ORDER FOR CLOSING A CONTAINER

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of receptacle caps.

[0002] Conventionally, caps are fixed to the opening of a receptacle, such as a neck, by screwing. The cap and neck are then provided with complementary screw threads that cooperate together. When the user wishes to close or open the receptacle, he makes a screwing or unscrewing movement in one direction or the other and, after several turns, either the receptacle is closed or it is open.

[0003] There are also closure assemblies comprising a neck and a cap which do not include a screw thread, such as that described in document US2004 / 173562 A1.

[0004] However, obtaining caps with or without a screw thread has disadvantages, particularly in terms of demolding the cap.

[0005] There is therefore a need for a stopper that is easy to mold.

[0006] For this purpose, the present invention provides a cap configured for closing a receptacle comprising a neck. Said cap comprises: at least one projecting element configured to cooperate with a groove located on said neck so that the cap passes from a first position, in particular open, to a second position, in particular closed, at least one opening located on an upper wall of said cap, said opening(s) being in line with the projecting elements of said cap, a sealing element configured to provide a seal between the cap and the neck, said sealing element being radially offset relative to said projecting element.

[0007] In other words, the cap according to the invention is free of screw thread. To allow, however, the opening or closing of the receptacle, the invention provides at least one projecting element which cooperates with a groove located on the neck of the receptacle.

[0008] Unlike the threads of the caps of the state of the art, the projecting element(s) of the cap according to the invention can be obtained by molding from above and below. In other words, a part of the mold bearing the imprint of a first part of the cap comes from above and another part bearing the imprint of the rest of the cap comes from below. For this type of molding, the cap has at least one opening on its upper wall in line with the projecting elements. The seal with the receptacle is then ensured despite the openings, by the sealing element positioned judiciously.

[0009] A cap is understood to mean an object allowing the reversible sealing of a receptacle, in particular of a product outlet opening. A cap according to the invention can thus move from an open position to a closed position and vice versa, mainly by a screwing movement or equivalent. The present invention does not include closure assemblies, such as a hinged service cap, permanently fixed to the opening and comprising a passage orifice for the product outlet and a hinged cap allowing said orifice to be sealed.

[0010] According to different embodiments of the invention, which may be taken together or separately: the cap moves from the open position to the closed position by a rotational and / or translational movement, said sealing element is located on an internal surface of the upper wall, said protruding element(s) are located on a peripheral internal surface of said cap, said groove(s) of the neck extending on an external surface of said neck, said sealing element is located radially set back from said openings of said cap, said sealing element is a deformable element, the number of protruding elements of said cap, the number of openings of said cap and the number of grooves of said neck are identical, said protruding element(s) of said cap are located on the lower part of the internal surface of said cap, said protruding element(s) of said cap are sized so as to correspond to the width of said groove,said opening(s) of said cap are regularly distributed over the upper wall of said cap, said opening(s) of said cap are located on the periphery of the upper wall, said projecting element(s) of said cap are regularly distributed over the periphery of the inner surface of said cap, said sealing element is a sealing ring formed by an excess thickness of material on the inner surface of the upper wall of said cap, said sealing ring is configured to cooperate with a ring seat provided on an inner surface at the upper end of said neck when said cap is in the closed position, said cap further comprises a punch adapted to cut and / or pierce a seal closing an inner end of the neck opening into an inner volume of the receptacle, a base of the punch is surrounded by said sealing element,the punch is configured to be kept away from said cover in a waiting position, the cap is molded, the cap is made in one piece, the cap is made of plastic, the cap is made of thermoplastic material, such as a polyolefin such as polypropylene, polyethylene, a copolymer thereof or a mixture thereof, the groove(s) extend on the external surface of said neck from an upper end located towards an outlet orifice of the neck to a lower end opposite said upper end of said neck, the groove(s) comprise at least one projecting element configured to cooperate with at least one of the projecting elements of said cap to keep said cap in the waiting position, said grooves are regularly distributed around the periphery of the external surface of said neck.

[0011] The invention also relates to an assembly for closing a receptacle, said assembly comprising a neck and a cap as described above.

[0012] Other characteristics, aims and advantages of the invention will emerge from the following description, which is purely illustrative and non-limiting, and which must be read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which: there figure 1 presents a perspective view of a stopper according to a first embodiment of the invention; the figure 2 shows a perspective view from above of the cap of the figure 1 ; there figure 3 shows an axial sectional view of the plug of the Figures 1 and 2 ; there figure 4 shows a perspective view of a stopper comprising a punch according to a second embodiment of the invention; the Figure 5 shows an axial sectional view of the plug of the figure 4 ; there figure 6shows a perspective view of a partially illustrated receptacle, including a neck for the caps of the figures 1 to 5 ; there figure 7 presents an elevation view of the receptacle of the figure 6 on which the cap of the figures 4 and 6 is in waiting position; the figure 8 shows an axial sectional view of the receptacle of the figure 7 in which the cap is in the closed position.

[0013] Throughout the figures, common elements are identified by identical numerical references.

[0014] As illustrated in the various figures, the invention relates to a cap 1 configured for closing a receptacle comprising a neck 3. Said cap 1 is thus designed to be fixed on said neck 3 to close said receptacle and form an assembly comprising the neck 3 and said cap 1.

[0015] In the examples illustrated here, the receptacle is a tube 5 comprising a tube head 7 provided with said neck 3, defining a longitudinal axis ZZ, and a shoulder 9.

[0016] Generally, said cap 1 comprises a peripheral wall 11 and an upper wall 13. A longitudinal direction of the cap 1 is defined, corresponding to the longitudinal axis ZZ of the neck 3 when the cap 1 is fixed on the neck 3.

[0017] The external surface of said peripheral wall 11 may be provided with longitudinal grooves 11a in order to facilitate the handling of the cap 1.

[0018] According to the invention, the cap, in particular the internal surface of its peripheral wall 11, is free of screw thread. On the other hand, at least one projecting element 15 is located on this internal surface. The said projecting element(s) 15 are configured to cooperate with a guide groove 17 extending on an external surface of the said neck 3 so that the cap 1 passes from an open position to a closed position and vice versa.

[0019] In the embodiment shown in figures 1 to 3 , said projecting elements of the stopper 1 are three pins 15 regularly distributed around the periphery of the lower part of said stopper 1. The diameter of said pins 15 is substantially similar to the width of the guide groove 17 to allow at least one of the pins 15, or even all of said pins 15, to cooperate with it.

[0020] Said stopper 1 shown in figures 1 to 3is designed to be fixed on the neck 3 shown in the figure 6 . In this embodiment, said neck 3 comprises three grooves 17 regularly distributed around the periphery of the external surface of said neck 3. Said grooves 17 extend on the external surface of said neck 3 from an upper end located towards an outlet orifice 19 of the neck 3 to a lower end opposite said upper end of said neck 3. Said grooves 17 comprise in particular an inlet 171 located near said outlet orifice 19 of said neck 3. Each of the grooves 17 extends between two edges 17a, extending radially from a bottom 17b of said groove 17.

[0021] Preferably, the number of grooves 17 is identical to the number of projecting elements 15 of said plug 1.

[0022] Advantageously, to allow the passage of the cap 1 from an open position to a closed position and vice versa, said groove 17 has successive guide portions. This may in particular be a first portion 172 ensuring the engagement of the corresponding projecting element 15 in said groove 17 and / or the maintenance of said cap 1 in a waiting position ( figure 7 ) and other successive portions 173, 174, 175 allowing the passage from the open position to the closed position ( figure 8 ) and vice versa.

[0023] In the embodiment of the neck 3 shown in the figure 6 , the three grooves 17 each have a first portion 172 vertical relative to the axis ZZ.

[0024] This first portion 172 allows in particular the engagement of said plug 1 in the groove 17 but also its maintenance in the waiting position, in particular when the plug 1 comprises a punch. This first portion 172 is followed by a second portion 173 which is helical with slope x, then by a third portion 174 which is helical with slope y. The slope y of the third helical portion 174 is greater than the slope x of the second helical portion 173. These two portions 173, 174 allow the passage of said plug 1 from the open and / or waiting position to the closed position or from the closed position to the open position. Said groove 17 finally ends with a last portion 175 which is horizontal with respect to the axis ZZ. When the projecting elements 15 of said plug reach this last portion 175, the plug 1 is in the closed position ( figure 8 ) and the receptacle is tightly closed.

[0025] This configuration of the grooves 17 allows the user to move the cap 1 from an open position to a closed position and vice versa by an essentially helical movement similar to that of a conventional cap provided with a screw thread.

[0026] Said stopper 1 also comprises three openings 21 located on the upper wall 13 of said stopper 1. The openings 21 are in particular located on the periphery of the upper wall 13 in line with the projecting elements 15 of said stopper 1 and are regularly distributed on the upper wall 13 of said stopper 1.

[0027] Said openings 21 correspond to the passage of a pin-shaped zone of a part of the mold used to obtain an upper part of said projecting elements. Indeed, to manufacture a hollow object comprising in its hollow part at least one projecting element, such as the cap 1 of the invention, the molding is done, for example, from above and from below, that is to say a part of the mold comes inside the object from the top and another part comes inside from the bottom of the object. The opening 21 on the upper wall of the cap 1 thus allows the introduction of the upper part of the mold for the formation of the projecting elements 15.

[0028] Preferably, the number of openings 21 is identical to the number of projecting elements 15 of said cap 1.

[0029] Thus, advantageously, the stopper 1 is molded and is made of plastic, in particular thermoplastic material, such as a polyolefin such as polypropylene, polyethylene, a copolymer thereof or a mixture thereof.

[0030] Advantageously, the cap 1 is made in a single piece.

[0031] To provide a seal between the cap 1 and the neck 3, and in particular to ensure the seal of the tube 5 when the cap 1 is in the closed position, the cap 1 also comprises a sealing element 23, in particular a deformable element. Here, said sealing element 23 is located on an internal surface of the upper wall 13, radially set back from said openings 21 of said cap 1. This is, here, an excess thickness of material on the internal surface of the upper wall of said cap 1 which corresponds to a sealing ring 23 located radially set back from said openings 21. Said sealing ring 23 is configured to cooperate with a ring seat 25 provided on an internal surface at the upper end of said neck 3 when said cap 1 is in the closed position as can be seen in the figure 8 In other words, in the closed position, said ring 23 is compressed onto the seat 25. Said ring may comprise a deformable lip.

[0032] Advantageously, the number of projecting elements 15 of said cap 1, the number of openings 21 of said cap 1 and the number of grooves 17 of said neck 3 are identical. In the embodiments shown here, the cap 1 comprises three projecting elements 15 and three openings 21 and the neck 3 comprises three guide grooves 17.

[0033] In another embodiment, shown in figures 4, 5, 7 and 8 , the cap 1 comprises the same elements as the cap 1 of the previous embodiment ( figures 1 to 3 ). In this embodiment, said cap 1 is also designed to be fixed on the neck 3 shown in the figure 6 . Said stopper 1 further comprises a punch 27 projecting from said stopper 1. Said punch 27 is in particular made from the material of said stopper 1.

[0034] The punch 27 is in particular made up of a projection of material coming from the internal face of the upper wall of the stopper 1. An upper part of the punch 27 is thus surrounded by the peripheral wall 11 of the stopper 1. The free end of the punch 27 is located on the same side of the upper wall of the stopper 1 as the projecting elements 15.

[0035] Said punch 27 is configured so as to be inserted inside the neck 3 of the tube head 7 when the cap 1 is fixed on said neck 3.

[0036] The tube head 7 shown on the figures 7 and 8 , further comprises a solid insert 29 forming a cover 31 closing an internal end of the neck 3 opening into an internal volume of the receptacle, in the lower part of said neck 3.

[0037] More precisely, the insert 29 comprises a peripheral section, typically of truncated cone or disc shape, and a central section forming said cover 31, the diameter of which typically corresponds to the internal diameter of the neck 3.

[0038] Said punch 27 allows the cutting and / or perforation of the cover 31. The cutting is advantageously partial, so that the portion(s) of the cover 31 having been cut remain linked to the rest of the insert 29, thus preventing any mixing of the material forming the insert 29 with a product contained in the associated receptacle, and possible distribution of this material to the user.

[0039] Said punch 27 has, here, a cylindrical section of revolution, one free end of which is advantageously provided with cutting means so that when the cap 1 is fixed on the neck 3 of the receptacle, the free end of the punch 27 is inserted into the neck 3. Said cutting means may be a beveled shape of the free end, teeth and / or cutting notches, for example, regularly distributed around the periphery of the free end of the punch 27. The example of punch 27 shown in figures 4, 5, 7 and 8 is a punch 27 of cylindrical section of revolution, the free end of which is provided with three teeth 27a of low height and regularly distributed around the circumference of its free end.

[0040] The stopper 1 and more particularly the punch 27 are configured in such a way that a single essentially helical movement of the stopper 1 is necessary to move said stopper 1 from an open position to a closed position, to insert said punch 27 inside the neck 3 and to pierce the seal 31, during the first use.

[0041] In this embodiment, said grooves 17 of the neck 3 advantageously comprise two projecting elements 33a, 33b configured to cooperate with one of the projecting elements 15 of said cap 1 to hold said cap 1 in the waiting position ( figure 7), in which said possible punch 27 can be kept at a distance from the cover 31. These are two lugs 33a, 33b located on the external surface of said neck 3 near the entrance 171 of said groove 17. More particularly, a first lug 33a is located at the entrance 171 of the first portion of the groove 17. This lug 33a limits the axial movement upwards along the axis ZZ of said cap 1 and makes it possible to keep said cap 1 fixed on said neck 3 and to avoid unwanted removal of said cap 1. The second lug 33b is located between the first 172 and the second 173 portions of the groove 17. It makes it possible to limit the rotational movement of said cap 1 and in particular the exit of the cap 1 from its waiting position and its engagement in a position where the cover 31 would be perforated and / or cut.In other words, this second lug 33b makes it possible to keep the punch 27 away from the cover 31 and to avoid perforation and / or cutting of the latter without the intervention of the user before the first use.

[0042] In this embodiment, said neck 3 advantageously comprises a guide ramp 35 as can be seen in the figure 6 Said guide ramp 35 is configured to cooperate with at least one projecting element 15 of said plug 1 to position one of said projecting elements 15 at the entrance 171 of said groove 17. The guide ramp 35 makes it possible to guide one of the projecting elements 15 of the plug 1 in the first portion 172 of the guide groove 17. Said guide ramp 35 is visible in the figure 6 .

[0043] Advantageously, said guide ramp 35 has a guide direction opposite to the guide direction of said groove 17 for the passage of said cap 1 from the waiting position to the closed position. Thus, to position one of said projecting elements 15 of said cap 1 in the entrance of said groove 17, it is necessary to make a rotational movement in one direction. This rotational movement is generally carried out by a machine in an automated manner. Then, once said cap 1 is placed in the waiting position, it is necessary to make a rotational movement in an opposite direction, generally in the conventional rotational direction for closing a cap 1 which is most often clockwise, to remove the cap 1 from the waiting position and initiate the closing of said cap 1 and / or the cutting and / or perforation of said cover 31 by the punch 27.This double direction of rotation makes it possible to prevent the machine, when placing a cap 1 fitted with a punch 27 in the waiting position, from rotating too much and entering a use position in which the cover 31 is cut and / or perforated and that the punch 27 damages the cover 31 before the tube 5 is used.

[0044] Advantageously, said ramp 35 may also comprise a stop to force the stopping of one of said projecting elements 15 of the cap 1 at the level of the entrance to the groove 17. Here, the stop is an extension 37 of the first portion of the groove 17 in the direction of the orifice of the neck 3.

[0045] Said sealing element 23 is here produced by an annular excess thickness of material from the base of the punch 27.

[0046] The upper wall can be topped with other parts of the cap, while maintaining its orientation transverse to the ZZ axis.

Claims

1. Assembly for closing a container, said assembly comprising a neck (3) and a cap (1) configured to close a container comprising the neck (3), said cap (1) comprising: - at least one protruding element (15) configured to cooperate with a slot (17) situated on said neck (3) such that the cap (1) goes from a first position, in particular open, to a second position, in particular closed, - at least one opening (21) situated on an upper wall (13) of said cap (1), said opening(s) (21) being aligned with the protruding elements (15) of said cap (1), - a sealing element (23) configured to impart sealing between the cap (1) and the neck (3), said sealing element (23) being radially offset relative to said protruding element (15), said sealing element (23) is a sealing strip formed by an excess thicknesses of material on the inner surface of the upper wall (13) of said cap (1) characterized in that the sealing element is configured to cooperate with a strip seat (25) provided on an inner surface at the upper end of said neck (3) when said cap (1) is in the second position, in particular closed.

2. Assembly according to claim 1, wherein said sealing element (23) is situated on an inner surface of the upper wall (13).

3. Assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said protruding element(s) (15) are situated on a peripheral inner surface (11) of said cap (1), said slot(s) (17) of the neck extending over an outer surface of said neck (3), said sealing element (23) is situated radially withdrawn from said openings (21) of said cap (1) to ensure the sealing of the container.

4. Assembly according to the preceding claim, wherein the number of protruding elements (15) of said cap (1), the number of openings (21) of said cap (1) and the number of slots (17) of said neck (3) are identical.

5. Assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said protruding element(s) (15) of said cap (1) are located on the lower part of the inner surface of said cap (1).

6. Assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said protruding element(s) (15) of said cap (1) are dimensioned so as to correspond to the width of said slot (17).

7. Assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said opening(s) (21) of said cap (1) are regularly distributed on the upper wall (13) of said cap (1).

8. Assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said opening(s) (21) of said cap (1) are localized on the periphery of the upper wall (13).

9. Assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said protruding element(s) (15) of said cap (1) are regularly distributed on the perimeter of the inner surface of said cap (1).

10. Assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said cap (1) further comprises a punch (27) suitable for cutting and / or piercing a membrane seal (31) closing off an inner end of the neck (3) emerging in an inner volume of the container.

11. Assembly according to the preceding claim, configured so that the punch (27) is kept separated from said membrane seal (31) in a waiting position.