Closure Assembly Dosing-dispenser for Liquid Packaging Containers

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A closure assembly doser-dispenser for liquid containers comprising a female plug, a male plug that is pressure inserted into the female plug and having the possibility of relative rotation with respect to the female plug, wherein both plugs in their cylindrical bodies have an orifice which face in the open position, a mouthpiece. The invention may also comprise a driver element of the male plug to perform rotation and has as another object to be a coupler to different diameters of the liquid outlet pipe, a positioning element and a stop element of the rotation the driving assembly and male plug. It can include a container mouth of the container coupling, in which the female plug is pressure inserted.

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Description
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The object of present invention refers to a closure device for vessels which contains liquids and avoid contact of the liquid with air for most and better preservation of its organoleptic properties and features, likewise, said device offers the doser function. The closure assembly is specially designed for liquids susceptible to human consumption such as wines, juices, milk, beer, spirits or other whose characteristics do not recommend contact with the air.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In recent years there have been numerous studies aimed to improving liquid dispensing systems. Especially stand out the studies performed to improve the sealing of these systems and control the spill to prevent oxygenation and degradation of fluid to be dispensed. Oxygenation and/or degradation of the liquid has great interest in the case of alcoholic beverages, dairy, juices and others, which either degrade or lose their organoleptic characteristics.

There are numerous types of containers for liquids such as bottles, cans, plastic containers or “Bag-in-Box™” and “Tetra-Brik™”. The latter offer significant advantages to consumers with its durability and strength.

In some prior art locking systems, dosing dispensers and/or chilled dispensing devices are known, such as the following:

The utility model ES1069328U refers to a tap for dispensing liquid stored in a bottle, placing said bottle in an inverted position. It is an additional element that engages once the bottle is open, so that tightness is lost and it does not have cooling means.

The utility model ES1065141U relates to a climate control cabinet with wine server device by glass, consisting of a rapier that is introduced into the bottle and through the introduction of gas in the cylinder facilitates the discharge. Therefore, the server device needs the introduction of a gas for the escape of liquid. Upon opening the bottle to be used in the cabinet sealing and tightness is not guaranteed.

The ES265671 document refers to a wine barrel with tap which has no means of cooling and needs to be filled, thus not being tight and unable to use commercial packages.

The ES1073112U document relates to a dispensing device consisting of a packaged product “tap”. Tightness and container sealing, nor control the discharge flow is guaranteed.

The WO2006051569 document concerns to a tap hermetic cap for liquid dispensing from a container. This patent relates to a faucet designed for container type “Bag-in Box™” and its adaptation to other types of containers is not covered by it, as it does not allow inclusion in a refrigerated and dispensing system with flow and temperature control. WO2009134146 patent registered in the name of the same applicant includes as innovation a system which records the level of liquid in the container, requiring sensors and a complex electronic system.

The WO2012012692 patent relates to a storing and dispensing wine system. The system contains a barrel-shaped container with a spout for dispensing wine from a large wine bladder to which the spout is connected. The system does not have cooling and temperature control means and is not hermetic, because the spout is to pierce the wine bladder, also it is not suitable for commercial packaging.

The W02011117477 patent relates to a faucet with delayed closing. The faucet has a piston and a valve, it is an additional element to a commercial package as a bottle and has a complex system to control the volume of poured liquid also does not have cooling means.

The WO2004052772 document relates to a liquid dispensing valve by manual pressure valve. The internal configuration of the valve is very complex because it has large amounts of passages to achieve the dispensing of the liquid, also has an actuator which must be pressed each time the liquid has to be dispensed, so the liquid dispensing is never continuous and depends on the time that the actuator is pressed, the system cannot be used for any commercial package only for some specific that are flexible.

The WO2006030465 document concerns to a stopper liquid dispenser and method of manufacturing the same. It is intended for packaging type “bag in Box™”. Has an elongated cylindrical body (3) equipped with an end (7) comprising cam means (9) and a flat support element (11) and a plug (14) comprising a cylindrical end (15) and a button driving (16) operatively connected to the body (3). This device does not apply to any type of commercial container, only for the specified type and also no means of cooling are provided.

The WO2006085347 document relates to a dispensing cap for elastic vessels. This cap is similar to above, it comprises a support body (3), elastic closing opening means (5), discharge actuating means (6), at least one fluid delivery opening (11), at least one incoming fluid opening (13) and piercing means (15) of the container made in one end of the support body (3). The support body (3) is inserted in the elastic vessel and performs a complete sealing and prevents liquid spilling out of the container thanks to the elasticity of the vessel in which it is inserted. Therefore it is necessary to pierce the container or cover with pollution problems and little sealing that entails. Furthermore the stopper is of a quite complex constitution of arranging components which are not provided with cooling means.

The WO2007059083 document refers to a valve for dispensing pressurized stored liquids. It is provided in one end of the actuator of the valve body and operatively connected to a plunger, with the opposite end of the plunger to engage a set of one-way check that serves to open and close at least one valve port opening. Therefore it is a cap-type valve or a pump for the actuator pressure to dispense the liquid, so the liquid dispensing is never constant and depends on the time the actuator is depressed. The system cannot be used for any commercial package, only for some specific. Furthermore the stopper is a quite complex constitution of arranging components which are not provided with cooling means.

The WO2007119251 patent concerns a container lid with guarantee seal. It is a simple locking lid with a sealing seal which is broken when the package is opened. Has no means of controlling the discharge volume and cannot be used for any commercial package only for some specific. Furthermore, the stopper is a quite complex constitution of arranging components and are not provided with cooling means.

The ES2347820 patent relates to a flow divider for dispensing beverages, incorporated into a nozzle which divides a first fluid and a second fluid, which in practice are dispensed as a single element, especially beverages composed of water and syrup which are mixed in the divider intended to be patented. Therefore this device is not related with the object of the present invention.

The ES2338577T3 document refers to a set of mouth and tap for small containers, that as claimed is unique to flexible containers for liquid foods, requiring gravity for pouring and whose tap must be manually operated continuously. The set cannot be used for any commercial package only for some specific. In addition the set has no seal and cooling means are not intended.

Therefore, it has been detected the need to design a closure assembly dosing-dispenser for liquid packaging containers, which guarantees the sealing, allow flow control without preset positions, without requiring the user to continuously operate the system or requiring put pressure on the package or actuator, which in turn can be connected directly to a cooling device with temperature and flow control employing said closure assembly, which enables the replacement of the container without requiring that the product is exhausted and keep every time the liquid contained inside the container to the desired temperature.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The closure assembly dosing-dispenser for liquid packaging containers, object of the present invention, comprises a hollow cylindrical female plug wherein a hollow cylindrical male plug is inserted, which has the same revolution axis as the female plug, and which has the possibility of relative spin respect to said female plug, whose interior determines the liquid output aperture, wherein:

the female plug comprises:

    • a body having a through hole whose axis is perpendicular to the revolution axis of the aforementioned female plug and
    • a ring;

the male plug comprises:

    • a body having a through hole whose axis is perpendicular to the revolution axis of the female plug and arranged such that in the open position the hole of the male plug is in communication with the body hole of the female plug and
    • a ring, and

wherein it comprises:

    • manually operated driving means of relative rotation of the male plug with respect to the female plug and
    • a coupling mouth of the closure assembly to the package container, in which is pressure inserted the body of the female plug and comprising a hollow cylindrical body and an outer ring.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1: Explosive perspective view of the different components which conform the closure assembly.

FIG. 2: Perspective view of the mouth of the closure assembly

FIG. 3: Detailed view of a section of the mouth from FIG. 2

FIG. 4: Perspective view of the female plug

FIG. 5: Detailed view of a section of the female plug from FIG. 4

FIG. 6: Perspective view of the male plug

FIG. 7: Lower perspective view of the closure assembly

FIG. 8: Perspective view of the closure assembly

FIG. 9: another perspective view of the driving of the driving means.

FIG. 10: explosive perspective view of a second embodiment of the closure assembly

FIG. 11: Perspective view of the coupling mouth in a second embodiment of the main embodiment of the closure assembly set

FIG. 12: Perspective view of the female plug in a second embodiment

FIG. 13: Perspective view of the male plug in a second embodiment

FIG. 14: Perspective view of the coupling mouth in a second embodiment

FIG. 15: Perspective view of the locking plug in a second embodiment

FIG. 16: explosive view of the closure assembly in a third embodiment

FIG. 17: Perspective view of the third embodiment of the closure assembly set

FIG. 18: Perspective view of the female plug in a third embodiment

FIG. 19: Perspective view of the male plug in a third embodiment

FIG. 20: Perspective view of the driver in a third embodiment

FIG. 21: Perspective view of the positioning element in a third embodiment

FIG. 22: Perspective view of the stopper element in a third embodiment

FIG. 23: Perspective view of the coupling mouth in a third embodiment

 DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 1-9 show a first preferred embodiment, FIGS. 10-15 show a second preferred embodiment and FIGS. 16-23 a third preferred embodiment of closure assembly dosing-dispenser for liquid packaging containers present description object, which comprises a hollow cylindrical female plug in which is inserted a hollow cylindrical male plug presenting the same axis of revolution than the female plug, and that it has the possibility of relative rotation with respect to the female plug whose inside determines the output liquid opening.

According to FIGS. 1-9, therein is depicted a closure assembly dosing-dispenser for all types of containers which contain liquids, which may comprise a mouthpiece (1), shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, which is attached to a container through a process of thermo-welded, threaded or other known attachment, enabling a seal between them.

The closure assembly has a female plug (2), shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, integral with the mouthpiece (1) or directly to the container, said female plug (2) assembled, concentric and inside coinciding, to a male cap (3), shown in FIG. 6. The male plug (3) inserted into the female plug (2), forming an assembly which closes the container tightly sealed, being the male plug (3) susceptible of relative rotational movement with respect to the female plug (2), by means of an driver (4), allowing the liquid dispensing and dosage of the liquid packaged with dosage rate selection by the user without said flow being preset or set by the system.

Thus, the closure assembly doser-dispenser may comprise a mouthpiece (1), or female plug assembly (2) and the male plug (3) can be mounted directly on the container, without using a mouthpiece (1). Present invention allows the user to regulate the flow, since the system has no preset, by concentrically rotating the male plug (3) from the female plug (2) or vice versa.

Both the mouthpiece (1) and female plug (2) and the male plug (3) are arranged and assembled so that turning the male plug (3) relative to the female plug (2) or vice versa, the opening and closing of the container is allowed, causing that the closure being airtight and watertight and can pour the liquid from the container at the user will with volume control discharge without preset positions. The closure assembly of the invention can be used in any kind of container capable of containing liquid.

The four components of the enclosure assembly, namely, the opening (1), female plug (2), the male plug (3) and the driver (4) can be manufactured by injection molding, using material such as low or high density polyethylene or any other that fits hermetic and sealing features and/or normative/current regulation for food products.

According to the invention, the mouthpiece (1), shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, comprises an outer ring (5) integral with the container, which can take various shapes, sizes or notches with equivalent functionality to be attached to the packaging. Thus, it could be cylindrical for flexible packaging type “bag-in-box”™, square or rectangular for packaging type “tetrabrick”™ or comprising notches or thread inside the mouth for bottles.

The mouthpiece (1) comprises an intermediate outer ring (6), located between the outer ring (5) and an upper end of the mouth, which can be used for handling and securing of the mouthpiece (1) during its mounting on a container capable of containing liquid, and to ensure the guiding of the assembly consisting of the mouthpiece (1), female plug (2) and the male plug (3), either for manual or mechanical manipulation. As a non-limiting example, it would be useful for a filling machine, especially for fixing the mouthpiece at a constant distance from the filling means. The mouthpiece (1) further comprises a second outer ring (7) on the opposite upper end to the outer ring (5), which can be used as a stopper when the connection between mouthpiece (1) and female plug (2) is performed, in order of insertion be correct.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the female plug (2) is a hollow cylinder which has a revolution axis (41) and which is divided into two body parts (16) and a ring (13) larger in diameter than the body (16), said ring (13) having a front face (14) and a seat (13a) formed by a step of the ring relative to the body (16). Also, the ring (13) of the female plug (2), comprises a first anchoring protrusion (13b) and a second anchoring protrusion (13c) being offset from one another approximately 90° to the axis (41), and which have the function of anchoring the closure assembly to a cooling dispensing device with temperature and flow control using said closure assembly.

The body (16) of the female plug (2) has a hole (10), allowing said through hole (10), the passage of the liquid stored inside the container, depending on the positioning state of closure assembly doser-dispenser. The hole (10) of the body (16) of the female plug (2) may comprise two spherical bodies (not shown) at each end introduced inside with an elastic force between both that pushes them to cover said orifices giving the system greater hermetic sealing when the closure assembly doser-dispenser is closed. The female plug (2) comprises, in its external part, various operation guides (15) of the closure assembly doser-dispenser, both open (ON) and dosed (OFF) as the pouring flow graduation with opening movement.

The female plug (2) has, at the front face (14) of the ring (13), a stop (12) fixed, which is a protruding part and emerges from said ring (13), whose purpose is limiting the relative rotation of the male plug (3) with respect to the female plug (2), in the fully open or fully closed positions. Specifically, the stop (12) has two stop surfaces (12a, 12b) angularly out of phase with respect to the through holes (10).

Female plug (2) assembly on the mouth piece (1) is carried out, preferably, but not limitedly, by press fitting, remaining seam in this position the female plug (2) from the mouthpiece (1) thanks to a plurality of grooves (8,9) arranged parallel and equidistant in an inner wall of the mouthpiece (1). The female plug (2) may also contain grooves that allow it to fit inside the container.

Assuming an embodiment in which all of the grooves (8, 9) inside the mouth piece (1), this ensures a constant positioning of the mouthpiece (1) respect to the female plug (2) and a completely watertight and airtight single use coupling.

The male plug (3), represented in FIG. 6, consists of a hollow cylinder having the same axis of revolution (41) that the female plug (2) in which is inserted. The male plug (3) is divided into two parts, a body (18) permitting external adjustment of the male plug, and a ring (19) of larger diameter than the body (18). The body (18) of the male plug (3) is introduced into the body (16) of the female plug (2), while the ring (19) of the male plug (3) is partially inserted into the ring (13) of the female plug (2) settled on the seat (13a) of the ring (13) of the female plug (2), and a protruding portion thereof.

The body (18) of the male plug (3) comprises a through hole (17). The through hole (17) will be communicated with the outlet port (21) or male plug (3) center hole, which permits passage of liquid depending on the positioning state of the closure assembly doser-dispenser. The male plug (3) can dispose, arranged in the circular ring (19) peripheral wall, two resistors or caps (20) fixed, whose purpose, with the stop surfaces (12a, 12b) of the female plug (2), is to limit the relative rotation of the male plug (3) with respect to the female plug (2), in the positions of fully open or fully closed.

Two stops (20) are placed in coincidence angle with respect to the through holes (17) which besides limiting the rotation, provide a structural feature with the driver assembly (4) for rotation of the male plug (3) with respect to the female plug (2) for both opening the system to control dispensing or dosing rate.

Male plug assembly (3) on the female plug (2) is carried out preferably, but not limitedly, by press fitting the male plug (3), being fitted concentrically by making this body with a diameter that allows adjustment to the same extent as the inner body of the female plug (2), being perfectly watertight and airtight connection and while allowing relative rotation of the male plug (3) relative to the female plug (2) or vice versa.

With the described configuration of the male plug (3) and female plug (2), which rotate relative to each other and have through holes (10) and (17) respective matching, the closure assembly may take the following positions:

    • An open position, shown in FIG. 11, in which the through hole (10) of the female plug (2) is in communication with the through hole (17) of the male plug (3), communicating the interior of the container with the liquid outlet opening (21), the stop surfaces (12a, 12b) of the female (2) plug being in contact with the stops (20) of the male plug (3).
    • A closed position, is when communication between the through hole (10) of the female plug (2) and the through hole (17) of the male plug (3) is stopped, the stop surfaces (12a, 12b) of the female plug (2) being angularly out of phase with the stops (20) of the male plug (3), i.e. are no longer in contact, running from the open position to the closed position and vice versa by simple relative rotation between the female plug (2) and the male plug (3), with help of the manual driving means (4).

Therefore, when the stop (20) of the male plug (3) is in the dosed position (OFF) represented by the indications (11) of the ring (13) of the female plug (2), the through hole (17) of the male plug (3) is blinded by the cylindrical inner surface of the body (16) of the female plug (2) and therefore cannot pass the liquid from inside the container to the outlet opening (21) of the male plug (3). When the total rotation of the male plug (3) is performed, assisted by the stops (20) by the actuator (4) to the open position (ON) represented by the indications (11) of the ring (13) of the female plug (2), the through hole (17) of the male plug (3) is facing or facing the through hole (10) of the female plug (2), allowing the passage of fluid from inside the container to the outlet opening (21) of the male plug (3). Thus, the flow is controlled by the degree of overlap of the through holes (10 and 17) of the female (2) and the male plug cap (3), respectively, allowing the liquid flow adjustment without said flow is established with fixed or stable positions but is established at the user and gradually form between the open and closed state depending on the degree of coincidence of the holes (10 and 17), through the actuator (4).

As illustrated in FIG. 9, the driver (4) comprises an elongate body of one piece and thin thickness with a first end (4b) and a second end (4c), said driver (4) comprising a lever (4a) comprising most of the total length of the elongate body; said driver (4) further comprising a coupler arranged at the second end (4c), said coupler having a dimensional configuration to a greater width than that of the lever (4a), a front surface (4e) and a rear surface (4d).

In order to couple the driver (4) to the stops (20) of the male plug (3), is provided in the front face (4e) of the driver (4) a coupling groove (4f) which adopts the same configuration as together with the ring (19) and the stops (20) of the male plug (3), so that the opening and closing movement is conducted by movement of the handle (4a) by the user. Also, in the coupling groove (4f) a liquid supply port (4g) is provided by a ring (4h) arranged on the front surface (4d), which will dispense the liquid outlet.

The closure assembly doser-dispenser may include O-rings (not shown) at the junctions and/or insertions between the male plug (3) and female plug (2) ensuring the tightness thereof. The body (18) of the male plug (3) may contain an O-ring (not shown) for water tightness with the female plug (2).

In FIGS. 7 and 8 is shown the closure assembly doser-dispenser where female plug (2) must be fully pressed against the mouthpiece (1) or directly against the container if there is no mouth and male plug (3) must be pressed fully against female plug-stopper together or alone against the female plug (2) if there is no mouthpiece (1).

The male plug (3) can be mounted and dismounted from the set female plug-mouthpiece by a pressure and boot system of a filling machine. Similarly, the female plug (2) can be removed from the mouthpiece (1) with the same system. In addition, the female (2) and the male plug (3) can be sealed together to prevent disassembly of the assembly by action of the thrust of the liquid on the latter during transport or handling. This is advisable in this case, since the pressure adjustment cannot be very high and must allow relative rotation between the male plug (3) and female plug (2).

In the second preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 10-15:

the female plug (2) comprises:

    • a body (16) having a through hole (10) whose axis is perpendicular to the revolution axis (41) of the aforementioned female plug,
    • a ring (13) and
    • a coupling hollow cylinder (24) connected to the underside of the ring (13) and whose revolution axis is the same as the revolution axis of said female plug and whose outer surface has a plurality of annular beads (23) and a retaining shoulder (25);

the male plug (3) comprises:

    • a body (18) having a through hole (17) whose axis is perpendicular to the revolution axis of the female plug (2) and arranged such that in the open position the hole (17) of the male plug is in communication with the hole (10) of the female plug body (2),
    • a ring (19) disposed in the middle portion of said male plug body and
    • means for manual operation of rotation (26) relative to the male plug to the female plug, preferably two extensions arranged in the body of the male plug.

As a design option, limiting means of relative rotation of the male plug relative to the female plug may be provided in the female cap and on the male cap because it comprises:

    • a coupling mouthpiece (1) of the container closure assembly in which the hollow press-fit coupling (24) of the female plug cylinder. The mouthpiece (1) comprises a hollow cylindrical body (27) and an outer ring (5) and that its length is the same as the length from the bottom face of the ring (13) of the female plug until retaining shoulder (25) of said female plug. Optionally, the inner surface of the mouthpiece is provided with a plurality of annular grooves complementary with the thickenings of the hollow cylinder of the female plug coupling.

Optionally, and in order to ensure fixation of the male and female plug to the mouthpiece may be provided on the closure assembly mounting a fixing plug (22) of the female plug at the mouthpiece, intended to be connected to the mouthpiece by an attachable connection means preferably by a threaded connection, whose shape is a hollow cylinder whose upper end is provided with a through hole in which the body of the male plug is inserted. The upper end of the fixing piece is provided with clip type joining means (30) of the male connecting ring stopper. For fixing the plug at the mouthpiece, the outer surface of the mouthpiece is threaded (29).

As another design option, there is disclosed:

    • The coupling hollow cylinder (24) inner face is connected to the body (16) external face of the female plug (2),
    • The liquid outlet axis of the female plug (2) is off-centered relative to the revolution axis (41) of the liquid outlet by a longer length than the radius of the mentioned liquid outlet of the female plug,
    • The through hole (17) of the body male plug (3) is arranged on the base of said through hole (17) being its axis parallel to the revolution axis (41), the axis of said through hole (17) is off-centered relative to the revolution axis (41) by an equal length to the current length between the hole outlet axis of the female plug and said revolution axis (41),
    • The male plug (3) ring (19) is arranged in the body (18) lower end of said male plug, and
    • The attachable connection means between the locking plug and the coupling mouth can be a plurality of annular beads arranged in said locking plug and a plurality of grooves arranged in said coupling mouth and complementary to the coupling mouth annular beads.

In FIGS. 16-23, a second preferred embodiment is shown in which:

    • a hollow cylindrical female plug (2), which is introduced into the packaging container, which in turn comprises:
      • a body (16) having a through hole (10) whose axis is perpendicular to the revolution axis of referred female plug,
      • a ring (13) which has a through hole (32) whose axis is parallel to said revolution axis and which is located diametrically opposite the hole (10) of the female plug body, said ring is located outside of the container and
      • can have a coupling hollow cylinder (24) connected to the underside of the ring (13) and whose revolution axis is the same as the revolution axis of referred female plug and whose outer surface has a plurality of thickenings ring (23) and a retaining shoulder (25), at its lower end is provided with a plurality of longitudinal grooves.
    • the male plug (3) comprises
      • a body (18) having a through hole (17) whose axis is perpendicular to the revolution axis of the female plug (2) and arranged such that in the open position the through hole (17) of the male plug is in communication with the through hole (10) of the female plug body,
      • a ring (19) which has:
        • a slot through (33) whose shape is approximately a circular arc arranged such that the two ends of said slot determined opening and closing positions respectively,
        • first connection means at will, preferably clip type, with the ring of the female plug, said first connecting means allowing the relative rotation of the male plug relative to the female plug,
        • a second ring (34) opposite the male plug body which has:
          • two tabs (35) approximately rectangular parallel arranged to the ring (19) and opposite to the body (18) of the male plug and spaced a given distance from said ring (19) and
          • two longitudinal grooves (36) parallel to each other and parallel to the axis of the through hole of the male plug body.

Preferably, a boss is centered on the inside of the base of the female plug body and has a complementary bore to the said boss on the outer face of the base body of the male plug for guiding the relative rotation of the male plug respect to the female plug.

Furthermore, in the invention:

    • a driver (4) is disposed, which helps the user to open and close the invention and as adapter into the outlet pipe of the liquid, and comprising:
      • a tubular body (42), a ring (37) disposed in the central area of the tubular body and defining an upper portion (43) and a lower portion (38) of the tubular body and a lever (4a) arranged in the bond between the ring and the upper area of the tubular body such that
        • the bottom of the tubular body is inserted under pressure in the male plug,
        • the union of the lever with the ring defines two abutment surfaces (51) and
        • in the lower face of the ring has two thickenings (44) longitudinal and parallel grooves complementary with the flanges of the male plug,
        • an annular groove (47) may be disposed in the lower portion of the tubular body (42) to place an O-ring therein in order to increase tightness of the closure assembly;
    • it is arranged between the rings of the driver (37) and the ring of the male plug (19), a positioning element (28), whose shape is approximately a ring whose inner diameter is larger than the outer diameter of the lower body tubular driver (42) and its outer diameter is larger than the outer diameter of the ring of the male plug (19) and its thickness is less than the distance between the flanges (35) and the ring of the male plug (19), in the face that is opposite to the said ring of the male plug (19) has a lug (30) complementary to the female hole stopper ring (32) and intended to be inserted in the through slot (33) of the male plug ring (19) and into the hole of the female ring plug (32), it also has some grooves (45) inside the ring complementary to the tabs (35) of the male plug,
    • it has a stop element (31) at the top (43) of the tubular body of the driver and ring actuator (37) whose shape is approximately a ring and in its interior has a hole (48) whose approximate shape is a circular sector whose angle is approximately equal to the angle defined by the two ends of the ring groove of the male plug and defining two inner abutment surfaces (49).
    • It has second connection means (46) between the positioning element (28) and the stop element (31).
    • It can have a mouthpiece (1) coupling of the container closure assembly package that is pressure inserted in the hollow cylinder pressure coupling (24) of the female plug. Preferably the mouthpiece comprises a hollow cylindrical body (27) in whose outer surface has a plurality of annular grooves (50) and an inner ring (39) and in that its length is the same as the length from the bottom face of the ring (13) of the female plug until the retaining shoulder (25) of the referred plug female. The mouthpiece is coupled to the container and pressure inserted therein the female plug, for which is provided in said coupling cylinder female plug. Thus, the closure assembly is applicable to any existing package in the market with only varying the shape of the mouthpiece.

Firstly, an adaptable closure assembly is obtained to dispense any liquid, especially those with characteristics and/or organoleptic properties whose sealing and temperature control are recommended.

Furthermore, the closure assembly ensures sealing of the container at all times, thus ensuring liquid conservation, because thanks to its constitution at any time there is no contact between the liquid in the container and the atmosphere. The closure assembly additionally constitutes a sealing, opening, dosing system applicable to any type of container without piercing required. There is also no need for gas or other element on the container for dispensing the liquid and thus prevents contamination of the liquid contained in the container.

Another of the most important advantages of the present closure assembly is that it allows the automatically and/or manually liquid pouring control enabling a choice at all times the level of flow to pour without preset positions without the need for powered set or package. Moreover, given its particular constitution allows incorporation into an automatic dispensing device with temperature and discharge control.

With the closure assembly object of the present invention any additional liquid dispensing element is not required, as the assembly serves as sealing cap and dispenser at a time.

Finally, with this closure assembly no need to drain the liquid to be dispensed or change the container without breaking the seal and hence the fluid is never exposed to air. In addition, there is no need to keep powered the set for dispensing the liquid, or put pressure on the container for said dispensing.

Claims

1. A closure assembly doser-dispenser of liquid containers comprising a hollow cylindrical female plug (2) in which a hollow cylindrical male plug (3) is inserted, which has the same revolution axis (41) that the female plug, and having the possibility of relative rotation with respect to said female plug, whose inner determines the liquid outlet opening, wherein:

The female plug (2) comprises: a body (16) having a through hole (10) whose axis is perpendicular to the revolution axis (41) aforementioned of the female plug (2) and a ring (13);
The male plug (3) comprises: a body (18) having a through hole (17) whose axis is perpendicular to the revolution axis (41) of the female plug (2) and arranged such that in the open position the hole (17) of the male plug (3) is in communication with the hole (10) of the female plug (2) body and a ring (19);
wherein: a driver (4) and a coupling mouthpiece (1) of the closure assembly container in which is pressure inserted the body (16) of the female plug and comprising a hollow cylindrical body (27) and an outer ring (5).

2. The closure assembly doser-dispenser of liquid containers, according to claim 1, wherein:

a. the ring (13) of the female plug has a stop (12) comprising two stop surfaces (12a, 12b) and the external configuration of said ring (13) of the female plug is formed by a first protrusion anchor (13b) and a second protrusion anchor (13c);
b. the ring (19) of the male plug, which is inserted into the ring (13) of the female cap, has stops (20), the said stops (20) having an upper engaging surface;
c. the driver (4) comprises an elongate body member with a first end (4b) and a second end (4c) defining a lever (4a) and a coupler arranged at the second end (4c), said coupler comprises a groove (4f) which engages the top of the stops (20) of the male plug (3) and
d. the mouthpiece has an intermediate outer ring (6), of a second outer ring (7) arranged to the outer ring (5) of the coupling mouthpiece (1) opposite end.

3. The closure assembly doser-dispenser of liquid containers, according to claim 1, wherein the coupling mouthpiece (1) comprises a plurality of equally spaced parallel annular grooves (8, 9), made in the inner wall of said coupling mouthpiece.

4. The closure assembly doser-dispenser of liquid containers, according to claim 1, wherein the female plug (2) has on the body outside operating instructions (15) in matched positions with the positions of the stops (12).

5. The closure assembly doser-dispenser of liquid containers, according to claim 1, wherein the male plug (3) is pressure sealingly inserted in the female plug (2), including O-ring therebetween configured to allow relative rotation between the two without loss of tightness.

6. The closure assembly doser-dispenser of liquid containers, according to claim 1, wherein:

a. in the female plug (2) has a coupling hollow cylinder (24) connected to the underside of the ring (13) and whose revolution axis is the same as the revolution axis of said female plug and on whose outer surface it has a plurality of beads (23) and an annular retaining shoulder (25);
b. the ring (19) of the male plug is disposed in the middle portion of said male plug,
c. the driver (4) of the relative rotation of the male plug relative to the female plug is disposed in the body of the male plug,
d. the length of the coupling mouthpiece (1) is the same as the length from the bottom face of the ring (13) of the female plug to the shoulder (25) of the referred female plug.

7. The closure assembly doser-dispenser of liquid containers, according to claim 1, wherein the inner surface of the hollow cylindrical body (27) of the coupling mouthpiece is provided with a plurality of annular grooves complementary with the thickenings of the hollow cylinder of the female plug coupling.

8. The closure assembly doser-dispenser of liquid containers, according to claim 7, wherein it comprises a plug attachment (22) of the female plug to the coupling mouthpiece, intended to be screwed into the coupling mouthpiece, whose shape is a hollow cylinder in whose upper end is provided a through hole in which the lower portion of the male plug body is inserted; the upper end of the fixing piece is provided with clip type means (26) to the male plug connecting ring.

9. The closure assembly doser-dispenser of liquid containers, according to claim 1, wherein on the female plug and the male plug are available limiting means of relative rotation of the male plug relative to the female plug.

10. The closure assembly doser-dispenser of liquid containers, according to claim 8, wherein the attachable connection means between the plug attachment (22) and the coupling mouthpiece (1) are a threaded connection.

11. The closure assembly doser-dispenser of liquid containers, according to claim 6, wherein:

the coupling hollow cylinder (24) inner face is connected to the body (16) external face of the female plug (2),
the liquid outlet axis of the female plug (2) is off-centered relative to the revolution axis (41) of the liquid outlet by a longer length than the radius of the mentioned liquid outlet of the female plug,
the through hole (17) of the body male plug (3) is arranged on the base of said through hole (17) being its axis parallel to the revolution axis (41), the axis of said through hole (17) is off-centered relative to the revolution axis (41) by an equal length to the current length between the hole outlet axis of the female plug and said revolution axis (41),
the male plug (3) ring (19) is arranged at the body (18) lower end of said male plug.

12. The closure assembly doser-dispenser of liquid containers, according to claim 11, wherein the attachable connection means between the locking plug and the coupling mouth are a plurality of annular beads arranged at said locking plug and a plurality of grooves arranged in said coupling mouth and complementary to the coupling mouth annular beads.

13. The closure assembly doser-dispenser of liquid containers, according to claim 12, wherein in the female plug and the male plug there are arranged limiting means of relative rotation of the male plug relative to the female plug.

14. The closure assembly doser-dispenser of liquid containers, according to claim 6, wherein:

In the female cap ring has: a through hole (32) whose axis is parallel to the revolution axis of the female plug and which is located diametrically opposite to the hole (9) of the body (16) of the female plug;
In the male cap ring has: a through slot (33) whose shape is approximately a circular arc arranged such that the two ends of said groove (33) determine opening and closing positions respectively, first will clip type binding means with ring female plug (13), said first binding means allowing the relative rotation of the male plug (3) relative to the female plug (2), a second ring (34) opposite the body (18) of the male plug in which has: two tabs (35) whose shape is approximately rectangular parallel arranged to the ring (19) and opposite to the body (18) of the male plug and spaced a given distance from said ring (19) and two longitudinal grooves (36) and parallel to each other parallel to the axis of the through hole (19) of the male plug body;
the driver for manual driving of the relative rotation of the female plug of the male plug (4) comprises: a tubular body (42), a ring (37) disposed in the central area of the tubular body and defining an upper portion (43) and a lower portion (38) of the tubular body and a lever (4a) disposed at the junction between the ring (37) and the upper portion (43) of the tubular body such that: the lower portion (38) of the tubular body is inserted under pressure into the male plug (3), the join of the lever (4) with the ring (37) defines two stop surfaces (51), on the underside of the ring (37) is equipped with two thickenings (44) longitudinal and parallel with complementary grooves (36) of the male plug and the outer diameter of the upper portion (43) of driving the tubular body is different than the outer diameter of the lower portion (38) of said tubular body
is arranged between the ring (37) of the driver and the ring (19) of the male plug, a positioner element (28), whose shape is approximately a ring whose inner diameter is larger than the outer diameter of the lower portion (38) of the tubular body of the driver and its outer diameter is larger than the outer diameter of the ring (19) of the male plug and its thickness is less than the distance between the flanges (35) and ring (19) of the male plug, in the face that is opposite to the said ring (19) of the male cap has a lug (30) complementary to the hole (32) of the female ring and plug to be inserted into the slot (33) through the ring (19) the male plug and the hole (32) of the female ring cap has also slits (45) inside the ring complementary to the tabs (35) of the male plug
it has a stop element (31) in the upper portion (43) of the tubular body (42) and on the ring (37) of the driver whose shape is approximately a ring and in its interior has a hole (48) approximate shape of a circular sector whose angle is approximately equal to the angle defined by the two ends of the slot (33) of the male plug and ring defining two inner abutment surfaces (49);
it has a second connection means (46) between the positioning element (28) and the stop element (31).

15. The closure assembly doser-dispenser of liquid containers, according to claim 14, wherein the mouthpiece (1) comprises a hollow cylindrical body whose outer surface is provided with a plurality of annular grooves (50) and an inner ring (39) and in that its length is the same as the length from the bottom face of the ring (9) of the female plug to the shoulder (25) of the referred female plug.

16. The closure assembly doser-dispenser of liquid containers, according to claim 14, wherein it has an annular groove (47) at the bottom of the tubular body (42).

17. The closure assembly doser-dispenser of liquid containers, according to claim 14, wherein a boss is centered on the inside of the base of the female body and the male plug body has a cap that has a complementary bore to the said lug in the outer face of the base of the male plug body.

Patent History
Publication number: 20150259105
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 12, 2015
Publication Date: Sep 17, 2015
Applicant:
Inventor: Vitalino David Molina Martinez (Albacete)
Application Number: 14/656,034
Classifications
International Classification: B65D 39/00 (20060101);