WO2022058627A1

WO2022058627A1 - Non-detachable cap

Info

Publication number: WO2022058627A1
Application number: PCT/ES2020/070559
Authority: WO
Inventors: Augusto Nicolas ROTELLA
Original assignee: Closure Systems International España, S.L.
Priority date: 2020-09-17
Filing date: 2020-09-17
Publication date: 2022-03-24
Also published as: EP4219330A1

Abstract

Disclosed is a non-detachable cap for a container with a threaded neck, said non-detachable cap being provided with a ring (2) retaining it on the container at the open end thereof, having a tippable section (1) at the closed end thereof and comprising a base wall (11) and an annular wall (12), which is provided with one or more internal threads at the same angle "α" as those of said neck of the container, the distal end of said annular wall (12) comprising a first portion connected to the retaining ring (2) by a tamperproof frangible connection (21), the non-detachable cap further comprising two hinged arms (3) joined, on the one hand, to the annular wall (12) and, on the other hand, to the retaining ring (2); wherein the distal end of the annular wall (12) also comprises a second portion, placed between the two hinged arms (3), and wherein said second portion has at least one inclined segment (13, 13'), the inclination of which, relative to the base wall (11), is in the opposite direction to the inclination of said angle "α".

Description

DESCRIPTION

UNLOSSABLE PLUG.

field of invention

The present invention relates to a captive cap intended to close a container with a threaded neck. More specifically, the captive cap is of the type that comprises a retaining ring for the container and articulated arms that allow the cap to be turned and keep it locked while the liquid contained in the container is poured.

Background of the invention

Although they are not very widespread on the market, captive caps are already known in the state of the art that comprise one or two arms that join them to a retaining ring fixed to the bottle, which in turn usually has a connection frangible guarantee that serves to detect if the cap has been opened. Thanks to these arms, it is easier for the caps to end up being recycled together with the plastic from the bottles, instead of polluting the planet, for example, ending up in the sea through the sewage system.

Within this type of stopper, there is a locking system when it is in its open position, to prevent the stopper from moving back towards its closed position, or to prevent the stopper together with the ring from rotating by gravity with respect to the neck. of the bottle when it is tilted, thus preventing the stopper from coming into contact with the user's face when drinking from the container, or liquid splashing on the stopper when pouring into another container.

For example, document US2020115115A1 discloses a cap with a series of breakable connections that, when the cap is opened for the first time, define articulated arms and a flange. When the cap is turned over, thanks to proper sizing and the semi-elasticity of the synthetic material they are made of, the arms exert an attractive tension that retains the flange against the bottle thread, thus locking the cap, as shown in views A) and B) of the following figure 1. Caps with said arms and said flange are also shown in document EP1124734A1 and in document W02009002057A2 (see figure 12). Thanks to said locking tab, the tendency of the cap to reposition itself above the opening of the container is avoided, a position of the stopper that would notably impede the flow of the liquid (which usually causes the user to be aware of keeping the stopper in the upside-down position).

However, the structure of this type of plugs could be improved in view of an even greater locking of the flange and a more attractive feeling for the user.

Description of the invention

The present invention provides a cap for a screw neck container, where the neck of the container is tubular, defined by an axial axis. In turn, the neck of the container is of the type that comprises a mouth orthogonal to said axial axis and one or more pehmetral threads inclined at an angle "a" with respect to the mouth.

The cap of the present invention has a retaining ring, on the side of its open end, configured to be axially retained by at least one annular rim located on the neck of the container.

On the other hand, the cap has a flip-top section, which includes:

- a bottom wall configured to cover said mouth of the container, and

- an annular wall, which has one or more internal threads with the same angle "a" as those of said neck of the container, said annular wall being hermetically joined at its proximal end to the bottom wall, and its end distal comprising a first portion which, in its retail condition, is connected to the retaining ring by a frangible collateral connection.

In turn, the cap has two articulated arms, firmly attached on one of its sides to the annular wall, and on the other side to the retaining ring. These arms are sized and configured to allow the flip section to be flipped relative to the retaining ring while, once flipped, exerting an attractive tension on it against the neck of the container.

In relation to said annular wall of the foldable section, its distal end also comprises a second portion, located between said articulable arms and adjacent to the retaining ring in its retail condition. Both said first portion and said second portion are separated from the retaining ring when the cap is opened, the second portion being intended to be locked in one of the pehmetral threads of the cap. neck of the container by the tension of attraction of the articulated arms when turning the turning section.

The cap is characterized in that, in its condition for sale to the public, said second portion has defined at least one inclined section, whose inclination with respect to the bottom wall is in the opposite direction to that of the inclination of said angle "a".

Thanks to said at least one inclined section, whose inclination with respect to the bottom wall is in the opposite direction to that of said angle "a", its settlement on the perimeter threads of the container neck is more stable, since it does not have a single point of contact as in the flanges of the caps of the state of the art, but can have more than one point or a strip of contact. This stability makes it possible to reduce the tilting that the stopper could have in the plane of symmetry of the articulating arms when it is in its turned position, offering an even more pleasant sensation of locking for the user.

Preferably, both articulated arms comprise a lower edge, adjacent to the retaining ring in its condition for sale to the public, both lower edges having continuity with the at least one inclined section. In this way, it is possible to define both the lower edges and the inclined sections in the same manufacturing stages and, thereby, reduce the manufacturing costs of the cap. In a possible version of this embodiment, said at least one inclined section comprises at least one fraction that is at a distance equal to or less than the bottom wall than at least one fraction of at least one of the lower edges. For example, the lower edges are horizontal and the upper end of the sloping section starts where one of the lower edges ends. This last characteristic, being included in an embodiment of the cap, allows it to be distinguished from the field of protection of some previous patents.

Complementary or not to the previous embodiments, both articulated arms can comprise an upper edge, adjacent to the annular wall in its condition for sale to the public, each upper edge having continuity with the frangible guarantee connection at one end and being without continuity at the other. other end. In this way, it is possible to define both the upper edges and the guarantee frangible connection in the same manufacturing stages and, thereby, reduce the manufacturing costs of the cap. In a possible version of this embodiment, the non-continuous end of each upper edge extends diagonally towards the back wall, making the corresponding end of the articulated arms is wider and thus more resistant.

Preferably, the at least one inclined section is arranged at the distal end of a flange, which extends away from the bottom wall. Optionally, the proximal end of the flange is at a distance equal to or less from the bottom wall than the guarantee frangible connection. In this way, the flange can acquire a more suitable length so that the inclined section is more flexible and is more easily positioned in the corresponding penetration thread of the container.

In a possible embodiment, the cap comprises two inclined sections, each with an inclination with respect to the bottom wall suitable for settling on at least one pemetral thread. In this way, the fit of the flipping section in the perimeter threads of the container is more stable. One of the two inclined sections can be arranged at the distal end of a flange, and this be dimensioned so that the two inclined sections sit well on the same peñmetral thread or on two different ones. Preferably, in this embodiment with two inclined sections, the captive cap comprises a cut, with or without a frangible connection, located in the same horizontal plane as the non-continuous ends of the upper edges, and which in turn extends between the space defined along the two inclined sections. Thanks to said cut, the action of flipping the flip section offers less resistance to the user.

In a preferred embodiment, the inclination of the at least one inclined section is defined so that, in the locked condition of the tiltable section, a median vertical plane of the annular wall and the axial axis of the neck of the container are coincident, in other words , that there is a coincident plane of symmetry for the neck of the container and the annular wall. In this way, the feeling of settling of the flip section is more pleasant for the user.

In a possible embodiment, said at least one section inclined in the opposite direction to that of the angle "a" can be defined by a straight line, with or without curvatures at its ends. The angle of inclination of the at least one inclined section with respect to the bottom wall is preferably in a range defined by the absolute value of "a" ± 20 degrees. In another possible embodiment, the second portion of the distal end of the annular wall, where the inclined section or sections are located, is defined by a convex curvature, the at least one inclined section being a fraction of this convex curvature (and, therefore, which, the angle of the at least one inclined section varies along it). Preferably, in this embodiment, said at least one inclined section is more than half of said second portion. The fact that the at least one inclined section has a convex curvature shape means that it rests on the thread of the container with a greater number of points, which makes it even more stable.

As an optional embodiment, the at least one inclined section comprises, in its condition for sale to the public, a frangible connection that connects it to the retaining ring, in the same way that the lower edge or the lower edge of the articulated arms can comprise it , which connects them with the annular wall or the retaining ring respectively.

Brief description of the figures

For a better understanding of what has been exposed, some drawings are attached in which, schematically and only by way of non-limiting example, a practical case of realization is represented.

Figure 1 A).- Perspective illustration of a cap of the state of the art.

Figure 1 B).- Lateral illustration of a cap of the state of the art.

Figure 2.- Lateral illustration of a first embodiment of the present safety cap.

Figure 3.- Lateral illustration of a second embodiment of the present safety cap.

Figure 4.- Lateral illustration of a third embodiment of the present captive cap.

Figure 5.- Lateral illustration of a fourth embodiment of the present safety cap.

Description of preferred embodiments

Next, some preferred embodiments of the captive cap are described, with reference to figures from 2 to 5. Figure 1 shows a state-of-the-art captive cap for screw-neck containers (102), with several threads pehmetral thread (104), inclined at an angle "a" with respect to the mouth. Said cap of the state of the art comprises two articulated arms on one side attached to a retaining ring and on the other to a flip section, which includes a flange. Both the articulated arms and the flange are defined by a series of frangible connections that break when the cap is first opened. As shown, by placing the flip section of the cap in its flip position, the arms exert a tension of attraction that retains the distal end of the flange against the thread of the bottle, thus locking the position of the stopper. In the caps of the state of the art, as can be seen in Figure 1, said distal end of the flange has a single point of contact with the perimeter threaded threads (104) of the container, due to the fact that said threads (104 ) have a slope to which the end of the flange does not adapt.

As explained below, the configuration of the cap of the present invention, instead, adapts to the inclination of the perimeter threads (104) of the container, providing more than one point or strip of support.

In figures from 2 to 5 side views of different preferred embodiments of the present cap in its state of sale to the public are shown. In all of them you can see: a retaining ring (2), on the side of its open end, configured to be axially retained by an annular rim (not shown in the figures) of said neck (102) of the container, a section flipper (1), on the side of its closed end, comprising: a bottom wall (11), configured to cover said mouth of the container, and an annular wall (12), which has one or more threads (not shown in the figures) with the same angle "a" as those of said neck (102) of the container, said annular wall (12) being hermetically joined at its proximal end to the bottom wall (11), and its distal end comprising a first portion that, in its condition for sale to the public, is connected to the retaining ring (2) by means of a frangible guarantee connection (21), two articulating arms (3), firmly joined on one of its sides to the annular wall (12) and on the other of its sides to the retaining ring (2), this Being dimensioned and configured to allow the flip section (1) to be flipped relative to the retaining ring (2) while, once flipped, exerting an attractive tension against the neck (102) of the container, a second portion of the distal end of the annular wall (12), located between the two articulated arms (3), adjacent to the retaining ring (2) in its condition for sale to the public, intended to be locked in one of the peñmetral threads (104) of the neck (102) of the container due to the tension of attraction (1) of the articulated arms (3) when the flipping section (1) is turned over, where said second portion has defined at least an inclined section (13, 13'), whose inclination with respect to the bottom wall (11) is in the opposite direction to that of the inclination of said angle "a".

In the embodiments of the cap shown in figures 2 and 3, the second portion has a single inclined section (13) defined by a straight line (whose inclination is indicated with an angle "P" in figure 2. In this embodiment , the angle "P" with respect to the bottom wall (11) has a value equal to the absolute value of "a".

In the embodiment of figure 4, said second portion is defined by a convex curvature, the inclined section (13') in the opposite direction to that of the inclination of the angle "a" being a fraction of the convex curvature. Therefore, in this case, the angle of the inclined section (13') varies along the convex curvature. On the other hand, in the embodiment of the cap shown in figure 5, the second portion has two inclined sections

(13), both collinear with each other.

In the embodiments of figures 3 and 4, said second portion, together with the inclined section (13, 13'), is arranged at the distal end of a flange (14) that extends away from the bottom wall (11). ). In turn, the proximal end of the flange (14) of these two embodiments is at a shorter distance from the bottom wall (11) than the guarantee frangible connection (21). In the embodiment of figure 5, only one of the two inclined sections (13) is arranged at the distal end of a flange

(14).

In all the present embodiments, both articulated arms (3) comprise a lower edge (23, 23'), adjacent to the retaining ring (2) in its condition for sale to the public, both lower edges (23, 23') having continuity at one of its ends with the inclined sections (13, 13'), either with curvatures such as those shown in Figure 2, or angular as in the rest of the embodiments. In the embodiments shown in figures 2 and 5, said lower edges (23) are parallel to the bottom wall (11), while in the embodiments shown in figures 3 and 4, a portion of the lower edges (23' ) is tilted. This allows the inclined sections (13, 13') of the corresponding embodiments to comprise a fraction that is at a smaller distance from the bottom wall (11) than a fraction from the lower edges (23'). Instead, in the embodiment of figure 2, one end of the inclined section (13) is at the same distance from the bottom wall (11) as the lower edges (23), in the same way as one of the inclined sections (13) of the embodiment of figure 5. In turn, both articulated arms (3) of all the embodiments shown comprise an upper edge (22, 22'), adjacent to the annular wall (12) in its condition for sale to the public, Each upper edge (22, 22' ) has continuity with the guarantee frangible connection (21) at one end, and has no continuity at the other end. In the embodiments of figures 2, 4 and 5, all of the upper edges (22) are parallel to the bottom wall (11). On the other hand, in the embodiment shown in figure 3, the non-continuous end of each upper edge (22') extends diagonally towards the bottom wall (11).

In a possible embodiment in which the cap comprises two inclined sections, it in turn comprises a cut (25) located in the same horizontal plane as the non-continuous ends of the upper edges (22) and which in turn extends between the space defined by the two inclined sections (13), as shown in figure 5.

Claims

9

CLAIMS Captive cap for a threaded neck container, where the neck (102) of the container is tubular and is defined by an axial axis, while comprising a mouth orthogonal to said axial axis, as well as one or more perimeter threads (104) inclined at an angle "a" with respect to said mouth, where the captive cap has: a retaining ring (2), on the side of its open end, configured to be retained axially by at least one annular rim of said neck (102) of the container, a flip section (1), on the side of its closed end, comprising:

- a bottom wall (11), configured to cover said mouth of the container, and

- an annular wall (12), which has one or more internal threads with the same angle "a" as those of said neck (102) of the container, said annular wall (12) being hermetically joined at its proximal end to the bottom wall (11), and its distal end comprising a first portion that, in its condition for sale to the public, is connected to the retaining ring (2) by means of a frangible guarantee connection (21),

- two articulated arms (3), firmly attached on one side to the annular wall (12) and on the other side to the retaining ring (2), being sized and configured to allow the flipping section (1) to be turned with respect to the retaining ring (2) while, once turned, exerting an attractive tension against the neck (102) of the container, where the distal end of the annular wall (12) also comprises a second portion, located between the two articulated arms (3), adjacent to the retaining ring (2) in its condition for sale to the public, intended to be locked in one of the perimeter threads (104) of the neck (102) of the container by the tension of attraction (1) of the articulated arms (3) when the flipping section (1) is turned over, the cap being characterized by the fact that, in its condition for sale to the public, said second portion has defined at least one inclined section ( 13, 13'), whose inclination with respect to the p bottom network (11) is in the opposite direction to the inclination of said angle "a". Cap cap according to claim 1, where both articulated arms (3) comprise a lower edge (23, 23 '), adjacent to the retaining ring

(2) in your condition of sale to the public, both lower edges (23, 23') having continuity with at least one inclined section (13, 13').

3. Cap according to claim 2, said at least one inclined section (13, 13') comprises at least a fraction that is at a distance equal to or less than the bottom wall (11) than at least a fraction of at least one of the lower edges (23, 23').

4. Safety cap according to any of claims 1 to 3, where both articulated arms (3) comprise an upper edge (22, 22'), adjacent to the annular wall (12) in its condition for sale to the public, each upper edge (22, 22') having continuity with the guarantee frangible connection (21) at one end and being without continuity at the other end.

5. Safety cap according to claim 4, wherein the non-continuous end of each upper edge (22') extends diagonally towards the bottom wall (11).

6. Cap cap according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the at least one inclined section (13, 13') is arranged at the distal end of a flange (14) that extends away from the wall of background (11).

7. Captive cap according to claim 6, wherein the proximal end of the flange (14) is at a distance equal to or less with respect to the bottom wall (11) than the guarantee frangible connection (21).

8. Cap cap according to any of claims 1 to 7, which comprises two inclined sections (13, 13'), each inclined section (13, 13') with an inclination with respect to the bottom wall (11) suitable for seating at least one perimeter thread fillet (104).

Cap according to claim 8 when it depends on claims 6 or 7, where at least one of the two inclined sections (13, 13') is arranged at the distal end of a flange (14).

10. Cap cap according to claims 8 or 9 when they depend on claim 4, which comprises a cut (25) located in the same horizontal plane as the ends without continuity of the upper edges (22, 22') and that at its turn extends between the space defined by the two inclined sections (13, 13'). eleven

11. Cap cap according to any of claims 1 to 10, where the inclination of the at least one inclined section (13, 13') is dimensioned so that, in the locked condition of the flipping section (1), a plane vertical median of the annular wall (12) and the axial axis of the neck of the container are coincident.

12. Cap cap according to any of claims 1 to 11, wherein said at least one inclined section (13) is defined by a straight line whose angle of inclination (P) with respect to the bottom wall (11) is in a range defined by the absolute value of “a” ± 20 degrees.

13. Safety cap according to any of claims 1 to 11, wherein said second portion is defined by a convex curvature, a fraction of which is the at least one inclined section (13') in the opposite direction to that of the angle "a ”.

14. Safety cap according to claim 13, wherein said at least one inclined section (13') in the opposite direction to the angle "a" is more than half of said second portion.

15. Cap cap according to any of claims 1 to 14, wherein the at least one inclined section (13, 13') comprises, in its condition for sale to the public, a frangible connection that connects it to the retaining ring ( two).

16. Cap cap according to any of claims 1 to 14, where the edge adjacent to the annular wall (12) of each articulated arm (3) comprises, in its condition of sale to the public, an upper frangible connection that connects with the annular wall (12),

17. Cap cap according to any of claims 1 to 15, where the edge adjacent to the retaining ring (2) of each articulated arm (3) comprises, in its condition for sale to the public, a lower frangible connection that connects with the retaining ring (2).