EP1339615B1 - Screw cap with a guarantee strip - Google Patents

Abstract

Screw caps with guarantee strips are known. Usually, such guarantee strips are torn off by means of a tab or the guarantee strip encompasses an edge on the container and all of the predetermined breaking point links are torn in their longitudinal direction when the cap is unscrewed. According to the invention, radially projecting parts are provided on the container or its pouring opening (2) in the form of positive closing means (11, 12) which engage in corresponding recesses (13, 15) of the guarantee strip on the screw cap and prevent mutual twisting. Twisting on the screw cap results in a shearing movement being exerted on the predetermined breaking links (6), which have little resistance against these forces.

Description

The present invention relates to a screw cap Plastic and a container made of plastic or Soft material with a spout according to the preamble of the claim as well as a procedure for its assembly.

Screw caps of the type mentioned are for many Known years ago. Your design is not least of that depending on which material the container is made of, on which the closure is placed. For glass bottles is the spout is usually standardized and accordingly the Turnbuckles comply with the standard. For containers Plastic, the spout can be varied much more freely. Also used in containers made of so-called soft material one attached to it plastic sinks, in turn be made with great creative freedom can. The invention relates to screw caps, with Containers made of plastic or soft material, whose spout is made of plastic and where Screw cap and spout are matched.

In the present case only interested in screw caps Guarantee tape, which alone by turning the screw cap can be opened, at the same time the guarantee strip is separated from the screw cap. embodiments Such closures go, for example, from DE-A-31 11 692, EP-B-0'149'496, EP-B-0'460'557, EP-B-0'593'396 or EP-B-0'625'950. The production such screw caps is problematic. In the preparation of The core must be torn out of the screw cap. While the rear attacks in the area of the thread are unproblematic, the Hintergriffe in the area of Ruptured bridges is a big problem dar. This relatively Fragile spots are relatively common during the Production destroyed. This leads to production interruptions and to scrap of manufactured closures. To the danger To reduce the destruction, relatively many Rupture webs are provided. The result is one difficult opening of the screw cap. As is known in the Screw all break-off webs evenly to tension loaded so that the forces add up and theirs Resulting directly related to the number of required breakaway webs is. Sollbruchstege are Of course exceptionally thin designed Material bridges, in the area during the injection process a Alignment of the molecular chains arises. These molecular chains now run in the direction of the break seams and have their highest resistance exactly in the direction. In other words, the forces occurring when screwing run virtually axially to the discharge direction and thus accurate in the direction of the predetermined breaking webs. In addition there is the known effect that when unscrewing the tensile forces relative be slowly increased, with a material stretching occurs, which leads to a further alignment of the molecular chains and causes an increased tensile strength.

To the risk of destruction of the guarantee ring or the guarantee band during demoulding reduce; are also spray tools with slide used. However, this leads to extremely expensive Tools.

From US-A-3'650'428 and US-A-5'213'224 are screw caps known, in addition to the spout ratchet-shaped elevations are attached to the ratchet-shaped positive locking means on the guarantee strip interact. This solution in turn requires one non-closed guarantee strip with a pull-tab, taking the guarantee strip before unscrewing the closure must be removed. Another problem with this Embodiment is also the assembly. The ratchet-shaped Design is required because the screw cap is screwed on. This is possible because on the one hand the Guarantee tape, as already mentioned, not closed in itself is, but has an opening, causing the required elasticity is given. These closures However, they are not considered particularly safe. When screwing the edges of the ratchet-shaped parts are slightly deformed, and accordingly, such closures are often also unscrew without damaging the warranty strip becomes.

Ultimately, from GB-A 809'398 a Schraubresschluss according to the preamble of claim 1 known which the problems set out above regarding the Manufacturing has.

It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a screw cap of the type mentioned, which can be unscrewed with considerably less force, without having to accept the disadvantages of the known embodiments in purchasing. The various embodiments of the invention will become apparent from the dependent claims, and their effect and meaning will be explained with reference to the drawings in the following description.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide methods for assembling the inventive screw caps, which allow a particularly rational and inexpensive installation.

Figur 1

einen vertikalen Diametralschnitt durch eine erste Ausführungsform einer erfindungsgemässen Schraubkappe mit einem auf einem Behältnis aus Weichmaterial aufgesetzten Ausguss und

Figur 2

denselben Ausguss mit abgeschraubter Kappe;

Figur 3

zeigt wiederum einen vertikalen Diametralschnitt durch einen leicht geänderten Ausguss.

Figur 4

zeigt eine perspektivische Ansicht der Schraubkappe mit Ausguss gemäss der Figur 1 und

Figur 5

zeigt ebenfalls eine perspektivische Ansicht einer verkleinerten Variante des Verschlusses, während

Figur 6

eine Seitenansicht des Ausgusses nach Figur 2 zeigt. In der

In the accompanying drawings, embodiments of the subject invention are illustrated and described in detail below. It shows:

FIG. 1

a vertical diametral section through a first embodiment of a screw cap according to the invention with a mounted on a container of soft material spout and

FIG. 2

the same spout with unscrewed cap;

FIG. 3

again shows a vertical diametral section through a slightly modified spout.

FIG. 4

shows a perspective view of the screw cap with spout according to the figure 1 and

FIG. 5

also shows a perspective view of a reduced version of the closure, while

FIG. 6

a side view of the spout of Figure 2 shows. In the

The. Screw cap 1 can be designed conventionally conventional be. It thus consists of a circumferential cylindrical Shell wall 7, the top of a top surface 50 completed is. On the underside of the top surface 50 may be a annular sealing bead 51 may be provided. The jacket wall 7 is provided with an internal thread, which here preferably designed as a fine thread 17. This Fine thread 17 only needs in the lower part of the Jacket wall 7 to be provided. At the bottom of the Mantle wall 7 is via predetermined breaking webs 6 a guarantee strip. 5 formed. The guarantee strip 5 is, as in the embodiments according to Figures 1, 2 and 4-6 conically downwards designed widening. Such a design is on the one hand aesthetically satisfactory and also has the Advantage of a particularly simple demolding. In contrast to Guarantee bands that are aligned directly under the shell wall the screw cap are arranged, is in a guarantee strip the form shown here no rear grip available. Accordingly, the core of the injection molding tool be pulled out without losing the guarantee band or in particular the break-off webs, which the connection between the casing wall 7 and the guarantee strip 5, to charge.

In the versions shown here, the spout is always as drawn separate part. This is by no means mandatory. The spout can of course be integral with be made of a plastic container. This one illustrated shape of the spout 2 consists of an annular wall 9, at the lower end of a flange 8 is formed. This Flange 8 is here perpendicular to the annular wall 9 extending arranged. In a one-piece design of the spout 2 with the container, the flange 8 would be practically the container themselves, and the spout 2 would correspond one Forming a bottleneck. Outside of the ring wall 9 is a External thread 10 formed, which also preferably as Fine thread is designed. The thread 10 also extends not over the entire length of the ring wall 9. Between the External thread 10 and the lowest arranged flange 8 is formed on the spout 2 a positive locking means 11. This Positive locking means 11 has the shape of in FIG radially outward projecting cam 12. How to look out Figure 4 recognizes, are over the circumference here, for example arranged four cams 12 evenly distributed. This means that according to the guarantee band is about the same has large openings 15. In this design form pass through the cams 12 Breakthroughs 15. In this design form overlap the mentioned cam 12 a the same engaging part 19 of the guarantee strip 5, as For example, in the figure 2 and in Figure 6 clearly recognizable. This has the advantage that even after a Separation of warranty strip 5 and screw cap 1 the Guarantee tape on the spout 2 is maintained. Indeed requires the production of such a spout still slider, because the manufacturing form or the injection mold the Cam 12 engages behind.

To avoid such a grip, that can Form-fitting means 11 also be designed rib-shaped, such this is shown in FIG. These ribs 16 preferably extend on the one hand radially outward directed and on the other hand parallel to the center axis of the Spout 2. Also these ribs 16, the corresponding are much narrower than those previously described and shown cam 12, are in the closed state of Closure in positive connection with the Warranty tape 5 of the screw cap 1.

The positive locking means 11 on the spout 2 is in both Designs designed so that the lower edge of the Screw cap 1 in the mounted state directly on the cam 12th or gets up on the ribs 16. This requires that the apertures 15 with their upper edge in the Parting plane T between the guarantee strip 5 and the lower edge of Shell wall 7 run. This situation is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 clearly visible. This embodiment is used directly as a stop during assembly. This will be later received.

In the embodiments according to Figures 1-3 are the Positive locking means 11 or 12, 16 only to some arranged in a few places around the circumference. This requires during assembly in a first step, in turn, an axial Alignment with each other and then a relative Angular positioning of the two parts to each other before in turn by a simple translational movement in Axial direction, the two parts are pressed on each other. Because but again fine threads are provided, the Assembly can be simplified by the screw cap 1 on the Spout 2 is put on and then twisted until practically a not shown here stop element the indicates the correct angular position of the two parts to one another, followed by an axial translation reaches the final position becomes. Because, as already mentioned, worked with fine threads it does not matter if at the angular Alignment of the parts to each other the threads already mesh. This is contrary to Normal threads, which are usually much steeper and where the two parts already from the beginning in axial aligned and correctly coordinated angular position must be moved towards each other. While, for example in the closures in Figures 4-6 each relative position by 90 ° rotated is a completely correct closure causes this is by no means the case with a standard thread. The Slope of the thread requires an exact angular Alignment of the two parts.

At the first opening of such a screw cap can the screw cap 1 only rotate by on the breaking webs 6 immediately a shearing force acts. This shearing force occurs immediately without a previously Stretching of these predetermined breaking webs takes place in their longitudinal direction. The already directed in the breaking webs extending Molecules can be passed through virtually one hundred percent occurring shear force with relatively little effort to open. Thus, screw caps are also for older People or children who do not have a great power in the Hands are easy to open.

Claims (6)

1. A screw cap (1) of plastic and a receptacle of plastic or soft material, with a pour-out (2), wherein the screw cap comprises a guarantee strip (5) which is arranged on the lower, peripheral edge (4) of the skirt (7) and which via break-off webs (6) is connected to the lower edge of the skirt (7) of the screw cap, wherein the guarantee strip (5) is endless and without tabs, and the pour-out (2) is provided with positive fit means (11) which project outwards with respect to the centre and which are engaged with recesses in the guarantee strip (5) such that a rotational movement of the screw cap (1) effects a shear force on the break-off webs (6) and thus the guarantee strip (5) may be sheared from the screw cap,
   characterised in that the recesses in the guarantee strip (5) are present in the form of openings (13, 15) which with their upper edge lie flush in the separation plane (T) between the screw cap skirt (7) and the guarantee strip (5), wherein the guarantee strip with respect to the skirt runs directed conically outwards and the positive fit means (11) on the pour-out (2) run radially outwards and project into the openings, wherein the lower edge of the skirt (7) is seated directly on them.
2. A screw cap according to claim 1, characterised in that the positive fit means (11) on the pour-out are radially outwardly projecting ribs (16) which are arranged running without undercuts on the outer side of the pour-out (2) in its axial direction and extend up to a flange (8) of the pour-out (2) or down to the receptacle.
3. A screw cap according to claim 1, characterised in that the screw cap (1) has a multi-pitch fine thread (17) which meshes with a corresponding fine thread (10) on the pour-out.
4. A screw cap according to claim 1, characterised in that the positive fit means (11) is at least one cam (12) which passes through the recess in the guarantee strip, and that the cam (12) at least partly is undercut (19) by the guarantee strip (5).
5. A method for assembly of a screw cap according to one of the claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the screw cap (1) is placed onto the pour-out (2) in an axially flush manner, is turned until an angular position at which the positive fit means (11) with the recesses (13) lie above one another in the correct angular position, and thereafter is pressed onto the pour-out (2)
6. A method for assembly of a screw cap according to one of the claims 1-4, characterised in that the screw cap (1) and the pour-out (2) are orientated to one another at a fixed predefined angular position, and in the orientated position are placed onto one another and thereafter the screw cap is pressed onto the pour-out.

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