Stopper for a container

Abstract

The stopper for a container, with a lid having a circumferential wall encompassing the neck of the container and with an olive seal (7) provided with an outer circumferential annular bead for clamping engagement in the container opening, is characterized in that the olive seal (7) has a ribbed wall surface on its inside, which is formed by a plurality of longitudinally extending grooves (5) and webs (6) of the wall of the olive seal (7).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a stopper for a container with a lid whose rim is connected to a peripheral wall surrounding the neck of the container, and with an olive seal provided with an outer circumferential annular bead for clamping engagement in the container opening. A circumferential, tear-off retaining ring for tamper-evident protection of the container contents is formed on the lower edge of the peripheral wall. It has inward-facing locking projections that engage under an outward-facing annular projection of the container when the stopper is in the secured position.

[0002] The purpose of the olive seal is to tightly seal the container contents, which is why its dimensions are designed so that the olive seal sits in a clamping fit in the container neck. However, this clamping fit makes it difficult to pull the plug off the container or to lever it off at an angle. This can become a problem if, due to unavoidable manufacturing tolerances of the plug and / or the container, the olive seal is so tightly clamped in the container neck that considerable force is required to separate the peripheral wall formed on the lid and the olive seal from the container neck. This can become an unsolvable problem for people with limited manual strength.

[0003] The olive ring seals of the plugs known so far have a smooth, closed inner wall surface, which gives the olive seal considerable rigidity.

[0004] DE 297 23 503 U1 discloses a plug according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0005] US 4,098,422 A1 discloses a stopper used to seal beverage bottles, such as champagne bottles, where the stopper must withstand high internal pressure. Therefore, the stopper has an elongated shaft that is pressed into the champagne bottle. Five axially spaced, annular projections are formed on the outer circumference of the shaft to facilitate sealing the bottle with the stopper. Axial internal slots in the stopper serve to make the stopper more flexible for fitting into a bottle neck. The stopper is removed from a bottle neck by pulling it longitudinally out of the bottle neck.

[0006] The object of the present invention is to provide a stopper for a container which can be removed or levered off from the associated container with less force and which nevertheless ensures that the container contents are securely sealed.

[0007] This object is achieved according to the invention by the features of patent claim 1.

[0008] Advantageous embodiments of the invention are characterized in the subclaims.

[0009] The invention provides that the olive seal has a ribbed wall surface on its inside, which is formed by a plurality of grooves in the wall of the olive seal running in the longitudinal direction of the plug. This design ensures that when the plug is pried obliquely from the container neck, the olive seal is compressed on the side where the force is applied, whereby the width of the grooves is reduced, with the result that the clamping force of the olive seal is reduced and the plug can be pried laterally from the container more easily. Surprisingly, it has been shown that the ribbed wall surface has less of an effect on the contact force when the plug is in the closed position in the container, so that the olive seal, with its smooth outer surface, can ensure the tightness of the container contents.This makes it much easier to pry off the olive seal from the side to remove the stopper from the container, while the contents of the container are tightly sealed until then.

[0010] Furthermore, the invention provides that the width of the grooves varies in the longitudinal direction and increases towards the edge of the olive seal in order to further facilitate the removal of the plug.

[0011] The grooves should have a depth of 10% to 50% of the minimum wall thickness of the olive seal.

[0012] With regard to the webs remaining between the grooves on the inside of the olive seal, a curved cross-sectional shape is preferred.

[0013] The grooved olive seal according to the invention can be part of a stopper whose lid has a continuous circular shape, wherein the olive seal is formed radially inside the peripheral wall of the lid, as is the case with conventional stoppers. However, the olive seal according to the invention can also be part of a stopper in which the lid contains a circular, concentric recessed groove comprising a radially outer annular wall and a radially inner annular wall connected by a base wall, wherein the radially outer annular wall is shaped as an olive seal having the grooved wall surface on its radially inner side. In both embodiments of the stopper, the grooved inner wall surface of the olive seal reduces the force required to pry off the stopper at an angle, while ensuring a sufficiently high contact pressure when the stopper is seated in the container neck despite the grooves.

[0014] In addition, a circumferential, tear-off locking ring is molded onto the lower edge of the peripheral wall of the stopper to ensure tamper-evident integrity of the container's contents. It features inward-facing locking lugs that engage beneath an outward-facing ring projection on the container when the stopper is in the secured position. This tamper-evident ring ensures that the container's contents cannot be tampered with without authorization. When a user wishes to remove the stopper from the container for the first time, they must first tear off the tamper-evident ring from the lower edge of the peripheral wall surrounding the container, after which they can pry the stopper off the container neck.

[0015] The plug is expediently made of LDPE, without the invention being limited thereto.

[0016] Further details will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment. The figures show: Figure 1 shows a schematic longitudinal section through a lid with a conventional olive seal molded on, and Figure 2 shows a section through a lid of a plug with an olive seal according to the invention.

[0017] The remaining components of the plug are omitted in the figures.

[0018] Figure 1 shows an olive seal with a smooth outer surface 1 with an outer circumferential annular bead 2 and a smooth cylindrical inner wall surface 3.

[0019] In Figure 2 The inner wall surface 4 of the olive seal 7 according to the invention is ribbed, with a plurality of grooves 5 extending in the longitudinal direction of the plug being formed in the wall. The webs 6 remaining between the grooves have a curved cross-sectional shape.

[0020] It is emphasized that the invention is not limited to the described and illustrated embodiments.

Claims

1. A stopper for a container with a lid with a peripheral wall engaging around the neck of the container, integrally formed on whose lower edge there is a peripheral, tear-off security ring for tamper evidence of the container contents with inwardly directed locking formations, which, in the fastened position of the stopper, engage beneath an outwardly directed annular projection on the container, and with an olive seal provided with an outer, peripheral annular bead for jamming engagement in the container opening, characterised in that the olive seal (7) has a ribbed wall surface (4) on its inner side, which is constituted by a plurality of grooves (5) and webs (6) extending in the longitudinal direction on the wall of the olive seal (7) and that the width of the grooves in the longitudinal direction varies and increases towards the edge of the olive seal in order further to facilitate the removal of the stopper.

2. A stopper as claimed in Claim 1, characterised in that the grooves (5) have a depth of 10% to 50% of the minimum wall thickness of the olive seal (7).

3. A stopper as claimed in one of Claims 1 or 2, characterised in that the webs (6) between the grooves (5) have a domed cross-sectional shape.

4. A stopper as claimed in one of Claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the lid has a continuous circular shape and that the olive seal (7) is integrally formed on the lid.

5. A stopper as claimed in one of Claims 1 to 4, characterised in that formed in the lid there is a circular, concentric recessed groove, which has a radially outer annular wall and a radially inner annular wall, which are connected by a base wall and that the radially outer annular wall is formed as the olive seal.

6. A stopper as claimed in one of Claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the stopper consists of LDPE.

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