Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Spout
The invention relates to a spout for liquid containers having an outiet, in
particular bottles,
wherein the spout exhibits an elastic and flexible sheet material which can be
rolled up for
use in order to be inserted as a roll shaped like a sleeve into the outlet of
the liquid container,
with the sheet material comprising a smooth top side having low surface
adhesion toward
liquids and the outline of the sheet material being designed with sharp edges.
Furthermore, the invention relates to a spout-liquid container-combination.
Such a spout is known, for example, from document WO 92/05080 and has been
tried and
tested on the market for a number of years. The spout allows a liquid to be
poured from a
liquid container, in particular a bottle, without dripping, if it is inserted
into the outlet of the
liquid container in a state of being rolled up in the shape of a sleeve, by
guiding the jet of
liquid across the sharp edge of the spout during pouring and, upon finishing
the pouring
process, effectively cutting off the jet when pouring is completed by
returning the liquid
container into the upright position. Cutting off the jet of liquid at the
sharp edge of the spout
prevents the formation of droplets at the edge, which might otherwise run down
the outside
of the liquid container.
However, said known spout is disadvantageous due to the fact that it is to be
stored
separately from the liquid container and, in most cases, is also delivered in
a separate
package. This causes inconvenience for the user because first of all they have
to fetch a
spout from its storage place and prepare it when they wish to open, e.g., a
liquid container in
the form of a wine bottle and serve the wine using the spout. It has been
shown that in many
cases the use of a spout is omitted out of laziness if the spout is not ready
to hand.
Furthermore, spouts are often lost since they are small, flat structures. It
has already briefly
been mentioned in WO 92/05080 that, in order to avoid this drawback, the spout
is provided
with an adhesive zone for direct attachment to a bottle, wherein a tear-off
line between the
adhesive zone and the spout should enable the spout to be detached for use.
Obviously,
however, this concept has failed to stand the test, since said text passage
was already deleted
in European Patent EP 560 777 BI derived from WO 92/05080 and corresponding
spouts
have never appeared on the market. The reason for this is perfectly obvious,
since by tearing
off the spouts along a tear-off line, the sharp-edged outline of the spout is
damaged and said
spout would thus no longer be able to satisfactorily prevent the formation of
droplets.
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Thus, the problem on which the present invention is based is to develop
further a spout of the
initially described type in such a way that it can be stuck to the outside of
a liquid container
for later use without causing damage to the sharp-edged outline during
detachment and thus
impairing the mode of operation of the spout and, respectively, without
impairing the
appearance of the spout.
The present invention solves the problem posed by providing a spout having the
characterizing features of claim I as well as by providing a spout-liquid
container-
combination having the characterizing features of claim 12. Advantageous
embodiments of
the invention are set forth in the subclaims and in the following
specification.
With the spout according to the invention for liquid containers, the sheet
material exhibits a
bottom side opposite to the top side, onto which bottom side an adhesive layer
is applied at
least in sections which is detachable from the bottom side of the sheet
material in an
essentially residue-free manner after the adhesive has cured.
The distribution of the spout preferably occurs in combination with a liquid
container having
an outlet, in particular a bottle, wherein the spout is stuck to a surface of
the liquid container
and, for use, is detachable from the surface of the liquid container, whereby
the adhesive
layer remains essentially completely on the surface of the liquid container
during the
detachment of the spout.
Due to the invention, it is possible to manufacture at first a semifinished
product by applying
the adhesive to sheets or rolls of the sheet material and covering it with a
backing layer, to
subsequently print on said semifinished product and provide it with a coating
layer and to
subsequently stamp out the spouts in the desired shape so that the outline
exhibits a sharp-
edged form. Alternatively, first of all, a composite film of the sheet
material can be
produced, onto which the adhesive layer is applied afterwards, e.g., by
printing, and
thereupon stamping is performed in order to thus complete the manufacture of
the spout and
to stick the spout afterwards to a liquid container or also to a different
substrate such as a
page of a magazine, from which it can be removed by a user after curing
without the outline
of the spout and hence its function being impaired. By selecting the adhesive
according to
the invention, it is ensured at the same time that, when the spout is removed,
the adhesive is
detached from the bottom side of the sheet material of the spout in a residue-
free manner and
remains on the surface of the liquid container. Since it has already cured,
the adhesive cannot
enter into a further adhesive bond so that the fact that it stays on the
liquid container is not
bothersome. Said detachment of the adhesive from the spout in a residue-free
manner during
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removal is an essential element of the invention, since remaining residues
would, on the one
hand, promote the formation of droplets and, on the other hand, render the
spout undesirable
for use in connection with drinkable liquids.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, an acrylate adhesive, preferably a
water-based
acrylate adhesive, is selected as the adhesive. The spouts according to the
invention are
usable for all kinds of liquids and filling methods, if the adhesive has an
operating
temperature of between 0 C and 70 C, preferably between -20 C and 100 C. In
order that
the spouts according to the invention can be used without hesitation in
connection with food,
particularly drinkable liquids, it is furthermore suggested that an adhesive
be used which is
food safe and in particular unobjectionable with regard to direct contact with
liquid
foodstuffs.
Furthermore, it is preferred to use an adhesive which is a permanently
sticking type of
adhesive. Under permanently sticking adhesive is understood an adhesive which,
after
curing, forms a solid layer between the spout and the surface of the liquid
container, which
remains as a permanent adhesive layer on the surface of the liquid container
when the spout
is removed, which is why, for optical reasons, said adhesive is also preferred
to be
colourless. Such a permanent adhesive differs from known volatile adhesive
bonds in that
the latter form only a temporary adhesive bond which is removed from both
substrates to be
connected and has to be disposed of as waste. It should be emphasized again
that such
removal of the adhesive from both sides is undesirable according to the
invention, which,
however, can be avoided according to the invention if the adhesive has higher
adhesion with
regard to a substrate such as glass to which the spout is to be stuck than
with regard to the
material of the bottom side of the sheet material of the spout. 'I'his means
for the spout-liquid
container-combination according to the invention that the adhesive of the
spout has higher
adhesion with regard to the surface material, such as, e.g., glass, of the
liquid container than
with regard to the material of the bottom side of the sheet material of the
spout.
In order that the user can use the spout after the spout has been detached
from the Iiquid
container without having to pay attention as to whether the top side or the
bottom side lies
inside when rolling up, it is furthermore provided that also the bottom side
of the sheet
material exhibits a smooth surface which has low surface adhesion toward
liquids.
In a preferred embodiment of the spout, the bottom side of the sheet material
is formed from
a base layer which comprises a PET-film, optionally vaporized with metal, or a
paper layer,
optionally comprising a liquid repellent coating. Those materials provide a
smooth surface
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from which the cured adhesive layer can be removed well. On the base layer, a
printing layer
is advantageously arranged which permits to display information such as, e.g.,
instructions
for use or advertising. In order to meet the demands on the top side of the
spout with regard
to smoothness and low surface adhesion toward liquids, it is furthermore
envisaged to apply
a transparent moisture repellent coating layer to the printing layer, which
coating layer
preferably comprises a transparent hot-stamping film or a lacquer coat. In
order that the
spouts according to the invention can be transported and stored before being
stuck to liquid
containers without having to fear damage to the adhesive layer, in particular
drying-out, it is
furthermore provided that the adhesive layer is covered by a backing layer
removable for the
purpose of sticking the spout to a substrate.
The invention is now illustrated further by way of exemplary embodiments with
reference to
the drawings. In the drawings:
Fig. I shows a cross-section through a spout according to the invention in a
greatly enlarged
illustration of the thickness direction;
Fig. 2 shows a top view of a bottle with a partially detached spout according
to the invention;
Fig. 3 shows a top view of a spout according to the invention with an
elliptical outline;
Fig. 4 shows a top view of a spout according to the invention with an circular
outline;
Fig. 5 shows a top view of a spout according to the invention with an outline
composed of
circular arcs;
Fig. 6 shows a top view of a spout according to the invention with an outline
in the form of a
rectangle with the corners cut off;
Fig. 7 shows a spout in the rolled-up state in perspective view; and
Fig. 8 shows a rolled-up spout inserted into the outlet of a bottle.
Fig. I shows a cross-section through a spout I according to the invention in a
greatly
enlarged illustration of the thickness direction. The spout I comprises an
elastic and flexible
sheet material 2 which can be rolled up for use, as illustrated in Fig. 7, in
order to be inserted
as a roll shaped like a sleeve into the outlet of a liquid container such as,
e.g., into the outlet
11 of a neck 12 of a bottle 10, which is illustrated in top view in Fig. 2 and
in perspective
view in Fig. 8, with Fig. 8 showing the process of inserting the spout I. The
spout I
according to the invention exhibits a top side 9 and a bottom side 4a of the
sheet material 2.
The bottom side 4a of the sheet material 2 is formed from a base layer 4 which
comprises a
PET-film, optionally vaporized with metal, or a paper layer, optionally
comprising a liquid
repellent coating. A printing layer 5 for any type of graphical information is
arranged on the
CA 02677869 2009-08-27
base layer 4. A transparent moisture repellent coating layer 6 is in turn
applied to the printing
layer 5, which coating layer preferably comprises a transparent hot-stamping
film or a
lacquer coat. Said coating layer 6 forms the top side 9 of the sheet material
2 of the spout 1.
Both the top side 9 and the bottom side 4a of the sheet material 2 of the
spout 1 are smooth
and exhibit low surface adhesion toward the liquids located in the bottle 10
such as, for
example, wine.
It is preferred to provide the sheet material 2 in the form of sheets or rolls
of a composite
film from which the spouts are stamped or cut in a desired outline in order to
produce an
edge of the outline 8 which is as sharp as possible.
The shape of the spout is not restricted any further and may, for example,
comprise round
shapes or basic polygon shapes. Examples of shapes of spouts according to the
invention are
illustrated in top view in Figs. 3 to 6. Fig. 3 shows the spout I with an
elliptical outline.
Fig. 4 shows a circular spout 20. Fig. 5 shows a spout 21 with an outline
composed of
circular arcs. Fig. 6 shows a spout 22 with an outline in the form of a
rectangle with the
corners cut off.
According to the invention, a layer of an adhesive 3 is applied to the bottom
side 4a of the
sheet material 2 at least in sections, in the illustrated exemplary embodiment
even all-over,
wherein the adhesive is one which is detachable from the bottom side 4a of the
sheet
material 2 after curing in an essentially residue-free manner. The adhesive 3
can be applied
to the bottom side 4a by common methods such as, e.g., imprinting, spraying,
spreading etc..
It should be mentioned that the application of the adhesive 3 to the bottom
side 4a of the
sheet material 2 can be effected before or after the spout shape has been
stamped or cut out.
After the adhesive 3 has been applied to the sheet material 2, the adhesive is
covered with a
backing layer 7 of, e.g., plastic or paper in order to prevent the adhesive
from sticking to
other objects before the spout I is stuck to the liquid container or other
substrates. It is best
that said backing layer 7 be removed from the adhesive layer 3 just right
before the spout I is
stuck on.
Presently, it is preferred to manufacture at first a semifinished product by
applying the
adhesive 3 to sheets or rolls of the base layer 4 and covering it with the
backing layer 7. Said
semifinished product can be stored and transported. For further processing,
the semifinished
product is provided with a printing layer 5 and a coating layer 6 and the
sheet material 2 is
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thereby completed. Subsequently, the spouts I are stamped from the sheet
material 2 in the
desired shape.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the adhesive 3 which is detachable
from the
bottom side 4a of the sheet material 2 after curing in an essentially residue-
free manner is a
water-based acrylate adhesive exhibiting an operating temperature of between 0
C and 70 C,
preferably between -20 C and 100 C. Furthermore, it is envisaged to use a food
safe
adhesive which is unobjectionable with regard to direct contact with liquid
foodstuffs.
Furthermore, it is preferred to use a permanently sticking, preferably
colourless adhesive.
Fig. 2 shows a top view of a liquid container in the form of a bottle 10, with
a spout I
according to the invention stuck to the surface 13 thereof, with the adhesive
3 being cured
already after a few hours. If the spout 1 is now detached from the bottle 10,
the adhesive 3
detaches itself from the bottom side 4a of the sheet material 2 in a residue-
free manner or, in
other words, remains completely on the surface 13 of the bottle 10 as a
permanent adhesive
layer. The detached spout I assumes a flat configuration and is now provided
with two
smooth surfaces, namely the top side 9 and the bottom side 4a, which exhibit
low surface
adhesion toward the liquid in the bottle 10. It is essential that the adhesive
3 has higher
adhesion with regard to the substrate, in this case glass, than with regard to
the material of
the bottom side 4a of the sheet material 2 of the spout 1.
The thickness of the sheet material 2 is selected according to the desired
inherent stiffness of
the sheet material and usually lies in the range of tenths of a millimetre,
but is not limited to
those values. Rather, a person skilled in the art chooses such a thickness
that the rolled-up
spout I with its tendency to unroll will press in the outlet 11 against the
inner wall of the
outlet 11 with sufficient force to establish a largely tight connection
between the spout and
said inner wall.
It should be mentioned that it is envisaged to stick the spouts I according to
the invention
not only to liquid containers for later use, but to apply the spouts also to
other substrates such
as packages, magazines (as an addition), etc..
