FR2889169A1 - CLOSURE DEVICE AND CONTAINER EQUIPPED WITH SUCH A DEVICE - Google Patents

Abstract

The device has a tubular base (3) integrated around a neck of a recipient, and a plug (4) articulated between open and closed positions on the base. The base and the plug in the closed position delimit a free space (7) between them for receiving and displacing a free end of a user`s thumb (P). The space is defined, from base side, by a support surface (33A) and a tilting surface of a finger touch ball (P1) and, from plug side, by a pushing surface (425A) for pushing the plug towards the open position by a fingernail (P2). An independent claim is also included for a recipient provided with a neck equipped with a sealing device.

Description

The present invention relates to a device for capping a container,

  as well as a container equipped with such a device.

  In the field of liquid conditioning, it is known to equip the threaded or non-threaded neck of a container with a plastic closure device, comprising a cap articulated on a base or skirt, itself intended to be immobilized around this pass. This type of device is frequently used to allow the user to drink directly from the neck of the container. An example is given in FR-A-2,827,261.

  To facilitate the tilting of the cap from its closed position to an open position, it is common to provide a depression in the outer side face of the plug, opposite the hinge area between the cap and its base fixed. This depression is generally overhung by a nose projecting outwardly from the upper end of the plug, that is to say the end opposite the base. The user can thus introduce the end of one of his fingers into this depression and, by exerting on the underside of the nose a force directed upwards, tilt the cap to its open position.

  In practice, the closure device includes arrangements for holding the cap fairly firmly in the closed position, to prevent it from disengaging the base inadvertently. Therefore, the movement of the plug to its open position requires to overcome this restraint, which requires the user to develop a significant effort in the depression and nose mentioned above. However, depending on the level of resistance of this restraint, the effort required to release the cap from its closed position is often too important, which makes the device impractical or impossible to open for some users, such as a child or elderly person.

  The object of the present invention is to provide an articulated cap closure device, which, while incorporating unlockable cap retaining means in the closed position, limit the manual efforts of the user to open its cap.

  For this purpose, the subject of the invention is a closure device for a container provided with a neck, comprising both a generally tubular base and adapted to be secured around the neck, and a cap hinged on the base between a open position and a closed position, characterized in that the base and the cap in the closed position define between them, along the longitudinal axis of the base, a free space of the free end of a device, in particular a reception and a user's thumb movement of a user's thumb, this space being, along the longitudinal axis of the base, defined, on the side of the base, by a bearing surface and tilting of the pulp of the user. finger and, on the side of the cap, by a thrust surface, by the finger nail, the cap to its open position.

  To open the cap of the device according to the invention, the user introduces the end of one of his fingers, preferably his thumb, into the free space delimited for this purpose between the base and the cap, so that the pulp of his finger rests against the bearing surface and tilting, while the nail of his finger is applied against the thrust surface. The user then uses his finger as a lever whose tilting axis is located at the pulp: considering that the longitudinal axis of the base of the device extends generally vertically with the base located below the cap , the user generates, with his finger, a driving force directed from the top to the bottom, which, by tilting the tip of the finger at the level of its pulp resting on the base, causes the pressing pressure, from the bottom towards the top of the nail on the pushing surface.

  The fingernail then causes the cap to tilt from its closed position to its open position. By leverage, the thrust exerted by the nail is increased tenfold compared to the motor force of the finger, making the opening of the plug particularly easy, even for children or the elderly. Thanks to this leverage, the plug is released from its closed position to an intermediate position, in which the retention of the plug in the closed position is overcome.

  Advantageously, according to the particular shape of the container, the closure device according to the invention can be sized so that the user can release the cap from its closed position to its open position by means of one of the fingers, especially the thumb, of the same hand that holds the container.

  According to other advantageous features of this device, taken separately or in any technically possible combination: the space is situated opposite, with respect to the longitudinal axis of the base, the articulation zone of the plug compared to the base; when the cap is in the closed position, the bearing and tilting surface and the thrust surface each extend transversely to the longitudinal axis of the base, facing one another; - The bearing surface and tilting and the thrust surface are respectively delimited by the outer face of the base and the outer face of the cap; the minimum distance, along the longitudinal axis of the base, between the bearing and tilting surface and the thrust surface, when the cap is in the closed position, is between 3 and 6 mm, preferably about 4 mm; - The bearing surface and tilting is defined by a shoulder of the base connecting two parts of the base which follow one another along the longitudinal axis of the base and which have different respective maximum transverse dimensions, the part which has the most small transverse dimension being turned towards the cap in the closed position; the thrust surface is situated at the axial end of the stopper, in the closed position, turned towards the base; - The cap is provided with a nose projecting from the outer face of the cap in a generally radial direction to the longitudinal axis of the base when the cap is in the closed position, the face of this nose facing the base delimiting said thrust surface; - The outer face of the plug has, at the nose following the periphery of the plug and the side of the nose opposite the space, a curved portion to the outside.

  The invention also relates to a container provided with a neck and equipped with a closure device as defined above.

  The invention will be better understood on reading the description which follows, given solely by way of example and with reference to the drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a closure device according to the invention, with its cap in the closed position, reported around a neck of a container; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the device of FIG. 1, with its cap in the open position; - Figure 3 is a partial section of the device of Figure 1, along the III-III plane; and - Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3, illustrating the release of the plug from its closed position to its open position.

  FIGS. 1 to 4 show a device 1 for capping a container 2 partially shown only in FIG. 1. This container is, for example, a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottle containing a liquid food such as mineral water. .

  The device 1 comprises essentially two components, advantageously manufactured individually then assembled and immobilized to one another, namely: a generally tubular base 3 of central longitudinal axis XX, on which is articulated a plug 4 integrally with the base by two articulation lamellae 5 arranged symmetrically on either side of the plane of FIG. 3, one of these lamellae being visible in FIG. 2, and - a chimney 6 for outward flow of the liquid contained in the container 2, possibly directly into the mouth of a user who drinks at the neck of the container, the chimney having a generally tubular shape of central longitudinal axis substantially coincident with the axis XX in the figures.

  By deformation of the tongues 5, the plug 4 is tiltable relative to the base 3, about a geometric axis ZZ extending in a direction orthoradial to the axis XX, between a closed position of the container 2, shown in FIG. Figure 1, and an open position, shown in Figure 2, wherein the liquid in the container can be freely discharged outside this container, through the chimney 6, without being retained by the cap. Each strip 5 thus constitutes a hinge type connection between the plug and the base.

  The maximum opening angle of the plug may advantageously be greater than 180, in particular by means of arrangements similar to those proposed in FR-A-2 827 261 and / or in the French patent application in the name of the present Applicant and registered under N 04 09305.

  The remainder of the description will be oriented by considering that the terms upper and upper, as well as, in contrast, the lower and lower terms, are defined with reference to the device 1 with its base 3 laid flat on a generally horizontal surface and with its cap 4 in the closed position. The upper surfaces of the device are thus oriented upwards in FIGS. 1 and 3, while the lower surfaces are oriented downwards.

  The base 3 is staggered along the axis X-X and thus comprises a lower portion 31 and an upper portion 32, both generally cylindrical with a circular base and X-X axis. The thickness of the wall constituting the base 3 is substantially constant along its length and the diameter of the lower portion 31 is strictly greater than the diameter of the upper portion 32. These portions 31 and 32 are connected by a shoulder 33 of the base, which extends in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axis XX.

  The lower portion 31 has interior arrangements, not visible in the figures, for immobilizing the base 3 around a neck 21 of the container 2, by securing to the outer face of the neck. The portion 31 is for example provided with an internal helical rib adapted to be screwed onto a complementary external thread of the neck 21.

  The upper portion 32 is dimensioned to internally receive a lower barrel 61 of the chimney 6, the inner diameter of the portion 32 being substantially equal to the outer diameter of the barrel. When the chimney is attached to the base 3 as in the figures, the drum 61 is immobilized hermetically inside the internal bore delimited by the part 32.

  The plug 4 has a generally frustoconical convex shape converging upwards and having a longitudinal axis coinciding with the X-X axis when the plug is in the closed position. At its upper end, the plug is closed by a substantially flat wall 41, integral with a side wall 42 of the plug, itself connected to the base portion 32 by the lamellae 5. The plug 4 includes internal arrangements, not detailed here, intended, when the cap is in the closed position, to seal the contacts between, on the one hand, the lower end of the wall 42 and the upper end of the shaft 61 of the chimney 6 and, d on the other hand, the wall 41 and a nipple 62 of the chimney, extending upwardly from the drum 61 convergently.

  The base 3, the plug 4 and the lamellae 5 thus form a single piece, advantageously made by molding plastic material with the plug in the closed position. At the outlet of the mold, the slats connect the plug to the base extending from the upper edge 321 of the base portion 32 to the lower edge 421 of the side wall 42 of the plug. Optionally, the cap and the base are also initially connected to each other by means of the first use of the device 1, that is to say, witnesses of the first tilting of the cap 4 to open the door. container 2, such control means not being shown in the figures. By way of nonlimiting examples, these means are in the form of one or more frangible bridges directly connecting the stopper to the base or in the form of a completely detachable tamper-evident band and connected in a frangible manner to the base and cork. Other forms of control means of the first use are conceivable in the context of the present invention, including those proposed in the aforementioned French patent application N 04 09305.

  Apart from the slats 5 and any aforementioned control means, the upper edge 321 of the base 3 and the lower edge 421 of the plug 4 are located facing one above the other, in a more or less contiguous manner, as shown in Figure 1.

  Along its periphery, the side wall 42 has several depressions, that is to say several areas whose outer surface is concave. A first depression 422 is located, along the periphery of the plug 4, at the level of the lamellae 5. This depression 422 is dimensioned to receive a portion of the shoulder 33 when the plug is in the open position, as shown in FIG.

  Two other depressions 423 and 424 are provided on both sides, in a substantially symmetrical manner, of the plane of FIG. 3. At each of these depressions, the inner face of the wall 42 is provided with a bulge of material which extends projecting from this wall towards the inside, that is to say towards the axis XX when the plug 4 is closed. Only the bulge 424A associated with the depression 424 is visible in Figure 2, it being understood that the bulge associated with the depression 423 is substantially symmetrical to the bulge 424A relative to the plane of Figure 3. These two bulges are provided to snap in an annular groove 63 defined in the wall of the chimney 6 connecting the barrel 61 to the nipple 62, when the cap is in the closed position. By complementarity of shapes between these bulges and this groove, the plug 4, in the closed position, is thus retained in place, which avoids inadvertent opening, and this unlockable by an active solicitation from the user.

  In contrast to the lamellae 5, with respect to the axis XX, the wall 42 is provided with a nose 425 which projects outwardly from the outside face of the wall 42, in a radial direction at the axis XX when the cap 4 is closed. According to the periphery of the plug, the nose 425 extends over an angular sector substantially centered on the X-X axis and having, at the top, a dozen degrees. The nose 425 is located at the lower end of the wall 42, so that its lower surface 425A constitutes a portion of the lower edge 421 of the plug.

  The nose 425 has a generally flat shape and extends in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axis XX when the cap 4 is closed, so that its lower surface 425A extends opposite, along the axis XX, of an associated surface 33A constituting a portion of the upper face of the shoulder 33 of the base 3, as shown in FIG. 3. In the example considered, the surfaces 425A and 33A are thus generally parallel to each other and are spaced axially from a relative spacing noted e. In practice, this spacing e has a value of between 3 and 6 mm and is preferably about 4 mm, with close functional play.

  When the cap 4 is in the closed position, the surfaces 425A and 33A axially delimit between them a free space 7 sized to receive the end of a finger of the user, preferably the end of his thumb P, as shown in FIG. 3. In a direction radial to the axis XX, the inner bottom of this space 7 is essentially closed by the base portion 32, while on the opposite side, this space is freely open to allow introducing the distal end of the thumb P. The portion 426 of the outer face of the wall 42, located above the nose 425, has an outwardly curved shape, in continuity with the rest of the outer face of the wall 42 except at the depressions 422, 423 and 424. This face portion 426, which is the area of the cap facing the user when the cap is closed, offers an attractive aesthetic, without breaking with the rest of the cap . The cap 4 thus has a global cap shape whose visor corresponds to the nose 425.

  The user who wishes to consume the liquid contained in the container 2 tilts the cap 4 about the ZZ axis from its closed position of Figures 1 and 3, to its fully open position of Figure 2, an intermediate position of the plug being represented in FIG. 4. More precisely, to initiate the tilting of the stopper, the user introduces the end of his thumb P into the space 7, as represented in FIG. 3: the palmar surface of the thumb, that is to say, its pulp P1r is placed against the surface 33A of the shoulder 33 while the dorsal surface of the thumb, that is to say its nail P2, is applied against the surface 425A of the nose 425. The user then uses his thumb as a wedge and pulls it like a lever, with the current portion of the thumb moved up and down as indicated by the arrow Fp. The surface 33A then forms, in particular at its end 33A1 of larger diameter, that is to say at its end connected to the base portion 31, an area at the same time of support of the pulp P1 and tilting of this pulp generally around a geometric axis 33A2 extending in a direction substantially ortho-radial to the axis XX. The end 33A1 is advantageously curved for this purpose. The end of the thumb thus acts as a lever tilted about the axis 33A2 under the effect of the driving force Fp, so that the nail P2 of the thumb is lifted upwards and exerts a pressure of bottom up on the lower surface 425A of the nose 425, which amounts to exert on the cap 4 a thrust force Fp 'of the plug from its closed position to its open position. By leverage, the intensity of the effort Fp 'is multiplied compared to the effort Fp provided by the user. This effort Fp 'thus quickly overcomes the retention resistance of the bulges associated with the depressions 423, 424 engaged with the clipping groove 63, thus making it possible to disengage the plug vis-à-vis the chimney 6, as represented in FIG. As the space 7, at which the stopper thus begins to be tilted, is diametrically opposed to the articulation slats 5, the corresponding lifting of the stopper has a lever arm as long as possible vis-à-vis ZZ axis.

  During the tilting of the thumb P, the nail P2 thus pushes the plug 4 while sliding outwardly along the surface 425A of the nose 425, this surface thus forming a ramp for the nail.

  If the device 1 is equipped with means of witnessing its first use, as mentioned above, the first opening of the device is carried out in the same manner as described above, that is to say that the user uses his inch as a lever to effortlessly initiate the tilting of the plug, thereby also causing the deformation or complete failure of these control means.

  Once the cap 4 is disengaged from its retaining groove 63, the user can grab it by hand, to switch it from its intermediate position in Figure 4 to its fully open position of Figure 2, as shown by the arrow F4.

  The user can then effectively close the cap 4, by tilting it in the opposite direction and then re-engaging the bulges carried by the depressions 423 and 424 in the groove 63.

  Thus, thanks to the surfaces 425A and 33A, as well as the space 7 delimited between them, the device 1 opens easily and quickly, the effort Fp to provide by the user being very low, or at least d much less intensity than that of the effort Fp 'of unclipping the plug 4 vis-à-vis the chimney 6. In practice, the fact that these surfaces 425A and 33A are respectively delimited by the outer face of the plug and by the outer face of the base is a simple solution to manufacture, in particular by molding, to define the space 7 whose dimensioning is specifically adapted to the reception and movement lever of the end of a finger of the user. It will be noted that the notion of external face mentioned above corresponds to all of the surfaces of the cap in the closed position or of the base which are visible and thus directly accessible from outside the immobilized device on the neck 21.

  Various arrangements and variants of the closure device 1 described above are also possible. As examples: - rather than providing the surfaces 33A and 425A substantially parallel to each other when the cap is closed, these surfaces can converge towards each other while approaching the axis XX, the minimum axial spacing separating them must, however, be sufficient to allow the introduction and movement, in the manner of a lever, the end of the finger of the user; - The surface 33A of support and tilting of the pulp P1 of the finger can be, if necessary, extended radially outwardly relative to the axis X-X, by a bulge or the like; as such, this surface may be provided at a radially projecting heel from the outer face of a base less stepped than the base 33 considered in the figures, or a non-stepped base; and / or - the invention is not limited to closure devices including a chimney to report hermetically inside a base assembly / articulated cap, as the example described above; alternatively, all or part of the chimney 6 may be directly integral with all or part of the base 3 so that the device thus comprises a base element capable of being secured around the neck of the container and a plug of closure of this base element, articulated with respect to this base element, this plug may be optionally constituted by a separate room to report permanently on this base element.

Claims (1)

  1. Device (1) for capping a container (2) provided with a neck (21), comprising both a base (3) generally tubular and adapted to be secured around the neck (21), and a cap (4) articulated on the base between an open position and a closed position, characterized in that the base and the cap in the closed position delimit between them, along the longitudinal axis (XX) of the base, a free space (7) receiving and moving the free end of a finger of a user of the device, in particular one inch (P) of the user, this space being, along the longitudinal axis of the base, defined, of side of the base, by a surface (33A) of support and tilting of the pulp (P1) of the finger and, on the side of the stopper, by a surface (425A) of thrust, by the nail (P2) of the finger , from the plug to its open position.   2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the space (7) is located opposite, with respect to the longitudinal axis (XX) of the base (3), the zone (5) of articulation of the plug (4) relative to the base.   3. Device according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that, when the cap (4) is in the closed position, the bearing surface and tilting (33A) and the thrust surface (425A) s' extend each transversely to the longitudinal axis (XX) of the base (3), facing one another.   4. Device according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the bearing surface and tilting (33A) and the thrust surface (425A) are respectively delimited by the outer face of the base (3) and by the outer face of the plug (4).   5. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the minimum spacing (e) along the longitudinal axis (XX) of the base (3) between the bearing surface and tilting (33A ) and the thrust surface (425A), when the cap (4) is in the closed position, is between 3 and 6 mm, preferably about 4 mm.   6. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bearing surface and tilting (33A) is delimited by a shoulder (33) of the base (3) connecting two parts (31, 32) of the base which succeeds along the longitudinal axis (XX) of the base and which have different respective maximum transverse dimensions, the portion (32) having the smallest transverse dimension being turned towards the cap (4) in the closed position.   7. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the thrust surface (425A) is located at the axial end of the plug (4), in the closed position, facing the base (3).   8. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the plug (4) is provided with a nose (425) which protrudes from the outer face of the cap in a generally radial direction to the longitudinal axis (XX) of the base (3) when the plug (4) is in the closed position, the face of this nose turned towards the base (3) delimiting said thrust surface (425A).   9. Device according to claim 8, characterized in that the outer face of the plug (4) comprises, at the nose (425) along the periphery of the plug and the side of the nose opposite the space (7), a part (426) curved outwards.   Container (2) provided with a neck (21), characterized in that this neck is equipped with a closure device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims.