Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
I
CAPPING ASSEMBLY FOR RECEPTACLES
DESCRIPTION
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
The present invention falls within the technical field of closures with a
release device, more
specifically those with hinged closures, and relates in particular to a
capping assembly for
receptacles.
This capping assembly comprises a neck, attachable to a discharge orifice of
the receptacle,
and a cap attached to the neck and of the hinged type, comprising a ring
linked to the neck and
a hinged cap for opening and closing the discharge orifice. The neck is
configured in such a way
as to allow a first opening detection of the cap in a much simpler and more
obvious way than in
the present state of the art.
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION
In the technical field of closures for receptacles, those formed by the
articulation of two parts are
known, a lower part provided with the appropriate means for its coupling on a
neck of the bottle
and being complemented by an upper part, cap or lid, which occupies a closing
or opening
position, allowing a user to drink the liquid contained in the receptacle
without the need to
remove the cap.
.. European patent EP3305680, owned by the same applicant, discloses a closure
of this type. It
comprises a cylindrical body formed by the articulated union of two
overlapping parts, a lower
part provided with gripping means for its retention in the gland of the
container, and an upper
part provided with an upper base joined to a perimeter wall, wherein said
perimeter wall
comprises a visor to allow the opening of the cap, wherein said visor
comprises a flange
arranged transversally to said visor and in correspondence with a
complementary recess
provided on the upper edge of the lower part, wherein said flange comprises on
an inner
surface a bead arranged transversally to the axial axis of the cap to effect
the grip of the upper
part on the gland of the container.
These closures are usually equipped with elements indicating a first opening,
configured to
allow the user to appreciate that the closure has been previously opened.
These elements may
Date Recue/Date Received 2023-09-25
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consist of a tab which has to be torn to allow the closure to be folded away
from the ring for the
first time, thus indicating that the closure has been opened beforehand.
However, this is an
element which may affect the structural strength of the cap.
Another opening indicator that is sometimes used for "sport" type flip-top
closures consists of a
flange that seals the pouring hole and is configured to be completely removed
by pulling, for
which it has a ring or area from which the user can grip and pull the opening
indicator.
Occasionally, due to minor manufacturing defects, removal is made difficult
because the
breakage area of the flange is not well defined, thus preventing access to the
liquid in the
receptacle.
The other type of opening indicator elements used are known as frangible
bridges. These are
small links made of the same plastic material as the rest of the closure and
comprise an upper
end attached to the closure and a lower end attached to the ring. When the cap
is first opened,
the bridges are pulled and break, thus showing that the cap has been opened
for the first time.
Frangible bridges are the most commonly used first opening indicator elements
due to their
advantages. These advantages include the fact that they are simple elements,
which do not
interfere negatively with either the structural strength or the usability of
the cap. However, they
are sometimes not easily visible and can therefore not be a very clear
indication that the closure
has been opened, as illustrated in figure 1, which is representative of the
current state of the art.
It is therefore desirable in the state of the art to improve this type of cap
in order to provide
capping assemblies for receptacles capable of ensuring a correct, reliable and
durable closure
while allowing to show in a very clear way the evidence that a first opening
has taken place.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The subject matter of the invention consists of a capping assembly intended to
be attached to
the gland of a receptacle containing liquids, especially designed for beverage
containers so as
to allow their direct consumption from the receptacle. The gland is finished,
as usual, with a
pouring hole which allows the liquid to be poured out.
For this purpose, the assembly basically comprises a neck that can be attached
to the gland
and a cap attached to the neck. The cap in turn comprises a ring attached to
the neck, a lid that
can be folded away from the ring and a hinge that allows the lid and ring to
be folded away to
Date Recue/Date Received 2023-09-25
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temporarily seal the pouring orifice of the receptacle.
The cap also includes frangible bridges between the cap and the ring, which
hold them together
before the first opening. They are broken by traction when the first
separation of the cap from
the ring takes place, and are then used as indicators of a first opening.
The neck consists of a tubular body which is axially coupled to the gland. The
tubular body
forming the neck comprises a support collar which protrudes radially outwards
and a locking
washer which also protrudes radially outwards and which is arranged axially
between the
support collar and the distribution orifice. A cylindrical part is arranged
axially between the
support collar and the lock washer.
The cylindrical part has a greater height than is usual for this type of
necks, which are
generically known as necks 21/26. In a preferred embodiment, the height of the
cylindrical part
is in the range of 3.3 mm to 4 mm.
It has been experimentally determined that with heights below 3.3 mm, there is
hardly any
visibility of the frangible bridges, so that the first opening is not evident.
Likewise, heights greater
than 4 mm interfere negatively with the cap hinge and prevent a correct
coupling of the cap with
the top of the neck.
With the cylindrical part of the neck of a height within the above-mentioned
range, after the first
opening, a separation window is created at the front between the ring and the
lid, which
exposes part of the neck, visually showing that a first opening has taken
place. The frangible
bridges hold the ring and lid together horizontally before the first opening;
after the first opening,
the ring separates at least at the front, the part furthest from the hinge
that joins them.
By simply varying the dimensions of the cylindrical part of the neck, a
capping assembly for
receptacles is achieved that overcomes the disadvantages of the current state
of the art,
without negatively altering functionality.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In order to complement the description being made and in order to assist in a
better
understanding of the features of the invention, in accordance with a preferred
example of a
practical embodiment thereof, a set of drawings is attached hereto as an
integral part of the said
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description, in which the following is illustratively and non-limitingly
depicted:
Figure 1.- Shows a right side view of a capping assembly according to the
present state of the
art, when a first opening has already taken place.
Figure 2.- Shows a right side view of the inventive capping assembly before a
first opening.
Figure 3.- Shows a perspective view of the capping assembly, attached to the
gland of a
receptacle and after the first opening.
Figure 4.- Shows a front perspective view of the assembly after the first
opening.
Figure 5.- Shows a rear perspective view of the assembly after the first
opening.
Figure 6.- Shows an exploded view of the assembly in frontal perspective.
Figure 7.- Shows an exploded view of the left side of the assembly.
Figure 8.- Shows a side view of a section of the assembly after the first
opening.
PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
A detailed explanation of an example of a preferred embodiment of the subject
matter of the
present invention is given below with the aid of the figures referred to
above.
The capping assembly for receptacles described is intended to be attached to
the gland of a
receptacle containing liquids, in which the gland has a pouring orifice for
the outlet of the liquid.
This capping assembly consists of a neck (1) axially attachable to the gland
of the receptacle,
and a hinged cap (2), substantially cylindrical, attached to the neck (1) and
comprising a ring (3)
linked to the neck (1), a hinged lid (4) for opening and closing the pouring
orifice and a hinge (5)
for hinging the lid (4) with respect to the ring (3).
The neck (1), shown in detail in figure 7, is made up of a tubular body
comprising a lower
support collar (6), which protrudes radially outwards, and an upper locking
washer (7), which
also protrudes radially outwards and which is arranged axially between the
lower collar (6) and
the pouring orifice. The lower collar (6) delimits a support and lower stop
for the ring (3) of the
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cap (2) and the upper washer (7) forms an upper stop for the ring (3), so that
it is retained in the
neck (1) between the lower collar (6) and the upper washer (7).
An intermediate cylindrical part (8) is arranged axially between the lower
collar (6) and the upper
washer (7). This cylindrical part (8) is intended to face an inner face of the
ring (3) of the cap.
The internal diameter of the neck (1) is at its smallest at the height of its
cylindrical part (8).
The cylindrical part (8) has a height (h), bounded between the lower collar
(6) and the upper
washer (7). The height (h) has a value in the range from 3,3 mm to 4 mm,
including the upper
and lower extreme values of this range.
The ring (3) of the cap (2) includes gripping means for its retention on the
neck (1). The lid (4)
comprises an upper base (9), flat and disc-shaped, joined to a curved
perimeter wall (10) that
extends from the lower part of the upper base (9). From an upper section of
said perimeter wall
(10) extends a transverse visor (11) , designed to allow easy manual opening
of the cap (2), as
shown in figures 2 and 3.
In accordance with the present invention, the visor (11) comprises a flap
transverse thereto and
in correspondence with a complementary recess provided in the upper edge of
the ring (3).
Furthermore, the flap comprises on the edge of its inner surface a cord
arranged transversally to
the axial axis of the cap (2) to effect the gripping of the lid (4) to the
neck (1).
In this preferred embodiment, the upper base (9) comprises a cylindrical skirt
(12) emerging
from its inner face and sized for insertion inside the neck (1), as shown in
figure 7.
Figure 3 shows the back of the cap (2), where the hinge (5) that articulates
the lid 4) with the
ring (3) is located. As can be seen, on the perimeter wall (10) there are two
pairs of vertical slits
(13), arranged parallel to the axial axis of the cap (2), defining the
formation of two flexible strips
(14) connecting the two parts (3,4). The ring (3) may comprise a projection
(15) arranged
between the strips (14).
The ring (3) is, before the first opening of the cap cap(2), connected to the
lid (4) by frangible
bridges (16) intended to be broken by traction at this first opening as shown
in figure 2. These
frangible bridges (16) thus constitute tamper-evident seals and connect the
upper edge of the
ring (3) and a lower edge of the perimeter wall (10).
When the frangible bridges (16) break, the ring (3) is slightly separated from
the lid (4), to which
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it is held together only by the hinge (5) as shown in figures 4 and 5.
Due to the height of the cylindrical part (8) of the neck (1), which is higher
than usual in this type
of capping assembly, the gap between the ring (3) and the cap (2), once the
frangible bridges
(16) have been broken, is also higher than usual, thus generating a strip that
leaves the surface
of the cylindrical part (8) of the neck (1) partially exposed, as illustrated
in figure 3. This
generates evidence that makes it easy and quick to see that a first opening of
the cap (2) has
undoubtedly taken place.
Date Recue/Date Received 2023-09-25
