a sealed lid and a first closing
device which unseals at least one lid opening, and having
a second closing device in the form of a spring located on
the inside o~ the lid, which keeps the lid opening closed
from the inside after th~ lid opening has been unsealed and
is connected to a manipulating device on the outside o~ the
~an for releasing it.
Containers made of metallic substances or
containers combined with such substances are widely
preferred today~ By way of example, beverags cans are
commonly produced which consist of an actual can body and
a separate lid. T~e contents to be packaged, for example
a beverage, are filled into the can body before the lid is
then tightly joined with this can body. In this way, a
container is made which can withstand a ~all ~rom a great
height, whereby the impact forces can cause a deformation
and yet the content does not generally laak. Heat and cold
are ~uickly conducted by the package material as a result
of which these kinds of containers can be more easily and
quickly cooled. If, in this case, a critical temperature
is not reached or is exceeded, then the metallic package is
not as guickly damaged as, for example, glass.
There may be numerous reasons which motivate
manufacturers and consumers to use this type of package.
: In addition to perhaps ~xisting cost advantages, the
pxoportionately low weight may also xepresent a cost ..
factor. The material o~ the beverage can may be so thin-
walled throughouk that, at a preset point on the lid, which
is appropriately machined, a closure opening can be
released by the leverage which can be exerted with a tear-
open ring.
A~l existing packaging systems, such as e.g. screw
cap~, have the disadvantaye that they cannot be manipulated
with one hand. It is always necessary to h~ld the
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container itsel~ with the second hand or to find
complicated alternative means.
Beverage cans, in particular, have a significant
place among travel supplies. However, those beverage cans
whose contents include caf~eine or the like, as well as
lemonade-like beverages but also all alcoholic beverages
attract insects. These insects, in particular, wasps, tend
to crawl unnoticed into the cans and can then be easily
swallowed by a person subsequently drinking the beverage.
With the insect thus swallowed, often half-dead, reflexive
stinging can still occur in the eusophagus, resulting in
internal swelling which can often lead to death. In this
connection, it is known from US Patent 20 31 845 to provide
the lid with a second closing device on the inside of the
lid. This second closure is in the form of a spring and
seals the lid opening from the inside after a ~irst closure
has been removed and thus unsealed. In this case, it is
disadvantageous that the ~irst closure on the outside is in
th~ form of a dispo~able part. Moreover, to operate, i.e.
to open the second closure on the inside, a second lid
opening is required through which it must be pressed out of
its sealed position~ This second lid opening results in
increased production costs, ~ince this second opening must
also be sealed and since it o~fers an additional
po~sibility for the beverage to run out or leak
u~intentionally, for example when the can tips over.
It is an object of the present invention to
provide a closure for a beverage can having a second
closing device which ayain closes the outlet opening after
the initial tearing open, which can be manufactured with
low production co~ts and which requires only modest
material expenditure~
This object is solved thereby that the ~irst
closing device, which remains on the lid, can, in a working
conneation with the second closin~ device, be used for
repeated, a~dit1onal openings. As a result of these
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features, a closure for a beverage can is created in which
the sealing first closing device remains connected with the
lid and does not result in an aclditional disposable part,
it is rather used as a manipulating part for opening the
second closing device against ilts ~pring tension. After
unsealiny, the liquid is prevented from running out of the
can and other subskances are stopped from entering. A
beverage can is thus created in which a second closure in
the Xo~m of a spring works on the lid opening on the inside
in such a way that the latter continues to remain sealed,
ev~n after :the first opening, and secured against
unintentional emptying. The first closure in the form o~
a tear~open ring overcomes the spring tension of the second
closure with its lever arm and presses this second closure .: .
into the can during an intentional withdrawal.
Embodiments of the inventin will now be de cribed,
by way of example, with reference to the accompanying
drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a sectional view showing a beverage
can r~ady for use and provided with closing devices in
accordance with a~ e~bodiment of the invention; and
Yigure 2 is a similar sectional view of the can of
Figure 1, having a ~irst closure turned through 180 to the
opposite side after a first opening.
Referring now to Figure 1, a beverage can l is
sealed with a lid 2. A first closuxP 3 having a connecting
means; 5, ~or example~ a rivet or a welding spot, i5
fastened to the outer top side oP the lid 2. The first
closure 3 is made as a pre~ormed seal which closes the can
~ opening 6 and is designed as a tear-open device. A second
clo~ure 4, which is connected via r.ivet 5 to the first
closure 3, is provided on the botkom side o~ the lid 2 on
the inside thereof. The second closure 4 can be provided
with ~ sealing layer 7 on its top side facing the lid 2.
As shown in Fig. 2, a one-hand removal is possible
since the beverage can 1 aan be held with one hand and at
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the same time the index finger can be pushed under the
first closure 3 which is in the ~orm of a tear-open device.
The first closure 3 is designed as a two-armed lever whose
longer lever arm can be moved upward with the inde~ ~inger,
while the ~horter lever arm is moved downward through the
can opening 6 against the spring-~locking second closure 4~
The first closure 3 can thereby he turned about rivet 5
through 180 into a position actin~ against the seoond
closure 4.
The entire device can be easily manufactured since
the second closure 4 is merely connected with the lid 2 and
the first closure 3 via suitable connecting means, for
example, a rivet 5 fastened through the can lid 2, or a
comparable arrangement.
In principle, khe hitherto existing can closure
could be omitted. However~ beverage cans 1 are often
bought by various manufacturers and filled for different
reasons with, for example, a hot substance.
Dependent thereon, a vacuum which results from
cooling liquid contents, .can: act against the spring
tension, which is why a suitable closure from advantageous
materials can act against an initial force of the tear-
open devica. This force can be reduced i~ the first, upper
closure 3 acts conically against the lid opening 6 and
remains connected with lid 2 after the first opening.
Taking this solution into consideration, the
~ollowing procedure results: The tear-open device is turned
upward and separates, since an auxiliary closure ~rom the
next closing device is connected wlth the tear-open device
30: only after the tear-open device o~ that can is turned in
the opposite direction..
: The d:rawings show one of the various feasible
: beverage cans, and is not intended to exclude other
e~bodiments of t~e structure of the lower closure. In this
3 5 ca~e, for example, it is recommended to turn the ring
upward. The invention also includes other conceivable
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combinations and other types and forms of containers.
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