US20160207676A1

US20160207676A1 - Closure cap for mounting on a liquid container

Info

Publication number: US20160207676A1
Application number: US15/022,973
Authority: US
Inventors: Shahriar MORADI; Gernot Stein
Original assignee: Moradi Consulting GmbH
Current assignee: Moradi Consulting GmbH
Priority date: 2013-09-20
Filing date: 2013-10-11
Publication date: 2016-07-21
Also published as: RU2016107889A; MX2016003535A; JP2016533983A; KR20160077059A; WO2015039702A1; CA2923939A1; WO2015039709A1; AU2013400990A1; IL244639A0; CN105764811A

Abstract

A closure cap for mounting on a liquid container includes a preferably reclosable pouring opening and a receiving element which, with the closure cap, forms a common receiving volume for receiving at least one dispensing body, e.g. a tablet. The closure cap can be opened to create an access to the receiving volume and to be able to introduce the at least one dispensing body into the receiving volume or remove it from the latter, wherein the receiving element is permeable to a liquid in order to allow the dispensing body received therein to come into contact with the liquid. The access can be closed in a leaktight manner or opened by a closure element, which is connected to the closure cap and is movable by pivoting or sliding.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a closure cap, preferably a screw cap, for mounting on a liquid container, preferably a bottle, more preferably a PET bottle, wherein the closure cap comprises a spout opening, preferably a reclosable spout opening, and a receiving element, which together with the closure cap forms a common receiving volume for receiving at least one dispensing body, preferably at least one tablet, and the closure cap can be opened, thus forming an entrance to the receiving volume in order to enable the introduction of the at least one dispensing body into the receiving volume or the removal of said body from the receiving volume, wherein the receiving element is permeable to a liquid in order to allow the at least one dispensing body to come into contact with the liquid.
The present invention also relates to a dispensing body, preferably a tablet, for admixing to a liquid disposed in a liquid container having a closure cap in accordance with the invention.
The present invention finally relates to a system, comprising a closure cap in accordance with the invention and at least one dispensing body in accordance with the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

In order to enable the intake of liquid on the road or during sports, drinking bottles are known, especially drinking bottles with a closure cap. The drinking bottles usually comprise a thread onto which the closure caps are screwed. The threads are standardized and the number of the different standardized threads of said drinking bottles is low. These bottles can be prefilled on the one hand, e.g. with mineral water, which can also be mixed with flavors, or with an isotonic beverage. On the other hand, bottles can be concerned which are designated to receive a liquid mixed by the user as required. In this case, effervescent powders in powder form or tablet form are available in addition to fruit juice syrups.
It is disadvantageous in both cases that the user is fixed to the specific beverage mixture for the entire duration of use of the beverage, i.e. between the start and the end of the consumption of the beverage, which means the user is no longer able to change the flavor during the consumption of the beverage, because the liquid still contained in the bottle only comprises the once selected flavor.
However, not only the desire for a specific flavor can change during the start and the end of the consumption of the beverage. If the user has decided on a non-isotonic beverage for example and wishes to have an isotonic beverage after a specific period of time in which the user has practiced sports, this is also no longer possible with the liquid still present in the bottle.
In the case of preparing the beverage by means of effervescent tablets, the use of chemicals for dissolving the effervescent tablet is required, which means the use of entirely natural substances for preparing the beverage is not possible in this case, which can be regarded as disadvantageous.
Incomplete dissolution of the tablet can be caused by sub-optimal dosing, especially an excessive concentration of the effervescent powder or tablets. Strictly speaking, maintaining the correct dosage is usually not always easy because the specifically existing quantity of liquid needs to be considered in mixing the powder or the tablet with the liquid, which is usually water.
These disadvantages can be remedied at least in part according to US2010/0012193A1. It describes a liquid container with a closure cap which is formed in three parts, i.e. a tablet container, a container lid and a closure cap closure. The container lid must be screwed off and subsequently screwed on again for the insertion of a tablet into the tablet container. It is disadvantageous that the container lid cart be dropped or lost.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a closure cap for liquid containers which allows admixing flavors and/or nutrients and/or dietary supplements and/or medical compounds into a liquid that can be received in the liquid container by avoiding the aforementioned disadvantages. One closure cap shall be provided for each of the few differently standardized types of threads, so that any number of different types of bottles can be used with few closure caps. It shall be ensured that during the insertion of a tablet no part of the closure cap or the closure cap itself can be dropped or lost.
In particular, simple handling shall be guaranteed, which allows a simple exchange of the flavors and/or nutrients and/or dietary supplements.
Furthermore, it shall be easy to remove partly dissolved dispensing bodies from the bottle with the closure cap for example.
Furthermore, dosing problems, especially too high concentrations of flavors and/or nutrients and/or dietary supplements in the liquid, shall be prevented. The possibility for avoiding chemicals shall further be provided in this case, so that natural substances can be used for admixing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These objects are achieved by a closure cap, preferably a screw cap, for mounting on a liquid container, preferably a bottle, more preferably a PET bottle, wherein the closure cap comprises a spout opening, preferably a reclosable spout opening, and a receiving element, which together with the closure cap forms a common receiving volume for receiving at least one dispensing body, preferably at least one tablet, and the closure cap can be opened, thus forming an entrance to the receiving volume in order to enable the introduction of at least one dispensing body into the receiving volume or the removal of said body from the receiving volume, wherein the receiving element is permeable to a liquid in order to allow the at least one dispensing body to come into contact with the liquid. It is provided in accordance with the invention that a closure element connected to the closure cap is provided, by means of which the entrance can be sealed in a liquid-tight manner or released.
The closure cap preferably concerns a screw cap which fits all standardized water bottles, or it is possible to use the low number of differently standardized types of bottle threads with the low number of different closure caps. The closure cap is usually provided with a mouthpiece which seals the spout opening of the closure cap and can be transferred from a closure position or closed position to a release position or open position, preferably by displacing the mouthpiece. In the closed position, no liquid can pass through the closure cap via the mouthpiece. In the operating position, the secure storage of the liquid in the liquid container is enabled with the closure cap in accordance with the invention, even when it is transported or carried along by the user during sports activities. In the release position, liquid can pass through the closure cap and the user is thus able to drink.
It has been recognized that the closure element represents a simple and quick possibility to position a receiving body in the receiving volume or to remove it therefrom. The connection ensures that the closure element is unable to drop inadvertently. The user therefore will not have to worry where to place the closure element while the closure cap is open. Furthermore, the unpleasant situation that the closure element will drop on the floor and will thus become dirty can thus be prevented. The closure element can be arranged as the upper part of the closure cap for example which is simply folded away, or also as a door which is folded laterally. The various possibilities for configuration have in common that they offer simple and rapid access to the receiving volume and the dispensing body can thus be changed, introduced or removed in a rapid and simple way.
The opening and especially the closing of the closure element can be provided in a simple and rapid manner without having to concentrate on the process.
The receiving element is preferably formed as a flat surface. This represents an especially simple and thus inexpensive embodiment.
In order to prevent that parts of the dispensing body seal the spout opening, the closure cap comprises a retention element which is arranged between the receiving element and the spout opening, wherein the retention element is permeable to a liquid in order to prevent the dispensing body from reaching the spout opening. The retention element can be arranged integrally with the closure cap, or it can be connected as a separate element to the closure cap. Permeability to liquids is provided in this case, which can be realized by small openings, so that the dispensing body or still unresolved parts thereof are prevented from blocking the spout opening. It is accordingly provided in a variant of the embodiment of the closure cap in accordance with the invention that the closure cap comprises a retention element which is arranged between the receiving element and the spout opening, wherein the retention element is permeable to a liquid in order to prevent the dispensing body from reaching the spout opening.
A cost-effective production of the closure cap is achieved in a further preferred embodiment of the closure cap in accordance with the invention in that the receiving element is made of plastic. It can also be considered that the retention element is also made of plastic.
The permeability of the receiving element for the liquid is realized in a preferred embodiment of the liquid container in accordance with the invention in such a way that the receiving element comprises through-openings, which are preferably arranged in a lattice-like or grid-like manner.
The permeability of the retention element to the liquid is realized in a preferred embodiment of the closure cap in accordance with the invention such a way that the retention element comprises through-openings which are preferably formed in a lattice-like or grid-like manner. It is thus further reliably prevented that the dispensing body or parts of the dispensing body reach the liquid container after drinking.
Potential contact of the dispensing body with the liquid already prior to drinking principally depends on the precise arrangement of the receiving element in the closure cap. Contact can be prevented in the case of a perpendicularly standing liquid container when the receiving element is entirely situated in a volume formed by the closure cap. This means the volume that is bounded on the one hand by the closure cap and on the other hand by an imagined surface area which is bounded on its part by an edge of the closure cap. Said imagined surface area is actually free from material in order to enable the connection of the closure cap with the liquid container, especially in order to enable it to be screwed onto said container. This means that in this case contact of the closure cap only occurs during twisting of the bottle, as performed by the user during the drinking process. It is thus accordingly provided in a preferred embodiment of the closure cap in accordance with the invention that the receiving element is arranged in the operating position in a volume formed by the closure cap.
In order to enable the optional e-change of the receiving element, it is provided in a further preferred embodiment of the closure cap in accordance with the invention that the receiving element is releasably fastened in the closure cap.
It is provided in a further embodiment of the closure cap in accordance with the invention that the retention element is releasably fastened in the closure cap.
Slippage of the dispensing body can be prevented in that a circular boundary element which protrudes in the direction of the spout opening is arranged on the receiving element in order to prevent lateral slippage of the dispensing body in the operating state. Liquid thus flows evenly around the dispensing body from all sides.
The closure element is pivotable in a further embodiment of the closure cap in accordance with the invention. It has been recognized that the pivotable closure element represents a simple and rapid possibility to position a tablet in the receiving volume or to remove it therefrom. The term pivotable shall be understood in such a way that the closure element can be detached from the closure cap and can thus can be removed at least in part to such an extent that the resulting opening allows access to the receiving volume in order to place a tablet in the receiving volume or to remove it therefrom. Pivotable therefore means that the closure element can be deflected from the position closing the entrance in order to introduce a dispensing body for example without the closure element dropping off, and can subsequently be brought back to the position closing the entrance in a simple way.
In a further embodiment of the closure cap in accordance with the invention, the closure element is connected by means of a hinge-like connecting element. The hinge-like connecting element can be a thin web or one or several fixed hinges or a flexible plastic piece or any other suitable element. A hinge not only allows simple opening of the entrance to the receiving volume for example, but also offers a guide during closing which allows the user to avoid having to concentrate on the process of closing because the movement is guided by the hinges and it is merely necessary to apply an externally acting force in order to properly close the entrance. The user therefore need not take particular care how the entrance is closed, or that the user needs to position the closure element in a specific manner on the other part of the closure cap.
In an embodiment of the closure cap in accordance with the invention, the closure element is formed as a part of the jacket surface of the closure cap, wherein it seals the entrance in the operating position. The closure element can be formed as a flap, which can be folded laterally, upwardly or downwardly. This represents a simple and elegant solution because it prevents the liquid from flowing out at the position of the closure element in the closed state of the closure element and offers access to the receiving volume in the open state in order to enable the rapid and simple positioning of a dispensing body, wherein unintended opening by specific situations is prevented. The closure cap can thus be provided with a reclosable mouthpiece, which is transferred from the closed state to the open state by a tensile force on the mouthpiece away from the closure cap. The force required for this purpose is calculated in such a way that the mouthpiece is not inadvertently opened by rubbing of other objects on the closure cap in a bag for example. This fact leads to the consequence however that closure elements opening in the upward direction can inadvertently be opened by said strong tensile force on the mouthpiece, which is prevented in the embodiment of the closure element as a part of the jacket surface.
In a further embodiment of the closure cap in accordance with the invention, the closure cap comprises two parts, wherein the first part comprises the thread for fastening to a liquid container and the second part comprises the spout opening, and the second part forms the closure element. As a result of the two-part configuration, it is especially simple to position a dispensing body on the receiving element.
It is possible that the transition from the first part to the second part represents a horizontal division of the closure cap.
In an especially simple embodiment of the closure cap, the closure cap is formed cylindrically in the region of the transition. This represents a simple and thus also inexpensive embodiment.
An especially simple and comfortable filling of the receiving volume can be realized in that the closure cap comprises an extractable storage element for the dispensing body, which storage element corresponds to the entrance and the receiving volume and which can be introduced through the open entrance into the receiving volume and can be positioned on the receiving element, which means the storage element is pulled from the open entrance for filling the receiving volume, at least one dispensing body is placed in the receiving element, and the storage element is thus pushed into the receiving volume again via the open entrance. It is further advantageous with respect to this embodiment that tablets which have already partly been dissolved in the receiving volume can be removed more easily again for example.
In a further embodiment of the closure cap in accordance with the invention, the second part comprises on its jacket surface a local deformation facing inwardly in the radial direction of the closure cap, as a result of which a pressure is exerted in the operating position by the local deformation on the first part and the two parts are mutually clamped against each other. The deformation faces inwardly in the radial direction of the cylindrical receiving volume. It is thus prevented that the closure part is not additionally opened inadvertently in the case of closure caps with a mouthpiece which release the opening on the mouthpiece for drinking through a strong pull on the mouthpiece.
A further embodiment of the closure element is that it is formed as a slide, which is displaceable along the jacket surface of the closure cap. The slide can be displaceable for example in the direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the closure cap or normally to the longitudinal axis in the circumferential direction of the closure cap. The slide can substantially correspond to a rectangular section from the jacket surface of the closure cap.
It can be provided in the configuration of the closure element as a slide that the slide is displaceable in relation to the closure cap by using a profile rail. One or several profile rails can thus be provided in the slide on opposite sides (e.g. on or close to longitudinal edges or transverse edges, per side, which profile rails extend in parallel with respect to each other and are guided in depressions of the closure cap with a respective profile. It can conversely be provided that the closure cap comprises at least two profile rails which are parallel with respect to each other outside of the entrance, which profile rails engage in the respective depressions of the closure element. The profile of the profile rail comprises a taper for example in both cases, so that the profile rail cannot be pulled out of the depression normally to its longitudinal extension.
A dispensing body, preferably a tablet, is provided in accordance with the invention for accommodation in a receiving volume of a closure cap in accordance with the invention in order to ensure simple handling and an optimal dosing possibility when using the closure cap in accordance with the invention.
Accordingly, the use of a dispensing body, preferably a tablet, in a receiving volume of a closure cap in accordance with the invention is provided according to the invention.
In order to ensure that the dispensing body can be accommodated in a receiving volume, it is provided in a preferred embodiment of the dispensing body in accordance with the invention that the dispensing body has a dispensing body volume which is not greater than the receiving volume.
In order to enable producing a beverage when making contact with liquid or to release flavors and/nutrients and/or dietary supplements and/or medical compounds and thus mix them into liquid, it is provided according to a preferred embodiment of the dispensing body in accordance with the invention that the dispensing body comprises at least one water-soluble element for producing a beverage and/or for releasing a flavor and/or a nutrient and/or a dietary supplement and/or a medical compound. The nutrients comprise carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins. If several carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins are released, the production of an isotonic beverage is thus possible.
If at least one dispensing body is arranged in the receiving volume, the liquid flows around said body during the drinking process and it is able to release substances, especially flavors and/or nutrients and/or dietary supplements and/or medical compounds to the liquid, which means mixing with the liquid occurs directly before the user actually drinks the mixture. An excessive concentration of the desired substances in the liquid can thus principally be avoided.
Notice must be taken in this respect that after removing the bottle after the drinking process a specific portion of the liquid will generally flow back into the bottle from the receiving volume. A specific proportion of the aforementioned substances can be transferred to the remaining liquid situated in the bottle, which needs to be considered in the configuration of the dispensing body or its dispensing characteristics.
In order to ensure a spatially stable arrangement of the water-soluble elements, which additionally contributes to ensuring that no water-soluble elements can pass through the passage openings of the closure cap, they are arranged in a sponge for example which fills the dispensing body volume at least in part. It is therefore accordingly provided in a preferred embodiment of the dispensing body in accordance with the invention that the dispensing body therefore comprises a sponge, preferably a plastic sponge. Said plastic sponge can be formed in an especially preferred manner in such a way that the liquid can easily reach the water-soluble elements, which can be achieved for example by a sponge fabric made of coarsely woven fibers.
In order to further improve handling, it is provided in a preferred embodiment of the dispensing body in accordance with the invention that the dispensing body comprises a liquid-permeable net-like fabric, especially gauze, which retains the dispensing body in a dispensing body shape which fits into a receiving volume. The thus stabilized dispensing body shape especially also allows simple and convenient changing of the dispensing body even after the drinking process, once the water-soluble elements have already been dissolved entirely or at least partly.
Especially good stabilization of the dispensing body shape in combination with simultaneously simple producibility can be achieved in that the net-like fabric is arranged on an exterior side of the dispensing body.
In order to avoid the use of chemicals and only use natural substances for the preparation of the beverage, it is provided in a preferred embodiment of the dispensing body in accordance with the invention that the at least one water-soluble element concerns a ball arranged in the dispensing body volume, whose surface is formed by a water-soluble layer and whose interior is filled with a substance such as syrup or tea, which contains a flavor and/or a nutrient and/or a dietary supplement and/or a medical compound. The water-soluble layer is formed in this case from a water-soluble icing, especially sugar icing, which contributes to the avoidance of chemicals.
The time progression of the delivery of the substances, especially the flavors and/or the nutrients and/or the dietary supplements and/or the medical compounds can be realized by several balls with different icing layer thicknesses. The balls with the thinnest icing layer thicknesses release the substances first, whereas balls with thicker icing layer thicknesses do not release any substances yet. Only at a later point in time when the substances of the balls with the originally thinner icing layer thickness have been consumed will the balls with the originally thicker icing layer thicknesses release the substances stored in them.
They can concern the same substances for example as before, so that a temporarily constant concentration of these substances is achieved in the liquid. It is also possible to provide different substances in the balls, so that a beverage with fruit flavor is provided at first and an isotonic beverage at a later point in time. This allows athletes to drink different beverages over time by carrying along only one single liquid container, wherein an isotonic beverage is also included in this case.
That is why it is provided in an especially preferred embodiment of the dispensing body in accordance with the invention that several balls with the same substance or different substances are arranged in the dispensing body volume, wherein the water-soluble layers of the balls comprise different layer thicknesses, especially in order to enable continuous delivery of the substance or substances.
Finally, the closure cap in accordance with the invention and the liquid container shall be regarded as a system which allows simple production of beverages or the admixture of flavors and/or nutrients and/or dietary supplements and/or medical compounds to a liquid.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be explained below in closer detail by reference to embodiments. The drawings are exemplary and are used to explain the inventive concept, but shall not limit or reproduce the same with finality, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows an axonometric view of a bottle with a base body and a closure cap in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 shows an axonometric view of the closure cap according to FIG. 1 with a partly exposed section and with a receiving element attached thereto and a retention element;

FIG. 3 shows an axonometric view of the closure cap according to FIG. 1 in the open state;

FIG. 4 shows a sectional view of a section of a local deformation of the closure cap of FIG. 3 in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of a section of a local deformation of the closure cap of FIG. 3 in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 6 shows an axonometric view of a further embodiment of the closure cap in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 7 shows an axonometric view of the closure cap of FIG. 6 with open entrance;

FIG. 8 shows an axonometric view of the closure cap of FIG. 6 with a partly exposed section and with a receiving element attached thereto and a retention element;

FIG. 9 shows an axonometric view of a closure cap according to the prior art;

FIG. 10 shows an axonometric view of a further embodiment of the closure cap in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 11 shows an axonometric view of the closure cap of FIG. 10 in the open state;

FIG. 12 shows an axonometric view of the closure cap of FIG. 10 with a partly exposed section and with a receiving element attached thereto and a retention element;

FIG. 13 shows an axonometric view of a further embodiment of a closure cap in accordance with the invention in a partly exposed, open state;

FIG. 14 shows an axonometric view of a tablet which is shown schematically with a partly exposed section and which can be accommodated in a closure cap of the preceding drawings;

FIG. 15 shows a cross-sectional view through a ball of FIG. 14 which is filled with syrup;

FIG. 16 shows an axonometric view of a further embodiment of a closure cap in accordance with the invention in the open state with a slide that can be opened downwardly;

FIG. 17 shows an axonometric view of a further embodiment of a closure cap in accordance with the invention in the open state with a slide that can be opened laterally;

FIG. 18 shows an axonometric view of a further embodiment of a closure cap in accordance with the invention in the open state with a slide that can be opened upwardly;

FIG. 19 shows the closure cap of FIG. 18 in the closed state;

FIG. 20 shows the closure cap of FIG. 1.9 from below;

FIG. 21 shows a vertical sectional view through the closure cap of FIG. 19;

FIG. 22 shows the detail A of FIG. 21;

FIG. 23 shows the closure cap of FIG. 19 from above.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows a liquid container in form of a bottle 5, having a base body 36 and a closure cap 7 in accordance with the invention. The closure cap 7 is shown in an operating position 8, in which the closure cap 7 seals a spout opening 9. The closure cap 7 is screwed onto the base body 36 by means of a thread 34 (see FIG. 2).
The closure cap 7 is provided with a mouthpiece 33, which is shown in FIG. 1 in the closed position 11. In the closed position 11, the closure cap 7 is impermeable to a liquid 37, which is accommodated in the bottle 5 or in the base body 36 of the bottle and has a liquid level 38. The mouthpiece 33 can be brought from the closed position 11 to a release position (not shown) by displacing the mouthpiece 33 along a longitudinal axis 10. In the release position, the closure cap 7 is permeable to the liquid 37 in order to allow the user to drink from the bottle 5.
The base body 36 of the bottle comprises inner walls 6 which together with the closure cap 7 delimit a volume 4 in the operating position 8. A receiving element 1 of the closure cap is arranged in accordance with the invention in said volume 4, which receiving element forms a joint receiving volume 20 together with the closure cap 7 for accommodating at least one dispensing body 2, preferably at least one tablet. FIG. 2 illustrates such an embodiment on the basis of an axonometric view of a closure cap shown with an exposed section.
The receiving element 1 is fastened to the closure cap 7, preferably releasably attached thereto, and is formed as a flat surface. The receiving element 1 is thus arranged in a volume formed by the closure cap 7 in the operating position 8. The receiving element 1 makes contact with the inner wall of the closure cap 7 at least in all points of a circular orbit. The tablets 2 (see FIG. 14) can be positioned on the receiving element 1. A circular boundary element 16 (FIG. 2) prevents lateral slippage of the tablet, which is contacted by the liquid 37 accommodated by the bottle 5, especially during the drinking process. A beverage can thus be produced or substances such as flavors and/or nutrients and/or dietary supplements and/or medical compounds can be dispensed to the liquid.
The closure cap comprises an entrance 12 in order to enable the insertion of the at least one tablet 2 into the receiving volume 20 or the removal of said tablet from the receiving volume 20. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the closure cap 7 comprises a first bottom part 13 which comprises the receiving element 1, and a second upper part 14 which comprises the spout opening 9 and a retention element 41, wherein a transition 46 of the second part 14 to the first part 13 is representative of a horizontal division. FIG. 3 shows this embodiment in the open state.
The transition 46 divides the closure cap 7 into the first part 13 and the second part 14 in FIG. 1. The retention element 41 is situated in the second part 14. It is arranged as a flat surface in the illustrated embodiment, as also the receiving element 1.
A bulge 18 is arranged in the region of an edge 39 of the first part of the closure cap, which bulge extends along the full circumference of the closure cap 7. A notch 19 is arranged in the region of an edge 40 of the second part of the closure cap, which notch also extends in a closed circular manner along the second part 14 of the closure cap on its inner side. The innermost measured circumference of the notch 19 is greater by one-tenth of a millimeter than the outermost circumference of the bulge 18, so that the two parts 13 and 14 tightly seal the closure cap in the operating position 8.
A hinge-like connecting element 43 also connects the two parts 13 and 14 of the closure cap 7 in the open state. The connecting element 43 allows the second part 14 to be folded up from the rest.
The second part 14 has a local deformation 47 on its jacket surface. The deformation 47 is under tension in the closed state (comparison between deformation in the relaxed state/tensioned state shown in FIGS. 4 and 5), thus preventing the inadvertent opening of the two parts 13 and 14. Furthermore, the bulge 18 prevents the inadvertent opening in that the deformation 47 needs to be pushed over the bulge 18 during the opening of the closure element 42, thus producing a resistance.
Both the receiving element 1 and also the retention element 41 comprise through-openings 15, through which the liquid 37 enters into or exits from the receiving volume 20 at least during the drinking process and thus comes into contact with the tablets 2 situated in the receiving volume 20. As can be recognized in FIG. 2, the through-openings are arranged in regular intervals, thus producing a grid or lattice shape. The through-openings 15 allow the production of a beverage or the dispensing of substances, especially flavors and/nutrients and/or dietary supplements and/or medical compounds, from the tablets 2 to the liquid 37.
FIGS. 10 to 13 show alternative embodiments of the closure cap 7 in accordance with the invention, which can be screwed onto all standardized water bottles, especially PET bottles, by means of the thread 34. A closure cap according to the prior art is shown in FIG. 9 for comparison purposes. In order to help the user to unscrew and remove the closure cap 7, the closure caps 7 shown in FIGS. 10 to 13 have a surface structure 35 which is arranged in this case as fluting. Furthermore, the closure cap 7 comprises a cover 3 which is removable or can be folded away, by means of which the mouthpiece 33 (as shown in the drawings) can be covered.
FIG. 12 shows an axonometric view of the closure cap 7 of FIG. 10 with a partly exposed section and with a receiving element 1 in accordance with the invention and a retention element 41. The receiving volume 20 has a cylindrical shape.
An alternative embodiment is shown in FIGS. 6 to 8. The closure cap 7 comprises a closure element 42. In the closed state, which is shown in FIG. 6, it entirely seals the entrance 12, so that no liquid 37 can escape. In the open state 17 (shown in FIG. 7), the closure element 42 releases the entrance 12 and thus allows inserting a tablet 2 into the receiving volume 20 or removing said tablet from said volume. In this process (see FIG. 8), the receiving element 1 is situated on the side of the closure element 42 facing the thread 34, while the retention element 41 is situated on the side of the closure element 42 which faces the mouthpiece 33.
FIG. 14 shows an axonometric view of a schematically shown tablet 2 which is shown with a partly exposed section and which can be arranged in a receiving volume 20. In the case of the embodiment of tablet 2 which is shown in FIG. 14, it comprises a dispensing body shape 22 which fits into the receiving volume 20. One condition which needs to be fulfilled in any case is that a dispensing body volume 24 of the tablet 2 must not be greater than the receiving volume 20.
In order to keep the tablet 2 permanently in the dispensing body shape 22, the tablet 2 comprises a gauze 23 which is arranged on an exterior side 26 of the dispensing body.
FIG. 14 further shows that the dispensing body volume 24 is filled in sections by a plastic sponge 25. Balls 27 are also arranged in the dispensing body volume 24. The liquid 37 can advance through the plastic sponge 25 to the balls 27. The net-like fabric of the gauze 23 is also permeable to the liquid 37.
The balls 27 act as water-soluble elements in order to produce a beverage or release flavors and/or nutrients and/or dietary supplements and/or medical compounds, so that admixing to the liquid 37 can occur. For this purpose, the balls 27 are arranged according to the cross-sectional view of FIG. 15. This means that each ball 27 has a surface 29 which is formed by a water-soluble icing layer 28, which is preferably made of sugar. The icing layer 28 delimits an interior 30 of the ball and has a specific icing layer thickness 31. The substance to be added to the liquid 37 is arranged in the interior 30 of the ball, especially flavors and/or nutrients and/or dietary supplements and/or medical compounds. In the embodiment of FIG. 15, the interior 30 of the ball is filled with syrup 32.
The release of the syrup 32 or its mixing with/addition to the liquid 37 only occurs when the icing layer 28 with the icing layer thickness 31 has been dissolved.
The icing layer thickness 31 can be provided with different thicknesses in different balls 27, so that the dissolution of the icing layer 28 takes different lengths in time. The time progression of the admixing of the syrup 32 can be arranged accordingly. Furthermore, the different balls 27 can contain different substances in their respective interiors 30 of the balls. Some balls 27 can therefore contain syrup 32, whereas other balls 27 provide other substances, e.g. to provide an isotonic beverage after a specific period of contact of the balls 27 with the liquid 37.
Furthermore, the balls 27 can be provided with different sizes themselves, i.e. they can have differently large diameters as indicated in FIG. 14. In interaction with different icing layer thicknesses 31, it is thus possible to release different quantities of the substances situated in the interior 30 of the balls (e.g. syrups 32) depending on the duration of the contact of the balls 27 with the liquid 37.
It is finally also possible to arrange different substances (as explained above, not necessarily syrups 32) in differently large balls 27 with different icing layer thicknesses 31. As a result, the time progression of the admixing of different quantities of different substances to the liquid 37 can thus be determined.
FIG. 16 shows a further embodiment of a closure cap in accordance with the invention, where the closure cap 42 is formed as a slide which is displaceable along the jacket surface of the closure cap, namely downwardly from the closing position (away from the cover 3) to the open position. For this purpose, straight profile rails are provided on the inner side of the closure elements 42 close to the longitudinal edges, which profile rails engage in respective straight depressions 48 of the closure cap 7 which extend in parallel to the longitudinal axis 10. In all other respects, the configuration of the closure cap 7 is substantially identical to that of FIG. 13, namely with respect to the receiving element 1, the cover 3, the retention element 41 (not shown in FIG. 16), the thread 34 and the surface structure 35.
Mutually corresponding seals (not shown here) are provided on the transverse edges (extension in the circumferential direction of the closure cap 7) of the closure element 42 and on the transverse edges of the entrance 12, e.g. by means of sealing bulges on one part and respective depressions on the other part.
The embodiment according to FIG. 17 substantially corresponds to that of FIG. 16, but in this case the closure element 42 which is arranged as a slide is not displaceable along the longitudinal axis 10, but along the circumference of the closure cap 7. Annular profile rails are accordingly provided on the inner side of the closure element 42 close to the two transverse edges, which profile rails engage in respective annular depressions 48 of the closure cap 7, which depressions extend normally to the longitudinal axis 10, namely in the circumferential direction.
The embodiment according to FIG. 18 is very similar to that of FIG. 16, but the closure element 42 which is arranged in FIG. 18 as a slide is only upwardly displaceable from the closing position. The closure element rests on a stop of the closure cap 7 on the bottom side. The closure element 42 can thus not be pushed downwardly out of the depression 48 as a result of gravity or incorrect actuation and be separated from the closure cap 7. In order to prevent the closure element 42 from being pushed out in the upward direction, a protrusion could be provided on the bottom side of the closure element 42 which upon reaching the uppermost (open) position of the closure element 42 is retained by a respective element of the closure cap 7.
The closure cap 42 comprises on its inner side (=the side facing the closure cap) a respective profile rail 44 on the two longitudinal edges, which are guided in respective depressions 48 (grooves) of the closure cap 7. The profile of the profile rail 44 has a respective tapering portion in this case, which is engaged around by the profile rail 44, especially in an interlocking manner, so that the profile rail 44 cannot be pulled out of the depression 48 in the normal direction to its longitudinal extension. The longitudinal edges of the closure element 42 in FIG. 16 and the transverse edges of the closure element 42 in FIG. 17 could be guided and sealed similarly.
Since the depressions 48 are inwardly offset away from the jacket surface of the closure cap 7, the outside surface of the closure element 42 can be flush with the jacket surface.
The profile rails 44 and the depressions 48 seal the entrance 12 in a liquid-tight manner on the longitudinal edges of the closure element 42. It is shown in FIG. 22 that the upper transverse edge of the closure element 42 is sealed by means of a sealing bulge 49 which is arranged on the closure cap 7, extends in the circumferential direction and engages (especially in an interlocking manner) in a respective recess on the upper transverse edge of the closure element 42. The bottom transverse edge of the closure element 42 is sealed in the same way. The transverse edges of the closure element 42 in FIG. 16 and the longitudinal edges of the closure element 42 in FIG. 17 could be sealed in a similar way.
Limit stops or the like can be provided in all embodiments of FIGS. 16 to 23 in order to prevent the downward sliding off the closure element 42 from the closure cap.
In the embodiment according to FIGS. 18 to 23, the receiving element 1 and the retention element 41 are formed in an integral manner with the closure cap 7 and are made of plastic.
It would principally be possible in all embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 13 and 16 to 23 that the dispensing body is not placed directly through the entrance 12 in the receiving volume 20, but is placed in a removable (e.g. extractable, similar to a drawer) storage element which is introduced through the entrance 12 into the receiving volume 20 and can also be removed therefrom again. The storage element can come to lie in the receiving element 1 or can also replace said element.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

1 Receiving element
2 Dispensing body
3 Cover
4 Volume
5 Bottle
6 Inner wall of bottle
7 Closure cap
8 Operating position
9 Spout opening
10 Longitudinal axis
11 Closed position
12 Entrance
13 First part of closure cap
14 Second part of closure cap
15 Through-opening
16 Circular boundary element
17 Open closure element
18 Bulge
19 Notch
20 Receiving volume
21 Edge of the closure cap
22 Dispensing body shape
23 Gauze
24 Dispensing body volume
25 Plastic sponge
26 Exterior side of body
27 Ball
28 Icing layer
29 Surface of the ball
30 Interior of the ball
31 Thickness of the icing layer
32 Syrup
33 Mouthpiece
34 Thread
35 Surface structure
36 Base body of bottle
37 Liquid
38 Liquid level
39 Edge of the first part of the closure cap
40 Edge of the second part of the closure cap
41 Retention element
42 Closure element
43 Hinge-like connecting element
44 Profile rail
45 Jacket surface of the closure cap
46 Transition
47 Deformation
48 Depression for profile rail 44
49 Sealing bulge

Claims

1-30. (canceled)

31: A closure cap (7), preferably a screw cap, for mounting on a liquid container, preferably a bottle (5), more preferably a PET bottle, wherein the closure cap (7) comprises a spout opening (9), preferably a reclosable spout opening (9), and a receiving element (1), which together with the closure cap (7) forms a common receiving volume (20) for receiving at least one dispensing body (2), preferably at least one tablet, and the closure cap (7) can be opened, thus forming an entrance (12) to the receiving volume (20) in order to enable the introduction of the at least one dispensing body (2) into the receiving volume (20) or the removal of said body from the receiving volume (20), wherein the receiving element (1) is permeable to a liquid (37) in order to allow the at least one dispensing body (2) to come into contact with the liquid (37), wherein a closure element (42) connected to the closure cap (7) is provided, by means of which the entrance (12) can be sealed in a liquid-tight manner or released, wherein the closure element (42) is formed as a slide, which is displaceable along the jacket surface of the closure cap (7).

32: The closure cap (7) according to claim 31, wherein the receiving element (1) is arranged as a flat surface.

33: The closure cap (7) according to claim 31, wherein the closure cap (7) comprises a retention element (41) which is arranged between the receiving element (1) and the spout opening (9), wherein the retention element (41) is permeable to the liquid (37) in order to prevent the dispensing body (2) from reaching the spout opening (9).

34: The closure cap (7) according to claim 31, wherein the receiving element (1) is made of plastic.

35: The closure cap (7) according to claim 31, wherein the receiving volume (20) has the shape of a cylinder at least in sections.

36: The closure cap (7) according to claim 31, wherein the receiving element (1) comprises through-openings (15) which are preferably formed in the form of a grid or lattice.

37: The closure cap (7) according to claim 31, wherein the retention element (41) comprises through-openings (15) which are preferably formed in the form of a grid or lattice.

38: The closure cap (7) according to claim 31, wherein the receiving element (1) is entirely arranged in a volume formed by the closure cap (7).

39: The closure cap (7) according to claim 31, wherein the receiving element (1) is detachably fastened in the closure cap (7).

40: The closure cap (7) according to claim 33, wherein the retention element (41) is detachably fastened in the closure cap (7).

41: The closure cap (7) according to claim 31, wherein a circular boundary element (16) which protrudes in the direction of the spout opening is arranged on the receiving element (1) in order to prevent lateral slippage of the dispensing body (2) in the operating state.

42: The closure cap (7) according to claim 31, wherein the closure cap (7) comprises an extractable storage element for the dispensing body (2), which storage element corresponds to the entrance (12) and the receiving volume (20) and which is introduced into the receiving volume (20) through the entrance (12) and can be positioned on the receiving element (1).

43: The closure cap (7) according to claim 31, wherein the slide is displaceable in relation to the closure cap (7) by using a profile rail (44).

44: The closure cap (7) according to claim 31, comprising at least one dispensing body (2).