CLOSURE SYSTEM FOR A CONTAINER, CONTAINER WITH SUCH A CLOSURE SYSTEM, TOOL AND METHOD FOR ASSEMBLING SUCH A CLOSURE SYSTEM ON A CARTON OF A CONTAINER

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention concerns a container. It also concerns a mounting device for mounting a closing system on such a container and a process to mount a closing system on a carton of such a container with the help of said mounting device.BACKGROUND ART

[0002] It is known to manufacture containers, such as cardboard milk containers having a closing system comprising a cap and a spout, the cap being removable from the spout. A new European directive of June 2019 imposes to have a cap that is unmovable from the container.

[0003] In order to do this, FR 2 785 264 and JP 2005 053542 A describe a closure comprising a cap attached to a ring with a hinge. The ring being mounted on the neck of a container, it is impossible for the user to easily separate the cap from the container and to throw it away. This ring is movable in rotation with regard to the neck in order to be able to screw and unscrew the cap from the neck. The ring is equipped with a hinge to discard the cap from the neck and use the container to pour the liquid that is inside.

[0004] However, with these devices, the orientation of the closing system on the container can be a problem. Depending on how the ring is mounted, the cap can be opened in the direction of a handle of the container, which is used to pour the liquid that is contained inside or in the direction of a protrusion of the container that can interfere with a correct opening movement of the cap. A container according to the preamble of appended claim 1 is known from DE 20 2020 100758 U1.

[0005] There is therefore a need for a closing system that is more practical for the user.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] According to one aspect, the invention relates to a container as defined in claim 1.

[0007] An advantage of the invention is that the closing system is equipped with a positioning system that enables to correctly position the cap relative to the container in order to facilitate the future use of the container.

[0008] Advantageous, but optional, aspects of the invention are detailed in claims 2 to 8.

[0009] According to another aspect, the invention also relates to a mounting device as defined in claim 9.

[0010] According to another aspect, the invention also relates to a process to mount a closing system of a container on a carton of the container with a mounting device, as defined in claim 10.

[0011] An advantageous, but optional, aspect of said process is detailed in claim 11.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The invention will be better understood and other advantages thereof will appear more clearly upon reading the following description of several embodiments of an exemplary closing system, an exemplary tool and an exemplary process to mount the closing system on a container, provided solely as an example and made in reference to the appended drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a part of a carton according to one embodiment of the invention, equipped with a closing system according to one embodiment of the invention in a closed closing system; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the container of figure 1 from another angle; Figure 3 is a tear-off side view of the container of figure 1 and figure 2 during a first step of opening of its closing system; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the container in the configuration of figure 3, from another angle; Figure 5 is a perspective view of a second step of opening of the closing system following the step of figure 3 and figure 4; Figure 6 is a sectional view according to the plane VI of figure 5; Figure 7 is a sectional view according to plan VII of figure 1, with a bigger scale; Figure 8 is a view from below of the closing system of the container of figures 1 to 7; Figure 9 is a cut view along plane IX-IX on figure 8; Figure 10 is a perspective view of a mounting device comprising a tool according the invention and adapted to the closing system of figures 1 to 9; Figure 11 is a cut view, similar to figure 9, of a closing system according to a second embodiment of the invention; Figure 12 is a perspective view, similar to figure 10, of a mounting device comprising a tool according to another embodiment of the invention and adapted to the closing system of figure 11; and Figure 13 is a cut view, similar to figure 9, of a closing system according to a third embodiment of the invention. DETAILED DESCRITPION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS

[0013] On figure 1 there is illustrated an exemplary container 2 including a cardboard box 3, named "carton", partly represented, and a closing system 4 for closing the carton 3. The container 2 is designed to receive a liquid, preferably a food liquid, such as milk, water, orange juice, cream, soup, etc. Traditionally, the carton 3 has a main portion with a parallelepiped shape surmounted by a head with the shape of a gable roof, the closing system being placed on one side of this roof.

[0014] Hereafter, one considers the carton 3 standing on a non-represented horizontal surface. The closing system is mounted on an inclined wall 3A of the gable roof. 3B denotes a vertical wall of the carton located below the wall 3A, forming a front face of the carton 3, and connected to this inclined wall by a rectilinear horizontal edge 3C. 3D denotes a vertical wall of the carton connected to the front face 3B by a rectilinear vertical edge 3E. 3F denotes a flat band extending above a rectilinear edge 3G joining the two sides of the gable roof. This flat band 3F is partly removed, in the tear-off view of figure 3, in order to better show the closing system 4.

[0015] The closing system 4 comprises a cap 6 and a spout 8. The cap 6 is screwed to the spout 8 and the spout 8 is fixed on the bottle 3. As visible on figures 5 and 9, the cap 6 defines three inner threads 62 and the spout 8 defines three outer threads 82, designed to cooperate in order to screw or unscrew the cap 6 on the spout 8. Screwing and unscrewing of the cap 6 with respect to the spout 8 occurs by a rotational movement of the cap 6 around a central axis X8 of the spout.

[0016] The closing system 4 also comprises a ring 10 by which the cap 6 is fixed on the spout 8. The ring 10 is integral, that is made in one piece, with the cap 6. The ring 10 is only movable in rotation around the axis X8 relative to the spout 8. Thus, the cap 6 cannot be detached from the spout 8 and thrown away, for example in the nature.

[0017] On figure 2, the container 2 is seen from another angle, where a hinge 12 is visible. The hinge 12 has a butterfly shape and connects the cap 6 to the ring 10 so the cap 6 can be switched around an axis A12 of the hinge 12 once the cap 6 has been unscrewed from the spout 8. The axis A12 is orthoradial with respect to the axis X8. The hinge 12 is linked to the ring 10 by two flexible arms 102, so that, when the cap 6 is unscrewed from the spout 8, as in Figures 3 and 4, the hinge 12 and the cap 6 can move away from the ring 10 along the axis X8, to a limited extend.

[0018] Preferentially, the cap 6 is in high-density polyethylene and the spout 8 is in low-density polyethylene. In such a case, the ring 10 and the hinge 12 are also in high-density polyethylene.

[0019] As visible on Figure 7, the spout 8 also includes a stop 14 that is designed to cooperate with a stop 16 of the ring 10 in order to prevent the user to turn the ring 10 and the cap 6 beyond a given position.

[0020] The closing system 4 is designed for helping the user to correctly use the container 2. The closing system aims at avoiding that the cap 6 interferes with the liquid flowing out of the carton when the content of the carton is poured in another recipient, such as a bowl or a pan.

[0021] The stop 14 and the stop 16 together form a stopping system 17, capable of limiting a rotational movement of a subassembly formed of the cap 6, the ring 10 and the hinge 12 around the central axis X8 of the spout 8. The stops 14 and 16 are located so that the cap 6 makes an angular movement, with an angular amplitude between 140 and 180°, preferably equal to about 160°, around the central axis X8, when it moves from a start position, represented on figure 7, to an end position, represented on figures 5 and 6, during opening of the closing system 4. This amplitude is equal to the angle between the stops 14 and 16 before the opening of the container 2. This angle is denoted β on figure 7.

[0022] In the start position, the cap 6 is fully screwed on the spout 8. In the end position and after an opening movement around the axis A12, as allowed by the hinge 12, the cap 6 is directed toward the band 3F of the carton, without interfering with the carton, in particular with the wall 3A and the band 3F, as visible on figures 5 and 6.

[0023] In order to guarantee a correct position of the cap 6 with respect to the carton 3, in its open position, the closing system 4 has to be correctly mounted on the carton 3. For this purpose, a positioning protrusion 18 is provided on an inner disc shaped face 64 inside the cap 6. This positioning protrusion 18 comprises a wall 182, which defines a bearing surface 184 visible on figure 8. This bearing surface can also be named an "abutment surface". The bearing surface 184 is directed in anticlockwise direction when looking at the cap 6 from below. The wall 182 is radial with respect to the central axis X8 so that the bearing surface 184 is also radial with respect to this axis.

[0024] The bearing surface 184 is adapted to cooperate with a positioning tool 202 of a mounting device 20, visible on Figure 10 and often called a spigot.

[0025] In order to strengthen the positioning protrusion 18, it is provided with three orthoradial reinforcement ribs 186. The reinforcement ribs 186 are parallel to each other and connect a surface 188 of the wall 182 opposite to the bearing surface 184 to the inner disc shaped face 64 of the cap 6.

[0026] As a part of the cap 6, the positioning protrusion 18 is integral with the cap 6, thus also integral with the other parts 10 and 12.

[0027] The mounting device 20 comprises the positioning tool 202 and a chuck 204, having a hollow shape able to cooperate with the external shape of the cap 6.

[0028] X202 denotes a central longitudinal axis of the positioning tool 202. The positioning tool 202 comprises a cylindrical head 203, with a top surface 206 and a groove 208 dug from the surface 206 with the shape of a dihedron, triangular when seen from the outside of the positioning tool, in a direction radial with respect to the longitudinal axis X202. The groove 208 comprises a stop forming surface 210, oriented in anticlockwise direction when looking at the tool 202 from above. A chamfer surface 212 connects the stop forming surface 210 to the top surface 206.

[0029] To mount the closing system 4 on the carton 3, the cap 6 is first mounted on the spout 8. In order to do so, the cap 6 is advantageously orientated over the spout 8 and is then clipped on the spout 8. This operation ensures a perfect positioning of the cap and the spout one against the other, in particular that the threads 62 and 82, on the hand, and some flaps provided on the cap and a collar provided on the spout, on the other hand, are fully engaged.

[0030] The closing system 4 is then partly engaged into the chuck 204 where it is held by cooperation of shapes.

[0031] The chuck 204 then moves the closing system to align axes X8 and X202 and pushes the closing device towards the tool 202 in the direction of arrow A1 on figure 10, that is along the axis X8. This results in putting the closing system 4 over and in contact with the positioning tool 202. When the top surface 206 of the positioning tool 202 is in contact with the positioning protrusion 18, the chuck 204, which is now aligned on superimposed axes X8 and X202, is rotated in a clockwise direction around the axes X8 and X202, when seen from above, as shown by arrow A2 on figure 10.

[0032] When driven by the chuck 204 in rotation around the axes X8 and X202, while the positioning tool is stationary, the positioning protrusion 18 follows the top surface 206 and the chamfer surface 212 and ends up in the groove 208 in abutment against the stop forming surface 210. In this position, the bearing surface 184 is in contact with the surface 210, which avoids the closing system 4 to further rotate relative to the positioning tool 202, around the axes X8 and X202.

[0033] According to an alternative approach, the positioning tool 202 may rotate around the axis 202 in an anticlockwise direction when seen from above, while the chuck 204 is stationary. In such a case, the top surface 206 slides under the positioning protrusion 18 up to an angular position where the groove 208 covers the positioning protrusion. In this case, there is also a relative rotational movement between the closing system 4 and the positioning tool 202. The final position is the same as with the main approach described here above.

[0034] In any case, the step of the process of the invention where the closing system 4 is mounted over the positioning tool 202 includes two sub-steps, specific to this process, which consist in pushing the closing system 4 along the axis X8 towards the positioning tool 202 and rotating the closing system with respect to the positioning tool around the rotation axis X8, so that the bearing surface 184 comes into abutment against the stop forming surface 210.

[0035] The closing system 4 is then moved by the positioning tool 202 toward the carton 3 on which a circular ring 84 of the spout 8 is melted to firmly anchor, that is to immobilize, the closing system on the wall 3A of the carton. The form and position of the stop forming surface 210 and of the position protrusion 18 being known, the angular orientation of the positioning tool 202 around the axes X202 and X8 determines the angular orientation, around the same axes, of the closing system, when the closing system 4 is positioned on the carton 3 by the positioning tool 202. This allows piloting the operation of the positioning tool 202 so as to orientate the closing system 4 around the axes X202 and X8 in such a way that the hinge 12 is located in a region next to the wall 3B, as shown in figure 7, so that, after having placed the hinge next to the band 3F as shown in figure 5, the user can easily open the closing system 4 without the cap interfering with the band 3F or being located below the spout 8, to the point that it would hinder proper pouring of the liquid contained in the carton 3.

[0036] During the mounting process of the invention, the positioning tool 202 is piloted so that, when the closing system 4 is anchored on the carton 3 and closed, prior to the first opening of the closing system 4, the axis A12 of the hinge 12 forms an angle α, viewed from above, with the wall 3B of the container 2. This angle is comprised between 45° and 90°. Preferentially, this angle α equals about 60°.

[0037] When opening the closing system 4, the subassembly formed by the cap 6, the ring 10 and the hinge 12 rotates around the axis X8 to bring the hinge 12 in the position of figures 3 and 6, where the cap 6 is not at risk to interfere with the correct opening of the container 2. The final position of the hinge 12 depends on it first position, when it forms the angle α with the wall 3B, and of the rotation allowed by the stopping system 17.

[0038] Further embodiments of the invention are described, in relation to figures 11 to 13. In these embodiments, all features of the closing system 4 and the corresponding tool 202 which are identical to the ones of the first embodiment keep the same references. Here after, mainly the differences between these further embodiments and the first embodiment are mentioned.

[0039] In the second embodiment of figures 11 and 12, the cap 6 does not have a positioning protrusion and the spout 8 is equipped with a positioning protrusion 18, located on a radial inner surface 86 of the spout. Since the cap 6, as clearly visible on figure 11, surrounds the spout 8, the protrusion 18 is also provided within the interior volume V6 of the cap, that is inside the cap. The lateral surface 86 of the spout 8, which bears the protrusion 18, is located, along the central axis X8 of the spout, between its outer threads 82 and its circular ring 84. The positioning protrusion 18 extends from the lateral surface 86 towards this axis X8, that is towards the inside of the closing system 4.

[0040] The positioning protrusion 18 is integral with the spout and defines a bearing surface 184 radial with respect to axis X8, which is also a rotation axis of the cap 6, when it is screwed on or unscrewed from the spout. The bearing surface 184 can also be named an "abutment surface". The bearing surface 184 is directed in an anticlockwise direction when looking at the spout 8 and the cap 6 from below, that is along arrow A8 on figure 11.

[0041] The bearing surface 184 is adapted to cooperate with a positioning tool 202 of a mounting device 20, visible on Figure 12.

[0042] The positioning tool 202 comprises a lateral surface 206 and a groove 208 dug from the lateral surface 206. The groove 208 comprises a stop forming surface 210, oriented in anticlockwise direction when looking at the tool 202 from above.

[0043] The process to mount the closing system 4 of figure 11 on a container 2 with the positioning tool 202 is similar to the process explained for the first embodiment.

[0044] In the third embodiment represented on figure 13, the cap 6 is equipped with a positioning protrusion 18, integral with the cap and provided on an inner circumferential lateral surface 66 of the cap, which is perpendicular to the inner disc shaped face 64 and closer to the axis X8 than the threads 62 of the cap. In this embodiment too, the positioning protrusion is located inside the cap 6. The positioning protrusion 18 extends from the lateral surface 66 towards the central axis X8 of the spout, that is towards the inside of the closing system 4.

[0045] This positioning protrusion 18 comprises a wall 182, which defines a bearing surface 184. The bearing surface 184 is directed in an anticlockwise direction when looking at the spout 8 and the cap 6 from below, that is along arrow A8 on figure 13. The wall 182 is radial with respect to the central axis X8, so that the bearing surface 184 is also radial with respect to this axis.

[0046] The bearing surface 184 is adapted to cooperate with a positioning tool, not shown on the figures, which is similar to the positioning tool 202 of the other embodiments, with a groove adapted to the location and shape of the protrusion 18 of this third embodiment.

[0047] Advantageously, in order to strengthen the positioning protrusion 18, it is provided with a reinforcement member 186, protruding from a surface 188 of the wall 182 opposite to the bearing surface 184 and connecting the surface 188 to the lateral surface 66 of the cap 6. The reinforcement member 186 is perpendicular to the disc shaped face 64 of the cap 6.

[0048] The process to mount the closing system 4 of figure 13 on a container 2 with such a positioning tool is similar to the process explained for the first embodiment.

[0049] In the second and third embodiments, the protrusion 18 is also integral with the ring mounted around the spout 8 and with a hinge which connects the cap to the ring, as in the first embodiment.

[0050] In a variant of the invention, the positioning protrusion 18 does not comprises orthoradial ribs or comprises a different number of orthoradial ribs 186, for example two or five. In another variant, one or several reinforcement members are provided, which do not need to be orthoradial with respect to axis X8.

[0051] In another variant, the chuck 204 is rotated in anticlockwise direction. In this case, the bearing surface 184 is directed in a clockwise direction when looking at the cap from below and the stop forming surface 210 is directed in a clockwise direction when looking at the positioning tool 202 from above.

[0052] In another variant, the cap 6 and the spout 8 are made in materials different from polyethylene.

[0053] In another variant, the cap 6 comprises a different number of inner threads 62, for example one or six. In this case, the spout 8 comprises a corresponding number of outer threads 82.

[0054] According to a non-represented aspect of the invention, the closing system 4 can be equipped with tamper evident bridges between an edge of the cap and the ring 10.

[0055] The features of the embodiments and variants considered in this description can be combined to generate new embodiments of the invention, in the framework of the appended set of claims.

Claims

1. A container (2) comprising a carton (3) and a closing system (4), the closing system (4) being fixed on the carton (3), the closing system including a spout (8) and a cap (6), the cap being attached to the spout with a hinge (12) and screwed on the spout, wherein the cap or the spout is equipped with a positioning protrusion (18) provided inside the cap and designed for cooperating with a positioning tool (202), the positioning protrusion having a bearing surface (184) radial with respect to a rotation axis (X8) of the cap, when it is screwed on or unscrewed from the spout, characterized in that prior to the first opening of the closing system (4) an axis (A12) of the hinge (12) forms an angle (α) with a front face (3B) of the carton (3), this angle being comprised between 45 and 90°, preferentially equal to about 60°, in that the closing system (4) is provided with a stopping system (17) comprising a first stop (16) included in a ring (10) connected to the cap (6) and a second stop (14) included in the spout (8), and in that, prior to the first opening of the closing system (4) an angle (β) between the first stop (16) and the second stop (14), measured around the rotation axis (X8) of the cap (6), is comprised between 140° and 180°, preferably equal to 160°.

2. The container (2) of claim 1, wherein the positioning protrusion (18) further comprises at least one reinforcement member (186), preferably orthoradial with respect to the rotation axis (X8).

3. The container (2) of claim 2, wherein the reinforcement member (186) protrudes from a surface (188) opposite to the bearing surface (184).

4. The container (2) of one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the positioning protrusion (18) is provided on a disc shape face (64) or on a lateral inner surface (66) of the cap.

5. The container (2) of one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the positioning protrusion (18) is provided on a lateral surface (86) of the spout.

6. The container (2) of one of the previous claims, wherein the positioning protrusion (18) is integral with the cap (6) or with the spout (8).

7. The container (2) of one of the previous claims, wherein the positioning protrusion (18) is also integral with a ring (10) mounted around the spout (8) and with the hinge (12) which connects the cap to the ring.

8. The container (2) of one of the previous claims, wherein the cap (6) is in high-density polyethylene and the spout (8) is in low-density polyethylene.

9. A mounting device (20) to mount a closing system (4) on a carton (3) of a container (2), the container (2) being as claimed in one of the previous claims, characterized in that the mounting device (20) comprises a positioning tool (202) and a chuck (204), in that the chuck has a hollow shape able to cooperate with an external shape of the cap (6) of the closing system (4) and in that the positioning tool comprises a cylindrical head (203) provided with a groove (208) whose shape is fit to receive the positioning protrusion (18) of the closing system (4) of the container.

10. A process to mount a closing system (4) of a container (2) on a carton (3) of the container (2) with a mounting device (20), the container being according to any one of claims 1-8, the mounting device being according to claim 9, the process comprising at least the following steps: • a) forming the closing system by mounting the cap (6) on the spout (8); • b) mounting the closing system over the positioning tool (202) of the mounting device (20); • c) moving the positioning tool to place the closing system in the carton (3); • d) melting a part (84) of the closing system to immobilize it on the carton, characterized in that step b) includes the following sub-steps consisting in : • b1) pushing (A1) the closing system (4) along the rotation axis (X8) towards the position tool (202) of the mounting device (20); • b2) rotating (A2) the closing system (4) around the rotation axis (X8) so that the bearing surface (184) comes into abutment against a corresponding surface (210) of the groove (208) of the cylindrical head (203) of the positioning tool (202).

11. The process of claim 10, wherein the sub-steps b1) and b2) are implemented with the chuck (204) of the mounting device (20), which moves in translation (A1) along, and in rotation (A2) around, the rotation axis (X8).