WO2000046116A1 - Oriented closure device and container - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention concerns a container assembly provided with a top having a cylindrical neck (3) and a cap (10) including a base (11) to be fixed on said container top, the cap base being provided with an outer skirt (13) whereof the wall is adjacent to that (1) of the container. The outline representing the boundary between the cap outer skirt and that of the container is of any kind but is not centred on the neck axis. The container is provided with an inclined shoulder (2). The cap base is provided with a sealing skirt (14) penetrating inside the neck and several axial blades (12a, 12b) whereof the sections are preferably in the form of annular sectors. The neck is provided with a discontinuous annular rib (4), leaving one or several gaps (9a, 9b) matching the shapes of the corresponding axial blade sections. The neck and the axial blades are provided with matching snap-on means (6 and 16).

Description

 ORIENTED CAPPING DEVICE AND CONTAINER

TECHNICAL AREA

The present invention relates to flexible tubes intended to contain and distribute substances of liquid to pasty consistency, which are removed by finger pressure. These are in particular elliptical tubes, the head of which is provided with a capsule - service provided with an external skirt extending the flexible elliptical skirt of the tube, for example tubes of creams, gels or pastes belonging to the cosmetic and dermopharmaceutical fields. . More generally, the fixing system developed within the framework of this invention applies to all containers or tubes provided with a head having a cylindrical neck on which a capsule whose external skirt does not have a substantially irreversible fixing not a symmetry of revolution with respect to the axis of the neck. In particular, the skirt of said capsule may be in the extension of the flexible skirt of the tube or of the body of the container, when the capsule is pressed in and fixed on the neck.

Usually, the tubes have a neck delimiting a dispensing orifice and provided with an external thread to receive a removable plug which can be assembled by screwing onto the tube. These plugs, usually small, are likely to be lost by users. In addition, their screwing and unscrewing occupy both hands of the user. To avoid these inconveniences, the plug was replaced on cylindrical tubes by a hinged capsule, also called a service capsule, comprising a part intended to be fixed in a substantially irreversible manner on the neck of the tube (the base) and on which is articulated a movable part (the cap) comprising the means for closing the distribution channel, the assembly being can be operated with one hand. If such closures have been developed in number on cylindrical skirt tubes, it is not the same so far for tubes with elliptical skirt because of the technical difficulties described below.

Beyond said hinged capsules, the outer skirt of which is designed for aesthetic reasons as an extension of the elliptical skirt, the problem arises for any oriented closure device for which continuity is sought between the wall of the capsule and that of a container, once it has been secured to said container. Such a device is secured in a substantially irreversible manner, for example by snap-fastening, on the head of the container which is provided with a cylindrical neck. This device is oriented in the sense that it has no axis symmetry and that it is sought to fix it on the container while respecting a precise relative position of one with respect to the other.

STATE OF THE ART

A hinged capsule does not have axial symmetry, which poses the problem of its orientation relative to the decoration of the skirt of the tube which generally has a sign (name, logo, drawing, etc.) identifying the product contained. For practical, aesthetic and commercial reasons, it is considered desirable that, when the consumer rotates the movable cap of the capsule around its hinge, he can observe the decor. It is therefore a question of fixing the hinged capsule by orienting it precisely with respect to the skirt. On tubes with circular cylindrical skirt, several systems for orienting the capsule to the tube have been proposed, for example in application EP-A-0 633 197. In this application, the applicant has developed a locking system sure. The capsule is pressed onto the head of the tube and then locked by rotation at the end of insertion of the capsule. The locking means comprise an axial blade, flexible elastically in the radial direction, carried by the capsule and profiled axial portions carried by the shoulder of the tube, the first portion having a first inclined wall against which the blade slides while deforming elastically during screwing, and a second portion serving as a stop for the axial blade having returned to its equilibrium position after it has passed against the first portion. The blade is thus trapped between the second portion which serves as a stop for rotation and the second wall of the first portion which, having a V-shaped notch, serves as a stop for the opposite rotational movement.

Such a system is very effective on large-scale production lines for tubes with a circular cylindrical skirt because it only requires mechanical means to guide the capsule with respect to the decoration of the skirt. Unfortunately, it cannot be used on all elliptical tubes due to the rotation imposed on the capsule after it has been inserted, the angle of rotation possibly reaching nearly 360 °. On the one hand, it is not possible to choose all the shapes of ellipse, in particular very flat ellipses, because the axial portions, intended to trap the axial blade, are an obstacle to the free rotation of the capsule until to imprisonment of the blade. On the other hand, the capsule has an outer skirt which, for aesthetic reasons, must extend the flexible elliptical skirt of the tube. The rotation can only be free if the two non-circular contours intended to coincide remain distant from each other and remain in clearly distinct planes. Thus, after complete attachment of the capsule to the tube, there is a break in continuity between the wall of the tube and that of the capsule, over a width at least equal to the thickness of the wall of the capsule skirt, typically 1 millimeter; it is in the sense that we say that these walls are not adjacent. This goes against the desired aesthetic effect and reduces safety against soiling.

Known solutions in the field of container or bottle closures make it possible to obtain the adjacency of the walls by fitting the end of the outer skirt of the capsule around a sidewalk of low height. GB 1 414 957 presents a capsule, the open elliptical end of which is fitted around an elliptical sidewalk of low height formed on the shoulder of the tube. But such an installation, badly guided because it is done at the last moment - at the end of insertion of the capsule, when the latching force is the highest -, can only be carried out manually and is not suitable for industrial capping at high rates. It does not give an economically satisfactory solution when it is a question of fixing capsules, such as service capsules, in a substantially irreversible manner. In addition, the orientation of the capsule is only ensured in this case to within 180 °, which is not sufficient with service capsules whose cap must open in a specific determined direction relative to the skirt decor.

PROBLEM

Starting from the problem posed by the production of an elliptical tube provided with a capsule - service whose external skirt is after irreversible fixing in the extension of the elliptical skirt of the tube, the applicant sought to develop a system of fixing of an oriented capsule on a container whose head is provided with a cylindrical neck, the capsule having after substantially irreversible fixing on the head of the container, an external skirt whose wall is adjacent to that of the container, their common outline n not being a circle centered on the axis of the neck. OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

A first object of the invention is a container, as described and claimed in claim 1, intended to be provided with a particular oriented capsule.

A second object of the invention is an oriented capsule, as described and claimed in claim 1 1, intended to be fixed on the container according to the invention.

A third object of the invention is the assembly obtained after substantially irreversible fixing of the capsule according to the invention on the container according to the invention. A fourth object of the invention is the capping method using the container according to the invention and the capsule according to the invention.

The container is of any shape, but it is provided with a head having a cylindrical dispensing neck and with a capsule comprising a base intended to be fixed in a substantially irreversible manner on the container head, said capsule base and said container having complementary means for locking in rotation and in translation with respect to one another.

The base of the capsule is provided with a generally cylindrical sealing skirt, the end of which is slightly frustoconical to facilitate its introduction into the orifice delimited by the cylindrical neck. Near this sealing skirt and outwards, the base of the capsule is also provided with one or more axial blades. Preferably, to reduce its size, the (each) axial blade has the shape of an annular sector whose axis coincides with that of the sealing skirt. The base of the capsule is connected to an external skirt of any shape but whose open end has a shape such that it is flush with the wall of the container when the This module is fixed substantially irreversibly on the head of the container. The common contour, that is to say the curve defined by the intersection between the wall of the outer skirt of the capsule and the wall of the container, is hereinafter called "border contour" because it separates the head of the container - fitted with its neck - the container body. The open end of the outer skirt of the capsule coincides with this boundary contour when the capsule is fixed in a substantially irreversible manner on the head of the container. It does not have the shape of a circle centered on the axis of the sealing skirt.

The neck, cylindrical, is provided on its outer wall with a discontinuous annular rib, leaving one or more intervals which act as a lock in which the key formed by the axial blade (s) can easy to introduce.

The substantially irreversible attachment of the capsule to the container is ensured by immobilization in rotation which we will describe below and immobilization in axial translation preferably carried out by snap-fastening. For example, the neck is provided with a latching bead under the discontinuous annular rib and the axial blades are provided with an additional latching bead on their internal wall. The latching means are placed so that the immobilization and the substantially irreversible fixing of the capsule are carried out when the open end of the outer skirt of the capsule is flush with the wall of the container.

The container is provided with an inclined shoulder, in the sense that at least in the vicinity of its portion closest to the axis of the neck, it is not perpendicular to the walls of the container and the neck. Preferably, its slope is locally greater than 60 ° - that is to say that in the parts where it is closest to the axis of the neck, the shoulder makes an angle with the latter less than 30 ° - so that there is fairly early in the insertion of the capsule local contact between this part of the shoulder and the internal wall of the external skirt of the capsule. Once this contact has been established, the latter evolves spatially during the insertion of the capsule so that the insertion force remains minimal, the open end of the outer skirt of the capsule thus being naturally guided towards its position. final. At the end of insertion, said open end is flush with the wall of the container. The open end of the outer skirt of the capsule is delimited by any contour, flat or left, but which must not be a circle centered on the axis of the sealing skirt if one wishes to obtain precise positioning.

The shoulder is a transition surface generated between the circle at the base of the neck and the border curve, defined above, located opposite the outcrop between the outer skirt of the capsule and the wall of the container. To obtain as quickly as possible a contact between the shoulder and the open end of the capsule, as well as an effective guiding of said end towards its final position, the shoulder must have the shape of a dome passing through the two aforementioned curves and having a convexity - calculated with respect to the outside of the container - preferably positive or zero, so as to obtain a better rate of return of the product. The shoulder in the latter case has the form of a regulated surface generated between said two curves.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the border contour serves as a support for a sidewalk of low height and around which the open end of the outer skirt of the capsule is fitted at the end of insertion of said capsule , which ensures a precise position of said capsule oriented on the container. The assembly thus described allows precise positioning of the cap on the head of the ^'container when fixed thereto substantially irreversibly, for example by using a capping machine at high speed:

a) Firstly, the capsule is brought into view of the head of the container without precise prior positioning. The sealing skirt is introduced into the neck, which allows a first alignment of the axes of the capsule and the neck. The capsule thus introduced into the neck sees its axial blade abut against the discontinuous annular rib. To facilitate proper alignment of the axes of the neck and the sealing skirt, the neck extends beyond the discontinuous annular rib by a sufficient height, preferably greater than 3 mm.

b) The capsule is then rotated, up to 360 °, until the key formed by the axial blade can enter the lock formed by the interval of the discontinuous annular rib. The discontinuous annular rib may not be flat, what matters is the key effect. However, for reasons of assembly at high rates, the clearance between key and lock cannot be too tight, which means that positioning cannot be done within ± ± 15 °.

c) Once the key is engaged in the lock, the capsule undergoes an axial translational movement until it is immobilized and substantially irreversible fixing, for example by snap-fastening. Precise positioning is ensured by the inclined shoulder, which allows the base of the capsule to be guided towards the desired final position, by bringing the shoulder into contact with the internal part of the external skirt of the base. and guided sliding from the open end on said shoulder to the final position. The final positioning is carried out by coincidence of the contour of the open end of the outer skirt of the base of the capsule and the border contour of the container, defined geometrically as being the intersection of the surface on which the wall of the capsule rests with that on which the wall of the container rests, said contours not being, first, a circle centered on the axis of the sealing skirt, the second, a circle centered on the axis of the neck.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the capsule is made of plastic. To preserve it, it is desirable to reduce the forces acting on the neck. For this purpose, the base of the capsule comprises, attached at one of their ends to the base of said capsule, at least two axial blades irregularly distributed and / or of different sections which play a key role at the time of insertion of the capsule on the head of the tube. Preferably, these blades have the form of annular sectors whose common axis coincides with that of the sealing skirt. The neck is provided with a discontinuous annular rib having irregularly distributed intervals and / or unequal areas, corresponding to the axial blades of the capsule, in the sense that they play the role of a lock in which the key formed by the axial blades can be inserted easily. The portions of the discontinuous annular rib could possibly not be on the same plane, what counts is the key effect as well as the irregularity of positioning and / or shape leading to the absence of any symmetry which could for example allow positioning to within 180 °.

When the head of the container is itself made of plastic, it is also desirable to provide the discontinuous annular rib. For this purpose, each annular rib portion of the neck is preferably extended at at least one of its ends by a longitudinal radial rib serving as a stop for rotation and as a guide during the axial insertion of the capsule. The rotational speeds of the capsule being generally high due to the imposed production rates, it is possible that there is still a residual rotational speed when the key formed by the axial blades enters the lock formed by the intervals The longitudinal radial rib makes it possible to increase the abutment surface therefore the resistance opposing said residual rotation

The multiplicity of axial blades also allows, if they are regularly distributed, to improve the maintenance of the capsule on the container head. Indeed, by providing axial ribs the internal wall of the axial blades regularly distributed, it is possible to reinforce the maintenance the alignment provided by the sealing skirt by giving a sufficient radial height to these ribs so that they come to touch the external wall of the neck and trap it between them and the sealing skirt On the other hand , the possibilities of axial translation are limited if these ribs are given a height such that they come into abutment on the latching flange of the neck, trapping the latter between them and the complementary latching flange of the axial blades limit the driving forces, this last additional snap-on bead can be replaced by snap rings located just in the extension of these ribs, preferably in the extension of only part of these ribs

The axial blades serve on the one hand as a key, on the other hand as a means of substantially irreversible displacement (snap-fastening for example). They contribute to the firm holding of the capsule on the neck thanks to the axial ribs with which they are provided. if the geometrical configuration allows it, to reinforce the holding of these axial blades by external fabrics perpendicular to the wall of the blade and reinforcing the latter at the level of the snap rings

The example given below in order to better understand the invention describes a particular geometry which should not be considered as being limiting. It is a tube with a flexible elliptical skirt fitted with a service capsule, the base of which has an external skirt in line with the elliptical skirt of the tube. The tube has a head comprising a cylindrical neck extended by a non-straight shoulder which connects it to said flexible elliptical skirt.

Figure 1 shows a section of the assembly of the elliptical tube head and the capsule by a plane passing through the major axis of the envelope ellipse of the assembly. The capsule is fixed on the tube head by snap-fastening.

FIG. 2 shows in perspective the capsule, the open end of which reveals the fixing means and the tube head, the cylindrical neck of which is provided with complementary fixing means.

FIG. 3 represents a variant of the previous example, where the shoulder is not provided with an elliptical sidewalk and where the end of the capsule is a left contour, in "horse saddle", deduced from the intersection between the wall of the capsule and that of the shoulder.

EXAMPLE 1 (Figures 1, 2)

The tube of the example is provided with a service capsule 10 composed of a cap 30 and a base 1 1. The base has an external skirt 13 in the extension of the elliptical skirt 1 of the tube. The tube has a head comprising a cylindrical neck 3 extended by an inclined shoulder 2 which connects it to the flexible elliptical skirt 1.

The ellipse which constitutes the envelope form of the flexible skirt 1 of the tube and of the external skirt 13 of the base 11 of the service capsule 10 has a major axis of approximately 44 mm and a minor axis of approximately 22 mm. The base of the capsule and the head have complementary means for locking in rotation and in translation with respect to one another. Two axial blades 12a and 12b, diametrically opposite but of unequal sections, are attached at one of their ends 18 to the base 11 of said capsule; all of these blades 12a and 12b play the key when the capsule is pressed onto the head of the tube. The neck 3, cylindrical, is provided with a discontinuous annular rib 4, the attachment of which is shown diagrammatically in broken lines in FIG. 1 and the two parts 4a and 4b of which are shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, leaving at least two diametrically opposite intervals 9a and 9b and of unequal extent which play the role of a lock in which the key formed by the axial blades 12a and 12b can be easily inserted. The shape of each gap (9a; 9b) is complementary to that of the section of the corresponding axial blade (12a; 12b): thus, although the blades are diametrically opposite, the positioning of the capsule on the tube cannot do at 180 °.

A shoulder 2, inclined, makes the transition between the cylindrical neck 3 and the elliptical skirt 1. Near the junction with the elliptical skirt 1, the shoulder 2 has a sidewalk 5 high of about 1.5 millimeters. The shoulder 2 is a ruled surface generated by a straight line resting on a circle at the base of the neck and on the ellipse at the top of the sidewalk. It is inclined in the sense that it is not perpendicular to the walls of the skirt 1 and the neck 3. At the level of the major axis, its slope is close to 20 ° and at the level of the minor axis, the slope of the part 8 of the shoulder is around 60 °. The internal wall of the external elliptical skirt 13 of the base of the capsule 10 arrives, at the level of the minor axis (zone 20) in contact with this part 8 of the shoulder and is guided progressively by the latter to the position final. At the end of insertion, the open end 21 of said external elliptical skirt 13 arrives on the sidewalk 5, its internal wall marrying, by overlapping it, the elliptical shape of the sidewalk 5 of the shoulder 2. The cylindrical neck 3 is long enough to ensure centering of the service capsule 10 and good alignment of the axes of the sealing skirt 14 of the capsule and of the neck before introduction of said skirt into said neck. The substantially irreversible fixing is ensured by latching means: a latching bead 6 under the discontinuous rib (4a and 4b) of the neck and a latching bead 16 on the internal wall of the axial blades (12a and 12b) of capsule 10.

Each portion 4a and 4b of circumferential rib is extended at one of its ends by a longitudinal radial rib (7a and 7b) serving as a stop for rotation and as a guide during the axial insertion of the capsule 10.

Each axial strip 12a and 12b has on its internal wall three regularly distributed radial ribs 17 which are used to maintain the capsule correctly on the tube head.

Reinforcement ribs (15al and 15a2; 15b1 and 15b2) are arranged perpendicular to the side walls of the axial blades. When the latching bead 16 is not continuous (to reduce the driving force during latching), it is replaced by latching rods arranged as regularly as possible. The reinforcing ribs are then preferably placed with respect to said snap rings, so as to locally give the axial blade an additional rigidity favorable to maintaining the snap. Preferably, these reinforcing ribs do not extend to the outer skirt in order to avoid any unsightly phenomenon (coloring, different mattness at the wall intersections). EXAMPLE 2 (Figure 3)

Example 2 is a variant of the previous example, where the outer skirt 13 of the capsule is not an extension of the flexible elliptical skirt 1 and where the shoulder 3 is not provided with the elliptical pavement 5. The open end 21 ′ of the capsule is a left contour, in the shape of a "horse saddle", coinciding with the contact contour, defined geometrically by the intersection between the cylinder of elliptical orthogonal section carrying the outer skirt of the base of the capsule and the set surface carrying the wall of the shoulder.

ADVANTAGES OF THE PROCESS ACCORDING TO THE INVENTION

• Simple and safe system to fix a capsule in the right position by reaching high production rates.

Claims

1. Container provided with a head comprising a substantially circular cylindrical dispensing neck (3) and a shoulder (2) connecting said neck to the rest of said container, said container being intended to receive the oriented capsule (10) of any one of claims 1 1 to 14, comprising a base (1 1) provided with one or more axial blades (12a, 12b) and an external skirt (13) whose open end (21), at the end of insertion of said capsule onto said container is flush with the wall of said container by defining a border contour on the wall of said container, characterized in that: - the neck (3) is provided with a discontinuous annular rib (4, 4a, 4b), leaving one or more intervals (9a, 9b) playing the role of a lock intended to cooperate with the blade (s) axial (s) (12a, 12b) of said oriented capsule (10); - the neck is provided with immobilization means in axial translation (6) cooperating with those (16) of said oriented capsule (10) so that axial immobilization occurs when the open end (21) of the skirt outer (13) of the capsule (10) is flush with the wall of the container. - The shoulder (2) has the shape of a dome which passes through said border contour and a circle at the base of the neck, the convexity of said dome, calculated relative to the outside of the container, being positive or zero. 2. Container according to claim 1 characterized in that it is a flexible tube. 3. Container according to claim 1 or 2 in which the shoulder (2) is a regulated surface resting on a circle at the base of the neck (3) and the border contour. 4. Container according to claim 3, wherein the slope of the shoulder (2) is, in its part (8) closest to the axis of said neck (3), greater than 60 °. 5 container according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the border contour is an ellipse 6. Container according to claim 5 wherein the shoulder (2) is provided with an elliptical sidewalk (5), so that at the end of insertion of said capsule (10) on said neck (3), l the open end (21) of the external skirt (13) of said capsule is fitted around said sidewalk 7 A container according to any one of claims 1 to 6, in which the neck (3) projects beyond the discontinuous annular rib (4, 4a, 4b) by a height greater than 3 mm. Container according to any one of Claims 1 to 7, in which the portions of said discontinuous annular rib (4, 4a, 4b) are extended at at least one of their ends by a longitudinal radial rib (7a, 7b) A container according to any one of claims 1 to 8 in which the discontinuous annular rib (4) has only one gap 10 A container according to any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the discontinuous annular rib (4a, 4b) has at least two regularly distributed intervals and uneven areas 1 1 oriented capsule (10), comprising a base (1 1) and an external skirt (13) intended to be fixed in a substantially irreversible manner on the head of the container according to any one of claims 1 to 10, said container comprising a neck (3) substantially cylindrical with a rib discontinuous annular (4, 4a, 4b), said base (1 1) being provided with a sealing skirt (14) entering inside said neck, characterized in that - The open end (21) of said outer skirt (13) has a shape which does not have symmetry of revolution with respect to the axis of said sealing skirt (14) and which is such that at the end of pressing said capsule onto said container, said open end is flush with the wall of said container. - Said base (1 1) of the capsule (10) is provided with a set of axial blades (12a, 12b) near said sealing skirt, said set w playing the role of a key inserted in the set of intervals (9a, 9b) of the discontinuous rib (4a, 4b) of said neck (3), the set of axial blades (12a, 12b) also being provided with means of immobilization in axial translation (16 ) cooperating with those (6) of the neck, so that the axial immobilization occurs when the open end (21) of the outer skirt (13) of the capsule (10) is flush with the wall of the container. 12. Capsule according to claim 1 1 wherein said axial blades (12a; 12b) have the shape of annular sectors whose common axis coincides with that of said sealing skirt (14). 0 13. Capsule according to claim 1 1 or 12 in which the base is only provided with an axial blade. 14. Capsule according to claim 1 1 or 12, wherein the base is provided with at least two axial blades (12a, 12b) regularly distributed and of unequal sections 15. Set of a container according to claim 9 and a capsule according to claim 13; 0 16. Set of a container according to claim 10 and an oriented capsule according to claim 14. 17. The assembly of claim 15 or 16 wherein the means of immobilization in axial translation which are provided with the neck (3) and the axial blades (12a, 12b) are complementary snap beads (6 and 16). 18. The assembly of claim 17, characterized in that said axial blades (12a, 12b) are provided on their internal walls with axial ribs (17) regularly distributed, of axial height such that they abut against the bead of snap-fitting (6) of the neck (3) at the end of insertion and of radial height such that they are in contact with the external wall of the neck (3) when the capsule is fixed to said neck. 19. The assembly of claim 17 or 18, characterized in that said axial blades (12a, 12b) are provided with regularly distributed snap rings, located in the extension of all or part of said axial ribs (1 7) and in that that with regard to said snap rings are arranged reinforcing fabrics (15) perpendicular to the side wall of said axial blades. 20. A capping method using the capsule (10) according to claim 1 1 and the container according to claim 1 characterized in that a) said capsule is brought to the view of the head of said container then the assembly is subjected to a force of relative axial insertion from one to the other, so that said sealing skirt (14) is introduced into said neck (3) until at least one axial blade (12a, 12b) abuts against said discontinuous annular rib (4, 4a, 4b). b) The capsule, always subjected to a slight axial bearing force in the direction of the container, is subjected to a relative rotation relative to the neck of the container until the key formed by the blade (s) axial (s) (12a, 12b) can (s) enter the lock constituted by I '(the) gap (s) (9a, 9b) of the discontinuous annular rib (4, 4a, 4b). c) Once said key engaged in said lock, the capsule (10), still subjected to the relative axial driving force, follows an axial translational movement until immobilization and substantially irreversible fixing, while having the possibility of rotate around the axis of the sealing skirt, the rotation being guided by the progressive contact between the inclined shoulder and the internal part of the external skirt (13) of the base (1 1) of the capsule (10) and the final positioning being obtained by bringing the outline of the open end (21) of the outer skirt (13) into coincidence with the boundary outline of the container, the latter not having symmetry of revolution about the axis respectively of the sealing skirt (14) and of the axis of the neck (3).