Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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A CLOSURE WITH BUILT-IN STORING COMPARTMENT
Michel A. L. BOURGUIGNON
Field of the invention
The present invention concerns a closure with built-in storing compartment.
More particularly, it is directed to a closure with a storing compartment
having oxygen-barrier
properties.
Background of the invention
For a long time, closures for containers have been developed, which allow
to pack a first ingredient or mix of ingredient into the main container, while
another ingredient
or mix of ingredients is contained in a smaller receptacle located into the
closure. Such
packaging systems allow to store for an extended period of time, in the same
packaging,
ingredients that would otherwise react or degrade when put in contact before
the storage
period. In this case, the consumer opens the closure receptacle and mixes the
product
contained into said receptacle into the product contained into the main
container,
immediately prior to consumption.
Such packaging closing systems have been described in various prior art
documents, some of which are hereafter cited and briefly described.
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WO 2006046721 (filed on 25.10.2005 by Coca-Cola) deals with a cap with a
storage chamber for storing an ingredient to be added to a liquid content
within a container
that includes a base to be attached to a mouth portion of the container, which
has a spout for
allowing passage of the liquid content out of the container. A lid is fastened
by screwing to
the base and includes the storage chamber and a thin sheet for sealing it. The
base has an
annular part fixed to an inner wall of the spout, for maintaining a channel
communicating with
an interior space of the container. The base has a slanted blade which comes
into contact
with the thin sheet as the lid is moved downwards, for cutting the thin sheet
and allowing the
ingredient in the storage chamber to fall into the interior space of the
container and mixed
with the content therein.
WO 2004031047 (filed on 22.09.2003 by Boeringher Ingelheim Int.) relates
to a packaging unit for two substances to be mixed, which are to be stored
separately before
utilization, more particularly a fluid and a powder substance. The invention
comprises a first
container and a second container that can me moved in the neck of the first
container. The
second container is moved and thereby opened by screwing on the closing cap of
the first
container.
EP 1270435 (filed on 08.03.2002 by Makita Masayuki) is about a bottle cap
or closure member with a first fixed portion and a second movable portion
which are
separably screwed to each other. The fixed portion is for supporting the
movable portion and
has an attaching portion for connection to the neck of a bottle and a through
hole on an axial
line. The removable portion has an inner plug portion which protrudes from a
face thereof on
the axial line and passes through and seals the through hole. The inner plug
portion is
provided with a chamber for raw material and pressurized gas. An opening at
the other end
of the chamber is sealed by a plug. Between the plug and the fixed portion,
there exists a
plug opening means and the plug is arranged to be opened by the plug opening
means
during relative movement of the fixed portion and the removable portion.
All of the above described closures fail in providing an economic and easy to
use solution. The problem in the solutions of the prior art described above is
that the overall
cost of the package is multiplied by 3 to 5, because of the cost of the
closure. This is clearly
not acceptable as these higher costs have then to be forwarded to the end
consumer, who
pays a higher price than normal for the product.
Moreover closures comprising a breakable compartment, such as a
deformable compartment which is pressed onto by the consumer to break it and
release the
contents, require a manipulation which is dependent on the force or ability of
the consumer,
and which restricts utilization to certain populations, preferably adults
having a good handling
capabilities. Such consumers as children, teenagers, elderly or disabled
people, may have
difficulties in performing correctly all the operations required for opening
the closures
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described above, for instance, screwing then unscrewing the closure, or
opening a portion of
the closure, then press onto an element to rupture a membrane, or such other
mechanical
manipulations of the closure as squeezing, pressing, pulling, twisting or
similar. Shortly said,
all closure solutions requiring a determined sequence of handling operations
to release the
closure contents into the main container, are not sufficiently consumer
friendly.
In that view, EP 0552105 (filed on 14.01.1993 by Remy Deslandes) aims at
providing a more simple solution that is economically viable. The invention
described in
EP'105 concerns a container for consumption of a dose of liquid product
intended for
consumption, the container being characterized in that it comprises in
particular a closure lid
containing a reserve of an additive intended for optional instantaneous mixing
with the
individual dose of basic liquid. The lid comprises for this purpose a member
for isolating the
said reserve of additive from the dose of basic liquid, and the container
comprises means for
destroying these said isolation means, and is subjected to a first manual
actuation operation
outside the lid with a view to carrying out the said mixing, as well as means
for manual
actuation in a second operation of the lid with a view to removing it after or
without prior
mixing.
Furthermore, the different systems currently proposed require a separate
packing operation of the product to be filled into the closure, and then a
transfer to the factory
that will place the closures on the bottles in parallel with bottle filling.
Sensitive products to be
packed in the closure must therefore be protected from moisture and oxygen
through
expensive technologies and packages, during the transfer between the closure
filling line and
the bottles closing line. What is more, hygiene treatments to the closure
prior to its
positioning onto the bottles are very difficult to achieve technically,
although required. Last,
but not least, the fact that the closure needs to be filled separately from
the bottle closing
step requires that a stock of pre-filled closures is made, because forecasts
of production of
bottles are difficult to plan. This stock of pre-filled closures is not
necessarily adequate and
sometimes leads to waste of prefilled closures when the number of bottles to
be capped is
not as high as the closure stock that was constituted. Given the price of
product filled into the
closures, such a waste is highly undesirable for economic reasons.
It is therefore a main purpose of the present invention to provide a closure
for containers that allows to pack at least one oxygen-sensitive product
separately from the
contents of the main container, that is inexpensive and easy to produce, and
which is such
that the manufacturing, filling and closing process of the closure onto
bottles is as simple as
possible and can be performed in one step.
Summary of the invention
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The above listed purpose and needs are met by the present invention with a
closure suitable for removably closing a container containing a first product,
said closure
being an assembly of less than four independent pieces, and having external
side walls, a
top wall, and an internal skirt extending downwardly inside the side walls
from the top wall,
characterized in that :
(i) the internal skirt comprises an opening, disposed in the top wall of the
closure, said top opening being closed by a top closing means, so as to define
at least one
compartment to store a second product separately from said first product, and
(ii) the closing means closing the top wall opening is made of an oxygen-
barrier material, so that said compartment is free of oxygen contamination
from ambient air
when said closure is screwed onto the neck of said container.
Advantageously, the opening of the internal skirt located in the top wall has
a diameter comprised between 15 and 50 mm, preferably between 28 and 38 mm.
Such a
diameter range corresponds to standard stretch blow molded bottle necks.
However, the
previous diameter ranges should not be considered as limiting, since the
closure of the
present invention can be much bigger in size, and/or can be adapted to
containers having a
smaller, or larger neck diameter than the preferred dimensions indicated
above.
In a first possible embodiment of the present invention, the said top closing
means is a sealed membrane.
In a second possible embodiment, said top closing means is a lid formed
integrally with the rest of the closure, that is hinged to the side walls
and/or top wall of said
closure, said lid further comprising an oxygen-barrier means.
In another possible embodiment of a closure according of the invention, the
internal skirt can further comprise a second opening in its lower part, that
is closed either by:
- a peelable lower membrane, or
- a bottom wall that is formed integrally with the closure skirt, and linked
to
the latter by a circular thin wall having a thickness of not more than 300 pm,
preferably a
thickness of less 200 pm, more preferably a thickness of less than 170 pm.
Preferably, said peelable lower membrane or bottom wall comprise
respectively an integrated easy-opening tab (for the lower membrane), or a pin
(for the
detachable bottom wall), for allowing the consumer to grab and detach said
lower membrane,
respectively said bottom wall.
A closure according to the present invention can advantageously comprise
an internal skirt that is a cylinder having at least one vertical wall
extending all along its
height so as to divide said compartment into at least two sub-compartments. In
this way, it is
possible to pack and store two or more products separately in each sub-
compartment of the
closure, under powder, gel, liquid, or other form.
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In a highly preferred embodiment of the present invention, the internal skirt
of the closure downwardly extends in height from the top wall of the closure,
below the level
of the lower edge of the closure side walls.
Advantageously, the closure of the invention can be an injected
thermoplastic closure, said thermoplastic being chosen in the list of:
polyethylene (PE),
polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), or a combination thereof.
In another possible embodiment of the invention, the closure is a screw cap
comprising screwing threads disposed at the internal surface of said side
walls, for
cooperating with corresponding screw threads of the container's neck.
The present invention is further directed to a process for manufacturing,
filling and closing a closure suitable for closing a container containing a
first product, said
closure having at least one compartment, characterized in that it comprises
the steps of, in
order:
(i) molding a closure according to the embodiments described hereinbefore,
(ii) closing the lower opening of the internal skirt, in case said skirt
comprises a lower opening ;
(iii) screwing said closure onto the neck of a container that was previously
filled with a first product ;
(iv) filling said compartment through the top opening with at least one
second product ;
(v) closing said top opening by sealing a non-removable membrane, or by
pivoting a lid around its hinge and clipping it into the said top opening if
the closure
comprises such a lid, so as to entirely close said compartment.
Preferably, the closing step (i) of a skirt lower opening, if necessary, is
achieved by sealing a membrane, or by attaching a bottom wall molded
independently from
the rest of the closure.
Also preferably, the process described above is performed under aseptic
conditions.
Preferably, in any of the embodiments of a closure, or in the process
described above, the first product is a liquid, semi-liquid, gel, powder, or
granulate
composition selected from the list of : shelf-stable or chilled dairy
products, fruit-based
compositions, fermented or non-fermented cereal-based compositions, soy-based
products,
or coffee products, and the at least one second product is a liquid, semi-
liquid, gel, powder,
or granulate composition selected from the list of : vitamins, energy-boosting
ingredients, fruit
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juice, probiotics, flavours, colorants, sweeteners, minerals, gas-releasing
ingredients such as
carbonate salt, or a combination thereof.
Brief description of the drawings
Additional features and advantages of the present invention are described in,
and will be apparent from, the description of the presently preferred
embodiments which are
set out below with reference to the drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a schematic profile cut view of one embodiment of a closure per
the invention ;
Figure 2 is a schematic profile cut view of a second embodiment of a closure
per the invention
Figure 3 is a schematic profile cut view of a third embodiment of a closure
per the invention
Figure 4 is a schematic profile cut view of a fourth embodiment of a closure
per the invention
Figures 5A to 5D illustrate different steps of the use of a closure according
to the fourth embodiment of the invention ;
Figures 6A to 6D illustrate different steps of the use of a closure according
to the second embodiment of the invention ;
Detailed description of the invention
The closure 1 illustrated in figures 1, 2, 3 is suitable for removably closing
a
container containing a first type of product (not shown in the drawing). The
drawings
illustrates only the neck 2 of the such a container.
The closure 1 has external side walls 3, a top wall 4, and an internal skirt 5
extending downwardly inside the side walls 3 from the top wall 4. The internal
skirt 5
comprises at least one opening. This part of the closure is moulded integrally
into
polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene (PE) by an injection-moulding or
compression process.
According to the invention, the closure 1 comprises one closed compartment
6 inside said closure to store a second product 7 separately from said first
product.
The internal volume of the closed compartment 6 is comprised between 1
and 50m1, preferably between 7 and 30m1, more preferably between 10 and 20 ml,
thus
allowing to pack a quantity of second product 7 - if under powder or granulate
form - which
is comprised between 2 and 50g. The volume of the compartment 6 could however
be
increased above 50m1 if needed (up to at least 100ml), by increasing the
height of the
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internal skirt and/or by increasing the diameter of said skirt 5. With the
invention, it is
therefore possible to increase a lot the volume of the compartment 6, even
though the height
of the closure walls, or total diameter of the closure are limited.
In a first possible embodiment of the present invention illustrated in figure
1,
the internal skirt 5 of the closure 1 comprises one upper opening disposed in
the top wall 4 of
the closure 1. The lower part of the said skirt is closed by a bottom wall 8
that is formed
integrally with the rest of the closure. As shown in figure 1, the portion 9
between the lower
edge of the internal skirt 5 and the bottom wall 8 is thinner than the
adjacent parts of the
closure. For instance, if the walls of the internal skirt 5 and bottom wall 8
is about 700 pm,
the reduced thickness in portion 9 will be less than 200 pm, preferably less
than 170 pm, so
as to allow easy opening through tearing so as to detach said bottom wall 8
from the internal
skirt walls. The material thickness in this area is less than 200 pm.
Furthermore, the lower
surface of the said bottom wall 8 comprises a handling means such as for
instance a pin 10
as illustrated in the figure 1.
In this first embodiment, the closure 1 is transported to a closing machine of
the factory, where it is then screwed onto the neck of a bottle that has
previously been filled
with a liquid, for instance a liquid yogurt. The bottle is made out of a
material which is barrier
to oxygen. The closure compartment 6 is then filled with a second product 7 in
powder form -
eg. a mix of probiotics, vitamins, and minerals - through the top opening of
the internal skirt 5,
under aseptic conditions, after which filling, an aluminium membrane 11 is
sealed onto the
top 4 of the closure 1. In that way, the skirt 5 closed with the aluminium
membrane 11
defines a closed compartment 6 that is filled with the second product 7.
By "aluminium membrane", it is meant a membrane made of aluminium that
further comprises a sealing layer such as eg. polyethylene (PE) or
polypropylene (PP), so
that the membrane can be sealed to the closure by heat sealing or ultrasonic
sealing
techniques for instance. Alternatively, a suitable membrane could be made of a
polyethyleneterephtalate (PET) + EVOH (ethylvinylalcohol) multilayer.
Once the closure 1 is screwed onto the neck 2 of the bottle, the
compartment 6 is entirely surrounded by walls that have oxygen barrier
properties, since it is
located inside the bottle, with only its top wall 4 in contact with ambient
air, which is closed by
the oxygen-barrier membrane 11. The first product contained into the bottle,
as well as the
second product 7 contained into the closure compartment 6 can be stored for
several weeks
as they are disposed in separate locations of the packaging. The shelf life of
the whole
product is therefore extended compared to the situation where the two products
would be
mixed and stored in the same location of the packaging.
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Just prior to consumption as illustrated in figures 6A to 6D, the consumer
unscrews the closure 1 from the bottle's neck 2 (Figure 6A), turns the closure
1 upside-down
and pulls the pin 10 as shown in Figure 6B, so as to detach and peel off the
bottom wall 8 of
the internal skirt 5, hence opening the compartment 6. Then the consumer pours
the second
product 7 contained into the compartment 6 into the bottle as illustrated in
Figure 6C, and
then screws the closure 1 back onto the neck 2 of the bottle. Finally, as
shown in Figure 6D,
the consumer shakes the reclosed bottle so as to correctly mix the first and
second products
contained into the said bottle.
In a second possible embodiment of the present invention shown in figure 2,
the closure 1 is moulded substantially as a cylinder so that the internal
skirt 5 comprises two
openings: one upper opening, and a lower one. After injection, the lower
opening of the
internal skirt is closed by a lower membrane 12, that is sealed in a removable
manner onto
the lower edge 13 of the internal skirt walls. Preferably, as shown in figure
2, the peelable
lower membrane 12 comprises at least one extension 14 directed outwardly
outside of the
closure compartment 6, that is such as to provide an easy-opening feature for
the said lower
membrane 12.
Once the lower opening of the internal skirt 5 is closed, the second product
7 to be contained into the closure compartment 6 can be filled through the top
opening of
said skirt 5, which has a diameter comprised between 15 mm and 50 mm
preferably from 28
to 38 mm, so as to allow correct filling of the compartment 6 in automated
lines, without
spillage. After the filling step, the said upper opening is closed by sealing
a membrane 11
made of an oxygen barrier material onto the top wall 4 of the closure 1.
Preferably, this upper
membrane 11 is sealed in a non removable manner. This can be achieved by
choosing a
very thick or mechanically resistant material for the membrane, and/or
increasing the surface
of the sealing area between the membrane and the top walls of the closure.
For the consumer, the steps for opening the compartment 6, mixing the
contents 7 with the first product contained into the bottle prior to
consumption, are almost the
same as what is described above for the first possible embodiment of the
invention, also in
reference to the drawing Figures 6A to 6D.
In a third possible embodiment of the present invention which is illustrated
in
Figure 3, the closure 1 is injection-moulded as a cylinder, wherein the
internal skirt 5
comprises two, upper and lower, openings. The lower opening is then closed by
fixing an
additional wall 15 to close the lower opening of the said skirt 5. As
illustrated in Figure 3, this
additional lower wall 15 can be attached by screwing, or clipping (by
mechanical means),
and is preferably done in a way such that the said lower wall of the internal
skirt cannot be
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removed. This additional bottom wall 15 is a rigid part that is injection
moulded separately
from the rest of the closure.
The closure opening in the top wall is suitable for filling the compartment 6
with the second product 7, as it has an opening diameter comprised between 15
mm and 50
mm, preferably from 28 to 38 mm. Once the closure compartment 6 is filled, it
is then closed
by attaching a membrane 11 that is sealed in a removable manner. Preferably,
the said
membrane comprises a tab extending outwardly so that it is easy to grab by the
consumer,
as an easy-opening means (not shown in the drawing).
The steps for opening the closure compartment 6, dispensing and then
mixing the second product 7 contained in the latter with the first product
contained into the
main bottle, are shown in the drawing, Figures 5A to 5D. As shown in figure
5A, the
consumer first unscrews the closure 1 form the bottle neck 2, then peels of
the upper
membrane 11 as shown in Figure 5B. Then the consumer turns the closure 1
upside down
above the bottle neck 2 so as to be able to pour the closure contents 7 into
the bottle as
shown in figure 5C. Once this is done, the closure 1 is screwed back onto the
bottle's neck 2
as illustrated in figure 5D, and the closed bottle is shaken vigorously to mix
the first and
second products together before consumption.
In a fourth possible embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figure 4, the
closure 1 is very similar to the closure described for the third embodiment
above. However in
this particular case, the bottom wall 16 of the closure internal skirt is
moulded integrally with
the rest of the closure.
In all of the preceding embodiments of the invention described herein above,
the skirt 5 preferably downwardly extends in height from the top wall 4 of the
closure 1, below
the level of the lower edge 17 of the closure side walls 3. This can be seen
clearly, for
instance on Figures 1 to 4. Finally, the closure 1 is preferably secured onto
the neck 2 of the
bottle by screwing, and to this effect, the closure side walls 3 comprise
screw threads 18
disposed along the internal surface of the side walls 3 of the closure. The
screw threads are
means to cooperate with corresponding screw threads 19 of the container neck
2.
The present invention is further directed to a process for filling and closing
a
closure suitable for closing a container containing a first product, said
closure having at least
one compartment according to claims 4 to 12, characterized in that it
comprises the steps of,
in order:
(i) closing, if necessary, the lower opening of the internal skirt with a
peelable membrane ;
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(ii) screwing said closure onto the neck of a container that was previously
filled with a first product ;
(iii) filling said compartment through the top opening with at least one
second product ;
(iv) closing said top opening by sealing a non-removable membrane, or by
pivoting a lid around its hinge and clipping it into the said top opening if
the closure
comprises such a lid, so as to entirely close said compartment.
The closure of the present invention allows an online production and filling
of
bottles with a first product (eg. a liquid dairy composition such as liquid
yogurt), on the same
production line that is also used for manufacturing and filling the closure
with a second type
of product (eg. a probiotics powder) . After screwing the closure on the
filled bottle, the
closed bottle is led to the filling stage for filling with the powder.
Hygienic conditions are
maintained all along the production line from the bottle filling, up to the
closure filling and
sealing. The logistic is therefore obviously much easier than all existing
prior systems that
require a stock of prefilled closures as previously explained.
One example of second product that can be packed into the closure
compartment is formulated as follows:
Ingredient RECIPE (%)
Apple juice 45.94
Banana puree 27.96
Blackcurrant puree 5.99
Blueberry puree 3.99
Orange juice 9.99
Raspberry puree 5.99
Echinacea Frutarom 85787 0.12
ST 11 0.02
In the above example, the second product is under liquid or semi-liquid form.
It could however be treated to be packed under a powder form, that is more
convenient for
dispensing and mixing to the main container contents by the consumer.
In all the packaging solutions described in the prior art, none of them is
meant of disclosed to be barrier to oxygen. Therefore, they require a
secondary packaging
that fulfils the oxygen barrier properties, such as a polyethyleneterephtalate
(PET) over-wrap,
that is placed all around the closed bottle. Such a secondary packaging is not
only complex
to produce, but also increases the overall cost of the package, which is
clearly undesirable.
The present invention provides a very efficient solution for packing under a
non liquid form some essential ingredients for nutritional products. For
instance, iron or other
metal salts that generally develop a bad taste after storage under liquid
form, can be packed
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separately from the main liquid product in a closure according to the present
invention, under
a powder or granulate form. In that way, the consumer can benefit from a final
product under
liquid form wherein iron (or other metal) salts are added just prior to
consumption, so that no
bad / metallic taste appears, and even though the shelf life of the product is
extended
compared to existing products. The present invention is also suitable for
packing nutritional
or medical molecules - for instance glutamine - that are not stable (and
therefore cannot be
stored) under liquid form, so that such ingredients can be added at the last
minute before
consumption.
It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the
presently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent to those
skilled in the art.
Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit
and scope of
the present invention and without diminishing its attendant advantages. It is
therefore
intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appended
claims.
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