WO2000068092A2

WO2000068092A2 - Closure for a can end

Info

Publication number: WO2000068092A2
Application number: PCT/IT2000/000173
Authority: WO
Inventors: Graziella Fiorentini
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1999-05-07
Filing date: 2000-05-05
Publication date: 2000-11-16
Anticipated expiration: 2001-11-07
Also published as: IT247584Y1; WO2000068092A3; AU4610800A; ITRM990099U1

Abstract

A can for carbonated and non-carbonated beverages provided with an opening system comprising an opening device with a tearable tongue (22) defined by a tearing invitation score line in the upper surface of the can and with a tearing device (15) associated to said tearable tongue and aimed at tearing said tearable tongue and at opening the can, as well as with an hygienic cover (19) to protect the opening side of said can and possibly to contain a suitably coiled straw, wherein said tearing device for the tearable tongue (23) includes a second additional tongue, integrally connected to said tearable tongue and unremovably fixed to said can, so as to avoid that both said tongues be detached from the can, said additional tongue has a shape corresponding to the shape of said tearable tongue and slightly larger perimetral dimensions, in order to cover the possibly sharp tearing edges of said tearable tongue.

Description

IMPROVEMENTS TO CANS FOR CARBONATED AND NON- CARBONATED BEVERAGES AND TO CLOSURE SYSTEMS FOR THEM

This invention broadly relates to cans for supplying carbonated and non-carbonated beverages and more particularly it concerns some improvements to enable not only the opening operations of the cans to be more effectively carried out, but also to solve the two main problems raised by popular diffusion of this type of beverage containers. As it is known, the cans are presently the most popular means for retail sale of various beverages, in view of the transport ease as well as of the low manufacturing cost of them. Such containers are realised by a thin metal plate and are distributed on sale in tightly closed condition, so that opening thereof requires tearing of a portion of the wall of the container itself, usually at its upper surface, by means of a tongue that is provided with a slight score line aimed at aiding its tearing and with a small ring attached to the tearing tongue.

A first aspect of this invention relates to the broad problems connected with the opening operation of containers of this type. As the use of containers of this type became more and more popular, a problem of hygienic character was raised due to the fact that, after their manufacture and after filling or even during their shipping to the various distribution stations, such cans are usually maintained in stores that do not offer any hygienic or safety guarantee. When one considers that very rarely such cans can be washed before opening and that sometimes, after opening, they are brought in direct contact with the mouth of the consumer for drinking the content, it can be understood that the consumer runs a high risk of infection.

A second aspect of this invention, therefore, is to guarantee an hygienic use of the cans.

Since, together with the well known plastic bags, such cans represent a product that causes a noticeable contribute to environment contamination in view of their diffusion, particularly in connection with their opening tongue that, upon detaching thereof, is usually left lying around, a third aspect of this invention is to provide an opening system that does not entail the possibility to free and to detach tongues amenable to be abandoned also in potentially dangerous places, such as the sand of a beach, where they remain at hand of each child unaware of the danger.

With reference to this aspect, a subordinate problem, which is raised regardless of the fact that such tongues are disadvantageously realised with detachable construction, is due to the fact that such opening tongues, as above mentioned, are opened by a tearing operation aided by a slight score cut in the thickness of the can thin plate in the area of the can cover. This entails that the edge of the torn tongue as well as the edge of the aperture left in the cover after removal of the tongue unavoidably have tiny burrs that are very sharp. Even if this consequence can be of scarce relevance in respect of the can cover aperture, it can be extremely dangerous in respect of the tongue itself, that upon detachment from the can is to be considered as a sharp cutting and very dangerous waste item. All these issues are addressed by this invention that, in its preferred embodiment, comprises a can for carbonated and non- carbonated beverages provided with an opening system comprising an opening device with a tearable tongue defined by a tearing invitation score line in the upper surface of the can and with a tearing device associated to said tearable tongue and aimed at tearing said tearable tongue and at opening the can, as well as with an hygienic cover to protect the opening side of said can and possibly to contain a suitably coiled straw, wherein said tearing device for the tearable tongue includes a second additional tongue, integrally connected to said tearable tongue and unremovably fixed to said can, so as to avoid that both said tongues be detached from the can, said additional tongue has a shape corresponding to the shape of said tearable tongue and slightly larger perimetral dimensions, in order to cover the possibly sharp tearing edges of said tearable tongue.

Further particulars and advantages as well as characteristics and construction details will be evident from the following description with reference to enclosed drawings wherein the preferred embodiments are shown by way of illustration and not by way of limitation.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 shows an elevation view of a can with a hygienic cover, Figure 2 shows a plan upper view of the can of Figure 1 ,

Figure 3A shows a plan upper view of a can with a first type of opening device of the tearable tongue,

Figure 3B shows a plan upper view of a can with a second type of opening device of the tearable tongue, Figure 3C shows a plan upper view of a can with a third type of opening device of the tearable tongue,

Figure 4A shows a perspective view of a can with a fourth type of opening device of the tearable tongue,

Figure 5 shows a plan upper view of a can with a fifth type of opening device,

Figure 6 shows an elevation view of a can, partially in cross- section, to illustrate a fixing system of the tearing ring of the opening tearable tongue and with a false-bottom intended for containment of a straw in coiled form, Figure 7 shows an elevation view of the can illustrated in figure 6 with said false-bottom exposed in order to remove the coiled straw housed therein,

Figure 8 shows an exploded view of a can provided with an upper false-bottom, housing a straw in coiled form, and with an improved system for opening the can by removal of a tearable tongue,

Figure 9 shows the can of Figure 8 with the cover of the upper false-bottom in closed condition,

Figure 10 shows a can similar to the can of Figures 8 and 9, with a cover for the false-bottom fixed at one side and removable at the other side,

Figure 11 shows a plan upper view of an improved system for opening the tearable tongue, Figure 12 shows a partial cross-section view taken along line XII - XII of Figure 11 ,

Figure 13 shows a plan upper view of the can of Figure 11 in open condition, Figure 14 shows a partial cross-section view taken along line XIV -

XIV of Figure 13,

Figure 15 shows a plan upper view of a can with an opening system for the tearable tongue similar to the one shown in Figures 11 - 14,

Figure 16 shows a partial cross-section view taken along line XVI - XVI of Figure 15,

Figure 17 shows a detailed view of the two overposed tongues for the opening system of the tearable tongue of Figures 11 - 16.

By referring now to the Figures of the annexed drawings, it can be observed that Figure 1 shows a can the upper portion of which includes the opening device and is protected by means of a small cover 10 simply mounted by press-fitting it to its seat and made of plastic material or thin metal plate. Cover 10 is provided with a suitable removable or liftable tongue 11.

The opening device for the tearable tongue can be realised according to any one of the three embodiments shown in Figures 3A, 3B or 3C: in the embodiment of Figure 3A, tongue 12, defined by a score line cut into the upper surface layer of the can material, act as a tearable tongue and it is realised according to a sharp point shape. It is provided with an overposed tearing tongue 13 rigidly connected thereto by a suitable spot welding method. The tearing tongue 13 is aligned with but opposed to the tearable tongue 12.

Figure 3B shows an opening assembly similar to the one of Figure 3A, but having the two tongues 12A and 13A oriented in the same direction, in order that the point portion of the tearing tongue 13A acts upon the point portion of the tearable tongue 12A.

In Figure 3C, the tearable tongue 12B has a circular shape and the tearing tongue 13B is realised with a sharp point portion and it is fixed to the tearable tongue in such a way as to let its point portion to act just in the centre of the tearable tongue 12B.

In the embodiment shown in figures 4A and 4B, the tearable tongue 12C is again realised with a circular shape, but the tearing tongue 13C is realised as a ring exactly fixed to the central region of the tearable tongue 12C.

By referring now to Figures 5, 6 and 7, a further embodiment can be observed characterised in that the concerned can is realised with a bottom false-bottom, designed to house a straw in coiled form, so as to be protected in respect of bugs or rodents and like. The system for opening this kind of can includes a tearable tongue realised by means of a spiral score and removable by means of a ring shaped grip 15. Said ring 15 is made and fixed so as to be able to exert the maximum force upwardly not only upon a tearable tongue 14 realised according to Figures 5 and 6, but also upon a tearable tongue 12 or 12A or 12B or 12C realised according to any one of the previous Figures. It can be observed, in fact, that said ring

15 is realised with a Ω shape with two lower ends outwardly turned as hooks inserted through the tongue to be torn and possibly welded thereto, if desired , with insertion of an optional small plate 16, intended to better distributing the tearing stress upon a larger surface of the tongue to be torn.

An upper hygienic cover 17 designed to protect the aperture and a bottom false-bottom 18 designed to asectically house a coiled straw can be provide also in the embodiment of Figure 6. Should it be desired to arrange a coiled straw in an upper false- bottom, it will be sufficient that the involved cover 17 be realised with suitable height to form a room with sufficient height to contain the desired coiled straw.

Anyway, even if all above described embodiments have been found to be very effective from the point of view of the simplicity of the tearing operation and of hygienicity, they do not address the above mentioned problems of the environmental impact and of the danger connected with the sharp cutting edge of the tearable tongue after it has been torn.

It has been stressed that, aiming at preventing that the tearable tongue be unproperly abandoned and become a danger besides an environment contamination, upon opening the can and even assuring that the can is excellently open, it is necessary that the tongue is not detached from the can and it is not left lying around.

Furthermore, as above said, should even the tongue be completely detached and even more should it be left attached to the can, it is absolutely necessary that all unavoidable tiny and sharply cutting burrs formed by the tearing action do not represent a cutting danger for the hands and even more for the mouth of all those consumers who, regardless of any aesthetic consideration, wish to use the opened can as a drinking glass. The latter two problems are solved by the improved embodiments shown in figures 8 - 17.

Figure 8 shows an exploded view of a can having an upper false- bottom intended for housing a straw in coiled form, said can being provided with a closure system as detailedly shown in Figures 11 - 17, adapted to be opened in such a way as to retain the tearable tongue on to the can so as to eliminate any risk of injury. As it can be observed, the cover 19 is made of plastics or a thin metal sheet material and it has a sufficient height for forming, with the top surface of the can, a suitable pocket for housing a straw 22. It has two small tabs 20 and 21 by means of which it can be glued or welded to the can and it can be appreciated that one of said two tabs can be more easily detached than the other, so that the cover 19 can be raised only on one side, preferably on the opening side, without being completely removed from the can, as it is illustratively shown in Figure 10. By specifically referring to Figures 11 - 14, it can be observed that a second additional tongue 23 is overposed and attached upon said first tearable tongue 22, scored on the upper surface of the can, said second tongue 23 being characterised in that it is unremovably attached to the can and in that it has perimetral dimensions slightly larger than the dimensions of the tearable tongue 22.

In Figure 11 , the tearable tongue 22 is shown in dashed line and it is completely removable, so as to completely open a hole 24 as illustrated in Figures 13 and 14, for access to the beverage contained in the can.

In Figure 15, the tearable tongue 25 is again shown in dashed line, but it is not completely removable: it can be only partially raised, because it is realised by a partial score line in the upper surface of the can. In any case, it has dimensions smaller than the dimensions of the overposed or additional tongue 26, which is anyway unremovably attached to the can.

The rigid connection between the two tongues is realised by means of a technique selected among spot welding, line welding, pressure or cold upsetting, thermocompression or glueing, so as to guarantee in any case a suitable tearing of the tearable tongue. In both embodiments of Figures 11 - 17, two essential characteristics are to be remarked because two completely novel and advantageous effects can be obtained therefrom.

In the first place, when the can is opened, the tearable tongue 22 or 25 is never completely detached from the can, in that it remains affixed to the additional tongue 23 or 26 which, in turn, is unremovably attached to the can. By this means, it is possible to eliminate the risk that the tearable tongue be completely detached and left lying around. In the second place, since the tearable tongue has dimensions smaller than the dimensions of the additional tongue, all sharp edges caused by the tearing action thereof, as it is apparent in the detailed view of Figure 17, are always located inwardly with respect to the edges of the additional tongue which are blunt and not dangerous and, therefore, such sharp and cutting edges are covered and "protected", thereby eliminating any risk that the users of the can be accidentally injured. The preferred embodiments of this invention have been described and a number of variations have been suggested hereinbefore, but it should expressly be understood that those skilled in the art can make other variations and changes to the details and to the construction particulars and can exploit all construction and operation features as above described and as shown in the enclosed drawings, individually or in any combination thereof, without so departing from the scope of this invention.

Claims

1.- A can for carbonated and non-carbonated beverages provided with an opening system comprising an opening device with a tearable tongue defined by a tearing invitation score line in the upper surface of the can and with a tearing device associated to said tearable tongue and aimed at tearing said tearable tongue and at opening the can, as well as with an hygienic cover to protect the opening side of said can and possibly to contain a suitably coiled straw, characterised in that said tearing device for the tearable tongue includes a second additional tongue, integrally connected to said tearable tongue and unremovably fixed to said can, so as to avoid that both said tongues be detached from the can, said additional tongue has a shape corresponding to the shape of said tearable tongue and slightly larger perimetral dimensions, in order to cover the possibly sharp tearing edges of said tearable tongue.

2.- A can for beverages according to claim 1 , characterised in that said score line by which said tearable tongue is defined is complete, so as to allow a complete detachment of said tearable tongue from said can.

3.- A can for beverages according to claim 1 , characterised in that said score line by which said tearable tongue is defined is partial, so that it does not allow a complete detachment of said tearable tongue from said can, but only allows it to be lifted.

4.- A can for beverages according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 3, characterised in that said rigid integral connection between the tearable tongue and the additional tearing tongue is realised by means of a technique selected among spot welding, line welding, pressure or cold upsetting, thermocompression or glueing, so as to guarantee in any case a suitable tearing of the tearable tongue.

5.- A can for beverages according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 4, characterised in that said hygienic cover is applied to the upper side of the can and it defines a false-bottom thereon intended for housing a straw in coiled form.

6.- A can for carbonated and non-carbonated beverages provided with an opening system comprising an opening device with a tearable tongue defined by a tearing invitation score line in the upper surface of the can and with a tearing device associated to said tearable tongue and aimed at tearing said tearable tongue and at opening the can, as well as with an hygienic cover to protect the opening side of said can and possibly to contain a suitably coiled straw, characterised in that said tearable tongue has a circular or coiled shape and said tearing device is a Ω shaped ring with its two lower ends bent as hooks, inserted through the tongue to be torn and possibly welded thereon, if desired with interposition of a small plate for evenly distributing the tearing force.

7.- A can for carbonated and non-carbonated beverages provided with an opening system comprising an opening device with a tearable tongue according to any one of the preceding claims and substantially as described and shown in the Figures of the annexed drawings.