CAPPING ASSEMBLY FOR RECEPTACLES

Abstract

The present invention belongs to the technical field of closures with discharge devices for receptacles, focusing on hinged closures. It consists of a capping assembly intended to be attached to the gland of a liquid container. This assembly consists of a tubular neck (1) and a cylindrical hinged cap (2). The cap integrates a ring (3) linked to the neck, a hinged lid (4) for opening and closing the pouring hole, a hinge (5) for hinging the cap and frangible bridges (16) between the ring and the cap. Additional elements in the tubular neck, such as a lower collar and an upper washer, contribute to the efficiency and functionality of the assembly.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority to Spanish Application No. U202231563 filed Sep. 26, 2022, the contents of which are incorporated by reference.

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 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 FIG. 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 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 description, in which the following is illustratively and non-limitingly depicted:

FIG. 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.

FIG. 2.—Shows a right side view of the inventive capping assembly before a first opening.

FIG. 3.—Shows a perspective view of the capping assembly, attached to the gland of a receptacle and after the first opening.

FIG. 4.—Shows a front perspective view of the assembly after the first opening.

FIG. 5.—Shows a rear perspective view of the assembly after the first opening.

FIG. 6.—Shows an exploded view of the assembly in frontal perspective.

FIG. 7.—Shows an exploded view of the left side of the assembly.

FIG. 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 FIG. 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 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 FIGS. 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 FIG. 7.

FIG. 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 FIG. 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 it is held together only by the hinge (5) as shown in FIGS. 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 FIG. 3. This generates evidence that makes it easy and quick to see that a first opening of the cap (2) has undoubtedly taken place.

Claims

1. A capping assembly for receptacles, attachable to the gland of a liquid container receptacle, wherein the gland has a pouring orifice for liquid outlet, wherein the assembly comprises:

a neck (1) consisting of a tubular body axially attachable to the gland of the receptacle; and

a substantially cylindrical hinged cap (2), attached to the neck (1), comprising: a ring (3) attached to the neck (1); a hinged lid (4) for opening and closing the pouring hole; a hinge (5) for hinging the lid (4) relative to the ring (3); and frangible bridges (16) between the ring (3) and the lid (4);

the assembly being characterised in that the tubular body of the neck (1) comprises:

a lower collar (6), protruding radially outwards, for the lower stop of the ring (3);

an upper locking washer (7), protruding radially outwards, for the upper stop of the ring (3); and

a cylindrical part (8) intermediate between the lower collar (6) and the upper washer (7), intended to face an inner side of the ring (3) of the cap, with a height (h), delimited between the lower collar (6) and the upper washer (7), having a value in the range from 3.3 mm to 4 mm, including the extreme values of this range.

2. The capping assembly according to claim 1 wherein the lid (4) comprises a flat, disc-shaped upper base (9) attached to a curved perimeter wall (10) extending downwardly from said upper base (9).

3. The capping assembly according to claim 2 wherein the perimeter wall (10) comprises a transverse visor (11).

4. The capping assembly according to claim 3 wherein the visor (11) comprises a transverse fin, corresponding to a complementary recess provided in the upper edge of the ring (3).

5. The capping assembly according to claim 4 wherein the flange comprises on the edge of its inner surface a bead transverse to the axial axis of the cap (2) for gripping the lid (4) to the neck (1).

6. The capping assembly according to claim 2 wherein the upper base (9) comprises a cylindrical skirt (12) emerging from its inner face.

7. The capping assembly according to claim 3 wherein the upper base (9) comprises a cylindrical skirt (12) emerging from its inner face.

8. The capping assembly according to claim 4 wherein the upper base (9) comprises a cylindrical skirt (12) emerging from its inner face.